If I say, Christians sin habitually, I'm guessing you are either thinking "Of course" or "No way!!"
Let's define some terms first. I have taken the foundation for all of these from Dictionary.com.
1. Christian: "of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to (a) religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ." - I would add to this that m definition is more narrow. That is that a Christian is a person who desires to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. So, they seek to know who Jesus - the historical figure - was, what his teachings were, and how they can model their lives after his life and teachings.
2. Sin: "Transgression of divine law...especially a willful or deliberate violation of (a) religious or moral principle." Sin is universal. Even those who are not Christians sin. If they have a moral code for themselves and they break that moral code, it is sin. Again, to narrow this a little more, as a follower of Christ, or Christian, this would be a willful act of disobeying the commands of Jesus Christ. As a reminder; Jesus gave us things to do and things not to do. I know that the outside impression of Christianity is just a bunch of rules to follow, but it is more than that....but it is also that - to a degree. Just keep this in mind.
Habit: "An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary."
So, Christians sin habitually. That's my premise. If you want to argue, I can tell you that I struggle with some habitual sins so I can at least prove that a Christian sins habitually. :o)
Now what? One last definition for you.
Addiction: "The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation (to stop) causes severe trauma."
OK, now that I'm pointing at the elephant in the room, let's talk about it. If you would tell me that anyone who has an addiction is not a Christian, I would tell you that you don't know your Christian friends well enough. I would also argue that you are claiming Paul is not a Christian. I know some people interpret Romans 7 a certain way, but, since this is my blog, we are going to take it as it is. Romans 7 is the section where Paul says a few times that the things he knows to do, he doesn't do; and the things he knows not to do, he does. That sounds like a problem to me. If we then look at Romans 8 we see a great reality. Here is a little snipit of Romans 8.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8 1-4
There it is. Because of Jesus Christ, we are not eternally condemned for our sin. Paul says this within the context of mentioning his own "willful" sin.
So, now what. Since we aren't condemned for our sin, do we just wallow in it? God forbid. There are many places we could turn to in order to see that this isn't the case. Paul himself addressed this in saying that we should not sin more so that God's grace could be poured on us. That doesn't make sense to anyone who is being honest with themselves anyway.
Another thought: what motivates us to stop sinning. What is the motivation to break addiction and change these habits-of-sin into habits-of-relationship-with-God?
Is my motivation my wife? Is it my daughter? My job? My ministries? My health? My desire to not be enslaved to sin anymore? Notice the one word found in all of those sentences: My. This is very me focused. Even if you want to argue that thinking about other people isn't self-centered....this is still a self-centered approach to breaking a habit. In fact, how often is our main motivation to stop sinning a desire to feel better about ourselves and to stop feeling guilty for our sin? Is that a problem? Kind of...it ignores the relationship.
When I work with M.K. about things to do that are right and ways to not be selfish she can respond in a few ways. She can obey simply because she knows that's what I want and for no other reason. She can obey because she doesn't want to get in trouble. Those are legitimate ways to obey. Sometimes though, she responds and obeys because she know that we love her and want whats best for her. I want to have a deep relationship with my daughter and part of that is that we do things for each other to show our love. Sometimes I'll let her have XYZ because I know that she enjoys it. Sometimes she will do XYZ chore without us telling her to because she knows that it will please us. (Not in those words, but that's the idea in her mind.) Trust me everyone: God is a MUCH better father than I will ever be. He wants a relationship and he wants that to be a motivation for us.
So, the verse that drove most of this thinking for me is 2 Cor 7:10. "...Godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret..." First, the commentaries I've read (anyone with original language knowledge can correct me if this is wrong) have said that this grief that comes from God is a "remorse caused by having lost God's approval" and that the repentance then is "the consequent resolve to reverse one's conduct and live for God."
See, when we sin, God isn't angry at us. If that's your image, get it out of your head. God hates sin, he loves sinners. He sent his son to die for sinners. No, God loves us and when we recognize that we have lost God's approval and desire to have that back, that motivates us to continue in the struggle against our sin.
Another practical piece. If your motivation is all the things I listed first (spouse, children, work, ministry, etc.); every one of those things can be taken from you. Every one of those things is confined by space and time so that they aren't always with you even when they are in your life. So you can have moments of slipping and sinning "against" them. However, God is outside space and time and he is always with us. What better motivator than to not want to sin against someone you can't get away from? :o) (I know, kind of creepy and yet reassuring at the same time.)
So, Christians have addictions. Guess what. Christians are people too...and God loves people.
Let's define some terms first. I have taken the foundation for all of these from Dictionary.com.
1. Christian: "of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to (a) religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ." - I would add to this that m definition is more narrow. That is that a Christian is a person who desires to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. So, they seek to know who Jesus - the historical figure - was, what his teachings were, and how they can model their lives after his life and teachings.
2. Sin: "Transgression of divine law...especially a willful or deliberate violation of (a) religious or moral principle." Sin is universal. Even those who are not Christians sin. If they have a moral code for themselves and they break that moral code, it is sin. Again, to narrow this a little more, as a follower of Christ, or Christian, this would be a willful act of disobeying the commands of Jesus Christ. As a reminder; Jesus gave us things to do and things not to do. I know that the outside impression of Christianity is just a bunch of rules to follow, but it is more than that....but it is also that - to a degree. Just keep this in mind.
Habit: "An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary."
So, Christians sin habitually. That's my premise. If you want to argue, I can tell you that I struggle with some habitual sins so I can at least prove that a Christian sins habitually. :o)
Now what? One last definition for you.
Addiction: "The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation (to stop) causes severe trauma."
OK, now that I'm pointing at the elephant in the room, let's talk about it. If you would tell me that anyone who has an addiction is not a Christian, I would tell you that you don't know your Christian friends well enough. I would also argue that you are claiming Paul is not a Christian. I know some people interpret Romans 7 a certain way, but, since this is my blog, we are going to take it as it is. Romans 7 is the section where Paul says a few times that the things he knows to do, he doesn't do; and the things he knows not to do, he does. That sounds like a problem to me. If we then look at Romans 8 we see a great reality. Here is a little snipit of Romans 8.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8 1-4
There it is. Because of Jesus Christ, we are not eternally condemned for our sin. Paul says this within the context of mentioning his own "willful" sin.
So, now what. Since we aren't condemned for our sin, do we just wallow in it? God forbid. There are many places we could turn to in order to see that this isn't the case. Paul himself addressed this in saying that we should not sin more so that God's grace could be poured on us. That doesn't make sense to anyone who is being honest with themselves anyway.
Another thought: what motivates us to stop sinning. What is the motivation to break addiction and change these habits-of-sin into habits-of-relationship-with-God?
Is my motivation my wife? Is it my daughter? My job? My ministries? My health? My desire to not be enslaved to sin anymore? Notice the one word found in all of those sentences: My. This is very me focused. Even if you want to argue that thinking about other people isn't self-centered....this is still a self-centered approach to breaking a habit. In fact, how often is our main motivation to stop sinning a desire to feel better about ourselves and to stop feeling guilty for our sin? Is that a problem? Kind of...it ignores the relationship.
When I work with M.K. about things to do that are right and ways to not be selfish she can respond in a few ways. She can obey simply because she knows that's what I want and for no other reason. She can obey because she doesn't want to get in trouble. Those are legitimate ways to obey. Sometimes though, she responds and obeys because she know that we love her and want whats best for her. I want to have a deep relationship with my daughter and part of that is that we do things for each other to show our love. Sometimes I'll let her have XYZ because I know that she enjoys it. Sometimes she will do XYZ chore without us telling her to because she knows that it will please us. (Not in those words, but that's the idea in her mind.) Trust me everyone: God is a MUCH better father than I will ever be. He wants a relationship and he wants that to be a motivation for us.
So, the verse that drove most of this thinking for me is 2 Cor 7:10. "...Godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret..." First, the commentaries I've read (anyone with original language knowledge can correct me if this is wrong) have said that this grief that comes from God is a "remorse caused by having lost God's approval" and that the repentance then is "the consequent resolve to reverse one's conduct and live for God."
See, when we sin, God isn't angry at us. If that's your image, get it out of your head. God hates sin, he loves sinners. He sent his son to die for sinners. No, God loves us and when we recognize that we have lost God's approval and desire to have that back, that motivates us to continue in the struggle against our sin.
Another practical piece. If your motivation is all the things I listed first (spouse, children, work, ministry, etc.); every one of those things can be taken from you. Every one of those things is confined by space and time so that they aren't always with you even when they are in your life. So you can have moments of slipping and sinning "against" them. However, God is outside space and time and he is always with us. What better motivator than to not want to sin against someone you can't get away from? :o) (I know, kind of creepy and yet reassuring at the same time.)
So, Christians have addictions. Guess what. Christians are people too...and God loves people.
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