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Ask Theophilus: More on Comeback Sins (and Comeback Thoughts, and Comeback Questions and ... )

WHY DO WE STILL SIN?

Dear Professor Theophilus:

I'm puzzled about why Christians still sin. And how to explain this to non-believers.

In my Bible study our teacher keeps trying to hammer in the idea that our old self is dead, and that Christians shouldn't call themselves sinners because that's insulting to Christ and to what He did. He also said that when Christians sin, it's because they choose to do so, but when non-believers sin, it's because of their sin nature. If that's true, how could God judge non-believers? All this talk of sin nature and new creations has got my head spinning.

Reply

Disentangling the true from the misleading in your teacher's remarks will take some time. Here's the big picture. Holy Scripture describes our salvation as in a certain sense past, in a certain sense going on now, and in a certain sense still in the future. Your teacher is reading the passages that describe it as past, but ignoring the passages that describe it as still going on and still in the future. That's a profound mistake.

In what sense is our salvation past? In the sense that Jesus Christ has already accomplished, on the cross, everything that our salvation requires. He paid the price; He broke down the barriers of sin and death; and He has come to dwell within us so that we can become more and more like Him. Paul speaks of salvation as past in verses like Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God — not because of works, lest any man should boast."¹

In what sense is our salvation going on now? In the sense that we must cooperate with God's grace, struggling with His help against sin, so that the new life He has begun in us can grow. Paul speaks of salvation as still going on in passages like Philippians 2:12-13: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

In what sense is our salvation still in the future? In the sense that the trials and afflictions that we experience in the present are preparing us for the day when our sanctification is complete, Christ returns, and those who are faithful to Him will be glorified with Him. Paul speaks of salvation as future in passages like Romans 13:11: "Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed."

Let me offer a final Yes and No. Yes, if sin is separation from God, then a soul in God's grace is not a sinner; something fundamental has changed, both in us, and between us and God. But the inclination to sin does persist, we do sometimes give in, and we continue to need His mercy. No, there is no such thing as a "sin nature"; the fallen man has the nature God gave him, but it is in a sinful condition. I know that in certain translations of the New Testament the adjective "sinful" is incorrectly applied to our nature rather than to our condition, but it isn't in the original Greek text. The "nature" of a thing is how God made it, and He made us in His image. Sin blurs that image, but it cannot destroy it. An injured horse is still a horse, not a cow; a damaged truck is still a truck, not a bicycle; and a fallen man is in desperately bad condition, but still a man.

Have you considered finding a different Bible class?

Peace be with you,
PROFESSOR THEOPHILUS

HOW DO I NOT SIN?²

Dear Professor Theophilus:

A lot of things in life are not as simple as just praying and seeking God — even though they should be. I'm not really sure whether I am the one making them complicated, or whether that's the way they are. Here's my problem now: How do I pray and seek God anyway when I'm ashamed?

To make it more clear, is it possible for God to forgive me even though I've committed the same sin three times? I know that if I repent and confess, I can be forgiven — but I also know that I should go and sin no more. If I've sinned the same sin again, what kind of repentance is that? I feel like I'm making a mockery of God!

For that matter, how do I not commit the same sin again? I know this might be a silly question to many people out there, but I don't know the answer!

Since my sin was sexual, I have another question too. I've read all those articles on singleness and waiting for God to give you someone, but since I've sinned, will God not give me anyone?

Reply

I'll answer your questions, but first let me challenge your assumption. What makes you think that everything in life "should" be simple? It's true that sin makes mazes and entanglements, but in the first place we do sin, and in the second place it doesn't follow that apart from sin everything would be easy and uncomplicated. It's not even true that "just praying and seeking God" is something simple. Consider whether the sinless Son of God found it easy to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane while He was waiting to be tortured to death. Consider whether He found it easy to finish reciting Psalm 22 while He was hanging on the Cross — the psalm that ends in triumph, but begins, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

To answer your first question I have to split it into halves. Here's the first half: Does repeating the sin prove that your repentance wasn't sincere? No, not at all. A person may sincerely repent and yet later fall into sin again. But here's the second half: Does repeating the sin give you a reason to ask yourself whether your repentance was sincere? Sure it does. The heart is devious and full of tricks; it's difficult to know ourselves, and only God knows us all the way down.

Your second question is how not to fall into the same sin again. No, the question isn't silly; it's very practical. Three things are necessary, and all three take discipline. The first is avoiding the situations that tempt us. That sounds easy, but we love our temptations and don't want to admit that they have to be given up. The second is getting out if we ever do find ourselves in a situation that tempts us. That sounds easy too, but just because temptation is what it is, we may not want that way out. The last one is loving God with all our heart and strength and soul, and hating our sins for His sake. That also sounds easy, because sin is ugly and God is supremely desirable. But we don't sin because we love evil for its own sake; we do it because we love good things in ways that ruin their goodness. For example we may love them at the wrong times, or with the wrong people, or more than we love things that are even better. Especially God.

Your third question is whether God will keep you from finding a spouse because you have sexually sinned. I can't answer that; it all depends. Sins do have consequences in this life, not because God doesn't love us, but because He does. Sometimes we need to suffer for our own good. What you can be sure of is that God has conceived for you an unimaginably greater good than you have; that He wants it for you inconceivably more than you do; and that if you allow Him, He will unite your suffering with His immeasurably greater suffering on the Cross. If your beatitude requires that He keep you waiting for a long, long time — even for life — then He will keep you waiting. If it doesn't, then He won't. The two best things you can do about it are talking with Him, and trusting Him, with no guarantees but the ones I've just stated.

Peace be with you,
PROFESSOR THEOPHILUS

HOW DO I GET THE THOUGHTS OUT OF MY HEAD?³

Dear Professor Theophilus:

I have repented of certain sins, and I know that I've been forgiven. Now how do I get the thoughts out of my head? I know that what fills your head will fill your heart, and what fills your heart will come out in your daily life. Well, I don't want them to come out in my life — but I don't know how to get them out of my head.

How do you stop thinking about something? Any practical suggestions you may have would be most appreciated.

Reply

Everyone will think that you're talking about illicit sexual thoughts, like the last reader. That might be your problem. But resentful thoughts too can fill the mind. So can thoughts of envy. Or of anger. Or of greed. Where Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8 that our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour, I am sure that he is thinking of the way he stalks our thoughts.

How do you stop thinking about something? What you ask is utterly impossible taken in one way, but entirely possible taken in another. Let me paint a picture of the difference.

If you try literally to stop thinking about something, you will fail. The very effort not to think about it will cause you to think about it, because you have to know what you are trying to keep out. The harder you push against the thought, the more aware of it you become. Don't even try. Notice that I don't say don't try to resist; I say that's not the way to do it. There are other things you can do when an unwanted thought enters your mind.

The first thing you can do is notice that it has entered, and pronounce judgment. Quietly say to yourself "No."

The second thing you can do is refuse to dwell on it deliberately. There is a difference between suffering a thought, and fondling it. Perhaps you can't keep it out of your house, but you can ignore it and go about your business, just as you might with an unwelcome visitor who is hanging around your door. If you pay no attention to the intruder, eventually he will get bored and go away. It's the same way with intruding thoughts.

Occasionally an intruding thought is so aggressive that ignoring it seems impossible. It screams "Look at me! Listen to me! Think about me!" Barring obsessive-compulsive disorder, there are two main reasons why this happens. I mentioned "going about your business"; the first reason it happens is simply that you haven't enough business to go about. OK, go find some. Stop daydreaming, get up, and do something. Read the Psalms, write a letter, take a walk, do some homework, get under a cold shower.

The other main reason it happens is that you've carelessly walked into a temptation. OK, walk back out. Have you fallen into conversation with someone who resents the same person you do? Then change the subject, or find someone else to talk with. While waiting to check out, have you let your eyes dwell on the images on the covers of the magazines? Then find something else to look at, and chat with the next guy in line.

Is there anything else you can do to de-fang unwanted thoughts? There is. Occupy your mind with better ones. Paul says in Philippians 4:8, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

You'd think we would do that without trying. Nope. Take inventory of the things you've been dwelling on for the last few hours. We tenant our minds with so much that is false, base, unjust, impure, disgusting, or lacking in grace. If there is anything sloppy, anything to criticize, we think about those things. Sometimes we even tell ourselves that we're virtuous to do it.

Meditation along the lines that Paul suggests would do us a lot of good. But it's work.

Peace be with you,
PROFESSOR THEOPHILUS

C O F F E E  S H O P

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What ways have you found to conquer habitual sin in your life?

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