Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Unconfessed Sin

I was recently listening to a radio program that was dealing with the topic of unconfessed sin. Specifically, what would happen to a believer who died with unconfessed sin. They did a sort of man on the street interview of folks at a Christian conference, and I found the answers they received very difficult to listen to.

The answers ranged from...that person would go to hell...to...well, only God can answer that, but I would be concerned for their salvation...to...God isn't really as mean as we might think he is, so he probably looks on the heart and that person's actions.

What the heck? I thought, who makes this crap up? I listened, horrified, waiting for someone...anyone to claim Christ's blood as being sufficient to cover all sins, past, present and future. Only one dude went there.

Not only was that disturbing, but I thought it mostly ironic that people thought God looking on our hearts was a good thing. Heavens, my heart is more sinful than even I know, I don't want my heart to be the judge of my eternal destination!

I spent this morning reading through scripture after scripture that points to our justification in Christ as being final and eternal. As believers we are holy. Christ's blood has covered us, and when God looks upon us he sees Christ. It was wonderful to remember that I can be assured of my salvation through Christ.

I thought about listing out the passages that I was in this morning, and I can...Romans 4, 5, 8; Ephesians 1, 2; Colossians 1, 2; Titus 3; Psalm 32, and others.

Of course this afternoon I also went to my favorite past time read- the Heidelberg Catechism- I love this little book! Question 56 asks "What do you believe concerning 'the forgiveness of sins'?" Answer:
I believe that God, because of Christ's atonement, will never hold against me any of my sins nor my sinful nature which I need to struggle against all my life. Rather, in his grace God grants me the righteousness of Christ to free me forever from judgement. Psalm 103.3-4, 10, 12; Micah 7.18-19, II Corinthians 5.18-21; I John 1.7, 2.2; Romans 7.21-25; JOhn 3.17-18 and Romans 8.1-2

I also opened the Westminster Confession and read Chapter 17:
1. Those whom God has accepted in his beloved Son, called to faith and sanctified by his Holy Spirit, can neither totally nor finally sever themselves from God's gracious love. The gift of faith endures to the end of life, eternally saving the believer. Philippians 1.6; II Peter 1.10; John 10.28-29; I John 3.9; I Peter 1.5, 9
2. The saints' endurance of faith does not depend on their decisions, but on the unchangeable character of God's purpose of election. The Father's sustaining grace flows from his free and unchangeable love. II Timothy 2.18-19; Jeremiah 31.3

OK, stop freaking out about this being a license to sin, and just revel in the love, grace and mercy that has been imparted to believers. How beautiful. I am so thankful that I can rest in this certainty and not in the goodness of my own merit and heart.

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Thank you for your words and for your devotion to Christ and making Him known. It is all about the cross and how sad that we have forgotten its power in our lives.

You are an inspiration.

Christy said...

Alrighty, I'm pretty disturbed that the comments you mentioned at the beginning were taken from people at a Christian conference. If they were just random folks at Kroger, I'd be completely unsurprised, but at a Christian conference? Hmmm, must have been Baptist or something. :-)

Funny, though, I've sort of been struggling with the idea of salvation being un-losable. That is certainly what I was raised to believe and how I think of salvation 95% of the time, but then I'll run across verses that kinda freak me out.

Something like Heb. 6:4-6 "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame."

Don't know what to do with that. (But, to clarify my earlier comment, I don't think making sure individual sins are properly confessed has anything to do with it.)

So seriously, the Heidelberg Catechism is one of your favorite ways to spend an afternoon?