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Sin and Being Sinned Against...
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Luke 17: 1, "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences
will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that
a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should
offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: (pay attention!) If thy
brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."
There is a difference between sin and "quirkiness". We all know of people who may
have idiosyncrasies that tend to bother us. Let me explain. Recently, I was sitting
on an airplane on my way to Houston on a Saturday morning. I had my necessary tools
close by so that when allowed, I could immediately spring into action on my electronic
devices (computer and/or iPad) and complete several hours of work. However, the
person behind me, unbeknownst to me, opened the luggage rack over my head to retrieve
some wanted items. The only problem was his "wanted items" were not wanted by me!
All of the sudden, little round stars and marshmallow items begin to poor over
my head and into my lap. His choice of "wanted items" was none other than Lucky
Charms cereal. Ok, that was a mistake. No problem, we will just clean up, and get
back to work. However, it wasn't long before I was engulfed in my work when drinks
were served. It was then that I was interrupted...again...as the same man leaned
forward...with his drink it his hand... just over my left shoulder (don't get ahead
of me yet, it gets worse!)...he begins to tell me how much he would like to have
his Lucky Charms to go with his drink...when his drink slips out of his hands and
lands in my lap!! Now we have a bigger problem than just stars and marshmallows!
We cleaned it all up, and I walked away thinking I had definitely met someone far
more clumsy than I! This man did not sin, though he was clumsy; he did not intentionally
wrong me. The above passage is talking of those who offend with their sin, not with
their quirkiness.
Our Lord gives a stern warning to those who specifically are a stumbling block to
the "little ones". The application certainly fits towards anyone that would offend
a child or young person. That is why we need to be on guard to always have a testimony
pleasing to the Lord; especially in front of children. This admonishment can be
applied, not only for age, ("little ones"), but also for stage. This would be older,
more learned Christians, being careful to not offend the younger ("babes in Christ).
This is true, especially toward leadership and students who have been taught the
ways of the Lord, yet choose to lead others astray.
The question of this passage then becomes two fold. First, in what area are you
being tempted? Secondly, how are you leading others to be tempted and fall into
an offense?
Pause this morning and repeat the previous sentence 5 times, asking the Holy Spirit
to reveal either of these two applications to your heart. If a violation of either
one is present, you need to repent, and seek forgiveness.
Let me tell you what repentance is not. Repentance is not getting caught but coming
clean. Repentance is not denying our sin, diminishing our sin, managing our sin,
or trying to keep it under control. We don't need to manage it; we need to kill
it! Repentance is not blame shifting or excusing our sin. It is not covering our
sin or making it about someone else's sin. It is not doing something, so you can
get something. It's not worldly sorrow. It is not just the consequences focused
on but the sin itself. It is not merely confessing your sin to others, but killing
your sin.
Christ died for our sins. We can put our sins to death. We died when He died! We
were buried with Him and raised with Him to walk in newness of life, walking in
the power of the Spirit.
Next week we will continue our study of Luke 17, as we look at the response of those
who are "offended". There are many that have been abused, misused, and left with
offenses that have led to lifelong behaviors. We must understand how those on the
other end are instructed to respond to avoid roots of bitterness destroying their
lives for decades to come.
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