Don't go East

The great thing about the Gospel is that, being by grace through faith, and not through works, "...to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”" (Romans 4:5-8; cf. Psalm 32:1-2). When we sin as Christians, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, who has made propitiation for those sins (1 John 2:1-2).

However, where sinners are involved, there are bound to be flaws on our end. An unfortunate side effect of this perfect and Holy message is that, far too often, we use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more, and so all too often, we think "then why not sin so grace may abound"?

Under God's command, Paul anticipates this objection, and writes for us "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:1-14).

We see, then, that the Gospel is not intended as freedom to sin, but freedom from sin. Sin brought us death by putting us in conflict with the Author of life. Do you believe that? If you believe sin is so toxic, so cruel, why would you embrace it as a lover? Having been adopted by a loving Father, and at such a high cost, why would you bow to your abusive progenitor?

Doing so grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). It brings Him no pleasure when we sin. Indeed, this is why it brings death in the first place. By nature of who God is, He cannot leave sin unpunished. He hates it. Yet, He loves us. Now, if you love someone, a child perhaps, you might well go out of your way to spare them from the horrors of this world. How does it feel when they repay you by summoning those very horrors upon themselves? Do you raise them well fed, appropriately clothed, healthy, and free, only to rejoice when they become addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and ultimately make their way to prison? Of course not! You will do anything for your children, not only to keep them healthy while they live under your roof, but so they can make the best lives for themselves even when you inevitably pass from this world.

In the same way, God has freed us precisely so we can be sanctified. This is a lifelong process. We will sin while we remain on this Earth. But it should be as a cat falls in the mud, not as a pig who wallows in it.

Ephesians 2:8-10 lays this out for us: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." We are saved by grace, through faith, as the gift of God, not of works. But what are we saved for? For good works, in Christ Jesus. He has even prepared them beforehand. He didn't save us so we could be the same wretches we were beforehand. We aren't made to be children of the dust, like Adam, unable to obey the simplest command. We are made to be children of the Kingdom, gradually coming to resemble Jesus, with whom we will one day reign forever.

So who cares about food, drink, sex, money, power, all these things we strive for, all these things we serve as if they were our gods? There are legitimate contexts for these things within our Christian faith, of course. Work honest jobs, earn honest wages. Buy nice things, marry a Godly spouse, have dominion over your own well-earned patch of the Earth. But seek a higher Kingdom, knowing that the things of this life will perish, and so they are not worth sinning for. Not even if you can "get away with it".

Not that you even can, of course. As Scripture says, God disciplines whom He loves (Proverbs 13:24; Hebrews 12:6). Thus, expect to learn some hard lessons if you continue to go astray, and maybe even be called home early. Suffice to say, there are no real benefits to sin. Therefore, shun it. Obedience is a hard skill to master, but disobedience is a hard master. It brings natural consequences even beyond the Hell we have been spared. Let us therefore wave our sins off as the Lord carries them away from us. As Scripture says, "As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12). With our sins safely locked away in the East, let us rejoice with God in the West.

Recommended Song: Wolves at the Gate - East to West