Titus 3:3 "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another."
The old saying "there but for the grace of God go I" should actually say "There but for the grace of God am I"...because we've all gone there....if you're not there now, it is because He moved you.
All of us were once slaves to sin.
This is an important point because it should impact how you view others. If you look with disdain on another person because their offense falls outside of your accepted sinfulness, you only prove that you are a hypocrite with a short memory.
All sin carries the death penalty, and is overpowering. We have all been enslaved by it before. The next verse in Titus says "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy."
That changes things. We have been granted the ultimate mercy - not because of - but in spite of - our deeds...only the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit can break those chains.
Our world is full of people "being hated and hating each other". Sin is the reason. We can't accept or condone that sin, but we can love the slave that is being destroyed by it.
Never stop standing against sin...not because you're too good for it, but because you know all too well it's destructive power. When you see people who openly embrace sin, or who openly embrace hate...remember that is your past...and you have been freed by God's grace.
Never lower the bar, but never ridicule those who can't clear it yet. They already know how to hate and be hated, we should show them another way.
“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”
― Jonathan Edwards
No comments:
Post a Comment