Thoughts on SIN (and forgiveness)

I have been thinking about sin a lot lately. Not to give the impression that I don’t think about sin at all, but, generally, the topic doesn’t occupy a large portion of my conscious thoughts.

But, lately, sin has been top of mind.

My guess is this has less to do with my own sins, of which there are plenty, as much as it has to do with some missteps I’ve seen in others. Of course, those are always the easiest sins to spot. Like the Pharisee, we stand boldly before God and thank the good Lord that we are not as bad as that poor sinner over there.

Then, I suppose, there are a deluded few who simply believe that they do not sin. They live good lives. They go to church. They go to Sunday School. Sinners? Goodness no. My guess is that people tend to define sin as the “biggies” – murder and/or adultery. Is it a sin when I tell a little white lie? Is it a sin that I took a package of sticky notes from the office? No, of course not. These are slight indiscretions. But, sins? Heavens no.

In the past three weeks, I’ve taught a Sunday School lesson from Mary Lou Redding’s book, The Lord’s Prayer, and a chapter from Tim Keller’s book, The Reason for God, and have listened to a powerful Sunday School lesson that featured King David’s public failure.

The Redding book takes the Lord’s Prayer and examines it phrase by phrase. It’s been an excellent exercise for Lent. How often have you really thought about what you are saying when you recite the Lord’s Prayer? 

About two Sundays ago I taught a lesson using two of the chapters from Redding’s book – “Forgive us our trespasses (sins) as we have forgiven those who have trespassed (sinned) against us.”

When you really think about them, those phrases are tough nuts to crack. First, you have to accept that you are a sinner. Second, you then ask for God’s forgiveness based on how you have done in forgiving others. How are you doing with that? For me and my house, I would say we struggle.

The Keller book is an approachable, well-written book designed to address the atheistic attacks on Christianity by Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. And at some point any Christian writer worth his salt must address sin. And that’s what Keller does in Chapter 10 – “The Problem of Sin.”

Then the latest sin-focused discussion occurred for me this past Sunday. Again, using the Redding book as the foundation, our terrific Sunday School teacher took us deep into a discussion about temptation and the failure of Israel’s greatest king – King David. The story, as told in 2 Samuel, is a disturbing one. It’s easy to chuckle at because it sounds so ridiculous, but for those who have experienced the pain of betrayal, lying, and adultery – not to mention murder – this story hits very close to home. David destroys the lives of Bathsheba, Uriah, and his unborn child. And it takes Nathan to point out what an idiot David has been.

So, sin has been top of mind for me lately.

As I mentioned, it’s easy for us to point out the sins of others. It started in the Garden of Eden (“Hey, God, it’s not my fault. It was that dadgum female you stuck me with.”) and continues through our childhood and into our adulthood.

And, let’s face it, it is also infinitely much easier for us to simply walk away from those people who have committed some sin. I mean, why not? Here I am living, essentially, a sinless life so why should I put up with people who are clear sinners? They will only hold me back. Plus, there is that whole “guilt by association” thing. Yes, much easier to simply go my own way and avoid sinners altogether.

But, as you know, there is a problem. A huge problem. And the problem is Jesus. Yes, Jesus – the Christ. The Son of God. He can be so inconvenient.

Granted, there are some things that Jesus says or does that confuse us and have difficult meanings – I have to “hate” my whole family? Really?

But this whole area of forgiveness of sinners is pretty straightforward. Not a whole lot to confuse there.

Much to the chagrin of religious leaders, Jesus hung out with, ate with, traveled with, and talked with any number of sinners. To make matters worse, He actually forgave them. Some of His last words from the cross as He hung there dying for our sins were to issue personal forgiveness to one of the thieves and then corporal forgiveness for everyone else.

See what I mean? Jesus can be such a pain. I get along fine just being your average run-of-the-mill church-going Christian. But Jesus asks for more. He sets a stretch goal for us to be better than we are.

How many times should you forgive? Seventy seven times.

Who should you forgive? Everyone.

As I’ve been thinking about sin and, subsequently, forgiveness, I’ve returned to the Gospel of John. The particular story (John 8:1-11) I’ve gravitated toward is the one of the young lady caught up in an adulterous act. The men of the town seize her, drag her in front of Jesus and prepare to stone her.

As always, they are setting Jesus up because the scriptures are clear here. She has committed adultery. It’s one of the top 10 “Thou Shalt Nots.” And, as with most failures of this nature, the punishment is stoning – to death.

So what does Jesus do? He fiddles. Draws in the sand. Thinks about the situation. And simply says: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

What are you going to do? You have a rock in your hand and you are prepared to use it and then Jesus goes and says something like that? Well, that’s not fair. She has committed a heinous sin. She should be punished – harshly. She should be made an example of (we’ve always enjoyed making examples of other people). It’s the law -- God's Law.

What are you going to do? Jesus has asked you to go beyond. So. . .you drop your rock and move along.

But now is when she is going to get it, right? Straight from the mouth of the Son of God. Condemnation by the Son of Man Himself. This will be awesome. But, no, frustratingly, He doesn’t do that. He simply looks at her and says: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

That’s it. No recriminations. No condemnations to hell. No fire and brimstone. No bringing down the wrath of the Almighty. No lashes. No beatings. Just a simple command and a simple act of forgiveness.

God never said it was going to be easy. As a matter of fact, Jesus made it pretty clear to His disciples that their lives were going to be pretty much a living nightmare. Why? Because He was determined to take His rag-tag band of followers and turn the world upside down.

Where I would condemn. Jesus demands forgiveness.

It’s hard, no question. But that’s what we’re asked – commanded – by Jesus to do. It’s why He died on the cross – to die for our – yours and mine – sins.

As people I know and love fall short of the glory of God, my attitude should be one of forgiveness coupled with a heavy dose of understanding and love (there is that whole “love everyone” deal that Jesus likes to say all the time).

What the sinner needs, and Jesus knew this, are people to help him get back on the path. We are the light. I am the light powered by the Holy Spirit.

Lord knows I’m trying.