The Bible makes a wonderful promise to Christians who sin. He says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
Sounds great, but what about the next
time it happens? And the next? If I confess something, and God forgives and
cleanses, then why do I keep doing the same foolish thing? Isn’t it supposed to
be cleansed from my life?
While there could be other answers, it
seems to me that when this happens, I’ve not got to the root of the matter. I’ve
confessed symptoms rather than the disease, the actions rather than the deeper
attitudes of my heart.
This is a spiritual danger. It happened
to God’s people in the days of Jeremiah the prophet. He spoke to them about
their unrighteous behavior, and it sounds as if they covered up their sinful
wounds with a bandage, but the mess didn’t heal under that; it festered and
erupted again and again.
“’For
from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and
from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of
my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they
ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they
did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at
the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 6:13–15)
The danger of this light confession of only
actions is that after many repetitions of the same sin, I no longer take it
seriously. I might think this is just who I am, or that I’m stuck with it, or ‘everyone
has problems’ or ‘no one is perfect.’ Instead of going for the deeper causes, I
just leave it alone.
The going deeper part is not easy. Just
as cauterizing a wound or removing proud flesh produces agony, asking the Great
Physician to clear a persistent sin will hurt. A Christian who dares to do that
must realize that God will answer that prayer, and the Christian must be
persistent and not give up during the cleansing and healing process.
Sometimes this feels like punishment not
healing. Sometimes God reveals things that bring horror to the heart, horror
that my sin is so awful and horror that I have had such resistance to His everlasting
love and forgiving grace.
Another reason that change is so
difficult is that God often uses trials and difficult challenges to bring it
about. The suffering can be external circumstances. It can also be satanic
attacks that turn my pride into weakness and a desperate need for renewed
faith. It can also be the suffering that comes when I feel helpless against my
own sinfulness. Yet under suffering and having my heart tested beyond measure,
God does His transforming work.
Thankfully, He never abandons His wayward
ones. I can be persistent in my disobedience, but He is more persistent to
change my heart. I can suffer, but God can use suffering to profit me and
produce the change I long for. This is why He says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at
the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he
cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your
faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your
brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while,
the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will
himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion
forever and ever. Amen.” (1
Peter 5:6–11)
At times I hear others say that people
never change, but I do not agree. If that were true, then the promises of God mean
nothing, promises like the one above and promise like, “ . . . For those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he
also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son . . . .” (Romans 8:28–29)
He is using everything, including pain
and suffering, to transform me. Yet I fully understand why many people resist
change. When God is doing it, it hurts like nothing else.
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