Alcoholics are are always alcoholics. Drug addicts are always drug addicts. Gambling addicts are always gambling addicts. The one thing that all of the aforementioned can be is recovering non active members of the that particular group. I am a sinner, but I do not have to be an active member of the group.
“1Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.”
— Psalm 1:1-2 (ESV)
I am a recovering sinner. I am a member of the sinning society, manhood, and yet, am still working each day to separate myself from the group by not being an active member. I am abstaining from the active sin and therefore separated myself from the group.
Notice my words and the comparison I have made of myself above. I am a sinner and will always be a sinner. I am a man and will sin, as that is what I am. What I can do is work to not actively knowingly sin. I choose not to sin as I now know the sin to be sin and I can therefore stay away from it. I have studied in the past the best way to not sin is to actively work to avoid it by diving into those things that will keep me from it. Like my study in the mornings of God’s Word. I have to actively pursue Christ and in that action will actively avoid sin.
Like the addict who has to avoid the addiction, I have to surround myself with those who will be there for me and assist me in the avoidance of the sin. I have to be sure that I am surrounded by those who will provide the Christian example and that I can feed off of to quell my sinners predisposition. As is seen in verse two above, “delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night”.
I am a sinner, yes, but I do not have to be an active member of the group. I will still sin, and need forgiveness by the minute, hour, day, week, month, year, decade, and the like. But, I do not have to actively and knowingly sin. I know that seems a bit odd to be a sinner but but not actively sinning. Well it is about the setting out to sin that has to be avoided. I will find myself with unclean thoughts and there will be times when there will be a slip of the emotions. There will be times where I am not even aware of all that I do. It is those times that I still need forgiveness and cannot be avoided. But it is the knowingly approaching sin and doing it anyway that I have to avoid. I have to set out doing what is for God and keep my eyes on Him and step away from the sin that will present itself at all times. I am a sinner, but do not have to be an active member of the group.
What kind of sinner are you? Are you an active member of the group? What if you accepted salvation and became the recovering sinner and avoided the known sin to not be the active member of the group?
Trevor's Thoughts 