Be Restored Then Teach Other Sinners

How often have I seen in the world that there are those working in the school system or in society that are teaching others of the right things to do and yet they are not doing them?

“¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.”

— Psalm 51:12-13 (ESV)

I have studied Psalm 51 a number of times and have so much written in the margins, what else is there I can learn. Well, there is more. God’s Word here makes it clear that before I can or should be teaching others, I have to get my own spirit right. I have written in the margin of verse 12: “Time to get right with God and give all over to Him” and “In order for us to understand we need a right willing spirit and only God can give us that”. And then for verse 13 I have: “Spread the Word of God to those around you so they have the opportunity to experience the joy”. Yet, there is no connection here of the two verses.

Over my time of studying God’s Word intentionally for the past seven years, I have indicated that it is important to put all of God’s Word together in context and not just pick and choose what verses and passages apply to the moment. In all of that time I am sure that I have connected the concept of getting ourselves right before leading others to get right. Here I have to listen to my own indications and read and understand the totality of the passage so as to apply it properly in my life. I have to connect the verses.

I am to follow the teachings of Jesus in the Great Commission:

“¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

Here is my task that has been given to me by Jesus and it aligns beautifully with verse 13 above. I am to go and spread the gospel to all that I come in contact with. Yet I also should be willing to get right with God, leave all else behind and fully follow Him in all that I do as mentioned here in Matthew 19:

“²¹Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’” — Matthew 19:21 (ESV)

I have to first give up all else and fully follow the LORD and then I will be able to completely fulfill all that He has for me. I have to connect the getting right with God and then I should go and spread the Gospel. I have to be like the leper who was cleansed by Jesus.

“¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ ¹⁹And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’” — Luke 17:15-19 (ESV)

What is your condition as you come to God and going to do His work? Are you right with Him first before you go? What if you first focused on your relationship with God as a sinner and got your heart and spirit right, then go and spread the gospel to all others?

Even as Sinners, God Provides the Path Forward

Whether I am an active member of the sinners group or not, God provides the way for me to move forward with the worship of Him and to fulfill the tasks He has given for me to complete.

“⁸Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.”

— Psalm 25:8 (ESV)

The LORD gives the instructions for me, and all sinners, to follow as we move forward in this world. He teaches me and it is my part of the process to learn. All that I do I have the instructions to do them in the Word of God. I only have to read and study to understand His Word to ensure that I am getting all of the instructions and not just pick the passages that tell me what I want to hear. God’s Word is complete and the instructions are as well. I have to understand all of them to get it right in the spirit of the LORD.

There are instructions that may not feel all warm and fuzzy at the time. The tasks I have been given may be difficult to accomplish and frankly are not likely to be fun and immediately rewarding in a monetary way. I have but to do the tasks, knowing that I was instructed to do so by God and that He will reward me, even if it is not realized until I arrive in heaven at the appointed time. All of God’s instruction leads to Him and are found when we are focused on Him and not ourselves.

“⁹He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

— Psalm 25:9-10 (ESV)

And there is the rest of the instructions. I have to remain humble in my relationship with Him and know that His path for me is fraught with His love and Faithfulness to me as I am His. I have the path laid out and where it may not be “easy” it is full and complete to accomplish the will of the LORD. I am just the hands here in this world doing the work of the LORD in this world. I have but to do the work and as the janitor said to the president of the United States in the NASA facility that he was there to help put a man on the moon, I have to know that I am here to accomplish something greater. God provides me with the work and I am but to do the work, knowing that the path was set for me even as God knows that I am a sinner.

Too often, I believe that I go into the next thing without a clear picture of what is to be accomplished. I have to know that sometimes that is okay. I then have to lean on the LORD for the path to be provided for me to accomplish that which He has set forth for me. The end result is not the key to my part. I am a sinner and only get the path for me and that path will lead to the result that God has planned for, and that will be enough for me. As a sinner, I have only to be grateful for the opportunity to serve the LORD and that He chose me to take part in the plan and complete my part based on the path He provided for me out of love and faithfulness to me his child.

What path are you following? Are you aware that God has a path for you, even as a sinner? What if you looked to God’s Word for the path and full instructions He has for you to complete your part of His plan?

Sinners, Yes, but Don’t Act the Part

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?

Own It as a Sinner

I am a sinner and not deserving of any of the glory that is provided by God.

“¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” — Luke 18:13 (ESV)

This tax collector is a sinner just like me. He owns it in his words and in his actions. He repents for his sin with God and only with God. Notice where he is repentant. He is “far off” and not within the immediate eyes or ears of others. He is secluded to have a relational conversation with God. He is about that relationship and not about the optics and not in comparison to others and their relationship. Here is the one that is the better example for me to use in my own relational conversations with God. They are to be on my own and in seclusion. They are to be personal and out of the immediate eyes or ears of others. They are to be only about and concerning me and my relationship with God.

I like that this tax collector is not concerned with what the world thinks of him. He is concerned with what God thinks of him. He also does not claim to be better than anyone. Being a tax collector was not a job that was highly regarded among the people although it was in the government and political society. His role brought the people to think poorly of him. But the job is not what defines you. It is your heart. The job was to collect that which the law indicated was for paying taxes and to bring additional provision to his family. It was possible to be a God fearing tax collector that stayed within the law in all of the collections. I am not saying that this man was, but it is possible he may have been.

The thing about the man and Jesus was speaking was that this man owned his sin and presented it to God for forgiveness. He knew he was a sinner and did not try to be something he was not. He also knew that the relationship with God was his own and not for everyone to be a part. His prayers were to God and not for the world to see. He did not concern himself with whether he compared to others adequately. He was concerned with his relationship with God alone.

“¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” — Luke 18:14 (ESV)

I see this man as a private, not proud man. He was repentant and humble in his relationship with God. He is an example of how I should act within my relationship with God. I should be repentant and humble. I should be private. I should be personal. I should own being a sinner and work with God alone to repent those sins and do so in private with Him in personal conversation and make it about me and my failures alone.

I have to own my being a sinner and know that my heartfelt personal repentance is that which brings joy to God.

How are you out there repenting from sin? Are you doing it out in the open for all to see and are you comparing your sin to others who are “worse” than you? What if you just kept your relationship with God personal and made all the conversation private so that you could truly own the sinner in you?

Rejoice Over One Sinner

I am working on my learning more about being a sinner. I am a sinner for sure and want to know more about just what that means. This morning I am reading in the book of Luke and the parable of the lost coin. A simple one for sure, but a good one none the less. When has limited things and loses one, there is an all out search for that one and then there is the rejoicing that comes when that one is found.

“⁸Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ⁹And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’” — Luke 15:8-9 (ESV)

The precious coin is of lots of value to the woman who had few of them. Aren’t we all about the same when it comes to those things that are precious to us. I know that I am for sure. God is no different in those things that are precious to Him. And I am one of those precious things. Not because I am a Christian, but because I am His creation. And not because there are limited numbers of my kind, but because I am limited, there is only but one of me.

“¹⁰Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” — Luke 15:10 (ESV)

It is my repenting that give God joy. It is the finding of me, the one unique person that brings joy to Him. My coming to Him and repenting of the sins I have committed and those that I will commit that brightens His face. Me, the ONE sinner. I bring the LORD joy with my repentance.

I have to remember that we are all precious to the LORD. Not just those who have more. Not just those who impact larger groups of people. Not just those who are known more to the masses. It is the one sinner that repents of sin that brings joy to the LORD. God does not look at who the sinner is. God does not consider one over the other. God looks to the repentance of the sin by the sinner and that is the joy.

I need only focus on my own sin and repenting of that sin. I have to remember that it is that which brings joy to the LORD. I have to be right with God and getting there requires my repentance. I have to acknowledge my sin and ask the LORD to forgive me. I have to remember that He is always listening to hear my voice of repentance, and when He hears, he will smile with joy for His precious.

What are your beliefs of that which gives the LORD joy? Are you looking to make a splash with God by doing grand things and expecting Him to leap at you for the massive amount of work done? What if you just looked to Him and repented knowing that the LORD looks at each sinner’s repentance as precious?

One Sinner

I am a sinner and this morning I began to study the word to gain more knowledge of just what that means. I know that I act against the LORD and that is sinning by this sinner, but I know that there is more to it than just the acts. I feel, like I do with all things, it is important to know and not just hear about things.

As I began my study, I was brought to the passage in Ecclesiastes that discusses the value of wisdom. This was a surprise to me being that I was looking into the sinner. Where does wisdom come into the picture in this regard.

“¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” — Ecclesiastes 9:18 (ESV)

I am brought to the saying of “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch” or similar. What is referred to is that just having one rotten piece of fruit will speed the rottenness taking over the larger group of fruit. In the above verse, I see that exact idea being brought to light. There is good in the world and that good is to be looked at and celebrated. But, I have to be careful to celebrate the good as good and be weary of that which may look good only to be rotten. The one rotten side of the fruit can make things rotten for the entire basket.

Sinners will masquerade. We can be good on one side and then turn the other way and allow evil to abound. On one side, I am loving and caring and want others to see that which brings good. On the other side, I am self-serving and looking to bring good to me. I have to remember each of these sides of me as a sinner. I masquerade each and every day. I am two in one. I am a sinner just as all others.

But, I do have God on my side to help me. I know that I am a sinner and that I am masquerading as not being one, but I am. But, I am a sinner who has been forgiven. I have been forgiving for those sins I have committed and those I will commit. I have to remember that I will still commit sins and that those sins can and will destroy. I have to be conscious of my life of sin and do all I can to remove the mask and be the forgiven sinner that does all to bring love and comfort at all times. I do not want to be the one sinner that will destroy. I have to be the Christian that brings love.

One sinner can tear it all down. I have to work to not be that sinner.

What are your thoughts on being the one that could destroy it all? Are you avoiding the idea that one can do so much damage to the larger good? What if you recognize that you are a sinner and that you have been forgiven and that you need to remove the mask and bring love?

Still a Sinner Yes, but Justified

I have and will continue to tell all that I am a sinner. There is nothing that will change that fact. I am a sinner. I have accepted Christ as my savior and I strive to do the will of God at all times, yet I am still a sinner. There is nothing in God’s Word that indicates that I am anything but a sinner.

“¹⁷But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!” — Galatians 2:17 (ESV)

I am not found to be a sinner, I have always been one. Even in that, Christ does not turn away from me. I have been justified by my faith and yet I am still a sinner. Christ does not serve sin, He serves me. He knows that I am a sinner and yet he accepts me in spite of that sin. Christ gave me the offer of salvation, I took the offer freely given and I am justified through my faith in knowing that He loves and protects me always.

No matter the work I do in this world, that work does nothing for my justification in the eyes of God. I have to accept Him and know that He has saved me from my sins of old and those that are yet to come.

“¹⁶yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” — Galatians 2:16 (ESV)

I am a still a sinner, yet I am justified by my faith in Christ Jesus and His love and sacrifice for me.

What are you beliefs as relates to your status as a sinner? Are you even aware of your sin and are you trying to find justification in the world? What if you accepted your sin and Christ as your savior and allowed Him into your life so that even though you are still a sinner, you can be justified through you faith in Christ?