Discussion thought of the Day:

¹⁵  I do not understand what I do; for I don’t do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate. ¹⁶  Since what I do is what I don’t want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right. ¹⁷  So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me. ¹⁸  I know that good does not live in me—that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it. ¹⁹  I don’t do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do. ²⁰  If I do what I don’t want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.
Romans 7:15-20 (TEV)

¹¹  In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self. ¹²  For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death. ¹³  You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were Gentiles without the Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ. God forgave us all our sins;
Colossians 2:11-13 (TEV)

⁷  But if we live in the light—just as he is in the light—then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin. ⁸  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. ⁹  But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. ¹⁰  If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:7-10 (TEV)

The problem of sin is one that has stalked mankind since the beginning.  

We may try to hide it, sure that people won’t see through our careful concealment, our spiritual camouflage.  We may deny it, or let it rip our souls to shreds. It is there, lurking, stalking us.

As pastors, we see its effect in our people, as they struggle with every aspect of life, from work to marriage to raising their children. I’ve watched it nearly destroy a church, and I know it has destroyed churches and even denominations. We’ve watched it destroy our brothers in ministry, and yes, we know its dark powers all too well.

Yes, sin is a problem in the church, and being a real church means we try to deal with it. We can’t really hide it, denying it and the bondage it puts people in is.. well asinine in that we are committing people to hell on earth, and hell eternal.  We cannot camouflage it and hope it blends into the background. For in all of those options we see the warning of John, indicating that we make God a liar. 

So how does a Christian, whom we teach has been cleansed of sin in baptism (see Ezekiel 36:25ff, Titus 3:2-8, 1 Peter 3, Romans 6 and Colossians 2) struggle with the fact that they still sin? How do we find comfort knowing t  How do we find comfort in the wrongdoing that has been done to us as well, that we will fall prey to Satan and commit a sin, or two, or twenty?  For sin and unrighteousness paralyzes us, it inhibits our faith, especially when Satan tries to convince us the pain is real.

Note:  When talking about sin and wrongdoing, it is important to note that the sin is our wrongdoing, and the wrongdoing John mentions is the wrongdoing, the sin done to us.  When we are declared righteous, when we are purified – both are dealt with.  Yet there is a struggle.  For we don’t always see this done and we live with the pain of sin.

In talking this over with a  friend, and thinking through the passages above, and of note the underlined sections, I came up with an analogy. 

I had a friend who lost a leg, and he often talked of (he never complained) of phantom feelings in his missing limb.  Sometimes it felt like it was asleep, or it itched, or it even caused him great pain as it felt like it was cramping.   The feelings were not “imagined”, they were documentable and real. Sensory nerves were firing, motor nerves were wanting to direct movement.  The brain registered it all.

The symptoms were real, the effects on the body were real, the source?  It wasn’t real. It was cut off completely, removed, and thoroughly as something is removed in a circumcision.  This paradox defies explanation. 

Spiritually, the paradox is much the same.  It may seem like sin controls us, the actions, the results appear much the same as they did before our “circumcision.”(  I love Ezekiel 36 on this – as the Spirit removes our stone dead heart and replaces it with one living, and home to the Spirit)  That sinful nature died on the cross – that is God’s promise.  Surely our sin was forgiven, and the sin of the world was stripped away from us, as if God somehow combined a brillo pad with ivory soap… and could scrub us, without damaging us.

So why does it still feel like we can’t stop sinning?  Why is there despair that is so deep, and so powerful that it could be labeled a black hole?

It’s that paradox again – the phantom power of sin, the illusions that the demonic can try to cast.  Yes we still sin, yes we still don’t do what we should and do what we shouldn’t.  Yes, there are days we feel like a wretch, and our ability to condemn ourselves will run high. Where we wonder if there is hope, if we will ever be righteous and holy and good.

It is then we have to realize the power of spiritual circumcision – that the sin we are battling is the cause of the sin. (this is NOT and should never be an excuse) The way to defeat it is to go and confess, and hear God has forgiven us, to hear that He has healed us. That He has purified us. That He has cut away this sin, and though we feel its effects, its pain, it itching… it isn’t us.

We live in Him. 

Dealing with the phantom pain then becomes realizing how real it is, and isn’t, and running to the one who confirms it isn’t, and letting His promise mean more than our struggle. To trust Him, to depend upon Him, to let Him support us, even as we walk through life, missing that which would have destroyed us, but for His action, His love.

This is our life… in Chirst.

Knowing He has had mercy, even as we cry out fo it!

God’s peace to you, forgiven child!