Cutting Sin

Cutting out sin is not really fun.  It’s not really attractive.  Even before it’s painful it’s just not fun. 

But it’s what we want, isn’t it?  To be free from sin and live freely in God?

I think to do that we really need other people to help us in the fight.  But that’s even less attractive.  Oh, it’s easy to point out people’s sins and faults behind their backs either in private thought or with others.  But we avoid confrontation like a plague.  Or skirt around the issue, making really subtle remarks, hoping people catch on.  But to very specifically go to someone and point out something in their life FOR THE PURPOSE of helping them fight sin in their life so that they can love and serve God better…it’s just plain scary.  And seems wrong.  And proud. 

And if they were to do the same to us…?  I know from experience that my hackles come up.  My mind becomes filled with justification, why it is okay that I would do whatever it is, why I would feel that way, react that way.  I don’t respond well. 

But I wonder if we’re missing a key element.  Are we developing relationships where such confrontation can come naturally?  Where people know us well enough to see where we struggle with sin?  Where we are aware of their areas of sin?  We can meet in groups and have ‘deep’ discussions about what passages mean and how society works but how well are we doing at helping each other fight sin?  On the ground level?  

How do we even get there?

The Gospel in a Paragraph

I was given a challenge to write the gospel in a condensed version in my own words.  I challenge you to try it for yourself.  (You might be interested in watching Mark Driscoll’s version as well.)  Here is my attempt.  I’ve broken it up into more paragraphs for easier reading.  Let me know what you think.

God was
before anything. He created all things, including human beings. He
created them to be like Him, in His image, being able to think and
create and have relationship. He placed them in His place and gave
them His words to follow. But instead of believing that God was
their good King people rejected His good words and chose to do their
own thing, to do what they thought was better. Because they rejected
God and His words, their relationship with Him was broken. Rather
than being their King, they became His enemies. Since then all of
their descendants follow in the same path, rejecting the King and His
good words and doing what seems right to them, so that all humanity
has become enemies of God.

But God loved His people and in love sent
His Son, Jesus, to enter their existence, to experience what they
experience. But Jesus was the only one who did not reject God or His
word. Instead Jesus followed God’s words perfectly so that He alone
was not an enemy of God but rather pleased God. Because He had no
sin of His own to pay for He could take the punishment for the sins
of the enemies of God. As He died the death of a criminal, He, the
innocent, chose to take on Himself the wrath God had for the sin of
His enemies. The wrath God would have directed on us, His enemies,
He directed on His Son, the only acceptable replacement. After
taking the wrath of God for us, Jesus died and was buried.

Three
days later He defeated death and came back to life, proving that He
is the powerful and undefeated Son of God. He gave His followers His
good words to share with all nations: the wrath of God has been
removed from those who believe that He is the sin-bearer and trust
Him to take their sins. He then left this earth to be with His
Father where He is now ruling over all the earth. There is no inch
of earth that is not under His control and He is calling all people,
everywhere, to believe in Him. One day He will say “Enough is
enough” and come to judge all who have ever lived. Those who
rejected Jesus and His good words will spend the rest of eternity
separated from Him in hell, the just place for those who reject the
true King. Those who did not depend on their own wisdom but depend
on Jesus to save them will live with Him forever in His place.