The other day, while driving through Wheaton, I saw a strip mall-turned-church. I wondered to myself how Wheaton could truly be a “Christian hub” of sorts (as it is known) without revival spreading to nearby towns. How does a huge concentration of Christ-followers stay that immobile? There are a million and one reasons I suppose, but based on my experiences with church people in that area, I wonder if one of the biggest reasons is that people are afraid of sin. What I mean is this: perhaps they’re afraid of interacting with the more unchurched areas of their community and the surrounding areas because they’re afraid their morality will be corrupted by all the “sinners” there. Maybe that’s why towns with high concentrations of Christians can have a reputation of being insulated.
But I don’t think sin is to be feared. Fear God only. As far as I can tell, that means beware of His discipline, because He is not one to be mocked; He desperately wants the world to know His goodness. And because He so loves the world, there are consequences when you get in the way of that. So beware of a heart that spurns his character, because then you may just find yourself on a road to worshiping other gods and finding your soul corrupted (Galatians 6:7-8). But do not fear sin. We have a God who can out-grace the worst of our sin (Romans 5:20). I think that’s what is meant when the Scripture says that perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18). Walking in the Spirit of grace, power, and love (2 Timothy 1:7), you may even find you don’t have much of a desire to participate in the sin all around you (Galatians 5:16).
Earlier that day, before I saw the strip mall / church in Wheaton, I had read a pretty startling story in the Bible during my morning quiet time. Let me intro the story with a question: What if I asked you to name someone in the Bible you’d really hate to have been? You know, like someone who seemed beyond God’s grace or response?
Perhaps Adam. He screwed the rest of humanity over with his original disobedience. Yet God still gave him animal skins to cover himself (Genesis 3:21).
How about Cain? He murdered his innocent brother. God preserved him too with a mark to keep him safe (Genesis 4:15).
Moses was also a murderer (Exodus 2:12). But shortly after, God gave him leadership over all of Israel (Exodus 3:10).
David was a murder AND an adulterer! Yet God blessed his descendants for the rest of time, eventually raising up his Messiah from his line (2 Samuel 7:16).
How about Peter? He denied the very son of God three times. Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom and he became a pillar of the early church (Matthew 16:18-19).
What about Paul? Again we have a killer but now one who killed specifically to thwart God’s redemptive work on the earth (Acts 8:1-3). God appoints him as his chosen apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15).
Are you noticing a pattern here? God will pretty much choose anyone. In fact, it seem as if the more screwed up you are, the better your chances to lead the next movement of God. But what about someone who was entirely wicked? Better yet, someone entirely wicked who lived before Jesus came, who didn’t live under a covenant of grace given through the Spirit? Could there be grace even for this person?
Well, the most evil dude I can think of in the Bible is Ahab (1 Kings 21:25). And my story has to do with him. It takes place in 1 Kings 21. I wonder if I had passed over this detail before, but at the pinnacle of Ahab’s rebellion, a prophet prophecies against him and Ahab doesn’t even particularly cry out to God or ask forgiveness, but rather mourns and becomes meek. If there’s anyone who was a lost cause, it was probably this guy. He was the most evil of all Israel’s kings, and he worshipped pretty much every false god under the sun, and oh yeah, his wife was no different.
Yet what happens when he mourns? God relents judgment on him because he humbles himself. I mean, if there’s anyone who God should have forgotten about, someone he should just stop responding to, it’s this guy, and God watches him become sad over the consequence of his sin, and relents. What the heck? Do you know what this guy did, God??!! Of course He did; His heart was broken beyond belief because of Ahab’s pursuit of other lovers. Yet he still responds. Interestingly, God relents his disaster on Ahab a mere four verses after the author lets you know Ahab was the most wicked king ever (1 Kings 21:25-29). I don’t think that was an accident.
This story to me indicates that the fear of sin is just one of the most ridiculous things ever. First of all, I think God’s love and power don’t allow any room for fear (Psalm 23:4). But even more, this story illustrates to me that you could be the most long-gone person in the world, have committed every sin ever, but still, a single act of humility before God could prompt Him too see you and respond to you. So why would you ever fear sinning? Again, I think it makes sense to fear a distanced callousness or pride toward God, but fearing a sinful act? It seems silly, because the Scripture appears to teach that God responds to any sign of humility.
I think if you keep yourself in that humble place, regardless of your sinfulness, you mark yourself as one whom God responds to and showers grace upon (James 4:6). That is the safest of places, and one that is not to be feared, even if you disobey a million times, like our evil king Ahab. Maybe, just maybe this quiet humility and personal acknowledgment of grace is the greatest source of loud and sweeping revival. It might even have the power to make Wheaton the next Jerusalem; an epicenter of a movement of God that spreads dangerously outward.
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It does play a role for sure, certainly putting a hood over ones light doesn’t tend to work out too well. By the same token… if you put your lamp out in the world, its going to get blown around quite a bit, it may even get to the point of declining to just an ember.
This goes far beyond morality, but to the core of ones faith. I sort of think of Peter in this regard. No one was more rambunctious and on fire than he, and yet when the chips were down, he denied Christ 3 times. Its a whole lot safer to remain behind locked doors and in ones own little world, than to venture out and take on great risk. What worse, is we as the body of believers discourage taking risks, we discourage our youth… no wonder so few have a fire in the gut so to speak.
How many people today would be willing to follow in the steps of CT Studd? How many Christians would condemn a young person who wanted to do so? And yet, folks wonder why the church is so isolated and lacking in power…
Fear of sin sounds like fear of rejection as well. An irrational fear (after reading the Bible) that God will reject us because of what we do is absurd, but very easy to fall into.
It’s too easy to have a “pity party” and just wallow in how sinful and wrong and horrible and etc. we are, because if we focus on us we don’t have to focus on God. It’s one of Satan’s favorite tricks for me. Shepherd, you are worthless, and you always mess up, and this time you have gone beyond God’s grace. The lie-squasher verse for me in this time is either ANYTHING about God’s grace, or Phillipians 1:6. For I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ returns.
Also, when we wallow in our sin, we avoid taking the step that God has placed on our heart, or we avoid confronting the problem or pain that got us to the point of despair in the first place. It’s easier to cling to our sadness and retreat inside ourselves than it is to face God and own up to what we have done and be humble.
Thank God he never gives up on us!