By Dawn Rutan
“For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23b). I encountered this verse last week, not realizing at the time that it would fall within the text for the sermon I heard this week. What follows are some of my thoughts, which I believe parallel those we heard at church.
The book I was reading at the time was Complete in Christ by Bob George. He makes the statement, “Although the visible evidence of sin in a person’s life is expressed in many different ways, the root of these sins is always the same–a heart of unbelief.” Following that he quotes Romans 14:23 and Hebrews 11:6- “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” He goes on to say, “Realizing that the root of all sin is unbelief leaves the Christian with only one option: to turn from his unbelief to Christ in faith. He cannot ‘clean up’ his unbelief; he can only begin believing.”
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reiterates what he wrote in Romans and he says, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (12:31). Earlier in 1 Corinthians we read, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). What I hear God saying through these verses is that if we do anything that is not clearly glorifying to God, it is sin.
As we’ve been hearing and talking about the grey areas of faith, and through other discussions related to sin, some things have come to my attention as things I need to change in my life. It’s not that they are necessarily sinful in and of themselves, but I know that they are not bringing glory to God and so for me they are sin and they can also lead to other sins. One in particular is television. It has become increasingly clear to me that I’ve given cable too much control in my life. Even though I’m usually occupied with reading or playing computer games, the TV has always been on in the background. And at times I have sought out programs that I know I don’t need to be watching and I would be embarrassed if others knew what they were. [A side note- even though I’ve called the cable company to downgrade my service, they have failed to physically change my connection and remove the unwanted channels. So now I have to make the decision to disconnect completely in order to do what I know is right.] Television isn’t the only area I’ve needed to make changes, but it is high on the list. Whatever doesn’t glorify God is sin. That can be a painful truth to accept.
Going back to Bob George’s comments that the root of all sin is unbelief, that’s something I’ve been wrestling with in recent weeks. I may have mentioned before that I’d been taught in certain circles that the Christian life is all about resting in who God says I am and “reckoning” it to be true (to use Paul’s language in Romans 4). While that sounds good, my experience is that it doesn’t lead to a changed life in the here and now. The implication is that if you just believe hard enough, all sin and temptation will gradually disappear and leave you holy and perfect in Christ. So if you are still struggling with sin, you must not have enough faith… And that makes it even harder to confess! If all it takes is belief, then why are there so many commands given in the New Testament to those who are supposedly believers such as:
- Romans 6:12- “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”
- Colossians 3:5- “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
- Hebrews 12:1b- “Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
- James 4:7- “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
- 2 Peter 3:14b- “Be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace.”
- Romans 13:12-14- “…Let us cast of the works of darkness and put on the armor of light… put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
- Ephesians 6:11- “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
Why would we need to be clothed in armor if our only role is to “rest and reckon”? Obedience is not passive, it is a battle! The flesh will not easily surrender control of its old territory. It’s not that God requires our obedience in order to make us acceptable to Him, and we can’t earn the salvation and love He has already given us. But we can certainly miss out on many blessings and joy if we are not seeking to be conformed to His perfect will. As in Romans 12:1-2, transformation is an ongoing process of presenting ourselves to God, seeking His will, and aligning ourselves to it. If we aren’t actively engaged in the process, then we will become conformed to this world.
There appears to be a circle that repeats over and over in our lives– abiding in Christ requires knowing His will and obeying it; obedience requires active participation in eliminating sin and replacing it with holiness; eliminating sin requires self-control; self-control is part of the Fruit of the Spirit; the Fruit of the Spirit requires abiding in Christ; and we’re back where we started. Where faith comes in, and I think what Bob George was getting at, is that we need to believe: 1) God loves us, 2) God has set us free from the dominion of sin, and 3) He has given us the power to resist temptation and follow Him.
As Paul said in Colossians 2:20-23, just creating a set of laws to follow does not make us any better at obeying. The whole premise of Romans is that the law only served to show us what sin is. But in Christ, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13); and “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). These are the things I have to cling to by faith when temptation assails me. “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18). I tried for years to get by on my own willpower, with very little success. And even now, it is easy to fall into the trap of relying first and foremost on my will.
What is required is a change of heart that only God can give. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me… Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:10,12). I want to obey God fully so that I may always know the joy that He gives. I take heart that even the disciples didn’t have this down pat. “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). And though I try and fail, I trust that God still loves me and keeps forgiving me, and that He is at work in my life in ways that I can’t always see or comprehend.
