If God operates in Grace, then why are we so focused on our “sin nature”? You may be wondering what God really thinks about sin and what happens when we mess up. Here are 3 commonly asked questions about sin and why we’re focusing on the wrong idea.
Question 1. Am I Dirty Rag?
Answer: No.
I don’t know where this notion came from. Maybe the humility of who we are in the presence of God started to override who we are because of God’s presence in us. We often confuse the two. If you are constantly focusing on the fact that you have hidden sins, weaknesses, or wrongdoing from your heart, you aren’t able to operate in Grace.
The filthy rag mentality is actually a belittlement to God’s creation. If we are one with God, then how would we be filthy rags? If God walks with us and is in our Spirits, then aren’t we essentially downplaying the beauty of God? The reason why this mentality shrinks our understanding of God because it’s actually not biblical. We are beautiful beings whom God wants to unify and commune with.
I mean, think about it. If you had a friend who was a Debbie Downer that always focused on the negative, would you want to hang out with them? Odds are, you wouldn’t. When we are always focusing on the sinful aspects of our nature, we forget the very thing Christ died for. Sure, there are negative consequences to sin, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Life is messy and we don’t always make the best decisions. But that’s the beauty of Grace. When you start loving your potential and recognizing the beauty within you, you begin to step into who God is calling you to be.
Question 2. Is it a Sin to Doubt God?
Answer: No.
In fact, we all doubt God from time to time. It’s in our nature. And no, it’s not in our “sinful” nature. We ask questions not because we want to find faults in theories. We ask questions because we want to find the Truth in God. If you wrestle with God’s word and question who God is, that’s a great place to be. Why? Because you are allowing yourself to explore who God is to you.
How could doubt be a sin? If we aren’t doubting, we wouldn’t need to understand God. Essentially, we wouldn’t really need God at all if we weren’t searching for our own. The fear that comes with doubting God is when you allow your doubts to dictate your Faith. It’s great to ask God questions. But, I think where we get the notion of doubting God becomes a sin is because so often we pretend to have all the answers.
Whether your parents taught you about God or your Sunday school teacher or the neighbor across the street, most likely you have been taught to trust God. And that’s such a great thing. Faith is a huge factor in learning who God is. But, just like anything else in the world, you shouldn’t blindly be led by Faith. You have to understand why you have Faith and where your beliefs come from. You should’t believe in God just because someone else told you that you had to believe. Our faith comes from the nature of who God is and His openness to our questions.
No doubt or question is too big for God. Why do we allow ourselves to be paralyzed by our doubts when God openly asks for them?
Question 3. Are We Born into Sin?
Answer: No.
If people are born into sin, then where do innocent babies go when they die? Do they burn in Hell? Kind of make you question God’s motives in that perspective, don’t you? But you have to remember the Grace of God. If God is the powerful being full of love and unity for His people, He isn’t going to just damn babies or innocent children to Hell because they didn’t have a chance to repent for their “sins”. Again, there are negative consequences for sin but that doesn’t justify the idea that God goes around punishing people for their natural born sins just because He feels like it.
Of course not. But this is where people really get their toes stepped on with this question. Rather, the general answer people dish out. In fact, just the other day Cody made a claim on his Facebook status that we weren’t actually born into sin and let me just tell you, it got ugly. But who made it ugly?
Well, the more conservative older generations made it ugly. You know how I just said that questions are a great thing to pursue when pursuing Jesus? Yeah, well, a lot of people condemn questions because they have the fear that our doubts cause the riff between us and Jesus. Of course not all people believe this notion. I am simply saying that when you start making bold claims, people will come against you. And it’s typically those who have held on to a fixed mindset of God’s character.
So What Now?
Maybe you read these 3 commonly asked questions about sin and you have even more questions to ask. That’s a great starting place. Or maybe you have other questions you would like to ask. Feel free to share this along with a friend if you think they would benefit from reading this post. And also, if you have a question you would like to ask on the show, don’t be shy!
We don’t have all the answers but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep asking questions
This week, Cody and I sat down and talked about 3 commonly asked questions about sin, as well as many additional questions. We talk about the natural consequences of sin and what happens when we focus too much on the fear of God instead of the Grace of God. If you would like to listen to what God is revealing to us, you can listen here.
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