The Struggle: Part 2
Yesterday we took a look at the beautiful truth, "Hallelujah, we are free to struggle." While this promise is certainly invaluable, it is also partial. That's why today we are going to look at the second half of the song lyric: "But we're not struggling to be free."
It is important to understand that while we are free to struggle, forgiveness is not, by any means, a get-out-of-jail-free card. Each time God forgives us, He gives us a fresh start to love Him. This means, however, that each time we sin again, we break his heart a-knew. While we are desensetized to our sin, I do not believe God is. He is equally as broken-hearted the 100th time as he was the first.
Another danger of sin is that each time we do it, we harden our heart to God. God tells us that He will always forgive a sincere and repentent heart, but what happens when that heart becomes so unresponsive that it no longer views its actions as sin? What happens when we become so desensetized that we are no longer repentant?
How, then, is there hope for us? We are covered by grace, free to struggle, but how can we continue to struggle our entire lives? Eventually, we will run out of energy. Eventually, we will give up.
Or, eventually, we will realize that we are not struggling to be free. Paul writes in Romans 8:11, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
What does this mean? It means that Jesus already died for our sins, and he had a power greater than the sin. And it means that we have that same power, that we need not struggle with the same sin continously. It means that we are freed from these chains that hold us back. That is the truth of the Holy Spirit, one of the many gifts God offers to us.
Thus, the truth is two-fold. We have hope and forgiveness in knowing that we are free to struggle. We have victory and peace in knowing that we're not struggling to be free. And as for sin...
We are no longer slaves. The cost was totaled. The price was paid. We are redeemed.
It is important to understand that while we are free to struggle, forgiveness is not, by any means, a get-out-of-jail-free card. Each time God forgives us, He gives us a fresh start to love Him. This means, however, that each time we sin again, we break his heart a-knew. While we are desensetized to our sin, I do not believe God is. He is equally as broken-hearted the 100th time as he was the first.
Another danger of sin is that each time we do it, we harden our heart to God. God tells us that He will always forgive a sincere and repentent heart, but what happens when that heart becomes so unresponsive that it no longer views its actions as sin? What happens when we become so desensetized that we are no longer repentant?
How, then, is there hope for us? We are covered by grace, free to struggle, but how can we continue to struggle our entire lives? Eventually, we will run out of energy. Eventually, we will give up.
Or, eventually, we will realize that we are not struggling to be free. Paul writes in Romans 8:11, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
What does this mean? It means that Jesus already died for our sins, and he had a power greater than the sin. And it means that we have that same power, that we need not struggle with the same sin continously. It means that we are freed from these chains that hold us back. That is the truth of the Holy Spirit, one of the many gifts God offers to us.
Thus, the truth is two-fold. We have hope and forgiveness in knowing that we are free to struggle. We have victory and peace in knowing that we're not struggling to be free. And as for sin...
We are no longer slaves. The cost was totaled. The price was paid. We are redeemed.
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