Who Are We to Call Him Savior?

When you were a little kid, did you ever do something you weren't supposed to? Then, you got in trouble, and you were supposed to say you're sorry? Usually there was a consequence too. But then, did you ever do the same exact thing again, even though you still knew you weren't supposed to and had already received punishment for it? That begs the question: were you really sorry in the first place?

I think about some of the people I know who claim to follow Jesus and wonder about this. If they asked for forgiveness of their sins, and chose to accept Jesus's forgiveness and free gifts of love, grace, and eternal life, why would they keep living in sin?

Now, don't get me wrong. We all still mess up after we come to Jesus. We're human. We're sinners. But there's a difference between someone who openly confesses their sins to God and strives to NOT commit them again, and someone who is blatantly living in sin and not seeking forgiveness or repentance. Also, how can you ask God to forgive you of something you're currently still doing and don't intend to stop? That's an empty request. God loves us and wants to forgive us, and if we mess up over and over again in the same ways He still will forgive us, but we have to mean it when we come to Him and ask Him to. God may love us just the way we are, but He wants better for us. 

To return to my initial thought, let's say that a child was not supposed to hit their brother or sister, but they did anyway. If they say, "I'm sorry" while they're still hitting their sibling, why should anyone expect they're actually sorry? However, if they apologize and don't hit their sibling again, that shows they actually meant what they said. That's not to say they won't ever do something they aren't supposed to again, but they're learning what's not okay and trying to do better, whether they realize that's what's happening or not. 

Another thing to consider here: if they apologize and get a time-out for their actions, but then immediately hit their brother or sister again, do you think they'd receive worse punishment than before? After all, they didn't mean it when they said "sorry", and the punishment didn't make a difference, so maybe instead of a time-out, this time the child gets grounded. They're worse off than they were before because they didn't listen to correction or stop doing what they now know they shouldn't do.

How often do we do the same? If we ask Jesus to forgive us of sins that we don't actually intend to quit, it's meaningless! If you ask Jesus to forgive you of, for example, a pornography addiction, but you keep the tabs bookmarked and you still open it every day, why would you expect forgiveness? You've done nothing to change!

Important distinction: This is different than if you intend to quit but are struggling to and need help. Let's say you've struggled with porn, but you've blocked the websites, asked friends or someone you trust for advice or to help you quit, and are trying to do better, but you relapse one night and watch porn again. You were forgiven before, and you can be forgiven again, but it's up to you, once again, to ask for that forgiveness and keep working to overcome that addiction. Don't stay in sin just because you've messed up.

I think AA does a great job of helping alcoholics stop drinking because they use this approach too. When someone in AA has been doing what they can to avoid alcohol, have been striving to get better, and then they mess up and get drunk one night, what happens? They are still welcomed back to AA with open arms, and they're encouraged that just because they slipped up, doesn't mean they have to stay there. Redemption is still possible for the one who's slipped up and regrets what they've done.

The same goes for you. If you've sinned and are trying to stop, but you mess up, you don't have to stay there and you can be forgiven again. It's up to you to confess your sins openly, ask for and receive forgiveness from God, and run away from that sin in the future. You might mess up again, you might even slip up a hundred times over, but if you truly want to stop sinning and make efforts to avoid it in the future, you're on the right track. God will forgive all of our sins, but He also calls us to repent. If we don't repent, if we don't run away from our sins full speed and set boundaries for ourselves to avoid those sins, we're more likely to sin again.

I think it's hard sometimes to stop sinning once we've messed up. A lot of us—and I'm guilty of this too—when we slip up, we feel guilty and get into our own heads, listening to lies that "Because you know better, God won't forgive you", which just makes it easier to slip even further into the mess of that sin and keep doing it. That's exactly what the devil wants! In reality, what we need to do when we've messed up is 

    1. acknowledge what we did was wrong
    2. ask forgiveness from God and those we've hurt
    3. strive to do better next time

That's it! It's not that complicated; it just takes a heart-change and genuine effort. Not easy, but very simple.

In a lot of ways, the church in America has also failed to help people out of sin, which is sad considering it's their job (see Matthew 28:16-20). For example, there are several churches who accept or even promote homosexuality in their church, even among their leaders (which directly contradicts the Bible's commands). If a gay couple comes to church, absolutely welcome them in with open arms because they need to hear the good news about Jesus too! But if they claim to follow Jesus while still in this relationship? Then it's up to the church to lovingly, not harshly, confront them on their sin, as Jesus said, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20a). Some don't know it's sinful, and if the church doesn't tell them, who will? We cannot just allow sin to run rampant among those who claim to be Christians and follow Jesus, or we're no better than them. But we should not be quick to judge either, since we do not know the heart, only God does. Look at the person's actions, words, and attitudes (or their fruit, as the Bible calls it - see Matthew 7 or John 15). Are they trying to live for Jesus? Or are they just pretending to while still living in sinful ways? I've met both in church, and the latter is destructive.

Frankly, who are we to call Jesus our Savior? We're exactly who God wants. He wants all of us, sins and all, to come to Him and surrender, pleading for a forgiveness we don't deserve, so that He can save us! He wants us to pursue Him, running full speed towards Him and away from sin. Sin separates us from God, so we can't get close to Him while we're turning towards it. They're on opposite ends of the pole; you can only face and move towards one at a time. Anyone who says otherwise is encouraging you to be lukewarm. There was a church in Revelation 3 that was lukewarm, and God said it would be better for them to be hot or cold but not in the middle! He will spit out those who are lukewarm, rejecting them for not pursuing Him. Don't stay on the fence. Don't sort of follow Jesus while you keep sinning on the side. That's not good. It's absolutely not what God wants. He loves everyone, but only saves those who love and pursue Him back, truly accepting Jesus as their Savior. After all, would you want to save someone who keeps hitting you while only pretending they're sorry? Believe it or not, God actually wants to save the person who keeps hitting him but isn't truly sorry! Yet will he? Not if they don't truly repent and mean it when they ask forgiveness. And, He knows if they're being genuine or not.

God knows the heart, and that's what's most important. How's your heart? Is it sitting buddy-buddy with sin, facing away from God? Is it looking straight at God while rejecting sin? Or is it somewhere in the middle? Ultimately, I hope all of our hearts will belong fully, truly to God, turning our backs on the sins of the world and running with arms out wide towards Jesus. But sadly, that's not the case for many, even among those who claim to follow Jesus. Jesus said it best in the sermon on the mount, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:13-14) Which road are you on? If you aren't sure, it's time to find out and choose which road you're actually gonna go down.

Note: if you're on the wrong path and want to get onto the right one, I'd be happy to have a conversation with you about what that looks like, pray with you, and do what I can to point you to Jesus. I'm not perfect myself, but I love Jesus and will gladly help however I can. Keep pondering, and God bless!