Hello Everyone,
After lesson #10 this comment was made, “If a sin is justified correctly, it is no longer a sin.”
I asked you for responses and this is what came in. I purposely did not identify the senders so enjoy freely. J
Thank you, thank you for your thoughts, don’t ever hesitate with them. This is not a “you’re right or wrong,” it’s a piece of a journey we are truly on together. May the Lord bless you on this road.
Responses
In answer to the question about justification of sin, I have come across the following quote, that really helps me with the whole issue of what I should and shouldn't do:
And when you have this intention to please God in all your actions as the happiest and best thing in the world, you will find in you as great an aversion to everything that is vain and impertinent in common life, whether of business or pleasure, as you now have to anything that is profane -- William Law – “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life” -- Sincerity of Intention -- 1728
This question is based on a false premise. It assumes that sin may possibly actually be "justified correctly". That is like requiring someone to ONLY answer 'yes' or 'no'. Then asking if he has stopped beating his wife. Either answer is an admission of guilt of past or current action.
Just because we can justify something(sin) in our mind, does it take on a different form, shape, or become less sinful just because we can justify it? ANYTHING can become justified if we keep asking the right question. What I mean by that is as simple as, "Should I get my hair cut shorter or change the color?" All I have to do is keep asking the same question to different friends/people till I find that ONE person who thinks as I do, then I have the validation(or justification)that I have been looking for. Just my opinion
Now, here’s the
Jeremiah 17: 10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” We understand that Jeremiah gives this phrase following the contrast of those people who trust in self, others, worldly anything verses those who trust God. The definition of justify from The Grosset Webster Dictionary is “1) To show reason for; vindicate; prove to be right.” Here’s where the rubber is going to meet the road… How do we trust God rather than self, others, worldly anything? What measurement do we use “to show reason for; vindicate; prove right.” The only way to do this is to have a standard. And if our standard is God then what we have is the Word; only then we can see if tradition matches the Word, if so we can use it; then we see if reason matches the Word, if so we can use it; and then we see if experience matches the Word, if so we can use it. If any of these areas are contrary to the scripture we must not use them for it then becomes a thing of trusting self, others, the world. I am convinced when or if we need to “justify” anything we use the test of Scripture, reason, experience, tradition then it will become clear if our heart is deceiving us or if we are just seeking to know truth. It is o.k. to question beliefs, or whether something is sin or not, but it must be done using a standard and starting point, which is Scripture.
Nancy Cantrell,
Associate Pastor
