Hopefully you have taken the time to ask yourself the hard question each day so far. If we desire to see God do something extraordinary in our midst, we must ensure that we are seeking Him. Not simply a surface level, happy interaction to make us feel better, but a true encounter with the Living God that requires us to reveal the very core of who we are.
As we continue on this journey of self-examination, the questions get harder. Today we look at what lukewarm people think about sin. Chan writes, “Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they only want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one.” (Crazy Love, p. 70) I told you it gets harder!
As you examine yourself, can you say that you genuinely hate sin? That is a tough question when we dig past the surface. As a parent, I frequently have to help my children understand that it is not “getting in trouble” that should motivate their actions, but instead a longing to glorify God by making right choices. As followers of Chris,t we must hate sin because by His very nature He hates sin. We cannot be conformed to the image of Christ and hold on to those things that are in direct opposition to His nature.
There was a time in my life when this description fit me perfectly. And I would have to say that my relationship with Jesus was lukewarm at best. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1–2 ESV) We must move past simply being sorry for the consequences of sin to being grieved by the sin itself. The new life that God has for us is better by far than the bondage of sin. Do you believe this is true?
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