Faith Hurdles (3)

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”John 3.19, 20

Comfortable in sin
A third obstacle some people encounter in coming to faith in the Gospel is that they have become comfortable in their sin. They love the darkness, and they’re just not ready to give up what they consider to be their right to have some fun.

We should be encouraged whenever we encounter this response to the Gospel, because it indicates that unbelievers may have a better grasp of one aspect of the Gospel than even many believers do: The Gospel requires repentance. Christians today have grown rather too complacent about sin. We don’t hear much preaching on the subject, and we’re all encouraged not to be judgmental, but to practice tolerance toward one another because, after all, we’re all sinners.

Well, yes, that’s all true. However, the Gospel and the Christian life demand repentance. We cannot know new life in Jesus or the righteousness and Kingdom He commands us to seek unless we are daily laying aside every weight of sin that holds us back (Heb. 12.1, 2).

Unbelievers understand that Christianity and sin don’t go together, and, for many, the love of sin may be too strong to keep them from believing the Good News of Christ. How should we respond to someone who is stumbling over this hurdle to faith?

The Golden Rule
In two ways: First, we should appeal to them on the basis of the Golden Rule. How, as a rule of thumb, would they want others to treat them? Or, you might throw in, their children? You could put it even more pointedly: Would you prefer someone to treat you like Jesus would, or, like (pick a notorious contemporary sinner) might?

The answer will most likely be, “like Jesus.” But the difference between Jesus and some notorious sinner is simply this: Jesus was without sin. We can hardly expect anyone to treat us or our children as Jesus would – without sin – unless we’re willing to do the same.

But if we’re holding on to sin, that’s going to be pretty tough. And if we insist on relating to others as sinners, we have no right to expect them to treat us otherwise. If they protest that they’re not sinners, a simple review of the Ten Commandments – reminding them that God gave these to expose our sin – should lead them to retreat from that position.

The dangers of sin
Second, we need to explain to our unbelieving friend that sin is a dangerous condition.

As Paul explained in Romans 1.18-32, sin lodged in a person’s soul goes from bad to worse. The more we hold on to sin, the more God loosens His hold on us, by which He restrains us from ruining our lives in sin. The more He loosens His hold, the more we fall into sin, greater and deeper sin, sin that hurts not only ourselves, but others as well.

We might even want to suggest that, if they persist in holding on to their sin, five years from now they will find themselves thinking, saying, and doing things, as a matter of course, which today would embarrass even them.

Sin pulls us into a black hole of moral compromise and decline which brings harm to us and others. And the only way out of this trap is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Don’t worry, as you begin talking about sin, that people will think you’re judging them. You can simply point out that it’s not you but the Word of God that has shown the light of righteousness on the dark recesses of their soul.

And just as the light of God’s Word shows them their sin, it warns them to flee its clutches and to find the deliverance from sin which only Jesus Christ can provide. Confronting people with their sin may be a little awkward, but since sin is such a powerful obstacle to believing in Christ, we must not shy away from this challenge.

For reflection or discussion
1.      Why is sin able to exert such a powerful hold on people?

2.      Imagine that the idea of sin comes up in a conversation with a friend, and he says, “Oh, I don’t believe in sin.” How would you try to help him begin thinking differently?

3.      What is the place of the Law of God in sharing the Good News of the Kingdom? How does the Law help bring sin to light?

Next steps: Do your unbelieving friends believe in sin? Ask a few of them.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 7 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Faith Hurdles” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.