Today, Selwyn looks at these powerful words from Nehemiah 9:33; ” … you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong.’
He says: “They (the Israelites) reflect that God is a covenant keeping God, and acknowledge that He has always acted justly and been faithful to them. Then they confess their sin to Him in the words ‘we did wrong’. … One thing that strikes me about this whole prayer is the absence of excuses. True repentance always involves an admission of wrongdoing – without excuses. … We have sinned because we like sinning. … So let there be no excuses when we seek forgiveness from Him. Say those three little words – ‘I was wrong’ – and cleansing will come hard on the heels of your confession.”
One point, of interest, is Selwyn’s statement regarding our tendency to sin: ‘We have sinned because we like sinning.’ I’m not sure sin is something we ‘like’ (and, ‘we’ in this context are Christians) - I think it could be better expressed along these lines: Sin is a natural way for us to act in a fallen world, it’s far easier for us to sin than to follow Jesus, 100% of the time. We cannot lead a life of holiness without God’s help; our new nature, following our re-birth is attracted by the light of heaven and we flee from the darkness of hell. The strength of our relationship with our Christ combined with the degree we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, can enable us to recognise those situations where our personal weaknesses may lead to sin.
I think that one way we can help to avoid sin is to avoid those situation where sin can easily take a hold. For example, if we let our guard down when we drink too much alcohol then we must seek God’s help in controlling our desire to drink. In Genesis, 19:30-38, we read about Lot drinking too much wine and committing incest with his two daughters when drunk; as part of their scheme to preserve their family line. His main sin was allowing himself to get drunk.
Yet, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I’m flawed in many ways and constantly seek God’s powerful right arm to guide me during my days. I can say that over the years I am more able to identify what is good and pleasing to God and what is not, but this does not make me perfect – far from it – it’s just that sin is easier to identify. Consequently, I have a much better idea of just how sinful my life is, and how great is the mercy and grace of Jesus.
Somehow, non-Christians appeared to have taken hold of the false notion that Christians think they are sinless and perfect; and because of this, take great delight or express shock when Christians, especially in public life, have been exposed as sinners. Labelling them as hypocrites or worse – well, I have some shocking news – we all sin, none of us are perfect – we all need to be saved from the punishment our sins deserve. Finally, some great news – we have been saved by Jesus – believe it or not!
What did you get out of today’s study?
‘I was wrong’
Today, Selwyn looks at these powerful words from Nehemiah 9:33; ” … you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong.’
He says: “They (the Israelites) reflect that God is a covenant keeping God, and acknowledge that He has always acted justly and been faithful to them. Then they confess their sin to Him in the words ‘we did wrong’. … One thing that strikes me about this whole prayer is the absence of excuses. True repentance always involves an admission of wrongdoing – without excuses. … We have sinned because we like sinning. … So let there be no excuses when we seek forgiveness from Him. Say those three little words – ‘I was wrong’ – and cleansing will come hard on the heels of your confession.”
One point, of interest, is Selwyn’s statement regarding our tendency to sin: ‘We have sinned because we like sinning.’ I’m not sure sin is something we ‘like’ (and, ‘we’ in this context are Christians) - I think it could be better expressed along these lines: Sin is a natural way for us to act in a fallen world, it’s far easier for us to sin than to follow Jesus, 100% of the time. We cannot lead a life of holiness without God’s help; our new nature, following our re-birth is attracted by the light of heaven and we flee from the darkness of hell. The strength of our relationship with our Christ combined with the degree we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, can enable us to recognise those situations where our personal weaknesses may lead to sin.
I think that one way we can help to avoid sin is to avoid those situation where sin can easily take a hold. For example, if we let our guard down when we drink too much alcohol then we must seek God’s help in controlling our desire to drink. In Genesis, 19:30-38, we read about Lot drinking too much wine and committing incest with his two daughters when drunk; as part of their scheme to preserve their family line. His main sin was allowing himself to get drunk.
Yet, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I’m flawed in many ways and constantly seek God’s powerful right arm to guide me during my days. I can say that over the years I am more able to identify what is good and pleasing to God and what is not, but this does not make me perfect – far from it – it’s just that sin is easier to identify. Consequently, I have a much better idea of just how sinful my life is, and how great is the mercy and grace of Jesus.
Somehow, non-Christians appeared to have taken hold of the false notion that Christians think they are sinless and perfect; and because of this, take great delight or express shock when Christians, especially in public life, have been exposed as sinners. Labelling them as hypocrites or worse – well, I have some shocking news – we all sin, none of us are perfect – we all need to be saved from the punishment our sins deserve. Finally, some great news – we have been saved by Jesus – believe it or not!
What did you get out of today’s study?