Sometimes, it feels like sin separates you from God. Sin separated Adam and Eve from God. I know that apart from Jesus we have no reconciliation towards God. What about right now, in this moment, does sin separate you from God? Unbelievers are separated from God (spiritually and relationally) by their sin. That is why they need to put their faith in Jesus and His righteousness. Is a believer, follower, or disciple of Jesus ever separated from God because of sin? I don’t think so. I do start to ask questions like these internally:
·
Is it for a day, a year, or the rest
of my life that I am separated from God after I have sinned?
·
Do I need to repent, ask for
forgiveness, or do some sort of good deed to counterbalance my sin to get back
into God’s presence?
·
Didn’t Jesus pay for my sins? If
that’s true, why does my sin separate me from Him when the Bible tells me that
I am “in Christ”?
Did
Jesus know about my present sin when he died on the cross? Even though I
experience the feeling of distance today, provision for sin’s ability to pull
me away from God has already been dealt with. Obviously, when we sin we need to
repent. But let’s try to understand why. I grew up believing that when we
“repent” we are “turning around and walking back to Christ.” The image I always
imagined was that when I sinned I was walking away from God, and when I
“repented” I turned around and walked back towards God. There is no gap to
close by my “walking back” in repentance. The Greek work used for repentance literally means to “change one’s mind.” This provides us with a very different picture than mentioned above. We are safe in Christ. We repent, not to get back to God, but to live in accordance with whom we really are, in Christ, a new creation. It is the shame we feel because actions that cause us to withdraw from relationship with God. Whenever we feel disconnected from God, ask yourself, do I feel any shame? Chances are they loss of connection is on our end, self-imposed. Isn’t God angry at me when I commit sins?
Romans
5:20
says: “When
the law came into the picture, sin grew and grew; but wherever sin grew and
spread, God’s grace was there in fuller, greater measure. No matter how much
sin crept in, there was always more grace.” This communicates that wherever there is
sin, there is a space for even more love and grace. God isn’t angry at you. All
of that got taken care of on the cross. Your distance is potentially
self-imposed. Stop feeling all that shame. God’s invitation is that we would boldly approach Him like a child to
a parent. He loves you dearly.
“God does not leave you wondering whether you are saved or not. He
tells you outright that you are His and that nothing can ever separate you from
the love of Christ. Not even sin because His blood is greater than your sin.” (Joseph Prince) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Does Sin Separate You from God?” by Laurel Appel
· “Does sin separate you from God?” by Nicholas Dookheran
This topic was suggested
by the sermon “Presence: Threads” (installment three)
Sunday March 15, 2020, Dave Jansen (Our church is closed indefinitely due to
the possibility of the Coronavirus. This sermon was presented by our pastor
from his home live online on the CenterPoint Gahanna Church’s Facebook
page)
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