07/17/2019
How complete must the destruction of our sins be when we accept Jesus as our savior, and God as our One True God? Do we throw down most of them but allow a few to linger on in our lives? When we step back from the work of faith in us do we still see some stones standing one atop another? Are there remnants of our past life there? Until we have completely torn down the sinful stones of our old life we can’t be rebuilt.
“And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."”
Mark 13:1-2 ESV
So often we take pride in the things of man, and that includes our sins. We tout our ability to love for instance, but when we look closely at the way we are experiencing it we discover that what we have been calling love looks a whole lot more like lust, or that this unrighteousness feeling in ourselves is a remnant of the old man we have been trying to transform... it still has coveting, and jealousy, or other sinful characteristics stacked upon it. Our old temple still stands.
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
Colossians 3:5-8 ESV
If one stone is left upon another we are not complete in Christ, our journey of faith is not over, nor has our transformation been made whole. We can fool ourselves by turning a blind eye to the reality of our sin, but God will not. Yet, even in our sinfulness He sent His Son Jesus to redeem us, and make a way for us to be made pure; to be transformed. The question becomes this... are we satisfied with anything short of a completely transformed life? Or to put it another way, have we stopped our transformation short, and convinced ourselves that being almost like Jesus is good enough?
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:5-8 ESV
So as we journey along the Holy Highway we shouldn’t find a nice place that looks so much better than where we began, and make our home there, or grow weary and stop. We should continue to walk until we reach our destination... a transformed life, being as Jesus is, tolerating no sin in our lives, and washing ourselves clean with the blood of Christ.
In a natural disaster, like a hurricane, there are many homes destroyed, but some are only damaged. Of those that are damaged a few are beyond repair and must be demolished so that a new structure can be constructed, while others can simply be patched so that a portion of the old house remains intact. When we look at our faith we see a similarity; our life is either demolished by the storm of sin, made unlivable by it and must be torn down, or we attempt to make repairs to it by attaching our new faith to the old sinful structure which still stands. Which of these best describes who you are in faith? Has God seen to it that your old life was wiped away? Is He in the process of tearing it down so that He can erect a new one in its place? Or, have you tried to take the new that He desires for you, and are trying to fit it into your old Sinful self?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
We are meant to be entirely new... every stone of our old sinfulness is to be removed, and a new life raised up. God doesn’t tolerate a halfway job at this. Our old house, our old temple, must be disassembled and not a stone left standing before He can rebuild a righteous new structure where it once stood. Are you ready for this? Can you let go? Sometimes it is harder when your old self is only partially damaged, but can you let Him demolish it so that a new you can rise from the rubble? Are you ready to love as Jesus loves, to walk as He walks, to allow Him to defeat the sin in your old nature?
“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God."”
Ezekiel 11:19-21 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the new creation which you are making of me, and thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who tears down the stones of who I once was, cleanses me, and rebuilds me in perfection. Thank you Holy Father for showing me that you are intolerant of sin, and for allowing your Holy Spirit to usher me along the path of righteousness as I seek you with fear and trembling. Help me Merciful Father to be more like you with each step I take, and to not grow weary, or stop short of the holiness you desire for me. Hear my prayers Lord as I pray from lips touched by coals, and continue to purify, with the blood of Jesus, the body beneath that remains tainted by sin. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who transforms me from a structure of sin into a palace of holiness. Praised be your name for the beauty of your mercy, and all glory be yours in the grace you give through Jesus. Great are you, my God, who loves me enough to send your only begotten Son into the pit of sin and death to save me. Great are you who calls me to His table and dines with me. Great are you who gives me eternity in the presence of His holiness and divinity. Great are you who calls me child, and whom I call Father.
“For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.”
Isaiah 63:16 ESV
Rich Forbes