Hammer on Anvil '

It is considered a basic truth that we are all sinners, and that even Christians still sin. When we accept Christ's atoning death on the Cross, we don't suddenly get zapped and never sin again. Spiritual formation is a process.

Yet in two situations I have encountered personally, I witnessed Christian people spouting a skewed theology which essentially communicated that Christians don't sin.

The first happened several years ago following a church service. Anne Beiler, the woman who founded Auntie Anne's pretzels, shared her testimony of having been seduced by a pastor following the accidental death of her 18-month-old daughter. She went to her pastor for help in dealing with her enormous grief, and he preyed on her vulnerability. The two ended up having an affair that lasted for years. (You can read Anne's story in Twist of Faith.) God has restored the Beilers' marriage, and they now minister to other families whose lives have been shattered by tragedy.

I left that service in awe of God and His grace. When I remarked to a coworker how wonderful I thought the service was, her response floored me. She said, "Well, obviously she wasn't really a Christian when all that happened, or she wouldn't have done it." Incredulous, I said, "You mean Christians don't sin?" Her answer led me to believe she doesn't think Christians commit THAT kind of sin.

The other instance involved a man (I'll call him Guy) who contacted me about abortion recovery. Guy was so broken that he could barely speak when he called. I explained the basics of SaveOne, and encouraged him by sharing some success stories. In halting, hesitating tones, he finally managed to ask if any Christians ever came to me for help. I assured him they did. Abortion statistics are nearly the same for Christians and non-Christians.

Come to find out, Guy's neighbor had been "counseling" him, and trying to help. When Guy told him he was responsible for a woman having an abortion, the neighbor said, "Well, you weren't really a Christian then, so it's okay." The problem is that Guy WAS a Christian then.

Where in the Bible does it say that we don't sin? I absolutely love what Scot McKnight says about this in his book The Jesus Creed. After referencing how the disciples regularly made blunders, McKnight says:

This pattern of imperfection found in the gospel stories reveals that a disciple of Jesus is not sinless... A careful reading of any of the gospels reveals what I call the "pattern of imperfection": failure is followed by rebuke, and rebuke by repentance, and repentance by restoration.

How can anyone read the Bible and think that, if we are truly believers, we won't sin? Again, I think the issue in both of these cases is the type of sin involved. Instead of realizing that sin is sin in God's eyes, and that gossip is every bit as damning as adultery, we prefer to categorize our sins. The ones we rail against the most tend to be abortion, adultery, and homosexuality.

It grieved my heart so much that my coworker, instead of rejoicing in God's magnanimous grace and how He masterfully wrought beauty from the ashes, preferred to stand in judgment. Guy didn't follow through with getting the help he desperately needs because his neighbor convinced him that "it's all under the blood." Yes, Guy's sin is under the blood, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need mentoring in order to be completely restored.

We all need to remember that our hearts are desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), and that we are capable of committing the most monstrous of sins. All of us have a breaking point, and have no idea what we might do if placed in a vortex of overwhelming circumstances.

Let us endeavor to extend the healing, restoring, gracious hand of God to hurting people. I echo Oswald Chambers' sentiments: "I have never met a person I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God."