My truth, Your truth, Who's truth

There are two realities that exist in this modern world we live in that makes faith, especially Christian Faith, extremely hard to accept and live out.  Obviously there are more than just two, but as I was sitting thinking about this and what I wanted to say, two in particular came to mind. 

First, we live in a time in history when options are expected for everything.  Whether it be cars, computers, appliances, phones, drinks, food, musical instruments, on and on and on and...  There are different competitors and brands for any product you can think of, but beyond that within every single brand there are almost always a variety of choices to choose from as well.  Just look around you, wherever you are; I’m sitting at my desk and every single thing sitting on my desk has multiple other possibilities that could have been chosen instead of what is present, both multiple brands and in-brand options.  We live in a world where we demand options.  Cars are a great illustration of this…for example: the car I drive everyday is a 1998 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT Limited.  Look at all the options in that name; the year, the make/brand, the model, the engine size & type, and the trim level.  Each of those options has multiple other possibilities that could have been chosen instead.  Could you imagine living in a world where you didn’t have all the options you are used to?

Second, we live in a time when tolerance is expected for everything under the Sun; well, Tolerance as our Society defines it.  Tolerance comes from the word “Tolerate” and tolerate is defined as:

1) to allow without opposition; 2) to concede, as the right to opinions or participation

Tolerance is allowing something to go on without creating opposition or setting up roadblocks to keep it from happening.  You don't have to buy into it or even think it has merit, just allow it to happen.  The problem is that our society has taken the word “tolerate” where "allow" is the key word and redefined it publicly where the word "accept" has replaced “allow.”  Tolerance is now a word that tells us we don’t have to be a part of whatever it is, but we do have to see it as acceptable or correct in its own right.  That idea of tolerance has to be squeezed into the definitions above like trying to squeeze into a pair of jeans that are three sizes to small, but in truth it just isn’t there…or...well, it is if you think it should be, according to today’s idea of tolerance.  Maybe we should just rewrite the dictionary with meanings that we want to be in there?

           

          We live in a time that expects acceptance for anything and everything that anyone creates as their own truth.  Any truth is good because it is what someone sees as truth.  Wait a minute…any truth is good, and any truth is truth?  Yes, that is what is expected of us.  Maybe we should be tolerant of theft because someone is living in poverty and that is the only way for them to survive OR let's be tolerant of murder because someone stole from me or hurt me or just looked at me wrong and I believe I’m justified in my actions.  This is what takes place when we are allowed to create our own truth; when everyone creates their own truth, there really is no truth; only CHAOS.  

 

          The problem for the world in all this is, there is ONLY ONE TRUTH.  And that one truth dictates whether or not all other things are acceptable or detestable.  That one truth also allows us to LOVE ALL PEOPLE while still knowing they are wrong.  That ONE TRUTH allows us to LOVE ALL PEOPLE even when they know they are wrong; this gives us the freedom to love them into THE ONE TRUTH. 

 
          Depending on who you ask or what kind of search you use you’ll find anywhere from 4 to 40 major religions currently in existence (20 seems to be a solid middle ground from my light checking) and some 270 or so minor religions and/or branches of the major religions, not including all the tribal religions that only exist within small people groups around the world.   
         Who is right?  Who is wrong?  Are all right?  Are all wrong?  “Tolerance/Acceptance” would say all are right because everyone can have their own options of truth to choose from. This is the dilemma we all face in today's "modern" world.  And this is one of the major reasons why so many people out there have so much trouble with Christianity; Christianity says there is ONLY ONE TRUTH.  Christianity says there is ONE GOD and is only ONE WAY to Salvation and eternal life and that ONE WAY is through JESUS CHRIST. This way of life, this way of faith, this Christianity allows for no other options, no other choices, and no compromises.  It sounds confining, it sounds binding, it sounds exclusive; in fact, it is actually extremely liberating, it is very freeing, it is incredibly inclusive because all are welcome, all are invited. It is through Jesus that all can be saved from the great addiction of self-gratification, from the sin that enslaves man, sin is what binds us and keeps us from living a life of freedom.  
           We aren't called by Jesus to live a life bogged down by rules; we are called by Jesus to live a life where we want to live by his example and we desire to live how he calls us to live and that life lived out will grant you more freedom than you could ever imagine.  Rules can't bring happiness, good deeds can't bring you lasting satisfaction, it is only in Jesus Christ that we can find fulfillment; it is only in Jesus Christ that we can fill that gaping hole deep down in our soul that so many of us have tried to fill with so many other things: i.e. - various relationships, sex, drugs, alcohol, work/career, possessions, money, other religions that promise peace but leave you empty and bogged down by...RULES and demanded DEEDS. All these things wind up enslaving your time, energy, and resources; while Jesus came to give us LIFE in ABUNDANCE.  He came to free us from all the things that enslave us and give us freedom from this world and its demands.  So, no there is not a wealth of "options" for lifestyle in the Christian life, but there is a wealth of LIFE, there is a wealth of FREEDOM, and there is a wealth of BLESSING.

Mistakes vs Sins?

“God, please forgive me for my…MISTAKES.”

“Jesus died to take away the…MISTAKES…of the world.”

“For the wages of…MISTAKES…is death”

          There’s something very wrong with these statements, isn’t there?  Now to be honest, I have never actually heard these statements said.  However, I regularly hear the word ‘Mistake’ substituted for the word ‘Sin’.  It’s scary how often I have to fight the urge to use this word and just as scary how often I hear this word used by others instead of SIN.  Some people might push back and say, ‘Mistake’ doesn’t sound so mean; ‘Sin’ is such a harsh word; or it’s not really PC to use the word SIN because you’re implying that someone actually did something wrong…well that’s pretty much what ‘Sin’ implies.  Just to be clear, let’s define what sin is and what a mistake is, and then talk about why we should care about the difference.

Mistake – Noun- An error in action, judgment, perception, impression, etc

                 Verb-To understand wrongly; misinterpret

Sin – Noun- 1 A transgression* against moral or religious law or divine authority, especially when deliberate. 2 Any action or condition regarded as morally wrong or deplorable.

*Transgress means to disregard & go beyond the bounds of something; for example, a law

          Mistakes and Sins are both words for incorrect actions, perceptions, judgements, etc.  However, the difference between the two lies in the intent and foreknowledge.  A mistake is like a blunder, a miscalculation, ‘an error in judgment’, or even better, ‘acting in ignorance’.  On the other hand, a sin is a deliberate disregard for what is right.  What makes a sin sinful is that the offender absolutely knew that what they were about to do was wrong and yet they followed through with it anyway.  On the other hand, a mistake is a decision or action based solely on only the incomplete knowledge available at the time.  I know without a doubt that it is illegal and even more importantly dangerous to text and drive at the same time and yet on rare occasion, I still do.  By definition this qualifies as SIN; as opposed to someone who truly did not know that texting and driving was illegal.  They would be making a mistake were they to break this law; they would be acting in ignorance.   

          So why say all this??  Why bring this up and possibly split hairs??  First off I need to say that honestly, I am really only speaking to Christians with what I am about to say.  It is time that we (Christians) eliminate the word MISTAKE from our vocabulary when we talk about our SIN.  As far as our walk with God goes, once we understand (based on the Bible, teachings of others, and revelations of God) that something is against the will of God, we no longer have the right to use the word MISTAKE.  A mistake is an error done in ignorance and once someone is no longer ignorant of the wrong, all other instances of disobeying God in the same way is SIN.   

         Please understand, I’m not saying mistakes get free passes and don’t require forgiveness from God.  Both mistakes and sins need repentance, correction, and forgiveness.  However, based on my study of the Bible, we are accountable for what we know and SIN is what God hates; so, being the one who knowingly does what God hates cannot be a good place to be.  God said “My grace is sufficient for you,” (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that grace saves us from our sins.  So we should seek the instruction and will of God, rest safely in the grace of God and run from the SIN that snares and enslaves us.