Articles
Don’t Quit God or His Church When You Sin
Sometimes when I sin as a Christian, I can be tempted to give up, to quit God and the church. I feel ashamed of myself. I am not worthy to be called a Christian. No one will respect me again.
Like beloved Peter I say, Lord depart from me, for I am a sinful man! Later, Peter does it again after his three denials of Jesus; he leaves and goes back to his business of fishing. But, listen to yourself, Whit. YOU are beating yourself up. YOU are thinking of how someone else will respond or deal with YOU. It is all about YOU, YOU, YOU!
And what about this thought that I cannot show my face in church anymore? I am not good like all those other members are. I am well aware these thoughts come to mind, they are called temptations and you who the Tempter is, right? But, now is not the time to stop attending, for there, there in church, is where help is available. You may lose many battles, but you need not lose the war.
Jesus wants you and me to come back...just as He did the man who three times denied Him within moments of each other...and this after having shortly before, vehemently said he would never do such a thing. I can still hear Jesus, Peter, do you love me? Then feed my sheep. Get back to work. Get back in the game. Don’t let the devil win.
Our distress is understandable. I am not saying we are always making mountains out of mole hills. But, quitting is not the answer. We would all be hypocrites should we think that only the sinless can worship or even teach in church. We must not let pride and our sinful errors stop the good that God works through us. David often stumbled, then humbled himself and asked forgiveness.
I would venture to say that Satan would celebrate should you and I use this sin, any sin, as an excuse. It’s actually our pride that is telling us to stop. We all are fallible and rely on God’s strength to carry us.
Let me venture to say, I think that others will actually love and respect us maybe more. Pointing people to the Heavenly Father, is able to relate in willingness to admit mistakes. It makes us more respected, not less in other’s eyes. The real blessing of family and brethren is not just having those who will cheer us on when we’re swimming well, but jump in and pull us out when we’re struggling or even sinking. There's only One Lord and perfect Father and neither you or I are HIM. Let us encourage others by always springing back to life in the Son.
