WEEK 17

UPCOMING EVENTS

Want to contribute? Email [email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 2: Live Hangout On Zoom at 8 PM ET

February 22: Live Ash Wednesday Sessions (7 AM & 8 PM ET)

March 2: Live Hangout On Zoom at 8 PM ET

Make sure to engage in the private FB Group: Click Here to access.

1. LORD’S PRAYER 

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the Kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever.
Amen!”

The Lord’s prayer can be found in Matthew 6:9-13 except for the final line. You can learn more about that final line in this article here.

2. TEACHING

Are Some Sins Subjective? – Teaching

When I initially asked for questions about sin, one of the first questions was: Are some sins subjective? In other words, is something a sin for one person but not another? So today we’re going to dive into a few different scriptures that will help us have a better understanding of this question.

First, Let’s take a moment and invite the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Before we dive into this question, let’s go back and recap last week’s discussion on how we define sin. Sin is anything that dishonors God and dishonors God’s creation. It separates us from God and creates a gap between us and our creator who is the sustainer of life. When we sin we commit a crime against God, there is a debt that is incurred that we cannot pay back and only He is able to forgive because He is the creator. So we need to keep these things in mind as we discuss these questions about sin.

Let’s tackle this question: Are some sins subjective? In other words, is something a sin for one person but not a sin for another person? And maybe a better way of asking this: are there some commands for one person but not for others?

I think one of the easiest examples is this: Is drinking alcohol a sin? No. Is abusing alcohol a sin? Yes. Now if an alcoholic has been sober for an extended period of time, and they begin craving that drink and take even just a sip. Would that be considered a sin? I suppose that is ultimately between them and God.

What makes drinking alcohol a sin? It’s the abuse of it. Drinking excessively impairs our judgment so we’re not coherent and we usually end up making even more decisions that could dishonor God or God’s creation. And from a health perspective, It’s also a toxin so it damages our bodies. And it’s one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in our society. So yes, this sin absolutely leads us to death. 

However, at the Passover Seder we drink wine because it is a symbol not only of the Covenant but also because it’s a symbol of joy (Exodus 6:6-8). It was at Passover where Jesus and the disciples drank wine at the last supper which became our model for communion (Matthew 26:27-29; Mark 14:24-25; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). One of Jesus’ first miracles is turning water into wine (John 2:1-12). He could have used that moment to say, “Guys…drinking wine is forbidden in the Kingdom. It can kill you. Go and sin no more.” Instead, he turned water into wine knowing that someone at the party was probably going to go too far with it. And we also know that Paul, in albeit all of his non-medical expertise, prescribed wine to Timothy to help with his stomach (1 Timothy 5:23). There is no way Paul does that if he thinks putting alcohol on your lips is sinful or evil.

However, we dishonor God and God’s creation when we abuse the good things He’s given us. I’ve been using alcohol as an example but here’s the bottom line: ANYTHING can become a sin because to us humans, anything can become an idol that reigns on the throne of our heart. Pretty much anything we can think of can be abused. 

In my favorite book, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer uses this phrase in the discussion of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. He says paraphrasing God,

“I never intended that you should actually slay the lad, I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there.” 

Now there were other sins Abraham committed that most likely caused this sequence and we don’t have time to examine this very complicated story, but for the sake of time I want to focus on the phrase – temple or throne of your heart. Everything goes back to the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 where we find 4 commandments on how to love God and 6 commandments on how to love others. And oftentimes, we sin against God from the first two commandments,

“You shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make an idol or image and worship it.”

To push this a step further, and to continue using alcohol as the example, what usually happens is dependence. I know for me there have been times when I know I’m going to enter into a stressful situation and instead of asking the Holy Spirit to help, I went to alcohol. That is a sin because my dependence is not on God but upon something other than God. It goes back to Eden here, I chose something other than God as the source of my help and believed in the wisdom of alcohol rather than God’s wisdom. Once again, I’m not saying it’s a sin to drink alcohol but it is a sin to abuse it and replace the wisdom of God for something else. 

But here’s the thing, Paul actually addresses this issue in 1 Corinthians 8. At the time, there was food being sold in the general market that had been sacrificed to other gods and idols. In other words, it was unused temple sacrifices. Many associated this meat with demons because they were sacrificed to idols. Many Christians at the time were scared to eat that food because of the association. Paul notes that he understands the hesitancy, but the truth is that “there is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4). However, he goes on to say,

“But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights or freedoms does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Corinthians 8:7-9).

What Paul is saying during many of these chapters embedded into 1 Corinthians is this: Just because Jesus has set you free does not give you the right to exercise your freedom in a way that causes others to sin. Paul concludes this discussion by saying,

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 & 33). 

For example, if there are people in your life that you know are alcoholics, you shouldn’t drink around them. So while something may not be sinful for you and each person is responsible for their own actions, we are commanded to love others as ourselves and to put the needs of others above our own. So we should be wise and discerning about how our actions affect others. We should be wise in not using our freedom to cause others to sin because in doing so, we dishonor God’s creation and ultimately dishonor God. 

Want To Get Involved?

Thank you so much for being a part this week! If you’d like to help us out, here’s what was need: 

1. We’re in need of people who love worshipping and can record worship music. Or have their own music already recorded that they would be willing to let us use in these sessions.

2. We’d love for you to lead some of the sections (For example, you would film yourself using your phone blessing and lighting the candle, or saying the Lord’s prayer. And we’re open to other spiritual practices that help you grow with Jesus).

3. If you know how to edit videos, use WordPress sites, and/or love social media and would like to help out, please reach out!

You can email us at [email protected] or use the form on the website here.