Far too often I hear the phrase, “I am a Christian, but…”
“I am a Christian, but I swear.”
“I am a Christian, but I have sex outside of marriage.”
“I am a Christian, but I live in sin.”
The list goes on. To be honest, I am not okay with this and I think it needs to stop.
No one is perfect, I understand that and that is not what I am asking for. The human race is flawed by our sinful nature but when Jesus sacrificed his life for us, everything changed. No longer must WE pay the price for OUR sins. The debt is payed and when we accept that payment for our debt, I think we owe something in return. If you bail someone out of jail, you expect them to stop committing crimes. When you use your own time, resources, or effort to help a friend out of trouble, you probably hope that they don’t go back and make that same mistake again that got them into the situation. What about giving your life? Jesus died for us! That’s why it is not okay to make excuses for our sins.
The Lord understands that we all struggle with sin and temptation but when we lay these transgressions down at the foot of the cross we are forgiven and pardoned from the eternity of suffering that we so truly deserve. When we make excuses for our sins, what are we saying to Jesus? To me it sounds a whole lot like we are telling him that our sin is not great enough for him to have died for it, that we don’t need his sacrifice. When people say, “I am a Christian, but…” they are essentially saying, “You died for the sins of murders and rapists, but I didn’t need you to die for me, I’m not that bad.” Why is this okay? Why are so many Christians accepting of this mentality?
“Because the Bible is old.”, “Because times have changed, it doesn’t apply anymore.”, “Because that’s not really what that means.”
Yes, the Bible is old, so is math but we still teach that and follow it just like we did thousands of years ago. Are there parts of the Bible that we don’t follow anymore? Yes, a great example is animal sacrifice. In the Old Testament, animal sacrifice was widely practiced and very important but after the death of Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice, we no longer need to adhere to this practice. Anyone who has studied the Bible can explain to you why some of our practices have changed but that in no way means that we can pick and choose what laws we want to follow and what parts of the Bible we would rather overlook.
“Because my sins aren’t that bad.”, “Because other people do worse.”
James 2:10-11
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
”Because I’m not hurting anyone.”
Sure, if you don’t count yourself or God. Every action and thought we have can either draw us nearer to our Lord or push us further from Him, I think that’s an obvious choice.
“Because my church says it’s okay.”
This is one that gets me but is happening more and more. I think that the church has lost its conviction, very much in part because it’s afraid of being the bad guy or hurting feelings. Am I saying that the church should not be welcoming to sinners? No, we’re all sinners so the church would be pretty darn empty without sinners. And while I don’t think the church should be condemning, I really wish that we would stop being such pushovers. If society hates us, so be it, if that’s what standing for Christ gets us. In the words of the Newsboys, I want to be guilty.
“Because I don’t want people to think I’m weird.”, “Because I don’t want to lose friends.”
Honestly though, who cares? No earthy friend is worth losing my relationship with the Lord. Why are we focusing on the opinions of man when the only opinion that should matter is that of our God who loves us unconditionally?
There are so many excuses that people give to make themselves feel better about their sins, but that’s all it is, excuses. We are all imperfect but to make excuses for our sins is not why Jesus died for us. He died so that we could be made new, so that when we ask for forgiveness we are granted it, so that we don’t have to pay the price for our sins.
Jesus never said, “I gave my life to save him and her from their sins but I didn’t die for you.” Let’s stop saying things like, “I’m a Christian, but I swear, cheat, and lie.” and more like “I am a Christian and I am living my life for the Lord, Jesus Christ!”
