This message was originally given by Paul Carhart at the Launch Pad gathering on September 20, 2008 and was followed by an extended worship time. It was originally posted on this blog on October 10, 2008 and is being re-posted due to timely relevance.
It is by the Lord’s kindnesses that we are not destroyed, because His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:23-24It seems like Christians are constantly being held up to a very high standard. And rightly so. Christians are, by definition, followers of Christ. The primary tenet of Christianity, indeed, is that even though Christ was 100% man, He was (and is) 100% God. He was therefore perfect. So it stands to reason that those who follow Christ would not only seek perfection but would also be identified with perfection.
But how many know that no one is perfect? We all come from fallen man. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they set the stage for not only an imperfect world, but their descendants would also be forever imperfect as well. We have been condemned to be sinners.
There would only be one cure.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:1So what’s the point in following Jesus if we don’t become perfect?
Ultimate perfection becomes something that is within our reach when we follow Christ. We won’t realilze it until we join Him in heaven but, because the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, it is something that CAN be reflected in us on a daily basis.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9To be clear: We confess our sins to Jesus. Not to another man.
Should we judge those who are not perfect?
Certainly not.
The second part of the previous verse in 1 John reads as follows:
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. – 1 John 1:10Again, everyone is a sinner. Christian or not. It’s only a matter of time before someone’s exterior armor will crack so we shouldn’t be surprised when it does. If you stand in judgment of someone who fails in some way, you risk judgment yourself. Indeed, Jesus himself had specific instructions regarding judgment in the book of Matthew (7:1-5).
Judge not, that you may not be judged. For whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you again. And why do you look on the splinter that is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull the splinter out of your eye; and behold a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First cast the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast the splinter out of your brother’s eye.It can be particularly bad for someone to judge a Christian, as God said to Peter in the book of Acts.
And the voice spoke to him (Peter) again the second time, What God has made clean, you do not call common. – Acts 10:15We should instead concern ourselves without our own situation and not how others fare, as the apostle Paul declares:
For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. – Romans 12:2Indeed, Jesus himself taught on this very subject. In a situation where a woman was clearly not perfect (she was caught in the very act of adultery) and it was within the legal right to have her killed by throwing stones, Jesus responded in the following way:
Again, Romans 8:1 comes to mind.
But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her. – John 8:7
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:1If God does not condemn us for messing up, how can mere humans?
So how do we get this sort of “do-over” forgiveness that we can receive when the chips are down? How can we obtain forgiveness from God and even protection from the judgment of our neighbors?
Accept Jesus
If you’re a Christian and you’ve already accepted Jesus, you merely need to ask God for forgiveness and strength moving forward. If you don’t know what I’m talking about regarding “accepting Jesus,” let me share with you a simple scripture:
If you’re reading this today, it is not by coincidence. Jesus stands at the door of your heart and he knocks. All you have to do is open the door!
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. – Revelation 3:20
To accept Jesus, you must ask Him into your heart!
How? Pray this prayer or something similar to it:
Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against you and that my sins separate me from you. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and turn to you for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.Now will you be perfect?
No. Unfortunately, every day we have to forget our old ways and take up the ways of Christ.
Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his deeds and having put on the new, having been renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. – Col 3:9-10And remember the opening scripture:
Every morning! Every morning we must again ask for forgiveness and move forward! If we don’t, it’s only a matter of time before we mess up.
It is by the Lord’s kindnesses that we are not destroyed, because His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:23-24
It’s an ongoing process and not one that is accomplished overnight. Everyone has issues that they deal with. Addictions. Anger. Haughtiness. Even when you’ve handed off your burdens to Jesus, they may still crop up in times of weakness. We must, every day, pass these burdens back off to Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to take over and strengthen us throughout the day.
Summary
- So are we perfect? No. No one on the earth is perfect. We all have faults and flaws. We are all sinners.
- How do we obtain forgiveness for our sins? We accept Jesus into our heart and pray for a renewing every day.
- Do we keep trying? We do not give up! We trust God to see us through trying times.
- Do we keep asking God for forgiveness and the strength to carry on? Yes. Every day!
- Do we fail? Surely. We just have to put our failures behind us and trust God to forgive us.
- Does God forgive us? Thankfully, and clearly according to scripture, He does.
- Should we judge people for being human and showing their flaws? Clearly not.
- Instead, we should focus on our own plight and work on our own walk with God.
Questions can be posted in the Comments section below.
Thanks, and God bless!
