THE FLEET FOX

Why I Let People Know About My Sin

Steve sat there patiently.  His question rang in my heart.  I wasn’t quite sure what would come out in response.  Finally, after some silence, I spewed, “I feel like if people know that I sin, it will cause people to stumble!” 

His response was perfect.  I can’t remember verbatim, but the essence was something like this, “Nick, buddy, you know, I think that’s wrong thinking.  I find that people need to know that you sin.  It frees both of you.  Besides, people don’t need you to be perfect, that’s what Jesus is for, right?”

BOOM.  Life has never been the same.  That was nearly ten years ago that happened.  In this last ten years I have come to see just how true those words were.

Romans 14:13

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 

Verse thirteen is the kicker, “decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”  We read that, and we all seem to take that to mean, “don’t let anyone else see you sin, lest they think it is okay, or think you aren’t as wonderful as you are putting on, and they don’t come to church, then they never know the saving grace of Jesus.” 

Has it ever occurred to us that by never sharing our sin we are lying?  You sin, yes?  I surely do!  So, is God really asking me to be phony?  Is He telling me that I should lie?  See, now I recall that lying is a sin.  Actually, to be more specific, being deceitful is a sin!  Being deceitful encompasses even lies of omission.

One of the worst things the church as a whole has accepted is this idea that admission of sin causes others to stumble.  The truth is that this has had a devastating effect on us.  How many people don’t go to church because they feel it to be hypocritical?  We all know tons!  Why is this?  If we were honest, and didn’t put up that façade of legalism and perfection, no one would ever be able to use that as an excuse.  Everyone would know that Christianity is about a bunch of messed up people all needing redemption; that it is about following Christ, and not Christians. 

What people need to see in us is brokenness, our longing for GOD’s redemption, GOD’s perfection.  We should be pointing towards the perfect life CHRIST led, and stop trying to act like it is ours.  If we were to do that, both us and the people we are trying to minister to would be free.  We would be offering them the true means of salvation, Christ’s death and resurrection, instead of offering them a lie, a life of self-righteousness, condescension, and hyposcrisy.

It also frees us from the lie that it is all about us.  It isn’t.  It really isn’t.  The success of the gospel in people’s lives is not incumbent upon your righteous acts!   If you sin, guess what?  The gospel isn’t going to crumble and disappear.  Christ’s name will still be praised.  People will still go to church, sing songs, and read God’s word.  It frees us to bring down the façade that God never wanted up in the first place, and let’s us run to Him openly.  People don’t want YOUR perfection, they want CHRIST’s.  Your job isn’t to show them how to be perfect, but how to run hard after the perfect one.  You can be that person who shows them the freedom of NOT needing to rely on your own goodness!  How awesome and liberating is that?  Praise be to God!  Isn’t that light upon your soul?  It is like air on mine.  Not only does it not weigh me down, it gives me wings.  Amen.