30 August 2018

UGLY SINS OF THE SPIRIT

By John Ollis
  • We so often in our thinking, as expressed by C.S. Lewis below, think that sexual sin is the worst kind of sin, but I am coming to see through painful personal experience that there are many other sins that God must hate too. In just a few weeks I celebrate being a Christian sixty seven years, although I was never discipled as a young person  (and so bought a lot of bad attitudes and motives with me into my Christian life) I was exposed to Holiness teaching that challenged my life, and I came to see that through the Finished Work of Christ, I could live a holy life. Sadly, mixed in with the teaching  was also a lot of legalism that caused me to externally fulfil all the “thou shalls” and “thou shall nots” and without realising it this produced a very critical judgemental attitude towards those who did not fulfil all these legalistic requirements. In hindsight I developed a “list” of all those things we should not do, whether they were sins or not, because we did not do those things in “our” church world. So, after fifty or more years, there was deeply seated in my thinking those things (without being specific as I do not want to highlight them). I do not blame anyone other than myself for these things, that am so glad the Holy Spirit has shown just how “hypocritical” a person can be.

I believe through a number of situations recently, the Holy Spirit has convicted me of these things, I have repented before the Lord, and do not want them to be a part of my life anymore, , but I realise after 50+years, I am going to need to renew my mind, this is the challenge.

THIS IS WHAT C.S. LEWIS HAD TO SAY

If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasure of power, and hatred….a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute.” C.S. Lewis.

SO WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?

  • I have repented, and want the Lord to help me to keep changing my mind.(repenting)
  • I have written to a dear brother, and shared my heart with him and asking him to pray for me, I had recently been critical and judgemental about someone to him in a phone conversation.
  • For those who read this blog, please pray for me, I by the grace of God want to be permanently free of these sinful attitudes.
  • I must spend more time in the Word of God, letting the Word become a Rhema (more and more) to me so I will be sanctified and cleansed and washed by the water of the Word (Rhema). Ephesians 5:26.
  • I now need to learn afresh what God requires of people (including me) and that I will not compromise truth and holy living, and neither will I judge externally, for I cannot see other people’s hearts.

This has been and is a painful experience but I thank God for showing me for I want to be like Jesus in thought and word and deed amen.