Sin Promoter?

A couple of years ago I made a confession in a sermon. I admitted that when I am riding my bike and come to an intersection with a stop sign, if there are no other vehicles at the intersection I will roll through without stopping. I understand that this act on my part violates the letter of the law. If a policeman happened to see me do this he would be right to give me a ticket. Bicycles are bound by the same traffic laws as other vehicles.

Although I know it's wrong, I love to justify myself by reminding people that it's a lot different to stop for a stop sign in a car than on a bike. In a car all you have to do is depress the accelerator and you're going again. On a bike (as in a car) when you stop you lose all your momentum, however, on a bike it takes a lot more effort on the pedals to get going again. After a number of frequent stops it can be very wearing. I've even developed leg cramps in a situation where I had to make frequent stops during a long ride. Fortunately a couple of states have recognized this reality and have passed laws allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs.

One member of my congregation was particularly troubled by my confession, so much so that she came to my office to speak to me about it. It bothered her that her pastor would condone sin. She felt as though my confession had the force of declaring wrong right, and that a pastor should never do such a thing. I asked her forgiveness and by the time our conversation was concluded all was well.

I thought about that situation, though, when I read Galatians 2:17 this morning. "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!" Paul was seeking to counter the argument of some who wanted to make themselves right with God by observing the Law. They argued that if those who trust in Christ for their righteousness fall into sin, that it means Christ is promoting sin. Paul wouldn't hear of such a thing. Forcefully he denied it. "Absolutely not!"

The truth is that every believing Christian who trusts in Christ is a sinner by birth and nature. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. That's why we need a Savior. If we could observe the Law perfectly, there would be no need for a savior. We could save ourselves. The fact that we fall into sin even after we have been justified by grace through faith doesn't mean that Christ is promoting sin, encouraging us to "sin boldly" so that He can show His glory by providing us with even more grace. NO! In Romans 6:1-2 Paul writes: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

Every sincere Christian receives God's forgiveness with a grateful heart and seeks to overcome sin by the grace of God at work in him. But we will not reach perfection until we get to heaven. So when unbelievers use "all those hypocrites" as an excuse for not believing, they just don't get it. Christ is not a promoter of sin, but He is a provider of grace. We need to be trusting him at all times, but especially when we fall into sin. He is our only hope of being right with God!