Sin is a loaded word. For those outside the faith, it’s a funny and dated religious term. For Christians, we repeat it so often that it loses its bite. Scripture reveals that sin is worse than we know. Jesus is so serious about it that he says, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.” What is it about sin that’s so fatal it would require Jesus to go to the cross?
This Lent we do a soul examination, studying all the ways God describes the complex of sin. Lawlessness, adultery, rebellion . . . The cancerous nature of sin means that we need to go deeper than surface confession. The problem is worse than we know, which makes our Savior greater than we can imagine.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord, you know the evil that comes when we are alone. You prayed in the Garden while your friends were asleep. You faced the agony of death and evil alone. Do not leave or forsake us in our isolation. Draw near in the dark of night when no one else is around. Have mercy, O Lord, Amen.
Word
1 John 3:4
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”
Meditation: You Are What You Repeatedly Do by Julianna Shults
What are the first things you do in the morning? Maybe you put on glasses, workout clothes, or slippers. Maybe you hit the snooze six times or run to grab a crying baby. Maybe you roll over with your phone and check Instagram or work emails.
Humans are creatures of habits and patterns. We tend to practice the same routines over and over. Good or bad, we tend to get into ruts that either help or hurt us. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.”
As Baptized children of God, we are called to be particularly aware of the practices we build up in our lives. The world wants us to fall into all kinds of habits that don’t glorify God: scrolling mindlessly for hours on social media, talking poorly about our co-workers, neglecting worship and so much more.
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4)
When we practice that sin over and over, it becomes easier to dismiss God’s law. Listening to the devil and the world becomes more natural than listening to God. We neglect God’s best for us. We practice lawlessness and as we do, we miss out on God’s best ways for our lives.
If we spend our time practicing righteousness, we get to see what God can do in and through us. We can practice spending time loving others, in prayer, and living out our vocations. The more we do, the easier it becomes. That is part of why we have seasons like Lent, where we give up or take on something to remind us to practice following God each day. When we do, the Holy Spirit will work in our lives to use us to shine a light into a dark and lawless world.
While we can only practice at being righteous, Jesus was perfect in every way. Not once did Jesus fail to follow the law so that through His death and resurrection, we could be saved from our own lawless ways. In Jesus, we are redeemed from practicing sin and given the ability to practice righteousness.
Lord, help me see the sin and lawlessness in my life. Let me turn to you and practice righteousness. Thank you for your forgiveness and for the love and support we find in your Church. Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ fill you with every spiritual blessing. Go in his name, Amen.