The successors of the great churchmen of the past have too often communicated the doctrines of the church in a legalistic fashion that had little relation to the dynamics of the human personality. The result is an overintellectualized religion that is unable to reach the deep emotional conflicts of life. Such a religion plays into the hands of those who would rather rationalize than resolve these conflicts.
This quote essentially captures my frustration with many Christians and most churches – even the one I currently attend. Although the church I currently attend does not legalistically teach Scriptural principles, I have noticed that in the sermons, prayers, and public exhortations they lack a certain sensitivity to the complexities of our fallen human existence. With regard to sin, they preach that we are to marvel at the holiness of God, observe the great depth of our own sinfulness, and then look to our great Savior, Jesus Christ, to forgive us. And then when one experiences the depth of his own sin enough and is truly repentant enough and looks to Christ for forgiveness, this person magically leaps across the chasm of the complexities of human sin and arrives on the other side on the path of victory over sin.
It’s not as easy as that! Yes, God is holy. Yes, the depth of our depravity is infinite. Yes, we have a great Savior who will save us. But overcoming sin is not the simple! There are so many different kinds of sin, and each kind with so many different facets, and upon each facet is a door that opens up to a labyrinth of pain and confusion, anger and resentment, grief and despair, addiction and compulsion, and shame and guilt. Let’s start talking about and dealing with sin for how it really is: a complex beast that terrorizes one’s own soul and looks to harm the souls of others. Let’s show mercy to each other because we are all in the same boat. None of us have it all together. Let’s stop acting like we do! We must comfort those in pain. There are so many out there, and often times we are one of them. Some people have been wounded and sinned against beyond comprehension, and being repentant and looking to Jesus to forgive them isn’t going to do a thing. Doing that would have a snowball’s chance in hell of accomplishing any true healing or real sanctification. Let’s start being sensitive to the complexity of sin and look to Christ, the Great Healer and Great Redeemer to heal us and to deliver us through this labyrinth of sin, and then to lead us down the path of everlasting life and joy.
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