Resist Bravely

In a letter on August 1st, 1521- a very prominent protestant advised his friend as follows….

“Sin boldly. But believe even more boldly in Christ, and rejoice”.

This is quite different from what Saint Paul wrote during Bible Times: He says, “What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer”? (Romans 6:1,2).

We must wonder- why both men felt justified in their respective messages.

Each clearly believed that there is such a thing as sin. But their approaches to temptation were in sharp contrast to one another. Given that the latter was prophetically foundational to Christianity and the former was influentially foundational to Christendom- we find ourselves in a problematic situation.

But there is something equally so if not more problematic that we have on our hands. Many of us have become amoral- having developed a worldview based on moral subjectivism.

Given that a good philosophy is that which you can take home- one must be able to acknowledge that there is a difference between right and wrong.

Linguist and political theorist Noam Chomsky states….

"if we adopt the principle of universality: if an action is right (or wrong) for others, it is right (or wrong) for us. Those who do not rise to the minimal moral level of applying to themselves the standards they apply to others—more stringent ones, in fact—plainly cannot be taken seriously when they speak of appropriateness of response; or of right and wrong, good and evil.".

Think about the grievances that you have in this life. They all usually come from a time when someone wronged you or when you wronged someone else.

Assault and Battery.

Molestation and Rape.

Fraud and Theft.

Gossip and Slander.

Abuse and Neglect.

Betrayal and Strife.

Dishonor and Shame.

Compromise and Scandal.

Marginalization and Estrangement.

Greed and ingratitude.

The only ones who can say that there is no such thing as morality are those who will not claim to be wronged by any person or party.

After having made a case for moral objectivism- I must say that I am a sinner. I can also say that there has been a civil war going on between sinners and saints. And on each side, there are at least two varieties; two kinds of “saints” and two kinds of sinners. With only one variety on each side being responsible for the provocation of this civil war.

Some “saints” look down on others and often are statistically bound to do the very things that they condemn.

Other “saints” profess to be recovering sinners- having fled from as many vices as they could for a chance at experiencing as blessed a life as possible- when they are Unshackled, unpolluted and unashamed.

Across from them, you have at least two kinds of sinners….

Some know the difference between right and wrong and in knowing so- hold to many kinds of vices based on personal choice. They are not afraid of saints, they feel no need to recruit others into adopting their habits and when they look into the mirror they don’t feel like a bad person, because they are not.

The others do not know the difference between right and wrong- and have an enduring taste for what they suspect could possibly be wrong. In seeking validation- they amass potential participants. They are afraid and envious of saints and will do what they can for the chance to have the titles publicly switched. When they look into the mirror- they feel harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

We fight back and forth because of how easy it is to pigeon-hole; Painting pictures with broad brushes. In quickly writing off one another- we fail to have the insight to be able to see each other clearly. As Dr. Gerald Bryant once told me, “not everything is simplistic”. And as I’ve also heard it said- “not every big man is strong; not every closed eye is asleep". And inspired by Tai Lopez, allow me to say- in a world of seven billion people- none of us know what we are doing, but only some of us know and admit it.

So, whether the world sees you as a saint or a sinner- let us remember that the ground is leveled at the foot of the cross. And it was there that he died for all of our sins.

“He Himself bore our sins.

in His body on the tree,.

so that we might die to sin.

and live to righteousness.

“By His stripes you are healed.”.

For “you were like sheep going astray,

”but now you have returned to the Shepherd-

and Overseer of your souls”.

(1 Peter 2:24,25).

Yes, in the face of temptation- it has been said, “sin boldly”- But I would not think it to be much of a crime to respond contrarily, RESIST BRAVELY!