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blogging, despression, faith, grace, insanitybytes, legalism, love, sin
“…..her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
Not really sin, not really grace. There are numerous “little” sins we like to ignore or overlook in the modern world, to rationalize and justify. Things like divorce or gossip or usury, or strife or whatever.
One of the hardest things for me has been being the bug on someone’s windshield, a victim of circumstances, and therefore not really responsible for many of the things I’ve had to deal with. We tend to have this idea that sin is our fault, we’re to blame, so if we didn’t cause it, it isn’t our sin. Or we can rationalize it away, it’s not really sin at all since we really had no hand in it, no choice.
We relate sin to the person rather than accepting that it is this thing that exists in a broken world. Connecting sin to the person is a very legalistic misconception, one that actually blocked and delayed my own healing. That kind of legalism can be a major factor in depression, too.
The problem being, when something is not really sin, then there is not really grace. Victims especially, don’t need to forgive more, they need to be more forgiven. How do you get more forgiven? Well, there must be something there to forgive. We avail ourselves of that abundant and overflowing well of grace, by asking for forgiveness ourselves.
That’s tough in a world that insists things are not really our fault, or that sin is not really sin. Often we think of forgiveness as something we do for others and not really something we require ourselves.
Since learning this truth, I’ve come to realize that the ticket to His abundant well of grace, is actually sin itself. We don’t have to go sin some more, that bank account is already full, trust me. A few times I’ve even asked for forgiveness for despair itself. “This is the day the lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Forgive me Lord, search my heart, because I just can’t seem to manage the “rejoice and be glad” part today. He answers me too, He responds, He always points me to the root of the problem, and pours out abundant grace.
Sometimes people get cranky with me about this kind of thing because allegedly depression isn’t sin, fear isn’t sin, despair isn’t sin, and yet if we don’t accept that they are, we’re basically saying that it is somehow pleasing to God when we are afflicted, miserable, unhealthy, full of anxiety and despair. Once again, sin is not always about the person, it is not always about being “bad,” it’s about straying or being led astray from what is Holy, desirable, pleasing to God.
The best way to avail ourselves of abundant grace and healing is to be more forgiven ourselves.
The lessons to be found within the tale of the woman with the perfume are so profound, so multi-layered, so important to us as Christians, that Jesus Christ Himself actually says, “Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
“Wherever this gospel is preached through out the world, what she has done will also be told….” One reason for that is because she is the very tale of grace, the metaphor of pouring out all that we have and all that we are, so that we can be set free, so that we can love much.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
I spent my early years under the teachings of legalism. Unfortunately, it had a profound effect on every aspect of my life. Some of it still creeps into my writing. I never felt worthy to be saved, but without knowing our sin, we don’t have a need for a savior, so sometimes those legalistic thoughts need to be known. The law of God is very clear and there is no way we can live up to it without Christ. It’s too bad it took me so long to realize what grace was all about – but I did. Praise God.
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Praise God, indeed! He is wonderful to lead us to grace, even when the world is working against us. It’s kind of a tricky concept,of course none of us are worthy to be saved, and yet if we don’t see ourselves worthy enough to reach out for Him, we’re stuck indeed. I sometimes think of the woman of the crumbs, even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table. That’s yet another paradox in faith, I suppose. Also,those crumbs are pretty darn good.
I do not see legalism creeping into your writing 🙂
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Thanks for saying that. It must be a deep seeded guilt creeping up from my past.
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God bless you, and that Him guide us this week friend. 🙂
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Thank you, that’s much appreciated.
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Now, of course, I just published a post dealing with depression and sin. I stated that depression is not necessarily sin, depending on the causes and how it is handled. Essentially, I see depression as a symptom, much like pain or bleeding. Hurting oneself, cutting, and purposely making oneself bleed would be sin, though, if intentional. Where is my understanding of depression different from yours?
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“Where is my understanding of depression different from yours?”
Well, what’s the difference between a “symptom” and a “sin?” A symptom of what? Aren’t most of our ailments a symptom of sin, ours or someone else’s?
It is quite possible to be weighed down by sins you had no part in, to suffer the impact of someone’s alcoholism for example. That would be a “sin” you did not choose and yet the coping skills, the co-dependence, the things that ensue, could well be labeled sin in the sense that they are harmful to you, not healthy, not God’s will for you, if God’s will is for your spirit to prosper.
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OK, so let’s flesh this out a little, if you don’t mind. Let us go back to the Andrea Yates example. Now, she had definitely been led to believe some serious doctrinal error. I would even say that many things she did were sinful, such as attempt suicide, avoid Christian fellowship, judge others harshly, etc. However, what about the postpartum psychosis? What about the depression from which she was suffering which was caused by a literal physical condition? I can see that one could argue that all she suffered from was a result of the Fall, but her psychosis/depression might as well be no different than a congenital heart condition – completely biological.
Let me put it another way, for a different situation. Fat is not sin, but being a glutton is. A person can be fat and not able to lose weight because of a genetic disorder or some other kind of physical condition. My oldest daughter exercises every day, is meticulous about what she eats, etc., but she has a condition that makes it very difficult to look thin. My middle daughter is allergic to everything in the encyclopedia, so she eats no gluten, no pork, no dairy, and very little else. She eats lots of raw vegetables, grilled chicken, no bread, and lots of water. However, she is not thin (as you can see from my last post and video). Some would call them overweight and judge them as ones who eat poorly and care little about their health – but that would be absolutely not true! So, is their “fat” still a sin?
I do believe that if someone remains in depression, that might be a sin. The circumstances might be that he has gotten tired, overworked, emotionally vulnerable, and hungry. He’s come off of a great spiritual victory, but now for some reason he feels down and discouraged, but can’t figure out why. Then, when he reads the Psalms he is encouraged to look to the Lord for his help, but doesn’t; he just puts the Bible down and says God doesn’t understand. At that point, yes, that would be a lack of faith and an intentional turning away from the ministering leading of the Holy Spirit – that would be sin. But to read the testimony of C. H. Spurgeon, his fits of depression came upon him without warning and for reasons totally undetermined. He even begged God to remove it, yet it remained, sometimes for up to 3 months! Was Spurgeon living in sin?
Please, I’m not trying to argue. All I am attempting is to determine if we are really on the same page, yet not finding the way to express it.
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It’s all good, Anthony. I don’t think you’re arguing, I think you’re trying to come to the defense of the hurting and the vulnerable.
I can’t know what lurked in Andrea Yates heart, but we do know she was a woman who received very little grace in life, and through bad doctrine did not know how to avail herself of Christ’s grace either. She needed to be forgiven, she needed to receive grace, long before she ever committed her crime. The only way I know to receive grace is to take our sins to the cross.
That is really tough to do under a legalistic system, especially if you are a victim. so the sins that are afflicting you are not really your fault. Yates suffered from bulimia, depression,and suicide attempts as a teen ager.If she could have received grace and forgiveness for the things that were afflicting her back then, perhaps her story would have been different.
You asked me if Spurgeon was living in sin. In a way, yes. Aren’t we all? The Apostle Paul had a thorn in his side, too. We are all works in progress.
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something I read or heard sometime last week…maybe it was here, maybe it was elsewhere–for my brain is just in a jumble these days…really stuck—-and maybe as long as the message stuck minus the location, it’s all good.
It was a commentary on prayer.
If you pray about or for something…and not in the magic genie or santa claus sort of “please, oh please” sort of praying, but really pray…. you’ve got to just know, really know that God did, does and continues to hear those prayers.
And one of the hardest things is to walk in the assured knowledge that He has heard and continues to hear…and you must walk in knowing and trusting that the prayer will not be ignored—
We are all products of choices…ours and others—some of the choices are good and some are bad—and some of the poor choices we make have lasting effects on others… but when we were making those choices, we never even considered others…just our own narrow sighted selfishness.
So it behooves us all to be much more mindful in our choosing, our actions and reactions—for it is all so very far reaching and interconnected—that what we do today could and can effect future generations of our family or even greater reaches with our fellow man—-
I think it is crucial that we all begin to recognize the impact our decisions and choices have. Yet in our selfishness and self-centeredness, we sadly cannot see the potential harm we may one day cause—
As I am ever thankful for Grace!!
For the reminder of that Grace—
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Wow Wow, and I got led to this. At a point where I felt some things were so small to be sin. wonderful reminder 🙂 thanks
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Pingback: Not Really Sin, Not Really Grace – Phoebe Hannie
Great theology! For those interested,in further insight, consider this Article posted to my blog @ mjthompsons.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/sin/ God Bless All!
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Thanks for the link MJ. Much appreciated. 🙂
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Now under law, but grace – So thankful. Galatians 3:24-25 indicates that the law is a schoolmaster – there to teach us right from wrong. You are right in that we have accepted so much as “gray” not right, not wrong. Jesus said the one who was forgiven much, loves much. If we recognize gray sins as sins, we love more because they are forgiven. You said it much better, IB. But it is confirmed in my heart and makes me more in love with Jesus and thankful for grace.
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“The problem being, when something is not really sin, then there is not really grace. Victims especially, don’t need to forgive more, they need to be more forgiven. How do you get more forgiven? Well, there must be something there to forgive. We avail ourselves of that abundant and overflowing well of grace, by asking for forgiveness ourselves.”
Amen! I actually think that’s what Paul meant when he said that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Rom.5:20, 21). We cannot be fully healed until we understand the nature of what we’ve done, feel the full impact. This is the “godly sorrow” that leads to repentance (changing our mindset and actions).
The cultural problem we have today is that human nature has been taken off the table in the conversation about the various problems human face. We’re only allowed to come up with causation. When a logical reason cannot be found, we diagnose mental illness. And this is NOT to say there isn’t legitimate mental illness. But the idea of evil is rejected outright. So, without dealing with human nature, or evil, we can’t properly diagnose the problem, or even dialogue about taking proper responsibility or making good choices. It becomes something we couldn’t help, or that we were born that way. Because of this, we never get to the root of the problem.
I think this video says it all…It actually IS about the nail… 🙂
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LOL! I love that video. It’s perfect for so many situations. Relationships between men and women,the elephants in the room we refuse to look at, the log sticking out of our own eye, and the very nature of evil. 🙂
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Yes, that video is definitely multi-purpose. It really nails it. Sorry…had to say it… 🙂
Seriously, it does perfectly show how oblivious we are to our own blindness, and how our defensiveness actually blocks breakthrough. Just like not allowing sin to bring grace. Definitely the elephant in the room!
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A nail in the head – advances a new appreciation for ‘hitting the nail on the head’.
Sad how subtle nuances often escape discerning minds. Like the very air we breathe, needed for survival, but rarely comprehended as a perpetual, universal evidence of GRACE.
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Amen.
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