There have been more than a few Sundays throughout my life of going to church only to feel like a miserable wretch exiting the parking lot. Leaving the building with the heavy burden of trying to stay aware of the sin that can sneak up on us, as well as being on the look-out for the sin that is a bit more obvious, is something that is not for God’s kids.
I can repeat that if you like, but while religion sees the logic in teaching its five-point-sermons about being on the look-out for sin and how to avoid falling into sin, scripture makes it pretty clear that God wants our focus elsewhere.
Because I’ve sat through so many sermons emphasizing that we need to be aware of all of our shortcomings, possible pitfalls and to be prepared for something sinful to trip us up, I’ve gotten to the point of being able to guard my heart from absorbing too much of the fallacy of such nonsense. And before I get too much pushback, let me explain a little more of where I’m coming from.
As someone who once struggled with alcoholism, I know many people who have also walked away from that way of life. Some people who have had to fight to keep their sobriety have become very purposeful in how they navigate their day-to-day. For instance, if they know that a work party is really just a get-together to get drunk, they might make an appearance before leaving early – if they go at all. They know their weaknesses, so they plan accordingly.
I tell my kids all the time that if something is going on that isn’t okay with where they are and who they’re with, it’s best to remove themselves so they don’t get wrapped up in it. If you know it’s going to trip you up, put your feet somewhere else.
It’s good advice for everyone! But it’s a different awareness than what I’ve heard taught from the pulpit. Another pearl of wisdom that I’ve dropped on my kids a few times is that they need to walk with their heads held high. Not out of arrogance, but with confidence. You can’t do that if you’re constantly looking down at yourself. My husband calls that naval gazing… constantly looking down at your bellybutton.
No, I’m talking about the sermons that teach you to always examine yourself. Look at how you’ve tripped up. Look at how you failed… and how you failed again. Be on the look-out for how the enemy is sneaking up on you… if you’re not looking out for the enemy and his tricks then you’re definitely going to fall prey to his schemes.
That may be what we’ve heard from the pulpit, but what does scripture tell us? Does God really tell us to always be aware of our sins?
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” John 3:14-15 NIV
In this passage, Jesus is referring to a specific time in the wilderness where the children of Israel sinned against God (Numbers 21:4-9). Their sin brought about poisonous snakes that were biting and killing many of them. If you read the passage in Numbers, you’ll see that they recognized and repented from their sin and God gave Moses their salvation: to look at the bronze snake – a replica of the poisonous snakes that were killing them – and put it on a pole. Anyone who looked would be healed.
This Old Testament passage in Numbers is the gospel simplified. The children of God weren’t merely wounded, nursing a painful bite. No, they were facing death. And the antidote wasn’t to monitor the state of the bite. It wasn’t to keep an eye out for snakes. It was simply to look at what was hanging on the pole. And it was for anyone who was bitten. Not the one who had the least number of bites, the one who got there first or the one who wanted it the most. It was for anyone. All. No exclusions.
There’s a lot of symbolism in the Bible that the average person misses. I’m pretty average until I decide to start digging. The religious leader that Jesus was speaking to in John 3 (Nicodemus) would have understood that a serpent represented the curse and bronze typically represented judgment. When Moses lifted the bronze serpent up on the pole, it wasn’t a celebration of sin, but rather it was a judgment.
And Jesus was telling Nicodemus that He was going to take the curse, take the judgment, and anyone who looked to Him would receive salvation.
Most people who focus on sin and staying away from it, watching out for the snake to slither near, have a misunderstanding of God’s grace. They confuse conviction with condemnation. They subtly start to believe that Jesus forgave them, but now if they get bitten then they’re doomed.
The salvation Jesus’ sacrifice offers isn’t waiting on your contribution. Your salvation isn’t almost complete depending on your efforts – Jesus said it’s finished (John 19:30).
When we’re so very conscious of our sin, we start to doubt the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice. We’re completely forgiven, but when we’re sin conscious, we’ll have feelings of guilt, shame, condemnation… we’ll struggle with feelings of unworthiness and if we continue to examine the snake bites, recall how we got bitten, and watch out so as to not get bitten again, we run the real risk of becoming spiritually exhausted, ineffective, and defeated. Even though we’re already clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.
The children of Israel weren’t saved because they performed perfectly… or even average. It was all about what they were looking at. Now, on the other side of the cross, we’re not looking at a bronze snake on a pole. We’re told to look at Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. We don’t overcome sin by looking for it or at it. We overcome sin by focusing on Jesus.
The bronze snake on the pole was the salvation the Israelites needed, but it wasn’t perfect. Every time they were bitten, they had to turn and look again. But Hebrews 9:14 tells us that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. That means that when we receive salvation, His sacrifice was more than enough. We are fully and completely forgiven of all sin for all time…. and it’s available for the whole world (I John 2:2)!
Hebrews 10:19-23 encourages us that we can boldly approach God’s throne because of Jesus’ sacrifice. We can trust that we’ve been washed clean and that God keeps all of His promises. All of this because our guilty conscious has been sprinkled clean!
Instead of walking through life on the look-out for sin, keeping ourselves clear of sinful living, and wondering if we’re worthy to approach God, we’re told to nail our sinful desires and passions to the cross and crucify them there – and then live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25).
Think of this when you hear or read a message about focusing on sin. You can if you like, focus on all the poisonous snakes slithering around you – even occasionally biting you – but doing so will never give you life. Life – forgiveness, healing, righteousness, and peace – only come by looking at Jesus.
Just look up.