(September 22, 2015)
We like
to deceive ourselves that what truly matters is how serious a sin is (and not
whether we are sinning at all). We think
that we may be falling short of the standards we know to be true, and we may be
holding back a portion of our will from the Lord, but so-and-so over there is
doing something far worse than we are and so we are (relatively) righteous.
But
this is a conceit that is not supported by scripture. In this chapter, the language couldn’t be
more clear. Whosoever will harden their
heart and do iniquity will not enter in to the rest of the Lord. There is not discussion of the relative
severity of that iniquity, but rather just the question of its existence. Have we been made completely clean through
the Atonement of Christ? Then we may
enter His rest. Do we hold back one sin
(however small) and refuse to put it upon the altar? Then we have damned ourselves.
Giving
our wills over completely to the Lord is a difficult process, but it is the
only way to return to live with God.
Half measures will not and can not work.
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