I encourage you right now to take a moment for a spiritual inventory. Ask the Spirit to bring to your mind any “private” sins you are committing, then confess whatever comes to your thoughts, claim God’s forgiving grace (1 John 1:9), and ask for his help in refusing them in the future (1 Corinthians 10:13).
For hundreds of years, theologians have asserted that pride is a great and destructive sin.
Solomon once observed, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper” (Proverbs 28:13a). The main reason we “will not prosper” is that so-called secret or 'private' sins “grieve” and “quench” the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the means by which God empowers, leads, sanctifies, and prospers his people.
So, what does it mean to “abide” in Jesus? We could take the rest of the year to explore this vital question, but for today we’ll note that it means at least the decision to surrender every dimension of our lives to his lordship. Whatever the cost, whatever he asks, whatever it takes.
Unconditional intimacy is the natural outgrowth of groups whose members don’t have to be convinced they’re unlovable sometimes, or often. When people walk into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, they know they have a problem. That’s why they’re free to be so patient with everyone else. Church can and should be like that, too.
On Sunday, a Dallas megachurch pastor who confessed to the sin of pride last summer tendered his resignation.
America crossed a dangerous line years ago. Instead of repenting and turning back to God, we have walked further into the deep waters of ungodliness. The decadence and brutality in our streets are unparalleled in our history. Despair and depression reign in our land. But—believe it or not—I am hopeful.
I believe the greatest challenge we face in engaging our fallen culture lies not in the culture but in ourselves. All that Jesus has ever done, he can still do. All of God there is, is in this moment. But he can do through us only what we allow him to do in us.
According to a former roommate of the alleged Atlanta mass shooter, the man struggled with sexual sins he committed in the establishments he attacked. The New York Times responded with an article calling the suspect’s “fixation on sex” a “familiar thorn for evangelicals.”
In recent weeks, we’ve learned of abuse committed on a staggering scale, but it didn’t come from nowhere. It came from a long-term trajectory of compromises made possible by a perfect storm of failures – of accountability, of honesty, of tolerating, hiding, and abetting temptation. It is a gift of God that so few of us are in such a position to commit evil on this scale.
