Tag Archives: unrepentant sin

The Ripples

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Genesis 16

Every sin comes with a consequence or two or more. We might think only the “big” sins are serious, but that’s not true. Yes, we are absolutely still dealing with Abraham’s big sin of sleeping with Hagar. It’s been war between Jews and Arabs since the moment Isaac was born. But that sin didn’t happen in a vacuum.

It started with the sin of self, of pride, of Sarah’s desire to appear “blessed” in the eyes of others by having a baby. It began with the sin of doubting God was going to accomplish what He’d promised.

It’s like throwing a pebble into a lake. That tiny rock can produce ripples that grow bigger and bigger, and wider and wider, and reach farther and farther. Once those ripples are set in motion, you will find you are unable to stop them.

Sarah’s sin began with a thought. Just a thought in her head that no one heard but her, and no one would be hurt by what she simply thought. It was private. But Sarah allowed that thought to fester, to grow into feelings that she eventually took to Abraham. Once she threw that pebble into the water, the ripples were unleashed.

Those ripples touched Abraham who then threw his own rock into the water, unleashing his own ripples that continue to reach out thousands of years later.

The truth I’m wrestling with today is the seriousness of the first sin: the thought, the glance, the anger. It’s the moment I pick up the pebble. Am I going to toss it into the water? Or am I going to hand it over to God and ask Him to take care of it? Am I going to repent, turn from that sin, or am I going to hold onto it, maybe feed it until it grows from a pebble into a boulder before tossing it into the water, then watch the ripples reach out and touch my life and everyone’s life around me?

My prayer is that at the moment I (and you) pick up the pebble of a sinful thought or feeling, we will pray, ask God to forgive us, and let it end there.

And I pray that if any of us are feeling the ripples of sins we’ve committed in the past, we will ask God to forgive us and intervene. He might not stop the ripples. But He can and will work for the good of we who love Him. We know that what Satan intends for evil God can use for our good and His glory.

I also pray that God will give us the desire to turn every pebble over to Him before we ever throw it into the water. I pray that we will recognize the seriousness of every sin and deal with it before we have to live with ripples of regret.

Them is Me

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Numbers 16

The people just saw the men who challenged Moses’ God-given authority, along with their families and possessions, being swallowed up by the earth. The ground split, they fell in, the land closed up.

But then, and this has me shaking my head, they went back to Moses and complained THE NEXT DAY. About 1,500 more people had to die before the Israelites got the message: You don’t mess with God.

I could lament over the same thick-headedness of people in 2024. The blatant rejection of God, of Truth, begs for the same judgment we read about in Numbers.

But I can’t make this about “them.” If I’m honest, there I times my own heart is stubborn, my “self” rears its ugly head, I question and complain against God. And there are times I find myself thinking I should be able to do and/or believe what I want and expect God to just accept it. It begs for the same judgment we read about in Numbers.

Oh, I’m not out there picketing against God’s Law, or filming a Tik-Tok video about how unfair God is. My rebellion is much more subtle than that. It’s rooted in my heart. It shows up in my attitude, my unrest, my refusal to forgive. It ignores the parts of Scripture that require me to submit, to repent, and to stand firm.

I’m so thankful for God’s patience and long-suffering grace and mercy. But I best pay attention. God is not fooled. Eventually the guilty will be punished. And it’s not just about “them.” Them is me.

May 7; First Things First

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2 Samuel 5:13-16, 13:1-5:6; I Chronicles 145:3-7, 3:4-9

Amnon committed a sexual sin with his sister Tamar. What he did to her was vile and inexcusable. There should have been severe consequences for his behavior. But we don’t read that David, his father (and Tamar’s), said or did anything to Amnon.

Did David remember his own sexual sin he had committed with Bathsheba? Did the fact that the king had taken many women into his own bed prevent him from taking a stand against the sin Amnon committed?

Years ago I had a friend whose 18 year old daughter moved in with her boyfriend. My friend was not happy about it, but she threw up her hands and said to me, “How can I say anything? I did the same thing when I was 18.”

I wonder if she was giving her daughter permission to commit EVERY sin she herself ever committed, or just that one? I’ve come to believe that having committed sins in our past, then repenting and experiencing God’s forgiveness for those sins, gives us every right to speak up. I’d go so far as to say it gives us the responsibility to speak up. David took the easy, the comfortable way out and kept silent.

It angers me that Amnon was allowed to go on with life as though nothing had happened. Yet Tamar, the victim, ended up living in her brother Absalom’s house, “a desolate woman.” For whatever reason, Amnon’s sin was never addressed by David, and Amnon never repented.

Well it angered Absalom, too. Because two years later, Absalom had his brother Amnon killed. Yet another example of someone committing a sin to pay back a sin. When will we learn? What we see is another sin that is never addressed.

Absalom takes off and hides in Geshur. Good riddance, right? I mean the guy murdered his brother. Nope. Scripture tells us David “mourned for his son every day.” But even mourning his son’s absence didn’t prompt David to confront the sin. I believe that’s why, when the woman from Tekoa came to David, she could easily convince David to take Absalom back.

I mean, she invoked the name of God, so what she said must be true, right? “Send for poor Absolom, Bring him home. Accept him. You’re like an angel of God, David. You’ll do the right thing,”

So David, without asking God what he should do, invites Absalom home. Sounds like the Christian thing to do. I mean, who are we to judge?

What is glaringly missing from this account is any repentance on the part of Amnon or Absalom. Amnon died without asking for forgiveness. And Absalom doesn’t admit guilt, doesn’t ask for forgiveness for the murder of his brother.

Yet we read that eventually, David welcomes Absolom with open arms and kisses anyway. We will read more of this story, and see how embracing an unrepentant sinner will effect David and his entire kingdom.

Folks, welcoming sinners into the Church body is as destructive as David welcoming Absalom into his home. I believe Scripture is clear that repentance HAS to come first. The church that embraces sinners (who in reality are God’s enemies), the church that accepts sin, and refuses to keep the fellowship holy, is doomed for destruction. I know this is contrary to what most of us believe because it sounds so harsh, so unloving. But in reality, it’s the only loving thing to do.

I believe with all my heart that churches aren’t dying because of the hymns they sing on Sunday morning, or the lack of fancy technology, or a foyer with no coffee shop. Churches are dying because of sin in our midst. God will not bless sin. God cannot be present where sin is allowed to exist. Making our churches a comfortable place for sinners to come is counterproductive. That has never been what church was intended to be.

I think the account we see here of David’s life is an example of what happens when sin is allowed to exist without being addressed. I see Scripture telling us we need to keep the Church holy, undefiled, an exclusive organization for believers only. But I also believe Scripture is clear that we who are members of God’s Church need to be out there loving on people who haven’t dealt with their sin, spreading the Gospel, leading people to the Savior, making disciples, THEN inviting them to church.

First things first. And repentance has to be the first thing.