A Matter of Choice
TimeWatch Editorial
April 07, 2016
It is often the case that there suddenly appears a philosophical position that sounds reasonable and feasible, but is horribly incorrect. Often the source of the philosophical distortion is as hidden as the position itself. One such seductive error is the belief that one cannot overcome sin. Apart from the slander that this levels against Christ who indeed came to “Save us from our sin,” the level of acceptance that such an insult to the life, death and resurrection of our Savior, is truly astonishing. You perhaps believe that I will now proceed to present textual arguments that will substantiate the fact that we can be overcomers. I do believe that if you are convinced that you must continue to sin until Jesus comes, that is, if you believe that he is coming at all, then you have already taken the position that textual argument will not convince you otherwise. So let us take a look at some other possible argument.
Billions of dollars are annually spent on research to improve the standard of health in the world. Some amazing discoveries have been made. Life expectancy has been extended, some of the most deadly diseases have been held at bay. Even those illnesses for which there is no cure, there has been found a way to lengthen the life of those who suffer. Organ transplants have become a regular event; a change of lifestyle has made it possible to expand our usefulness. When we have reached the place where we are convinced that our life is threatened, we seem to gather the strength to adjust our choices. We are willing to surrender taste and indulgence for the sake of a few more years of life, yet we continue to claim that we are incapable of choosing the moral high ground. We apparently trust our doctors, we trust our nurses, and we trust our pharmacies. We walk into the doctor’s office concerned, we walk out confident that his diagnosis or prescription is accurate. We are willing to take our hypertension medication for years, confident that it will maintain stability.
We go to school, we trust our teachers, we believe the grades we receive, we rest upon the diplomas we are given. We overcome our drug dependencies; we steadfastly pursue a better life. We accomplish so much! We are so proud of our accomplishments, proud of what our children achieve, proud of getting rid of skin issues, proud of the jobs we keep and promotions we receive. We install security systems, we lock our doors, we lock our identities, we buy water filters, we are careful about everything, and we teach our children to be careful about everything!! All this we do. Still, we insist, we must sin. There is no way that we overcome sin! Of course, we are better at changing our lives and our children’s lives, better at protecting ourselves and our families than God could! After all, we do it every day!
Perhaps you do not overcome because you would prefer not to. Perhaps this “help” that God is offering is exactly the sort of help you can do without.
Cameron A. Bowen
