"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. " —Proverbs 24:16
One of the most forgotten doctrines in the Bible is that Christians at best
are still people, and people at best are sinners. There are NO perfect
Christians. The great Apostle Paul (although in humbleness he wouldn't have
called himself “great”) struggled with sin (Romans 7:14-25). Paul said,
“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what
I hate, that do I. ... O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death?” (Romans 7:15,24).
In Psalms 37:23-24 we read that a GOOD MAN still FALLS...
Psalms 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”
You're
not a bad person just because you've made some mistakes in life. I heard an
Alaskan state trooper (whose father was also an Alaskan state trooper) quote
his father saying to him, “Most people who get into trouble with the law
aren't bad people. They're good people just at a bad point in their life.” I
never forgot that statement and I think it's very true.
Job 42:3-6, “Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.”
There are no perfect Christians. One of the things that always makes me sad is when I hear of another preacher or faithful Christian who has stumbled. I always sorrow over the fall of a fellow brother or sister in the Lord.
I
recently learned in the news about a longtime pastor who went into adultery.
I read in an online forum where a critic said he won't even pray for the
fallen pastor, because the girl was 17 years old and he is much older. What
a terrible thing to say, that is, that you won't pray for somebody. It makes
no sense at all. Why would you refuse to pray for someone that has committed
a horrible? It is human nature to categorize sin according to how we view
sin in OUR OWN EYES? In God's eyes all sin is equally as bad as the other
(James 2:10). Our U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a fetus in its mother's
womb is not a human being. God calls them evil liars. Abortion is still
murder in God's Book. Everyone has their own book that they live by, but we
will all be judged one day in eternity by God's Book (the holy Bible).
The
Bible says a just (or righteous) man falleth 7 times, but riseth again. A
righteous man DOES sin, because he's still a human being in the flesh. When
a preacher sins, hateful critics and self-righteous jerks are waiting to
crucify him. It's because they are wicked sinners themselves and hate the
preacher for taking a stand against sin all those years. So in retaliation
they get even and crucify him (hurting him in every way short of literally
nailing him to a cross). It's one thing to require a preacher to step down
from a church pulpit as pastor, having forfeited his position because of
sin. However, it is another thing entirely when people berate, attack,
malign, joke, ridicule, slander, mock and continually condemn such a sinner
for the rest of his life.
People will condemn you for your sins until your grave. Yes, they will unfortunately. They condemned king David in the Old Testament, even casting dust and throwing rocks at him, cursing his very name. David came to the realization that people would NEVER forgive him, and so he states in Psalms 51:4, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” That is human nature. But thankfully, Romans 8:32 reminds us that we have been set free in Christ Jesus, in Whom there is NO condemnation (damnation). Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us?” The answer is NO ONE... NO ONE CONDEMNETH!!! People can condemn you to the grave, but they cannot condemn you in eternity. The fate of your soul and spirit are solely in God's hands (Ecclesiastes 12:7,14; Hebrews 9:27,10:31).
May
I say that no one “falls” into sin. No one “slips” into sin. Rather, we
choose to go into sin. Sin is a CHOICE! The abortionists are right in one
sense when they speak about abortion as being a CHOICE, because sin is a
CHOICE!
No one is born gay. The only genuine gay marriage is between a man and a woman. Homosexuality is a CHOICE, a sin! If you are a homosexual it is simply because you have chosen to become a homosexual.
Children these days are being indoctrinated in government public schools to come out and announce that they are gay. Some children are doing it just to get attention. The spirit of rebellion ALWAYS accompanies the sin of homosexuality, for that is what sin is.
In sharp contrast, as believers we are commanded to confess our sins (1st John 1:9) and to forgive others of their sins in the Lord (Ephesians 4:30-32).
John 16:22, "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."
