Fallen and Flawed

I listened to a pastor talk about look 6 this weekend. He honed in on the end of the chapter about bearing good fruit. He stated, much like you have, that we cannot bear good fruit as we are bad to begin with. The only we way bear good fruit is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe God is telling me something…

Is choked up.. Thank you.

Good stuff, Daniel.

Dan,

I am cut to the quick. Thank you for such a timely and well spoken word. I have been leaving the same tracks in the mud and God has recently been both loudly and quietly calling my attention to the mess I’m making on the carpet of my heart. I clearly needed to hear this right now.

You mentioned being motivated by a “love of man” or as I have otherwise heard this described as the “fear of man,” which I think is very much at the heart of this issue. And it is a topic that God has once again been speaking to me about, as the roots of this are deeply imbedded and go all the way back to my childhood.

We all want to be liked and, as an artist who is trying to make a living selling his work, this need becomes magnified greatly. As a writer and painter I want to be appreciated, understood and valued. These can become snares, often subtle at first but before I know it, completely binding and all consuming.

And while the fear of man is not my secret sin per say, it is simply fruit born of a heart that has become somewhat calloused. Over time, mud becomes hard as cement if you let it.

I was moved by your distinction between convenient obedience and full obedience. And therein lies the rub for me. I know myself all too well and have a tendency to fall into the trap of thinking that understanding an issue is an end in itself, when I know deep down it’s only the beginning.

I would humbly ask that you, Demian and others reading this blog please pray for me.

Thank you, Dan and Demian.

Wow! Thanks, Dan. What a powerful God-sent reminder that our natural inclination is toward pleasing self and others. Perhaps this is a definition of what sin is.

A by-product of this is distrust of others. We know about our secret sin, and we suspect that others who claim self-righteousness are, like us, also hiding a hideous secret.

One of the things that has helped me is the practice of bearing one another’s burdens. Galations 6:2. Perhaps it’s a crutch, but there is something about being held accountable by a trusted Christian friend that strengthens my to walk by the Spirit and not by flesh Galations 5:16.

Now, I am not proposing that we go around telling all and sundry of our secret sins, but sharing and praying with a trusted Christian brother is very helpful for me. Confessing my sins to God before another provides the opportunity for me to follow up with my friend and he with me.

This process of mutual mentoring is a practical way that I can leave my burdens at the cross.

You are on my short list for prayers, Richard.

Thank you, brother. It means a lot to me. A whole lot.

Hey everyone, I appreciate your responses. You have a solid blend of openness/honesty and knowledge/insight. You guys are always a blessing.

Richard, I’m praying for you now and have put a note in my prayer journal. I met an artist this past week who comes to a prayer group I am part of. I’ll think of you when I see him Saturday mornings.

Dan,

I can’t fully express what it means to me to be on your prayer list. I am humbled and delighted to be part of such a caring community, and one with whom I’ve never physically met! These days, you guys are the extent of my fellowship with other Christians. Thank you so much!

Demian,

You wrote: You will find no victory as you wage war against sin until your heart is filled with love for God. You are correct. God is big enough,but if we don’t see Him as such, we cannot walk away from these or any other sins. I have learned to walk more than fall where I have struggled for years and continue to thank God for progress. Major progress for me came only when the price of disobedience and staying stuck in sin became too burdensome for me. I am not perfect yet (I’m still being transformed into the image of Christ) but I’m making progress.

Phil 3:14-I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Daniel thanks for this humble push toward Jesus.

My experience has been that secret sin is often addictive sin. Whether chemically, psychologically, or habitually enslaved we try to keep secret sin a secret because we think we will never be done with it and if people ever knew the truth about us we’d be all alone. So we sit in our secret sin, all alone, believing the devil’s lies. Eschewing fellowship for fear they might get to close and smell us out. So it compounds itself and it spirals downward. And it ruins us with fear and guilt, making us impotent in our relationship with God because we incorrectly believe he couldn’t love a person as bad as me.

A huge realization for me in battling, and it’s a battle, my sin is that Romans 6-8 is true. If I look back at areas where like Andrew said I’m walking more than falling there is a weird mix of in the moment feeling powerless and knowing I can’t do it by myself, Christ supplying the faith, and redeeming my brokenness but then at the same time in hindsight seeing it was my choice to return to the trough all along. Now that secret sin I hid for years I will tell to people when appropriate because it lets me boast all the more. Freedom!

Richard it is an honor to pray with you.

I am brand new to this blog. Thanks for this “realistic” posting on sin! I found your blog while web surfing for different articles/info on a more Calvinist view of sin. I spent 8 yrs in an Arminian church (Nazarene), though I was never really Arminian in my theology (bit of a long story how I ended up in this church). I’ve been out of this church for a couple yrs now, and feel so set free by sovereign grace! It is also so refreshing to see a realistic view of sin and human ability. Truly, a person’s view of sin and human ability is like a rudder on a ship that steers the rest of their Christian life and beliefs. It is a strange irony, but in the Nazarene church (which so emphasizes holy living and entire sanctification) we saw MORE sin in general (and more hidden sin that would eventually blow up in someone’s face) than in any other church environment we have ever been in…

Hmmm, here I thought having my face squished up against the granite rock face of God’s Sovereignty would have muffled my cries of, “Where is the victory? I can’t find it ANYWHERE!”Apparently not. Thanks for the hope and the encouragement to surrender more deeply – beyond the conscious to the inner-most places. No more fear.I have sin so secret even I don’t know what it is and that seems to be causing me the trouble. I’m glad God knows and loves me too much to give me what I want before the cure is accomplished.

Almost forgot – Richard, we are twins separated at birth.Just prayed for you. It’s tough to ignore the fact that art seems to be viewed by many as something peripheral, to be consumed, an entertainment option. I know the temptation. I could make more money painting little Green Bay Packer Snowman pins than I ever could with my collage on Christ’s supremacy. This is the nature of the beast.I’m glad God gifted you with artistic ability and look forward, someday, to seeing His truth conveyed in a fresh way through your art. Keep painting. And go, Pack, go…..

Rob – I agree, in some form of fashion, the secret sin is usually addictive. Even if the addiction came only through the force of habit. If the sin was easy to part with, we would. Your mention that secret sin drives us to hiding reminded me of the garden of Eden where Adan and Eve did the same.

Laura – “…a realistic view of sin and human ability.” That’s what you’ll find here at this blog. I am just a guest blogger here, but I wholeheartedly recommend Demian to you. He is a gifted writer and proclaims the message of the gospel day in and day out. Thanks for sharing a bit of your story! (I must confess…a brief moment of alarm swept over me when I read that my writing was being used as a representation of Calvinst views of sin. I feel inadequate to communicate the doctrines I endorse. But our hope never was in my words, was it?)

Susan – I can feel that same granite against my face…it is a solid rock to cling to where it isn’t by our strength that we remain.

Richard, I’m praying for you too brother! I’m an artist as well, and know very well what a fine line it is to go from pleasing our Maker to pleasing our fan base. Pray hard, stay strong, and dive deeply into the Word!

Heads up all you creative types [ I can say that because I belong that group]: God is glorified when we give our gift of creativity to bless the nations. See my latest post Why Did God Create Man? to see what I mean.

Daniel, thank you for the kind words but I want you to know it’s a privilege to allow room for such a mature, godly young man like yourself to write here on this blog.

Rob, Susan and Denita, thank you so very much for your gracious and generous hearts!

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[...] doing a guest post over at Fallen and Flawed on secret sin, I couldn’t help but see its connection to [...]

Hey Daniel,

I followed you over here from your last post. Very powerful piece of writing! I could definitely relate to the opening description of how it feels to be entangled with a secret sin. Thankfully, it’s not a secret anymore. It was a remarkable and painful journey, desperately seeking God’s help and finally confessing to Him and a couple of His other daughters. God has very much used this process to teach me these lessons referred to here and in the above comments: the truth of His sovereignty, our inability to combat sin on our own, and His enabling power to give us victory! Being open about it and experiencing victory as it comes is so sweet! Thanks for this post. I’ll be praising the Lord for the work He’s doing here and praying for all of us as we continue fighting these battles. Thanks!

[...] While there is no single factor to blame for an insipid and monotonous Christian life, there are a few notable ones. Maybe it is time to [re]discover prayer. Or bring hideous secret sin out of the closet and slay it. [...]

This is really, really, really on target. I fight with this issue so often. Thanks for pointing me at the real issue.

The young Daniel is good at that, Bernard.

Brilliant synopsis of secret sin…if only people realized that our walk is not meant to be done alone…we have others to walk with…accountability the key…

So true Tyrone.

[...] to break down midway through the sermon, struck dumb by the conviction of the Holy Spirit on some secret sin holed up in his [...]

[...] see a connection here between secret sin and suppression. If we feel like we are hiding secret sin – that we put on the outward show [...]