Our Nature & the Attraction of Sin
Posted By Brett on July 22, 2010
Our enemies try to attack us by making us do what comes natural. “Do what feel right.” “If it feels so good it can’t be bad.” Our nature is evil, so if the enemy can get us to do what comes naturally, he has already won.
Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also can you do good who are accustom to doing evil.
Romans 3:9-13 No one is righteous, no, not one; no one understands no one seeks for God.
Isa 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way.
Eph 2:3 [We] were, by nature, children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
Our enemies strategy is to get us to follow our impulses and do what comes naturally to us. So they will try to appeal to our fleshly desires. Sin usually has a certain attraction to it. If sin were presented in all its vile filthiness, we would not be attracted to it. But it tries to hide its true nature. Proverbs 5:3 says:
Further in chapter 23 verse 31 it says:
Are not all churches militant by nature, since all churches are composed of congregations that are inherently prone to the natural attraction of sin? Is there a way( through church governance ) to make the institution of Christianity more of singularity on earth vs. the pluralism that exists today?
Yes. All churches on earth are militant since we are still struggling in a spiritual war. This is in contrast with the church triumphant – those saints who have gone before us and now stand perfected in heaven with God.
The question of regarding church government is a bit tricky. On the one hand I would answer that the unity would first need to occur in our hearts. Only then will we have the humility and desire to persevere through the difficult task of seeking visible unity at an institutional level. n the other hand, when a church strives to conform itself to the structure in scripture, then Lord willing there would be a solid preaching of the Word wherin God would change people’s hearts to value unity and to take seriously the command ” If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” and “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
There will always be different local bodies throughout the world, but I think we should strive to make the unity in Ephesians 4 a visible reality in this world.”
Does that answer your question or were you thinking something different?
This does answer some of my question, but the details of how to unite people under one common understanding of God and Jesus seems to me, to be almost impossible. Although, we have the Bible to guide us, it just seems to me that many people have their own version of how it should be implemented. I can also pray that hearts and minds of people are molded into one spirit, for the love of one king.
I agree that a common understanding is impossible this side of heaven. Nonetheless God seems to think that a correct understanding is possible “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11-13 ESV)
The problem is not the clarity of scripture, but our sinfulness (pride that keeps me from admitting I’m wrong, self-centeredness that wants to interpret scripture to fit my desires, lack of patience and perseverance in my study, etc).
Implementation is another matter; it is fluid. Even if everybody everywhere agreed on the teaching of scripture, how that teaching is applied will vary from time to time and place to place, even from person to person. My own children, for example, have different bents and different personalities. How I parent one may differ slightly from how I parent another.