Quote: How different that is from how we have all been taught to view things today. Usually not more then a half a second goes by before we're angry at the person(s) or circumstances that have us down or that have hurt us in some way. Rarely do we instead search our hearts for any sin that may be in us, much less asking the Lord to search us and reveal to us any sin that may be in us!
Oh boy! I never saw it that way before. That gives me a lot to think about. Thanks Cindy.
When I first discovered this, it really put me in a tail spin. I didn't like it one bit and kept thinking how "unfair" it was. I finally realized that it was the world that had taught me that it was unfair and that fairness had nothing at all to do with it. It wasn't about fairness, it was about "righteousness" and purity from sin, and more then that it's about the Holiness of God.
For those who are wondering what I'm talking about it's this: When we do something that is a sin, even if we do it unknowingly, or unwillingly, it is still a sin. For example, (and this is the one that really put me in a tailspin) if a man rapes a woman, we quickly say that the man sinned but we place no fault on the woman. God does not "fault" the woman either, but the woman DID sin, even though she didn't "want to". She still had sex outside of marriage and that is a sin. Even if the person being raped is a child and/or if it's incest, the child has still committed a sin and the sin needs to be cleansed. Sin defiles us, it makes us "dirty". God cannot ignore the dirt just because we didn't do it on purpose or because we weren't willing. He forgives us yes, but the sin took place and that's a very hard concept to swallow. Well, at least it was for me.
Anyway, this is another reason it's so important to ask the Lord to reveal any sin that is in us to us and why it's so important that we study and know God's Word.
Here's a story I'm sure you're all familiar with. It's about Abraham and how during his wanderings he would sin and tell people that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife. Well then the king of that nation always wound up taking Sarah as their wife and of course finding out later that they'd sinned. In this particular case the king took Sarah as his wife but hadn't yet slept with her when he discovered the problem:
Genesis 20:2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Genesis 20:6-7 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.”
Now Abraham had most certainly sinned against God by lying so he wasn't free from guilt either, but God took care of that too. But when the king asked Abraham why he had lied, he did what most of us would do, he made excuses!
Genesis 20:12-13 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
So what he was saying was, "it was only a little white lie". Like I said, God handled Abraham's part in lying later, but what I wanted to point out in this story was the fact that the King didn't know he was sinning, and yet he was still just as guilty as if he had known. In his case the Lord prevented him from actually sleeping with her but the sin of marrying another mans wife was still there. God told him then that He would forgive the Kings sin when Abraham prayed for him, which Abraham did.
We don't need a priest to pray for us any longer because we have Jesus now, but we do need to ask Him to forgive our sins, even hidden ones, unwilling ones, and sins committed unknowingly.
When we have been going through a trial searching our hearts for sin and asking the Lord to show us any sins, should be the first thing we do, so we can confess and repent of any that are found, hopefully learning our lesson so the discipline won't be so long. (I am not saying that all trials are because of sin in our lives, they aren't! I'm only saying that we should immediately search for any so that if there is sin present, we can learn of it so that we don't repeat it and confess it so we are forgiven.)
This is very important to God because He speaks of it all though the Bible. Here are some (not all LOL) verses that tell us to do this:
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 19:12-13 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
Psalm 26:2-3 Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;
Job 34:32 Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
Haggai 1:5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
Galatians 6:4 Each one should test his own actions.
Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
