Everyone Who Confesses the Name of the Lord Must Turn Away From Wickedness

            As I was reading through 2^nd Timothy yesterday (which is probably one of the books I’ve read through the most) there was a little line in there which I don’t seem to have ever noticed. It comes from the second half of verse 19, in the second chapter. It reads, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” Although this statement seems to be extremely simple and basic for the Christian faith, it gave me a strange sense of comfort and revelation.

            In our post-modern world, there is very little desire to label things right and wrong. I place much of the blame on fundamentalist Christianity which was/is so great at labeling every piece of society. As we have progressively learned to think outside the box and become more ecumenical (thinking of the WHOLE Church), it has caused many of us to rethink and evaluate our current understandings of what makes something okay and what makes something not okay. There have been many great benefits for critically thinking about our values, yet there seems to be some issues and problems which have arisen.

            Usually in any reactionary movements, there seems to lack a visible boundary. In our case, the line between right and wrong is almost invisible. This causes tension with Scripture because the authors of the Bible seem to make a great distinction between right and wrong. Our problem probably lies in our reaction to what we have found to be wrong.

            When I read the Gospels and even the Pauline Epistles, wrongful ways of living and sin seem to be addressed with grace and not hostility. If we look in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Paul writes that people who are in opposition to the gospel are to be treated kindly so that they may repent and come to the true knowledge of God. Christians are instructed to interact with others in kindness and patience. Paul knew early on that threatening people and yelling at others were probably not the best medium to deliver a message about grace and mercy.

            Going back to our main passage, I find myself in a dilemma. Usually when I commit sin, I find myself unmoved by the wrongful deed I just committed. I have been desensitized to seeing God treated with injustice and dishonor. I am coming to the conclusion that I need to take seriously the things of this world which displease God and treat those things the way in which God would treat them. However, if I am to break away from sin, I realize that others may not find it so easy themselves. My reaction to other peoples’ struggles must be gracious and not one of condemnation.

We must not be blind to the fact that we have much sin in our own lives and need Christ’s cleansing blood to make us pure. The disastrous result of sin must be realized and we cannot take it lightly. It is God’s command that we move away from the old life to the new. At the same time, we as Christians must realize that others struggle with sin too and they need to be forgiven also. Our understanding of grace must go beyond ourselves. After all, didn’t Christ come for those who were sick?

I would like to leave a video clip of a sermon I heard at the Desiring God Conference for Pastors. Every time I watch this clip, it makes me see how so many of us “Christians” have labeled certain things as wrong while we believe we are always right. This clip humbles me and causes me to ask for repentance for not being able to break away from sin and at the same time condemning others for their own struggles… may you be the redeemed rose.