Can you imagine a life without worry, stress, anger, offense, and hurt feelings? It IS possible. That’s the Way Jesus proclaimed. But most Christians believe that kind of life is some kind of unattainable ideal. We tolerate and excuse the low-hanging works of the flesh. Sin. But how? By focusing on bashing those we deem guilty of hot-button sins… from the same flesh works list. Lists rather. Galatians. Romans. Ephesians. Colossians. The Red Letters. Etc. All works of the flesh, or sins, lead to death. There’s no middle ground from death to life. From darkness to light. Good and evil. Jesus tolerates nothing lukewarm. What we believe is the problem. “But I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” That lie is used to tolerate and justify “little” works of the flesh. I should know. Been there. Done that. Wore the t-shirt. I’m not slamming lukewarm, consumer Christians. I’m yelling hellfire in the theater, hoping someone runs for the exit. Into the arms of Jesus. Lukewarm or halfway is deception, not an immature level of the Kingdom. It’s believing a lie when only believing the Truth sets us free. Sin tolerance is a false gospel. To be born again is not an unconditional ticket to heaven in exchange for a magic prayer. Somebody needs to say it. Born again is Jesus in you, through you, to others. It’s the restoration of who you were created to be. In His image. Anything less? Not Jesus. Narrow or wide way. No medium way. And Jesus said few find it. But He also said His yoke was easy. What’s easy about dying to self? It seems like halfway is easy. Not sinning is hard. Why try, when it’s impossible, right? Cue, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace…” Grace isn’t an excuse to keep on sinning. Nobody really thinks that, but the only way around it practically, is to categorize sin. Focus on the big “You can’t be a Christian if…” issues. Ignore the small verbal and emotional stuff. Easy, right? Wrong. It’s miserable. Let’s call it the blame game. The guilt and shame eat you up. So you cover it with something. Just like in the Garden of Eden. Fig leaves aren’t bad. They just don’t work. An unrepentant heart is prone to bigger mistakes and excuses. Bigger fig leaves required. Most of the cover-ups are anti something or someone. An unrelenting focus on the opposition, even the devil, becomes the “at all costs” standard. Little things like gossip, backbiting, division, discord, angry outbursts, bitterness, promise breaking… no big deal. No real happiness, though. Your opponents get under your skin, into your thoughts and emotions. You fear the enemy’s attack and tactics. That fear shows up in your sarcasm and degradation of others. The blame game. It was that woman. It was the snake! Always wanting to win but somebody else always messes it up. “Thank goodness for this magic ticket to heaven because this place and those people suck…” No matter how you slice it, that’s not the Kingdom. In the Kingdom, small things matter most. Nothing in scripture excuses the “little” sins we so easily ignore for a hypothetical greater good. God’s Kingdom overcomes evil with good. All good. Not some good to justify not-so-good words, actions, heart, and emotions. All or nothing. Narrow or wide. Hot or cold. Jesus or not. We simply don’t believe it’s possible. At this point, it may sound like I’m proving how difficult, if not impossible,it is to follow Jesus. It’s not. We’ll get to that. Following Jesus is the easy part. Being stressed, hurt, worried, perplexed, angry, and offended… that’s hard living. Nothing free about it. Why do we tolerate it? Our words betray what we really believe. “Well, you know, nobody’s perfect. We all sin.” “You’re just a sinner saved by grace like the rest of us.” “One day we will all be perfect like Jesus in heaven. Until then, just focus on the big stuff.” “We gotta defeat the enemy at all cost! God uses imperfect vessels.” “See you next week, and thanks for the donation.” That’s pretty much the popular, militant Christian gospel right now. What we call Christian comes in many flavors. There are Christian Nationalism versions. Prosperity versions. Let’s get back to the Torah versions. Pomp and circumstance versions. Take pride in whatever sin you want versions. While parts of each of those is somewhat factually correct, none of it is Truth. It’s not the Gospel. The Good News. People just don’t read their Bibles. None of that is in there. Jesus is what the whole Bible points to. Imagine you are trying to get to Disneyland… But all you do is argue with others trying to get there, about details on the map. Or imagine you think the map is enough, and so you never even try to go there. The Bible is our map. The destination is Jesus. And the trip is both instantaneous and a journey. It’s so much more than mumbling a prayer for a magic ticket to heaven. Eternal life doesn’t begin at the pearly gates. How is it possible that the very same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in those who believe, and yet we just keep on habitually sinning? It’s not. We get exactly what we believe. Whose report are you going to believe? "Nobody’s perfect." Or what Jesus said? Matthew 5:48 (NET) So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Impossible! Really? Remember that loudmouth fishermen who denied Jesus? He got more than a ticket to heaven. He came to believe and teach this truth. 1 Peter 1:13-16 (NET) 13 Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, 15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” The lie is believing being born again doesn’t come with the power to LIVE as a new creation. A new person. Now. Where is that verse that says we can’t experience that? Are you believing a lie or the truth? 1 John 3:3-10 (NET) 3 And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure. 4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because Godʼs seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness - the one who does not love his fellow Christian - is not of God. But nobody’s perfect! That’s not the point. That’s the problem. And Jesus is the only solution. I’m in no way suggesting that a Jesus follower will never stumble. But the weakness of flesh doesn’t change the truth Jesus’ blood proclaims. Denying the power of the cross to excuse living by fleshly desires is a lie of false humility that will never set you free. The truth sets you free. What truth do you believe? A renewed mind doesn’t tolerate works of the flesh because we aren’t in heaven yet. In earth as it is in heaven isn’t wishful thinking. It’s God’s will that we expectantly pray for in faith. By that faith, we can live right now as transformed Jesus followers. Believing the truth changes how we think. Romans 12:2 (NET) Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God - what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. Am I saying that I have achieved perfection? No. And yes. Yes by faith. By the Spirit. I’m no longer a "sinner" saved by grace. I’m a new creature. Old things are dead. It’s about identity and relationship. Not performance. And whatever identity you cling to becomes what you do. Grace is instantaneous. It doesn’t just forgive sin so you can do it again. It kills it. Grace is the power to change, not an excuse to stay the same. We simply don’t read the Bible as if it practically applies to daily life. Romans 6:1-2 (NET) 1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Is that some kind of unattainable ideal? It is if you don’t believe the Truth. Remember, faith without works is dead. And this is how the Kingdom works here and now. Not some pie in the sky. Romans 6:11-14 (NET) 11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace. How do you see yourself? That’s the key to actually living like a new creature or stuck in the deception of excuses. "Consider yourselves dead to sin." That’s not a performance checklist. It’s faith in a new identity. And here’s how you get there. Not by denying the reality of living in earth, but by putting the past to death, by faith. This is how to be "perfect." Philippians 3:13-15 (NET) 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am
