Your Response To Sin And Correction

As a believer, one of our responsibilities is to resist sin.  We can never make an excuse for sin, we need to call it what God calls it, sin.  It is easy to call it a mistake or an unfortunate act or a blunder, but if you do, you will not repent, you will just chalk it up to bad judgment on your part.  In order to find forgiveness, we need to acknowledge that we sinned and repent and ask the Lord to extend His mercy and grace, to forgive us and wash us with the precious blood of Jesus.  Then we need to accept the correction that God chooses for us.

The Word says this in Hebrews 12:5-11:

“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

‘My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,

    and don’t give up when he corrects you.

For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.’

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”

We can respond to correction in different ways; we can become angry and throw a fit or we can become very self-righteous and pout and feel sorry for ourselves claiming this is unfair and woe is me.  Or we can receive the correction with a positive attitude and learn from it and even thank God for it, the choice is ours.  God corrects us, His children, because He loves us, not because He is a tyrant.  God doesn’t want any spoiled children because in the long run they will not only spoil their own reputation but also God’s reputation as well.  Correcting your kids will not kill them, but in the end may keep them from being killed, if you do it with the same intent that the Lord does, which is for their betterment and if done with His love, it will help them.  Correction helps train us for a disciplined Christian life.  

We know that God gets angry over sin and King David knew it very well because he had experienced His correction, and it wasn’t just a slap on the hand so to speak, it was very harsh.  David said this in Psalms 38:1, “O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage!”  David wasn’t trying to get away with his sin, but he didn’t want God to punish him while He was angry.  

There is hope for the man that humbles himself and admits his sin and repents and isn’t afraid to weep before the Lord and others and confess his sin.  The Word in James 5:16 says this, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”  If you have sinned against the Lord, confess your sin to Him, if you have sinned against a person, if you can, confess your sin to that person and ask them to forgive you and then tell the Lord you are sorry and repent.

What is your response for correction, do you receive it and grow by it or do you rebel against it?  The choice is up to you, but be careful, you may find yourself fighting a battle against God that you can’t win.  Something to think about, God bless and have a great day!!