Browsing Tag

Presumptuous Sin

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

“I’m sorry I’m not sorry.”

Posted on May 26, 2022

 

One of my grandchildren had committed an infraction and was not sorry for disobeying. Her mom sent her to bed and said “Tonight you can just go on to bed and I will not be in there to tuck you in, since you are not sorry.” She responded “I’m sorry I’m not sorry.” 

Later, upon seeing that she still was not sorry and even disobeyed once more, her mother said, “One more time and I will MAKE you sorry.” This precocious little girl looked very seriously up at her mother and asked “You can MAKE me sorry?” 

I can tell you that this little girl is really too smart for her own good. I can also tell you that her normal pattern is obedience and compliance. The reason for her compliance is that she receives consistent and loving discipline. But on this particular night, for reasons unknown, she displayed a little child-sized Illustration of what the scriptures call  “presumptuous sin.” It’s doing what I want to do even though I know I am disobeying. It’s doing it without remorse. It’s being sorry I have to experience negative consequences or punishment, but void of any repentance for the commission of the transgression, itself.  

Scripture first mentions presumptuous sin in Numbers 15:30ff:

But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.

Here are some things we can learn from this little “not-sorry” saga. 

1. Immediate and true repentance upon recognizing there’s been disobedience in my life will save a lot of pain in my world. I should exhibit the kind of repentance that Simon exhibited in Acts 8. 

2. Deceit about repentance (Putting “I’m sorry” in between a bunch of disobedience and stubbornness) is adding sin upon sin and makes for worse eventual consequences. Hebrews 3:13 teaches us that we can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 

3. Sin separates us from the One Who cares for us. The one who keeps us in his bundle of the living (1 Samuel 25:29 ) gives us security even in the darkness when we choose obedience and humility. He “tucks us in.”

4. There is coming a day in which God will, in a sense, “make me sorry” if I choose to persist in sin. The Bible teaches that one day the presumption will be finished. Every knee will bow and every tongues will confess that Jesus is Lord. (Phil. 2:10,11).  On that great day when opportunity has escaped all men, there will be no one who can presume upon God. Complete compliance with His will is what is certain on the day of judgment. There is no sense in which any man will not be sorry for persisting in sin. When I come face to face with the authority of God in commandment form, may I remember that one day He will make those who rebel, sorry. But it will be too late, then. I want to go ahead and bow my knee right now.   

5. The home is the primary academy for respect training.I’m pretty sure that my little granddaughter “bowed the knee” in the end. I’ve been around for several little contests of the wills in their house and I have never seen her win one of these. She’s learning respect for her parents, which translates into respect for school, civil, and church authorities, which ultimately and foremost prepares her for ultimate submission to divine authority. This little girl is blessed to be learning respect right now! 

“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.”- Psa 19:13

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: Free Download for Debt-free Living in 2017

Posted on December 27, 2016

Debt text on paper

Sin’s put us all in deep debt–the kind that brings death (Romans 6:23). But His gift is eternal life in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8). It’s likely that every reader of BYH knows this basic fact of redemption. It’s the theme of the Bible. But it’s very unlikely that every reader is enjoying debt-free living in Jesus. The devil is crafty and he makes sin alluring. For the woman who has lived in his clutches for a significant part of her life, he makes getting out of debt seem like a very lofty and labor intensive effort. Are you someone who’s been intending to “do better” about sin for a long time now? Perhaps it’s disrespect of your husband. Maybe it is pornography.  Perhaps it is laziness when it comes to Bible study. Maybe your prayer life is almost non-existent. Maybe you have a temper problem. Perhaps you are living in an extramarital adulterous relationship. Maybe you are having sex with a boyfriend. Maybe your pet sin is immodest dress or unclean language. Maybe you’ve become a lot less serious about being present for worship every time the saints assemble. Is it that you’re there, in worship, but never mentally engaged? Are you abusive, physically or verbally, to your spouse? Are you failing to restrain your children? Are you lazy about parenting, allowing your children to participate in activities that compromise their spirituality? Are you too connected to sin via television, music and the internet? Are you entertained by worldliness? Maybe it is that alcohol is ultimately destroying something that is precious to you.

Whatever it is that’s intentional, continual sin is keeping you in debt. It’s what killed your 2016. It’s what kept you from real and sustainable happiness in 2016. My husband is on the phone right this moment with a couple whose marriage is in very real jeopardy. 2016 has been a very bad year for this couple. There has been little happiness. There has been a lot of betrayal and distrust. The marriage has come very close to self-destructing. I have already counseled this morning with a woman whose marriage is going to continue, barring any changes, in perpetual unhappiness because of selfishness on the parts of both partners. I’ve also spoken with a woman this morning whose life is forever altered because of a man who made a conscious decision to walk away from God and join forces with the devil….And it’s only 8:30 a.m!  The devil wants your unhappiness to just re-emerge over and over again. He want to take next year, too…and the next, and the next…until you find yourself bound to him for eternity. He is keeping you in debt.

Somewhere nestled in the middle of the incomplete list of sins above is a foundational sin that’s making happiness elusive for many of us. It’s a failure to fill our lives with His Word. It’s laziness with regard to Bible study. Over and over, in counseling and life-repair situations, I am painfully reminded that when people get out of the Word, problems quickly and powerfully pursue. Contentment is sucked into the vacuum of ignorance to the Will of God. You cannot be happy if you are not in the Word. Failing to study is the sin that keeps on sinning.

Here’s the download. You don’t have to have this download to be happy. (There are lots of methods, teachers, workbooks, commentaries, websites and study guides to help you get into THE book. Digging Deep is certainly a personal favorite.) But you DO have to be in the Word to be happy. I wish I could convince all of the women who come to me with broken lives that this is the basic bedrock upon which all other healing steps are taken. I can, without reservation, recommend this beginning to you:

http://www.maclandroadchurchofchrist.org/bible-basics-bull…/.

Do you really want to continue along with the status-quo of your life? Do you want 2017 to be just like 2016? If you have lived this year as a faithful Christian, of course you do! But if you are not happy, stop self destructing. Make a firm choice to get into the Word in your schedule and in your decision-making in 2017. Help yourself to happiness.

 

Recipe for the day:

I tried this pot roast with my family this week and it could have been a winner in the contest! It was a winner at my house. And easy. I love easy. It was from Lynne, but she did not give her last name. Who are you, Lynne? My family loves you!

3 pound chuck or other flat roast (no need to brown)
McCormick Savory Pot Roast packet
Au Jus packet …also McCormick brand
12 oz Coke ( I used Coke Zero)
Place roast in crock Pot. Mix packets with 1 cup warm water. Pour over roast. Pour Coke over this. Cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Before serving stir gravy from bottom edges of Crock Pot.