Chemical Erik July 11th, 2007

Please explain "if you really believed God likes you and that you don't have to worry about your sin, what would you do?"

Are you asking what I would do if I didn't care if I were sinning?
Is this directed only to those who don't realize God likes and loves us and we don't need to worry about sin?

I care if I sin, because I know it's not pleasing to God; however, I don't get too focus on how bad my sin is, because then I'm not focused on Jesus.

Erik July 11th, 2007

"Are you asking what I would do if I didn't care if I were sinning?"

No. The question is, "How would you behave if you knew that your behavior was not the deciding factor when it comes to God's acceptance of you."

"Is this directed only to those who don't realize God likes and loves us and we don't need to worry about sin?"

Kinda. But it really is for all of us. We have to continually preach the gospel to ourselves when we see the sin in our lives.

"I care if I sin, because I know it's not pleasing to God;"

You care because you are spiritually alive. If you weren't His you wouldn't care. But His taking pleasure in you is not based on your behavior, it's based on the finished work of Jesus.

"however, I don't get too focus on how bad my sin is, because then I'm not focused on Jesus."

I don't think it's a bad thing to recognize how bad your sin is. However, what do you do then? The point of the questions in the original post was to get people past that (and to get them to listen to the podcast for Steve's answers). If you take all your nastiness to God and you realize that sin is no longer an issue between you and your Father (with regard to your acceptability and position as His son because Jesus dealt with sin once and for all) then what?

Steve would suggest that then you are free. Free to do what? How does your freedom make you want to behave? I think you've answered that question. You said, "I care if I sin." You're free to sin or not to sin, but you don't want to.

Then the question is, "How do I stop sinning?" Steve would suggest that trying harder not to sin is the equivalent of trying really hard to stop thinking about purple flying elephants. You start by saying, "OK. I'm not gonna think of purple flying elephants." And as soon as you do that, you've just thought of purple flying elephants.

So what to do? Think about something else. Think about How much God loves you and the great pain He went through to put all your nastiness away for all eternity. Then you'll find yourself getting better. Abide in Him and out of you will flow rivers of living water. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh…that kind of thing.

Chemical Erik July 11th, 2007

Thanks for the extensive answer. The way the question was phrased makes it somewhat unclear to those who already realize Jesus loves us no matter how severly we sin. Your reply clears everything up and then some.

Brother Chris April 26th, 2008

At tis point in my life, and after reading "What was I thinking" 3 times, currently I am reading "Scandolous Freedom", I have to say that Steve has ruined my life! Thank God! As a truck driver, I am on the road during the week and I listen to a lot of radio sermons along with reading my bible when I'm not exhausted. For the longest time now I have been telling my wife that something is missing in church, all of them, not just the one I go to. Then I read What was I Thinking, now those sermons bore me to tears, no matter how deep and contemplative the sermons are, I see it going right back to the same issue, God's Love. I laugh when I hear theologians taking a pic-axe and shovel to the bible to show some intricate stuff that doesn't change anything, but they are always shocked at discovering God's Love in these studies. This is like a deep sea diver being shocked at discovering that no matter how deep in the ocean they go, they still find water. As a preacher myself, now I know why God has not given me a church, I had to learn this before I could go preach. I quit going to church several months ago because there's nothing there except a list of "you gotta's", you gotta do this, you gotta do that so you can get into heaven. With my freedom, I would love to find a church that is packed with homosexuals, lesbians, drunks, thieves, drug addicts, strippers, hookers, the dreggs of the earth. Because when they come to Christ, they really love Christ, they already know they are the trash of the world, just like me. I've seen too many "Christians" who need to go to a chiropractor to get thier arms reset because they have spent so much time patting themselves on the back for being so spiritual and blessed. To me, the greatest blessing is that I can breathe, because that means I have another day to live and try to give God real praise.
God bless Steve and all the other nuts at Key Life!!!!!!! "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,"
from a song by Janis Joplin, so true.