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Is Christianity two-tiered?
Some Christians seem to struggle very much in the Christian life, and are at almost constant war with their flesh, often falling into sin (I'm talking here of sins like selfishness, anger, impatience etc).
Other Christians seem to be living in such glorious victory. They don't seem to give in to selfishness, impatience, anger etc.
When I look around, there seem to be two tiers in Christianity: Those who seem to have it easy must have either graduated into a higher tier of Christianity, or perhaps they're pretty self-controlled by nature or upbringing and so there's less work to be done.
Then there's those who have so little victory, though they want it.
My personal experience as a believer has been one of almost constant struggle. I feel my sin nature so keenly, and am most often in great temptation to live according to my flesh, often succumbing to the old habits of sin that come so easily to me.
I know the answer to our struggles in the Christian life is: FAITH. Maybe those who I imagine in the "upper tier" are simply those who have stronger faith.
If simple faith is the answer to those in the thick of the battle with their flesh, what does it looks like to apply simple faith to the daily failures and so little daily victory over sin?
Thanks in advance,
Jenny
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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Seek,
You said: "I get selfish, angry and impatient and try as I might it still rises so I pray and pray on it. I look at it this way...when it stops bothering us then we've become comfortable in our sin."
All through the NT, I see verses addressed to born again believers regarding sin which, obviously, wouldn't need addressing if people weren't having problems and didn't need instruction.
Ephesians 4:31*
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Ephesians 4:22*
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
Ephesians 4:25*
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Colossians 3:8*
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Colossians 3:19*
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
1 Peter 2:1*
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. *NIV
I have wrong attitudes and thoughts and patterns of behavior that I don't even fully recognize or realize, such as I have taken things personally so regularly throughout my life, in so many ways, that I'm not even aware that I'm doing it. We must see our sinfulness and we must also learn the truth that comes from Jesus even after receiving Christ and becoming a Christian. In other words, our minds must be renewed and the Spirit must do the renewing and Scripture supports this renewing as being a lifelong process.
If it were possible to instantly change, I would. I'm sure everyone would.
I suppose some may not be conscious of their own sin after being born again, and, therefore, never feel conviction. That sounds really nice, but I'm not sure it's a good thing.
Ephesians 4:21-32
New Living Translation (NLT)
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[b] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Footnotes:
4:26 Ps 4:4.
4:30 Or has put his seal on you.
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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Many of those verses have bothered me. Especially when I find myself angry over something, or emotional, irritable, etc. But I just ran across a little illustration from someone that is so on target.....,
When I joined the Army at the recruiting station in Raleigh, NC. I made a choice to join the regular Army. I was not drafted nor force to join. I wanted to become a soldier. I raised my hand with a group of other young men and swore an oath to uphold the constitution of the United States, to defend this nation against its enemies both foreign and domestic. I was officially a soldier in the US Army, but I knew nothing of how to be a soldier or little of what a soldier was to do. I was no longer a civil, but a GI which means "government issued." The next 16 weeks of my life I was a Fort Jackson, SC and I learned though the grueling training how to become a soldier. They gave me a uniform, field gear and a weapon and taught me how to use it. But even then I was untried, but for the next seven years I continue to train and perform my duties and I lived the life of a proficient soldier. I was tried under fire spending one year in Vietnam. My service record shows that I was a good soldier.
Even after accepting Christ (I wanted to become a soldier). Even when shown the truth (through the grueling training), given the full armor of God (uniform and field gear and a weapon) and taught how to use them...even then he was untried and spent 7 years continuing to train and learn.
I've found that I truly hate those feelings and sometimes feel powerless to stop them but at some point I'll learn how to put them all off. But I've also learned that the devil can beat us over the head because he knows we feel bad about it so he heaps condemnation on us to keep us down and questioning our salvation because we do get mad or irritated or selfish at times.
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By the way just my take on this...
As long as satan can keep us condemned we have an anxiety inside. That anxiety in turn causes our emotions to skim the surface.
I know when I'm stressed that I have a harder time throwing off satan's lies and keeping hopeful. It's no different when our minds are stressed worrying over our sins wondering if we're truly saved. So the stress of that worry can actually help to cause some of our anger and irritability or selfishness.
It goes back to perfect love drives out fear. Fear means we're still in a phase of being taught God loves us. And in that phase, fear can cause all manner of sin in our lives.
NOTE TO TAMMY: Do not read past this point.
Joyce Myers calls such sins "respectable sins". The kind of sins most Christians overlook.
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Permalink Reply by Jenny on
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"It's no different when our minds are stressed worrying over our sins wondering if we're truly saved. So the stress of that worry can actually help to cause some of our anger and irritability or selfishness."
I've never heard it put like this before. This sounds like the story of my life for the past few years.
It reminds me of John Bunyan's struggles in his early Christian life which he writes about in Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.
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thanks for sharing this, and its nice to know that other people know the feeling and that its normal
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Seek,
Then, if you finish Ephesians 4 and continue into chapter 5, you can become even more troubled, as it talks about imitating God and points out even more sin, and, basically, any time we aren't walking in love, we are sinning. I believe it's all connected to trust. As trust increases, so will love. For those who find it difficult to trust, the only hope is that God will give them the ability. I often wonder though if trusting people is worth it. Can I love without trusting? I don't know. Maybe the question to ask others isn't, Do you love God, but, Do you trust God?
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I'm not troubled by it anymore. Well...troubled when I give into fear, anger, etc. But I now know that we have to grow and mature. We don't accept Christ one day and suddenly become completely different than what we were.
I look at Ephesians 4:21 to understand it: If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.
We have to be taught.
I actually think it may be opposite...the more we love Him the more we learn to trust. Was listening this morning to "The More I Seek You" which continues with "the more I find you the more I find you the more I love you". It's a process of falling more and more in love with Him. Only by Seeking Him can we fall more in love with Him and trust Him more.
Either way trust and love grows the more we seek out God.
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I guess I link trust with faith. Faith is the seed. Love is the fruit, or end result of being planted and watered.
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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Seek I so agree with you about some "seem" to have it together. I'm one of those people a lot of times. It's like we don't want other Christians to see those failures & down time. We always want to seem we're trusting in Him. When you're down, you must not be trusting right? That's the mind set I have a lot of times. Sooner or later, it piles up on me though & I explode & have a breakdown. They're not that bad but they're still tears for days.
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Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on
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Seek and Amanda,
Good words, Sisters.
Grace and Peace.
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