Living on the High Wire

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also approve of those who practice them."
Romans 1:32

I like to be encouraging with the things I say here. But sometimes, we just have to face the truth of the Word and examine ourselves to make sure we are agreeing with the truth. This is one of those times. Paul wrote the words above to conclude a discourse about sin. Regarding sin, he mentions many: lying, stealing, gossiping, sexual immorality, murder, depravity and more. There are two areas of examination we need to consider. First: Are we continuing to participate in these sins? Second: Do we approve of others who practice these sins?
    As Christians, we must ask ourselves this question. Have we done away with lying, gossiping, stealing, disobeying authority, sexual immorality, idol worship and other evils? If we are still participating in some of these, we must face the reality that we are continuing in sin and not taking full advantage of the gift of salvation that Jesus has given us. God's grace gives the ability to say 'no' to sin, and 'yes' to righteousness. Grace does not give us the right to use it as a license to continue in the old sins we used to succumb to. Imagine you are in a circus high wire act. You must walk a wire, do hand stands on that wire, complete acrobatics on that wire, carry others on your shoulders while you walk the wire, etc. Now, imagine that you must perform all of these things a hundred feet above the ground and there is no net to catch you if you fall. You would make sure that you performed with precision and excellence. This is how we are to live our Christian lives. We are to live above sin, living completely for God. Sin is the hard ground that we hit if we fall.  However, we have the glorious blessing of knowing that God has provided grace for us as a net to catch us should we slip and fall into some sin. But if we live our lives expecting to fall, we will never be victorious in our faith. Artists who perform on the high wire, do so with a resolve that causes them to perform as if there is no net. They rarely fall. Neither should we.
   We must also examine ourselves to see if we approve of these sins. We have become the proverbial "frog in the pot." Sin is so rampant around us that we have become desensitized to evil. We watch movies with blatant sexual immorality and dismiss it in favor of the pleasure of entertainment. Lies, gossip and stealing are factst of life in much of the business world. Do we watch and then turn the other way rather than confront evil? Let's examine ourselves and find out if we are approving of sin.
    I do not write this to condemn. It should be a daily practice of the Christian to examine ourselves regarding these things. If we are involved in a sin, let's stop, confess it to God, repent, and turn away from it. If we are continuing to approve of sin by being apathetic toward it, let's stop, regain our focus, repent, and move on into the righteousness God has provided for us. I love the freedom we have in Christ, but we cannot abuse it. We must stand up and call sin for what it is, evil. We can live our lives on the high wire of God's kingdom. This is a thrill that lasts for eternity.