Questions & Answers

To give you specific help, the kind of help you should receive, I would need to know you much better, be able to share a variety of questions and answers with you to help with a diagnosis, and should be able to speak with you in person as I offer answers and counsel. All I can do now is address your concerns in a general way. I invite and encourage you to sit down with your pastor, express to him your questions and concerns, and allow him to address them more suitably.

Not all repeated and persistent sins in the life of a Christian are the result of impenitence. The Apostle Paul, in Romans 7:14-25, describes a lifestyle that is continuously marked by unintended yet real sins stemming from the influence of the sinful nature he had just as we have. This was not from an absence of a repentant lifestyle. Some sins, including some that stem in part from deeply ingrained bad habits and reflect in part personal histories and cultural biases, often grip people strongly. We daily sin much and daily look to our gracious God for forgiveness. The truths of 1 John 1:8-10 apply to us all, even when the Lord grants us the gift of godly repentance. Over the centuries the church has used terms like "sins of weakness" or "sins of ignorance" to indicate that conscious, deliberate, or willful sinning is not what we're talking about here.

And, yes, there are certain kinds of sin that may best be described as occupying a gray area that challenges us to offer a firm definition. Sins like persistent speeding, masturbating against conscience, or sinning against our neighbor by gossiping are normally not done instantaneously or in a moment. They take time, and each event involves a succession of decisions on one's part to continue the activity once begun. Perhaps you are not speaking of sins of weakness, but you may be flirting with a serious and grievous lifestyle of deliberate sin—despite your claim of really being sorry or really wanting to reject and turn from such sins. You may be playing a kind of game with yourself, one flowing from a lack of self-discipline and perhaps a spirit of defeatism or pessimism. Maybe you really do not trust the Holy Spirit to grant you renewal and newness of life along with the free and full forgiveness of sins. You may be trifling with grace. Please note the "perhaps," and "maybe" words here—I cannot diagnose well from this distance. But you must face the issue. Do not neglect to discuss it with a qualified Christian counselor in person.

Ultimately, the important thing is not coming up with improved definitions for sins and possible classifications. These won't change attitudes or behavior patterns. What counts is our growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ, growing also in our holy hatred of any and all sin, and our turning from sin and toward Christ continuously as lifestyle. These are gifts of the Holy Spirit through the gospel. Focusing on terminology will not bring that about. Listen to your God-given conscience and even more to your Lord who guides you into newness of heart and life.