Thursday, April 23, 2015

Testimonies Worth Telling (Part 1)

I have been doing a Bible study through the book of Romans with a friend of mine. We recently came across verse 3:8, "And why not do evil that good may come?" In this passage Paul is addressing objections to the righteous judgment of God against sin. Some are saying to Paul, "If my act of sin reveals God to be more glorious, then why am I being judged? Isn't it better that God be shown to be good by forgiving our sins?" I told my friend that I never found this verse to relate much to me. I don't know if I've felt in my own life that it would be better to continue in sin so I could experience God's grace more fully. Then my friend added some great nuance on the passage.

He told me this reminds him of hearing testimonies in the church. Have you ever heard one of those really good testimonies? I'll give an example- man is a drug addict, at his lowest point he would have to do shameful acts in order to pay for his drug addiction, he then hears the gospel, turns his life to Christ, and then he cleans up and never touches drugs again. That's a good testimony right? It is absolutely an account that reveals God's power, grace, and mercy towards sinners. However, because of our fallen nature and propensity towards sin, we may actually be tempted by hearing this story of good news. How does someone who grew up in church, accepted Christ at a young age, and never committed major crimes relate to that story? It can go to the extent that one would say their story of redemption isn't worth telling because they haven't been saved from much. At the very worst of this is a desire that your life had been lived in a more wild fashion so as to see God's mercy in a more "powerful" way. Either that, or there is this temptation to excuse sins in your life that you deem "not as bad" as the sins committed by the person in the testimony.

When we only highlight these "powerful" testimonies we could actually be guilty of desiring to do "evil that good may come". Sometimes churches bring up these stories because the "power" in them actually translates more easily to "entertainment". If we are looking to be entertained by a testimony, what we are hoping is that someone had done something so evil that we can see how good God is! Or, we actually resent our own salvation because God didn't save us from something more entertaining! Even though I may have never uttered the words found in Romans, my friend helped me realize that I have been guilty of desiring more evil in order to see God's goodness.

This passage comes at a point in Romans where Paul is saying how sin has entered the world and all are guilty. Furthermore, sin has polluted everything to the point that we indulge our depravity. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" and "the wages of sin is death". (Romans 3:23; 6:23) We are all guilty of sin and deserve death. God looked upon our helplessness and in his great mercy made us alive when we were dead.

There is no sin too small to condemn you; there is no sin too big that God's grace cannot cover. If you trust in Christ for salvation, that is a testimony worth telling.



 
Austin Hilmer

About the Author:
Austin serves on staff at Westchester as Associate Pastor of Corporate Worship

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