Pastor, I Have a Question September-October 2013

QUESTION: If you are living in a deliberate sin (e.g., living together without the benefit of marriage), should you be denied helping on any committee at church?
ANSWER: The church is filled to the rafters with sinners. The church regularly calls all sinners to confession and repentance. By God’s grace in Jesus’ work of salvation, the church is empowered to forgive sins. Jesus accomplished forgiveness for us. He obeyed God’s Law in our place. By Baptism, He covers us with His holiness. He took all our sins to the cross, and He suffered sin’s penalty. By faith in Him, we are forgiven. Repentant sinners, with the help of the Holy Spirit, intend to amend their sinful lives. We make this confession every time we partake of the Holy Supper, and He strengthens our faith.
The writer to the Hebrews speaks about deliberate sin: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin” (Hebrews 10:26). St. John also writes, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him” (1 John 3:6). These passages speak of people who claim to believe but deliberately continue in sin. No one who truly believes in Jesus will be proud of sinful conduct. Christians will not live in a particular sin with no care that we are sinning against God.
At the same time, there are sins of weakness. Christians struggle with sin until God grants us a blessed end and takes us to heaven. They struggle because some temptations are very strong. The American Medical Association recently declared obesity to be a disease, showing that even secular scientists recognize the power of the temptation to overeat.
In our Christian lives, we battle these desires, as St. Paul confessed in Romans 7. At times we slip. Then Christians confess their sins (1 John 1:8–9). God, again, forgives them for Jesus’ sake. God’s Spirit and His Word are our help and strength. If we fall again in weakness, we flee to the cross again for forgiveness in Jesus. God helps us amend our sinful lives. We take no pride in sin. Nor do we believe that we can continue living contrary to God’s Law without repentance.
Every sin is serious and is not to be taken lightly. However, it is also true that the blood of Jesus Christ wipes all our sins away. Jesus’ forgiving love leads us in faith to want to do no sin. On this side of heaven, our sinful nature will often get us to commit sins. But again, the love of Jesus leads us to offer our bodies in service to Him. We return to our Baptism for strength to live new lives each day (Romans 6:1–11).
To live in sin is not compatible with our confession as Christians. In faith, we cannot defend our sins. We will try to stop with God’s help through His Word. That resistance to sin is one fruit of our faith.
The questioner points specifically to “living together without the benefit of marriage.” We must exercise caution here. To live together is not sinful. To live as if we are married and to enjoy the benefits of marriage without marriage is sinful.
Those who live in sin, whatever that sin may be, need to confess it. They need to strive to stop their sin. If a pastor is aware of the sin, he will admonish the sinners. He will ask them to refrain from the Holy Supper until they repent. Should they be office holders in the congregation, the pastor will ask them to relinquish their offices if they do not repent. If the sin is public, unrepentant sinners (pastors or office holders) need to be removed from their offices in the church.
Rev. Charles Keeler
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Winter Haven, FL
cjohnk@aol.com