<\/p>\n
\u201cFor we all stumble in many things\u201d (James 3:2).<\/p>\n
EVEN WHEN WE\u2019RE SINCERELY COMMITTED TO GOD, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE FAIL TO DO HIS WILL. We \u201cstumble,\u201d as James said, or in Paul\u2019s words, we are \u201ccaught\u201d or \u201covertaken\u201d by sin (Galatians 6:1). We try to be perfect, but we fall short.<\/p>\n
Ignorance.<\/em> We don\u2019t know enough of the truth to act truthfully all of the time. There are blind spots in our vision and gaps in our understanding; none can deny it. So Paul, for example, prayed for the Colossians: \u201cthat you may be filled with the knowledge of His will . . . that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work\u201d (Colossians 1:9,10).<\/p>\n Weakness.<\/em> Peter, James, and John knew better than to go to sleep while the Lord was praying in Gethsemane, yet they did so. Without excusing their error, Jesus was sympathetic: \u201cThe spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak\u201d (Matthew 26:41).<\/p>\n There is a third possibility, of course, and that is rebellion.<\/em> If we know what we should do and we deliberately refuse to do it, the reason is not so much weakness as it is defiance. To do this is to do something described in the Scriptures as being extremely serious (Hebrews 10:26,27). We dare not reject God so boldly.<\/p>\n Yet even when our sins are inadvertent, in most cases we still have some personal responsibility. It often happens that we\u2019re more ignorant and weak than we ought to be, given the time and opportunity God has granted us to grow (Hebrews 5:12). The person who pleads with the Lord, \u201cBut I didn\u2019t know better,\u201d may hear Him say, \u201cYou would have known better if you\u2019d had the desire to learn. You didn\u2019t grow because you didn\u2019t want<\/em> to grow!\u201d<\/p>\n All things considered, we need to adopt David\u2019s attitude toward sin: \u201cWho can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins . . . Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer\u201d (Psalm 19:12-14). There is no sin that isn\u2019t dangerous, and the sooner we learn<\/em> better and do<\/em> better, the better we\u2019ll honor God.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two causes of sin. Either we don\u2019t know what we ought to do or we refuse to do what we know we should. The first cause is ignorance. The second is weakness\u201d (Augustine of Hippo).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n