December 18
Myths Men Believe
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. ––1 Peter 5:8-11
Under the topic of “I wish I’d known then what I know now,” I want to explore a handful of misconceptions I held when I was younger about what it means to be a man of God. This is not an exhaustive list, just the bigger issues that I had to unlearn as I both grew in my faith and in my age. I still have a lot to learn, of course, but I’m happy that I’ve learned a few things along the way. Here are the myths:
- God is perfect and I need to be too. When I was a zealous new teen believer, I took Matthew 5:48 literally––where Christ says to “be perfect as I am perfect.” In other words, self-castigation over every sin committed. I’ve since learned—the hard way across several decades—that we become “perfect” only as He invades us more and more, and we are transformed in His image. He is perfect; I’m not. Is that an excuse for sin? No. It’s an acknowledgment that we aspire to live a life that emulates the Perfect One. Perfect in the Greek here is teleios, which means complete or fully developed. That’s our goal: to finish the entire race in the fullness of Christ—in wholeness.
- When I sin I lose favor with God. Not true. Every sin we’ve ever committed—and those that we have yet to commit—are already covered by the blood of Jesus. Think about it: If there was a transactional “sin scale,” what would stop us from sliding down so far that grace no longer covered us? Yes, our sins grieve God, but they do not permanently separate us from Him—Christ is the indestructible bridge that covers that chasm.
- Shame is God’s way of convicting me of my sin. I’ve come to believe that shame is not of God. It’s from the devil. Remember that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). When we sin, the enemy’s main goal is to drive us into shame, which is positional rather than conditional. In other words, our full-time (eternal) position in Christ is secure: we are saved by grace. Remember, shame lies and tells us, “I am bad” (your position), whereas guilt says, “I did something bad” (your condition). Drop the shame and pick up your mantle as God’s forgiven child.
- My sin pattern is just something I need to get used to. Paul asked God several times to take away what the apostle referred to as his “thorn in the flesh.” God chose not to take it away from Paul. The only reason the Lord denied such a request was to drive Paul deeper into His plan for him—not to punish Paul. Brother, don’t let the enemy convince you that addiction or other sin patterns are a God-given “thorn in the flesh.” Addiction is not from God. However, when we turn our addictions over to God and pursue a path toward recovery, He can then use that thing that was once our greatest weakness as a testimony of His victory in our lives.
Father, there are many things in this life that I need to unlearn. Prioritize them for me, and help me to walk in Your grace and forgiveness rather than in the enemy’s traps of shame and condemnation.