Sin is the disease … Jesus is the cure

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Sin is the disease … Jesus is the cure

Duh! Right? Everybody knows that—at least everybody who claims to be a Christian.

I’m not so sure.

For many years, my understanding went like this:

God’s anger is the problem. Jesus is the solution.

God is angry. Sure—righteously angry—but angry nonetheless, and nobody wants to get in the way of an angry God.

Why is God angry? Because we’re bad. We’re bad; God’s angry; that’s a problem.

But Jesus got between us and God, absorbed God’s anger, and if we accept the gift of salvation, then God won’t be angry at us any more.

So our biggest need was forgiveness, and our biggest problem now is convincing ourselves that God isn’t still (secretly) angry at us any more.

That’s what I thought, but now I see it differently. Here’s how I see it now:

Sin destroys all that is good and holy. A child is molested and scarred for life. A spouse is unfaithful, and a family is torn apart. A person sinks into a harmful addiction. Sin destroys people, families, communities, and nations. Sin put Jesus on the cross.

But God is greater than sin; Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is alive and well. He is repairing the damage done by sin and removing the power of sin in our lives. We, His followers, have new identities—not as sinners, but as children of God—part of the solution—not part of the problem.

So the biggest need is not for us to be forgiven, but for us to be transformed. Heaven will be populated not with forgiven sinners but with transformed saints.

That’s what I’m thinking. And, for me, that changes everything. What are your thoughts?

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  • Here's how we're ending the divide!

    What do you get when you combine deep Christian faith with outside-the-box thinking? You get the fresh insights offered by Author Dwight Clough in his many books on personal and cultural transformation. Whether he’s tackling polarization or re-examining the route to heaven, his solutions are always unique, carefully thought out, simply explained, and compassionately conveyed with a vulnerable glimpse into Dwight’s own journey. Dwight is a national award winning writer, ghostwriter, publishing consultant, and author of over 20 books including End the Divide, The Gift of Transformation, Rethinking Our War on Poverty, Am I Going to Heaven When I Die?, and What It Means to Follow Jesus. Dwight and his wife Kim have four young adult children. Dwight loves exploring the back roads of rural Wisconsin.

     
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