As an educator, I have used this as my mantra for decades - you must treat the source, not just the symptoms, otherwise, the symptoms will come back. Not just the same ones, either, but more and worse ones. I have always believed that you cannot properly teach a child school stuff when they are hungry, or being hit at home, or experiencing daily fighting amongst their parents. School is just lower on the hierarchy.
Right at the beginning of the chapter, Noland gets right to his insights. On pages 35-36, I find it very meaningful when he says, "If you are at the place where you are telling yourself, I can't murder this person, or I can't commit adultery with her, aren't you past the front door and already dangerously into the house?" It's so true! There are certainly different stages of sin, each one sinking us deeper into it than the previous one. It is important to note that he goes on to say on pages 36-37, "If someone stands at your front door with a temptation, just because they are at your door does not mean you have sinned...The opportunity to sin is not a sin." Once we have invited that sin in - it becomes a sin. This is worth remembering!
Another profound passage (to me) is the last full paragraph on page 37. I won't quote it because it is too long, but please have a careful read of it, as it addresses treating the symptoms. Similarly, isn't that what confession is about? I find that people who regularly confess their sins are really just confessing their symptoms, not the source. When we confess our sins to God, we also need to ask Him to help us address the root cause of our sin (which, incidentally, I have found is usually based around pride in some way - at least for me). In fact, later on in the chapter, on page 40, he says, "Confession is not an end, but simply a beginning to the process of restoration." That is actually worth repeating! Do you find yourself confessing the same sin to God fairly regularly, maybe daily? A lot of times it's because we treat it as the end - we've confessed it so we can move on. The problem is the root is still there. Like pulling the head off a dandelion, we haven't really done much at all except taken care of aesthetics for a day.
Finally, so as not to talk too much more, I just want to say that the scripture Noland leaves us with at the end of the chapter, Romans 8:5-6 is one that I personally find very meaningful in my life right now - as in this very minute. It can be such a battle, can't it, guys?
Right at the beginning of the chapter, Noland gets right to his insights. On pages 35-36, I find it very meaningful when he says, "If you are at the place where you are telling yourself, I can't murder this person, or I can't commit adultery with her, aren't you past the front door and already dangerously into the house?" It's so true! There are certainly different stages of sin, each one sinking us deeper into it than the previous one. It is important to note that he goes on to say on pages 36-37, "If someone stands at your front door with a temptation, just because they are at your door does not mean you have sinned...The opportunity to sin is not a sin." Once we have invited that sin in - it becomes a sin. This is worth remembering!
Another profound passage (to me) is the last full paragraph on page 37. I won't quote it because it is too long, but please have a careful read of it, as it addresses treating the symptoms. Similarly, isn't that what confession is about? I find that people who regularly confess their sins are really just confessing their symptoms, not the source. When we confess our sins to God, we also need to ask Him to help us address the root cause of our sin (which, incidentally, I have found is usually based around pride in some way - at least for me). In fact, later on in the chapter, on page 40, he says, "Confession is not an end, but simply a beginning to the process of restoration." That is actually worth repeating! Do you find yourself confessing the same sin to God fairly regularly, maybe daily? A lot of times it's because we treat it as the end - we've confessed it so we can move on. The problem is the root is still there. Like pulling the head off a dandelion, we haven't really done much at all except taken care of aesthetics for a day.
Finally, so as not to talk too much more, I just want to say that the scripture Noland leaves us with at the end of the chapter, Romans 8:5-6 is one that I personally find very meaningful in my life right now - as in this very minute. It can be such a battle, can't it, guys?
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