Dodge Ball only Leads to Death.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they immediately responded in at least four notable ways.  First, they felt shame.  They “knew that they were naked” (Gen 3:7).  Second, in order to alleviate the shame, “they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (3:7).  In other words, in independence, they tried to fix what they had just broken.  Third, they hid from God (3:8).  And fourth, they blamed someone else for their actions (3:12-13).  Adam blamed Eve (and even God!).  Eve blamed the serpent.

Ever since the fall, humanity has been inclined to the same shame, independence, hiding and blame that our first parents practiced in the Garden. If we think about it, these four actions are not too far from our own everyday human experience.  And since we all do these things, it makes that human experience all the more difficult. 

Have you ever broken something valuable and instead of confessing, you tried to superglue it back together?  See the “try-to-fix-it-shame-game.”  Have you ever been wronged by someone only to have them never return your calls, or answer your texts?  See hiding game.  Can you remember a time when you were late to a meeting because you overslept only to tell your boss that “traffic was horrible” or “my wife didn’t leave me any gas in the car” or “when I stepped outside, I was met by a swarm of killer love-bugs, who then proceeded to torment me for the deaths of all of their distant cousins…and I couldn’t deny it…the evidence was on my windshield!” See the blame game.

These tendencies make relationships flat out hard.  How many times have arguments lingered for hours because one spouse (or both) blames his sin on the other spouse?  My counseling buddy in Jackson used to call this marital dodge-ball.  When one spouse points out sin in the other, the other then proceeds to point out the other’s sins. We dodge the real issue by trying to fix it ourselves.  We dodge confronting the issue by hiding and refusing to repent and confess our wrongs. We blame others for our trespasses and refuse to take ownership of what we have done. 

And on and on it goes, each person “dodging” the issue altogether.  Sin is never dealt with – it is never killed.  This is dangerous as all four of these are like fertilizer to sin.  Shame, independence, hiding and blame all make sin stronger, not weaker.  The longer it lingers, the more power it gains to destroy.

The only remedy is the gospel.  How so?  First, the gospel makes us unashamed.  Knowing that we are fully accepted before God, and that Christ has forgiven all of the trespasses that brought us shame, we can look our neighbor straight in the eye and say, “I am ashamed of my sins.  I tried for so long to fix them; but I couldn’t.  I’m sorry.  Christ, has taken my sins and has given me his righteousness.” 

Second, the gospel liberates us from trying to fix our problem with God – namely, our own sin.  Christ has taken our sin upon Himself.  God has punished that sin upon the Cross.  It is finished.  I cannot do more to remedy my situation than what Christ has already done.  This is Christian liberty.  This is grace.

Third, the gospel empowers us to walk in the light and not hide in the darkness.  Sin is best dealt with in the light.  We cannot remedy it ourselves (see above).  We need help.  We need a Savior.  So when a brother or sister in Christ confronts our sin, we confess it and get it all out on the table.  We then see what it looks like to have someone bear with us; to have someone forgive us; to have some one accept us, while we are yet sinners.  The gospel gives us courage to confess; for confessed sin give more occasion to grow closer than farther away from the Body of our Lord.

Last, the gospel puts an end to the blame game.  When we understand that sin is ours, then we can understand more fully that Christ died for US and for OUR sin.  When we blame, what we really say is that the other person needs a Savior, we don’t.  But when we take ownership of our sin, through repentance and faith, then we are owned by Christ.