The Swimming Pool Test
by Rev. Paul J. Bern
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The whole wide world seems to be going straight to hell in a hand-basket, and I am not the only one who has made a similar observation. People everywhere are up in arms about everything and everybody, to the point that we are in large part enraged at one another. It’s no wonder that people are being gunned down on a daily basis, since the American people can’t seem to stop being angry with each other. The prevalence of handguns and long guns accumulating in nearly every household is not helping the situation, either.
We’re Supposed to be Loving Our Neighbors
I have searched the Scriptures to try and find a reason why this is so, and I think I have found the answer to this dilemma. The reason is sin. We cannot successfully stop sinning against each other no matter how hard we try. This pattern of sin keeps going on and on. When we sin against each other, we sin against God because he created us all. Jesus taught us to, “love thy neighbor as thyself”, and we’re missing the mark repeatedly.
Sin’s Definition
What’s the definition of ‘sin’? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines sin as: “1a) an offense against religious or moral law; 1b) an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible; 1c) an often serious shortcoming or fault; 2a) transgression of the law of God; 2b) a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.” And now let’s get a little deeper with this matter.
How about sin’s Biblical definition? Actually, the Bible says so much that I am only going to serve up an appetizer for this main course of a Spiritual feast I am setting before you. Here are a few definitions taken straight from the Scriptures, starting with Romans chapter 3 verse 23, and it reads, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But you may say, ‘pastor Paul, we’re all only human after all. People are not perfect, so you’re expecting too much from them.’ But I say we all have a sacred obligation to treat one another as well as we can. And, I’m telling everyone (equally) as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that He has already commanded us to do this.
The Damage Sin Leaves Behind
With regard to sinning, Paul the apostle wrote the Church at Corinth: “Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.” Evidently there were people in the Corinthian church who were leading sinful lives while being active in the Church, and Paul was apparently irate about it, and he told them so plainly with nothing held back. And yet the Bible tells us that King David of Jerusalem saw himself in the opposite way of that church, feeling reprehensible about his own behavior, as it is written: “3) For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4) Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51: 3-4) I think that sums things up rather nicely. We all need to be more like David in our view of ourselves.
Time for a Word From the Apostle James
It’s time for all of us to repent of our often-evil ways, as it is written: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4, verses 1-3)
Purge Yourselves of Sin
I think this is the crux of the matter when it comes to people’s sins, spelled out eloquently in three little verses. So let me ask you as your online pastor: Have you examined your motives lately? How about taking a personal inventory of your character? If you’re finding anything that shouldn’t be there, then you know what you have to do. Get rid of that sin, that character flaw, that personality defect, that bad habit or that addiction. Cleanse your selves with the blood of Christ, who died for you but then rose again to live forever so that we may do the same. Cling to Him for the rest of your lives and you can’t go wrong. Regarding this the apostle Luke wrote: “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15: 7)
The Swimming Pool Test
Allow me to give you all an illustration of how God sees your soul, and how he sees sin. Imagine your heart, mind and soul to be a large swimming pool. Not like a backyard pool, more like a giant indoor pool such as a natatorium. It’s a Saturday, and there are a lot of families using the pool. But you’re still able to get your laps in (you’re a swimming enthusiast just for this illustration) until one of the babies has an “accident” in the pool in the form of a little yellow stain in the water. Would you continue swimming after seeing that? Of course not, nobody in their right mind would do that. Assuming this pool is about 100 feet long and about six or seven lanes wide, would you walk to the other end and jump in? After all, it’s 100 feet away, so the water should be fine. No, the prudent thing to do would be to drain the pool and refill it, or at least put a few extra shots of chlorine into the water.
It’s Our Duty to Confess Our Sins When We Commit Them
That small amount of liquid waste is how God sees sin, and that hypothetical swimming pool is your soul. If we allow even the smallest amount of sin into our lives, it’s like pee in a swimming pool. As the pool was drained or extra chlorine added, that’s how we must continuously stay away from sin. The blood of Jesus is like that measuring cup full of chlorine that cleanses ourselves. We cleanse our souls with the risen Spirit of our Lord and Savior so we can keep ourselves pure. There is ample Scripture to back this up. The apostle John wrote of this extensively. In the following example he stated, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Peace Is What We Need
Yet still, everybody sins no matter how good one’s intentions can be. It is in our nature, and only the Blood of Jesus can wash it away. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. (1 John 1: 9) By confessing our sins to God and to each other, we’re in an ongoing state of redemption and peace. And, that ‘peace’ is what will stop the world from fighting and from us continuing to kill each other.
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