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Recovering sinners

Step 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Hi, my name is John, and thanks to the overwhelming lovingkindness of God, I am a sinner saved by grace. Whatever goodness that is in my life has come from the hand of God. There’s still plenty of sin in me because it is rooted deep into this body of death I carry around, but you might rightfully call me a recovering sinner.

And I love to be around other recovering sinners, because they don’t want to be defined by the sin in their lives, either, but by the grace given to us by God who loves us and forgives us even now when we blow it. Together, we walk towards the light of Christ. The light of Christ is awesome in that it lights up the truth. Literally, Christ is the truth.

The light is sometimes painful, because it is revealing. We cannot hide when we are in the light. However it is comforting to know that we are all struggling with sin. There is no one perfect looking down on us except, of course, for Christ, but He is compassionate and forgiving and He does not “lord it over” or condemn us. That means we have fellowship with each other because we are all in the same boat, and as we walk in the light, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

As a recovering sinner, it is important that I face into the sin that is in my life. I need to periodically take inventory of the sins and the wrongs I have done as well as the wrongs I have done to others, calling these things by their real names, not sugar-coating anything, and to the extent that I have hurt other people, I need to go to them and make it right. This is all part of the healing process. James says we are to confess our sins one to another and pray for one another so we can be healed.

This is all part of the real Christian life. No one is trying to be anything they are not. We are recovering sinners, and that makes it easier for us to be around other sinners who may not be aware of their sin or the forgiveness of Christ, because we have only good news for them. The same God who forgave us forgave them … already. They only have to believe. And they can walk with us into the light, even if they don’t fully believe it yet.

Do you have people like this you are walking with? If not, how could you find some?

Can a believer and an unbeliever walk together toward the light? What would that look like?

5 responses to “Recovering sinners”

  1. Sandie

    “A believer and an unbeliever walking together toward the Light?” I would call that a relationship based on common interests and respect; a willingness to ‘agree to disagree’…I would even call it friendship…and I have many of them.
    God has even used them to work in my life. After all, the only difference between them and me is the Grace of God. You yourself John, expressed the thought that, instead of referring to individuals as unsaved, we should think of them as ‘not yet saved;’ as somewhere in the process of being saved.
    Just as we need unity amongst believers, we believers must find common ground to have unity with those that don’t know Jesus yet. That would be walking toward the Light; not that we lead them, but that we walk WITH them.
    How can we expect someone to believe we want to spend eternity with them, if we can’t spend an hour with them in this life? And that hour won’t be in church; it will be out in the ‘marketplace,’ as you say. CMA calls building relationships, “earning the right to speak.”
    What would this world be like if we believers really walked the walk, instead of just talking the talk? Was a believer trying to walk with Nikolas Cruz toward the Light? Could the slaughter at the high school in Parkland, Florida yesterday been averted? Maybe not, for free will always has it’s say. Lord, help me to live out the good things you have put in me…forgive me for my failures.Help me to keep ‘getting out of the boat’ to bring hope wherever I go. Let me leave a place better for my having been there. Forgive me for going off topic…or have I?

    Reply
    1. Mark D Seguin

      Love your post, Sandie & Amen <3

      Reply
  2. Mark D Seguin

    Great question: “Can a believer and an unbeliever walk together toward the light? What would that look like?” I say yes and it takes God’s grace & understanding. <3 🙂

    Reply
  3. John A Fagliano

    I think that as Christians, we should rethink how we label people “unbelievers”. With so much false teaching, hypocrisy, and “Christians” who don’t truly know Christ, all spread out through out the churches it is very possible that an “unbeliever” is someone who has been exposed to a false Christ and rejected it rather than the Real One. If such a person sees the truth for what it is they might believe. Also there are Jews and Muslims whose God is the God of Abraham but they have not been taught the truth about Jesus Christ. It might be easy for them to walk toward the light and embrace it.

    On the other hand there are those who have truly rejected God and Satan has blinded them so that they cannot see the light even if they walked toward it! Even then you can show them the light and pray God opens their eyes. But if you are walking toward the light with someone and you both see the same thing, forget labeling them. You are both headed in the right direction.

    Reply
  4. Jesus Aguilar

    Hi John!! Love your sharing and the questions you come up with.
    Do you have people like this you are walking with? If not, how could you find some?
    Yes we have people like this, many, so many is hard to count. Consider Alcohol and drugs are doing the job for us, Court sends them, family sends them and many come totally mess up looking for a hand out, meaning someone that can understand what they are going through. Loss of most material things and families destroy. So yes we have many and we commit ourselves to walk with them, We feed them, give them a place to shower and a blanket. Not much more at the beginning and if they keep coming back and start taking the steps, then we look for a place and believe me we have many. Just we have learned to walk with the broken people only because when we came we were broken and some one extended their hand and helped us.

    Can a believer and an unbeliever walk together toward the light? What would that look like?

    We do it all the time. This is what I say to my new-comer: This program is about God and I have my own God, the Holy Spirit, and My LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.
    YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN GOD, I RESPECT YOUR GOD AND YOU RESPECT MINE
    If you find out that you want the same GOD, I welcome you with open arms and we must say some prayers to start you in the right way.

    John believe me it works, God has giving me this gift and I do not take it for granted. Takes lots of preparation, lots of meditation, lots of prayer, but I am willing to do it and I ask God to fortify me every day.
    Jesus Aguilar is an alcoholic, but most important I am a servant Of my LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

    Reply

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