• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Thankful for the rumble strips

Thankful for the rumble strips

Posted on May 27, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 7 Comments


Rumble StripsIn the area I live, the highway department has spent a lot of time and money cutting grooves in the side of the roadway that create noise if the driver strays outside of his driving lane. I call them rumble strips because they cause the car to rumble as you drive over them.

The rumble strips are quite useful and will likely prevent crashes due to driver inattention. The noise is so annoying that even someone who is falling asleep will be awake in an instant as soon as the rumble strips are encountered.

The warning the rumble strips provide is helpful to the driver in arriving at his chosen destination safely. Scripture provides similar warnings to keep us out of spiritual ditches.

For example, in Galatians 5, I encountered the following list:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19–21, ESV)

Many times when I have heard teaching on verses 19-21, the implication was that these are typical of those outside the church. It as if Paul is giving us a list of how we behaved before we encountered Christ.

But is this true? By coming to Christ do we no longer struggle with these things? My observation of myself and others in the church causes me to conclude that this is not true. We continue to struggle with these even after becoming a Christian.

I’ve seen plenty of rivalries, strife and jealousies in the church. I know Christians who regularly experience fits of anger. Many of the works of the flesh have been manifested at some point in church life. So Paul cannot be giving us a list of behaviors of only non-Christians.

What then is the point of this list? Perhaps the purpose is like the aforementioned rumble strips. The list gives us warning of when we’re getting off track. While orgies may be outside of our current experience, idolatry certainly is not. While you may not be tempted toward drunkenness, jealousy is probably lurking. Few of us can say that we do not experience inappropriate anger at times. How many of us can honestly say that we have never said or done anything that stirred up strife in the church?

The point is that when my focus is not on fulfilling the two great commands to love God and love others, I am likely to drift off the road into one of the works of the flesh. This list is a helpful assessment tool to keep us between the lines and moving in the right direction. When we find that we’re moving toward one of the works of the flesh, a course correction is in order and priorities must be reestablished.

I thank God that 1 John 1:9 is part of his revelation to us.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: flesh, rumble strips, Sin, warning

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Missing the point

The two great commands are all about relationship, not about doing. But the grid I’ve used to evaluate my life switches this around and makes it all about doing and I lose sight of the relationship.

Method vs. Message

With the advent of the internet and connected mobile devices, it is likely that most of us are distracted too much of the time. We have instant access to knowledge/facts/data on just about any topic we care to investigate. I can attest that this has had a negative impact on my attention span. With so […]

He sat down to teach – Sermon on the Mount Series #2

The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount:  1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them . . .” (Matthew 5:1-2 NASB) At the end of chapter 4, Matthew informs us […]

Nativity

Nativity Battle

It is the middle of December and the time for email notifications lamenting that a community or business does not allow the display of the Nativity scene or other religious symbols. In the past, I thought that my lack of concern about this was an indication of lack of spiritual fervor. Yet, in spite of […]

2016 christmas balls

A Christmas Reflection

So while we enjoy the gifts that we give and receive this Christmas, let us be continually mindful of the greater gift that lends his name to this holiday. Without him, all our celebration this season would be nothing more than whistling in the dark.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
February 2023
SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728 
« Jan    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in