“Imperfect Saints” Pt 1 of 5:
This week our focus will be on encouraging those desiring to be strong Christians but find themselves returning to bad habits and listening to Satan’s lies that they can never become the person God wants them to be. You’ve heard it said, “No one’s perfect!” Well, that’s almost true, but actually Adam and Eve were created perfect and were placed in a perfect environment. Their failure came when they paid more attention to Satan’s voice than God’s (Genesis 3). Since then, you’re right – no one is perfect, but God has called us to be holy (Leviticus 11:44, 19:2, 20:7, and I Peter 1:16).
However, there is one perfect individual, Jesus, and even He was tempted (Luke 4:1-13). Imperfection means flawed, incomplete, not entirely correct, damaged, or failure. Have you ever felt that way? Me too! The thing about the Bible is it doesn’t hide the flaws or sins of its key characters. Abraham had a problem, Moses couldn’t control his anger, everyone knows about sins of David, and Peter denying Christ. Even Paul and Barnabas had issues.
There’s many imperfect biblical characters to choose from, but let’s follow Abraham for a few days. His life brings wonderful news for those times when we get down on ourselves because we are guilty of sin. Especially an “old” sin we thought we’d overcome. Here’s our first lesson of the week: “Conversion is instantaneous and is completed the moment we repent of our sins and trust Jesus for salvation!”
However, spiritual growth is gradual. Someone said, “It took one day for God to get Israel our of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel.” If you get discouraged because you aren’t a perfect saint, this weeks’ lessons are for you. Abraham had a bad habit. In fact, his problem showed up even in his later years. You’ll find evidence of what I’m writing about in Genesis 12, 20 and 21.
After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19), Abraham moved to the South and stayed in a place called Shur. A powerful king (Abimelech) lived there, and Abraham feared for his life. Because Sarah was beautiful, he thought the king would kill him in order to take Sarah for himself. This situation caused Abraham to repeat the same sin he committed in Egypt (Gen. 12:12-13), by saying Sarah was his sister – not his wife. As with all sins, this created a domino effect.
Pastor Carnes
