Yesterday, I wrote about the Sin of Bullying. Following up on that post, we must realize that being a victim of bullying does not excuse our own actions which may be in response. Sin is sin, regardless of the circumstances of it. If being bullied leads one to murder, lying, stealing, cheating, pornography, adultery, or any other vices, then that is no better than bullying itself. One becomes just as guilty. Then again, Scripture says that we are all guilty of sin, regardless (Romans 3:23).
Regardless of our circumstances, God still calls us to a life of holiness, even as hard as that may seem. If we make excuses for our own sin, we are only showing that we have not fallen too far from Adam and Eve. Their first talk with God after disobeying Him resulted in making excuses and blame shift. It's in our nature and is sin itself. We call our kids out on something, and they blame shift. And yet, we often deny that we're the problem, and claim that we're the victim.
A passage of Scripture I would like to detail in the rest of this post is 1 John 1:5-10:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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 cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Jn 1:5–10). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Perhaps we might take a passage like this and say that we are okay. We are walking in the light. We go to church. We pray with our family. We look good on the outside, but we are hurting on the inside. We make excuses for our sin. We deny that we have the sin on the outside, while deceiving ourselves on the inside. Let me put it this way, however, God will not be mocked (Gal. 6:7). He knows your innermost thoughts and knows where you are with Him. We deceive ourselves by saying we have no sin. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned. We are all sinners. The bully and the bullied together.
There is hope in this darkness, however, as detailed in verse 9 above. Confess our sins. Now, this does not mean simply saying to God what we have done wrong. The word confess, in this passage, has an idea of agreeing with God about the nature of our sin, but also going along with verse 7, we must also be walking with God. It's not enough to just confess. Chapther 3 of 1 John makes this clear in the following passage:
4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Jn 3:4–10). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
This is not to say that will not continue sinning, but that we must not make a practice of sin. Christ is our advocate and stands before the Father pleading our case as in verse one of chapter 3 in 1 John. Let me make this clear, we will not be perfect, but on our path to holiness, we must recognize that we are sinners, in need of a savior, and that Christ is that Savior. We must be willing to dig in, see our ugly sin for what it is, confess it, repent (turn away from it), and trust in Christ for our Salvation.
There is hope for the bullied. There is hope for the bully. There is hope for the sinner. That hope is Jesus Christ.
