Authentic Sin

I wish we would stop referring to Christians as "sinners who are forgiven." I wish we would see the calling of being holy, separate as a way of life. Following Jesus instead of natural tendencies.

I am prompted to this wish by a few factors, reading the ooze.com forum boards about an article on slacker-leadership, my own blog post on cussing last( two weeks?) week, and feeling a growing distinction between those who live for and against Jesus. I don't work hard to classify people into Christian/not-Christian, but I do point out obvious traits that work for/against a person, or myself, being whole in all aspects.

It seems the current buzz-words of "real" and "authentic" are being thrown around in conjunction with sin. For example, it's considered real, by one forum poster, when people around a church swear and drop the "f-bomb" about once a week. That line of thinking says that those who don't swear are not real. That just doesn't line up with Scripture. Romans is clear that we should not go on sinning just so that the grace of "realness" abounds.

I dare say that "authenticity" and "realness" may be the false gods of our time. They are very good attributes, but they are not to be worshipped. Why should they be the measure of a Christian or a church? Of course, this coming from someone who really values an insistence on reality, I am not advocating for the fake church.

I am advocating for God's people to be holy and allow that holiness to be the "authentic" reality in their lives.