Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…
Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
When our boys were growing up, one of them in particular loved chocolate milk. I understood his love completely because I never liked milk as a boy and could only drink it if it was loaded up with Nestlé’s Quick!
Well, this son loved chocolate milk so much that he would sometimes mix himself two or three glasses full before breakfast so we had to set a limit on his chocolate milk consumption. We told him that he could only have one glass of chocolate milk each morning.
Not long after establishing this limit I came down to the kitchen one morning and my son was already up watching cartoons. When he saw me he ran over and said, “Daddy, can I have some chocolate milk?”
This wouldn’t have been a problem at all except that I could clearly see the traces of a “chocolate milk mustache” on his upper lip. He had clearly already helped himself to a nice big glass of his favorite beverage!
So I said, “Haven’t you already had your glass for the morning?”
And my sweet, innocent little boy who I loved with all my heart; and who I know loved me, looked right at me and said, “No.”
I had a problem; my son, sweet as he was, was no longer so innocent!
As parents, it doesn’t take us long to discover that our children are not perfect. In fact, heaven help the child whose parents think he or she is or should be perfect! Children just aren’t perfect and the gospel tells us why:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…
The gospel tells us that our children have been infected with the same disease that infects every human being who has ever lived; and that disease is sin.
Now the word “sin” has become something of a dirty word in our culture. Sometimes I get the feeling that one could create more outrage by shouting the word “sin” in a crowded restaurant than shouting almost any four-letter curse word.
I think our culture has grown so uncomfortable with the word “sin” because we have largely forgotten what sin is and does. We tend to think of sin only as the heinous acts of morally bankrupt or evil people; people like Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler or Hugh Hefner. But sin, properly understood, is more than the act of doing that which is wrong or evil or contrary to God’s law. Sin is also a power that is at work in the universe; a power that seeks to twist and distort all God made as good.
The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
Think of sin as a kind of chemical or biological weapon. Just 15 years ago we had never heard of anthrax or ricin, but we now know that, although these substances are largely undetectable, they are highly toxic poisons. If introduced into a room or a building they infect everything they touch and eventually, if left untreated, bring death.
Sin is like that; only sin is not a biological weapon, it is a spiritual weapon. Now think of Satan as a spiritual being that has access to this particular spiritual weapon and is quite willing to use it. That’s something like what the Bible teaches us about both sin and Satan. While there is much that I do not understand about Satan’s activities and authority, I do know that Satan seeks to destroy; and that his primary tools are temptation and sin.
That brings us back to chocolate milk.
Why did my little boy deny he had already had his chocolate milk for the day? Because he wanted more. Because in that moment his selfish desire was greater than his desire to obey. Because his desire was greater than his trust that his Mom and Dad loved him and established that rule for his well being.
And that’s the same reason that Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. It’s the same reason that you sin and I sin.
And that brings us to the gospel.
Why does the gospel exist? Why did Jesus come to live and die and rise again? Because we have all been infected with sin. Because the gospel is the cure for the disease.
I didn’t ignore my son’s fib on that morning so long ago. I confronted him gently about his “chocolate mustache” and he quickly admitted that he had already made himself a glass of chocolate milk and he offered a teary apology. I forgave him, of course, and explained to him again why his Mom and I established the rule, as well as why being truthful is so important, and affirmed that I loved him and then we went on to have a great breakfast time together.
All that to say that our children are not perfect and never will be. The goal of Christian parenting is not perfect children. In fact, the goal of Christian parenting isn’t even to produce well-behaved children. That’s a good thing of course, but it’s not the point. The point is to raise children who understand, experience and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gospel doesn’t create perfect children but the gospel does tell them they are forgiven beyond their deserving and loved beyond measure. May those of us who are parents learn to forgive them as Jesus does; and may we, too, be forgiven.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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