“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”” (Numbers 5:1-3, ESV)
When I was growing up, I shot competitive rifle. It started at a young age and I progressed through my collegiate years. In college, we shot small bore rifle indoors at targets where a perfect shot meant hitting a pin sized dot in the center of the target. Sin, in the Greek language is harmartia, which means literally to miss the mark, that is to miss the perfect point in the center of the target. That perfect standard, the mark, is the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
While sin often manifests in thought, word or deed, we can also sin by omission meaning not doing the good that we know we should (James 4:17). We must stand for righteousness and guard against unrighteousness in our church and homes.
The problem of moral degradation shows up when we do not call people to live by the Spirit. Neither legalistic nor liberal moral views will provide the power necessary to overcome sin. The power to live victoriously over sin comes by God’s grace as we live by the Spirit. Paul instructed the Galatians to “walk by the Spirit” so they would “not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16). Thus, we must seek to understand the moral high ground as revealed in God’s Word and to yield our lives to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Many churches struggle today with both legalism and permissiveness. Legalism results when we impose manmade standards of conduct. Permissiveness results when we overlook things because the culture has at large adopted ungodly standards. The church must be vigilant to stand above the depraved moral standards of the culture, seek Christ likeness, hold to grace, and call people to Spirit filled living. In this way they will put sin out of their camp.
Renewing the Heart 