Morris and Andy

When I was little, I once brought my older brother a bag of lollies for his birthday. I kept them in my drawer until that day. However, temptation was great, and I would sample one every now and then. Unfortunately, to my shame, by the time his birthday arrived there weren’t many left!

It reminds me of another story I heard. Morris and Andy each got a bag of Christmas lollies from their parents. They were not supposed to eat them between meals without permission. However, Morris would sneak in and eat a few every now and then. When his father heard about it, because Andy dobbed him in, dad destroyed them. At that point Morris became concerned for Andy’s health and dumped his whole bag down the toilet!

Why did he do that? It all started with sin. Lucifer committed the greatest sin of all .- pride. But now sin is ingrained into our natures. Even the disciples, in the presence of Jesus, were guilty again and again. Is it possible for saints to sin? (Remember the biblical definition of a saint is anyone who believes in Jesus.) How does Jesus treat saints who sin? Is it possible to sin and know you are sinning and keep on doing it and still be a Christian? Did Morris’ dad still love him?

Here is a beautiful story of how Jesus treated known sinners. The story is recorded in Mark 9:33ff. Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. The disciples think it is time for the earthly kingdom and so they are dealing with some unfinished business. They needed to decide who was going to be the president or prime minister. Or to use the Biblical language, “who would be the greatest.”

As they discussed this along the road they lagged behind Jesus. This should teach us something – it is hard to sin in the presence of Jesus. Even the weakest must move.

They arrived at Capernaum and in a quiet moment Jesus says, “What were you talking about back there?” As if He didn’t know! They began to kick their feet in the dust and fidget. The Bible story just says, “They held their piece.” Well, it was a good time to do that. When Morris’ parents asked about Andy’s candy he held his piece too.

Finally, one of the disciples says, “we were wondering who was going to be the greatest. Did Jesus say, “You miserable mob…” No, he gently taught them. He took a child and said this is greatness. He washed their feet to show them service is greatness.

From this story we see that the disciples were guilty of sin – the worst sin in the eyes of God – pride. This is what our world is based on. This is what makes a game of monopoly fun. This story teaches us how Jesus treats sinning sinners who know they are sinning and keep right on sinning. Someone might say that the disciples were not yet converted, but Jesus in Luke 10:20 said “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

How did Jesus treat disciples who were guilty of known sinning? Jesus made a classic statement in Matt 12:31 “every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven…”(NLT) Does that sound like good news? Is this a dangerous doctrine? The word ‘every’ includes all kinds of sin, even the worst of sins; pride, murder, adultery, lying, etc. King David of course comes to mind at this point. He sincerely repented. God loves sinners but hates sin and He can therefore provide power to “Go and sin no more,” as he said to the women caught in “the act.”

On the basis of this story, it is possible to conclude that it is possible to have a relationship with God and have a known sin going on in the life at the same time. The disciples had a relationship with Jesus and known sin at the same time. However, even though that is possible, sooner or later one of the two is going to go. Judas understood this principle and decided he didn’t want his sin to go and so he scraped his relationship, because to stay at the side of Jesus means transformation and the sin will fade away.