FAULTS

HOW SHOULD WE CONFRONT OUR OWN FAULTS?

Romans 7:18-23 . . . I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

Galatians 5:17 . . . The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.

We are to recognize sin as the root of our faults.

Psalm 19:12 . . . How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

Psalm 44:21 . . . God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.

Psalm 90:8 . . . You spread out our sins before you-our secret sins-and you see them all.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 . . . God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

1 Corinthians 14:25 . . . As they listen, their secret thoughts will be laid bare, and they will fall down on their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is really here among you.”

We must believe that God knows our every fault; we cannot hide our faults from him.

Mark 6:18 . . . John kept telling Herod, “It is illegal for you to marry your brother’s wife.”

Acts 5:3 . . . Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.”

Galatians 2:11-12 . . . When Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don’t bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say.

We must be open to accept godly criticism from others.

Psalm 51:3-4 . . . I recognize my shameful deeds-they haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

Jonah 1:12 . . . “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. For I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

Luke 15:18 . . . I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you.”

We are to accept the blame for our own faults.

HOW DOES GOD DEAL WITH OUR HUMAN FAULTS?

Psalm 65:3 . . . Though our hearts are filled with sins, you forgive them all.

Ephesians 4:32 . . . Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Colossians 2:13 . . . You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.

1 John 1:9 . . . If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

God offers us forgiveness.

Romans 6:11-12 . . . You should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires.

Romans 8:3-4 . . . The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 . . . What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!

Galatians 5:16 . . . I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

GOD OFFERS US FREEDOM FROM THE POWER OF SIN.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 . . . Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Philippians 4:13 . . . I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.

God offers us his strength to overcome our weaknesses and serve him.

WITH ALL OUR FAULTS, HOW CAN GOD SEE US AS BLAMELESS?

Ephesians 1:4 . . . Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

1 Corinthians 6:11 . . . There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.

Philippians 3:9 . . . I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Romans 3:28 . . . We are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

Romans 5:1 . . . Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Galatians 3:6 . . . In the same way, “Abraham believed God, so God declared him righteous because of his faith.”

Acts 13:39 . . . Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God-something the Jewish law could never do.

God sees us as blameless because of our belief and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus takes our sins away so God can see us as though we had never sinned.

CONSIDERING OUR MANY FAULTS, HOW ARE WE TO LIVE BLAMELESS CHRISTIAN LIVES?

Colossians 1:22 . . . He has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 . . . As a result, Christ will make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy when you stand before God our Father on that day when our Lord Jesus comes with all those who belong to him.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 . . . Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

Jude 1:24-25 . . . All glory to God, who is able to keep you from stumbling, and who will bring you into his glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy. All glory to him, who alone is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to him, in the beginning, now, and forevermore. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:8 . . . He will keep you strong right up to the end, and he will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

Philippians 1:10 . . . I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns.

1 Peter 1:15 . . . You must be holy in everything you do, just as God-who chose you to be his children-is holy.

2 Corinthians 6:3 . . . We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry.

Philippians 2:14-15 . . . In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.

1 Peter 2:12 . . . Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world.

2 Peter 3:14 . . . While you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to live a pure and blameless life. And be at peace with God.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s strength, we are to live our lives controlled by his Spirit. In our own strength, we cannot live pure or holy lives, but with the spirit of God within us, we can make steady progress toward purity and holiness until that day when we meet God face to face in eternity, completely pure and holy.

HOW SHOULD I KEEP FROM FOCUSING ON OTHERS’ FAULTS?

Proverbs 20:9 . . . Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin?”

Galatians 6:5 . . . We are each responsible for our own conduct.

Matthew 7:1-5 . . . Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

James 4:11-12 . . . Don’t speak evil against each other, my dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God’s law. But you are not a judge who can decide whether the law is right or wrong. Your job is to obey it. God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor?

James 5:9 . . . Don’t grumble about each other, my brothers and sisters, or God will judge you. For look! The great Judge is coming. He is standing at the door!

We must realize that we all have faults, we must be responsible first for dealing with our own faults, and let God be the judge of others. We should see ourselves as God sees us. Then we will be humbled. There are times, of course, when we must point out others’ faults, but our focus should not be judgmental. Instead it must be loving and corrective.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 . . . Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

1 Peter 4:8 . . . Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Galatians 6:1 . . . Dear friends, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

Ephesians 4:2-4 . . . Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future.

We are to be loving, humble, gentle and patient with one another.

PROMISES FROM GOD:

Ephesians 4:2 . . . Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

Colossians 1:22 . . . He has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

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