“I’m and adult.”  “You’re an adult.”  I’m sure you have heard these before.  To me, they represent an entire culture which has become very common and too common in the church.  We are adults so we can do whatever we want and it will be fine.  We can endure any temptation, we can make a wise decision in any situation.  We don’t need other people, “who am I to tell you how to do whatever, you are an adult”.  It’s the obverse of “how dare you judge me!”  “I’m sure you can handle it, you are an adult.”  So walk right into that temptation.  You hit a magical age and you just do everything on your own, it’s the American way.

Well it’s pretty clear that Scripture paints a different picture.  Sin is dangerous, you need to beware of it Galatians 6:1.  And we aren’t good enough on our own, we need the body of Christ, the whole body of Christ, that is the Church I Corinthians 12:21.  And we need the body to be active in protecting us from sins we are too stupid to see Matthew 18.

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.            -James 1:14

Temptation, are we even allowed to use that word anymore?  We don’t like to even mention sin when it manifests itself, much less the smaller things that lead up to sin.  That’s just silly or puritanical, we say.  But Scripture calls us sheep, sheep without a shepherd.  We are dumb.  We screw up everything we can.  But we don’t have to.  Which is why all peoples of the past put things in place to prevent their falling into sin.  They passed laws and held each other to social standards. In the same way we put a railing on a roof top to prevent falling.  We understand physical safety, perhaps a little too much, but we don’t have much use for moral safety.  We throw away social constructs designed to prevent temptations at every level, individual, family, collectively.  We flaunt setting ourselves up for disaster as some sort of freedom.  Look at me I took the brakes off my car, now I’m truly free!  I’m an adult I can handle anything.

The Garden of Earthly Delights: Allegory of Luxury, central panel of triptych, c.1500 (oil on panel). Hieronymus Bosch.

I think one of the most glaring examples of this in our culture is sex.  It doesn’t even seem like we, as a culture, try anymore.  Scantily clad women, which would be considered pornography a generation ago, are plastered everywhere.  We dress our little girls up in barely anything and then wonder why they increasingly come home pregnant before marriage.  Outright porn is easily available, internet sites encouraging cheating on your spouse and every other form of immorality are allowed to operate by or governments.  Past generations took steps to prevent such things. They ensured that boys and girls were not left alone.  Virginity was prized by fathers and suitors as it should be.  But we rush headlong into disaster, and mock these preventatives from the past.  How’s that working out for us?  Now we have terms like ‘consensual sex’ and  ‘date rape’ as if two drunken teenage fools are picking out mutual funds.  The reality is that they don’t have a choice, they are slaves to sin.  And this far into temptation, with no societal ‘judging’ being allowed, the hormone driven sin-nature wins.  We are on the same path with drugs.  It’s all fine just don’t let the tobacco companies advertise to children, because that is an unfair advantage, as if adults fair much better.  Especially the caliber of spoilt brat masquerading as an adult these days.

I have noticed a growing movement of libertarianism even amongst Christians.  The thinking goes something like this.  If you are not saved and going to heaven, in the vapid Evangelical sense, then who cares if you are the worst person in the world?  If you are saved god will help you magically endure any temptation and even if you do sin he won’t really care.  Everyone else is going to hell anyway so what difference does it make how they act.  We might not say it so bluntly but it’s how we act by foolishly thinking “all I need is the Bible” or that implementing Christian morality in civil government is somehow a theocracy.  As if there is another morality worth basing laws upon.  Recent history as well as Biblical history should show us how foolish this is.  As sin becomes socially acceptable, culture degenerates as more and more perverse sin is slowly tolerated.  Even Christians are caught up in it. If we are supposedly adults, then think like one.  Permitting an atmosphere of constant temptation is just setting us all up for disaster.

We are supposed to pray, “lead us not into temptation” Matthew 6:13  “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” II Timothy 2:22  ”

“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire”  Matthew 18:7-9

Which leads right into Jesus discussing what to do with a brother in sin.  It’s not an opportunity to bring out the big guns and pounce on someone who finally went too far.  It’s a constant daily process which involves doing whatever it takes to suppress sin in ourselves and in those around us.  Church discipline isn’t something rare and extreme it’s something common and normal.  And it isn’t just church discipline, in the sense that we leave it up to an institution of professionals. Most sins can be resolved by a few words of apology and forgiveness, without Church leadership.  And many more sins can be prevented in the first place by being part of the body.  The purpose is to restore a brother, to stop sin.