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Crosfigell

Wretched Folk All

We are bent to sin, but we don't have to sin.

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

  - Romans 7.24, 25

Why do we not flee the foul? Surely because we are senseless and because we are not clean? Thus the unclean seeks uncleanness, the infamous infamy, the dishonourable dishonour; and because we are blind and dishonourable, therefore we avoid naught that is immodest.

  - Columbanus, Sermon VII, Irish, 7th century[1]

We are bent to sin, and that bent continues even after we have come to faith in Christ. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1.8). If we acknowledge that we are sinners, and bent to sin, we will be more likely to be aware of that tendency, whenever it manifests, and to check it through prayer and good works (Phil. 4.6, 7; Rom. 12.21).

Columbanus was bearing witness to the law of sin that operates even in the souls of the redeemed. Though we are forgiven and saved, yet this sore of wickedness oozes its poison into our souls, and will until the day we die.

Thus we should be neither surprised nor dismayed to find ourselves, from time to time, prone to wickedness in thought, feeling, word, or deed. The struggle to become sanctified continues day by day, and it is a mighty struggle indeed. We have to work out our salvation; it doesn’t just happen (Phil. 2.12).

But thanks be to God, for Jesus has secured us to Himself, so that He will ultimately overcome every last trace of evil in us and make us pure and holy, as He is pure and holy. The Balm of Gilead, dwelling in our hearts by faith, can heal the wounds of lingering sin.

Moreover, His power at work within us fights against the remnants of sin to bring more of God’s grace and truth to bear on the reformation of our souls and the transformation of our lives.

Jesus is our Champion in the struggle against sin. In Him we are clean. In Him we are honorable. In Him we see the beauty of goodness and truth, so that we may reach for it with all our strength. In Him we find the power to resist our sinful tendencies and grow in grace and truth.

We are wretched folk, all; nevertheless, we are Jesus’ wretched folk, and He is transforming us daily, from glory to glory, into His own image.

Let us resolve not to feed the foul or clamor for the unclean. The true believer hates sin (Ps. 97.10) and knows where all its traps have been laid (Prov. 1.17). We need not give in to temptation, so that we end up like a turtle on its back, struggling to right ourselves in the way of righteousness. By turning to the Lord when the law of sin threatens to unhorse us, waiting on Him in prayer, contemplating His beauty, and clinging to His Word, we can overcome our sinful tendencies in good works of loving service to God and our neighbors (Rom. 12.21).

But we’ll need to work at it, and work at it every day.

We don’t have to give in to our base instincts and sinful bent. Look to Jesus. Call upon and cherish our Champion, as He carries us above the muck and slime into the heights of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit. Every temptation presents a choice: Either fall through temptation into sin and bitterness of soul, or grow through temptation into greater heights of sanctification and joy in the Lord.

Make up your mind which choice you will make. Flee the foul; cling to the Champion, and run your race to increasing heights of glory and joy in the Lord.

Psalm 40.11-13, 16, 17 (Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
Keep Your mercy not from me; let Your love and truth prevail.
Evil and iniquity make my trembling heart to fail.
Lord, be pleased to rescue me! Let my shelter with You be.

Let them shout for joy and sing who in saving grace delight!
Let them praise to Jesus bring, though affliction be their plight.
Christ, our help, our Savior He! Of us ever mindful be!

Lift me, Lord Jesus, above all that is wicked and disgusting, both within me and without!

Be Thou My Vision

The more clearly and constantly we see our Champion, the greater will be our success in running our race. Our study, Be Thou My Vision, offers 28 days of meditations on Christ, exalted in glory, following Scripture and many of the saints from the Celtic Revival. These meditations can help you acquire a clearer and more consistent vision of Christ. Order your copy by clicking here.

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T. M. Moore
Principal
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All psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


[1]Walker, p. 91.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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