Walking Contradictions

I have a secret to share with you. Something that I came to realize that I never heard in a church until only a few years ago. It would have helped me immensely if I understood it early in my Christian life. I would have been even more effective and even more joyful. The old preachers used to say, "Your problem is that you don't know what your problem is. You think your problem is your problem, but that's not the problem at all. Your problem is not your problem, and that's your main problem." The secret is this: You and I are walking contradictions. The Christian is a walking contradiction. We do not always practice what we preach. We don't always behave as we believe. The Apostle Paul said, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." (Romans 7:15) We still sin. The world does not understand it either and loves to look at you and say, "And you call yourself a Christian!" We are not perfect. We will not be perfect until we breathe our last breath. For now, we are walking contradictions. Most Christians have at some point asked themselves, "If I'm a true Christian, why do I keep sinning?" The answer requires us to understand what Scripture says is true of Christians in the application of redemption. We must consider the Bible's teaching about what has already happened to the Christian, what is happening to the Christian, and what has not yet happened to the Christian.