"For the ungodly and sinners"

COMMISSION, OMISSION, AND FOOLISHNESS: 1 Timothy 1:9 (part 3)

If the contrast between the "lawless" and the "disobedient" turns on whether or not one has the law, that between the ungodly and sinners falls on the fault line between those who have God but do not walk in God's way, and those who are fully apart from God.

"Sinners" is a straightforward word. To be in sin is to be alienated from God; to commit sin is to violate God's law or God's will. Original sin is the term for that alienation from God which is our common lot as human beings apart from grace; actual sins are those actions or inactions which cause us to runafoul of God's purposes for us. The latter come in two varieties: transgressions or "stepping across the line", which are active sins of commission; and the neglectful sins of omission, which can be just as active in their own way but feel to us to be passive.

But who are the "ungodly"? Who else could they be, but those who do not know God or acknowledge Him as Lord? The Psalmist declared: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). Yet the distinction is subtler than it may first appear, since we can confess God's existence and sovereignty with our lips, while functionally denying Him (as Jesus pointedly reminds us in Matthew 7:21). In fact, it's tempting to say that while many "secular" seekers in the world are indeed sinners, the great tragedy is the way in which conventional religion -- even much of what passes for Christianity -- is nothing less than an exercise is pious-sounding ungodliness.

Lord, I echo the apostle's sentiment that I am the chief, the very king, of sinners. Forgive me, I pray. Even more, forgive my bent toward ungodliness and deliver my heart from the casual neglect and denial of You. Amen.


Prince Frederick, Maryland