What is denial but the refusal to admit the truth or face reality. It’s a disclaiming of reality or responsibility in some way, shape, or form. In the Christian life there are two kinds of denial – one that is spiritually harmful, and the other beneficial. When we deny the work of God’s Spirit in dealing with areas of sin, whether they are in thought, word, or deed, we are grieving the Holy Spirit and resisting His goodness. Human pride, which is sin no matter how it is displayed, does not deal well with God’s “surgery”, does it? We defend our position, or justify our compromise; basically we do everything but the only thing that God requires, which is repent!
Are you in denial today about some area in your life? Do you flip past the page of Scripture that exposes that blemish? Do you really prefer denying Jesus rather than dying to sin and self? No matter what God exposes in us, there is both grace for repentance and provision for forgiveness.
Face it, we all must deal with the fundamental issue of sin. Denying the reality of the flesh is spiritually destructive. The apostle Paul not only taught about the wonderful reality of our new life in Christ, but also of the need to reckon ourselves dead to sin, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Thus, rather than denying the existence of our sin nature and the reality of temptation, we need to deny the “old man” and his deceitful lusts.
To explain away or deny sinful behavior is really a denial of the victory that is ours in Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified by denying the Spirit of God authority in our lives, but rather by denying our ungodliness and fleshly lusts. Godliness is the denial of the sinful “I”, not defending its “right” of expression!
How do you respond to correction? Conviction? May Jesus create in each of us the kind of denial which leads to life that we may be spared the grief resulting from the denial unto death.
