Home Inspections and Sin

Over the last few months, I have been in the process of purchasing a home. It is a newly built home that, as of this writing, has a few things left to finish. The home-buying process is new to me so the whole thing has been quite the journey. One of the things debated about on new construction is whether or not you should get a home inspection. This is not a post about that but it is about something God showed me during the process.

I have been watching this house being built over the last 7-8 months. I walked through it when it was nothing but a slab and frame. I have continued to visit this location weekly and sometimes daily over the last few months. I have walked inside it, around it, you name it. From my perspective, everything looked great. On the day of inspection, I met the home inspector at the house after he was done with his walk through. He proceeded to show me several things that needed to be fixed by the builder. I had never noticed any of these during my time at the house. It definitely takes a trained eye to catch what the inspector found.

I was driving to get some fuel after my appointment and it hit me. My experience with the home inspector is also my spiritual experience. When I take a look at myself, I know something could be wrong but, because of my sin nature, I often miss the root of what's really wrong. Things seem fine to me, because I do not have a trained eye. This is where the importance of the Word of God comes in. Like the home inspector is experienced in looking for faults in a house, the Bible exposes the faults in us. Faults we often fail to see. In order for us to take a true inventory of self, we have to hold the Scriptures up to our hearts and ask God to expose the sin in our lives. Sin that, for the most part, we don't even see. God reveals the power of His Word to us in His Word.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

                    Hebrews 4:12

Every analogy falls apart at some point and this one is no different. The difference between the Bible and a home inspector is that the Bible offers the solution to the problem, while the home inspector cannot fix the problems found. The thing is, we often err in our reading of the Bible as we use it much like a home inspection report that is looked at then dismissed. We can continuously look at the Law and compare our lives to it and, if we are not honest with ourselves and repent, we will become self righteous in thinking that we obey the law or we despair realizing that we cannot match up and thus give up.

Thankfully God in His great grace and mercy has not only revealed to us through His Word that we are rebels, full of hatred towards Him, but He has also offered a solution to our problem in Jesus Christ. A correct reading of the Bible looks a lot like the home inspector turning the report over to the home builder or owner. The Bible gives us a report of what's wrong, but also shows us where to go to remedy the issues found. It shows us that God, being rich in mercy, sent His only Son to purchase a people for Himself that He had chosen before the foundation of the world, that they may be saved from the wrath to come, eternal damnation. All we have to do is cast ourselves onto Jesus, repenting of our sins and trusting in Him for our righteousness.

The Scriptures attest to this as well..

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 

          Romans 5:6–11

The bottom line is that we need to continually measure ourselves by God's holiness, as revealed in His word, and when we fall short, as we all do, we must run to Jesus to ask for forgiveness and grace to mortify our sin. Don't be afraid to allow the Bible to find your faults. This is one of the biggest ways our joy as Christians is increased, and in reality, that's what we want and what truly gives us life.