Seek a Broken Heart for Sin

By Scott Hubbard

The triumphant, victorious Christian life is marked by a curious feature: it rarely feels triumphant or victorious.

In the kingdom of God, strength comes through weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9–10), greatness through service (Mark 10:43), and wholeness through brokenness (Psalm 147:3). As the classic prayer puts it,

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit.

Many of us would gladly take the latter part of each of the above lines if we could forgo the former. But in the wisdom of God, no saint is high, healed, and rejoicing who is not also low, broken, and contrite. Samuel Rutherford put it bluntly: “Seek a broken heart for sin, for without that there is no meeting with Christ” (Letters of Samuel Rutherford, 328).

We may achieve much in this world without a broken heart; we may even seem to achieve much in the Christian life without a broken heart. But we cannot commune deeply and sweetly with Christ, for he enters only through the cracks of a broken heart.

Benefits of a Broken Heart

To be sure, dangers attend this pursuit. Some Christians focus with an almost morbid obsession on the wickedness of sin, the evil of our hearts, and the duty of mourning over our remaining corruption. They spend their days wandering the labyrinths of their indwelling sin, scarcely ever lifting their eyes to the Savior who loved them and gave himself for them (Galatians 2:20).

Even worse, seeking a broken heart can easily become a twisted attempt at self-justification. We can imagine, perhaps subconsciously, that we are more accepted by God the worse we feel about ourselves — forgetting, as the hymn goes,

Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
These for sin could not atone.
Thou must save, and thou alone.

Brokenness cannot justify us; tears cannot cleanse us. Only blood can (Ephesians 1:7).

And yet, the point still holds: a heart broken over sin opens the door for deeper communion with Christ. For only a broken heart teaches us to hate his rivals, welcome his grace, and hear his song of love and favor.

Hate his rivals.

Communion with Christ, much like communion with a spouse, requires a deeper sentiment than simply, “I choose you over all others.” It requires the sentiment, “I desire you over all others.” A heart unbroken over sin may choose Christ, at least in an outward sort of way, while still cherishing thoughts of another. But a broken heart has come to feel sin as its greatest burden and shame, and therefore resists Christ’s rivals with a force far greater than mere self-control: the force of holy revulsion.

In a sermon on Psalm 51, John Piper notes that, in this psalm of repentance over adultery, David never once asks God for more sexual self-control. “Why isn’t he praying for men to hold him accountable? Why isn’t he praying for protected eyes and sex-free thoughts?” Piper asks. The answer: “He knows that sexual sin is a symptom, not the disease.” Adultery is a symptom of a deeper disease: a heart unbroken over the evil of sin, unravished by the glory of Christ.

“The grace of the Holy One comes only to the lowly ones.”

So instead of merely pleading for self-control — for the power to choose God’s ways — David prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). And a clean heart is, at bottom, a broken heart: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). If David was going to enjoy restored communion with God, he needed more than willpower. He needed a broken heart.

Self-control has its place in the Christian life, of course. But on its own, separated from a deep, abiding hatred of all that would draw us away from Christ, it merely weakens sin in the branches rather than withering it at the root.

Welcome his grace.

A broken heart, then, is never an end in itself. Christ, our good physician, breaks a heart as a surgeon must sometimes break a bone: only so he can heal it better in the end. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). And the sweetest medicine he gives is called grace.

Though bitter in itself, a broken heart can open our hands to welcome grace in deeper ways than ever before. Only after Isaiah was undone, remember, did he hear the comforting words: “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7). Only as Peter cowered, condemned, did Jesus say to him, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 5:10). And only after Paul cried, “Wretched man that I am!” did he say with equal force, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24–25).

If anxious thoughts of God’s love swirl within us, could it be that we are basing his love too much in us? And could it be that what we need most is a fresh breaking of the heart, to the point of despairing in ourselves again? Perhaps then we could hear the words of Horatius Bonar:

Faith is rest, not toil. It is the giving up of all the former weary efforts to do or feel something good, in order to induce God to love and pardon; and the calm reception of the truth so long rejected, that God is not waiting for any such inducements, but loves and pardons of his own goodwill, and is showing that goodwill to any sinner who will come to him on such a footing, casting away his own performances or goodnesses, and relying implicitly on the free love of him who so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son.

Some vainly attempt to climb to heaven by a ladder of good deeds and feelings. But the brokenhearted know that we reach heaven only on bended knees. “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up: . . . ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit’” (Isaiah 57:15). The grace of the Holy One comes only to the lowly ones.

Hear his song.

Such grace in itself is a marvel. Yet even more wonderful is the manner in which God gives it. Imagine, if you dare, the God of grace rushing toward you in your brokenness, his mouth open not with censure, but with song.

To the exiles in Jerusalem, God promised, “I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly” (Zephaniah 3:11–12). In other words, he promised to mercifully break his people’s hearts. And then, against all expectation, he says,

The Lord your God is in your midst,
     a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
     he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

“With God, strength comes through weakness, greatness through service, and wholeness through brokenness.”

As with so many of God’s ways, “behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face.” Perhaps we fear that, after breaking our hearts, God will proceed to placard our sin for all eternity — that he will rub it in our faces, as it were, and make heaven a world of groveling penitence before the Almighty Frown.

Instead, he fills the air with song. For ages and ages, the melody of our forgiving God will display to his once-broken, now-healed people more and more of “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). And still the song will go on.

Seek a Broken Heart

Of course, we cannot just up and give ourselves a broken heart. Just as the men of Jerusalem “were cut to the heart” only when touched by a divine dagger (Acts 2:37), so too with us: if our hearts are to be broken at all by sin, God must break them.

Yet we can do something. We can follow Rutherford’s counsel to “seek a broken heart.” We can give up the exhausting effort of concealing our sin and pretending ourselves better than we are. We can pray that God would kindly, lovingly break us. And we can embrace the counterintuitive truth that the Christian life advances by opposites: we rise higher by stooping; we progress by repentance.

In this world, our fullness will come through emptiness, our strength through weakness, our joy through mourning, our exaltation through humility, and our wholeness through a broken and contrite heart.

Scott Hubbard is a graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary and an editor for desiringGod.org. He and his wife, Bethany, live with their son in Minneapolis.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/seek-a-broken-heart-for-sin

Standing Strong in the Fight Against Sin

By Krista Paolino

Though most of us may not be engaged in physical warfare, God’s word tells us we are always battling “against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12). We sometimes forget this reality when day to day tasks consume us. We rarely take time to think about eternal things because we are caught up in the here and now. We are prone to forget that we are in the middle of a spiritual battle, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

Our forgetfulness leaves us vulnerable to attack. We need to remember that a war is waging, and a real enemy seeks to destroy us. Spiritual warfare is our ongoing fight against sin—anything that opposes God and his purposes. Though this sounds dramatic and a little scary, we need not despair because God is with us in the battle.

Psalm 144:1-2 says,

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

In physical warfare, a soldier must train well before he is ready to fight. And during battle, there are times when he must find rest in a safe place. This is also true for believers engaged in spiritual warfare. As Psalm 144:1-2 reminds us, we are called to both train for battle and to take refuge in God, our fortress.

Train for Battle

Throughout his Word, God has graciously warned us about the reality of spiritual warfare, and he has offered himself as the one who trains “[our] hands for war, and [our] fingers for battle” (Ps. 144:1). God also provides armor that will help us to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” and be able “to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:10). Putting it on means to practice using the tools that God has given: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer. Putting on the armor of God helps us to both train for and stand strong during attacks from our enemy.

In his first letter, Timothy reminds us of another kind of preparation for battle: training ourselves for godliness. We can do this by watching our teaching (1 Tim. 4:6-8). We must know what God’s Word says in order to determine if the teaching we receive is biblical. Listening to unbiblical teaching will not help us wage war on our sin. Since our hearts are naturally deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9), we can be easily overcome by the temptations of this world. Just as the powerful ocean currents cause the tides to shift, so our hearts can drift from the truth if we are not persistently training ourselves according to God’s Word.

Take Refuge in God

There are times when a soldier at war must take cover—find refuge in a safe place. Where do we go for refuge during spiritual attack? Psalm 144:2 says, “[the LORD] is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” God is our dependable refuge, unlike any other person or place on which we might be tempted to put our trust. He is steadfast, loving, strong, and able to save. This and many other Psalms proclaim God as a rock—a safe refuge. Here are just a few examples:

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us (Ps. 62:8).

How do we take refuge in God? We do so by trusting him—putting our faith in him alone—and pouring out our hearts to him in prayer. Spending regular time in God’s Word and prayer will help us to trust him and will guard us from weariness. If we neglect these means of grace, over time our spiritual strength will diminish, and we will likely not stand strong under temptation. If we regularly hear from and call upon the Lord, we will be able to draw from a well of strength in the day of great battle.

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him (Ps. 18:30).

How do we take refuge in God? We do so by believing the truths of God’s word. Sin often begins when we listen to lies and believe the false promises that Satan makes to us. Instead, when we call to mind a promise of God, which is truth, it acts as a shield of refuge for us. God’s word always proves true. His word is dependable and strong to shield us.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps. 46:1).

How do we take refuge in God? We do so by remembering that the Lord is with us. When we who are in Christ were born again, we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). The Lord, who is the Holy Spirit, is now with us at all times. In moments of temptation and attack, the Holy Spirit aids us in the battle by providing strength and refuge with his presence. We can take rest by drawing near to him, knowing that we are not alone in the fight against sin.

Win Some Battles

For those who are born again in Christ, a war wages within us, and the greatest struggle is with our own sinful nature. Though we will always be battling sin on earth, we can make progress. Though we will give in to temptation at times, our goal is to win some battles. Our ability to fight well doesn’t come from our own strength or skill. Instead, our success is rooted in the reality that Jesus Christ has already won the ultimate victory through his death and resurrection. Through his Spirit, the Lord Jesus is training us into his image and offering himself as an ever-present refuge. We can stand strong because this Savior is on our side!

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2020/12/stand-strong-fight-sin/

Standing Strong in the Fight Against Sin

By Krista Paolino

Though most of us may not be engaged in physical warfare, God’s word tells us we are always battling “against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12). We sometimes forget this reality when day to day tasks consume us. We rarely take time to think about eternal things because we are caught up in the here and now. We are prone to forget that we are in the middle of a spiritual battle, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

Our forgetfulness leaves us vulnerable to attack. We need to remember that a war is waging, and a real enemy seeks to destroy us. Spiritual warfare is our ongoing fight against sin—anything that opposes God and his purposes. Though this sounds dramatic and a little scary, we need not despair because God is with us in the battle.

Psalm 144:1-2 says,

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

In physical warfare, a soldier must train well before he is ready to fight. And during battle, there are times when he must find rest in a safe place. This is also true for believers engaged in spiritual warfare. As Psalm 144:1-2 reminds us, we are called to both train for battle and to take refuge in God, our fortress.

Train for Battle

Throughout his Word, God has graciously warned us about the reality of spiritual warfare, and he has offered himself as the one who trains “[our] hands for war, and [our] fingers for battle” (Ps. 144:1). God also provides armor that will help us to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” and be able “to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:10). Putting it on means to practice using the tools that God has given: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer. Putting on the armor of God helps us to both train for and stand strong during attacks from our enemy.

In his first letter, Timothy reminds us of another kind of preparation for battle: training ourselves for godliness. We can do this by watching our teaching (1 Tim. 4:6-8). We must know what God’s Word says in order to determine if the teaching we receive is biblical. Listening to unbiblical teaching will not help us wage war on our sin. Since our hearts are naturally deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9), we can be easily overcome by the temptations of this world. Just as the powerful ocean currents cause the tides to shift, so our hearts can drift from the truth if we are not persistently training ourselves according to God’s Word.

Take Refuge in God

There are times when a soldier at war must take cover—find refuge in a safe place. Where do we go for refuge during spiritual attack? Psalm 144:2 says, “[the LORD] is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.” God is our dependable refuge, unlike any other person or place on which we might be tempted to put our trust. He is steadfast, loving, strong, and able to save. This and many other Psalms proclaim God as a rock—a safe refuge. Here are just a few examples:

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us (Ps. 62:8).

How do we take refuge in God? We do so by trusting him—putting our faith in him alone—and pouring out our hearts to him in prayer. Spending regular time in God’s Word and prayer will help us to trust him and will guard us from weariness. If we neglect these means of grace, over time our spiritual strength will diminish, and we will likely not stand strong under temptation. If we regularly hear from and call upon the Lord, we will be able to draw from a well of strength in the day of great battle.

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him (Ps. 18:30).

How do we take refuge in God? We do so by believing the truths of God’s word. Sin often begins when we listen to lies and believe the false promises that Satan makes to us. Instead, when we call to mind a promise of God, which is truth, it acts as a shield of refuge for us. God’s word always proves true. His word is dependable and strong to shield us.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps. 46:1).

How do we take refuge in God? We do so by remembering that the Lord is with us. When we who are in Christ were born again, we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). The Lord, who is the Holy Spirit, is now with us at all times. In moments of temptation and attack, the Holy Spirit aids us in the battle by providing strength and refuge with his presence. We can take rest by drawing near to him, knowing that we are not alone in the fight against sin.

Win Some Battles

For those who are born again in Christ, a war wages within us, and the greatest struggle is with our own sinful nature. Though we will always be battling sin on earth, we can make progress. Though we will give in to temptation at times, our goal is to win some battles. Our ability to fight well doesn’t come from our own strength or skill. Instead, our success is rooted in the reality that Jesus Christ has already won the ultimate victory through his death and resurrection. Through his Spirit, the Lord Jesus is training us into his image and offering himself as an ever-present refuge. We can stand strong because this Savior is on our side!

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2020/12/stand-strong-fight-sin/

Secret Sins Will Harm Others

Article by Greg Morse

J.C. Ryle is right when he observes that sin never announces itself to us with its full intentions. It never says, “I am your deadly enemy, and I want to ruin you forever in hell” (Holiness, 9). It shows its pleasure, but hides its pain; shows its sparkle, but hides its death (Romans 6:23).

But that is not all that sin fails to reveal to us in the moment of temptation. It also does not disclose how it plans to harm others. It never introduces itself, “I am your deadly enemy and the deadly enemy of everyone you know. I want to ruin you and them in hell — and use your sins and theirs as a means to do it.”

One of the most treacherous lies we can believe about sin, especially sin we consider private or secret, is that we can keep its consequences to ourselves. That we will be the only ones — if anyone — affected. We rarely consider how our sin inevitably influences others in one way or another.

Sin Never Stays Alone

Even when we “sin alone” — meaning that although the lidless eye of heaven sees us, no other human does — our sin does not remain alone. It travels with us from the shadows into the world of our relationships. We sin as a member of a community — even when we sin alone. Herman Bavinck so helpfully points this out when observing our first parents’ sin:

Adam and Eve sinned not only as individuals, as persons, but they sinned also as husband and wife, as father and mother; they were playing with their own destiny, with the destiny of their family, and with the destiny of the entire human race. (The Christian Family, 10)

To be sure, our sin does not carry the same consequences as our federal head. His sin was Original; ours derivative. But it is true that we, like Adam, never sin just as isolated humans, as individuals. We never play just with our own destinies, completely detached from others. We each sin as a human connected to other humans. We sin, as often as we sin, as fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, neighbors, coworkers, citizens, and, if Christians, members of the body of Christ.

“We sin as a member of a community — even when we sin alone.”

In suggesting that some sins affect only us, Satan strips some of the urgency from fighting private sins of anxiety, undiscovered flames of envy, hidden banquets of pornography telling us that such will stay quarantined with us. Each will have to lie in his own bed — nobody else will lie in it with us.

In this, Satan is a crafty spider, spinning a web of concealed threads sticking to those we never intended to harm. He hides the consequence of how powerless sin makes us when a friend comes to us for help, how unmindful we become toward our children because the fear of man grips our attention, how the sewer of lustful images lingers in our head, hindering us from brotherly love in Christ. The devil would not dare remind us of the horrible side effects, including distraction, disinclination, and hardness of heart, that poison our love for God and good deeds toward those closest to us.

Infectious Folly

As people who have committed innumerable sins, I assume we all know this to be the case experientially. But do we see this principle in Scripture? On top of narrative after narrative showing individuals’ sins that did not stay individual, glean from the wisdom of the book of Proverbs.

“A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). A foolish man is not a foolish man for himself alone, but a foolish son for his mother. When Judas, an evil man, betrayed the Lord, he did so not only as Judas, but also as “Simon’s son” (John 13:2, 26).

Or consider the surprise twist in Proverbs 10:17: “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.” The father, mother, daughter, son who rejects godly reproof does not merely lead himself astray but, like a strong current, drags others along with him. He is not stiff-necked for himself alone.

Similarly, a foolish wife and mother not only decays her vertical relationship with Christ, but takes down her whole household with her: “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down” (Proverbs 14:1). When we sow seeds to the flesh, they reap corruption not only in ourselves but in all spheres of life. Poison in, poison out — and most to those we love most dearly.

‘Against You, You Only’?

If our sin has such dire, hidden consequences for others, why does David repent of his grievous, explicit sins against Uriah (adultery and murder) as he does in Psalm 51?

Against you [God], you only, have I sinned
     and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
     and blameless in your judgment. (Psalm 51:4)

He sinned only against God? Did David really mean for Uriah’s family to sing those lyrics placed in Israel’s hymnbook, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,” as though their beloved, faithful Uriah had not been profoundly betrayed and then murdered?

“Sin’s effects, we often find out too late, are far messier and far more uncontrollable than we imagine when tempted.”

David meant that as compared to all others he sinned against God alone. His was not a humanitarian worldview that placed offenses against man above offenses against God. “Against man, and man alone, have I sinned” is the modern creed. No, David knows full well that he has Uriah’s blood on his hands: “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God” (Psalm 51:14). But even this is foremost treason against his Creator.

He acknowledges that his sin was chiefly against God, but consider the web of consequences. When David sinned, he did so as a husband, as a father, as a son to Jesse, as a fellow brother and soldier to Uriah, as the king of Israel, as a man who would influence many sons and daughters, husbands and wives, citizens and souls long after he had departed from this world. His sin was against God and God alone, but the consequences of that sin did not stay with him alone.

You Never Obey Alone

Sin’s effects, we often find out too late, are far messier and far more uncontrollable than we imagine when tempted. But this brings us to the staggering contrast.

Satan would conceal the engulfing influence iniquity has on others. But he also hides the momentous influence of what we too often consider common, hidden acts of faith, love, and obedience. He would have us think that sin and holiness are both trivial, both mists that vanish into irrelevance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Did you see it in the wisdom from Proverbs?

• “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1).

• “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down” (Proverbs 14:1).

A wise man is not wise to himself, but he is a wise son who makes a happy father. A wise woman cannot contain the blessing of her wisdom to herself; she builds up her whole household from her fear and love and obedience to her Lord. Proverbs and the narratives in Scripture bear testimony together that “whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life” (Proverbs 10:17) and he who accepts reproof leads others along that same path.

Incalculable is that blessing flowing to others from the hidden headwaters of communion with Christ. The godly man, whose mind and heart meditate upon the Scriptures, becomes the Giving Tree of fruit to others, whose own leaf does not whither (Psalm 1).

Only heaven can detail how turning off that screen in that moment, and how a pattern of praying to God, affects thousands of situations, and people, to follow. Slight turns of the rudder change the course of large ships. When we treasure Christ above sin’s pleasures and believe his promises above Satan’s lies, we flood our spheres with waves of blessing. Hidden sins, like hidden good works, “cannot remain hidden” (1 Timothy 5:25).

Greg Morse is a staff writer for desiringGod.org and graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Abigail, live in St. Paul with their daughter.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/secret-sins-will-harm-others

3 Blessings of Seeing Our Sin

By Edward Welch

Sin Is Heavy

Suffering feels like our biggest problem and avoiding it like our greatest need—but we know that there is something more. Sin is actually our biggest problem, and rescue from it is our greatest need.

There is a link between the two. Suffering exposes the sin in our hearts in a way that few things can. When our lives are trouble free, we can confuse personal satisfaction for faith. We can think that God is good, and we are pleased with him, though we might be pleased less with him than we are with the ease of our lives. Then, when life is hard—especially when life remains hard—the allegiances of our hearts become more apparent. Suffering will reveal sin that still “clings so closely” to us (Heb. 12:1), and sin weighs a lot.

We don’t always like to look at it, but this burden needs to be dealt with. Sin is the heaviest of weights; forgiveness is the greatest deliverance.

See the Weight

Only people who know they have burdens can be delivered from them. Sadly, the method for that deliverance—confession—has been tarnished. We are slow to talk about sin for fear that it could threaten our already fragile egos or label us as judgmental and narrow-minded. But instead of thinking about sin talk as an endless stream of negativity and browbeating, think of it as something good. It is, after all, a part of God’s rescue package that is called the “Good News.”

So though it’s true that sin itself is not good, to see our sin is good. Whereas sin leads down a burden-filled path, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Confession is essential to that life.

Seeing the weight of our sin brings blessings. Here are three:

1. Seeing the weight of our sin drives us to Jesus.

It is the Spirit’s work to help us see our sin (John 16:8). This drives us to Jesus for forgiveness, and this is very good. Jesus comes for sinners, not the righteous (Matt. 9:13). Conviction of sin shows that we are alive and responsive. Conviction means that we can see ourselves, at least partly, and that is a prerequisite for talking with friends about sins (Matt. 7:3–5).

With no need for mercy, why bother sticking with Jesus? If we look to him merely for deliverance from life’s difficult circumstances, we would do better with Prozac or a little cunning. These, at least in the short term, seem more effective.

2. Seeing the weight of our sin brings humility.

An awareness of sin brings humility—not shame or humiliation—and humility is a brilliant reflection of Jesus to others.

The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:13–14)

Here is a community goal: to be able to identify one pattern of sin in our lives, and to be able to do it with only a moment’s notice any time we are asked.

Sin is the heaviest of weights; forgiveness is the greatest deliverance.

3. Seeing the weight of our sin is the beginning of power and confidence.

When we see our sin, we are seeing the Spirit’s conviction, which means we are witnessing spiritual power, but that power feels different from what we expect. It’s not like worldly power. Spiritual power feels like a struggle, or weakness, or neediness, or desperation. It is simply, “I need Jesus,” which is the most powerful thing we can say. It means that our confidence is not in ourselves or in either our righteousness before God or our reputation before others. Our confidence is in Jesus, and that confidence cannot be shaken. Just imagine: no more hiding from God, no more defensiveness in our relationships. When we have wronged others, we simply ask their forgiveness. Our security in Jesus gives us the opportunity to think less often about what others think of us. It gives us freedom to make mistakes and even fail. No longer do we have to build and protect our own kingdom.

Sins weighs a lot, but those who can see their sins see something good. When we confess these sins, knowing that they are forgiven, we see something better—Jesus himself.

Lay the Weight Down

So we want to grow in seeing sin and confessing it. We want to lay the weight down. But it’s not always easy. Young children confess blatant disobedience—“I’m sorry I threw my dolly at you”—but the ins and outs of that disobedience are lost on them. We, too, can be children. Consider the man caught in pornography whose confession—“I’m sorry, okay?”—doesn’t measure up to a child’s. Such confessions, from an adult, are unbecoming and hurtful. To lay the weight of sin down means looking more carefully at our hearts.

Against you, you only, have I sinned (Ps. 51:4).

Though we don’t always realize it, all sin is personal—it is against God. It is against God and his character. Our sin says, “I want my independence”; “I don’t want to be associated with you”; “I want more than you can offer me”; “I know what is best for me”; or—and this is scary—“I hate you” (James 4:4). We don’t always know we are saying these things, but that is the nature of the heart. There is usually more going on than what we see.

Throughout biblical history, God has graciously let his people see the realities of their hearts. When he liberated his people from Egypt and led them into the desert on the way to a fruitful land, the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, wondering, as many of us would, why they were being taken out of Egypt only to face other hardships in the desert.

Moses saw clearly: “Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord” (Ex. 16:8). No one had said a word against God, but in reality they all had. The Lord himself responded to Moses by exposing the truth:

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” (Num. 14:11)

And all they did was a little grumbling during a challenging day.

The New Testament letter from James follows up on this insight (James 4:1–10). James takes us from things that are obvious, such as disputes and quarrels, and then moves to things that are less obvious, such as our out-of-control desires and demands, our unfaithfulness to God, our friendship with both the world and the Devil, and our hatred against God. What has seemed like a perfectly good reason to get ticked off at someone becomes a time for the Spirit to take us into depths we could not see without him.

Let’s keep that understanding of our hearts in mind. Bad behaviors, even those that are culturally acceptable, like a little grumbling, are expressions of our spiritual allegiances. And through confession we invite God’s spotlight on those uneven and divided allegiances.

Confession Is for Everyone, Every Day

We all need to confess, and we need to do it every day (Matt. 6:12). No one is so bad that he or she is beyond forgiveness. Scripture includes murderers (Moses) and schemers (Jacob) and adulterers (David) among God’s people so that no one can say that they are beyond the reach of God’s mercy.

On the other hand, no one is so good that only one or two confessions a year will do. There are things we could confess from any moment in our day, because no one is perfect this side of heaven.

So even though sin weighs a lot, we aim to see it and enjoy the benefits of confession. When we lay it down, we are thankful and find joy in confession, knowing we are already forgiven because Jesus has become our sacrifice, once and for all (Heb. 10:11–14). Our greatest need has been met.

This article is adapted from Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love by Edward T. Welch.

Posted at: https://www.crossway.org/articles/3-blessings-of-seeing-our-sin/

The Power of Sin in the Life of an Unbeliever

Colin Smith

The unbelieving person does not see anything of the splendor of Christ and does not yet have the life of Christ in his or her soul. So, what does the secret power of sin look like in the life of your unbelieving friend, relative, or neighbor?

Sin is a secret power, working in the soul. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 gives us a devastating analysis of its power and effect. Sin produces bitter fruit in a person’s life. This is what sin does.

[Satan] will use…every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Seven Bitter Fruits of Sin 

1. Deception

…every sort of evil that deceives…  (2 Thess. 2:10).

Notice that the Scripture says, “evil… deceives.” Satan makes sin look attractive. This is the nature of sin; it always does that.

Some sin will disgust you. You will wonder to yourself, “How could anyone do that?” But some forms of sin will be attractive to you. That is where Satan deceives, and it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

2. Perishing

… evil that deceives those who are perishing. (2 Thess. 2:10).

Notice the present tense. There is a theme that runs right through the life of a person who is without Jesus Christ. There is an unraveling of life that is going on now, a taking down, a becoming less. This is a process that has already begun. By nature, we are perishing.

3. Refusal to love the truth

They perish because they refused to love the truth… (2 Thess. 2:10).

These people heard the truth and refused to believe it. But the real issue here is that they refused to love it. The heart governs the life more than the head. The greatest barrier to faith lies not in the doubts of the mind but in the desires of the heart.

4. Delight in wickedness

…all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:12).

“Delight[ing] in wickedness” is the explanation of “not believ[ing] the truth.” Where the heart loves wickedness, the mind cannot embrace the truth. It’s impossible! Jesus said, “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from… God?” (John 5:44).

5. Powerful delusion

For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion… (2 Thess. 2:11).

The reason is that they refused to love the truth. This is looking down the line of what happens when a person persists in resisting and pushing Christ away. Here are folks who’ve heard the truth and they’ve refused it.

You cannot get away from God’s activity here: God sends. God gives them what they desire. They do not want the truth, and so now they’re unable to receive it.

I want to press home on all who’ve not yet received Christ, the danger of continuing to refuse Him.  As you hear the Word, some of you are putting off a response to Jesus, “I’ll become a Christian later.  I’ll respond to God in my own time.”  Even right now you would push away Jesus Christ.

You say, “I can become a Christian later,” but you may not be able to. The secret power of sin is at work in you. That’s why the Bible says repeatedly, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:15).  Warren Wiersbe says it well:

“The human heart becomes harder each time the sinner rejects God’s truth.” [1]

You feel Him reaching out to you and you’re pushing him away. Every time you hear the Word of God something happens in your soul. The Word of God that you are hearing today will make you softer or it will make you more resistant to Christ.  It never leaves you the same.

Jesus said, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer.  Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you” (John 12:35).  Sinners refuse to love the truth, and down the line they end up with a delusion. They can no longer see what they used to see.

This is how God’s judgment works in this world. God gives sinners what they want. That is why a life of resisting God and running from God ends up in an eternity apart from God—in the darkness, with the God-haters, outside the light and the joy of His presence.

6. Faith in the lie

God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thess. 2:11).

“The lie” goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Satan said, “You will be like God” (Gen. 3:5). “You’re a good person. You don’t need Christ’s sacrifice. You can work it out yourself.”

When a man feels that he is the captain and commander of his own life, that he is his own god, his own law and that he can stand on the merits of his own goodness, you know that he has swallowed the lie. He is living under a powerful delusion.

7. Condemnation

…all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:12).

“Condemnation” is a terrible word. Don’t you shudder when you hear it? We rejoice in Romans 8:1 that says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, but the reason that has meaning for us is found right here in 2 Thessalonians 2:12.

To those who have resisted the claims of the Savior, who have not loved the truth but have believed the lie, Christ will say, “I never knew you. Depart from me!” (Matt. 7:3). Then, there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30). Did you know that Jesus said that phrase seven times? I do not want that for you. Those who pray for you do not want that for you.

These seven bitter fruits of sin show us why we need a Savior. Jesus Christ has come into the world because we need saving from the mystery of sin that is at work in every human life.

_____

This article is an adaptation of Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Lord Jesus Christ: Coming in Glory”, from his series, Staying the Course (When You’re Tired of the Battle.

1. Warren Wiersbe, Be Ready: Living in the Light of Christ’s Return (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1979), 153.

Photo: Pixabay

Sin Is Expensive. Here Are 6 Costs.

WILLIAM BOEKESTEIN

We never sin for free. There is always a cost. And counting that cost can make us less willing to follow our tempted hearts into spiritual danger.

The 17th-century Canons of Dort describe the price we pay for especially serious sins. By our sin we “greatly offend God, deserve the sentence of death, grieve the Holy Spirit, suspend the exercise of faith, severely wound the conscience, and sometimes lose the awareness of grace for a time” (5.5).

The authors of this confession aren’t rubbing salt into the wounds of those who have fallen. And they aren’t going soft on grace; the next article begins by emphasizing God’s rich mercy. Instead, as faithful shepherds, they are saying what you might find on a sign at the trailhead of a dangerous hike: “Failure to stay on the path will result in serious injury.” Reflecting on the manifold cost of sin can warn our souls against wandering from the safe path of faithfulness.

Here are the confession’s warnings.

1. By our sin we “greatly offend God.”

God is beautifully able to be offended. He isn’t a stoic. He doesn’t oversee the world like a bored, disinterested manager. As a Father to his children, he is invested in us; he cares deeply about how we live.

We never sin for free. There is always a cost.

And God’s interest matters to his beloved children. With this conviction Joseph fought off the invitation to sleep with another man’s beautiful wife: “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Faithful children will zealously resist offending a loving Father.

2. By our sin we “deserve the sentence of death.”

All sins—but especially outrageous ones—trigger in our souls the terrible announcement: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them” (Gal. 3:10).

When we sin, we become painfully aware of God’s verdict. “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Paul’s actual sin painfully reminded him that he lived in a body of death (Rom. 7:24). By rights he belonged on death row, waiting to be executed for his crimes against God. Sin doesn’t cancel God’s grace. But it does make us more conscious of our misery and desperate need for his rescuing mercy.

3. By our sin we “grieve the Holy Spirit.”

The Spirit is sensitive to sin; far more sensitive than we are. In Ephesians 4:30 Paul’s warning against grieving the Spirit isn’t connected to what most of us would call “heinous” sins. They are transgressions of speech and emotions, like bitterness, anger, and slander. But because of the Spirit’s purity—the holiness so suitable to his name—we terribly grieve him when we pollute our body, his home, with the sins he’s working to save us from.

4. By our sin we “suspend the exercise of faith.”

Jesus said to his disciples, who had given in to their fears and accused God of not caring about their plight, “Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:35–41). He didn’t mean that they were no longer born again or that they had ceased to be united to him by a mysterious, Spirit-worked trust. He meant that their faith had become crippled, paralyzed.

Sin doesn’t destroy faith in God’s elect. But it can make faith impotent, leaving us feeling like we can no longer trust God, as if he is no longer for us.

5. By our sin we “severely wound the conscience.”

Peter wept bitterly when his conscience convicted him of denying Jesus (Luke 22:61–62). Even though Paul had persecuted the church prior to being born again, he was permanently scarred by his terrible crimes (1 Cor. 15:9).

Sin can be forgiven, but it isn’t always easy to forget. Troubled consciences can be a gift, leading us to repentance and faith. But sin can also dull our consciences, making us less sensitive to the Spirit’s conviction.

6. By our sin we “sometimes lose the awareness of grace for a time.”

Deliberate sin is a conscious rejection of grace. We shouldn’t be surprised when sin leaves us lost in fear and doubt, feeling like we have been cast away by a holy God. Jonah literally ran from God, flatly refusing his holy will. When God chastened him for his terrible sin, Jonah said, “I have been cast out of your sight” (Jonah 3:4).

Sin doesn’t destroy faith in God’s elect. But it can make faith impotent, leaving us feeling like we can no longer trust God, as if he is no longer for us.

Jonah had tried to flee “from the presence of the LORD” (1:3). He was so dead-set on disobeying God that he wanted God to let him go. But after the euphoria of his rebellion dissipated, he panicked. God no longer cares about me. It wasn’t true, but it felt true because of his sin. God’s smile can become hidden behind the dark cloud of our sin.

Don’t Forget

All sins, but especially what the Canons of Dort call “monstrous sins,” bring pain. This fact will sober and fortify spiritually reasonable people.

Still, terrible sins into which we are “sometimes . . . carried away” (5.4) need not keep us from God. The apostle Peter could not have imagined a worse sin than the one he committed against Jesus—he vehemently, persistently denied his dear friend and Savior. If sin could disqualify a believer from being a child of God, Peter’s would have.

But it didn’t. Peter owned his sin. He repented. And Jesus restored him to his service (John 21:15–19). When you start reaping the whirlwind of the sin you have sown (Hos. 8:7), remember that God is merciful. Own your sin and recommit to walking God’s path, believing that his fatherly face will again shine on you. Just don’t forget sin’s cost.

Posted at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/6-costs-sin/

The Nature of Sin

AN ESSAY BY Christopher Morgan

DEFINITION

Sin is the quality of any human action that causes it to fail to glorify the Lord fully, which was first present in the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which has corrupted all people except for Christ, and which leads to death, both bodily and spiritually.

SUMMARY

Sin is the failure to keep God’s law and to uphold his righteousness, thus failing to glorify the Lord fully. While there are many different manifestations that sin can take, they are all rooted in the initial disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden. All those who have been born afterwards, other than Jesus Christ, have been born into sin and cannot escape the guilt and punishment that sin incurs apart from the freedom found in Christ. God did not create sin or the suffering which sin brings into the world, but God is sovereign over his world and provides a way to be reconciled to him, faith in his Messiah, Jesus.

The Bible uses many words for sin. Many are expressions that view sin as a failure or a “falling short” of a standard. In this sense, sin is a failure to keep God’s law (“lawlessness,” 1 John 3:4), a lack of God’s righteousness (Rom. 1:18), an absence of reverence for God (Rom. 1:18; Jude 15), a refusal to know (Eph. 4:18), and, most notably, a “coming short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Thus, sin is the quality of any human action that causes it to fail to glorify the Lord fully. More specifically, the biblical descriptions of sin can be further defined as a failure to glorify God and a rebellion against him (1 John 3:4; Rom. 1:18; 3:23; Eph. 4:18); as an offense against God and a violation of his law (Gen. 39:9; Ps. 51:4; Rom. 8:7; 1 John 3:4); as a willful act and a present state of human existence (Ezek. 18:4; Matt. 7:17); as personal and social (Josh. 7; Isa. 1:2–4; 10:1–4; Jer. 5:12, 28–29); as involving commission (a deed done), omission (a deed left undone), and imperfection (a deed done with wrong motives; Matt. 22:37); as a rouge element in creation (Gen. 1:31); as a failure to image the Creator to the world (Jer. 2:11–12; Rom. 1:23; 3:23; 8:20–22; 1 Cor. 1:18–25); as including guilt and pollution (Mark 7:21–23; Rom. 1:18; cf. 3:19–20; Eph. 2:3); as including thoughts (Exod. 20:17; Matt. 5:22, 28), words, (Isa. 6:5; James 3:1–18) and actions (Gal. 5:19–21); as deceit (Jer. 17:9; Heb. 3:12–13); and as having a beginning in history and an end in the future (1 Cor. 15:55–57; see John W. Mahony, “A Theology of Sin for Today,” in Fallen: A Theology of Sin).

Creation and Sin

At first glance, one might conclude that this first epoch of the biblical story has little to contribute to our understanding of sin. After all, sin is not even mentioned, but that silence speaks volumes! In particular, Genesis’s teaching about God’s creation clarifies two critical principles related to sin (see Christopher W. Morgan, “Sin in the Biblical Story,” in Fallen: A Theology of Sin).

First, sin is not something created or authored by God. Rather, God created a good universe and good human beings. Genesis 1–2 shows the Creator to be transcendent, sovereign, personal, immanent, and good. God’s goodness is displayed in his turning the chaos into something good—the heavens and the earth. His goodness is even more clearly reflected in the goodness of his creation, evidenced by the steady refrain, “And God saw that it was good” (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), a goodness accentuated on the sixth day: “Behold, it was very good” (v. 31). God’s generous provisions of light, land, vegetation, and animals are blessings given for man’s benefit, as are the abilities to know God, work, marry, and procreate. God blesses man with the Sabbath, places him in the delightful garden of Eden, gives him a helper, and establishes only one prohibition, given not to stifle man but to promote his welfare.

The good God creates a good world for the good of his creatures. Humans are created good and blessed beyond measure, being made in God’s image, with an unhindered relationship with God and with freedom. As a result, casting blame for sin on the good and generous God is unbiblical and unfounded. In the beginning, God creates a good cosmos with good humans who have good relationships with God, themselves, one another, and creation itself.

Second, sin is not original. It has not always existed. From a theological standpoint, God’s creation of the universe out of nothing shows that he alone is independent, absolute, and eternal. Everything else has been created. Further, the inherent goodness of creation leaves no room for a fundamental dualism between spirit and matter. Contrary to some philosophical and religious traditions, the Bible teaches that matter is a part of God’s creation and is good. Sin is ethical, not physical or tied to the cosmos itself.

From a historical standpoint, the story of creation recounts that there was a time when there was no sin. Sin is not original. The world is not now the way it was and, as Cornelius Plantinga helpfully states, “is not the way it is supposed to be” (see Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin).

The Fall and Sin

God does not create sin but creates a good universe and good human beings. Sadly, Adam and Eve do not obey God’s command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil but “fall.” The Tempter calls into question God’s truthfulness, sovereignty, and goodness. The “cunning” Tempter deflects the woman’s attention from the covenantal relationship God had established. In the central scene, the fall reaches its climax. The fatal sequence unfolds rapidly: Eve “saw,” “took,” “ate,” and “gave” (Gen. 3:6), and the sequence culminates in “he ate.” But the forbidden fruit does not deliver what the Tempter promises, and instead brings new dark realities, as the good truthful covenant Lord had warned.

This initial rebellious act brings divine justice. The consequences of man’s sin are fitting and devastating. The couple immediately feel shame, realizing they are naked (3:7). They sense their estrangement from God, foolishly trying to hide from him (vv. 8–10). They fear God and his response (vv. 9–10). Their alienation from each other emerges as Eve blames the serpent, while Adam blames Eve and by intimation even God (vv. 10–13). Pain and sorrow ensue. The woman will experience pain in childbirth; the man will toil trying to grow food in a land with pests and weeds; and both will quickly discover dissonance in their relationship (vv. 15–19). Worse, God banishes them from Eden, away from his glorious presence (vv. 22–24).

How they wish they had heeded God’s warning: if you eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, “you will certainly die” (2:17). Upon eating the forbidden fruit, they do not immediately die from something like cardiac arrest. But they do die. They die spiritually, and their bodies also begin to experience the gradual decay that leads ultimately to their physical deaths (as God’s judgment states, “you will return to dust”; 3:19).

Most devastating is that these consequences not only befall Adam and Eve but extend to their descendants as well. The scene is dismal, as life becomes difficult, with all of humanity shut out of the garden.

So, in the beginning, God creates a good cosmos with good humans who have good relationships with him, themselves, one another, and creation. But sin enters the picture and disrupts each human relationship—with God, self, one another, and creation.

Paul’s remarks in Romans 5:12–21 also shed light on the fall. Romans 5:12–21 is not primarily about sin, but it is instructive, setting Christ’s work against the backdrop of Adam’s sin. In Adam, sin enters, death spreads and reigns, and condemnation is sentenced. In contrast, in Christ there is righteousness, new life, and justification.

Synthesis

Sin is fundamentally against God and a failure to live as the image of God. Most fundamentally, sin must be defined as being against God. The accounts depicting the fall suggest that sin is rebellion against God, breaking his covenant, and failing to live as his image-bearers by serving as kings and priests according to his will and on his mission. As such, sin is exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for something less, like idols (Rom. 1:23; cf. Ps. 106:20; Jer. 2:11–12). Sin is falling short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and brings disrepute on the name of God (2:24).

Sin enters the human experience in Adam’s sin. That sin is an intruder, entering the human experience in Adam’s sin, is clear historically from Genesis. That sin enters human history in Adam’s sin is also clear theologically from Romans 5:12: “Sin came into the world through one man.” Although clarity concerning the reason(s) for Adam’s sin remains out of reach, Scripture does indicate that Adam’s sin not only results in his own punishment but also has dire consequences for all humanity. Adam sins not merely as the first bad example but as the representative of all humanity. Recall Romans 5:12–21 and the contrast between Adam’s representation of us and Christ’s representation. In Adam, there is sin, death, and condemnation. In Christ, there is righteousness, life, and justification. In Adam, there is the old era, the dominion of sin and death. In Christ, there is a new reign, marked by grace and life (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20–57).

Sin is universal—no one escapes. That the fall of Adam results in universal human sinfulness is suggested by Genesis 3–11 and emphasized by Romans 5:12–21. In particular, verse 19 clarifies, “As by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” This can also be seen through Paul’s insistence that no one is exempt, for all have sinned and fall short (Rom. 3:23); there are none righteous, not even one (3:10–18).

Sin produces universal human guilt and condemnation. Romans 5:12–21 displays this, particularly in verses 16 and 18: “The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation” (v. 16); “One trespass led to condemnation for all men” (v. 18). Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 2:1–3 speaks similarly: we were all “by nature children of wrath” (v. 3). Humans are universally guilty, in that state by nature (by birth, see Gal. 2:15), and thereby stand condemned under the wrath of God.

Sin begets universal human death. This is evident from Genesis, including God’s warning in 2:17: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” It is evident from God’s judgment upon Adam: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (3:19). The new entrance of death is also clear from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Eden and from participation in the Tree of Life (vv. 22–24). That Adam’s sin results in the universality of human death is also manifest in Romans 5:12–21. Death enters human history through Adam’s sin (v. 12) and spreads to all (v. 12). Indeed, the universality of death clarifies that sin was in the world before the law was given (vv. 13–14). Paul puts it starkly, “Many died through one man’s trespass” (v. 15); “Sin reigned in death” (v. 21); and later, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23).

Sin brings universal corruption. The corruption of all is directly related to the domain of sin and death just mentioned. Indeed, Romans 5:12–21 conjoins Adam’s sin, humans constituted as sinners, universal guilt, universal death, and the domain of death. The domain of sin and death is the macro-environmental condition in which life occurs; the particular human corruption is a part of the personal and individual aspects of the domain of sin and death.

Sin results in the reality of human suffering. As sin enters through Adam, so do its effects, suffering included. And just as God is not the author of sin, so is he not the author of suffering. Suffering is not a part of God’s good creation but is sin’s byproduct.

Sin creates shattered relationships at every level. As noted, God created a good cosmos with good human beings who had good relationships with God, themselves, one another, and creation. But sin entered the picture and brought disruption and estrangement in each human relationship, with God, self, one another, and creation.

The Good News

Indeed, “the biblical story sheds much light on sin. But clearly, sin is only the backdrop, never the point. It emerges in God’s good creation as a temporary intruder, causes much havoc, and holds many in its clutches. But it is no match for the work of God in Christ. Through his sinless life, sin-bearing death, sin-defeating resurrection, and sin-crushing second coming, sin and its offspring of suffering and death are given the death blow. Sin abounded, but grace super-abounds” Morgan, “Sin in the Biblical Story,” in Fallen: A Theology of Sin, 162).

FURTHER READING

• Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image

• Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds., Fallen: A Theology of Sin

• Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin

• D. A. Carson, How Long O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil

• Henri Blocher, Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle

• Mark Thompson, “An Unavoidable Truth: The Doctrine of Sin Today”

• Wayne Grudem, “Sin” in Systematic Theology

Posted at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-nature-of-sin/

70 Prompts for Fighting Sin

Lianna Davis

Jude, in his epistle, issues a challenge, a call. He appeals to readers to contend for the faith (Jude 3) or, to stay true to the message of Christ as originally proclaimed by the Lord’s apostles. As believers today, one application of his appeal throughout the book of Jude is to be compelled by God’s holiness and grace to live in greater and greater congruency with what is right.

The prayers below contain 70 principles derived from Jude’s letter about how and why believers fight sin and falsehood—contending for God’s goodness and truth to rule in the inner person.

Father, I want to avoid sin . . .

1. Because I was reborn to serve not myself, but You (Jude 1).

2. Because You, a holy God, love me (Jude 1).

3. Because the grace of being kept for Christ is my joy; sin is not (Jude 1).

4. Through Your kind mercy that upholds me (Jude 2).

5. Through my status of peace with You in Christ, which rightly births actions that are at peace with You too (Jude 2).

6. By Your love that makes me want Your fellowship instead of my sins (Jude 2).

7. By the power of the unchangeable truth of the faith that supports my spiritual life (Jude 3).

8. And not grow complacent; alert me to my sins, I pray (Jude 4).

9. Because those who refuse, in unbelief, to turn from their sins are designated to destruction (Jude 4).

10. Because being ungodly is a contradiction of who I was made by You, my God, to be (Jude 4).

11. In order to progress spiritually by not perverting Your grace into something that gives leniency to sin and digression (Jude 4).

12. Because disobedience to You offensively moves to negate who Jesus is, my Master and Lord (Jude 4).

13. Through knowing I am accountable to the revealed truths of Scripture (Jude 4-5).

14. Through dwelling on the mightiest act of salvation man could know—Jesus’ (Jude 5).

15. Because the prerogative to tell me what to do and how to do it is Yours (Jude 6).

16. Because future judgment means You never condone a casual attitude about sin (Jude 6).

17. Through humble knowledge that, apart from Christ, sinners deserve eternal fire, conscience and unending suffering (Jude 7).

18. By setting all of my dreams, my desires, before Your Word for approval or disapproval (Jude 8).

19. By using my faculties and abilities according to Your holy will (Jude 8).

20. In reverence for You (Jude 9).

21. Through logic and reasoning that help me discern and choose what is right (Jude 10).

22. Because I do not want to be a danger in leading others away from You (Jude 11).

23. In love for my brothers and sisters in Christ, not wanting to wrong and hurt them (Jude 12).

24. Because I never want to be numb to wickedness, sinning without any holy fear of You (Jude 12).

25. In order to be able to bless others—I was not made to feed or help only myself (Jude 12).

26. Because sin leads to more sin—like that of boasting of false insight in order to rationalize wrong actions (Jude 12).

27. Because otherwise, I would be a fruit tree barren of fruit (Jude 12).

28. Through knowing the destruction sin causes to the soul—its path is one that ultimately leads to lifeless up-rootedness (Jude 12).

29. Because wild living based on my own rules rejects the good and purposeful direction of my Creator (Jude 13).

30. Because the shame of sin brings an upheaval of life and circumstance, for me and those I know (Jude 13).

31. Because my spiritual trajectory is intended to be fixed on You; a wandering spirit negates how you made me to be (Jude 13).

32. Because sin is suited to a gloomy, utter darkness—not to a new creation in Christ (Jude 13).

33. Through heeding the warning of condemnation for the faithlessly unrepentant (Jude 14).

34. By thinking ahead to seeing You—how I will hate every second of sin, every denial of You as Lord and Master on that final day (Jude 14)!

35. Through dwelling on the magnitude of the human decision to be faithless; Your judgments will not be altered in the age to come (Jude 15).

36. Because You deserve all honor, not deeds and words of ungodliness (Jude 15).

37. Because sin involves a grumbling spirit that sets self on high (Jude 16)

38. Because sin involves discontentment, a form of disdain for what You have given and vain covetousness for what You have not (Jude 16).

39. Because unrepentant sin is not an isolated act but the beginning or continuance of a pattern (Jude 16).

40. Because unrepentant sin leads to me becoming loudest in my own mind—keeping me from hearing You and others (Jude 16).

41. Because sin makes me see others merely as people to use for my objectives (Jude 16).

42. Through wisely recalling biblical predictions that some who profess to believe will later reject You—my faith need not be displaced and my ears need not attune to hollow reasoning (Jude 17).

43. Through remembering that I live in the last times; this life will soon pass (Jude 18).

44. By a listening spirit that inclines itself toward holiness—and does not scoff at what I do not yet understand about God (Jude 18).

45. Because unrepentant sin keeps my emotions from being devoted first to You (Jude 18).

46. Because I never want to initiate any divisions in Christ’s beloved church through uttering false and ungodly proclamations—since division between true believers and unrepentant false teachers is vital (Jude 19).

47. Because sin is worldliness, and worldliness will pass away with the world (Jude 19).

48. Because sin involves seeking selfish power, dismissive of the power of the Holy Spirit (Jude 19).

49. Through glad expectation that I can be built up in my faith (Jude 20).

50. Through tuning my heart to the most holy nature of the faith (Jude 20).

51. Through prayer in the Holy Spirit—truth-filled and Christ-exalting (Jude 20).

52. In thankfulness that You have loved me before I ever knew to love You (Jude 20).

53. Through highly anticipating the day when mercy will be finalized in glory (Jude 21).

54. Because eternal life awaits, which blossoms from the seed of this life (Jude 21).

55. By trusting that doubts do not disqualify me from returning to the faith (Jude 22).

56. Through a cautious attitude—I am more susceptible to sin and its power than I think (Jude 23).

57. Because Christ in me is a gift I want to cherish (Jude 24).

58. Through confidence in Christ and all of His grace—the One who alone is able to keep me from falling to judgment (Jude 24).

59. Because Christ shed His own precious blood to make me blameless (Jude 24).

60. Through the expectation of one day being in Your presence—glorious (Jude 24).

61. Through hope of an ultimate union of You together with Your people, which will yield a joy like no other (Jude 24).

62. Because You are God of all people, all places, and all times—the only One worthy of my unqualified obedience (Jude 25).

63. Because Jesus Christ has given Himself, that those who believe can call Him ours (Jude 25).

64. In order to worship You above all else—for You are glorious, having radiant worth in all of who You are (Jude 25);

65. You are majestic, with a beauty and transcendence that fills creatures will holy awe (Jude 25);

66. To You belongs dominion, ultimate victory in this world (Jude 25);

67. And to You belongs authority to do and command according to Your matchless, sovereign will (Jude 25).

68. Because You are God above and before me—existing prior time’s start (Jude 25).

69. Because You reign at this moment, calling for my present loving obedience (Jude 25).

70. Because You are King forever, and You see fit to include in Your glory all who choose You now (Jude 25).

Thank You, Father, for the Scriptures that instruct me, Your Holy Spirit who guides me, Your promises that preserve me, and Christ—the prize of all prizes before me. Amen.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2020/02/70-prompts-fighting-sin/

When Freedom Is Captivity

Tim Challies

It is the theme of so many movies, so many novels, so many classroom presentations and political discourses: Freedom comes in pursuing your deepest desires, whatever those desires may be. Be true to yourself, be unashamed in who you are, and you will find joy and fulfillment.

Not too long ago I read the bestselling book Anticancer, written by David Servan-Schreiber. In this book he talks about the importance of a healthy immune system for battling against disease and lists several factors that may cause an immune system to decrease rather than strengthen. One of those factors, he insists, is denying or ignoring one’s natural homosexuality. If you are homosexual, the best thing for your body and soul is to pursue your homosexuality. True freedom, he implies, freedom of both body and spirit, will be found in pursuing homosexuality; captivity will come by ignoring what he believes to be natural and good.

And yet the Bible tells us a very different story. True freedom, the Bible insists, comes when we obey God. We do not find freedom outside of the revealed will of God but within it. It is within the boundaries he gives us that we find freedom and joy and fulfillment. What looks like captivity is freedom, and what looks like freedom is captivity. We are terrible assessors of what brings the truest joy. It is a daily battle to take God at his word.

Think of a child who is told by his parents not to touch the glass in front of the fireplace. He finds freedom in obeying the boundaries his parents set for him and he ignores those boundaries at his own peril. His parents are not being arbitrary or cruel. Rather, they are using their superior knowledge and their love for him to tell him what is in his own best interests. Their love for him compels them to create rules, to create boundaries.

Similarly, God gives us boundaries and he does so out of love and mercy. He tells us that we will find joy and freedom not outside of such boundaries but within them. Within the limits he gives us, we are able to find much greater joy and pleasure and fulfillment. Adam and Eve, living within the simple boundary God gave them (do not eat the fruit of that one tree) were able to live a sinless existence fully in the presence of God. But they were also able to choose not to obey and as soon as they did that, they found that their disobedience made them slaves. No longer free to serve God in every moment of every day, they became slaves to their sinful natures. The promise of freedom brought them only the pain of captivity.

It is just so much better to take God at his word and to live within the boundaries he gives us! As Christians we have the promised Holy Spirit who works in and through and with us to deliver us from sin. As we put away what formerly delighted us, we find a whole new kind of freedom in obeying God. We find that he becomes our delight and that we find great joy in living in obedience to him. And he grants us the freedom to be free—free from sin, freedom from our enslavement to it, freedom to see what is truly delightful.

No sin is worth the captivity it brings us. Sin enslaves, but God delivers. We find our freedom not apart from him and the boundaries he gives us, but with him and within those boundaries he has graciously given to us. Here is true fulfillment and true freedom.

Posted at: https://www.challies.com/christian-living/when-freedom-is-captivity/