Tag: Sin

From Your Pastor: “You May Not Sin”: Our Aim and Goal as Believers

 

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

(ESV 1 John 2:1)

If you are a Christian, you should rejoice that you are free from slavery to sin! You are free to walk in newness of life because of the love of Christ for you! Sin is a great evil and offensive against our Holy God, and a great and grave danger to our souls. Sin has an enslaving power to make us obey it and so it is wonderful news to find out that in Christ we are free not to sin!

We are called in Jesus Christ to realize that we are dead to sin and alive to God. This means that when Christ died on the cross, taking the wrath of God upon Himself for our sins, believers died with Him (Rom. 6:4-11). When Jesus was raised from the dead, we were also raised to newness of life. The Apostle Paul writes:

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

 (ESV Romans 6:11)

 The Apostle John is teaching the same liberating truth in 1 John 2:1.

“Dear Children, I write these things to you that you may not sin…”

(1 John 2:1b).

Notice how John addresses believers as his “dear children”. Like a loving father to a child, so the Apostle John writes to believers so that they may not sin.  But you say: “May not sin?! Certainly, the Bible does not teach perfectionism! Surely you are not saying that the Bible tells me that Christians are to be perfect, are you?!” No, the Bible does not teach perfectionism. In fact, the Apostle John has already addressed this false teaching and misunderstanding in chapter 1 of his letter:

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

(ESV 1 John 1:8-10)

We must never say that we “have no sin” (1 John 1:8), or that we “have not sinned” (1:10). If we say that we have no sin or have not sinned, then we are liars and call God a liar. We have a need for the confession and forgiveness of sins, and to be cleansed from all unrighteousness as we walk by faith in this world (1:9). As long as we live in this world, believers will have a need to confess our sins to Jesus and to be forgiven, and Jesus is more than willing to receive our confession and to forgive us. God is faithful and just to forgive us. What great hope we have as Christians! But John goes on to teach in 1 John 2:1 that he writes his letter so that we “may not sin”. This means that it should be our spiritual aim and goal to seek not to sin against God.

 Because of God’s love for us in Christ, let us no longer make excuses for our sins, but let us hear the truth of God’s word and seek the spiritual goal of not sinning by His grace. I know you are thinking: “But pastor, I will sin, I just know it.” But is this the spiritual aim and goal God has commanded you in the Bible to live out by faith? Yes, indeed you will sin, John says “If anyone does sin…” and then provides all Christians a wonderful Savior to go to, but the point of the passage is that Jesus’ work for us is also to promote our resolve to seek not to sin. We still have the ability to sin as long as we are on this side of eternity, but we desire not to sin and offend our Great God and Heavenly Father!

How should believers live seeking not to sin?

Let us have a deep hatred for our sins. We must have a deep hatred for our sins. We should begin by understanding that all of our sins are first a great offense against a Holy and Just and Kind King and Merciful Father. We offend God when we sin; we grieve God when we sin; we hurt Him in His Holy heart (Gen. 6:5ff), and that is a good start for Christians to understand the Godward offense of our sins so that we will seek not to sin.

Sin was the reason Jesus came to save us. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin, to release us from the dominion and rule of sin. Jesus says graciously: “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!” – -Free from sin! (John 8:31ff). In Christ, we are no longer slaves, but dear children (1 John 2:1a). As dear children, we realize that sin crushed our precious Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. “He was crushed for our iniquities” (‘iniquities’ are sins against God’s person and commandments, Isaiah 53:4ff). God crushed Jesus for our sins. “He who knew no sin became the sin-bearer for us that we might be made righteous in our union with Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Let us hate sin because it is crushed the perfect and holy, meek and gentle Jesus. This will help us seek not to sin.

Let us pray for a holy hatred for our sins against God. Sin is lawlessness. John writes:

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”

(ESV 1 John 3:4)

  Lawlessness is a complete disregard for God and His most Holy Law. Lawlessness is doing what we want to do rather than what God wants us to do. It is foolishness, and it leads to death. There is absolutely no good that comes from sin which is lawlessness. That is a promise from God Himself! The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Lawlessness describes those who will be rejected by Jesus Christ on the last day; it is the character of the anti-christ; it grows and increases into more lawlessness as it is practiced; it is the desperate situation from which God saved us by His grace the Bible teaches us (Matthew 7:23; 23:28; Romans 6:19; 2 Thess. 2; Titus 2:14).

Let us hate sin because it is lawlessness. This will help us seek not to sin.

When we see our sins, let us ask forgiveness from God and deep repentance. Let us see our Advocate before God, Jesus the Righteous One (1 John 2:1b). Where we lack righteousness, Jesus is sufficient as Savior-Advocate (one who pleads our case before God by His blood), to cleanse us. He is also able by His Spirit to keep us from sinning. Jesus’ death takes away our penalty for sin, but also grants us power over sin (1 John 1:7-9).

Let us resolve by God’s grace in Christ by His Spirit that we will not sin. But how can we achieve this? God has provided us some answers in His word. Here are a few ways to seek to do this, although we will fail at times. But what is your main aim, and spiritual goal? To be like Him; to seek not to sin.

Stay far from temptations. If you know something tempts you, or causes you to sin, seek to live far from it. Don’t go near it, even if it is lawful in and of itself. If it causes you to sin and stumble in your walk, then avoid it with all of your heart. If you are tempted to seek satisfaction in something or someone other than God, make sure you don’t fall into a temptation. This will help us seek not to sin.

Live in God’s grace and duty against sins. Go to worship, and hear preaching of God’s Word, take part in the administration of His sacraments; these are all means of God’s grace to communicate His love and power to you as you receive Christ by faith. Pray often all kinds of prayers for yourself and all people (Ephesians 6:18ff). This will help us seek not to sin.

Don’t doubt and distrust God (Romans 4:18-21). Has God ever let you down? Has God ever been unfaithful to you? No, and He never will let you down or be unfaithful to you in Christ. Trust God’s Word to you, believe His promises. Build yourself up in your most holy faith (Jude 24), seeking to believe what God says in true, particularly as He promises you that you may not sin. This will help us seek not to sin.

Be suspicious of carnal self-love. Watch your self-centeredness, and constant focus on yourself rather than on Christ. Be suspicious anytime you become self-aware and wonder why people are treating you in a certain way, or when you are too self-conscious about what others are saying, and you become overly defensive. Carnal self-love will focus you on yourself, rather than on Christ and your service to Him. This will help us seek not to sin.

Kill sin at the root. Know the master sin-roots. Master sins are ignorance of God’s word in general and God’s promises specifically. Unbelief, selfishness, pride, lust, hard-heartedness against God. All of these are master sin-roots that grow all kinds of dangerous and toxic weeds in your garden and the congregational garden of your local church. If you’re not constantly weeding your garden, then the weeds are constantly growing! This will help us seek not to sin.

Keep your conversation and thoughts above focused on Christ (Colossians 3:1-4). You have been raised with Christ, fix your mind on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:1). Watch your negative and cynical and pessimistic conversations and thoughts that you have that are veiled and subtle unbelief against God’s Word. Seek godly companions to talk about God’s goodness and grace. This will help us seek not to sin.

Be watchful and prayerful at all times (Matt. 26:41).  Apart from Christ you are dangerous; your heart is self-deceptive and evil by nature. You do not by nature know how to do anything but sin. You know this experientially in your own life, unless you have learned to self and to God (see 1 John 1:8ff). Remember the importance of asking God to search and know your heart, your thoughts, etc. (Psalm 139:23-24). This will help us seek not to sin.

God’s Word should be your only rule. This will help us seek not to sin.

Seek God’s will each day at the Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus Christ the Righteous One will grant you mercy and give you grace to help you in your time of need. This is a promise. Why would you not seek this Throne of Grace daily? Why would you not start each day at Christ’s feet? This will help us seek not to sin.

Go to Him now, confess your sins, your carelessness, your lack of watchfulness and prayer. Confess to Christ if you have not tried living for Him as dead to sin and alive to God. Confess to Jesus that you have not even tried to make it your spiritual aim not to sin if this be truth. This in itself is a blatant denial of God’s Word, and is usually fueled by one of the mother root-sins such as ignorance that God’s word teaches this, or unbelief that God would give you strength to live in this way. This will help us seek not to sin.

God requires perfect righteousness of all mankind. All mankind must be perfect if they are to ever hope in heaven and being a recipient of eternal life (Matt. 5:48). Because we are conceived and born in sin, we have no righteousness before God, and can never do anything in this life that is not actually tainted by sin (Psalm 51; Romans 3). Our only hope is to find the perfect righteousness that God demands of us and that we so desperately need in Jesus Christ alone. This is why Jesus alone is described as “The Righteous” or “The Righteous One” (1 John 2:1b). Only Jesus who was both God and man has attained a perfect righteousness.

Jesus died for sinners, and he died so that we might live for God. Jesus died for sinners so that we might be set free from slavery from sin and live unto God. The perfect righteousness that God requires of all mankind, God also provides for us in Jesus the Righteous One, and this is received by faith.

Now hate sin. Ask Christ to help you to hate it more. Jesus did not leave you in your sins. He did not allow sin in your life to continue to offend God Almighty, and to destroy your life and soul. He came so that you would have life in Him and to experience abundant life that is without the horrible rule and reign of sin over you, making you a slave with only death as your hope to be set free.

Jesus Christ has overcome sin; he has done for you what you could never do by His power and grace; because of His love for you!

And then go and seek not to sin.

But if (and when!) you do sin, you have an Advocate before the Father, Jesus the Righteous.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

(ESV 1 John 2:1)

Ponder the love of God for you in Christ.

 

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Biggs

 

 

“Why Are You Angry?” – The Questions God Asks Us

Word of Encouragement- Week Ending Feb. 18th, 2012

Series: The Questions God Asks Us

“Why Are You Angry…?”- Genesis 4:6

ESV Genesis 4:6-10: The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

Cain’s heart was not right before God. Both Cain and Abel came to bring offerings of worship to God Almighty (Gen. 4:1-5). Both were outwardly worshipping God and bringing the substance of their labors to the LORD for worship and dedication. But Cain’s heart was far from God, even though his lips and actions may have honored Him.

Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God because his heart was right before God. This reminds all of us of the importance of daily seeking to live before God with tender hearts that are devoted to our loving Savior. We must never come to God in our own name, but always in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and with a heart resting in His completed work alone.

“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”- 1 Samuel 16:7

Cain’s sacrifice was a mere show and God knew his heart, and God rejected his offering: “…For Cain and his offering he had no regard” (Gen. 4:5). This made Cain very angry. So God asked Cain: “Why are you angry?”

God asks him the question about his anger to lovingly and patiently bring him to see his sin and to repentance. God warns Cain of the danger of his sin, and sin’s desire to possess and enslave him (Gen. 4:7).

Why was Cain angry? On the surface it was because his brother’s sacrifice was acceptable and his was rejected. Deeper in Cain’s heart, he was angry for selfish reasons. The anger that was manifesting and coming forth from Cain’s heart was that he didn’t truly love God as he should. Cain thought God owed him something; Cain came in his own name, based on his own merits, or what he thought he deserved from God.

Cain thought selfishly that his works for God were good enough and that God was indebted to accept him. God warns Cain of sin’s ability to enslave and seek to master those who would reject God’s grace, relying on their own works and efforts before God. We too must always keep in mind that we deserve nothing before God because of our sinfulness. God is good and faithful, and does amazingly gracious things for us, yet we are undeserving. We must keep this in our minds, let we too, become angry and ungrateful, thinking that somehow must accept us.  All of us are accepted only on the basis of the completed work of Jesus Christ.

But Cain does not listen to God’s gracious and merciful warning. What we see here is a man who is seeking to please God for himself. Cain is seeking to self-justify, rather than trust in the riches of God’s grace by asking God for mercy and receiving God’s justification through faith alone in His promises to us. Our only hope is that God justifies the ungodly based on what God has done for us in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:23-26); we must repent of our efforts at justifying ourselves before God, it will only lead to more anger at God and others.

Let our will be God’s will; let our hearts be honest before God. Our anger often is an indicator that we somehow think we deserve grace from God. When we’re angry, let us find out if we are perhaps only serving self rather than serving God. Our anger reveals something about our hearts before God. Do we truly believe that we are received by God’s grace alone, or do we think that God owes us something, and so we get angry when we estimate that we have gotten less than we think we deserve?

Honestly, what do we truly deserve before God? When we think of the numerous times we have been angry with God and others from our hearts, the many times we have self-righteously and self-centeredly lived for God only for what we could get from God, let us be reminded of His rich love and grace to us in Jesus Christ.

How patient and kind, how gentle and meek God is toward us. How He loves those who will recognize what they truly deserve for their sins, and find grace in God’s promise to forgive and heal and to accept that is found in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rather than repent, Cain struck in angry murder against his brother Abel who was accepted by faith. If sinners cannot kill God in their anger, they will kill those who please God if they have the opportunity.

God asks us today: “Why are you angry?” Do you think you deserve something from me? Will you not be accepted if you do what is right, simply trusting and believing in God’s promises revealed in Jesus Christ alone? Will you not be accepted if you simply believe that all the righteousness that God requires of you He also provides for you in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ?

Anger is potential murder against God and those whom God loves. It was the anger of the Pharisees and teachers of Israel that put Jesus to death. Yet through this sacrifice made by Jesus Christ, all repentant sinners (including the angriest, and those farthest right now in their hearts before God) can be brought near to God and be accepted by God in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6; 2:14ff) through Jesus’ precious blood that continually cries out for forgiveness rather than vengeance, and speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24.

With God, there is mercy and forgiveness, and everlasting steadfast, undeserved love because of the precious blood shed by God’s blessed Son for sinners! God poured out His righteous and just anger on His Beloved Son, so that we could be acceptable to Him.

Why are you angry? Repent, believe; repent again, believe again. When you are angry, ask yourself what you truly deserve, and then see what God graciously has given you by His grace in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ!

He lived for you; go live for Him! He died for you; go lose your life so you can truly find it! He was raised and vindicated for you; go and live righteously alive in Him! He was enthroned at God’s right hand; go and be confident in Him!

Let us be careful to watch ourselves and our hearts closely, as Calvin warned us: “Anger is always our near neighbor.”

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Biggs

“You May Not Sin”- Our Spiritual Aim and Goal

Word of Encouragement

 

ESV 1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

 

If you are a Christian, you should rejoice that you are free from slavery to sin! You are free to walk in newness of life because of the love of Christ for you!

 

Sin is evil and offensive against our Holy God, and a great and grave danger to our souls. Sin has an enslaving power to make us obey it and so it is wonderful news to find out that in Christ we are free not to sin!

 

We are called in Jesus Christ to realize that we are dead to sin and alive to God. This means that when Christ died on the cross, taking the wrath of God upon Himself for our sins, believers died with Him. When Jesus was raised from the dead, we were also raised to newness of life. The Apostle Paul writes:

 

ESV Romans 6:11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

The Apostle Paul says to consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Why? Our old self was crucified with Christ and we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:6). The death we died with Christ on the cross we died to sin once for all, so that we could serve God (Romans 6:10).

 

The Apostle John is teaching the same liberating truth in 1 John 2:1. Notice how John addresses believers as his “dear children”. Like a loving father to a child, so the Apostle John writes to believers so that they may not sin.

 

But you say: “May not sin?! Certainly, the Bible does not teach perfectionism! Surely you are not saying that the Bible tells me that Christians are to be perfect, are you?!” No, the Bible does not teach perfectionism. In fact, the Apostle John has already addressed this false teaching and misunderstanding in chapter 1 of his letter:

 

ESV 1 John 1:8-10: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

 

We must never say that we “have no sin” (1 John 1:8), or that we “have not sinned” (1:10). If we say that we have no sin or have not sinned, then we are liars and call God a liar. We have a need for the forgiveness of sins, and to be cleansed from all unrighteousness as we walk by faith in this world (1:9). As long as we live in this world, believers will have a need to confess our sins to Jesus and to be forgiven, and Jesus is more than willing to receive our confession and to forgive us. God is faithful and just to forgive us.

 

What great hope we have as Christians. But John goes on to teach in 1 John 2:1 that he writes his letter so that we “may not sin”. This means that it should be our spiritual aim and goal not to sin against God.

 

Jesus Christ is the only “Righteous One” (1 John 2:1b). That means that Jesus Christ is the only man who ever lived who was righteous in Himself, or without sin. We have sin, but in Christ we have died to sin, and we should live as if we are dead to sin and alive to God, and to seek not to sin by God’s grace in Christ.

 

The Apostle John’s balance is most helpful: “I write these things to you that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin we have Jesus.”

 

There is always grace for sinners in Jesus, but in Jesus Christ, we should fight the good fight against sin, seeking not to sin. May it be our daily prayer that we “may not sin”.  John is teaching the same truth as the Apostle Paul in Romans 6 but in his own unique way.

 

“Dear Children, I write these things to you that you may not sin…” (1 John 2:1b).

 

Because of God’s love for us in Christ, let us no longer make excuses for our sins, but let us hear the truth of God’s word and seek the spiritual goal of not sinning by His grace. I know you are thinking: “But pastor, I will sin, I just know it.” But is this the spiritual aim and goal God has commanded you in the Bible to live out by faith? Yes, indeed you will sin, John says “if anyone does sin…” and then provides all Christians a wonderful Savior to go to, but the point of the passage is that Jesus’ work for us is also to promote our resolve to seek not to sin.

 

How should believers live seeking not to sin?

 

Let us have a deep hatred for our sins. We must have a deep hatred for our sins. We should begin by understanding that all of our sins are first a great offense against  a Holy and Just and Kind and Merciful God. We offend God when we sin; we grieve God when we sin; we hurt Him in His Holy heart (Gen. 6:5ff), and that is a good start for Christians to understand the Godward offense of our sins so that we will seek not to sin.

 

Sin was the reason Jesus came to save us. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin, to release us from the dominion and rule of sin. Jesus says graciously: “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!” – -Free from sin! (John 8:31ff). In Christ, we are no longer slaves, but dear children (1 John 2:1a).

 

As dear children, we realize that sin crushed our precious Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. “He was crushed for our iniquities” (‘iniquities’ are sins against God’s person and commandments, Isaiah 53:4ff). God crushed Jesus for our sins. “He who knew no sin became the sin-bearer for us that we might be made righteous in our union with Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

 

Let us hate sin because it is crushed the perfect and holy, meek and gentle Jesus. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Let us pray for a holy hatred for our sins against God. Sin is lawlessness. John writes:

 

ESV 1 John 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

 

Lawlessness is a complete disregard for God and His most Holy Law. Lawlessness is doing what we want rather than what God wants us to do. It is foolishness, and it leads to death. There is absolutely no good that comes from sin which is lawlessness. That is a promise from God Himself! The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Lawlessness describes those who will be rejected by Jesus Christ on the last day; it is the character of the anti-christ; it grows and increases into more lawlessness as it is practiced; it is the desperate situation from which God saved us by His grace the Bible teaches us (Matthew 7:23; 23:28; Romans 6:19; 2 Thess. 2; Titus 2:14).

 

Let us hate sin because it is lawlessness. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

When we see our sins, let us ask forgiveness from God and deep repentance. Let us see our Advocate before God, Jesus the Righteous One (1 John 2:1b). Where we lack righteousness, Jesus is sufficient as Savior-Advocate (one who pleads our case before God by His blood), to cleanse us. He is also able by His Spirit to keep us from sinning. Jesus’ death takes away our penalty for sin, but also grants us power over sin (1 John 1:7-9).

 

Let us resolve by God’s grace in Christ by His Spirit that we will not sin. But how can we achieve this? God has provided us some answers in His word. Here are a few ways to seek to do this, although we will fail at times. But what is your main aim, and spiritual goal? To be like Him; to seek not to sin.

 

Stay far from temptations. If you know something tempts you, or causes you to sin, seek to live far from it. Don’t go near it, even if it is lawful in and of itself. If it causes you to sin and stumble in your walk, then avoid it with all of your heart. If you are tempted to seek satisfaction in something or someone other than God, make sure you don’t fall into a temptation. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Live in God’s grace and duty against sins. Go to worship, and hear preaching of God’s Word, take part in the administration of His sacraments; these are all means of God’s grace to communicate His love and power to you as you receive Christ by faith. Pray often all kinds of prayers for yourself and all people (Ephesians 6:18ff). This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Don’t doubt and distrust God (Romans 4:18-21). Has God ever let you down? Has God ever been unfaithful to you? No, and He never will let you down or be unfaithful to you in Christ. Trust God’s Word to you, believe His promises. Build yourself up in your most holy faith (Jude 24), seeking to believe what God says in true, particularly as He promises you that you may not sin. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Be suspicious of carnal self-love. Watch your self-centeredness, and constant focus on yourself rather than on Christ. Be suspicious anytime you become self-aware and wonder why people are treating you in a certain way, or when you are too self-conscious about what others are saying, and you become overly defensive. Carnal self-love will focus you on yourself, rather than on Christ and your service to Him. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Kill sin at the root. Know the master sin-roots. Master sins are ignorance of God’s word in general and God’s promises specifically. Unbelief, selfishness, pride, lust, hard-heartedness against God. All of these are master sin-roots that grow all kinds of dangerous and toxic weeds in your garden and the congregational garden of your local church. If you’re not constantly weeding your garden, then the weeds are constantly growing! This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Keep your conversation and thoughts above focused on Christ (Colossians 3:1-4). You have been raised with Christ, fix your mind on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:1). Watch your negative and cynical and pessimistic conversations and thoughts that you have that are veiled and subtle unbelief against God’s Word. Seek godly companions to talk about God’s goodness and grace. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Be watchful and prayerful at all times (Matt. 26:41).  Apart from Christ you are dangerous; your heart is self-deceptive and evil by nature. You do not by nature know how to do anything but sin. You know this experientially in your own life, unless you have learned to self and to God (see 1 John 1:8ff). Remember the importance of asking God to search and know your heart, your thoughts, etc. (Psalm 139:23-24). This will help us seek not to sin.

 

God’s Word should be your only rule. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Seek God’s will each day at the Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus Christ the Righteous One will grant you mercy and give you grace to help you in your time of need. This is a promise. Why would you not seek this Throne of Grace daily? Why would you not start each day at Christ’s feet? This will help us seek not to sin.

 

Go to Him know, confess your sins, your carelessness, your lack of watchfulness and prayer. Confess to Christ if you have not tried living for Him as dead to sin and alive to God. Confess to Jesus that you have not even tried to make it your spiritual aim not to sin if this be truth. This in itself is a blatant denial of God’s Word, and is usually fueled by one of the mother root-sins such as ignorance that God’s word teaches this, or unbelief that God would give you strength to live in this way. This will help us seek not to sin.

 

God requires perfect righteousness of all mankind. All mankind must be perfect if they are to ever hope in heaven and being a recipient of eternal life (Matt. 5:48). Because we are conceived and born in sin, we have no righteousness before God, and can never do anything in this life that is not actually tainted by sin (Psalm 51; Romans 3).

 

Our only hope is to find the perfect righteousness that God demands of us and that we so desperately need in Jesus Christ alone. This is why Jesus alone is described as “The Righteous” or “The Righteous One” (1 John 2:1b). Only Jesus who was both God and man has attained a perfect righteousness.

 

Jesus died for sinners, and he died so that we might live for God. Jesus died for sinners so that we might be set free from slavery from sin and live unto God.

 

The perfect righteousness that God requires of all mankind, God also provides for us in Jesus the Righteous One, and this is received by faith.

 

Now hate sin. Ask Christ to help you to hate it more. Jesus did not leave you in your sins. He did not allow sin in your life to continue to offend God Almighty, and to destroy your life and soul. He came so that you would have life in Him and to experience abundant life that is without the horrible rule and reign of sin over you, making you a slave with only death as your hope to be set free.

 

Jesus Christ has overcome sin; he has done for you what you could never do by His power and grace; because of His love for you!

 

And then go and seek not to sin.

 

But if you do sin, you have an Advocate before the Father, Jesus the Righteous.

 

ESV 1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

 

Ponder the love of God for you.

 

IN Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

 

PS I will have more later this week on our WOE study from how we can be Assessed, Aligned and Aim through studying the seven churches of Revelation.

Words without Christ- “Why Sin and Suffering?”

Word of Encouragement

 

Almighty God asks: “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?!”– Job 38

 

Dear Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ at KCPC,

 

Recently, I had an excellent question asked to me about suffering and our sins.

 

The question was concerning someone from another congregation in our community who has been suffering great sickness for some time and was told by another well-meaning Christian (not from our congregation!!) that they were suffering because of some specific sin, and that they needed to find out what sin they had committed and repent.  The “friend” of this sufferer told the dear sick person that she must obviously be in some grievous sin, to be so sick for so long.  She told her that all sickness and disease is a direct result of our sin.

 

We should understand that this kind of thinking is very unbiblical, fraught with dangerous consequences for those who hold to this aberrant theology, and promotes self-righteousness in those who believe it (not to mention the despair in dear sufferers it is administered unto). We should avoid thinking this way, and offer other answers for our friends and family members who suffer, answers that are rooted in Biblical truth.

 

Here was my answer to the question.

 

First of all, I am so sorry that your friend was carelessly told this unbiblical view from another person. I’m afraid that I have heard that kind of false teaching “on the street” in this area, and I can only say that our Lord Jesus and the larger teaching of Scripture denies this to be the truth. This kind of teaching that sickness is a direct result of a particular sin is similar to the so-called “friends” of Job who thought that Job was experiencing the calamity and sickness of his life because of some particular sin he had committed.

 

Clearly, in the Book of Job, God rebukes Job’s “friends” for this false theology.

 

The Book of Job opens up with a “behind-the-scenes” look at our loving, merciful and Sovereign God who brings calamity because He is going to use it to train his child and make him more godly and ultimately Christ-like (see the closing chapters of Job in how God teaches Job about the fact that everything he went through was for God’s glory and Job’s good, chapters 38-42, particularly the closing chapters of Job 42).

 

Rarely does someone suffer in this life as Job did, and yet the purpose of the Book of Job is to reveal God as great and good, and to teach that God allows suffering to grow his people in godliness. But the suffering, illness, and/or affliction is not in direct result of a person’s sin, because the Book of Job says Job was righteous in God’s sight, and although a sinner saved by grace, he “never did sin against God” in questioning God, etc.

 

For teaching like your friend heard about her sickness being a direct result of a sin she had committed, God would respond, and has responded (Job 38:1) with these words:

 

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” ; and read this at the end of Job:

 

ESV Job 42:1-7: Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

 

Job was able to know God better through his illness and suffering–but he went through his affliction not because of some particular sin he had committed. The purpose of the Book of Job is to teach that sickness, suffering and/or affliction is NOT directly caused by specific sins, but so that God’s children might know Him better through suffering; so that they can understand a bit better things too “wonderful for them”, and to be able to see and know God’s goodness with eyes that only a sufferer in Christ has (see the false teaching of those who would teach otherwise in Job 8:4; 24:19; 33:27; 35:3, 6– God rebukes this thinking as in Job chapters 38-42 mentioned above)!

 

You could say that those who counsel with words without knowledge are those who ultimately counsel others with words without Christ!

 

We must understand that God’s Spirit always leads His people to God for help, outside of oneself to find hope.  God’s Spirit leads suffering people out of themselves so that they would behold a glorious Christ (Job: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you…”).

 

If a Spirit-filled person is ministering to you as you suffer, you will know that the person is from God and is being biblical in their advice to you because they will point you away from your sin, your suffering, and from what you deserve by nature outwardly toward God so that you find His mercy in Jesus. Only our sinful flesh and the accusing devil himself would lead a suffering child of God back into themselves for answers (see the work of the Spirit of God in John 14-16).

 

For those who point a person away from God to oneself, there is this message from God: “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?!”.

 

Notice also more clarity on this kind of thinking about sin and suffering from John 9:1-5 where our Lord and Savior heals a man born blind.

 

Notice how the misunderstanding in the time of the disciples (like Job’s “friends”) was to think that if one was suffering then that must mean that they have done something particularly sinful. We should remember that the default mode of sinful human nature is works-righteousness, so you would expect the thinking at this self-righteous level to be: “If I do bad, I suffer; If I do good, I enjoy my life, etc.” But this is unbiblical as our Lord points out to his generation and ours today:

 

John 9:1-5: As [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

 

In John 9:1-5, when the disciples get a glimpse of the blind beggar and see him for the first time they ask Jesus the age-old faulty theological question of whether this man or his parent’s sinning was the cause of his blindness.  Jesus answers (as God answers Job’s “friends” in Job 38-42) that his blindness was so that the works of God might be manifest in his life and God would be glorified (John 9:1-5).

 

In other words, Jesus says that the reason why the man is blind is so that others might see God’s glory in his being made to see.  Concerning the theology question asked by the apostles, it is assumed by them that a particular sin is the ultimate reason for any physical sicknesses, but we cannot say that just because someone suffers a physical ailment it must be due to a particular sin.  Jesus says that it is so that God may be glorified. 

 

We should understand that there is always a general connection or relationship between the fall of man and our physical and spiritual ailments and/or sicknesses, but only God knows the specific connection between a particular sin and sin’s effects in our lives. It is true that had we not sinned in Adam, had there been no fall of man, then there would be no sin and sickness at all in the world (and that is the hope of the New Creation, Revelation 21:3-7).

 

However, we should never try to understand a cause and effect kind of relationship to our particular sins and sicknesses. We are all far more sinful that we can imagine anyway. None of us get what we truly deserve. In Christ, we get grace and mercy, even though we suffer. Suffering is a result in a general way because of our sin- -the fall of mankind. But why God allows some to suffer in certain ways and other in other ways is beyond us.

 

All we can say for sure is that God uses it to make His children humble and holy like Jesus; God calls us to it so that He will be glorified and we will grow in Christ-likeness.

 

We should be careful of trying to figure out God’s reasons in allowing certain manifestations of physical illnesses in the life of men and women.  We simply do not know.  We know that God is Sovereign and that God is good and he allows these physical manifestations in certain lives for his own good purposes (Deut. 29:29).

 

When someone tries to say that a person’s sickness is a direct result of a particular sin, they reveal that they have a low or impartial view of sin and human nature; they are deceived.  Often these kind of folks think that they have made more progress in their walk with God than they truly have. Those who are blinded by self-righteousness think that if they do good for God, then He will do good to them and they will not suffer, but this is Pharisaical thinking. They think if they are sick it is specifically because they have sinned or been unrighteous before God. Again, this reveals a works-righteousness mentality.

 

We should understand that we do good for God as believers in Christ because we are commanded to do it, and in Christ we are privileged to do it, but this does not mean that we will not suffer. Often those who are making the most progress in the Christian life are the folks whom God chooses to suffer greatly for Him! (See the cross and the Son of God!).

 

Again the words of God to the so-called “friends” of Job are appropriate here: “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?!” And those who counsel with words without knowledge are those who ultimately counsel others with words without Christ!

 

Jesus is wise in his response in John 9 to his disciples’ faulty theology: Rather than allowing the disciples to pursue the mysteries of God’s dealings with man and his sin, he graciously explains to them that in this particular case, with this particular man, his blindness was for the glory of God to be revealed in the Person and Work of Jesus.

 

This was to shed light for those who have eyes to see, so that they might reach out in their spiritual blindness for salvation in Christ and be healed!  The question should not have been a “why” question as much as a “who” question.

 

When we suffer, and when we suffer with brothers and sisters who are suffering, we do not want to go down the path of asking and/or seeking to answer the “WHYs” (that is, the ‘WHY questions’) so much as to minister and point to the WHO in our words of counsel.

 

We ask these questions: WHO has suffered for you-  – before you? WHO has died for you? WHO will never leave you nor forsake you? WHO will uphold you by His righteous right hand?

 

JESUS. Jesus is the WHO. The WHY is not wise counsel, and is often very crippling and cruel to others when they are suffering. Why? Because you have just taken their eyes off their only hope (WHO) and placed their eyes on themselves (WHY).

 

When we suffer, all of us can find enough sinful junk within our hearts to damn our souls to hell and plenty of good reasons why we should be suffering- -but this is not the way of Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

 

The Spirit of God leads us out of ourselves especially during suffering to find comfort and grace in our Savior (WHO).

 

Let the Spirit of God lead you as you suffer and help those who suffer to Christ, not to focus them on their particular sins. Let us all daily repent of our sins, and live our lives faithfully before God, but let us never seek to find a particular cause and effect relationship in our sins and the sins of others.

 

In John 9 (and in the Book of Job), we should be reminded that the real questions in life for the Christian are **NOT** the WHY QUESTIONS such as “Why is this person blind?” Or, “Why does God allow this calamity and physical illness to befall this person?” Or, “Why does God allow me to suffer?”

 

But rather (if we’re going to ask a WHY question), “Why are we not all born physically blind and handicapped with physical illnesses because of sin?” (cf. Luke 13).  But again, the answer to our suffering is in the glorious and comforting WHO question: “Who is my only hope and comfort in both life and death, but the Lord Jesus Christ?!”

 

The important point made by the Lord Jesus in this passage in John 9 is that although we are not all born physically blind (the Pharisees in the passage who are angry at Jesus could see clearly God’s world around them), we are all born spiritually blind and with an inherent inability to see the things of God in the world or in Christ apart from the power and light of the Holy Spirit reaching deep into our dark hearts and saying with authority as God did in the creation:

 

“Let there be light…and their was light” (Romans 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6).

 

Without the work of the Holy Spirit illuminating God’s Word and leading us to Jesus Christ we cannot see anything in our lives as we should.  The Spirit takes us to Christ in our suffering so that God would be glorified in us!

 

Anyone who has the audacity to tell another poor soul who is suffering that God wants them to repent of a particular sin and they will be made better, is a person who thinks too highly of themselves. This is someone who is more afflicted and suffering before God in their blindness than they realize. They are dangerously leading the sufferer away from their only comfort in Jesus Christ, and thus they become the “blind leading the blind”!

 

I will pray that God would make this clear to your friend and comfort her in her time of suffering. I would encourage her to know God’s hand is good and powerful and this is her privilege to suffer with and in Christ Jesus, as the Apostle Paul says:

 

ESV Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake…

 

All of God’s greatest servants suffered in order to be made like Christ Jesus in His death and resurrection, and through suffering and death to self, they became more like Christ (Hebrews 11).  Suffering with Christ is God’s wise and mysterious way of making us privileged to be His dear and beloved children (Hebrews 12:5ff), and causes us to grow in holiness or Christ-likeness. According to Hebrews 12:5-12, the ones who actually should be concerned about their sins against God, **are those who DO NOT SUFFER** they may very well be illegitimate children as Hebrews 12 teaches. But that is for God to decide.

 

Let us love and serve Him no matter what our Master calls us to do for Him. Let us serve Him and worship Him by His grace!

 

And let us bring godly counsel that is full of the Holy Spirit and full of JESUS CHRIST to our suffering brothers and sisters, so that they might find God’s mercy, grace and comfort in both life and death.

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Charles

09/28/11

True Repentance: “Against You Have I Sinned, O God”

Word of Encouragement

 

Against you, 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….For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. – Psalm 51:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10

 

True repentance is godly sorrow for our sins against God that is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit in us. True repentance is a gospel grace of God given to believers as a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ as one of the fruits of His life, death, resurrection and ascension for us.  True repentance is not what saves a person any more than faith is what saves, but Christ saves us through faith and true repentance. We do not put our hope in our repentance, but in Christ alone that grants to believers repentance. The focus of our salvation is always the grace of God to sinners received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

 

But are you truly repentant? Many confessing Christians are not truly repentant. Many confessing Christians may be sorry for being troubled for their sins, but are not so sorry for troubling God with their sins, and offending His Holy character by their sins. We must be aware that there is still a self-centered focus that characterizes our lives, even when it comes to repenting before God. If we are not repentant, if repentance is not what defines us, then how can we say we are true Christian? The fullness of the Gospel era in the full revelation of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ begins with this proclamation:

 

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”- ESV Mark 1:15

 

How do we know and recognize true repentance in us? Notice the Psalmist in Psalm 51 in our scripture above; when repenting of sin, the Psalmist knows that the offense if first a sinful offense against a Holy God: “Against, you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” Repentance is produced by “godly grief” according to the Apostle Paul.  In Psalm 51, David had sinned against others when he sinned with Bathsheba. He had both committed adultery and he had murdered. But his sin was first against God.

 

The Apostle Paul had written a letter to the Corinthians for their conduct and behavior that was unbecoming to the gospel of Jesus and their response was a realization that they had sinned against God first, even though they had also sinned against the Apostle Paul and others in the congregation.  The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 7 contrasts true godly repentance produced by godly grief and what he describes as “worldly grief” that produces NOT repentance, but death.

 

What is worldly grief? Simply, it is being sorry for having to suffer the consequences for sin, but it is not godly grief that leads to repentance. True repentance is sorry for offending our Creator and God.

 

Every sin strikes at the honor of God, the being of God, the glory of God, the heart of Christ, the joy of the Spirit, and the peace of a man’s conscience. A truly repentant person strikes against all sin by the power of the Spirit, as the Spirit wars against the flesh, so the repentant person allies himself daily with the Spirit’s work to kill sin by drawing strength from a crucified Christ to crucify all (not merely sins in general, but sins in particular!). Christ has not only paid the penalty of our sins, but in our union with Him by faith, he has granted us power over our sins.

 

When you sin are you first sorry for offending God? Are you saddened first NOT with the fact that this sin could cause others to disrespect you, or that you might be found out, or that you might have some consequences to suffer, or that it would really hurt your family if they knew what you had done, or that the sin has made you feel guilty and like you’re not a good person, etc.? If this is your first concern, it is usually your only concern.

 

Sadly, this is what is called repentance many times in Christian churches. But the Bible teaches very clearly throughout redemptive-history, that repentance is first sorrow for grieving God; repentance is sorrow for sinning against God your Creator, and Lord who redeemed you.

 

This is why the Reformers, particularly Luther and Calvin spoke of repentance being a daily activity as a Christian and what should characterize the true Christian each and every day. As the Psalmist wrote: ESV “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3). Repentance is to “know your transgressions against God” and that daily you sin is ever “before you”. To truly know the saving work and power of Jesus Christ, one must know from the sinful depths which they have been saved. Repentance is a continual turning from sin and folly to the grace of God found in Christ alone.

 

True daily repentance should be some of our first words out of our mouths to God when we get out of bed each morning. A truly repentant person can never content themselves with one act of repentance any more than they can be content with one act of faith or one act of love in the Christian life (Thomas Brooks). If you want to learn to pray more, then ask God to help you to have a deeper repentance, a deeper knowledge of how much you offend Him in words, thoughts and deeds that sin against Him and are abhorrent to Him in both your committing of certain sins and the omission of certain duties.

 

True repentance can make you pray more, and it can help you to be filled more with Christ’s joy. Why? Because you will more deeply realize the truth of what Jesus says: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), and so you will seek the grace from Christ alone to live for God. As you learn to depend upon Christ more, you will more and more realize that He is your Savior from sin and your closest friend who teaches you to be obedient to His commands, and fills you with His joy: “My joy may be in you, and your joy may be full” (John 15:11b).

 

But don’t get too confident in your own self to repent. Repentance is not something you do first, it is something God does in you; repentance is a gift from Jesus Christ. Repentance is something that God gives to you by the working of His Spirit. This is another reason boldly to approach the throne of grace to find help in your time of need (Heb. 4:14-16). You need to be repentant in order to grow, you need repentance in order to be full of joy and walking with God, but you can’t produce repentance on your own. Call out to God for a greater repentance! This too, will keep you in your prayer closet seeking God as he has promised to reward you (Matt. 6).

 

Jesus gives repentance: ESV “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”- Acts 5:32. Jesus grants repentance. Do you seek Him for it?

 

Our forefather in the faith, Thomas Brooks reminds us of the fact that we should never fool ourselves into believing that repentance is an act of our own ability: “There is no power below that power that raised Christ from the dead, and that made the world, that can break the heart of a sinner or turn the heart of a sinner to God. You are as well able to melt hard metal like adamant as to melt your own heart; you are as able to raise the dead and to create a world, as to repent….Repentance is a gift that comes down from above….It is not in the power of any mortal to repent at pleasure” (Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices).”

 

How do you know that you’re truly repentant and that Jesus has granted you repentance? There are a few main ingredients of true repentance: A sight of one’s own sin, sorrow for sin, confession of sin, hatred of sin, and turning from sin.

 

A sight of one’s own sins before God. As we learned above, we are to have a sight of our own sinful condition before God, as well as our specific sins we commit against God (this is one important use of the Law of God and the Ten Commandments for the Christian life; the Law is never to be used as a way of gaining salvation, because it only aggravates sin and makes one hopelessly realize their sinful helplessness and need of grace to do anything good for God, but as commands in the Christian life, it helps us to see more clearly our own sins and our need for constant repentance and grace). Many of us are good at spying the sinful faults in others, but we can see no faults in ourselves. Our own sins are veiled with ignorance of our sins due to pride and self-love.

 

A sorrow for your sin. Godly sorrow is sorry for one’s sin against God. It is not first concerned with the trouble that the sin has brought to the sinner, but the pain that it has brought to the heart of our loving Savior. Remember the penitent tax collector before God; this should be our daily prayer of repentant and act; he “beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13). Psalm 38 (various verses) says: “There is no health in my bones because of my sin…My iniquities have gone over my head, they are a burden to me, they are too heavy for me…But for you, O LORD, do I wait; O Lord my God, you will answer.” Anyone who can repent without sorrow must suspect if he is truly repentant. Notice in Psalm 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

 

What characterizes true repentance is a broken heart, and deep sorrow for sin because as a Christian particularly your sins have been against grievous to God who loves you in Jesus. Our Lord Jesus tells us that the Christian is characterized by repentance and “blessed” as he teaches in the sermon on the mount: ESV “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The Christian is repentant and sorry for sin because the Christian is poor in spirit before God, mournful for one’s own sins as well as the sins of others, and meek.”

 

Remember the promise of Psalm 126:5: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy!”

 

Confession of sin. As our sins are ever before God, so God’s promise must be ever before us: ESV “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). An unrepentant person is basically living a lie because they are living as if they have no sin; a unrepentant person is calling God a liar as well (1 Jo. 1:10). But a truly repentant person knows not only our sins before God, but knows that when they confess, God is faithful to His promises, and He is just in that He will never demand another payment for sin, when Jesus Christ has already borne your curse, your sins and your sorrows on the cross for you (Isaiah 53; 1 Peter. 2:22-25).

 

Confession is self-accusing. Confession brings a sinner before God as one’s own accuser to find a Savior ready and willing to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. By self-accusing we prevent Satan’s accusations against us. This is what the Apostle John means when He reminds us in confession of our sins to God that we have an Advocate, or a Mediator, or a “Defense Attorney” to stand for us against any Accuser (1 Jo. 2:1-2; Rev. 12:10). Confession should be voluntary and immediate once Jesus has given repentance. As the prodigal son was quick to come to his father and say: “I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18). Remember that if you draw near to God in repentance, he will draw near to you in forgiving mercies and loving grace.

 

Hatred of sin and turning from sin. This is a recognition that Christ is your Savior from sin, and that the struggle in the Christian life is what the Apostle Paul wrote in seventh of Romans: “What I want to do , I do not do…That which I do not want to do, that I keep on doing.” The Apostle Paul’s hope and our hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 7:25), but we no longer love sin as we once did, now we hate sin. When you realize that although you are guilty and culpable for your sins before God, but in some mysterious way you hate them so much before God that you can say with Paul that it is “not I but sin living within me” then you know that you have a true hatred of your sins. Paul wrote: ESV “Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” A sinful, unrepentant person cannot agree with God’s law and believe it is holy, righteous and good. A truly repentant person can love the law of God and hate their own sins in such a way that they (although are culpable) feel like that it is not them doing the sin, but sin dwelling within. This proves that there is no more enmity against God (Romans 8:7-9) because the Spirit of God is at work in the believer’s heart. Our confession (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chap. 15) states this clearly:

 

“…Upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with Him in all the ways of His commandments.”

 

If you still love your sins, you are not repentant, and you cannot claim assurance of faith. You should really seek God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to examine yourself to see if you be in the faith; if you love your sins, you should seek to make your calling and election sure (see 2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 3:9-11). If you sin, and hate your sins, that is one thing; but to sin, and love your sins, that is another. Be careful here that you keep your focus on the dying Savior on the cross and that in your self-examination you don’t get lost within your own bosom and belly! Your hope, our Gospel hope is held out to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Run to Jesus, run to Jesus, run to Jesus and find in Him forgiveness- -tell Him you love your sins, and need repentance and call upon His name for grace.

 

Also, be careful with forms of pseudo-repentance, like when you do something really sinful and heinous and you just feel guilty about it because it was such a thing that you should have never done. Watching certain films, listening to certain music, and looking at certain images on the internet can make you feel after the fact guilty for doing such a thing, but there is also a bit of a thrill. You must understand that this is NOT repentance, but a pseudo-repentance. This is more of a shame and guilt because you know that what you have watched, listened to, or done was wrong, but it doesn’t mean you have truly repented and that you are sorry for your sins because you sinned against God’s great holiness, Jesus’ love and the grieved the Holy Spirit. Be warned.

 

In your hatred of sin, you also turn from your sins. The Christian life is a constant turning from our sins, folly and idolatries to God; the Christian life is a constant, prayerfully watchful turning from flesh to the Spirit of God, to walk by the Spirit and not gratify the flesh (Gal. 5:16-26); the Christian life is a constant turning from worldliness to godliness to live the way you were created in Christ Jesus to live (Eph. 2:10). Is your life described as the Apostle Paul describes the repentance of the Thessalonian Christians?

 

ESV 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10: For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

 

Do you know the sweetness of Christ in His forgiving love for you? Do you know that if you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you and to cleanse you from all of your sins.

 

Be not unbelieving. Be not unbelieving in your accepting the righteousness that God requires of every man by faith alone in Christ alone. Be not believing in accepting God’s forgiveness as you confess and abhor your sins because of your love for Him; be not believing in that you continue in your sins thinking that there are no consequences. For the repentant, there is grace and love and mercy found in Jesus Christ; for the unrepentant there is only condemnation and the wrath of God. And remember, do not think that repentance is something like your allowance that you “save for a rainy day” later on in life, as if you could repent when you desired to repent. Like Cain, Pharaoh, and Esau before you, don’t kid yourself into believing that you will somehow repent “one day”; your ongoing unrepentant heart before God is actually hardening you, and will eventually damn you as those unrepentant souls before you. Beware.

 

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand…Seek the LORD while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Today is the day of salvation; today is the day of repentance; repent and believe the good news. Jesus says: “Come to me all of you who labor and are heavy-laden with your sins, and I will give you rest; my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

 

GRACE.

 

Prayer of John Calvin: “Now let us bow before the majesty of our gracious God in acknowledgement of our faults, praying that He will make us more sensitive to them. And as long as we have to walk in this world, let us learn to grieve daily over the weaknesses we are subject to. And after we ask him for forgiveness and pray that He will accept us in His infinite mercy, may He, despite our unworthiness, be pleased to strip us so completely of all our fleshly corruption and so renew us by His Holy Spirit that we will bear His mark and image. And may we be strengthened in the hope of life in heaven, and may we, illuminated by the mind and spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, learn to bear patiently the reproaches of this world and scorn all the arrogance and pride of those who have contempt for God and would seduce us and turn us from the right path.”

 

For further reading: Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 15: ‘Repentance unto Life’

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

07/30/11

From the Blogosphere: “Scared of Sin” and “Tickling Ears”

Two excellent short blog articles to read:

 

“Scared of Sin” by Ed Welch:

http://www.ccef.org/blog/scared-sin

 

“You Might Be An Ear-Tickling Preacher if…”- By Trevin Wax

http://trevinwax.com/2011/07/11/our-ears-still-itch/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wordpress%2Ftrevinwax+%28Kingdom+People%29

 

Love in Christ,

 

Pastor Biggs