Walking in Light. Glorifying God.

Some time ago, I was confronted with a very unusual Scripture. In his first letter, the apostle John writes, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1:8). You may ask, What is so strange about this? Well, if you look at it, sin and truth dwell in the same vessel. And, in order to walk in the light, without deceiving ourselves [and others], we must confess [or "say"] that we have sin. In other words, if we are to be truthful in this life, we must say that we sin.

Has the irony hit you yet? If not, let's look at it more closely. Many look past the word "sin" without really understanding all of the word's implications. Sin is not merely something within us that is bad; but it is more importantly, something within us that is bad towards others. Sin always affects someone else.

So, imagine discussing the fact that you have the Truth with someone against whom you have sinned. Now do you see the irony?

In our moralistic society, we have made the Christian life into something that it was never intended to be. Because we are not overwhelmed by the gracious and total forgiveness of God in Christ, we go about life hiding our sins - wait! I should have said, "hiding our sins against others."

The conversation goes something like this: Someone says, "You have sinned against me." And we say, "No I haven't." There are a number of ways to say "No I haven't." We blame other people. We blame "uncontrollable circumstances." After all, it wasn't our fault! We are very crafty hiders. And because we are, people that we have hurt and abused are left feeling less-valued as humans and simply put, lied to. Christianity, they say, is a life of lies (or untruths). People know when they have been hurt. They also know who hurt them. We can say we are not guilty all day long. But the megaphone of life speaks louder than our whispering lies.

Moralism demands a perfect people - a sinless people. The Gospel, on the other hand demands a repentant people. Moralism holds itself far above the reach of every sinner in need. The Gospel, on the other hand, comes down to every sinner in need. Moralism says, If the truth is in you, sin cannot be in you. The Gospel says, If the truth is in you, untruth cannot be in you. Therefore, we tell the truth. What is the truth? We are sinners...saved by Grace...by the One who is sinless...Jesus Christ.

If we say we have no sin, not only do we deceive ourselves, but we lie to others. We give broken sinners a devastating lie - that, to be a Christian, you must be sinless. You must think of God every day, all day. You must read your Bible for hours, upon hours, upon hours. You must pray long prayers. You must share your faith with every person you see.

The truth is however, that you must do NONE of these things to be a Christian. You only need to feel your need of him; and, in repentance and faith - confess, that you are a sinner in need of the Savior. This is all. Christ alone. Faith alone.

And now, for you moralists out there (myself included) - once faith and repentance is granted, we CAN enjoy reading our Bible. We CAN think of God often. We CAN share this wonderful faith with others. We CAN pray simple, childlike prayers. We can do all of this without hiding the fact that we don't do these things as often as we should - or as often as we'd like. We don't have to hide anymore. We are forgiven. We are filled. It's okay to say that we are all jacked up. But it's only okay, while reflecting the only One who is not - The One who saves jacked up people like you and me.

Onward Christian soldiers. Tell the truth. Walk in light. Glorify your Maker.

True Freedom - Dave Matthews Almost Gets It.

Many of you know that I teach Spinning at a local gym. I love it. It is a time that I can fellowship with the crazy people (who are not paid to come to the class like I am) who wake up to sweat and exhaust themselves on a stationary bike; many of whom have been coming to my class for years. Did I also mention that I get paid to exercise (and a free membership)! Most who come to my class know that I also have a love for live Dave Matthews music. I play at least one of his songs in every class.

But there is one song, called Cornbread, where he begins by saying, "Sometimes I do what I got to do. Sometimes I do what I want to...and, Sometimes...what I got to do and what I want to do, is the same thing!" Wow. I was thinking about that the other day during the class; and I said to myself, "He almost has it! He almost understands true Freedom!"

As humans we want what we want and when we want it. If anything comes in between us and what we want, we don't like it. This gives us a clue as to what bondage really is - wanting something and not being able to attain it. Before someone is born again, he/she wants everything but God; but God will have none of that. What one HAS to do, then, is not necessarily what they WANT to do. There are usually two ways that people proceed.

First, they shell of God altogether saying, "God! How dare you not give me what I WANT. I don't care what you WANT me to do. I am going my own way - I am going for what I WANT. This is called anti-nomianism (or, against (anti) law (nomian)). Its is a fantasy really. No one can run from God. He is everywhere. And His obligations are binding on every one of His creatures. It is the very nature of humanness to be dissatisfied until satisfaction is found in God. This is doing (as Matthews says) "What I want to do, and not what I have to do." This is bondage.

Second, the person can do what they HAVE to do, albeit, begrudgingly. This is legalism at its best. They say, "Okay God. I'll follow your rules. But that's not what I really WANT to do." This is doing "what I have to do, and not what I want to do." This, too, is bondage.

But, what about the believer? The believer experiences true freedom, through repentance and faith in Christ. They have been given a new heart and can now, by nature, do what they want AND what they have to do! They have to love God. That's GREAT! That's also what they want to do! Its like being married. In marriage we are commanded to love our spouse - its what we HAVE to do. But there's more! It's also what we WANT to do! In this life however, the "lusts of the flesh" still linger within us. Those "lusts" cause us sometimes to WANT what we cannot HAVE. This is freedom, but not total freedom.

There will be a day though, in glory, when we will be perfected in holiness. We will be glorified. On that day, and from that DAY on (for eternity), we will finally be free (Rom 7). We will be able to change Dave Matthews' lyrics into, "ALL the time, what I want to do and what I got to do is the same thing!" Can you imagine? In glory, we will never be inconvenienced again! We will never say, "Do I really have to?" We will never try to get out of something. We will never have to fight fatigue, laziness, procrastination, and sin. We will always do what we want to do - and that, by the amazing grace of God, will be exactly what we have to do.

That, my friends, is something to look forward to. That is true freedom. Loving God and loving others forever, and loving every single minute of it!

Union with Christ and the Glorious Gospel

When we sin, we have an innate and real impression that we deserve death. Death, in this sense (that is, the Biblical sense) is relational in nature and not merely individual. On a human level, when we sin against another, we understand that the other person has every right to dissolve the relationship and to demand that payment be made – a payment that is more than the transgressor can afford. The payment amount has every judicial connotation in that it is directly and judicially connected to the worth of the person who was transgressed. Our value as human beings, created in the image of God, is so high that when it is crossed, the payment must be as valuable.

Therefore, the transgressor understands that death is the due payment for his transgression. He is now faced with two options: 1) he can lay himself at the feet of the transgressed and take his due, or 2) he can abandon the relationship for fear of death. The first is honest and noble. It places the sinner in the hands of the one who alone can handle the situation. He is there quite vulnerable, as the transgressed has every just reason to inflict punishment – death; or dissolution of the relationship. The second option is dishonest and contrary to human reality. The sinner will transgress again – it is his nature. And this will place him, yet again, in the damnable situation of loosing his life – the life of relationship.

Biblical death is not merely the cessation of the heart; but more meaningfully, it is the cessation of and judicial prohibition of the enjoyment found in relationship with our Creator.

When a person transgresses God, the body of sin, takes the law and makes it ultimate – that is, it avoids the vulnerability of confession and repentance, and opts for making payment himself by way of law (which is an utter impossibility). This is how the moralist seemingly avoids Christ by trying to avoid sin; and he tries to avoid sin by fulfilling the law. Finding justification in the law is what I mean by making the law ultimate. Pride and sin take hold of the ladder of the law, and attempt to climb up to the Throne. The law will have none of it. Its way of throwing them is called condemnation. This is what the Apostle means when he says, “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me” (Rom 7:11).

This is living to self – doing good things to try and justify self. This is not living to God – doing good things in response to God’s justification in the Gospel.

And this is the message of the Gospel. That in Christ’s death, we were there “with Him” (Rom 6:1-14; Gal 2:20). His was a “death to sin.” And b/c of our union with Him, so we “died to sin” (Rom 6:2). Death, therefore is no longer a threat to us. The relationship [with God] will not be broken. We can therefore, come vulnerable, open, repentant, without the fear of death; without the fear of loosing our greatest enjoyment and satisfaction – God (cf. Heb 4:16). The “body of sin” will deny this historical reality saying, “Sinner! If God finds out about this transgression, you will surely die! He will deny you and you will be without enjoyment forever. Here…take this law…it is easier than God’s law. Do it and do it well. This will atone for your small blunder.” If we forget our historical death [in Christ], we will hide that sin within us, trying to wipe it away and pay its punitive damage. A life lived this way, in reality, is a life of bondage to sin. The “easy law” is no law that can justify. It will be insufficient. It will change. It will condemn. Ultimately, it will keep us from God our Creator and our Life (Jn 17:3).

But if, by faith, we remember, embrace, and reflect upon our union with Christ – our dying and being raised with Him – we will have no fear of death as a consequence for our sin. That death has been accomplished at Calvary. How do we know it was sufficient? Because we were also “raised with Him.” The sacrifice that Christ provided paid the just penalty and was thus acceptable to the Father. We are now “seated with Him” at the right hand of God. This is no place for the unrighteous. How then are we there? How can we be at such a heavenly place?? Christ became sin that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). In Christ we are “safely hidden” (Col 3:3). Not as sinners hiding from the justice of God; but as sinners who have died (with Christ) and have been raised with Christ, hidden in Him safely until the end of the age (Col 3:4). Our perseverance and glorification is secure IN CHRIST.

In Christ, God the Father is pleased with us – just as He is pleased with God the Son (Jn 15:9). In Christ, we are eternally accepted (without the threat of death); without the threat of loosing our greatest enjoyment. Praise Christ that our sins have been paid for. Praise be unto Christ for His death, burial and resurrection! If this Historical progression should never have taken place, we would be still dead in our sins and without any hope of life in this world (cf. 1 Cor 15:17). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His Grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-7).

History of the PCA...in a rap song???

Enjoy this rap song from a kid at Covenant Seminary!

Read more about him here.

Generation Porn

Generation Porn - Click the link to view a very disturbing article. Its nothing we don't already know. We, the church, must do something. It DOES seem as if our hands are tied. What can we do? Pornography is legal, and to try and argue that unwanted views of it are actually a type of passive abuse will not get one very far in the legal process I am sure.

So, again, what do we do? We offer a superior pleasure. We offer the Gospel.

I wonder if we were dedicated to living and preaching the Gospel, if the church could surpass the internet wave of porn? I wonder if our "stats" could surpass the stats in this article?

Sure we can...but not passively. Lord have mercy on us all as we fulfill the Great Commission.

The Gospel.

Sin doesn’t allow life to be safe. This confronts our natural desire to be safe and satisfied. We desire to be comforted and accepted. Again, sin doesn’t allow for this to happen. We live in a world that is created and founded by a just God. Rebellion against Him places all men in an immediate situation where all safety, comfort and acceptance is threatened and out of reach. And that is why Adam hid in the garden; that, too, is why we hide (Gen 3:10).

What do we try to do in our hiding? We try to make our sin go away. This is called self-justification. We say over ourselves, “If I do this, then I will have paid for my sin and will be declared ‘not guilty.’” But our efforts are in vain. We don’t have the ability to repair what we have broken. And we don’t have the ability to refrain from breaking “it” again.

How do we attempt to justify ourselves? The Bible says we create our own idols. We form them and manage them. We use them to make us feel better about ourselves. We put words in their mouths. Sounds ridiculous huh? Well, that’s the point. Sin makes us stupid.

This hiding is tormented by tremendous guilt (for committing such grievous sins in the past); by fear and anxiety (b/c we know that sin will eventually happen again in our future); and by anger and despair (because we know, that we indeed are presently judged as “sinners” – guilty before God). In hiding, we are separated from God – we are “without God in the world and without hope” (Eph 2).

What must we do? First, we must realize that there is something more important than our own safety, comfort, and satisfaction. That is God Himself and His glory. Second, we must come out of hiding confessing and repenting to the One that we have offended. Sure this act will seemingly threaten all safety, comfort, and satisfaction. Our sins deserve death – where none of these things are to be enjoyed. But coming out of hiding leaves us completely vulnerable and out of control of our own destiny. This is a good thing.

Next, we must entrust ourselves to this just God, appealing to His free mercy alone to justify and cleanse us of our sins. The Triune God is the only God that can and will do such a thing. Indeed, He has already done it in His Son, Jesus Christ. We must entrust ourselves to the only One who can justify. Our justification must come from Another. In Christ, this is true safety. He took our sins and nailed them to the Cross in Christ. All of our guilt is wiped away in Him. We now have no need to justify ourselves, for it has already been done. The guilt fades; the despair and fear fades; and the anger dissipates.

Finally, by faith and in gratitude, we cling to Him for all good things in life – namely, Himself. He is safe. He is the Comforter. He is our Satisfaction. When we come out of hiding, this is called walking in the light (1John 1). This is not a life of perfection from sins, but a life of confession of sins. There is a day coming when our souls and bodies will be perfected in holiness; when we will be finally glorified. Until then, by grace, we can walk in the light, confessing our sins, knowing for certain that He is able, willing, ready and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Notice…He is the One who cleanses. He is the One who forgives. We cannot. Nor can some idol we make. Christ alone is our creed. In Him we are free.

The Commitment of "Band Societies."

During the 18th century, it is difficult to comprehend the impact of the Wesley brothers. I remember studying their lives in church history in seminary and being in awe of their discipline, dedication, wit, love for others and their love for God. I was also taken back by the "small group," which they led, called "Holy Club" on the campus of Oxford. Whitefield, too, was enamored by the rigor with which they conducted Christian discipline and accountability. But this is not a history lesson. For more on Wesley and Whitefield, I suggest going to the history books :)

My point here is to give you an excerpt from one of the "contracts" that one had to commit to in order to be in one of Wesley's (Samuel) "Holy Clubs" or "Band Societies." I am taking this from Mahaney's book on small groups. Here ya go:

"All who wished to join were required to answer the following questions as evidence of justification and an accompanying desire to grow in God:

1. Have you peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ?

2. Do you desire to be told of your faults?

3. Do you desire that every one of us should tell you, from time to time, whatsoever is in his heart concerning you?

4. Do you desire that we should tell you whatever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever, we hear, concerning you?

5. Do you desire that, in doing this, we should come as close as possible, that we should cut to the quick, and search your heart to the bottom?

6. Is it your desire and design to be on this, and all other occasions, entirely open, so as to speak everything that is in your heart without exception, without disguise, and without reserve?

After joining, group members could be asked the preceding questions "as often as occasion offers," while the following questions were asked at every meeting:

a. What know sin have you committed since our last meeting?

b. What temptations have you met with?

c. How were you delivered?

d. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?

Well, here you have it.

7.