What is Your Attidtude Toward Sin?: Success or Obedience

1 Peter 1:16 states that “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” We understand and know…wait a minute. We actually don’t understand but we do know in our heads that holiness is basic and foundational in the Christian life. The real question and why don’t we experience it more in daily living? By the way, I’m including myself in this question. Why do we, Christians, find ourselves constantly defeated in our struggle with sin? Hopefully, we are at least aware and know of the struggle even though we can’t quite wrap our lives around it. We know that there is a battle with the flesh, that selfish sin nature that we all have since Genesis chapter 3. We know that this world is constantly drawing us away from our devotion to God as we float in our idolatry of pleasing ourselves with all those “good” things we find ourselves consumed with. And yes, we know about the evil one, who puts are those lies in our head, telling us we are pretty good people, as he leads us unaware to our demise. So why do we and why does the church, Mount Zion Baptist Church, so often seem to be more conformed to the world around us than to God?

I find that my problem is that my understanding (okay, listen up, this is key) or I could say my attitude toward sin is more of self-centeredness. You say, “What does that have to do with it?” Think about it, because of the world’s affect on us, especially in our western word here in the U.S., we find that we are more focused on our own “success” over sin than we are actually over the fact that my sins and yours has offended and grieved the heart of God. We hate failure, even in our struggle with sin. Why is this? Well, because we have been conditioned (the world) to be success-oriented, and it doesn’t even enter our mind that primarily it’s offensive to a holy God.

Plumer notes, “We never see sin aright until we see it as against God.” Think about that for a minute and let the truth of that statement sink in as you reflect on it as it relates to our own lives.  He goes on to state that “All sin is against God in this sense: that it is His law that is broken, His authority that is despised, His government that is set at naught…Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, ‘I have sinned’: but the returning prodigal said, ‘I have sinned against heaven and before thee’; and David said, ‘Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned’ (Plummer, 557). Do you see the difference in the understanding and attitude towards sin?  It seems to us, like it’s no big deal but they lead to opposite ends of the spectrum. One is God centered, while the other is man-centered and American Christianity has been man-centered for the last few decades.

What’s the answer? It’s not our sacrifice or legalism and doing more to try and have the favor of God (man-centered). David had the right attitude and understanding when he said, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17). Let me try and explain that for us. You see, God wants our heart and that means we willfully walk in obedience not our success at doing church. Obedience is oriented toward god; success is oriented toward self. You say, “Isn’t that the same thing?” NO! It’s a matter of the heart, our attitude and although it seems like such a small difference but what appears small over time and distance moves you farther and farther away from God. Think about it, it has been this subtle, self-centered attitude or wrong understanding that has been and is the root of many of our difficulties with sin. So until we are willing to deal with it honestly before God, we will not walk in obedience and holiness. Yes success is a by-product of obedience but see that the difference is orientation. Success is orientated at self (man-centered) and obedience is orientated at God (God-centered).

So let’s chew on this biblical truth and on living an obedient, holy life, and then we will experience the joy of success over sin (did you see the orientation in that last sentence?). Let us begin this journey with looking at all our sin as an offense against a holy God, instead of only as a personal defeat over it.

Bibliography

Plummer, William S. Psalms. Edinburgh, Scotland: Banner of Truth Trust., 1975.

Having a Bad Day Spiritually?

We are embarking on a season of revival. It appears that our church is "having a revival" in October but actually there are many other churches that are also "planning and having revivals." It’s what we do here in the southern Bible belt. You might wonder why I have "revival" in quotations marks. And the reason is, we can't really plan nor have a revival but what must happen is for God to graciously give us a revival. J. I. Packer notes that “revival is an extraordinary work of God the Holy Spirit reinvigorating and propagating Christian piety in a community. He goes on to state that ‘Revival is an extraordinary work, because it marks the abrupt reversal of an established trend and state of things among those who profess to be God’s people” (Packer 1990, 318). What this means is we are not really having or planning but praying that God will look at the church that has grown cold and indifferent to God and the things of God and would wake up by the pouring out of the Holy Ghost in an awakening.  

In addition, Packer talked about our piety “being reinvigorated and propagated.” So how’s your piety. Piety means holiness or godliness as will be seen in our devotion to and reverence for God. Maybe this is something we can do in planning and having a revival. Hebrews says, “How much more will the blood of Christ…purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb 9:14). The problem is the church (you and me) have been having some “bad” days spiritually speaking. Jerry Bridges talks about what we can do when this happens:

What should we do when we’ve had a “bad” day spiritually, when it seems we’ve done everything wrong and are feeling very guilty? We must go back to the cross and see Jesus there bearing our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). We must by faith appropriate for ourselves the blood of Christ that will cleanse our guilty consciences (Hebrews 9:14).

In a bad-day scenario, we might pray something like this: “Father, I’ve sinned against You. I’ve been negligent in the spiritual disciplines that I know are necessary and helpful for my spiritual growth. I’ve been irritable and impatient toward those around me. I’ve allowed resentful and unkind thoughts to lodge in my mind. I repent of these sins and claim Your forgiveness.

“You have said You justify the wicked (Romans 4:5). Father, in view of my sins today, I acknowledge that in myself I am wicked. In fact, my problem is not merely the sins I’ve committed, some of which I may not even be aware of, but the fact that my heart is sinful. These sins I’m now so painfully conscious of are merely expressions of my sinful heart.

“But despite my sinfulness, You have said, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). Given my acute awareness of my sin, that’s an incredible statement. How can I be without condemnation when I’ve so flagrantly and willfully sinned against You today?

“O Father, I know it’s because Jesus bore those sins in His body on the cross. He suffered the punishment I deserve, so I might experience the blessings He deserved. So I come to You, dear Father, in Jesus’ name (Bridges 2008, 12).

I wonder if we would take his advice and begin praying that prayer? Who knows what might happen to all those “bad” spiritual days we’ve been having.

Bibliography

Bridges, Jerry. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journdy. Edited by Thomas Womack. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2008.

Packer, J. I. A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990.

Traditions are Good & Bad

Here in the South there are a lot of traditional stuff that’s done in many churches. I’m not against tradition and, if fact, many traditions can and are good. However, when we attach those traditions to the Bible we then are in dangerous and even heretical ground. In other words, if what we do traditionally is viewed as something that we do because it’s taught in Scripture and if we don’t do it or change it we’re departing from the Word – that’s bad. Examples are Sunday School, Sunday night services, a choir, or a mid-week service.

I can sense in some of you that your feathers are ruffled – good. Before you get all frothy in the mouth, let me tell you that I’m 100% all for those examples and would say that they are all good traditions but not mandated by Scripture. Sure, we are mandated to “make disciples” and “teaching them to observe all that that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20). However, nowhere does it say that it must be done in Sunday School. You do realize that Sunday School was originally designed to educate our children started by religious philanthropists that wanted to end illiteracy. You see, children were a big part of the work force and this resulted in limiting the number of hours a child could work per day to 12! This limit was not lowered again until 1844. Moreover, Saturday was part of the regular work week. Sunday, therefore, was the only available time for these children to gain some education. Thus, Sunday School. Of course, they used religious material – the Bible to learn how to read. Anyway, enough of the history lesson; the bottom line it is a tradition we have held unto in which has changed in time.

Is Sunday School one of those good traditions? I would say yes, but it also has its draw backs. What? There can’t be anything “bad” about Sunday School, right? Well, I would submit to you that now parents have abdicated their BIBLICAL duty in raising their children. Like, “Fathers, … bring them [children] up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4). My whole point here is that we need to be careful about what we get mad at in church, especially when we are looking at God’s Word and trying to figure out how best in our current culture to fulfill the mandates of Scripture. We must be careful that we don’t do exactly what we condemn the Roman Catholics for doing and not put as much weight on our traditions as we do to the inspired Word of God.

"The Language of Amazement"

I was one of those people who didn’t grow up in the church. The only memory I have is going to a Presbyterian church every once in a great while. I don’t remember much of anything that was said, but I do remember two distinct things. First, there was the lighting of candles and there was a bunch of them. In lighting the candles there were supposed to be two people but one never showed and so one boy had to light what seemed to be hundreds of candles. The other thing I remember is the doxology. I used to love to hear the booming sound of the congregation singing those words. It was rightly and truly inspiring. Well, praise God the Lord saved me several years later as a 21 year old army man. I was saved in a Baptist church and they don’t sing the doxology and I often wonder why not?

Walter Brueggemann is known as one of America’s best theologians and one of the world’s foremost scholars on the Old Testament. In his book, Prophetic Imaginations he asserts … “I believe that, rightly embraced, no more subversive or prophetic idiom can be uttered than the practice of doxology, which sets us before the reality of God, of God right at the center of a scene from which we presumed he had fled” (Brueggemann 2001, 68).

Are you struggling about something today? Are you grief stricken about a wayward child, a physically ailing parent, or the loss of a loved one? Can I affirm to you today, by the uplifting presence and divine power of the person of the Holy Spirit that will enable you to rise up in the midst of whatever burden you bear and to SING with your whole heart and soul...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below. 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. 
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

and 

"the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you" 

Bibliography                                                                                                                                  Brueggemann, Walter. The Prophetic Imagination. 2nd Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001.