Gospel Optimism

I was thinking about my life recently after dealing with some issues. Along with that, I thought about the lives of the people around me. And some things came into focus. What a mess! We are people, all of us, who are plagued with issues. If it isn’t being guilty about something, then it’s feeling ashamed or being afraid. And then, there are all the other issues that confront us. I was thinking that it would make sense for someone taking an honest look at such things – something more than the typical superficial glance - to conclude that people just cannot be fixed. I mean, really. These aren’t problems that can be resolved with just a little this or that. Take a look at yourself, a serious look at yourself. Do you really think that you can fix what is wrong with your life? 

The Father has taken a look, a really good look, at your life. He sees all that you think and do and say. He knows how really messed up your life is. And yet, He is optimistic about change. He thinks that our lives can be changed. And the means that He will use to make this change? It’s the Gospel. It’s repenting of sin and believing the particular aspect of the Gospel that speaks to what you are dealing with. 

So, it makes sense for someone to be a pastor, a real pastor, one who deeply believes the Gospel himself. The prospect of real change in the lives of the saints that he has been entrusted with appears so slight. And yet, what does the Father say? ‘Preach the Gospel to them. Show them how it works in your own life. Help them to get it and then practice it themselves.’ This is the way to see many lives changed as they also, bit by bit, deeply believe the Gospel.  

Loving God with Your Mind

Today, we’re going to take a look at a bit of Scripture that I can’t help but believe that most of you adults have heard at least one sermon on. It starts with these familiar words.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12.1

This is where I’m supposed to talk about devoting your body to God. And that might get a little interesting if I break it down using parts of the body symbolically. Feet represent where you go. Hands, what you do. Ears what you listen to. Eyes, what you look at. And mouth what you say. What do you think? Good outline? Well, I’m not going to talk about any of that this morning. Instead of preaching on Paul’s commands about your bodies, I’m going to speak to you about what Paul has to say about the other aspect of who you are.

Putting Sin to Death

In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul wrote a lot about sin. And that makes sense. Sin is the problem that we all face, a problem that must be dealt with if we are going to be restored to our Creator. And Jesus has come to deal with that problem. Paul also wrote about how Christians are no longer in the Adam group which is under the curse of sin and death. We are now in Christ, freed from the power of sin, freed to obey God’s Law, freed to live well. And yet, as you know, it is still the case that, all too often, we, like Paul, do not do what we want but do the very thing we hate. We still sin. That is something that we need to acknowledge. But the Gospel tells us that we’re not stuck there. We can, bit by bit, get rid of our sins.

And that brings us to what we’re going to look at this morning. How do we get rid of our sins? Listen to what Paul taught.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:12-13

There are many things going on here. Let’s work through some of them.

Freed, Part II

Last week we began to take a look at something that Paul was teaching in his letter to the saints in Rome: we Christians have been freed from sin. I spent most of last week’s sermon explaining what that does and doesn’t mean. This week I want to spend our time looking at how we are to apply it. To do that we’re going to explore one particular sentence from Paul’s teaching.

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

I chose this sentence because it’s where Paul begins to apply what he has been teaching. I want to take this apart so that you will understand what Jesus expects of you.

Freed

When you think about it, Paul spends a lot of time in his letters answering questions. Most of the time the question being dealt with isn’t stated. That’s what happened in Romans chapter five. Paul was dealing with the question, ‘What are some of the deeper dynamics of how the Gospel works?’ And he answered that question by talking about Adam and Jesus. There are, however, times when Paul will actually state the question that he is going to answer. We have an example of that at the beginning of Romans chapter six.

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Romans 6:1

Now, that question doesn’t come out of the blue. This question is actually related to something that he had just written back in chapter five.

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more… Romans 5:20

Here, Paul is explaining that God added His law to the situation with the Adam group. He did this ‘to increase the trespass’, to make sin more obvious. God did this to make it easier for people to see their sin and thus to know that they need Jesus. But Paul then comforts any anxious readers. In effect, he tells them that even as sin, along with all of its problems, increased, God’s grace increased even more, it abounded, so that all of sin’s problems would be dealt with.

but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…

And that leads to his question.

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

Aphorism

So, how does change work? You hear a sermon. It's really good. God has spoken to you, and you see life differently. You are sure that there will be dramatic change in your life - starting this week! But by the time the next Sunday rolls around everything is pretty much like it was last week. Why?

Desires

Jesus has come so that we can become whole people. While that goal is finally attained only in the age to come, we work toward the goal, and make progress, throughout our time in this age. We work at becoming whole people. It might be helpful to put all of that into church words. I’m talking about sanctification, about becoming holy people. When I say it that way, other things can become clearer. One of those things is the obstacle that stands in our way to becoming whole people. The obstacle is sin.

Now, if we’re going to make progress to that goal in this life, there are some things that we are going to need to do. For one thing, we are going to need to understand this obstacle that stands in our way. We are going to need to understand this thing called sin. You cannot solve a problem until you have a clear understanding of what that problem is.

One bit of Scripture that will help here is found in the letter that James wrote. He explains some dynamics of sin that we need to grasp. Listen carefully.

Giving Thanks and Other Problems Solved

We all have problems. It’s a part of our being fallen creatures. And while there will be times when it isn’t as bad as all that, we will still have problems. We all know this.

Now, the Gospel says that Jesus has come to deal with our problems. And while Jesus’ solution to some of our problems will need to wait for the age to come, there are plenty that can be dealt with right now in this age. And being convinced of that has a heartening affect on how we live. We can be freed of our problems, at least many of them. How encouraging.

However, there are some who are not convinced of this. As a result, they are, more often than not, simply resigned to live with their problems, to get along as well as they can. Oh, little issues can be dealt with, they’ll say, but not the big ones. Those are here to stay. Those problems are just a part of the landscape of their lives.

Monday Morning Quote

None can know their election but by their conformity to Christ; for all who are chosen are chosen to sanctification. 

Matthew Henry 

Change

Today's sermon is part two to last week's. Last Sunday we looked at Jesus' warning to the Jewish leadership. They were to judge Him rightly. I told you that they were partially right in their understanding of who Jesus was. They could see that Jesus was dangerous. But they didn't get it completely right. What they needed to do, but didn't do, was to submit to Him as Messiah. They needed to become His disciples. That was last week's sermon. This week I want to follow that up with a question. It's the simple question, 'Why?' Why didn't they get it completely right? Why didn't they become His disciples? And to answer that question we're going to turn back a couple of chapters to John 5. Now, fair warning: we're going to start in John 5, but we're not going to stay there. We're going to be looking at several different portions of Scripture as we work our way through some questions to come to a helpful answer. Please listen as I read John 5.39-44.

Dynamic and Not Static

Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 

Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

 Jesus 

Being a faithful Christian is about being a growing Christian. There is no coasting into heaven. We strive to enter. This isn't about stressing about the future. But it is about working at following Jesus. Doing that is hard. It takes effort. Unrepentant failure here will be fatal. Jesus warned us that there will be many who will expect to enter on the last day but won't. Those who do work at this will be blessed with 'more'. (Grace!) The result is that they will be able to do even better when it comes to working at following Jesus. 

However, as Jesus warns, when it comes to those who fail to work at it, 'even what he has will be taken away'. Instead of growth and development as a disciple, the ability to follow Jesus will dribble away. This is not just some natural consequence. It will be 'taken away' by the Spirit. This is the matching curse to that blessing of grace. 

The disciple's situation is not static: 'Once you're in, you're in.' Following Jesus is a dynamic relationship. That is, there is movement in the relationship. Things don't stand still. Every disciple of Jesus is either growing or fading. I fear that this is an aspect of being a disciple that is being missed by too many.

Sanctification

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son... (Romans 8)

There is a running debate within the Reformed wing of the Church about sanctification. I don't know much about that debate since I've decided that there are, for me, more important things to be thinking through. As best as I understand it, the debate is about whether sanctification is synergistic or monergistic. My blind guess is that one big issue here has to do with definitions.

One thing that I think all parties would agree to is that sanctification, the process by which Christians become more and more like Jesus, become more holy and less sinful, is inevitable for believers. In the verse above, Paul teaches that this is one of the purposes of God's predestination of the saints.

So, a Christian who is not becoming more holy is an impossibility. Sanctification, for a Christian, is inevitable. This has lots to say to people who claim to be Christian. They made a profession of faith at some point in the past. They can even remember the date. But has there been sanctification since then? If not, then how could that person be a Christian? Sanctification, for a Christian, is inevitable.

Having said something about the ditch on one side of the road I need to say something about the ditch on the other side. Sanctification, becoming like Jesus, is not first of all about a change in behavior. Sanctification is first of all about a change of heart. It's about being renewed in the inner person. And that, by definition, cannot be seen, at least not directly. It will evidence itself in changed habits, but that might take a while. With more and more people being so broken before they come to Jesus, there may be lots of change within before there will be much real change without. So, there is the need for careful balance here in understanding sanctification - and patience. 

This is something that we pastors need to carefully work through since we guide many souls.

Get Rid of Your Sin

2 Corinthians 7.1

I think that I’m safe grounds if I say that this section of Scripture isn’t so terribly hard to understand. Paul appeals to the saints in Corinth with a very basic thought: ‘Get rid of your sin.’ It’s a simple, straightforward idea. Yet, there are depths here. Paul says more than just, ‘Get rid of your sin’, and it’s the ‘more’ that drives home his appeal and that gives hope and encouragement to those saints. So, this morning we’re going to look at the ‘more’ of this bit of Scripture. And we’ll do this by using a method that is very useful when it comes to understanding Scripture. We’re going to ask questions of the text. Actually, we’re going to ask one question of the text and see several different ways that this text answers that question. The question is this: ‘Why?’ That is, why should you get rid of your sin? The answers of the text will, I hope, prove helpful to you as you work at believing what it has to say.

So, why should you get rid of your sin? Here’s the first answer of our text: because it’s filthy. ‘Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness…’ What an apt word for our sin. Imagine yourself on a hot summer day, working at some project. This is one of those large projects that you have been putting off, and on this day you’re finally getting to it. After a full day of going at it you get a passing glance at yourself in a mirror. Ugh! You’re covered with sweat and dirt – and you smell too. When I find myself in a situation like that there is only one word that comes to mind: shower. Oh to feel the hot water and to lather up! One of the true pleasures of modern living! But now imagine someone in a third-world country, stuck in a tiny, smelly cell where the bathroom is a bucket in the corner – just a bucket and nothing else. Think of living there week after week and never leaving. Filth. Paul chose this word well. We need to be careful lest we adopt the attitude of our neighbors when it comes to our sin: ‘an unfortunate infraction of some religious rules.’ Instead, remember how the Apostle labeled sin: filthiness. We will not need to ask our question twice if we see our sin for the filth that it is.

That leads to the next answer of our text: ‘perfecting holiness’. We work at getting rid of sin so that we can become holy. Sadly, ‘holiness’ is not an attractive word in our day. Most people associate being holy with negative notions. So, being holy means that you don’t do certain things, like that famous list of ten. Some also associate being holy with a God who gets angry at people who do, in fact, do those certain things. This so misses the point. When you think about holiness, think about Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God to us and that includes God’s holiness. Now, Jesus’ holiness does include not doing certain things, and it does include His being angry. But you need to put those in the right context. Jesus refused to do some things so that He could accomplish other things. Jesus refused to give in to Satan’s temptations so that He could rescue you. And Jesus did get angry at people. He tossed tables and whipped people because they made the Temple into a flea market. He was angry because of their insults to the God of that Temple and because of the obstacles that they placed in the way of people who wanted to worship God in that Temple. There is, to be sure, a negative side to holiness, but it always leads to a positive.

There are times, though, when holiness shows only as a positive. Recall the time when Jesus told the Twelve that they all needed a break. They had been ministering to people and were really drained. As a result, they sought out some desolate place just to catch their breath. But what did they find when they arrived at that desolate place? Lots of needy people. Jesus was tired. He needed a break. But He wasn’t going to get one here. So, what did He do? Did He have a fit that He never got any time for Himself? Did He get back into the boat and look for another place where He would be sure not to find any people? Did He respond to the people by ministering to them but with a bad attitude? No. He was compassionate to the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He cared. That’s holiness. So, why get rid of your sin? You work at that so that you can be holy. That is, you work at getting rid of your sin so that you can become like Jesus.

Let’s move on to the next answer to our question, ‘Why?’ We get rid of our sin because of the promises of God. ‘Therefore, having these promises, beloved…’ Now, we need to pause here because some of you are thinking, ‘What promises?’ Well, our text, 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1, though it’s the beginning of a new chapter isn’t the beginning of a new thought. Actually, it’s the end of a thought begun back in chapter six. So, the English fellow who broke the Bible down into chapters a couple of centuries ago goofed. Our text really would be better labeled 2 Corinthians 6.19. Oh well. What this means is that the promises Paul referred to are in chapter 6. There are three. Let’s take this one first. ‘I will be their God and they shall be My people.’ This is the language of covenant which means that it is the language of commitment. This isn’t as clear as it might be because we understand the word ‘God’ as a name. It’s not. Consider vows that are made on a wedding day. The man says, ‘I will be your husband’ and the woman says, ‘I will be your wife.’ What does it mean to be a husband or a wife? The Scriptures are clear in describing these roles. And so when a man and a woman make these vows, they are filled with content. God has filled these roles with His content. In effect, the man is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be a husband, that’s what I will be to you’; the woman is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be a wife, that’s what I will be to you.’ When our God says, ‘I will be your God’, He is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be to you.’ And the Bible is clear what it means to be God. It provides images of power, rule and control. And it provides those images within a context, the context of His love for you. Being God to you shows as His mercy, kindness and great patience. It shows as His creating in you a sense of satisfaction, and peace and joy. This is what it means to be God – or at least part of it. So, our God, whose name is Jehovah, says to us, ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be to you.’ And while the false gods make the same claims, only one God comes through. And here’s the best proof of that. Jesus gathered up what it means to be God – the power and control, the mercy, kindness, the desire to create peace and joy in you – and out of love for you, He went to the cross to suffer your hell. He is determined to rescue you from the filth of your sin. ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be for you.’ So, back to our question. ‘Why get rid of sin? Why go through the hard work to be rid of all of that? Why even try?’ Your God answers: ‘I am your God. I am here to guarantee that you succeed in your efforts to get rid of your sin. I will make it happen.’

Second promise from chapter 6: ‘I will dwell in them’. What is this about? This is about the Spirit and His ministry among us. After the resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. Then, as He promised, He sent the Spirit to His church. Pentecost. Our God isn’t committed to us from a distance. He doesn’t cheer His team from some skybox. He is right there with us. In fact, He is in each one of us. Now, remember how the Spirit is described. ‘God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’ The Spirit is within His people and by His power and love He is changing lives with the goal of making each one into a disciplined follower of Jesus. Can any sin thwart Him in this? Is there some filthiness that can resist His cleansing? Is there any doubt of success? You work at ridding yourself of sin because of the Spirit who lives within you.

Now the third promise of chapter six. While the first two promises dealt with God’s commitment, presence and power, this promise deals with His affection. ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ For some, ‘commitment’ is a cold word, something like signing a contract. There are husbands who would never think of divorcing their wives because of this notion of commitment. And yet, there is no warmth, no real affection. The commitment of your God to you is nothing like that. He is a Father to His sons and daughters. Some of you have not experienced what it means to have a father who is affectionate to you. And so, this way of understanding God doesn’t really click. But consider this. The God who busies Himself overseeing every little thing in this universe, the God who can be so terrifying, the God who hates sin – this God has a soft spot in His heart for you. So, why get rid of your sin? Your Father wants to see you thrive. He has set His heart on it. So, He will gently encourage you to that goal and assuredly get you there.

The promises of your God – Father, Son, and Spirit – lie behind your efforts at ridding yourself of your sin.

There is one last answer to our question. We work to rid ourselves of our sin because of the fear of God. We’re back again to this persistent Scripture theme of ‘the fear of the Lord’. How does that theme fit here? Let me take just one slice of it. The fear of the Lord is the acknowledgement that your God will one day evaluate your life. One day, your God will take a good, long look at your life and decide how you’ve done. And then He will say, ‘Well done! You did a good job. Welcome home.’ As you work at ridding yourself of sin’s filth, your goal is not to try to satisfy anyone other than your God. No one else will be your judge. No one else will evaluate how you’ve done. And that’s because no one else could possibly understand how hard it has been for you to deal with your particular sins in your particular situation. But your God knows. So, as you work to purge yourself of your sin, your eye is not to be on others and what they might think. Your eye should be on your God who will wisely evaluate you on that Last Day. And you already know what He will say. ‘Good job!’

Now, I know that some of you have a hard time believing what I just said. You’re thinking. ‘Surely, He will respond differently, at least with some people. Surely, He will be a bit unsatisfied with some and tell them that they did only so-so. Surely.’ What you’re really getting at is this. ‘You can’t be right. You can’t be talking about me. I know that I should be worried about how I fare on that Last Day.’ Is that the Gospel? Is that being saved by grace alone? Or let me put it another way. Do you really think that some will hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ because they have impressed Jesus with the quality of their lives, because they have impressed Jesus with how well they have done? Are you thinking that some will actually earn His approval when it comes time for evaluation? Again, where is the grace in that? So, remember, when it’s your turn to be examined by your God, this is what you will hear: ‘You did well. I’m proud of you.’ Your labors at getting rid of your sin will be worth it. How can that not be so?

One last thought. I should follow all of this up with a new question, ‘What do I do to get rid of my sin? There must be things that I am to do.’ This must wait for another time – except to say this. If you would deal with your sin you must pray. Let me urge you to focus on two requests. First, ask the Spirit to open your eyes more and more to the utter filthiness of your sin. You need to see your sin more like God does. Second, ask that as the Spirit grants that first request He would also enable you to believe the Gospel more and more. Without greater belief in the Gospel, a clearer view of the filth of your sin will only crush you. But with a growing belief in the Gospel your life will shine and that to the glory of Jesus.