Of Sin and Consequence

"As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one...and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3:10, 17-18

All men are sinners. There is no one who is righteous--that is there is no one who does righteous things or who is righteous in nature. Mankind, at its very core is corrupt. Sure, people can do apparently moral acts and people can affirm that something is good, but Scripture teaches that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags when we see them as God sees them. By our own standards we deserve heaven. But by God's standards we deserve hell.
L. S. Chafer says in his Systematic Theology that "sin is exceedingly sinful." How true this statement is. Sin, in its very nature is sinful. It is offensive to the righteousness and holiness of God. Sin will always produce sinfulness and never produce righteousness.
As I was reading my Bible this morning, I came across this note in the margin: "Sin is theological in nature, but sociological in consequences." When we sin, it is always offensive to God and it always has consequences for us and the people around us. We must understand what sin is like if we are to understand who we are as sinners. As sinners, we have offended God and there are consequences for those who live in proximity to us. Let us confess our sin to God and trust that He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Book Review: The Enemy Within

Straight talk about the power and defeat of sin
By Kris Lundgaard
P&R Publishing, 149 pages

If there is one area of the Christian life that gets neglected, it is killing sin. Yet there is no more important thing in the Christian life than killing sin. Think about it. You cannot worship with sin present. You cannot pray with sin present. You cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship with God. Killing sin is primary in the Christian life. So why is it that so many of us neglect it?

Kris Lundgaard tackles the subject of indwelling sin head-on and sheds light on what indwelling sin is, how indwelling sin works, what indwelling sin does, and how to have power over indwelling sin. Lundgaard basically takes the teaching of John Owen from his works The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of the Remainders of Indwelling Sin in Believers and The Mortification of Sin. This book is highly readable and captivating. I finished it in less than 4 hours time.

This book will make you feel like garbage. It will push you out on the ledge of despair. It will help you see your sin for what it is--wicked, powerful, deceptive, and contrary to the Spirit within you. But this book will also give you hope. Hope that is found in God's grace. Hope that is found in knowing the very Spirit of God resides within you. Hope that the blood of Jesus has atoned for your sins and His resurrection has defeated the power of sin.

So dear brother or sister, don't be too easily satisfied with just a little holiness, just a little sanctification, just a little grace, just a little fellowship, just a little prayer, just a little bible reading. Rid yourself of all the sin in your life. The battle rages within you. The Spirit of God wars against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit. Put to death the flesh and let the power of Christ live through you. This is more than just moral reform. It is sanctification that can only come from complete reliance upon the grace of God. There is no such thing as 'just a little holiness.' God says 'Be holy, as I am holy.' 

This book will help you understand the battle that rages within and help you engage the flesh with the determination of Samuel who hacked Agag into pieces.

Sinful People, Everlasting Covenant

And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done," says the Lord GOD.' " -Ezekiel 16:62-63

Ezekiel just finished describing how the people of Israel had been cared for by the Lord and how they played the harlot with other nations and other gods. The Israelites were so wicked, in fact, that God said even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were to walk through the land, they would be the only ones spared because of their righteousness. 

Picture Abraham interceding for Sodom. He asked God to spare the city for just ten righteous people. God said that He would spare the city if there were ten righteous people. There weren't, and only Lot escaped with his daughters. Here in Ezekiel, there is really no difference. God says that there is no one righteous, they have all played the harlot and done detestable, abominable things before God.

Yet God also says that He will establish with them an everlasting covenant and provide atonement for their wickedness. This is God's grace. Israel had done nothing to deserve God's favor. They had done everything to deserve His wrath. But God, in His mercy and grace, will establish an everlasting covenant with Israel. Truly, God is not done with Israel. He never will be, for He has given them this everlasting covenant.

"Then you shall know that I am the Lord" This phrase keeps popping up all over the book of Ezekiel. Though Israel had forgotten who the Lord was and what He had done for them, He would work among them so that they would know that He is the Lord. He is the covenant God, the Almighty, the All-Gracious, the All-Merciful God. This sinful people would know that God loves them.

Dirty Worship

“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” –Amos 5:21-24

It’s very easy to fall into an ominous pattern in worship. We are creatures of habit, and we like routine. Think about it. Every Sunday we go to church and can pretty much guarantee what the order of service will be. Sometimes we can even predict the songs that will be sung. Some days it just seems mundane.

There is nothing wrong with having a pattern to follow, or with knowing what the order of service is, but there is a problem when our heart isn’t in it. There is a problem when our worship becomes so ordinary that we fail to deal with sin before we come to worship. All too often we come before the Lord with dirty worship. We offer him our praise, laced with the murk and mud of sin. Do we really think that this is acceptable to God? Do we really think that we have pleased him?

We must heed the words of Psalm 24:3-4 – “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” Matthew 5:23-24 tells us to deal with any broken relationships before we worship. James tells us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and to deal with our sin.

Our worship is of no value to God when it is tainted by our sin. Our worship is of no value to God if it is simply vain repetition. Our worship is only pleasing to God when we let “justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Only then will we be acceptable to God in our worship.

Frustrated with God?

"Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make." -Jeremiah 18:3-4

These are some of my favorite verses in Scripture. The Lord revealed to Jeremiah that we are just like clay in the hands of a potter. We also get a glimpse at what God is doing in each one of us. Look at what it says the potter is doing. The clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again into another vessel.

God is doing something amazing in your life. He is taking you, a marred vessel, and making you into something new. Right now you are broken and imperfect, you have sinful character flaws and sinful habits. You try to be a good 'vessel' but you can't. Be encouraged. The Lord, the Potter, is making you into something new. He is fixing you and soon you will be a new vessel.

So don't get discouraged with what God is doing. He is the Potter, you are the clay. You have no right to question what He is doing. Just let Him work, trusting yourself fully to His sovereign will. Soon you will be a new vessel, completely useful to the Potter. Don't get frustrated with God.

Our Filthiness, His Mercy

“But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities.” – Isaiah 64:6-7

There is no such thing as a good man. We all know this. Each one of us can attest to our own wickedness. So it would be pointless to stand before God and claim some sort of righteousness before Him. Isaiah tells God the truth for us. We are all unclean. All our righteousnesses are merely filthiness before God. I love the imagery of the next line. Our sins have taken us away like a leaf in the wind. We are swept out of the presence of the Lord simply by our sins. In fact, apart from God moving in us, no one would call upon the name of the Lord.

Lately, there has been much controversy over sin, hell, and the destiny of every person that ever lived. People talk as if sin is not a serious issue. They talk as if the real problem is God not accepting us or loving us for who we are. Isaiah has news for them. God hates who we are. He absolutely despises our filthiness and can’t stand our sin.

Our sin is a serious issue. Our sin drives us from God’s presence and makes us completely unable to seek the Lord. But God in His mercy has withheld his immediate punishment for sin. He has provided salvation through the substitutionary atonement of Christ. He has also issued a call to all mankind to repent and seek Him.

Praise God for His salvation! Praise Him for his mercy to us. Praise Him for his longsuffering! Praise Him for His call to repentance, without which no one would seek the Lord!

The Glory of God in the Church

6.26.2011

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, Amen. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” -Ephesians 3:20-4:1

What is the purpose of the church?

Some say that it is to reach the world for Christ. Others reference Acts 2:42 – “and they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers”, saying that this is the purpose of the church. Still others say that the purpose of the church is to show unbelievers the love of God by providing physical and spiritual care for the sick and dying in this world.

I’d like to suggest to you this morning that the purpose of the church is none of those things. The purpose of the church is not to get people saved. The purpose of the church is not to put on programs. The purpose of the church is not even to sing songs, listen to sermons, or to celebrate baptism and communion. The purpose of the church is not to have a social club with fun little activities. The purpose of the church is not to feed the hungry, provide for the poor, give shelter to the homeless, or to show the love of God. Though all these things may happen at church, they are not the purpose of the church.

The purpose of the church is to glorify God.

“The highest value that God holds is His own glory. Everything He does is for His own glory—everything He does for the praise and adoration of His name.” – Thabiti Anyabwile

God is entirely God-centered. All that God has ever done has been for His glory:

a.       Predestination – 1:5-6

b.      Creation – Isaiah 43:7

c.       Effective Calling – I Corinthians 1:26-31

d.      Incarnation of Christ – Romans 15:8-9

e.      Propitiation – Romans 3:25-26

f.        Sanctification of the Believer – Philippians 1:9-11

g.       Forgiveness – Isaiah 43:25

h.      Christ’s Suffering – John 17:1

i.         Christ’s Resurrection – John 17:5

j.        Sending of the Holy Spirit – John 16:14

It is all about Him. God is the central focus of all eternity past, and He will continue to be the central focus of all eternity future.

Now let’s look at Ephesians 3:20-4:1

1.       To Display God’s Glory is God’s Decree for the church - “to Him be the glory in the church”

In Psalm 19 we read of how creation declares God’s glory. From the stars above to depths of the sea, there is not a part of creation that does not bring glory to God. We also read in Isaiah 6 that the whole earth is full of His glory.

Psalm 19:1-4 –“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,”

Isaiah 6:1-4 – “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”

"His wisdom and power are displayed in the angelic hosts; in sun, moon, and stars; in animals, birds, and fish; in fire, hail, snow, and mist; in wind; in mountains, hills, trees; in kings and people, old men and young; in Israel and the nations. All these are intended to praise the name of the Lord (Ps. 148).” – The Believer’s Bible Commentary

The church joins creation in displaying God’s glory. The church, the collective whole of all those who have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, has been designed by God to display His glory. The church has been saved, and separated by Christ for one purpose: “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church…” Ephesians 5:27

Christ is entirely God-centered. Everything He does is to bring glory to Himself, for He is God. In our daily practice, we often forget that Christ is the head of the church, and the church is His body. We often fail to pray and seek His mind for what is said and done in the church. We forget that the church is intrinsically connected to Christ, the second person of the triune Godhead. It is a mystery that we cannot fully explain. But all that the church is must give glory to God because it is Christ’s body.

When we rebel against Christ’s headship over the church and seek to obey our own desires for the church we elevate ourselves in our practice to His rightful position. We rob Christ of His glory. We seek to run the church how we want it to run and seek to glorify ourselves instead of Christ. We are glory thieves, stealing glory from the Almighty God and giving it to ourselves.

Not only is God to be glorified because Christ is the head of the church, but the Holy Spirit also indwells believers and gives believers common ground to gather and give glory to God. In essence, each believer is living each day with God Himself dwelling within them. The Holy Spirit is entirely God-centered and brings glory to God in all that He does, for He is God. This is why believers must submit to the Spirit’s control and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through them. Allow the fruit of the Spirit to be displayed in your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to give glory to God through your life.

When we fail to submit to the Spirit’s control, we give in to the lusts of the flesh and give in to sin. In addition to acting against God and contrary to His will, when we fulfill the lusts of the flesh we have robbed God of the glory that He demands and deserves. We become glory thieves seeking to elevate ourselves instead of elevate God. We steal God’s glory by doing our own will instead of His. We steal God’s glory by displaying fruit of unrighteousness instead of the righteous fruit that He saved us to display.

To display God’s glory is God’s Decree for the church just as it is for the rest of creation. To do anything else is to act contrary to the command of God.

2.       To Distribute God’s Glory is God’s Daily Design for the church -

How do you see God’s Glory today? By looking at the church. Indeed, the church is responsible for distributing the Glory of God to the rest of mankind. All the world has the general revelation of God’s glory through creation, but the church alone has God’s special revelation of the salvation of man through Christ revealed to us in the Bible.

“Jesus is the clearest picture of the invisible God to us in this world. But Jesus is no longer visible, at least not in the sense that you and I are. He is not open to inspection by the physical eye. And yet, one of the most common images for the local church is that of ‘the body of Christ.’ It is in the church that God’s Sprit—the Spirit of Jesus—rules and reigns, and is made visible in the lives of love that we live.” – Mark Dever

The church can’t just exist by floating along through time without doing anything. There must be a working out of God’s glory in the daily life of the church. This is where all those things mentioned in the introduction come into play. Acts 2:42 – begins to make sense in light of the daily design of the church to display God’s glory. The programs we run, the evangelism and discipleship that we do, the poor we seek to feed, the homeless we seek to help, the sick we seek to cure, the messages we preach, the songs that we sing all begin to make sense in light of the fact that God’s daily design for the church is to bring Him glory.

There are three things that the Church must do in order to distribute God’s glory day by day.

a.       The Church must follow the biblical pattern for the church

This is where Acts 2:42, 46 makes complete sense – “They continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers…So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house…” The early church committed themselves to this daily practice of doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. These are the basic functions of church activity. Anything beyond this must be in addition to, not in replacement of these things.

There is another aspect of following the biblical pattern for the church. It involves the actual leadership structure of the church. We won’t go into great detail right now, for that is not our focus. But suffice it to say that the biblical pattern for Church leadership is Christ as the head of the church, biblically qualified elders to serve Christ as His under-shepherds through shepherding, teaching, and leading, and biblically qualified deacons to serve Christ through taking care of the physical needs of the flock. Until the church structure looks like that, we cannot consider ourselves to be following the biblical pattern. God is glorified through His design of the church, not ours.

In order for the church to fully follow the biblical pattern for the church every believer must also commit themselves to being equipped for “the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Eph. 4:12-16. Until the church is “joined and knit together by what every joint supplies.” we cannot consider ourselves to be following the biblical pattern for the church. Yes, churches must have a vibrant church membership in order to display God’s glory.

God is glorified in the church when the church follows the biblical pattern that God has established.

b.      The Church must obey the commands of Christ

In Matthew 28:19-20 we read Christ’s command to his disciples to “go and make disciples of every nation…teaching them to obey all I have commanded you.” We must be faithful to this command of Christ. We must exemplify and teach that each command of Christ is important. Evangelism and discipleship are the tools to reach the world with the gospel of Christ and the glory of God.

“All that are baptized, are thereby obliged, (1.) To make the command of Christ their rule. There is a law of faith, and we are said to be under the law to Christ; we are by baptism bound, and must obey. (2.) To observe what Christ has commanded. Due obedience to the commands of Christ requires a diligent observation; we are in danger of missing, if we take not good heed: and in all our obedience, we must have an eye to the command, and do what we do as unto the Lord. (3.) To observe all things, that he has commanded, without exception; all the moral duties, and all the instituted ordinances. Our obedience to the laws of Christ is not sincere, if it be not universal; we must stand complete in his whole will. (4.) To confine themselves to the commands of Christ, and as not to diminish from them, so not to add to them. (5.) To learn their duty according to the law of Christ, from those whom he has appointed to be teachers in his school, for therefore we were entered into his school.” –Matthew Henry

God’s glory is displayed in the church when we follow all of Christ’s commands.

c.       The Church must eagerly await the return of Christ

Titus 2:13 – “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”

God is being glorified in the church today and He will receive ultimate glory in the church when Christ returns. The return of Christ for His church marks the most glorious event in the church since the beginning of the church. What a glorious day that will be! All the saints, from all history will be raised for the biggest family reunion of all time.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” -1Thessalonians 4:16-17

The return of Christ also gives God glory because it will be the purest church since its inception on the day of Pentecost.

“that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” –Eph 5:27

Church we must eagerly await that day when God will be completely glorified in His Church.

3.       To Devote ourselves to God’s Glory is the Desire of the church

The apostles and writers of the New Testament were devoted to God’s glory:

• Romans 16:27 – to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever, Amen
• Philippians 4:20 – Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
• 1Timothy 1:17 – Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
• Hebrews 13:21 – make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
• 1 Peter 5:11 – To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
• 2 Peter 3:18 – but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
• Jude 24-25 – Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
• Revelation 1:4-6 - John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Do you get it? Do you see how devoted the New Testament writers were to the glory of God? Everything they did and wrote for us was for God’s glory! Did you notice the timeframe? God’s glory is forever, and ever. Amen! As a church, we must devote ourselves to God’s glory. God’s glory is the reason the church exists. God’s glory is the reason we do anything we do. When we sing praises and adoration to God as a church we elevate His glory. When we gather around His Word we elevate His glory. When we lift our hearts to Him in prayer we elevate His glory. We must be passionate about what God is passionate about. God is entirely God-centered and God-glorifying. We must be entirely God-centered and God-glorifying.

There is one thing that can hinder the glory of God in the church—sin. Sin stains the church. Sin divides believers who are supposed to be united in Christ. Sin in the church destroys the witness of the gospel in the world. Sin hinders the display of God’s glory in the church.

So as we gather this day to worship and praise our great God, we gather this morning to give Him glory. Is there sin in the church hindering the display of God’s glory? Is there any sin staining the witness of the gospel of this church? Is there any sin dividing believers who ought to be united for the cause of Christ—for the cause of God’s glory?

Spurgeon said, “Although sanctification may not now be perfected in you, it must be evident in all you actions, for there cannot be the appearance of holiness in one place and sin reigning in another.”

In a sense, the church should be in a process of becoming more and more holy. The church is composed of believers that are all in a process of becoming more holy—more like Christ. This means that at a collective whole, the church ought to be more holy each day.  

Folks, we must deal with sin in order to fully devote ourselves to God’s glory. We must confess all known sins to God and the people we have offended. 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Come before the Lord and tell Him you have failed. Tell Him that you cannot get rid of sin without His help. Tell Him you need his forgiveness and cleansing. Then go and do the same with the people you have offended. God will not only forgive us of our sins, but He will cleanse us of our sins, “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 3:20-4:3