Striving Against Sin

Today Jon Greene from Mt Pleasant, TX was a guest speaker at our church. Something that he mentioned in his message caused me to start thinking a little more on the responsibility of the believer to put away sin. He was talking about how a Christian is given a new nature, and by grace his life is changed. But he also stressed the fact that the Christian needs to be actively fighting against sin in his life. Now there is a tightrope to walk in the subject he was dealing with and I think he had great balance in his perspective. Some would say that the Christian needs to rely totally on Grace to deal with sin; in other words, just sit back and Grace will do all the work for you in ridding your life of sin. Others would say that it is entirely up to the Christian to purify himself; a matter of willing yourself into submission as I've heard it put before. Again, there must be balance. And I don't profess to know a great deal on the subject, but here is what I believe to be true based on the teaching and reading that I've been exposed to.

One side of the coin is this: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin..." Romans 6:6 Christ accomplished a work on the Cross that guarantied the Christian victory over sin. This does not mean victory 100% of the time, but victory in a broad, overall sense. Anyone who is truly in Christ has a new nature. This new nature still struggles with sin because we are still living on earth and we are still human, but sin is no longer a consistent lifestyle. This is the kind of victory I am talking about. The Christian cannot help but wage war on sin because it now contradicts the new life that he has in Christ. It goes against his new, regenerate nature.

The other side of the coin: the Christian does have a responsibility to struggle against sin. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." Romans 6:12 It is not a walk in the park to break habits that you've kept during your years as an unbeliever. Nor is it easy to resist temptation. The words "do not let" (or in some versions allow) imply that the Christian must be determined that sin will not reign in his life. He must strive against sin, in other words. It is an ongoing battle. And while we are "not letting sin reign" we ought to also practice Romans 13:14. "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." What difficult things to do, but if any of us are able to obey these commands it is because we have help from a most powerful God. That brings the thought full circle to the issue of balance. What a fine line, and this is only a scratch on the surface! If anyone is interested in learning more on this subject and others pertaining to it and the book of Romans, I would encourage you to buy a copy of Charles Leiter's "Justification and Regeneration." He explains these things more clearly than I have ever heard them explained before and it is very easy reading for anyone who desires to learn more on the topic.

A Lesson from David Brainerd

David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians in the mid 1700s. His ministry to the Indians began in 1743 and lasted til 1747, when he died of tuberculosis at the age of 29. A biography of Brainerd's life entitled "The Life and Diary of David Brainerd" was compiled by Jonathan Edwards in 1749, shortly after Brainerd's death. As you may have guessed, the book consists partly of Brainerd's journal entries. Many well known Christians such as John Wesley, William Carey, David Livingstone, Andrew Murray, and Jim Elliot considered David Brainerd to be the most influential factor, other than the Bible, on their practices in missions (The Hidden Smile of God, John Piper pg 131-132). Here is an excerpt from his journal (taken from Piper's book) that I read tonight.

Wednesday, April 20, 1743
"Set apart this day for fasting and prayer, to bow my soul before God for the bestowment of divine grace; especially that all my spiritual afflictions and inward distresses might be sanctified to my soul. And endeavored also to remember the goodness of God to me the year past, this day being my birthday. Having obtained help of God, I have hitherto lived and am now arrived at the age of twenty-five years. My soul was pained to think of my barrenness and deadness; that I have lived so little to the glory of the eternal God. I spent the day in the woods alone, and there poured out my complaint to God. Oh, that God would enable me to live to His glory for the future!"

Here are the words I found so amazing: "I have lived so little for the glory of the eternal God." This is the man who has influenced missions in a drastic way, including the lives of the well known Christians mentioned above. Yet he speaks of "barrenness and deadness" and living "so little to the glory of the eternal God!" Brainerd was expelled from Yale for standing firm on religious issues, was eventually ordained in the ministry, set out to preach the gospel to the American Indians, was known for spending days in prayer and fasting, and later died of disease in the wilderness that was his mission field. That, to me, sounds like the farthest thing from barrenness and deadness. I think what really struck me in all of this was his humility. After hearing about Brainerd's life, we would tend to label him a "great Christian." But he was not a great Christian at all-and Brainerd recognized that. He had no merits of his own; Christ was the reason he accomplished so much. I hope that no matter what we do in life we are able to keep in mind that our efforts succeed not because of our greatness, but because of the greatness of our God. This should prompt us to glorify Him all the more!

The Lord is My Strength

This week was an especially hard one for me; I had seven tests to take, one speech to deliver, and all the homework for next week to think about. With so much work to do it's very hard to study appropriately and find enough time to study for all those tests. This is where prayer comes in. I knew that I didn't have the time or strength to be fully prepared for this week. "But God...." He brought Psalm 73:26 to my mind and I was so encouraged! "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." I knew that in my own strength I would do so poorly on those tests, but God blessed me with this verse and He also prompted me to pray. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known to God." Philipians 4:6 My anxiety was gone, He enabled me to do well, and He truly did prove to be my Strength.

Is God Exalted Above All?

Even John Bunyan confessed that he struggled with this issue when he said "I am somewhat too fond of these great Mercies," (referring to his wife and children). Bunyan later stated that he thought the 12 plus years he spent in prison were meant, in part, to keep him from cherishing anything more than Christ. The following quote of his is along that same subject:

"I was made to see that...I must first pass a sentence of death upon everything that can be properly called a thing of this life, even to reckon myself, my wife, my children, my health, my enjoyment, and all, as dead to me, and myself as dead to them. The second was, to live upon God that is invisible."

Along these same lines, I was thinking about the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-31). In this passage the man comes to Jesus and asks "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus tells him to keep the commandments, which the man says he has already done from his youth. Later we find out that he had kept all of the commandments except the one concerning idolatry. Jesus said to him "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (verse 21) In other words, this man was idolizing something and it needed to be dealt with. The fact that he'd kept all of the other commandments was pointless, since he was unwilling to give up his idol (in this case, riches) in order to have Jesus. I took this as a challenge for the Christian to periodically search himself, making sure that he is not elevating anything higher than Christ. We should all strive to "live upon God that is invisible."

Sweet Relief

When grace and mercy found me
I was bound in chains of sin;
Darkness did surround me
And hopelessness crept in

Aimlessly I wandered
In search of some relief
And finding none, I wondered
"Is there any hope for me?"

Then at last I found myself
At the foot of Calvary;
There a precious Savior
Had suffered all for me

When I beheld His wounds
And saw His bleeding side,
His crown and nails spoke to me
And said "For you I died"

Then I knelt before the cross,
Repented and believed;
Instantly I felt a peace
And found my sweet relief

Because my Savior's risen
I live now justified;
I'll bless my great Redeemer
My Lord the Crucified

Courage and the Cross

Today I was reminded of Luke's account of the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46). Here it describes Jesus in the garden "praying fervently" and being in "great agony." He says "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." Luke also says that Jesus was distressed to the point of sweating drops of blood. I think this is an excellent indication that He knew what turmoil, suffering, and ridicule was in store for him at the cross. But rather than dodging or finding some way to deliver himself, as he easily could have done, he approached the cross as lamb to the slaughter and without resisting (Isaiah 53:7). Even though Jesus knew that beating, spitting, mocking, blaspheming, false accusation, thorns, nails, and a spear awaited Him, He also knew what the will of His Father was. And He obeyed.

Now to apply this passage to the Christian. It is safe to say that Jesus endured more suffering than we could ever dream of since he bore the sin of the elect on his shoulders. This was a massive weight compared to the trials within the life of the Christian. But how many of us have chosen to shrink from the will that God has for us? I know I am guilty of this on more than one occassion. Trial and difficulty are not easily embraced.

So how should trials be approached in the mind of a Christian? Here is a thought that a friend of mine pointed out: she said "this world is as close to hell as a Christian will ever get." By this she meant that in this world we will face suffering and difficulty, but after death Christians get to spend eternity in heaven adoring the Savior they served on earth. I found this to be a great comfort and it spurred me on to endure trials and testings with an attitude of acceptance and joy rather than grumbling and despair. If Jesus had not had courage in the face of the cross, I would have no hope of heaven.

Mission Video

My aunt sent me this link that tells about an upcoming missions conference in Kentucky. The conference itself sounds wonderful, but I was especially struck by the video that comes along with it. At the top of the webpage there is a tab labled "Promo." This will take you directly to the video. In this video the narration is done by two pastors who I have known for a long time. They have a passion for missions, especially the importance of prayer for missionaries, their fields, and the people these missionaries are called to. It's only 5 minutes long, so I hope you'll take the time to watch it. I found it very convicting and inspiring at the same time. The main point of the whole video is this: if you aren't called to go, you're still called to pray.

http://www.hbcowensboro.org/missionsconference08/

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

I am in the process of reading a book by John Piper called "The Hidden Smile of God." I understand that this book is one of a series of books that he has written about historical men of the faith. This particular book recounts the lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd. Piper has done an excellent job in using accounts from the lives of these men and applying them to daily life and Christian struggles. I would highly recommend this, and any of Piper's other books, to anyone. The book has been very edifying.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

~William Cowper

Jesus Anointed

In family devotions tonight we discussed the passage in Luke 7:36-50. This is a beautiful account of how a sinful woman anointed Jesus' feet with perfume, wet them with her tears, and dried them with her hair. The pharisee mentioned in this passage gives off a somewhat disgusted attitude at the woman's behavior, but Jesus goes on to give an example of two men who were in a considerable amount of debt. One man owed 500 denarii, and the other owed 50 denarii. Each denarii was worth a day's wages. So who was more grateful? Obviously the man who owed the most money. Jesus tells us that those who are forgiven much, love much. In order to love as we ought, we must first see our sin (or our debt) as we ought. This comes with a greater sense of reality in our own lives. The more the weight of our sins dawn on us, the more we learn to love the Savior who removed them all.