GOD IN THE HANDS OF COMPLACENT SINNERS...the dire need to recover a reverence for God in ministry

Introduction:

Dealing constantly with young, reformed emerging people and their allied bloggers is exhausting. I feel some days like Simon Cowell (of American Idol fame) trying to be honest with them about what they are saying and how their e-views are not that biblical, profitable, or true. When they get angry and "keep on singing" (though the audition is clearly over) they become more and more incensed that I didn't affirm them, what they stand for, what they are trying to sell, or one of their leaders.

This happens week in and week out; and like I said, it is exhausting.

No matter how many books I read, podcasts or vodcasts I listen to, emails I exchange, or blog interaction I try to have (I don't delete dissenting opinion on this blog - I actually allow people to passionately disagree with me without fear of being shut down) they still just keep on emotionally ranting about their postmodern world of pseudo-reformed, emerging faith.

One of the things that is most interesting is that very few, if any, will ever discuss these things biblically. They usually just appeal to a few evangelical leaders who embrace their movement. They know that I have not fabricated my concerns out of thin air - because I take the time to do my homework and usually they haven't. It's like trying to talk to a Romanist who has never read Tridentine doctrine, but yet wants to defend "the orthodoxy" of the Pope and Romanist theology. An effort in futility. I find this with bloggers too. Young, theologically immature, biblically untested, and undiscerning who are "sympathetic to the emerging cult of personality" types, get defensive at a moments notice.

This brings me to this article today: recovering a reverence for God by having a right view of God. This is hard for any emerging or emergent church leader to humbly submit too. Why? Because it means resigning their cultural hermeneutic to a biblical one and that is painful for them to do. They would rather speak to you about "contextualizing the truth" for they honestly believe that their little methods, techniques, gimmicks, tricks, cultural analysis, market surveys, and postmodern pathology actually adds to the effectiveness and impact of the gospel. They really don't believe in sola Scriptura; they really don't believe that "the gospel IS the power of God unto salvation" and requires no additional assistance from them. They don't understand Acts 17 or 1 Cor. 9:18ff in context and actual think the Apostle Paul was emerging too.  Their blogs are not ministry, but hobby, business and trade.  And if you speak of biblical evangelism - you are out of date. Missional is the new term now.  No one quite knows what it means, but that's the beauty of this movement. They like the ambiguity and still call it the reformed faith.

The nexus of the issue is disturbing: they believe the gospel needs their help. So they swear a bit when they preach; tell some dirty stories; speak in graphic sexual terms about women; even twist Scripture to try and be funny about masturbatory acts, and at some point will treat the Lord and His holy name as only a punchline for their jokes. They think that Chris Rock is a better pastoral role model than Christopher Love. And if you dare confront them or challenge them, they will cry foul (no pun intended) and try and make you the villain.

You see in their world, truth is not the primary consideration: experience, contextualization, conversation, audience expansion, carefully aligned political relationships, being soft and soft spoken IS. They call that humility and grace. Humility to them is never saying anything negative about another; and grace is simply recognizing we all are a little rough around the edges; and besides the other fruit coming from ones emerging church trumps all other considerations. What is that fruit? Numbers--they love numbers. They will tell you about their numbers almost every sermon. Once solid Christian publishers and even some Southern Baptist leaders have been seduced by their charms. It's frankly embarrassing and more than a little disappointing. They are so eager to grow their cause that they will sell out pragmatically and methodologically just to get a seat at the table and feel important as part of the latest boys club. Their motto reads as following: "God is Most Glorified in Us, When We Are Most Satisfied in the Culture." It's their mantra; their four spiritual laws; their purpose driven banner; their seeker friendly badge. It's their password, the secret code to get into the tree-house. It's their version of ministry.

Here is the reality: they really don't want to have to face or deal with the tough issues; it is easier to delete someone then to have to look circumspectly at the clay feet of their own man-made "heroes." They are constantly conflicted; saying just enough to try and come off as being challenging and balanced; but not saying enough to jeopardize their standing within the club. I am aware that I can be a strong, intimidating opponent for someone to have to take on, on most issues. But removing me out of the equation for a minute, these inexperienced "young lions" aren't even men enough to dialogue with biblically solid, kind, gentle, godly women either. They will delete them just as quickly; shut down their threads; take their ball and bat and run home.

So if you have drank the Kool-Aid of the emerging movement, may I challenge you to buck up today, play the man, and read the following article. If you get offended, it is intentional. I hope you even get angry; angry enough to honestly look at your pomo-world of imagined faith; and maybe come to grips with the fact that the "Vintage Jesus" you have been sold is a bill of goods by those who claim to be cutting edge in ministry. And when you get over them (and you will), then come back to the Word of God and to proven, faithful pastoral leadership from the halls of redemptive history and finally learn about the Lord Jesus Christ in all His transcendent glory, His gospel of grace, and how to do biblical ministry within the local church.

Until then, you will have to be satisfied with ministry that is foreign to the Bible, but oh how satisfying to your depravity.

Still Pounding on Wittenberg's Door,

Steve

2 Cor. 4:1-7

Israel had sinned grievously against the Lord.

She was guilty of lying, stealing, adultery, slander, deceit against their own families; they hated discipline and profaned the Word of the Lord. If God's anger burned against the wicked for doing such things, how much more does it burn against those who were pretenders about heavenly things?

Here is the astonishing conclusion: because the Lord kept silent, showed them mercy and did not bring swift and severe judgment upon them for their iniquities, He said, "You thought I was just like you..." Israel had done the unthinkable... they had "created" God in their own image to justify their transgressions.

What a stinging indictment. Those words penetrate our hearts as well don't they? We tolerate sin in our lives; we even justify it; we develop a seared conscience toward it; and even attribute God's supposed delayed chastening in our lives as if He condones our waywardness? Such is the stupor that sin renders to all of us. It reduces us to live as "brute beasts" - slaves to our instincts, when we should be living according to His Word as His redeemed children whom He has shown mercy upon mercy time after time.

When we were without hope, without the Lord and God’s wrath burned against us, we were as Jonathan Edwards once preached, "sinners in the hands of an angry God." Do we now as His children, try to pacify the Lord with such casual feigned worship, tolerating our sin while we raise our unholy hand in prayer to Him? Do we approach Him with such arrogance and self-assurance dulled by the sinfulness of sin, that we, left to our intoxicated deceived state, treat Him as if He has lowered His sovereign, holy character and ceased in His perfect omniscience, by turning a “deaf ear and a blind eye” to our lasciviousness becoming "God in the hands of complacent sinners?" Never!

This fiftieth Psalm has brought me low in conviction of my own sin, so that I may look up in repentance to forgiveness and behold the never-ending mercy of the One to whom I will give an account. “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity” (Psalm 32:1-2a). May we all find comfort in those great unshakable words of hope… amen?

In conclusion, listen to Spurgeon's thoughts about these verses which unmask us, then offer a great hope in Psalm 50:21-23.

Verse 21. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence. No swift judgment overthrew the sinner—longsuffering reigned; no thunder was heard in threatening, and no bolt of fire was hurled in execution. Thou though that I was altogether such an one as thyself. The inference drawn from the Lord's patience was infamous; the respited culprit thought his judge to be one of the same order as himself. He offered sacrifice, and deemed it accepted; he continued in sin, and remained unpunished, and therefore he rudely said, "Why need believe these crazy prophets? God cares not how we live so long as we pay our tithes. Little does he consider how we get the plunder, so long as we bring a bullock to his altar." What will not men imagine of the Lord? At one time they liken the glory of Israel to a calf, and anon unto their brutish selves. But I will reprove thee. At last I will break silence and let them know my mind. And set them in order before thine eyes. I will marshal thy sins in battle array. I will make thee see them, I will put them down item by item, classified and arranged. Thou shalt know that if silent awhile, I was never blind or deaf. I will make thee perceive what thou hast tried to deny. I will leave the seat of mercy for the throne of judgment, and there I will let thee see how great the difference between thee and me.

Verse 22. Now or oh! it is a word of entreaty, for the Lord is loath even to let the most ungodly run on to destruction. Consider this; take these truths to heart, ye who trust in ceremonies and ye who live in vice, for both of you sin in that ye forget God. Bethink you how unaccepted you are, and turn unto the Lord. See how you have mocked the eternal, and repent of your iniquities. Lest I tear you in pieces, as the lion rends his prey, and there be none to deliver, no Savior, no refuge, no hope. Ye reject the Mediator: beware, for ye will sorely need one in the day of wrath, and none will be near to plead for you. How terrible, how complete, how painful, how humiliating, will be the destruction of the wicked! God uses no soft words, or velvet metaphors, nor may his servants do so when they speak of the wrath to come. O reader, consider this.

Verse 23. Whoso offered praise glorified me. Praise is the best sacrifice; true, hearty, gracious thanksgiving from a renewed mind. Not the lowing of bullocks bound to the altar, but the songs of redeemed men are the music which the ear of Jehovah delights in. Sacrifice your loving gratitude, and God is honored thereby. And to him that ordered his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God. Holy living is a choice evidence of salvation. He who submits his whole way to divine guidance, and is careful to honour God in his life, brings an offering which the Lord accepts through his dear Son; and such a one shall be more and more instructed, and made experimentally to know the Lord\'s salvation. He needs salvation, for the best ordering of the life cannot save us, but that salvation he shall have. Not to ceremonies, not to unpurified lips, is the blessing promised, but to grateful hearts and holy lives. O Lord, give us to stand in the judgment with those who have worshipped thee aright and have seen thy salvation.

THE BARRIER TO REFORMATION...cherishing iniquity in our heart

"If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to my prayer." -Psalm 66:18

To begin with... a silent prayer

"O Lord, what evil have we not done? Or if there is evil that we have not done, what evil is there that we have not spoken? If there is any that we have not spoken, what evil is there that we have not thought to do? But you, O Lord, are good. You are merciful. You saw how deep we were sunk in death, and it was your power that drained dry the well of corruption in the depths of our hearts. All that You have asked of us was to deny our own wills and accept yours. Forgive us for every failure to do so and help us to follow You in every way and always, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." [Adapted from Augustine's Confessions, IX, x]

To cherish sin means to hold it dearly in our hearts; to love it; to embrace it; to treasure it.

We all have PhD's in rationalizing our sin don't we? We have all graduated with high honors in its schooling and it comes naturally to us all. But like David, until we can say, "against You and You alone have I sinned" we will not be broken of it. Sin may hurt others and ourselves, but all sin ultimately is an afront to and against God Himself.

The hypocrite when caught in a sin may say, "wash my garments and make them clean" - make me presentable again; just clean up my outward appearance, etc. But the one who is truly broken, contrite and repentant over their sin will humbly say before a holy God, "Lord wash me, make me clean, forgive me and restore me to the joy of my salvation." No excuses; no self-justification; no spin; no blaming Mom and Dad or others; no therapeutic diversions. Just alone before God owning our sin, confessing it to Him holding nothing back; then turning from it in repentance, and by His sanctifying grace continue to live in obedience to His Word.

The Sinfulness of Sin
Sin strikes at God and says,

“I don’t care what You said, I’ll do what I want.” It is God’s would be murderer. Sin would un-God God if it could. Sin defiles the conscience. Sin is irrational and forfeits blessing. Sin is painful—it hurts. Sin is damning. Sin is degrading it mares the image of God and man. Like Samson, it cuts the locks of purity and leaves men morally weak. Sin poisons the springs of love and turns beauty in leprosy. Sin defeats the mind, the heart, the will, the affections and it has made a whole world of people—all of mankind—children wrath by nature; objects of God’s wrath. Sin brings man under the domination of Satan and his sick sin system, which he controls. Man and the world is a slave to sin, open rebellion and defiance to God and a slave to Satan."

Jonathan Edwards reflecting on this says these powerful words:

"Sin is naturally exceeding dear to us; to part with it is compared to plucking out our right eyes. Men may refrain from wonted ways of sin for a little while, and may deny their lusts in a partial degree, with less difficulty; but it is heart-rending work, finally to part with all sin, and to give our dearest lusts a bill of divorce, utterly to send them away. But this we must do, if we would follow those that are truly turning to God: yea, we must not only forsake sin, but must, in a sense, forsake all the world, Luke 14:33 'Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.'"

Pastor Ralph Venning (1662, St. Olave's Church in Southwark, England)
says,

"Sin is a cheat, a lie, and therefore lurks privily and puts on false names and colors; for if it were to appear like itself--as sooner or later will do to all, either for conversion or confusion--it would frighten men into dying fits, as it did the Apostle, and when they come to themselves they would abhor and hate it, as Paul and the Prodigal did. Men would never be so hardy in sinning but that sin hardens them by deceiving them; so the writer of Hebrews says, 'Take heed lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin' (Hebrews 3:13). Sin uses all manner of arts, methods and devices to attract us and inveigle us. It uses many tricks on us and has all the knacks of deceiving and cheating us. So I may with truth say that sin has not learnt but taught all the deceits dissimulations, flatteries and false diplomacies that are found in courts; the stratagems of war; the sophisms and fallacies of the schools; the frauds of tradesmen, whether in city or county; the tricks of cheaters and jugglers, the ambushes of thieves, the pretensions of false friends, the various methods of false teachers--these and every other kind of cheat and deception in the world, sin teaches and practices upon us all to make us sin."

That is why beloved, Proverbs 28:13 so convictingly says, "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." What man uncovers (or confesses), God will by His grace covers (forgiveness); but what man covers up, God will uncover.

My favorite Puritan divine, Thomas Watson, says, "Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell."

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" -Titus 2:11-12

35 Reasons Not To Sin
by Jim Elliff

1. Because a little sin leads to more sin.
2. Because my sin invites the discipline of God.
3. Because the time spent in sin is forever wasted.
4. Because my sin never pleases but always grieves God who loves me.
5. Because my sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders.
6. Because in time my sin always brings heaviness to my heart.
7. Because I am doing what I do not have to do.
8. Because my sin always makes me less than what I could be.
9. Because others, including my family, suffer consequences due to my sin.
10. Because my sin saddens the godly.
11. Because my sin makes the enemies of God rejoice.
12. Because sin deceives me into believing I have gained when in reality I have lost.
13. Because sin may keep me from qualifying for spiritual leadership.
14. Because the supposed benefits of my sin will never outweigh the consequences of disobedience.
15. Because repenting of my sin is such a painful process, yet I must repent.
16. Because sin is a very brief pleasure for an eternal loss.
17. Because my sin may influence others to sin.
18. Because my sin may keep others from knowing Christ.
19. Because sin makes light of the cross, upon which Christ died for the very purpose of taking away my sin.
20. Because it is impossible to sin and follow the Spirit at the same time.
21. Because God chooses not to respect the prayers of those who cherish their sin.
22. Because sin steals my reputation and robs me of my testimony.
23. Because others once more earnest than I have been destroyed by just such sins.
24. Because the inhabitants of heaven and hell would all testify to the foolishness of this sin.
25. Because sin and guilt may harm both mind and body.
26. Because sins mixed with service make the things of God tasteless.
27. Because suffering for sin has no joy or reward, though suffering for righteousness has both.
28. Because my sin is adultery with the world.
29. Because, though forgiven, I will review this very sin at the Judgment Seat where loss and gain of eternal rewards are applied.
30. Because I can never really know ahead of time just how severe the discipline for my sin might be.
31. Because my sin may be an indication of a lost condition.
32. Because to sin is not to love Christ.
33. Because my unwillingness to reject this sin now grants it an authority over me greater than I wish to believe.
34. Because sin glorifies God only in His judgment of it and His turning of it to good use, never because it is worth anything on it's own.
35. Because I promised God he would be Lord of my life.

Love the Lord Jesus Christ with an unfeigned, undivided superlative love...

"There is no love but a superlative love that is any ways suitable to the transcendent sufferings of dear Jesus. Oh, love him above your lusts, love him above your relations, love him above the world, love him above all your outward contentment’s and enjoyments; yea, love him above your very lives; for thus the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, primitive Christians, and the martyrs of old, have loved our Lord Jesus Christ with an overtopping love." -Thomas Brooks

1 John 2:1-2 says, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

"When your repentance is more notorious than your sin--then it is genuine." -C.H. Spurgeon

How to Live in Victory Over Sin
In a spirit of prayerful submission to the Lord and by His sustaining grace, may each of us long to honor the Lord with a holy life each day.

• Recognize your Transgression
• Repent of your Sin
• Rely on God
• Reverence Christ as Lord
• Read His Word
• Renew your Mind
• Remain in godly Relationships, and
  
• Rejoice and walk in the Holy Spirit

CONFRONTING OTHERS - WHAT'S THE PURPOSE?...to humiliate, win an argument, pontificate - or to restore, reconcile and fulfill the law of Christ

Update:

Pastor John Piper also has an excellent article on this very issue. I commend it to you highly.

Behold my Servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

3 a bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged

till he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law.

-Isaiah 42:1-4

It is easy to swing a hammer at another Christian you might disagree with. It comes all to naturally to us. It doesn't take much effort or thought to bury someone on a blog or website. Even if we are 100% in the right, it doesn't demonstrate Christlikeness to simply wind up and let the hammer strike the anvil of the soul of another to show them how much we are right. But it does draw the readership, the hits to our site explode, and our words will spread through the blogosphere at amazing speed. And all under the noble guise of: "I am just standing up for the truth."

I know about this tactic first hand, for I say to my shame I was really good at it. I enjoyed it. I justified it and clothed my stinging words biblically and theologically. I mixed careful - thorough research with biting sarcasm and a touch of irreverent humor. I belittled my oppenent to make his claims look foolish; did the necessary homework on most everything they had preached or written on a given topic; and at the end of the day usually won the argument. People applauded me; cheered me on; and even thanked me.

But I was very wrong in doing so. I may have been on the right side on most issues - but I was dead wrong on the methods. I've seen this of late again with some other blogs; it reminds me of how wounding my pen had become a thing to behold.

"If the tongue is a fire,

the Internet is a nuclear bomb; 

and blogs, if wrongly used,

are the radioactive waste 

that endangers us all."

-Pastor Scott Thomas, Director of Acts29

Beloved, truth wielded in love takes time and care to communicate. Strong doctrine and theological conviction spoken pastorally for the restoration of another and their edification, encouragement and exhortation must be bathed in prayer to heal. Confronting another who has a blind spot in their life and ministry takes humility, grace, gentleness, patience and forbearance to guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We must remember that it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the Lord Jesus Christ in sanctification that will conform us to Himself. "The Lord loves those whom He chastens..." But it is He who does the chastening beloved; and may God convict us all if we try to assume that role that only belongs to Him alone.

Should we speak boldly for the truth, contend for the faith, and champion the gospel? Absolutely! Should we encourage each other to love and good works? Yes! Should we plead with others with tears to turn and repent if we see them heading down a wrong path? Unquestionably! But let us do so with self-sacrificial love, reverence for God and respect for one another. May we do so abandoning anger, wrath, slander, gossip, bitterness and malice. May we not strive to just be right, win an argument, publicly champion an issue, and on our blogs try to one up each other by tearing each other to pieces in the combox turning someone's life, ministry, and failings into blogging sport for the week. 

Who do we think we are? Have we so quickly forgotten our own redemption and daily sanctification? Have we forgotten that none of us have arrived at this thing called gracelife? Have we forgotten the depth of our own depravity and the daily work of the Spirit in our lives? Then shouldn't we be willing to extend a severe mercy to others that we ourselves have had extended to us? And to do so without condoning the sin, but still walking with and loving the sinner with Calvary love? 

The patriarch of his time, the Apostle Paul, when confronting a younger Timothy on some real concerns about life and doctrine, did so not with a hammer, but with the heart of a pastor. He ministered to him; he didn't malign him.

May we seek another's restoration, reconciliation, and repentance to see them useful for the kingdom; for the furtherance of the gospel; for the benefit of His church; and for the glory of God as a testimony of His unfailing love and fathomless grace.

IOW beloved, don't be like me; but strive to be like the Lord Jesus and reflect His character to each other and as a witness to a dying world.

To that end, I commend to you the following words of one of my favorite Puritan divines - Thomas Watson. Here are a few quotes from him on the ministry of our Great Physician, Jesus Christ the Lord to us in our salvation, sanctification, and glorification. May they encourage you as they have myself today.

"Christ heals with more ease than any other. Christ makes the devil go out with a word (Mark 9:25). Nay, he can cure with a look: Christ's look melted Peter into repentance; it was a healing look. If Christ doth but cast a look upon the soul he can recover it. Therefore David prays to have a look from God, 'Look Thou upon me, and be merciful unto me' (Psalm 119:132)."

"Christ is the most tender-hearted physician. He hath ended his passion but not his compassion. He is not more full of skill than sympathy, 'He healed the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds' (Psalm 147:3). Every groan of the patient goes to the heart of the physician."

"Christ never fails of success. Christ never undertakes to heal any but he makes a certain cure, 'Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost,' (John 17:12). Other physicians can only cure them that are sick, but Christ cures them that are dead, 'And you hat he quickened who were dead' (Eph 2:1). Christ is a physician for the dead, of every one whom Christ cures, it may be said, 'He was dead, and is alive again' (Luke 15:32)."

"Christ is the most bountiful physician. Other patients do enrich their physicians, but here the physician doth enrich the patient. Christ elevates all his patients: he doth not only cure them but crown them (Rev. 2:10). Christ doth not only raise them from the bed, but to the throne; he gives the sick man not only health but also heaven."

BIBLICAL CHRIST-HONORING RESTORATION...pastors who love the Lord, will visibly love the people God has called them to serve

part one

There has unfortunately been a much publicized case of church discipline gone awry in the media these past few days. It is obvious it has been handled by all involved with not the best of wisdom nor humility. It has resulted in being an embarrassment to the body of Christ and His gospel. 

The following article does not mention nor deal with that particular situation alluded to above. That should be left to those who are involved first hand in that local congregation alone and not turned into blogger dialogue or cheap table talk conversation by those who love to gossip. We do need to pray for all who are involved that the Lord would grant wisdom and repentance as necessary. 

I pray the following can be an encouragement to all - and especially to pastors who truly want to honor the Lord with meekness, gentleness, grace, love, and biblical restoration and repentance for all whom they serve as ministers of the Lord Jesus. Biblical love doesn't wink at sin; biblical love isn't legalistic in dealing with sin; biblical love seeks restoration, reconciliation and repentance from sin; for biblical love "covers a multitude of sins."

Introduction:
Joshua Harris, mentored by C.J. Mahaney and now pastor of Covenant Life Church, has written a good little tome called, "Stop Dating the Church." It is a simple and yet important call for people to really get involved in their local churches by being committed to a fellowship of believers and serving the Lord in the midst of them. This is a much needed message in today's church hop, drop and shop mentality. 

But the converse is also true: pastors need to "stop dating the congregation" and really get involved in the daily lives of its people. It's not enough to produce programs, preachments, outreaches, fellowship groups, missions, concerts, etc. Pastors need to--in fact they must--invest themselves in the lives of their congregations to the point that they are tirelessly serving them, praying for them, loving them, faithfully preaching the Word to them, equipping them to do the work of the ministry, and yes if necessary, disciplining them. I don't know about you, but I have blind spots in my life. My heart heart is desperately wicked and apart from God's restraining grace, I could be given to all sorts of waywardness. That is why I need godly men (and so very thankful for those the Lord has brought into my life) to invest with me, my family and the ministry; to help guard my heart, challenge me, and encourage me in my daily walk with the Lord. I need men of God that will care enough to say the hard things to me, but also to love me enough to journey with me through the heights and depths of my daily life. Contrary to the Emergent Church Movement, what I am suggesting is far more than a "conversation of faith", it is living in a "community of faith." Is that your hearts cry as well? Oh for pastors that would honor the Lord in their churches and do this with humility, grace, sacrificial love, and broken hearts... Why? Because pastors are sheep too; shot through with all the same sins, cares, burdens, blind spots and moorings that every member of their congregations are. And that alone should motivate them in their service to the King; for when any of us have tasted deeply of God's forgiving grace, the impulse of our hearts should be to extend it to one another.

Church discipline begins by servant-leaders of Christ humbly shining the light of God's truth on every area of our lives; and then lovingly calling each other to live in response to that truth. If there are sins to confess, then we must quickly do it; if there is grace to be extended to another caught in sin, then we must fulfill the law of Christ and bear their burdens; and if there is reconciliation that needs to occur, then we must willingly pursue it. It is almost a forgotten duty in the church today and a forgotten grace. That's right. Church discipline done biblically, humbly and with right motives is a grace given by the Lord to protect the purity of the church and guard against anything that robs it of Christlikeness and holiness. Pastors that are afraid to discipline sin because of potential lawsuits, church politics, fear of losing their jobs, etc. should not resign themselves to a spirit of fear, but should do the godly thing, honor Christ and lovingly confront sin. Pastors that want to be your friend first, fellowship group leader second, and elder third have abandoned their calling and are suffering from a severe case of spiritual amnesia as to their biblical duty as an under-shepherd of Christ. They would be bettor off to leave the ministry and become something benign and ineffectual like a psychologist; for they ultimately bring tremendous harm upon the body of Christ due to their puscillanimous propensity for self preservation.

The highest form of worship, as Luther says, is the clear teaching and preaching of God’s Word lived in daily obedience to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is presenting our bodies as “living sacrifices holy, acceptable pleasing unto God for this is our just and spiritual worship” (Roms. 12:1). Holiness, purity, obedience, faithfulness—these are the marks of sincerity of faith. IOW, pastors should stop dating the church and serve her with love, grace, patience and longsuffering as the precious bride of Christ. Biblical restoration is at the heart of the gospel and should be at the heart of every servant-leader within the church. Why? Because pastors are sheep too and in need of grace for repentance every day! 

Hypocrisy, Instead of Holiness
God desires for His people to be pure and holy and to live a life of integrity in the world and before Himself. As the Apostle Peter has said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). When the church embraces strong Bible teaching and rejects being held to its standard, we have the spiritual chaos that is evidenced today. When we divorce biblical preaching from biblical living “it promotes hypocrisy, instead of holiness” says, John MacArthur. To illlustrate, I had an opportunity last week to share the gospel with a Muslim gentleman while my front brakes were being changed. Through the course of our conversation he said something very insightful and convicting; his number one bewilderment about Christians is “why do you all believe one thing and constantly live another?” This is a tremendous indictment against the church.

Divine Chastening: The Mark of the Father’s Love
Even in the human realm, discipline is vital by parents to their children. Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Proverbs 3:11-12 says, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, Or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights.” I am a parent of five children and I desire for them to live right and honorable lives. They not only need to be told what the right thing to do is, but also led in living out what is right through loving discipline or correction. If I love them—I will discipline them. When we see unruly children not obeying their parents, it is a sign of indifference from the parents that they do not love their children and care how they act. Disobedient children and indifferent parents are both a terrible thing to witness. Just as a loving father disciplines his children, so a loving God chastens His people when they are living in continued unrepentant sin.

Listen to these discriptive words from the writer of Hebrews: “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:7-11).

How does the church promote holiness and purity and cause people to live daily in the fear and reverence of the Lord?; and by what means of grace has the Lord provided for this important and holy undertaking? Church discipline; which I prefer calling Biblical Restoration.

Restoration, Reconciliation, Repentance
Church discipline is not a witch-hunt; it is not intended for retribution, reprisal, retaliation or designed for personal revenge. It is not meant to “even the score” between disenfranchised believers or fractured leadership with their congregations. It is not driven by control or to exert a “power-play” over another. The very heart of church discipline is motivated by love, clothed in humility, bathed in God’s Word, and has as its goal the restoration, reconciliation, and repentance of a sinning brother or sister in Christ still trapped in their sin. It is good and holy; an act of divine worship; and exemplifies the charity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It reveals reverence for God; hatred of sin; love for the purity of the local church; the desire for genuine fellowship with other believers; and an impartial—righteous scale of parity. When dispensed correctly, it protects the unity of the church in the bond of peace, fosters integrity, promotes holiness, and brings glory to God. It causes us all to pause and reflect on the wickedness of our own sinful hearts and to show empathy, compassion and sacrificial love for another still trapped in sin.

May I direct your thinking to a critical and key passage of Scripture that deals with this important issue: Galatians 6:1-2. There are other Scriptures we will consider, but this brief section of God's Word gives us a very powerful synopsis of the means, the motive, the manner, and the method for proper church discipline. Let’s carefully look at it together.

Ambushed by Sin… How Christians Should 

Restore One Overtaken in a Tresspass

“Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, 

and thus fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2).

1. THE MEANS: 

“Brethren” – “you who are spiritual”. Notice that the Apostle directs the means for dealing with sin not to the therapist, the professional counselor, the courts, or even the pastor—-he places the responsibility on the body of Christ…the “brethren.” These are everyday believers in the Lord--members of a local congregation just like you and me.

A brief point for context: the churches of southern Galatia were located in the cities of Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, where Paul had ministered on his first two missionary journeys (see Acts 13:14—14:23; 16:1-5). The fact that Paul founded those churches gave him a position of authority in dealing with them (Cp. 1 Cor. 4:14-21, where Paul also states his right to confront the Corinthians because he was their founding shepherd). Therefore, Paul calls on believers, the church, to deal with the confrontation, restoration, and repentance of one who is “caught in a trespass.”

Brethren is a term of endearment given by the Lord to all He came to save at His resurrection (John 20:17). It is a sign of intimacy that signifies we belong to Him, we are His people; and that His once for all sacrifice for the salvation of our souls has so thoroughly redeemed us from the penalty, guilt, and wrath of God that burns against our sin, that we now have peace with God forever, by which Christ is unashamed to call us His brethren (Romans 5:1-2; Hebrews 2:11-13). Paul is right in calling believers in the Lord who have known His forgiving grace in their own lives to do their spiritual duty in bringing another believer who has strayed from life of holiness to repentance by that same grace.

He further clarifies the character of the brethren by saying, it is“you who are spiritual” who are to be about this work of reconciliation. Once again, MacArthur is spot on when he insightfully says, "Spiritual believers are those walking in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, who, by virtue of their spiritual strength, are responsible for those who are fleshly" (cf. Galatians 5:16-23).

Not everyone who claims the name of Christ maybe is living for Christ. “Spiritual” also in this context, refers to those who are not new converts, but mature, faithful believers in Christ--those with proven godly character. This doesn’t mean their lives are free from sin, for that would eliminate all of us from the work of the Lord. None of us have arrived at the Christian life; none of us have perfected our sanctification, have we? But Paul means those whose lives are up to date and are consistent in their obedience to Christ.

2. THE MOTIVE: 

“if a man is caught in any trespass” – “restore such a one” – “fulfill the law of Christ.” Here Paul gives us the pure motive for such action: fulfilling the law of Christ by restoring a believer overcome in sin. The Greek word for caught is prolamban; and it means to overtake by surprise; to ambush; or as Lightfoot says, “to overpower before one can escape.” This is not one whom is premeditatively pursuing sinful desires or a life of lasciviousness, but one has let his guard down and failed to maintain a strong daily walk in the Lord so that he has been, as it were, surprised by sin in submitting to its deceptiveness. He has been ambushed by sin and overtaken in a fault. Sin is subtly deceptive and can overpower someone or ambush one when you least except it, leaving no room for escape from its snare. 

Paul’s command is when you see a man ensnared by sin of this kind… “restore such a one.” This is a surgical term used for the setting right of a fractured bone. As in medicine, the repaired bone that once was broken may heal so completely that it would be impossible to detect where the fracture originally occurred; and usually the healed bone is stronger than its original state. The same truth applies spiritually—the restoration should be so thorough in ones life and the repentance so profound, that the later state carries with it a strength that didn’t exist formerly. The fallen believer is stronger and useful to the Lord once again.

What is the law of Christ Paul speaks of? Love. This is self-sacrificial, unmerited, undeserved, unreciprocated love that seeks not its own comfort, but the benefit of another. There is no greater love demonstrated in the church than when Christians lay down their lives, risking even their own reputation, to see others within the church restored to a right relationship in Jesus Christ.

3. THE MANNER: 

“in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” This is the humility of Christlikeness that guards against gossip, expose, and self-righteous religious pride. Gentleness is not simply a quiet demeanor—far from it. It means:

to submit to injustice free from revenge without malice; while doing acts of kindness to those who would see your own demise; trusting God in spite of it all—knowing that He is sovereignly working all things for our good and His glory. It is staying in the provocation until the breach is fully mended.

Restoring a sinning brother or sister in Christ can painstaking, tireless work and could mean even your own reputation comes under fire. It takes one “mindful of the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:1-2) to love someone seeing it through to the end. We are to take inventory of our own proclivity to sin and beware lest we succumb to the same temptation while trying to be agent of grace in the restoration of another.

4. THE METHOD: 

“Bear one another’s burdens…” Burdens means heavy loads that weigh down. Paul is not generally referring here to the daily trials, sufferings, or “bad days” that we all may experience. He is referring to the weight of sin which so easily can beset us. Only Christ and His grace are sufficient to equip another believer to bear this kind of burden. How can we as fellow sinners saved by and in need of grace each day do such a heavenly and gracious thing? We do so by gentle reproof and loving, humble confrontation; when we comfort another when overpressed with guilt by pointing them to Christ and His unfathomable grace; we do so by sympathizing with them in their sorrow or by interceding for them in prayers to God to manifest His pardoning grace to them; and most importantly, we do so by forgiving them and holding no ought against them.

So the burdens here is the weight of sin(s) that is pressing down on another believer to further tempt them to transgress. If we are to “fulfill the law of Christ”, then we must “bear another’s burdens.” It is the idea of coming along side another believer in Christ, under-girding the weaker brother or sister struggling under the heavy load of sin and then walking with them faithfully until they are repentant, strengthened spiritually, and able to walk faithfully once again in their daily live. This is discipleship at the most crucial level.

But if we are honest here in our appraisals, the reality for most believers in most churches is tragic. As the old saying goes, “Christians serve in the only army that shoots its wounded.” This is the cruelty of sin to others trapped in their iniquity when gossip, slander, bitterness, ego, pride, etc. are given prominence over the restoration of the fractured saint.

This admonition beloved to bear another’s burdens encourages us against turning away from a weakened brother or sister in a self-righteous attitude of superiority and to serve that one at the point of their need for their repentance and restoration.

And if we fail in this holy endeavor, the world around us sees our faith as one of legalism, cultish oppression, judgmental hypocrisy, political elitism, and a sham. It is by this shall all men know that you are Mine, Jesus said, "if you love one another as I have loved you." May we remember the grace we have been given in our lives to overcome our own sins and failings when dealing with another caught in a trespass. Those who have drank deeply of the forgiving, restorative grace of God should not be the ones who in their zeal to do what is right become calloused against one struggling under the load of sin.

A SOLEMN CALL FOR REVIVAL...break up your fallow ground for it is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you

by Rick Frueh from the Cot Combox

We have constructed our own evangelical tower of Babel which in the end leads nowhere. We have mixed the holy with the profane. We have become a wild ass, running and frolicking without any restraint. We have jumped the fences of the Lord and we are grazing in the pastures of the heathen.

We dine at Hollywood's trough on Saturday night and lift up dirty hands on Sunday. Our church buildings are our glory and our prayer closets are our shame. We worry about the economy but sleep well while souls perish. We make celebrities of preachers and show disdain for praying grandmothers.

We herald politicians and refuse to preach Christ on the street. We criticize lost sinners but speak well of the harlot church. We have become prisoners of America's hedonism and yet we proclaim we are free.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: We are in desperate need of a massive and church shaking revival that breaks our earthen vessels...

And Lord Jesus, let it begin with each of us today.

ONE EVIDENCE OF OUR SALVATION...daily repentance from sin

"Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning;
for some have no knowledge of God I speak this to your shame."
-The Apostle Paul, 1 Cor. 15:34

Sin is something we all wrestle with everyday and in varying degrees. We will do so until we are home with the Lord. We are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), but we are incarcerated in unredeemed flesh (Roms. 6:12-14; 8:22-24; 12:1).  The things we want to do, we don't do; and the things we don't want to do, we do (Roms. 7:13-20).  We can say with the Apostle Paul, "O wretched man am I" (Roms. 7:24).

When the gospel of grace apprehends our lives and regenerates us, one of the evidences is to repent from sin. Repentance, that powerful - truthful word, has almost been exiled and excused from most church pulpits, elder meetings, prayer gatherings, and worship services today.  As one pastor told me a few years ago: "we don't talk about repentance anymore for we desire to be more 'grace centered' in this church."  I don't know about you beloved, but I sin far too easily; I have a PhD in rationalizing it in my life.  My sinful soul tries to excuse and spin the sin so that I fail to daily repent. My own heart can deceive me; and when I think I am victorious in a certain area of my life, Solomon's words quickly humble when he says: even "the thought of foolishness is sin" (Prov. 24:9).  IOW, I haven't arrived in conquering the daily tug of sin by a long shot in my life; and that is why my only hope for eternity, and for today, is the grace that is in Christ Jesus my Lord.  Do you feel the same way too?

Shall We Go On Sinning that Grace May Abound? May It Never Be
Though we have entered into our eternal rest by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8f) - we must never forget that grace never winks at sin; that grace never leads us to fulfilling further ungodliness and worldly desires (Titus 2:12); that grace doesn't indulge the flesh (Romans 6:1f); or cherish iniquity (Psalm 66:18; Heb. 11:25f). But that grace ultimately doesn't justify sin and calls all who know its voice to turn from their sin and to turn to God - repentance. Metonoia is the Greek term and it means a complete change of mind; an about face; literally all we believe in regards to how we behave.

We Can't Negotiate with Sin
I'm not strong enough to think I can negotiate with sin... are you? We must by God's grace, adhere Paul's command to young, timid Timothy when he says, "flee youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22). To flee here means to be a "fugitive from." IOW, don't let sin catch us, flee it, run from it. Paul talked of a "repentance without regret" and a "godly sorrow that leads to repentance" accompanying our salvation (2 Cor. 7:9f). And finally Peter tells us that, "the Lord... not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). So whether it be our salvation or our daily sanctification, it is all of grace and evidenced by repentance.

Matthew Mead insightfully says,

"If sin be as terrible as you say it is why then are our lives not lived more holy; and if sin is not as terrible as you say it is, why then do you preach against it with such fury?"

Truth or Consequences
When sin goes on ignored in any of our lives, without our consciences being pricked and our hearts numb to its practice, then we can become a little more hardened and dull to the Holy Spirit's convicting power in our lives. Sin can cause the Holy Spirit to be grieved (Eph. 4:30); our prayers to go unanswered (1 Peter 3:7); stifle our service (1 Cor. 9:27); causes our praise to be unacceptable (Psalm 33:1); withholds God's blessing from us (Jer. 5:25); forfeits our joy (Psalm 32:3-4; 51:12); hinders our spiritual growth (1 Cor. 3:1-3); causes our fellowship to become strained and disingenuous (1 Cor. 3:10:21; 11:28f); and most paramount, God to be dishonored (1 Cor. 6:19f). Sin causes the whole church to suffer (1 Cor. 12:26); provokes possible discipline (Matt. 18:15-20); and God to chasten our lives (Heb. 12:1-12).

Is it any wonder that the great Puritan preacher, Thomas Watson, said "that a sign of sanctification is a hatred of sin...one who not only leaves sin, but loathes it." That is precisely why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 28:13, "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes [repentance] them will find compassion." IOW, unconfessed sin, God will uncover; he who uncovers his sin, God will cover.

There are three categories of sin we find in Scripture:

1. Secret sin - Psalm 19:12f, 139:23f

2. Private sin - Matt. 5:23f, Romans 12:18, Matt. 6:14f

3. Public sin - Acts 5:1-11, I Cor. 5:4, Gal. 2:12-15, I Tim. 5:20, Matt. 18:15-20

What then constitutes true repentance from sin? What are the elements of that repentance and how are they to be executed?

1. Conviction of sin - John 16:8

2. Contrition over sin - Psalm 51:17, 2 Cor. 7:8-11, Psalm 38:18, Ez. 43:10

3. Confession of sin - James 5:16, Psalm 32:5, Neh. 9:2

4. Conversion from sin - Romans 6:12f, Ez. 14:6, Is.55:7, Acts 3:26

There is the shame of our sin; the sorrow over our sin; the confessing of it to those whom we have wounded; and finally the turning from our sin as the true sign of our salvation in Christ. Repentance; Restoration; Restitution; Reconciliation.

Oh beloved, may we each make the grace-empowered choices to walk daily in the joy of repentance and prove our calling and election to be sure (2 Peter 1:4-12).

THE SINFULNESS OF ORIGINAL SIN...we are great sinners; but He is a greater Savior

“The young man saith unto him,

All these things have I kept from my youth up:
what lack I yet?”
– Matthew xix. 20.

My Sins My Sins, My Savior
By Steve Camp

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! They daily battle me,
Deaf and dumb Thy servant is, save only Christ to Thee;
In Thee is all forgiveness, fully free abundant grace,
I find my hope and refuge, in Thine unchanging face

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! How great on Thee they fall;
Seen through Thy patient mercy, I ought forsake them all;
Their penalty's forgiven; yet their power suffers me
Their shame and guilt and anguish, they laid, my Lord, on Thee

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! What cost to Thee ensued
Thy heel bruised in temptation, no Devil could subdue
Thou wrestled in the garden; and prayed the Cup would pass
Thy sanguine sweat, Thou trembled yet, embraced His will at last

My sins, my sins, my Saviour! Thou perfect Sacrifice
Drained wrath's chalice to the dregs; Thy Father satisfied.
O Holy Lamb of Glory, High Priest, Lord God and King
We worship Thee with reverence, Thy matchless Name we sing

My songs, my songs, my Saviour! No grandeur theme shall know
They'll trumpet of Thy glory, to wretched man below;
Thy righteousness, Thy favor, stream from Thy throne above
Sustain the hearts my Saviour that Thou hast lavished with Thy love

(You can download this song from the AudienceONE website
at our online store or listen to it on today's blogcast as well.)

by WGT SHEDD
IN the preceding discourse from these words, we discussed that form and aspect of sin which consists in “coming short” of the Divine law, or, as the Westminster Creed states it, in a “want of conformity” unto it. The deep and fundamental sin of the young ruler, we found, lay in what he lacked. When our Lord tested him, he proved to be utterly destitute of love to God. His soul was a complete vacuum, in reference to that great holy affection which fills the hearts of all the good beings before the throne of God, and without which no creature can stand, or will wish to stand, in the Divine presence. The young ruler, though outwardly moral and amiable, when searched in the inward parts was found wanting in the sum and substance of religion. He did not love God; and he did love himself and his possessions.

What man has omitted to do, what man is destitute of;—this is a species of sin which he does not sufficiently consider, and which is weighing him down to perdition. The unregenerate person when pressed to repent of his sins, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, often beats back the kind effort, by a question like that which Pilate put to the infuriated Jews: “Why, what evil have I done?” It is the subject of his actual and overt transgressions that comes first into his thoughts, and, like the young ruler, he tells his spiritual friend and adviser that he has kept all the commandments from his youth up. The conviction of sin would be more common if the natural man would consider his failures; if he would look into his heart and perceive what he is destitute of; and into his conduct and see what he has left undone.

In pursuing this subject, we propose to show, still further, the guiltiness of every man, from the fact that he lacks the original righteousness that once belonged to him. We shall endeavor to prove that every child of Adam is under condemnation, or, in the words of Christ, that “the wrath of God abides upon him” (John iii. 36), because he is not possessed of that pure and perfect character which his Maker gave him in the beginning. Man is culpable for not continuing to stand upon the high and sinless position, in which he was originally placed. When the young ruler’s question is put to the natural man, and the inquiry is made as to his defects and deficiency, it is invariably discovered that he lacks the image of God in which he was created. And for a rational being to be destitute of the image of God is sin, guilt, and condemnation, because every rational being has once received this image.

God has the right to demand from every one of his responsible creatures, all that the creature might be, had he retained possession of the endowments which he received at creation, and had he employed them with fidelity. The perfect gifts and capacities originally bestowed upon man, and not the mutilated and damaged powers subsequently arising from a destructive act of self-will, furnish the proper rule of measurement, in estimating human merit or demerit. The faculties of intelligence and will as unfallen, and not as fallen, determine the amount of holiness and of service that may be demanded, upon principles of strict justice, from every individual. All that man “comes short” of this is so much sin, guilt, and condemnation.

When the great Sovereign and Judge looks down from His throne of righteousness and equity, upon any one of the children of men, He considers what that creature was by creation, and compares his present character and conduct with the character with which he was originally endowed, and the con duct that would naturally have flowed therefrom. God made man holy and perfect. God created man in his own image (Gen i. 26), “endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, having the law of God written in his heart, and power to fulfil it.” This is the statement of the Creed which we accept as a fair and accurate digest of the teachings of Revelation, respecting the primitive character of man, and his original righteousness. And all evangelical creeds, however they may differ from each other in their definitions of original righteousness, and their estimate of the perfections and powers granted to man by creation, do yet agree that he stood higher when he came from the hand of God than he now stands; that man’s actual character and conduct do not come up to man’s created power and capacities. Solemn and condemning as it is, it is yet a fact, that inasmuch as every man was originally made in the holy image of God, he ought, this very instant to be perfectly holy. He ought to be standing upon a position that is as high above his actual position, as the heavens are high above the earth. He ought to be possessed of a moral perfection without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. He ought to be as he was, when created in righteousness and true holiness. He ought to be dwelling high up on those lofty and glorious heights where he was stationed by the benevolent hand of his Maker, instead of wallowing in those low depths where he has fallen by an act of apostasy and rebellion. Nothing short of this satisfies the obligations that are resting upon him. An imperfect holiness, such as the Christian is possessed of while here upon earth, does not come up to the righteous requirement of the moral law; and certainly that kind of moral character which belongs to the natural man is still farther off from the sum- total that is demanded.

Let us press this truth, that we may feel its convicting and condemning energy. When our Maker speaks to us upon the subject of His claims and our obligations, He tells us that when we came forth from nonentity into existence, from His hand, we were well endowed, and well furnished. He tells us distinctly, that He did not create us the depraved and sinful beings that we now are. He tells us that these earthly affections, this carnal mind, this enmity towards the Divine law, this disinclination towards religion and spiritual concerns, this absorbing love of the world and this supreme love of self;—that these were not implanted or infused into the soul by our wise, holy, and good Creator. This is not His work. This is no part of the furniture with which mankind were set up for an everlasting existence. “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen. i. 31). We acknowledge the mystery that overhangs the union and connection of all men with the first man. We know that this corruption of man’s nature, and this sinfulness of his heart, does indeed appear at the very beginning of his individual life. He is conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity (Ps. ii. 5). This selfish disposition, and this alienation of the heart from God, is native depravity, is inborn corruption. This we know both from Revelation, and observation. But we also know, from the same infallible Revelation, that though man is boi-u a sinner from the sinful Adam, he was created a saint in the holy Adam. By origin he is holy, and by descent he is sinful; because there has intervened, between his creation and his birth; that “offence of one man whereby all men were made sinners” (Rom. v. 18, 19). Though we cannot unravel the whole mystery of this subject, yet if we accept the revealed fact, and concede that God did originally make man in His own image, in righteousness and true holiness, and that man has since unmade himself; by the act of apostasy and rebellion,1—if we take this as the true and correct statement of the facts in the case, then we can see how and why it is, that God has claims upon His creature, man, that extend to what this creature originally was and was capable of becoming, and not merely to what he now is, and is able to perform.

When, therefore, the young ruler’s question,
“What lack I ?” is asked and answered upon a broad scale,
each and every man must say:
“I lack original righteousness;
I lack the holiness with which God created man;
I lack that perfection of character which belonged
to my rational and immortal nature
coming fresh from the hand of God in the person of Adam;
I lack all that I should now be possessed of;
had that nature not apostatized from its Maker and its Sovereign.”

And when God forms His estimate of man’s obligations; when He lays judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; He goes back to the beginning, He goes back to creation, and demands from His rational and immortal creature that perfect service which he was capable of rendering by creation, but which now he is unable to render because of subsequent apostasy. For, God cannot adjust His demands to the alterations which sinful man makes in himself. This would be to annihilate all demands and obligations. A sliding-scale would be introduced, by this method, that would reduce human duty by degrees to a minimum, where it would disappear. For, the more sinful a creature becomes, the less inclined, and consequently the less able does he become to obey the law of God. If, now, the Eternal Judge shapes His requisitions in accordance with the shifting character of His creature, and lowers His law down just as fast as the sinner enslaves himself to lust and sin, it is plain that sooner or later all moral obligation will run out; and whenever the creature becomes totally enslaved to self and flesh, there will no longer be any claims resting upon him. But this cannot be so. “For the kingdom of heaven,”—says our Lord,— “is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one; and straightway took his journey.” When the settlement was made, each and every one of the pal-ties was righteously summoned to account for all that had originally been intrusted to him, and to show a faithful improvement of the same. If any one of the servants had been found to have “lacked” a part, or the whole, of the original treasure, ‘because he had culpably lost it, think you that the fact that it was now gone from his possession, and was past recovery, would have been accepted as a valid excuse from the original obligations imposed upon him? In like manner, the fact, that man cannot reinstate himself in his original condition of holiness and blessedness, from which he has fallen by apostasy, will not suffice to justify him before God for being in a help. less state of sin and misery, or to give him any claims upon God for deliverance from it. God can and does pity him, in his ruined and lost estate, and if the creature will cast himself upon His mercy, acknowledging the righteousness of the entire claims of God upon him for a sinless perfection and a perfect service, he will meet and find mercy. But if he takes the ground that he does not owe such an immense debt as this, and that God has no right to demand from him, in his apostate and helpless condition, the same perfection of character and obedience which holy Adam possessed and rendered, and which the unfallen angels possess and render, God will leave him to the workings of conscience, and the operations of stark unmitigated law and justice. “The kingdom of heaven,”—says our Lord,—“is likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents; but forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to he sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant there fore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt” (Matt. xviii. 23—27). But suppose that that servant had disputed the claim, and had put in an appeal to justice instead of an appeal to mercy, upon the ground that inasmuch as he had lost his property and had nothing to pay with, therefore he was not obligated to pay, think you that the king would have conceded the equity of the claim? On the contrary, he would have entered into no argument in so plain a case, but would have “de livered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” So likewise shall the heavenly Father do also unto you, and to every man, who attempts to diminish the original claim of God to a perfect obedience and service, by pleading the fall of man, the corruption of human nature, the strength of sinful inclination and affections, and the power of earthly temptation. All these are man’s work, and not that of the Creator. This helplessness and bondage grows directly out of the nature of sin.

“Whosoever committeth sin is the slave of sin.
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves slaves to obey,
his slaves ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death,
or of obedience unto righteousness?”
(John viii. 34; Rom. vi. 16).

In view of the subject as thus discussed, we invite attention to some practical conclusions that flow directly out of it. For, though we have been speak. mug upon one of time most difficult themes in Christian theology, namely man’s creation in holiness and his loss of holiness by the apostasy in Adam, yet we have at the same time been speaking of one of the most humbling, and practically profitable, doctrines in the whole circle of revealed truth. We never shall arrive at any profound sense of sin, unless we know and feel our guilt and corruption by nature; and we shall never arrive at any profound sense of our guilt and corruption by nature, unless we know and understand the original righteousness and innocence in which we were first created. We can measure the great depth of the abyss into which we have fallen, only by looking up to those great heights in the garden of Eden, upon which our nature once stood beautiful and glorious, the very image and likeness of our Creator.

1. We remark then, in the first place, that it is the duty of every man to humble himself on account of his lack of original righteousness, and to repent of it as sin before God.

One of the articles of the Presbyterian Confession of Faith reads thus: “Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.”2 The Creed which we accept summons us to repent of original as well as actual sin; and it defines original sin to be “the want of original righteousness, together with the corruption of the whole nature.” The want of original righteousness, then, is a ground of condemnation. and therefore a reason for shame, and godly sorrow. This righteousness is something which man once had, ought still to have, but now lacks; and therefore its lack is ill-deserving, for time very same reason that time young ruler’s lack of supreme love to God was ill-deserving.

If we acknowledge the validity of the distinction between a sin of omission amid a sin of commission, and concede that each alike is culpable,3 we shall find no difficulty with this demand of the Creed. Why should not you and I mourn over the total want of the image of God in our hearts, as much as over any other form and species of sin? This image of God consists in holy reverence. When we look into our hearts, and find no holy reverence there, ought we not to he filled with shame and sorrow? This image of God consists in filial and supreme affection for God, such as the young ruler lacked; and when we look into our hearts, and find not a particle of supreme love to God in them, ought we not to repent of this original, this deep-seated, this innate depravity? This image of God, again, which was lost in our apostasy, consisted in humble constant trust in God; and when we search our souls, and perceive that there is nothing of this spirit in them, but on the contrary a strong and overmastering disposition to trust in ourselves, and to distrust our Maker, ought not this discovery to waken in us the very same feeling that Isaiah gave expression to, when he said that the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint; the very same feeling that David gave expression to, when he cried: “Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me?”

This is to repent of original sin, and there is no mystery or absurdity about it. It is to turn the eye inward, and see what is lacking in our heart and affections; and not merely what of outward and actual transgressions we have committed. Those whose idea of moral excellence is like that of the young ruler; those who suppose holiness to consist merely in the outward observance of the commandments of the second table; those who do not look into the depths of their nature, and contrast the total corruption that is there, with the perfect and positive righteousness that ought to be there, and that was there by creation,—all such will find the call of the Creed to repent of original sin as well as of actual, a perplexity and an impossibility. But every man who knows that the substance of piety consists in positive and holy affections,—in holy reverence, love and trust,—and who discovers that these are wanting in him by nature, though belonging to him by creation, will mourn in deep contrition and self-abasement over that act of apostasy by which this great change in human character, this great lack was brought about.

2. In the second place, it follows from the subject we have discussed, that every man must, by some method, recover his original righteousness, or be ruined forever.

“Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” No rational creature is fit to appear in the presence of his Maker, unless he is as pure and perfect as he was originally made. Holy Adam was prepared by his creation in the image of God, to hold blessed communion with God, and if he and his posterity had never lost this image, they would forever be in fellowship with their Creator and Sovereign. Holiness, and holiness alone, enables the creature to stand with angelic tranquillity, in the presence of Him before whom the heavens and the earth flee away. The loss of original righteousness, therefore, was the loss of the wedding garment; it was the loss of the only robe in which the creature could appear at the banquet of God. Suppose that one of the posterity of sinful Adam, destitute of holy love reverence amid faith, lacking positive and perfect righteousness, should be introduced into the seventh heavens, and there behold the infinite Jehovah. Would he not feel, with a misery and a shame that could not be expressed, that he was naked? that he was utterly unfit to appear in such a Presence? No wonder that our first parents, after their apostasy, felt that they were unclothed. They were indeed stripped of their character, and had not a rag of righteous ness to cover them. No wonder that they hid themselves from the intolerable purity and brightness of the Most High. Previously, they had felt no such emotion. They were “not ashamed,” we are told. And the reason lay in the fact that, before their apostasy, they were precisely as they were made. They were endowed with the image of God; and their original righteousness and perfect holiness qualified them to stand before their Maker, and to hold blessed intercourse with Him. But the instant they lost their created endowment of holiness, they were conscious that they lacked that indispensable something wherewith to appear before God.

And precisely so is it, with their posterity. Whatever a man’s theory of the future life may be, he must be insane, if he supposes that he is fit to appear before God, and to enter the society of heaven, if destitute of holiness, and wanting the Divine image. When the spirit of man returns to God who gave it, it must return as good as it came from His hands, or it will be banished from the Divine presence. Every human soul, when it goes back to its Maker, must carry with it a righteousness, to say the very least, equal to that in which it was originally created, or it will be cast out as an unprofitable and wicked servant. All the talents entrusted must be returned; and returned with usury. A modern philosopher and poet represents the suicide as justifying the taking of his own life, upon the ground that he was not asked in the beginning, whether he wanted life. He had no choice whether he would come into existence or not; existence was forced upon him, and therefore he had a right to put an end to it, if he so pleased. To this, the reply is made, that he ought to return his powers and faculties to the Creator in as good condition as he received them; that he had no right to mutilate and spoil them by abuse, and then fling the miserable relics of what was originally a noble creation, in the face of the Creator. In answer to the suicide's proposition to give back his spirit to God who gave it, the poet represents God as saying to him:

“Is't returned as ‘twas sent? Is’t no worse for the wear?
Think first what you are! Call to mind what you were!
I gave you innocence, I gave you hope,
Gave health, and genius, and an ample scope.
Return you me guilt, lethargy, despair?
Make out the invent’ry; inspect, compare!
Then die,—if die you dare!”4

Yes, this is true and solemn reasoning. You and I, and every man, must by some method, or other, go back to God as good as we came forth from Him. We must regain our original righteousness; we must be reinstated in our primal relation to God, and our created condition; or there is nothing in store for us, but the blackness of darkness. We certainly cannot stand in the judgment clothed with original sin, instead of original righteousness; full of carnal and selfish affections, instead of pure and heavenly affections. This great lack, this great vacuum, in our character, must by some method be filled up with solid and everlasting excellencies, or the same finger that wrote, in letters of fire, upon the wall of the Babylonian monarch, the awful legend: “Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting,” will write it in letters of fire upon our own rational spirit.

There is but one method, by which man’s original righteousness and innocency can be regained; and this method you well know. The blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled by the Holy Ghost, upon your guilty conscience, reinstates you in innocency. When that is applied, there is no more guilt upon you, than there was upon Adam the instant he came from the creative hand. “There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” Who is he that condemneth, when it is Christ that died, and God that justifies? And when the same Holy Spirit enters your soul with renewing power, and carries forward His work of sanctification to its final completion, your original righteousness returns again, and you are again clothed in that spotless robe with which your nature was invested, on that sixth day of creation, when the Lord God said, “Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness.” Ponder these truths, and what is yet more imperative, act upon them. Remember that you must, by some method, become a perfect creature, in order to become a blessed creature in heaven. Without holiness you cannot see the Lord. You must recover the character which you have lost, and the peace with God in which you were created. Your spirit, when it returns to God, must by some method be made equal to what it was when it came forth from Him. And there is no method, but the method of redemption by the blood and righteousness of Christ. Men are running to and fro after other methods. The memories of a golden age, a better humanity than they now know of; haunt them; and they sigh for the elysium that is gone. One sends you to letters, and culture, for your redemption. Another tells you that morality, or philosophy, will lift you again to those paradisaical heights that tower high above your straining vision. But miserable comforters are they all. No golden age returns; no peace with God or self is the result of such instrumentality. The conscience is still perturbed, the forebodings still overhang the soul like a black cloud, and the heart is as throbbing and restless as ever. With resoluteness, then, turn away from these inadequate, these feeble methods, and adopt the method of God Almighty. Turn away with contempt from human culture, and finite forces, as the instrumentality for the redemption of the soul which is precious, and which ceaseth forever if it is unredeemed. Go with confidence, and courage; and a rational faith, to God Almighty, to God the Redeemer. He hath power. He is no feeble and finite creature. He waves a mighty weapon, and sweats great drops of blood; travelling in the greatness of His strength. Hear His words of calm confidence and power: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Notes
1. The Augustinian doctrine, that the entire human species was created on the sixth day, existed as a nature (not as individuals) in the first human pair, acted in and fell with them in the first transgression, and as thus fallen and vitiated by an act of self-will has been procreated or individualized, permits the theologian to say that all men are equally concerned in the origin of sin, and to charge the guilt of its origin upon all alike.

2. Confession of Faith VI. vi.

3. One of the points of difference between the Protestant and the Papist, when the dogmatic position of each was taken, related to the guilt of original sin,—the former affirming, and the latter denying. It is also one of the points of difference between Calvinism and Arminianism.

4. Coleridge: Works, VII.295.

Author
W.G.T. Shedd (1820-1894) was both a Congregational and, later a Presbyterian pastor. He had a distinguished career as a Professor of English Literature prior to his work at the theological seminaries at Auburn Seminary in Andover and finally at Union Seminary in New York. He is best known for his three-volume Dogmatic Theology, Calvinism: Pure & Mixed, Sermons to the Natural Man and Sermons to the Spiritual Man. He also wrote The Doctrine of Endless Punishment. All the titles mentioned have been published by the "Banner of Truth Trust."

This sermon has been taken from the volume, Sermons to the Natural Man, first published in 1876 and later printed in the "Banner of Truth Trust" edition of 1977, pp.267-284.