A Seriously Miscalculated Swap

Once again, we’re back at the the blog My Morning Meal, written by Peter Corak. (For many of you, our blog would be called My Afternoon Snack!) I hope you’ll click the header which follows and read this on his blog. Because this was posted just hours ago, I’m going to close comments here to encourage you to encourage Peter there.

A Bad Deal

We made a bad deal. A poor trade. A seriously miscalculated swap. That’s what I’m taking away from one of the most depressing passages in all the New Testament, Romans 1:18-32.

Yesterday, I concluded my Romans 1 reading on a high — the good news of the power of God for salvation. A righteousness independent of our best efforts at trying to be righteous. Available for all who believe. Revealed “from faith for faith.” But there’s no need for such good news if there isn’t the reality of bad news. Cue the end of Romans 1, and Romans 2, and the first part of Romans 3. Heavy sigh.

In past years, it has been the repeated phrase, “God gave them up,” which caught my attention in this reading. It’s the response of God toward those who choose self-determination over God exaltation, He allows them to be more self-determined. For those who resolve to lean on their own understanding, who trust in their own wisdom above their Creator’s, God says, in effect, Go at it. Heavy sigh, again.

But this morning it’s another repeated word that catches my attention.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

(Romans 1:22-25 ESV)

All creation points to the Creator. All that’s been made, a testament to the invisible attributes of the Maker. Every person a walking indicator of His eternal power. All of nature pointing to His divine nature. Everything declared to be good in the beginning a conduit towards knowing His glory in the present (Rom. 1:19-20).

But the propensity of fallen men and women is to exchange the glory for goods. To disdain invisible attributes for more tangible aspirations. To not see creation as a means towards knowing about the Creator, but as an end in and of itself. As something worthy of worship. Choosing not to distinguish man from birds from animals or creeping things. All the same. All idol worthy. Exchanging the riches of a supernatural reality “for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand” (MSG).

It’s equated to exchanging the truth about God for a lie. That, instead of “In the beginning, God,” we think we should rewrite the story, “In the beginning, molecules and matter.” Instead of God creating men and women in His own image, men and women imagined into being God for their own purposes. Rather than living in the here and now with a view towards a there and then, there is no there and then so do what you gotta do to be happy here and now. And the exchange goes on . . . and on . . . and on. Lies supplanting truth, thus mankind becoming increasingly out of sync with reality, as God gives us over to our own “wisdom.”

What a bad deal. Exchanging immortal glory for immaterial gain. Exchanging a revealed reality for a narrative of our own making.

Bad news. But that’s what makes the good news so good!

. . . but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:8 ESV)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved . . .

(Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)

But God. How I love those two words.

We refused His glory shown through creation, but God shows us His great love through His crucified Son.

We traded in His truth for our lies, but God offers to redeem our lives by His amazing grace.

Yeah, we made a bad deal. But praise God for a better deliverance!

Sin and “Wet Paint” Signs and Your Neighbor’s BMW

Some people can’t walk by a sign which says, “Wet Paint” without touching their finger to the paint to see if it’s true. This is well-documented. Some readers here may be able to provide their own anecdotal evidence of this. It does appear to give credence to our sinful nature, and even if you’re not a child of the 1960s, it also evidences our rebellious nature.

Romans 7:11 made me think of this.

For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. (NIV)

It’s a rather odd verse if you haven’t noted it previously. A basic commentary might give you something like is found at BibleRef.com:

Paul repeats an idea he introduced in verse 8 of this chapter. He was talking about his response to learning of God’s command not to covet (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). The very existence of this command from God created an opportunity that sin pounced on. Suddenly, Paul was both aware of his own covetousness, and driven by a desire to covet!

Now he writes again about how sin seized the opportunity created by God’s commands in the law. This time, though, he describes sin as deceiving him or leading him astray. Sin lied to Paul, as it lies to all of us. How does sin lead us astray? It convinces us that acting on our own desires is better in some way than obeying God. As the serpent did with Eve in the garden, sin says to us, “God is not good” or “You will not surely die.”

The truth, though, is that God is good, and that sin always leads to death. Paul writes here that sin’s deception killed him, metaphorically speaking, describing his spiritual death and separation from God. Sin does the same to all of us, and the law makes us aware of our sinfulness.

Let’s pause and look at the context; first the NASB:

What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (7-13)

Next, The Message:

Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me. Without all the paraphernalia of the law code, sin looked pretty dull and lifeless, and I went along without paying much attention to it. But once sin got its hands on the law code and decked itself out in all that finery, I was fooled, and fell for it. The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong. So sin was plenty alive, and I was stone dead. But the law code itself is God’s good and common sense, each command sane and holy counsel.

Finally, J.B. Phillips:

But the sin in me, finding in the commandment an opportunity to express itself, stimulated all my covetous desires. For sin, in the absence of the Law, has no chance to function technically as “sin”. As long, then, as I was without the Law I was, spiritually speaking, alive. But when the commandment arrived, sin sprang to life and I “died”. The commandment, which was meant to be a direction to life, I found was a sentence to death. The commandment gave sin an opportunity, and without my realising what was happening, it “killed” me.

(Italics added in all three versions.)

Warren Weirsbe writes,

…Something in human nature wants to rebel whenever a law is given. I was standing in Lincoln Park in Chicago, looking at the newly painted benches, and I noticed a sign on each bench: Do Not Touch. As I watched, I saw numbers of people deliberately reach out and touch the wet paint! Why? Because the sign told them not to! Instruct a child not to go near the water, and that is the very thing he will do. Why? “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7).

Believers who try to live by rules and regulations discover that their legalistic system only arouses more sin and creates more problems. The churches in Galatia were very legalistic, and they experienced all kinds of trouble. “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal. 5:15). Their legalism did not make them more spiritual; it made them more sinful. Why? Because the law arouses sin in our nature…

At Apologetics Index, David Kowalski writes,

…Paul does not blame the Mosaic Law for this provocation even though it is the occasion for the provocation. There was never anything wrong with saying what was wrong. Declaration of standards merely revealed what we already were — rebellious sinners by nature. Rebels chafe against restrictions and their rebellious hearts make them all the more inclined to do something they are forbidden to do — even if it is God Himself who prohibits the conduct in question.

At Spiritual Gold, Richard Strauss puts this in practical terms:

Paul chooses one of the Ten Commandments to illustrate his point–the last one, “You shall not covet.” To covet is to want something intensely that somebody else has, to long for it. The law says that we are not supposed to covet our neighbor’s house, his wife, his servants, his animals, or anything else that is his (Exodus 20:17). That would include his BMW, his boat, his camper, his cottage on the beach, or anything else he might have.

Let’s talk about his BMW. That’s reputed to be a very nice automobile, which costs considerably more than the average car. And I can’t afford one. So I look at my neighbor’s and I think, “It sure would be nice to have a car like that. Boy, I’d like to have that car. I’d give almost anything to be able to have one.” I could think that, and maybe even feel a little uneasy about it, but it isn’t until I read God’s law that I realize it is sin. The BMW itself is not sin, but my attitude is sin. To want that thing so intensely is to elevate me and my wishes to a supreme place, and that is the height of egotism and pride. Furthermore, it places my love for myself, my comfort and my pleasure, above my love for God, and that’s idolatry…

Go back to Paul’s experience. He thought he was doing fine. He may have wanted a few things, but he didn’t think that was any big deal. Until he read God’s law: “You shall not covet.” And then all of a sudden he realized how many things he wanted, and that exposed how sinful he was, how far short he fell of God’s holy standard…

…Isn’t that interesting? Paul here pictures sin not as something we do, but as something that itself acts. When Paul uses the word “sin” like this–a singular noun–he is often referring to our sinful human nature. And it does something. What does it do? It seizes the opportunity afforded it by the commandment not to covet, and produces in us all kinds of coveting. Everywhere Paul turns, he sees something he wants. See that word “opportunity.” It’s a military word that refers to a base of operations, a springboard for offensive action. Our sinful human nature is pictured as a powerful enemy who takes God’s holy law and uses it as a military base from which it launches powerful and devastating attacks on us that stir us up to sin…

I wouldn’t put much stock in Mark Twain’s theology, but he did have a good deal of insight into human nature. He insisted that one feature of the human make-up is plain mulishness. If a mule thinks he knows what you want him to do, he’ll do the very opposite. And Twain admitted that he was the same way, along with most others. “The point of it all is that until the command not to do an evil thing comes we may not feel much urge to do it, but when we hear the command our native mulishness takes over. But the fault is not in the command. It is in the mulishness, in the sinner.”

Of all the links here, I would encourage you to delve into this last commentary to  consider this passage further; again, just click here.

Sin is a Verb | Sin is a Noun

One of the reasons you struggle with trying to change some of the things you have been unable to change is that you have been addressing the verb sin and not the noun Sin.  – Steve Greene

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Which is it?

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23  ESV

In 2017, someone asked this question at Worthy Christian Forums. They had a more specific reason for asking, but the first part of their question reads, “Is sin a verb, showing action or activity or is it a noun as if it were a presence within our world?”

A reader, G. DeMoss offered an answer:

I might have a ‘cut’ on my arm because I was ‘cut’. First is a noun and second a verb.

Sin is what sin does and what sin does bears the name of sin.

Adam was the son of God but when he ate the fruit sin entered Adam and Adam became sin…

Just when you thought you had it figured out, Adam becomes sin — still a noun — but it also becomes a label. Does that make it an adjective, too?

Then we have Skip Moen at Hebrew Word Study. He introduces the concept of sin as an adverb. He gives this example:

Is Pedro Calderón de la Barc, the Spanish playwright, correct, when he wrote “Man’s greatest sin is being born”?  My friend, Giorgia, says, “Every Italian knows he is guilty.  He was born guilty.  He just doesn’t know why.”  Do you suppose Pedro and Giorgia think sin is a noun, something that exists independently of any action?  Do you?  Are your sins hanging out there in divine space, entries in God’s accounting book, plus and minus integers?  Do they exist apart from your present relation?  Or is sin an adverb, a qualifier of an action, whether for good or ill, so that apart from your present action, the adverbial “sin” doesn’t exist?

Earlier in the short article he provides this:

Sin:  “In the original sense of New Testament Greek, ‘sin’ is a failure in missing the mark, primarily in spear throwing. Hebrew hata ‘sin’ originates in archery and literally refers to missing the ‘gold’ at the center of a target, but hitting the target. Relating to the Christian definition, the gold center of the target could be seen as God’s commandment for righteousness. To sin is to miss our mark of living in a virtuous manner, not only failing to meet God’s commandment but acting against our own interests by engaging the world in an immoral manner. To sin is to fall short of our potential, missing the mark of our highest self and best quality of life.”

Is sin a noun or an adverb?  The answer is not trivial.  “There is an awareness in many religions of a blindly working guilt, of sin as a situation in which man is begotten, of sin which is involved in man’s very being and stands far above the ability of the individual man.  Sin is not conceived as something that happens, but as something that is and obtains regardless of man’s relationship to the gods.  ‘Since we are what we ought not to be, we also necessarily do what we ought not to do.  Therefore we need a complete transformation of our mind and nature.  That is the new birth.’” [from Abraham Heschel, The Prophets]

Steve Greene at the blog Ready for the Road Ahead contends that sin is both noun and verb.

Last time I asked, “What makes us ungodly sinners?” The Apostle Paul said, “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) One of the problems is that we think of sin as a verb, or an action word, and it is. Sin is something we do. A Wesleyan definition of sin tells us that sin is a willful transgression of God’s known law. But there is more to sin than that.

It seems that Paul was speaking of sin as a noun. At a particular point in time, Sin (the noun) entered the world. At one point, there was no sin. But sin then came into the world, through one person. His name was Adam. When Adam sinned, Sin entered the world like a disease. Paul is not describing sin as an activity or a verb. The way he describes sin here is as a noun that results in verbs. What that means is that there is Sin that results in sinning.

One of the reasons you struggle with trying to change some of the things you have been unable to change is that you have been addressing the verb sin and not the noun Sin. It is like trying to cut down the tree without getting rid of the root.

Paul says, “Sin entered the world through one man.” Death followed close on the heels of sin. And of us have experienced this. You have seen how your sin might have killed a relationship, killed your finances, killed your career, or killed your marriage. Most of us in one way or another have seen the death that followed our sin. Wherever sin goes, death is close behind. When Adam sinned, Sin entered the world and along with sin came death.

Because Adam was the first human being, we were all in Adam. We are his descendants. When Adam sinned, it is as if we sinned. Because when Adam sinned, Sin contaminated the entire human race. So, the problem isn’t just our sinning. The problem is that we were born sinners. The reason we were born sinners is not because of anything we did. It is because of who we are related to – Adam.

Hopefully all this gets you thinking…

…Now then; is grace a noun or a verb? You should be better equipped to answer that question than you were before you read today’s devotional.

At least I hope so!

Sinning Against Another, Sinning Against Yourself, Sinning Against God

^{NLT Ps. 51:3} For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
⁴ Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.

In the title of today’s article, the first two categories don’t exist. It’s a topic we’ve covered here several times, but all sin is sin against God. It’s his holy standards that we miss, not those of our neighbor or ourselves.

It’s easy to believe your own press, or as some would say today, believe the picture you paint on Facebook. You can buy into the image that people have of you. You can decide that nine-out-of-ten is good enough. You can rationalize that the ministry is still happening, people are still getting saved, money is still being raised, the teaching is still being distributed. You don’t admit weakness, that would be letting people down.

I can only imagine what it’s like when you’re the king, especially when your nation or state is somewhat theocratic in nature. Like King David.

Psalm 51 is his particular prayer of confession. In the KJV the words are iconic,

…my sin is ever before me.

David admits he can’t run and he can’t hide from the thing he has done, or the person he has become. It’s what he sees when looks in the mirror. He owns up to it. I believe that whatever sin we give into, no matter how private, no matter how secret; it will manifest itself at some point in some more open way. Bathsheba presented a tremendous opportunity — her husband was away at the time — but it wasn’t the first time David had looked at a woman. Or perhaps not even the first time David had hatched a scheme.

You don’t become an adulterer overnight. It happens when you have failed to pre-book your choices. It happens when you’ve never recognized your susceptibility. It happens when pride gives you spiritual over-confidence.

Then, again using the KJV, he says,

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…

Jerry Bridges says, “We never see sin aright unless we see it as against God.”

• When you maligned your co-worker, you sinned not against them, but against God
• When you cheated on that test, you sinned not against the school or the teacher, but against God
• When you falsified that document, you sinned not against the organization or the government, but against God
• When you flirted with the girl in the grocery store, you sinned not against them or against your wife, but against God

You get the pattern.

Some of the resolutions people made at the start of the year are long broken. If they carried with them moral or spiritual significance, it isn’t just a personal letdown, you don’t just fail yourself, but rather it’s sin against God.

A key verse on this topic is,

^{I Sam. 2:25a} If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?”

The preceding verses provide the context; here’s how The Message expresses this:

^22-25 By this time Eli was very old. He kept getting reports on how his sons were ripping off the people and sleeping with the women who helped out at the sanctuary. Eli took them to task: “What’s going on here? Why are you doing these things? I hear story after story of your corrupt and evil carrying on. Oh, my sons, this is not right! These are terrible reports I’m getting, stories spreading right and left among God’s people! If you sin against another person, there’s help—God’s help. But if you sin against God, who is around to help?”

Perhaps you find the meaning of this rather self-evident. Several of the study Bibles and commentaries I consulted seem to gloss over it without adding detail. The Reformation Study Bible says,

Eli’s point is that while there may be some mediation of disputes between people, when someone offends God there is no one who can intervene.

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary noted:

When a man has a complaint against another, the matter can be decided by God through his representative, the judge (Ps. 82:3), or by the sacred lot in the hand of the priest. But in a case in which God is the plaintiff, there can be no reference to a disinterested party the crime incurs the direct vengeance of heaven.  (p.277)

Although the context is quite different, the language of that verse to me is always similar to Acts 5:39, “But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” What I get is there is a sense of God’s vested interest in certain affairs (though the verse means far more than that); it conveys the image of sitting across the table in direct confrontation with God.  You don’t want that.

^{Heb. 10:25} For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

^{Prov. 15:10} There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

In Daniel 9, we see Daniel praying on behalf of the nation:

“ ⁵ …But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. ⁶ We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

I can’t help but think as I read this that what he prays collectively has to begin individually, it has to begin with me. This is often contrary to our nature. We think ourselves righteous. It’s harder to pray:

But I have sinned and done wrong. I have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. I have refused to listen to your servants…

And yet, each time I ignore the commands of God, or rationalize some behavior, or allow myself some license in some area of thought or action, I am scorning God’s commands.

A pastor once said “you can’t always choose the place you live in, but you can decide where you are going to live toward.” He contrasted living toward Jerusalem with living toward Babylon.

I am not living toward Jerusalem 24/7. I am distracted by worldly ideas. If you’re a guy, are you tempted by the girl at the mall in the miniskirt? For me it’s ideas and concepts. One single phrase or sentence in an online article can be as devastating to me as the girl at the mall is to you. My worldview warps; my mindset skews.

Psalm 139 ends with the type of mind inventory I need constantly:

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

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Psalm 51 – Worship Liturgy by Ruth Wilkinson

Show me your grace, Yahweh, according to Your faithful love;
erase my rebellion, according to Your overflowing compassion.

Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.

I know what I’ve done wrong.
I remember where I’ve missed the path.

I’ve done wrong against You – the only one who has the right to judge and to pass sentence.

But I’ve been going wrong my whole life, when what You want for me is integrity for my inner self.
And from within, You teach me deep wisdom.
You purify me.
You make me clean.

Fill my ears with gladness; fill my broken bones with joy.

Yahweh, create in me a willing heart,
an unwavering spirit,
the joy of Your salvation,
the presence of Your Spirit.

Open my mouth to teach the other rebels,
to sing Your righteousness
and to call the other sinners home to You.

Lord, break my heart and humble my spirit.
Because You don’t want just my stuff, or I’d give it.

What pleases You is the offering of a broken and humbled heart,
and what flows from there.

When my spirit is right with You, then You’ll delight in what I bring.
And You can have it all.

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Today’s article includes excerpts from When You Hit Bottom, Jerry Bridges Quotations, Owning It, Sins Against Another; Against God,

Sin is like a Snake

His own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin. – Proverbs 5:22

“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. – Numbers 32:23

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. – Psalm 19:13

…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2

Is it any coincidence that the Bible’s first representation of our predilection to sin is a serpent?

This is a very, very small part of an exhaustive article on sin which appears at the popular Bible study resource, PreceptAustin.org. (We don’t go there very often because the topical articles are just so deep that we could spend hours in any given one.)

The link below will take you to the main article, and then you’ll find this section by doing a keyword search for “Boa Constrictor!” We’ve included the first four scripture references above, you need to click through for the remaining verses.

Sin is like a Boa Constrictor!

Are you being deceived by sin and tolerating it like a pet? If you are, then you need to remember the fate of the man with the pet boa constrictor (Do a Google search – use the following three words in your search keeping the quotation marks as written >> “pet boa” killed). After 15 years of living with his owner, one day the “pet boa” would not let its “owner” out of its grip resulting in the owner’s tragic death. Wild animals remain wild and so does Sin. Do not be deceived (Stop being deceived)!

No Small Deviations in God’s Economy! – In St. Louis there is a railroad switchyard. One particular switch begins with just the thinnest piece of steel to direct a train away from one main track to another. If you were to follow those two tracks, however, you would find that one ends in San Francisco, the other in New York. Sin is like that. Just a small deviation from God’s standards can place us far afield from our intended destination. Don’t be deceived by the world, the flesh and the devil who whisper “It’s no big deal!” Wrong! Sin is a VERY BIG DEAL! (Sin seeks to rule over us and to kill us = Ps 19:13–note, [See also Spurgeon’s comments] Ps 119:133–note, 1Jn 5:16)

Entanglement by the Cords of one’s own Sin – Not long after a wealthy contractor had finished building the Tombs prison in New York, he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in the prison he had built! As he was escorted into a cell of his own making, the contractor said, “I never dreamed when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day.” (cp Nu 32:23, Pr 5:22 – See Captured by Iniquity and Held by Cords of one’s own Sin – A Study)

Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to stray!
Cost you more than you ever dreamed you would pay!
Keep you longer than you ever thought you would stay!

Sin (266) (hamartia [word study]) in simple terms is missing the mark, specifically missing God’s will for us, a will which is good and acceptable and perfect (Ro 12:2b–note). Sin is what you do when you obey your fallen flesh, instead of obeying the Holy Spirit (cp Gal 5:16–note, Gal 5:17–note). The apostle John has a good “working” definition of sin writing that sin is lawlessness (anomia > a = without + nomos = law – behaving as if one had no supreme, divine law ruling their flesh, cp Jdg 21:25–note) (1John 3:4 = practices is present tense = as one’s lifestyle – something a truly born again person cannot do habitually – 1Jn 3:9, 10). In Romans 5 and 6 Paul explains that Sin refers to the inherent propensity to commit specific sins a propensity that entered the human heart of Adam and as a result constituted or made him a sinner by nature. Adam then passed the inherent sinful nature (the “sin virus”) he possessed to all of his offspring (which is every person ever born) (Ro 5:12–note, Ge 5:3 = “in his own likeness”, not God’s as in Ge 1:26!). This same “Adamic” nature which always seeks to satisfy self will (cp “lovers of self” –2Ti 3:2–note) rather than God’s will is present in every person at the moment of conception when the “sin virus” is passed to the fertilized ovum (Ps 51:5–note, Ps 58:3–note, Job 25:4).

This sin nature which is still present in believers (some subtle, “snake-like” teachers falsely teach that the sin nature is no longer present in believers! Wrong!) is personified as an active power which continually seeks to seduce, deceive, delude and destroy (our fellowship with God).

Sin appears to be fair (“you deserve this little treat”!), but is in fact filthy. It appears pleasant (“it will make you feel so good”), but belies its pernicious character and finally it promises much pleasure (“you’ll be better for having done this”, cp “passing pleasures” He 11:25–note), but performs nothing good, in the end bringing only death (to our fellowship with God if we are believers, eternal death/separation if unbelievers).

Paul alluded to the crafty character of sin in Romans 7 writing that “sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. (see note Romans 7:11; James 1:14, 15–note, Jas 1:16–note ).

Paul speaking of the character and activity of the Antichrist in the end times declared that he will come…

with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2Thes 2:10) (Note that they perish not because they were deceived but because they made the conscious choice to refuse the truth of the gospel of salvation. And the divine punishment for their rejection is that they will receive a deluding influence which causes them to believe what is false.)

James makes it clear that God never tempts one to do evil

“But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (James 1:14, 15–note, Jas 1:16–note)

Some commentators have state that the definite article preceding the word “sin,” identifies a specific sin which in context is the sin of apostasy or falling away from the truth of the gospel.

Sin promotes the illusion that disobedience is more secure (Ex 17:3) or pleasurable (see notes Hebrews 11:25; 26; Ex 16:3) than the life of faithful obedience.

The terrible danger of sin lies in the deceptive ease with which it slowly but surely hardens one’s heart, ever gradually weakening one’s will’s power to resist evil temptations. Paul gives us a command that is good “preventative maintenance” which serves to minimize our vulnerability to the deceptive temptations of sin “Even so consider (present imperative = command to continually take spiritual inventory of what we have and we now are in Christ. Why? Because we are continually vulnerable/susceptible to being deceived if we let go of our grasp of the truth of this affirmation. Speaking this truth does not make it true, but it does remind us that it is true, so that this truth like a shield might be readily recalled in time of need!) yourselves to be dead to sin (separated from, no longer subject to the power of Sin), but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Ro 6:11–note)

Alexander Maclaren… in his sermon What Sin Does to Men (Isaiah 1:30, 31)…

Sin withers. We see the picture of a blasted tree in the woods, while all around are in full leaf, with tiny leaves half developed and all brown at the edges. The prophet draws another picture, that of a garden not irrigated, and therefore, in the burning East, given over to barrenness. Sin makes men fruitless and withered. It involves separation from God, the source of all fruitfulness (Ps. 1).

Think of how many pure desires and innocent susceptibilities die out of a sinful soul. Think of how many capacities for good disappear. Think of how dry and seared the heart becomes.

Think of how conscience is stifled. All sin, any sin, does this.

Not only gross, open transgressions, but any piece of godless living will do it.

Whatever a man does against his conscience—neglect of duty, habitual unveracity, idleness—in a word, his besetting sin withers him up.

And all the while the evil thing that is drawing his life-blood is growing like a poisonous, blotched fungus in a wine-cask. (Read full sermon – Isaiah 1:30, 31 What Sin Does to Men)

Spurgeon writes that…

Sin slyly insinuates itself and by slow degrees prevails, therefore must we carefully guard against it.

B H Carroll on the deceitfulness of sin – This deceitfulness consists in misconstruing the grace of delay in punishment as immunity altogether, as saith the prophet: “Because sentence against an evil deed is not speedily executed, the heart of the sinner is fully set in him to do evil.”

As someone has written…

[1.] There is a great deal of deceitfulness in sin; it appears fair, but is filthy; it appears pleasant, but is pernicious; it promises much, but performs nothing.

[2.] The deceitfulness of sin is of a hardening nature to the soul; one sin allowed prepares for another; every act of sin confirms the habit; sinning against conscience is the way to sear the conscience; and therefore it should be the great concern of every one to exhort himself and others to beware of sin.

Continually Killing the Sin

We’re returning for another visit with Elizabeth Prata who writes at The End Time and while normally by not including pictures or graphics we encourage you to click through to read at source, this one didn’t make sense without the pictures! So we’ve offered you another article by her at the bottom of this one, to encourage you to send some internet traffic in her direction.

Entangled in sin

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1)

We have a sin-nature. Everyone born after Adam (except Jesus) inherited it.Before salvation when we flowed along with everyone else int he world who wasn’t saved, we never noticed it. After salvation when we turned 1280 degrees and faced the full brunt of the flow of the world’s enmity against God, then we felt it.

We feel it every day inside of us. Paul certainly did. In Romans 7:15 he pleaded out loud,

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

And he definitely had been a Christian a long time and had lots of practice at it.

Believers can never conquer the sin nature. We can subdue it, wrestle with it, have some small victories over it. It might retreat to a dark corner of the heart for a while until a more opportune time, but we can’t be victorious over it.

With the Spirit’s help we can grow in righteousness, putting the squeeze on the remaining space in us that the sin-nature has to make room for. It might shrink back, but it can never leave us. Why?

The sin-nature is part of our flesh. Like this:

We can chip away at it, but the sin-nature remains an integral part of our biology.

After the resurrection when Jesus gives us new bodies in eternity, and we are glorified with no sin particle left in us, we will stand tall and proud, trophies of His glory. Like this:

Our roots in Christ, our sap His righteousness, our leaves His mercies, beautifully made and reaching for the Son.

Until then, we continue killing the sin in us-

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

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Go Deeper: As promised in the introduction, here’s another post by Elizabeth which I selected for us today: Do Believers Need the Gospel?

Feeling Condemned? Romans 8:1-4

by Clarke Dixon

Condemnation is in the air. Every day in law courts across this land verdicts are reached and sentences given. Whether fiction or reality, tv is full of stories of condemnation. Then there is the condemnation that shows up in our personal relationships, from friends and enemies alike. There is also the self-condemnation many of us face when we either step in front of a mirror or step onto the weigh scales. All too often we wear false verdicts as life sentences.

Perhaps this is the reason why many people are not bothered with church. “Just another place to face more condemnation.” Perhaps this is the reason why many people do not want to think about their relationship with God. “More condemnation.” Yet if we think one hundred years or so into the future, which verdicts will still matter? Will the condemnation we have faced from others, or even ourselves, matter? One verdict will matter. God’s. One sentence will matter. God’s. His verdict is a just verdict. His sentence is an eternal-life sentence. Given the supreme importance of that verdict, what can be said about it? Let is turn to the book of Romans to find out:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

The ‘therefore’ of Romans 8:1 points us back to consider what has been said earlier in the book of Romans. A thousand sermons could not do the first seven chapters of Romans justice, so let us attempt a quick summary. As we look back we find there is some good news, some really bad news, some really great news, some more really bad news and some more really good news.

So first the good news: God has given us the law as a gift. Without law society, and life along with it, devolves into chaos. God has given two kinds of law. There is the law that is written on the hearts of all people (Romans 2:14,15). That sense of conscience, of the difference between right and wrong. Further, to give a shining and clear example, The law was given to a specific group of people, the Hebrew people, through Moses. This was good news since this law helped people thrive together and was a proper yardstick for measuring up.

Now for the really bad news: As wonderful as it is to have this yardstick, God’s law just confirms that could never measure up.

What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one; Romans 3:9-10

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:19-20

If you think that God has reason to condemn you. You are correct. That is really bad news.

Now for the really great news:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Why?

But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26

There is a lot to unpack in those few verses, but suffice it so say here that in the blood of Christ we have forgiveness of sin. The verdict has been arrived at, the sentence has been served by Jesus. This is a gift of God’s grace. Receiving that gift is a matter trust.

But now for some more really bad news: There is a second kind of sentence to deal with; a sinful life. To understand this we can think of a drug addict who has served time for being in the possession of hard drugs. A verdict has been reached, and the sentence has been served in the eyes of society. However, the addict is still that, an addict. Addiction can be a life sentence, and for some that life sentence is worse than jail time. It would be an awful thing if we were given assurance of a positive final verdict before the judgement seat of Christ, yet nothing changed for us in this life. Though looking forward to freedom, we would still be serving a life-sentence to a life in the service of evil in the here and now. Paul speaks about this problem in the very verses that precede Romans 8:

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25

And now for some more really good news: we are freed from this sentence also!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

To say that sin was condemned “in the flesh” is akin to saying that the full sentence of the addict was served, not just the jail term, but the life-sentence of bearing the disease of addiction as well. The addict’s identity would be forever changed, no longer being known as an addict. Likewise, our addiction to sin is broken, our identity changed forever, as we are now “in Christ,” people who walk “according to the Spirit.” Paul has more to say about this in the verses to follow, and so will we next week.

We are guilty sometimes of speaking of salvation as if it is only a matter of what happens at the judgement seat of Christ. It is more than that. Because of the love and grace of God in Jesus there is no condemnation for those who belong to Him, neither a guilty verdict at the judgement seat of Christ leading to an eternal-life sentence, nor a life-sentence to  slavery to sin here and now. God rescues us from both. That is really great news!

(Scripture references are taken from the NRSV)

Clarke Dixon is a regular midweek contributor to C201 whose material can also be seen at Sunday’s Shrunk Sermon.

Accomplishing Your New Year’s Resolution

by Russell Young

Blessings to you in the new year! Many welcome the new year with resolutions and great intentions.  Research shows that most resolutions will not be realized.  The University of Scranton has stated that 39% of people in their twenties will achieve their resolution each year while only 14% of people over 50 years of age will achieve theirs. Perhaps greater success is achieved by younger people because of the nature of their resolutions, that habits are more entrenched in older people, or it may be that younger people are more determined to achieve their resolutions.  Regardless, change in behaviour is difficult to accomplish.  Some changes require the development of a completely different perspective, and all require motivation. Resolutions are not made concerning a single happening, but are intended to alter a developed pattern of action or attitude; they have become patterns because they have brought satisfaction or pleasure to the person who has adopted them.

Paul has shed some light on this aspect of the human condition. Although many accept that eternal salvation comes from pardon for sin, it really comes from the product that the Lord is able to accomplish in the transformation of a person; it is the result of sanctification by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5─6; 2Thess 2:13) making the believer a sacrifice acceptable to God. (Romans 15:16) A person’s transformation/sanctification requires a great deal of work and power.  Paul addressed the dilemma that he faced concerning his own inadequacy in the taming of his body.  He wrote: “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am! Who will save me from this body of death (that causes death)? The flesh is weak! 

Paul followed up his predicament with its solution. “Thanks be to God—through Jesus our Lord!” (Rom 7:21─25 NIV) “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son…” (Rom 8:3 NIV) The reason why human resolutions and the laws of God are often not fulfilled is because their completion rests in a weakened sinful nature. Resolutions are made with good intentions but the weakness of the flesh often dooms people to failure.  Those who resolve to adjust their habits intend to do so…they want to keep their resolutions; the body just does not accommodate.

Try as one will the realization of a resolution cannot often be accomplished without divine help.  If the believer is being impressed with the need for change, the prompting for change probably came from the Holy Spirit. Change is not easy and should not be accepted as being easy, but it can be done.  Victory lies within the grace and power of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the believer’s commitment to honour the Spirit’s calling.  It is often the lack of motivation and the weakness of the flesh that brings failure.

The Spirit is Christ in the believer (Col 1:27; 2 Cor 3: 17, 18) and he will lead and empower for victory, but those seeking victory must engage the battle with him. Prayer and commitment to honour the Lord through the successful completion of a resolution can never be abandoned. To do so means that the “believer” has fallen under the slavery of the weak, old nature and has relented to serving the flesh rather than God’s Son. If a person relies on his or her own strength for victory, they will revert to the old nature and to old patterns.  Victory demands a struggle with an objective, a determination of the will, and the power provided by the helper, the Lord.

Resolutions can fall into many categories but often they are related to expressing love and kindness toward a family member or brother in the Lord, or they may relate to gaining victory over habits that are offensive to others.  They may involve better financial management necessitating a reduction in love for the world and the things in the world.  They may also be related to issues of forgiveness.  Many resolve to treat their bodies with greater respect in some manner. These are all issues that deal with the development of the righteousness for which we hope. (Gal 5:5) They are issues important to Christ.

Since righteousness is not a trivial matter, neither should be the believer’s approach to its development.  Even in matters that might seem trivial, the faithful will bring their need before God in prayer, with commitment, and in expectation. Christ said, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow me…” (Jn 10:27 NIV) It is through the practice of obedience that victory can be gained. To hear requires listening. The voice of God often comes through the quiet whisperings of a person’s conscience and the one seeking success will not dismiss these.  The Word promises that believer will not be faced with temptations from which a way out will not be provided, and states that he or she will not face temptations that are not common to man. (1 Cor 10:13) Even though a resolution may not seem to require victory over a “temptation,” it may have been induced through an issue that the Spirit has brought to mind and he is always ready to help the humble and submissive to enable victory over any issue that is in keeping with his will for that person.

New Year’s resolutions are important to the one making them and they may be important to God. Self-discipline and the leading and the power of the Spirit can assure that they are realized.

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Check out Russell Young’s book now in print and eBook — Eternal Salvation: “I’m Okay! You’re Okay!” Really? available through Westbow Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble; and in Canada through Chapters/Indigo.  9781512757514 $17.99 US

Being Filled With The Spirit

Across the wide spectrum of Christian belief the phrase “filled with the Spirit” is interpreted differently by different groups. In Paul’s writings on spiritual gifts he says “we know in part” and “we see only a reflection.” In the same chapter however his primary directive is that love should guide all our relationships in the body of Christ.

by Russell Young

There is a common understanding that the believer needs to keep being filled with the Spirit. That is, that he is much like a container from which the Spirit can be consumed and which, consequently, needs to be replenished. This concept is error! The filling of the Spirit needs to be considered in another light.

The Spirit is a person. He provides the enlightenment, leading, and power for victory over the devil, the flesh, and the world. He does not come to a person in fragments or pieces, but in full. Peter wrote, “[Christ’s] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV) If he has given us everything we need, we need nothing more. This understanding is contrary to the understanding that the believer needs more and must seek more.

To be filled with the Spirit means to be emptied of all else—to be emptied of self and the interests of the natural spirit.

When the “body of death” (Rom 7:24), or that causes death, has been crucified or put to death, it has no more interest in sinful practices—it is dead. Consequently, the natural spirit holds no power; only the Holy Spirit remains. “Put to death, therefore, whatever remains of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Col 3:5 NIV) When the natural spirit and its interest have been defeated, the believer has become filled with the Holy Spirit. To accomplish this filling, the believer needs to constantly put to death his or her earthly interests and the demands of the flesh. This is a matter of the will

Natural Spirit

Believers should not require any more of the Spirit. In fact, they cannot get any more of the Spirit. They need to appropriate what they have been given. Certainly, it is possible for God to affect those around us, and indeed, the circumstances of our lives to accomplish his purposes (Rom 8:28), but more of the Spirit is not required. It is not without reason that Christ told the believer to carry his cross so that he might crucify himself as his own interests and natural spirit start to emerge once again. The believer’s prayer should not be to seek more of the Spirit but to seek less of self, and even death to self. (Rom 8:13; Mt 16:25) They already possess the completeness of the Spirit and need no more.

The believer’s old self was pledged to have been crucified with Christ when he or she was baptized so that the body that causes sin should be done away with, that they should no longer be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died has been freed from temptation to sin and from its practice.

When Paul told the Ephesians “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,” (Eph 5:18 NIV) he was admonishing them to be consumed with the Spirit, to will the Spirit’s sovereign right to their lives, and to put to death their natural interests and any inclination to consume too much wine.

Paul taught that the Spirit was poured out generously on us. (Titus 3:5─6) It is a human tendency to cast responsibility on another. The thinking that I just need more of the Spirit so that I can do all of the wonderful things that God would have me do is an attempt to excuse ourselves of our own failings and to demand more of God. To ask God for more of his Spirit in times of “praise” is a hollow effort to glorify ourselves by implying that we are waiting for his grace and his power so that we might serve him. Again, we already have all that is needed to live the life that is expected of us, but that life can only happen as death to ungodly interests is realized and interest is taken in agenda.

Either the heart of God is sought or the natural life; it cannot be both. Each person needs to determine their own level of commitment and to accept the consequences that accompany our decisions. The believer is to work out his own salvation with fear (terror) and trembling. (Philippians 2: 12) A self-righteous demand for more of the Spirit is a confession of our own defeat unless it is accompanied by an honest petition seeking death to self and victory over the flesh.

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Check out Russell Young’s book now in print and eBook — Eternal Salvation: “I’m Okay! You’re Okay!” Really? available through Westbow Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble; and in Canada through Chapters/Indigo.  9781512757514 $17.99 US

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Mission Statement: Christianity 201 is a melting-pot of devotional and Bible study content from across the widest range of Christian blogs and websites. Sometimes two posts may follow on consecutive days by authors with very different doctrinal perspectives. The Kingdom of God is so much bigger than the small portion of it we can see from our personal vantage point, and one of the purposes of C201 is to allow readers a ‘macro’ view of the many ministries and individual voices available for reading.

Scripture portions from various translations quoted at Christianity 201 are always in green to remind us that the Scriptures have LIFE!

Slavery to Sin

by Russell Young

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (Jn 8:34 NIV) This proclamation is very convicting and many would argue that although they might sin, they are not a slave to sin. What did the Lord mean?

Understanding his wording and condemnation rests in understanding the fullness of his provision for those whom he has redeemed.   A slave is a person who has a master.  In this case he is teaching that all who sin have sin as their master.  Proclaiming that a saved person can be a slave to sin may cause great affront to those who have been saved.  Perhaps this is because those who consider themselves in the family of believers find it difficult to appreciate what is meant by sin.  Perhaps it is that we see ourselves as being righteous Christians and are not ready to accept that sin can exist in our lives, and when it does, it is accepted as a minor issue.  However, sin is a serious matter!  The Lord went on to say, “Now a slave [to sin] has no permanent place in the family.” (Jn 8:35 NIV) He also taught, “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” (Mt 13:41 NIV)

Do you sin?  Are you a slave to sin? Some would argue that as mere mortals all people sin and for this reason accept its practice as something that God would find tolerable in their lives. They excuse themselves.  This is a grave mistake.  It is common to hear of God’s unconditional love and many accept that his grace and his love will cover their unrighteous practices.  They might accept that some sinning is okay as long as it is not a serious sin like murder.  However, the Lord taught that everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

The believer must not be allowed to find escape in the human propensity to sin and expect God to tolerate his or her disobedience. Peter taught that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” (2 Pet 1:3 NIV) The reality of his teaching needs to be examined because if it is true, humankind has no excuse in the sight of God for establishing peace with any sinful practice.

God’s divine power is the Holy Spirit. He is the power that raised Jesus from the grave.  He is the power that kept Jesus from sinning while in the body that the Father had prepared for him.  He is the same power that resides in all (Col 1:27; 2 Cor 3: 17, 18) who have humbled themselves before God and have declared that Jesus is Lord.  No one can make the claim that they are incapable of not sinning; at judgment day their confession will have to be that they didn’t use the power and authority given them, and not using all that has been provided will not be found as an acceptable excuse before the Lord for sinning .

A person who has recognized God’s requirement for righteousness and has turned his back on all that has been provided for its defeat must admit that rather than the Spirit of holiness being his master, sin remains so. The one who sins is still a slave to sin and to the interests of the flesh and will be judged accordingly.

The redeemed need to establish in their hearts and minds an understanding of the effect that sin has on God and the measure of his or her willingness to allow excuses for their behaviour.  The Word is clear, the evil imaginations and practices of people bring pain to the heart of God, (Gen 6:6) and he gave his Son to defeat its practice.  No matter what excuses the redeemed are prepared to make for unlawful behaviour those excuses will not be accepted.  It is time that teaching proclaims God’s holiness.  It is well past time that the deceptive teaching of God’s “unconditional love” be stopped and replaced with the more correct presentation of the expansiveness of his love—his provision of freedom from past sins and of the provision of his divine power so that the believer need not be a slave to sin. Believers need to understand that the Father had given his Son to be tortured on the cross and provided him to live in them so that the power of sin might be defeated.

Do those who call Jesus their Lord sin?  Yes!  Does that mean that they are slaves to sin? In the moment of their sinning, they have let sin dominate the Spirit and have allowed it to become their master. If sin is their master, they have become its slave. Christ did not sin and will not sin so when it happens the sinner has abandoned the power and leadership of Christ who would have given them victory. They did not retain him as master or lord.

Release from sin’s draw on a person’s life is not instantaneous but freedom from its slavery must be gained. The righteous life is a struggle and striving to defeat the enemy becomes impossible when the flesh, the evil one or the permissions of the world are allowed to dominate the Spirit. The Lord knows our weaknesses and does not give up when we fail until we quench or deny the Spirit.  Slavery to sin might prevail in our weakness but committedly engaging the enemy with the power of Christ will result in winning the battle for righteousness in the end. All of mankind enter this world as slaves to sin; their need is to allow Christ to become their master.

It is unnatural to deny the flesh and to live for righteousness and for Christ, that is why the Spirit is the only solution for victory.  The battle for freedom from sin is not won without a contest. Some battles are won and others lost. However, John taught that if we confess our sin we will be forgiven and purified from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9) The person who is actively engaged in the fight for victory has not accepted sin as his or her master and will yet gain their freedom from it.

Has your own indifference prevented your struggle for victory?  Has deceptive teaching allowed you to rest in a false hope? Are you determined to master sin rather than have sin master you?  Christ revealed,” He who overcomes [the issues raised to the seven churches in Revelation, which includes sinning] will inherit all of this [the blessings of the New Jerusalem], and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Rev 21:7 NIV)

 

What is the New Covenant?

•••by Russell Young

A covenant is a compact or an agreement that holds surety of promise between two parties.  The Old Covenant is often referred to as the Covenant of the Law through which the Lord promised good to those who obey Him.  “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.  Walk in the ways I command you, that it may go well with you” (Jeremiah 7:23, NIV) This is also the “Everlasting Covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5)

According to the Old Covenant the Israelites had to obey all of the elements of the Law.  It was not arbitrarily designed but its purpose was to create a holy nation. (Exodus 19:6) Because man “was weakened by the sinful nature,” (Romans 8:3, NIV) he could not keep the Covenant.  However, the Covenant is everlasting and God’s blessings to man depends upon the believer satisfying its righteous requirements without which a holy nation could not be created.

The Old Covenant was brought to a close for those willing to accept Christ’s lordship (Romans 10:9-10) by having its requirement of death for sin satisfied through His substitutionary sacrifice.  The New Covenant makes the believer competent through Christ’s indwelling presence to overcome his sinful nature and become transformed into His likeness. (Romans 8:29)

The New Covenant is a covenant of the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:6) The Spirit is Christ in the believer (Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18) who is able to live without sin in the believer just as He had in the body that the Father had prepared for Him in the womb of Mary…provided He is obeyed.

Paul wrote: “He [God] condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4, NIV) Rather than accomplishing the law through one’s own resources as required by the Old Covenant, the believer has been provided with Christ’s indwelling Spirit to enlighten, lead, and empower Him to live righteously and develop a state of holiness (Romans 6:19, 22) without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14) The requirements set by God have not changed but the means of accomplishing them has.  According to either Covenant, obedience is required.  The writer of Hebrews has stated that “eternal salvation” comes to those who “obey” Him. (Hebrews 5:9)

The New Covenant is not engraved on stone but is in the flesh…the mind and the heart.  It is not legally based on satisfying the law but is based on the believer having a personal, living relationship with Christ.  It is those who are led by the Spirit who are no longer under the law (Galatians 5:18) and who are sons of God. (Romans 8:14) Those who choose to walk according to their sinful nature, even after pledging Christ’s lordship, will reap destruction. (Galatians 6:7-8; Romans 8:13)

Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant.  That is, He is the One who intervenes on behalf of the believer to accomplish the eternal hope for the believer.  He has done this to provide access to the Covenant through His death.  As mediator He has provided His Spirit to accomplish its requirements.  As High Priest, He intercedes on behalf of the believer for sins committed “in ignorance” (Hebrews 9:7) and for sins that have been confessed and repented. (1 John 1:9)

Peter wrote that “His [the Lord’s] divine power [Holy Spirit] has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3); however, the believer is not to be passive or lukewarm but is “to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling;” (Philippians 2:12, NIV) that is, through obedience.

The New Covenant is NOT the promise of an eternal hope through the sacrificial death of Christ on his behalf.  It is a covenant by God which allows the Christ to live in the believer and through obedience to satisfy God’s righteous requirements for His Eternal Kingdom.  In honouring God’s Son the believer will be transformed into His likeness, will truly become His brother, and will inherit all of the blessing that apply to a son of God.  In the end, the “Everlasting Covenant” will be honoured by both God and man.

Rock on the Water

We’ve linked several times to Michael Newnham, aka Phoenix Preacher at Thinking Out Loud, but apparently never here at C201. Today seemed like a good day to fix that! He in turn seems to be introducing a guest writer who has done several posts as “Jean’s Gospel.”

This is a fresh take on a familiar story, and it attracted many comments. Click the title below to read at source.

Jean’s Gospel: Stay In the Boat!

Stay in the Boat!

“And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matt 14:28-31)

It’s amusing that the disciple whose name means “rock” thought he could walk on water. What was Peter thinking? That would have been quite an achievement, if only…. Peter ate some crow that evening.

But, someone might protest: “Jesus said ‘come’. Surely Jesus would not give Peter a command unless He also gave Peter the ability to keep it.” Should we pin failure on Peter’s lack of faith? Or, did Jesus command the impossible from Peter? But commanding the impossible is unjust; isn’t it? Surely God is not unjust!

There’s one other factor to consider. Only the right material can stay above water. It must be lighter than the water to stay on top. Peter wasn’t the right stuff to walk on water. He wanted to be the right stuff, or maybe he thought he already was the right stuff, so Peter asked for the command – to show commitment to Jesus and maybe show the other disciples who was the greatest among them. Jesus went along with Peter, and in the process taught Peter and all of us a couple valuable lessons.

We are not the right stuff.

We are like a feather with a giant rock inseparably glued to it. The rock is our sin. Our human nature is thoroughly corrupted by sin. If we attempt to come to God, we only sink under the weight of the rock of our sin. The Bible is chock-full of commandments. God’s commandments show us his holy character and perfect will for us. If we could carry out God’s commandments, we could bring ourselves to God. But, we can’t cross the water that separates us from God. We sink because of our sin. We are not the right stuff.

But there’s good news in this lesson. God’s commandments also show us something else; they show us our sin and need of a savior. When we realize that we can’t cross the water and give up trying, then we cry out for the One who can. “Lord, save me.” Once we realize we are not the right stuff, Jesus calls us blessed: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3) Jesus wants us to stay in the boat where it’s safe and leave the water-walking to Him. He will come to us. He will still the wind and calm the sea.

Jesus is the right stuff.

Jesus came to save sinners. He loves to save sinners. When we feel the weight of our sin pulling us down and under, Jesus reaches down into the water, takes hold of us, and pulls us up to Him. We can’t cross the water, but Jesus can…and does…for us. He is the right stuff. In this life, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, and Jesus calls us blessed. Why? Because Jesus is our righteousness. (1 Cor 1:30) So, we can stay safely in the boat.

The Blessed Exchange.

Jesus eternally saves sinners through a blessed exchange effected through the incarnation, cross and preaching. In this exchange, Jesus takes our sin so that it cannot accuse us and gives us forgiveness so that we have His righteousness to boast in, not our own. Also called the righteousness of faith (Rom 4:13), this righteousness is outside us. We do not possess our own righteousness before God. Jesus is our righteousness. Therefore, we must stay safely in the boat. “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19b)

How do we stay in the boat? We stay in the boat by remaining in Christ and His Word. Where is the boat? His Church is our boat. Jesus will pilot us across the water to dry land. Through storms and tempests, winds and rain, He will keep us safe. So, fellow travelers, let’s rejoice in our Captain and enjoy the boat ride together.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10a

Lord, I Can’t Do This; Please Get Somebody Else

A few days ago we looked at how Moses was reluctant to be God’s chosen mouthpiece and his reasons why God should get someone else. Our particular focus there was the public speaking aspect of the job God was calling Moses to do.

But sometimes it’s not public speaking, we have other reasons why we just wish God would choose someone else. (After writing this, I realized there’s also a tie-in to our devotional from two days ago; that often we just wish we could be somewhere else.)

I never really thought of this verse in this context until a sermon I heard this morning, but certainly God understands when we are struck by our limitations:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses – Hebrews 4:15a

and an earlier verse in the same book:

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity – Hebrews 2:14

In Christ we have a role model, who as he took on a mission that, in his humanity, as Calvary loomed large, caused him to ask if there were not a better way or a different way. It’s like he was almost saying, ‘Maybe someone else can take over at this point.’ Okay, I know that’s not the way it works, but you do get a sense of the anguish that Christ as feeling at that time.

But sometimes we hesitate to enter into the mission God has for us because of condemnation. This is a difficult subject to address because sin needs to be dealt with before a person is fit for public ministry (which might include everything from teaching a class to helping at the soup kitchen.) But sometimes the condemnation is simply an attack of the enemy.

I John 3:20 states,

If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

From the Forerunner Commentary at BibleStudyTools.org:

When we commit the occasional sin, are we no longer acceptable to God? Is our fellowship truly cut off? While it is true that sin separates us from Him, do we remain unsatisfied because we feel there is no communion? Once again, God’s grace rescues us from what would otherwise be an impossible situation.

The answer to this confounding situation lies in a change of our natures arising from repentance, receipt of God’s Holy Spirit, and—perhaps above all—access to God through Jesus Christ. Through these come fellowship and experience with Them throughout the remainder of life and access to God’s merciful grace when we fall short. There can be no doubt we are saved by grace through faith. Our depression and extreme self-condemnation reveals a lack of faith in God’s willingness to forgive upon repentance. Though works are required of us, we cannot earn our way into the Kingdom through them because they will forever fall short in providing payment for sin.

As mentioned earlier, there is a tension between the two extremes of excessive guilt and feelings of worthlessness in contrast to the casual, careless, irresponsible, “God will just have to take me as I am” disregard of our responsibility to glorify God in all we think, say, and do.

This is why John says, “God is greater than our heart.” He is ever willing to accept us as Christ—even though we personally bring Him blemished offerings in our life’s experiences—as long as our attitude has not turned to trampling the sacrifice of His Son underfoot and treating it as a common thing.

We will never enter into God’s acceptance and fellowship based on any work of offering we sacrifice to Him. The only thing He will accept is the unblemished offering of Christ’s life, and because it accompanies or precedes us into His presence, we are accepted, have communion with Him, and are fed.

[read more at Bible Study Tools]

Ephesians 3:12 states:

 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

If we find ourselves in a battle, Ephesians 6:13b reminds us:

…[W]hen you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm. (ISV)

Our local congregations are in need of people who are able to give their time in ministry service, but many are afraid to step up because of what the commentary above calls excessive guilt; however, our texts today I hope help us see that this may just be another tactic of the enemy to get us to quit.

Don’t get discouraged and don’t get overcome by feelings of inadequacy.

 

 

 

 

 

The Weight of Sin

 Hebrews 12:1b

…Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up. (CEB)

…We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.  (ERV)

…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us… (KJV)

…let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely… (NRSV)

…let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace… (The Voice)

The 3rd Choice (The3rdChoice.org) is an apologetics website. Many of the articles are much longer than what we’ve shown below. This is a great site for someone who is investigating Christianity or has just recently begun their journey with Jesus. To read today’s article on their site, click the title below, and then look around.

Sin: Not Real Popular in the Culture, but A Big Deal in the Bible

Sin is a very big idea in the Bible, and most people seem to misunderstand it, so it’s something we need to know about truthfully. Sin is defined in a few different ways, but you’ll catch a common theme quickly.

Deone Drake defines sin as thinking, doing, or being anything that demonstrates a dissatisfaction with God.

Gary Anderson says, “There are many metaphors in circulation about sin, but the one that gets 80-90% of the textual space [in the Bible] pictures sin as a weight or burden that has to be carried. And so, in many texts in the Old Testament, forgiveness is conceived of as taking away a burden.”

The word “sin” in the New Testament means “to miss the mark; err; swerve from truth and right; go wrong.”

I think you’re getting the idea. People seem to think it’s doing something bad (which isn’t too far off the mark), and they think if they’re generally good people, sin really doesn’t matter that much. After all, most of aren’t criminals, right? That’s where they’re missing the boat.

The Bible explains that sin is our nature as much as it is our behavior (Romans 7.25* and others). In other words, we don’t just do sin, we are sin, as much as a cat is a cat and a dog is a dog. A dog acts like a dog, but even he meows, he’s still a dog, y’know. We may learn to be good people, for our own sake, to please others, or for the good of society. Whatever. Sin is our nature—it’s what we are. So even though you may be a good person, you still have sin in you because if you’re human, you’re sin.

Now add to that that even if you’re not doing wrong, but you don’t do the good that you ought to do—that’s sin too (James 4.17**). Remember the time when your brother was lying to your parents, and you knew he was lying, but you didn’t say anything? Yeah, maybe you thought you were helping your brother, but what you did was wrong. In a way, you were being an accomplice and were guilty of lying too, because you let the lie stand.

We also find out from the Bible that sin separates us from God. God is life and holiness. Sin is death and depravity. So God doesn’t have any sin in him; but since we do, it separates us from him, just as the same poles of two magnets can’t be put together.

Well, you still may think you’re a pretty good person, and maybe you are, but even the smallest amount of sin matters. Let me put it this way: if you have a glass of sewage (ew!), would you drink it? No. Yikes. It’s SEWAGE. OK, but what if have a glass of water, and only a quarter of it is sewage. Pretty good water, right? Would you drink it? Ew, no—it’s SEWAGE.

What are some sins? The biggest one in the Bible is pride. Self-centeredness. Selfishness. There’s also greed, anger, lying, cheating, stealing, envy, jealousy, disobedience to parents, and a long list of other things. Whatever is not like God. Unfaithfulness, disloyalty, dishonesty. That’s what sin is.

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* So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (NIV)

** If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (NIV)

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Go Deeper: Jesus Gives Life (JesusGivesLife.blogspot.com) is another website designed for people who want to learn the basics. Check out the approach they take to today’s opening verses in this post.

When You Hit Bottom and Things are Great at the Same Time

^{NLT Ps. 51:3} For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.
⁴ Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.

I realized yesterday that I had hit bottom.

Let me qualify that a little, I realized that I had hit bottom in one specific area of my life.

You can actually be doing great in other areas, but have this one area where you struggle; where your responses are not always ideal; where your outlook or worldview is being shaped more by popular consensus or culture than by God’s Word.

Paraphrased, the first step of the classic “Twelve Step” program is, ‘We admitted we had a problem.’ It’s hard for people in ministry to do this. It’s especially hard for church leaders and pastors to admit such things. It’s really difficult when you’re a person that everyone looks up to and admires as a spiritually mature person to realize you see yourself as crashing in a particular area of life.

Instead, you start to believe your own press. You can buy into the image that people have of you. You can decide that nine-out-of-ten is good enough. You can rationalize that the ministry is still happening, people are still getting saved, money is still being raised, the teaching is still being distributed. You don’t admit weakness, that would be letting people down.

I can only imagine what it’s like when you’re the king, especially when your nation or state is somewhat theocratic in nature.  Like King David.

Psalm 51 is his particular prayer of confession. While I usually don’t use this translation, I want to quote from the second half of verse 3 and the first half of verse 4 in the KJV.

…my sin is ever before me.

David admits he can’t run and he can’t hide from the thing he has done, or the person he has become. It’s what he sees when looks in the mirror. He owns up to it. I believe that whatever sin we give into, no matter how private, no matter how secret; it will manifest itself at some point in some more open way. Bathsheba presented a tremendous opportunity — her husband was away at the time — but it wasn’t the first time David had looked at a woman. Or perhaps not even the first time David had hatched a scheme.

You don’t become an adulterer overnight. It happens when you have failed to pre-book your choices. It happens when you’ve never recognized your susceptibility. It happens when pride gives you spiritual over-confidence.

Then he says,

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned…

Jerry Bridges says, “We never see sin aright unless we see it as against God.”

• When you maligned your co-worker, you sinned not against them, but against God
• When you cheated on that test, you sinned not against the school or the teacher, but against God
• When you falsified that document, you sinned not against the organization or the government, but against God
• When you flirted with the girl in the grocery store, you sinned not against them or against your wife, but against God

You get the pattern.

Some of the resolutions people made at the start of the year are long broken. If they carried with them moral or spiritual significance, it isn’t just a personal letdown, you don’t just fail yourself, but rather it’s sin against God.

…I did not commit adultery or cause a neighbor to be put in the front lines of a battle to be killed. But I really felt I hit bottom in one particular area. One some might even dismiss. However…

If it’s big enough to notice, it’s important enough to deal with.