Category Archives: Jesus

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February 16, 2016

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Jesus, Sanctification, Sexual Immorality

Justifying Sin

Harry Schaumburg has been counseling people for over thirty years and has spent the last eighteen years focusing on counseling those who struggle with sexual sin, such as adultery, pornography, prostitution, etc. His book Undefiled  is his attempt to put into writing his Biblical Intensive Counseling workshop, which is five straight days of intense counseling.

I struggled with pornography from the age of eleven into my twenties. During this time I went to church, was active with my youth group, eventually attended Bible school, and got married. It took a long time for me to beat the pornography addiction that I had. This book has been a wonderful help for me in working through some of those hidden issues that still hang over from my pornography addiction.

I will be putting more from this book on my blog later, but for now I wanted to post this list of how the heart deceives us when it comes to sin.  How is it that so many Christians know porn is bad, but still do it? The answer is not complicated. We justify it. Schaumberg focuses on sexual sin, but insert your own sin where he puts sexual sin.

  • The sexual sinner always acts like he or she is sexually pure.
  • The sexual sinner always justifies the sexual sin. 
  • The sexual sinner always  declares the sexual sin a need. 
  • The sexual sinner always deceives himself or herself into believing that sinning sexually will be a positive benefit. 
  • The sexual sinner always makes excuses for his or her sexual sin.
  • The sinner who does not sexually sin tells himself or herself that his or her heart is good. 
When we read this our initial reaction is, “No way.” But the further you dig the more realize that is exactly what we do with our sin. When we sin we do not see ourselves as filthy, dirty people. We might feel that way momentarily after our sin, but it does not stick and we go back to believing ourselves to be pretty good people. We always justify our sin. I had to do it. There was no way out. What could I do? I needed it. They deserved it. And we do this not just with sexual sin. We do this with gossip, anger, pride, bitterness, laziness, etc. 
The beginning of our fight against sin is realizing that we are not very good people. We sin and make excuses for our sins. We pretend we are holy when we are not. We think because we don’t commit the same sins as others we are good. But the truth is we are unclean and defiled without Christ. Once we understand that we can flee to Christ for forgiveness and for the means to fight against our sin. But if we assume that whatever we do is justified and that our sin is not that much of a problem we will never win the battle. 
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December 8, 2015

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Jesus, Pastoral, Sanctification

Justice and Righteousness in Isaiah

Final paragraph updated at 1:30 pm on 12-8-15.

Isaiah, like many of the prophets, is bringing charges against Israel. Israel has gone back on her word. She promised faithfulness and now she has become like a harlot. She made vows, but she broke those vows. Isaiah’s main charge against Israel is that she fails to uphold justice and righteousness. In Isaiah 1:21-23 he says this:

How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

In Isaiah 5:7 he says this:

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! 

Here is a longer passage from Isaiah 59:1-14:

Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear…The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace. Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom…For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. 

One of the promises seen throughout Isaiah is that God will send One who will establish justice and righteousness. The coming of Jesus means that justice and righteousness will now be found among his people. This begins in Isaiah 1:24-27 where the Lord says:

Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. 

It continues in Isaiah 9:6-7:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 

And in Isaiah 11:3-5:

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 

The word “judge” in the above passage is linked to “justice.” Here is another example from Isaiah 16:3-5:

Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive; let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 

Is Isaiah 42:1-4,which promises the Messiah’s coming justice is mentioned three times:

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. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 

And later in Isaiah 59:15-17 we see the answer to 59:1-14 above:

The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. 

If you read through Isaiah you will find more examples like this. Isaiah is often called the gospel in the Old Testament. Now of course, all the OT books contain the gospel. Jesus is there among the sacrifices, the Exodus, Joshua, the life of David, and Nehemiah. But the New Testament’s frequent use of Isaiah is a signal to us that this book contains some of the clearest references to the coming Christ in the Old Testament.

Therefore it is worth noting that Isaiah sees the coming of Christ as bringing in justice and righteousness. When Jesus comes things are set right, justice is done, and righteousness flows like a river. If you read passages such as Isaiah 1:10-23, 5:1-24, and 59:1-8 you will see what injustice and unrighteousness look like: Greed, murder, love of bloodshed, pride, idol worship, hypocritical worship, crushing the weak, especially orphans and widows, lying, deceit in business dealings, rulers who take bribes, rejecting God’s Word, especially his word about coming judgment on sins, inverting evil and good, and debauchery. What is the result of all this? Isaiah 59:9-10 tell us that it leads to darkness, blindness, stumbling, and deadness. Isaiah 5:25-30 says a failure to be just and righteous leads to God’s judgment upon Israel. When there is no justice and righteousness there is only judgment.

Here are several loosely connected thoughts on these passages.

-Without Jesus there is no justice or righteousness. This plays out in numerous ways. Individuals cannot do justice and be righteous without faith in Christ. Communities and nations cannot do justice without some reference to Christ and His law whether in nature or Scripture. The world cannot know what true justice and righteousness is without the preaching of Jesus Christ. We cannot live righteous lives without the work of Christ’s Spirit, His Word, and His people.

-Along those same lines, without Christ’s death on the cross there is no justice or righteousness for us sinners. In order for there to be true justice our sins had to be taken by the sinless One. He had to become our substitute in order for God to be just and the justifier (Romans 3:26).  Righteousness comes only through trust in Christ crucified.

-We are nation obsessed with justice. Righteousness not so much. Justice is hip. Righteousness not so much. But for the Christian they are synonyms. Look at Isaiah 59:15-17. God sees there is no justice. But he doesn’t bring justice. He brings salvation and righteousness. Connecting justice with righteousness will help us better understand what it is Jesus came to do and what we should be doing.

-Justice and righteousness are linked with obeying God’s commands, especially the Ten Commandments. There can be no true justice and righteousness without the basics, worship of God, a refusal to murder, respect for authorities, respect for property, monogamy within marriage, and speaking the truth, especially about our neighbor. It feels like justice is such a fleeting subject, so hard to nail down. Sometimes that is the case. But often justice and righteousness are just a matter of getting the basics right.

-Isaiah castigates all sins. He does not choose sides. The sins of the left and the right political pundits and the conservative and the liberal churches are all exposed. He denounces theft, bribes, taking advantage of the poor, politicians who can be bought, and pastors who look the other way. Justice requires proper use of money in the private, religious, business, and civic realms. He also denounces sexual immorality, bloodshed, love of violence, dreaming up ways to do evil, laziness, debauchery, praising of drunkards and the immoral, greed, idolatry, hypocrisy in worship, inversion of good for evil, rejection of Scripture, and pride. It is difficult to read Isaiah and see anything ahead for America and her compromised churches but judgment.

But there is an answer. It is the same answer it has always been. Repent, turn from our sins, and believe in Jesus.

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October 22, 2015

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Evangelism, Jesus, Sin

The Sinfulness of Sin is Fuel for Evangelism

There is a deep connection between our doctrine of sin and evangelism. The more serious sin is the more serious a church will take her call to evangelize. If sin is minimized then the importance of evangelism diminishes. If man is born good and social structures cause him to do evil then the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection is of little value. If man simply needs more knowledge, more education, then again Christ’s death will not help much. If man’s problem is lack of resources, such as money, food, opportunities, then again Christ cannot help him. But if man’s problem is that he is an enemy of God, separated from Him because his heart is overflowing with selfishness, pride, anger, lust, malice, and bitterness, and therefore God’s wrath rests upon him, then the Cross is the only answer. And evangelism becomes a priority.

Paul Preaching to Lydia

What are the practical effects on evangelism of a low view of sin?

Hell is Ignored
Hell is real. Hell is where men who never turn to Christ spend eternity. Christ rescues men from an eternity where “the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Isaiah 66:24, Mark 9:47-48). Sin against a holy, perfect, just God puts men there. God’s wrath sits upon them because of their wicked hearts and lives. When we believe this, we want to rescue men and women from this plight. We don’t want them in Hell. Despite some of our over-zealous brothers from the past, Hell is still a good motivation for preaching Jesus Christ.

But if sin is minimized then Hell is as well. Hell only makes sense when God’s holiness and his hatred of sin are fierce and real. If sin is not a big deal then Hell will either be ignored or denied and our zeal for evangelism will weaken.

Men are Left in Bondage to Sin
However, evangelism is not just about delivering men from the ”second death” (Rev. 2:11). When a man turns to Christ he is set free from the power of sin. Sin destroys a man’s life here on earth, not just after he dies. One of the great causes of pain in this life is guilt.  Guilt gnaws at us. We try and try to clean our hands, but we cannot. Christ can make us clean. Men and women are slaves to their lusts and greed. They are slaves to the fads of this world. They are not free to give. They are not free to have deep joy. They are not free to suffer on behalf of others. They are not free from the terrors of death and the pangs of their own conscience. When a man comes to Christ, his sins are forgiven and he is given the Spirit. He is now free from sin’s mastery (Romans 6:22). When sin is properly understood, evangelism becomes a way to tell men of the One who can break their chains and release them.

But if sin is minimized then we leave men as slaves. Their lust, anger, greed, malice, and hatred may be small inconveniences that occasionally cause trouble, but not chains that bind them. We look at them clapped in irons and held captive by sin and say to ourselves, “It is not a big deal. They will be just fine.”

Christ is not Glorified
But the biggest fallout from a failure to take sin seriously is that Christ’s glory is smeared. When sin is seen as a the great enemy of man’s soul then Christ’s atonement and resurrection become the greatest and most powerful event in history. Death, that dreaded enemy of man, has been destroyed. Sin, which ravages our souls and bodies and leads us to ravage others, is forgiven and defeated. Satan our great accuser has been silenced. God’s wrath has been turned away because “his own arm brought salvation” (Isaiah 59:15-17). Those who were exiled from the garden have been brought back in.We have great news for a world living in darkness and the shadow death (Isaiah 9:2). A Child was born who took our stripes and healed us (Isaiah 9:6, 53:4-6). Sin, properly understood, leads a church to evangelize and this in turn brings glory to Christ and His work.

But if sin is not a big deal, if sin is not the great enemy that we have been told it was, then Christ’s work is not that big a deal either. If sin is a slight wound, healed lightly with some ointment and a band-aid then the Cross is overkill and slightly embarrassing. It is like rushing a child to the ER for a splinter. Was that really necessary? After all, we are really good people.  If people aren’t really perishing then why rescue them? If folks are not dead in their trespasses and sins then why preach life to them? And when Christ is not preached and His death and resurrection not proclaimed then he is not glorified.

Understanding the depth, power, and ugliness of sin leads a church to love evangelism. We will delight to tell our communities the good news that there is deliverance from Hell, bondage to sin, death, and Satan. We will love to glorify our great King and Savior by telling others of His work. But if our doctrine of sin is weak then our evangelism will be as well. The deeper our understanding of sin the deeper our love for Jesus and those he came to save.

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October 13, 2015

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Jesus, Pastoral

Jesus Takes a Faithful Church from Bad to Worse

In America, too often we believe following Jesus equals comfort and prosperity. When we sign up to walk after Christ we sign up for a life of occasional problems, but mainly ease and peace. Church is the place we gather to talk to like-minded folks and hear some nice words about the Bible but not a place to regroup and then go fight. We do not expect our Christian faith to cost us. This also means that when we do run up against something difficult or a time of hardship we expect Jesus to deliver us. This can be something as small as a broken vehicle or something as large as cancer. Our assumptions about discipleship mean we expect Jesus to rescue us, especially when we are faithful.

But in this life Jesus does not always deliver the faithful. The church at Smyrna (Revelation 2: 8-11) found this out. When Jesus comes to them they are a church that has already suffered. Jesus says he knows their works. He knows their “tribulation and poverty.” Because they followed Him they have already sacrificed. Their love for God has made them poor. Though there is not direct praise, it is clear from verse 9 that Jesus is pleased with their steadfast faith in the midst of persecution.

What do you think is going to happen now? Surely Jesus is going to swoop in like one of the Avengers and rescue this faithful church. Smyrna has been faithful now they will be rewarded with peace, right? No. In fact, he takes them the exact opposite direction. Jesus says, “Do not fear the things you are about to suffer.” More suffering is coming, a suffering  so great they will be tempted to fear and possibly abandon the faith. Jesus is not promising them an easy time. But it gets better. The Devil is going to throw some of them into prison. You are already poor, but you will become poorer. You have lost your possessions. Now you will lose your freedom. Then comes the crowning moment, they will die. Jesus says, “Be faithful until death.”  The implication is clear. “I am not going to rescue you this time.”

There are a lot of lessons in these few verses. Jesus knows our suffering. Jesus is with us in our suffering. Because of that we need not be afraid. If we overcome, we will not be hurt by the second death (Rev. 2:11) because our Lord was dead and came back to life (Rev. 2:9). If we are faithful to death we will receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

But the lesson most of us need to hear is that Jesus does not always rescue the faithful in this life. We all know this in our heads, but our day to day life does not reflect this truth. We expect ease and comfort. But he does not always take us from green pasture to green pasture. Sometimes he takes us from very little grass to no grass at all. Sometimes he moves us from loss of a job to cancer or from one friend stabbing us in the back to being lynched by a whole bunch of former friends. We can be faithful to Jesus and become poor. We can be faithful to Christ and enter tribulation. We can be faithful and Jesus lets the Devil throw us in prison. We can be faithful and Jesus says, “I want you to die.” Is this the Jesus we follow? A Jesus who might tell us, “Good job suffering. Now I want you to suffer more.”

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October 12, 2015

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Jesus

Jesus Works in the Dark

Missions is one of the great privileges of the Christian church. We get to go out, either ourselves or our representatives, and tell others the good news that Jesus Christ has conquered sin, Satan, and death. The elders have been evaluating our mission efforts in order to provide a solid vision to our congregation for the coming years. As part of this effort I have been reading various books on missions and church planting. One of the first books I picked up was John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad. So far it has been excellent. His chapter on prayer was convicting in many ways as Piper reminds us that when we understand we are in war and that God is sufficient we will pray.  In this chapter he writes four wonderful paragraphs on how Jesus often works in the dark. Here are those four paragraphs. All punctuation, emphases, and Scripture are his.

It will often look as though Christ is defeated. That’s the way it looked on Good Friday. He let himself be libeled and harassed and scorned and shoved around and killed. But in it all he was in control, “No one takes [my life] from me” (John 10:18). So it will always be. If China was closed for forty years to Western missionaries, it was not as though Jesus accidentally slipped and fell into the tomb. He stepped in. And when it was sealed over, he saved fifty million Chinese from the inside-without Western missionaries. And when it was time, he pushed the stone away so we could see what he had done. 

When it looks as those he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in dark. “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how” (Mark 4:26-27). The world thinks Jesus is done-out of the way. They think his Word is buried and his plans have failed.

But Jesus is at work in the dark places: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). He lets himself be buried, and he comes out in power when and where he pleases. And his hands are full of fruit made in the dark. “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Jesus goes about his invincible missionary plan “by the power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:16). 

For twenty centuries, the world has given it their best shot to hold him in. They can’t bury him. They can’t hold him. They can’t silence or limit him. Jesus is alive and utterly free to go and come wherever he pleases. All authority in heaven is his. All things were made through him and for him, and he is absolutely supreme over all other powers (Col. 1:16-17). “He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3). And the preaching of his Word is the work of missions that cannot fail. 

I love these paragraphs. They made my blood pump faster and my heart rejoice. My favorite line is the first line of the second paragraph. “When it looks as those he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in dark.”  We need this reminder. Our soft, comfortable, middle class American hearts are so easily discouraged. Times get dark. Our lives get dark. And we lose faith. But our Lord reigns supreme. He has promised that his Word will not return void. Missions is built on the power of the risen Christ to subdue the nations through his preached Word. The nations will be His (Psalm 2:8-9, Psalm 22:27-29, Matthew 28:18-20).  This is why despite all his historic pre-millennial language John Piper at heart might just be post-millennial.