Category Archives: Sanctification

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March 1, 2016

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Education, Hebrews, Public School, Sanctification

Leave Like Moses

It has been a long time since I was in public school. When I was in school I had many teachers who were Christians. But even in the early nineties their faith was kept under wraps. They could not pray for us or push us towards God. They could not reject a teaching because the Bible rejected it. And I went to public school in a conservative Southern state. It is hard to picture that has changed for the better in the last 20 years. Every story I hear is of schools becoming more and more liberal in their teachings on sexuality, politics, economics, etc. I know there might be exceptions, but my guess they are few and far between.

What would I say to a Christian who is teaching in the public schools? I would say:

Thanks for your work, labor, and love for the students. I know you see your job as a way of honoring God. Despite these things and all the good you have done, I would still encourage you to get out. You will make less money teaching at a private school. You might have to move to get a job. You will lose many of your benefits. Your financial security will be lost. Your reputation might be ruined. But given the current situation, it is the right thing to do.

Wouldn’t it be great to work at a place where you can talk about Christ openly? Wouldn’t it be great to tell your math students about the God who created this world with order so Algebra works? Wouldn’t it be great to pray with your students before class or to show them how history demonstrates man’s sinfulness and God’s kindness?  Wouldn’t it be great to pray with other teachers for a student who is struggling? There is little doubt that at this stage in history it would be a sacrifice to leave the public school system. But the New Testament is clear that those who sacrifice for Christ will have their reward (See Matthew 10:42, 19:27-30, and Colossians 3:24).

In particular I would encourage Christians working in the public school system to meditate on Hebrews 11:23-27, the story of Moses.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.   

Moses left Egypt because he would rather suffer with God’s people than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He knew it would be painful, but he also knew that Christ was worth more than Egypt and would reward him. I believe this is where many Christian teachers in public schools are at. It would be a tremendous help to your fellow Christians if you left “Egypt” behind. I know you have done some good and I know you would like to do more good. I also know there are many Christian kids in these schools. And I know you love the students that come in each year. But at some point, as Jesus said, you have to let the dead buried the dead. The public schools are more and more hostile to the Christian faith. The constant hammering of the homosexual agenda, failure of a sexual ethic beyond consent, prominence of the evolutionary origins of man, rejection of truth in favor of feelings, revising of history, watering down of standards, lack of respect for authority, necessity of being politically correct, and the postmodern reading of literature all indicate that the public schools are not a place where a Christian teacher can consistently and publicly exercise their love for Christ their Savior and Lord. Therefore I would encourage you to get out and find a place where your faith in Christ, love for his Word, and understanding of His Lordship can be a central part of your teaching.

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February 18, 2016

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Sanctification, Sexual Immorality

There Are Things Worse Than Sexual Immorality

Here is the final paragraph from C.S. Lewis’s chapter on Sexual Morality in Mere Christianity. Brackets are mine. All else is his.

“Finally, though I have had to speak at some length about sex, I want to make it as clear as I possibly can that the centre of Christian morality is not here. If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity [sexual immorality] as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and backbiting, the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside of me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self [sins of the flesh], and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither.”

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February 17, 2016

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Jesus, Sanctification, Sexual Immorality

Getting It

In Dr. Schaumburg’s book Undefiled there is an appendix that sums up one of the most glaring errors in modern evangelical culture. I have seen the error he addresses in my own life and my church. I have read it in books, heard it in sermons, and to my shame probably preached it. Dr. Schaumburg is explaining what the difference is between people who “get it” and people who don’t. What is the difference between a couple who comes to him for counseling and they see real, life changing fruit and a couple who doesn’t? Read carefully what he says here. I have bolded certain sentences and phrases. The ellipsis is mine, as are the brackets. All other punctuation is his.

I usually see one major reason why people come [to counseling] for help with sexual sin, and two types of responses. Generally speaking, everyone who comes has in mind the pressing need to change a behavior, end an affair, and/or save a marriage. Therein lies the basic problem in getting it. We often focus on the external-the behavior and the pain-rather than the internal. What seems like a logical center of attention is filled with flawed thinking and the pervasive false teaching within the evangelical church. This leads many to spend their energy and their entire lives on “living life well.” Therefore when an affair, pornography, or some other type of sexual sin is uncovered, it threatens the goal of living an abundant, fulfilling Christian life. It prevents us from having a meaningful marriage and guarantees endless pain. The response is to do whatever must be done to recover the abundant life and get the marriage back on track. It’s just common sense-but is it biblical thinking? 

If we are biblically grounded we will start from an entirely different perspective: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20; see Ephesians 2:19). The opposite and powerful perspective described above[previous paragraph] comes from “minds set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). The biblical understanding of life centers on the essential internal change that leads to life (Philippians 3:21) versus the temporal change that will fail and lead to death. Repentance is not an emotional response to sin. It is much more than behavior management or a matter of being in recovery. It is a genuine heart change that always produces a life of righteousness. God’s redemptive grace requires a person’s responsive obedience. Repentance is a radical inward change that results in everything else beginning to change. Repentance always bears fruit as the work of God continues and we live out our lives in a manner “worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27)…repentance is not merely new behavior. Repentance is inward change leading to the fruit of new behavior. It is imperative that we understand that Jesus demands this inward change [Luke 13:3]. 

So why do some people “get it”  while others don’t? Most come desperate to change a behavior, possibly save a marriage, and certainly stop the pain, but many never truly repent with an internal change of mind and heart. They leave with a false hope based on mere sorrow for their sin, a commitment to change their behavior, and a new desire to find real intimacy in their marriage. Those singles and couples die, while those who shift their perspective to their desperate need of inward change live. The former leave dependent on their good efforts; the latter leave dependent on the continued work of God. They cling to God in fear and trembling, with a desire to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 4:1; see Colossians 1:10, 2:6-7). 

These paragraphs sum up well what a true gospel message does. It begins with the inner man, not outward change. It causes us to see that our greatest need is not to fix our lives, but to fix ourselves. We cannot do this. Therefore we must repent and flee to Christ. As we cling to Christ he gives us grace and power to fight the sin in our hearts, which leads to outward righteous behavior. But if we begin with trying to fix our lives, our marriages, our children, our jobs, our… then we will fail. Unfortunately most evangelicals approach God like his goal is make our lives good and the Bible is there to tell us how to have a successful Christian life. There are blessings that come with obedience. But the goal should be obedience that comes from a change in heart, mind, and will. The goal should not be using God and the Bible to make our lives better.

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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.