Definition I love language! As one given the gift of gab, I love words. Language gives us all kinds of powerful avenues of expression and nuance. One of the elements that is especially important in our communication is the concept of precision in language. Our use of vocabulary and syntax should allow for clear communication of complex ideas that illustrations and even examples cannot define. Our God is a deity who speaks! And He has spoken in a clear and cogent fashion in His word. One concept that it is important for us to understand clearly is the definition of sin. In 1964, Justice Stewart of the Supreme Court of the United States stated, in an effort to define obscenity, “I know it when I see.” I think that most people, especially professing Christians, have an idea about what they believe sin is. However, too often it seems that our definitions are sentimental and subjective rather than objective and absolute. What I would like to do is deal with a couple false notions about what sin is and then seek to find a Biblical definition for the term. More than Intention Many people believe that for an error to be considered a sin it requires a level of intentionality. But the Bible is clear that sins can be both intentional and unintentional. In the Law of God the covenant people were told to make sacrifices for unintentional sins (Lev. 5:15). The only reason that people would need to make the sacrifice is if their mistake was actually sin and brought about real guilt. As morally accountable beings that alone exist as those made in the image of God, humans are capable of both sins of omission and commission. Sins of omission are the failure to do things that we should do and sins of commission are the active involvement in things that we should not do. In both of these cases our intent is not what makes the action or inaction a sin. The old adage “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” is partially true. Even in Matthew 7 Jesus says that many will say to Him “Lord, Lord” but will not prove to be true believers. They will appeal to many works that they thought were righteous but they were actually sin. More than Harm Also many people in our culture believe that harm must be done for sin to be committed. While I would argue that harm is always done when sin is committed even if the harm is to the sinner themselves, harm is not necessary for sin to be sin. In our culture consent has become the arbiter of right and wrong. This is really an idolization of personal autonomy. But consent does not make an unrighteous action into a righteous one. In our society, a mugger who inadvertently kills an unborn baby is guilty but a abortion doctor is innocent. Or a sex trafficker is guilty but pornography producer is innocent. Or a rapist is guilty but unmarried consenting adults have done nothing wrong. But the reality is that Scripture defines all of these as sin. The issue of consent may change who is guilty and what they are guilty of but sin is still sin regardless of consent. We live in a victim culture. However, the truth is that while we have all been the victims of someone else’s sin, we are also all the perpetrators of sin. We are victimizers. No one is innocent. No one is sinless. We all like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and none is righteous not even one (Romans 3). Victimhood does not absolve us of our guilt. Often in our culture the criminal is labeled as a patient in need of care rather than a sinner in need of repentance. The truly tragic part about this is that the therapeutic approach can label and explain but it cannot heal the brokenness. Only grace can do that! Only God Ultimately our actions are sinful because they are offensive to the objective holiness of God. The Law of God is not an arbitrary list of allowances and transgressions. Instead God’s law is an expression of His holy nature and goodness. The Law of God is the expression of the distinction of His covenant people meaning it displays His love and blessing. And the Law of God is a beacon of beauty to show us that we are desperately deformed and in need of radical transformation. When we sin it is not simply God’s rules that we break but His heart. By referring to breaking His heart I mean that we transgress His holiness, goodness, grace and love. Many people ask how a loving God could send sinners to hell, but the real question is how could he not? But that is the beauty of the gospel. Our holy and loving God takes our guilt and our shame and places it on Christ who bears away the offense against His holiness and glory. Ultimately our actions are sinful because of our existence as image bearers of God. you see we are not like the animals or angels because we bear God’s image. This means that our actions are meant to display something about God. The heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1), but we display His image. The problem is that in Adam we all display that image mangled by the effects of sin. However, in Christ, the image is restored for He is the perfect radiance of the Father (Heb 1:1-4). Ultimately our actions are sinful because everything not done in faith (reliance on God) is sin! Even our righteous deeds are filthy rags (Is 64:6) so that without faith we cannot please God (Heb 11:6). It matters both what we do and why we do it. Sin is anytime and all the time when we don’t do the right thing for the right reason and the right reason is trust in God. Oftentimes atheists or anti-theists will scoff that they don’t need God to be good or do good things. The usual apologetic against this is that they can do good things but they just can’t give a good reason. But in reality without faith even those ‘good things’ are tainted, because whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23)!
0 Comments
Desperately Needed I have seen several people post comments implying or just stating that they are weary of living through so many historical events. One friend who is a history teacher joked that he would just start having his students record the historical events they are living though each week. We are currently living in tumultuous times with great uncertainty regarding our future. But one of the major issues that we have is a lack of godly discipline. Notice I said “godly” discipline not self discipline or even social discipline. In the current “cancel culture,” there are many ways that people are being disciplined to the worldly philosophies of our day. In addition, many people do discipline themselves but they do so according to the shifting standards of humanism. Our problem today is that humanity is progressing in the casting off of the discipline of God's standard. Worldly thinking rejects the biblical realities regarding our origins (creation), our condition (fall, depravity), our standard (God's law), our hope (gospel, redemption), and our future (heaven, hell). In Exodus 32:25, we are told that Moses saw that the people had broken loose. What had they broken loose from? Well they had been worshipping the idol of the golden calf and giving it credit for their deliverance from Egypt and Pharaoh. They had broken loose from worshipping the LORD (Yahweh). They became idolaters! As a result discipline was necessary! Severe What follows in the narrative is severe. If your view of God is a grandpa in the sky who just wants you to be happy then this will be hard for you to understand. I would encourage you that if your view of God cannot accommodate what we are about to consider, you need a Biblical understanding of who God really is! Exodus 32:26 tells us that Moses asked the people, "Who is on the LORD'S side?" This is an important question. Are you on the LORD'S side? What I mean is, are you prepared to be obedient to God in all things? I think many people believe that they have their own deal with God. But that isn't true. He is the same and His standard is the same with all people. This also means His gospel is the same with all people. Repent or you will likewise perish! When Moses asked this question all the Levites gathered around him. He instructed them to take their swords and slaughter their rebellious brothers and companions and neighbors. On that day, three thousand men died for the idolatry of God’s people. God disciplined them severely. What needs to be clear to us was that this did not happen to the Canaanites or other foreign pagans, but rather, this destruction commanded by God's prophet, was inside the camp of God's chosen people. God kills His people in response to their wicked paganism. These people were protected in the plagues, blessed in the plundering of the Egyptians, delivered through the waters of the red sea, fed by God from heaven, and drank the waters of life from the rock in the wilderness. Paul even tells us in 1 Corinthians 10, that this rock was Christ. Yet, they rebelled against the LORD and we're destroyed. Household of God What about today? Was this just a reality back then in the Old Testament? I mean God used to deal with people that way but not now, right? We might be tempted to think that since the types and shadows of the Old Testament period are past and the reality of Christ has now come that God does not deal so severely with His people. However, if the standard was so high and the penalty so severe in the days of the old covenant, then I would expect rebellion and rejection of Jesus in the flesh to be even worse. Two New Testament examples may help us. First, remember Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5. They were 'believers' included in the church and yet the Holy Spirit killed them for lying to God! A second example would be found in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians. As I stated, Paul reminds these Christians about how God dealt with the generation of idolaters in Moses’ day. But in the next chapter, chapter 11, Paul is discussing their desecration of the Lord's supper and he says for this reason many of you are weak and sick and some have died! God seems to still take worship seriously! In Hebrews 12, we are told that God disciplines us because He loves us and because we are His children. The point that I want us to see from this post is simply that spiritual discipline and church discipline are necessary if we are going to be godly Christians. Discipline within the church body is necessary if we are going to be a holy church. The Apostle Peter wrote, in 1 Peter 4:17, that it is time for judgement to begin in the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? Brethren, we must not despise the discipline of the LORD and we must not decline to exercise discipline in the church. It will seem severe to the world but discipline is the way of love and the hope for those drifting away from the truth! Directions Signs are helpful! Signs help us to identify where we are or point us in the right direction our desired destination. Signs are also a form of advertising, designed to let the general public, who in our culture are best described by the words: consumer and audience, know about a product or service. Signs are meant to encourage you on your way. Other times they are meant to warn you of possible or even imminent danger. Other times they are simply meant to capture your attention in hopes of influencing your behavior. The Bible talks about signs as well. Signs in the scripture have different purposes. It is also important to distinguish between the true signs and the false signs. But because signs are a part of how communication works and God is the foremost communicator He has, at times, used them and we need to understand them. Seasons Maybe the first thing that we need to grasp about miraculous signs in the Bible is that they are rather rare and grouped together. We often think of the Bible as a long book. However, considering the expanse of time covered in its pages, the Old and New Testaments together are but a brief account of the actions of God in the world. If we begin to get an accurate timeline in our minds and a general understanding of the quantity of time being explained and examined in the Scriptures then we can understand that signs and miracles have never been the normative experience of people not even in the Bible. In the Bible long periods of time sometimes elapsed when God's people needed to trust the sure revelation they already had without the words or works of any prophets. Also it is important to note that many of the Prophets did not actually perform any miraculous works. Some had miraculous things happen to them, but they did nothing themselves (Jonah). Most of the signs in scripture happened around some specific figures and events. While there were miraculous signs done at other times, the vast majority happened in three periods of redemptive history. The first period is the time of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. During this period God used many miraculous signs to demonstrate His power over Pharaoh and the authorities of the earth. These signs also manifested His supremacy over all the deities of the Egyptians and by extension all the false deities of all the nation's. The signs were there so that those other nations would know that Yahweh the God of Israel was the true God. Also these signs displayed to the Israelites the faithfulness, love, and graciousness of God toward His people who He chose as His own and who He is in covenant relationship with among all the people on earth. The second period of signs was during the prophetic ministries of Elijah and Elisha. While there were many other prophets sent to proclaim the word of Yahweh to His people. Elijah is the great prophet and he and Elisha have the prominent miracle working ministries in the Old Testament. These signs were supposed to prove the reliability of Elijah and Elisha as true spokesmen for God. They were meant to authenticate the message of the messenger. Just as earlier signs were meant to show the greatness of Yahweh over all other so-called 'gods'. Consider the confrontation between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. Yahweh is clearly the true and superior God. During this period God is actively showing and distinguishing Himself and His people from the pagan cultures of the earth. But while Moses was a great deliverer of God's people, humanity needed a greater savior to go beyond the temporal and external deliverance that Moses brought. Also, while Elijah and Elisha were true prophets of God, we needed someone to not only speak to us for God but show us the Father (John 14) and be the exact representation of God to us (Hebrews 1:1-3). The third period of miraculous signs in the scripture happened when Jesus came in humility and honor to be our savior and redeemer. Jesus was the master in every way possible. He healed the sick and informed as well as drove out the evil spirits with just a word. Imagine what the gospels tell us! Jesus would touch the unclean lepers and instead of becoming unclean they would be healed. Jesus would touch the unclean bodies of the dead and instead of becoming unclean they would come alive. Jesus came with signs of compassion and signs of the commencement of the Kingdom of God. Then, after His ascension, His Apostles continued the powerful ministry with signs that proved they were His representatives so that their message could be trusted. Even today we as believers trust in the sure word of God that came through His Apostles. Wonders So what should we look for today? First, we must understand that we are not living in the age of Moses, Elijah, or Jesus. Also, the Apostle Paul is clear in 1 Corinthians 15 that He is the last Apostle of Christ, so we should not expect to do what they did. But I do think the Bible gives us some practical things to think about in the area of signs and wonders. The first thing that comes to mind for me is that when Jesus is speaking about those, who will come to Him but be cast out because they didn't really have a saving relationship with them, He says that they will say that they had prophesied, exorcised demons and done many mighty works. This means that just doing those things is no evidence that someone is truly from God. They could be a charlatan or a deceived deceiver. Those things are not proof that they are with God. But there is a second point for us to consider today. Scripture teaches that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). But signs aren't for people with faith but for those who can only see with physical eyes. It is not a consequence of true faith that causes us to look for signs and wonders but rather unbelief. As a believer I need signs. I have God's word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. What God has said is sufficient for the need of every believer. So let us live by faith and leave the sign seeking for those in the dark. Want Every human being has wants and desires. We often associate these with our sin but in reality wants are necessary. Each of us needs to eat food, but if we never had an appetite we would probably eventually reach a point of malnutrition that would result in death. I have now had the privilege to spend sometime in dryer climates and it feels amazing! However, in the desert if you had no desire for water you would quickly become dehydrated. The reality is that we all need to want! What God has made us to need and want most of all is to worship. But because we are fallen beings in a fallen world, our own deceitful hearts, and our lying enemy, conspire against us to lure us to want and desire things that are both bad for us and evil toward God. The classical word for this is idolatry, but in our clinical modern world we gave it a new name: addiction! At the heart of addiction is a desire for something that we think is going to serve us. We believe that the drug, or affair, or third burrito is going to bring us joy and fulfillment. Alas, it doesn’t because these idols, like all gods, demand allegiance! So instead of us using the substance, relationship, or whatever it may be, we are actually enslaved by it. We want it and really believe that we need it. It becomes our greatest desire and supreme treasure. We prefer this master to all others, even God. This bondage is what I mean by addictoltry! But before you think this isn’t about you realize addiction can be obvious or subtle, illicit or respectable. Obvious Opiates When we speak of addiction there are some things that come quickly to mind. Drugs such as marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin for example as well as alcohol, nicotine, and even caffeine may stand out in our minds. These substances to greater or lesser degrees are dangerous. They promise enjoyment, fun, and acceptance but they deliver sadness, brokenness, and loneliness. The problem is that these things, once allowed access into our lives, demand the throne of our hearts. In the beginning they promise to be our partner, but sin is always seeking to be the king. The only answer is topple this illegitimate dictator with the rightful sovereign ruler. Jesus can bring freedom from this slavery but only when we seek Him, not as our servant, but as our Lord. Substances are not the only thing that can be obvious areas or dangerous desire. Sex and food can also gain a foothold in our hearts. Sexual captivation can take place through indulging lustful fantasies, use of pornography, and of course fornication and adultery. These are especially powerful because the sexual desire is a good gift of God to be celebrated and enjoyed in the loving covenant between husband and wife in marriage. So the sin distorts and corrupts the good desires that God gives us. Once again with this desire both commitment and procreation would be in peril in most marriages, but when the desire becomes master both commitment and family are often destroyed to serve this idol. Finally, food can often take control of our lives. This can happen in a couple ways. One we can become gluttonous. This does not have to just mean the hedonism of eating vast quantities of food, but also the craving for certain qualities or even specific foods. This is again dangerous because food is not only a want but a need. We have to master food while still using it to stay alive and healthy. You can’t completely abstain from food. That leads us to the other way that food can become an idol. Often the attempt to control our eating or more often our body image can take over our lives. Instead of simply finding a diet that is suitable to us we may be tempted to go to extremes to control intake or calories. Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders are at the heart of ways of trying to use the control of food to not only affect the body and meet psychological, emotional or even spiritual needs. Victory over our stomachs will only come when Jesus is the Lord in our hearts! Subtle Seductions But there are other more social acceptable idols that can control our lives just as furiously as these other addictions. The problem often with these is the outcome may look good even while the addict is completely enslaved. If you are not just a person with a good work ethic but a true workaholic, the income may camouflage your slavery. The luxury and security your long hours afford may make diagnosis harder for the captivation of the soul. But the idol of the almighty dollar, the corporate ladder, or having your identity welded to your occupation is powerful, tempting, and deceitful. But we must remember that it is God who gives us the work and the reward, and find our identity not in money or achievement but in Christ alone. The idol of family is particularly dangerous because God has given us explicit instructions to love them. But our love and devotion to our families must be an expression of our devotion and commitment to Christ not a rival for our hearts and affections. This is probably most clearly seen in the way we honor our parents, love our spouses and raise our children. The most honoring thing that we can do for our parents is to glorify Christ. Depending on their spiritual condition, they may or may not understand how this honors them, but believers must obey the command according to God not our parents. Spouses must understand in a Christian household how that reflects the relationship between Christ and His church. So our love and respect must first be for the Lord then manifested in our lives toward our spouse. This is top shelf, high level Christianity but it is also what we are all called too. And this kind of faithfulness requires trusting and treasuring God’s word, frankly and faithfully seeking God in prayer, and purposefully and passionately serving God in obedience. Maybe the most dangerous of the family relationships is children. Here again God naturally fills us with a love and bias toward our own children. The problem is when the children become the focus of the home instead of Christ. We become parents raising kids and life is centered on their tastes and talents. But we aren’t called to raise children. We are supposed to train up young men and young women who will serve Christ, sacrifice for Christ and submit to Christ. But the only way that happens is if our children see us living that way. But they won’t see us living that way if they themselves have become the focus of the family. Christ must be king! The escape from addictoltry is reverent submission to Christ as Lord and King! |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
|