I had the distinct privilege of attending a talk by Jerry Bridges last Friday (12 Sep) at St. John's St. Margaret Church. Jerry Bridges spoke about "Respectable Sin" - the sins we tolerate in our lives. His main text was from Galatians 5:19-21.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)
I was again convicted when Jerry spoke. He was simple without being simplistic and his message was refreshing and straight out of God's word, going right into the heart. The outline of his talk is as follows:
I. The Denial of Sin in Society
There is an increasing failure in our culture to call sin "sin". We now live in a culture that deny the existence of sin. Politicians when caught in sexual immorality calls it a "mistake"; Sport stars call it a “moment of weakness".
II. The Denial of Sin in the Church
We Christians condemn the flagrant sins of society while ignoring our own "respectable sins”. In Galatians, the list of sins intermix flagrant and respectable sins. Ungodliness, anxiety, discontentment, not being thankful, pride, sins of the tongue etc., ALL are sin regardless of the severity.
III. The Meaning of Sin
The original meaning of sin is "missing the mark". It is not about making a mistake – we sin deliberately. Sin is also lawlessness (c.f. 1 John 3:4) or living outside the law; when we sin, we violate the law of God. Sin is also transgression or rebellion against authority (c.f. Leviticus 16:21). Even anger is sin.
IV. All Sin is Serious Sin
Sin is sinning against a holy sovereign God. In the “Sinfulness of Sin”, Ralph Venning describes sin as vile, ugly, odious, malignant, pestilent, pernicious, hideous, spiteful, poisonous, virulent, villainous, abominable and deadly. Jerry said that sin includes even gossip, pride, judgmental spirit etc. We tend to focus on flagrant sin out there; as a result is that for many morally upright believers, the awareness of personal sin has effectively disappeared from our consciences. Doing right for the wrong reasons or to look good in front of others, is sin.
V. The Root Cause of our Sin
The root cause of our sin is residual depravity -the remaining corruption of our nature called the “the sinful nature (NIV) or flesh”. We live in a tension between flesh and Spirit. However, remember that God is holy; and sin is sinful. We should not sugarcoat sin; sin is sin against a holy sovereign God.
VI. The Remedy for Sin… is the Gospel
The Gospel is:
Forgiveness of our sins – Christ death for us canceled our record of debt and its legal demand and nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)
Credited Righteousness – Through faith in Christ, God credits Christ' righteousness to us (Philippians 3:9); our best deeds counted as rubbish (Philippians 3:8)
Power – Through Jesus, we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)
Jerry goes on to say that the only sin you can deal with is forgiven sin; and you need to preach the Gospel to yourself everyday in order to pursue holiness and have victory over sin.
There was then a 20 minutes of Question and Answer; two of Jerry's answers stood out as particularly insightful and convicting.
VII. Q&A
1. Do we need to confess our sins?
All sins, be it past, present and future are forgiven through faith in Jesus and what he had done. This is the legal aspect. However, when we sin, this impacts the relationship aspect. God will discipline us when we sin; and He favours a contrite heart and a broken spirit. Therefore, we need to confess our sins to restore our relationship with God - we are to be the chief "repenter".
2. Respectable Sins also includes:
Judging others by our own convictions in areas not spelt out in scriptures (Romans 14:23); and violating our conscience. Our conscience is the voice of the Holy Spirit (Romans 14) that which you cannot do with a clear conscience is sin.
Jerry Bridges definition of the Gospel and the comment on "Preaching the Gospel to ourselves everyday" continues to resonate in my mind, as I seek in dependent discipline to do just that in my pursuit of holiness and following hard after Jesus.
Ollie
Sep 2008
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)
I was again convicted when Jerry spoke. He was simple without being simplistic and his message was refreshing and straight out of God's word, going right into the heart. The outline of his talk is as follows:
I. The Denial of Sin in Society
There is an increasing failure in our culture to call sin "sin". We now live in a culture that deny the existence of sin. Politicians when caught in sexual immorality calls it a "mistake"; Sport stars call it a “moment of weakness".
II. The Denial of Sin in the Church
We Christians condemn the flagrant sins of society while ignoring our own "respectable sins”. In Galatians, the list of sins intermix flagrant and respectable sins. Ungodliness, anxiety, discontentment, not being thankful, pride, sins of the tongue etc., ALL are sin regardless of the severity.
III. The Meaning of Sin
The original meaning of sin is "missing the mark". It is not about making a mistake – we sin deliberately. Sin is also lawlessness (c.f. 1 John 3:4) or living outside the law; when we sin, we violate the law of God. Sin is also transgression or rebellion against authority (c.f. Leviticus 16:21). Even anger is sin.
IV. All Sin is Serious Sin
Sin is sinning against a holy sovereign God. In the “Sinfulness of Sin”, Ralph Venning describes sin as vile, ugly, odious, malignant, pestilent, pernicious, hideous, spiteful, poisonous, virulent, villainous, abominable and deadly. Jerry said that sin includes even gossip, pride, judgmental spirit etc. We tend to focus on flagrant sin out there; as a result is that for many morally upright believers, the awareness of personal sin has effectively disappeared from our consciences. Doing right for the wrong reasons or to look good in front of others, is sin.
V. The Root Cause of our Sin
The root cause of our sin is residual depravity -the remaining corruption of our nature called the “the sinful nature (NIV) or flesh”. We live in a tension between flesh and Spirit. However, remember that God is holy; and sin is sinful. We should not sugarcoat sin; sin is sin against a holy sovereign God.
VI. The Remedy for Sin… is the Gospel
The Gospel is:
Forgiveness of our sins – Christ death for us canceled our record of debt and its legal demand and nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)
Credited Righteousness – Through faith in Christ, God credits Christ' righteousness to us (Philippians 3:9); our best deeds counted as rubbish (Philippians 3:8)
Power – Through Jesus, we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)
Jerry goes on to say that the only sin you can deal with is forgiven sin; and you need to preach the Gospel to yourself everyday in order to pursue holiness and have victory over sin.
There was then a 20 minutes of Question and Answer; two of Jerry's answers stood out as particularly insightful and convicting.
VII. Q&A
1. Do we need to confess our sins?
All sins, be it past, present and future are forgiven through faith in Jesus and what he had done. This is the legal aspect. However, when we sin, this impacts the relationship aspect. God will discipline us when we sin; and He favours a contrite heart and a broken spirit. Therefore, we need to confess our sins to restore our relationship with God - we are to be the chief "repenter".
2. Respectable Sins also includes:
Judging others by our own convictions in areas not spelt out in scriptures (Romans 14:23); and violating our conscience. Our conscience is the voice of the Holy Spirit (Romans 14) that which you cannot do with a clear conscience is sin.
Jerry Bridges definition of the Gospel and the comment on "Preaching the Gospel to ourselves everyday" continues to resonate in my mind, as I seek in dependent discipline to do just that in my pursuit of holiness and following hard after Jesus.
Ollie
Sep 2008
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