Christians and sin

Okay I know that as Christians still in the flesh we will struggle with sin. But my question today is can we as Christians know something is a sin, admit that it is wrong and yet continue to do it and say that we are still right with God? The Apostle John doesn't think so. 1 John 3:6 "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him." When John says "keeps on sinning" he is talking about knowing something is sin, yet still doing it with no struggle or fight. John even takes it a step further and says that "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (3:8)." Again "whoever makes a practice of sinning" are those who know something is sin, yet keeps on doing it with no remorse or guilt. Then John says this; "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God (3:9). We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him (5:18). John says that if we are truly born again then we will take sin seriously and repent and grow in our sanctification.

What about Paul? What does he say regarding Christians and sin? Well he says the same thing in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" When Paul says "go on sinning" he is saying the same thing that John says in 1 John 3:6. John says "keeps on sinning" and Paul says "go on sinning". Again they are both talking about knowing something is sin, yet still doing it with no regard to the fact that they are sinning against a Holy and Righteous God. Paul says that as Christians we have died to sin; how can we "live in it" any longer. Paul knows that Christians are in the flesh and will struggle with sin but he also knows that there is a big difference in "struggling" and "living in it". 

"Well that is John and Paul, but what does Jesus say about Christians and sin?" Well I am glad you asked.  In John 8 Jesus saves a woman from being stoned to death for committing adultery. Many people know that story but forget the end. John 8:10-11, "Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” Here we see the amazing grace of Jesus. Jesus does not condemn her to death but instead shows her grace and mercy. In this grace and mercy Jesus commands something from the woman. He commands obedience. He tells her to "go and sin no more". Notice something else here. In the next section Jesus says "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(John 8:12) Jesus says that if you are his, if you are a Christian and you "follow him" then you will not "walk in darkness". Jesus doesn't say you will not struggle with sin. No, he says you will not walk in it.

In Matthew chapter 7 we see some of the scariest words in scripture. Jesus is teaching and he says; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Who enters the Kingdom of God? Those who do the will of the Father. Many people everyday go around and think they are doing great things for God and somehow those great things cancel out or void their sin. They focus on all these good things so they can avoid looking at the very sin that is in their life. But Jesus says those things are not good enough. Those good deeds will not pay the debt for your sin. Jesus says "depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Workers of lawlessness are those that continue to walk in their sin with no intentions of repenting. Nothing can cancel our debt. But Christ did pay for it on the cross and if Christ paid for it how can you go back to it. Repent today and walk in the Light of Jesus.

Making Disciples

Many times we read the scriptures and we see that we are to go and make disciples and we think in our mind that disciple-making sounds like a really good idea. Then we walk away from the scriptures and go on living our life the same way as we have always lived it.

We see discipleship as a nice symbolic gesture from Jesus. But we really don't see it as a way of life. At least not for us. We like being a Christian just like we are.

Disciple-making is actually the only way a Christian lives his daily life. You take away disciple-making and you take away the Christian. Jesus calls us to com to him and die! He calls us to take up our cross and follow him. Jesus says go and make disciples. I love the way Jonathan Leeman describes it in a blog post over at 9 marks back in 2012. He gives a schedule for a normal disciple-maker and shows what it might look like in practice. Again I understand everyone's schedule is different but I like what Jonathan is teaching here. I have added the schedule below. I would encourage you to go check out the 9 marks website.

 A Discipler's Daily Itinerary

It is one thing to say that Christians should be involved in discipling relationships. It is another thing to figure out what this looks like practically. When do you do it? How do you do it? What does it look like?
In order to present as clear a picture as possible, here is what a day’s schedule might look like for a typical Christian husband and father who has heard Jesus’ call to be a fisher of men.
6:00 a.m. Shower & dress
6:30 a.m. Devotions: Bible reading & praying. Pray for family, day’s events, discipling relationships, evangelistic opportunities, the church, etc.
7:00 a.m. Help kids get ready
7:30 a.m. Meet fellow church member Paul at nearby coffee shop for breakfast; discuss chapter of D. A. Carson book; discuss marriage and parenting; ask about his other Christian and non-Christian relationships
8:30 a.m. Work
12:30 p.m. Lunch with non-Christian co-worker; discuss faith
1:30 p.m. Work
5:30 p.m. Pick up items at store for dinner for wife; bring Ken, single man in the church who lives nearby. Ask deliberate questions about his life.
6:30 p.m. Dinner; family worship; play with kids; bedtime routine
8:45 p.m. Desert with wife and the Smiths in the living room, a younger couple in the church who are struggling in their marriage; conversations about marriage and prayer
10:15 p.m. Prayer with wife and bed.

On the one hand, that schedule is all very neat. Life never quite fits into 30 and 60 minute blocks. You know that. Any given day might have more time with family, doing home repair, taking kids to swim lesson, working late, or a hundred other things.
Still, it gives you the picture of a fairly average discipler. Nothing exceptional or groundbreaking, but hopefully faithful and deliberate amidst the many stewardships of life that God gives. Four touch points outside the family (breakfast, lunch, errand, dessert) might be unusual—one to three would be more typical. And some days, there might be none.


Jonathan Leeman, a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, is the editorial director of 9Marks and is the author of Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus.
September/October 2012
© 9Marks

What is the meaning of the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is about God (Genesis 1:1) and him redeeming his people through his son Jesus Christ. In Genesis 2 we see the fall of man. In Genesis 3:15 we see God promising to send a Savior to crush Satan’s head and redeem his people from sin. The rest of the Old Testament points us towards that Savior who is Jesus.

The Old Testament is not a bunch of moral stories we read and try to live by. There are good stories in the bible but if you read them carefully you will find that the only “good” one in the stories is God Himself. God is always in complete control throughout these narratives. In all these stories we should see God’s Sovereignty and God’s redemption. That is what Gregg Day calls the "gold thread" and the "red thread". The gold thread is God's sovereignty and the red thread is God's redeeming act.  

The narratives throughout the Old Testament should be pointing us to the true Savior. Jesus is the promised seed from Adam that would crush the head of Satan (Gen. 3:15). He is the offspring of Abraham that would bless every nation (Gen. 12). He is the son of Judah who reigns eternally as king (Gen. 49).

Jesus is the Passover lamb who was slain to save God’s people from the angel of death (Exodus12). He is the bread of life that truly feeds his people (Exodus 16, John 6). Jesus is the rock from whom living water flows (Exodus 17, John 4). Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of the law, obeying the commandments of God perfectly in thought, word and deed (Exodus 20, Matt. 5:17). He is also the greater high priest that offers his very body as a sacrifice for the sins of his people (Exodus 28-29, 1 Cor. 15, Hebrews 4-5).

Jesus is the once for all sacrifice that God offered on the alter on the “day of atonement”, and at the same time the scape goat that took away the sins of his people, out of the presence of God (Lev. 16, Hebrews 7:22-28).

Jesus is the promise land that his people can run to for shelter (Numbers 34). He is also the one who leads us into this promise land where they will dwell with him forever (Joshua 3). He is the warrior who is victorious over sin and death (Joshua 5).

Jesus is Israel’s only Savior (Isaiah 43), He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:3-6). The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Jesus is the merciful Husband who takes back his unfaithful bride (Hosea 1-3). He is the One who brings the Day of the Lord, Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations (Joel 2:1-2). Yet he is also full of mercy and grace, “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster (Joel 2:12-13).

The Old Testament is all about God’s promises to his people. Jesus is the fulfillment of those promises. Jesus is our salvation. Turn to Him in faith and repentance.

Radical Repentance Part 3

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

Joel 2:28-3:21

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

29 Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, 3 and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

4 “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. 5 For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. 7 Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head. 8 I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken.”

9 Proclaim this among the nations:

Consecrate for war;

stir up the mighty men.

Let all the men of war draw near;

let them come up.

10 Beat your plowshares into swords,

and your pruning hooks into spears;

let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”

11 Hasten and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves there.

Bring down your warriors, O Lord.

12 Let the nations stir themselves up

and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

xor there I will sit to judge

all the surrounding nations.

13 Put in the sickle,

for the harvest is ripe.

Go in, tread,

for the winepress is full.

The vats overflow,

for their evil is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes,

in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

16 The Lord roars from Zion,

and utters his voice from Jerusalem,

and the heavens and the earth quake.

But the Lord is a refuge to his people,

a stronghold to the people of Israel.

17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,

who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.

And Jerusalem shall be holy,

and strangers shall never again pass through it.

18 “And in that day

khe mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and the hills shall flow with milk,

and all the streambeds of Judah

shall flow with water;

and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord

and water the Valley of Shittim.

19 “Egypt shall become a desolation

and Edom a desolate wilderness,

qor the violence done to the people of Judah,

because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever,

and Jerusalem to all generations.

21 I will avenge their blood,

blood I have not avenged,

for the Lord dwells in Zion.”


Think of the best thing God could do. What we see here is that God will actually do better. Up to this point God’s blessings and restoration for His people have always or almost always had taken a physical, materialistic form.  Example; crops, land, wine, oil and grain. So when Israel thinks restoration that is what comes to mind. Joel says that there will come a time when God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, on all people. For Israel that is a profound statement; totally unheard of, to include all people. During this time, we must understand that the Spirit of God only came upon certain people. Ones to whom God had raised up for His purposes, like Moses, David, and Joseph.  Also the Spirit could come upon someone and then leave that person like He did with King Saul.  (1 Samuel 16:14)  And in Numbers 11, we see God putting His Spirit on some of the elders of Israel.  Moses needed help leading God’s people so the Lord gave Him help.  As you read through Numbers 11 you see that the Holy Spirit came upon two guys who were not in that meeting.  Well Joshua freaked out about it and told Moses to make them stop prophesying in the camp.  But Moses responds by saying “Oh how great it will be if the Lord puts His Spirit on all His people.” Now Joel is saying that this will happen. This would be great news! What? We can all have God’s Spirit on us?  Sweet!  But get this; God will not just put His Spirit on us, God will actually pour out His Spirit, an overflowing. Again, this is great news! It will be on all people not just the Jews, not just on Kings, priests, judges, leaders or the elders but on all people. Men, and women, slaves and the free, young and the old will have His Spirit not just on them but in them! And if all people have God’s Spirit then that can only mean that all God’s people will have gifts from His Spirit as well.  (v.28-29)  Not all will have the same gifts, some will prophesy, some will dream dreams, and some see visions. Joel is saying there will be a time when all God’s people will be doing God’s work. Not just some elite, but everyone. This will be a great time indeed, a great promise that has been fulfilled at Pentecost.  I want us to look at something when we look at the book of Acts and at Pentecost.

(Acts 2:1-25; 6:3) When we see Acts mention people filled with the Spirit of God, it always points others to Jesus. 

·       Acts 4:8-12   Peter preached Jesus

·       Acts 4:31  People spoke God’s Word

·       Acts 7:54-56  Stephen speaking Jesus

·       Acts 9:1-20  Paul preached Jesus

·       Acts 13:48-52  Preaching Jesus brought persecution but also joy and the Holy Spirit

Jesus said that this would be the Spirit’s work.  (John 16:12-15)  So again we are seeing the movement of God,  not just blessing certain people with His Spirit but all His people for His glory.  All His people will become ministers of God. The gifts God has given should always point to Christ.  The church today has really gotten this confused. The church is trying to revert back and has reverted back to the Roman Catholic position of clergy and laity. The leaders work and the people follow.  The Reformation tried to get the church headed back in the right direction with what they call the priesthood of the saints, the priesthood of all believers.  (Ephesians 4:4-13)  these teachers, pastor, are here to assist the church (Christians) to be what they should be and do the work that they should do, which is the proclamation of the gospel to the world. The church is not a building, it is God’s people through Christ. We have the Spirit living in us, just as the Christians did in the Book of Acts.  If that is the case, we should look like they did, with the Spirit working in and through us.  If He is in us, He will be moving. Is He in you? Is He making much of Jesus through you? Peter’s testimony to the historic movement of fulfillment still stands today. The climatic hour of the rule of Jesus has come. The invitation for everyone to call upon Him is still here. The Day of the Lord has come! The Sovereign rule of Jesus over all the nations is now! This is the Day of the Lord! This is the day of salvation!  (v.32)  Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:13. Today is the day of salvation, we are not guaranteed tomorrow. We have been looking at the Day of the Lord.

·       It came upon Israel with the plague of the locusts.

·       It came with the radical restoration of the years the locusts destroyed.

·       It came at Pentecost when the Lord poured out His Spirit.

·       It will come again for the final time, when everyone will assemble for judgment.

God will not fail to judge the nations.  (3:1-3)  Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 25:31-34.  This gathering at the valley of Jehoshaphat is literally “the valley where the Lord will judge.” Joel is probably thinking back to 1 Kings 22. Joel says that the Lord will enter into judgment for people, My heritage, and My land, for the Kingdom of God. (3:4-12) These nations, these people who are against God and His people try and gather forces to do battle with God. Mere men! In verse 4, what? You are going to pay Me back? Right, I will turn that back on your head. How would you like God to say that to you? God will restore and redeem all that are His! Romans 12:19, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  God even calls the people to prepare for war if they really want to fight Him.  This is actually the opposite of what God calls His people to so in Isaiah 2. God calls us to peace as His people but He calls his enemies to war. But the fact is there will be no war. There will be no battle.  The Lord changes the scene quickly from the battle field to the time of harvest. (v.13-15) This is more of a picture of the final day of the Lord. We see in 14 that the wickedness is great, multitudes and multitudes. 15 Even creation responds at the Day of the Lord.  16 The Lord roars! Wow that is power!  But as Christians, the Lord is our refuge.  We are safe in Jesus!  17 All this will prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the lord.  Every knee shall bow and every tongue profess that Jesus is Lord.  18 In that day, the final day, eternity describes perfect paradise and prosperity.  19-21 God judges his enemies and radically redeems His people. As a child of God this should encourage us and give us much hope. If you’re not, today is the day of salvation.  Repent and trust Jesus!

Go and make disciples

“Go and make disciples” was the charge Jesus gave His disciples just before he ascended into Heaven. That is the charge for us as well. We as Christians are called to go and make disciples.

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says “go” make disciples, not come and learn discipleship.

In Mark chapter one we see a day in the life of Jesus. Here we see Jesus preached in the synagogue, he goes and heals Peter’s mother-in-law, that evening he serves the community by healing the people that came to him. The next morning he got up early to pray and then the next day Jesus left to go make more disciples. Jesus lived his life all around the idea of making disciples. Notice he always had someone with him.  

Making disciples does not happen in the church building, it happens as you go living your life. We gather as a church to get equipped to go make disciples. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Jesus said go and “make disciples”. Jesus lived in a “community” with his disciples. This is how he taught them. Jesus didn’t just hang out with his disciples on Sundays and Wednesdays. He spent time with them every day. They went to parties together (John 2:1-5). They prayed together (Luke 11:1-4, Mark 14:32-42). They served together (Matthew 14:13-21). The discussed their ministry experiences and failures together (Mark 9:28-29). They challenged one another (Matthew 16:21-23). They became frustrated with one another (Mark 9:33-34). They loved one another (John 13:34-35). They served one another (Acts 2:42-47). This was their life and should be our lives as Christians.

We get a good picture of this in Titus 2:1-15. More mature Christians should live out their faith around younger Christians, teaching them the gospel and what it looks like in life. Mature women should live and their faith and teach the younger women. Mature men should do the same thing with younger men. Paul even gives Titus some examples of what this looks like. He said that the mature women should teach the younger women how to love their husbands and children, how to be pure and self-controlled, working from home. These things cannot be taught from the church building. They are taught in life as you go.  

Next Jesus says “Observe” all that I have commanded you. Believe it or not Jesus requires obedience. Observe means – keeping, doing, living out His commands. Jesus sums up His commands in Matthew 22:36-40. He said to love God, and love your neighbor. But what does that really look like? We can talk about love all day and never get past some feeling we have inside. But Jesus gives us the perfect example of love.

Romans 5:8; -“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God “shows, demonstrates, proves” his love for us. He doesn’t just tell us, he shows us he loves us by sending His Son Jesus to die for us. This is the “action” to love.

So how do we show our love to God and our neighbor? We can demonstrate the gospel by making right what is wrong and bring God glory in it. We can live out the gospel by redeeming our community, demonstrating our love for God and our neighbor.

We can show that we don’t worship money but instead use money to help others. We can show that we are not here in our community to be served by the community but instead to serve them all the while pointing them to the one that can redeem their souls, Jesus Christ!

We need to see life through the lens of the gospel. In 1 Thess. 2:1-8 we see Paul living this out. He was gentle with them, ready to share everything with them, because they were dear to him. Paul had a deep love for the church of the Thessalonians and it showed in his actions toward them.

Listen to what Jesus says here in Luke 10:25-37; “And behold, lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two adenarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

This is not just a good story! We must heed to the command of Jesus and “go and do likewise”. In order to do this we must die to ourselves daily. We must die to our conveniences and safety. We must die to our laziness and self-importance. We must die to our pride and arrogance. We must be intentional of working hard to make disciples.

Jonathan Edwards and the affections

Over the last few weeks in church history at Doxa Theos Seminary we have been looking at Jonathan Edwards and his impact on the church throughout history. We looked into some of his books and one in particular was "Religious Effections". The question that is usually brought up is what are the affections and how are they different from emotions. I believe Justin Taylor has done a great job gathering information regarding this subject over at his blog. I would encourage you to check it out.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/.

Here is what he put together;

What Is the Difference between Affections and Emotions?

As Gerald McDermott explains, Jonathan Edwards saw affections as “strong inclinations of the soul that are manifested in thinking, feeling and acting” (Seeing God: Jonathan Edwards and Spiritual Discernment, p. 31).
A common confusion is to equate “affections” with “emotions.” But there are several differences, as summarized in this chart from McDermott (p. 40):

Affections	Emotions
Long-lasting	Fleeting
Deep	Superficial
Consistent with beliefs	Sometimes overpowering
Always result in action	Often fail to produce action
Involve mind, will, feelings	Feelings (often) disconnected from the mind and will

He explains why affections are different than emotions:

Emotions (feelings) are often involved in affections, but the affections are not defined by emotional feeling. Some emotions are disconnected from our strongest inclinations.
For instance, a student who goes off to college for the first time may feel doubtful and fearful. She will probably miss her friends and family at home. A part of her may even try to convince her to go back home. But she will discount these fleeting emotions as simply that—feelings that are not produced by her basic conviction that now it is time to start a new chapter in life.
The affections are something like that girl’s basic conviction that she should go to college, despite fleeting emotions that would keep her at home. They are strong inclination that may at times conflict with more fleeting and superficial emotions. (pp. 32-33)

Here is how Sam Storms explains the difference in Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ “Religious Affections:

Certainly there is what may rightly be called an emotional dimension to affections. Affections, after all, are sensible and intense longings or aversions of the will. Perhaps it would be best to say that whereas affections are not less than emotions, they are surely more.
Emotions can often be no more than physiologically heightened states of either euphoria or fear that are unrelated to what the mind perceives as true.
Affections, on the other hand, are always the fruit or effect of what the mind understands and knows. The will or inclination is moved either toward or away from something that is perceived by the mind.
An emotion or mere feeling, on the other hand, can rise or fall independently of and unrelated to anything in the mind.
One can experience an emotion or feeling without it properly being an affection, but one can rarely if ever experience an affection without it being emotional and involving intense feelings that awaken and move and stir the body. (p. 45)
 

 

Radical Repentance, Part 2

Joel 2:1-17
Blow a trumpet in Zion;

sound an alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,

2 a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and thick darkness!

Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains

a great and powerful people;

their like has never been before,

nor will be again after them

through the years of all generations.

3 Fire devours before them,

and behind them a flame burns.

The land is like the garden of Eden before them,

but behind them a desolate wilderness,

and nothing escapes them.

4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,

and like war horses they run.

5 As with the rumbling of chariots,

they leap on the tops of the mountains,

like the crackling of a flame of fire

devouring the stubble,

nike a powerful army

drawn up for battle.

6 Before them peoples are in anguish;

all faces grow pale.

7 Like warriors they charge;

like soldiers they scale the wall.

They march each on his way;

they do not swerve from their paths.

8 They do not jostle one another;

each marches in his path;

they burst through the weapons

and are not halted.

9 They leap upon the city,

they run upon the walls,

they climb up into the houses,

they enter through the windows like a thief.

10 The earth quakes before them;

the heavens tremble.

The sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

11 The Lord utters his voice

before his army,

for his camp is exceedingly great;

he who executes his word is powerful.

For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;

who can endure it?

Return to the Lord

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and he relents over disaster.

14 oWho knows whether he will not turn and relent,

and leave a blessing behind him,

a grain offering and a drink offering

for the Lord your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;

consecrate a fast;

call a solemn assembly;

16 gather the people.

Consecrate the congregation;

assemble the elders;

gather the children,

even nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom leave his room,

and the bride her chamber.

17 Between the vestibule and the altar

let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep

and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,

and make not your heritage a reproach,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’”

 

Again I love the poetry here, the descriptions Joel uses to describe this invading army of locusts.  In verse one, the first thing we see is a call to blow the trumpet.  This is a signal for war, a sign that an army was invading!  Joel says sound the trumpet in Zion, God's holy mountain.  Over time Israel had started believing that God's mountain, this city of Jerusalem was untouchable. The northern city might fall or Samaria might be taken over, but never Jerusalem.  God Himself would prevent it.  But here, Joel calls for the trumpet to blow, telling the people that God's city is in fact being invaded and that they are at war.  The city was being invaded, would God again protect His city?  The amazing thing here is that God Himself is coming and invading His own city.  He is pronouncing judgment on His own land.  When you look back at God's promises in Deuteronomy 28:58-63, notice that the Lord is keeping His promises; this judgment is due to their sin.  (v.2) If you have read the Bible and studied the Old Testament, the picture Joel is painting should remind you of something. Look at Deuteronomy 5:22; Exodus19:9, 20-21; 10:12-15. 

This invasion on God's people and on God's city is from the Lord Himself.  We will see how devastating and powerful this invasion is as we keep reading.  Remember God's people thought they were untouchable, they thought God should and could judge other nations and other people, but not them. We too are God's people, and sometimes think we can live life however we want because, hey, we are God's people.  During this time Israel had chosen deep idolatry.  They were worshiping idols and had gotten involved in child sacrifice; while turning away from God, and were deep in sin.  God is a righteous God, a just God and would turn His people back to Himself. Sometimes this means discipline is used to turn the human heart back to the Lord.  Joel reveals a vivid picture of the awesome instrument of the Lord's judgment. 

v.3) The crunching made by the locusts sounded like a raging forest fire.  Picture the Garden of Eden, Canaan is supposed to be paradise. A place beautiful, flowing with milk and honey,  but that doesn’t stop God's judgment.

v.4) Like horses? These are mere locusts, but they are having the effect of creatures the size of horses. 

ñ The locusts were the Lord's warriors drawn up for battle.

ñ Nothing can stop them.

ñ They leap upon the city.

ñ These locusts were coming in their homes, and utterly taking over!

God could have used an army of men from another country, but instead used another part of His creation for the instrument of judgment. So often, we think as humans, we control the earth.  And assuming that we have everything under control is just an illusion.  Yet here, God's showing that He is sovereign.  He is in complete control, and   He can take over a place with His creation, the locusts. We don’t control the earth, Jesus does! Look at Colossians 1:15-16  All things are made through Him, and for Him.  All things.

 Now we come to the point of the invasion.

 

Verses 12 and 13 sum up this book.  The Lord is calling His people back to Himself.  Joel is now leading the people to the real issue here.  The problem is not the locusts, they are nothing.  Israel had a bigger and more significant problem.  They had a religious problem, a heart problem.  Falling into, and choosing idolatry, they had forgotten about Jehovah being their God.  He was saying, “return to Me with all your heart”.  But how is that even possible? How can we turn from the idols of our heart back to the Most High God?  It is only possible through Jesus!!  God in His mercy provided a way back to Himself.

 

Jesus says in Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”.  And in Luke 24:47  He goes on to say that repentance and forgiveness can only be done through Him.  Christ is the only One who grants real, radical repentance. 

Acts 5:31  Here, God exalted Him as our Lord and Savior. And it is not just about saying “I am sorry”.  2 Corinthians 7:10  Tells us it is deeper than that, it is a godly grief.  We must turn from our sin and redirect ourselves toward God.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.  True repentance for a relationship with the Lord changes our lives. 

  What does this look like?  Luke 19:1-10  Zacchaeus had real repentance after his encounter with Christ.  It was not enough that he recognized that he was a sinner or that he was sorrowful.  His example of real repentance showed a change in behavior. We too must experience that kind of change in our life.  An opposite reaction example would be the rich young ruler. Jesus confronted him with the law.  He told him to go and sell all that he had and follow Him.  The rich young ruler just walked away.  No repentance.  Why do some repent and some do not?  The answer is simple.  Repentance is a gift from God.  

Look at 2 Timothy 2:22-26  True and radical repentance produces a visible result, such as fasting, weeping and mourning. With Zacchaeus, we saw results of his repentance. 

David wrote a Psalm about repentance, Psalm 51.  Did David ever commit adultery again?  The sign of his true repentance was him turning away from his sin and turning back to God.

Return to the Lord because He is gracious and merciful!  By understanding the mercy of Jesus it is possible to express godly sorrow for our sin and change direction on our life.  It will be the daily part of a Christian’s life.  When is the last time you really repented?  Did that involve a total change of heart and direction?  Are you satisfied with a general repentance or do you repent for specific and particular sins?   Are you listening to the call of Joel to rend your heart and return to the Lord?  Heaven rejoices when sinners repent!  

Verses 14-17 are Joel once again calling the people to gather together and prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord!  They are to assemble, weep and cry out to the Lord. Look at  Ephesians 2:19-22 and  James 5:13-20. The church is the body of Christ, we are one, we grow together, pray and fast together, and confess our sins to one another. This is done because we know that Jesus is faithful! 

1 John 1:9  Christ is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. He cleanses us and exchanges our sin for His righteousness.

  Now look at 2:18-19, the Lord answers prayer, He hears and answers those who return to Him. In Psalm 102:16-22 we see that the LORD regards the prayers and hears the groans of His people. God hears our cries! Believe this promise!  No matter what you feelings tell you, know this truth.  And not only does He hear our cries, but God also responds by blessing us. (read verse 19 again)  Many times we read verses like this and we think in our minds that “Oh the Lord will give them so much!”

  But that is not what it says; it says the Lord will send grain, wine and oil.  And you will be satisfied.

A person may have plenty to eat, have everything they have ever wanted, and still not be satisfied. Being content is a gift from the Lord, and it is given to those who return to Him.  When Jesus fed the 5000 (Matthew 14) the Bible says that the people were satisfied.  This sign shows us that Jesus can and will satisfy all who come to Him.  As Christians our contentment and satisfaction should come from the LORD alone! (2 Corinthians 12:10; Philippians 4:11) Paul understood to be content in Christ. Ask yourself “Am I dissatisfied with my lot in life? Or Am I always disappointed with the way things always turn out?) Hebrews 13:5, says, Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” If you are not satisfied in your life, it can be a sign that you have not returned to the LORD.

  At the end of verse 19, it says “He will remove your reproach.” The Lord will repair your reputation. There was a time that I had a bad reputation, but God repairs what we destroy.  Sometimes it takes a while, but He is faithful. Our focus must be on returning to Him. This even applies to Christians who have fallen into sin. Jesus is in the business of serving sinners and restoring us. Paul had a terrible reputation among Christians until the Lord saved him and built trust for him among Christians. 

  In verse 20 we see that the Lord destroys our enemies. He removed the locusts. The Lord heard the prayers of His people and responded.  He basically split them in half, casting the front half into the Dead Sea, and the back half into the Mediterranean. We see from this comes the stench and foul smell of all the dead locusts.  Think about how disgusting that would be!  We see things like this happening in Exodus when the Lord sent the plagues on Egypt.  (Exodus 7-8)  Saint Augustine of Hippo in his book City of God describes a time in Africa when a swarm of locusts came and devoured every tree in sight. So the locust were plunged into the sea and died. Joel says these locusts were pushed up onto the shores by the waves and so polluted the air that a plague on the people broke out that killed 80,000 men. The Lord is jealous for his people and He will send us a wakeup call.  And He will destroy our enemies.  We must see these wake up calls for what they are, it gives us opportunity to turn back to Him. So the Lord's hears his people's cry and destroys the very army of locusts that He sent in the first place. But the Lord even does more than that.  We saw earlier in the book the land, animals and God's people totally affected by this locust invasion.  Now we see the Lord addressing each one of them. 

  We are called to rejoice and be glad, because the Lord keeps His promises. God is a God of promises and He alone is faithful. We also see that God is a God of restoration. He makes all things new. Praise God that He restores all things. 

 

 Sin pollutes everything. Our sin could be like those locusts that totally overwhelmed Israel.  They were everywhere, destroying everything, even sending a stench that wouldn’t go away.  Even to the point of death.  But Joel tells them and us, not to fear.  Be glad and rejoice in the Lord.  “Rejoice in the Lord”.  God will bring the early rain and the latter rain.  I don’t think we get this today.  In ancient Israel, the people were very dependent on the rain. Only a little rain would fall in the summer the autumn rains were necessary to soften the ground to receive the seeds. The spring rains were most important to strengthen the crops for final growth.  Israel understood that life literally came from the rain.  The Lord was promising life, He was promising complete restoration. But what is amazing is that the Lord promises even more than this.  (v.24-25) The Lord will bless the people more than they can even imagine.  We see Paul saying the same thing in Ephesians 3:14-21. Through Jesus Christ God restores all things and even blesses us with Himself.  Because the Lord responds to your repentance, rejoice!  Don’t sink into depression over your past sins and losses. Don’t dread the consequences of earlier failures. Don’t assume a complete restoration is too good to be true! Rejoice with all your heart over the Lord’s ability to completely restore us by His grace through Jesus! Don’t sweat over the time you might have lost living in sin! The Lord can restore it!  He is able! (v.26)  He will restore His people and they will be satisfied. We must be satisfied in the Lord; this should be our very life!  This is the whole point of the locust invasion on Israel. The people had lost their first love; they had walked away from the Lord and worshiped idols. The Lord says “Hope!”  “Come back to Me!”  (v.27)  “I am the Lord, there is no one else.  Quit chasing after idols, quit chasing after things that will not satisfy you, come back to Me!  I am here! And I am God!” When we truly understand what Jesus has done and is doing, then the gospel should overwhelm us. Jesus should be our satisfaction.  This should affect every part of our life.  John 17:3 says “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ who You have sent.” That is life, not just in the future, but now.  Jesus Christ has saved us if you’re a Christian. Your new in Christ, forget the past.  I want to close with this, twice in the last 2 verses Joel says God’s people shall never again e put to shame.  How awesome is that?  Do you mourn over the lost years of your life?  Have you made a number of serious mistakes in your life?  Did you leave school too early?  Did you get married too early?  Have you been divorced?  Have you rebelled against your parents?  God restores through Jesus!  He has been punished for whatever you have done.  Don’t live in regret, trust the Lord.  Trust in what He accomplished on the cross.  Don’t be ashamed.  Beginning now and through eternity, you never need to be ashamed.  You can continue to be ashamed if you want to, but that will only come from your own pride, not from the judgment of the Lord.  That is finished!  Remember, this passage is speaking to a believing community that has strayed from the Lord.  We are the ones who need to repent and return to the lord.  Repentance is also God’s way of revival and we should all want that. It starts with us.    

 

 

 

 

Our Goal should be knowing Jesus

Philippians 3:7-8
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Here we see Paul telling the church at Philippi that he counts everything as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. His goal in life as a Christian was to get to know Jesus more and more. Paul even says that he has lost everything and even called all things rubbish in order to gain Jesus. 

I think today the church has lost this passion and love for Jesus. We begin to love the gifts from God more than we love God Himself. Lets think about some of the gifts the Jesus gives us. 

[Peace, love, joy, salvation, happiness, eternal life, heaven, faith, God]

We love God’s gifts, right?

These are great gifts! We all should love the great gifts that God has given us. 

But what I am afraid is happening today is that we take one or more of God’s gifts and we elevate them above God Himself! 

So we take heaven and we worship heaven. 

In John Piper's book, "God is the gospel" he asks a great question, If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

I am afraid to many of us, if we searched our hearts, would answer yes. So if your answer to this is yes then you have elevated heaven above God Himself who created heaven. 

Your sole purpose for wanting to go to heaven should be to be with, to worship, to spend eternity with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He should be are main reason for longing for heaven!

Let’s take another one, what about God’s love?

Especially God’s love for us! 

What we have done is turned the gospel into a divine endorsement of our delight in many lesser things, especially the delight of being made much of. We trust in Jesus and worship God because we want to be made much of. We want to feel excepted and special. We want God to make the world revolve around us, to give us our hearts desires and to take good care of us. Why? Because we are special in God’s eyes! Again this is a gift of God’s! It is a good thing, but are we elevating His gift above Himself?We don’t see Paul doing this. He is all about knowing Jesus! 

Here is another question for you, Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because, at the cost of his Son, he enables you to enjoy making much of him forever?

That is the test to examine if your worship is man-centered, which means your worship revolves around you, or if your worship is God-centered, which means everything you do revolves around God!

Which is it?

Does your happiness hang on seeing the cross of Christ as a witness to your worth, or as a way to enjoy God’s worth forever? Is God’s glory in Christ the foundation of your gladness?

The sad thing is that a radically man-centered view of love has spread rapidly into many churches around the world.  

If the enjoyment of God himself is not the final and best gift of love, then God is not the greatest treasure, his self-giving is not the highest mercy, the gospel is not the good news that sinners may enjoy their Maker, Christ did not suffer to bring us to God, and our souls must look beyond him for satisfaction.

That is not the gospel! We have all heard that the gospel is good news. 

Go look at Paul describe the gospel; 1 Cor. 15:1-4. This is the gospel. This gospel is all about Jesus! 

Lets look at another place where Paul discusses the gospel. 
2 Cor. 4:3-6. 

Here Paul says the gospel is “the glory of Christ”. He is what the gospel is all about. His glory is what the gospel is all about. It is not about us. Our gifts from Jesus are given to us to make much of Jesus, not to make much of ourselves. That is the purpose of all gifts. 

Another way to put it is that we have heard the message of victory! 

Consider another picture of the gospel arriving. Imagine American prisoners of war held behind barbed wire in a camp with little food and filthy conditions near the end of the Second World War. On the outside of the fence the captors are free and go about their business as though they don’t have a care. Inside the fence the captured soldiers are thin, hollow-eyed, unshaven, and dirty. Some die each day.
Then somehow a shortwave radio is smuggled into one of the barracks. There is connection with the outside world and the progress of the war. Then one day the captors on the outside of the fence see something very strange. Inside the fence the weak, dirty, unshaved American soldiers are smiling and laughing, and a few who have the strength give a whoop and throw tin pans into the air.

What makes this so strange to everyone outside the fence is that nothing has changed. These American soldiers are still in captivity. They still have little food and water. And many are still sick and dying. But what the captors don’t know is that what these soldiers do have is news. The enemy lines have been broken through. The decisive battle of liberation has been fought. And the liberating troops are only miles away from the camp. Freedom is imminent.

This is the difference that news makes. Christians have heard the news that Christ has come into the world and has fought the deci- sive battle to defeat Satan and death and sin and hell. The war will be over soon, and there is no longer any doubt as to who will win. Christ will win, and he will liberate all those who have put their hope in him.
The good news is not that there is no pain or death or sin or hell. There is. The good news is that the King himself has come, and these enemies have been defeated, and if we trust in what he has done and what he promises, we will escape the death sentence and see the glory of our Liberator and live with him forever. This news fills us with hope and joy (Rom. 15:13) and frees us from self-pity and empowers us to love those who are suffering. In this hope-sustained love he will help us persevere until the final trumpet of liberation sounds and the prison camp is made into a “new earth” (2 Pet. 3:13).

This is the good news of the gospel! We must pray that we have a more Christ-centered view of the gospel as Paul did. 

Jesus saves us for His glory, not ours. He saves us not because we are special but because He is special and saves us to make much of Him to others.