Heavenly Springs

Holding Fast The Doctrines of Grace

Sin is Our Deepest Problem

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“Even among Christians, sin is not always seen as our deepest or primary problem. For example, if I were to reflect on the problems of my day, they might include my finances, children, wife, health, weight, reputation, lack of lasting contributions, car, leaky faucet, or environment-endangering lawn mower. Even when I am an obvious wrongdoer, I still can think that sin is not my primary problem. It is one of those problems that come up occasionally; it is not, I feel, a core feature of my very being.

Yet the fact that I do not feel like sin is my primary problem does not prove anything. Sin by its very nature is more often quiet and secretive than loud and public. For every overt episode of rage, there are dozens of jealousies, manipulations, white lies, and malicious thoughts, none of which immediately register on the conscience. And, according to Scripture, the greatest sin of all is even more covert: I do not love the Lord my God with my whole mind and heart. If our failure to consistently worship the true God is the key feature of sin, we are sinners all.

Notice what happens when we lose sight of these biblical teachings. If sin is not our core problem, the gospel itself— the thing of first importance— is marginalized. The good news that Jesus proclaimed and offered is that there is forgiveness of sins, not through our own attempts to please God, but by placing our confidence in Jesus himself, in his death and resurrection. If sin is not our primary problem , then the gospel of Jesus is no longer the most important event in all of human history.”

Welch, Edward T. (2012-01-30). Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave (pp. 20-21). New Growth Press. Kindle Edition.

HT: Hubby

Whatever Became Of Sin?

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At three I had a feeling of
Ambivalence toward my brothers.
And so it follows naturally
I poisoned all my lovers.
But now I’m happy; I have learned
The lesson this has taught:
That everything I do that’s wrong
Is someone else’s fault.

Written by Anna Russell, Psychiatric Folksong

Karl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin?  (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1973), 181 (Google Digitized Version).

Your Sanctification Is Not Just A Private Matter

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Many people think sanctification is only a personal matter between themselves and God. This is not true.  Every decision that we make, public or private, has implications that go beyond the immediate.  You see, true fellowship with Christ is what makes for right relationship with others. When we neglect or abandon our spiritual responsibilities, we are not the only ones who will feel it.  Other people will inevitably suffer too. This is especially true when we live in covenant community. When we tremble at God’s Word and esteem Him more than the passing pleasures of this world — when we flee darkness and chose instead to walk in light and truth — the glory of God, not selfish gain, becomes the goal. This bears a tremendous influence on our ability to pray for and love others sincerely.  In the following Puritan prayer, we feel the heart cry of a saint panting for holiness. It is the deepest yearning of every Christian to be kept from temptation and sin.  But beyond this longing is the godly recognition that the well-being of others is directly related to our sanctification. The souls who have been providentially placed in our lives –  at home, at church, in our community, in the workplace have been entrusted to our care by Almighty God. Are we being faithful stewards by diligently keeping our hearts? We do not live in a vacuum.  Other people are wrapped up with us and therefore their lives will be effected by how aggressive we are when it comes to killing sin and pursuing holiness. Sanctification is not just a private matter. May God, by His grace, cause us to repent and mourn over those who have suffered because of our lack of diligence. May we say ‘No’ to ungodliness and instead live self-controlled, godly, and upright lives (Titus 2:1). It matters.  

“Help me to hate and forsake every false way
to be attentive to my condition and character,
to bridle my tongue,
to keep my heart with all diligence,
to watch and pray against temptation,
to mortify sin,
to be concerned for the salvation of others.
O God, I cannot endure to see the destruction
of my kindred.
Let those that are united to me in tender ties
be precious in thy sight and devoted to thy glory.
Sanctify and prosper my domestic devotion,
instruction, discipline, example,
that my house may be a nursery for heaven,
my church the garden of the Lord,
enriched with trees of righteousness of
thy planting, for thy glory …”

The Valley of Vision, “The Family”, pages 208-209

Confessing Sin

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For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. – (Psalm 51:3-5 ESV)

“We are often like Adam. He sinned along with his wife in eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when God came to him in the garden demanding, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen. 3:11), Adam did not confess his transgression. Instead he began to shift the blame to other people and eventually to God himself. He said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (v. 12).

It was the same with Cain. Cain killed his brother. But when God came demanding, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain answered, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9).

And what about Abraham? Abraham lied about his wife, Sarah, saying she was his sister, because he feared that the men of the Negev would kill him for her. When he was found out he excused himself, saying that it was not an outright lie: “Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife” (Gen. 20:12).

This is not how David prayed. David acknowledged his sin, laying it out and confessing it utterly. This is the significance of verse 4: “Against you, you only, have I sinned.” Many commentators have pointed out that this was not strictly true. David had sinned against Bathsheba and against Uriah, her husband. He sinned against the armies of Israel, who lost their battles during the time of David’s sin. He sinned against the nation. But in the sight of the perfection and majesty of God, David knew that these wrongs fell into relative insignificance. The greatest of all problems with sin is that it is an offense against God. It would make a vast difference in many lives if people could only see this. David did see it. Therefore, he did not try to cover sin up, but confessed it, saying, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.”

Another aspect of David’s confession is his acknowledgment that it is not only that he sinned once, but that his whole nature was permeated with sin: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (v. 5). This verse says nothing about sex being wrong. This is the way it has been interpreted in some sectors of the Roman Catholic Church as the result of an asceticism that became a goal of Catholic piety during the early and late Middle Ages. But this is not what David is talking about. He is saying that there was never a moment in his life when he was free from sin and no part of his being escaped sin’s contamination. It is the same with us. By ourselves we have never done anything to please God; everything we have done is contaminated by sin. But God can cleanse us. He can begin a work that will enable us to live victoriously.”

While I regarded God as a tyrant, I thought sin a trifle; but when I knew him to be my father, then I mourned that I could ever have kicked against him. When I thought that God was hard, I found it easy to sin; but when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion, I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against one who loved me so, and sought my good. – Charles Spurgeon

Boice, J. M. (1998). Genesis: An expositional commentary (928–929). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.