“It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, an all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
“Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, ‘Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’ Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, ‘I am with child.’’’
. . .
“So David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’”
(2 Samuel 11:1–5; 12:13)
David’s sin involving Bathsheba was a progression of sins as so many of our sins are. Early sins were likely pride and self-satisfaction as he looked upon his accomplishments and basked in his own glory in Jerusalem. Next his basking turned to sloth and irresponsibility—in “the spring of the year, that time when kings go out to battle,” this king was at home in his leisure: idleness really is the devil’s workshop. His idleness turned to lust, his lust to theft and adultery, his adultery to deception and eventually murder. Had God not graciously stopped him in his tracks, his sin could have progressed to apostasy and self-destruction.
Just so, our sins can progress from bad to worse and to the unthinkable when they are not confessed, abhorred, and repented from. Confess sin quickly and thoroughly before your sins get the foothold they need to grow like weeds on a spring day. Nip sin in the bud through confession and genuine repentance. But just as with David, wherever you find yourself and your sin in that progression—at bud or full bloom—God stands ready not only to point the finger at your sin but to offer forgiveness, mercy, and the grace to do better, if we will come to Him freely, sincerely, and humbly, asking and looking for these things from His hand.
“Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. Move us, dear God, by Your Holy Spirit to repent early and often, to know our sins and acknowledge them before they lead to yet other and more and worse sins. We give thanks to You, O Lord, for Your mercy towards us through our Lord Jesus Christ, for Your faithfulness to us, for the forgiveness of sins we have through Him; and we pray that mercy would continue throughout our lives and throughout all eternity; for Christ’s sake and in His name. Amen.”
Showing posts with label Sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sin. Show all posts
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Holding the City Walls
“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit
Is like a city broken down, without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28)
We treat many of our sins in a passive sort of way, as things that simply “come over us,” as if there were nothing we could do about them. We “can’t help ourselves,” we say, whether it is a rush of anger, a “mood” of despondency or depression, falling into a passion of lust, or the avoidance of some duty through fear, indecision, or just plain laziness.
But the Bible knows better. We are to rule over our own spirits. We are little cities in microcosm, and our sins are our enemies. When we let our guard down, and especially when we do this on a habitual basis, the walls are breached, and our cities are occupied by our enemies, who continue to carry out their designs and govern our cities for us.
But we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, in our little cities. (Romans 6:12) By God’s grace, we do have the ability to hold the walls: to control our temper, to walk away from temptation, to keep our tongues from evil, to face our fears, to rejoice always even when other “spirits” within us fight against us to the contrary.
God’s grace is the key, of course, and we begin to pray for the grace to obey by praying for God’s grace in mercy, forgiveness, and repentance. Confess your sins now before the Lord, asking Him to deliver you from them, as well as asking Him to fill you with a spirit of obedience and self-control.
“Lord God, we confess our utter inability in and of ourselves to keep ourselves from sin, and we confess our lack of diligence in holding the walls of our spirit by resisting the enemies of sin, temptation, and the devil. Forgive us, dear God, for our “letting our guard down” and for our allowing sin to get the upper hand, and grant us the grace to rule over our spirits consistently and persistently. We give You thanks for Your own Holy Spirit, who resides within us, and pray You would fill us with Him and the holy fruit of self-control He produces. Help us to set a guard over our tongues, to control our temper, and to do Your will and obey Your voice regardless our feelings or “spirit” to the contrary. Grant to us, dear Lord, merciful Father, true and lasting repentance, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”
Is like a city broken down, without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28)
We treat many of our sins in a passive sort of way, as things that simply “come over us,” as if there were nothing we could do about them. We “can’t help ourselves,” we say, whether it is a rush of anger, a “mood” of despondency or depression, falling into a passion of lust, or the avoidance of some duty through fear, indecision, or just plain laziness.
But the Bible knows better. We are to rule over our own spirits. We are little cities in microcosm, and our sins are our enemies. When we let our guard down, and especially when we do this on a habitual basis, the walls are breached, and our cities are occupied by our enemies, who continue to carry out their designs and govern our cities for us.
But we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, in our little cities. (Romans 6:12) By God’s grace, we do have the ability to hold the walls: to control our temper, to walk away from temptation, to keep our tongues from evil, to face our fears, to rejoice always even when other “spirits” within us fight against us to the contrary.
God’s grace is the key, of course, and we begin to pray for the grace to obey by praying for God’s grace in mercy, forgiveness, and repentance. Confess your sins now before the Lord, asking Him to deliver you from them, as well as asking Him to fill you with a spirit of obedience and self-control.
“Lord God, we confess our utter inability in and of ourselves to keep ourselves from sin, and we confess our lack of diligence in holding the walls of our spirit by resisting the enemies of sin, temptation, and the devil. Forgive us, dear God, for our “letting our guard down” and for our allowing sin to get the upper hand, and grant us the grace to rule over our spirits consistently and persistently. We give You thanks for Your own Holy Spirit, who resides within us, and pray You would fill us with Him and the holy fruit of self-control He produces. Help us to set a guard over our tongues, to control our temper, and to do Your will and obey Your voice regardless our feelings or “spirit” to the contrary. Grant to us, dear Lord, merciful Father, true and lasting repentance, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Invitation Declined
“My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.”
(Proverbs 1:10)
Sin is enticing. If it were not, no one would do it. Sin has enough real good in it to make it appealing, but, because it is a perverted good, it always “takes away the life of its owners.” (1:19)
For example, food is good. Eating is good; regular, peaceful meals with family and friends are good. Good food tastes good. What is more delightful than a big, juicy hamburger, properly seasoned, fresh from the grill, loaded with tomato, onion, lettuce, ketchup, and mayonnaise? Give God thanks for it, and chow down with joy.
Gluttony, however, is condemned in no uncertain terms by God in His Word. Gluttony takes the good of eating and perverts it. To eat and enjoy is a good God has given us, and in fact not to do so is sin itself. But to eat and enjoy greedily and selfishly and to extremes is sinful.
Sinners are enticing as well. Just like misery, sin loves company. Because we are by nature sinners, it feels “at home” or natural for us to go along with the crowd as they sin merrily away. Christ, however, has put a new nature within us, and the old nature and the enticing sinners who promote it have to be resisted. Do not consent to go along. The path of the sinner always leads to a dead end. Sin never pays because it can’t—in the end it destroys the good it perverts and all other good as well.
When sinners entice, and they will, do not consent. Rather, look by faith to the greater and surer and everlasting good God delivers to those who through patient obedience and steadfast virtue walk with Him instead. God is the real thing, and the way He has made the world to operate according to righteousness and holiness is the only real path to joy and happiness and everything good. If someone promises to bring you there by any other way, they are lying through their teeth. Don’t go with them!
“Great God in heaven above, we give You thanks for all things good, and we pray You would build up in us by faith an ever greater love and gratitude for these wonderful gifts from Your hand. Grant to us wisdom and discernment, dear God, keep us from sin, and strengthen us in our resolve to turn away from it. When sinners entice us, O Lord, grant us the grace not to consent to them, but rather may we always be attracted instead by the beauty of Your holiness. Make us holy like You are holy, we pray, dear God—make us like our Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.”
Do not consent.”
(Proverbs 1:10)
Sin is enticing. If it were not, no one would do it. Sin has enough real good in it to make it appealing, but, because it is a perverted good, it always “takes away the life of its owners.” (1:19)
For example, food is good. Eating is good; regular, peaceful meals with family and friends are good. Good food tastes good. What is more delightful than a big, juicy hamburger, properly seasoned, fresh from the grill, loaded with tomato, onion, lettuce, ketchup, and mayonnaise? Give God thanks for it, and chow down with joy.
Gluttony, however, is condemned in no uncertain terms by God in His Word. Gluttony takes the good of eating and perverts it. To eat and enjoy is a good God has given us, and in fact not to do so is sin itself. But to eat and enjoy greedily and selfishly and to extremes is sinful.
Sinners are enticing as well. Just like misery, sin loves company. Because we are by nature sinners, it feels “at home” or natural for us to go along with the crowd as they sin merrily away. Christ, however, has put a new nature within us, and the old nature and the enticing sinners who promote it have to be resisted. Do not consent to go along. The path of the sinner always leads to a dead end. Sin never pays because it can’t—in the end it destroys the good it perverts and all other good as well.
When sinners entice, and they will, do not consent. Rather, look by faith to the greater and surer and everlasting good God delivers to those who through patient obedience and steadfast virtue walk with Him instead. God is the real thing, and the way He has made the world to operate according to righteousness and holiness is the only real path to joy and happiness and everything good. If someone promises to bring you there by any other way, they are lying through their teeth. Don’t go with them!
“Great God in heaven above, we give You thanks for all things good, and we pray You would build up in us by faith an ever greater love and gratitude for these wonderful gifts from Your hand. Grant to us wisdom and discernment, dear God, keep us from sin, and strengthen us in our resolve to turn away from it. When sinners entice us, O Lord, grant us the grace not to consent to them, but rather may we always be attracted instead by the beauty of Your holiness. Make us holy like You are holy, we pray, dear God—make us like our Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.”
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