I absolutely hate to spank my children. I have three little girls. They are so tiny and so precious and so little. And they can be so bad. That being said, I find no joy in spanking them. Not one bit. Sure, we can talk about how, ultimately, we find joy in the words of our Lord and we trust Him and have faith in Him that it is good when He says (a paraphrase), "He who spares the rod hates his son." I think I understand that concept. I think I understand that all things work together for the good for those that love God and are the called according to His purpose. That being said, I won't be smiling with glee if my wife is diagnosed with cancer. There is sorrow in our rejoicing or it isn't gospel-driven rejoicing. Sin sucks. The curse sucks. Death sucks. Suffering sucks. Period.
I have been thinking of this all night and this morning because I had to give Sofia a spank last night. I can be honest with you and, if you want, you can call me soft. It broke my heart. Later, I took her aside and I loved on her and kissed her little face. I told her, "honey, I love you so much. I hate to spank you. But we will not let you be bad and throw fits." She hugged me back. And she pats my back with her little hand! That breaks my heart!
It takes faith to spank your children, to take God at His word regarding that subject. But it is right. Our problems with it come from a faulty view of God and ourselves and our children, not from God (as if He may or may not be correct). The alternatives to me are just too risky. And I'm not willing to gamble with my children's souls. Think about it. If I tell my girls, "you will not go out in the street," I will spank them if they do. Why? Because I'd much rather they feel a brief but serious sting on their bottom from their daddy who loves them, than to be crushed by a car. Kids don't fear your raised voice enough and they certainly don't fear a time out or a corner-stand like they do your hand. God disciplines those whom He loves and, sometimes, He does so severely. There is a sting in spanking that is godly and biblical. Sure there are times when other things are appropriate and a spanking is not warranted. But, for open rebellion, e.g., "I said 'no' and you did it anyway," there will always be a spank. They cannot grow up believing there are not serious consequences for rebelling against God. And remember, dad, it is God's law they are breaking when they break yours. Spanking is about your child and God, not your anger or embarrassment. And, after a spank in our home, there will always be a kiss and a cuddle and a hug. "The punishment is over, I still love you, we are not estranged. Please don't do it again."
I read this below from John Piper this morning. Yes, I read John Piper a lot. Yes, I will post stuff on here from him. A lot. There are worse things, brothers and sisters. So, I hope this helps and sheds light on this subject.
And to Bella, Sofia, and Gianna, I love you with all of my heart. I pray every morning that I would not be too harsh or too strict with you, that I would bring you up in the fear and instruction of the Lord, and that nothing I do would turn you off to the Gospel. Daddy is a sinner; he needs a lot more spanks than you do. And I hope God keeps my heart so that I don't ruin yours. I love you, little lambs.
Would Jesus spank a child?
By John Piper
February 16, 2009
The following is an edited transcript of the audio.
Would Jesus spank a child? If so, where would you point someone biblically who can't imagine him doing this?
If Jesus were married and had children, I think he would have spanked the children.
The place that I would go to help a person see that he would, when they can't imagine that he would, is Matthew 5 where he said, "Not a jot nor a tittle will pass away from the Law until all is accomplished." In other words, all the Law and the Prophets stand until they're done. And the Law says, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." That's a paraphrase. The book of Proverbs says, "If you withhold the rod, you hate your son." Jesus believed the Bible, and he would have done it.
Now, that does not address the heart of the issue. The heart of the issue is: Why does this person feel this way? What worldview inclines a person to think that you shouldn't spank a child? Where does that come from?
Well it comes straight out of this culture, I think. There's a sign that used to be on the side of the 35W bridge, on the right as you go north. And the sign simply said this: "Never, never, never, never, never hurt a child." That's all it said! And spanking is equated with hurting children. It's against the law in Sweden to spank a child. And it's against the law, I think, in some states in America. I'm not sure.
Well, I will go to jail over that issue! Talitha is to the point where I don't think in terms of spanking my 13-year-old daughter anymore. But I did when she was little.
I could give a whole theology of spanking here, but maybe I'll just boil it down. Why does this person feel squeamish about spanking? My guess is that it is a wrong view of God.
Deep down, does this person believe that God brings pain into our lives? Because Hebrews 12:6 makes the direct connection: God disciplines every son whom he loves, and spanks everyone that he delights in (my paraphrase). And the point there is suffering. God brings sufferings into our lives, and the writer of the Hebrews connects it to the parenting of God of his children.
This is a wrong view of God! God uses suffering to discipline his children. So do we.
Now, you don't damage a child. You don't give him a black eye or break his arm. Children have little fat bottoms so that they can be whopped.
When my sons were three and four years old, at their worst stages, drawing with orange crayons on the wall, they knew what was going to happen. So one day, just to give you an illustration of how this works emotionally, I found an orange mark on the wall in the hall upstairs from a crayon. Just about Barnabas' height. And he's three or four.
So I get Barnabas. I say, "Come here Barnabas. Did you make that mark on the wall."
"Yes." At least he's honest.
I said, "We have a rule against that. You know you cannot draw on the wall with your crayons. You're old enough to know that."
"Yes."
"So what should happen?"
"A spanking."
I said, "That's right." So I take him in the room, and whop! And he cries easy, so he cries. And when he's done crying, there's a big hug. And I say, "Don't do that again, OK? Daddy loves you and we don't mark on the wall, OK?"
Three minutes later he is bouncing off the walls, happy happy happy.
Now if I had said to him, "You go into your room and you sit there and you stay there until you feel appropriately guilty, and then we'll see if you come out and do the right thing," what a wicked way to punish a child!
Spanking is so clean! It's so quick! It's so relieving! A kid feels like he has done atonement and he is out of there and happy.
To these modern ideas of timeout, or sitting in the corner, I say, "Bologna! Give me a spanking! I want to go play!"
I just think spanking is really healthy for children. It is a measured deliverance of a non-damaging act of mild pain that makes the child feel the seriousness of what he's done. It is not beating. It is not abuse. There is a clear difference. The very word "spank" exists because there is such a thing as a loving way to whop a child on his behind or his chunky thigh.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Unite My Heart
Hear the word of the Lord from Psalm 86:
1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Our hearts are divided. Double-minded and unstable. When we believe we are right, when we believe we are solid, we are not ready. We feel the pull of the flesh and the push of the Spirit. In the midst of perfect love, we know separation. In the midst of unending faithfulness, we feel abandonment. In the presence of perfect joy, we are discouraged. In the midst of absolute truth, we cannot find our way. In the midst of redemption, we feel condemnation.
I am coming to believe that the Psalms are a collective cry to God from this divided heart that longs for the peace that comes from God, yet cannot grasp it fully. We know, but we do not know. We see, but we do not see. The psalmist cries in the midst of this wonderful prayer, “unite my heart.” Make me one, O God. Unify what I know with what I am moved by; give me a single-minded devotion to you.
We have every reason to pray this way, every reason to believe this way. The cry to God to unite my heart is based on the belief that in Him, such unifying truth can be found (v.11). Proper recognition is here. This is how we address God. We come bankrupt to draw from His fullness. “I am poor and needy. You are gracious; you 'abound' in resources. I have nothing. I can’t even think straight.” We come praying, we come trusting. We come needy in a day of trouble when yesterday (two Psalms earlier) we were riding high; worshipping You, desiring You, understanding that there is no better place to be than with You and GENUINELY wanting to be there! But already the bottom has dropped out. Today, we cannot find our way; we are unsure. Again.
It is in these times that we must cry out to Him, confessing what we know. Confessing what is true, regardless of how we are bent toward it at that particular time. “There is none like you, O God. You are to be glorified forever.” That is true, even when trouble crashes down on us in waves. That is true, even when we wander to worship lesser gods. Sometimes, we feel so desperate, that we would rather see God comfort our hearts than move mountains right in front of our eyes. When it is truly dark, we desire peace, not miracles.
But God has delivered us from the depths of Sheol. In His Son. And His Son is the way, the truth, and the life that we crave and need so badly. Jesus is what gives meaning to the Psalms. For all these precious promises are ours because of Jesus, our Savior (2 Corinthians 1:20).
We are assaulted on every side. The world, the flesh, and the devil wage war against us in a million different ways, with a million different lures. And because we are sinners, we are pulled by them, sometimes quite successfully. There is a part of us that wants to run after them, to join them. So, our struggle is not purely without; it is within. Within, we battle to rest in God, to find in Christ our satisfaction. Within, we battle to love the world, to find in its idols our satisfaction. These assaults are both created by us and imposed upon us. And so we are divided.
Strength of my life, whom shall I dread?
Unite my heart, O God.
1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Our hearts are divided. Double-minded and unstable. When we believe we are right, when we believe we are solid, we are not ready. We feel the pull of the flesh and the push of the Spirit. In the midst of perfect love, we know separation. In the midst of unending faithfulness, we feel abandonment. In the presence of perfect joy, we are discouraged. In the midst of absolute truth, we cannot find our way. In the midst of redemption, we feel condemnation.
I am coming to believe that the Psalms are a collective cry to God from this divided heart that longs for the peace that comes from God, yet cannot grasp it fully. We know, but we do not know. We see, but we do not see. The psalmist cries in the midst of this wonderful prayer, “unite my heart.” Make me one, O God. Unify what I know with what I am moved by; give me a single-minded devotion to you.
We have every reason to pray this way, every reason to believe this way. The cry to God to unite my heart is based on the belief that in Him, such unifying truth can be found (v.11). Proper recognition is here. This is how we address God. We come bankrupt to draw from His fullness. “I am poor and needy. You are gracious; you 'abound' in resources. I have nothing. I can’t even think straight.” We come praying, we come trusting. We come needy in a day of trouble when yesterday (two Psalms earlier) we were riding high; worshipping You, desiring You, understanding that there is no better place to be than with You and GENUINELY wanting to be there! But already the bottom has dropped out. Today, we cannot find our way; we are unsure. Again.
It is in these times that we must cry out to Him, confessing what we know. Confessing what is true, regardless of how we are bent toward it at that particular time. “There is none like you, O God. You are to be glorified forever.” That is true, even when trouble crashes down on us in waves. That is true, even when we wander to worship lesser gods. Sometimes, we feel so desperate, that we would rather see God comfort our hearts than move mountains right in front of our eyes. When it is truly dark, we desire peace, not miracles.
But God has delivered us from the depths of Sheol. In His Son. And His Son is the way, the truth, and the life that we crave and need so badly. Jesus is what gives meaning to the Psalms. For all these precious promises are ours because of Jesus, our Savior (2 Corinthians 1:20).
We are assaulted on every side. The world, the flesh, and the devil wage war against us in a million different ways, with a million different lures. And because we are sinners, we are pulled by them, sometimes quite successfully. There is a part of us that wants to run after them, to join them. So, our struggle is not purely without; it is within. Within, we battle to rest in God, to find in Christ our satisfaction. Within, we battle to love the world, to find in its idols our satisfaction. These assaults are both created by us and imposed upon us. And so we are divided.
Strength of my life, whom shall I dread?
Unite my heart, O God.
Friday, October 23, 2009
"Why We Love the Doctrines of Grace"
I read this today on desiringgod.org (Please go there. There is so much free material that is easy to download/listen to/watch.
Unconditional election delivers the harshest and the sweetest judgments to my soul.
That it is unconditional destroys all self-exaltation; and that it is election makes me his treasured possession.
This is one of the beauties of the biblical doctrines of grace: their worst devastations prepare us for their greatest delights.
What prigs we would become at the words, “The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6), if this election were in any way dependent on our will. But to protect us from pride, the Lord teaches us that we are unconditionally chosen (7:7-9). “He made a wretch his treasure,” as we so gladly sing.
Only the devastating freeness and unconditionality of electing grace lets us take and taste such gifts for our very own without the exaltation of self. - John Piper
I am so thankful that God was not looking for anything valuable in me. Rather, by His own sovereign will and immeasurable grace and goodness, He saved me. From my sin. From death. From myself. From HIMSELF. Praise God for the soul-comforting and satsifying doctrines of amazing grace.
Unconditional election delivers the harshest and the sweetest judgments to my soul.
That it is unconditional destroys all self-exaltation; and that it is election makes me his treasured possession.
This is one of the beauties of the biblical doctrines of grace: their worst devastations prepare us for their greatest delights.
What prigs we would become at the words, “The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6), if this election were in any way dependent on our will. But to protect us from pride, the Lord teaches us that we are unconditionally chosen (7:7-9). “He made a wretch his treasure,” as we so gladly sing.
Only the devastating freeness and unconditionality of electing grace lets us take and taste such gifts for our very own without the exaltation of self. - John Piper
I am so thankful that God was not looking for anything valuable in me. Rather, by His own sovereign will and immeasurable grace and goodness, He saved me. From my sin. From death. From myself. From HIMSELF. Praise God for the soul-comforting and satsifying doctrines of amazing grace.
Monday, October 19, 2009
God in our Debt
Grace is so amazing and so incomprehensible. It is incomprehensible. There does come a point in all of your studying and learning and growing that you just have to sit back and say with Paul, “oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How inscrutable His ways…how unsearchable His judgments.” There does come a point where we stop and God begins. We fall off the waterfall of truth and the immeasurable river that is God keeps flowing.
That He would send His Son. That this Son would die for us. That this Son would conquer death and begin in Himself a new creation. That soon, maybe very soon, maybe a long time off, but soon in our reckoning either way…there will be a new heavens and a new earth.
The Cross. The Cross. How can it be?
I want to say that grace is so overwhelming that it should crush our self-validation, not increase it. God’s love for us should not substantiate a high view of ourselves; it should destroy our already inflated view of ourselves.
We should never come to a place where we believe God is in our debt.
“I obeyed. You owe me blessings.”
“I followed. You owe me a payoff.”
“I was hurt. You owe me healing.”
“I was broken. You owe me repair.”
“I stood up for You. You owe me validation.”
Or think of it like this, maybe:
“For whatever reason, I expected ‘A’ from You, but I got ‘B’ so, forget You. I mean, until I need You, or when it’s socially and relationally convenient I might claim You…but serious commitment to You? No way. You’ve not proven worth my full devotion.”
And then, you marginalize God in a thousand different ways for the rest of your life.
I think this kind of attitude comes from a severe misunderstanding of the Cross and everything that really happened that Day. I really do believe this. If your understanding of the Cross is based on your own value and how lovely you truly are that God would do such a thing…you will spend the majority of your life confused, angry, broken, and unhappy. You will become an idolater. You will place supreme value on your comfort, your knowledge, your opinions, and your relationships. You will become increasingly angry with and annoyed by God until you either completely reject Him or place Him on a backburner to be dealt with when you feel like it’s time.
This will kill you. Forever.
You have placed God in your debt. You loaned him you, He didn’t pay up as your terms spelled out, and you’ve charged Him off. If you feel like collecting some day, you may send Him a letter or a threatening phone call…but that’s only if you feel like messing with what it would take to get paid.
If this is your game, stop it now. You are short-changing the King of the Universe. And He died to save you from such suicide. You don’t have to live this way. You don’t have to be so bitter. And you can confess that to Him. It’s okay. You can be forgiven. He is not surprised with you. He is not shocked. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. We don’t get it. We don’t see. We don’t fully understand. We need a Savior. We have one, in Christ. The people of God will suffer…in a thousand different ways until Glory is revealed. If you see yourself as central to the Cross, the fact of Christian suffering will destroy your religion.
God is not in our debt. He doesn’t owe us. The Cross was the overflow of His mercy, not a response to your value. The Cross was first about God and His holiness and His worth. The Cross is how much Jesus loved God, how much Jesus thought of the integrity of His Father’s name who was in the business of forgiving sinners. Foundational to His love for you is His love for His Father. That’s where His love for us begins. We define ourselves from Heaven; we don’t define Heaven from here.
Notice I am not saying, “God doesn’t owe you, you owe God.” This is not exactly the case. This also creates huge problems. The Scriptures do not speak of what God has done for us as creating a debt that we must pay back. Because we can’t. What He has given cannot be repaid, number one. We don’t have the ability or the resources. AND, God has not put Himself in this position. God is intentionally limitless and unfathomable. Heaven (and hell) is eternal for this reason. You will never give or worship enough to pay off the debt (nor can you be punished long enough to make up for offending His holiness). So instead of saying, “you owe me,” God says, “worship me…enjoy me forever.” Obedience, the way of the Cross, are a part of worship, then. They become a pathway to eternal enjoyment, not a payment book.
Bad news: You owe Him. Good news: Jesus paid the debt for all who believe.
Yes, we are in His debt. But praise God for the immeasurable riches of grace in Christ who has paid the ransom for sinners.
That He would send His Son. That this Son would die for us. That this Son would conquer death and begin in Himself a new creation. That soon, maybe very soon, maybe a long time off, but soon in our reckoning either way…there will be a new heavens and a new earth.
The Cross. The Cross. How can it be?
I want to say that grace is so overwhelming that it should crush our self-validation, not increase it. God’s love for us should not substantiate a high view of ourselves; it should destroy our already inflated view of ourselves.
We should never come to a place where we believe God is in our debt.
“I obeyed. You owe me blessings.”
“I followed. You owe me a payoff.”
“I was hurt. You owe me healing.”
“I was broken. You owe me repair.”
“I stood up for You. You owe me validation.”
Or think of it like this, maybe:
“For whatever reason, I expected ‘A’ from You, but I got ‘B’ so, forget You. I mean, until I need You, or when it’s socially and relationally convenient I might claim You…but serious commitment to You? No way. You’ve not proven worth my full devotion.”
And then, you marginalize God in a thousand different ways for the rest of your life.
I think this kind of attitude comes from a severe misunderstanding of the Cross and everything that really happened that Day. I really do believe this. If your understanding of the Cross is based on your own value and how lovely you truly are that God would do such a thing…you will spend the majority of your life confused, angry, broken, and unhappy. You will become an idolater. You will place supreme value on your comfort, your knowledge, your opinions, and your relationships. You will become increasingly angry with and annoyed by God until you either completely reject Him or place Him on a backburner to be dealt with when you feel like it’s time.
This will kill you. Forever.
You have placed God in your debt. You loaned him you, He didn’t pay up as your terms spelled out, and you’ve charged Him off. If you feel like collecting some day, you may send Him a letter or a threatening phone call…but that’s only if you feel like messing with what it would take to get paid.
If this is your game, stop it now. You are short-changing the King of the Universe. And He died to save you from such suicide. You don’t have to live this way. You don’t have to be so bitter. And you can confess that to Him. It’s okay. You can be forgiven. He is not surprised with you. He is not shocked. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. We don’t get it. We don’t see. We don’t fully understand. We need a Savior. We have one, in Christ. The people of God will suffer…in a thousand different ways until Glory is revealed. If you see yourself as central to the Cross, the fact of Christian suffering will destroy your religion.
God is not in our debt. He doesn’t owe us. The Cross was the overflow of His mercy, not a response to your value. The Cross was first about God and His holiness and His worth. The Cross is how much Jesus loved God, how much Jesus thought of the integrity of His Father’s name who was in the business of forgiving sinners. Foundational to His love for you is His love for His Father. That’s where His love for us begins. We define ourselves from Heaven; we don’t define Heaven from here.
Notice I am not saying, “God doesn’t owe you, you owe God.” This is not exactly the case. This also creates huge problems. The Scriptures do not speak of what God has done for us as creating a debt that we must pay back. Because we can’t. What He has given cannot be repaid, number one. We don’t have the ability or the resources. AND, God has not put Himself in this position. God is intentionally limitless and unfathomable. Heaven (and hell) is eternal for this reason. You will never give or worship enough to pay off the debt (nor can you be punished long enough to make up for offending His holiness). So instead of saying, “you owe me,” God says, “worship me…enjoy me forever.” Obedience, the way of the Cross, are a part of worship, then. They become a pathway to eternal enjoyment, not a payment book.
Bad news: You owe Him. Good news: Jesus paid the debt for all who believe.
Yes, we are in His debt. But praise God for the immeasurable riches of grace in Christ who has paid the ransom for sinners.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Commenting Issues
Hello - I think...Think...the commenting issue over at the embassy (theimbassy.blogspot.com) is fixed. Sorry about that. But it might not be. So, feel free to mock my apology and effort.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A Major Announcement
Hello.
I have started a new blog, in addition to this one. I will not be ending the upstream current. This blog will continue to exist but as a place of more personal thoughts on sin and salvation.
I explain the purpose of the other blog (The Embassy) in the first post which can be found here:
http://theimbassy.blogspot.com/
Yes, I know embassy is spelled with an "e" but every possible derivative of that word was taken for websites. So, I busted out the creativity and spelled it with an "i."
Also, it's my wife's birthday today. She is one hundred and thirty-seven years old. And doesn't look a day over 19.
I love you, Kristie. You are beautiful and wonderful. Happy Birthday.
I have started a new blog, in addition to this one. I will not be ending the upstream current. This blog will continue to exist but as a place of more personal thoughts on sin and salvation.
I explain the purpose of the other blog (The Embassy) in the first post which can be found here:
http://theimbassy.blogspot.com/
Yes, I know embassy is spelled with an "e" but every possible derivative of that word was taken for websites. So, I busted out the creativity and spelled it with an "i."
Also, it's my wife's birthday today. She is one hundred and thirty-seven years old. And doesn't look a day over 19.
I love you, Kristie. You are beautiful and wonderful. Happy Birthday.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Down for the Struggle
I called this blog “the upstream current” because I wanted to mark the journey out of hell and into heaven – and how it truly is an upstream swim, against the current of this present darkness, without and within. Believe it or not, there is a method to why I post my struggles on here. My true and sincere hope is that it will ultimately be a testimony to the sufficiency of God’s grace and the overwhelming, all-conquering power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This blog is meant primarily to track the journey of one sinner. Not because his journey is unique or special or overwhelmingly (or even marginally) interesting. It is because I know of no better way to glorify Christ than to exult in the power of the Cross. I cannot do that unless I am deliberately familiar with the bottomless depth of my own wickedness.
Yesterday, our pastor made an astounding statement about the flesh. He was right on; I loved it, even if it blasted away my own sinfulness. He has been preaching a series called “Heart Matters” (Andy Hadaway, Grace Bible Church). It has been unnervingly and beautifully convicting.
(It amazes me how God has so crafted the beauty of His Gospel, that at the same time He crushes you with the weight of Calvary, He heals you with the weight of Calvary. All at once, He wounds and He heals. This is because of Christ. Glory to the Father for the Son and the Spirit who bears witness.)
Andy’s statement (paraphrased): “The sinful flesh, that sinful king that sits on the throne of your heart, doesn’t need comforted. He needs dragged out in the street and shot.”
Yes. Yes! Listen to this and hear this same sentiment:
Romans 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
You and I are not bound to live in sin. We are at war; make no mistake. I am not saying you will be sinless, nor am I advocating any second single work of grace which makes you sinless. I am saying that what Paul says in Romans is that we owe the flesh nothing. We are not in debt to our sinful nature anymore, in Christ. In other words, I am not bound to sin. To live as though I am, is to live according to the flesh – to that law of sin that Paul references in Romans 7. And to live in this way ensures one thing: death. There is a way to avoid this unavoidable fate: to put to death the deeds of the body, by the Spirit. This is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God and so know that you are indeed a son: to be always putting to death the deeds of the body. Notice Paul does not say, “Now you are in debt to the Spirit, so live according to this law.” We have not exchanged one bondage for another, brothers and sisters. We have been made sons, not slaves. Yes, there is a sense in which we are bound to Christ, bound to live the Calvary Road, but it isn’t apples to apples bondage. What we have received in the exchange is not the spirit of slavery so that we can live in fear that we won’t be able to make the payments – we have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. We do not call Him our taskmaster; we call Him “Abba.” We call Him, “Father.” Slaves are not allowed to call their masters, “Father.” Something is different about being bound to the Spirit. We are children, therefore, we are heirs. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…IF…"we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."
Jesus died. The culmination of His suffering was death. This (I think) somehow goes back to Andy’s statement. Dealing with sin is suffering. I’m not trying to say that giving into the flesh is hard; please don’t misunderstand. We do what we want to do. I’m saying that the Spirit is bearing witness and we are living like He isn’t there. This creates suffering. All those things that we are sure hold out pleasure end up being broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:11-13). To drink from such a cistern when living water is ours for the taking is a foolishness that kills the soul. There’s no need for us to be in the desert. We have been given the rights to stand under the fountain of God by adoption. We’re not bound to this death but we live it anyway. I wonder if this suffering is a sanctifying tool that prepares us for glory. I can’t readily point to any struggle in my life for which I am suffering that I myself did not create, in one way or another. Now, I do think that there is a different kind of suffering that comes in following Christ – the suffering we do directly and intentionally for the Gospel. However, I’m not sure that this is singularly contextual given Paul’s argument here. He is speaking of this, given the latter part of Romans 8 – but he may also be referencing the necessity of making war (which makes suffering unavoidable) against our flesh in the power of the Spirit. War is bloody. People die. People lose limbs. People suffer. Being born again means another person is alive inside of you which your old nature absolutely hates. Crowd two mortal enemies into a room and get ready for the rumble, right? What I think Paul is driving at is that the Spirit of God has given us the power to drag this punk out into the street and give him a dirt nap. We just let him hang around like a disgruntled worker who never shuts up but won’t just quit and leave.
The bottom line: you need to be fighting, even if it gets old. There is a war going on inside of you and inside of me. If you don’t know you’re fighting, or don’t care you’re fighting…something is wrong. The Christian life is a life of suffering. I didn’t say doom and gloom and I didn’t say hopelessness. I said, “suffering.”
Romans 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24a Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
The Sinner is not who you are. Did you hear me? That isn’t you. This half-life you’re living is not your life. You don’t have to live that way. There is a Deliverer. What you have to do…is fight. Yes. Fight a battle that’s already won, a war where victory has already been achieved. The road is long from the ground to glory. Upstream, from hell into heaven. Wake up, sleeper. Open your eyes. This isn’t you. You’ve been born again.
Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
That king is dead. Stop dragging his carcass back in the house.
I close with some rap. Yes, rap. Praise to God for the 116 Clique and the Christ-centered, God-exalting theology of their music. These brothers have helped me immensely over the past year and a half to get my head back on straight. I’m so thankful for them. On Tedashii’s new album, “Identity Crisis,” he has a song called, “Make War” that begins with a sample from a John Piper sermon.
“I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings. And I see so little war! Murmur, murmur, murmur…why am I this way? MAKE WAR!”
In this song, Flame has a verse. It goes this way:
Do you even have a clue
What happened to you when He died
When that tomb got rolled
When He rose in the sky
I think we emphasize sin so much
That it makes us paralyzed
And glorify struggle so much
That it makes us terrified
And deemphasize the fact that we have been sterilized
From our own lives and thus
We gotta snap out of it
We ain't in no straight-jacket
We free
When Jesus died in our lives something strange happened
He gave us power
Yeah I know that we sinners but since He rose He's renewing the image of God in us
Now, we gotta start making war
Now we can start saying no
To them fleshy impulses that Jesus Christ is paying for
Now we can start taking the lead just like the Dalai Lama
And start going all out like a suicide bomber
Whatever the sin is we gotta go go go harder
By His grace no time to waste and just just just like there's no tomorrow
Hook:I MAKE WAR!/Cause sin never sleeps/It's got me in a trance/you can see it in my dreams
I MAKE WAR!/Man I beat my flesh/To the death/every breath/like I beat my chest
I MAKE WAR/sun up
I MAKE WAR/sun down
I MAKE WAR/time in/I MAKE WAR/time out
I MAKE WAR/against lust/Against pride/against me/until I die
Brothers and sisters. Let's fight.
Yesterday, our pastor made an astounding statement about the flesh. He was right on; I loved it, even if it blasted away my own sinfulness. He has been preaching a series called “Heart Matters” (Andy Hadaway, Grace Bible Church). It has been unnervingly and beautifully convicting.
(It amazes me how God has so crafted the beauty of His Gospel, that at the same time He crushes you with the weight of Calvary, He heals you with the weight of Calvary. All at once, He wounds and He heals. This is because of Christ. Glory to the Father for the Son and the Spirit who bears witness.)
Andy’s statement (paraphrased): “The sinful flesh, that sinful king that sits on the throne of your heart, doesn’t need comforted. He needs dragged out in the street and shot.”
Yes. Yes! Listen to this and hear this same sentiment:
Romans 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
You and I are not bound to live in sin. We are at war; make no mistake. I am not saying you will be sinless, nor am I advocating any second single work of grace which makes you sinless. I am saying that what Paul says in Romans is that we owe the flesh nothing. We are not in debt to our sinful nature anymore, in Christ. In other words, I am not bound to sin. To live as though I am, is to live according to the flesh – to that law of sin that Paul references in Romans 7. And to live in this way ensures one thing: death. There is a way to avoid this unavoidable fate: to put to death the deeds of the body, by the Spirit. This is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God and so know that you are indeed a son: to be always putting to death the deeds of the body. Notice Paul does not say, “Now you are in debt to the Spirit, so live according to this law.” We have not exchanged one bondage for another, brothers and sisters. We have been made sons, not slaves. Yes, there is a sense in which we are bound to Christ, bound to live the Calvary Road, but it isn’t apples to apples bondage. What we have received in the exchange is not the spirit of slavery so that we can live in fear that we won’t be able to make the payments – we have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. We do not call Him our taskmaster; we call Him “Abba.” We call Him, “Father.” Slaves are not allowed to call their masters, “Father.” Something is different about being bound to the Spirit. We are children, therefore, we are heirs. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…IF…"we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."
Jesus died. The culmination of His suffering was death. This (I think) somehow goes back to Andy’s statement. Dealing with sin is suffering. I’m not trying to say that giving into the flesh is hard; please don’t misunderstand. We do what we want to do. I’m saying that the Spirit is bearing witness and we are living like He isn’t there. This creates suffering. All those things that we are sure hold out pleasure end up being broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:11-13). To drink from such a cistern when living water is ours for the taking is a foolishness that kills the soul. There’s no need for us to be in the desert. We have been given the rights to stand under the fountain of God by adoption. We’re not bound to this death but we live it anyway. I wonder if this suffering is a sanctifying tool that prepares us for glory. I can’t readily point to any struggle in my life for which I am suffering that I myself did not create, in one way or another. Now, I do think that there is a different kind of suffering that comes in following Christ – the suffering we do directly and intentionally for the Gospel. However, I’m not sure that this is singularly contextual given Paul’s argument here. He is speaking of this, given the latter part of Romans 8 – but he may also be referencing the necessity of making war (which makes suffering unavoidable) against our flesh in the power of the Spirit. War is bloody. People die. People lose limbs. People suffer. Being born again means another person is alive inside of you which your old nature absolutely hates. Crowd two mortal enemies into a room and get ready for the rumble, right? What I think Paul is driving at is that the Spirit of God has given us the power to drag this punk out into the street and give him a dirt nap. We just let him hang around like a disgruntled worker who never shuts up but won’t just quit and leave.
The bottom line: you need to be fighting, even if it gets old. There is a war going on inside of you and inside of me. If you don’t know you’re fighting, or don’t care you’re fighting…something is wrong. The Christian life is a life of suffering. I didn’t say doom and gloom and I didn’t say hopelessness. I said, “suffering.”
Romans 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24a Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
The Sinner is not who you are. Did you hear me? That isn’t you. This half-life you’re living is not your life. You don’t have to live that way. There is a Deliverer. What you have to do…is fight. Yes. Fight a battle that’s already won, a war where victory has already been achieved. The road is long from the ground to glory. Upstream, from hell into heaven. Wake up, sleeper. Open your eyes. This isn’t you. You’ve been born again.
Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
That king is dead. Stop dragging his carcass back in the house.
I close with some rap. Yes, rap. Praise to God for the 116 Clique and the Christ-centered, God-exalting theology of their music. These brothers have helped me immensely over the past year and a half to get my head back on straight. I’m so thankful for them. On Tedashii’s new album, “Identity Crisis,” he has a song called, “Make War” that begins with a sample from a John Piper sermon.
“I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings. And I see so little war! Murmur, murmur, murmur…why am I this way? MAKE WAR!”
In this song, Flame has a verse. It goes this way:
Do you even have a clue
What happened to you when He died
When that tomb got rolled
When He rose in the sky
I think we emphasize sin so much
That it makes us paralyzed
And glorify struggle so much
That it makes us terrified
And deemphasize the fact that we have been sterilized
From our own lives and thus
We gotta snap out of it
We ain't in no straight-jacket
We free
When Jesus died in our lives something strange happened
He gave us power
Yeah I know that we sinners but since He rose He's renewing the image of God in us
Now, we gotta start making war
Now we can start saying no
To them fleshy impulses that Jesus Christ is paying for
Now we can start taking the lead just like the Dalai Lama
And start going all out like a suicide bomber
Whatever the sin is we gotta go go go harder
By His grace no time to waste and just just just like there's no tomorrow
Hook:I MAKE WAR!/Cause sin never sleeps/It's got me in a trance/you can see it in my dreams
I MAKE WAR!/Man I beat my flesh/To the death/every breath/like I beat my chest
I MAKE WAR/sun up
I MAKE WAR/sun down
I MAKE WAR/time in/I MAKE WAR/time out
I MAKE WAR/against lust/Against pride/against me/until I die
Brothers and sisters. Let's fight.
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