Between Sundays

“Between Sundays” is a weekly e-letter written mainly for the people of Calvary Community Church, but that I hope will be a blessing to the wider readership of this little blog.

This past Sunday we looked to God’s Word to answer the question, “How Do We Help Those Suffering From A Homosexual Orientation?” You can watch or listen to the sermon, and download the manuscript (see the “Notes” icon).

It was (and continues to be) my hope that this sermon will get our church family thinking and talking about how to love, disciple, encourage, and serve people suffering from this particular sin. I have been encouraged already to hear of the conversations that are happening, applying the Biblical texts to this sin, and, as we discussed Sunday, to the various sins that we all struggle with. And it has been good to hear from many of you who have talked with me personally, called, texted, and emailed. Thank you.

One of those interactions was a gentle, very thoughtful email from someone with a sibling who has suffered with same-sex attraction. It raised a concern with my point that there is a difference between homosexual desires and homosexual practice.

It was one of my aims in the sermon to undo what I think is an error in the church on understanding homosexual desires. Namely, there are many in our church (and the wider evangelical church) who equate same-sex desire and sin, rather than seeing same-sex desire as another evidence of The Fall disordering humanity in a way that can lead to sin. But I believe we need to have a category for a person who can be a celibate, Christian man or woman, suffering from a homosexual orientation. (see points #2 and #3, pages 5-7, of the sermon manuscript)

The email’s author was concerned, I believe out of love for the listener, that I made an “incomplete dichotomy in not addressing how desire/temptation can lead to sin that itself is not the actual practice of homosexual acts.”

The main point of the author had to do with the issue of lust (citing Matthew 5:27-28). The author agreed, it is those who practice who are condemned; but, there is still a way to give into the desire and sin without physical, homosexual activities.

Therefore, the author states, “I believe it is a great disservice to those struggling with same-sex attraction to leave them with the idea that so long as they don’t practice homosexual activities they are in the clear.” (emphasis mine)

This is an excellent point. So, let me clarify and respond.

I agree with the use of Jesus’ warning “that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt. 5:28) as a way to warn someone with same-sex desires against lust. Certainly lust is a sin – for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. This is why I argued in the sermon that we must “show [those with same-sex desires] love in such a way that they feel accepted even while their behavior (sinful acts) may be rejected.” (sermon manuscript, page 9)

Therefore, as it appears I may not have been clear enough, let me be clear here: lust, in Jesus words and elsewhere, is sin, and thus falls under the category of behavior (sinful acts) which must be rejected.

But I also want re-iterate: In our fight for holiness and battle to mortify our sin, we need to understand the difference between desire and act, temptation and sin. If we do not understand that distinction, I believe we ourselves will wrongly despair, and then wrongly counsel others. Let me explain with an example.

I am walking down the sidewalk and note someone walking toward me. I then notice it is an attractive woman, and I may feel rising within me the desire to hold my gaze upon her, and I realize this desire is up to no good. So, I look away.

I believe that at that moment I have not yet sinned; but temptation to sin – to lust – is now present. And I have two choices.

I may look back at her – the classic, despicable, male double-take – and sin.

Or, I may look away, and fight. I preach to myself that “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) I place before my vision the promise of Jesus, and that it is in him I shall be satisfied. I remind myself that I am to “rejoice in the wife of my youth” (Prov. 5:18) and that I must guard myself in my spirit, and that I must not be faithless to the wife of my youth (Mal. 2:15). I bring up into my mind the beauty of my bride, the joys she brings me, and the vows I made to her 22 years ago.

And I keep walking down the sidewalk, tempted, tried, holy, victorious in Jesus. I do this only because he is the one who struggled against sin to the point of shedding blood (Heb. 12:4). He fought temptation, defeated desires, struggled against sin (Heb. 2:18) all the way to the cross, and bled out so that I could be clean.

And that verse is so important for us strugglers – homosexual and heterosexual alike. It lets me know that there is a struggle. That there will be desires that are not yet sin, and that I can fight. I can fight like he did. That I can turn to the Spirit and ask for his help. That I can look at others and encourage them in the struggle, to cheer them on toward holiness as their fleshly desires, in league with the world and the devil, seek to drag them down into sin. And I can point them to Jesus.

    Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

If you are in the area, I invite you to join me to continue the conversation ::

 

Between Sundays

“Between Sundays” is a weekly e-letter written mainly for the people of Calvary Community Church, but that I hope will be a blessing to the wider readership of this little blog.

This last Sunday, we wrapped up our mini-series in Luke 4 called Tempted and Tried. Before we move on in the Gospel according to Luke, we are going to pause to consider God’s Word on another issue. We are going to take a Sunday to hear from God on the issue of homosexuality and marriage.

This issue is currently affecting every area of our culture: our judicial system, our government, our schools, our community, our politics, our neighborhoods, our businesses, our families, our friends, and our religious institutions. If you are reading this, I can’t imagine that you haven’t been touched by the issue of homosexuality and marriage in some way.

Further, it is an issue surrounded by controversy. It is uncomfortable to talk about. Conversations are riddled with words like “hate,” “bigot,” and “discrimination” (along with many other words I can’t use here). Discussions are filled with strong emotions – anger, hurts, sorrows, despair, arrogance, and unkindness. Stark lines have been drawn.

So, one might ask, given all of that, why would we spend a Sunday morning broaching such a topic? I have a one-word answer.

Love.

As I have read the articles you’ve been reading…As I have watched the stories unfold that you’ve been watching unfold…As I have considered the people of our congregation, doing their best to function in the culture as it wrestles painfully with this issue…As I bike and run through and live in this community of ours, and rub shoulders with its citizens…my heart has been enlarged with love. And that love is a mercy of God.

So, I will preach on this because I love our church.

I want to help you understand how God thinks about homosexuality and marriage. I hope that I may be able to speak clearly, on behalf of God, to those who may be struggling in our midst with same-sex desires. I want to help all of you understand the way he thinks about these things. And, very importantly, I want you to be clear on how you are supposed to talk about it. Namely, because of love and in love.

Paul, writing to his spiritual son Timothy about important issues of doctrine and the truth, said this:

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. (1 Timothy 1:5-7)

Yes, we must speak clearly about what God says. But the aim of that charge is love. Yes, we must speak boldly about what God says. But also lovingly, gently, without quarreling, and with perfect courtesy. (Titus 3:2)

I will preach on this because I love the people of our community.

My preaching will be to equip you to be light in our community. Maybe some will even come this Sunday because they hear of the topic. And I want them to know, directly or through you – not what I think, or what Calvary as a church thinks – I want them to know what God thinks.

Namely, I believe with all my heart that what we find in the Bible are the very words of God, defining exactly the way things ought to be, to the end that we enjoy a rich and satisfying life. And I believe that to stand silently by, while the culture slips into massive confusion about homosexuality and marriage, leading to so much pain and damage, is not loving. We do not, bound by love, have the option to opt out of this discussion.

Now, I am not so naive to think that I, or we, will always be understood. I know that when I say this is loving, many in our community will disagree. They will say that my, that our, speech is not loving. But friends, we have been given the words of life. We have been given words of truth. We must speak them in love.

So I invite you to come this Sunday. I invite you to pray right now that God will prepare your heart to hear what the Spirit is saying.

And I invite you to pray for me, many times each day the rest of this week, that on Sunday I will be clear, loving, and honoring to God’s truth and the Gospel as we explore a difficult and sensitive subject.

Between Sundays

For four weeks now at Calvary, we have been in a mini-series about temptation, testing, and sin. This is the nitty-gritty of the Christian life. And if the emails and conversations are any indication (and, or course, they are), we really need this. We need to remind and educate ourselves on the terrifying nature, reality, and consequences of falling prey to the temptations of the Devil and spiraling into the slaughter of sin. But we must also be careful to recognize that we do not face this adversary alone. Even though we have betrayed him countless times, God does not leave us stranded and deserted to face the Enemy of our souls.

The Christian life on earth is a conflict with sin. And therein is the dreadfulness of our situation on earth displayed. But we are not left to fight the battle alone. The Christian life is a conflict of God – not of us – with sin. And therein is the joy and glory of our situation on earth manifested. As sinners we are in a terrible plight. As the servants of God, fighting His battle, we are in a glorious case. [Faith and Life (London, 1916), 202, B.B. Warfield]

I am working hard, doing my best, in these sermons to make them concrete. To provide very specific ways we may join with God in the battle against our sin. That we may put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Rom. 8:13). This last Sunday the weapon of war was to cultivate a superior affection for Jesus, over and against our affections for sin. Maybe you were there and heard the message. Maybe you’ve been wondering how to do that.

One of the chief ways for you to see sin as God sees it, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to drain the life out of sin, to see and fellowship with our Lord Jesus, to weaken the power of sin and strengthen your love for Jesus, is to…

pray.

Friends, we must talk with Jesus about these things. And as we do, be clear on this – the process of draining the life from sin and strengthening our love for Jesus will not be accomplished quickly. It will take time. It will take days. It may take months. Wait patiently.

Maybe you are not sure how to pray. Did you know that one of the best ways to grow in your prayers is to pray with others? We all need models.

So I am going to close this article with a wonderful model of a prayer to Jesus. A prayer about the full extent of the love of Jesus for you, even as you struggle with temptations, testings, and sin. Print it out, and have someone pray it aloud with you. And may your love for Jesus be fanned into flame in the days ahead.

See you Sunday.

Having loved his own who were in the world, 
he [Jesus] loved them to the end—
he showed them the full extent of his love.

 John 13:1 

     Dear Lord Jesus, this story always grabs my heart, but today it’s rekindling awe. It’s the night of your betrayal—the night you would be denied and abandoned, not just by Peter, but by all of your handpicked disciples. You knew their betrayal was looming, and yet you persisted in disrobing yourself, bending low, and washing the dirty feet of these broken, bungling men.

     The beauty and truth revealed in this scene is what keeps me sane—gospel sane. It anchors me when I lose my moorings, centers me when I feel crazy, quiets me when I’m restless, reels my heart in when I am in a wandering mode.

     The staggering thing is, this is exactly how you love each of your followers, all of your disciples, your whole bride. You’ve made us your own. You bought us with the very price of your blood. We were redeemed from sin and death and placed into your righteousness and embrace. Absolutely nothing can separate us from your love.

     While we’re in this world, you’re constantly loving us, without any regrets or reservations. You’re loving us when we’re alive to your presence and affections; you’re loving us when it feels like you’re ignoring our prayers, indifferent to our pain, or displeased with our lives. In fact, whether we perceive it or not, the most constant reality in our lives is not death and taxes, but your loving kindness.

     Lord Jesus, it’s the last line in this little verse that does me in and does me so good. As with the men in the upper room, so with us in any of a number of rooms right now: you remain committed to showing us the full extent of your love—its height, depth, width, and breadth. This turns our gaze to your cross, for it’s in your death, Jesus, that we realize that there’s no greater love to be found anywhere. On the cross, you laid down your life for others: for the rebel other, the foolish other, the sinful other—for me.

     Though you died for a huge pan-national bride, I declare today that the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20). This isn’t narcissism; it is necessity. It’s not selfish; it’s sacred. It’s not Western individualism; it’s deeply personal.

   I’m once again in awe, Jesus. Intensify my awe even more in response to your august love on this mid-August day. So very Amen I pray, in your truly astonishing name.

(a prayer prayed by Scotty Smith)

Between Sundays

This last Sunday, we spent time with Jesus, in the wilderness, watching as he was tried by God and tempted by Satan. In Jesus, we were able to see the perfect and right response to being tempted and tried. And we faced the reality, together, that we can’t live up to his standard. But finally, wonderfully, that we don’t have to, because he did. That the only way forward is faith in him, and we’ve just started to talk through what that looks like.

This coming Sunday, we’ll keep talking about the kind of weapons we bring to bear against temptation, sin, and Satan. We’ll discover that the only way to root out a wrong desire is to replace it with a greater desire, the expulsive power of a new affection. In other words, we’ll keep exploring what it means to see Jesus “not merely as useful, but as beautiful.”

Until then, I wanted to spend some time with you thinking about sin, and our response to it. More specifically, how do keep from despairing because of our sin, and the sins of those we see around us?

Let me stop beating around the bush. I’ve been a bit discouraged lately by the reality of sin and its effects in my own life, and the lives of those I love, care, and am responsible for. When you are a pastor, you have the opportunity to see alot of sin, and a great deal of its damage. It grieves the heart. It feels overwhelming. I see how much sin destroys the peace, the shalom, that God intends for us to enjoy. And at times, I don’t know what to say.

“…even when sin is depressingly familiar, it is never normal. It is finally unknown, irrational, alien. Sin is always a departure from the norm and is assessed accordingly. Sin is deviant and perverse, an injustice or iniquity or ingratitude. Sin in the Exodus literature is disorder and disobedience. Sin is faithlessness, lawlessness, godlessness. Sin is both the overstepping of a line and the failure to reach it – both transgression and shortcoming. Sin is a missing of the mark, a spoiling of goods, a staining of garments, a hitch in one’s gait, a wandering from the path, a fragmenting of the whole. Sin is what culpably disturbs shalom. Sinful human life is a caricature of proper human life.”

(Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be, Cornelius Plantiga Jr., p. 88)

What power is there in the face of such a force?

Grace.

This is part of the answer. A friend reminded me of this last night (he knew what to say). He shared that in similar contemplations (of his own sin, of those around him who sin), all he knows to do is remind himself of grace. Now, it is not as if I am unaware of grace. Ah, but I needed to be reminded of it!

“We need to be reminded far more than we need to be instructed.”

This morning, as I spent time listening to God through his Sacred Writings, the reminder came in again.

And a highway will be there - a way:
the way of holiness it will be called.
An unclean person will not traverse it -
it is for them!
Whoever walks the way -
even simpletons could not go astray!
Not even the most ferocious beast will go up on it.
It will not be found there.
And the redeemed will walk;
and Yahweh's ransomed ones will return
and they will come to Zion with loud shouting.
And eternal rejoicing will be upon their heads:
and they will overtake happiness and rejoicing,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10)

Commenting on this passage, Alec Motyer writes:

“The ‘ransomed’ (v. 10) are those for whome the price has been paid; the ‘redeemed’ (v. 9) are those with whom the Lord, the divine next-of-kin, has identified himself, saying to us: ‘What is your problem? Give it to me. What is your need? I will meet it. What is your burden? Lay it on my shoulders.’ That is the way with the Goel, the kinsman-redeemer.

He bears it all, pays it all, does it all. He the doer, we the recipients.

Grace. We’ve been given something freely that we don’t deserve. Grace breaks the power of sin over me, because, no matter how horrible any one or multiple sins, the only thing that can condemn me is an unforgiven sin. Jesus:

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”  (John 5:24, NLT)

Is this not unmerited favor?! We have sinned, are sinning, will sin. But when we listen to the message of Jesus, when we believe in God, it means that we will never be condemned for our sin. Friends, that is grace, and it is meant to release power into our sin-weary lives.

One final thing (and then more this coming Sunday morning) – a way to soak in grace is to worship through song. Just released by Mars Hill Music is a song entitled “Grace Alone.” Watch, listen, be refreshed. (words to the song can be found below)

See you Sunday.

“Grace Alone”

I was an orphan lost at the fall

Running away when I’d hear you call

But Father, you worked your will

I had no righteousness of my own

I had no right to draw near your throne

But Father, you loved me still

And in love before you laid the world’s foundation

You predestined to adopt me as your own

You have raised me up so high above my station

I’m a child of God by grace and grace alone

You left your home to seek out the lost

You knew the great and terrible cost

But Jesus, your face was set

I worked my fingers down to the bone

Nothing I did could ever atone

But Jesus, you paid my debt

By your blood I have redemption and salvation

Lord, you died that I might reap what you have sown

And you rose that I might be a new creation

I am born again by grace and grace alone

I was in darkness all of my life

I never knew the day from the night

But Spirit, you made me see

I swore I knew the way on my own

Head full of rocks, a heart made of stone

But Spirit, you moved in me

At your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened

On my darkened heart, the light of Christ has shone

Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken

Heaven’s citizen by grace and grace alone

So I stand in faith by grace and grace alone

I will run the race by grace and grace alone

I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone

I will reach the end by grace and grace alone

Can Sin End In Celebration?

Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt)

This last Sunday we observed, from the Sacred Writings, some marvelous truths about Jesus, his victory, and some of its implications for us. Namely, that he came in flesh and blood, has broken the power of the devil, and has set free all those who previously lived in fear of the evil one and his weapon of death (Heb. 2:14-15). Further, that Jesus has disarmed spiritual rulers and authorities, and has shamed them publicly by his victory on the cross (Col. 2:15). Further still (!), that God, through us, will crush Satan under our feet, that he has given us authority to proclaim the gospel, push back and tread upon demonic forces, dispel darkness, and heal in his name (Luke 9:1-2, 6; 10:19).

Sounds pretty glorious for the follower of Jesus!

Maybe you were with us at Calvary this last Sunday. If so, I hope the power of those truths is still reverberating in your soul. But…maybe…now that we sit here mid-week, you’ve also started to ask some questions about how that works out. Because by now you’ve committed at least a few sins. Which means, in those moments, you went against the values of the Kingdom of God. You were in league with the world, the flesh, and the devil. You did the opposite of what you were called and empowered to do.

You fell short, and you are feeling the sting of that failure. A couple of things.

This coming Sunday, as I said at the end of the sermon this last week, we’ll talk a bit more about what it looks like to live in the light of those truths (above). What we do. How we do it. Whom we cling to.  How we fight, and how the promise of the future changes the reality of our present.

Until then, I’d like to provide a little encouragement for you by reflecting on an incident from the life of Jesus. If you’re familiar with the Sacred Writings at all, you know of the parables found in Luke 15. A parable of lost sheep. A parable of a woman and her lost coin. A parable about a prodigal father toward a lost and wayward son.

The context of those parables is extremely important. Jesus is at dinner, in the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees. They are watching him carefully, engaging him for the purpose of trapping him. Crowds gather. Tax collectors and sinners draw near. As they do, the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes grumble – yes, actually grumble in the presence of those same tax collectors and sinners – saying, “This man receives sinners, and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2) Well, tut tut.

It is at this moment in the story where Jesus tells these three familiar parables. And what is fascinating about them is a trait they all share.

Now, I know what you are thinking. “Yes! They all talk about something that was lost being found.” Well, that is true. And it is comforting. But there is something else they all share in common that may be even more encouraging.

Luke 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate….32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Here it is, quite simply: When sinners repent, heaven celebrates.

Listen, your sin is awful and despicable.

You should not have committed it.

In a very real sense, it means you’ve moved against the very kingdom you are supposed to be spreading.

But,…listen now…what Jesus wanted those tax collectors and sinners to know, the ones sitting there with him, listening to the clucking of the tongues of self-righteous religious people and all of their looking-down-their-nose condemnation, is that God doesn’t act that way toward us.

He wanted them – and wants us – to know that when sinners sin, and turn from that sin toward God (repentance), we are received with great joy, and the Father and all of heaven celebrates over our repentance.

Do you see?