Sin and the Glory of God

by Bruce Mills

I spent Thursday through Saturday of this past week at the Ligonier National Conference in Orlando. The teaching that took place was incredible, with men of God such as Sinclair Ferguson, Alistair Begg, Derek Thomas, and D. A. Carson opening up the Scriptures on various aspects of the holiness of God. I was absolutely blown away by D. A. Carson's message on the church as God's holy people, and quickly realized why he was my son-in-law's favorite professor during his time in seminary. But there was one message which stood above all of them in moving me emotionally. It was Thabiti Anyabwile's message titled "Cosmic Treason: Sin and the Holiness of God." He masterfully worked his way through Numbers 25, drawing out point after point about the horrendous nature and treasonous character of sin.

Two of Anyabwile's points were particularly thought-provoking. The first was this: "Sin poisons our sympathy so that we side with the sinner in his sin rather than God in His holiness and justice." Think about that. If we should see God's judgment fall upon an individual, a nation, or a people because of sin, rather than crying out for God to vindicate His name and to continue to execute His justice until the sinner repents and God's name is glorified, we find ourselves sympathizing with the sinner who is receiving the just punishment for his sin. We forget that sin is open rebellion against an infinitely holy God, and the slightest offense deserves eternal damnation in hell. By its very nature, sin is an incalculable malevolence against God's glory. But instead of seeing God's judgment as the demonstration of His supreme holiness, we begin to wonder why He would take such drastic action against someone for what seems to be such a petty offense. We question God's goodness and love, and thus, we demean His holy character. We are willing to accept a God who punishes sin, but only to the degree that we think it should be punished. And when we do that, we have diminished God's holiness to a level equal to ourselves, and we have diminished the nature of sin to that which can be expiated with a minor slap on the wrist.

The second point which I found to be equally profound was this: "To care about anything more than the supremacy of the glory of God is itself treason against God." That statement exalts the glory of God to a level which most people have never considered. God’s glory is the sum total of who God is, and He is defined by His attributes. He is the infinitely sovereign Lord who is holy, righteous, just, loving, merciful, and gracious in all of His ways at all times. Unless we have a high view of God, recognize Him for who He is, and seek to exalt His supreme glory in every moment of our lives, our attitude and actions toward Him are treasonous.

Such a view of God will greatly magnify one's view of the sin in his own life. And as our sin is magnified and we see it for what it truly is, the infinite love of God as demonstrated by His sending His only Son to die for our sin becomes a staggering thought. To think that virtually every moment of my life I am sinning because I don't seek to exalt the supremacy of the glory of God in that moment, yet He loved me so much that Christ came to die for me. That thought simply blows my mind.

There is one last aspect of this that I want to mention quickly. Having such a high view of God and His glory is why Phinehas took the immediate, drastic action that he took in Numbers 25 to stop God's plague of judgment against the people for their sin. And it will do the same for us. A high view of God and a view of our sin as treason against Him will cause us to take every step necessary to kill sin in our own hearts and lives. That may be difficult, but Jesus said we are to take whatever steps are necessary, no matter how drastic, to cut out sin from our lives (cf. Matthew 5:29-30, 18:8-9). His language was figurative--He didn't mean we are to literally cut off our limbs or pluck out our eyes--but He did mean that we are to take sin seriously and do everything it takes to rid ourselves of it. And when we see God in all His infinite glory and majesty, and recognize our sin as a rebellious slap in the face of our Creator, those who are genuine Christians will begin to do just that.

Sound Biblical Advice

by Bruce Mills

I am about two-thirds of the way through reading a brand new book titled Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong. It was written by members of the leadership team at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California where John MacArthur is the pastor. It is "sell your old ice skates and buy it" good!

There are few churches in America today who, like Grace Community Church, provide their flock with such sound, thoroughly biblical perspectives on the wide range of controversial issues which face believers in our society. This book deals with everything from entertainment choices, internet dating, video gaming, divorce and remarriage, abortion, birth control, in vitro fertilization and surrogacy, homosexuality, euthanasia, suicide, capital punishment, political activism, economics, global warming, racism and reconciliation, illegal immigration, suffering, the problem of evil, and more. Every chapter is solidly based on Scripture, not the vacillating opinions of human wisdom.

I think my favorite chapter of all that I have read so far is titled "God's Carbon Footprint" which deals with global warming and the environmental movement. While acknowledging the responsibility of Christians to care for every resource God has provided, and agreeing that we are not to be reckless, abusive, or irresponsible with any of the wonderful resources this world contains, this chapter takes the American evangelical culture to task for blindly accepting the secular, naturalistic, evolutionary perspective which idolizes nature by giving it a higher priority than obeying the clear commands of Scripture to love the Lord God wholeheartedly (Mark 12:29-30). The unnamed writer points out that this results in misinterpreting certain biblical texts by ripping them out of their context in order to make them fit an environmentalist understanding. He reminds believers that contrary to the National Council of Church's statement that "the central moral imperative of our time is the care for Earth as God's creation," Scripture teaches that the central moral imperative for the church in this age is the Great Commission; that is, to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..." (Matthew 28:19-20). At the end of the chapter, this concluding statement summarizes Grace's pastoral approach to this issue:

While we should be good citizens (as we submit to government restrictions), good neighbors (as we are sensitive to the needs of others), and good stewards (as we invest the resources God has individually bestowed to us into His kingdom work), we should not become preoccupied with agendas or concerns that distract us from our primary mission in this world.

Well said. And anyone who picks up this book will find that it is packed with sound, solid biblical advice for anyone who wonders what God's Word has to say concerning any of the wide-range of controversial issues which are included in it. I particularly recommend it for those with young children at home, because it provides a biblically-based approach to these matters which parents can use in helping their children develop a biblical world view. As of this writing, it is on sale at www.christianbook.com for $12.98 including shipping, and also at www.amazon.com for $13.19 including shipping.

Barabbas

by Bruce Mills

Continuing in the same flow of thought of my last two posts, I recently came across an excellent video titled "Barabbas" by twin brothers Caleb and Sol Rexius.  It presents the Gospel with ALL of its essential elements.  It is sort of a video version of a gospel tract.  Enjoy it and then share it with others.

How Should We Present the Gospel?

by Bruce Mills

Last week when I was teaching my Sunday School class about some of the things included in the previous post on "The Law and the Gospel," one of the ladies there made the observation that "you don't hear any 'fire and brimstone' preaching anymore," and then she followed that statement with the question, "Why do you think that is the case?"

My response was that she is correct, such preaching has fallen into disrepute in our culture. It is considered insensitive and intolerant to confront people with their sin and what God's law has to say about it. And while I do not subscribe to the ranting and raving that characterizes much of what is commonly known as "fire and brimstone" preaching, I do believe that the gospel we present must confront people with the fact that their sin has offended an absolutely holy, just, and righteous God who must punish that sin. And we must call them to turn from their own self-righteousness, repent, and turn in saving faith to Jesus Christ who died as the propitiation for every sin of every person who ever trusts in Him.

How we present that gospel truth will vary from one situation to the next. Sometimes when we present that message, we should do so with passion and fervor. Other times, we should present it with persuasive gentleness. But regardless of the style we use, we cannot and must not water down, diminish the importance, or leave out such critical issues as God's holiness, man's depravity, the seriousness of sin, the necessity for repentance, and the exclusivity of Christ as the only answer.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit draws unbelievers to Christ through a gospel presentation characterized by passionate pleadings such as those of a John Piper. Sometimes He draws unbelievers through the in-depth exegesis of a John MacArthur. And on other occasions, He uses the confrontational style of a "fire and brimstone" preacher. Regardless of the style of the presenter, it is the content of the gospel message which is the crucial issue.

If you want to read more along these lines, click the link to the Pyromaniacs blog in the right column and read Phil Johnson's Friday post titled "James 4:4." Phil is a great writer and he really got my thoughts going on this issue. I hope he gets you thinking also.

The Law and the Gospel

by Bruce Mills

I have been studying Romans 7:7-13 in preparation for teaching in my adult Sunday School class. As I have dug into this passage and read what great Bible teachers such as John MacArthur, Leon Morris, James Montgomery Boice, and Douglas Moo have written in their commentaries, I have been struck by the gravity of what Paul has to say in this passage as it relates to the gospel that is typically presented in our contemporary culture.

Romans 7:7 states, "What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, 'You shall not covet.'" Paul clearly states that man becomes aware of the gravity of his sinfulness through an examination of the Law. So it would seem that using the Law as a means of evangelism is extremely important.

I think we would agree that the typical attitude that most people have about their spiritual condition is to sort of shrug off any question about it with an answer such as, “Oh, I do some bad things but God couldn’t send a good person like me to hell. I think my good things outweigh my bad things. I’m very religious, I try not to do things that hurt or harm others,” and so forth. You’ve heard it all.

But when a person comes face-to-face with the full reality of God’s moral Law, sin is seen for what it really is, and that is what is absolutely necessary to drive a person to salvation. For evangelism, preaching, teaching, or witnessing to be effective, you must bring people under the tyranny of the Law. What leads to true salvation is an understanding of the absolute righteousness and utter holiness of God. And the Law of God expresses His perfect righteousness and holiness and puts a demand on every soul that if you break this Law in one place, you’re damned. What leads to true salvation is an overpowering, frightening sense of the implications of breaking the Law. Truth about righteousness and holiness and sin and judgment is what awakens the slumbering sinner.

You can’t just go to people sitting out there thinking they’re pretty good and say, “By the way, Jesus would like to come into your life and make you happy.” That’s the wrong approach. Long before you talk about what Jesus is prepared to do for the sinner, you’ve got to talk about the sinner’s situation.

Salvation is not about making you happy, salvation is about delivering you from the consequence of violating the Law of God. And the language of evangelism is the language of Law and sin and guilt and curse and judgment and fear.

Let me say it this way: the most necessary and the most successful evangelism is that which aims at a radical conviction of sin. And sinners will not become concerned about their sins until they are face-to-face with God and His holy Law. The great Bible teacher, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones stated, “The sinner is a monstrosity in God’s universe and he needs to be aware of it.”

Why is anybody going to change his life if he has no fear of God? We have to alarm the sinner. We have to activate his conscience by informing him about the truth; not by letting him have a conscience that responds only to a watered down morality that he has been taught by the world.

We have to take the sinner, turn him face-to-face with the Law, hold it up like a mirror, and make him see the standard of perfect righteousness. Jesus said, “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). We have to preach righteousness and Law. That’s how people understand the awfulness of their sin, and they understand the consequence of their sin, and the helplessness in which they exist. When conviction of sin is absent, conversion is usually false.

We need to recognize that the initial objective for evangelism is not to get people to be attracted to Jesus. The initial effort in evangelism is not to get people to be attracted to the happy life of a Christian. Salvation doesn’t come that way. The objective is to bring upon the sinner a fear of the judgment of God upon him for his violations of God's holy Law that are going on all the time in his life. What we want to do is convict that person by the work of the Spirit and the Word through us so that he comes to a place of such conviction and fear and dread of divine wrath that he desires to flee to the rescue available in Christ.

And then, after a person comes to saving faith in Christ, the on-going, continuing exposure to the holy Law of God through the pages of Scripture is what drives the saved person toward sanctification. So I am convinced that we must preach the Law. We must preach the Law to bring sinners under conviction that they might be saved, and we must uphold the Law to bring Christians under conviction so that they might pursue the path of sanctification.

The whole effort of the Law comes down to this: it is to bring men to a sense of their sin so that they know they need to be saved and they know they need to be sanctified. As John MacArthur has stated, "It is to produce in them a permanent beatitude attitude in which they mourn over their sin and feel inadequate, unworthy, and weak."

Preach the Law to the lost. Preach the Law to the saved. It is the Law that drives the lost to justification. It is the Law that drives the saved to sanctification. Where there is absence of conviction, there is absence of repentance. Where there is absence of repentance, there is no salvation and there is no sanctification.

Lazy Christians

by Bruce Mills

This past Sunday morning, I was concluding a study through Romans 6:15-23 in my Sunday School class. In Romans 6:18 Paul says of believers that "having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." He goes on in verse 19 to say, "so now present your members as slaves of righteousness."

We discussed the implications of those statements for Christians; how slaves have no choice but to serve their master, and since our new master is righteousness, there is a sense in which we are compelled, forced even, to live righteously. Our Lord has commanded us to present the members of our bodies to serve Him as slaves of righteousness, so righteous attitudes and actions are to be the pattern of our lives. As we do that, we will find that righteousness will become the continuous progression of our lives.

Because God has made us slaves of righteousness, the matter is really not up for debate. What we need to do is realize what God has done for us and then discipline the parts of our bodies—our minds, eyes, ears, tongues, hands, and feet—to act accordingly.

No one stands still morally and spiritually. So we have to be on our guard against Satan’s efforts to bring shipwreck into our lives in terms of our walk with Christ. We need to be continually seeking to grow spiritually, because a believer who is not growing in righteousness, although he cannot lose his salvation, will slip further and further back into sin.

At this point in the discussion, a man in the class asked a very important question: "What about those Christians who are true, genuine believers, but who never grow? They may be Christians for many years, but they never seem to progress, they just remain 'baby' Christians. It's like they are just sitting on the shelf. What about them? What's their problem?"

Now please understand that our discussion had nothing to do with those who claim to be Christians but whose lives are continually controlled by and given over to the pursuit of sin. They may profess to believe the truth, but their lives give evidence that they are still slaves of sin, and thus, not genuine Christians. We had previously discussed those matters, so that was not the focus of this gentleman's question. He was asking about those who are true believers, whose hearts have been regenerated and given new birth through faith in Christ alone, yet they never seem to grow very much at all. Instead they continue to be immature and weak believers.

My one word response to his question was, "laziness." After getting some rather surprised and somewhat perplexed looks from some of the members of the class, I went on to explain what I meant.

We live in a day and age in which Christians avoid the difficult work of sanctification and search for a quick fix. That is thinking just like the world. How does the unregenerate world deal with problems in their physical or emotional lives these days? If they are depressed, they escape into television shows, or go shopping, or pop a pill. If they are having trouble with a personal relationship, they go to a weekend seminar to pick up pointers, or to the local nightclub to find a new person with whom to have a relationship.

And Christians do the same thing in their spiritual lives. Some believers are always looking for some kind of special “victory” formula, such as “let go and let God,” “take it by faith,” “name it and claim it,” or some other catchy slogan. Others search for some kind of emotional experience or miracle that is going to instantly resolve their problem.

I recently heard an advertisement on a local Christian radio station for a weekend seminar titled “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage,” and the announcer was telling the married female listeners that “this is one marriage seminar that your husband won’t complain about having to attend with you.” As I listened to it, all I could think was, how stupid can people be to think that they will solve their marriage problems by going to a one day seminar where some guy makes you laugh about those problems! They are looking for a quick fix rather than undertaking the difficult work of studying the Word, applying its truths to their lives, and then disciplining themselves for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7) so that they change to be more like Christ.

God has already done everything necessary for our salvation and given us everything we need to live a consistent, godly, Christ-honoring Christian life. He is not withholding something from us, some special secret which, if discovered, will instantly bring maturity and consistency to our Christian walk. So, if we fail to do it, it is either because we have not been taught what God has done and therefore do not know how to conduct ourselves as Christians, or we are simply too sinful and lazy.

One of the greatest (if not, the greatest) Bible teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Here's what he wrote in his commentary on Romans 6 in regard to these verses: “You have already received all things that pertain unto a life of godliness. You do not need another experience. You do not need some new gift. You have been given everything in Christ; you are ‘in Him’ from the beginning of your Christian life. You are just a slacker and a cad, just lazy and indolent, indeed ‘a liar,’ if you are not living this life.”

So I call on all of us to lay aside the desire for the quick fix, the instant solution, the magic sanctification pill. Rather, let us read and meditate on the Word, apply its truths to our hearts and lives, and then train and discipline ourselves with the perseverance of a Olympic athlete (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-27) "to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:12). Such a process is time-consuming and difficult. It will take every ounce of your effort for your entire life. But the end result will yield "the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb. 12:11) in your life.