Prayerlessness worse than adultery

I've been reading John Owen's treatise on the mortification of sin. Owen is incredibly comprehensive and Christ-centered. At one point he pondered why God does not immediately remove some besetting sin as soon as we implore Him. He answered with the following points.

First, our struggle with some particular sin is usually caused by a general failure to "watch" our relationship with God. A man's struggle with sexual lust may not be caused by television, movies or a scantily clad co-worker, but by a general neglect of prayer and the regular hearing of the word of God.

Second, the propensity to neglect our relationship with God should be more grievous to us than the frustration of any particular lust.

Third, quite to the contrary, we are often unaffected by the neglect of our relationship to God, while we come under terrible conviction for succumbing to particular lusts.

Finally, Owen suggested that for this reason God does not remove the besetting sin from us. Instead, he uses the conviction of this particular sin to awaken us to our poor general condition. This sin actually becomes the occasion for a renewal (even if brief) of our pursuit of that relationship, as we come to God, confessing our sin and weakness, praising His mercy and grace, and clinging to the Crucified as our only hope.

Indeed, God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose. Once again I am reminded that I am a studied sinner and Christ is a steadfast Savior.

Can the Joker be Right?

I have a confession to make. I was a comic book nerd. And it lasted into high school. So I kind of have a soft spot for movies made about the superheroes I used to read about. So last night I took Edna to see The Dark Knight (in my defense I didn't have to drag her). It was dark and violent, and I would be very selective about who I would recommend see this movie (although it was gloriously free of sensuality) but there is a thought provoking side to movie that I want to explore a little.

(For an amazing discussion on the Joker and death go see (http://standingonshoulders.net/2008/07/19/why-so-serious-because-death-is-no-laughing-matter/)

The scene I want to discuss (if you haven't seen the movie then you may want to stop reading now) is the point in the movie where the leaders of Gotham are evacuating people on ferries because the joker has threatened the bridges. So there are two ferries with people on them in the middle of the river. One ferry has normal citizens on it, the other has prison inmates. The Joker reveals that both boats are loaded with explosives. The trick is that he has placed the detonator for each boats bomb on the other boat. And if they haven't pushed a button by Midnight he is going to blow up both ferries.

The Joker is banking on people's selfishness and sinfulness (he wouldn't use that word) to rule the day. He is expecting a mad dash to the detonator because people will do anything to save their own lives. But Batman is trusting in the goodness of the people to not push the button and give him time to stop the Joker.

The Joker is trusting in human sinfulness, our inheritance from Adam to rule the day. Batman is trusting in the Image of God in us (once again no one involved in this movie would use these terms). So the question I was faced with as I watched this scene was who was going to win out and who usually wins out here in the real world. Well in the movie no one pushes the button and Batman stops the Joker. The Image of God has won the day. But what about out here. I don't know about you but I don't much selflessness. I see a lot of me-centered activity. So if I were a betting man (which I'm not) I would have placed my money on the Joker to win this argument (I understand that for cinematic reasons why this went the other way - Batman is making a difference in the hearts of Gotham's citizens) I expect people to act in ways that are self-serving and destructive. But there is a glimmer of the Image of God remaining in us and this is why there are occasional selfless acts.

So why then is the Jokers worldview wrong. Because there is so much more to the story. The Cross. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ God is redeeming and transforming selfish and sinful people who come to Him in repentance and faith. A long look into the human heart could make us as cold, cruel, and crazy as the Joker, but the human heart does not rule the day and it is not the end of the story. The sovereign merciful heart of God will rule the day, this is where our hope comes in.

The Horror of Sin

In his book Respectable Sins Jerry Bridges describes why so is truly so awful. In chapter three the Malignancy of Sin he gives several reasons, I felt that i should share them with you.

Our sin is an assault on the majesty and sovereign rule of God.

We despise God Himself when we sin.

We grieve our Father's heart.

We presume on His grace.

Every sinful thought and word and deed we do is done in His presence.

Christ suffered because of our sins.

The Centrality of the Doctrine of Sin

Sin - The committing of any act that God has forbidden, or the neglect of any act that God has commanded.

All are sinners.

I came to the realization that my theology is driven by my understanding of sin. My understanding of salvation is based on my understanding of sin. Salvation is by substitutionary atonement because our sin has rendered us guilty and helpless. My understanding of the sovereignty of God in salvation is driven by the fact that our sin has not only left us guilty but dead, unable to save ourselves or respond to God's gracious offers without His supernatural work.

My understanding of who Christ is is driven by my understanding of sin. Jesus came to die for sinners because we are guilty and helpless, we must have a savior, a mediator between we the sinners and God the Holy One. Without understanding sin the Incarnation of Jesus makes no sense, why bother becoming man if there is no grand mission to save sinners. The Cross of Christ makes no sense apart from the Biblical understanding of sin, because what on earth is Jesus doing on the cross if He is not dying for sin, it is simply tragic.

If we give in to our culture that denies the reality of sin, we have not made Christianity more palatable to the world. Rather we have given away the whole store. Without the right understanding and acknowledgment of sin we no longer have an orthodox view of God, and the Gospel descends into simple nonsense. Without the correct understanding of sin, we are still in our sins and will face death and hell as the just judgment for our sin.

So we need to embrace the Biblical view of sin, and let it sink deeply into our minds and hearts. Then we begin pursuing holiness and we carry the Gospel to our sin-sick world.