What's Your Problem?

If you were to look over my shoulder on most days of the week you would see hundreds of bottles of pills.  Hundreds.  I work in a little hospital pharmacy where we dispense prescription medication to sick patients every day. 

Imagine if the next time you went to your pharmacy that the pharmacist opened up the door and simply said to you, "help yourself."  No instructions.  No direction.  Throw away that prescription.  Just a welcoming invitation to take any bottle from the shelf and ingest any number of tablets with the sincerest of hopes for your health and happiness.

What would happen? 

Maybe you would get lucky and happen to lay hold of the bottle you needed and administer yourself the appropriate dose to promote your well-being and health.  Maybe.  Not likely.

More likely the average person would grab the wrong medicine in the wrong amount and die; or at least get no better.

How come?  Aren't they all, in theory, good medicines?

Yes.  Of course. 

But they are not all suited to cure your specific problem. 

When making the choice to prescribe a medication your physician (assuming he or she has your best interest in mind) will make their decision based upon their careful and specific diagnosis of what is wrong.

Does it matter which medication they prescribe?  Of course it does.

Now let's change the illustration a bit.

Does it matter which church you attend?

On any given Sunday you can presumably (at least in many U.S. locations) take your pick from dozens and dozens of church-options within a reasonable distance from your home.  Does it really matter?

As with medicine, I submit that the church you choose will either help you or hurt you (or do nothing at all) depending on what is really wrong with you. 

Every Sunday, from thousands of pulpits across our nation, "medicine" is being dispensed into the souls of those gathered to worship. 

If you choose your church without an accurate diagnosis of what is really wrong with you it is possible that your heart will get sicker and sicker.

So what's your problem?

The Bible's answer to this question is clear.  You may choose to disagree with the diagnosis.  If, however, the diagnosis is correct - the fact that you disagree will not alter to course of your condition.

The Bible says that mankind's fundamental problem is sin.  

That is it in a nutshell.  Sin.

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23
"But the Scripture has confined all under sin" - Galatians 3:22
"You were...dead in trespasses and sin" - Ephesians 2:1

The "right" church then, for sinners, is the church that clearly and consistently points this awful fact out.  Our problem is not fundamentally our circumstances.  It is not our spouse (sorry hun).  It is not our parents (sorry kids).  It is not our personality or health or job. 

But what, exactly, is sin?  Simply put, sin is rebellion against God's law.  God has said "do this."  And we don't.  God has said "don't do that!"  But we do. 

That's sin.

And God hates it.  And if we think that "hate" is too strong a word for how God views sin - we are mistaken.  The Bible says God hates it. 

And so the right church for sinners is the one that tells them every week how God has chosen to deal with sin and offer salvation. 

How has God chosen to deal with mankind's sin?

First, He sent His Son to pay the debt for our sin by dying on the cross:

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of  us all" - Isaiah 53:6

"I am the good Shepherd, the good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep" - John 10:11

"having made peace through the blood of His cross." - Colossians 1:20

Second, He offers salvation freely to any who will repent of their sin and believe in His Son.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" - Acts 16:31

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish" - John 3:16

Third, He offers to change us.  God has not wiped away our sin only to send us back to our old ways.  No, we aren't perfect yet.  Far from it.  But He gives a new heart and His Spirit to begin the work of changing us.

"If any man is in Christ Jesus he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

"we are no longer slaves to sin" - Romans 6:6


So, does it matter what medicine you pick when your body is sick?  I think so.  So do you.  Even the best tasting (but wrongly chosen) medicine may be killing you.  Some, to go back to our opening illustration, would look at all the bottles of pills and just walk away.  Too many choices.  Better to not pick any at all.  That's too bad.  Because there is a right choice, and there is help available.

And does it matter which church you pick if your soul is sick?  Yes, I think so.  The question for us to ask ourselves is not "how did that sermon make me feel?" but rather "did that sermon address the real problem with my soul?"  Some, like the discouraged patient, look at all the church-choices and simply walk away - skeptical and indifferent.  That is too bad also.  You don't have to walk away.

If your problem (like my problem) is our sin - there are churches who will help.  There are pastors and teachers who will point you to God's cure as presented in God's Word.  God hasn't left you to wander around forever.  Christ offers Himself.  "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am chief."

5 Reasons For Slow Obedience to Christ

This morning I was reading in 2 Chronicles 24.  The chapter begins by praising the life and obedience of Joash, king of Judah.  Well, sort of.  The commendation heaped upon him comes with a hint of foreshadowing.  It said that Joash "did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoida the priest."  That last part is suggestive of a future decline, which in fact occurs toward the end of the chapter.  Sometimes our godliness is only the product of our company, not the result of true grace.  

But the words from the chapter that caught my eye today were the words concerning the priests whom Joash commanded to gather a collection and repair the house of the Lord.  He told them what to do, concluding with this express direction to "see that you do it quickly."

The very next verse begins, "however the Levites did not do it quickly."

Why not?  The text actually doesn't say.  It simply goes on to say that Joash brought the Levites in, reprimanded them, and sent them back to do the work which they then proceeded to do.  

But I wonder about their initial delay.  I wonder because I see in my own heart that sinful inclination to be sinfully slow in response to the Lord's command.  Why is this?  What is at the heart of delayed-obedience?  We tell our kids "to delay, is to disobey."  That is true.  But why is it that we are often so terribly slow to make the changes in our lives that the Lord clearly sets forth in His Word?

Here, I think, are 5 reasons:

1)  The fear of man.  

The Bible says that the "fear of man brings a snare (Proverbs 29:25)."  Maybe the Levites were afraid that the people would reject or revolt against their request for an offering to repair the house of God.  Maybe you and I are afraid what radical obedience will mean in terms of our relationships with friends or family.  We worry what others might think.  We worry what they might say.  And so, in spite of Christ's clear call upon us to do this or that, we delay.  We "do not do it quickly."  

2)  The love of sin.  

We delay because we are loathe to give up the very sin that God commands us to kill.  We know it is sin. We know it displeases the Lord.  But it provides a certain amount of pleasure in our life that we are unwilling to utterly forsake.  So we are slow.  We don't hate sin as we should.  The Psalmist says "All you who love the Lord, hate evil (Psalm 97:10)."  But because we refuse to view sin from the Lord's perspective, we "do not do it quickly."

3)  Excuses.  

Another reason for our delayed obedience is that we excuse or justify our delay on the basis of our circumstances or situation.  We may think "yes, this thing is wrong, and does not belong in my life....BUT right now my situation is unique and therefore I cannot do it just yet."  This, I believe, is our most subtle weapon against obedience to Christ.  We are masters of "exceptions."  Like the Pharisees we can see the splinter in the eye of another, but we ignore and excuse the plank in our own.  It is helpful to remember that no excuse will stand on judgment day when "every mouth will be stopped."  

4)  Imagination.  

Our imagination is a wonderful gift.  It has produced creative solutions to countless problems.  Einstein called imagination the "preview of life's coming attractions."  But imagination can work against us too.  Let me explain.  We can easily be tempted to imagine a "tomorrow" in which we are being obedient to the Lord. We can see clearly to that day in which our life and God's Word align.  All the pieces have fallen into place. The situation is perfect.  And we are happily doing what God requires.  Some day.  Just not yet.  Not today at least.  The problem with this is that God doesn't want our imagined obedience He wants our immediate obedience.  The author of Hebrews, quoting the Psalms, says "TODAY if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...(Heb 3:15)."

5)  An insufficient love of Christ.  

Here is the root of all delays in dealing with our sins.  We do not love Jesus Christ enough.  To quote Jesus Himself, "the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12)."  We have not spent sufficient time contemplating His great love for us.  We have not stirred up our affections with the thoughts of His beauty and grace.  We have filled our hearts with worthless and temporary things, rather than the immeasurable glory and majesty of the King of Kings.  We need to hear the words of Christ to Peter, "do you love Me?"  And with weeping and repentant tears we need to confess our lack of love to Him "who loved us, and gave Himself for us."

Conclusion:

These, I believe, are the reasons we delay and are slow to obey the Lord.  The good news is that NONE of them needs to continue a moment longer.  Not one.  Nothing but our own sin stands between us and immediate obedience to Jesus Christ.  The Levites "did not do it quickly."  But upon hearing the rebuke of Joash, they made a change.  So can you.  The result, in their case, was to "restore the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it (2 Chronicles 24:13)."  That is precisely what God is up to in the Christian's life.  He is restoring us into HIS image, and the image of His Son.  By His grace it can be done and will be done.  For He "who has begun a good work in you will complete until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6)."  

Infinite upon Infinite

The mathematical symbol for "infinity"

"Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquity without end?"

Job 22:5

I've been reading the biography of Jonathon Edwards by Iain Murray.  In it he records the following entry from Edwards' journal:

"I know not how to express better what my sins appear to me to be than by heaping infinite upon infinite, and multiplying infinite by infinite.  Very often, for these many years, these expressions are in my mind, and in my mouth.  'Infinite upon infinite...Infinite upon infinite!'  When I look into my heart, and take a view of my wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deeper than hell."

Taken in isolation - one might quickly conclude that Edwards was a pretty melancholy man. 

But those familiar with his other writings, particularly his works on heaven, know otherwise.  In fact, it occurs to me today that the more infinitely unworthy I see myself to be - the greater my potential for happiness.

Why?

Consider this.

Who is happier? 

1)  The person moved from a position of $5 in debt to the opposite ($5 in the bank)

OR

2)  The person moved from a position of $1,000,000 in debt to the opposite ($1,000,000 in the bank)


The answer is obvious I think.  The experience of person #2 is one of inexpressible joy.  The experience of person #1 is hardly worth noticing. 


Change the illustration over to a contemplation of heaven.

Who is the happier Christian on earth?

1)  The one who expects to move from a position of a few bothersome bad habits - to heaven without them?

OR

2)  The one who expects to move from a position of INFINITELY ugly sin and sinfulness - to a heaven INFINITE holiness and love?

It is, it seems to me, the Christian who sees his/her infinite upon infinite sin that has the greatest potential for joy here on earth.  Edwards, I believe, knew that joy.  I want to know it too.

And this highlights for me the great tragedy of the modern gospel.  The modern gospel waters down the seriousness of sin.  And the consequence is harmful to unbelievers and believers alike.  The unbeliever sees nothing from which to be saved.  And the believer sees almost nothing worth waiting for.  Both individuals are left to get all they can from this life.  The unbeliever - because he does not fear hell.  The Christian - because he cannot love heaven.

The Silence of the Leeches

"The Leech has 2 Daughters: Give & Give!"

Proverbs 30:15

 

I don't suppose I've ever heard a sermon on this verse. Maybe the brevity and obscurity of the saying causes it to be passed over for easier texts. Or possibly the meaning is too clear. Maybe the spirit of the leech clings so closely to all of our souls that the obvious implications are too painful.
 

I see the leech and her daughters. I see it in the lack of contentment with my circumstances that often rob me of all present joy. Man has that blessed capacity to imagine. But corrupted by sin, too often my imagination fashions ideas of circumstances and situations far better than I currently enjoy. Thus a lust for something more robs the joy from everything here right now. Wretched leeches of discontentment, sucking all the life out of the present day by wishing for a better tomorrow.