Come Ye Sinners

This past week, as I was reading and praying through James 1:27, which says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world," I was reminded and convicted of the pollution of my own heart - my pride, my lust for comfort and pleasure, my complacency, and my seemingly relentless pursuit of approval and acceptance in the eyes of others. At the same time, as I was preparing for the class I am teaching on Wednesday nights, I was also reminded of God's unconditional, sovereign love for me - extended to me by grace alone, through Jesus Christ alone; I am accepted by God through faith in Who He is and what He alone has done to atone for my sin - I have not earned God's acceptance because of who I am, not on the basis of what I have done or not done, not because of how well or how poorly I preach, not because of how engaged or disengaged I am as a parent or husband. I think Tim Keller says is best:

When my own personal grasp of the gospel was very weak, my self-view swung wildly between two poles. When I was performing up to my standards - in academic work, professional achievement, or relationships - I felt confident but not humble. I was likely to be proud or unsympathetic to failing people. When I was not living up to standards, I felt humble but not confident, a failure. I discovered, however, that the gospel contained the resources to build a unique identity. In Christ I could know that I was accepted by grace not only despite my flaws, but because I was willing to admit them. The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved that Jesus was willing to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less. I don't need to notice myself - how I'm doing, how I'm being regarded - so often.

Here are a few lines from one of my favorite hymns, which speak of Christ's gracious work of redemption:

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready, stands to save you, full of pity love and pow'r.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome, God's free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh.

Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all.

I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms

Fix Our Eyes On Jesus.

This fall, I am teaching a class on Wednesday nights called "genuineJESUS" (the title and most of the content are adaptations of Mark Driscoll's book and sermon series Vintage Jesus). In the class, we are looking deeply into the what the Bible says about who Jesus genuinely is, what Jesus genuinely has done, is doing, and will do, and what Jesus genuinely taught, modeled, and prayed for, during His earthly ministry.

One key idea and discipline I encourage the class to engage in each day is, "fixing our eyes upon Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2). To "fix our eyes on Jesus," means to consistently focus and re-focus our minds and hearts on what Scripture tells us about Who Jesus is, what He has done, is doing, and will one day do, and who we are, by grace, through faith in Him as a result. I have become convinced that we cannot over-utilize this practice - Jesus is infinitely beautiful, majestic, and wonderful; He is genuinely capable of captivating our thoughts, emotions, and affections.

Here is a great word-picture of Who Jesus is and what He has done, is doing and will do, and how we should respond:

Christ Jesus was God's dear Son. He made all things - sun, moon, and stars, men and angels. he was from all eternity in the bosom of the Father, and yet He came into the world. He did not say, "I will keep my throne and my happiness, and leave sinners to die and perish in their sins." No; "He came into the world." He became "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." He bore our sins upon His own body on the tree. While we were sinners, "Christ died for us." Why did He do all this? Ah! it was to save sinners. Not to save good people - not to save angels - but sinners. Perhaps you will say, "But I am too bad a sinner;" but Paul says, "of whom I am the chief." Paul was the chief of sinners, and yet he was saved by Christ. So Christ is willing and able to save you, though you were the chief sinner on the face of the earth.

Have you not lived long enough in pleasure? Come and try the pleasures of Christ - forgiveness and a new heart...the feeling that God loves me - that Christ has washed - and in feeling that I should be in heaven... - Robert Murray M'Cheyne.

Come, try the pleasures of Christ - fix your "eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3)

A Full Confession.

This weekend, I preached from 1 Corinthians 11, where Paul gives the church at Corinth some important directions regarding the Lord's Supper. During the middle portion of the sermon, I camped out on verses 27-32, which challenge us to carefully examine our lives before we receive the bread and the cup. As I preached, I tried to draw our focus to the importance of consistently and honestly examining our lives, humbly confessing our sins to our gracious God, and turning in repentance away from our sin and towards our Savior, Jesus. I challenged our congregation to do this on a daily basis - not only as we prepared to receive the communion meal, but as an ongoing, sometimes minute-by-minute part of our life with Jesus.

This morning, I read this encompassing prayer of confession from the puritan prayer book, The Valley of Vision. These words, along with 1 John 1:8-9, stirred my heart and led me into a time of personal confession - I pray that as you read these words, that the Holy Spirit would convict your heart, lead you to honestly and humbly confess your sins to Jesus, and graciously enable you to turn away your sin and turn more fully towards Jesus.

Sins

Merciful Lord,

Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year,
all the sins of my life, sins of early, middle and advanced years,
of omission and commission,
of morose, peevish and angry tempers,
of lip, life and walk,
of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride,
of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ,
of deficiency in outspoken zeal for his glory,
of bringing dishonor upon thy great name,
of deception, injustice, untruthfulness in my dealings with others,
of impurity in thought, word, and deed,
of covetousness, which is idolatry,
of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered,
not consecrated to the glory of thee, the great Giver;
sins in private and in the family,
in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men,
in the study of thy Word and the neglect of it,
in prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld,
in time misspent,
in yielding to Satan's wiles,
in opening my heart to his temptations,
in being unwatchful when I know him nigh,
in quenching the Holy Spirit;
sins against light and knowledge,
against conscience and the restraints of thy Spirit,
against the law of eternal love.

Pardon all my sins, known and unknown,
felt and unfelt,
confessed and not confessed,
remembered or forgotten.
Good Lord, hear; and hearing, forgive.

May Your church, by Your grace and Your enabling power, daily embrace and live out Your Words in 1 John 1:8-9:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Amen.

re:entry

As you can see, by briefly looking through the short history of this bloglet (not a mature blog – more of an infant blog, like an infant pig: a piglet - or as I prefer, a hoglet), I often begin new things (a New Year’s exercise program, early morning family devotions, diets, new ministries, etc.) like a bit of a human pop-bottle rocket. In the early days, I sizzle out of the gate, practicing my new hobby, habit, or activity with intensity, consistency, and vigor. As the days wear on, however, like my firework friend, I experience a fleeting peak, and then return to earth with an equally furious fizzle. This is neither a good trend nor a desirable character trait and I am ever recognizing my need for ongoing, God-centered revival and reformation in my own heart and life.

The good news for a human pop-bottle rocket like me, is that God, in His incredible grace, has regularly seen fit to bless me with timely and much needed doses of conviction, correction, redirection, and encouragement – often, this occurs through the powerful combination of the still-small nudging of the Holy Spirit and the God-inspired words of Scripture. He has also graciously redirected me through the Spirit filled, Spirit led counsel of several close friends and mentors. Over the past couple of years, one of those mentors has been Robert Murray M’Cheynne. Many mornings, God has used the counsel of this 19th Century, Scottish pastor, to gently re-acquaint me with my heart’s deceitful tendencies and Christ’s glorious beauty. Here are a few words I read this morning, which reignited a fizzled flame in my heart – may they be as encouraging to all my fellow pop-bottle rockets as they were to me.

Learn much of your own heart; and when you have learned all you can, remember you have seen but a few yards into a pit that is unfathomable. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 19:9) Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look you take at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief! Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in His beams. Feel His all-seeing eye settled on you in love, and repose in His almighty arms.

Cry after divine knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding. Seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasure, according to the word in Proverbs 2:4. See that verse 10 be fulfilled in you. Let wisdom enter into your hearts, and knowledge be pleasant to thy soul; so you will be delivered from the snares mentioned in the following verses. Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh. I must now commend you all to God and the word of His grace.