Trust AND Obey » sin

The Incubator

Dave Miller — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:22:22 +0000

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have recently left the church that has been my home since I was two years old. I was baptized and confirmed there. I built the altar and the baptismal font. The minister married my wife and me. Both my children were baptized there. I served the church as Elder, liturgist, guest preacher, choir member, Sunday school teacher, and president of the church council. It was the church my grandparents and my parents attended. It is the only church I have ever belonged to in 45 years of life, and I have quit it.

This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life – and one of the most necessary, because I believe I’ve outgrown my home church.

I like to think of my home church as an incubator; a place where baby believers of all ages are loved and comforted and nurtured with milk until they become mature enough to eat meat. A young believer in an incubator isn’t ready for meat, and a growing believer who is ready for meat doesn’t need an incubator.

I love my incubator because it was there that I first heard the Gospel, where I fell in love with Jesus, where I first tasted and saw that God was good, and it was the place where my faith began to grow. I have in no way outgrown my need to hear the good news; I need to hear it every day, as every believer does.

Though Christ commands His followers to have a child-like faith (Matthew 18:3), nowhere in scripture does He say we should have a childish, immature faith. Quite the opposite; in fact, we are encouraged to grow and mature as believers (Ephesians 4:14-15).

There are people I am leaving behind who have been in the incubator for decades – their spiritual growth seemingly stagnant – they love their milk and their comfortable surroundings and seem to have no desire for real food. I leave behind people 40 years my senior, whom I love dearly, but who exhibit no signs of Christian growth.

There are others there whose faith seems strong and mature, like a tree growing beside a stream, yielding up fruit in its time. (Psalm 1:3) Some of them are much older than me, and a few of them are younger. These people puzzle me and cause me to question whether or not I should have left.

It broke my heart to leave because I still love my incubator and the believers being nurtured there. Ultimately, though, staying would have meant compromising on Christian essentials, so the decision simply became one of obedience.

But because my perceptions above may be mistaken, and I don’t want to think too highly of myself (Romans 12:3) I chose to leave rather than continue to fight against the rest of the leadership of the church. It is also possible that I should have stayed and kept fighting – I just don’t know. I won’t go into details; but it should suffice to state that the main problem was one of the same things that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about in his first epistle.

Yet I cannot minimize how the Apostle started out his epistle to this church whose people engaged in immorality, idolatry, worldliness, jealousy, lack of discipline and tolerance of sinful behavior.

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours : Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Cor. 1:2-3

The paragraphs above this line were written two months ago. I’ve been trying to develop a conclusion for this article since then with little success. At the same time, I’ve been trying to come to a fair, rational and Christ-like outlook on my former church. I now think it would be wise to abandon the conclusion to this article until I can resolve my outlook.

I’ve prayed for wisdom in this matter and now think that sometimes you’re just not in a place to make a sound conclusion on an issue. Wisdom is knowing when to stop trying so hard and realize that understanding is further down the road. It will just take time to get there.

The journey continues…

American Pickers (Part 2.5)

Dave Miller — Mon, 02 May 2011 02:48:12 +0000

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” — Jude 3

A reader (Jon D.) commented at the end of Part 1, “I must confess that this is my “default” setting far too often.” Mine too, Jon. This is the natural tendency of every human being and Christians are no exception. Those who think they are standing should be careful. (1 Cor. 10:12 )

Toward the end of Part 2 in this series, I related some ideas for what to do if you think you might be an American Picker. But I didn’t write much about what to do when you encounter a picker in your church who is unaware of his ‘pickiness.’ The reason I omitted this is Matthew 7:3-5 which states that first you must take the log out of your own eye, and then you can pick the speck from your brother’s eye. This wisdom from Jesus is timeless and especially relevant to the American Christian.

American popular society says that one should never judge another. Some Christians even take Matthew 7:1 out of context and say nobody should ever judge anyone. This doesn’t mean that we mustn’t engage in biblical discernment, though. Jesus clearly says that we can and should show love to fellow Christians by helping them when sin is affecting their life (“…then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 and Luke 17:3) Paul teaches the same thing in Ephesians 5:21 and adds that the reason we do this is out of reverence for Christ; knowing, of course, that we will be judged by the same standard (Matthew 7:2).

I have met and conversed with many ‘great’ pickers, and responded to them with everything from silently walking away, to citing scriptural commands, to heated verbal conflict. I have never had a positive encounter with a picker when I approached the person with the word of God and beat him over the head with it. (Figuratively speaking, of course. I haven’t tried actually beating somebody with a bible…)

Pickers want so badly not to accept certain biblical truths that they usually respond with belligerence. The best result I’ve ever experienced after confronting a picker was agreeing to disagree on what the bible means and not talk about it anymore. The worst result I’ve experienced was having objectionable epithets and implied threats hurled at me. Either way, these encounters often result in the loss of fellowship and often friendship too.

There is a simple explanation for this, the thing we need to hear most is usually the thing we want to hear least.

Take heart in knowing that it is impossible for you to change a person’s heart or argue them into the kingdom of heaven. God the Holy Spirit is the only person who can convict someone of sin. (John 16:8) He may use us to plant a seed, or water one that another planted, but it is God who gives the growth. (1 Cor. 3:6)

Confronting or correcting an American Picker in your church must be done with humility and brokenness. Removing a log from your eye should leave a scar; but Christ has healed you completely, so today you bear no scars. You see clearly when you should be blind. Tell your Christian brother or sister about the effect of sin on yourself before you repented. Let your humbling experience be an example to them of loving, obedient submission to God Almighty, the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and the healing power of Jesus. Rejoice in God’s forgiveness and let that be the contact point of your witness to your fellow believer.

I beg you; please don’t make the same mistake I did. I once (behaved, thought, believed, denied, etc.) just like you. I wasn’t even aware of it until someone said something to me about it and showed me in the Bible that God says it is a sin. At first, I didn’t listen; I even got angry with them for daring to tell me I was wrong. But afterward, the Holy Spirit convinced me that I really was sinning. The Word of God was clear. God led me to repentance and provided the means for my forgiveness and justification; the person and work of his only begotten son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please consider what I’m saying to you. I hope it is apparent that I’m doing this because I care about you. The most hateful thing I could do would be to say nothing and let you continue in the path I was on and be hurt as much or more than I was. I beg you; turn to Christ and trust in Him. He alone can give you the power to reject this sin you love so much; and He can heal you completely.

The Story

Dave Miller — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:06:24 +0000

CLICKING THE IMAGE WILL OPEN ‘THE STORY’ IN A NEW WINDOW.

Whether you are a long-time believer, an unbeliever or anywhere in between, I think you will enjoy this story. It is a true story that never gets old or boring, that always refreshes and renews.

Jesus Turns It All Upside-Down

Dave Miller — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:41:13 +0000

Puritan Post #2 – John Owen

Dave Miller — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:28:30 +0000

Do you mortify;
do you make it your daily work;
be always at it while you live;
cease not a day from this work;
be killing sin or it will be killing you.
– John Owen –

In my experience, temptation to sin is strongest when my body and mind are not engaged in godly, or even adiaphorous, pursuits. For example, Proverbs 6:9-10 warns us not to be lazy. But if I spend two hours watching old Star Trek re-runs on a Saturday afternoon, I’ll be much more likely to spend two more hours watching old X-Files re-runs in the evening. In other words, laziness breeds more laziness – and for me, that sin is very easy to fall into.

Fall into sin.

That’s an interesting phrase. It sounds like one might fall into a camouflaged pit lined with punji sticks. It is a good choice of words, found in 1 Cor. 10:12 which instructs us to take great care, lest we fall into sin. And make no mistake; sin is a trap that is meant to kill, not just injure.

Do you mortify;
do you make it your daily work;
be always at it while you live;
cease not a day from this work;
be killing sin or it will be killing you.

The question is why. Why should we work so hard to stop sin in our lives? Are we doing it to avoid the wrath of God? Are we doing it to make ourselves acceptable to God? Col. 3:5-6 ESV reads, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”

So if we stop sinning, we’ll avoid the wrath of God, right? Wrong. Our actions can do no such thing. There is enough sin in our most loving and selfless act to condemn us forever. Our only hope is repentance and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The reason we mortify sin is not so we’ll be blessed someday; but rather, because we’re already blessed. We mortify sin out of a sense of thankfulness.

Charles H. Spurgeon makes this clear: “The commands of Christ are not upon the legal tenor of, “do this and live,” but upon the Gospel system of, “live and do this.” We are not to be attentive to the precepts in order to be saved but because we are saved. Our master motive is gratitude to Him who has saved us with a great salvation.”

Do you mortify;
do you make it your daily work;
be always at it while you live;
cease not a day from this work;
be killing sin or it will be killing you.

How’s Your Self-Esteem?

Dave Miller — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:18:29 +0000

Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness. – Blaise Pascal

Most American Christians have an unhealthy level of self-esteem – it is much too high.

The average American Christian has no concept of what John Calvin called the “Total Depravity of Man” and what R. C. Sproul calls “Mankind’s Radical Fallenness.” The average protestant preacher avoids the subject altogether, never mentioning sin, wrath, hell or repentance from the pulpit. Yet the Bible is replete with support for this teaching.

Hover over a few of these verses to get an idea for yourself: Genesis 6:5, Job 25:4-6, Psalms 51:5, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:21-23, Romans 3:10-11, Romans 3:23

You don’t even have to take the Bible’s word (God’s Word!) for it if you don’t want. Just open up Drudge Report or Huffington Post and read about the disgusting things that people do every day. It is enough to drive a man (or woman) to depression.

On the other side of this coin is where you will find many American Christians. They have fallen for the post-modern lie that self-esteem is the most important personal attribute that one can possess. Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer are two of the worst at perpetuating this lie under the guise of Christianity.

Knowing Jesus Christ is the only way to have a healthy level of self-esteem; high esteem for God and low esteem for ourselves. The result is neutral self-esteem – not thinking more of ourselves, or less of ourselves than we should.

The equation looks like this. On one side, I am a worm; a dead dog; a totally depraved, sinful, wretched excuse for a man. On the other side of the equation is Jesus, removing himself from heaven, taking on the flesh of a man and then suffering and dying for the likes of me. It doesn’t add up, does it?

But Jesus did that for those who call upon His name, for those who believe on Him.

Why?

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba ! Father !” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:15-17

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called ; and these whom He called, He also justified ; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:28-31

Joyce Meyer doesn’t sin

Dave Miller — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:34:38 +0000

Believe it or not, she says she isn’t a sinner anymore. Listen for yourself.

My opinion really doesn’t matter (ever heard a blogger say that?!), so I’ll just quote scripture.

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. – Romans 3:23

There is no one who does good, not even one. – Psalm 14:3

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. – 1 John 1:8

She says she’s righteous. She even lies and says that the Bible says that she is righteous. Scripture has something to say about that too.

But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; – Isaiah 64:6

As it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE – Romans 3:10

She says she is not poor, miserable or a sinner. Here is what Jesus says.

‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. – Revelation 3:17

Methinks she needs to learn the meaning of the words, Simul Justus et Peccator. No. Scratch that. That is for believers, not wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Something Stinks!

Dave Miller — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:19:48 +0000

For most Americans, a shower is a daily necessity. My wife and I have been married for 20 years and I know she has showered at least once, every single day we’ve been married. I don’t share her singular passion for cleanliness, so about once a month I go without a shower on a Saturday. These occasions are usually when I have nothing to do, nowhere to go and nobody to see. This doesn’t seem to bother anybody in my family because, quite honestly, it’s hard to get really smelly in just one day if you’re just hanging around the house.

Not long ago, I was enjoying a shower-free Saturday and working a little harder than usual in the basement. Just before dinner, I was sitting at the computer and I noticed an odd aroma. At first, I didn’t know what it was, and then it dawned on me that it was me. I immediately shuffled off to the shower before I spoiled my family’s dinner.

Until you smell yourself, you don’t even suspect that you might need a shower. The problem is, other people can smell you long before you can smell yourself. For some reason, we’re somewhat immune to our own scent and we don’t even suspect that we might reek until we’ve been really stinky for a really, really long time.

It is no different with our sin. We are somewhat immune to noticing the stench of our own sins until we’ve allowed them to pollute our lives almost completely. Before I was saved, I was great at comparing myself to other stinking, sinning people and convincing myself that I didn’t smell as bad as they did. Some people, some nominal Christians, go through their entire lives this way. They’re kind of like the ‘deadheads’ of old, thinking a little patchouli oil (good works) will cover up the smell.

God knew that I was rotten to the core and His Holy Spirit convicted me of my sins and let me smell myself for the first time. He put it into my mind (and my nostrils) that I definitely needed a shower. He did that through a preacher who could smell me and was bold enough to tell me that I stank. God also made it clear that no water on earth could wash me as clean as I needed to be. Only the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God could wash my soul spotlessly clean. Revelation 7:14

Though I still enjoy a shower-free Saturday once in a while and like to think I don’t smell *that* bad, I am much more attuned to the smell of my own sins. Praise God that He rescued me from the patchouli-tainted works of my “carnal Christian” life and led me to trust completely in His Amazing Grace.

On Women Pastors

Dave Miller — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:43:03 +0000

Earlier today, a friend on Facebook asked me my opinion on women pastors. My opinion doesn’t matter, so I told him what I have found in the Bible. If you disagree, or have another view, please post a comment with the biblical basis for your belief.

I still have much to learn, but this seems rather plain to me.

The Bible doesn’t bar women from teaching altogether, just from teaching and having authority over men in the assembly. For that reason, I have to say that female pastors and elders are unbiblical. 1 Tim.2:8-15. That said, I have met some very godly women who have the gift of teaching and use it as God intends.

Titus 2:3 says that older women are to teach what is good. Acts 18:26 tells of the beginnings of the ministry of Apollos. One of his teachers was Priscilla. Clearly, even in the early church, women teaching was approved and even encouraged in certain situations. I don’t think that has changed and we shouldn’t put unbiblical restrictions on women who have the gift of teaching.

A common counter-argument is “Paul is just stating a cultural or religious difference that doesn’t apply to us today.” But Paul doesn’t appeal to cultural or religious examples for the reasons behind his statement. In 1 Tim. 2:13-14, Paul uses the example found in Genesis 3 of the woman supplanting the authority of the man and deciding to eat the fruit and encouraging Adam to do the same. Look at Gen. 3:9, who does God call to account for the sin? Not Satan, not Eve, but Adam. The man is held accountable.

The problem in the modern church isn’t only that women want to do what God has said they shouldn’t, (like Eve) but also that men let women usurp the authority that God intended for them (like Adam). The “adolescentizing” (to mint a word) of the American male is behind this problem. Many men would rather play with their toys than lead a community of believers. But that’s another rant for another time.

Merry Christmas 2009

Dave Miller — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:43:29 +0000

To my dear readers, (both of you)

I would like to wish you and your family a very happy and memorable Christmas.

The whole reason we celebrate is to commemorate the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is the time to honor Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, the Son of God, who was born in human flesh to live among His creation for a few decades. What he did, during what we would consider a very short life, was to teach us to love God and one another, to take our sins upon him, and to cover us with His perfect righteousness so we can once again be in full fellowship with God the Father now and forever.

If you only half-heartedly believe this, or don’t believe it at all, please think about it for a few minutes. Consider the fact that all of us will die someday and how many toys we have really doesn’t matter. Consider the fact that there is no way for anyone to live a life good enough to qualify for even a moment in the presence of a perfect, Holy God. The only way to earn a place in heaven is to live a perfect, holy life, and none of us can do that. But if you believe Jesus (not just believe IN Jesus) and turn away from your sins, God will look at your sinful life and see Jesus’ perfect life. Jesus’ work on the cross has assured all believers of this.

Everything else you may have been told that you have to do in order to gain heaven is extraneous. Repent and believe that Jesus is Lord and you are saved – by grace alone through faith alone, not by works. No other religion in the world teaches this, grace is unique to Christianity. Grace is the best kind of gift because none of us deserve it. What a wonderful gift! God loved us so much that he sent his Son to defeat death and sin, and give all believers the undeserved gift of eternal life in His presence.

May the blessings of Christmas be upon all of you.

-Dave