The Hinge That Opens Heaven's Door: Week beginning January 25th
9 comments:
Anonymous
said...
How about chapter 4? "Sometimes the most intricate or powerful machinery can become totally inoperative because of a missing or broken part or faulty connection". I can account first hand what that feels like when you know there is specific sin in you life and God is begging to use you. A second part of this thought in mentioned on pg 98. "How will unbelievers be convicted of their sin and turn to Christ if the people who are preaching the gospel deal fast and easy with their own sin?. I will need to go back and read chapter 4 again this is good stuff.
Oh man, the “S” word! Johnny Hunt made the most profound statement I think I have ever heard regarding sin. He said we should pray that God will make us feel before we sin the same way that we do after we sin. Isn’t that true?
On page 94, Cymbala makes an incredibly true, yet humbling, statement: "Real confession means to say the same thing about sin that God says. Real confession involves humbling ourselves and agreeing with Him about the very nature of our sinfulness". This is both a true and timely statement. We live in a world that tries to strip away all absolutes. People are offended when you refer to "sin" as, well, "sin". I've head the ole statement, "just because that's how you think doesn't make it wrong for me"! I've tried to rationalize sin before by thinking, "surely it's not that bad". Truth is, sin is sin! It is that black and white, and as much as we try to paint a grey area in the middle, in God's eyes, the grey area is just not there. We need to look at our sin through the lens of the cross. No matter how big or small we might think our sin is, it was for that sin that Jesus shed His precious blood. I heard someone say one time that when you give your life to Jesus, it's like He "overlooks" your sin. God certainly did not overlook my sin, He dealt with it in the most extreme and passionate way possible, through giving His only begotten Son. I've got a lot of junk in my life; little things that I've let slide, that I thought weren't "that bad". But truth is, they are sin; unconfessed, undealt with sin. Through reading this chapter, I had to spend some time, on my knees, humbly before God, confessing and seeking His forgiveness. God is really using this reading time to minister to me, and I appreciate the venting that I get to do on this blog. Keep up the prayers!
Wow I love this Chapter. Good stuff. Phillip, I love that quote. You know my favorite is Johnny Hunt. This is my deal. I know I sin. I, as Brad, had to get down on my knees after reading and being convicted. pg. 95, "Let us ask his help in confessing every kind of disobedience, no matter how inconsequential it might seem."
Do you think sin needs to be preached about more? Thoughts?
Pg. 91: “Confession of sin is the most important key to being a people and church that lives continually under the blessings of heaven.”
Wouldn’t you like to continually live under the blessings of heaven? What stops me from that? Sin. More specifically, the failure to confess sin. A few months ago God laid on my heart the fact that I am a lazy “confessor of sin.” I’m often guilty of saying, “God, I’m sorry for all the sins I’ve committed.” I must ask myself, am I truly sorry for the sins I’ve committed or am I sorry I got caught? Am I truly sorry for the fact that I stomped upon the sacrifice that Jesus made for me or am I just confessing my sins in the hopes that God will hear my requests of supplication?
I started reading the Bible through again. My plan is to finish within the year. I started Leviticus this morning. Now, I certainly don’t understand much about the OT sacrificial system. However, what I do notice is that God was very specific in the way He wanted things done. When these offerings were made, they were not to be a haphazard, “I’m sorry.” I’m so glad that I/we live under the New Covenant. For me, I must pray that I will learn to confess and turn from my sins as David did in Psalms 51 so that I can continually live under His blessings.
QUESTIONS FOR THE BIBLE SCHOLARS: What was done with all the offerings after they were brought to sacrifice? Were they simply burnt or were they eaten by the people as well as the priests?
The reason I ask that question is this. I have been in church since 2005 (serving). I can count on one hand the times I heard a sermon on sin. Problem? I feel we need to have sermon series on sin. Would anyone show up for that?
I would. You know, technically we cannot have a sermon on salvation or mention the saving power of God without the mention of sin. I have heard that sin comes from the Greek word for "missing the mark" as an archer misses the target. I have never really liked that definition. I have described sin as an archer missing the mark or the target with our own children standing behind the target. The stakes are then a bit higher.
It seems we all got a message out of this chapter. Those verses Cymbala quoted (pg. 93) from Psalm 32:3, starting with, "When I keep silent my bones waste away...", I can testify to that. Like Brad I was drawn to the statement, "true confession is saying the same thing about sin that God does." I believe this agreement with God is also the source of righteousness. James wrote that the fervant prayer of a righteous man avails much. We all want our prayers to avail much so the question is, what makes a man righteous. Ask most people if they would consider themselves righteous and rarly will they come right out and say yes. Of course we know we are washed clean by the blood of Christ for salvation. However, I'm speaking of daily righteousness in the here and now. I believe the answer falls right in line with this statement from Cymbals. What makes you and I righteous is that we are in agreement with God (based on His Word). When we do sin we accept that it is IS sin. We can't allow for the justification of certain sins based on our circumstances. I'll use an example that has probably touched all our lives. God said that he hates divorce (Malichi). I used this example once in a sermon and had a women come to me and tell me that God had blessed her divorce, which is impossible for God to do outside of the exceptions given in scripture. She could be forgiven but until she saw her divotce as a sin against God she couldn't see that she needed to confess that sin. God hates sin but he doesn't hate the sinner. What we must never do is lead others to believe sin is OK God in certain situations because that is leading them toward unrighteousness, and being at odds with God. Jesus warned us of this Mark 9:42. Mike, I believe it is these difficult issues like divorce that lead some to avoid the topic so as not to offend the congregation.
In chapter 12 the writer of Hebrews issues Christians a challenge to run the race of faith. In order to do so we must lay aside every encumbrance and sin that so easily entangles us. We have to learn to run with endurance and keep our eyes fixed on our example, Jesus Christ. How do we accomplish this in our society? We lock arms with other men of faith and run the race.
This blog is dedicated to a “technical” approach to locking arms. This blog is dedicated to online book studies for men. We will read certain chapters from chosen books. Then we will post comments to encourage, inspire, and in some cases stir up other men. So, you are invited to join our online discussion. More importantly, will you accept the challenge to run the race of faith?
9 comments:
How about chapter 4? "Sometimes the most intricate or powerful machinery can become totally inoperative because of a missing or broken part or faulty connection". I can account first hand what that feels like when you know there is specific sin in you life and God is begging to use you. A second part of this thought in mentioned on pg 98. "How will unbelievers be convicted of their sin and turn to Christ if the people who are preaching the gospel deal fast and easy with their own sin?. I will need to go back and read chapter 4 again this is good stuff.
Paul J.
Oh man, the “S” word! Johnny Hunt made the most profound statement I think I have ever heard regarding sin. He said we should pray that God will make us feel before we sin the same way that we do after we sin. Isn’t that true?
On page 94, Cymbala makes an incredibly true, yet humbling, statement: "Real confession means to say the same thing about sin that God says. Real confession involves humbling ourselves and agreeing with Him about the very nature of our sinfulness". This is both a true and timely statement. We live in a world that tries to strip away all absolutes. People are offended when you refer to "sin" as, well, "sin". I've head the ole statement, "just because that's how you think doesn't make it wrong for me"! I've tried to rationalize sin before by thinking, "surely it's not that bad". Truth is, sin is sin! It is that black and white, and as much as we try to paint a grey area in the middle, in God's eyes, the grey area is just not there. We need to look at our sin through the lens of the cross. No matter how big or small we might think our sin is, it was for that sin that Jesus shed His precious blood. I heard someone say one time that when you give your life to Jesus, it's like He "overlooks" your sin. God certainly did not overlook my sin, He dealt with it in the most extreme and passionate way possible, through giving His only begotten Son. I've got a lot of junk in my life; little things that I've let slide, that I thought weren't "that bad". But truth is, they are sin; unconfessed, undealt with sin. Through reading this chapter, I had to spend some time, on my knees, humbly before God, confessing and seeking His forgiveness. God is really using this reading time to minister to me, and I appreciate the venting that I get to do on this blog. Keep up the prayers!
Brad M.
Wow I love this Chapter. Good stuff. Phillip, I love that quote. You know my favorite is Johnny Hunt. This is my deal. I know I sin. I, as Brad, had to get down on my knees after reading and being convicted. pg. 95, "Let us ask his help in confessing every kind of disobedience, no matter how inconsequential it might seem."
Do you think sin needs to be preached about more? Thoughts?
Mike
Pg. 91: “Confession of sin is the most important key to being a people and church that lives continually under the blessings of heaven.”
Wouldn’t you like to continually live under the blessings of heaven? What stops me from that? Sin. More specifically, the failure to confess sin. A few months ago God laid on my heart the fact that I am a lazy “confessor of sin.” I’m often guilty of saying, “God, I’m sorry for all the sins I’ve committed.” I must ask myself, am I truly sorry for the sins I’ve committed or am I sorry I got caught? Am I truly sorry for the fact that I stomped upon the sacrifice that Jesus made for me or am I just confessing my sins in the hopes that God will hear my requests of supplication?
I started reading the Bible through again. My plan is to finish within the year. I started Leviticus this morning. Now, I certainly don’t understand much about the OT sacrificial system. However, what I do notice is that God was very specific in the way He wanted things done. When these offerings were made, they were not to be a haphazard, “I’m sorry.” I’m so glad that I/we live under the New Covenant. For me, I must pray that I will learn to confess and turn from my sins as David did in Psalms 51 so that I can continually live under His blessings.
QUESTIONS FOR THE BIBLE SCHOLARS: What was done with all the offerings after they were brought to sacrifice? Were they simply burnt or were they eaten by the people as well as the priests?
Yes, Mike. Sin is what keeps us from Christ. If we are kept from Christ we can't serve Him.
The reason I ask that question is this. I have been in church since 2005 (serving). I can count on one hand the times I heard a sermon on sin. Problem? I feel we need to have sermon series on sin. Would anyone show up for that?
Mike
I would. You know, technically we cannot have a sermon on salvation or mention the saving power of God without the mention of sin. I have heard that sin comes from the Greek word for "missing the mark" as an archer misses the target. I have never really liked that definition. I have described sin as an archer missing the mark or the target with our own children standing behind the target. The stakes are then a bit higher.
It seems we all got a message out of this chapter. Those verses Cymbala quoted (pg. 93) from Psalm 32:3, starting with, "When I keep silent my bones waste away...", I can testify to that.
Like Brad I was drawn to the statement, "true confession is saying the same thing about sin that God does." I believe this agreement with God is also the source of righteousness. James wrote that the fervant prayer of a righteous man avails much. We all want our prayers to avail much so the question is, what makes a man righteous. Ask most people if they would consider themselves righteous and rarly will they come right out and say yes. Of course we know we are washed clean by the blood of Christ for salvation. However, I'm speaking of daily righteousness in the here and now. I believe the answer falls right in line with this statement from Cymbals. What makes you and I righteous is that we are in agreement with God (based on His Word). When we do sin we accept that it is IS sin. We can't allow for the justification of certain sins based on our circumstances. I'll use an example that has probably touched all our lives. God said that he hates divorce (Malichi). I used this example once in a sermon and had a women come to me and tell me that God had blessed her divorce, which is impossible for God to do outside of the exceptions given in scripture. She could be forgiven but until she saw her divotce as a sin against God she couldn't see that she needed to confess that sin. God hates sin but he doesn't hate the sinner. What we must never do is lead others to believe sin is OK God in certain situations because that is leading them toward unrighteousness, and being at odds with God. Jesus warned us of this Mark 9:42. Mike, I believe it is these difficult issues like divorce that lead some to avoid the topic so as not to offend the congregation.
Scott
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