When rattled with a problem or a temptation, the Lord takes me back to the basics of the Gospel. That is biblical. I’m to live out my faith in the same way as it began…
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6–7)
Today’s devotional was written by Martin Luther many
years ago, but the principles of how to deal with sin are the same today as
they were in his day. First, he points to the reason Jesus died…
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities… he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. (Isaiah 53:5, 8)
Yesterday’s piece was about looking at the suffering
of Jesus and feeling the horror of sin. However, Luther warns that being terror
stricken in my conscience can be terribly negative and leave me in deep doubt —
if I do not cast my sin on Christ.
When I first read his words, I’m thinking, “Of course”
but then realize that it is possible to confess sin and then brood about the fact
that it was committed. In the brooding, there is no joy, no release from guilt,
no sense of being forgiven and cleansed. This is an emotionally worse place
than before.
Instead, I am to think about and believe that my sins
are His wounds and suffering. He carries them, “He himself bore our sins in his
body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). This and other passages like it must come
into focus and replace the deadly weight in my conscience. As Luther says, if I
deal with my sin in my conscience and let the horror of what I have done continue
in me, it is a form of cherishing the thing in my heart and soon enough it will
become much too strong for me to manage and will live forever.
Yikes. I understand that statement. Such activity is
usually accompanied by agonizing thoughts such as, “How could I ever do such a
thing?” or “This is wrong… why am I even interested…?” Instead of dwelling
there, I need to say, “Jesus died for that sin. It was placed on Him at the
Cross. Jesus has forgiven and cleansed me by His death and resurrection” and so
on.
Of course, those Gospel thoughts must be believed. It is
a fact that in Christ my sin is washed away and powerless. Romans 4:25 says
that Christ was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for
our justification; that is, by His death and resurrection He makes us righteous
and free from all sin.
Luther adds this most startling statement “… even if
we believe differently.” I understand that too. If my house is on fire, it is
on fire, whether I believe it or not. Christ died for my sin; it is a fact.
Luther says if a person is not able to believe it (generally for salvation or
for a specific sin for sanctification) then that person should pray to God for
faith. This matter is in the hands of God. Faith is entirely free and He bestows
it; I cannot conjure it up.
Luther says I must now stop looking at the suffering
of Christ. If being at the cross has done its work to literally put the fear of
God in my heart and make me hate the sin I loved, then I must “press through
all difficulties and see how full of love His heart is toward” me, a love that
compelled Him to bear the heavy load of my conscience and sin. In this, my
heart is assured of forgiveness and my faith is made stronger. I am drawn to
the heart of God through Christ and more deeply understand His goodness and
love. My faith and my conscience are clarified, and I stand firm in the One who
died for me.
This is the Gospel in action, of course for salvation,
but also for ordinary life when ordinary sinners, saved though they may be, get
pushed against the wall by temptation and sin. I must look at the cross to see
the awfulness of my sin and foolish foibles, but then must gaze at the immense magnificence
of my Savior and God.
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