By grace alone…

This week’s topic concerns a crushed spirit. When it happens, I want a cure that releases me, or at least hope that it will get better, yet in some cases, prevention might be the answer. That is, if the crushing happens because I have sinned, then far better to avoid it than to deal with it after the fact. In this, prevention is better than a cure.

A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Proverbs 18:14–15)

While the verses in Proverbs are often unrelated to each other, verse 15 could be a clue for how to avoid that unbearable crushing that comes when I am convicted of sin and overwhelmed by my own foolish behavior. Rather than ignore it and become hardened to it, God wants me to seek His word and be wise.

Avoiding sin is obvious. Don’t touch the fire and you will not be burned. Avoid a crushed spirit by never offending my conscience. Work hard to be true to the light that God has given me and follow Him with all my heart. Is it that easy?

Spurgeon says that nothing comes so sharply in a time of sorrow, pain, and brokenness as that sense of sin committed. In doing what I know is wrong, I often cry, “Why did I do this? Why didn’t I do that?” Obviously life is going to hand me sorrow anyway and I cannot expect to never feel depressed. However, if guilt is added to those sorrows, I will be overwhelmed. It’s simple; obey God and not be further crushed. Just don’t sin in the first place.

To keep from sin, I must have and maintain a clear view of the gospel. In my current studies, I’ve learned that a muddied gospel leads to a muddied life. If God is defined other than what He has revealed Himself to be, or if Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are not understood in the way they have been revealed, or if the life, death and resurrection of Christ is diminished or mixed up in any way, then I cannot live a victorious life. I need to see who I am, but without a clear understanding of who God is and what He has done, sin will get the best of me and crush my spirit. History proves it, the history of Christianity and my own history.

While the gospel and questions about it can be complicated, it is also simple. I am a guilty sinner yet Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. He died for the ungodly, for me. My standing before God is not nor will ever be in myself or in my own attainments, but rests entirely in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because that is true, I can avoid a crushed spirit by living near to God. As Spurgeon illustrates, the sheep that gets bitten by the wolf is the one who wanders away from the shepherd. I might be nipped by the words of a preacher (Spurgeon calls himself the Good Shepherd’s dog), but if I stay near Jesus, that nip will be only a warning, for the wolf cannot touch me. If I pull away from holy living and close communion with my Lord and Savior, I will sin and eventually experience a crushed spirit.

Because God promises to use ALL things for my good (Romans 8:28-29), I must add this. Whenever I feel the crushing weight of my own foolish disobedience, eventually I also feel a greater desire to obey and stay close to God, remembering that Jesus died for me and now lives for me. That crushing also humbles my heart and reminds me that I’m no hot shot; I cannot save myself. This rich and abundant life is not mine because I’ve earned or deserved it.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6–11)

To Live is Christ — with a solid foundation

Figures of speech delight the poet and confuse a new immigrant. From cliches like “Go jump in the lake” and “That’s the way the cookie crumbles” to more original expressions, our language is liberally seasoned with word pictures.

I’d be dismayed if someone took some of these literally. That is, we don’t want people to actually take a dive into a lake or think life’s unexpected events are cookies. This feature in our language is intended to give richer explanations, but generally not precise directions.

Jesus used figures of speech that made His statements more vivid to those who hear Him. On one occasion He was explaining that not all religious-appearing people are pleasing to God with what they do. 

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

These people were doing what appeared to be Christian activities and even used the name of Jesus to do them. Yet Jesus condemned them on the basis of relationship. He said, “I never knew you.” He used a word that in those days described the deepest intimacy between a man and woman. In this case, He was not talking about sex but about that incredible knowledge of God that happens when He comes to live in a person’s heart through faith and genuine salvation.

All the external actions in the world cannot make a person right before God. We are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9). As Jesus explained elsewhere, first the heart needs to be made right. Then the actions that proceed from a new heart will be acceptable. Here is the figure of speech Jesus used to describe someone who is pleasing God:

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24–25)

The firm foundation is obedience to all that Jesus says, not picking the parts that I can easily do. This is about first knowing Him, then knowing what He asks of Me, and then doing what He says.

The promise is vivid. Those who obey Jesus Christ from the heart are like a house solidly planted on a rock. No matter what hits them, they do not fall because they have been obedient.

As I think about my walk with Christ, I could list the times my foundation has been obedience and when the trials of life hit but didn’t make me fall. But I can also remember those times that I’ve not obeyed Him. I crashed.

These crashes are not the same as those Jesus describes as, “I never knew you” and that lead to eternal separation from Him. Instead the crashes in the life of a disobedient Christian are like a glass tipping over (see yesterday’s post). I can get up again and walk with Him again, but first need to get my feet out of the sand and unto the rock . . . Jesus is my rock.

To live is Christ is simple — do what He says. Standing on the Rock is the only way to resist the subtlety, selfishness and stubbornness of temptation and sin. Simple — yet far too often I’m such a Duh. My crashes are good reminders of how much I need God’s help to keep me firmly grounded in Him. 

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