Tag: christianity

3 Marks of the Truly Convicted

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Do you know what it means to be convicted of your sin? Do you really understand just how sinful you are and why you need a Savior?

I think there are many who do not understand the extent of their sinfulness and the separation that sin brings. This is particularly evident when people claim they are good people, when they believe they can approach God without first being redeemed by Christ, and when they see nothing wrong with the way they live.

The Bible however paints a different picture of mankind. Paul tells us in Romans that no one is righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10). He goes on to tell us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). The Psalmist agrees when he tells us that we are all sinners from our mother’s womb. Born utterly corrupt without a righteous bone in our body (Ps. 51:5).

In order to be saved from our sin, we must agree with Paul and the Psalmist. True conviction doesn’t and cannot occur until we do. Using Paul and the Psalmist as a launching pad, let me give you what I see as three necessary marks of the truly convicted.

3 Marks of the Truly Convicted

(1) The truly convicted are aware of a severed relationship with God

Sin hinders our relationship with God because a holy God cannot have a relationship with sinful man. Just like oil and water don’t mix, a holy God and sinful men can’t mix.

Those who are truly convicted of their sin understand their relationship with God is severed and hinders their fellowship.

(2) The truly convicted admit they are guilty of sin against God

Isaiah understood he was guilty because of his actions. In Isaiah 6:1-5, we read,

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

After coming face to face with the reality of God’s holiness, Isaiah pronounces a woe on himself, saying he is lost and a man of unclean lips. He understood his sinful actions against God where offensive and left him guilty.

Just like Isaiah, those who are convicted of their sins admit the same.

(3) The truly convicted admit their complete perversity and corruption

When we are convicted of our sin, we recognize we are wholly depraved and there is nothing good in us. Once we recognize our condition, we then seek cleansing from our guilt and defilement. Such was the attitude of the Psalmist.

In Psalm 51, he asks the Lord to have mercy on him and to wash him because he understood himself to be a sinner, who was evil in the Lord’s sight. Utter and complete corruption characterized his life of which he understood the implications, namely, a severed relationship with God, which would result in eternal damnation.

Those who are convicted of their sin, agree with the Psalmist and plead with God to cleanse them as well.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you willing to admit you are completely and utterly corrupt?
  2. Do you believe that you stand guilty before God because of your sin?
  3. Do you generally see yourself as a good person in God’s eyes? Or do you see yourself as a sinner in need of a Savior?
  4. Does the realization of your sinful drive you to plead with God to cleanse you?

Resources

Post adapted from Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, by J.I. Packer, 66-81.

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How the Gospel Deals with Conflict | Part 4

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, PracticalLeave a comment

This last week, I have been discussing conflict. I have dealt with where conflict occurs (Part 1), why we need to get rid of conflict (Part 2), and I gave 8 ways to get rid of conflict (Part 3). In this last post, I want to provide you with encouragement.

Conflict Doesn’t Mean We Will Lose Our Salvation

We know that conflict is going to happen. We are sinners, who will disagree and argue with each other. Just because conflict is going to happen doesn’t mean that we should not deal with it. We have already seen that we should. Even though conflict is going to occur, it’s occurrence doesn’t mean we will lose our salvation.

In other words, we don’t have to be perfect. Notice at the end of in verse 3 Paul tells us that these two women’s names are in the book of life.

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

What is the book of life, how do we get our names in it, and what does the existence of the book tell us?

First, what is the book of life?

You all have seen the cartoons where Peter is standing at the Pearly Gates as people come to enter heaven. What is normally before him is a book. In the cartoon, the book acts like a guest list to a party. If your name is on the list, then you are in. If it is not, well, you are excluded. While the cartoon’s depiction of Peter standing at the Pearly Gates checking to see if your name is in the book of life is probably not how it happens, the book of life is a reality.

Revelation 20:11-15 says,

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

From this text we learn that the book of life is a list of all those who will experience eternal life. If your name is in it, you will experience eternal life. If it is not, you will experience eternal damnation.

Second, how do we get our names in the book?

There are criteria that need to be met. We must believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We must understand why Jesus came to die.

The reason He had to die is because we are all sinners. We all have rebelled against God. We have all turned our back on Him. None of us are righteous, not one of us. We can’t earn that righteousness. There are no amount of works that we can do to make ourselves righteous. The only way that we can be made righteous is through our belief in Jesus Christ.

We have to admit we are sinners, repent of our sins, and trust in Jesus Christ.

All those who believe that they are sinners and repent of that sin. All those who believe that Jesus by His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins, and all those who confess that Jesus is their Savior, trusting that His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to pay the price for their sins will be saved, their relationship with God will be restored, and they will experience eternal life.

All those who understand why Jesus came to die, admit they are sinners, repenting of that sin, and trust in Jesus Christ will have their names written in the book of life.

Third, what does the existence of the book tell us?

It tells us that once our name are written in the book of life, they are not removed. They are just as permanent as the words on the page in the Bible sitting on your shelf at home.

The permanence of our names is important to remember as we experience conflict with others, because conflict, or any other sin that we may commit as Christians, doesn’t remove our names from the Book of Life. God doesn’t have a cosmic eraser He takes to the page every time we mess up. In Christ our relationship is secure.

There are several reasons it is important for us to remember our names are permanently written in the book of life:

  1. It is important to remember so we don’t fall into a works based righteousness, thinking we have to do something to keep our names in the book.
  2. It is also important to remember so that we will not try to hide our conflict with others.
  3. Lastly, it is important to remember because this knowledge should free us up to admit our sin because we know that Christ has paid the price for our sins, and we know that our sins will not remove our names from the Book of Life.

So then the existence of the book creates a sense of permanence, which should keep us from acting self-righteously, and it should free us up to deal with our conflict head on.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you believe your name is written in ink in the Book of Life and cannot be removed?
  2. Have you ever thought conflict or other sins would remove your name from the book of life?
  3. Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior?
  4. Do you understand why He had to die in your place?

Resources

A helpful resource to consult would be: Pursuing Peace: A Christian Guide to Handling Conflicts by Robert Jones

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Respectable Sins: Impatience & Irritability | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable SinsLeave a comment

Last time I took up the topic of impatience. Closely related to impatience is irritability, which is today’s topic.

Irritability Defined

“Describes the frequency of impatience, or the ease with which a person can become impatient over the slightest provocation.”[1]

This definition reveals that impatience and irritability are closely associated. So much so that we can say “the person who easily and frequently becomes impatient is an irritable person.”[2]

Irritable people are impatient most of the time. They are the type you have to tip toe around. The grouchy person, the one no one wants to be around those are who we would consider to be irritable people.

As Christians, irritable people do not serve as a good witness for the gospel. They are not able to lead others. They are not good accountability partners. For these reasons, and that irritability is a sin, we should rid it from us.

How do you respond to an irritable Person?

We have two options when it comes to responding to an irritable person:

(1) Jesus’ Example – In 1 Peter 2:23, “when he [Jesus] was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

Jesus did not retaliate and neither should we. Rather, we are to allow God to judge and deal with those who are criticizing or insulting us.

(2) Confront the Person – A conversation with the person who is continually impatient or irritable towards us is at times necessary. We must not be afraid to confront others about their sin, but we have to be cautious here. We should not confront the person until we “have resolved the issue in [our] own heart and can speak to the other person for his or her benefit.”[3]

Remember if we choose to follow step two and the person does not respond well, we should not blow up on them, or walk away seething. Rather, we should revert to step one and allow God to judge and deal with the person. As well as we should pray that the Holy Spirit would convict them and work in their heart to remove their sin.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Have you ever confronted an irritable person? How did it go? Where they defensive or did they respond well?
  2. Why is it important that we not be irritable people?

Resources

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 118
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.,119

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Respectable Sins: Impatience & Irritability | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable Sins11 Comments

This week we are going to take up the subject of impatience and irritability. In order to do them both justice, I will look at impatience today and irritability in my next post in this series. Let’s start by defining impatience.

Impatience Defined

“A strong sense of annoyance at the (usually) unintentional faults and failures of others.”[1]

Notice Jerry Bridges uses the word unintentional faults and failures. These are things that people cannot help given their life circumstances or physical limitations.

For example, if someone’s hearing is bad, we should expect to have to repeat ourselves, or that that they will misunderstand us. When those things occur, we should not become impatient.

There are other unintentional faults or failures that should not cause us to be impatient, but often do, such as:

  • People not running on your time schedule.
  • Traffic / Slow drivers.
  • Parents impatient with their children not learning what they want them to learn quickly.

The Heart Sin Impatience Reveals

The sin of impatience reveals our desire to be in control by desiring others to conform to our expectations. If that is true, then the events in our lives are not necessarily the things that cause impatience, they are just the means by which the sin of control is manifested in our lives.

The Environment Conducive to Impatience

Impatience often, but not always, manifests itself in our homes. While it is easy for us to be patient with those in public places, it can be difficult at times to exercise the same patience with those under our own roof.

Why is this so?

Our homes provide us with a certain level of comfort. The environment and the people are not new to us. We know them and what they think about us. We don’t worry so much about our appearance or even winning them over. Our increased comfort often allows our true character to shine forth. This is why, like it or not, the home is a great place for sanctification.

What does Scripture have to say?

There are several scriptures that speak to impatience. Let’s take a look at them now.

1 Corinthians 13:4

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant”

1 Thessalonians 5:14

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Ephesians 4:1-2

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”

Colossians 3:12-15

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

Scripture reveals impatience is a sin. When we are impatient, we are not loving, we are not manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit, we are not living in a manner worthy of our calling, and we are not acting as God’s chosen ones.

How to Deal With Impatience

We can deal with the sin of impatience by praying the Lord would convict us and empower us to rid this sin from our lives.

In addition, when we sense ourselves growing impatient, we should preach the gospel to ourselves. Reminding ourselves, as Paul did Timothy, that in saving us God exercised His patience toward us (1 Timothy 1:16). If God, the Ruler of the universe, exercised patience towards us while we were rebelling against Him, then we can exercise patience toward someone who is not running on our schedule.

Moreover, we need to remind ourselves that God is the One who is in control. The circumstances that occur in our lives are sovereignly brought about and are used by Him to teach us and grow us, even the ones that might give us opportunity to become impatient.

Questions for Reflection

  1. In what area(s) of your life are you impatient?
  2. How have things gone when you have confronted someone who is impatient?
  3. How do you react when people are impatient with you? If you have reacted negatively, what was the result?
  4. Can you think of a reason why in God’s sovereignty He would allow you to encounter an impatient person?

Resources

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 116

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What are the Ingredients for Proper Evangelism?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, PracticalLeave a comment

Say you are planning to cook a chicken pasta dish tonight for dinner. In the process of cooking the meal, you forget to add the chicken. When everything is said and done, you will probably have a good pasta dinner, but you will not have the meal you set out to prepare. While our pasta dish will taste fine without the chicken, leaving out an ingredient in our evangelism might not turn out so well.

What are the ingredients to proper evangelism?

There are four main things we need to include in our message:

  1. God
  2. Sin
  3. Christ
  4. A call to repent and believe

Let’s look at these one at a time:

God

God is the Creator. As our Maker, He is also our Ruler. As our Maker and Ruler, He has absolute claim on our lives. We are not only to look to Him for guidance, but we are to also submit to Him and obey His commands.

Sin

Sin tells us that we have rejected God as our Creator and Ruler. In place of His rule, we seek our own.

Sin entered the world at the Fall mankind when Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s rule. As the head of the human race, all who come after them are also plunged into a world of sin and inherit a sinful nature. The result is separation from God. Since He is holy, He cannot have a relationship with an unholy people.

Sin is offensive to God. Not until we understand how offensive sin is to a holy God, and how utterly sinful we are, will we see our need for salvation.

Therein lies the problem of the human race, most people do not believe they are sinful because they measure sin by particular actions. It is easy to see that a murderer is sinful, but a good upstanding citizen, who doesn’t even have a parking ticket; why they are not sinful? The Bible tells us otherwise. In Romans, Paul says, “None is righteous, no, not one; (Rom. 3:10), which means even good people are sinners, whose sin separates them from God.

Sin not only explains why we can’t have a relationship with God, but it also explains why the world is the way it is. Disease, sickness, death, corruption, and all kinds of evil exist because of sin.

Christ

Christ is the Savior of mankind. In order to understand fully Christ’s saving action, we need to know about both His Person and Work. The reason for both is because His cross work was only possible because of His life.

Person: Jesus is the incarnate Son of God who lived a perfect life. Never transgressing one of God’s laws, which allowed Him to be the perfect sacrifice for mankind.

Work: Jesus offered Himself up as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In our place He hung. As He did our sins were nailed to the cross with Christ. The Perfect One became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

On the cross, Jesus suffered the wrath and punishment of God. Wrath and punishment that we deserve because of our sinful nature. Since He took our place, He made a way for mankind to be reconciled to God.

Jesus not only died on the cross for our sins, He also raised from the grave after 3 days defeating death. After 40 more days, He ascended into heaven where He know sits on His throne as the King over all. One day He will return to defeat Satan, judge those who did not believe in Him, sentencing them to eternal damnation, renew all things, and rule the world.

All those who believe these things about Jesus will be saved.

A Call to Repent and Believe

While repenting and believing is not a part of the gospel story, it is a necessary ingredient to evangelism because evangelism aims at conversion. So we must call people to repent and believe.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you believe God is our Creator, or do you believe we were created through an evolutionary process?
  2. How do you determine who is and who is not a sinner?
  3. Why is it necessary for us to know about both Jesus’ person and work?

Resources

Post adapted from: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, by J.I. Packer, 66-81

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10 Ways to Imitate the Godly

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

In Philippians 3:17, Paul commands us to imitate him. What are we to imitate about Paul? We are to imitate his mindset and actions. Paul’s letter to the Philippians gives us a good picture of who Paul is, how he thinks, and what he does. So let’s look at Paul’s minset and actions up to this point in the letter. In doing so, we will see 10 ways to imitate the godly.

 10 Ways to Imitate the Godly

(1) Paul constantly and fervently prays for others (1:1-11)

  • He thanks God for the salvation and growth of the Philippians. As well as he prays for the Philippians growth and perseverance.

(2) Paul proclaims the gospel (1:12)

  • He knows the gospel is the only means to renewal and restoration, so he relentlessly and continually proclaims the gospel, even in jail.

(3) Paul’s all consuming passion is to glorify Christ (1:12-30)

  • He doesn’t care what happens to him as long as the gospel is proclaimed he rejoices, which is why he can rejoice even when he is in jail, beaten, or killed for the gospel.

(4) Paul holds others accountable (2:2;14)

  • He rebukes the Philippians of their disunity, urging them to be unified with one another.

(5) Paul takes up the mindset of Christ (2:5-11)

  • He humbles himself, counts others more significant than himself, looks out for the interests of others, and he takes up the Father’s will for his life.

(6) Paul knows God is the One who empowers him to work in the Christian life (2:12-13)

  • He does not seek to live in a manner worthy of the gospel in his own power. He recognizes God is the one who empowers him, which keeps Paul humble and not prideful, and it also keeps him from becoming discouraged and quitting.

(7) Paul watches out for others souls (3:2)

  • He warns the Philippians of the dogs in their midst, taking care to inform them of their behavior and their error, so they will not be deceived.

(8) Paul sees the gospel as the only means of salvation (3:2-9)

  • He does not trust in his own achievements. Instead he sees his achievements as rubbish, and he counts everything he ever gained as a Pharisee loss for the sake of knowing Christ.

(9) Paul doesn’t believe he has arrived (3:12-13)

  • He knows that he still has room to grow, knowing that he does not fully know Christ yet.

(10) Paul strives and strains forward to Christ (3:12;14)

  • He keeps his eye on the prize, removing all distractions. He does not allow others to beat him into submission. He is constantly moving forward towards Christ, constantly straining forward.

That is the picture we get of Paul so far in Philippians, and those are the qualities and actions we should imitate. Second to Jesus Christ, he is to be our guide as to how we are to think and live because he reflects Christ.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Does your life resemble Paul’s?
  2. Is your life one that someone could imitate?
  3. Do you know that if your life does not resemble Paul’s, the Holy Spirit will empower you to grow in your Christian walk, so you don’t have to despair or beat yourself up.
  4. Do you believe all Christians should strive to imitate Paul, or do you think living sold out for Christ is reserved for the super Christian?

Resource

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