How does the Gospel ‘work’?
Monday, July 11, 2011
I get lots of questions about the Gospel. Most of them are not as ‘form’ oriented (i.e. content) as they are ‘function’ (i.e. how does the Gospel work?). Most of the inquiries revolve around grace and the ability of a philosophical system that demands faith INSTEAD OF works to ACTUALLY result in the mortification of sin. Just such a question was posed last week about an ongoing struggle with pornography. Below is an exerpt of the PDF paper “How does the Gospel work?” The particular sin addressed in the paper is ‘lying’ but you can make the connection to your particular poison. Grappling through these issues IS the hard work of sanctification and mortification. You should know that it is HARDER to rest, by faith in Christ, and have that change you than to avail yourself of a hundred sin-stifling strategies! John Calvin said, “He who makes the worship of God consist in faith and repentance, BY NO MEANS LOOSENS THE REINS OF DISCIPLINE, but rather compels men to the course they are most afraid to take.” I am indebted to my friend Bob Flayhart for exposing me to that quote!
How Does the Gospel Work?
In order to figure out just ‘how’ the Gospel works you have to begin with a diagnostic question: What is the one sin that you find yourself most regularly repenting of, but going back and doing it over and over again? Secondly, ask yourself, Has the repetitive nature of your sin driven you to a deeper & deeper knowledge and love of Christ or a deeper & deeper frustration with your own ability to get this ‘regular’ sin under control? Thirdly, you need to ask yourself: have you actually repented and moved from your sin toward Christ or have you just been living in penance- doing the sin and then trying as hard as you can to do the opposite of that sin for as long as you can until you slip up and sin again?
Example: if your sin is ‘lying’ do you find yourself:
1. Acknowledging that ‘lying is wrong.’
2. Knowing from the Bible that you ‘shouldn’t be lying.’
3. Knowing that its ‘bad’ but feeling like its not AS BAD as the ‘really bad sins.’
4. Hating the emotional struggle of ‘doing wrong’ when you know ‘what is right’
5. Telling God you are ‘sorry’ but not really feeling much heartbreak or guilt (and feeling guilty/heartbroken for not really feeling guilty/heartbroken.)
6. After telling God you are ‘sorry’ for lying then you make God a ‘promise’ that you will try harder to tell the truth. (This is the stage that you get to after you’ve lied to God 100 times telling Him that you won’t lie at all anymore. You give up the thought of ‘never’ lying again, so you reduce that to simply promising to ‘try harder’ not to lie instead of lying by saying you ‘won’t lie’…)
7. You emotionally feel like the situation has been handled; you and God are back on speaking terms.
8. If someone asked you how God ‘felt’ about you after all of this the best you could get to would be ‘acceptance.’ It usually ‘feels like’ divine tolerance, but on good days acceptance is the decided emotion that God has for you. He is God, you are his child, you are accepted because of Jesus, see you in heaven. Period.
9. Life goes back on auto-pilot and unfortunately this is where the cycle starts over because you inevitably lie again.
10. Lather, rinse, repeat, despair.
NOTE: the longer this cycle continues the greater despair one will experience. The more despair one experiences the more likely they are to begin to entertain thoughts like, “I bet I’m not really saved….” Outwardly, you become hypersensitive to even the most remote insinuation that you might be a liar. You become an extremely vocal advocate for TRUTH and inwardly you have a personal disgust for people who lie and ESPECIALLY for people who don’t take the wrongness of lying seriously.
Download the full PDF file by clicking here
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Comments
Greg Ray | July 11 2011 at 12:42 pm
thanks, I will enjoy studying this!
HB in SC | July 12 2011 at 7:55 pm
Yeah, what he said!
Josh Treen | July 13 2011 at 5:02 am
Thanks Jean! This is fantastic!
Anonymous | July 14 2011 at 1:37 pm
Martin Luther: “The truth of the Gospel is the principal article of all Christian doctrine . . . Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.”
Anonymous | July 14 2011 at 2:12 pm
Some of us are keenly aware of our lifetime of sin and many of its results, and are chronically depressed (which may be related to a mental/physical illness). So: when was the last time I imagined God throwing a party for me? It’s been a looong time. For the most part I’m ashamed, embarrased, disappointed, and (of course) not rejoicing. The very best news is: even if the Smile of God is hidden (due to our chronic lack of perception or other affliction), this is a temporary malady, and He will quiet us with His love, one Day. In the meantime, I ask him to touch my emotions, and understanding, so I can in some way be a light in this dark place. I recommend Piper’s book “The Hidden Smile of God”, which is free at http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/online-books/the-hidden-smile-of-god.