Last week, I addressed the shame that comes with sin, and I introduced the responses to that shame. The first response is self-justification – seeking any way possible to make sure that you get off the hook. But this never gets us anywhere. The true response to our sin is brokenness. This is a very unpopular notion today. If a preacher wanted to see how loyal his congregation is to either him or the truth, a message about brokenness would expose the genuine from the fakes. Voddie Baucham has a powerful sermon about brokenness based on Psalm 51. I do not want to regurgitate it, but to follow up this blog post, go listen to that sermon. It is powerful.
Growing up, I never wanted to be broken over my sin. I don’t mean that in a proud way. I would always say I would rather be moldable and allow God to gently tweak me and correct me, but the more I mature in the faith, the more I realize that I truly need to be broken. It has been said that every man that God has used has walked with a limp. With every man, there is something that God puts in his life to humble him. Paul described his as a “thorn in the flesh.” Jacob had a physical limp as a result of wrestling with God (he was at least 91 at the time, which gives us all hope).
People have this soft, fluffy, shampoo-model idea of Jesus that is pure kindness and gentleness with not a rough spot in Him. Yet, that’s not who Jesus is. While He is kind and gentle, He is also firm and tough. He didn’t have soft hands but calloused hands; He worked. When He dealt with sin, He did not mince words. You see two responses Jesus gave to all people and summarized this way: “Law to the proud, grace to the humble.” Before Jesus ever offered anyone grace, He first dealt with the heart issue – the Pharisees, the rich young ruler, and even the crowds. While He had compassion on the crowds to feed them once, He did not feed them a second time. He instead dealt with their heart issue. But what about the woman caught in adultery? He never confronted her about her sin. Why? Because she was already broken. She already knew she was guilty and could do nothing about it.
Before we can truly grasp what Jesus did for us, we have to see and understand the weight of our sin. This is a struggle I have. Those who have hit rock bottom know it very well; those who haven’t struggle with this. Those who have experienced the true emptiness of sin and the death it produces want nothing to do with it anymore. Some are enslaved by it still and need deliverance. Many drug addicts and alcoholics hate the junk but can’t escape it without divine intervention. But those who have not yet tasted the death of sin don’t always see the emptiness. Some see it in others. Many children saw their father drunk and decided they would never drink and be like that. Others saw their father drunk, and they themselves drink because that is how they saw their faither deal with pain. These people are broken people. They are htruurting people. They are experiencing the fruit of their own choices, but they don’t have a good solution. They need the Gospel.
Voddie Baucham describes repentance from sin as getting off the highway towards Hell and brokenness as the off-ramp. And as always, there are two responses to brokenness. Paul showcases these in 2 Corinthians 7:10. One is worldly sorrow, which leads to death, and the other is Godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow is showcased well in two people: Esau and Judas Iscariot. Esau despised his birthright and when he realized what he lost, he was only sorry he lost it and not sorry for what he did. Judas betrayed Jesus and even acknowledged that what he did was wrong, but he never saw the vertical component to sin. Both died unrepentant of their sins.
But Godly sorrow leads to repentance and to salvation. Two people showcase this: David and Peter. David sinned against God. He lusted after another man’s wife, slept with her, and murdered him, one of his own best friends, to cover it up. When confronted a year later, David realized the severity of his sin and that his sin was primarily and ultimately against God. Then he wrote the famous song of repentance: Psalm 51. Peter also betrayed Jesus and denied Him three times. But unlike Judas, what Peter missed the most was the relationship he had with his Savior. He was broken and finally learned what it means to rely upon Jesus for everything.
But there was another case of brokenness that should be explored: Pharaoh, who defied Moses in freeing Israel and took Egypt through the 10 plagues. Pharaoh was different than Esau and Judas who realized what they lost. Pharaoh was so hard, so still, and so determined to stay in control that it took seven plagues for him to actually recognize he sinned and would let just the men go worship God. After the 9th plague, Pharaoh let the women and children go, but not the flocks. Why did he do this? Simple: he wanted them to have an anchor and reason to come back. But after the 10th plague, that’s when Pharaoh finally broke. After letting his entire nation essentially go down in flames, he finally relented. But he never would bow the knee before God. Soon, his grief over the loss of his son turned to utter rage. He charged after Israel with his army to slay everyone, only to be buried in the Red Sea by another miracle of God.
Brokenness is meant to be a roadblock to stop us from completing sin’s cycle of death. It is meant to get us off that track and to redirect us back to the correct path. It is painful, it hurts, and no one likes going through it. But when taken in the full context of where it leads, it is a beautiful thing. Every person broken by God and restored does not like the breaking process at the moment, but they most certainly prefer the restored state after healing to where they would have been had God done nothing. We still have a choice in how we respond to brokenness. We can turn aside from our sin or persist in it. I want to dwell on this issue a little more before going on to the next step in the proper response to sin. Next week, I will do a study on “dust and ashes” before going on to the confession of sin and then to the repentance from sin.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
0 comments:
Post a Comment