Due to certain personal situations, various cultural happenings and a good dose of thought provoking reading material, I have been busy processing frustrations and meditating on many doctrinal truths lately. We all know they were bound to be revealed at some point, so why not now?
I begin with citing the Westminster Larger Catechism, something sound Presbyterians hold dear to their hearts. Buried deep inside the WLC are three questions/answers that I think need some revival as we enter 2011.
Q. 150. Are all transgressions of the law of God equally heinous in themselves, and in the sight of God?
A. All transgressions of the law are not equally heinous; but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.
Q. 151. What are those aggravations that make some sins more heinous than others?
A. Sins receive their aggravations, 1. From the persons offending; if they be of riper age, greater experience or grace, eminent for profession, gifts, place, office, guides to others, and whose example is likely to be followed by others. 2. From the parties offended: if immediately against God, his attributes, and worship; against Christ, and his grace; the Holy Spirit, his witness, and workings; against superiors, men of eminency, and such as we stand especially related and engaged unto; against any of the saints, particularly weak brethren, the souls of them, or any other, and the common good of all or many. 3. From the nature and quality of the offence: if it be against the express letter of the law, break many commandments, contain in it many sins: if not only conceived in the heart, but breaks forth in words and actions, scandalize others, and admit of no reparation: if against means, mercies, judgments, light of nature, conviction of conscience, public or private admonition, censures of the church, civil punishments; and our prayers, purposes, promises, vows, covenants, and engagements to God or men: if done deliberately, willfully, presumptuously, impudently, boastingly,maliciously, frequently, obstinately, with delight, continuance, or relapsing after repentance. 4. From circumstances of time, and place: if on the Lord's day, or other times of divine worship; or immediately before or after these, or other helps to prevent or remedy such miscarriages: if in public, or in the presence of others, who are thereby likely to be provoked or defiled.
A. Sins receive their aggravations, 1. From the persons offending; if they be of riper age, greater experience or grace, eminent for profession, gifts, place, office, guides to others, and whose example is likely to be followed by others. 2. From the parties offended: if immediately against God, his attributes, and worship; against Christ, and his grace; the Holy Spirit, his witness, and workings; against superiors, men of eminency, and such as we stand especially related and engaged unto; against any of the saints, particularly weak brethren, the souls of them, or any other, and the common good of all or many. 3. From the nature and quality of the offence: if it be against the express letter of the law, break many commandments, contain in it many sins: if not only conceived in the heart, but breaks forth in words and actions, scandalize others, and admit of no reparation: if against means, mercies, judgments, light of nature, conviction of conscience, public or private admonition, censures of the church, civil punishments; and our prayers, purposes, promises, vows, covenants, and engagements to God or men: if done deliberately, willfully, presumptuously, impudently, boastingly,maliciously, frequently, obstinately, with delight, continuance, or relapsing after repentance. 4. From circumstances of time, and place: if on the Lord's day, or other times of divine worship; or immediately before or after these, or other helps to prevent or remedy such miscarriages: if in public, or in the presence of others, who are thereby likely to be provoked or defiled.
152. What doth every sin deserve at the hands of God?
A. Every sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, and holiness of God, and against his righteous law, deserveth his wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come; and cannot be expiated but by the blood of Christ.
In a day when we are constantly bombarded with the lie that all sins are equal, it would do us well to actually consider the biblical teaching. Are all sins equal? Well...yes and no. Do all sins equally deserve the wrath and curse of God? Yes, even what is the tiniest transgression. And are all of us totally depraved? Yes, but let us not confuse total depravity with utter depravity. We are not utterly depraved. Sin has penetrated every facet of our thinking. Every ounce of our being is infected with sin, and even in our attempts to be righteous, without the power of Christ and His resurrection, we are unable to glorify Him in the slightest, yet even in our total depravity God’s common grace restrains us from sinning as greatly as we could sin. Hence, there are those in society that are far from understanding the Gospel, yet they may still hold to morals that are derived directly from God Law. They are still desperately in need of special grace, that salvific grace found when we repent and cling to Christ-His righteousness, His atoning death and His conquering of death through the resurrection-as our only Hope from sin, but His common grace still keeps them from becoming the worst sinners they could be. Through God’s common grace, societies are also kept from spiraling down into further depravity. As His common grace is removed, we see more and more immorality and destruction. Romans 1 is the perfect example. God gave them over to sexual impurity, God gave them over to shameful lusts, and God gave them over to a depraved mind. It was a progression. In Ezekiel 8, we continue to see greater and greater abominations, so although all sin is deserving of condemnation, some sins are more heinous and warrant worse judgement. In Matthew 11 we see that Capernaum will suffer greater judgment than Sodom. We have deceived ourselves into thinking that all sins are equally heinous when the truth is that all sins are equally condemnable. There is a difference.
A. Every sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, and holiness of God, and against his righteous law, deserveth his wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come; and cannot be expiated but by the blood of Christ.
In a day when we are constantly bombarded with the lie that all sins are equal, it would do us well to actually consider the biblical teaching. Are all sins equal? Well...yes and no. Do all sins equally deserve the wrath and curse of God? Yes, even what is the tiniest transgression. And are all of us totally depraved? Yes, but let us not confuse total depravity with utter depravity. We are not utterly depraved. Sin has penetrated every facet of our thinking. Every ounce of our being is infected with sin, and even in our attempts to be righteous, without the power of Christ and His resurrection, we are unable to glorify Him in the slightest, yet even in our total depravity God’s common grace restrains us from sinning as greatly as we could sin. Hence, there are those in society that are far from understanding the Gospel, yet they may still hold to morals that are derived directly from God Law. They are still desperately in need of special grace, that salvific grace found when we repent and cling to Christ-His righteousness, His atoning death and His conquering of death through the resurrection-as our only Hope from sin, but His common grace still keeps them from becoming the worst sinners they could be. Through God’s common grace, societies are also kept from spiraling down into further depravity. As His common grace is removed, we see more and more immorality and destruction. Romans 1 is the perfect example. God gave them over to sexual impurity, God gave them over to shameful lusts, and God gave them over to a depraved mind. It was a progression. In Ezekiel 8, we continue to see greater and greater abominations, so although all sin is deserving of condemnation, some sins are more heinous and warrant worse judgement. In Matthew 11 we see that Capernaum will suffer greater judgment than Sodom. We have deceived ourselves into thinking that all sins are equally heinous when the truth is that all sins are equally condemnable. There is a difference.
The sad reality is that Christians today do not task themselves with reflecting on doctrines like common grace and the degrees of sin. Our culture continues to tear down hurdles to sin and as a result God’s restraining grace withdraws. When you consider the legalization of abortion, the allowance of no fault divorce, the push for gay rights and same sex marriage, all of these things spiral us down a path to greater depravity. It is Romans 1. And yes, these sins ARE more heinous than the way that that two year old coveted after his brother’s Legos! My biggest question is: where is the Church? Why have we rolled over like fearful cowards and in the name of “love” been so quiet concerning these sins? Granted, there are pro-life organizations fighting diligently against abortion. And may God bless and honor them for fighting for life! However, what about divorce? Sexual perversions? Sodomy? Why do we find speaking Truth in conflict with loving our neighbor? Why are we attempting to create a false dichotomy? The Scripture is not in conflict with itself. God is not in conflict with Himself. Like the great heroes of the faith in the past, we should be taking up the task of loving our neighbors by proclaiming Truth to them. The Truth that these sins are abominations before a Just and Holy God. The Truth that God hates and despises sin. The Truth that sin cannot go unpunished. The Truth that Christ took the wrath we so rightly deserved so that we can have forgiveness, grace and freedom from sin. Through Christ we can mortify sin. Through Christ we become new creatures able to glorify and enjoy Him. We need to proclaim Truth clearly. We need to proclaim it boldly. And we need to proclaim it often. Our culture is sinking further and further into a pit of corruption as we sit by like demoralized zombies. The prince of darkness is at work, and he is not lazy about destroying man. He is attempting to crush everyone in his path. We need to stop concerning ourselves with “being nice” and instead concern ourselves with loving our neighbor by defending righteousness and confronting evil. Lying is never loving. We need to shed our sin of apprehension and live in the knowledge that Christ is with the faithful. The Truth has set us free, and we need to let it set others free. What wonders we will see if we unleash the Truth and let God’s Word and Spirit do their work. As we face the new year may this hymn text by Thomas Hughes sink into our hearts, minds and lives.
O God of truth, whose living Word
Upholds whate’er hath breath,
Look down on Thy creation, Lord,
Enslaved by sin and death.
Upholds whate’er hath breath,
Look down on Thy creation, Lord,
Enslaved by sin and death.
Set up Thy standard, Lord, that we,
Who claim a heavenly birth,
May march with Thee to smite the lies
That vex Thy groaning earth.
Who claim a heavenly birth,
May march with Thee to smite the lies
That vex Thy groaning earth.
Ah! would we join that blest array,
And follow in the might
Of Him, the Faithful and the True,
In raiment clean and white!
And follow in the might
Of Him, the Faithful and the True,
In raiment clean and white!
We fight for truth, we fight for God,
Poor slaves of lies and sin!
He who would fight for Thee on earth
Must first be true within.
Poor slaves of lies and sin!
He who would fight for Thee on earth
Must first be true within.
Then, God of truth, for Whom we long,
Thou Who wilt hear our prayer,
Do Thine own battle in our hearts,
And slay the falsehood there.
Thou Who wilt hear our prayer,
Do Thine own battle in our hearts,
And slay the falsehood there.
Good point, about loving our neighbors also including speaking the truth to them. I don't have to be aggressive about it, alienating them; speaking the truth in love.
ReplyDeleteLots to think on here.
Do a search: The First Scandal Adam and Eve.
ReplyDelete