Tonight I decided to go visit a new friend at McAlister Library at Fuller Seminary. While that might sound like an odd place at first, odd people like me like libraries. They have books. Lots and lots of them. As a lover of books there is really no better place to spend an evening.

As I was browsing the stacks I can across a book that should be read, by you, right now. Do your self a favor and dont wait. Its fantastic. Its called FFamous Conversions. Famous Conversions is just that. Its a book that recalls and recounts the conversion of many famous people. Hence Famous Conversions. It makes you wonder who comes up with these names? Amazing!

I spent some time reading the intro and one conversion account. The intro took a look at what conversion is, broke down some of the cultural and contextual ideas of conversion, and defined some of the ways we experience conversion.

Much of my view of conversion has been shaped by the Puritans. The Puritans were well known for the logic and reason of conversion. George Marsden in his magisterial biography of Jonathan Edwards talks about the starting point for conversion. The starting point was viewed as seeing a persons sad estate with reference to eternity. Or as stated in Famous Conversion it can be brought forth by seeing your personal and moral failure. Its what Paul means when he talks about the law being a tutor to bring us to Christ. And that is truly the starting point for conversion. With out an understanding of our sad estates we will never wake to the glories of salvation.

Yet where dose conversion start? Why do some awake to see they have no hope and others never awake? Conversion is truly built out of the human and Divine meeting in a beautiful collision. Yet that is about all that can be said. When all settles we can simple look at conversion and be left with the mystery of God in eternity past being brought about by the wonders of His grace.

So we have look at what conversion is (waking to a sad estate), but what are the effects of conversion? One theme that is common in all conversion is a sense of mission. It is a sense of purpose. It is wanting to follow in the footsteps of Christ. It is a desire to tell others about waking from sleep and entering into delight of the glorious son. Conversion brings with it a desire for the cross and with the cross a desire to see the world changed for Christ.

In spite of the common awaking experience of conversion, you will find that each tale is different. We have Paul dramatically converted while traveling. We also find examples of long and extended conversions. We have conversion where we can point to and say There…Right there is when grace broke in this persons life and we have conversion were there is no beginning and end.

We have those that are once-born and those that are twice born. If you are born once you most likely recall being a Christian as long as you can remember. You have lived your life with highs and lows. You have been close to God and far away. This has been your experience. Or perhaps you have been born twice. You have a sign post and a marker for when you were saved.

And the church has always welcomed both types of converts. We have loved the new brother and we have shepherd the elder brother. No matter what your conversion was like you are welcome and loved by God. Rejoice that you are part of the family. Rest in the mystery of God in conversion. You can see the effects of the wind but you will never know where it will blow. It is always God changing hearts. Sometimes like and earthquake, sudden and swift. Other times it is like a storm on the horizon, slowing moving in.

C.H. Spurgeon was the conversion tail I t I chose to read this evening and my life is richer for it. Spurgeon is know as the price of preachers. He never had any formal training as a pastor. His method of telling others the gospel was simple. It was Sin and Salvation. He made the focus of his ministry. He appealed to the emotion. He called to the heart of people.

The moment that touch Spurgeons life was much like that of Luther. He knew the scriptures. He knew the stories and the gospel. He had read the parables. Yet he had not seen. He had not looked to Christ. Spurgeon puts it this way I have nothing to do but look to Christ and be saved. This is the awakening of the soul. This is where the spirt meets the words. This is the moment when all the lights go on and foolishness of the gospel now makes sense. The scripture become fresh and new. The message was heard as if it had not been heard. It is the difference between knowing about honey and having the sweetness of honey touch your lips for the first time. It is the known becoming known. It is the transition from scholar to lover.

It all started as Spurgeon was wondering home. He found a small chapel and wanted to know how to be saved. The minister was missing that day and a shoemaker or a tailor got up to speak. He was not not well spoken or well prepared. He stubbled over the text and spoke for just a few moments. And in those broken moments God moved. As this unknown soul read from the scripture he recounted a verse about looking to Christ. He called people to look. Just look. Nothing more.

Anyone can look. The poor can look. The weak can look. The blind can look with imagination. There is no waiting for the Spirt to move. Just look. In the midst of this, the man looked out at young Spurgeon and called him to look. Obey and look came from the pulpit. If you dont look you shall live in misery. LOOK AND LIVE. And, as if by magic, salvation become real. He passed from darkness to light in one moment.

And the results? Spurgeon become known as the prince of preachers. He spoke to crowds of thousands. He become one of the best loved pastors that London has ever had.

And what if you have never seen? If you eyes are still dark? If your heart has not awoken to the glories of calvary? I call you to look. Look and see. And if you cannot look or will not look ask for the Almighty to lift your lifeless head and give your blind eyes sight so that you might see Him. Call on the Lord for salvation. Dont wait. Look and Live.

Romans 8:28-32 says

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
What then shall we say to these thing? What can be said? Paul is asking what the implications of calling, foreknowledge, predestination, justification, and glorification are. What do all these things mean. Paul tells us that God is for us. He ends his argument with God being for us and NO ONE being against us. If God was for Paul, it was other Christians too. It is a promise that holds for all opposed Paul. It held for the Jewish leaders of the day. It held for the Romans that opposed Paul. It applies to me. It applies to you. It applies to everyone who loves God.
So often this is the reminder that I need. So often I forget who is in charge. I forget that all things must work for my good. All things is not some things. It is ALL things. It is those things that seem great and good, it is also those trials and struggles that come into my life. God did not spare his own Son, God gave Christ over to suffer and die. If God allowed Christ to suffer I can expect all things to work for my good. Knowing this allows one to face life and the trials it brings with confidence. It allows you to approach the hardships and problems with joy knowing that it is for good.
We see Paul draw out the logic between the death of Christ and all things being given us. Paul starts with telling us that God did not even spare his own Son. God allowed his Son to die. God sacrifice Christ for the sins of the world. God did what we cannot. God offered up his own Son. This was not an easy act. While we sometimes hear of a father killing a son, it is not something that takes place often. Fathers don’t kill sons. They care for sons. They raise and love sons. Yet God sacrificed his own Son. If God can offer up his own Son, giving us all things is not a hard task. Nor is it a task that he will take lightly. He offered up Christ so that we might have all things. This is also the reason that no one can oppose us. How can they? What can they do to us? How can they stand in the way of God’s plans. Only fools oppose the almighty.
But one might ask, “What does Paul mean by ‘All Things?’” What is Paul talking about? We get clues to the all things in verses 28-30. Some of the things that we have been given are our calling and election. God has freely called us into his purpose. He has called us into his kingdom. He has predestined to be made like Christ. We are going to be made into people who act, and love, and care like Christ does. We shall be firstborn sons of God with all the rights of inheritance that comes with being a firstborn son. We have been declared right before God. He has granted us more than pardon. He has taken away the very sin that has required a pardon. He has taken away the crimes that have put us in prison. He has placed those crimes on another. We have been graciously called to be glorified. We shall be made perfect. We shall be given new bodies. We shall reign with Christ.
Yet there are other things that the “All Things” include. We have been given suffering. We suffer so that we might be molded and made into the image of Christ. We have been given sorrow. We have been given sorrow so that we might understand and know what Christ has gone through. W have been given trials so that we might know the trials of Christ. But make no mistake. This is not a case of taking the good with the bad. It is all good. All of it is grace. The guilt and the glory. The suffering and the saving. The calling and the crimes. All is good. All of it. It all works for our good. It is all grace.
Yet again we get another amazing look into the greatness and goodness of God. In his wisdom he has allowed all to work for our good. There is a great hymn called “How Firm a Foundation.” The first stanza reads
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”
What more? What else can be said? Jesus. Jesus has allowed all things to work for our good. This is the solid logic of Paul that places all trials and tears into a proper frame of reference.
That is what has led Piper to to call Romans 8:32 “ the most precious verse in the most precious chapter in the Bible.” Christ is precious. Christ is to be treasured. He has secured our lives and ordered our lives so that we will given all things. Christ death is linked to everything we have, His death has given us all we need. There has never been and there will never be a time in my life when this verse does not apply.
This passage in Romans also demonstrates how Paul often orders his arguments. He starts with the hard and heads to the easy. He starts with the greats and hardest things to do. He starts with a Father killing his Son. He then moves onto the easy. Giving us all things. Keep your eyes pealed as you read the scripture. You will start to notice this type of logic is everywhere in the scripture.
While this passage offers hope and a solid promise of God the application to our, and my, hardened hearts is a much different matter. As I look back on the past few weeks and months of my life I stand with my head low as I recall how often I have doubted that God has given me all things. I think of the fights and arguments I have had with those around me. I see how I got upset because I did not get my way. I see how doubts and fears have crept in when trials have come. I think of all the temptations in my life and see just how little I actually believe that God is for me, gives me all things, and allows no one to oppose me. I see how often I fail in spite of the great and wonderful victory that Christ has obtained. I see that I stand before a holy God damned for my failure. And that leaves me in the greatest of conditions.
All things work for my good. My utter inability to perfectly obey God leaves me before him asking for mercy. It drives me back to the foot of the cross. It takes my eyes off my failure and puts them on Christ. My failing are the saviors victory. My depravity is God’s glory. Crowder puts it this way “It is the divine and the depraved interacting and it seems our feet lift from the ground for a second. We rise from our condition. When our depravity meets his divinity it is a beautiful collision.” That is “All Things” working for our good.

Future Grace by John Piper is an amazing book. Actually…anything by Piper is usually pretty amazing but Future Grace is book that give you an entirely new perspective on grace and how to kill sin in your life. I’ve been blogging my way through this great book and now find myself at Chapter 7. It’s called “Looking back for the Sake of the Future.”

In 2 Corinthians 1:16-20 Paul says he planned to pass through Corinth twice, once on his way north to Macedonia and then again upon his return south. His plans changed – and his opponents in Corinth are arguing that Paul is vacillating, changing his mind and breaking promises whenever he thinks that to do so will be to his personal advantage. At least some of the Corinthians, therefore, think that Paul does not have their good at heart.

In verse 18 we see how Paul answers this criticism. He says that as sure as God is faithful that his word to them has no been “yes and no.” He links his decision right back to God being faithful. He tells them that he is not divided. He says that he does want to see them. As sure as God is faithful he wants to see them. He then goes on to tell and remind them that all of God’s promises are Yes in Christ. But what’s the connection? Why is Paul linking the faithfulness of God to his desire to visit those in Corinth?

We see the connection between God’s faithful and Pauls desire made clear in verses 19 and 20. Paul says that he desire to see them is Yes because God has spoken a Yes for them in Christ. God’s heart towards them in not divided and Pauls heart is not divided either. That’s why he finished with “All of God’s promises being Yes in Christ Jesus.”

As I start to think on God’s promises, the one that comes to mind and I find the most hope in is Philippians 1:6 – He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ. This is one of the most wonderful promises. I so often deal with my own failures and short comings. So often I try and take the workload for living a Godly life on my shoulders. So many times I carry around the weight of trying to do what God has said to do. I start to see the failures and drift into despair. It’s in those moments of feeling lost and helpless that grace comes to me and reminds me that the battle for my soul and growth dose not rest with me and my ability. It rest in God and the work that he is doing.

Yet there is that phrase that Paul uses about the promises of God finding their yes in Christ. So how does knowing that God will be faithful to complete what he began find it’s yes in Christ? This promise finds it’s yes because God has promised to Christ a bride. God has given to Christ a people. Christ has come to redeem those that are given to him by the Father. So knowing that we see that my growth has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with Christ having saved his people. This shift the entire focus off of me and my plans and puts the focus where it belongs. It takes my struggles and roots them firmly in the plans of God and the Yes that he has said to Christ. The yes in the promises of God do not rest in me or who I am. The promises are you because of who Christ is. God has said yes to Christ and because I am in Him those promises and yes’s flow to me.

For you in might be some other promise of God. It might be that he will never leave you or forsake you. It might be that he will comfort you. It could be that he will take the shame of your sin away. The promises of God are as vast as the stars in the heavens and the all find their yes in the Savior. When we see this….When we come to know not only with our heads but with our hearts there is only one response that comes forth from us. It’s the same response that Paul gave. When we see and savior the wonders of God and the love he has for the Son and the blessing that flow from His promises to Christ we “utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

The truth of these verse should have a profound impact on the way we live. We can look back to the finished work of Christ and ground our hope in what Christ has done. This also draws the connection to future grace. Everything that Christ has done allows for all future grace. It is because God has said Yes to Christ that we can look towards the future with confidence. That means that the way to fight unbelief is to grab hold of what Christ did and look forward to God’s promises being fulfilled.

To help us understand this Piper uses the example of hiring an employee. One of the ways to try and figure out how he will behave in the future is to look at his past. We look at how this person seeking employment has worked in the past. We look at the success they have had and look at the failures they have had. While past performance is no indicator of future performance it is often a good indicator. If this new hire has been faithful in past matters, there is not much reason to doubt how they will behave in the future.

The same reasoning applies to our relationship with God. When we are struggling with some issue or overwhelming sin in our life we look to the past to recall God being faithful. We look to the past to for seeing the future. It is because God has been faithful in the past that we can trust him to be faithful in the future. If you take a look at Israel we see what happens when you fail to look back. When Israel turned to false gods after the death of Gideon the book of Judges tells us why they did this. It says they “did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.” It was because of a failure to look back that Israel did not grab hold of future grace.

Amen is another place that we find future grace showing up. Amen is nothing more than saying “I agree.” When we end our prayers with amen we are agreeing that all of God’s promises are rooted in Christ. Our prayer go thought Christ and God’s yes comes back to us by Christ. That’s why we pray in the name of Jesus. With Jesus in our prayer we would never hear a yes to anything we asked for. It is only because of the promises of God finding their yes in Christ that we hear yes from God. When we say amen we are agreeing that God has made all the promises to Christ. Amen is acknowledging that God’s promises find their answer in Christ. When we end our prayers with amen we say “Yes God. I will live by future grace.”

As I take time to ponder this lesson and look into my past for examples of God being faithful I start to see just how faithful he is. What a kind and loving God I serve. He has shown me grace upon grace. All my past trials were used to shape me and mold me. The were used by him to refine me. Yet when current struggles come I am like the children of Israel. I am quick to forget what God has done. I fail to look back. It’s my failure to look to the past that keeps me from steeping out in faith in current trials. The lesson that I have learned from 2 Corinthians 1:16-20 is that I need to look to my past to move forward. When I am failing and slipping in my life I need to go back and place my feet firmly on the cross and on Christ. When I can’t look forward I need to look back and see all of God’s promises find a yes in Christ. Sometimes the way forward is to look back.

You Can’t Save Yourself

The battle against lust is one that we cannot win. We have no power to fight it or put it to death. This seems to be a hopeless battle. But it’s not hopeless. The good news is that Christ can save us from lust. He can set us free the stronghold of lust.

Many times lust is the problem that gets all the attention in our churches. We make rules and set up all sorts of little plans to battle lust. We might commit to accountability, join small groups, cut off our internet connections, or try a whole host of other things to try and win the battle. The problem is that without an understanding of God’s grace and the cross, all those practical strategies will fail. They might work for a moment but without the heart being changed or desires are still the same.

You’re Never on Your Own

Yet we are Christians. We are called to be holy. Think on that for a moment. Holy. We are called to be set apart from this world. We are called to be God’s people.

In our fight towards being set apart we often want to do things our way. We want to do things by our will and our power. We want to set up rules and try and be holy. We, as Christians, want to be holy. Romans 3:20 says “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” This shows us the folly of trying to be holy on our own. Galatians 3:3 reinforces this point when it says “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” We are fools to think that we can set ourselves apart. We cannot do it.

Romans 6:5-8 gives us the solution. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” We have died with Christ. Christ death has set us apart and made us holy. There is nothing that we can do to add to this holiness. Nothing. It is a finished work.

But what does knowing that Christ has made us holy do in our fight against sin? Why is it so important to understand and preach to ourselves what happened on the cross? Once again we go to Romans for the answer. Romans 8:1-4 tells us “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Dwell on those verses for a moment. Spend some time thinking on “no condemnation.” Let the truth of our guilt and shame being removed sinks deep into your mind and heart. The vilest wicked sinner is no longer hated by God but is now loved. God has accepted you in Christ. The condemnation has been removed.

Yet often times the guilt of our sin still pulls and weighs us down. We grow discouraged that we have not seen victory in our life. We despair that our fight with sin has gone on for so long. Charitie Bancroft writes about this struggle in the hymn “Before the Throne of God above.” His words capture the struggle and guilt that sin produces.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me

When Satan tells us that your sin has separated you from God tell him that you have been pardoned. When Satan tells you of your guilt, look to the cross. Our sinful souls have been counted free. We have been pardoned. When we come before God’s throne and repent we find forgiveness. If it’s the first time we ask or the millionth time we have asked. He has put an end to our sin.

God’s grace does not end at the cross. Trusting in Christ is just the start of God’s grace. Salvation starts a process of looking forward to future grace. Titus 2:11-14 give us a great picture of what we have to look forward too. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

It’s Christ who purifies us. It is Christ that perfects us. We don’t do it. He does. He will redeem us from ALL lawlessness. He will bring us to the point where our lives are free from the smallest hint of lust and impurity.

Hebrews 4:15-16 also shows the compassion that Christ has for his people. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Draw near to Christ. Don’t let your sin keep you from Him. Let your sin draw you near. Let your sin show the need we have for the savior. Come and find mercy. He is calling us all to find grace in our time of need. Lust cannot keep us from Christ. As we draw near and call on Him he will purify us. All we have to do is come.

True Freedom, God’s Way

It’s important to make a distinction between justification and sanctification. We see justification in the following passages.
Romans 3:22-26
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Titus 3:3-73
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
From those passages we see the result of justification. We see that our position before God changes. We see that God become but just and the justifier of those who place their faith in Jesus Christ. God has saved us, not because of what we have done, but simply because of his mercy. He has made us heirs and given us the hope of eternal life.
Once we are justified and made right before God, God can start the process of sanctification. Once we are saved God starts to apply the effect of salvation to our lives and to actually make us holy. We have been declared holy and he is now making us holy.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
There is nothing that I can do that will add to my salvation. What God has done has been done. I did not save myself nor can I keep myself saved. Christ died so that He might actually save me. He died so that I might be free from sin.
So often I forget the basic truths of the gospel. So often I forget that I am forgiven. So often I become the Pharisee of Luke 18. When I look at my life I want to see righteousness. Yet in any honest self-examination of my life I don’t see much I like. This tends to drive me away from the truth of my forgiveness. I start living in my guilt and shame. I then, like a dog going back to its own vomit, return to my sin. I go back for the little bit of comfort that my sin provides. I go back to the wrong place. I need to never lose sight of the cross and what Christ has done there.
The right motivation for living a holy and righteous life is…Well…This is interesting. I don’t know that I can give a real answer to this. It’s easy for me to spout off some line about please God. It would be easy for me to pass this off and say “For his Glory.” But that’s not want I want. I want a real motive. I want an understanding of this so that I might actually live a holy and righteous life.
I guess Piper would be the one who has shown me most what the reason for living a holy and righteous life is. It’s for pleasure. It’s for deep, soul-satisfying, God-exalting pleasure. The right motive is joy. I was created by God to enjoy him. I was created by God to find rest and pleasure in God and his law. This should be the motive behind why I want to pursue sanctification. It’s only in God’s law and word that I will be satisfied. Everything else is fleeting and temporary. (I think I like this reason)
Yet how does this connection between justification and sanctification work? What’s the connection? How does the gospel free me to live for God? How does dose being set apart for God give me freedom to pursue God? Galatians 5:13-14 sheds some light on this. I have been set free to love others. In the same way that God has loved me and forgiven me my sins, I am called to love others. That is what my freedom is for.
As Romans 6:16-19 points out, I used to be a salve to sin. I used to obey sin and it’s ever desire. Now I am a slave to obedience. I now find myself fighting sin. I find myself struggling with sin. Deep inside I now have a longing to obey. I want to obey. I find myself fighting against the old master and trying to serve the new.

The Guide’s For Life’s Path
So how dose one get on God’s path? How do we find life? What are the means that God has provided for us?
Romans 8:5-6 tells us to set the mind on things of the Spirit. We need to focus and turn on minds on the things that God is concerned with. We find God’s concerns in the scriptures. That is where we head when we want to set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
Well…If you are anything like me this is not something that comes easy. I don’t naturally want to set my mind on the scriptures. I don’t naturally want to pray. I don’t naturally want to go to God. I need help. I feel very weak. I feel like I am always losing. I feel like I can’t do anything. So often I have lost hope and feel paralyzed by fear.
I have a feeling that is why Paul first tells us to set our minds on the Spirit and then only a few verses later tells us “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Paul knows what the struggle with sin is like. So does our Father. So does the Spirit. That is why we need his help. We need the Spirit to pray for us. We don’t even know how to pray most of the time. I know this is true in my life. I get lost, I feel down and hopeless. I feel as if I don’t even know what to do. It is in those dark times, and also the good times, that I can fix my hope on the Spirit praying for me and helping me in my weakness. He prays with words that I cannot even understand. He is asking God to help me. He keeps me in prayer even when I don’t keep myself in prayer.
What a great truth this is. This is what I need to preach to myself. This is where I need to look to. I need to spend more time looking upwards and not inwards. I need to look to God for my provision. I am painfully aware that I can not provide for myself.
Galatians also provides insight into how we are to live. In Galatians 5:15-26 we read “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Here we get another insight in the guide that we have for life. Once again we are told to walk by the Spirit. And there is a great promise that is connected with that verse. If we walk by the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. I need to be lead by the Spirit. I need to walk by the Spirit. I need to not give into the works of the flesh.

What God Called Good

I have so often gotten the wrong message about sex. I guess its not so much getting the wrong message; its more about believing the lie. I have fallen so many times into the trap of thinking that just a little bit of lust is ok. I have told myself so many times that looking and watching girls as they pass on the street is ok. Its just window shopping. Can it really be that bad?

We live in a society that has twisted what God has created. We now accept sex and its misuse as no longer wrong. We have found Gods standard a little too high and much too hard. I know that I have struggled with lust far too much. I have grown tired of the fight and in some ways accepted that this is just the struggle that I have to have. The truth is that God tells me that I am not to have even a hint of lust in my life. By the cross he has given me freedom. So its time I start living in that freedom.

Sexuality is Good

Sexuality is a God given gift. However it is perverted by Satan and distorted.

In Genesis we have the passages that most everyone is familiar with. Its the be fruitful and multiply passages. These are passages that talk about having children and filling the earth but dont really address the issues of sexuality. The Genesis passages really only address it in a round about way. We see what comes from sex and we know that to obey the command we must have sex. This lets us know that sex is not bad. God commands it. But he commands it with a purpose in Genesis 1:27-27 and Gen. 9:7. We also see reference to sex in Genesis 2:22-25. Yet once again its not directly addressed. We just get that one flesh bit.

Its not until we get into Song of Songs that we really start to see the goodness of sex. In Song of Songs 4:10 we read

How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!

Here we see the man taking delight in his bride. He wants her love. We see the sense involved. We start to get a glimpse of desiring someone elses love.

Yet for some reason when I think of God-given sexuality, most of the time my mind thinks boring. I know that so often sex inside of marriage seems like it might grow dull. There all the jokes about not getting laid anymore when you are married.
We have the be fruitful bit. WellWhat if you dont want kids? What about if you and your wife just want to get it on? Is that so wrong? I know that I really need to work on seeing sex Gods way. I need to work on getting a Biblical view of sex.

Lust is Bad

Lust is the problem. Not sex. Lust stems from my desires. It comes from me wanting and desiring something that is not mine. It is important to keep this in mind while fighting lust. Those sexual desires are for things that are not rightfully mine. I need to fight off the desires that I have. I need to have them put to death.

The other thing to keep in mind is that God is offended by sexual sin. He hates it. It should have no part in my life. Not even a hint. This is what God calls me too.

And what does victory look like? What does fulfillment look like? Lets take a look at a few verses to find out.

Ephesians 4:19-24

They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Philippians 1:9-11

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The words that stick out to me are pure and blameless. Once again we see Gods standard compared to where we are. We are called to not even a hint. It seems so impossible. It seems so far off. Its a battle that only Christ can win.

Thats the other thing that I need to be reminded of. Christ has won this battle. I am a new creation. I am now able to die to myself and live to Christ. Lust has been dealt a deathblow. Its time to live in that victory.

Lust is something that can never be satisfied. It always wants more. Lust is the desire. The prize is not want is wanted but is the desire. As soon as we have the object of desire, we want more. We are left empty.

So What’s the Difference?

Embracing sexuality as Christians is made up of two parts. We dont give in to every impulse nor do we deny that those impulse exist. We choose to exercise restraint and also to be grateful to God for sexuality.

Part of the way to fight lust is too look at our responses to lust. I think that largest temptation I face is my imagination. Its so easy for me to look at women and let my mind wander. I am thankful to God that I like women. I am very thankful that he gave me those desires. However I want to bring those desires in line with what He wants. I need to make sure that my desires line up with what is best for me.

In those times of temptation I need to seek Gods help. I need to go to my savior in prayer. I need to be grateful but I must ask for Him to make my desires new. I need Him to redeem my desires.

So far I’m really liking this book. Here is a question that made me think.

If you were asked to give a sermon at church how much time would you spend getting ready? Most of us would probably spend a fair amount of time. We would make sure what we are saying is correct. We would want to make sure it was Biblical. We would want to do a good job.

If you were asked to minister to a hurting friend how much time would you spend? I know I would spend more time working on the sermon than I would trying to minister to someone.

Often times I am very quick to give an answer and offer some quick advice. I have no problems blurting our advice to someone. This needs to change. I need to approach my role as a minister to others with a sense of gravitas. Helping and caring for others is not something to be taken lightly.

This book is helping me to see that we deal with very broken people. We are ourselves also very broken. That is how God works. He uses broken people as his instruments of change.

Accountability is one of the most frightening things that you can seek after. It’s a process that is dependant on other fallen human beings. It’s a process where we open ourselves up in honesty and humility. I know that with some people I can share my failures and faults and they will encourage me and offer support. Others will see those failures as a sign of my commitment to Christ not being what it should be and they are quick to tell me that I need to get my act in order.

Because of that I would like accountability in this group to be focused on the things that I should be doing. I want to be held accountable to seeking Christ. I know that it might be shocking to most people but I have sin in my life. I have many faults. I find that the more I focus on those faults and trying to fix those faults the more discouraged I tend to become.

The best thing that can be done for me is making sure that I am spending time with Christ. It is by getting to know the savior better that my battles with sin are won. It is by coming to know the glories and supremacy of Christ that things like lust start to look less glorious. Please ask me how I have been seeking Christ. Please make sure that I am spending time studying God’s word and reading substantial theology.

The thing that I would ask this group to pray for is for grace. I need grace like I need oxygen. I need grace to survive. I need God to open my eyes to his glory. I need God to give my heart new desires. I need God to give me the strength to fight against my flesh. Pray that he changes me. I’m done trying to change myself. I have tried to often and have been found wanting. I have tried far to often to battle sin with my little strategies.

Even in our memory verse we get a glimpse of what I am talking about.

Ephesians 5:3 – But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Notice we are told that sexual immorality is not to be named among us. We are told it is not proper. But this verse dose not addresses how to get to that place. This verse dose not addresses how to get rid of the sexual immorality in my life.

If I could do it by willpower alone I would get the glory. I would get the praise and honor for being moral. But my problems lie in my heart. I need God to change me. That is why I ask for the prayers be about change. That is why I ask for knowledge.

Or as Piper so helpfully puts it ”misuses of our sexuality distort the true knowledge of Christ. And, in the second place, all misuses of our sexuality derive from not having the true knowledge of Christ.

Or to put it one more way: 1) all sexual corruption serves to conceal the true knowledge of Christ, but 2) the true knowledge of Christ serves to prevent sexual corruption.“

Peter’s second letter has one of the clearest passages in the Bible on the relationship between knowing God and being liberated from corruption.

In 2 Peter 1:3-4 he says,
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

The divine power that leads to godliness comes “through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” And we become partakers of his divine nature—that is, we share in his righteous character—through his precious and very great promises. In other words, knowing the glorious treasure that God promises to be for us frees us from the corruption of lust and shapes us after the image of God.

Or as Jesus said, most simply in John 8:31-32:

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

So all that to say…Keep me accountable for knowing Christ.

So often I try and do things based on my will. I try and approach a problem with my strength and my effort. I have done this so many things. I try and approach problems and understand them. I address the issues and build a plan of attack. When I fail there is only myself to blame.

Lust has defeated me every time I try to battle it. I struggle with it and have a little success here and there but it always seems to come back. It always seems to rear it’s ugly head time and time again. So often I rate my salvation based on how I am doing in my fights against sin. When I am able to obey and keep God’s law I see myself as having faith in God and being saved. When I fail I see myself as not having faith in God and thus not being a Christian.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Christ came to save sinners. We know this much is true. Christ is a savior. We receive mercy so that Christ might show his patience and be an example to us. I so often look at see that I have been given mercy in some degree. I’m not dead, I’m not a killer, I’ve got a place to live and food to eat. All those things are mercy. Yet I wonder if I have been given mercy to be delivered from lust.

The simple is answer is yes. I have been given all things in Christ Jesus. So now we must ask, why do I still struggle with lust? If I have been delivered from it why is it still an issue? I find myself questioning if I am ever saved.

I want the mercy that this verse talks about. I want to be delivered from my sins. I want victory. Yet it seems so far off.

Psalms 103:8-13

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

This verse tells us that God does not deal with us according to our sins. We know that if we fear him His love towards us is great. I wonder about my fear. I look at my life and see all the doubt and worry in my life and start to question my faith. I wonder if I really do believe. I wonder about my faith. I look at my struggles and issues and don’t see the victory. I wonder if my transgressions have really been removed or if I live in self-delusion.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

So where is my escape? Am I not looking hard enough? What do I need to do? There have been times I have found the escape, there have been times where I fall. I know that there is escape. God’s word tells me there is an escape. I need to commit this verse to memory and always be looking.

1 John 1:6-9

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Here we are. Here we come right back to the heart of the matter. Here we see that the problems we face go far beyond lust. The problems we face are far beyond things we do or don’t do. If we say we have fellowship and walk in darkness we lie. I walk in darkness. My life seems surrounded by darkness. The deeper into my life I look, the more darkness I see. I try to walk in the light. I try and stay in the word and around other Christians. I try and stay focused on Christ and the things that are important.

Yet I see darkness. I see the failings that I have. I see my problems with lust. I see my failures. I confess my sins yet even in that confession I feel so condemned. I don’t always feel the forgiveness that I should. I don’t know if I am forgiven.

I want to be cleaned from all unrighteousness. I want healing. Lord…Please. Bring change. Only you can change me. Only you can make me new.

As I get ready to go through this book with my small group I have several concerns. I have felt condemnation many times from others in the group. There is a condescending attitude that is very prevalent. There is a tendency to look on our actions and place judgments on them and offer quick fixes for problems. I know that there have been several times where I have been in the wrong for something and I have dreaded showing up. I have not felt the strongest bonds of love and acceptance from the group. I hope that we can all grow together and learn to trust each other.

Not Even a Hint of sexual immorality. Not even a little tiny bit. Not the smallest little tiny though, or action, or feeling. None. That is God’s standard.

I have to admit that often times “Not Even a Hint” seems like a very unrealistic goal. It seems so far off. It seems so unattainable. It seems like a nice idea but seems like a battle I will always have to fight. If I had to rate my chance of realist it seemed on a scale of 1 to 10 I think it would hover somewhere around 3-4. It seems impossible.

I think of all the images I’ve seen. I think of all the movies I’ve watched. I think of all the messing around I’ve done and being free from lust and not having to battle it anymore seems so far off. Sometimes I feel defeated before I even start.

Like most things, it’s not so much how realistic I think the goal of “Not Even a Hint” is. It’s much more about how much I desire it. As I think about how much I desire to get rid of lust I tend to think in terms of my actions. Actions tend to show the amount of desire that you have for something. It’s our desires that drive us to do things. We all do exactly what we desire. Using that as the judge of my desire I would have to say that I really don’t desire to have lust out of my life.

How do I show my desire to get rid of lust? It’s shown by reading books, listening to sermons, reading scripture, and seeking accountability. From that standpoint there is some desire.

But I still find myself asking do I really want lust gone. Do I really want it out of my life? Yes scripture tells me that it’s wrong. Yes scripture says that it does not please God. Yes I know it’s wrong…I guess I questions how much I really believe that. There are others sins like drinking, or anger, or murder where I can see a very clear cut correlation between the action and the results. With lust and sexual sin that is not the case. Lust is a very private matter.

I’m not trying to justify it. I know it’s wrong. Scripture says it’s wrong. I’m just trying to deal honestly with how much I want lust out of my life.

It’s at this point that I find Piper’s work on the issues of sex very helpful. He points out that when Christ is at the center of our lives and when we know and understand him how we should, sexuality will fall into it’s proper place. I think that so often I spend far too much time thinking of sex, lust, and all the related matters. Sometimes it seems like I get so off track trying to fight lust that I forget to seek after Christ.

Perhaps part of why I struggle with having a strong desire to have lust out of my life is that I feel so defeated. I feel like I have fought the battle and lost. I feel like I am doomed to fail again. I feel that it will have to be the thing that I always struggle with.

It’s a tough battle. But that is where faith comes from. It comes in trusting in Christ to do what is impossible. So in some ways I do want to be delivered from lust. But I know I can’t do it. Only Christ can. He is truly my only hope in the matter.
Lust vs Sexuality

Here is a simple definition of lust. Lust is desiring sexually what God has forbidden. I think this is a helpful definition. This comes from one of the books I am currently reading called “Not Even a Hint.” Lust is a desire. Lust is a passion. It is desiring something sexual that God has told us we cannot have. Often times we will use lust in a non-sexual way. I know that I have often times “lusted” over cars, or new apple products, or other such things. In reality that is not lust. There is no sexual desire when I want those things.

I don’t know if there is much I would change in the definition of lust. I think that defining it and viewing it as desiring what God has forbidden is a healthy way to define it.

This is however a difference between lust and sexuality. We see that distinction drawn out in scripture. Take a look at the following verses.

Ephesians 5:3 – But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Colossians 3:5 – Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 – For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor

In each one of those verse we see that we are avoid and abstain for all forms of sexual immorality. We are to put those things to death. Those are things that are not even to be named among Christians. It has no part in our lives. Yet when we contrast those verse on lust with other verse that deal with sexuality we see some of the differences come out.

Genesis 2:25 – And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed

Proverbs 5:18-19 – Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.

1 Corinthians 7:2-5 – 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

In those verses we see the goodness of sex. We see the goodness of God and the provision he offers for us. While lust is wrong and to be avoided, sexuality is a gift from God and is to be enjoyed. But like all gifts, if we are not allowed to have it just yet…we are desiring something before it is ours, we are lusting for it.

God is not simply calling us to avoid sex for the sake of being stoic prudes. He is not asking us to avoid lust simply for the sake of doing it. It fits inside his bigger plan. It is really a matter of trust and belief.

When I give into lust, I doubt God. I doubt his provision. I doubt him to provide for me. When I give into lust I am turning away from God. Yet when I resist lust I am trusting God. When I control myself and my thoughts I am showing by my actions that I believe God and I don’t believe the lies of Satan and this world.

This is an amazing book. I need to consume it again and again and again. Piper has given us a book that breaks down the depths of the human heart and gets right to the issues that plague us the most. His insight from scripture on how to battle and fight for joy are lessons that have touched me in the most profound ways.