Three Thoughts After the Sermon
By Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor
Here are three things that I'd like to further highlight from last Sunday's sermon, "Confidence As You Wake Up" (Ps 5):
1. God hates sin and also hates those who sin. That's probably one of the more severe statements I've made in a sermon. But Ps 5:4-6 couldn't be clearer on this point. This is a hard point to grapple with for many people because, as J. Mack Stiles writes in Marks of a Messenger, we tend to think of ourselves as people who commit sins as opposed to being a people who are sin. The problem is that in our very condition. We don't just do some rebellious things against God – we are fully rebels against God. In all that we say, think, do, and feel, we are systematically defying God's good, perfect, and righteous rule. In view of that, we should expect God to react strongly!
2. All of us have committed an abundance of sins for which we deserve to be judged and cast down into fiery punishment (v.10). Thank God, however, that he has overcome the abundance of our sins through the abundance of his love expressed to us through Jesus Christ. (v.7 cf Rom 8:38-39).
3. Assurance, joy, hope, confidence – all things people would like more of in their lives. And all things that are impossible to secure from within ourselves. It's only when we develop a life lived in the presence of the Lord, where we obey him and submit to his righteous, leading, that we experience all the elements of life that make it a blessed life.
2 comments:
Re: 1...
This was the first time ever that I have heard from the pulpit that God hates not only the sin but also the sinner. Upon hearing that God does not necessarily separate the sin from the sinner, my daughter looked over at me with a strong gesture of affirmation. As soon as we got into the car to go home, both my daughter and wife brought it up noting how bold and biblical this was. I've always taught our kids this very principle, mainly in reaction to a church we used to attend when they were young whose mantra was "God loves and accepts you just the way you are." Sadly, the church had a distorted understanding of grace. Often I would ask "If God accepts us just the way we are, what are we to do with all the imperatives in the NT?" Moreover, if God separates sin from the sinner, would not hell be empty? Even in corporeal punishment of our justice system or discipline within the home, when there is a criminal act (sin), we do not punish the offense or discipline the child's behavior. Instead we punish the offender. So too with God. Thanks for this sound and biblical disposition, pastor V!
Some good points there Paul. I especially like your illustration about how we punish the offender in our justice system. I will need to remember that one the next time I deal with this topic. As I mentioned, this can be a hard truth to preach and teach but it is an absolutely necessary one. If we do not do so, our understanding of God and his grace can indeed become horribly distorted.
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