Dealing With Indwelling Sin

Excerpt from  ‘The Dead End Of Sexual Sin’ by Rosaria Butterfield.

 

“ Eventually, the concept of indwelling sin provided a window to see how God intended to replace my shame with hope. Indeed, John Owen’s understanding of indwelling sin is the missing link in our current cultural confusion about what sexual sin is — and what to do about it.

As believers, we lament with the apostle Paul, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:19–20). But after we lament, what should we do? How should we think about sin that has become a daily part of our identity?

Owen explained with four responses.

1. Starve It

Indwelling sin is a parasite, and it eats what you do. God’s word is poison to sin when embraced by a heart made new by the Holy Spirit. You starve indwelling sin by feeding yourself deeply on his word. Sin cannot abide in his word. So, fill your hearts and minds with Scripture.

One way that I do that is singing the Psalms. Psalm-singing, for me, is a powerful devotional practice as it helps me to melt my will into God’s and memorize his word in the process. We starve our indwelling sin by reading Scripture comprehensively, in big chunks, and by whole books at a time. This allows us to see God’s providence at work in big-picture ways.

2. Call Sin What It Is

Now that it is in the house, don’t buy it a collar and a leash and give it a sweet name. Don’t “admit” sin as a harmless (but un-housebroken) pet. Instead, confess it as an evil offense and put it out! Even if you love it! You can’t domesticate sin by welcoming it into your home.

Don’t make a false peace. Don’t make excuses. Don’t get sentimental about sin. Don’t play the victim. Don’t live by excuse-righteousness. If you bring the baby tiger into your house and name it Fluffy, don’t be surprised if you wake up one day and Fluffy is eating you alive. That is how sin works, and Fluffy knows her job. Sometimes sin lurks and festers for decades, deceiving the sinner that he really has it all under control, until it unleashes itself on everything you built, cherished, and loved.

Be wise about your choice sins and don’t coddle them. And remember that sin is not ever “who you are” if you are in Christ. In Christ, you are a son or daughter of the King; you are royalty. You do battle with sin because it distorts your real identity; you do not define yourself by these sins that are original with your consciousness and daily present in your life.

3. Extinguish Indwelling Sin by Killing It

Sin is not only an enemy, says Owen. Sin is at enmity with God. Enemies can be reconciled, but there is no hope for reconciliation for anything at enmity with God. Anything at enmity with God must be put to death. Our battles with sin draw us closer in union with Christ. Repentance is a new doorway into God’s presence and joy.

Indeed, our identity comes from being crucified and resurrected with Christ:

We have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. (Romans 6:4–6)

Satan will use our indwelling sin as blackmail, declaring that we cannot be in Christ and sin in heart or body like this. In those moments, we remind him that he is right about one thing only: our sin is indeed sin. It is indeed transgression against God and nothing else.

But Satan is dead wrong about the most important matter. In repentance, we stand in the risen Christ. And the sin that we have committed (and will commit) is covered by his righteousness. But fight we must. To leave sin alone, says Owen, is to let sin grow — “not to conquer it is to be conquered by it.”

4. Daily Cultivate Your New Life in Christ

God does not leave us alone to fight the battle in shame and isolation. Instead, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the soul of each believer is “vivified.” “To vivicate” means to animate, or to give life to. Vivification complements mortification (to put to death), and by so doing, it allows us to see the wide angle of sanctification, which includes two aspects:

1) Deliverance from the desire of those choice sins, experienced when the grace of obedience gives us the “expulsive power of a new affection” (to quote Thomas Chalmers).

2) Humility over the fact that we daily need God’s constant flow of grace from heaven, and that no matter how sin tries to delude us, hiding our sin is never the answer. Indeed, the desire to be strong enough in ourselves, so that we can live independently of God, is the first sin, the essence of sin, and the mother of all sin.

I Cannot Do Much

Quoting from Tim Challis’ blog post :

 

“Sometimes you stop reading just a little bit too soon. That may be your temptation as you read this quote from Charles Spurgeon. But you’ll be missing out if you don’t read right to the end…

Heaven will be full of the ceaseless praises of Jesus. Eternity! thine unnumbered years shall speed their everlasting course, but forever and for ever, “to him be glory.” Is he not a “Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek”? “To him be glory.” Is he not king for ever?—King of kings and Lord of lords, the everlasting Father? “To him be glory for ever.” Never shall his praises cease. That which was bought with blood deserves to last while immortality endures. The glory of the cross must never be eclipsed; the lustre of the grave and of the resurrection must never be dimmed. O Jesus! thou shalt be praised for ever. Long as immortal spirits live—long as the Father’s throne endures—for ever, for ever, unto thee shall be glory. Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying him now? The apostle’s words are, “To him be glory both now and for ever.” Will you not this day make it your prayer? “Lord, help me to glorify thee; I am poor, help me to glorify thee by contentment; I am sick, help me to give thee honour by patience; I have talents, help me to extol thee by spending them for thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve thee; I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but thine, and glow with no flame but affection for thee; I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of thee and for thee; thou hast put me in this world for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my life-purpose: I cannot do much, but as the widow put in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity too into thy treasury; I am all thine; take me, and enable me to glorify thee now, in all that I say, in all that I do, and with all that I have.”

Pray it, and allow yourself to imagine what your life would look like if you lived it…”

Padkos–March 2015

11 Best Books on Cultural Engagement – Bruce Ashford   “First, “cultural engagement” is a very broad term, encompassing many things, and a short list like I am providing only scrapes the surface. Second, I’ve tried to include a mixture of beginning, intermediate, and advanced books in order to provide recommendations for every type of reader. Third, although I don’t agree with everything that is said in any of the books I recommend, I do think each of the books I recommend provide helpful guidance in how to engage our 21^st century Western context.”

Lazy Busy – Tony Reinke “

This is sloth at its deadly best: trying to preserve personal comforts through the candy of endless amusements. Sloth is a chronic quest for worldly comfort that compounds boredom — boredom with God, boredom with people, boredom with life.

The most common species of slothfulness is “lazy busy” — a full schedule endured in a spiritual haze, begrudging interruptions, resenting needy people, driven by a craving for the next comfort. It is epidemic in our day.”

Your Job is God’s Assignment – John Piper 

 

A Plea For Gospel Sanity in Missions (Part 2) - Aubrey Sequeira  “Westerners get so googly-eyed with sensational stories from the East that they don’t even notice the non-existence of any form of the gospel message.”

A Plea For Gospel Sanity in Missions – From East to West (Part 3). -Aubrey Sequeira  “In previous posts, I addressed two major issues plaguing missions work in India: the craze for numbers and the West’s fascination with “supernatural” testimonies. Here, I wish to address another issue that is quickly gaining traction and causing problems in India, much like it has in the Muslim world: extreme forms of “contextualization.”

“We must proclaim the transcultural lordship and glory of Jesus, rather than hyper-orienting our message and praxis around specific cultural groups.”

“Scripture forms the people of God, not vice versa. I have often wondered if a connection exists between contextualization movements and the influence of post-modernism. The authority is shifted from the revealed Word to the community of readers.” “The notion that communities should read and come to their own conclusions is actually rooted in the post-modern mindset that places authority in the community rather than in the text. “

“Make a distinction between those forms of culture that are religious and those that are not. Do not shrink back from teaching the “whole counsel of God”—which means teaching people to embrace Christianity as an entire worldview. Teach them to reject cultural practices where the Scripture demands it, and be certain that all your “contextualization” is biblically warranted.”

 

Don’t Follow Your Heart  - Jon Bloom  “Therefore, don’t believe your heart; direct your heart to believe in God. Don’t follow your heart; follow Jesus.”

Living Well in a Digital World – Tim Challis  “When the Bible tells us how to live as Christians, it so often tells us that we need to put on and put off. It tells us that there are habits, patterns, and behaviors we need to stop, and new habits, patterns, and behaviors we need to begin.”

Is Your Heart Spiritually Numb? -  Christel Humfrey    “In communing with Christ, we move toward becoming our most authentic self, namely, "dead to sin and alive to God" (Rom. 6:11). So let me encourage you to make just one change that will promote your spiritual health. If you are spiritually alive in Christ, then live. Reshuffle your priorities and become who you were meant to be.”

 

3 Reasons Women Need Good Theology – Alyssa Poblete  “Therefore, the only way to prevent a distortion of womanhood is by encouraging women to behold their God—to taste and see that he is good—and to search out his Word to learn of reason after reason after reason to give him praise. We ought to tremble at the thought of encouraging women to do anything else.”

Work With Your Hands Not Your Worship

How To Read The Bible For Yourself  - John Piper “The aim of our Bible reading is not just the response of the mind, but of the heart. The whole range of human emotions are possible responses to the meaning of the Bible. God gave us the Bible not just to inform our minds, but also to transform our hearts — our affections. God’s word is honored not just by being understood rightly, but also by being felt rightly.”

Millennial Adulthood Delusion – Chris Martin  “

I’ve always been fascinated with the two primary Millennial stereotypes: 1) Millennials are self-centered and 2) Millennials aren’t growing up. I never understood where those come from. Now I get it: they’re intertwined and they’re deep within the Millennial understanding of what it means to flourish.

Three of the 34 “ways you change as you become an adult” are focused on others. Sounds more like these may be ways to become parasites of happiness, not productive, caring adults.

Millennials won’t grow up because we won’t care about anyone but ourselves.

It’s hard to grow up and be an adult when you can’t get out from in front of the mirror.”

Everyday Obedience – Our Best Witness  JD Greear

You Never Marry The Right Person – Timothy Keller

Why Sing Sad Songs When I Don’t Feel Sad? -  Matthew Westerholm  “Because of the sin and brokenness of our hearts we have reason to lament. And because of the sin and brokenness in our church and world, we have reason to lament. Most of all, because of the love of our rescuing God, we have an invitation to bring our mournful sadness as protest and appeal to our God. The God who invites our laments can rescue us. And he most certainly will.”

Answering  Post-Christian Questions -  Nancy Pearcey  “Finding Truth offers a 5-part strategy that equips us to penetrate to the core of any worldview and weigh its claims. As one of my students said, “Your book is different from any other book I’ve read on apologetics. Other books are informational; they tell us about various worldviews. Your book teaches us how to actually do apologetics.””

Apologetics, Cultural Liturgies, and our Post Modern Age – Nancy Pearcey

Emotional Blackmail – John Piper “Not feeling loved and not being loved are not the same. Jesus loved all people well. And many did not like the way he loved them.”

4 Reasons Why God Wills Work – John Piper  “The curse under which we live today is not that we must work. The curse is that in our work we struggle with weariness and frustration and calamities.”

Think of Yourself Less – video and transcript – Jason Meyer “As C.S. Lewis said, true humility is “not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less.””

We Complain Because We Forget  - Steven Lee  “The antidote to spiritual amnesia is making every effort to recall and remember God’s gracious deliverance. The fact that you — a sinner who was an enemy of God — are now a beloved child is a miracle. Don’t let that wonder ever fade.Remember.”

Fight Like A Girl – Jen Wilkins  (The Like A Girl Ad is here)  “This is a message given by a female to a female audience, so it covers some ground you might never hear preached from a pulpit. But that's exactly why women teaching women is such a needed layer of discipleship. If you're a guy, don't let that scare you from listening along. If the church is to embrace a strong vision of womanhood, both men and women will need to value it.”

The Spiritual Stages of the Believer’s Life - Nicholas T. Batzig “God’s children who pursue the true purpose of the Christian life belong in one of three categories. The apostle tells us they are little children, young men, or fathers in spiritual life (1 John 2:12–14).”

Does The Devil Have Your Ear?  William Farley – “How do we know we have been listening to the Devil’s lies? The fruits are ominous and varied. We become discouraged when life doesn’t go as we had planned. We wallow in guilt after a careless comment hurts someone we love. We compare ourselves to others and then feel worthless. We give into hopelessness or fear as we observe cultural change. Some even yield to the despair that this life is all there is. The Devil knows how to “preach it,” and we are often the victims.” “ “Maturing believers cultivate the discipline of preaching to themselves. In fact, they turn this into an art form. They read Scripture, internalize it, and then continually preach its truths back to themselves. When fears of death and dying arise, they speak to themselves about the world to come. When guilt grips their heart, they remind themselves that they have been united with Christ and that Christ’s righteousness is theirs. They don’t listen to self. They preach to self!””

Make Me...

Make Me Full of Devotion to You

Let no riches make me ever forget myself,

no poverty make me to forget You:
Let no hope or fear,
no pleasure or pain,
no accident without,
no weakness within,
hinder or discompose my duty,
or turn me from the ways of Your commandments.
O let Your Spirit dwell with me forever,
and make my soul just and charitable,
full of honesty,
full of devotion to You.

- Jeremy Taylor, 1613-67

The Humble Soul

The humble soul endeavors more how to glorify God in afflictions, than how to get out of them. —Thomas Brooks

Padkos – February 2015

Getting The Gospel Right – RC Sproul “To answer the question “What is the gospel?” is rather simple. The gospel is Jesus, the person and work of Christ—who Jesus is and what He did. The gospel also describes how the benefits of His ministry are subjectively appropriated. That’s why the doctrine of justification by faith alone was so pivotal at the time of the Reformation, because it wasn’t a secondary matter but rather had to do with the gospel. Essentially, the pressing question that the gospel answers is, “How can an unjust person become just in the sight of God?””
Marriage as a Picture of The Gospel – Hershael W York “If marriage is a picture of Christ and his love for his church, then much more is at stake than my happiness.”
23 Thing That Love Is – Paul Tripp
An Extra-ordinary Skill For Ordinary Christians – Tim Challis “ John Stott says it so well as he comments on Galatians 6:2: “To love one another as Christ loved us may lead us not to some heroic, spectacular deed of self-sacrifice, but to the much more mundane and unspectacular ministry of burden-bearing.””
Are You Too Sensitive? –    Elisha Galotti  “There really is a choice when we are hurt or offended. And there is such power and freedom in absorbing the offense and making the choice to pursue love instead of sinking into sadness or bitterness.”
To Speak Words That Bring Life – Tim Challis  “Simple words, but well-timed words. Simple words, but words that carried divine power and authority. I took her words not as advice from a friend, but as instruction and assurance from God. They are, after all, a direct quote from Galatians 6. To me they said, “Yes, it has been a long and trying day. But don’t stop now, because there is still good to be done. You can do it.” Just like that, the words gave me a second wind.”
Women Stop Submitting To Men – Russell Moore “Indeed, a primary problem in our culture and in our churches isn’t that women aren’t submissive enough to men, but instead that they are far too submissive.”
3 Terrible Ways To Measure Your Ministry – Erin Davis “I've learned the hard way that when it comes to ministry, too often we use the wrong ruler to gauge our success.”
The Subtlety of Self-Justification -  Leslie Ludy  “When you hear a message of that brings conviction to your soul—even if it stings a bit—don't immediately try to justify yourself or start criticizing the person who is speaking truth into your life. Rather, come before God with a humble spirit, and ask Him to gently refine you, correct you, and make you more like Him.”
A Plea For Gospel Sanity in Missions - Aubrey Sequeira  “In this first post, I will discuss one of the primary problems in missions in India—the Western drive for numerical efficiency. That is, the idea that large numbers are a validation of God’s blessing and ministry success.  “
Are You Fighting The Sin of Comparison  -  Courtney  Reissig “ There is much to celebrate regarding the gifts of the women around us. As Christian women who long to see God glorified in our lives, let us take the words of our Christ to heart when we feel the sting of jealousy rise up in our hearts over the giftings of another: "What is that to you [sister]? You follow me."”
When  Glory in my Shame – Tim Challis  “The thing that validates me is the thing I worship, the thing that momentarily takes the place of God in my life.”
Facebook Obsession And the Anguish of Boredom - Tony Reinke   “For creatures like us, created to adore glory, we must find an object worthy of our worship. The cure for boredom is not diversion or distraction, but substantive enthrallment, says John Piper. We must encounter God, “to be intellectually and emotionally staggered by the infinite, everlasting, unchanging supremacy of Christ in all things.”” (this is an excellent article on boredom, not only as to where FB fits into that)

Padkos–January 2015

God Is at Work in Your Unremarkable Days   “Let the unremarkable years of Genesis speak to you. A few days of your life are remarkable, containing events and experiences where you see God’s providence with startling clarity and when your faith and life course are indelibly and memorably shaped. But the vast majority of your days — likely a day like today — will pass into obscurity unrecorded and irretrievable to your memory. But though today may be unremarkable, it is not unimportant. It is unique, priceless, and irreplaceable.”

 

Don’t Worry, Be Joyful – RC Sproul, Joy is not a choice, but a command. A fruit of the Spirit in our lives and directly linked to our maturity in Christ!

Count It All Joy – RC Sproul, continuing along the theme of ‘joy’ No matter what, my trust must be in the Lord.

How Do You Spell ‘JOY’ ? – RC Sproul  - Jesus Others Yourself

The Greatest Joy – RC Sproul – The joy of our salvation.

The Source of Joy – RC Sproul John 15, ‘I am the Vine, abide in Me that your joy may be full’.

 

How Involved is God in the Details of Your Life?   Jon Bloom -“ The detailed narrative of Joseph’s life, among many other things, is a loving letter from your Good Shepherd (John 10:11) — the same Good Shepherd who guided Joseph through green pastures and the valley of the shadow of death, pursuing him with good all the days of his life (Psalm 23) — to remind you that no matter what you are experiencing, sweet or bitter, good or evil, no matter how long it’s lasting, he has not left you alone (John 14:18). He is with you (Psalm 23:4), he is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28), and he will be with you to the end (Matthew 28:20).”

 

20 Things I Want My Daughter to Understand About Being a Woman –  Melissa Edgington  “ Everyone you know is working hard and doing things that they don’t want to do on a regular basis. It’s part of being a grown up human.”

When Another’s Words Sting – Paula Hendricks. Quoting from Nance Leigh Demoss “ Rather, the Psalmist asked God to post a sentinel at his own mouth knowing that the greatest danger he faced was not what others might do to him, but rather, what he might say that would harm others.”

The Power of Cause and Effect – Mary Kassain speaking on the ‘Revive Our Hearts’ blog

 

Only Two Religions – Interview with Peter Jones  Ligonier .org

Explaining Modern Culture – Peter Jones

Thinking With a Discerning Mind – Peter Jones

Righteousness Revealed – RC Sproul. Audio

 

The Eighth Decade of Life and the Ultimate Purpose of God – John Piper

 

How to Combat the Demonic – JD Greear  “Is Satan filling your mind with discouraging thoughts? “You’re a failure; you’ll never be used by God." "You think with your past God still cares about you?” Don't listen. Instead, hear the gospel that says, “I have ransomed you, I have made you my own, I have given you a future and a hope.””