Helpless and Needy

Let us talk about sin.  You would prefer not to do that.  I know why.  You do not want to be troubled with guilt!

Guilt-ridden people have one main need.  The need to be forgiven.Let us remind ourselves why sin is never trivial but always very serious.  Three reasons come to mind.

(1) A person who commits a sin defies God.

(2) A person who commits a sin stands guilty before God.  And,

(3) a person who commits a sin, if not forgiven by God, is separated from him for ever.

Those aware of the seriousness of sin, and those who know the extent of their guilt before God, know the need to be forgiven.

There are other questions you should ask.  Are you aware of the power of sin?  Do you realise how sin grips you, and how you refuse to let it go?Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “A sinner does not decide for Christ; the sinner flies to Christ in utter helplessness and despair.”  Is he right?  Yes.  Every true believer agrees with him.  Why is that so?  Because a Christian feels the power of sin.  The more he takes an honest look at himself the more he realises that no good thing dwells within him.  He sees that what he says and does reflects what he is like at heart.  He sees that at heart he loves wrong things.  He loves sin rather than righteousness.

Let us take a closer look at how this is the case.  What happens when we begin to realise that what we do is not what God wants us to do?  We shall take swearing as an example.

Before a person becomes a Christian he may use language which is impure and offensive.  Rude and unpleasant words trip off his lips.  That was what J C Ryle was like before he was made new by the Spirit of God.

One day he swore in the hearing of a friend.  His friend rebuked him.  He was gently informed that what he had said was wrong.  The rebuke made Ryle think.  As he thought he began to see things about himself which showed him his complete helplessness and very great need.  He realised that he needed Christ.  In particular, he needed Christ to do three things for him.

(1) He needed Christ to show him how bad language offends God.

(2) He needed Christ to give him power to stop doing the wrongs that he wanted to do.  And,

(3) he needed to find forgiveness for his sins.

People become aware of such needs as they begin to see how they try to hold on to their sins.  John Bunyan, some 350 years ago, identified seven  ways in which you will try to excuse or justify your sins.

First, you try to hide your sins.  As well as turning a ‘blind-eye’ to them, you try to conceal them from others.  You know that, if others were aware of the wrongs you do, they would probably point them out to you.  You do not want to be told you do wrong.  So you try to hide your sins from others.  A husband, for example, may seek to conceal something from his wife, or a wife can try to hide a sin from her husband.

Secondly, you try to excuse your sins.  If it proves impossible to conceal a sin, or if it gets out that you have committed a sin, you will seek to argue that it is not really as bad as some think.  You say that other people should not make a fuss about it.  Excuses follow.  Sometimes they are simple and straightforward.  On other occasions they are subtle and complex in character.  The essential point is that the reasons given are just excuses!

Thirdly, you try to give your sins a good name.  You do what Isaiah describes.  You call evil good and good evil.  You put darkness for light and light for darkness, bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (see Isaiah 5.20).

An example today is the way people justify sexual sins.  God has revealed that the only legitimate setting in which two people may enjoy sexual intimacy is marriage.  He defines marriage as being the union of a man and a woman.  Many today, instead of admitting the wrongs they do, put a gloss on them.  They argue that what matters most is whether those who are sexually intimate love each other.  They forget or ignore the fact that if God says something is wrong it is wrong.  No special pleading can ever change that.

Fourthly, you make promises with the hope that they will help to make your sins look less bad.  For example, you may promise to stop doing the wrong you do.  You may even promise to stop very soon.  But at the same time you hope that you will not need to act according to your promise.  You secretly hope that you will be able to carry on enjoying your darling sin!

Fifthly, you try to keep part of a sin whilst you seek to be seen to get rid of some of it.  You enjoy sin.  That is a fact.  As a result you try to find ways to enjoy at least something of the wrong you do even if you cannot enjoy all of it.  You know that God wants you to forsake all of it.  But you try to hold on to part of it.  In so doing you seek to quieten your guilty conscience and make happy those who are upset by your sin.  But that never works.  It may appear to for a while.  But the reality is soon exposed.  The so-called lesser sin is still sin.  It is sin because you defy God who commands you to forsake it.  God calls you to love him with all your heart, mind, souls and strength.  It is not part but all of you that God requires.

Sixthly, you become sad.  Sad, that is, not at the wrong you do.  Rather you are sad at the fact that you must give up something you love.  You hate to let go of that which you love.  But God calls you to give up your sins in a willing, glad and joyful manner.

Seventhly, you hope to be able to take up again your darling sin when someone is not around to see that you do.  You keep such a hope hidden from others but it is there in your heart.  These are the excuses you make.  These are the things you do when it comes to parting with sin.

Why do you do them?  Because at heart you do not want to let sin go.  Secretly you love it and get pleasure from it.

Each of us needs to discover that this is what we are like.  God leads us through circumstances where we can begin to discover these things for ourselves.  That process may not be pleasant.  Indeed, it may be painful.  But in the end such painful lessons are for our good if they teach us to fly to Christ for forgiveness and the power to resist the temptations to sin.

Only Christ can transform you.  It is only in him that you can find forgiveness for your sins.  It is only in him that you will find power to forsake your sins.  It is in him alone that you will have victory over sin.  Without him you will remain helpless and in great need!   EPC  24 April 2016