So today is day three of Lent and the topic is once again a hard-hitting subject. Today’s text was on the subject of confession. This is something we evangelicals want to leave up to the Catholics to do, but no where in the bible does it say this is not of the utmost importance in the life of every Christian. The text for today is as follows:
Day 3 :: Friday, March 11, 2011, Confession
Confession is the practice of owning up to our sin. When we confess our sin, we are agreeing with God about the gravity of sin and acknowledging that our sin has crippled our relationship with Him.
1 John 1:9 says, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Not confessing our sins causes us to deceive ourselves into thinking we are right with God. But, when we come clean about our sin before God, He will always forgive us.
Confessing the sin in our lives not only restores our relationship with God, but also reminds us of our brokenness and shows to us the power of Christ’s sacrifice in covering our sin. We have been rescued from sin, and the practice of confession reveals to us the cost of our sin.
- Have you made the practice of confession a priority in your life?
- What sins have you been holding on to that you need to come clean to God about?
Begin the practice of confession in your life today.
Contemplation Over Day 3
I took a quick look at this day and thought what in the world am I going to write for this day on my blog (I am keeping two separate journals for Lent by the way). I think it’s human nature to look at another person’s sin, or wonder about another person’s sin, speaking of my own (see Luke 6:42 for one). When I am sitting in a service or listening to a sermon podcast and a pastor talks about the sin in his life, the first thing I think is, “I wonder what that sin is?, he’s such a ‘good’ person”.
That’s what I’m going to do here today. I’m reminded of Matthew 6:6 (when you pray, go into a room and shut the door) where we are taught how some prayer is private, and although some sins do need confession before the Church body, today’s reading talks about our need for daily confession before God. I do think confession largely lost in our evangelical churches today. We rarely talk about it on Sunday mornings.
I know in my own life God is constantly refining my heart’s desires. Every day is a battle that started a long time ago, one where God continues to remove the blackness of my heart to replace it with clean tissue. A huge part of that comes from acknowledging our sin, repentantly confessing that sin to God, and knowing, God will forgive us when we ask.
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Do you think there are varying degrees of sin? Isn’t all sin equal in God’s eyes? Lying is the same as stealing, it’s all sin to God, right? I was always under the assumption that all sin was created equal, having this drilled into my thought process for almost 40 years until I came to John 19:11. I have even argued that point in previous blog posts (see “Prop 8” article for one), but if that’s the case, what do we do with John 19:11?
Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” John 19:11 (ESV)
On Wednesday and Friday I try to dive deeper into scripture, and it is amazing what is revealed to you from God’s Word when you read for knowledge and understanding. Today, after reading over John 19:11 it was revealed to me that clearly the answer to this question is yes, there are greater and lesser sins. But that led of course to the most natural question, why does it matter? Perhaps there are varying degrees of sin for those within Christ, and for those without Christ? If we are saved by grace, our sins are forgiven, and if we aren’t, well, they aren’t, so what difference does it make at all then?
The Greater Sin: Are There Degrees of Sin?
I would argue it matters simply because Jesus himself made the distinction, possibly as a warning to both parties. His words in John 19:11 clearly indicate if the sin of Caiaphas, the High Priest at the time (or possibly Judas Iscariot), was greater than Pilate’s sin, there must be lesser sins. The best essay I found on making the various distinctions between levels of sin came from the Reformed Theological Seminary blog titled “‘The Greater Sin’: Are There Degrees of Sin?” and it is well worth reading. It covers this topic far more in depth than I ever could here and to keep from just repeating all the text from that article I would ask the question here, why does this matter to us?
After an extensive search I found almost no sermons preached on John 19:11, so maybe it doesn’t matter, so I would not want to add emphasis to scripture where there is none. Simply put, if our salvation rests in Jesus Christ and he has called us to himself (John 15:16), our sins have been forgiven and the distinction in degree of sin makes no difference to the salvation of our souls. If we are living outside the grace and forgiveness of our sins, we are condemned already (John 3:17-18).
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (emphasis mine)
Is it For Eternal Reward in Heaven or Punishment in Hell?
So, if we know it doesn’t make a difference to our salvation, does it make a difference to our judgement or call to bear fruit? If we examine John 3:17-18 above, we are either condemned (without eternal salvation) or not (with eternal salvation), so the difference in level or degree of sin could be associated with our eternal reward, punishment, or judgement.
This topic is sprinkled throughout scripture, and while both sides (the condemned and the saved) don’t really want to discuss it much, scripture says we are to be judged according the fruit we bear in this life. If we look at John 19:11, Jesus is referring to the punishment or judgement of Caiaphas (or Judas Iscariot) being greater than that of Pilate, because both Caiaphas and/or Judas both knew far more of the Gospel message (or light) than Pilate, but all men here were likely “condemned already”.
Scripture of course never specifically says what a greater or lesser reward looks like in heaven (and honestly, will we really care at that point), but it does specifically say there are those called greater (Matthew 5:19 and Luke 9:46) and points back to the fact that we are to live a life that produces fruit. [For other references to degree of reward or punishment see also Leviticus 4:2, 13; 5:17; Numbers 15:30; Ezekiel 8:6, 13; and Matthew 23:34.]
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19
For Believers, this is more a matter of bearing fruit, but it’s also a warning that God takes our sin much more seriously than those who have not received as much of the Gospel light as we have. The article by RBS puts it like this:
This is a warning to those of us who preach the gospel. Brothers, God takes our sin more seriously than the man who has received little biblical truth. We have been entrusted with much gospel light… And it is a sobering thought to know that the Lord views all of our sins in relation to the degree of light with which He has entrusted to us.
A Relavant Conclusion to Why it Matters
Studying this particular verse has actually left me with more questions than answers. Does the revelation that sin has differing levels or degrees matter? I think ultimately it does because, one, it leads to larger discussions throughout all of scripture about sin, judgement, and bearing fruit. Two, it reinforces many truths of Scripture about sin, and three, it puts more personal responsibility on those who have been given the knowledge of the Gospel message (not necessarily those who have received salvation), which should be important to all of us. Some other concluding points that come to mind are:
- It shows that God takes the sin of the condemned and saved very seriously
- John 19:11 is just one piece of an overall greater picture of grace and judgement
- It shows that God has entrusted some with more revelation than others
- There are differences of sin and judgement
- A lesser sin does not exonerate the guilty, they are still guilty
- Authority, even from the condemned comes from God alone
These are just some conclusions I came to, each could be expanded upon in greater detail. What does the truth of John 19:11 reveal to you?
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I have been slowly going through Dave Earley’s book called 21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People, and today I re-read his original premise for the book that he states as “The Reason No One Wants to Hear”, which basically covers original sin in the human condition.
Ultimately God gave Adam and Eve a choice to follow evil or good, and they chose evil, resulting in a blood line of sin for all of humanity. Yet we still continually ask the same question, just phrased in a million different ways, “why does God ‘allow’ this or that bad thing to happen”? As Earley puts it, what we really should be asking if we are honest with ourselves is “why do so many good things happen to bad people”. Even Jesus made the statement in Luke 18:19 (and Mark 10:18), “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone”. Clearly we are not God, but many of us still strive to better understand God’s will, and that includes questions about evil, suffering, and sin.
Earley quoted Knechtle’s Give Me an Answer, on the matter of evil and human nature, who stated:
How can you blame God for starving babies in Ethiopia when the best-selling books in the United States are on dieting, on how to take the extra fat off? It is not God’s fault people are starving today. The earth produces enough right now to give every person 3,000 calories a day. The problem is that some of us hoard so others go to bed hungry. It is a cop-out to blame God for human irresponsibility. If a person gets drunk, drives his car across the median, and sends your friend to an early grave, will you blame God? Do you blame God for Hitler’s seven million murders? That would be escapism. The vast majority of human and evil suffering is the direct result of human irresponsibility.
I haven’t made it all the way through yet but I’m working on it, and I’m grateful to a fellow brother who mailed it to me a month or so ago, thanks Hershel.
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I was quite saddened yesterday when I found out (who we now allegedly know as) Harvey Updyke from Dadeville (here on Facebook) had deliberately poisoned the Toomer’s Oaks in Auburn with a Dow Agroscience called Spike 80 DF (PDF of what this chemical is and does) “in retaliation for a 1983 event when Auburn students rolled the trees to celebrate the death of Alabama coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant.”
According to the Paul Finebaum show, (audio of caller is here) he had deliberately poisoned the Toomer’s Live Oaks in Auburn some time prior to the January 27th phone call. The OANews is now reporting on Updyke’s arrest, but the reaction across the Internet from Facebook and Twitter has been almost incalculable (see 16,000+ Toomer’s Tree Hug Saturday Ralley on Facebook for starters).
At the time I heard about this I couldn’t think of a more senseless and baseless act of vandalism that could never be punished to the extent of the damaged caused, especially when you count the hundreds of thousands of Auburn fans that love the Toomer’s Live Oaks. But, once again we can see this is nothing new under the sun. This very same thing happened to the University of Texas in Austin to their Treaty Oak in 1989. While I can’t say it’s the same, it makes me wonder if we at Auburn were destined to repeat this history?
I have a special tree here on my property I sit under and read during the summer, and have blogged about over and over again. If someone purposely had killed that tree it would have been quite upsetting. But for Auburn fans, how do you process something like this, the killing of something so special, something that has such key symbolic significance to Auburn itself? Auburn released a statement yesterday, where the president addressed this question.
We will take every step we can to save the Toomer’s oaks, which have been the home of countless celebrations and a symbol of the Auburn spirit for generations of Auburn students, fans, alumni and the community,” said University President Jay Gogue.
Gogue asked members of the Auburn Family to “continue to be ‘All In’ in upholding its reputation for class” and not allow anger to be expressed inappropriately or undeservedly.
“It is understandable to feel outrage in reaction to a malicious act of vandalism,” Gogue said. “However, we should live up to the example we set in becoming national champions and the beliefs expressed in our Auburn Creed. Individuals act alone, not on behalf of anyone or any place, and all universities are vulnerable to and condemn such reprehensible acts.
I know some crazy fan somewhere is not going to take that to heart but the example, rooted in Auburn’s Creed from 1945 says many great things about class and dignity of fellow people. Of course it doesn’t directly address the issue of forgiveness, (mainly because this is a creed for a secular, publicly funded university, not a religious organization) which is really what is needed here. This could be a huge, long, drawn out, post on the sinful nature of man, how we go about showing forgiveness, and why someone would do such a thing, but in the end, we as Christians are called to love one another as Christ loved the church, and this includes Harvey Updyke of Dadeville.
That means forgiving, without malice in our hearts, knowing all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, not just one man but all of us. We are now given the opportunity to show how a forgiving heart acts and reacts when hurt, even if Updyke is not remorseful or repentant himself.
I assume that now here in Auburn anyway, we can move away from the who done it aspect of the trees and focus more on the preservation or the Toomer’s Oaks or what to do if and when they do die. Here are some photos below I took of the Toomer’s Oaks as they sit today, bathed in bright February sunshine, on a gorgeous day in the south.
I will say that these are just trees. Very special trees When I went down to Toomer’s Corner today it was a zoo. The perspective on what happened in some respect has been totally lost. These are beloved trees that symbolize much of what is great about Auburn, but if we could channel this money, effort, and energy into something productive it would be amazing. Just a thought.
Additional current information related to the post above.
- Harvey Updyke’s Facebook Page in PDF
- Screenshot of Harvey Updyke’s Facebook Page
- List of his Facebook Friends in PDF
- Mug shot as listed on OANews
A Few News Reports on the Topic
- Toomer’s Corner tree poisoning a ‘new low’ in rivalry, national media say
- Toomer’s Corner trees poisoning: Auburn working against odds to save 130-year-old live oaks
- Arrest made in Toomer’s Corner poisoning
- Toomer’s Corner trees poisoning: An arrest reported, a sports world appalled at vandalism
- Despite rivalry, many Bama fans sickened by news of Toomer’s Corner poisoned trees
- Toomers Corner explodes in ecstacy with Auburn national championship win
- Toomer’s Corner rolling celebrates victory (in photos)
- The complete Toomer’s Corner files
- Man arrested for poisoning Toomer’s Corner oaks
- Is This The Alleged Toomer’s Corner Tree Poisoner?
- Man arrested in poisoning of oaks at Toomer’s Corner
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Of course this is utter ridiculousness, but, that severely flawed logic seems to be what is prevailing in our culture today. This topic, which I usually just tend to leave alone, is overpowering the news, blogs, and culture lately (and is certainly nothing new under the sun, gay’s have been trying to justify their actions for millennia, see Why is Being Gay a Sin? for a civil discussion, Does Romans 1:26 Condemn Lesbians? for the absurd justification, and then an honest “Christian Perspective”, not forgetting to throw in Anne Rice who recently “quit” Christianity on Facebook [comments in pdf,] with Mark Driscoll’s response for the Washington Post, because she didn’t want to be “anti-gay anymore”, and the countless trash talk about Proposition 8 in California).
With Proposition 8 being overturned by the California courts, this seems destined for the Supreme Court (where they probably don’t want to deal with it either). The Boston Globe did a huge photo spread called Same Sex Marriage about a week ago and the responses to that article show why this, unfortunately, is THE topic of our day for Christians and the church. This discussion really wasn’t intended to launch into whether being gay is a sin or not, but to show the absurd arguments on both sides, which lack any careful thought.
This comment below is typical when reading trash talk on the news sites, and was made by someone who used the title “I Feel Drawn Towards Christianity, But I’m Gay”, which then received very complimentary responses, with little question for the lifestyle itself, or with sound argument for or against Christians and the homosexual lifestyle, and what scripture has to say about it’s effects and consequences.
I was surprised in a few ways, one by how openly acceptable the Christian responses were to this person. Not that they were accepting of the person, that’s great, but accepting of all aspects of the persons lifestyle, with not much need for contemplation (although some did suggest the person generically seek God’s direction). The other surprise was how utterly weak the reasoning and arguments were that were used on both sides.
I am certainly no expert on this topic whatsoever, and there are many who can soundly argue, on both sides, but those seem to be few and far between. No gay person I talk to (and many Christians for that matter) can give a sound theological argument, backed and based on scripture (since this person “feels drawn to Christianity”). The majority of the arguments put forth are emotional arguments, which are impossible to argue against in a rational manner. This is the argument that was given in this particular case:
The Bible also condemns divorce, the eating of pork and shrimp, and says that men shouldn’t sit on the same chairs as women who are menstruating.
The argument seems to lack even a surface level study of scripture, but most Christians responded with nothing other than an emotional response. As with much of Scripture in our culture today, these verses are taken so much out of context for the use of the argument for a homosexual lifestyle I am surprised they were made? I am not being mean or hateful in spirit here, but seriously, if you are gay, this is your argument?
- The Bible condemns the eating of pork.
- We eat pork today.
- Therefore, homosexuality is ok in the sight of the Lord.
There are so many things that could be addressed but at the basic level, in Mark 7:18-19 Jesus declared all foods to be clean, he didn’t declare all forms of sex to be clean. A better argument that perhaps shows a little more clearly why scripture says that the homosexual lifestyle is sinful in God’s eyes (and there are many things that are actually still seen as sinful in God’s eyes today, besides homosexuality), would be:
Point 1 on Sin:
- The Bible says sin is detestable in God’s eye’s.
- Therefore any continuous sinful act is not honoring to God.
Point 2 on Marriage:
- The Bible defines sex outside of marriage as sin.
- The Bible defines marriage as a monogamous union between a man and a woman.
- Therefore any nonrepentant sexual relationship of any kind outside marriage is sin in God’s eyes.
- Therefore a nonrepentant homosexual lifestyle is sin.
- Therefore a nonrepentant adulterous relationship is sin.
- Therefore any sexual relationship before marriage is sin.
I rarely see those “hateful” Christians everyone seems to refer to today that will acknowledge that the last three are equally sin, and equally condemned by scripture, but, that doesn’t mean that either is less or more acceptable to God as a way to live that honor’s God. I do not say that in a hateful manner but in an examination of scripture. I also recognize that many, or most, “gay Christians” will take issues with my argument above and defend it away in some manner. The statements above are all based on scripture and can all be backed theologically with sound argument.
Our culture as a whole is continually refusing to see objective truths in the Bible today. Whether we like to ignore them in our day or not, they still exist, there are still things that God says are good, and those things God says are bad, we just seem to have so much knowledge in everything that we have no knowledge in the actual truth anymore.
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Today Pastor Fred Winters of First Baptist Church of Maryville was shot to death by a single gunman during their worship service. Once the gunman started shooting he was “arrested” by the congregation who surrounded him and detained him until the police arrived. As soon as horrific and evil events like this happen it tends to bring out all the Atheists and Agnostics that scream and yell about how God lets bad things happen, in some sort of “I told you so” way.
One blogger I consider to be much more intelligent on the issues than some normal Atheistic or Agnostic rant who doesn’t really understand the issues of the Christian faith is Unreasonable Faith. He wrote this post about the shooting, Illinois Pastor Shot to Death at Church, which brought up some very good questions. Questions I couldn’t possibly address in one blog post, but I love reading Daniel’s blog, it keeps me on my toes and sharpens me more than many Christians I know, even if his ultimate conclusions are wrong.
Why Does God Allow This to Happen?
They pose the typical questions like who would want a God that allows things like this to happen and they try to point out that God doesn’t exist or wasn’t involved because He let this happen (and one can quote scripture totally out of context to prove any point). Asking these questions is not wrong, or even bad. As I told a pastor Fred Winters today he reminded me that John Wesley once said, when you go to work, be prepared to preach, pray, and die [for the Truth].
God does listen, He does care, and He does answer all prayer, but the answer could be yes, no, or not right now. Trying to say we know and understand the mind of God is dangerous, and saying that because evil exists in the world means God doesn’t is just not a good argument. The Christian antagonist would have you believe that where evil exists, God does not, and therefore God was not with the people in Maryville. Quite the opposite.
I can not offer intelligent reasons (because I do not have the mind of God) why things like this happen any more than I can really understand why there are those who are so antagonistic to the Christian faith that they themselves bring people away from faith in Christ. It is one thing to not believe. I have many friends and family members who do not believe. They do not take the position of Paul before his conversion on the road to Damascus to purposely bring people away from their own faith in God, but according to scripture, Saul (Paul) did just that.
In the end, you either hold the scriptures to be the inspired Word of God with Jesus as the risen Messiah, or you don’t. If you do, it doesn’t mean that we as Christians are supposed to sit around in a circle and hold hands and “pray” while we watch someone mow people down in a thunder of bullets and do nothing at all. It doesn’t mean that we have to understand the ways of God either.
Luke 17:20 says:
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
So does that mean that if I can’t move the Rocky Mountains I have no faith. Not at all, but some will try to tell you that is certainly the case. Arguments like these have gone on for thousands of years and I can’t even start to say I am smart enough to understand the why’s about it all. I can see that I am very much like the flip side of Daniel when I say “Now I’m figuring out what it means to be a Believer and a person of faith.”.
Daniel credits himself as being a skeptic much like Pyrrho who is credited as being the first Skeptic philosopher, and the inspiration for the school known as Pyrrhonism in the 1st century BC. As there will always be skeptics, there will always be people of faith in Christ. One thing we can both agree on is that it was a terrible tragedy for Winters to be gunned down in his place of worship in front of his family. My heart goes out to their family and their church. God is with you, He loves you, and yes, His will (though we may not understand), will be done.
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This is an update to a previous post about the tragic murder of Matthew Butler and Stephen Swan in Garland Texas back in June of this year. If you are unfamiliar with the story please see my previous post Matthew Butler Killed at Zion Gate in Garland Texas about Matthew’s life and his wonderful testimony. Back in June I came across this story while watching the news and was touched by what happened because, according to the news story and Matthew’s wife Jamie, Matthew was a strong Christian Believer, a musician, and a business owner of Zion Gates Records. Those thing struck a nerve with me as I am all but a musician, but a big lover of music in general.
The post on my blog grew legs and soon many of Matthew’s friends and family, including Jamie and his mom Theresa had commented on the post. This morning I received an email from Matthew’s mom, Theresa that I wanted to share with you about his memorial fund for his children. Normally (I would guess) once a story hits national news you can a huge nation wide outpouring of support for the family, especially when the widow has small children as the Butler’s do, but the news story was so short lived that it never really had a chance to build any steam on a large national scale, so the Butler family held a charity golf tournament, are having a large rummage sale, and have setup a memorial fund at the bank in Texas.
All I wanted to do by this blog post is bring a little attention to their situation and possibly reach someone who might be able and willing to help their family in some way. Below is the email from Theresa about the Matthew Butler Memorial Fund, I know his wife and kids appreciate any and all help they have and will receive.
The Matthew Butler Memorial Fund
The community support for Jamie and the kids has been amazing. Matthew is gone from this earth but safe in his heavenly father’s loving arms. Now, we must help raise up these babies, take care of Jamie and help her to continue the dream that Matthew had when he opened the doors to Zion Gate Records almost three years ago. Many of you have said, “We will not let this dream that Matthew had turn into a nightmare. We will not give the enemy that satisfaction!”
The golf tournament raised over $20k for the children. Friends, family and even total strangers have also donated their money and time to help Jamie get the studio up and running. A very sweet young lady from Matthew’s high school, Tammie, got together with some of her friends to have a garage sale to benefit Jamie and the kids. Over the past few weeks, as people heard about it and wanted to donate their items, it’s grown into this huge RUMMAGE SALE which will be held at the Albertson’s parking lot on Lavon Highway in Garland (near 190). If you would like to help, please bring your items to the sale on Saturday morning, September 20th before 7:00am.
Here is the link with map: http://www.yellowbot.com/albertsons-food-pharmacy-garland-tx-2.html
There is also a memorial fund at Washington Mutual Bank – Matthew Butler Memorial Fund. Donations may be made at any location. Thanks to everyone for their prayers, love and support. In His Grip, Theresa Butler
