September 18, 2024 -- II Peter 1:2-4 -- How Can I be a Christian when I struggle with such thoughts? Read on!
/May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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.
II Peter 1:2-4 ESV
Notice that the corruption of the world so infests believers that they are filled with sinful desires. Sometimes believers groan and cry out to God, though they are believers in Jesus Christ, yet they still feel the pull of sin and its deadly attractions. It is exhausting. It can lead the devoted believer to question whether or not he is truly saved. There are so many people around him who act as if sin has no hold on them. There are so many fellow believers who never speak of the cesspools of sin in which they swim.
Sometimes in our world today, preachers teach that believers are tempted, but withstanding temptations means the believer has not sinned. That is in fact false. The very inclinations believers have towards sin are in themselves sinful. Every desire, every attraction, every thought against God, even our self-loathing against such (which shows that our conscience is awakened by the Spirit of God) is sin. Listen to a classic, historic interpretation of the sinfulness of Christians.
114 Q. But can those converted to God obey these commandments perfectly?
A. No. In this life even the holiest have only a small beginning of this obedience.1 Nevertheless, with all seriousness of purpose, they do begin to live according to all, not only some, of God’s commandments.2
1 Eccles. 7:20; Rom. 7:14-15; 1 Cor. 13:9; 1 John 1:8-10
2 Ps. 1:1-2; Rom. 7:22-25; Phil. 3:12-16
(This Q and A is from the Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563 to help believers understand the Christian faith, how it differs from Roman Catholic theology)
Now, re-read II Peter 1:2-4. Jesus’s perfect righteousness is applied to us—you who struggle with thoughts that are contrary to your new life in Christ. Jesus’s salvation is all the brighter because His Spirit is applying Jesus’s perfection to believers. The fact Jesus walked this earth as a man, sinless from conception to His death on the cross, so that He is the One and Only sacrifice which takes away the sin of the world. So, even the fire-hose of endless evil thoughts that flow through your mind at all hours and can even flood your dreams are themselves drowned out by the cleansing blood of Jesus!
Today’s devotional is directly influenced by Matthew Mason, his lecture at the ICP Catalyst Conference, the link is below. The credit for this devotion belongs to him. I was so inspired by his teaching and my soul needed it so much. Mason quoted Martin Luther, “True repentance does not debate over what is a sin or over what is not a sin. Instead, it simply lumps everything together and says everything is pure sin within us. There is a plain, certain despair within us over everything we say, are, and do. But then the Gospel says remember where the true satisfaction of God’s wrath upon sin is to be found. The suffering and blood of the innocent Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” (If you listen closely, as Mason speaks this quotation, when he refers to Jesus as the innocent Lamb of God his voice quivers, full of emotion, as he contemplates the magnitude of God’s great grace).
II Peter 1:3 teaches believers have been granted, in Jesus Christ, all things that pertain to life and godliness. Knowing Jesus. By the power of the Spirit, crying out for forgiveness. When the thoughts of your heart are evil—bless God that His Spirit has shown you what is evil. The wicked man sins without a prick of conscience. He devours sin, wipes his mouth, and says I have done nothing wrong (Proverbs 30:20). By contrast, the believer declares with Paul, “Who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24-25a ESV. Today's prayer is directly from the Bible, Psalm 32. Read it, in view of all you have just read and all you have received in Jesus Christ.
A Maskil of David.
32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
https://youtu.be/KKo3T0j9qqo?si=AhKPAopDz5hKQIKF “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)”
https://youtu.be/s44ijdqz8pU?si=4nnHJ3VGpNlvMt53 Matthew Mason ICP Catalyst Conference
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