Already But Not Yet

In a recent sermon on Hebrews 7, it was pointed out that we often go through life with a vague sense of guilt. This can be true even of those who are confident of their salvation. There have been times when I’ve found myself praying “Lord, forgive me,” but then realize that I am not aware of any sin for which I need forgiveness. I could interpret that one of two ways. Either the Holy Spirit is prompting me to search myself for some hidden sin (and I’m sure I’d find something eventually), or the enemy is prodding me with guilt and shame in order to keep me from being effective for the kingdom. Most of the time it’s the latter, and it clearly takes discernment to distinguish which it is (Hebrews 5:14).

A verse came to mind recently when the enemy was attempting to sidetrack me with old sin: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV). Paul makes it plain (using the aorist indicative) that these things have been accomplished and are not something awaiting future fulfillment. The author of Hebrews makes a similar statement, but puts it in the tense of a completed action with continuing effects (perfect middle participle): “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10, 14).

Such statements are hard to wrap our brains around when we’re aware of our own sinfulness. How can something be categorically true and yet false in our daily experience? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I believe it hinges upon the fact that God is outside of time (though proponents of “openness theology” would disagree). He can look at the entirety of human history as we might look at a printed timeline. In His view, Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to cover all our sins past and present, so our sanctification has been purchased once and for all. But we can’t see the end from the beginning. What we see is the daily struggle to resist temptation and to glorify God.

John Piper says of Hebrews 10:14, “This verse means that you can stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now but… that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness” (http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/perfected-for-all-time-by-a-single-offering).

On one hand, it can be discouraging to know that we’ve not yet arrived and the struggles persist. But on the other hand, we should find great encouragement in knowing that God sees us as we will be for eternity—perfected in Christ Jesus. He doesn’t get tired of our frequent falls and pleas for grace. I imagine it’s a bit like a parent who says, “I can put up with the terrible twos (or teens) because I know that it won’t last, and something better is coming.” But it’s even better than that because God has perfect knowledge of what is coming, and one day there will be no more disappointment for any of His children.

In the meantime, we can keep on pressing on, claiming the forgiveness that is ours in Christ. And when the enemy tries to trip us up and drag us down into despair, we can ignore him because we know the truth and the truth has set us free.

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own” (Philippians 3:11).

When I Fall

Desiring God recently shared a good word on their blog. Author Paul Maxwell writes:

“The next time you’re tempted to say ‘I hate myself’ because of the lingering sin in your life, take a deep breath, regroup, read Psalm 139, and get back in the game. ‘The righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity’ (Proverbs 24:16). The righteous fall. Falling is not the defining issue. The wicked listen to the accuser (Revelation 12:10) and don’t get back up. The righteous get back up.” (See http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/autocorrect-and-indwelling-sin for the full article.)

That reminded me of some other Scriptures such as Luke 22:31-32: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (ESV). Jesus didn’t pray that Simon Peter would not betray Him, but only that his faith would not fail. Assuming that Jesus’ prayers are always answered, it’s interesting that faith doesn’t keep Peter from falling, but it does keep him from being permanently lost to the enemy. And Jesus is praying the same thing for each of us: “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, see also Romans 8:34).

Another encouraging Scripture comes from Micah 7:8: “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” It’s not “if I fall,” but “when I fall.” There’s little doubt that I will fall again, and again, and again… But by faith I will get back up and keep moving forward.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Psalm 37:23-24: “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when He delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” I can just see the Father holding tightly to the toddler’s hand as she stumbles along the way.

Our enemy would have us believe that every fall is terminal and we are unredeemable. The discouragement and doubt that set in only trip us up even more. We need frequent reminders that God’s love is stronger than any sin, and He has made provision for every one of our failures through Jesus’ death on the cross. We also need to remember that although perfection is a worthy goal, only Jesus attained that goal while on earth. No matter how far we progress in this life, we’ll still be far from perfect.

I keep going back to a statement made by Brennan Manning on multiple occasions, “God expects more failure of me than I expect of myself.” We seem to think that one day soon we’ll get it all together and won’t succumb to temptation anymore. But God, in His infinite knowledge, already knows how weak we are and how many times we’ll fail to obey. The Apostle John sent out this reminder: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). Other translations say “your sins have been forgiven.” The act of forgiveness has been completed, nothing more is required. Therefore we are free to get back up and try again.

With all that in mind, here’s my loose paraphrase of Micah 7:8:

“When I fall, I will get back up. I won’t believe the enemy’s lies that I am hopeless and helpless. I will accept God’s forgiveness and by faith I will get up and move on.”

Image © Dawn Rutan. All rights reserved.

Keep Coming Back

I’ve been reading a book by a well-known author and learned that this person experienced the same temptation that I have (and no, I’m not going to be any more specific than that!). Upon reading that, my thought was, “Ah, I’m not the only one. Even X has been there and has fallen to that temptation.” But even as I thought that, and again in Sunday’s sermon on Hebrews 4:14-16, I was reminded that it is even more important and earth-shattering that Jesus “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (ESV). While I know that to be true, my brain makes a couple objections: 1) Jesus was God, so of course He didn’t give in to temptation. 2) Jesus never had to deal with the personal guilt and shame of having sinned.

It’s rather baffling to consider how Jesus could be fully God and fully man and what that actually means as far as His experience of temptation is concerned. Hebrews seems pretty clear in stating that Jesus knows exactly what we go through. And presumably He knows it even more fully because He experienced “every” kind of temptation, whereas we are usually tempted in just a few areas. We could also make the case that since “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin” (1 Peter 2:24), therefore He experienced all the sins that each one of us have committed, along with all the guilt and shame those sins created. (Ed Welch explores this idea further in his book Shame Interrupted.)

To borrow a couple thoughts from an email from Pastor Matt:

“…while it’s true that he did not have to deal with sin as a sinner, with all the compounding complications and consequences of past sins, he in other ways experienced temptation even more than we do in that he experienced it all the way. Whereas we all have given in to temptation, he never did and so endured the full length of it. Not to mention the fact that the tempter seems to get more aggressive the more we’re living for God and no one ever lived so completely for God than Jesus, which would indicate that the severity of his temptations was stronger than any other human ever experienced.”

C.S. Lewis explains:

“Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is… A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later… Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full extent what temptation means” (as quoted in http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/draw-near-to-the-throne-of-grace-with-confidence).

So the evidence mounts that Jesus was not only fully human, but perfectly human. He lived the perfect life we were meant to live before the Fall. And so His sinlessness in the face of every temptation should bring us greater comfort than the sinfulness of our fellow man. Because He faced temptation, He knows what we go through every day. And because He resisted temptation completely, He is worthy to be our intermediary before the Father.

Those who have fallen prey to temptation can indeed empathize with our guilt and shame, and perhaps they can even give us some tips for resisting temptation. But they cannot absolve us of sin and make us righteous before God. They can have compassion on us in our sin, but they cannot give us the forgiving mercy and sanctifying grace we need. Jesus not only cleanses us from the effects of sin, but He can also protect us from temptation or strengthen us to endure it. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul does tell us that our temptations are “common to man,” but the real encouragement is found in God’s faithfulness to protect His children.

In this life we’ll never perfectly obey, but I believe progress is possible. I find that the difference comes in allowing failure to drive us back to the throne of grace rather than farther away as our enemy intends. When we know that grace and mercy are readily available, we can come back with confidence.

A beautifully encouraging picture is painted by C.S. Lewis in the book Yours, Jack (p. 94):

“I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations. It is not serious provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience et cetera doesn’t get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of His presence.”

What more can be said but—

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).