True Repentance

"Yea; but, friend, thou hast neglected prayer or reading; thou hast been vain and loose in thy conversation in other things, that have not been of the same nature with that lust wherewith thou art perplexed. These are no less sins and evils than those under which thou groanest. Jesus Christ bled for them also. Why dost thou not set thyself against them also? If thou hatest sin as sin, every evil way, thou wouldst be no less watchful against every thing that grieves and disquiets the Spirit of God, than against that which grieves and disquiets thine own soul. It is evident that thou contendest against sin merely because of thy own trouble by it. Would thy conscience be quiet under it, thou wouldst let it alone. Did it not disquiet thee, it should not be disquieted by thee. Now, canst thou think that God will set in with such hypocritical endeavours, — that ever his Spirit will bear witness to the treachery and falsehood of thy spirit? Dost thou think he will ease thee of that which perplexeth thee, that thou mayst be at liberty to that which no less grieves him? No. Says God, “Here is one, if he could be rid of this lust I should never hear of him more; let him wrestle with this, or he is lost.” Let not any man think to do his own work that will not do God’s. God’s work consists in universal obedience; to be freed of the present perplexity is their own only."

John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers

So often repentance gets pushed to the back seat of our thoughts, relegated to a simple, "I'm sorry Lord, I've done this or that thing, and it's bothering me." Or in salvation, how Christian culture has relegated repentance to, "I've done some bad things in my life." How great a disservice has been done to Christians, even to me in my life, to have sin dumbed down to merely sins. How I so struggled in the past with this sin or that sin, crying out to God saying, "If only you'd relieve me of this, then I'd be fine." And yet, he allows us to continue on in it because we've so misconstrued the true terror of sin to such a degree that if we were relieved, we might as well forget God, because we'd be fine. He would never hear from us again. 

Sin cannot be limited to this act or that act. To this passion or that. To this lifestyle or that. In sin my mother conceived me. The whole of our humanity has been so tainted, so wrecked, so defiled on account of Adam apart from our own choices that if we were locked in a blank room all our lives it would still be enough to convict us of being only the most detestable of creatures. Only by recognising this true identity of sin, that of the totality of its defilement, can we approach God in true repentance, recognising that apart from the Grace shown us in his Son, and by the indwelling of the Spirit are we able to have any peace with him at all.

This peace does not come from a simple, shallow, freedom from being annoyed by our own consciences, but by a renewing desire to be so totally transformed that sin hasn't a single foothold by which to overcome. Daily looking to the Father in repentance of sin, both recognised and unrecognised, seen and unseen, so that we may be in total and complete submission to him, in obedience of both will and action, mind and body.

What great glory is the Grace of God! What peace that comes from knowing the nature of that from which I've been saved! What great hope there is in knowing that day by day, repentance becomes only more perfect until that day when I see my Lord and Saviour, and become conformed to his character to the Glory of the Father through the Sanctification of his Spirit, so graciously given as a pledge to those who have come to him as children!

So then, take care that repentance not become about this or that issue, this circumstance or that; but rather, that we are so helpless that without the Grace of God moment by moment, our lives would be ruined and we would come to that firey end without hope. But we have a hope not found in relief from grief, for faith is not that which is seen, but a hope founded in knowing what is, and what is yet to be.

Grace and peace,

Mike Senders

Towards a Modern Monasticism and Self-Denial

Hey all,

So if you've been following the podcast at all, you've noticed that I've been recording audiobooks, and have been focusing on two areas, the Patristics, and Owen's Mortification of Sin. This has got me thinking about the relationship between killing sin in our current lives  and living a monastic lifestyle.

Usually when people think of monasticism, they think of Roman Catholic monks who wear brown robes and take ridiculous vows. I want to think of monasticism in a more general way, a way that relates to our everyday living; putting ourselves to death daily, through the denial of earthly desires and toward a devotion to heavenly desires.

There is an obvious issue with balance here. I personally do not think that Scripture teaches for there to be monks, nuns, eunuchs, etc., within the church body. These things go against the communal nature of the church. Neither does Scripture teach asceticism, that goes against the grace given to all Christians that all things are permissible, though maybe not profitable. Also, what Scripture does not teach, and I think that this is where American Christianity fails, is there to be a carefree attitude about partaking in anything even mildly attractive. I'm not talking about taking part in sin per se, and neither am I talking about over indulgence. What I'm talking about is simply denying the flesh for the sake of bridling it. Denying myself something simply because I want it. To what am I a slave? Do I want to be a slave to my desires? Or should I make my body hunger, thirst, want, or be deprived of things that though permissible, may not be profitable?

Matt 18:8-9 says,

“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell."

Now while this is primarily talking about sin, I think the point is denial.

Your hand or foot. This is referring to the things we set out to accomplish. "Their feet are swift to shed blood." It is referring to the means or ability to accomplish sin. Whatever it is that enables us to sin should be denied, cut off.

Your eye. Our senses. If looking at something is causing yourself to sin, don't look. If your heart is causing yourself to sin, stop longing. 

I think these concepts should be married practically to Owen's concept of mortification. One point he brings up is that to mortify sin does not simply mean to not take part in it. If the passions of youth dim with age, have those passions been mortified simply because they no longer appear desirable? No. If obedience to Christ is simply on account of my annoyance at the effects of sin, then it is not obedience. I am only bothering to put my sin to death because it bothers me. Rather, through denial, I daily reign in my senses, my faculties, my body, so that they come under my control to my perfection in Christ. 

1Cor. 9:26-27: Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Man have I failed at this. I look back at my youth, and how much time was wasted doing whatever I wanted at the time. Living the bachelor lifestyle, free floating, tied to nothing. How much of that still remains! Only through denial, only though the forced control of my body can I make it mine. And the thing is- I don't have to join a monastery or take stupid vows to do it. I can do it right now, everyday, in my own home. I do it by not giving into every fleshly desire at every moment. Perhaps sleep isn't needed sometimes. Perhaps I can do without food. Perhaps I can do without hobbies. Whatever it is my heart desires to do, I must bring that desire to my control, to the perfection in Christ, so that I am the one ruling it, and it is not ruling me. "Sin's desire is for you, but you must master it." 

In Him, 

Mike Senders