Proclaiming Grace Begins with Addressing Sin February 3, 2010

In Dave’s first message at the marriage retreat he laid the foundation of sin.  Hmmm….does that cause a spark in your heart?  Do you, like me, sometimes chaff at yet another focus on sin?  I’m learning that this is often because I don’t have a robust grasp of the gospel.

Using 1 Timothy 1:12-17 as his text for this message, Dave reminded us of the context of this book.  False teachers had begun to teach different doctrines (vs 3), causing some in the church to wander away (vs 6).  Teachers who claimed to understand the law didn’t (vs 7).  Why?  Because they were missing the point of the law: to reveal that we are sinners.

In short, the false teachers of that day had lost “the sinfulness of sin.”

Does that sound familiar?  How often do I lose sight of the sinfulness of my sin?  Dave elaborated on the importance of wives (and husbands) seeing that the biggest problem in our marriages isn’t our spouse, but us.  We have to focus on the whole gospel:  beginning with we are sinners in need of a Savior.  “A common and troubling trend in churches,” he said, “is denying the affects of remaining sin.”

I did this yesterday.  I was troubled by something Benny told me.  I was especially upset that he told me soon before I needed to leave for an appointment, meaning we wouldn’t have time to discuss it.  This left me with having an evening to think about it myself.  I was quick to judge his heart and the timing of his comments.  Wouldn’t he know this would be something I’d want to discuss…like for 3 hours????

It was quite some time before I changed the focus to me. My anxiety; perplexity; lack of trust in God.  And my willingness to so easily judge my husband’s heart.  The man who daily demonstrates his care and who has loved me for nearly 40 years in spite of how hard I make it for him.

Dave talked about our need for a “spiritual stethascope.”  Why?  So we can, with God’s help, discern the ill in our hearts and and rejoice in the gospel.

Jerry Bridges said, “The gospel is meaningful for us only the the extent that we realize and acknowledge that we are still sinful.  Although we are new creations in Christ, we still sin every day in thought, word, and deed, and perhaps even more importantly, in motives.  To benefit from the gospel every day, then, we must acknowledge that we are still sinners.”

Acknowledging that I’m still a sinning wife (and mother and friend) doesn’t bring condemnation because Jesus Christ paid for every one of my past, present and future sins!  When I’m unafraid to define myself as a sinner, I’m also unafraid to run to the throne of grace to receive help to overcome my sin.  As Dave said, “We can’t really proclaim grace without addressing sin.”

What hope!

Posted by Sheree