Stoking The Fire of our Motivation April 19, 2010

We’re going to conclude our talking series by repeating some posts from 2008 on Speaking Redemptively.  Reading through these posts brought conviction, hope and fresh motivation for the importance of carefully watching what comes out of my heart and mouth.  As I was reading I kept thinking….”Hmmm, I need this!  I sure don’t remember this post.  This is so timely for me!”  We hope those of you who read these posts in 08, and those who didn’t, will also receive fresh hope for change!

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by the weight of our responsibility when it comes to pursuing Redemptive Speech?  Then, I have good news for you this morning; “Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE sinners, of whom I’m the foremost!”  1 Timothy 1:15 (emphasis added).

I sense the Lord reminding me this morning that I have neglected preaching the Gospel to myself each day, which leads to the weight I bear.  Quoting again from Jerry Bridges’ new book, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, he says:

“The assurance that God no longer counts my sin against me does two things.  First it assures me that God is for me, not against me (see Romans 8:31).  I am not alone in this battle with sin.  God is not watching me from His heavenly throne saying, “When are you going to get your act together?  When are you going to deal with that sin?”  Rather, He is, as it were, coming alongside me saying, “We are going to work on that sin, but meanwhile I want you to know that I no longer count it against you.”  God is no longer my Judge; He is now my heavenly Father, who loves me with a self generated, infinite love, even in the face of my sin.  That assurance greatly encourages me and motivates me to deal with the sin.

“Further, the  assurance that God no longer counts my sin against me, and that in my struggles with sin, He is for me, produces within me a strong sense of gratitude for what He has done and is presently doing for me through Christ.

“This twofold effect of encouragement and gratitude together produce in us a desire to deal with our sin.  Make no mistake: Dealing with our sin is not an option.  We are commanded to put sin to death.  It is our duty to do so.  But duty without desire soon produces drudgery. And it is the truth of the gospel, reaffirmed in our hearts daily that puts desire into our duty.  It is the gospel that stokes the fire of our motivation to deal with our respectable and subtle sins.  It is the gospel that motivates us to seek to be in our daily experience what we are in our standing before God.”

Are you feeling “drudgery”?  Then, it is the gospel you need that will transform your drudgery into desire!  May we all begin this day with the Gospel declaring this truth to our hearts:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”  Romans 4:7-8