From the Morning Scriptures

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

—Galatians 5:16-24 (TNIV)

Yesterday we looked at what Paul meant by Christian freedom and how he demolished the delusion that we can somehow end our alienation from God by doing lots of good works. Today, Paul goes on to remind his readers that Christian freedom is not a license to sin. No, our justification will necessarily produce good works, but not so that we can earn our salvation. Our good works are a manifestation of our faith in Christ’s blood shed for us and we are given the power to do good works by the active Presence and work of the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

As Paul reminds us in the latter half of today’s reading, this does not mean we get to kick back and do nothing, expecting the Holy Spirit to do it all for us. No, we are weighed down by our bodies of sin, our mortal bodies, and we must do our part to put to death our sinful nature. This is what Jesus meant when he told us that anyone who is to be his disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him.

To be sure, the Spirit helps us overcome our sinful desires and our weakness, but we must help him by being intentional in our efforts to put to death our sinful desires and nature. Again, we do this not because we think this will help us earn our salvation, but out of a deep sense of love and gratitude for all God has done for us in Christ.

So how do we know if we are being successful in living a Spirit-filled life? Look at the fruits of your behavior, says Paul. He goes on to give us examples of behaviors that indicate we are still living in our sin and behaviors that indicate the Spirit is at work in us. The latter is especially important for us to consider because of the gentle nature of the Holy Spirit. He never does violence to us or our personalities; therefore it is sometimes difficult for us to tell that he is living in us because it feels like we are the ones responsible for making manifest his gifts.

In these two passages from yesterday and today, then, Paul reminds us of the great gifts that are ours in Christ. Our alienation from God is ended by the cross of Christ. And until we are released from our mortal bodies and finished with sin, we have God himself indwelling us and helping us become more like him. It’s not easy or automatic, but like Christ himself, the gift of the Spirit is a free gift from God, who loved us, created us to have a relationship with him, and has done what needed to be done to give us a chance to have that relationship with him. We may not understand it all (or even most of it), but because we trust God, we know his promises are true. Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Are you making the most of the opportunities given you to enjoy real life?

Give Me, Lord…But Not Yet

From my very early years I had sought chastity from  you [God] but had prayed, “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet!” I feared that you would hear me quickly, and that I would be cured of the lust I wanted satisfied rather than extinguished.

—Augustine, Confessions 8.7.17

Just one more reason why you have to love a saint like Augustine, who always called a spade a spade, even when talking about himself. It is good for all of us to examine our prayer life with the clarity and ruthlessness that Augustine did so that in doing so God can help us grow in grace and our ability to pray.

John Wesley on Forgiveness (4)

Indeed, the leading of the Spirit is different in different souls. His more usual method, I believe, is, to give, in one and the same moment, forgiveness of sins, and a full assurance of that forgiveness. Yet in many he works as he did in me; giving first the remission of sins, and after some weeks, or months, or years, the full assurance of it.

The Principles of a Methodist 8.371

Did you catch the theological richness in this short passage? Here Wesley reminds us that forgiveness is a gift of God made manifest by the Holy Spirit. It usually brings an awareness of being forgiven, but sometimes it does not. So Wesley is reminding us that those of us who are in Christ are forgiven, and our forgiveness is not contingent on our awareness of it. This was Wesley’s case and for someone like me, who for years was haunted by the notion that I could not possibly be forgiven because my sins were so bad—an issue that still rears its ugly head in me on occasion—this was a huge relief. If you are likewise struggling, I pray God will speak to you in the same way he did to Wesley and to me.

John Wesley on Forgiveness (3)

The grace of God herein confirms to us the pardon of our sins, and enables us to leave them. As our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by these tokens of the body and blood of Christ [consumed at the Eucharist]. This is the food of our souls: This gives strength to perform our duty, and leads us on to perfection. If, therefore, we have any regard for the plain command of Christ, if we desire the pardon of our sins, if we wish for strength to believe, to love and obey God, then we should neglect no opportunity of receiving the Lord’s Supper; then we must never turn our backs on the feast which our Lord has prepared for us. This is the true rule: So often are we to receive [communion] as God gives us opportunity. Whoever, therefore, does not receive, but goes from the holy table, when all things are prepared, either does not understand his duty, or does not care for the divine command of his Saviour, the forgiveness of his sins, the strengthening of his soul, and the refreshing it with the hope of glory.

Sermon 101, The Duty of Communion 7.148

While forgiveness is a grace bestowed on us by God, Wesley also taught that there are things we can do on our side to make us more open to receive God’s grace. Holy communion is an important means of grace by which we receive a sense of forgiveness and are equipped to love and obey the Lord. Reading the Bible daily and regular prayer are other means of grace.

John Wesley on Forgiveness (2)

I had always a confidence in Christ, who had done so great things for me. But it was a confidence mixed with fear: I was afraid I had not done enough. There was always something dark in my soul till now. But now the clear light shined; and I saw that what I had hitherto so constantly insisted on, —the doing so much and feeling so much, the long repentance and preparation for believing, the bitter sorrow for sin, and that deep contrition of heart which is found in some, —were by no means essential to justification [being declared not guilty in God’s eyes]. Yea, that wherever the free grace of God is rightly preached, a sinner in the full career of his sins will probably receive it, be justified by it, before one who insists on such previous preparation.

Journal 1.128

The message here? Forgiveness is a free gift from God, not something we earn. When you begin to understand this, you are ready to receive the Good News.

John Wesley on Forgiveness (1)

Here I found the peace I had long sought in vain; for I was assured my sins were forgiven. Not indeed all at once, but by degrees; not in one moment nor in one hour. For I could not immediately believe that I was forgiven, because of the mistake I was then in concerning forgiveness. I saw not then, that the first promise to the children of God is, “Sin shall no more reign over you;” but thought I was to feel it in me no more from the time I was forgiven. Therefore, although I had the mastery over it, yet I often feared it was not forgiven, because it still stirred in me, and at some times thrust sore at me that I might fall: Because, though it did not reign, it did remain in me; and I was continually tempted, though not overcome.

Journal 1.121

One of the reasons I love Wesley is because of his honesty. I can often relate his experiences and struggles to my own. Here, he comments on the sense of forgiveness, clearly something he struggled with for many years of his life. As he tells us above, he mistakenly believed that the assurance of forgiveness would rid him of all temptations so that he would never sin again or feel guilt about sins committed. Not so, he discovered.

As Paul reminds us, in Romans and Galatians, as long as we live in our mortal bodies, we are going to be weighed down with them. That is why he sometimes referred to our mortal bodies as “bodies of sin.” I am posting several things from Wesley’s writings today that I hope will help you if you are struggling with guilt over sin. May the Lord use Wesley’s writings to speak to you words of comfort and assurance.