Pete had been a Christian nearly all his life. But since his teen years he had been losing the battle with pornography. Desperately he fought his lust, but every new solution was temporary. Praying harder didn’t work. Feeling worse afterwards didn’t work. Getting married didn’t work. Feeling alone and ashamed, Pete struggled for ten years; but his bondage only increased. One day, he heard about a seminar on sexual purity and attended with his friend. On the way home Pete was even more overwhelmed with feelings of condemnation, and hypocrisy. He knew he had to bring his sin into the light to get help; but the thought of his wife and kids finding out about his secret life was too humiliating to consider. Pete’s friend listened compassionately. But it was the last conversation he would have with Pete. The next weekend, Pete committed suicide.
Countless committed Christian men wrestling with masturbation have asked a legitimate question. If Christ has redeemed me from slavery to sin, why am I still regularly giving in to lust and masturbation? Didn’t Paul say the Christian’s old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin (Rom 6:6-7) and then repeat in verse 18 that Christians have been set free from sin? How can this be true when we default to lust, selfishness, resentment too easily and know that our heart attitudes are miles away from being like those of Jesus? This episode addresses the question, If Christ defeated sin at the cross, setting Adam’s kingdom free from its destructive slavery, why isn’t earth’s culture more sanctified and why am I, myself, not more sanctified?
As Christmas draws near, we hear “Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.” But if we are honest, we must admit that most of the earth has not received her king. The words continue, “Joy to the Earth! The Savior reigns.” However, news reports don’t sound much like Jesus is reigning but more like evil, hatred, secularism, and cultural Marxism are reigning. The lyrics continue, “No more let sins and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found,” rightly grasping that the Messiah has come to overthrow sin’s curse upon the earth. But thorns still grow, and the blessing of God’s design of sexuality, for example, doesn’t seem to be flowing into our culture; instead, the culture is attacking it. The final verse says, "He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness," but we see no international summit of world leaders to acknowledge Christ’s kingship. In short, is the coming of the Messiah no more relevant to the world right now than a fairytale, giving people a picture of a happy ending to the story when everybody lives happily ever after? If Christ defeated sin at the cross—why does sin have so much power to corrupt culture and overpower our hearts? Does our Redeemer’s work have any impact upon this life?
YES. THE TRUE TYRANTS KICKED OFF ADAMS THRONE WERE SATAN SIN & DEATH
From Genesis to Malachi, the pages of the Old Testament promise that one day the Anointed One (Messiah) would come to liberate God’s oppressed people. The oppressive tyrants to be overthrown always were the triumvirate of evil—Satan, sin, and death, which is made clear in the Genesis 3:15 promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. Since Israel was constantly subjugated by foreign political powers, as it was by Rome in Jesus’ Day, its people almost always thought of the Messiah as one to overthrow their political oppression. But nations like Assyria, Babylon, and Rome were just pawns in God’s hands. The root cause of Israel’s oppression was its disobedience, as texts like this make clear:
But if you will not be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you…. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them…. And you shall be oppressed and robbed continually. You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually…. (Dt 28:15ff).
It could not be clearer that the oppressor, from which Israel needed to be set free, was not Egypt, Assyria, or Rome, but the sin that reigned after Adam aligned his kingdom with Satan’s rebellion, which cased Israel’s failure to keep its covenant obligations. Though many Israelites missed it, the Messianic prophecies were clear that the real oppressor was SIN. Listen to these familiar words of Isaiah
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore (v
- Notice that the Second Adam takes back the governing of earth from SATAN, the Prince of the Power of the Air—the government shall be upon his shoulder.
- Note that SIN and its corruption of relationships will be overthrown. As the Prince of Peace, shalom will be restored; both justice and righteousness reign—to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness.
- Note, that DEATH, the third ally in this triumvirate, will be vanquished since this kingdom of righteousness will be from this time forth and forevermore.
Not only did Messianic prophecies point to the defeat of this triumvirate of oppressors, not a political foe, but Jesus also deliberately prefigured the overthrow of these three specific tyrants in his ministry. Concerning SIN, consider how thoroughly Jesus proclaimed what the righteousness of the Second Great Commandment required, in his Sermon on the Mount. It went way beyond the outward keeping of the law.
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:43-48).
Concerning DEATH, Jesus prefigured overcoming the curse upon the material earth placed there because of Adam’s sin by making the deaf hear, blind see, lame walk, and those afflicted with disease well. Decay and death were further overcome by raising Jairus' daughter and Jesus’ friend Lazarus from the dead. Concerning SATAN, Jesus not only routinely cast out demons but in Matthew 12:26-29 interprets his own messianic mission to be the invasion of Satan’s kingdom. Jesus answers the accusation that the source of his supernatural power is the demonic world with the words, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?... But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:17-20).
UNDERSTANDING OUR CURRENT CHAPTER IN REDEMPTIVE HISTORY
One of the reasons it has been so difficult for Christians to understand and apply what Jesus taught about the kingdom of God is that Jesus was emphatic that his kingdom has already come but also spoke of it as having not yet come fully. The messianic prophecies have been fulfilled. Jesus, the second Adam, has come. He has defeated Satan, sin, and death. The victory is already accomplished. He has proven that victory by rising from the grave. He has taken back Kingdom Earth’s rule by ascending to the right hand of the Father. However, Jesus has not yet removed Satan, sin, and death from Adam’s kingdom. Christians are still tempted by Satan, they still sin, and they still die. How are we to understand this already-not yet aspect of the kingdom? Many scholars have suggested a parallel to the Allied defeat of Germany in WWII. Once they succeeded in the D-Day invasion, their victory was sure; it was only a matter of time until VE Day. The decisive battle in a war may already have occurred in a relatively early stage of the war, and yet the war on the ground rages on. Satan has been defeated, but not destroyed. In Colossians 2:15, Paul says, Christ has disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. But he does not say the powers of darkness have fled the battlefield. Satan, and sin still wage war, but we can defeat them if we fight with the spiritual weapons explained in Ephesians 6.
THE ADVANCE OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN 2000 YEARS
- The value of human life. In the ancient world, child sacrifice was common. Excavating in Samaria during King Ahab’s time, Archaeologist Ashtoreth Halley stated, “Just a few steps from the temple was a cemetery, where many jars were found containing remains of infants who had been sacrificed in the temple” (D. James Kennedy, What if Jesus Hadn’t Been Born). Before Christianity, it was common for infirm babies or unwanted little ones to be taken into the countryside and abandoned to be eaten by wild animals. George Grant sums up, “Before the explosive and penetrating growth of medieval Christian influence, the primordial evils of abortion, infanticide, abandonment, and exposure were a normal part of everyday life in Europe” (Ibid).
- The value of women. Plato taught that if a man lived a cowardly life, he would be reincarnated as a woman. Little girls have been far more vulnerable to abortion and infanticide than boys. For example, Adam Smith writing in 1776, said: “In all the great towns of China, several female babies are every night exposed in the street or drowned liked puppies in the water.” In India, prior to the influence of Christ’s kingdom of righteousness, widows were voluntarily or involuntarily burned on their husband’s funeral pyres—a grisly practice known as suttee. Africa had a similar practice. The wives and concubines of the chieftain were killed at his death so they could not have sex with anyone else. Such tribal customs were stopped only after Christianity began to penetrate the continent.
- Help for the Poor and Needy. Before King Jesus ascended Adam’s throne, and Christianity began to impact the Roman world, charity was nearly non-existent. The Greek and Roman cultures exalted self-reliance, despising mercy, helplessness, and weakness. One Roman wrote, “in Rome no one ever gives away anything to anyone if he can help it.” Into this self-centered culture stormed the kingdom of righteousness, stressing the support of Christianity’s widows, orphans, sick, and disabled, and of those who, because of their faith, were thrown out of employment or were imprisoned.” One historian, wrote, “It was the church’s care for its own poor and for outsiders that so impressed the pagan Emperor Julian. Julian wrote: ‘For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg and the impious Galileans (Christians) support both their own poor and ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us’” (Ibid).
- Universal Education. Many of the world’s languages were first set to writing by Christian missionaries so that people could read the Bible for themselves. In the latest Wycliff Bible Translators Report, 1,548 languages have a complete NT, with portions translated into another 1,138 languages. This codification of oral language into writing was often the first step towards educating rural, tribal groups. But Christianity’s commitment to education goes much deeper. For example, William McGuffey, a Presbyterian minister, authored McGuffey’s Reader, which sold 120 million copies, for many years providing the backbone of grammar school education for Colonial America. Every collegiate institution (like Harvard, Princeton, Yale) founded before 1775 in the colonies—except the University of Pennsylvania—was established by some branch of the Christian Church
- Founding of Hospitals. In the pre-Christian era hospitals existed only for soldiers, gladiators, and slaves whose masters could pay for their care. Manual laborers and other poor individuals had no place of refuge. Because humans feared contracting disease the ill were often driven out of their homes and left to their fate. But In 325, the Christian church’s Council of Nicaea, made a world-changing decree. The bishops of the church were instructed to go into every cathedral city in Christendom and start a hospital. Even today, many hospitals reflect their origin in their name, e.g. Holy Cross, Adventist, St. Joseph’s.
- The Discovery of Science. It is well known that many of the most famous scientists were devout Christians, e.g. Blaise Paschal, Johannes Kepler, and Sir Isaac Newton. Less well known is that Christians urged the exploration of science through organizations like The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge founded in 1660. Seven of the ten founders were Puritans.
- Explosion of Conversions to the Christian Faith. Though overall church attendance in America is down, the losses are nominal Christinas from Liberal churches whose Christianity is inherited in contrast to religion that is chosen as it is among Evangelicals. Tim Keller in his book, Making Sense of God points out “Only evangelical protestants, among all religious bodies in the Untied States are converting more people than they are losing. In the non-Western world the growth of Christianity is stunning.” In the last 50 years, the number of Christians in East Asia (China, Korea, Japan) has grown from 11.4 million to 171.1 million. In 1910, only 12 million people in Africa were Christians. Today, there are 630 million Christians, a growth from 10% to almost 50% of the population. Today, there are Christians and organized Christian churches in every inhabited country on earth. Christ is spreading his kingdom of righteousness over the earth!
5 REASONS WHY CHRISTIANS AREN’T MORE SANCTIFIED (HOLY) TODAY
A. Because we lose sight of the greatness of God’s mercy to us. After devoting eleven chapters to putting the glorious gospel of grace on display to the Romans, Paul writes, With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. There is only one intelligent response to God’s mercy—in gratefulness put myself on the altar. Jesus gave two examples of sinners who had not lost sight of God’s mercy—the tax collector in the corner of the temple who would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'--and the prostitute standing behind him, weeping, shamelessly letting down her hair to wipe Jesus’ feet with her tears, of whom He said, “She who is forgiven much loves much.” Until I realize that my sin is worse than hers—because to whom much is given much is required—I won’t find the power to keep putting myself on the altar, grateful for God’s mercy to me.
B. Because spiritual change is more a consequence of what our hearts love than of what our hands do. Ultimately, sanctification is the result of loving Jesus more than I love sin. Godliness is not behavior modification, but heart transformation. I cannot take three steps to overcome lust forever next Thursday at 3 PM and be forever, sexually pure. The problem is my heart desires, which are not easily changed. Channeling and protecting the desires of my heart is the foundation of growing in holiness, which is why God says, Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life (Prov 4:23). John Piper recognizes that holiness is a consequence of changing our heart loves in saying: “One reason lust reigns in so many is that Christ has so little appeal. You were created to treasure Christ with all your heart—more than you treasure sex or sugar. If you have little taste for Jesus, competing pleasures will triumph. Plead with God for the satisfaction you don’t have. Quote Psalm 90:14, ‘Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we might rejoice and be glad all our days’” (Desiring God).
C. Because abiding in Christ, the only path to spiritual fruitfulness, takes great intentionality. Jesus was clear about how the fruit of the Spirit are produced. He said, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. One of the most counter-intuitive parts of Jesus’ personality was how he handled his life getting busier and his opportunities exploding. Luke observes, But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray (Lk 5:15-16). The greatest temptation to men of our cell-phone-world of the 21st century may not be the constant accessibility of porn. It may be the theft of private time to shut out the world of sound and sight and touch to commune with our savior and Lord.
D. Because few of us have mastered fighting sin with the spiritual weapons given to us to use in this battle. Christians are not commanded to be courageous in spiritual battle in our own strength but to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Paul then equates fighting in the Lord with putting on Christ’s spiritual armor and picking up Christ’s spiritual weapons. We are to put on the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, readiness to share the gospel, and helmet of salvation, raise up the shield of faith, and fight with the sword of the spirit and with prayer in Jesus’ name. But very few Christians know what employing each piece of equipment in battle actually looks like. The result is far too many victories for agents of the kingdom of darkness who all seem to know how to fight!
E. Because most Christian men fight their battles in a manner that guarantees failure—ALONE. When it comes to obeying God’s command, “Be holy because I am holy,” men ignore the age-old text of Scripture that says, Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecc 4:9-12). Furthermore, Jesus sets all Christian men an example. On the night of his most intense spiritual battle, in the Garden of Gethsemane when he wrestled with saying yes or no to the cross—he intentionally invited only his three closest buddies, Peter, James and John to be near him, coming back to them over and over as he fought his battle. Jesus did not fight this battle alone.
For Further Prayerful Thought
- What evidence would you point to from Scripture that proves that the oppressors the promised Messiah would overthrow always were Satan, sin, and death and not the political oppressors of Israel?
- How does the Already/Not Yet description of this period of redemptive history clarify things and muddy things?
- The Second Adam’s overthrow of the triumvirate, Satan, sin, and death and ascension to God’s right hand has positioned Him to spread his kingdom of righteousness and restoration over earth for 2000 years. Of the 6 ways that I mentioned its impact on culture which ones stood out most to you?
- Which reason for Christians’ lack of sanctification stood out most to you?
