Readings for today: Ezekiel 23, Hebrews 10:18-39, Psalms 109, Proverbs 27:13
“Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.“ - John Newton
John Newton was a great sinner. Pressed into service in the Royal Navy at a young age, he ended up a captain in the slave trade. He purchased human beings, held them in deplorable conditions in the hold of his ships, and transported them to the West Indies where he sold them for profit. Three times he traversed the dreaded Triangle. And even after his days as a captain came to an end, he still invested heavily in the slave trade itself. Newton was saved during a storm on March 10, 1748 though he would not mark his full conversion until much later. He became an abolitionist in 1788 with the publication of Thoughts upon the Slave Trade where he described the horror of the conditions aboard the slave ships during the Middle Passage. In that book, he makes "a confession, which ... comes too late ... It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.” John Newton understood the depths of his sin.
The passage from Ezekiel today is a tough one. It describes in graphic terms how God feels about our sin. He likens it to sexual depravity of the worst kind. He describes the faithlessness of both Israel and Judah as spiritual adultery. He accuses them of lusting after other gods. Inviting them into their beds. Sleeping with them over and over again. The people of God are shameless in their spiritual prostitution. They are enslaved to their perverted desires. They show little to no restraint. Frankly, it sounds very familiar. I cannot tell you the number of conversations I’ve had over the last two decades with Christian believers whose lives reflect the same shamelessness. Claiming to know Christ, they embrace a sinful lifestyle. Greed. Lust. Pride. Bitterness. Anger. Selfishness. Their lives are marked by the works of the flesh rather than the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:18-24) As such, they are the people the author of Hebrews is referring to when he writes, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:26-31)
Friends, God takes our sin seriously and we would be lost except for His amazing grace. No matter how dark the stains of your sin. No matter how deep the corruption in your life runs. No matter how heavy the load of guilt and shame. No matter how great your sin, Christ is greater still! “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:19-25) God never lets His people go. Yes, Israel played the whore but God was faithful to restore her after the exile. Yes, John Newton engaged in the horrors of the slave trade but God was faithful to rescue him and use him to abolish the slave trade once and for all. Yes, I am a great sinner but God is always faithful to forgive me for my sin and cleanse me from my unrighteousness. His grace is truly amazing to save a wretch like me!
What about you? Do you understand the depths of your sinful condition before God? Do you grasp the darkness that pervades your soul? We are conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity. Each of us goes his or her own way. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But the promise of God is if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us. Cleanse us. Sanctify us. And make us more into the image of His Son.
Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 24-26, Hebrews 11:1-61, Psalms 110, Proverbs 27:14