James 3:2 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways.”
It is that last part that I would like you to take note of. “We all stumble in many ways.” James employs a metaphor here to describe our sinfulness. When he says we "stumble in many ways" he is likening our lives to someone who is perpetually tripping over things and falling down. Understanding what is said here is good because t helps us to understand how much sin is a part of our lives. When it comes to the law of God, we are all clumsy fools. We are constantly blundering about and lacking any sort of spiritual agility or elegance. In all reality, our lives might be compared to an episode of the Three Stooges or some other slapstick comedy. If it were not so terribly sad, it might be funny because of how klutzy we are spiritually. James says we stumble in many ways, and the idea is that you have a guy who is so clumsy that he trips over one thing, and—as soon as he regains his composure—he tumbles over something else. It’s just this constant roll of bloopers. Perhaps you can even see this in your own life. Even on a good day you’ll see how there was a long list of sins (pride, coveting, your spiteful or mean spirited). Or, you might have caught yourself doing something right after you got done repenting of it! It is true that every intention of our hearts is only evil continually. And for this reason we must come before the Lord and seek his grace. Let us pray. Father in Heaven, We confess that we do not deserve the least good thing, but indeed we have forfeited all rights to your benefits by virtue of our sins and shortcomings. We recognize that hell ought to receive us and the pains of eternal damnation should fall upon us because of the guilt we have incurred through our having violated your law. We confess that we are sinners before you and we acknowledge the depth of the corruption. Our iniquity is both frequent and willful. It has been conceived within the dark chambers of our hearts. It has festered in the foul halls of our minds. And like vomit it has cascaded forth to our public deeds. To be sure, there has been a perpetual flow to our offenses and we continue to heap hot coals upon our heads by the works of our flesh. And it is because we have no merit of our own of which to speak that we come to you. We cast ourselves upon your mercies and rest ourselves solely in the promise of your Son, who was crucified for sinners and condemned in his flesh. Father we plead the blood of Calvary, and cling to the offer of salvation that is in him. And we ask that you would by no means cast us out. But let instead our guilt be taken away and may you cause our sin to fall from us like dead branches lopped off, for we do sorrow and mourn our ungodly waywardness and the evil that we do. Hear us as we pray, not for our sake, but only for the sake of Christ and the glory he receives through it. Amen
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Gracious God,
On this Easter morning we come to you acknowledging that we have loved death rather than life. We admit that we still wallow in the grave of our sin and we have not cast off the old man as we have been called to do. Death still very much clings to us, and we are powerless to sever the ties to that bind us to our degeneracy. We confess, O God, that our mouths have been full of corruption. Our lips have not stopped breathing out damnable things. We have slandered our brethren and spoken ill of the people who we ought to love, reverence, and honor. We have been slow to encourage and quick to tear down. Our Christian duty has been neglected as well. You have called us to seek the peace, purity, and unity of the church. But we have fallen far short of your expectation. Forgive us, we pray, for not seeking the greater increase of grace among our brethren and our neighbors. Please excuse our having failed to pray for them, forgive them, and be reconciled to them; and doing everthing within our power to promote the reign of godliness. O God, Our hearts are broken and we are truly sorry for loving to live among the tombs of death and hades. And we come to you now seeking your pardon and grace that we might be made free from this pitiful condition. We ask for the continuing work of resurrection life within us. May the life giving power of Your Spirit birth in us new obedience and renew us in righteousness by your infinite grace. Call to Confession: Pro 28:13
“He who covers his sins shall not prosper: but he who confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.” Gracious and merciful God, Once again we limp to you and we cast ourselves down at the footstool of your grace. We do not hide the fact that we are unworthy servants, who have transgressed your law in many ways and at many times. What’s more, we confess the secrets of our hearts, for we know that you see what we hide in the labyrinth of our souls. You know the pride, anger, impatience, lust, vanity, profaneness, and distrust. Although these are kept from the public eye, they all alike are plain to you. For you are the Searcher of Hearts. And it would be foolish (and even reckless) to try and conceal them or disavow their existence. So we admit them, and hold to the promise of your word. Lord, we pray that, you might now grant us mercy and forgiveness. We ask that you would pardon us and free us from the guilt that we have incurred and the penalties that such things require. We pray that you would grant us the benefits of Christ’s life and bitter death. May we be numbered among those who have been washed in his blood and cleansed by his atoning sacrifice. And may your Spirit be that which lifts our heads and confirms us in this sweet salvation. Lord, hear our prayer, for it is in the truthfulness of your word that we set our hopes. Amen Assurance of Pardon: Psa 103:10-12 “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Discuss: As Augustine begins his “confession” he starts at the very early days of adolescence. Why do you think he includes this in his account? Why does he devote a lengthy discussion to this period of his life? To be sure, puberty is a developmental milestone. But Augustine sees this not primarily as a time of physical and mental development—though he mentions his father’s rather embarrassing recognition of it in the bathhouse. To Augustine, the adolescence was a major developmental stage for his sinful life. He does not gloss over it as a time when “boys will be boys” or a time when he can merely “sow his wild oats.” He sees this as a dark time; a crucial time where his descent down the path of wickedness began. For this reason he begins the chapter by mentioning the vanity of the road he set upon: “I will attempt to give a coherent account of my disintegrated self, for when I turned away from you, the one God, and pursued a multitude of things, I went to pieces. There was a time in adolescence when I was afire to take my fill of hell.” This is an echo of what he says in another place, “our hearts are restless until we find our rest in Thee.” In sum, he declares that peace of mind/peace in life can only be achieved through peace with God. As we wonder further away from obedience to the Lord (and the revelation of absolute truth that he gives), we bring upon ourselves misery of mind/life. The theme of lust is noted at the outset of the chapter. Augustine asks, “What was it that delighted me? Only loving and being loved.” He goes on to express that love and lust were two things that were profoundly confused, such that he could not distinguish the “calm light of love from the fog of lust.” Discuss: Is there a legitimate distinction between love and lust? If so, what is it? How do we define or distinguish love and lust? What is the basis for such a distinction? The lusts associated with Augustine’s youth may be categorized in the following ways: 1. Sexual intrigue. Augustine starts by admitting that he was “in love with being in love.” This, at least at this time in his life, primarily means an unbiblical sexual proclivity. The number one sin of the adolescent years is that of lust so it is no surprise that he talks about this. However, the honesty of it and the expression of how vile it really was is interesting given the sexing of our culture and "free love" tendency. Augustine notes that this yearning marriage would have curbed these desires, or at least put them to good use in propagating the race through children. There was no intention of this though. His parents cared more for his education than his chastity. His mother did admonish and instruct him on the evil of fornication, but he would not listen. In the end, he admits that these exploits plunged him further away from God. Though sweet to the flesh they were bitter to the soul because the Lord would not bless them (he "sprinkled bitter disappointments over all my unlawful pleasures so that I might seek a pleasure free from all disappointment.") 2. Companions: The lust he had was not confined to that of women though. He yearned for acceptance with his male friends. This was fed by the idleness of being away from school for a time. He spent much time roaming with friends. To be recognized by them he made up stories about sexual exploits (“afraid of being reviled, I grew viler”) 3. Greater wickedness Augustine says, “Throughout these experiences a dark fog cut me off from your bright truth, my God, and my sin grew sleek on my excesses.” Adolescence is a time marked by growth. We typically associate with it the developments that occur physically and mentally. Augie does not do this. The growth of his sin is what is in the foreground. This time of his life was marked by hardening in evil ways. The more evil that is done, the more thirsty one becomes for more. Essentially Aug. says that there is a drug like effect of sin. You become addicted. Correspondingly, as you are attracted to more evil, your mind becomes more distant from the things of heaven and God. (The Bible talks about searing the conscience and being given a “reprobate mind.”) Discuss: Much of the chapter is tied up with his discussion of the pear tree. What happens there? Why does Augustine deem this so important as to include it? There is a sense in which this tale parallels the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In the Genesis 3 story we read of the initial sin that plunged mankind into sin. Here, we see Augustine’s revelry in sin. He confesses that he would not have done it if he were alone, nor were the pears of great desire (there were better ones to be had). It was purely “sin for sin’s sake;” the pleasure of ruin and destruction. (“The malice was loathsome, and I loved it.”) Augustine insinuates that the sin of Adam had left its mark. The corruption of the heart was such that he took great delight in the evil. Discuss: Augie also says that his friends had something to do with the whole event. Do you think that this was essentially your everyday act of peer pressure? Augustine also remarks that the raping of the pear tree corresponded to the sin of our first parents in motivation. The serpent tempted Adam and Eve by saying, “when you eat of it you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Augustine says (II.14), “All those who wander far away and set themselves up against you are imitating you, but in a perverse way.” That is to say, in seeking to be a law unto oneself they copy the work of the Lawgiver himself. Augustine admits, “I was…trying to simulate a crippled sort of freedom, attempting a shady parody of omnipotence by getting away with something forbidden.” Augustine ends by essentially saying, “So began my course.” While he might have had some happy moments, he lacked true joy & satisfaction because he lacked the Lord. We might hear in his concluding remarks something of what King Solomon said in the book of Eccl.: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them." I have had various interactions as of late which have reminded me of what it means to be a slave to sin. It also reminds me of how important Christ is in being freed from sinful patterns. I spoke with one man about his infatuation with a certain girl. She treats him like dirt (I might even make the argument that the dirt gets better treatment). Despite her nagging, her authoritarian brazen-ness, her tongue whippings, et. al. he says he loves her and cannot live without her. Another man stopped me in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. We talked for an hour about what I would call his "moral schizophrenia." He recognized that he was living a particular lifestyle that was not lawful. At one moment he would be distraught at it because he knew it was not right. In the very next breath he would smile and show his great affinity for it. He wanted to be rid of it and keep it all at the same time. While I might sight more instances, both evidence the problem of the sin nature and our enslavement to sin. In his commentary on Judges Dale Ralph Davies reminds us that sin is not just an act. It is a power. It holds a grip upon us and we cannot wiggle free from it. Such is a slave. A slave is one who cannot extract himself from his situation. Though he may have a desire to be free, he cannot attain it of his own power. The apostle Paul also put it in terms of a "war" that waged within him (Rom. 7:15-24). King Solomon gave it more color when he depicted it as a dog that would return to his vomit. Each image describes the same predicament. But what is the remedy? Psychology would tell us that there are certain ways to break "habits" or end addictions. But they do not recognize the real substance of what is going on. There is no humanly way to do this. The problem is not of human will alone. It is a spiritual issue at base. It is a problem of the heart. My brother once made a good observation of drunks and drug addicts that participated in A.A. meetings. He said that they never really got over their addictions. Typically they just replace one sin with another. The drinking stopped, but the smoking began. The drugs were put on the shelf, but they would begin to indulge in another area. Scripture tells us that the answer does not lie within us. It is only through the power of Christ working by the Spirit. Paul, after explaining the battle that raged within him--wanting to do differently, but being unable to do so--finally exclaimed, "What shall save me from the body of death? Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ." In the end, it is only the power of Christ that can sever the person from their sin. Faith is essential here. We pray for release and beg him to act. We seek to resist and do all that is in our power to remain distant from the temptation (godly fellowship, accountability, exposure to the means of grace, staying away from certain places/circumstances that expose us to temptation, etc.). But in the end, we trust Christ. Temptation may overwhelm us at times. Nevertheless, we show faith. We come to Christ and acknowledge him as our only help. As we confess our sin, we confess the Savior again and again. We plead again for his strength and wait for him to bring the victory. The power of sin is tremendous. This is why we must have Christ. His power is the only one that can exceed it and give freedom. Almighty God,
We come before you this morning acknowledging that we are poor wretches bent on every kind of evil. And we do beg you to forgive us our sin and pardon the abundance of our iniquity. Indeed, O God, it has been a double offense. For we know that we have transgressed your law not only by doing what we ought not to have done, but by having not done what we ought to do. And we admit that the latter has been more devious than the first. Would we have time to worry and feel anxious if we had been busy fearing you and basking in the immensity of your splendor? If we had dutifully sought to admire you and delight ourselves in the riches of our God, we never would have chased the idols of our hearts or been overly consumed with the pleasures of this world. But since we have not been engaged with our duty, we have committed a double error. And were you to leave us in our sin and open the books against us on the last day, we acknowledge that there would not be a library big enough to hold the volumes that would be needed to keep such records. And that is why we seek your mercy and pray that you would uproot the vile inclinations of our soul. We come to you holding only to the cross of Christ and the promise you make in the gospel. We know that only his merit can satisfy your scrupulous inspection and make us presentable before your face. So God, we ask that you would be faithful to your word and turn our hearts towards your face. Accept us in your grace. For this we pray in Jesus’ name. Almighty God,
We come to you acknowledging the poverty of our spirits. We recognize and confess that we have not loved you or obeyed you as we ought. We have been slow of heart and lukewarm in our devotion. Indeed, O God, our failures are manifold. Yet, we come to you acknowledging the root and cause of it all. It has been our failure to believe in you and love you with all of our heart. Since you have not been the delight of our life and treasured above all things, we have lingered long in sin, and we have retreated from the fight against temptation. Father, your word speaks clearly as to our duty. We are to mortify our sin; we are to gouge it out; we are to wage war against the flesh; we are to flee that which is evil and pursue that which is good; are to hate it and sorrow over it. Yet we have not. We have been quick to regard the sin of others, and make much of how detestable it is. Yet our own shortcomings have been slighted and treated with little concern. We have neglected them, excused them, justified and overlooked them. Yes, it is true, we have played the Pharisee, and we have played it well. But we come to you now, o God, admitting that we have not been filled with that holy zeal; nor have we been jealous for your honor. Father, we pray that you would forgive us for not having that burning love. And we pray that you would render to us the saving mercies and precious blood of Calvary’s cross. We know that the only remedy for our condition is the balm of Christ, whose heart ever burned strong for you and whose sacrifice has been made on our behalf. And it is in his name and for his sake we pray. Assurance of Pardon: “This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of all acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.” |
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