November 2004 Archives

Hit REFRESH if things look a little funny. New stylesheet I’m messing with.

I’ve been around for a little while on the net now, and I think it’s time to make some modifications to the site again. I want to refine it a bit to make it more relevant and helpful, make it more pleasant to look at and easier to navigate. I want to cut out the trivial junk like what websites I’m liking and blah blah blah.

The “Books I’m Reading” section has changed slightly. Instead of linking to where you can buy the book, it links to thoughts on the book as I’m reading it. Right now, there’s a link to John Owen’s The Mortification of Sin and you can read some highlights of it. If/when I finish the book, I’ll put it in as a permanent review. I might do the same for some albums, though things get a bit dicier with copyright law and such. I don’t want to get busted for posting lyrics that I’m not supposed to. Anyone have any idea what the copyright laws on posting lyrics are, how much you can post, etc.?

Also, in the future I might possibly be launching a new website which will be a collection of contributions from several of my friends regarding God and life. Let’s face it, I’m pretty darn one-sided. I have one view of God that graciously comes from the experiences He’s leading me through. But I’m imbalanced, and one of the Scriptures that is leading me to see this is not only a good idea but rather essential is from 1 Corinthians 12:16-21.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

This site, if God wills its launch, is being born out of a developing conviction that the “blogosphere” can suffer from a very one-sided, independent, non-Body-dependent attitude. But the truth is, I need you and you need me. God has shown aspects of His glory to each of us, is teaching us all lessons especially tailored for us, and the beautiful thing is that He often teaches lessons through us to others based on what we’ve learned. The Body must be able to take care of itself. I see this new site as an attempt to do that. A major inspiration for the site came from the folks over at the be the church website that I ran across which operates, it appears, off the same principle.

We’re no supersaints. We’re no scholars. We’re just a few guys who love Jesus Christ and want to “tell of His salvation from day to day” (Psalm 96:2). I hope to get this going in the next few weeks. I think anyone who reads this site (and I know you’re out there!) would benefit from the balance I hope will be provided by the new site.

So, there are a few things to look forward to. God bless you, and if you actually read this, feel free to comment. All I’m getting is comment spam these days and it’s annoying the heck out of me. I’d love to know if real people are reading the site. :o)

This is a small exposition by the greatest Puritain theologian, John Owen, on Romans 8:13.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

“Put to death” = mortify.
“the deeds of the body” = sin.

That’s the point of this book, and so far it has been incredible. I’ll put down various quotes I’ve been gleaning from it in the meantime until I finish it.

Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world.

The mortification of indwelling sin remaining in our mortal bodies, that it may not have life and power to bring forth the works or deeds of the flesh is the constant duty of believers.

Indwelling sin is compared to a person, a living person, called “the old man,” with his faculties, and properties, his wisdom, craft, subtlety, strength; this, says the apostle, must be killed, put to death, mortified, — that is, have its power, life, vigour, and strength, to produce its effects, taken away by the Spirit. It is, indeed, meritoriously, and by way of example, utterly mortified and slain by the cross of Christ; and the “old man” is thence said to be “crucified with Christ.”

Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. Your being dead with Christ virtually, your being quickened with him, will not excuse you from this work.

When sin lets us alone we may let sin alone; but as sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still, so ought our contrivances against it to be vigorous at all times and in all conditions, even where there is least suspicion.

Who can say that he had ever any thing to do with God or for God, that indwelling sin had not a hand in the corrupting of what he did? And this trade will it drive more or less all our day.

The saints, whose souls breathe after deliverance from [indwelling sin’s] perplexing rebellion, know there is no safety against it but in a constant warfare.

This is the saddest warfare that any poor creature can be engaged in. A soul under the power of conviction from the law is pressed to fight against sin, but hath no strength for the combat. They cannot but fight, and they can never conquer; they are like men thrust on the sword of enemies on purpose to be slain. The law drives them on, and sin beats them back. Sometimes they think, indeed, that they have foiled sin, when they have only raised a dust that they see it not; that is, they distemper their natural affections of fear, sorrow, and anguish, which makes them believe that sin is conquered when it is not touched. By that time they are cold, they must to the battle again; and the lust which they thought to be slain appears to have had no wound.

Now, though doubtless there may, by the Spirit and grace of Christ, a wonderful success and eminency of victory against any sin be attained, so that a man may have almost constant triumph over it, yet an utter killing and destruction of it, that it should not be, is not in this life to be expected.

When a man on some outward respects forsakes the practice of any sin, men perhaps may look on him as a changed man. God knows that to his former iniquity he hath added cursed hypocrisy, and is got in a safer path to hell than he was in before. He hath got another heart than he had, that is more cunning; not a new heart, that is more holy.

Men in age do not usually persist in the pursuit of youthful lusts, although they have never mortified any one of them. And the same is the case of bartering of lusts, and leaving to serve one that a man may serve another. He that changes pride for worldliness, sensuality for Pharisaism, vanity in himself to the contempt of others, let him not think that he hath mortified the sin that he seems to have left. He hath changed his master, but is a servant still.

To be quit of this, men resolve at such times against their sins. Sin shall never more have any place in them; they will never again give up themselves to the service of it. Accordingly, sin is quiet, stirs not, seems to be mortified; not, indeed, that it hath received any one wound, but merely because the soul hath possessed its faculties, whereby it should exert itself, with thoughts inconsistent with the motions thereof; which, when they are laid aside, sin returns again to its former life and vigour.

I woke up this morning and the song Rock of Ages came to my mind. It is a perfect expression of my last entry. I’d like to unpack it line-by-line.

Rock of Ages
Augustus Toplady

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

Verse One

“Rock of Ages, cleft for me / Let me hide myself in Thee” This has at least two imageries. First, of Moses asking to see God’s glory, and God hid him in the “cleft of the rock” so he could be protected while God’s glory passed him by. The rock was cleft and Moses was safe to view God’s glory. Second, Jesus, the true Rock of Ages, was wounded for us. He is the reality to which Moses’ cleft rock points.

“Let the water and the blood / From Thy wounded side which flowed” Jesus was cleft at His death on the cross. When He was stabbed with the spear, water and blood poured out.

“Be of sin the double cure / Save from wrath and make me pure” Here it is! Here is what I was trying to communicate in my first two entries on risk-taking love. The death of Christ, the cross, is a double cure: it 1) saves us from God’s wrath in the future so when the full spectrum of His glory appears to us we will not be consumed, and it 2) produces purity in those who are impure. It takes a sinful, tarnished person who would be destroyed if he were in God’s presence and covers him in order save him from God’s wrath, giving him a purity not his own. It takes away the punishment that sin deserves, and it takes away the desires for sin so that we become pure on an experiential level. Good news! Gospel! Justification is designed to do this. The cross is designed to do this. Toplady recognizes it. This whole entire song is about the wonder of this truth.

Verse Two

“Not the labor of my hands / Can fulfill Thy law’s demands” There is nothing we can do to prove our qualification for God’s grace, our worthiness of His forgiveness and favor, by what we do. As I said yesterday, we cannot tell God, “I’m sorry for the seven times I’ve offended You. I’ll not ever do it again.” That is trying to meet His law’s demands. Our hope isn’t in our ability to not sin. It is in Christ’s finished work of meeting God’s requirements in the covenant of works. We are in a covenant of grace, not works.

“Could my zeal no respite know / Could my tears forever flow” Could I be as passionate as ever, could I be deeply sorry for my sin and cry over it with unending tears… these will not atone for sin. They will not make me worthy of God’s grace and His forgiveness and they will not grant it to me, either.

“All for sin could not atone / Thou must save and Thou alone” This is the covenant of grace. We do not qualify and are not worthy of being saved by Him, yet we cast ourselves on Him. “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved,” not “Whoever is sorry and won’t sin again will be saved.” Only Christ’s death can atone for our sin, pay its price, and give us the righteousness we need in order to enjoy God forever and ever and live a life that has continual, growing victory over the sins we are prone toward.

Verse Three

“Nothing in my hand I bring / Simply to the cross I cling” That’s big. I do not bring anything but my emptiness. In the bargain between God and me, I bring nothing and He brings everything. All I do is cling to the cross, day in and day out, thanking God that my sin is atoned for, that my access to Him is secured. I bring nothing to the table but utter dependency on the cross.

“Naked, come to Thee for dress / Helpless look to Thee for grace” It is not my clothes that impress God. In fact, they repel me from Him. I cannot possibly make God love me more by what I do, or make Him love me less by what I do. I am naked. I need His covering. I am helpless. I need His grace. I’m not clean, either….

“Foul, I to the fountain fly / Wash me, Savior, or I die” Here is the utter helplessness of Toplady, of the sinner, expressed. I am foul, dirty, tarnished, impure. I cannot clean myself up and present myself to God as a trophy. That is not how our relationship, the covenant of grace, works. I relate to Him completely based on His grace alone. If He doesn’t wash me, I’m dead, because I cannot clean myself up.

Verse Four

“While I draw this fleeting breath / When my eyes shall close in death” What’s going to happen when I die? Will I survive the appearance of God’s glory and be covered and purified? Or, will I be cast out of His presence because I have no righteous garment on me?

“When I soar to worlds unknown / See Thee on Thy judgment throne” Never until now has that line given me goosebumps. Never before have I noticed it. What will happen to me when I soar to the unknown world and stand before the Judge of the Universe? What will His verdict be? Guilty? Not guilty? I will appear before this judge. What will my plea be?

“Rock of Ages, cleft for me / Let me hide myself in Thee” THAT is my plea! It is not my righteousness that I will claim, but His. That is what will save me from His wrath in the future. That’s why Paul says that the gospel “…is the power of God for salvation to everyone who goes on believing… for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” It is faith that gives us that righteousness, and the faith itself is a gift. His righteousness that we need comes to us through hearing the gospel with faith. We hear the good news of the cross and believe in it.

And we don’t stop believing in it or take it for granted. The gospel is God’s power. Paul in 2 Corinthians 1 says it this way, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” We are being saved. It’s not “I believed the gospel when I was 8 and I was saved and now I coast through my Christian life.” Yes, if you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you can say you were saved. But there’s a whole dimension to Christianity hardly stressed by anyone today that we are not just saved, but we are being saved. It is this that has given me such victory.

When the cross is our boast and we boast no longer in our self-righteousness and pride and ego and self-sufficiency, the cross becomes the power to avoid the wrath of God (so we can enjoy Him), and the power to overcome the sin in our lives (so we can become like Him). Those who are impure can become pure. GOOD NEWS.

I have a lot in my past that makes me terribly and awfully impure. I am tarnished. But that is not the basis on which God declares me to be pure; rather, it is Christ that God sees and says, “Rob Hulson, though you yourself are impure, I do not see your impurity but see the purity of My Son. I declare and count you to be pure even while you are impure.” I am righteous though I am unrighteous. Amazing!

This doesn’t cease to amaze or thrill me. Well, when I wake up in the mornings I’m not just on fire for this all the time, which is why I preach it to myself. I ask myself in the mornings, “Rob, why is this gospel good news to you today? Right now?” and I don’t let myself off the hook until I have fought the fight of faith to be satisfied in all that God promises to be for me in Christ. It is then that I truly live, then that I have true joy, then that sin is seen in its true light and I despise it utterly and am not drawn to it.

FREEDOM! When what I want to do is what I ought to do. Awesome. Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.