This is from Derek Webb’s CD, The House Show. The CD is a recording of one of his concerts as he pleads with people to repent and trust Jesus. I love his honesty about his sin and identify with him greatly when he speaks of the need of being completely honest with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ about who we really are, sin and all. I was not honest about my sin last year, and though it had seemingly unfavorable results, when I finally did come through honestly about how sinful I was, it was then that the cross came through with clarity in all its beauty and sin-exposing work. There’s more I want to say, but I wanted to put this up in the meantime. No updates in a while, sorry. But trust me, it’s been worth it to be busy with what I’ve been busy with.
And if we stop hearing the gospel every single day, especially in light of the great righteousness that we might prop up as an idol from time to time, then we are never ever gonna grow, our hearts are never gonna change, our communities will never be sanctified. ‘Cause here’s the truth: flattery, at it’s very best, will encourage, really, nothing more, in you and in your community, than behavior modification (modifying your behavior to act the way you should to hide the things that you do that are wrong and to try to amplify the things that you do that are right).
But see, here’s the truth: all the behavior modification in the world will never change your hearts, and it can never your community. Jesus, however, He does change our hearts, and He will change our communities. And that is why boldness is called for, uh, we have got to be honest… we, we should have no fear in being honest with each other about who we really are. Um, not just offering up the sins that we feel safe confessing, but being completely bold, completely forthcoming about who we really are, and saying, “You know what? I am going to stop hiding from you and I’m going to tell you who I really am because I believe the gospel is true. I can only admit who I really am to you because I believe Jesus is who He really is as well.” And you’re never going to be truly filled with joy unless you truly know yourself for who you are. And until you are a real sinner with a real Savior you will be a hypothetical and theoretical sinner with a hypothetical and theoretical Savior.
If you confess, “Aww, I know man, I’m sinful, you know. Scripture tells me that we’ve all fallen short, right, and that’s me too, man, I’m sinful.” But you can’t honestly put your finger on one sin you’ve committed all day because your view of sin has just become nothing more than this cultural hiding game, then you’re not experiencing real joy. ‘Cause if all I can confess is a knowledge of how sin has affected me but not any of my real sins, if I don’t really know that I’m sinful, then I don’t really know and am not really encouraged by the fact that I’ve been saved, ‘cause saved from what? If I’m not really sinful, then what’s the big news? What’s the good news? It’s just news.
But if you know yourself as exposed by the cross, then I believe that you will begin to experience true joy, because you will not be constantly looking over your shoulder all the time, uh, constantly checking the knots in this great suit of fig leaves that you’ve sown for yourself. But rather, you will be comfortably exposed in your sin and boasting in your great Savior, ‘cause He is real. Charles Spurgeon once said, “If your sin is small, your Savior will be small also. But if your sin is great, then your Savior must be great.” And folks, our Savior is great.
