Bitter-Sweetness

 

The preacher catches wind that someone in his congregation is living in egregious sin. And this Sabbath his text just so happens to be about that particular sin. That’s a bit unsettling, but he actually preaches verse-by-verse. Nobody can accuse him of cherry picking a verse just to deal with sin behind a pulpit instead of face to face.

So he ascends to the pulpit and preaches his heart. He preaches truth. He calls sin what it is, speaks of the odiousness of this particular sin, and calls for repentance. It hits the target. The man living in that sin feels guilty, ashamed, and even a bit angry. He leaves. Never comes back.

Some might hear a story like this and assume that the preacher should have coddled a bit more and not been quite so bold in naming sin. That’s not a conclusion, though, that most in my people will come to. They believe, I think rightly, that we must be truthful. Sin is sin. It kills. We cannot pretend it doesn’t. It is loving to address sin.

What we’ll do in these moments is reassure ourselves that we did our job by stating the truth, and doing it so compellingly that the sinner was cut deeply - but sadly sometimes they are choosing their sin over Christ. It happened before – remember the Rich Young Ruler or Demas in love with the present world, or others walking away from the kingdom because sin seems to be sweet.

Sadly, some people do hear the message of the kingdom and choose the fleeting pleasure of sin over the treasure of Christ. But is it possible that the reason this person is “choosing their sin” is because they aren’t seeing the beauty of Jesus?

I do agree with Thomas Watson that until sin be bitter Christ will not be sweet. But I kind of wonder if he has that flipped a bit. What if we said, “Until Christ is sweet, sin will not be bitter”.

Question to myself - Am I preaching Christ as compellingly as I’m preaching sin? Am I being as clear about the Good News as I am naming sin? Let us be truthful about sin. 

But let us preach Christ so wonderfully and beautifully that the bitterness of sin becomes obvious held next to the radiance of His splendor.

The Devil's Beatitudes

 
If the Devil were to write his own beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:

1.  Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians - they are my best workers!

2.  Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - I can use them.

3.  Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church - they are my missionaries. 

4.  Blessed are the troublemakers - they shall be called my children.

 5. Blessed are the complainers - I'm all ears to them.

6. Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerism and mistakes - for they get nothing out of his sermons.

7.  Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church - for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.

8.  Blessed are those who gossip - for they shall cause strife and divisions that please me.

9.  Blessed are those who are easily offended - for they will soon get angry and quit. 

10. Blessed are those who do not give an offering to carry on God's work - for they are my helpers.

11.  Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister - for he shall be with me forever!

12.  Blessed are you who, when you read this think it is about other people and not yourself - I've got you too! 

[Source unknown... but I have my suspicions ]

On the 9th Trip Around

A very overweight man decided that it was time to shed a few pounds. He visited a nutritionist, went on a new diet, and took it seriously. He even changed his usual driving route to the office in order to avoid his favorite bakery.

 One morning, however, he arrived at the office carrying a large, sugar-coated cake. His office mates roundly chided him, but he only smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said,

 "What could I do? This is a very special cake. This morning, out of my forced habit, I accidentally drove by my favorite bakery. There in the window were trays of the most delicious goodies. I felt that it was no accident that I happened to pass by, so I prayed, 'God, if you really want me to have one of these delicious cakes, let me find a parking place in front of the bakery.' Sure enough, on the 9^th trip around the block, there it was!”

CONSIDER this troubling poster I saw recently.  It read, "Lead me not to temptation, but just show me where it is." Why do I consider it troubling? Because this is the essence of bigotry crossing over hypocrisy – the outcome of casual Christians who think they can manage the power of temptation by themselves. 

Still going around on your personal 9^th trip? Just stop and instead of looking around you better look up.