Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.16 – April 2008

 

Changed Right Around!

A Sermon by Rev Sjirk Bajema

on Heidelberg Catechism, LD 33

Scripture Reading:  Colossians 3:1-17

 

Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ...

Many of the people who live in our country are migrants. Whether they came two hundred years ago, fifty years ago, or a year ago, there are those who came to this place with the hope for a better and different future. Yet, when many of those folk first came here, it was often a hard struggle. You can read the stories of migrants who, for a while, and even for years, lived in ramshackle huts and even tents! Many really started from scratch.

This picture also helps us to see something of the meaning of Lord's Day 33. In this section of the Heidelberg Catechism we see what conversion is all about. This Lord's Day describes two things involved in the life of the believer. As Answer 88 says, these two things are "the dying away of the old self, and the coming to life of the new." Something old is being gradually taken away, whilst what is new is being steadily added to what the believer already has.

Allow me to explain this in the form of two aspects to the believer's life.

Firstly... THE BELIEVER IS SORRY FOR HIS SIN.

And, secondly... THE BELIEVER REJOICES IN HIM.

Think of that ramshackle hut of the migrant. That hut - with father, mother and small children - has many deprivations. Its walls were so often just packing cases or even just the cloth from old sails. No running water, no electricity (whatever was that?), no sewerage, no roads, absolutely nothing. Stuck out in the middle of nowhere! Very primitive!

Yet the land around the hut was owned by that migrant family. And on that block of land they're busy building a new house. A house which will be completely different to that hut! It's going to be a solid building. There are going to be separate rooms, a bathroom, laundry, and so on. But it will take a while to get done. Ask any builder doing renovations on his own home! Mind you, they work on it whenever they can. You have to. Your whole accommodation situation, and certainly the wife, lets you know that! Steadily we see that new house being built, while slowly the old hut is taken away.

The believer is sorry for his sin

Congregation, the home being renovated pictures what should be happening in our Christian lives. Our old sinful natures are to be more and more put away as we build up that new life we have in Christ. THE BELIEVER IS SORRY FOR HIS SIN.

Perhaps we're wondering what is our sinful nature, that it needs to be put away like this? Well, if we look at the Question and Answer just before our Lord's Day, Q&A 87, we see a clear statement about those who refuse to follow God's Word. For in answer to the question, "Can those be saved who don't turn to God from their ungrateful and impenitent way?" the answer is in no doubt. It says: "By no means. Scripture tells us that no unchaste person, no idolater, adulterer, thief, no covetous person, no drunkard, slanderer, robber, or the like, is going to inherit the kingdom of God."

Congregation - terrible words, aren't they? But we were once like that! And what's more, we're still like this! Not one of us can claim to have conquered all these sins. That baggage is still there. The Bible teaches that if we have even had just the thought and desire of committing any one of these sins, we've done them all! We have gone against God's will for our lives. And it's something we're still doing.

So what do we do about it? Do we wallow in some kind of self pity, reassuring ourselves that it's not really our fault anyway? "Oh, I don't have any choice... God worked it all out this way... didn't He?" Or another popular excuse, "The devil made me do it!" It's what we do, isn't it, brothers and sisters, young people? The last thing we want to acknowledge is our own responsibility! Yet, as we sing in one of our hymns, "Mine, mine, was the transgression!"

Can you acknowledge your sinfulness? No, not only with your lips, as you can so easily do. What about your heart? How will you respond the next time you stumble and fall? Yes, you're saved. The blood of Jesus has graciously washed away all your sins. But is that working out in your life?

Being a Christian isn't being a fatalist. It's not, "I'm saved, and that's it!" Nor is being a Christian an experiential thing. It's not a decision made at a very emotional time of your life. A decision you only reflect upon when your emotions again become stirred up. That cannot be! You have to be always changing. You will never be the same again! You can't get stuck on one time in your life.

So what, then, is the dying away of the old self? Answer 89 continues Scripture's teaching, as it says, "It is to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it." David described it this way in Psalm 51:3, after being confronted with his adultery with Bathsheba: "I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me." And he further went on in verse 17 of that psalm, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Here are the words of a sorry man. These are no pious phrases. This is real! It's how you need to be! It cannot be, "Well, I'm sorry Lord, but..." No buts about it! Instead, we must listen and obey. And we must do this with a deep humility, depending on our Father-God, not on ourselves. For, congregation, we will always fail.

That's why we have to have repentance. We are putting off our old self with a godly sorrow. It's part of our conversion. And that's why conversion will take up the rest of our lives.

Think of Peter. He was a disciple. He had not been afraid to confess to Jesus as the Christ - the Son of the Living God! Yet, as we read in Luke 22, this same man had also denied his Lord. Not just once - three times, and all within the same short time! And Jesus had warned him he would. But three times Peter said to those who said that he was with Jesus, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Then, in Luke 22:60, that rooster crowed. Exactly as Jesus had said he would. And after the third crow the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.

You imagine being Peter. You remember those words. And look what you've just done! Could you look the Master in the eye? No wonder that it says in verse 62, "And he went outside and wept bitterly."

Yet, Peter was really sorry. It was a godly sorrow. A sorrow that will lead to salvation. My friend, when was the last time you cried tears over your sin? How long ago was it since you anguished over your wrong? That's what pleases the Lord! Like the tax collector of Luke 18 verse 13 we desperately need to plead, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Friend, have you? And friend, has God forgiven you?

The believer rejoices in Him

For, secondly, we also see... THE BELIEVER REJOICES IN HIM. As the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians in his second letter in Chapter 7:10, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Being truly sorry, as in godly sorrow, means living out your life before the face of God. You know you can't get away from Him. You know you're always accountable to Him. But most of all, we live this way because we're one with Christ. His work of salvation is ours. The true and perfect example is always before us. We live as Christ lived!

In the words of Colossians 3:3, "For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature." Together with this dying-away of the old self there must be the coming-to-life of the new self. As that old ramshackle hut is falling to pieces, so, at the same time, the beautiful new house is being built.

Question 90 asks, "What is the coming-to-life of the new self?" And we answer, as believers, "It is wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to do."

Paul, after having spelt out what needs to die off in our old natures, states positively further on in Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Here's a real sense of joy. Despite whatever we have been, and in spite of what still happens, we can be truly happy.

We have peace with God, because we've been justified by faith. Our spiritual blessings are in Christ. So following on from what He has done, how can we but be thankful?

Romans 14:17-18 expresses it so well! In the words of the apostle there, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God."

This is real joy - doing what pleases God! And what's pleasing to Him is every kind of good He wants us to do. The Catechism even goes to spell out this good foundation in Scripture. Look at Answer 91. As we do that, let's think again of that picture of the new house. That new house being built is a picture of the putting-on of the new self. And as we consider the house itself let's look at the foundation. What's it made of? That's of vital importance!

Why... as we look carefully we see it's laid upon faith itself! Answer 91 tells us that what good we do is what arises out of true faith. I mean, what else can give us that firm basis apart from what we have in Jesus Christ? Hebrews 11:6 spells it out: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Friend, what is your motivation - your driving force for what you do? You see, many unbelievers do good works, but for the wrong reasons. They think, like the Pharisees, that what they do has value in itself. What they don't see is that there must be a basis, a foundation, for doing these things. Otherwise nothing can be built on top of it! So if it doesn't come from a believing heart, it doesn't count.

You see, you could think you've done a good thing helping that little old lady cross the street. But unless you do that out of love for the Lord, it has no use beyond that moment! In fact, you could do what you think is the most incredibly sacrificially loving thing, but it doesn't count for anything! Yet the tiniest good thing done, even simply giving someone a glass of water, as Matthew 10 verse 42 says, if it's done for the Lord, will be rewarded by our Father in heaven!

Then let's see that the house is built according to certain specifications. It must be measured out. So, how do we measure out our lives? Isn't it by God's law of love? As Jesus told us the first and greatest commandment in Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets." God alone sets the standard for goodness. We can't say, as so many do say, "It's all right, I feel really good about this."

If our every inclination is towards evil, how can we trust what we feel or do? God's Law - His Word - that's the only reliable standard. And as we apply that standard to our lives then the new house will be steadily built up. That's why the Catechism is about to explain what the Ten Commandments mean. There's the summary of God's Law!

Then, let's consider, how high will the house be. The Catechism speaks of good as being done for God's glory. Now, can we imagine anything possibly higher than God's glory? Isn't this our inspiration as we steadily build up our new selves? But, here, too, we have to acknowledge our shortcomings. We haven't always looked up. Often, to our shame, we've looked down at ourselves - at our own selfish desires.

Yet, how do we really come to know ourselves? Isn't it through knowing God first of all? Once we begin to see Him at work in our lives - guiding and keeping us by His Word and Spirit - then we begin to know ourselves properly. We have a sure foundation. We have the dependable standard by which to build up our lives.

So, come on, let's put on our new selves! Let each one of us become like God Himself in true righteousness and holiness. For in Christ Jesus we're able to have these qualities in every growing measure.

And one day soon we'll be made complete. But until that day we must continue that dying-away and the coming-to-life. Our running away from this world is our going home to the next world. The apostle Paul spoke of this to that most blatantly sin-filled church at Corinth. He wrote in his first letter to them, chapter 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God."

That's quite some aim! But should your target be any less?

Amen.