Naming the Power of “Sin”

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault…”(Matt 18:15)

Last night I (JY) had a sharp but very clear dream in which an unidentifiable assailant knocked a “Vulcan” to the ground unconscious, immediately he/she was entirely incinerated.  Interpretation: the Vulcan represents the “superiority” of logic over emotion (https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Vulcan_philosophy ); the incineration is you offering your logic as a living sacrifice to God through the all-consuming inferno of the cross.

Introduction

Sometimes our lack of mature discernment (Heb 5:11-14) means our deepest problems cannot be named. Though the Bible uses “sin” 100’s of times, speaking of it has been largely dissolved in the medium of our predominantly “nice” middle-classness. For example, if I was more spiritually sensitive, I would have realised that the bishop who came to rebuke me (months ago) about my preaching, and began with the prayer, “Loving God…” would necessarily be unbiblical in his dealings with my situation. When he continued by explaining there was an anonymous complainant about my traumatising “homophobic” sermon, who must remain nameless, he violated the words of Jesus. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him your fault…”. Since speaking to people about their sin by name is always a difficult thing, only those who can address God as “Holy/Righteous Father” (not “Loving God”), as Jesus did (John 17:11, 25) will ever be able to lovingly speak to others about their sins (Eph 4:15). Where previous generations suffered through harsh legalism bullying and control, we have flipped to the opposite extreme so that the language of “sin” has been removed from our churches. This is a massive demonic deception and is the subject of the present teaching. To hear “what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Rev 2:7 etc.), all Christians, especially prophets, need to pay close attention to what we observe happening in our own lives (like dreams and conversations).

No Sin

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10). This justifiably favourite verse of Evangelical Christians is effectively gutted of its power when the confession is limited to private confession only to God. This is not the atmosphere of open acknowledgement of sin before others characteristic of the New Testament (1 John 2:23; 4:2, 3, 15; Rev 3:5; John 1:20; 9:22; 12:42; Rom 10:9; *Matt 3:6; *Mark 1:5; *Acts 19:18; *James 5:16). The absence of such dynamic public confession across the churches testifies to our failure to in our hearts trust in the guilt/shame erasing power of the blood of the cross (Col 1:20; Heb 9:14; 1 John 1:7). When evangelists (heard by me) substitute “mistake” or “darkness” for the word “sin” they fail to understand in the Spirit who “convicts the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8) that there is no dynamic equivalent of this famously loathed language.

As long as so many pastor-teachers fail to name sin in their midst in a concrete way we remained doomed to spiritual mediocrity. (In recent times I have taken to asking brothers, who lament of the way they have been treated, “did he sin against you”, or suggest “then you sinned against him”. At which point all murkiness about going on with God is dispelled!) Being led by the Spirit to speak of “sin” has miracle working power to draw out repentance. Paul speaks of his ministry of “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21). It is no surprise that there is no spiritual revival in our time; for only “sin” is an unmistakably God-oriented word.

Loving the Idea

Gradually and stealthily the Western Church has been lured by the devil into a battle over ideas (2 Cor 2:11) with the dominant postmodern philosophy of morality of our time. No wonder we are losing again and again. This battle began decades ago when Satan deceived us into loving abstract vision and mission statements more than caring for real people. (Hillsong, for example, long had an influential vision to be the biggest church in Sydney.) Many senior Christina leaders have been worshipping abstractions drawn more from the all-triumphant business world than from worshipping the all-real Holy Father “in Spirit and in truth” through “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (John 4:24; 14:6; 1 Cor 2:2).

Our problem is so deeply embedded in our psyches/souls that we are blinded to its presence. We have unwittingly submitted ourselves to the increasingly psychologised methodology of modern life in which everything is explained in terms of the syndromes of (fallen) humanity. We are all too familiar with expressions like “this is the only rational explanation” or “the next logical step is…”. How can there be a competition over ideas when in the realm of the Spirit the demonic powers are opposed, not by a set of concepts, but by the presence of a living being, Jesus, the all-present all-victorious Logos/Word of God who is a divine-human Person.

Crucified Logic

The Lord has been speaking about offering the power of logic, something I once revered, as a “whole burnt offering” (Gen 22:2 ff etc. literally, “that which is caused to ascend” to God) to him on the altar of the cross (Heb 13:10). Western logic claims to apply to all things at all times, yet this is a divine claim to power only the Lord truly makes (Isa 44:6-20). Where popular culture worships at the feet of scientists, data analysts and billionaire businessmen, the Spirit appeals “by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual/reasonable (λογικὴν=logical) worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,3 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:1-2). As long as we think like natural (“soulish” 1 Cor 2:14) people we will lack the wisdom of the cross and remain under the strong disciplining rod of Messiah Jesus (Ps 2:9; 1 Cor 4:21). Our common sense approach to the things of God is grieving “the S/spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph 1:17). The things of God are not illogical, they are simply “beyond reason” (John Locke)

Conclusion

The profound secularisation of our Church has blinded us to the depths of our sinful thinking, so we fail to “see” that until sin is unveiled and named in the Church it will remain unrevealed to the world (1 Pet 4:17).  The great effective power in the universe is not our fallen reason/logic, but “the Word became flesh” = divine-human P/person of Jesus (John 1:14). Him we must love with all “our heart, soul and mind” (Matt 22:37). Since in this we are failing badly our core problem is we are less than the fully personal human persons we are called to be, growing up to “mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). When this dreadful reality is revealed to us by the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 1:4; 8:11) we will be so humbled that the river of revival will flow down the streets of Perth out into the whole world bringing life and wholeness wherever it flows (Ezek 47:9; John 7:37-39; Rev 22:1-2). “Lord, please crucify our minds, and raise them with your Son into glory.”