Naracoorte Presbyterian Church

Scripture Readings

• 2 Samuel 11:1-27
• Romans 5:18-6-17

Main points

• The reality of sin
• The call to sanctification
• What then when we stumble and fall?
• Eternal salvation in Christ

Introduction

Prior to his retirement from the sport, blue-eyed boy of AFL, Andrew Johns, publicly disclosed that he had been using drugs for ten years. When interviewed after his exposure, Johns commented:

“You think about the humiliation you put on yourself and your family,… I haven’t slept in days, I haven’t eaten. I just can’t describe how bad I felt. 

What then about the man of God’s own heart, king David of Israel? In his dealings with Bathsheba and Uriah, he nothing less than a liar,  an adulterer,  a deceiver, and a murderer. 

One can only beg for mercy that God will protect His Church.  You pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will have the victory. You pray that sinners will find forgiveness and restoration because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

David’s history is scandalous, yet God’s grace is forgiving. Let’s ponder on the wonderful truths of the Gospel. These are summarised in the last chapter of the Canons of Dordt.

Many church leaders gathered in Dordrecht in the Netherlands during 1618-1619. They aimed to provide a clear answer to the claims of Arminianism. Arminianism is considered a heresy. It taught that man is not as sinful as the Calvinists would suggest. It contends that man is only partially sinful. Therefore, he can resist the grace of God. He can personally add to Christ’s righteousness to complete his own salvation. This teaching logically implies that no sinner will have assurance of his eternal destiny. He can lapse and eventually fall from grace into eternal condemnation. It nullifies the power of the blood and righteousness of Christ. The teaching pivots man’s salvation on the decision man himself. It is not based on God’s decision.

The fact of eternal salvation in Christ

Man can indeed be sure of salvation. Forgiveness and righteousness is not of man.  man is saved by grace alone, by faith alone in Christ alone. 

But what about children of God falling into grievous sin? How do we answer? What do we make of our personal life in the Lord when are the Holy Spirit convinces us of our disobedience and unholiness. Let’s face it, there are the corners of our heart where we keep the darkest secrets only known to us and God. It makes us cringe before the holiness of God.

Paragraph 1 of Chapter 5 of the Canons of Dort declares: 

Those people whom God according to his purpose calls into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and whom He regenerates by the Holy Spirit, He also sets free from the reign and slavery of sin, though in this life not entirely from the flesh and from the body of sin.

Based on the complete salvation in Jesus Christ God, the Holy Spirit gives God’s people a new birth. Satan does not own them anymore. They belong to God who in Christ forgave of their sins.  

But the fact we still struggle with sin!

The call to sanctification

Paragraph 2 of chapter 5 teaches that in our struggle with sin, we must humble ourselves before God. We can only do this by the power of Jesus Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit. We must flee from sins and temptations and run for refuge to Christ. He is our hiding place, our strength, our rock. With Him and in Him, we are protected. This is the only place of safety against the attacks of Satan who wants to devour us like a wounded lion. We must constantly put to death our flesh with its earthly desires to gratify itself.  

We must diligently rely on the Holy Spirit to battle for us and against the evil. We must become spiritually fit through spiritual exercise.  We must deliberately seek godliness. We must exercise like the long-distance runner who puts strain on his body become fit. Only then, he can resist the reality of giving up when he becomes tired halfway into the race.  It calls for spiritual discipline. We must reach out to the winning line and strive to become more like our Saviour, day by day.  This is what the Bible refers to as sanctification or holiness.  

It is true that we are saved by grace. It is also true that our good works do not count towards our salvation. We will enter the glory of God only because He called us to Himself.  His grace is irresistible. But these things is no excuse to be spiritually lazy. Spiritually unfit Christians will find it hard to ward off the attacks of Satan. Idle Christians are not sensitive to the bidding of the Master. Idle Christians are a contradiction-in-terms. Christians must daily and constantly desire to become what God wants them to be in Christ. Only when we reach the end our days do we stop desiring God’s will for our lives. 

Paragraph 3 of the Canons serves as extreme encouragement to the believer knows the pain of rebellion. 

Because of these remnants of sin dwelling in them and also because of the temptations of the world and Satan, those who have been converted could not remain standing in this grace if left to their own resources. But God is faithful, mercifully strengthening them in the grace once conferred on them and powerfully preserving them in it to the end.

When we stumble and fall

Article 4 takes us to the tragic reality of relying on one’s own strength. This happens when a child of God starts depending on himself. Being led by the desires of his flesh, a Christian starts flirting with sin. He gives in and he falls.  

Christians must constantly watch and pray that we may not be led into temptations.  “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”.When we fail to do this, God may permit that we be carried away.  Christians can even fall into serious and outrageous sin. Ask David! 

If we do not live in the shadow of the Almighty, the hardness of heart will offend God.  We grieve the Holy Spirit. If we suspend the exercise of faith, we severely wounds our consciences. We can lose the awareness of grace for a time.  For more than a year, David lived in sin without repentance before the Lord.  Of this period, he writes:

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. (Psalm 32:3-4)

Until like he turned back to God. The parable of the prodigal son describes the wonderful, unfailing love, grace and mercy of the Father. Like that son, we must return and genuinely repent. We must go God. He will shines His face upon us and be gracious to us.  When this happened to David, he wrote:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2)

For God, according to his unchangeable purpose of election, does not take away his Holy Spirit from his own children.  Even when they fall grievously. The lost son returned to his father. Even in rebellion he remained his father’s son.

God don’t let His children fall so deep into sin that they forfeit the grace of adoption and justification. He will allow them to commit the sin which leads to death. This is the sin against the Holy Spirit. If not for God’s unfailing love, they will plunge themselves, entirely forsaken by Him, into eternal ruin.

Living by grace

At this amazing grace of God we marvel in awe.  It is here that we become speechless in the sight of God’s holiness. Here we leave our wisdom and excuses behind. Here we own up and confess our sins and turn away from the world. This wonderful Gospel shatters our pride in pieces. In the face of undeserving grace, we surrender our live in the service of God. We learn to forgive as the Father also forgives us. If you have not yet fallen into grievous sin, don’t think that you are better than others. It is just by the grace of God that you are what you are – nothing more.

By God’s grace we can face at a judging. We they ridicule the scandal of fallen Christians, we bow humbly before our Father.  Although we know the pain of denying of Lord and Saviour we face life with peace in our hearts. We plead for pardon by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  It is because of this grace that we can answer the accusations of the devil and shout it out:  I am free because of the blood of Christ.  

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1, ESV) 

With Paul in Romans 8:1 we confess: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

For by his Word and Spirit, God certainly and most definitely renews the fallen sinners to repentance. They have a heartfelt and godly sorrow for the sins they have committed. By grace they are reconciled to God. By faith, they glorify His mercies. then they eagerly work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

By God’s undeserved mercy, Christians are born by the Holy Spirit. They are declared righteous in Christ and cannot utterly forfeit faith or grace. Our salvation is the work of God. His promise cannot fail. The calling according to his purpose cannot be revoked. Nothing can nullify the merit of Christ or his intercession for us. Nothing can destroy His preserving grace of those whom He died for. Nothing can invalidate nor wipe out the sealing of the Holy Spirit. It’s not: “He loves, he loves me not. “

Conclusion

The last paragraph of this chapter in the Canons of Dordt:

This teaching about the perseverance of true believers and saints, and about their assurance of it – is something which the flesh does not understand, Satan hates, the world ridicules, the ignorant and the hypocrites abuse, and the spirits of error attack. The bride of Christ, on the other hand, has always loved this teaching very tenderly and defended it steadfastly as a priceless treasure; and God, against whom no plan can avail and no strength can prevail, will ensure that she will continue to do this. To this God alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be honour and glory forever. Amen.

NRL chief, David Gallop, vowed to stand by Andrew Johns. “Look, he’s achieved so much in the game. We won’t be abandoning him.”

This is not what God says about His fallen child. Yes, because of His unfailing mercy and grace He won’t abandon his children. But we have not achieved anything to deserve a second chance. The watershed moment is the cross of Jesus Christ. God does not help us to help ourselves – He helps us because we can’t help ourselves.  And that’s grace!   The prodigal son, God’s gives a sinner like a second chance. That’s what’s so amazing about grace! Amen.