Thursday, January 4, 2018

Those Who Mourn


Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

In my continuing small topical bible Study of the Beatitudes, the Gospel Coalition’s Matt Smethurst explains that part of the problem today in society is that sin in the late-modern Western culture is not grieved. Sin is not disapproved of.  It’s not merely tolerated, it is celebrated. I’d add that the shameful acts of inequity against God and mankind are viewed upon as minor issues. One reason we fail to mourn sin is because we underestimate it and turn it into “no bad deal” in our minds. But, sin is not trivial; it is treason, an insurrection against heaven’s throne.

Romans 7:5, 12-13 “For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law (God’s Law) were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

My 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “Sin” as: The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law. Sinners neither enjoy the pleasures of nor the peace of piety. Among divines, sin is original or actual. Actual sin, above defined, is the act of a moral agent in violating a known rule of duty. Sin differs from crime, not in nature, but in application. That which is a crime against society, is sin against God. It is rebellion of sovereign God’s Law.

Psalm 51:1-4 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Smethurst explains that we never committed a small sin because we have never offended a small God. The brilliance of God’s grace must be set against the blackness of sin. As the Puritan Thomas Watson said, “Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” Satan introduced sin into the world with a lie to Eve saying, “You will not surely die”, and ever since for the God-rejecting secular world system, sin is regressive and constricting, but for the true Christian, it is the pathway to repentance, peaceful comfort and joy. The realization of the sinfulness of sin against our Holy Creator Father, along with the sincere mourning of our sinfulness, drives us to our Blessed Redeemer with a renting heart.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ultimately, our comfort is anchored in the reality that Jesus Christ doesn’t just mourn sin; He conquered it! He invites us into this moral vision – this blessed kingdom – then dies in our place so we can enter it. May God make our hearts tender to mourn our moral bankruptcy so that we can better marvel at His comforting grace.


Blessed in Christ

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