Proclaim the Forgiveness of Sins

I am increasingly mindful of the struggle Christians have to really believe that God loves them and forgives their sin. Part of our task as pastors in proclaiming the gospel is to remind the people of God that God does truly forgive sin. This is a crucial aspect of the gospel. But for some of our people it will be easy to believe that God hates sin, that God judges sin, and even that God forgives the sins of other people but not that he really & truly forgives their own sin.

Honestly, I am more accustomed to dealing with the error of minimizing God’s holiness and the horribleness of sin. This is a real problem in the church, but we must be wary of the error on both sides of the road here.

Eric Smith has a wonderful recent post on the task of proclaiming forgiveness individually to our people. He uses a great quote from Calvin on the fact that while we reject the Catholic practice of priestly pardon we do still as ministers of Christ, speaking as his heralds, proclaim the pardon of Christ to believers.

Eric then closes with these four searching questions which do truly get to the heart of pastoral ministry.

1) Am I striving to know my people in such a way that I can tell when they are burdened, and when they are rejoicing? Or am I content to prepare my sermons without thought to their needs and shake their hands on their way in and out of church on Sunday mornings?
2) Do I present myself as a knowable pastor, himself conscious of his sin and carried away by mercy? When my people think of someone who is approachable and sympathetic, do they think of me? Or do I come off as high-handed, demanding, and scolding?
3) Do I preach the Gospel beautifully, as the best news any sinner has ever heard, as sufficient to cleanse the deepest stains upon the conscience and heart? I personally find it much easier to preach legalistically about what we should do and not do, than to preach the Gospel of glorious free grace. My default mode is to try and modify our sinful behavior, rather than to exalt a merciful, life-giving Savior.
4) Am I able to personally apply the Gospel to the lives of my people when sitting across the table from them and listening to their stories as Calvin described? Or would I bungle this, able only to talk in generalities before a crowd? Have I thought through the sorts of sicknesses from which my people will suffer that will require tonic of the Gospel?

May we be the sort of faithful shepherds in view here.

Public Sin Should Cause Us to Beware

There has been a lot of conversation about the revelation that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford had been having an affair. I think one of the most important thing those of us at a distance should do in these situations is to take them as warnings to ourselves.

The most recent newsletter from Shepherd Press (ministry of Tedd Tripp) discusses this very helpfully. The newsletter takes up the point that Gov. Sanford mentions that this relationship began innocently as he counseled this woman regarding problems in her own marriage. Here then are some excerpts:

Talking with another person of the opposite sex who is not your spouse about intimate relational issues, without open and immediate accountability, is dangerous. It is not innocent; it is a high risk activity. When there is open discussion of intimate relational details with someone, there is always the possibility of things going horribly wrong. Christians have an enemy who is like a lion looking to devour the foolish of heart. The flesh is deceitful and it is at war with the Spirit. It cannot be trusted.

... Enjoying conversations about intimate relational struggles, with a woman who is not your wife, is not guarding your heart. Rather, it is the precursor to disaster. God has provided the family and the church for protection for God’s people. The marriage relationship must be guarded with relentless diligence. Don’t have conversations that you cannot speak openly and freely about with your spouse. As soon as intimate issues come to the surface in such conversations, be like Joseph—flee!! Urge the other person to speak with someone who can truly, objectively help him or her. Many relational failures in the church community happen simply because hearts are not being faithfully protected. Trying to help someone else’s marriage by talking privately with one of the spouses is asking for trouble.

Read the whole thing.

This is sound counsel and especially important for those of us in leadership who will have to counsel people in marital difficulty. Men, we must involve our wives at these points. Plus, this is another reminder of the great value of having other elders laboring alongside you.

The Journal of Modern Ministry

I subscribed to this journal about a year ago and have enjoyed it. I admit that “modern” does not typically bring positive connotations to me when connected to ministry, but this journal, edited by Jay Adams, is devoted to exploring various aspects of day to day ministry from the perspective of absolute confidence in scripture. It is published three times a year. More information can be found at the journal’s website.

What I particularly appreciate about the journal is the fact that it contains articles which wrestle with very practical, “nitty-gritty” issues from a substantive theological basis. For example the latest issue (Winter 2008) contains a helpful, two-page item by Lou Priolo titled “Postmarital Checkup Questions.” It consists primarily of a list of questions he uses in a follow up session (about 3 months after the wedding) with couples for whom he has done pre-marital counseling. This is not necessarily earth-shattering stuff, but it is very helpful for me in prodding my thoughts in following up with new couples in our church. There is also a detailed article on “Helping People with Crippling Fear.” This is an issue which I know is dealt with within our church, so I appreciate items to help me think of how to help my people.

Now, I know there are debates about different ways Christians understand the counseling ministry, and Adams is identified with a certain approach. I have critiqued elsewhere places where I think Priolo has pushed some passages too hard. For Priolo and Adams, both, their use of Greek is sometimes lacking. With all that said, however, I benefit from dialoguing in this way with faithful brothers who are seeking to mine all the riches they can from scripture in order to shepherd the flock of God.