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“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”- Mark 1:14-15

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”- 1 John 1:5-9

INTRODUCTION

This guide is an equipping tool for the members of Redemption Church. We believe that the Christian life is to be lived in the midst of Christian community, and this community is a gift to us from Jesus. As a church, we want to regularly meet to push one another towards Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2), fight sin (Colossians 3:1-17), read the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 25). The hope is that, by the power of the Spirit, we would understand the depth of our sin, constantly see our need for Jesus through the Gospel, learn how to repent and practically live the Christian life.

In our experience, we have found that these goals, while good, are sometimes difficult to fully walk through, especially in the midst of community. The hope is that this guide will help equip our people so that they can better navigate the difficulty of sin and its effects with the goal of making much of Jesus in every area of our lives.

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THE PROBLEM

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”- Jeremiah 17:9

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” - Luke 6:45

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” - Proverbs 4:23

Our hearts are constantly worshipping something. We do not worship on Sundays and turn that switch off the rest of the week. We are designed to fully worship and enjoy God, but since Genesis 3, our worship is broken. It is not that we no longer worship, it is that we typically worship something other than Jesus.

Sin is ultimately pride and idolatry. It is us saying that we know better than God. God has a standard; he has a design. In sin we say, “I do not want God or his design. I will be my own god.” This is pride.

It is also idolatry because sin is a form of worship. God has rightful place in our hearts as the greatest pursuit, joy and desire. In idolatry, we take God off the throne of our hearts and put something else in His place. This new object of worship is usually a core idol. The four main core idols are comfort, approval, power and control. Comfort is a longing for pleasure. Approval is a desire to be accepted or wanted. Power is a pursuit of influence or recognition. Control is an attempt to have everything go according to our plan.

Sin always flows from a heart that fails to honor and worship God. Then it progresses into using creation to gain something that is only

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found in God (core idols). This culminates in a sinful word, thought, deed or motive that produces various effects such as shame, bitterness, guilt, hatred, sexual immorality, torn relationships and joyless lives, just to name a few.

IDENTIFYING IDOLS

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”- Romans 1:24-25

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” - 1 John 5:20-21

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Idols can be difficult to detect because they can hide themselves in rule breaking and rule keeping.

“How do you know where and what you worship? It’s easy. You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of the trail you’ll find a throne; and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship.” 1

The following questions are helpful in identifying and diagnosing the condition of our hearts:

1. Where do your money, time and thoughts go effortlessly? What do you easily prioritize?

2. What do you daydream about? What consumes your thoughts?3. What do you look to for hope and peace? What are you living for?4. What are your most uncontrollable emotions? What causes you the

most worry? The most anger? The most frustration?5. What do you judge, hate and devalue? You probably idolize it’s

opponent.6. What would devastate you if it was taken away?7. What are you the most proud of? What do you want people to

know about you?8. Where do you tend to direct conversations?

GOSPEL

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

1Louie Giglio, The Air I Breathe, pg. 11.

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God knows our sin, its depth, and our hopelessness, but thankfully, He does not leave us there. The Gospel literally means “good news.” The good news is that Jesus supernaturally came to the earth and lived a sinless life. He bore the wrath of God for our sins when he died on the cross. Jesus then rose again on the third day making it possible for sinners to be forgiven and reconciled to God. Through Jesus Christ we are justified because he defeated the penalty of sin. We are being sanctified as Jesus defeats the power of sin in us through the Holy Spirit. Because of this, one day we will be glorified in eternity as God defeats the presence of sin completely.

It is through the Gospel that we are saved so that we no longer have to walk in pride and idolatry, but instead have the privilege and ability to rightfully worship our Creator like we were designed to do.

2 Peter 1:3 tells us that through the gospel and because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need to live a life of godliness. The passage goes on to say that those who do not walk in light of their salvation have forgotten that they were cleansed from their sins (vs. 9). However, when a Christian sins, it is not because they forgot that Jesus died on the cross, but it is a failure to apply that truth to their heart. The Bible is showing how sin is ultimately a failure to fully live in light of the truths of the gospel.

For Christians, God has called us into his family. As a result, we have a multitude of promises. But that does not mean that we no longer sin. The truth is that sin still dwells within us. The life of the Christian is one of being conformed into the image of the Son (Romans 8:29).

So how do we fight sin and put to death the idols that our hearts still cling to? How do we see sin for what it truly is? One of the greatest gifts of God is the gift of repentance. Many people think repentance is a bad word, but actually it is a glorious gift of God which helps us rest and walk in him.

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REPENTANCE

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” - Acts 3:19-21

“Sin is a condition, not just a behavior, so true repentance is a lifestyle, not just an occasional practice. Repentance is not something we do only once (when we are converted), or only periodically (when we feel really guilty). Repentance is ongoing, and conviction of sin is a mark of God’s fatherly love for us.” 2

Repentance begins with identifying the fruits or the effects of sin, and goes backward through the core idols to the roots and helps us see how we are not trusting or worshipping God correctly. Repentance is then a turning from a false view or belief in God to right belief and the proper trust of him. For a better understanding, see the aforementioned Core Idols Chart. The following is a process to help you walk through biblical repentance.

1. Repentance starts with a knowledge of our sin. Usually, you will be able to identify sins as words, thoughts, deeds or motives that go against the Bible or the nature and character of God. Another way to identify your sin is by the effects of sin in your life. These effects are vast and range in a variety of feelings and emotions. Including but not limited to, bitterness, anxiety and worthlessness. These things are not promises of the Gospel and many times they are the fruits of deeply rooted sin that needs to be repented of.

2. Can you trace the fruits of sin to a core idol?

2Bob Thune, The Gospel-Centered Life, pg. 41.

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When you look at the life of Jesus, many times he goes deeper than the action seen, to issues of the heart. This is because sin goes deeper than behavior. Therefore, our repentance has to go deeper than behavior. Core Idols help us understand why we do what we do.

What is the underlying motivation for the sins we commit?What are you trying to gain (comfort, approval, power, control) outside of God’s will, design or plan?Why does this path seem better than God’s path?

Biblical examples of this: Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-26), The Widows Offering (Luke 21:1-4), and What Defiles a Person (Mark 7:14-23).

3. Do you have Holy Spirit conviction or worldly sorrow? Worldly sorrow is another devastating response to sin. Worldly sorrow can show up in many different ways. It can be sorrow for being caught. It can simply be sorrow that you hurt someone else. Listed below are some ways in which people can have a false view of their sin:a) minimizing- downplaying sin like it is “not that bad”b) defending- explaining sin awayc) blaming- faulting others for sind) hiding- concealing as much as possible about sine) faking- keeping appearances and a respectable imagef ) exaggerating- tending to think more highly of myself than I should3

Holy Spirit conviction is conviction not only of who you hurt or the pain you have caused, but also the fact that you have sinned grievously against God himself (Psalm 51). It is conviction that realizes the depth of your sin that put Jesus on the cross.

4. Where do you need to believe and trust God more (2 Peter 1:9)? Sometimes repentance is thought of as merely turning from

3Bob Thune, The Gospel-Centered Life, pg. 11-12.

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something (a behavior, thought or habit), but it also encompasses the idea of turning to something. To successfully fight sin we must both turn from our worship of sin and turn to a greater worship of Jesus. Hebrews 3:13 says that sin is deceitful and that it makes promises which it cannot fulfill. We must see our sin for what it is: hollow, deceptive, empty; we must also see our Savior for who he is: all-satisfying, sovereign, gracious, etc. A helpful model for thinking about God’s sufficiency is through the 4 G’s.a) God is Good so I don’t have to look elsewhere - Ps. 94b) God is Great so I don’t have to be in control- Ps. 27c) God is Gracious so I don’t have to prove myself- Ps. 103d) God is Glorious so I don’t have to fear man- Ps. 314

Therefore, repentance is turning from pride that thinks your ways are better than God’s and from the idolatry of your worshipping something other than God. It is also a turning from the lesser promises of sin to the greater promises of God.

The following examples of comparing the promises of sin to the promises of the gospel are from Jonathan Dodson’s book Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

Sexual Lust: The fight for true intimacy• Instead of trusting sexual lust for intimacy, trust God for true

intimacy: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). When you are tempted to lust, turn to God’s promise for true intimacy, to see God and be enamored with him in Jesus.

• Lust says: “Long for what you cannot have and you will be happy.”

• The gospel says: “Rejoice in what you do have, in Jesus, and you will be truly happy.”

Vanity: The fight for true worth• Instead of relying on vanity for worth, consider the beauty of

4Tim Chester, You Can Change, pg. 97.

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God: “What we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). When you are tempted to find your worth in your appearance, turn to God’s beauty and rest in the beauty you have in him.

• Vanity says: “Perform beautifully and you will have worth.”• The gospel says: “Jesus performed beautifully for you;

therefore, you have never-ending worth.”

Pride: The fight for true confidence• Instead of trusting in compliments for confidence, believe

that your sufficiency comes from God: “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient” (2 Cor. 3:4–6a).

• Pride says: “Find and cherish compliments and then you will be confident.”

• The gospel says: “Your confidence comes, not from your sufficiency, but from God who has made you sufficient in Jesus.”5

5. Do you need to reconcile with another person (Matthew 18:15-17)? Is there restitution that needs to be made (Zacchaeus, Luke 19:1-10)?

Sin has consequences and many times those consequences are broken relationships. If you have offended or have been offended by someone, the Bible calls Christians to respond in a distinctively Christian way. Jesus calls us to respond with love, grace and humility. • Do you need to pay something back?• Do you need to ask for forgiveness?• Do you need to forgive?• If you need more information on biblical conflict resolution,

refer to the Biblical Conflict Resolution Field Guide that is available for free at the Connect Desk.

5Jonathan K. Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, pg. 134-135.

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6. What does it look like for you to rejoice in worship?Because repentance is us turning from sin to Jesus, real repentance ought to lead you to joy and worship. The God of the universe has saved us and is pursuing our hearts! If you feel like you have fully repented, but you do not have joy, you need to evaluate the situation and make sure that you have fully repented of all of your core idols, and you are believing the truths of the Gospel.

True Repentance vs. False Repentance It is important to draw a distinction between true repentance and false repentance. False repentance is repentance that trusts in self instead of God’s grace. In other words, this is self-atonement instead of trusting Jesus’ full atonement for our sins. Many times this manifests itself in cycles of remorse, resolution or both. In remorse, we look to our past, wallow in sin and convince ourselves that our sin is out of character. In resolution, we look to our future, promise to do better and convince ourselves that we have the power to change ourselves.6

PRACTICAL STEPS FOR WAR

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” - 1 Timothy 6:11

“Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” - Galatians 6:1

Repentance is a response to past and present sin. This following section addresses identifying, navigating and attacking future temptation.

6The remorse and resolution terminology comes from Bob Thune, The Gospel-Centered Life, pg. 39.

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Fighting your temptation is a two-part battle, which involves both fleeing temptation and pursuing Jesus.

FLEEING TEMPTATION

Here are a few questions to consider regarding your temptation :

1. What are your main temptations? What sins are you prone to committing?

• Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your temptations and sin. • “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my

thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” - Psalm 139:23-24

2. When are you most vulnerable and how are you feeding this?• What environments, conditions or people often test you?

What habits and/or hobbies promote your temptation? Alcoholics anonymous has discovered common triggers and has come up with the acronym H.A.L.T., to remind its people that they are especially vulnerable to relapse when they are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. You must be aware of the things that feed your sin patterns. Avoiding your triggers is not a cure but it affords you the opportunity to set your mind and your affection on Jesus.

• “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” - Romans 13:14

3. Why is your temptation so alluring? • This question deals with the motivational level of your

temptation. In fact, the more “why” questions you are able to ask, the better you will able to diagnose your deeply rooted heart issues. Ultimately, you sin because you want to and because you are innately self-centered.

• Rick Warren says, “At the moment you sin, you’re doing what you think is the best thing for you.” 7

7http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/151787-warren-9-preaching-tips-that-will-save-lives.html

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4. How does your temptation enslave you?• Tim Chester says that Satan lies to you in two common

ways. First, Satan says that sin is more attractive and more satisfying than Jesus. Second, he says that sin is irresistible and undeniable.8

• You must believe that God is bigger than your temptation and that He is empowering you to resist and detest your temptation.

• “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13

PURSUING JESUS “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” - 2 Timothy 2:22

“Spiritual disciplines are basically forms of worship, and it is worship that is the final way to replace the idols of your heart.” 9

Pursuing God is both a delight and a discipline. Paul says in 1 Timothy, you are to “train yourself in godliness.” This training entails prioritizing your days and guarding your time. C.J. Mahaney says, “A cross-centered life is made up of cross-centered days.”10 Here are some spiritual disciplines to aid you in your daily pursuit of Jesus.

1. God’s Word • Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. - John 17:17• God’s Word is a gift from God to his children. It is both

informational and transformational. It is informational in the sense that it reveals God’s nature, character and glory. It is transformational because it cuts to the depths of your heart and changes you to be more like Christ. (Hebrew 4:12-13, 2

8Tim Chester, You Can Change, pg. 113.9Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, pg. 175.

10C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life, pg. 54.

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Timothy 3:16-17)• Reading God’s Word is a spiritual discipline that is often

accompanied by spiritual warfare. Many times when you read the Bible, you may have a hard time focusing your mind and your thoughts on what is being said. The hope of Redemption Church is that we would be a people who love God and love his Word. Further, that we would be known as people who not only read God’s word but worshipfully delight in it. The following is a basic reading plan to assist you in reading the Bible deeply, thoughtfully and worshipfully.

THE R.E.A.P. METHOD

READ - Decide on a reading plan. What are you going to read? When are you going to read it? Do not get overwhelmed by or focus on how many chapters are in the day’s reading but simply make a plan to read and be consistent in the reading of God’s word.

EXAMINE - Ask specific questions about the text. What does it say about God? What does it say about Jesus? What does it say about sin? Think about what you are reading!

APPLY - How does what you are reading apply directly to your life? Are there things you need to change in your life? Is there a promise you need to claim? Is there a truth that you need to embrace?

PRAY - Spend some time in prayer over what you read, and on what God has revealed to you. (more information may be found at the Connect Desk.)11

The next section goes into more detail about the importance of prayer.

11http://austinstone.org/resources/bible-reading-plan

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2. Prayer • “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all

circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

• Paul Miller says that many times we struggle with prayer because we are focused on prayer and not on God.12 Prayer is also a gift from God given to us so that we might know and connect deeply with him. When you pray, do not be scared to ask God questions and to listen to how he responds. God, from the beginning, has been a God who speaks, who wants to be known and who wants to have a relationship with his people.

• What is God saying to you? Why is God making that specific portion of Scripture stand out to you? How is God convicting you? What truth is God constantly bringing to your mind?

• The following are important things to pray daily as you read God’s word:

1. Insight in His promises - “Lord, help me understand”2. Experience of our need - “Lord, you know my heart

better than I do”3. Creation of desire - “Lord, enable me to respond”13

Again, do not get caught up in having the correct words to say or in the length of your prayer. Enjoy your Father who has saved you and called you unto himself.

3. Community• “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,”

that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” - Hebrews 3:13

• “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” - Ephesians 4:15

• Christian community was God’s idea, not man’s idea. This is

12Paul Miller, A Praying Life, pg. 20.13Jonathan K. Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, pg. 133.

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what Jesus instituted when he created the first church. The church in the New Testament means the “called out ones.” The church community is made up of people who have been saved by the blood of Jesus. It is a gift to us because God uses people to do his work.

• To properly grow and mature, you need people in your life that know and love you. This takes time and effort. Who in your life knows you deeply other than your spouse? Who has permission to ask you hard questions? Can you hear criticism without getting unnecessarily defensive? With whom are you willing to confess your struggles? With whom can you really celebrate?

• Sin always grows in the dark. Confession and community help bring hope and healing to the depths of your soul.

4. Corporate Worship• “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good

works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:24-25

• Gathering as the body of Christ is a beautiful way for you to weekly give yourself to the Lord. There is something powerful about having God’s people gathered together, collectively seeking the fame and the glory of Jesus. It is not only a witness to the world, but it is an encouragement to your soul. Just like the rest of these pursuits, this needs to be a consistent priority in your life.

5. Missional Living• “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to

himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”- 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

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• “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation”. - 1 Peter 2:11-12

• The Gospel is about what Jesus has done to save your soul and forgive your sins, but the Gospel is never supposed to stop there. You are God’s vessel and his love should travel in you, through you, and out of you into a dark world.

• Missional living is about seeing yourself as a missionary who lives out God’s calling wherever you find yourself. Many Christians stagnate in their growth because they refuse to step out in faith and engage people in meaningful ways.

• Who do you know that does not know Jesus? How can you begin to have conversations about the glory and excellencies of God? How can you share what God has done in your life? How can you leverage your hobbies, work, kid’s sporting events and anything else you are involved in to build relationships with people who are far from Christ?

• There are few things more exhilarating than knowing that God is using you as his instrument in reaching people.

6. Service• “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to

present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world,[c] 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.” - Romans 12:1-2

• So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” - Galatians 6:10

• This is closely related to missional living. How can you use your time, talent, energy, and resources to bless and benefit others?

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• You can either use those things as an offering to God, or you can hoard them for yourself. When you realize the joy that comes with serving people like Jesus served us, it not only helps us grow but people are helped.

• How is God calling you specifically to serve, bless and help other people?

CLOSING ENCOURAGEMENT

You must remember that growth in the Christian life will most likely be slower and more incremental than you desire. In reference to your growth in godliness, David Powlison offers the helpful image of a man yo-yo-ing up a flight of stairs.14 In the day-to-day you may feel the ebb-and-flow and the sense of fluctuation, but your overall trajectory is that of upward progress. Finally, we can trust that God is faithful and good to grow us.

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”- Hebrews 13:20-21

14http://www.9marks.org/blog/yo-yo-sanctification

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