Tag Archives: Sin

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on August 30, 2015
Tags: , Sin   

The Dirty and the Clean — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image

 

August 30, 2015
Sunday

“Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
Mark 7:14-15

“When I preach at the prison where I volunteer as a chaplain I invariably run into “holiness people.” I know there is a bit of irony in that but it is true. In my normal life I spend most of my time with Christians you might call “all things in moderation” sort of people. But the holiness people aren’t like that – they watch me like a hawk when I preach. They come up to me after worship and point out verses that I didn’t quote perfectly, or tell me about edgy words that I used that might have “opened the door for the devil’s toe hold.” At first those folks kind of freaked me out. I came to dread in particular one guy who would catch me stumbling every time. He has a lot more time to study the Bible than I do and he would always yank out a verse or two to “correct” me. Mostly, he was right. But then I began to notice something. It was obvious that the holiness crowd sat in the front of the room while the guys who just showed up in chapel to “do business” sat in the back. But what I learned over time was that their separation wasn’t limited just to chapel – that separation continued throughout the week. The “clean” sat in the front. The “dirty” sat in the back. So one night I challenged those in the front to sit in the back the next week. They still haven’t taken me up on it…and I get far fewer Bible verses quoted to me after the sermon. And that, I think, is the key to these verses. They aren’t about moral purity (not that there is anything wrong with that) but about the corrosive effects on human community of separatist religiosity that reduces the world to insiders and outsiders, clean and unclean.

The bottom line is that Jesus didn’t just show up for the good people but for all people. And my personal sense is that he would have hung with the guys in the back of the room.” Daily Devotions Pastor Kerry Nelson (Thursday, August 27th Mark 7:14-15)

When people go to great lengths to “appear” holy — I can’t help but allow my suspicions to enter my brain. Why must someone go to such lengths to make me think they are “holy”? Often, not always, but often it is an attempt to hide their own “dirt”. By dirt here I mean their own sinfulness, because they have no idea how to resolve their sinfulness with their need to be holy. We have no need to put our “holiness” on a plate to hold out for all to see. Jesus is just as capable of loving us in spite of our “dirt” without our extensive attempts to cover that dirt. Instead, we should be getting dirtier working with those who have no more strength to hide their dirt because they have yet to understand what Grace is all about. You see, Grace is the “Heavenly Holy Hoover” — Grace is what sucks the dirt out of our lives and leaves us looking as clean as ever in the eyes of Jesus. This allows us to join Jesus in the back of the room sitting with the “sinners” and the “tax collectors” and learning from each other about the love of Jesus.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on August 27, 2015
Tags: Sin   

We All Need Our Hearts Examined For “Selfish” Reasons — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image       August 27, 2015

“But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” 2 Samuel 12:1-7

“In this story from the book of Samuel we have a picture of a hospitable man, a man who really wanted to help the poor traveler who came to him, but who wanted to help him with another man’s property, to feed him on a neighbor’s sheep. There is real charity in the impulse. There is essential meanness in the act. “He spared to take of his own flock and his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him.” Here is real kindness and real selfishness in the same heart…” Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893) “The Candle of the Lord” (a sermon) “For All The Saints” volume II
(p. 436)

Just because someone seems to be doing an act of kindness does not mean that his or her heart is in the right place. In the case of David, one could say that he responded with kindness to take the wife of Urriah the Hittite into his palace once her husband had died in battle. But when we look deeper into the story, we discover that David arranged it so that Urriah would die in battle — so the sin of David would remain hidden. What David did not consider is that all sin is evident to G*d — no matter what lengths we go to hide them. Nathan tells David the story to highlight the hidden “selfishness” in the manner that humanity seeks to treat one another.

Coveting another’s goods, property or spouse is one of the most common sins in our society today. Coveting another’s spouse can lead to lust, which can lead to danger and dis-repair in relationships. The “sword” (as the Lord put it) would never leave David’s house. Now that he had mis-trusted the Lord, the Lord who had given him everything he possibly could want or need, David would suffer the consequences of his sin for the rest of his life. (“I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me…” 2 Samuel 12:8-10) But the Lord did not completely abandon David. He continued to lead a life of righteousness even though this “sword” would dog him the rest of his life.

We should constantly look into our hearts to see what it is that drives our inner thoughts, needs, desires, and wants. If we are coveting another’s goods, property or spouse, we need to take time to examine our need for what is not ours — and what is behind that need. Remembering that the Lord blesses us with all that we need, (not always with what we want but definitely with what we need) will help us move forward thanking G*d for all of the blessings we have.

Pastor Dave