Ephesians 4:17-24 - Witness Protection Christianity, Part 1

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We're going to be back in Ephesians chapter 4 this morning.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

As Paul applies the truths of the gospel to the lives of the Ephesians,

we come to what can be a fairly complex passage this morning.

So listen closely as I read beginning at verse 17 and then we'll talk about it together.

Ephesians 4 starting at verse 17.

Now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of heart.

They've become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

But that is not the way you learned Christ.

Assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him as the truth is in Jesus,

to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Thus far God's holy, inerrant, and infallible Word.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, we come to your Word and ask that as we look to it,

the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts would be acceptable in your sight.

Oh God, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Our trust is in you.

Our hope is in you.

Help us now by your Spirit.

Amen.

Amen.

We've talked already a little bit this morning about the reality of sin in the life of a follower of Christ.

It's a perplexing issue, isn't it?

And one that's raised again in these verses when we see things like the old man and the new man,

and the putting off and the putting on, and what is it that's going on?

When does that happen?

How does that happen?

What are the results in my life?

How does it actually play out?

Why is it, in other words, that I can have a new heart given me by God,

my heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh,

so that I actually desire to, for instance, love people sacrificially?

And of all the people in the world actually would want to love my wife, right?

Why is it that that can be true and then that just this week I sin against her?

I love myself instead of her.

I was insensitive, unthoughtful.

Instead of listening to her, I wanted to propose my own solutions

and have her understand my wonderful plans and great ideas.

And in my own desire to have things my way,

I sinned against someone I really wanted to love sacrificially.

Why?

Why haven't I quit doing that?

Why haven't you quit doing that?

Hang with me for just a minute.

We're going to dive into a little bit of theological investigation.

We're doing this at the beginning while you're still awake.

So I intended to be helpful.

Look a little bit at what the Bible says about ongoing sin

in the life of a follower of Jesus.

Because this can be difficult to wade through.

It says first that victory has been secured and a new life begun.

This is the clear teaching of Scripture.

2 Corinthians 5.17, you probably have heard this one.

If anyone's in Christ, he's what?

A new creation.

Old gone, new has come.

Galatians tells us, or Romans,

we know our old self was crucified with him.

It's been killed, that old self,

so that we're not slaves to sin.

We've been set free from sin, right?

Keep going.

Galatians 5.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh.

It's dead.

And then Colossians 3,

which is a parallel to the passage we're looking at this morning,

says,

you have already,

it's saying,

put off the old self

and put on the new self.

That's already happened.

There's been victory won for you by whom?

By Jesus.

He has crucified

the old self

and brought to life

something where in the past there was death.

The song we sang a minute ago,

my sin,

oh the bliss of this glorious thought,

my sin,

not in part,

but the whole,

all of it was what?

Nailed to the cross.

And I bear it no more.

I don't carry that burden.

Jesus has nailed it to the cross.

And so we might say,

perhaps the Bible's teaching Christians won't sin anymore.

Is that what that means?

Well, no.

The Bible also says,

the same human author Paul, by the way,

all the verses we'll look at this morning,

the Bible also says

that there's an ongoing war

against that new life.

Romans chapter 7,

Romans 7 · chapter mention

I do what I don't want to do.

I keep doing the evil that I don't want

and there's a law of sin

that's waging war against the law of God in me.

There's a war going on within me.

Look at the next one.

Next chapter of Romans

says there's maybe an old self

that's been put to death,

but by the Spirit,

you still need to put to death

the deeds of the body.

There's something that still needs

to be put to death,

a battle that still needs to take place.

Galatians 5,

desires of the flesh against the Spirit,

they're opposed to each other,

fighting with each other,

warring inside you.

Colossians 3,

even though your old self is gone

and your new self has come,

there's a putting to death

that still needs to happen.

Always, always a war ongoing.

Even though victory's been secured,

the Bible says,

there's also still a war.

It's what we talked about

with that catechism question earlier.

That even though sin is defeated,

that it's been nailed to the cross

and we bear it no more,

there are remnants of sin

in every part of us, right?

That's what's going on.

That's at least part of what's happening

and why I would not love my wife

as I should.

Why we don't love God

as we ought to.

See, Jesus delivered us once for all

from the penalty of sin

on the cross.

One day He will deliver us forever

from the presence of sin

at all in our lives.

Amen?

But now,

sin still plagues us

even though it doesn't have

authority over us.

We're not slaves to it anymore.

We have new hearts,

new lives.

G.K. Chesterton says,

sin in the life of the believer

is like a rhinoceros in a restaurant.

It's a vivid image, isn't it?

He says,

if there's a rhinoceros in a restaurant,

Chesterton says,

I'd be the first one to rise up

and assure him

he had no authority whatsoever

in the restaurant.

But he would exert a lot of power.

He would make a big difference.

It would certainly disrupt,

wouldn't it?

That's what sin is like.

Even though it has no authority

in the life of a believer,

it still exerts a lot of power.

Isn't that more than just

theological speculation?

Isn't that your personal,

practical experience?

Haven't you lived that?

Can't you relate to what I shared about

with wanting to love my wife

and then this ongoing battle

and disappointment of,

I've failed again?

Where in this battle,

it does feel like I keep doing things

I don't want to do.

Where I think I've got this sin under control

and I've declared victory over it

and then it comes back

or I've got this area of weakness

under control

and two more pop up over here

and I've got to fight against them.

Can't you relate to that?

Haven't you felt that in your own life?

Has it ever made you ask why?

Why, God, didn't you just get rid of sin

once and for all on the cross

and make us perfect immediately?

Have you ever asked that question?

I've asked that question.

Man, that would have been

such a good idea, it feels like.

Just be done with it.

Why do I have to struggle with this

if Jesus came to defeat sin?

Why am I still battling against it?

We won't take that theological rabbit trail.

We've taken enough this morning.

The Bible doesn't always thoroughly explain why

and answer every question we might have,

but at least part of the answer

is that our ongoing struggle with sin

is a constant reminder of our need for Jesus.

that He wants to be in relationship with us,

not just give us a gift.

More on that later.

We turn to our passage in Ephesians 4.

Finally, I know you're glad to get to Ephesians.

We're back.

And look at it and see how it says at the beginning,

you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do.

Verse 17.

You must no longer walk that way.

Don't live like the old man

because that's not who you are anymore.

You learned, Paul says,

when I came to you and told you about Jesus,

you learned that the new life,

that following Jesus was not just a mere tweak,

that it was life-altering.

That old man was gone

and new man was coming to life.

That happens when you first trust Jesus, he says.

That's what it meant to be baptized into Jesus.

That it wasn't just buying eternal life insurance.

Jesus was a wholesale change of identity and life.

So our passage this week

talks about that reality theologically and generally.

While the next several verses,

the rest of the chapter,

we're going to look at next week

and they talk about this specifically and practically.

Don't live like the old man

because that's not who you are anymore.

That's what it's saying.

I want to give us an imperfect,

but I think helpful analogy

for the next couple of weeks.

We'll use this for both of these conversations.

And it's about witness protection.

Imagine, if you will,

that you are Philip Ptolemeo.

Philip Ptolemeo was involved with the mob,

a very sinister group known as the Calabresi Crew

in Chicago in the 1980s.

But Philip had a falling out with the boss.

And so Philip ran off from the mob

and took a lot of money.

And he also took tons of evidence.

All of the illegal stuff that they were up to,

Ptolemeo walked away with enough stuff

to put them all behind bars.

Well, they didn't, as you might imagine,

take real kindly to him going to the FBI.

And so he would have been in grave danger,

facing almost certain death

at the hands of the violent mob

if they found him.

And so what happened?

He became a part of the witness protection program.

His former identity was erased.

An entirely new identity created for him

in a different city with a different occupation

so he could live life free from harm.

The most important part of the program,

they say,

is that you must embrace your new identity,

not reach back into the old life that you had.

And according to the U.S. Marshals Service,

no witness who has embraced his new identity

has ever been killed.

That's what they say.

They do a good job protecting witnesses.

It wouldn't be safe, would it,

to go back to the old life?

Imagine you're Ptolemeo.

It would be absolutely essential, wouldn't it,

to embrace the new life that you've been given,

to say,

this is who I am now.

I'm somebody different.

It wouldn't be safe any longer

to go to dinner with friends

and decide to tell a few interesting stories

from your mob days, you know.

My new friends will like what I used to be.

That wouldn't be safe.

It wouldn't be a good move

to go back to Chicago

just because you're a big Cubs fan

and wanted to catch a game.

It wouldn't be wise

to throw around your old name anymore.

You have to be completely your new identity,

not living like the old Ptolemeo any longer.

That's what Paul's saying here in Ephesians 4.

Walk in a way that is consistent

with your new identity.

Live in a way that's fitting

with your new life in Christ.

Because there's been a drastic change, right?

We've been talking about this

for weeks and weeks now.

What God has done for us in Christ

is that He's taken us

from being enemies to Him

and made us sons.

In the very first chapter of Ephesians,

it's our union with Christ,

our being connected to Him

that's made that change in us.

We're no longer dead,

no longer far off,

no longer by nature objects of wrath,

facing certain judgment and death.

No, rather we've been made alive.

We've become objects not of God's wrath,

but His mercy,

been drawn near to Him

and made into a temple

where God would desire to dwell in us.

An amazing identity change, right?

Incredible what God has done for us

all because we were wonderful.

No.

All because of being in Christ.

There's the Cliffs notes

on the first three chapters of Ephesians

in case you missed it.

You've entered witness protection.

You've been given an entirely new life to live.

And now Paul says embrace that.

Live consistently with this new identity.

That's what He's telling us today.

And He warns us of some things

we have to remember

if we're going to live this new life.

Two things in this particular passage.

The first is that He warns us

not to underestimate

the danger of sin.

He's going to be pretty direct

in His words about sin.

But be assured,

this is not Paul

forgetting what he's taught us about grace

and all of a sudden lapsing back

into something else

and legalism.

No.

This is Paul preaching grace strongly.

Grace allows us to be.

In fact, it demands

that we be serious about sin

and honest about its destructive nature.

That's why we need grace, right?

Grace should never lead us

to treat sin lightly

but rather seriously.

Paul's telling us here

we must not walk in the ways of sin

that characterized our old man.

He's saying don't declare a truce

with an enemy Jesus died to defeat.

Don't make friends.

Don't declare a truce

with an enemy Jesus died to defeat.

We saw a few weeks ago

God's 4D love for us.

It's width and breadth

and height and depth.

Today Paul gives us

a 3D look at sin.

It's dangerous

and destructive nature.

The first D of how sin works

is that sin is deceitful.

That word itself is used

in verse 22

to describe our desires.

The sinful desires

of the old man are deceitful.

And in fact,

this whole section begins

with talking about

our faulty thinking

and our old way of life.

Notice how he starts

in verses 17 and 18.

He talks here

about the futility

of their minds.

Darkened in their understanding.

Ignorance.

He's talking about

the brokenness

in our thinking.

The ways that

we've been deceived.

Sin by its very nature

has always been full

of falsehood

and deception,

hasn't it?

We're led away

by believing the lies

of Satan and sin.

What are some of the ways

that sin deceives believers?

What are some of the lies

that we believe

where we think,

oh yes,

that's true.

How does sin

take us in

and drag us away?

It tells us

to go ahead

and indulge in sin

because what?

Maybe you've

thought this.

Indulge in sin.

No one will get hurt.

It's just harmless.

No one will get hurt.

You can do that.

Maybe sin has told you,

you know,

you can stop

when you want.

It won't really be

something that lasts

very long.

It'll just be a little sin.

You know,

do it and then stop

whenever you feel like it.

A lot of us

have believed

this next one.

You deserve better.

Sin tells you that.

whispers it in your ear.

You deserve better

than that spouse.

Than that kind of salary.

Than that kind of life.

You deserve better

than that.

Then there's the

twisted truth

into a lie

that we hear a lot.

God will forgive you.

Grace is there

for all your sins

so it's okay.

Sin will even make

grace seem bigger

to you

if you just indulge

a little bit.

Right?

And that's true.

Grace is there.

God does forgive.

But the lie

we're buying into

is that

we're seeing

grace is more beautiful.

What's going on

in my heart

is that

it's actually

losing sight

of the beauty

and the wonder

of the grace

of Jesus

even as I allow

sin to become

more attractive

to me.

So we believe

one of these lies

or one of many others.

We're deceived.

We indulge

in just a few clicks

on the computer.

You know

just a few minutes

lingering there.

We allow our lips

to gossip

and it feels good

in the moment

because I just needed

to get that off my chest.

I just needed to say that

about him or her

and it just felt so good

just to say it.

We indulge

in a few minutes

of daydreams

about what life

could be like

or would be like

or yes

if only I had

yes

that would really

fulfill me

then yes

that would be

so wonderful

then I'd be happy.

And we indulge

in sin

except we

we often don't

take into account

verse 19

the second D

about sin

is that it is

deadening.

Here's what happens

when we

believe the lies

of sin

they become

callous

and given

themselves up.

That word

callous

a deadening

of the senses

right?

Sin makes us

calloused.

It deadens

or desensitizes

us to the damage

we're causing

ourselves.

And so what do we do

when our senses

are deadened?

We indulge

more and more.

You know

that wasn't so bad

was it?

No one really

found out it was

true there weren't

any negative

consequences.

That felt good.

And so our senses

get deadened.

Calloused.

And looking for

pleasure and

fulfillment which

we're longing for

we begin to

want more.

It says we're

greedy.

The word there

is covetous.

We're greedy

to indulge

and practice

every kind

of impurity.

Why?

Because our senses

are deadened

and it takes

more to get

the same feeling

and I don't

feel fulfilled

and all of a sudden

this doesn't feel

as wonderful

as I was hoping

I need more

and more.

And we covet

what we think

will satisfy

our longings.

The Bible tells us

we covet our

neighbor's wife,

his house,

his life,

his assets,

his status

and we want

more of it.

Just a little sin

doesn't satisfy

does it?

We become deadened

and we long

greedy, greedy

to indulge

every kind

of impurity.

One of the

respectable

acceptable sins

of the American

middle class

is gluttony.

I struggle

with this.

And when we

describe it

it's so acceptable

to us that we

can actually think

it's light-hearted

or funny

sometimes

but it can

really be serious.

It's a serious

heart issue.

On Wednesday

mornings here

at the church

a group of men

have Bible study.

They come early

and they very

kindly leave

almost every week

a dozen or so

Krispy Kreme

donuts behind.

And so I get

to the office

on Wednesday

mornings

and typically

one of the first

things I do

is locate that

box

and have one

when I get it.

It's so good.

I love Krispy Kreme

and then James

Parker walks up

and says something

like a moment

on the lips

forever on the hips

and so I

slink back

into my office

and wish I

hadn't even

had the one

but they're

really good

and then I get

to working

on my sermon

or something

like that

and things

are coming

slowly.

It's just

really struggling

and really

frustrated with

myself

and so I'll

wander back

out for

another donut

and through

the day

each subsequent

donut

is actually

what we call

in order

again mostly

to make

ourselves feel

okay about it

we call it

what?

Eating my

feelings.

Am I the only

one in here

who eats my

feelings?

I eat my

feelings

and so that's

actually usually

what's going on

and that's funny

and when we say

it that way

we laugh

but what's

actually happening?

In my need

I'm turning

to a donut

instead of

allowing my

need to drive

me to God

and I should

be seeing

danger

danger

this is

spiritually

treacherous

I'm finding

my need

the longing

that I feel

fulfilled

somewhere that's

not God

doesn't seem

so bad

it feels

good

to turn

back to

that box

one more

time

feels especially

good if you

cut it in half

first and come

back and eat

the other half

later because

you save

calories

that's an

extra tip

for free

but as you

go back

it leaves you

wanting more

doesn't it?

You begin to

realize I'm not

fulfilled by

just having a

donut in the

morning

there's something

else I'm not

quite satisfied

now you fill in

the blanks

maybe it is

gluttony

food

for you

maybe it's

drink

maybe it's

body image

maybe it's

bank account

and we

just need a

little more

than we

used to

in order to

feel good

because sin

having deceived

us has

deadened our

senses

and it's like

the proverbial

frog in

boiling water

where eventually

you will realize

the third

D of sin

that it's not

just deceitful

and deadening

but it's actually

deadly

enough donuts

would do that

that's not

usually the way

we experience it

verse 19

they've given

themselves up

like in Romans

1 God

giving us over

the same concept

to our sinful

desires

in other words

taking it to

its fullest

extent

it's the nature

of sin

it brings

death

James chapter

James 1 · chapter mention

1

desire when it

is conceived

gives birth to

sin and sin

when it's fully

grown brings

forth death

by its very

nature

Proverbs 14

12

there's a way

that seems

right to a

man

it makes

sense

it feels

good

and in the

end

it's the way

to death

it seemed

so good

but it began

to choke

the life

out of me

that's why

Paul warns

us against

underestimating

the destructive

nature of sin

of the old

life

he doesn't

want us

dragged away

to death

just like

Philip

Tolomeo

Brenda

Potts

entered witness

protection

with the

U.S.

Marshals

she was

17

in 2002

when she

began to

turn in

members of

the violent

street gang

she'd been

a part of

she was

relocated

with a new

name

and a new

social security

number

from Virginia

to Kansas

City

Missouri

right where

she'd be

safe

but Brenda

never embraced

her new

life

she repeatedly

called old

friends and

even invited

them out

to visit

her

she was

relocated

time and

again to

try to

keep her

safe

but only

one year

after entering

witness protection

she returned

to Virginia

and was

found dead

within a few

days

there's death

at the end

of your

old way of

life

Paul says

sin is not

as pleasant

as it promises

to be

don't make

friends or

declare a

truce on

an enemy

that Christ

had to die

in order to

defeat

sin is

treacherous

it deceives you

it deadens

your senses

and it's

deadly

and Christ

had to die

to defeat

it

his death

shows you

the seriousness

of sin

you've been

rescued from

sin by his

grace

not rescued

to indulge

in sin

in self

destroying

lusts

he's rescued

you for

something

quite different

so finally

and much

more briefly

there's something

else we

shouldn't

underestimate

besides

the danger

of sin

if we're

going to

live our

new life

this passage

warns us

not to

underestimate

the scope

of God's

work

let me show

you what

Paul says

verse 20

this running

headlong

after sin

that he's

talked about

in these

first few

verses

he says

that's not

the way

you learned

Christ

that's not

what you

were told

when you

met Jesus

rather

as we've

seen

you were

taught

that following

Jesus

was life

altering

trading

old

desires

for

new

old

thinking

for

new

old

living

for

new

Jesus

changes

everything

right

and remember

that old

self put

off

and the

new

self put

on

is what

happened

when the

Ephesians

first met

Jesus

that's what

they're new

but there's

even more

God's up to

in our

lives

and it's

good news

because

the danger

of what

happens

if we

underestimate

the scope

of God's

work

there's a

danger

when we

hear a

sermon

like this

or read

a passage

like this

that talks

about the

dangers

of sin

and the

importance

of a

new life

you know

what the

danger

is

what do

you begin

to feel

it's all

up to me

it's all

on me

now

I gotta

get it

together

sin is

dangerous

I've got

to live

differently

then at the

end of the

day it's

all up

to us

now

yes

Jesus

thank you

for forgiving

my sins

that was

wonderful

but now

it's up

to me

to try

harder

to just

do it

be new

lifey

enough

I don't

even know

what that

would look

like

but I

need to

drum up

enough

willpower

the next

time

to close

my mouth

or the

computer screen

or whatever

it is

I'm gonna

do it

but you

know it

doesn't

work

I know

that doesn't

work

and God's

word tells

us it's not

even what he

designed

you see

sometimes we

underestimate

the scope

of God's

work

even while

we think

we're making

much of the

cross of

Christ

while we

think we're

celebrating it

and the grace

and forgiveness

of Jesus

there

we think of

what God

did in

sending Jesus

for us

was for the

goal of

forgiving our

sins and

getting us

to heaven

that in

between he

was just

gonna leave

us on our

own

between now

and heaven

it's up

to us

and we

think that's

saying a lot

about the

cross

it's actually

selling it

short

this passage

paints a

broader

and a

higher

goal

not just

a gift

of eternal

life insurance

but look at

verse 24

created

after the

likeness

of God

in true

righteousness

and holiness

where does that

take you

back to

Genesis 1

right

created

after the

likeness

of God

he designed

you in

his image

to be in

relationship

with him

to be in

a relationship

where you

trusted him

and followed

him

true

righteousness

and holiness

that's what

God made

you for

and it's

what he's

remaking

you

for

even though

that perfect

image

and true

relationship

has been

broken

he hasn't

given up

on that

and he

hasn't

decided to

leave it

up to

you

either

he who

began

a good

work

in you

will carry

it on

to completion

until the

day of

Jesus

Christ

right

he will

he will

see it

through

he is

recreating

remaking

you

in his

image

yes

he forgives

your sins

yes

he guarantees

your eternity

and he's also

working on us

today

and he won't

stop

he's not

going to

quit

on us

he actually

wants

not just

to give

you the

gift

of a

get out

of jail

free

card

one day

someday

when you

die

he wants

to live

in relationship

with you

now

that's what

he wants

he wants

you to

have a

relationship

where you

walk

with him

talk

with him

where you

abide

in him

depend

on him

for everything

that you

need

maybe that's

part of why

you sin

so that you'll

remember how

much you

need him

that's his

heart

that he would

desire not

just to save

you but that

he would

desire to

know you

now

can you

believe

that

do you

really

really

think

that's

true

does he

feel

that way

about

you

the new

life

he's

designed

for us

is not

one of

minor

improvement

on our

own

but of

true

righteousness

and holiness

in Christ

his grace

may be even

bigger than

you imagined

Christian

God intends

to give us

new life

not just

one that's

slightly improved

but that is

rich and

free and

abundant

exactly as

he always

intended

it's why

he made

you

it's what

he longs

for for

you

so be

clear that

this passage

isn't

hoisting

the burden

of true

righteousness

and holiness

on your

shoulders

it's

God's

desire

promise

and

commitment

it's why

when we're

told to put

to death

the misdeeds

of the

flesh

it's only

by the

spirit

that we

put to

death

the misdeeds

because

you're not

on your

own

right

he dwells

in you

by the

spirit

by the

one who's

there

with you

who hasn't

left you

put them

to death

he lives

in you

sometimes

we think

of avoiding

sin in

terms of

witness

protection

and we

mean

protecting

our

witness

our

testimony

our

good

name

that's

not what

I mean

witness

protection

is about

protecting

whom

the

witness

himself

and no

matter what

struggles

a witness

may have

embracing

his new

identity

no matter

how hard

it is

for him

to live

out the

way that

he should

there's

always

in witness

protection

a safe

house

it's often

protected by

U.S.

marshals

where the

witness can

go

and be

safe

the only

safe

house

for us

is in

Christ

connected

to him

he's the

place of

refuge

where

struggling

witnesses

find

abundant

life

by

pushing

back

into

him

it's

why

the

Bible

tells

us

to do

what

to

abide

in

him

to

dwell

connected

to

the

vine

close

to

Christ

gazing

on

his

beauty

because

in

Christ

here's

why

you're

safe

in

Christ

the

deadly

effects

of

sin

can

never

reach

you

why

why

can

in

Christ

the deadly

effects

of

sin

never

reach

you

because

he

took

them

all

for

you

right

you're

in

a

safe

house

it's

a

place

where

the

truth

about

sin

is

never

downplayed

the

perfect

son

of

God

died

because

of

the

danger

of

sin

but

it's

a

place

where

the

truth

about

the

scope

of

God's

work

is

never

downplayed

he

died

for

you

to

reestablish

relationship

with

you

and

to

remake

you

after

his

image

so

that

when

you're

confronted

by

the

seemingly

attractive

offer

of

sin

you

will

by

the

spirit

who

lives

in

you

what

does

the

spirit

love

to

do

the

spirit

loves

to

point

you

to

Jesus

but

that's

his

favorite

thing

the

spirit

that

lives

in

you

would

want

to

point

you

to

Jesus

so

that

you

see

him

again

in

the

midst

of

that

temptation

and

struggle

with

sin

and

it

seems

so

attractive

the

spirit

says

what

about

Jesus

look

at

him

again

see

the

beauty

of

Christ

true

righteousness

and

holiness

not

the

counterfeit

version

that

sin

would

offer

abide

in

him

gaze

on

his

cross

again

this

morning

you

know

what

you'll

see

as

you

look

at

the

cross

see

him

become

sin

for

you

so

that

in

him

you

would

become

the

righteousness

of

God

then

in

the

shadow

of

the

cross

seeing

that

you'll

think

rightly

and

see

clearly

the

horror

of

sin

what

it

did

to

Jesus

and

you'll

see

the

beauty

of

your

Savior

at

the

same

time

and

your

heart

will

long

more

and

more

for

the

abundant

new

life

that

he's

created

you

for

pray

with

me

Holy

Spirit

show

us

Jesus

if

we've

never

seen

him

as

more

beautiful

than

our

sin

then

for

the

first

time

let

us

see

him

beautiful

if

we've

lost

sight

of

the

glory

of

his

cross

for

us

and

we've

been

taken

in

by

the

deceptiveness

of

sin

show

us

Jesus

again

today

that

we may

walk

in

newness

of

life

Jesus

guard

this

church

and this

community

from

the

deceitful