Heart of Darkness
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Romans 7:18-19
This weekend, we learned that a Christian pastor living in the spotlight wrote this to his congregation:
The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life.
When a person belongs to Christ, real changes take place in that person's life, reshaping them from within. Those real changes, however, sometimes blind us to the underlying reality. Sin is pervasive and powerful. In Luther's words, we remain in this age simul justus et peccator, at the same time justified by God's grace and enmeshed in a world of sin.
The pervasiveness of sin has many forms - twisted personal relationships and social corruption, for example. There is, however, a more basic form of pervasive sin: the heart of darkness.
Pastor Ted Haggard has confessed to sexual compulsion. A few months ago, a Christian actor apologized for a different form of irrational, compulsive behavior. In August I wrote What can we learn from Mel Gibson's Rant (from which I have borrowed some thoughts for this essay).
While the form of compulsion varies from person to person, the existence of dark thoughts and impulses is a (nearly) universal experience, even for Christians. I don't intend to imply that all Christians have the same sexual, substance abuse or racist compulsions that we've read about in these two high-profile cases. I do believe, however, that the experience of some form of periodic, powerful, irrational, harmful, compulsive thoughts is widespread. They can take the form of of irrational rage or despair, thoughts of revenge, or a host of other forms. If you are not one who is bothered such things, then thanks be to God.
In our day to day dealings with each other, we keep everything on the level of polite conversation. We don't go very deep. We want everyone to think that we've got our lives together. We put our best foot forward and conceal the darker parts of our experiences. Like Adam and Eve after eating of the forbidden fruit, we make coverings for ourselves and hide.
Today I'd like to offer some observations about the heart of darkness.
1. Don't be surprised by sin.
Alcoholics Anonymous members are sad when a member falls off the wagon, but not terribly surprised. They know how powerful the compulsion of their destructive impulses are. Drunkenness is the normal state for drunks. Similarly, sin is the normal state for sinners. God has said that we are sinners, and the first step toward our salvation is to believe his word on that point. In this age, sin remains entangled in every part of our lives. The pervasive power of our own sin or the sin of others should not surprise us.
2. Believe the Gospel.
When I'm beset by unchristian thoughts or compulsions, I can either remain shackled to my guilt or I can believe the Gospel - that in Christ, God has mercy on me, a sinner. It is the sick that need a physician and the sinful that need a savior. My sin is precisely why God gave himself to us in Jesus Christ. In my heart of darkness I find a manifestation of my sinful nature for which Christ died. Jesus died and rose to defeat the power of my sin. I think the faithful response to my inner ugliness is to thank God for his grace and believe his promise of salvation. Holding on to my guilt and shame will only keep me in bondage. It is only by believing God's word of forgiveness that I will be set me free to really change. To rephrase Martin Luther's dictum just slightly, boldly accept your sinful nature, 'but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.'
3. Build accountability into your Christian walk.
God's grace does not give me license to let sin run amuck. I should not give free reign to my worst impulses because God loves me anyway. While keeping my compulsive sin inside might not lessen its sinful nature, it does keep me from inflicting it on my neighbor. Shall I compound one sin with another? I may not be able to control my thoughts, but I am still responsible for controlling my actions. Again, following the AA model, mutual accountability is a great help in keeping the demons under control. (Also: if there is a treatable biological or psychological component to severe compulsions, then prescription medication or psychological counseling may also be important). As painful as it is to confront one's own heart of darkness, it is more painful still to deal with the consequences of letting it out into out into the world.
4. Focus church life on the Gospel, not on personality.
A cult of personality is inconsistent with the Gospel truth: we are all sinners, not just in little ways, but in potentially big, life-destroying ways. The only one who belongs on a pedestal is Jesus.
5. Remember your own sinfulness when denouncing sin.
Our sinfulness shouldn't keep us from proclaiming God's standards of righteousness, but it ought to put some humility into the way that we do that. A group from Topeka demonstrated one model of denouncing sin at a funeral we had here in town recently: with vulgar, vicious words and signs. It's impossible, however, for those who know their own sin to denounce others from a position of smugness or moral superiority.
It is a sad day for Christians whenever sin's destructive effects manifest themselves in the life of a believer. As powerful as sin might be, God's saving power is greater still. If sin gives us reason to grieve, our faith gives us reason to rejoice. God has given us each other as instruments of his saving grace and transforming love. Let's be the church God calls us to be.
Filed under: Articles
November 7th, 2006 at 0854
I understand what Luther said, yet from our Weslyan theology we sing, "breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean, He blood availed for me." We used to preach the we "are more than conqueress," but now we preach, Christians are just like everybody else.
November 7th, 2006 at 1445
It is something of a riddle. We as Christians have found a way to be more than conquerors and still struggle with sin.
Remember what Paul says in Romans that sin still lives in us.
We have had sin and death conquered on our behalf, but still give in to temptation.
November 8th, 2006 at 0746
If you study Wesley, he says that sin no longer reigns in us. If you read all of Romans, you will read that the Christian is not controlled by sin. When did Methodists quit preaching holiness?
November 8th, 2006 at 1849
I never said "controlled by sin". Nor did Mitch. Simply that it still lives in us.
To claim otherwise would be to deceive ourselves.
November 8th, 2006 at 1931
Darrell - I'm not sure quite what you mean by some of your comments, but I did find them thought provoking.
First, I cannot and do not speak for all Methodists (see disclaimer in the sidebar). I may be atypical of the species. All of my posts reflect only my own thoughts at the moment. They don't even reflect the full range of my own thinking or preaching on various subjects.
I don’t believe that the most important aspects of Wesley’s teaching are incompatible with the most important parts of Luther’s. In some areas, I think Luther is the more profound thinker and interpreter of scripture, but both Luther and Wesley have made important contributions to Christian life and teaching.
You may have noticed that I begin my 2d paragraph, "When a person belongs to Christ, real changes take place in that person’s life, reshaping them from within." That often happens in the process I mention in item 3: build accountability into your Christian walk. Christian conference and use of the means of grace are channels through which God works this transformation. I believe this is a widely held Wesleyan position.
In John Wesley’s standard sermon on Christian Perfection , he does affirm that Christians are (or can be) free from “evil thoughts” and “evil tempers” while denying that Christians can be free from errors of fact or judgment, physical infirmities or temptations. I do not fully agree with Mr. Wesley reasoning or conclusions at this point, but this issue is more involved than I can possibly discuss here. See also A plain account of Christian Perfection. I’ll let Mr. Wesley speak for himself.
In the end, neither Wesley nor Luther offer the last word in theological arguments (lest we be bound by Wesley’s view on earthquakes or medicine). As you rightly note, scripture is the standard. Again, however, I do not have space here to outline my understanding of justification and sanctification in Romans, the Pauline letters or the larger New Testament.
I hope nothing in my post implies, “Sin is ever present, so let’s just not worry about it.” While Christians should be content with God’s grace alone, believers who have glimpsed God’s perfect love in Christ will eagerly long for their own transformation into his likeness. Christians are fully satisfied in the cross alone; Christians are never satisfied until the new creation begun in Jesus transforms their lives. I believe both statements to be true. The poor in spirit who know themselves to be blessed despite themselves also hunger and thirst for righteousness. Thanks be to God that we so often get a foretaste of that transforming power even in this present evil age.
Still, no person ever masters sin; only Christ does. Whatever righteousness I have is an alien righteousness; it belongs to God, and not to me. Whatever positive transformation takes place in my life is a gift of God; it is not a human achievement or a personal possession. Whatever victory I have over sin and brokenness, it is the work of God.
Pursuing my own holiness often produces results opposite of the one I seek because I wind up focusing on me - the state of my own soul and the purity of my intentions. It easily leads me to self deception about both. Christians who severely overestimate the extent of their earthly sanctification not only set themselves up for a fall, they wreak havoc on the church and the world. It’s easier to find pretensions of holiness than actual holiness. On the other hand, some of the most saintly Christians I’ve met are those who are most aware of the corruption of human nature and are thus deeply, humbly conscious of their dependence upon God’s righteousness alone.
So, I don’t think my post denies the essentials of the Wesleyan emphasis on sanctification, although I do differ with Mr. Wesley in some details. Rather, I hope it drives believers to depend even more fully on the source of all righteousness and holiness, Jesus, crucified and risen.
And Drew - I think the verse you are looking for is 1 John 1:8: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. That "we have" BTW is a present active indicative indicating a continuous state of possession.
Blessings to you both ...
November 9th, 2006 at 0802
If we must proof-text try 1 John 5:18. or 3:6, 3:9. But proor-texting is poor business. You make my point very well. Modern Methodist Elders are closelr to Luther and Calvin than Wesley. Since the mid 19th century, it has been so. And since the mid-19th century, methodism (the UMC version) has lost is power. If one is to follow Luther, why not be a Lutheran? What does the UMC have? I hope I am not being ungraicious. But I was raised in a church where the elderly saints could remember the days when Methodist preaching had the power to change lives. I really do enjoy reading your posts. I can remember when in the Marines, we had a Southern Baptist chaplain. When he wore his robe, we got a be-a-good boy sermon. When he preached without his robe, we got the gospel.