Sin Boldly?!?!?!

Last night we gave you an interesting challenge: to sin boldly. Ripped from it's context saying such a thing can be outright heresy. But if you really grasp what it means to sin boldly in it's context then the gospel will be magnified in your life. If you view the uncut sermon, What if I stumble?, then you will not find the illustration of the father who spanked his child (ex. our bearing the Father's indignation) and then moments later hugged the crying child (ex. our Father's picking us up in our chastisement). I also would like to point your attention to two John Piper sermon's based on Micah 7:7-9: When I Fall, I Will Rise and Piper's controversial Passion07 message on Dealing with the Guilt of Sexual Failure for the Glory of Christ and His Global Cause.

But just in case you don't feel like reading all of that...you can catch a glimpse of what we mean by sin boldly by reading Luther's quote:

“If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly,  but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here [in this world]  we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness,  but, as Peter says,  we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It is enough that by the riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.  No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner.”[1]

Hopefully we will have a new Who Am Eye sometime either tonight or tomorrow, a new poll, and a new devotion on Jude. Also, do not forget to memorize the verse of the week!

[1] Did Luther really say, Be a sinner and sin boldly? Cited from an Article written by James Swan.