Reformed Understanding: Christ, Sin, and Compassionate Ministry

When we talk about being Reformed and always reforming, we are talking about always going back to the Word. Right? So, it is not new theology that we are developing. It's not new doctrine that we are developing as something that is distinct and separated from what the church has held to, but there are deeper understandings that happen as we're always reforming. [00:01:41]

The Reformed world has had to wrestle through that as we think about, "Okay, what does it look like when you are tempted in such a way and you are wrestling with that temptation? Is that temptation, that desire, is that itself sin?" And that's something the Reformed world has had to wrestle through over the last ten years. [00:02:38]

When we speak of the Son of God—and this is the great error of that Philippians 2 passage that people wander into called the "kenosis passage," that idea of Him emptying Himself. People say, well, He emptied Himself of His sovereignty or He emptied Himself of His omniscience. No, He didn't. Christ Jesus is the God-Man, truly God, truly man, one person. [00:06:01]

He lost nothing of His deity when He became man; still sovereign, still omniscient, lost nothing. The example I often use is when Jesus was out on the Sea of Galilee with the disciples and He falls asleep there in the stern of the boat and He rests His head on that pillow. And the disciples wake Him up. [00:06:21]

The phrase with the least history is that one, the "descended into hell." So, it's just interesting from a historical perspective, that phrase, but I am very interested to hear what you have to say on this. I've always appreciated Calvin's take on "He descended into hell" to stress not necessarily going to the 1 Peter 3 text or sometimes you go to the Ephesians text of "descended into the earth, even to the lower parts," but to stress the way that Jesus truly experienced death in its fullness. [00:09:56]

Sin, it's pleasurable, right? That's the temptation of it. There is not a sin that's offered to you and I that doesn't please in some way. It's just that it's a calculation that we are often making as Christians, that we're delaying gratification and that we understand that the immediate pleasure that sin offers is not worth the cost because it doesn't give glory to our Savior and we are seeking those things that are everlasting. [00:13:03]

The Christian sees is that that sin, the pleasure that it is offering is momentary. We're not beasts, and so we can seek the higher and the better and the lasting thing. Whereas, you know, if I put you a steak before my dog—I don't have a dog, but if I had a dog and I put a steak before the dog—and I told the dog, "Don't eat that steak, that rare steak, and I'll give you three," and then I say, "Make a choice," he is going for the steak because he is a beast. [00:14:33]

I think we do need to navigate between two poles here of not affirming, but also not, sort of being disgusted at or not wanting anything to do with. And so, to express it as not affirming but kind and compassionate, I very much appreciate how we are coming at this. I think we just have to remember in these things that we cannot affirm, we are not helping anyone by affirming them in their sin. [00:34:11]

When we think of same-sex issues or transgenderism, let's be very clear here, this is a violation of God's Word and it is a violation of natural law theory. So, we should be clear here, this is in the created order that gender is not a social construct and homosexuality is not God's design in the natural order. This is before we get out of Genesis 1 and 2, these issues. [00:34:55]

How do you minister to people damaged by...And I think if we see repentance and brought back into the church, then this is where we can show that kindness, show that compassion by certainly making these folks feel welcome in the churches. And I think of this—it's not entirely related—but I think of the woman, you know, with the issue of blood and she says, "If I can only touch the hem of His garment." [00:36:40]

We belong to the family of God. Like, we are all marred by sin, we are all scarred by sin; God in His grace has spared some of us from the physical marring of our sins, but we are all marred by sin and we are all part of this family. So, when Jesus says to that woman, "Daughter," and, you know, she was a leper, she was estranged from her family. [00:37:57]

The psalmist says this—David, when he is suffering as he often was—He says this in Psalm 56. He says, "You have kept count of my tossings and put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me." Your tears aren't lost on God. The tears of His children are never lost on Him. [00:39:03]