November 26, 2018

Respectable Sins


"Now after John (the baptist) was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Mark 1:14-15

Sin is something we don't like to think about.

And often Christians refuse to even talk about it, worried they may offend. But it's something we all do and something we all can find forgiveness for.

Sin is basically rebellion against God and His character. For example when we hate, we are going against God who is - love, when we are impatient or prideful or selfish or unfaithful we are in conflict with God, who is patient, humble, selfless and faithful. In other words everything that is good is of God and anything that rebels against His goodness is sin.

And all sin grieves God.

This book deals with those sins we all commit but often sweep under the carpet and try to justify by saying, 'everyone does them.'

But the truth is they still need to be dealt with, within our own hearts.

Jerry Bridges says here:

"This book, as the title announces, is about sin - not the obvious sins of our culture but the subtle sins of believers, the target audience of this book. So let me say up front that I am not without the sins addressed in this book. In fact, you will find that I sometimes use my own sad experiences as examples of some of these sins.

The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society around us that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more 'refined' or subtle sins."

The good news is the gospel. God sent a way for our sins to be forgiven and forgotten. To be wiped away as far as the east is from the west through His son Jesus Christ.

He continues here:

"While seeking to address these 'respectable' sins, however, I also want this to be a book of hope. We are never to wallow hopelessly in our sins. Rather, we are to believe the gospel through which God has dealt with both the guilt of our sin and its dominion over us...

...Many Christians think of the gospel as only for unbelievers. Once we trust in Christ, so the thinking goes, we no longer need the gospel. But as I seek to bring out in this book, the gospel is a vital gift from God not only for our salvation but also to enable us to deal with the ongoing activity of sin in our lives. So we still need the gospel every day."

Here are the chapter headings:

 1. Ordinary Saints
 2. The Disappearance of Sin
 3. The Malignancy of Sin
 4. The Remedy for Sin
 5. The Power of the Holy Spirit
 6. Directions for Dealing with Sins
 7. Ungodliness
 8. Anxiety and Frustration 
 9. Discontentment 
10. Unthankfulness
11. Pride
12. Selfishness
13. Lack of Self-Control
14. Impatience and Irritability
15. Anger
16. The Weeds of Anger
17. Judgmentalism
18. Envy, Jealousy, and Related Sins
19. Sins of the Tongue
20. Worldliness
21. Where Do We Go from Here?

There were chapters in this book which were hard to read. I think everyone will find at least a few they don't like! But it's because they deal with the sins we struggle with the most.

Reading through this book made me appreciate the grace of God and how wonderful and amazing it really is. He truly is good!

This is the first book I've read by Jerry Bridges and I'm looking forward to reading more by him. His writing style was easy to get through and his humility was apparent throughout the book. I really appreciated that. Instead of pointing the finger, he included himself with us, as a sinner who needed the grace of God daily.

He understood the power of God and how He can change a heart through repentance, and he gave the glory to Him.

I'll leave you with this quote from Charles Spurgeon on repentance and grace. It's a reminder that we need God's grace on a daily basis...

“Repentance grows as faith grows. Do not make any mistake about it; repentance is not a thing of days and weeks, a temporary penance to be got over as fast as possible! No; it is the grace of a lifetime, like faith itself. God's little children repent, and so do the young men *(and women) and the fathers *(and mothers). Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith.” 



NOTE: *italics added by me.



22 comments:

  1. Funny how we classify sins as "respectable" and imagine that we are immune to the "other kind" of sins. It helps to realize that we are capable of anything--AND that God is capable of forgiving anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it's wonderful that we can come to Him and be forgiven! Thanks for stopping by Michele. : )

      Delete
  2. This sounds like a great book. It's so true that even though we say all sin is equal we can often act like some sins are more "respectable" than others! I heard someone talk about this book a while ago and thought then that I'd like to read it so your review is a helpful reminder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to be a reminder of a great book! Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by Lesley!

      Delete
  3. This looks like a convicting, but important read.

    Thanks for sharing about it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another part of sin that is hard for me to think about is sins of omission. Things that I should be doing and chose not to. So much to work on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes the sin of disobedience to our God is a tough one. We often don't want to do what He tells us, even though we know in our hearts He is always right! Thanks for stopping by and sharing Calleen. : )

      Delete
  5. I grew up in the church trying to please God. And when it came time to be baptized, I felt I didn't have much to repent of. How naïve I was. Respectable sins were being committed all the time by me. But this is the way of Christian growth. We realize we sin more than we once thought. Thank God for grace. This sounds like a convicting book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, growth is the key in our walk with God. Faith grows as we repent and trust each day. Thanks for sharing and stopping by Theresa!

      Delete
  6. This book really digs deep! It looks like a great read.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Isn't it funny how we try to rank sins just to make ourselves feel better? Sin is sin in God's eyes and his forgiveness is available for all sins. The title brought me here. I have too much books that I'm currently reading, but its good to know such a book exists.

    Your neighbor at a linkup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beautifully said. I know the feeling of so many books too little time! Maybe one day you can get to this one. Enjoy what you are reading now! Thanks for stopping by Nylse. : )

      Delete
  8. This sounds like a very interesting and edifying book. It is so easy for sin to creep into our lives, and for us to turn a blind eye as we look at others. Thank you for sharing, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Have a blessed weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've always wanted to read this book by Jerry Bridges but haven't gotten it yet so thanks for reminding me of it. I have read several others of his, and they have all been excellent!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to reading more of his books. Glad you think they are good. Thanks for stopping by Lisa!

      Delete
  10. Thank you for sharing your review of this thought provoking book on the #LMMLinkup this past week.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I always find Jerry Bridges' writing convicting. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com!
    Tina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, he reminds me a little of Spurgeon. They both wrote with a loving conviction. Thanks for stopping by Tina!

      Delete

Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )