Title: How Do You Kill Sin? Meta: Christians must not be passive in putting sin to death; they must be proactive. We must never take an attitude of defeat. The Bible calls us to long-term mortification of sin. And at the center of our mortification must be the gospel of Jesus Christ; otherwise it's just another form of moralism. Tags: Romans 8:13,John Owen,sin,death,mortify 1 00:00:00,549 --> 00:00:02,765 This is a great one. 2 00:00:02,765 --> 00:00:10,685 How do you kill sin specifically? 3 00:00:10,685 --> 00:00:12,878 Do you guys have "Mortification of Sin" 4 00:00:12,878 --> 00:00:14,415 here in the bookstore? 5 00:00:14,415 --> 00:00:15,735 OK. 6 00:00:15,735 --> 00:00:18,299 John Owen wrote an 86 page book called 7 00:00:18,299 --> 00:00:22,244 "On the Mortification of Sin in Believers" 8 00:00:22,244 --> 00:00:23,359 Read that. 9 00:00:23,359 --> 00:00:24,691 The language is difficult. 10 00:00:24,691 --> 00:00:26,527 There is a modernized version of that 11 00:00:26,527 --> 00:00:27,575 that's very good. 12 00:00:27,575 --> 00:00:29,355 All that book is is an exposition 13 00:00:29,355 --> 00:00:33,114 on Romans 8:12-13. 14 00:00:33,114 --> 00:00:35,454 If you don't want to wade through that, 15 00:00:35,454 --> 00:00:36,722 I would commend to you, 16 00:00:36,722 --> 00:00:39,728 John Piper preached on Romans 8:12-13. 17 00:00:39,728 --> 00:00:41,947 He did three sermons on how to kill sin. 18 00:00:41,947 --> 00:00:43,791 I've listened to those three sermons 19 00:00:43,791 --> 00:00:45,459 probably twenty times. 20 00:00:45,459 --> 00:00:47,307 Those are wonderful resources for you. 21 00:00:47,307 --> 00:00:48,748 But, in John Owen's book - 22 00:00:48,748 --> 00:00:51,215 and I believe this is what the Scripture teaches, 23 00:00:51,215 --> 00:00:55,669 there's an essence of strangling out sin. 24 00:00:55,669 --> 00:00:57,510 So we're never going to be sinless 25 00:00:57,510 --> 00:00:58,382 in this life, 26 00:00:58,382 --> 00:00:59,744 it's not going to happen. 27 00:00:59,744 --> 00:01:02,250 However, we can put them to death. 28 00:01:02,250 --> 00:01:04,019 And Tozer talked about how 29 00:01:04,019 --> 00:01:05,513 killing sin or doing this 30 00:01:05,513 --> 00:01:07,423 is like ripping teeth out of your jaw. 31 00:01:07,423 --> 00:01:09,267 It has to come out by blood and agony. 32 00:01:09,267 --> 00:01:10,634 That's how he described it. 33 00:01:10,634 --> 00:01:12,483 So this is going to be difficult work. 34 00:01:12,483 --> 00:01:13,684 But what you're doing is 35 00:01:13,684 --> 00:01:15,512 you're targeting, in a practical way, 36 00:01:15,512 --> 00:01:17,058 targeting things and behaviors 37 00:01:17,058 --> 00:01:18,234 and places you go, 38 00:01:18,234 --> 00:01:19,305 things you do, 39 00:01:19,305 --> 00:01:21,465 that you know lead you to sin. 40 00:01:21,465 --> 00:01:23,768 And if you're in the sin itself, 41 00:01:23,768 --> 00:01:25,975 it's very hard to get out of it in the moment, 42 00:01:25,975 --> 00:01:26,926 so you have to pray 43 00:01:26,926 --> 00:01:28,930 that God would not lead you to temptation. 44 00:01:28,930 --> 00:01:31,904 So in your areas of temptation, 45 00:01:31,904 --> 00:01:34,786 you want to be attacking those specific things. 46 00:01:34,786 --> 00:01:36,048 In Proverbs, we talk about 47 00:01:36,048 --> 00:01:37,415 how the young man would 48 00:01:37,415 --> 00:01:39,937 foolishly walk by the house of the woman 49 00:01:39,937 --> 00:01:41,307 who was enticing him. 50 00:01:41,307 --> 00:01:42,562 He could go the other way, 51 00:01:42,562 --> 00:01:44,009 but he foolishly goes the way 52 00:01:44,009 --> 00:01:45,433 that he's not supposed to go. 53 00:01:45,433 --> 00:01:47,030 There's nothing inherently sinful 54 00:01:47,030 --> 00:01:48,597 about walking down the street, 55 00:01:48,597 --> 00:01:50,471 but it's leading him to temptation. 56 00:01:50,471 --> 00:01:53,093 So, do personal heart work 57 00:01:53,093 --> 00:01:54,809 of examining the areas of your life 58 00:01:54,809 --> 00:01:56,150 that you know you stumble, 59 00:01:56,150 --> 00:01:57,759 that you know you sin, 60 00:01:57,759 --> 00:01:59,633 and address those specifically. 61 00:01:59,633 --> 00:02:00,580 Know what they are. 62 00:02:00,580 --> 00:02:01,593 The enemy knows what they are. 63 00:02:01,593 --> 00:02:03,033 You need to know what they are as well. 64 00:02:03,033 --> 00:02:04,274 And then, it's a process 65 00:02:04,274 --> 00:02:07,136 of strangling the life out of those things. 66 00:02:07,136 --> 00:02:09,695 And trying to oppress those desires 67 00:02:09,695 --> 00:02:11,167 and pray against them 68 00:02:11,167 --> 00:02:13,179 and radically change your life. 69 00:02:13,179 --> 00:02:15,112 If your problem is on the Internet, 70 00:02:15,112 --> 00:02:16,470 unplug your computer. 71 00:02:16,470 --> 00:02:17,470 Throw away your t.v. 72 00:02:17,470 --> 00:02:18,916 Do whatever you have to do. 73 00:02:18,916 --> 00:02:20,147 It's better to enter life 74 00:02:20,147 --> 00:02:21,720 without your hands and your feet 75 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:22,461 and your eyes, 76 00:02:22,461 --> 00:02:24,686 than to go to hell and burn. 77 00:02:24,686 --> 00:02:27,352 So, this is a radical thing. 78 00:02:27,352 --> 00:02:30,064 To kill sin is a radical thing. 79 00:02:30,064 --> 00:02:31,617 But every Christian must do it. 80 00:02:31,617 --> 00:02:34,711 So John Owen's work is fantastic. 81 00:02:34,711 --> 00:02:36,560 John Piper's sermons are fantastic. 82 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,447 But they start from Romans 8:12-13 83 00:02:38,447 --> 00:02:40,839 and work from there. 84 00:02:40,839 --> 00:02:43,060 It sounds like legalism 85 00:02:43,060 --> 00:02:45,467 to do what he just said, 86 00:02:45,467 --> 00:02:47,205 but that's exactly what Jesus meant 87 00:02:47,205 --> 00:02:49,355 when He said that if your eye offends you, 88 00:02:49,355 --> 00:02:50,375 pluck it out. 89 00:02:50,375 --> 00:02:52,586 Stop looking at the things you're looking at. 90 00:02:52,586 --> 00:02:54,855 If your hand offends you, cut it off. 91 00:02:54,855 --> 00:02:57,994 Stop doing the things you're doing 92 00:02:57,994 --> 00:02:59,740 if it's sinful. 93 00:02:59,740 --> 00:03:02,804 If your foot offends you, cut it off. 94 00:03:02,804 --> 00:03:06,551 One time, a young man came to Paul Washer. 95 00:03:06,551 --> 00:03:09,409 He said I just keep struggling with these things 96 00:03:09,409 --> 00:03:11,882 so much, and I'm defeated. 97 00:03:11,882 --> 00:03:15,311 And Paul said one thing to him: 98 00:03:15,311 --> 00:03:18,140 Stop it. 99 00:03:18,140 --> 00:03:21,887 Young man, stop it! 100 00:03:21,887 --> 00:03:24,764 That was the whole counsel. 101 00:03:24,764 --> 00:03:30,109 Well, Christians are passive in our mortification. 102 00:03:30,109 --> 00:03:31,888 And the Bible calls us to be 103 00:03:31,888 --> 00:03:35,626 radically, militantly proactive 104 00:03:35,626 --> 00:03:38,767 to kill it. 105 00:03:38,767 --> 00:03:42,050 I would amen everything they said 106 00:03:42,050 --> 00:03:44,458 and maybe add to that, 107 00:03:44,458 --> 00:03:49,394 that Christianity is not just putting off. 108 00:03:49,394 --> 00:03:52,048 Often, in our fight against sin, 109 00:03:52,048 --> 00:03:54,676 we are thinking of the "don't's." 110 00:03:54,676 --> 00:03:55,890 Can't do that. 111 00:03:55,890 --> 00:03:57,215 Don't do this. 112 00:03:57,215 --> 00:04:00,058 And we have to realize that Christianity 113 00:04:00,058 --> 00:04:03,675 is also a putting on. 114 00:04:03,675 --> 00:04:05,225 There's a book I read - 115 00:04:05,225 --> 00:04:06,868 our men studied it - 116 00:04:06,868 --> 00:04:09,238 it's called "Delivered..." 117 00:04:09,238 --> 00:04:11,156 it has the word "from" crossed out 118 00:04:11,156 --> 00:04:12,485 and says, "by." 119 00:04:12,485 --> 00:04:15,601 So it's "Delivered From Desire, By Desire." 120 00:04:15,601 --> 00:04:18,366 And it's specifically talking about 121 00:04:18,366 --> 00:04:21,777 the fight against lust and sexual temptation. 122 00:04:21,777 --> 00:04:23,787 But the truths in it 123 00:04:23,787 --> 00:04:26,274 apply to really any sin. 124 00:04:26,274 --> 00:04:28,634 And one of the keys that we have to understand, 125 00:04:28,634 --> 00:04:31,924 and most Christians really don't understand this. 126 00:04:31,924 --> 00:04:34,914 You have to understand who you really are. 127 00:04:34,914 --> 00:04:36,180 And you understand that 128 00:04:36,180 --> 00:04:38,389 by understanding what Christ accomplished. 129 00:04:38,389 --> 00:04:40,447 So many people live a life 130 00:04:40,447 --> 00:04:42,063 who are genuine Christians, 131 00:04:42,063 --> 00:04:44,636 but they still believe they're in some way 132 00:04:44,636 --> 00:04:46,092 enslaved to sin. 133 00:04:46,092 --> 00:04:47,469 And because of unbelief, 134 00:04:47,469 --> 00:04:49,219 they live in slavery. 135 00:04:49,219 --> 00:04:52,326 If I could read one verse on that. 136 00:04:52,326 --> 00:04:54,904 Romans 6 137 00:04:54,904 --> 00:04:57,963 Paul goes through many truths 138 00:04:57,963 --> 00:05:01,170 or indicatives about what Christ has accomplished 139 00:05:01,170 --> 00:05:04,142 and who we are in our union to Him. 140 00:05:04,142 --> 00:05:07,221 And I think the whole key to Romans 6 141 00:05:07,221 --> 00:05:14,229 is found here in verse 11. 142 00:05:14,229 --> 00:05:18,787 He says, "So you also (the new Christian) 143 00:05:18,787 --> 00:05:22,385 must consider or reckon yourselves 144 00:05:22,385 --> 00:05:27,618 dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." 145 00:05:27,618 --> 00:05:29,456 And many people that I talk with 146 00:05:29,456 --> 00:05:32,487 in the church or at conferences 147 00:05:32,487 --> 00:05:35,210 don't really understand that they are 148 00:05:35,210 --> 00:05:39,211 dead to sin and alive to Christ. 149 00:05:39,211 --> 00:05:41,217 And then he says you must reckon that, 150 00:05:41,217 --> 00:05:44,179 believe that, and then from there, 151 00:05:44,179 --> 00:05:46,733 he goes into not offering your members 152 00:05:46,733 --> 00:05:49,653 unto the sin, but unto righteousness. 153 00:05:49,653 --> 00:05:53,039 So there's a great theological understanding here 154 00:05:53,039 --> 00:05:55,496 that's accompanying this radical, 155 00:05:55,496 --> 00:05:56,978 militant fighting, 156 00:05:56,978 --> 00:05:58,666 that if you don't know who you are, 157 00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:00,346 then you'll walk in there thinking 158 00:06:00,346 --> 00:06:02,085 well, I'm just the same old person 159 00:06:02,085 --> 00:06:03,676 trying to overcome this sin. 160 00:06:03,676 --> 00:06:05,782 And you're defeated from the beginning 161 00:06:05,782 --> 00:06:07,154 because you're not. 162 00:06:07,154 --> 00:06:08,774 You're a new creation. 163 00:06:08,774 --> 00:06:11,090 You've been delivered from not only the penalty 164 00:06:11,090 --> 00:06:12,519 but the power of sin, 165 00:06:12,519 --> 00:06:14,425 and you must reckon yourselves 166 00:06:14,425 --> 00:06:16,003 as that new creation 167 00:06:16,003 --> 00:06:18,141 and then live in light of who you are now 168 00:06:18,141 --> 00:06:19,057 in Christ, 169 00:06:19,057 --> 00:06:21,949 by putting off and putting on. 170 00:06:21,949 --> 00:06:23,490 A couple of final quick thoughts on that. 171 00:06:23,490 --> 00:06:25,016 I remember Bob Jennings preached 172 00:06:25,016 --> 00:06:28,050 a sermon on this subject. 173 00:06:28,050 --> 00:06:33,046 And he illustrated by some of David's enemies, 174 00:06:33,046 --> 00:06:34,998 some of Israel's enemies, 175 00:06:34,998 --> 00:06:37,574 sending, I think, some warning. 176 00:06:37,574 --> 00:06:43,172 David was conquering enemies, 177 00:06:43,172 --> 00:06:47,289 and he was warned, 178 00:06:47,289 --> 00:06:50,265 you're not going to come here 179 00:06:50,265 --> 00:06:53,239 and take this area. 180 00:06:53,239 --> 00:06:56,245 And then Scripture says, 181 00:06:56,245 --> 00:07:00,372 nevertheless, David took the city. 182 00:07:00,372 --> 00:07:02,914 And Bob just pointed out how 183 00:07:02,914 --> 00:07:05,518 no matter how much our flesh, 184 00:07:05,518 --> 00:07:08,658 or the enemy or besetting sins 185 00:07:08,658 --> 00:07:10,861 say to our minds and hearts, 186 00:07:10,861 --> 00:07:12,734 I'm never going to conquer this. 187 00:07:12,734 --> 00:07:16,102 I've been battling this for years. 188 00:07:16,102 --> 00:07:18,483 I'm just going to be defeated by it. 189 00:07:18,483 --> 00:07:20,427 We can never take that attitude. 190 00:07:20,427 --> 00:07:22,803 Some areas may take a long time 191 00:07:22,803 --> 00:07:24,541 to kill sin. 192 00:07:24,541 --> 00:07:28,778 Others you conquer more quickly. 193 00:07:28,778 --> 00:07:32,596 But the Bible calls us to long term 194 00:07:32,596 --> 00:07:35,054 radical mortification of sin. 195 00:07:35,054 --> 00:07:36,711 To keep battling it, 196 00:07:36,711 --> 00:07:40,243 keep resisting. 197 00:07:40,243 --> 00:07:42,832 If we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, 198 00:07:42,832 --> 00:07:44,309 Jesus Christ the Righteous. 199 00:07:44,309 --> 00:07:45,899 We apply the Gospel. 200 00:07:45,899 --> 00:07:47,575 And then we go again. 201 00:07:47,575 --> 00:07:49,678 Two other resources: 202 00:07:49,678 --> 00:07:51,435 The book mentioned yesterday: 203 00:07:51,435 --> 00:07:54,117 "Holiness" by J.C. Ryle 204 00:07:54,117 --> 00:07:56,960 deals with this subject in measure 205 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:58,709 in a wonderful way. 206 00:07:58,709 --> 00:07:59,984 And then secondly, 207 00:07:59,984 --> 00:08:01,562 Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermons 208 00:08:01,562 --> 00:08:03,414 on Romans 6 209 00:08:03,414 --> 00:08:05,966 are very, very helpful 210 00:08:05,966 --> 00:08:09,677 in his series in Romans. 211 00:08:09,677 --> 00:08:11,724 Just one more thing if I could piggy back 212 00:08:11,724 --> 00:08:13,732 on all these guys. 213 00:08:13,732 --> 00:08:16,757 It's not one-size-fits-all. 214 00:08:16,757 --> 00:08:19,394 It's not one biblical method 215 00:08:19,394 --> 00:08:22,042 works for everyone across the board. 216 00:08:22,042 --> 00:08:24,930 But here I will encourage you. 217 00:08:24,930 --> 00:08:27,712 The ultimate killing weapon of sin 218 00:08:27,712 --> 00:08:29,569 is the Gospel. 219 00:08:29,569 --> 00:08:30,847 It's the Gospel 220 00:08:30,847 --> 00:08:32,515 You see, all these things 221 00:08:32,515 --> 00:08:37,467 of not making provision for the flesh, 222 00:08:37,467 --> 00:08:39,420 hiding God's Word in your heart 223 00:08:39,420 --> 00:08:41,923 that you might not sin against God. 224 00:08:41,923 --> 00:08:45,045 We could go down a long list of different things 225 00:08:45,045 --> 00:08:47,014 on how to conquer sin, 226 00:08:47,014 --> 00:08:48,310 but I'll tell you friend, 227 00:08:48,310 --> 00:08:50,752 if the Gospel is not at the center, 228 00:08:50,752 --> 00:08:52,405 all these things are reduced 229 00:08:52,405 --> 00:08:55,068 to another form of moralism. 230 00:08:55,068 --> 00:08:57,185 And it will not sustain. 231 00:08:57,185 --> 00:08:59,728 So, it's relishing in the Gospel. 232 00:08:59,728 --> 00:09:01,834 It's being acted upon by the Holy Spirit 233 00:09:01,834 --> 00:09:04,187 because you take the time to meditate on God. 234 00:09:04,187 --> 00:09:05,895 For example, 235 00:09:05,895 --> 00:09:08,606 you remember Mark 10? 236 00:09:08,606 --> 00:09:10,274 The disciples are caught up in 237 00:09:10,274 --> 00:09:13,442 a disposition of selfish ambition. 238 00:09:13,442 --> 00:09:15,561 And Christ says this is not the way 239 00:09:15,561 --> 00:09:17,962 that we are to operate in our Kingdom. 240 00:09:17,962 --> 00:09:19,581 We're not to emulate the example 241 00:09:19,581 --> 00:09:21,134 of the Gentiles. 242 00:09:21,134 --> 00:09:22,793 And then He says this: 243 00:09:22,793 --> 00:09:26,540 For, (transitioning now), the Son of Man 244 00:09:26,540 --> 00:09:28,920 came not to be ministered unto, 245 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:30,646 but to minister, 246 00:09:30,646 --> 00:09:32,139 (and here's the Gospel), 247 00:09:32,139 --> 00:09:35,019 to give His life a ransom for many." 248 00:09:35,019 --> 00:09:36,506 There's a strength, 249 00:09:36,506 --> 00:09:37,700 there's a power, 250 00:09:37,700 --> 00:09:39,501 there's a grace in the Gospel 251 00:09:39,501 --> 00:09:42,666 for affording us sustained mortification. 252 00:09:42,666 --> 00:09:44,678 And by the way, with that said, 253 00:09:44,678 --> 00:09:46,877 even heaven - focusing on heaven - 254 00:09:46,877 --> 00:09:48,199 according to Colossians 3, 255 00:09:48,199 --> 00:09:50,202 "setting your affection on things above, 256 00:09:50,202 --> 00:09:51,631 not on things of the earth." 257 00:09:51,631 --> 00:09:53,919 Notice what he says in verse 5. 258 00:09:53,919 --> 00:09:57,979 "Therefore, mortify your members upon the earth." 259 00:09:57,979 --> 00:10:01,092 So even contemplation of heaven 260 00:10:01,092 --> 00:10:02,285 gives us an incentive. 261 00:10:02,285 --> 00:10:04,120 But the ultimate killing weapon of God 262 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,655 against sin is the Gospel. 263 00:10:06,655 --> 00:10:10,923 From yesterday on meditation again, 264 00:10:10,923 --> 00:10:14,380 meditation is so key 265 00:10:14,380 --> 00:10:15,913 in the fight against sin 266 00:10:15,913 --> 00:10:17,432 and the killing of sin. 267 00:10:17,432 --> 00:10:19,019 To quote this book that I read, 268 00:10:19,019 --> 00:10:22,677 they mention in there that when you meditate 269 00:10:22,677 --> 00:10:24,781 consistently and daily, 270 00:10:24,781 --> 00:10:27,342 the truths of the Gospel 271 00:10:27,342 --> 00:10:29,665 and the treasuring of Jesus Christ 272 00:10:29,665 --> 00:10:32,194 is at the forefront of the mind. 273 00:10:32,194 --> 00:10:33,168 Not back here like, 274 00:10:33,168 --> 00:10:35,807 yeah I heard that one time long ago, 275 00:10:35,807 --> 00:10:38,020 but it's at the forefront of the mind, 276 00:10:38,020 --> 00:10:40,603 so that when temptation comes, 277 00:10:40,603 --> 00:10:43,242 you have the glories of Jesus Christ 278 00:10:43,242 --> 00:10:45,389 at the forefront of your mind. 279 00:10:45,389 --> 00:10:48,610 And it kind of gave the analogy of a battle scene. 280 00:10:48,610 --> 00:10:49,929 If you have all your troops 281 00:10:49,929 --> 00:10:51,439 and your tanks and your armor 282 00:10:51,439 --> 00:10:52,352 two miles back, 283 00:10:52,352 --> 00:10:54,385 but not at the forefront of the battle, 284 00:10:54,385 --> 00:10:55,629 you may be stronger 285 00:10:55,629 --> 00:10:56,788 because you have more, 286 00:10:56,788 --> 00:10:58,670 but you lose that battle 287 00:10:58,670 --> 00:11:00,634 because everything's at the back. 288 00:11:00,634 --> 00:11:02,223 And what meditation does, 289 00:11:02,223 --> 00:11:04,943 it brings it all to the forefront of the mind. 290 00:11:04,943 --> 00:11:10,745 You begin to see that sin is just a fleeting pleasure, 291 00:11:10,745 --> 00:11:13,636 and that Christ is greater. 292 00:11:13,636 --> 00:11:14,887 He's the greater Treasure, 293 00:11:14,887 --> 00:11:17,917 so it's not just "no" to this fleeting pleasure, 294 00:11:17,917 --> 00:11:22,500 it's a "yes" to the greater Treasure of Jesus Christ. 295 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:24,255 What Don said about the Gospel 296 00:11:24,255 --> 00:11:27,292 being the real key to killing sin, 297 00:11:27,292 --> 00:11:30,436 think about this: 298 00:11:30,436 --> 00:11:32,876 Whenever you sin, 299 00:11:32,876 --> 00:11:37,720 how do you feel? 300 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:39,951 Guilt? Disappointment? 301 00:11:39,951 --> 00:11:42,124 Condemnation? 302 00:11:42,124 --> 00:11:44,486 What other words would you add? 303 00:11:44,486 --> 00:11:47,525 Alright, then when you sin, 304 00:11:47,525 --> 00:11:50,358 what is your response? 305 00:11:50,358 --> 00:11:52,304 Where does your mind go? 306 00:11:52,304 --> 00:11:56,806 And what do you do? 307 00:11:56,806 --> 00:11:59,461 You beat yourself up. 308 00:11:59,461 --> 00:12:04,072 You draw away from Christ instead of near Him. 309 00:12:04,072 --> 00:12:06,991 I'm so unworthy, etc. 310 00:12:06,991 --> 00:12:09,957 In other words, you turn your eyes in on yourself. 311 00:12:09,957 --> 00:12:12,220 You're thinking about yourself. 312 00:12:12,220 --> 00:12:15,184 And then you're creating an opportunity 313 00:12:15,184 --> 00:12:17,581 for the enemy to have a heyday. 314 00:12:17,581 --> 00:12:21,342 He then comes in. 315 00:12:21,342 --> 00:12:25,239 We have a choice when we sin. 316 00:12:25,239 --> 00:12:29,245 One of two paths. 317 00:12:29,245 --> 00:12:34,872 When you sin, 318 00:12:34,872 --> 00:12:39,818 Christ paid for that sin 2,000 years ago. 319 00:12:39,818 --> 00:12:42,614 You run to the Gospel. 320 00:12:42,614 --> 00:12:44,347 You go to the Lord, 321 00:12:44,347 --> 00:12:45,515 and you tell Him, 322 00:12:45,515 --> 00:12:48,953 Father, I've sinned. 323 00:12:48,953 --> 00:12:53,250 Psalm 51 was written 324 00:12:53,250 --> 00:12:57,271 after David sinned 325 00:12:57,271 --> 00:12:59,183 from a repentant heart. 326 00:12:59,183 --> 00:13:01,987 And all through there it talks about joy 327 00:13:01,987 --> 00:13:05,258 and restoration and renewal. 328 00:13:05,258 --> 00:13:07,409 And so, we must learn, 329 00:13:07,409 --> 00:13:10,428 the way to apply the Gospel when you sin 330 00:13:10,428 --> 00:13:14,450 is don't look at yourself. 331 00:13:14,450 --> 00:13:18,694 The Father loves you the same as He did before. 332 00:13:18,694 --> 00:13:20,536 Look to the cross. 333 00:13:20,536 --> 00:13:22,331 Look to the Gospel. 334 00:13:22,331 --> 00:13:24,011 Make a bee line there. 335 00:13:24,011 --> 00:13:27,641 And say, Father, I have sinned. 336 00:13:27,641 --> 00:13:29,183 But I thank You that my Savior 337 00:13:29,183 --> 00:13:31,630 paid for this sin. 338 00:13:31,630 --> 00:13:32,882 And it's forgiven. 339 00:13:32,882 --> 00:13:35,236 And I'm coming to receive that forgiveness. 340 00:13:35,236 --> 00:13:37,365 Do we actually think 341 00:13:37,365 --> 00:13:39,697 that our wallowing in self-pity, 342 00:13:39,697 --> 00:13:41,386 self-condemnation, 343 00:13:41,386 --> 00:13:43,410 beating ourselves up, 344 00:13:43,410 --> 00:13:47,922 trying to work up somehow 345 00:13:47,922 --> 00:13:50,196 being better right then, 346 00:13:50,196 --> 00:13:52,355 so more seriousness, more tears, 347 00:13:52,355 --> 00:13:53,757 work up brokenness... 348 00:13:53,757 --> 00:13:56,825 do we think that's going to earn something before God? 349 00:13:56,825 --> 00:14:00,123 No. 350 00:14:00,123 --> 00:14:02,807 Apply the Gospel right when you sin. 351 00:14:02,807 --> 00:14:05,741 Look away from yourself. 352 00:14:05,741 --> 00:14:07,319 Say to yourself, 353 00:14:07,319 --> 00:14:09,878 Father, I'm so thankful, 354 00:14:09,878 --> 00:14:11,345 as Psalm 32 says, 355 00:14:11,345 --> 00:14:13,160 blessed is the one unto whom 356 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,217 the Lord does not impute iniquity. 357 00:14:16,217 --> 00:14:18,910 He doesn't put your sins to your account. 358 00:14:18,910 --> 00:14:21,594 They were put on Christ. 359 00:14:21,594 --> 00:14:24,267 So you appropriate the forgiveness 360 00:14:24,267 --> 00:14:26,001 that was paid for at the cross. 361 00:14:26,001 --> 00:14:28,818 That's how you apply the Gospel 362 00:14:28,818 --> 00:14:32,947 to killing sin.