We began this short series on judgment and repentance as a way for us to take stock of where we're at, to consider how it is that we got here, and to put the brakes on full-stop. The time for pumping the brakes is past. In this article, we'll consider how to begin turning the corner. What do we need to stop doing in order to stop the insanity our society has embraced? If you're new to this series and would like to read the previous articles then you can find them at our website (elkcommunitychurch.org) under the blog heading.
With any sin there should always be an effort to recognize the most offended party and God is always the most offended party. That is why our confession and repentance needs to be directed vertically before being addressed horizontally. Take, for instance, David's example. We all know the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Yet, David says this in confession to God, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:4). Really? You and you only? What about the people of Israel? What about Bathsheba? What about Uriah? It's hard to imagine someone he didn't sin against! What this shows us though is that David understood his sin to be fundamentally against God, that he was under the judgment of God for his sin, and that God was the one from whom he needed mercy, cleansing, forgiveness, and renewal. If we forsake the vertical dimension of confession and repentance, then we forsake what we truly need.
So, where should we begin? We should begin with worship. God must be at the center of our lives and we must strive to see him honored in everything. Worship is defined as "the due response of rational creatures to the self-revelation of their Creator. It is an honoring and glorifying of God by gratefully offering back to him all the good gifts, and all the knowledge of his greatness and graciousness, that he has given" (J.I. Packer). This is what makes the passage we looked at last week so fundamental (Romans 1:18-32). Mankind has rejected their Creator and "did not honor him as God or give thanks to him" (v. 21). That is the opposite of worship. But, we can't help but worship, so we worship the creation instead of the Creator. It didn't take the Israelites very long to find something to worship while Moses was on the mountain (Exodus 32). The question is not whether we will worship, but what we will worship.
This tells us that when we look out and see things gone awry, we know that this is a matter of worship. The little gods that prance around, titillating us with meager pleasures, but ultimately leaving us empty, are all indicative of this truth. We are worshippers. We worship our feelings, our self-expression, our ideologies, our 'truth.' Our gods may not be fashioned out of gold or carved from wood, but they exist nonetheless and are exerting a powerful influence in our hearts, families, and culture. We know them when we see them because we are being made like them. The only proper response is to smash them under the truth of God and respond to his self-revelation in confession and repentance. Worship of the true God is the only thing that can stop the momentum.
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