When we lived north of Boston for 6 years we constantly heard people use the word "wicked" and often times it was followed with "good" ... the Boston Red Sox are "wicked good," that Lobstah is "wicked good," Dunkin Donuts coffee is "wicked good," etc, etc. You get the picture. For whatever reason the adjective "wicked" was used in a good way and not in the usual way that we think of like, for example, "the Wicked Witch of the West" from The Wizard of Oz.
But for my post today I'm talking about wicked in the sense that we normally think of... bad, evil, sinful, wicked. And as much as some people want to avoid this topic, the Doctrine of Sin is real and we see in scripture that we are wicked people.
This came to mind today as I was doing our Daily Walk Bible reading in Romans, specifically in chapters 6-11. We know that because we have been united with Christ in his death on the cross "we are no longer slaves to sin" (Rom. 6:6). Yet the reality for me, and most normal Christians, is that we continue to fight sin in our lives. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in a recent sermon that I heard on Ref Net, compared our fight with sin with the battles that were happening in Canada between France and England in the 17th century. He talked about how the war was eventually declared over but small skirmishes were still happening because they hadn't yet heard the news that the war was over.
Isn't this true in our lives? Christ has won the war over sin yet we haven't fully grasped this news and so the battle wages on in our hearts, lives and world. As a matter of fact, Paul goes on to describe this battle in Romans 7:15 and following. He says, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." He goes on to say in vs. 18 and following, "I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway" (NLT).
How true this is for me!! For example, I'm wicked when it comes to having conversations to myself about a person that has angered me, offended me, etc. I think up all kinds of things I would like to say to them but never do (thankfully). Ultimately, "I want to do what is right" (which is not be angry and love my neighbor) but the reality is "I do what I hate" (thinking up heinous, one-liner comments that would thrash that person into a million pieces).
Paul says, "but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am!" (Romans. 7:23-24) Thankfully, we know the war has been one because Jesus Christ dealt a death blow to sin on the cross! Thus, we can say with Paul, "who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 7:25, NLT).
But the reality is we still live in a broken, fallen and wicked world and so we still need to fight the sin in our world and the sin in our hearts and with that in mind I recommend this little 6 minute clip from John Piper about making war on our sin.
In the end, we celebrate Christ's victory and we remember that "there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1, NLT).
Ephesians 2:1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
