The God Sin-Shaped Hole in Our Hearts

 Ephesians 2: ¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

In light of this verse, I have a question for Christians who tell sinners that they have a "God-shaped hole in their heart that only Jesus can fill". And only until they fill this hole by "accepting Jesus", they will never be satisfied.

Doesn't this verse say otherwise? Paul says that prior to conversion, we were actually satisfied because we filled that "hole in our heart' with what we truly loved and desired...sin. Before God changed our hearts, we were fine without Jesus...we had ourselves and all the desires of our flesh to please.

I'm just not sure if we're being completely honest when we tell unregenerate people that the Bible says we are sinful by nature and in love with our sin then turnaround and say that Jesus is the only one that can really satisfy us.

I'm just sayin'...

A Lasting Resolution

With another year coming to a close, many people are reflecting on 2010, whether it be the goals we reached throughout the year or those we quickly forgot after January 1st, 2010.

So as many Americans who celebrated Christmas completely miss the point of the incarnation of Christ and the power of His gospel, we rush towards this year's New Year's Eve party getting out our fancy suits and champagne glasses while we gobble up our black-eyed peas and cabbage and for one night, feel like change is in the air.

Unfortunately, the church can also miss the point of Christ's first coming and run to preach a "gospel of resolutions" that turns the gospel merely into a message that can bring positive changes in our lives.

Here's an example from an email that Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church sent out today.

"At the beginning of this year, God gave me Ephesians 3:20 as a promise for this new decade, and we have seen God do amazing things. I am expecting to see His supernatural power and provision exceed our expectations in these last few days of 2010, and I want to encourage you to be a part of what God is doing now and what He plans to do in 2011."

The fact of the matter is that God already  "exceeded or expectations" by sending the long-awaited Messiah to this earth over 2,000 years ago. The God-man, Jesus Christ, displayed the supernatural power of God by living a perfect and obedient life under the law, being completely without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). While we exceedingly break God's commandments, Christ obeyed it perfectly by living a righteous life in thought, word, and deed. He then willingly went to the cross and suffered under the wrath of God. We, as sinners, deserved this but the precious Christ, who didn't deserve it, satisfied the justice of God and took our sin and punishment completely (Isaiah 53; Romans 3:24-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18; 1 John 2:2). He then died and was buried then rose again from the grave proving that he was the son of God who sufficiently made the payment for our sins (Romans 1:4, 4:25).

This is the good news and in light of God's amazing love towards sinners, we must repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Proverbs 28:13; Luke 13:3; John 3:18). Upon putting our faith in Christ, God will justify us and forgive us of every single sin we have committed and will commit (Romans 3:28, 5:1; Galatians 3:11). We will receive the righteousness of Christ as our sins are nailed to the cross with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 2:13-15).

This is the message the church has been entrusted with and this is the message the church should be proclaiming to the ends of the earth (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)! So while the world will continue to preach and embrace a message that can only bring about an empty change, the gospel is the power of God that can give life to sinners dead in their trespasses and sins and bring salvation and forgiveness to all who come in repentance and faith! And it is only in Christ that the old has passed away and we are made new creations (2 Corinthians 5:16, 17). So this new year, if you are a Christian, make it your priority to preach the good news to a lost and dying world. And if you have yet to believe this good news, repent of your sins and trust in Christ and God will give you life!

Mark 10
²³And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,  "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" ²⁴And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again,  "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." ²⁶And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,"Then who can be saved?" ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said,  "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

Discover the Champion Wretch in You

As time passes, I look back at my life since I professed to be a Christian and feel convicted that I never held up what I was taught in "church" to the Bible. I simply believed what I heard because I liked what I heard. I thought the test of truth was how it made me feel and I really didn't think too much about the importance of pure doctrine (1 Timothy 6:2b-5). With that said, here are a few important doctrinal stances that have changed since my days at Lakewood Church to my present membership at Founder's Baptist Church.

On a side note, I served at Lakewood for about 2 years and by God’s grace, He saved me and consequently, I left the church.

So I’m writing from the perspective of an unregenerate sinner who faithfully served and sat under the teaching of Joel Osteen. Many of the promises of God that Joel preaches every week are detached from the Gospel. This is a dangerous error and it's subtlety is deceptive since Joel is good at taking profound gospel promises and reducing it down to a catchy cliche for anyone to claim...including the lost sinner.

• Joel told me to, “Discover the champion in you.”
• The Bible says there is no "champion" in me...all that is within me is evil and impure (Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:14-22).

• Joel said that God had a good plan for me and that plan was to live a life of pleasure and happiness.
• While God's purposes are for the good of His people, the Bible says that His plan is ultimately so that His own pleasure and will are fulfilled. (Philippians 2:13).

• Joel told me that all I need to do to be saved is stand up and say a 60-second prayer.
• The Bible says in order to see and enter the kingdom, I must be born again (John 3:3-5).

• Joel said I had a right to victory and prosperity in all areas of my life.
• The Bible says because of my sinful heart, I am worthy of death and hell...all the rights belong to God and not me (Isaiah 64:6; Mark 1:7; Luke 15:19; Luke 17:10, Romans 3:9-12, 6:23).

• Joel said that if I set my mind on the right things and started speaking positive words over my life, I will start to produce a change in my life.
• The Bible says I cannot change myself because I was a slave to sin and under the power of Satan (Romans 6:16, 8:8; Corinthians 4:4). I needed a new heart…not a new lifestyle. (Ezekiel 11:19).

• Joel told me that Jesus paid the price on the cross to free me from mistakes, bad habits, poverty, and a life of defeat.
• The Bible says Jesus paid the price to set me free from the power of sin and Satan (Romans 6:22, 8:2; Acts 26:18)!

• Joel (and Israel Houghton) sang “I am a friend of God” and told me that God calls me friend.
• The Bible says that I was an enemy of God because of my evil and wicked works (Ephesians 2:12, Colossians 1:21). Only through Christ am I reconciled.

• Joel told me that God wanted to prosper me in all areas of my finances.
• The Bible says that because I transgressed His law, I accumulated an infinite debt to God (Colossians 2:14).

• Joel says that God intended for me to live my best life now.
• The Bible says God intends for me to live my best life later…in heaven (Ephesians 1:3; Hebrews 11:16.

Lakewood members (I was one of them) claim that Joel is being loving and kind because he builds people up rather than tearing them down. But by refusing to tell me that I was a sinner in desperate need of a Savior, he caused me more harm than good. By highly exalting a view of man, he was lowering my view of Christ. I figured I had what it takes so why did I need a Savior? Sure, I responded to the altar call and said my prayer but I never saw the wickedness of my sin and, therefore, I never saw the need to submit myself to the cross of Christ. I professed to live for Him but in actuality, I was living for myself and living in sin.

You see, Joel’s entire premise that we all have a champion inside of us and it’s up to us to reach our full potential completely undermines the need of Christ. The more I sat and listened to Joel claim that I’m a “victor and not a victim”, the less I felt the need to pray, read my Bible, and cling to Christ to strengthen me. Why would I? All I needed to do was change my thoughts, speech, and habits and I was on the path to victory. But before Joel should have ever told me to “discover the champion in me” he should have told me to discover the wretch in me! And by doing so, I would have understood why Christ had to die.

Other's claim that he's called to preach a message of God's love but in reality, Joel is not preaching the love of God. It is a perversion of love that tells me that if I walk around with a smile on my face and do good to everyone, God will bless me. That's not good news! The Good News it that despite my sin and the wrong I've done, God demonstrated His love by sending Christ to die for me (Romans 5:8). And now, it is in Christ that we receive all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).

So, what do you do if you have a friend or family at Lakewood and you are questioning their salvation? Use the law of God to show them that they are not champions but failures according to the standards of God's righteousness. This is how God opened my eyes to the sinfulness of my sin (Romans 3:20, 7:13). My pride was puffed up because I thought I was good enough to go to heaven but the commandments destroyed any self-righteousness that was sown into my heart by Joel's positive gospel.

Only then can one truly understand the love of Christ and be ready to show them from Scripture that this is love-now that we have obeyed and loved God but that he has loved us by sending His Son to die for sinners (1 John 4:10). While their hearts may seem hardened to anything that opposes what Joel teaches, pray and trust that it is God who will open their eyes to their true condition and open their hearts to embrace Christ. For many years I was deceived and I heard many objections to Lakewood's teaching but, by Gods grace, it was when Ray Comfort sent me a copy of The Way of The Master did I really understand the way of salvation through Christ. Ray emphasized the law and it's terrors which generated a conflict within my heart. Joel was in one ear whispering I was more than a champion and God's law was in the other ear shouting that I was a wretched sinner. This is the dilemma that all members at Lakewood face. If they believe what the commandments of God say about the nature of human beings, then all of what Joel teaches is a lie...even more horrifying is the thought that they may not be saved.

But it was in that brokenness that God found me and saved me. When God opened my eyes to see what a great sinner I was, I then saw what a great and merciful God He is (Luke 7:47; Romans 5:20). Life was no longer about me and all the great things I was or did but about God and the great love He demonstrated towards sinners on the cross.

So no matter what church you attend or if you don't attend church at all, please examine yourself in the light of God's commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). The law exposes us for who we really are, sinners and not champions...and it's sinners, not champions, that need a Savior (Mark 2:17).

Judas the Preacher!

Here are some Grace Gems from William Secker's, "The Consistent Christian" concerning true and false conversions, written in 1660.

"If you know these things--you are blessed if you do them." John 13:17

To obey the truth, and not to know it--is impossible.
To know the truth, and not obey it--is unprofitable.

For, "Not everyone who says unto me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven--but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Saving knowledge is not as the light of the moon--to sleep by; but as the light of the sun--to work by. It is not a loiterer in the market-place--but a laborer in the vineyard.

A man may be a great scholar--and yet be a great sinner. Judas the traitor--was Judas the preacher! The snake which has a pearl in its head--has poison in its body! The tree of knowledge has often been planted, and flourished--where the tree of life never grew! All abilities and gifts--without grace and holiness--are but like Uriah's letters, which were the death warrants of those who carried them!

Mere head knowledge will be as unhelpful to the soul, in the judgment day--as a painted fire is unhelpful to the frozen body, in a cold day. Theoretical knowledge may make the head giddy--but it will never make the heart holy. How many professors are there, who have light enough to know what should be done--but have not love enough to do what they know! Give me the Christian who perfectly sees the way he should go--and readily goes the way he sees!

That is barren ground--which brings forth no fruit. "To him who knows to do good, and does it not--to him it is sin." The sins of ignorance are most numerous--but the sins of knowledge are most dangerous! That sinner's darkness will be the greatest in hell--whose light was the clearest on earth!
There are many who set a crown of glory upon the head of Christ by a good profession, and yet put a crown of thorns upon his head by an evil conversation. By the words of our mouth--we may affect to adore religion; but it is by the works of our lives--that we adorn religion.

As trees without fruits are unprofitable--so knowledge without good works is abominable! Leah and Rachel are fit emblems of knowledge and obedience. Knowledge, like Rachel--is beautiful. But obedience, like Leah--is fruitful.