What if most of the Christian church is worshiping the wrong Jesus? What if the Jesus that many Christians worship and many non-Christians have rejected isn’t even the real deal? What if the Jesus Christ of the Bible has been obscured by a different Jesus, a “Jesus” that has been created by people, a Jesus that works miracles, has good advice on life (even God’s advice) and is generally helpful but is not the God-man, the King of Kings, seated at the right hand of God on High? How would we know?
2 Corinthians 3:18 says that as we see the Lord, we are transformed. Our transformation is the result of us seeing Jesus for who he is. It follows that a lack of transformation indicates a lack of seeing Jesus for who he is. I sin because I don’t see Jesus for who he really is. I have selfish ambition because I want to be fulfilled, not realizing that if I am connected to Jesus, through his death in my place, for my sins, and that if Jesus is the king of all things, I need no additional fulfillment to make me happy. Jesus already makes me complete. But if I see Jesus as just a self-help guru, a religious teacher or a miracle worker, then I’m stuck exploiting the people around me in my ambitious orgy.
Sin, then, exists because I don’t see Jesus for who he is. Sin also, then, can be used as a diagnostic test.[1] If I am “addicted” to sin, I have not seen Jesus for who he is. I may think that I have. I may be able to recite the Nicene Creed, but functionally I am heretical. My inability to free myself from sin proves (or at least strongly suggests) that the Jesus I have “believed” in is some anemic, partial, less-than-fully-God Jesus.[2] The more systemic my sin, the more I exhibit an inability to walk away from it, the more it indicates how different my Jesus is from the Real Jesus.
Selfish ambition, though, is subtle. Who knows if my quest for academic excellence, my hard work, my careful parenting or my Christian ministry are acts of worship or are really just covert sacrifices on the alter to Me? Do I even know? Selfish ambition then does not work well as a diagnostic test. We need a highly addictive, ubiquitously desired sin that is secretive and available, but obviously evil. Such a sin would function to allow people to test the reality of his or her “Jesus.” If we put “our Jesus” in a cage match against an undiscoverable, highly addictive, clearly evil substitute we test the authenticity of “our Jesus.”[3] Such a beast would be a gift[4] from God, as it could function to diagnose inadequate views of Jesus.
Enter pornography and masturbation. Pornography is everywhere in our society. You carry it in your pocket on your iPhone. Soft-core porn is a part of virtually every TV show and movie. Virtually all 20-30 year old guys like sex, a lot. And it’s secretive. Many men indulge for decades without being caught. It’s also clearly evil. Very few try and defend the “goodness” of pornography in light of Jesus’ words about lust in Matthew 5:27-30. Masturbation has the added bonus of being obvious. There is no confusion on whether or not masturbation has occurred.
I think God has allowed masturbation and pornography to exist to clearly exhibit how deficient our view of Jesus is in the contemporary Evangelical world. The typical Evangelical solutions of Internet filters and accountability partners further prove how pathetic “our Jesus” is. When we see “our Jesus” losing in the cage match of our wills, we seek to weaken the opponent (by embarrassing ourselves into sinlessness) never wondering why “Jesus” isn’t strong enough to win his own battles.
I would suggest, guys, that your addiction to pornography and masturbation signify that the “Jesus” that you believe in isn’t the Authentic Jesus of the Bible. Your inability to stop sinning is a not because you need an internet filter, an accountability partner, more sleep, more time in prayer or more verses memorized. It just means that you have not seen Him. It means you don’t want Him. It means you need a miracle of revelation. Ask Him.
[1] This is an implication of the argument in Colossians. Paul’s solution to the Colossian problem was for them to set their hearts on things above, where Christ is (Colossians 3:1-4). This would allow them to put to death their sinful practices (Colossians 3:5-17). If sinful practices remain, then our hearts are not set on Jesus. Similarly, the argument in Galatians 3-4, especially 3:22 reveals the law (such as "Do not lust") to be a tutor that shows us Jesus.
[2] And certainly this is always, in this life, true for all of us. The moment we realize that we are sinning, we should thank God, as he has just revealed that our view of Jesus is in some way deficient.
[3] We always worship that which is seen by our soul as that which is most desirable. If, in the cage match of our will, “Jesus” loses, and we give into sin, then he wasn’t the God-man of the Bible.
[4] I am aware of the biblical reasons for not connecting God with sin. Those being noted, we respect our parents for allowing us to experience the natural consequences of our folly, a wise parenting technique. God also, frequently loves us by giving us the gift of experiencing the natural consequences of our sin. Just as such parenting techniques do not implicate my parents in my folly, so God can give us over to our sin to teach us the poverty of our theology.
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