From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part five (last) of a series. Read part four.

Some post-evangelical teachers deny that Christians need to confess their sins to God, or guard themselves against sin. God's Word tells us that this is a gross distortion of the truth.

Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
(Psalm 119:11)

As we conclude this series let us briefly review what we have seen about this wonderful verse thus far.

The word translated "I have hidden" is a form of the Hebrew tsaphan. In the form used in Psalm 119:11, tsaphan means not only to hide something, but also to treasure it. And there is even more. This Hebrew word tells Christians why we are to treasure Holy Scripture, how we are to do so, and that our treasuring of the Word must be a purposeful activity. As we continue our study we shall examine each of these vital points.

Why are we to treasure Scripture? The word tsaphan has to do with treasuring something because of its great value and preciousness.

How are we to treasure Scripture? We have seen two aspects of this. First, the word tsaphan also has to do with gathering the treasure of Scripture into a repository. That repository, as we have seen, is the mind of the believer. Secondly, we have seen that tsaphan also speaks of the imperative to carefully guard the treasure that has been gathered.

"Grace" Means Never Having to Worry About Sin?

We come, then, to the final aspect of the great truth we find in Psalm 119:11 - that our treasuring of the Word must be a purposeful activity. "Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

Some post-evangelical teachers are saying that Christians do not need to be concerned about sin. One such false teacher, Andrew Farley, tells his followers many lies of the Devil in his book, The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church.

He says that it is a falsehood that "Christians should ask God to forgive and cleanse them when they sin." On pages 149 and following, he claims that 1 John 1:9 is strictly a salvation verse, and does not apply to believers. On page 160 he claims that no Christian need ever pray, "forgive us our trespasses," because Jesus' model prayer is "an Old Covenant prayer taught to Jews before once-for-all forgiveness was accomplished."

Farley says that the teaching that "Christians struggle with sin because of their old self within" is likewise false. On page 104 he says, "The moment we enter into Christ at salvation, our old self is obliterated." He severely twists Paul's discussion of the conflict between the old and new natures within the believer, in Romans 6 and 7.

Farley also declares that it is wrong to teach that "when we sin against God, we're out of fellowship until we repent." As noted above, he denies that this is the intent of 1 John 1:9. He also ignores passages such as the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. On page 163 he states, "It's inaccurate to speak of the Holy Spirit as convicting believers."

Farley says that people who believe and teach these Biblical truths are "wallowing in a poor self-image" (page 106). Farley and his ilk say, in effect, that "grace" means never having to say you are sorry to God for your sins. This is a grossly distorted view of the saving grace of God in Christ. It is high-handed arrogance, not the bended knee of submission to the Word. Farley and a number of others are part of what some sound Bible teachers have labeled the "hyper-grace movement". I believe the term "presumption-of-grace movement" is far more accurate.

The Truth About Grace and Sin

God's true saving grace is indeed "hyper" - it abounds. As we read in Romans,

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

In the original Greek, the words "grace abounded much more" literally mean "grace hyper-abounded." That is the nature of God's saving grace because of the finished work of Christ. God's grace conquers sin. But the teachings of men like Farley presume upon that grace in order to open the door to continuing in sin. The Apostle Paul answered such arrogance decisively in the next chapter of Romans:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Romans 6:1-2)

Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23)

Like many heresies, much of the teaching of men like Farley teaching sounds plausible to the undiscerning. But at its core, The Naked Gospel is yet another denial of the fundamental Gospel doctrine of justification by faith alone, in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone - and a denial of our need for sanctification.

God's Great Purpose

"Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." That is God's great purpose for hiding His Word in our hearts. That is why we must treasure it above all, gather that treasure into the repository of the mind, and carefully guard it.

Once again, dear reader, let me ask the vital questions: What of you? What of your church? Are you treasuring God's Word because of its Divine nature and authority, its power to condemn those who reject it, its power to save those who believe it, and its power to thoroughly equip believers for life in this present world and prepare them for future glory? Does His implanted Word keep you from sin, convict you when you do sin, and direct you to the throne of grace? This is God's great purpose.

...Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John 1:5-2:2)

So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth. (John 17:17)

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