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One day, Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, enraging the religious leaders of his day. Theologically conservative, they were deeply suspicious of Jesus’ innovative teachings. Faithful in their worship, they gathered every week to read the scriptures and worship God. Appalled by the moral laxity of those who did not share their religious views, they zealously called out sin. They were the righteous ones, the holy remnant, the people of God. Repentance was for the blind sinner, but not for them. In response to their opposition, Jesus proclaimed, “Because you say that you can see, your sin remains.”
Paul David Tripp’s new book, Journey to the Cross – A 40-Day Lenten Devotional, is a call to repentance. Tripp invites us to put aside our usual routine and focus our attention on Jesus and our ever-present need for God’s grace and mercy. Confronting our sinfulness leads us to contrition and mourning. That’s a good thing. Jesus taught us that those who mourn over their sin will be comforted. By implication, those who do not mourn over their sin receive no such blessing. As Tripp states in his introduction, “The cross confronts us with who we really are (sinners) and what we need (forgiving grace). Lent is about remembering the suffering and sacrifice of the Savior. Lent is about confessing our ongoing battle with sin. Lent is about crying out for the help we desperately need from the only one who is able to give it.”
At no point in my lifetime has the American church been in such desperate need of the observance of Lent, for the hindrance to revival is embedded deep within the heart of millions of Christians, not in the culture which surrounds us. We need to mourn. We need to reflect. We need to repent. Sadly, too many of us feel we have nothing to repent of. We should remember with caution the words of Jesus to those who believed their zealous worship, scriptural mastery, and conservative theology rendered them exempt from the need of repentance. “Because you say you see, your sin remains.”
-Darrel Holcombe, Owner
Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts
Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
www.sanctuarychristianbooksandgifts.com
205-663-2370
