[AI translation] Two weeks ago today we talked about how the renewal of our church begins with the renewal of our individual lives. And the renewal of our own individual lives begins with coming to terms with the sin within us. We said the other day that true repentance is a sober willingness to come to terms with my sin, with everything that God's Word calls sin in my life. Not by purging the stains out of myself, because I can't do that. Nor by exalting the virtue, the good in myself, because that would be another hypocrisy. But by honestly telling Jesus everything and being ready to submit to His will. Here Christ enters into our lives with His renewing power and grace. This is where the renewal of a life begins.Surely we all understand and approve of this, but unfortunately we find that this coming to terms with sin does not come so easily. Actual deliverance from concrete sin is so very rare! For even in the born-again heart there is such an irresistible tendency to sin! Even the vanity of the world always tempts and attracts us again. The demonic world does not leave us in peace either, always attacking us with new temptations. And besides, we live in the flesh, and this flesh is such a breeding ground for all kinds of sin and passion, and can often make it so difficult to put into practice the way of life according to Christ!
A believer once asked me: is it really possible to be delivered not only from the curse of sin, but also from its power? Is it really true that Christ has redeemed me not only from the penalty of my sin through His blood, but also from my specific sin itself? Is it really possible for us to live victoriously? Not as the perfectionists teach, of course, that is, not a perfectly sinless state, but a state in which sin no longer dominates, binds, constrains, or overpowers us, a state in which I am no longer a slave to my sin. In other words: can I be a truly free man? As we sang before, How good it is to be free from sin... Is there such a state? This is the agonizing question of many well-meaning believers! It is for me too! If only we all had existential questions!
Let me try to illuminate this problem with the story of the Apostle Peter's release from prison. Of course, I know that it is not about deliverance from sin, but it is also about a bound child of God being delivered from his prison by the miraculous power of Jesus Christ. And so Peter's miraculous deliverance may be a symbol of the grace of deliverance from the bondage and captivity of sin. Peter was imprisoned by order of King Herod, where he was placed under heavy guard. His hands and feet were bound with chains. There two soldiers guarded the dungeon. Moreover, even the iron gates were locked tightly. He would not be released by human force unless some extraordinary miracle happened to him! In the meantime, however, the congregation is together, and they pray to God without ceasing. And when the congregation truly prays, the work of the heavenly powers is felt on earth. Oh, how many more miracles would happen on this earth if the church of Christ could persevere more faithfully and fervently in prayer! It is in a truly praying church that Jesus can do the saving work of Himself!
Nor has the miracle failed to happen this time: the heavens have opened, and when the heavens open, blessing always flows from above! An angel of the Lord has come, and when the Lord sends an angel somewhere, He always wants to do a special work there. He nudges Peter's side, somewhere around his heart, and when a child of God gets a nudge like that to wake up, God always wants to do something great with him! So far the Lord has done something, now Peter has to do something. So it's not Peter doing something first and then the Lord, but the other way round: first the Lord, then Peter. So, he must get up, and he must get up quickly, urgently. Now his further deliverance depends on it. So he himself must also want! He must show with a gesture that he wants to be set free! It's not a question of breaking the chains and opening the prison door - he just has to get up and show that he wants to obey. So Peter's deliverance is not to sit passively and wait for the angel to take him in his arms and lift him out of prison, but he himself must rise from his bed and willingly obey. If he does this, God will take care of the rest. It is not for him to break them, for he would not be able to do it, but it is what he cannot do that the Lord does! The prison doors will open of their own accord, and Peter will not have to break them. And the guards are all so fast asleep that they do not notice the escape. Peter did not do this either, for he could not have done it. And now he could go to the brethren who had pleaded for him, and tell them all about it, tell them of the miracle of deliverance, as further proof of the power of prayer and the Lord's saving grace! Thus was Peter the prisoner set free!
From being bound by the chains of sin, this is how deliverance is somehow effected! Children of God are often in a so-called state of bondage. It is also common for someone to have already accepted forgiveness of sins, but still not free, still in bondage to old sins. We often feel as if we are in chains, not wanting to go where Christ sends us, not free to walk! We do not walk in this world as sons of light, but stumble along the path of darkness and sin. Instead of selfless, sacrificial service to Christ, we still often feel like we have chains on our hands: unwilling to move to bless, to caress, to help, to pass on the love we have received from Christ; not free to act, not doing what we should, what we want! It is as if we were tied up. Oh, who does not know this misery?
Surely there are some among us who are crippled with very thick, rough chains, helpless to do good. Their lives are shackled by such gross, obvious sins that even a hypocritical society would stigmatise them. They are slaves to drink, to the impulses of their bodies, to the passion of their hot blood, or to some unforgiving hatred. Everybody knows about them, they themselves know about the hateful bondage they live in, but they can't break free! Then there are chains which are less ugly, and sometimes even attractive, but which still bind them, keep them in bondage. Such as greed, which is particularly glaring in the life of a child of God, but to cover up its ugliness we call it thrift, and even boast of it. Or cowardice, which is one of the most common bondages of Christian man, but to avoid having to admit how cowardly I am, we reassure ourselves that I am careful and cautious. But this great, wise caution actually binds me and renders me helpless, makes my faith grey in the world. And there are even more beautiful chains that bind me. Because of your promiscuous nature, your impulsiveness, your family suffers from you, and you think you are fighting for justice with the people.
You are so addicted to your work, your office, your household, that you have no time to bring your soul quietly before the Lord, and you think you are sacrificing yourself for your family. And the biggest problem is that these chains are so beautiful that you don't even realize they are chains, that your life is in sinful bondage! And outside the chains there are guards, guarding the bound prisoner inside and out, just like Peter in prison. As long as the prisoner is silent, the guards do nothing, they are silent as a fish, but as soon as the man tries to break free from his bonds, they come out! The guard inside is none other than my own heart. "Don't bother to get free, you'll never get free, you're too weak-minded for that! Keep on dragging your chains with you, till death sets you free. Be still, and be content to be as you are. There is no escape! The other guard, who watches over you from the outside, is a bad example of other Christian men. It will also dissuade you if you want to get away from some particular sin, he says: Don't do it! - look, others are no different, believers are only human, not angels, you won't succeed either! And these guards, inside and out, are so good at what they do that the poor prisoner believes them that there is no escape, so much so that he does not even try.
It is also a great pity that the prisoner, thus bound by the chains of sin, even sleeps! So we do not even feel that we are tied! We don't really long to be free. We have resigned ourselves, we have resigned ourselves to being bound! We continue to sleep peacefully in chains.
But Brothers and Sisters, while we sleep, the Church of Christ is already begging! All over this country, many, many hundreds and thousands of people are praying to God unceasingly for the awakening of the Hungarian Reformed Church, for the miraculous deliverance of bound human souls, for the purified, free lives of God's children! For you they are praying, for us they are praying, and many, many prayers are besieging the heavens! And where such supplications go up to heaven, help comes down from heaven to earth! That's why I believe that the Spirit of the Lord is present here at this moment - his word is nudging us here, in our hearts, as if to ask us: do you want to be healed? Do you really want to be purified, to be freed from all your bondage? Do you want to be freed? It's like a shake-up: don't settle for the situation you're in, that helpless, stumbling, paralysed state, that half-Christianity or pretended Christianity! There is another way! Do you want to get rid of it? It's as if he were saying that that's all that's up to you: only whether you really want to? All you have to do is give a sign that you really want it. That you are willing to obey! You can only say - but with holy earnestness: yes, I want! He will take care of the rest. He will do the rest, so that you can do what you want!
And then the miracle happens! Deliverance! The chains just fall off, like the touch of a divine hand. It's not for us to shake off, it's for the Lord to do it, if we obey Him! We don't have to break them open - the Lord opens them! The guards will be ashamed. Behold, they explained that it could not be done, it was a waste of effort, and the Lord showed that it could be done! And the bound prisoner can now go free, to tell the brethren who pleaded for him that the power of the Lord has indeed set him free!
Yes, there is such a wonderful inner deliverance from all bondage! There is life triumphant over sin! There is the possibility that sin does not have dominion over us! It is not true that we must continue to live under the power of our sins! There is an explicit promise in the Bible, "Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36) Christ will indeed set you free! His death and resurrection not only broke the curse of sin, but also the power of sin - so let us no longer remain bound! No need! Let us come out from the bondage of sin to the freedom of the sons of God!
Do you want to be healed? Let Jesus' question nudge your heart. If you really want it, ask it now with me:
Unchain my sin by Your grace and faith;
Break the idols of my foolish heart.
Give me liberty and a pure heart,
Draw me, Jesus, to walk with you!
Canto 469 verse 2-3
Amen
Date: 24 February 1957.