Hi, this is Josh Montez, and welcome back to the Hymn We Proclaim podcast, where we bring Christ-centered truth for everyday life. In this new batch of episodes, we're digging into some of the most foundational and soul-stabilizing truths you'll ever hear. Whether you're feeling the weight of spiritual struggle, Longing for real assurance, or wondering how to grow in faith when life is full of tension and temptation. These messages are for you. We start by looking honestly at the struggle and consolation of the Christian life.
where Pastor John reminds us that yes, we do wrestle, but never wrestle alone. From there we explore confident expectation and hope rooted in the promises of Christ, not in our own strength. And stay tuned, we're going to move into a rich multi-part series rediscovering the five solas of the Reformation, these five gospel principles that still shape our lives today. Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. These aren't dusty doctrines, they're a roadmap to freedom, joy, and gospel assurance.
Whether you're new to these teachings or returning for a refresher, this series will encourage you to rest in what Christ has already accomplished and to live boldly in the light of His grace. Here's a message called The Struggle and Consolation of the Christian Life. Let's get started. The Christian life. Uh how do you characterize it?
There are different characterizations, but This Characterization stands out to me. Our goal. How many of you struggle? Quite a few, right? Struggle.
The Christian life is. It's hard. And it's a struggle. This is what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12. He says, For our strength.
Struggle. That's it right there, right? for our struggle. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. But against the rulers.
Against the powers, against the Force is a darkness. The spiritual forces of wickedness. And the heavenly places. That's kind of scary, isn't it, when you think about it. It it it should be scary to you.
Forces of darkness. spiritual forces of Wickedness. That we constantly have to struggle against. Galatians chapter 5, verse 17.
So we have this, we have this struggle. Out there. Right? In the world. constantly battling against it.
But listen to what the Apostle Paul says here in Galatians 5.17. He has There's this Internal struggle. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the spirit. And the Holy Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh. These are hostile towards each other, so that you cannot do what you want.
We fill this. Battle Constantly. These hires just bucking fighting against each other. War inside our spirits. And so because of this drug ol, The Christian life can't be very hard.
I it's It's it's very hard for me to To expose myself to people who think that they're sinless. When people talk about, well, I haven't sinned. I just experienced that this past week. When this person said that they were pretty much perfect that day, I was just dumbfounded. But just thinking to myself, Man, because when you start to think about that, you think this is what you think.
What's wrong with Me. Me. Right. Nothing. Because the Apostle Paul says that the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Guess what? Yes, it's peace. Yes, it's joy. Yes, it's comfort. We'll get to that part.
But the presence of the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Spirit, When he comes into our lives as Christians, Guess what he produces? Struggle. Hardship. And you're thinking, well that doesn't sound like good news, but it r it It really is. Why?
Because the Holy Spirit enters into our lives too. It was. To kill us. That's what he does with God's law. He takes it and he slays us.
Why? Because if there's not a death, there can't Being what? Resurrection. He comes to tell us to make us alive. He introduces this struggle.
And here's what happened, the struggle. We think. that because we have this intense non-stop struggle. That within the midst of the struggle, God is displeased with me. God is angry with me.
God is against me. God's not pleased with me. Look at how I struggle. Look at this. Look at my life.
Look at what I think. Look at what I say. Look at what I do. Look how I act. Look how I behave.
Look at the things that I entertain. He could not be pleased with me at this point. That's In the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 56, when we confess the Apostles' Creed, what do we confess? I believe in the forgiveness of sins. What is the answer that it gives?
It says this. It says, what does it mean to believe in the forgiveness of sins? That God, the Father, for Christ's sake, doesn't hold my sin against me. Aren't you grateful for that? But listen, it goes further.
Not that he just doesn't hold my sin against me. He says Nor my father. Sinful nature against which I have to struggle my whole life. When we are struggling with our sin. When we're acutely aware of our failures, of our coming short, What meant like the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7 that my obedience is so imperfect.
God, you have to do it. Remember, in the midst of that struggle, For Christ's sake, doesn't hold that struggle against you. But how Often. Are we tempted by disbelief to believe God is holding that struggle against me? Oh, look at her.
Oh look at him. Doing it again, struggling again, pitiful. No, that's not how we are to think of it. For Christ's sake, he doesn't hold my struggle against me, with which I have to struggle my whole life. But This is the fact.
that our lives are characterized by Struggle. What look? But And what do we have to have in the midst of that? Huggle. We have to have comfort.
We have to have consolation. We have to have assurance. When people Uh Austin. Right to me. Uh because of the broadcast or the the podcast from our church.
Typically what what they write to me about about is this. They don't have assurance. But they've come to the broadcast, they've heard the broadcast, they've heard the broadcast. And they go, wow, I've never had that. And then they talk about the podcast.
Here, listen to this. This is a Listen to this l letter that this A soccer mom wrote to me Fr from a podcast did about assurance. Things that uh Hello? I've been listening to the podcast. And I'm almost in tears.
I have lived under the teaching of Lordship salvation for almost 20 years. And I've never had assurance until now. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for this. Listen to this, I'm so written leaved. I'm also slightly scared, too, because this is the opposite.
of what I was taught. Everything you talked about was what I was taught. The topic of 1 John being a spiritual test, it in works, in repentance, as something that you have to do before you can be truly saved. I've never understood how grace without works can grant salvation. I thought I was just mat just not mature.
Emerald. to understand the relationship between the two. I was taught that if someone became a believer, we shouldn't watch their lives. to make sure that they were saved. to question one's salvation.
If they didn't live righteously. Enough. I always found judged by other Christians. Like last week when the person they hadn't sinned, you feel right, you feel like that. I always felt judged by other Christians and wondered what they thought of me.
Like as if they were thinking, is she real Christian? It's been awful to live with this mindset. But now I feel like a weight has been lifted. And I can finally rest in the assurance of Christ. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. I cannot wait to learn more of God's grace. In goodness. What a letter.
That was a great ladder. And I tell you, I hear those kinds of letters all the time. That letter is not uncommon. It's common. It's no different from what the medieval believers believed back.
prior to the Reformation. Back prior to the Reformation, why was it Reformation? Because the Reformers understood that the people in the medieval church had a wrong view of who Jesus was. Their view of Jesus was that he is this oppressive judge who sits on a throne and just crushes sinners. This was the picture that was in front of every church at the entrance when you walked into a medieval church.
This great, big, huge picture at the front entrance of Jesus sitting on a throne. Damning sinners who are underneath him burning in the flames of hell. Welcome to church. And the English were farmers. Ashton Hall says wanted the people of the English people They wanted them to know that first and foremost Jesus Is that good?
Yeah. Shepherd. Who lures his lost sheep back to his fold by the power, he says, quote. of his self-sacrificing love. This is why Thomas Crantmer wrote the Four comfortable words in the Book of Common Prayer.
We hear them each week. Listen to this. Put yourself back in the 16th century. For a thousand years, it's been in Latin. You've never understood anything.
You come to church the next Saturday and say, in English, And you've always heard Jesus is your judge. Jesus is your judge. Jesus is your judge. Right. And here Thomas Cranner says, here what Comfortable words.
Our Savior Christ says to those who truly turn to Him. And you might be gone. What? Comfort. Yeah.
For sinners comfort. Here here. What are they? This first thing. Invitation, come to me.
What were people not doing? What do people do in their struggle? What is the last thing they're tempted to not do? Come to Jesus. How do we know this?
Go back to Peter. Peter, right? What does he say to Jesus? What is the one prayer that Peter prays to Jesus that you don't want Jesus to answer? Peter looks at Jesus and he says, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.
What is Jesus answering that prayer? Have you ever thought about that? Depart from me, for I am a sinful man. See, often you hear that taken as. He was in the presence of a holy God, Jesus, and he was so overwhelmed with his sin that he just could not be in the presence of God.
And so, with humility, depart from me. for I'm a sinful man. No. That is not what you pray if you're a sinner. You ever thought about that?
If you pray, Jesus, depart from me, for I'm a sinful man, I'm a sinful woman. Where is your hope? Where is your comfort? Where is your salvation going to come? Yeah.
As we heard this morning in readings, Two men went up to the temple to pray. One of them said, look at Look at my spiritual pedigree. And the other man, who just could not even look up to heaven, beat his breast and he just prayed, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. That's the prayer that you pray to Jesus. You think It is an insult.
to Christ. for sinners to say, depart from me. Why? Because he says, come to me. Come to me.
I'm not your judge. I'm your good shepherd. I'm your faithful king. I'm your savior. You can't clean up your life.
You can't overcome your struggle, but I can. Come to me. all labor and are heavy laden. And I'll give you rest. Sin is hard.
It's a burden, it's a labor, it's work, it's exhausting, it kills and destroys. Sin doesn't create, it just destroys and corrupts. And Jesus says, Come to me. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save.
Centers. not to make salvation possible. But to save. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins.
He has fully and forever on the cross exhausted God's wrath against you. There is no wrath, He has drunk the cup. And Jesus is your advocate before the Father. Comfort. Comfort.
Comfort. Comfort in the struggle. Richard Sibbs, great seventeenth century. Church of England pastor theologian. He says, when troubled in conscience, or our sins.
Satan's manner is to present Christ to the afflicted soul as the most severe judge. armed with strict justice. But let us present the hymn to our souls as offered to our view by God Himself. as holding out a scepter of mercy. What does the other Hebrews say?
He says You it Yeah. of need can come to a throne of Justice. No. He says, you in your time of need can come to a throne of. Grace.
to find Help. in your time of need. When is your time of need? When is my time of need? Every breath I take.
Every second of my existence. I need a throne of grace. To run to, to flee to, and when I flee to it, I don't find justice, a scepter of justice, I find a scepter of mercy. Robert Trin also wrote this great book on justification. He says, it is in That there can be true and strong love.
Fixed on that person from whom we do dread the greatest. Evil We can never come. Love God. It's so simple. And we, through Christ, come to understand how much God in Christ Yeah.
It's God's love, as Ashley says, it is his self. Sacrificing Mm, through the gift of his Son. That brings us to the next one. Comfort. In assurance.
as we struggle. You have to understand this. You're never going to get to a point in your Christian life where you stop struggling. Struggling. Never.
Not until the resurrection. And I can't wait for that. I'm looking forward to that. Listen, so This is why it's so important. Because the struggle never Ceases The gospel comfort that you need never, must never cease.
You see? Because that's what keeps it going. Go back to the soccer mom's letter. She said as she viewed this oppressive view of, had this oppressive view of Jesus as her judge. She says, listen, it's been awful living like this.
That is a pure confession of just agony right there. It has been. Awful living like this. But now I feel like a weight has been lifted off and I can finally rest in the assurance of Christ. What brought her to that assurance and what brought her to that rest?
Jesus is rest that he offers to sinners. Come to me all. who labor and heavy laden and I will give you Rest. We're passing to answer as. And nothing's not love.
Not that we love God. We haven't kept the great commandment. But that He loved us. And sin hits on to be the propitiation for our sins. Cross of Christ.
Is this objective historical eternal fact. that we can come back to and see. In the midst of our struggle, God the Father says, I love you. As I've said before, this author says Jesus Christ isn't the one king. who died for his subjects.
He rules not to exploit, but to bless. not to enslave But for free. Jesus is here today through his means of grace because he wants to. you. He wants to free me.
He wants you to be free. And oh, why do we have to have this comfort? Because our obedience in this life is imperfect. Listen, catechism, question 114. Can those who are converted to God keep these commandments perfectly?
And here's the answer, no.
Okay. It says, but even the holiest men, right? While in this life, this life. Uh just Mm. Small beginning.
Of disobedience, nevertheless. With And it's purpose. They do begin to live. Not just according to some, but to all. all God's commandments.
We're an audience on homians. We don't pick in we don't We don't pick and choose which commandments we like and don't like. We like them all. Our problem is not that we don't like them and that we don't want to obey them. Our problem is that we still are having a hard time doing it perfectly, just like Paul says.
And that's the grief that comes in the Christian life. And so a person might ask, well, if perfect obedience is not possible, why then does God have his commandments preached so strictly if we can't keep them perfectly? Question 1:15 is a great answer. It's a great question. Here are the answers.
Listen to these, it's so helpful. Why If I can't keep his commandments perfectly, even like Paul, Romans 7, who was justified, united to Christ, is being sanctified, filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is sanctified. I mean, why can't I do this perfectly? Why does he keep preaching the commandments so strictly to me? If I can do it perfectly.
Here's the first reason.
So that throughout our life we might learn more and more to know our sinful nature. And as we get this knowledge, this increasing knowledge of our sinful nature. Guess what it does? Therefore we seek more earnestly the forgiveness of sins. and righteousness.
In Christ. This is what David prays in Psalm 32:5. He says, I acknowledge my sin to you. My senten you. My iniquity, I did not hide.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to The Lord. And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Each week we come to corporate prayer. with uh we we come to corporate worship with a prayer of confession. We haven't these rhythms that teach us And this is what we pray.
Listen to what we pray, and what we're going to pray this in just a few minutes. We acknowledge and lament our many sins and wickedness. Which one? which we from time to time have most grievously committed. By thought, word, and deed, against your divine majesty.
Provoke most justly your righteous anger against us. We aren't afraid to repent. and are deeply sorry for these our transgressions. The burden of them is more than we can bear. Have mercy upon us.
You see, that is the prayer of a mature believer. That is the prayer of a believer who is hearing God's commandments, and they're coming to know more and more their sinful nature. But in turning to Christ more and more for the forgiveness of sins and for righteousness. Right. Standing before God.
Second, God's commandments will preach strictly so that we can be zealous for good works. God's commandments that Is it what what is his Rule one. The Christian life is a guide. As the psalmist says, as in 119 verse 105, your word is that what lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path. And so God's commandments guide us to do good works.
shows us how to Love God and love our neighbor. Third, God's commandments are preached strictly to us. Why? That we constantly pray. to God for the grace and the Holy Spirit.
We constantly He prayed to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit. And for the grace of the Holy Spirit to do this. Two more and more. Bring us into the image of God, the Christ-likeness. that we've been saved for.
And we cry out to the Holy Spirit, save me, conform me to Christ's image. Work in me that which is pleasing in your sight, leading me in the path of righteousness. Your name's Fake. Produce in me the fruit of the Spirit, love. Joy, peace.
Patience. kindness Goodness. Faithfulness, gentleness, Self-control. Produce your fruit in me. That's the kind of person I want to be.
I desire to be. Make me, Holy Spirit, into that. kind of person. You understand that of all of us. Ha ha ha.
Perfectly, we're not going to have it yet. It's coming. But if we all had it perfectly right now, we'd be the greatest people to be around. Do you know what the fruit of the Spirit is? Christ-likeness.
Because that's what he's like. He's the greatest person to be around. And one day, the Holy Spirit is going to make us like that, and He's going to make all of us the greatest people to be around. Aren't you looking forward to that perfect kind of fellowship? One day.
A person who is perfectly loving. Perfectly joyful, love, joy, peace. teeth. Patience. Kindness.
Well, that's the big one for me.
Sometimes I can just not be kind, and it just. gravest at me about that. Lord, make my heart Kind, gentle. We can be so harsh with each other sometimes, can't we? What a perfect person.
Why? Why do we have God's commandments preached to us so strictly? It teaches us to know. increasingly our sinful nature. It constantly directs us in the path of good works.
It drives us to prayerful dependence upon the grace of the Holy Spirit to. Perfect in us. The Likeness of Christ. And God's commandments drive us to seek. Earnestly.
The forgiveness of our sins and righteousness. In Christ. I just want to close briefly with this. Custom. Uh this testimony from uh Jerry and Jerry Bridges.
He writes this: He says, As believers, we must utterly keep in mind. That Christ has satisfied the justice of God. on our behalf. Never again should. we fear the justice of God.
Yet Many believers live under this sense of fear of God's justice. We know we sinned continually. And sometimes the painful awareness of our sin almost overwhelms us. At such times, we are still prone to view God as our judge, meting out absolute justice. We fail to grasp by faith the fact that Christ Jesus has fully satisfied God's justice.
For us. And then he says this: He says, What? One morning. In my private devotions, I wasn't reflecting on my sin. Which for s Reason That particular day seemed very painful to me.
In my discouragement, I blurted out: God, you would be perfectly just in sending me to hell. Immediately Oh my healing those words. Came this thought. No. You wouldn't.
Because Jesus satisfied your justice. For me. How easy it is. To forget. in the midst of our struggle.
that Jesus Has perfectly satisfied. God's justice. Against us forever. And that's what we have to say. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Christ. Forgive us. or disbelief. Uh forgetting. That Christ has made a perfect satisfaction.
He has perfectly satisfied justice against us. Because of that, there is a throne of grace. There. We can come too. In our time of need, Not a throne of judgment, not a throne of condemnation.
Not a throne of fear. But a threatening of grace. Give us faith. Holy Spirit. Grant us the the ability to hear the gospel, believe the gospel, enjoy this gospel.
And to shut. With our snit holes. And with others, we pray. In Jesus' name. John Fawnville sends his thanks for listening today.
And before we wrap up, can I tell you about an encouraging book you might want to get soon? It's called Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity. You're not alone if you've tried to conquer sexual temptations and tried all the methods available. only to find yourself feeling defeated again. This book may be just what you're looking for.
with his shepherding heart, John shows that the gospel, not practical steps or more self-discipline, is God's provision for the power to live a life of sexual purity. and it's available to every Christian. What I like is the book is available in three convenient ways. paperback, audiobook, or Kindle. The links are in our podcast descriptions or check out.
Just search for Hope and Holiness by John Fonville on Amazon. to get a copy for you and it's a wonderful book to go through with a small group. Him We Proclaim is a ministry of Paramount Church in Jacksonville, Florida. You can find us at paramountchurch.com. We'll talk again soon.
