Jesus is Lord, and He is Lord forever, world without end, and amen. He is Lord of Heaven and earth–not Lord of tiny compartments in our hearts. His grace must extend to those compartments, and our awareness of His lordship over all things must begin there. We must be converted to God.
The works of the flesh, Paul tells us, are manifest. They may not be manifest to the world (yet), but they are nevertheless plain. However much we might want to explain secret hypocrisies away, they remain what they are — manifest and plain.
It may be a porn habit — as many young people settle into a pattern that sets off the law of diminishing returns, guaranteeing that their sexual lives for decades to come will be a shambles and not a blessing. It may be a bitter and catty spirit among girls that bites, and tears, and gossips, and devours. Bitterness must either be forgiven, or it must vent, and that venting may be a nasty and petty note left for someone else to find and wonder about. It may be a pattern of borrowings and dishonest failures to return — whether of a book or a business loan.
Â
When you grow up, there is no way to avoid being you. When you are a grown man, and you grow to an old man, there is no way to avoid being an old version of you. When we are allowing sin to mature and grow, when we are allowing sin to come to maturation, that sin is going to be embodied as you. The grace of God in Christ, constantly, always, invites you away from that disaster, and there is a remade you in Christ. But if you turn to Him there, you are no longer in control of it. He is Lord, remember.
This explains the heart of judgment, by the way. Heaven and Hell are just two different ways for people to become themselves. One is glorious and the other is appalling, but people always grow up into what they are in the process of becoming. Every proposed sin, every suggested temptation, is an invitation to grow into Gollum. Every grace, every blessing, received with gratitude, is an invitation to grow up into the Lord Jesus — and to be fully conformed to His image.
And that is what this worship service is — a most gracious invitation. You are invited to die, and the glory is that this is extended to you so that you might live.