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Romans 6 - Sin and being made alive in Christ · Goodlife Church Formation Podcast

• Jack: Well, welcome back. Another episode of the Good Life ⁓ Formation Podcast. Rebecca Honnitt, welcome back. Where in the world have you been? Rebecca Connett: Hello, I've been everywhere in the world. So glad you asked that question. I had a Mediterranean cruise. Hey. Jack: You have act like literally, right? Yeah, literally. Were you the younger were you the you would have been you would have been one of the youngest people on that cruise. And that's not a compliment for you, that's more of an indictment on the folks on the type of cruise you were on. Dave Connett: What's your concept of cruises, Jack? Rebecca Connett: Yeah. Yeah. Got to see ⁓ It was Jack: Well, Med Mediterranean cruises, I feel like they advertise them on like getaway. It was it a getaway style cruise? Dave Connett: Yeah, that's where she found the special. Rebecca Connett: There's like it's like a floating city. So there's 3,000 guests, right? Plus for 1,500 staff. And so you've got all ages. There was there was super oldies and there were families with little kids. It was, it's the entire ⁓ no. We were in the Mediterranean Sea. It was a Greek island. Jack: ⁓ so it's not like those those little flat ones that cruise through the canals? Well I figure for for Dave Connett: The the it was it was down the Danube River. Was just it was a river cruise. With grandma and grandpa. Rebecca Connett: No, it was not. That wasn't a river cruise. Jack: A river cruise. Yeah, Devonshire tea, cucumber sandwiches. Very very befitting of a birthday of your decade and caliber. Rebecca Connett: None of that. None of that. Dave Connett: Ha ha. That's not enough th that kind of a cruise would not be enough shopping for the people that go on those kinds of cruises with Rebecca. Rebecca Connett: That's very rude to insane. ⁓ Jack: Right, okay. Well, ⁓ good to have you back. Anyway, Vex, ⁓ wonderful to have you back. Dave, where in the world are you today? Dave Connett: I am in my car at the good life car park. ⁓ I'm in Wickham. Where where where it I I am I'm at work. It's it does happen occasionally. Jack: Fascinating. You're in you're at work. You're at work. Good to hear. Good to hear. Hey, how's b ⁓ where where am I? I I escaped my cave today. I usually ⁓ get home from church on Sunday and don't leave till Thursday or Friday often. ⁓ but today I'm at a co working space in a podcast booth actually. So ⁓ purpose purpose made. Dave Connett: Where are you, Jack? Like what what like You're you're men of the people, Jack. Jack: It's gotta get out and about. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ w well if you're at the property, give us a quick property update, Dave. What's going on in the ⁓ in the backyard of Good Life? Dave Connett: Amen. Look, we got the ⁓ look, we do we are looking at how to actually remedy the the mud heat that's left. And so ⁓ we've we've got a family who's joined the church and then the husband runs a business doing that kind of stuff. So we actually have to wait till it dries out a little bit to be able to deal with it, then top dress it and et cetera. But I don't know if you're talking about the remediation of just the ⁓ the kids play area, but the underworkings. We have a email back that lets us know ⁓ at least an assessment. And so we've got an assessment. It was always going to need some form of remediation for us to build over two stories on this site, Jack. So we do have we asked for two different levels of height ⁓ for our possible development. And one of those levels ⁓ means we have a certain level of remediation, and then above that ⁓ is another level, and the second level is probably. Wide expensive. But in the end, if you're doing a development, you just got to look at what's the the cost of those things and then compare it to the potential income and serviceability, those sorts of different things. So we will sit with engineers, we'll sit with a developer in the next fortnight and work through what's our next step so we can give an accurate ⁓ assessment to the church of what we've got right now. Currently we have a geotech report, which is a lot of jargon, and we've worked hard to be able to get an assessment ⁓ thanks to ⁓ Rebecca Connott and Claude, I believe. We've got right to the bottom of that. So I I I think I think we're in a good space. Obviously I'm glass half full kind of person, but there was always going to be some form of ⁓ remedying of that. And so we take the report, we take it to engineers, we see what that actually means and how many dollars that will take. That will mean either we can go through for DA, hopefully And ⁓ if we can get that kind of development approval, then we look at do we work with someone to develop or do we sell it to a developer? Jack: Mm. Okay, good. Well, to be continued, ⁓ more details to come on that front. ⁓ while we're while we're getting the updates, Bex might you to touch on Team Night. We're gonna release this the day before Team Night. All things going well with the internet. So ⁓ what's on the cards for Team Night July twenty twenty six? Dave Connett: Yes, ⁓ Mm-hmm. Rebecca Connett: Well, well, Dave's better to talk about this because he's planned a whole new evening around ⁓ the letter I actually, ⁓ in good Pentecostal. ⁓ I have a very small role in it and I'm just looking at the I guess the what God's done in good life across twenty twenty six so far. And can I say I'm very excited. I can't wait to share ⁓ some, you know, I'm gonna make stats fun, let's put it that way. And everyone's gonna be very, very happy. So but Dave Dave Connett: Ha ha ha. ⁓ Jack: Hey, there you go. Most of us will be happy. Rebecca Connett: It's gonna be a good night, team night. ⁓ can't wait. Yeah. Dave Connett: Essentially, Jack, we're just we're we're looking at the gang of how we can own answers of every growth creates ⁓ brilliant opportunities, but also difficulties. And so if we're clever, we'll we'll work with them and take the opportunity to be able to love and to be able to have a capacity to ⁓ bless more, receive more, disciple more and not just we're not looking to build crowds. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He said for us to go and make disciples, not just crowds or decisions. And so that's what we're Jack: Very good. Okay. Dave Connett: Here to do. So a journey of us continuing in faith with growth to be able to activate more people for the cause of Christ. How we do that and own our our our limitations of capacity, both with team and with venue, so that we can actually continue the growth and continue to make disciples and be very clever about how we do it as teams. So I'm really looking forward to this, Jack. The key thing is. We've got certain things we can do with the venue, but we can always be ⁓ bigger and better and better equipped teams to fulfill ⁓ the Great Commission and our cause, which is to transform the world with the truth and the power of Jesus. So we're on to that at team night. And I am really excited about how we're going about it so we can all grow. Jack: Hmm. Very nice. Okay, well we'll see you all Tuesday the twenty-eighth at Good Life child mining available too. I might be bringing all four of mine, ⁓ just for that that that relief. Okay, well let's dive into it. We're up to week something in our series on Romans. It changes everything. Week four. Thank you for being across the detail past today. I really appreciate that. yes, very occasionally. We will note that and celebrate that when it does. And I assume you know I assume you know that because you preached it. Dave Connett: Yeah, do it. Week four Jack. Mm. It happens occasionally. I'm in. Jack: And so ⁓ do you wanna give us the the cliff notes on ⁓ Romans six? Dave Connett: Actually, I preached it. I got Romans six. Bex is doing Romans seven and I'm doing Romans eight. And so we've kind of done five chapters over three weeks and then we do sequentially one chapter at a time. And Bex was saying to me, How come you got six and eight and I got seven? Like seven is the one where people get tripped up and and there's yeah, not everyone's gonna. I'm like, because I wanted to give you that and I wanted to preach six and eight, are you kidding me? I run the rosters all Jack: This actually this came up in our Connect group yesterday. Like, yeah, okay, it makes sense that Dave got six and eight. They're kind of layups, like they're they're Romans one ⁓ one. This is very straightforward and someone's gonna have to do Romans seven. Good luck trying to unpack the ⁓ the linguistics on that one. Rebecca Connett: Yeah, thanks guys. Appreciate it. Dave Connett: ⁓ we'll give that we'll give that to the theologian in chief and then I get Romans eight. ⁓ so good. Rebecca Connett: Run and eight is like one of my favourite catches. Jack: We did we did we did hear that there's a there's an there's an unannounced preacher who got the layup of all layups with Romans twelve. ⁓ you're welcome to share that now or later if you want. ⁓ maybe that's a that's a five PM service, but that's a real layup. Dave Connett: Five PM service, that's Joel Connett. Joy. I love it when he preaches. Kid can preach. Yes. I actually forget who's doing the who's doing the morning. I should I should I should do some research and work out who's who's got the morning that one, but ⁓ who got the layup in the AM? Jack: Yeah. Rebecca Connett: He'll love it. He'll love it. But yes, ⁓ Roman Wade is one of my Jack: No us. Rebecca Connett: Anyway, let's talk Roman six. Jack: Yeah, dive. Dave Connett: Yeah, sure. Okay. Yep, what what's what's what's your qu what's your question? I already did talk Roman six. I I think I did a great job personally. Jack: Well what's it it's sum sum sum summarize summ summarize your sermon in two sentences. Rebecca Connett: That could no. No. Jack already asked you to do that and then you got r distracted by Romans seven and eight. Jack: Actually, funny story, before before you do, Dave, ⁓ for those listening, we had our Good Life committee ⁓ management meeting the other night and ⁓ we're talking about the the building report, the thirty seven page building report, and it was kind of the Spider Man meme of like, who's gonna say, Dave, you do no back, you do it, no Jack, you do it. I'll do it. I'll I'll give it in in one word and one word was sufficient. So so Dave, can you give us the summary of your sermon in one one sentence or less? Dave Connett: ⁓ be dead to sin. No, I can't do it in one word or less. One sentence I can do it. So be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. So to get there is quite a journey because you have to own up to your A, your sin, be your temptation arc, what you head towards, where you're stinking, thinking, your old evil self, your flesh nature. ⁓ you will have your level of temptation or your angle of temptation. Everyone's got that. ⁓ but you want to walk in victory with that. And the way to do it is understanding baptism, which is unpacked in chapter six. Baptism, I'm dead to self, I'm dead to the old, and I rise up in newness of life in Christ Jesus. And so I I'm not always looking going, don't sin, don't sin, don't sin. If I find myself filled and fulfilled with everything God's got. Then what I can do is I can I can present that to the world. ⁓ we did take some time to talk about why we hate sin, though. It's because we love the sinner, we love the sinner that gets affected by that sin. And so we did talk about how the church needs to be aware and actually how we speak to sin, whether it's a personal conversation, whether it's a you know, I mean, as a pastor, we're talking to the church about areas of sin, and we sometimes people can get really offended. ⁓ the world does think if you highlight their sin, well, that's Judgy McJudge Judge. Like that's that's real terrible to actually point out someone's sin. ⁓ and so we also as a church need to speak to the wider community. And ⁓ there are some people that are going to be uncomfortable with a thought that we tackle sin or particular sins in church, ⁓ and also that we would speak to the world about that. So that's pretty much where we went to. Sin is has a price, the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is life eternal. So there you go. So that was the one sentence and a and a and a and a and a one minute unpack. How'd I go? Jack: ⁓ it wasn't one minute, but I'll give you one paragraph. Well played. ⁓ Bex, what did what did you take out of that? What stood out for you? Dave Connett: Ha ha ha. Rebecca Connett: Yeah. I think I mean a million things, but I think what's coming to mind is actually not from Romans, it's from One Corinthians one, where it talks about the word of the cross is folly to I'm reading from the ESV. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing or foolishness, right? But to us who are being saved, it's the power of God. And I think that's what I think of when I I'm looking at Romans six because it it all seems upside down because from human wisdom we go And and this is what people literally think. You know, if I become a Christian, I'm then a slave. I then have to obey all the rules and now I'm my life is ⁓ you know, is ⁓ restricted. And yet it's actually the opposite because it it What it says to us is actually in Romans 6 is that actually we receive life, you know, and and we were dead and now we're alive, you know. Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life in verse 13. And so it's actually the flip side of what our human wisdom would say. And so I think this is one of those beautiful examples of the gospel appearing foolish and actually being transformative. And ⁓ so I love this. Jack: Do you think that foolishness is is like j Maybe it's just a semantics or a language thing, because Paul says, at least in the English translation, that we are slaves to righteousness. And clearly he's playing on that that linguistic effect of slaves to sin versus slaves to righteousness. How shall we think about that notion of slaves to righteousness? Rebecca Connett: Yeah. Well, I think it's in that same verse. So the slaves to sin, slaves to righteousness is verse 17, right? When it says, Thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. And then it says, and having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I think the key phrase in there is actually where it says, have become obedient from the heart. Like it's not, hey, here's a whole list of rules. It's actually a heart transformation. that brings life and life abundant. And I think that's it. It it's for me it's the transformation ⁓ that takes place in the heart. And so therefore it's not the list of rules. It's not it's not a slavery to death. It's a s it it's a slavery that actually brings life. Jack: Hmm. Yeah, I mean something that stood out to me, and Dave, I'll get your perspective on this. You know, we don't often you know I mean we preach about sin every Sunday, but we don't we typically don't go into as much granular detail. But, you know, the example that you used on Sunday was if someone's dead and you offer them ice cream, they can't really accept it, right? 'Cause they're dead. And the same is true of us when it comes to the temptation of sin. It it stood out it reminded me of those verses, I think it's Corinthians and then Dave Connett: Yes. Jack: I'm gonna say maybe Timothy or Thessalonians, Beck, you can correct me on this notion of like fleeing from sin. We we flee from sexual immorality or we flee from the appearance of immorality. And you know, we don't want to be ones that dabble in sin. We don't want to stay alive to sin and alive to righteousness. Like we're dead to sin and alive in Christ. Dave, pastorally, why do you think it is that some folks struggle with? continual temptation versus the fleeing away from the line. Some of us kind of keep towing the line and dabbling and others find it maybe a bit easier to flee. Why is that? Dave Connett: look, Jack, that's a that's an easier conversation to have one on one with someone, because then I'm delving for what's happening. Not everyone starts at the same location. ⁓ and so we've got to give room for people to grow into something. But truth be told, God's prescription for overcoming sin is death. So no matter where you started from, and all three of us, we started from three very different spots in life in regards to religion, in regards to faith, the answer for every single person, no matter your sin, your temptation, your proclivity, whatever it is, is actually death. You've got to actually hate the sin and what it does enough to go, I want to throw my temptation arc under the bus. ⁓ I I I preached this and it went out to all of the good life men last week. A message that I preached to the men of City Point Redcliffe that I was like, you know what? That content and I think my delivery was pretty solid. So I'm like, that needs to get out. This men need to understand this. And where I got to in the end was no matter your temptation, no matter your personality, as a man, you're called to lead and create an environment where you and others thrive. And the only way to do that is to be like David. And the first thought I had was he ran at Goliath. He didn't wait for Goliath to come to him. He ran at Goliath. He trashed. He declared the goodness of God and how dead Goliath would be. Like his words were by the end of today, I will feed your carcass to the birds of the air. Could you imagine if every one of us faced up to the internal Goliath of sin, our temptation arc, and went, by the end of today, this thing will die and I will feed its carcass to the birds of it? Could you imagine if we hated sin that much? No matter your proclivity, no matter what it was, if I said to you, the way to kill sin would be sunlight, be expose it, find Christian men and women that you could go help me, stand with me. ⁓ I I've got one of my one of my walked through with all three of my sons in regards to temptation, in regards to porn. One of them said to me, All I have to do is if I'm ever tempted, is I've got brothers who pray for me, ⁓ brothers in Christ and brothers. All I do is I send a text with a full stop. And I know A, they're praying for me. B, they're gonna ask me in the morning how I went. And he and he's like, I haven't slipped up inside. We've got victory over this area. You've got to be sober and vigilant. Your adversary, the devil, roams around like a roaring line. Short answer, Jack, is death. And you can't double die. It doesn't matter what type of sin or temptation you've got, the short answer is death. Now, I've got Plenty of reasons to be a victim to a lot of different things and they would give me excuses of why I continue to do a whole bunch of badly behaved temptations that I that I could walk in. I've found out that I either walk as a victim or I walk in victory. ⁓ there is no other option. There is no middle ground. If I dabble, I'm heading back towards victimhood. You've got to hate. what the enemy does. You've got to hate the enemy, hate sin. It's biblical to hate sin. But the gift of God is life and life everlasting. So I would encourage every person, lean in, throw that temptation arc under the vase, die to say. But the good thing is, chapter seven and eight is coming. We're going to teach you how to do that. Rebecca Connett: And I think also with that is some is is identity as well. Like, you know, Galatians two twenty, I've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I that lives, but Christ lives in me, you know, and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God. And and and so things that I remember Dave saying a lot in our early years, ⁓ when he was teaching on this, particularly Galatians two twenty, is he'd actually just go, you know, that's the old Dave, I killed him. You know, and I think understanding that that is dead. Dave Connett: Yes. Yes. Rebecca Connett: You that is dead. You k crucified with Christ, right? And it's it's almost like that's that's actually not who I am anymore. And that's what the Bible says. You are that's not who you are. You know, ⁓ I've forgotten where it is. I think it's in Corinthians where Paul goes, you know, you were this, this, this, this, this. That is what some of you were, but you've been washed, you've been sanctified, right? And it's it's like that's who you were, but you're not that anymore. That person's dead, buried. I'm actually have a new identity, right, in Christ. And I think that's actually also part of it. Jack: Yeah, I mean, I I love that. And y you mentioned there, Becky, like we've been sanctified and we are being sanctified. It's like this ongoing process at the same time, right? How do how do we juggle those tensions of ⁓ you know, we we were saved and we're being saved? Do you wanna speak to that, Bex? That duality that's sometimes a bit tricky to wrap a head around? Rebecca Connett: Well I'll just Dave Connett: ⁓ you she'll be all over it in chapter seven, Jack. Rebecca Connett: Yeah. I'll be speaking to that this week. Hundred percent. Yeah, yeah. Hold off. We'll talk about that next week. Jack: Okay, so should we leave it? Should we park it? Okay. Well you could Dave Connett: That was actually, Jack, that was actually the hardest thing for me to leave. Like my normal tendency would be if I'm preaching something, I've got to give you now the keys of how to do it. And I so wanted to talk through the where you set your mind. If you set your mind on the things of the spirit, you will fulfill the things of the spirit. If you set your mind on the things of the flesh, you will. But that's chapter eight. And I'm on that in two weeks' time. And I'm like, how do I park my most favourite? This is life-changing stuff, Jack. If you want to die to the old. That's how you do it. And so chapter seven and eight. I had to bark it. It was so hard to just go, let's surrender to God and die to self and focus on him, knowing that and anyone can just read ahead. Anyone can do their home, anyone can read their Bible and then just do it. But this is life-giving stuff, which is obviously why we've decided to preach Romans. It is life-changing. It it funnily enough, it changes everything, Jack. We should call our sermon series that. Jack: That's very self self explanatory. Rebecca Connett: You know you know what I love what I love about Romans? 'Cause a lot I think a lot of the time today people read Romans and Romans has some hard stuff in it, right? And it actually has some complex stuff in it as well. And even the way that Paul writes, you know, I'm always encouraged by Peter when Peter writes in one of his letters, he goes, you know, our Apostle Paul, he writes things that are very hard to understand. And I'm just like, ⁓ great. I feel so seen. I feel so understood because I also find Paul hard to understand sometimes. And so sometimes people they actually these days they'll avoid Romans because I feel like it's a hard book. But when you actually look at the history of the Book of Romans and the amount of I mean, Jack, you'll know this already, but massive key players in Christendom over the last 2,000 years whose life was transformed by Romans. Like you go all the way back to Saint Augustine and he was reading Romans and he was a bad dude, right? Mistresses, kids out of wedlock, the whole thing. And and one of the things, you know, one of his prayers was give me chastity, God, but not yet, which is, you know. And and yet his life was transformed by Romans. And then you fast forward a few hundred years, well over a thousand years, and you've got Martin Luther life transformed. Like he was just felt like an absolute failure at everything. The guy was a monk and felt like he could never actually please God. Read Romans, life transformed. John Wesley, one of the fathers of our faith, a revivalist, right? Saw massive miracles and salvations and everything. Same thing. Life transformed by Romans, and you go, okay, there's something in this particular book. And ⁓ theologians talk about Romans as a really unusual one of Paul's letters because all the other letters are addressing a particular thing. Whereas Romans is the one that really goes, let me tell you about the whole gospel and really just wraps the whole of the gospel up in this one book rather than just a small thing. So it's a really special book and one of my favorites. Jack: Mm. Yeah, it truly is. Dave Connett: Hey hey hey Jack. with that, ⁓ look I don't know I I was there was a couple of times in that Bex that I like ⁓ I'm not quite sure if it's my ⁓ reception or yours, but I don't know if there's a way to fix that. ⁓ Jack, is that me or is that ⁓ Rebecca? I don't wanna yeah, man, don't wanna give Jack: That's re That's Rebecca. We're all fine. We're hearing it fine. Dave Connett: Where I you're hearing it fine. ⁓ there you go. That was y you're coming across well, but I can't hear her all the time. I'm just hoping it comes through for the recording 'cause what she says is always so amazing and I just want everyone to be able to hear every word. Jack: Mm. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's not you, it's me. Well it's Yes, no, it's all clear. It's all clear. Dave, ⁓ what ⁓ what didn't make it in? You know, ⁓ part of this podcast is to have a bit of a peek behind the curtain. So was there anything left on the cutting room floor? Dave Connett: Okay, that's good. That's good. Well I got I I th I I got every verse in ⁓ and I wasn't intending to like I wasn't like that wasn't a must for me. I was looking for the I was looking for the for the core concepts, but because there's only ⁓ twenty something verses or twenty-three ⁓ verses, I I was I was able to get it in that way. what the the key thing that was left behind is what I said before, which was okay, how how do I do this? And so for me that freeing angle of Romans eight ⁓ of 2 Corinthians 10, ⁓ Galatians 2, ⁓ it's all through the Bible about submit your will, your mind, and will emotions to to the Lord, ⁓ leave behind the old, fully embrace the new. ⁓ Even that whole thought of King David in the time where kings went to war, he stayed at home. And it was only then, when he wasn't doing what he was meant to do, did he ever get tempted by Bathsheba, which led to Him acting upon that temptation, which led to Uriah's death, all sorts of different stuff. It's actually that process of denying the flesh, killing the flesh, ⁓ submitting your will to the Lord and allowing that to be the ⁓ the overcoming power over sin and temptation so that you become a new creation. ⁓ the then after that it's the be be vigilant. ⁓ because your adverse to the devil roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. So I've got to be sober, clear-minded, and vigilant. I've got to be alert to be able to they were the two key concepts that I left. I would normally very naturally want to tack those on to say, guys, this is how you do it. ⁓ but knowing that w we're getting there, I had to kind of park those. But that that that was the that was the key thing that I really had to resist temptation ⁓ in Jesus' name and and leave on the cutting floor. Jack: Mm, interesting. Rebecca Connett: So cool what you're saying there. Like, ⁓ yes, left on the cutting room floor, but I'm just thinking as you're saying all of that, what's coming to mind is Christianity works when you do it wholeheartedly. It's not a half-hearted faith, it doesn't work half-hearted. You know, it's it's the dive, it's the all in, right? It's the all in that that is what makes it work. ⁓ you know, and I guess that you know connects back to the old testament with Paul. Dave Connett: Yeah. Rebecca Connett: God is saying to the Israelites, you know, you're honoring me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. And he's like, I actually want all of you. And I think that's the that's almost the ⁓ the key ingredient is will we actually give him all? 'Cause when we do, ⁓ my goodness, he gives far beyond, right? Anyway, those are just my thoughts as you're saying it. Jack: Well it's ⁓ yeah, yeah. I agree with you 'cause I was thinking a similar thing. It's it's overly simplistic to think that Christianity is a behaviour modification program, nor is it simply a a a a group of mental ascents that we agree to. It's neither intellectual nor behavioural. It's our whole of life, right? And ⁓ I mean Paul i it can't I think you mentioned it in one of those verses, right? Paul says, But thanks be to God in verse seventeen, but thanks be to God that Dave Connett: Yeah. Jack: Though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. So I could need to believe in our heart and confess and act out from those beliefs. Our beliefs must lead to behavior change. It's both and. And sometimes it's that that myopic trap, right? Of going, well, Christianity is just a set of behaviors, or it's just a set of beliefs and creeds. No, it's it's both and Rebecca Connett: Mm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or or people go you know people will be going s you know, doing all these stupid things and then go, ⁓ but God knows my heart. You know, well actually no. ⁓ Jack: I ⁓ I wonder also Well, yeah, what is I mean, Romans six has a lot to say about that, right? It's like, shall we continue in sin, Dave? It it's actually interesting, right? So no, no, just to be clear, no, we shall not. ⁓ what is sin? And I asked that with as a maybe we can answer it in this direction. ⁓ I think, Bex, maybe you can correct me. It's a Mulholland or Foster or ⁓ one of those spiritual disciplines books that talks about the obvious gross sins of Dave Connett: No. Jack: of commission that we kind of participate in, or omission that we deliberately don't participate in. But beyond that, sin is more than just behaviours or actions, right? It it's a nature that needs to die behind us. So how do you speak to that? Like it sin is that I do or don't do certain behaviour, or it's something that's innate originally in me. What shall we say to that? Rebecca Connett: Hmm. I think that's a really good thing to raise because I think there's a lot of people who maybe, you know, people who are not Christians will go, Well, I'm I'm a pretty good person. I don't, you know, and I know people who are not Christians and they are wonderful people, right? Kind and generous and all the rest of it. And they go, I'm a pretty good person. I don't need all of that. But that's where they miss, they're looking at their, I guess, their list of sins, ⁓ that maybe they've tried not to do too many of those, but they actually don't have the understanding of the sin nature. And that's something that you know again, everything goes back to Genesis 3. ⁓ but with the fall in Genesis 3, when sin entered the world, sin actually entered humanity. And one of the things that God said at that point was that death would enter at the same time. And you go, Well, that's a bit mean. But actually, it was actually the kindness of God. ⁓ because do you want to stay in your broken nature and your sinful nature and for for eternity? No. but Something actually entered humanity and it's called ⁓ you know the sin nature or you know it's ⁓ we inherited it from Adam. So every person is born with the sin nature within let me put it this way: when Adam and Eve were tempted to sin, it was an external temptation, right? So when the devil came to Adam and Eve and tempted them to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was an external external temptation. We have both external temptation and internal temptation because of the sin nature and humanity as a whole. And so we actually have a inclination or a desire to sin. And that is the sin nature. ⁓ you don't have to teach a little kid to s to sin, right? You don't have to teach them to steal a truck off another kid. There's that sin nature within them. And so the beautiful thing of the gospel is that. Jack: Mm-hmm. Dave Connett: Babe, Babe. Babe, not not the O'Brien kids. The O'Brien kids are perfect. Rebecca Connett: They are. They're the cutest. They're the sweetest. But thank Jack: Until they're about six six days old. Dave Connett: Ha ha ha. Rebecca Connett: Every shot. ⁓ But thanks to the gospel, thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus, that sin nature is broken off us, right? And so there's such a beautiful thing where we can now, through both justification and sanctification, which I'll talk about next week, so come Sunday, but that that sin nature is being put to death, right? And so we now have, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the ability to overcome that. But That's the whole point of the gospel is that we actually there it's not just what did you do or what did you not do. It's actually the sin nature within which goes all the back to Adam. Jack: So okay, Dave, are people inherently good? Like Beck Beck even just there said, like, ⁓ she knows people that are good people, right? So are are people good? Dave Connett: ⁓ yeah, look, you've got two you've got two different camps of the way that people look at this. Essentially we have a sin nature that we've inherited from Adam. ⁓ it's all through the Bible. Romans five talks about it right there. ⁓ by by one man's sin it entered, sin entered into the world, and the wages of sin is death. And so we do inherit a sin ⁓ nature. ⁓ I I think that it ⁓ humanity has the ability towards good. And I think the only thing that really redeems it is Christ. I think the only thing that redeems our nature is Christ. I think the only thing that redeems the debt of sin is Christ. And so until then, ⁓ we don't have the chance of being good. You can have people have good aspirations, you can have people that have good morals, you can have people with great attempts, but really ⁓ the stain of sin affects all of us. Until ⁓ we we submit it to Christ and we're on a journey of growing in overcoming that. And I believe not until ⁓ not until eternity will we be able to walk in its complete fulfillment. The only one who is good and complete and holy is Jesus Christ. And so we aspire to be more like Christ. We aspire to have we we aspire to deal with sin and submit to God so that we can be alive in God and as close as possible to Him. But I think the inherent nature of humanity is not good, but we are so accessi it's so accessible, the power of God to overcome sin. And I would encourage everyone to lean in on that. Rebecca Connett: I think the thing about the word good, you know, someone says they're a good person. Well compared to what? Right? So y yeah, sure I'm a good person compared to the mass murderer who's sitting in jail. But compared to Jesus, no. I'm Despicable, right? You know, so the Bible says that the the heart is deceitfully wicked, ⁓ is is something wicked and deceitful above all things, desperately wicked and deceitful above all things. And and so compared to God, is there any who's good? No, not one, right? And so I think when we go, ⁓ I'm a good person, we're comparing to other people that we judge ourselves as better than, ⁓ but compared to Christ? No. But Dave Connett: Right. Rebecca Connett: And again, here's the beauty of the gospel. In Christ, we are holy and righteous, right? Before God through the blood of Jesus. So are we good by the grace of God and by the sacrifice of his son? Yes, not by our own works, but by the works of Christ on the cross, which is just beautiful. Dave Connett: Yes. Jack: Rotten. Yes. Rebecca Connett: But no, are people inherently good? Dave Connett: What do you think, Jack? Are we good? Are we inherently good? Jack: Well dare I contradict ⁓ my senior pastors live on the recording. ⁓ but no I wouldn't. No No, no. ⁓ well, no, we are we are made in God's image. So there is part of us that has the capacity to be formed more into the image of Christ, but we are not to your point, Bex like we are not God. We are co heirs but not co equals to the goodness of Christ. So Rebecca Connett: You have done many, many times. Dave Connett: I Jack: No, but can we be can we be transformed more and more into his likeness, into his image? Then sure, over time. It's interesting because, you know, there's this modern day psychology, yeah, or this pop psychology, whatever we want to call it, modern day thinking, that says like people are inherently good and and we should assume the best when we look at people. And maybe people are tr are doing their best. Maybe people are trying to be good, but we're not inherent we have a nature towards sin. And I think Sometimes that ⁓ for me, it gives me comfort when I look around and it's I think you said it yesterday, Dave, like it's not a surprise that sinners sin. It's a surprise to me when Christians who have chosen life and to follow Christ and have chosen death to their flesh continue to live in it. And I think Dave, maybe we touched on it last week. It's it's not sinful to be offended, but it arguably is sinful to stay in your offence. Dave Connett: ⁓ yeah. Jack: it i it it it's okay that we sin. It's not okay that we stay in our sin nature once we've received Christ, right? Dave Connett: I I think I think the problem there is not just that it is sin to do that, but it leads to ⁓ is sin and the excuse of the next thing because I'm offended, because that's happened, I've held to offence, therefore my behaviors are justified. And I find my nature, I'm I yeah, I mean I I I I find situations where I can be offended, and they are unique to my personality and usually a bit of home of origin stuff that I've got to face and go. Wow, I I I I can I can be hurt ⁓ in those situations. I can be offended and it leads to other things. ⁓ so I think working that out and actually being open to people to speak to you about that is really, really helpful. Doing the journey alone ⁓ is not great. Proverbs 18 1 says, He who isolates himself rages against all wise judgment and seeks his own desire. You could you you could you could repackage that to say he who isolates himself grows weird, so don't do it. The the thing to and that's the personal journey, but that whole thought that sinners are gonna sin, ⁓ that will affect our community unless the church actually stands firm on key topics of righteousness. We want this righteousness that exalts a nation. And if we aren't clear and firm and godly about our communication on key topics, if we think, well, no, don't offend, stay out of the public sphere, if we think ⁓ separation of church and state. Christians shouldn't be involved in politics or in s what what's gonna happen is if the godly disengage from the process, all that's left is the ungodly. And so we've got to be clear to the church in regards to sin. We've got to be clear in communication to individuals. But also we really do have to be clear to our community. And I think the church has forgotten that we're meant to be salt and light. And salt is a preserver of good things. And so what are we going to do is sometimes we need to be those that are ready to preserve, to stand for the good things in our community and go, No, that is absolutely crazy that we would allow that situation without us standing up to go, there is a better way. And it's better for families and better for our community if we do that. And so I think the church needs to get a spine. I think I'm done with the silence of the lambs. Let's actually speak loud in Jesus' name. Jack: And it's not always w when you do speak out or you do call out sin, it's not necessarily pleasant to receive that, but often folks will be grateful eventually that we've spoken truth to them, right? It's like i hard truths are sometimes a little unpleasant to the palate initially, but we know that they are wholesome over time. Rebecca Connett: ⁓ yeah. Dave Connett: Well, that's why the individual conversation is an easier one to have. You can sit, you can listen, you can understand, you can hear someone out and then go, Well, I hear you, but still does that is that is that a bigger ⁓ issue than following Christ in this area? And when you speak to the church, it's a w it's a wider group. You've got to think about communication to everyone. When you speak to the community, ⁓ and and the the larger the group, the more chance you're gonna find someone offendable because there are more people involved. And so We do have to be careful to do truth and love, to be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. But when someone gets offended, go, well, let's have a chat. I I think God's will and God's ways, He spoke the world into existence. Us highlighting that that's the best way is to continue with Him as Lord should make sense. And it does make sense if we actually have the time. I don't need to really defend and get offended about people not liking what God's got. I can say, well, let's talk about it. Let's have a chat. I am, I have, I have a an appointment lined up with my local member ⁓ in a couple of weeks having a beer to discuss ⁓ the botched abortions born alive bill that's coming up. And because by email he disagreed. And I said, Well, let's have a beer, let's have a chat. I'm always up for a beer. Like that's pretty standard issue for my local member. Happy to have that. Let's have a chat. I don't think that Christianity needs to be super defended, I think just going, mate, this works. Can you get your head round it? Like that's that's what I'm looking forward to is just going, he is the way, the truth and the life. And just point towards that truth, point towards that life and then go, well possibly he's the way also. Rebecca Connett: That's great. Jack: Amazing. Super mate. Thank you. Bex, ⁓ we're about to wrap this up. Any final commentary from you? Rebecca Connett: Yeah, I just just off the back of what Dave says, I'm just reminded of One Corinthians thirteen. And driving here, I drive past a particular church which is very progressive, show it. And ⁓ it has it has this, you know, those signs outside that they change all the time and it it shifts at the moment. It's shifting between one Corinthians ⁓ thirteen, four, it's a love chapter. Dave Connett: ⁓ Yes, it is. Rebecca Connett: Says love is patient, love is kind, and then it goes, love is patient, love is kind, and then it disappears. And the next slide comes up, love is love. I'm like, ⁓ annoys me every time I go past it because it's such a distortion of what the scripture is saying. And so I just want to just go down two verses to verse six, which is love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. And I think as Christians, we've actually Jack: Okay. Dave Connett: Ha ha ha. Jack: Yes. Amen. Rebecca Connett: got to get rid of the concept that love and truth are opposed. They are not opposed. They go hand in hand. Love does not delight in evil. It rejoices with the truth. Dave Connett: Come on. Rebecca Connett: And I think if we can get hold of that as Christians, it will actually give us boldness to speak. Sometimes we think it's more loving to be silent. And we think it's more loving to just let people stay in their pain and brokenness. And when I put it that way, see if I said a lot more loving to stay in their sin, you go, ⁓ that's harsh. But if I say it's more like we actually fool ourselves into thinking it's more loving to stay in their pain and their brokenness, well, of course it's not. Right. And so I think we've actually got to understand that love and truth go together. And if you actually love your neighbor, if you actually love your friend, if you actually love your community, you actually have to tell the truth. It's not a functional relationship if you're lying to them all the time. So there you go. That's my little thing that I was gonna end with. Dave Connett: Mm. Love that. Jack: Well, thank you. ⁓ what I hear from that is that ⁓ I will move a motion at the next committee of management for a sign out the front of Good Life. So that we can counter counteract the other signs. Could you imagine could you imagine Dave with a sign? Dave Dave Connett: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want one. I want it. Rebecca Connett: But life will never have one of those self. No, we're not giving that Dave Connett: ⁓ gos everyone be like, People don't understand your sarcasm, Dave. Rebecca Connett: That's exactly right. They will have sarcastic things on the sign, everyone will be like, what? No, that's never happening. Jack: Okay. What is that? ⁓ that's funny. ⁓ Pastor Dave, any final remarks? Dave Connett: Look, it d this th the whole thought of ⁓ finding God and finding his nature is absolutely liberating. Walking in God means that I don't have to look back. I sure I need to be vigilant, sure I need to be sober and alert, but ⁓ really live your life fully ⁓ devoted to Christ and his kingdom and allow him into every area of your life. Your your mind, your heart, your soul, your family, your relationships, your parenting, your marriage, your future relationships you're hoping to have, your finances, your health. Allow him into everything. And I tell you what, the gift of God is life everlasting. It doesn't mean that everything's easy, but you've you've you've got the way, the truth, and the life to walk with. And ⁓ it is absolutely ⁓ strengthening, empowering your you can walk in the overcoming power of God. And ⁓ and you get to do it. If you do it right, you'll do it in community with brilliant people to stand with you and that you can stand with when they're going through their stuff. Live life to the full in Christ and ⁓ leave the old life behind. It's a brilliant deal. Jack: Mm. Amen. On that note we'll land it there. Thank you, Dave. Thank you, Bex. And we'll ⁓ see you on Sunday and on another episode again really soon. Rebecca Connett: So I could. Dave Connett: Love it. Giddy up. Rebecca Connett: For it. See you guys.