Debi's Reviews > Respectable Sins

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
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Jul 03, 11

5 of 5 stars
bookshelves: re-read, favorites
Read from May 02, 2010 to February 28, 2011

Really struck a chord with me - in the daily sins we often overlook as insignificant and not really mattering. The book starts out with an overview of the gospel and the grace that has been extended to us through Jesus Christ. In light of that grace, we should take seriously the sins we commit, though to us they are seemingly insignificant. Things like pride, gossip, selfishness and anxiety. We may not consider them that big of a deal compared to the "big" sins like murder and adultery, but they still cost Jesus the sacrifice of His life.

“But God has not given us the authority to establish values for different sins.”

“All sin, even sin that seems so minor in our eyes, is lawlessness. It is not just the breaking of a single command; it is a complete disregard for the law of God, a deliberate rejection of His moral will in favor of fulfilling one’s own desires.”

“…the lure of that momentary pleasure is stronger than our desire to please God.”

“…the seemingly minor sins we tolerate in our lives do indeed deserve the curse of God.”

“…this principle of sin still lurks within us and wages war against our souls. It is the failure to recognize the awful reality of this truth that provides the fertile soil in which our ‘respectable’ or ‘acceptable’ sins grow and flourish.”

“…described sin as cosmic treason.”

“To put it bluntly, our sin is an assault on the majesty and sovereign rule of God.”

“It is the gospel that motivates us to seek to be in our daily experience what we are in our standing before God.”

“But the truth is that life is full of events that delay us, inconvenience us, or obstruct or block some plan of ours. In the midst of these events, we should fight against anxiety and frustration. But when God does bring relief, or when we see Him deliver us from the possibility of such an event, we should make it a special point to give Him thanks.”

“…God intends all our circumstances, both good and bad…to be instruments of sanctification, of growing us more and more into the likeness of Jesus.”

“The actual cause of our impatience lies within our own hearts, in our own attitude of insisting that others around us conform to our expectations.”

“…if love covers a multitude of sins, how much more should it cover a multitude of acts that irritate us.”

“…we need to realize that no one else causes us to be angry. Someone else’s words or actions may become the occasion of our anger, but the cause lies deep within us – usually our pride, or selfishness, or desire to control.”

“We get angry because we don’t get our way.”

“Bu we can choose how we will respond to the sinful actions of others toward us.”

“How would God have me respond in this situation? How can I best glorify God by my response? Do I believe that this difficult situation or this unjust treatment is under the sovereign control of God and that in His infinite wisdom and goodness He is using these difficult circumstances to conform me more to the likeness of Christ?”

“Every sin we commit, regardless of how insignificant it seems to us, is an assault on His infinite glory.”

“…I define worldliness as being attached to, engrossed in, or preoccupied with the things of this temporal life. The things of this temporal life may or may not be sinful in themselves. What makes our attitude toward things that are not sinful worldliness is the high value we put upon them.”
“…secondary definition: Worldliness means accepting the values, mores, and practices of the nice, but unbelieving society around us without discerning whether or not those values, mores, and practices are biblical. Worldliness is just going along with the culture around us as long as that culture is not obviously sinful.”

“We need an increased affection for God that will expel from our hearts our affections for the things of this world.”

Summary:
-Ungodliness
-Anxiety and frustration
-Discontentment
-Unthankfulness
-Pride
Moral self-righteousness
Pride of correct doctrine
Pride of achievement
An independent spirit
-Selfishness
Our interests, our time, our money
Inconsiderateness
-Lack of self-control
Eating and drinking
With one’s temper
Personal finances
TV, hobbies, impulse buying
-Impatience and irritability
-Anger
-Weeds of anger
Resentment, bitterness, enmity & hostility
Grudges
-Judgmentalism
Over differing convictions
Over doctrinal disagreement
A critical spirit
-Envy, jealousy and related sins
Competitiveness, controlling
-Sins of the tongue
Gossip, slander, lying
Harsh words, sarcasm, insults and ridicule
-Worldliness
Money
Vicarious immorality
Idolatry

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