Missions and Masturbation

Keith Condie ripped it to bits today in chapel with a sermon on Psalm 101. Some good things on what it meant for King David and what it now means for us this side of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He mentioned a letter written by John Piper in 1984 called “Missions and Masturbation” that almost got him fired!!

In his Passion 07 sermon, How to Deal with the Guilt of Sexual Failure for the Glory of Christ and His Global Cause, Piper makes reference to that letter. The letter was very blunt and the sermon is very good!

Here’s a snippet from the original letter:

One of the major forces preventing young people from obeying the call of God into vocational Christian service is defeat in the area of lust. A teenager hears a challenging call to throw himself into the cause of world evangelization. He feels the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He tastes the thrill of following the King of kings into battle. But he does not obey because he is masturbating regularly. He feels guilty. He can hardly imagine witnessing to a pretty girl about the eternal plight of her soul, because he has so habitually looked at girls naked in his imagination. So he feels unworthy and unable to obey the call of God. Masturbation becomes the enemy of missions.

In the sermon he explains the context of the original letter and how Christ has dealt with our sin and nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:14) and that he has triumphed over the rulers and authorities that continue to throw accusations at us (Col 2:15). It’s a sermon rich on the cross, dealing with sin and guilt, and continuing to see the increasing preciousness of Jesus. Go listen!

We often get cut up in our guilt over lust, which is a significant struggle for Christian males, and sin in general. Hebrews 10:21-22 says that we can draw near to God having our hearts cleansed of a guilty conscience. How good to know that our guilt has been washed away by the blood of Jesus!

Have you been lustful? Confess it to God. Know that the blood of Jesus has covered it. And don’t listen to the devil when he throws accusations at you. Your guilt has been dealt with at the cross. In your struggle against sin – continue to reflect on Jesus that he would become increasingly precious to you.

Pass this sermon onto guys you know struggling with sin…