Secrets of the Christian Life

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Well, do I say it? I've been avoiding the word good now for a number of broadcasts. Do I say good morning? Or do I just say morning? I know, I guess it's expected to say good morning, but I don't know if it's a good morning yet. So I'm just going to say welcome everyone. It is Monday, September the twenty third, twenty twenty four, It is currently ten thirty nine am Central time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, why have I avoided the word good Because I don't know if you've been paying attention recently. But there's been a lot of things happening that's it's hard to use the word good in the midst of right. It's just been sin, sin, failure, failure, scandal, accusations, speculations, judgment, crazy comments and lots of videos on YouTube. And obviously I'm referring to a very very famous pastor who was removed from ministry, and most are saying he has been permanently disqualified. Some is saying he has disgraced the name of Christ, and I yet I'm not going to use

1:35 the name, even though the name is everywhere, because I'm trying not to make it about him and make it all about scandal and information and reporting and all the ways that I've seen all the other broadcasts on YouTube and other places how they've handled it, and it's just it's like, Hey, I can get some clicks and downloads by mentioning this name, and I'm like, I'm not going to do that because I have no desire to do that. It's not beneficial to anyone. However, what I want to do is, because this thing is being talked about, is I would prefer to use this quote unquote scandal, this failure, this sin, this painful situation for everyone involved, and try to just challenge ourselves, look at ourselves, look at our own sin, look at our own failure, and just look at sin in general, look at how Christianity handles sin or how it doesn't really handle sin very well, how Christianity handles failure.

2:36 And we've been talking about it. We spent two hours one well actually almost three hours if you look at the late night broadcast, so we just kind of been talking about all of this, and I did a little bit of research, kind of going through church history, looking at how Christianity at large just tries to handle the reality of sin. I said it Sunday. I'm going to say it again. I know it's a controversial statement, but I'm going to say it. The Christian life is a life of sin. I know that goes against all the theology out there because everyone saying no, the Christian life is a life of victory. It's a life of overcoming sin. And it because we sell it that way. But the reality is, deep down, we know you and I sin over and over and over and again, and and even church history acknowledges that look at the majority of Christianity and their worship services, right, they almost inevitably they would begin a worship service with a time of confession, a general confession. We read one last night.

3:46 Let me just read it again. This is the one we used last night. Let me see here, yes, most. Let me read it. This is a general confession that would be used in the opening and the beginning of many worship services. Here we go, Are you ready, Merciful. God, We confess that we have sinned against you and thought, word and deed. By what we have done and by what we have left undone, we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry. Now. The fact that throughout church history, worship service after worship service after worship service at the very beginning or close to the beginning, would have a time of general confession where everyone is confessing that they have sinned, indicates that Christianity, at least on one hand, knows that everyone showing up to a worship service has sinned. They have sinned Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, they probably already send on their way to church, and they're going to send after church. We all show up to worship as sinners.

4:54 That's the reality. Even our worship services, at least throughout church history has. Acknowledged that fact. Most Christians will acknowledge, well, no one can be perfect, which means we are in a perpetual state of sin. Most would look at a scripture that says be holy as He is holy, and go well, no one's ever accomplished that, so we're in a perpetual state of sin. Most would look at. Scripture that says love God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. I say, well, I'm in a perpetual state of sin. You think Christians would acknowledge that. But in one hand, we'll kind of acknowledge it. But if you look at the way Christianity is typically sold, how it's preached, it's.

5:35 Constantly oh, no, no, no. When you became saved, you received a new heart. Now that's why we will preach you received a brand new heart that's pure, that's clean. At the same time, we sing worship songs that say, created me a clean heart. Well, wait a minute, why is a Christian asking God to create in them a clean heart if we were given a new heart in salvation. I don't understand the inconsistent. And see, on one hand, we say, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creature. All things have passed away, all things have become new. Yet well, nobody is going to be perfect. We're still going to sin. Well wait a minute, why am I sinning? If I'm a new creation the old is gone and everything is new. Of course, because Christianity doesn't teach that verse as referring to our position in Christ, it seems to try to bring that over to the everyday practical life. Not our position, but our and our practice. And the only problem is, well, obviously we're not a new creature with the old things.

6:32 They are gone and everything is new. Because we continue to sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, Christianity can't quite figure out what to do. It's a lot of contradiction. I mean, we know that Christianity on one hand, has to acknowledge that sin is consistent. Why because every time you turn around someone there is a new conference or a new book and how to combat this sin, how to deal with this sin, how to fight this, how to deal with this, how to deal with this? Wait a minute, Why, I thought we have a new heart. I thought we're a new creature. I thought the old was gone. We wouldn't be having constantly The entire Christian publishing world has made billions of dollars selling books on how to overcome this sin, how to deal with this sin, how to deal with this in, how to combat this, how to do this, how to fix this?

7:17 Why? Because we're constantly looking for help, because we constantly are aware of our sin, even though on one hand we seem to act like no, no, no, you've been set free from sin. And then when you hear of a pastor falling into sin, just start reading the comments. Well, all he had to do was ask God to help, because God will help him overcome sin. Well, why would he need God's help if he has a new heart and he's a new creature in the oldest gone like it's so weird, And or if you commit certain sin, like in this particular case, this pastor who is removed, I've seen comments saying, what this proves he was never saved. You're like, all right, so I already threw him out of the Kingdom of God. It's just it's so.

8:00 It can be maddening, depressing. That's why I refuse to use the word good right now. Because right now nothing is good. It's just depressing and discouraging to watch it unfold. But in the midst of all of this, in the midst of all of this craziness, I don't know which website it was, but it was a website reporting on this famous pastor who's been removed from ministry, And of course everyone was offering their comments, and someone posted a link basically saying what everyone needs is a book entitled six Secrets of the Christian Life. Six Secrets of the Christian Life. Now, of course, when I saw it, I'm just gonna be honest with you. I know, I'm very cynical. I know I'm very negative because just sometimes I get so I do get tired of this. But as soon as I saw I'm like, oh, here we go again. Someone has found the secrets to the Christian life. And so because there's this failure, the implication is, see, failure wouldn't happen if you would learn these six secrets of the Christian Life.

9:22 And I'm like, okay, what are these six secrets? So I looked up the book and I'm like, huh, interesting. This book was written by Zaye Hodges. Now Zaye Hodges would be labeled by especially the pastor who was removed, who held to lordship Salvation. Well, he would have said, Zaying Hodges is easy believism, and that. May go so far as to say as a false teacher. All right, but he. Would Zaye Hodges would be un known what is what is known as the Free Grace movement, all right, some would refer to it as easy believism. So I'm like, well, this is interesting. Zay and Hodges wrote a book on the six Secrets of the Christian Life. I wonder what the secrets are. Now, I don't like the whole idea I have found the secret nobody else has, but I have found this here.

10:12 I don't like that idea. But I'm like, okay, let me look at this book. Then I noticed I could get it for the kindle for like three dollars. All right. Then I noticed it was only like fifty five pages. I'm like, okay, well this may be at least worthwhile looking into. And so I thought I would turn on the microphone today tell everyone about it. Well, we'll introduce it by looking a little bit at the table of contest. It's introduction the prologue, and then we'll look at a little bit of the first chapter. And then maybe we'll do some some podcasts working through the book to some level. Maybe I don't. I'm not going to make any promises or guarantee. But the reason I want to do this is because, one, it's coming from a different perspective, right, It's not coming from the lordship perspective or other theological perspectives.

10:54 It fits right now where you know everyone's talking about sin, and well, this man's sin and how we understand sin and how we process failure as Christians. So six secrets. Hey, hey, people need the six secrets. Basically, the implication was, then we can avoid I guess failure. I don't know, so. I'm like, I'm interested from it from that perspective. So in the light of everything going on, I mean, look, I don't know about you. I think I think all Christians can state this. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe every Christian if presented, hey, here are the secrets to the Christian life that will keep you from falling, that will keep you from sin, and you basically will be perfect.

11:40 I think everyone would purchase. That book, sign up for that class, take that class, because there's very few Christians who walk around and just say, you know what, I just want to live completely in sin and be filled with guilt, shame, and humiliation for the rest of my life. I think most people would love never to sin again. Now, I think the reality is again a proper understanding of I think the Gospel and the Bible is the Law is there to demonstrate we are never going to be without sin, We're always going to be sinners, We're always going to fall short. We're always going to be guilty, and that's why our only hope is not in trying to do better. Our only hope is in the fact that Christ died for us, and I am saved by his righteousness being accredited to my account, which I have now stated so many times. But it feels like modern day Christianity has abandoned this truth to some level.

12:34 So what are these six secrets? Again? The name of the book is The Six Secrets of the Christian Life by Zay Hodges. Again, it can be purchased for three dollars for kendall. If you want a paperback, it's only six dollars. Again, it's only fifty five pages, So I mean as a very quick read, I would challenge you to get the book and look at I am not saying these six Secrets are revolutionary is maybe some people would would state. I'm not saying that these are even real secrets. The way the description of the book, there's not much to it. It just as Zaye Hodges explains how the believer can grow spiritually by beholding the glory of Jesus and walking in the light of the Word of God.

13:15 Well, there's been a million books saying hey, this is. The key, These are the keys to living a victorious Christian life, to growing spiritually. I mean, everyone seems to think that they have found the answer. What I find interesting is, after all the books have been written, after all the sermons have been. Preached, the reality is the. Christian life is a life of sin. And I still don't think Christians know how to deal with that fact. We don't know how to really deal with failure. We don't know how to deal with people falling. We don't know how to We just we judge it, we condemn it. We may in a sense separate ourselves from the people who sin, we may throw the people who sin under the bus. Whatever we may do, we just seem not very capable of, Like what do we do?

14:02 So you want to do? You want to look a little bit into the book? Do you want to see what these six secrets are? All right, well, let's let's open up the book. I'm going to open it up on my kindle. Am. I'm looking at the cover. Six Secrets written kind of green of the Christian Life. That kind of the font there is kind of interesting. Six Secrets of the Christian Life Zaye C. Hodges. I turned to the next page. It just has six Secrets of the of the Christian Life. Six Secrets of the Christian Life, Zane Hodges. It just states it again. Then I come here. It gives you some It comes from the Grace Evangelical Society, right, and they put out a number of of of I think decent, I think good material. I think everyone should at least be should at least hear their teaching, because again, I know, I know the Lordship people, I hate the Free Grace people, but I which I just hate. I think sometime we've got to hear the different perspectives to be challenged. All right, So but well, you know we can.

15:06 We can talk more about it here. Then we get to the contents. We have the forward, we have the prologue. Then we have six basic chapters, right, the Miracle of Resurrection, God's marvelous mirror, seeing what we are living in the light. If we ask a spiritual mindset, then then we do have a kind of a Those are the six main chapters. Then under we have a couple of sections after and one of those sections, interesting enough, is the six Secrets. Now I don't know if that's a summary of the six secrets. Maybe we will look at that in a minute.

15:47 All right, so maybe we'll get to that. But let's go to the forward. All right, here we go. Here, let's go to the forward. Are you ready? Are you ready to hear how this kind of is introduced and how this is how this begins? All right? Are you ready? Here's how it begins. Nearly thirty years ago, I decided I was leaving the pastorate. All right, So. Whoever is writing the forward is saying, look, thirty years ago, I was done. I was leaving ministry. I was finished. Something was going on? What was going on?

16:28 Well, the author here begins to describe. I was frustrated. I was angry. I was frustrated with being angry. Now let's stop right there, let's stop right there. People sitting in the pew. People sitting in the pew. Now, I know what I'm getting ready to say here is going to sound like I'm making a lot of justification, and I'm excusing. I am not. All I would like to say is people who sit in the pew, and when a pastor falls or a pastor sends the people in the pew, a lot of times make judgments. But all I would say, and I'm not saying judgments aren't allowed to be made.

17:15 What I am going to say is this. Now we could go to Romans two one and talk about judging what. Okay, we can get into that discussion. You can go listen to my message from yesterday there for part two. All right, but I would say this, the people in the pew, I don't think ever can and and I and it's and it's I think it's fair to say this. And I don't think people in the pew would argue with this. I don't know if they can really understand what it is to be a pastor. I don't think they can really understand how frustrating it can be, discouraging, it can be depressing, how you can get so sick and tired of it because all people do is complain, complain, complain, complain, attack, attack. Now, I'm not saying in my particular situation, I've experienced all this.

18:01 I've experienced some I've experienced some negative things, but I'll say it over and over, my experience in ministry was a million times better than about basically than any pastor I've ever heard talk about their experiences my experience has been better than any other pastor I've ever heard speak of theirs. In fact, other pastors who speak of their experiences, I'm always. Like, whoa wait, what happened? What was going on in your church? The people did? What? I mean? I remember I remember pastors that would have that would go to their office on Monday or Tuesday and there would be notes slipped under their door basically telling them. To quit, to die, to go away. And you would be like, wait.

18:44 Someone in the congregation is slipping notes under your door. I'm like, what is happening? Like crazy things? Even heard about Charles Stanley that in a deacon's ministry a deacon basically rushed him and punched him in the face. Like some of the things that. Go on in churches is insane, right, Like a lot of people never want to acknowledge just how messed well. It goes back to my premise. The Christian life is a life of sin, and we see it play it out in church all the time. We're very good at wrapping it up in a robe of self righteousness and putting on a lot of fig leaves. But once the fig leaves are removed and the robe is taken off. You see a church filled with backstabbing and gossip and slander and fighting and politics, and it's ugly and it's disgusting, and a pastor has to try to navigate all of that well at the same time maintaining his own spirituality, in his own godliness. And I'm just saying that there's sometimes pastors are there and they are going through a lot, and no one really understands, but everyone expects them to maintain some level of perfection or at least perfection when it comes to certain sins.

19:49 I'm not excusing any sin, just saying there's. A lot there because, whether you like it or not, that pastor is not infallible or supernatural have supernatural power. He's a ciner, just like you. And guess what, there's good days, bad days. There's emotions, there's things going on in their personal life, going on inside the church, and it can lead to some really, really, really bad situations. So this pastor, this person writing was at the end of his rope, I guess you could say. He goes on to say, I hated myself more than I can express and I didn't feel I could remain a pastor with integrity I decided I needed to leave the ministry.

20:31 Please note, I hated myself more than I can express. I think there's a lot of pastors who hate themselves because they know they're preaching one thing. But they know their own self. They know their own weaknesses, their own failures, their own struggles, their own thoughts, their own that nobody else can see. But they have to continue to put forth a certain image of basically being perfect, because I mean, can a pastor just. Walk up to the pulpit it on a Sunday morning. Now, I'm not saying that this would be appropriate, be could a pastor just say, hey, guys, let you know it's been a rough week. I screamed and yelled at my wife. I threatened my kids, I watched pornography. I got mad at someone in traffic and cussed like a pastor really can't do any I'm not saying that would be the appropriate place. I'm just saying the pastor really can't.

21:25 He can't necessarily be real. He's got to put forth the image that he's got it all together. Now, some would say, well, a pastor is supposed to have it. All together, but you're still you know, does a pastor given supernatural power. Now, many Christians believe all Christians have been given supernatural power, and they're basically all Christians can be basically perfect or close to perfect. But again we're inconsistent, and that teaching itself because we say that, and yet everything around us shows that, Hey, here's a book and how to fix this and how to overcome this and how to do this, and hey, all worship services for two thousand years have begun with a confession because we're all confessing that we're still sinners.

22:05 Well, if we're still sinners, well then wait a minute. But yet I'm a new creature. You can see. It can become very just psychologically confusing. But this pastor was at the end, all right. Uh He says, basically, I had no hope. I'm not trying to read every single word because you know, this could take five hours. Basically he refers to a movie and then he talks about, basically I could identify with the advice. I had no hope. I was done. So this pastor, being a pastor, he had reached the point that he had no hope.

22:47 And he was done. He was finished. That's a horrible place to be if you are a pastor, you understand that's a depressing even if you're a church member, trying to imagine that you're supposed to be preparing sermons, standing before the people, preaching, but deep down you are done. You hate yourself, you're discouraged, you're depressed. What do you do well? In this particular case, the person who wrote the forward, he contacted Zaye Hodges, well, the one who wrote this book, to tell him I was leaving. He had invested a great deal into my life and I felt I owed him that much. So Zaye Hodge was obviously his mentor, and so he contacts him to say, hey, look man, I'm done. Thank you for all you've done, but I can't do this anymore.

23:36 I'm finished. Now you can see how this is setting up. You can see how the book is setting this up. Right, do you see the setup? The setup is this man was finished. This man was done. This man had no hope. He contacted Zaane Hodge, and Zaye Hodges was like, hey, hey, I've got the. Secret to the Christian life. And there's six of them. So if those six secrets changed this man's life to someone who wanted out of ministry, to now is flourishing in ministry. Then these six secrets can take you as a Christian who's without hope and can change your life. That is at least the way it's being set up in my mind. We'll see if it goes that direction. But that's the setup I feel is happening here.

24:18 Now, hang in there. He said, I will walk you through this. I told him no, I didn't want to. I was sick of secrets and keys that never work. So Saint Hodges like, hey, stay in there, I'll help you through this. And he was like, no, I'm tired of the secrets. I'm tired of the keys. And you know what, as anyone who's a Christian, you should be sick of them. We should all be sick of them. Because Christianity has been the Christian publishing world has made billions off selling the secrets. The key, here's the key, here's the secret. Here's the key, here's the secret. And it's always like, if you'll learn these secrets, secrets, if you'll learn this, then boom, you're gonna be victorious and your Christian life is going to be roses and rainbows and skittles and everything's going to be wonderful and unicorns, and everyone's gonna be singing kumbah Yah and having a coke and a smile, and everything's gonna be wonderful. It's gonna be great. But the reality is, you know it, and I know it.

25:16 It's sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin. But everyone thinks, and why do they have they have to keep selling the secrets? Why do they have to keep selling the keys? Because you know, look, if you're a pastor standing in front of any group of people, those people know their struggles, they know their guilt, they know their shame, they know and they're looking for an answer. And guess what. Pastors buy the books because they're. Looking for an answer. Everyone's looking for an answer. Now, what's sad is the answers we're looking for. It's not the fact that no, we are not say, by an infused righteousness. We are say, by an imputed righteousness. And the answer is we rest in the imputed righteousness of Christ, and that positionally I am perfect.

26:05 Practically, I never will be. Practically I will always be sinning in some way, shape or form. There will always be some level of sin in my life. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Until glorification, and we have to rest in what we are positionally, but at the same time acknowledge. That we're never going to be what we want to be practically. But see, nobody likes that answer because that sounds as and I've received these emails you preach a weak, defeated Christianity. Now I'm trying to preach a Christianity that acknowledges reality. And I think a correct understanding. Of God's law. God's Law is always. There to condemn and show us our inability to keep it, and we cannot keep it even as a Christian.

26:51 I know that goes against everyone's theology. But this pastor had had it. He didn't want any more secrets, he didn't want any more keys that never worked. But Zain insisted, I promise, I'll walk you through this and someday you can help others. I respected Zaying a great deal. If there was anyone who can pull this off, I thought it was him. I agreed to talk to him. So over the course of a year, Zayin took me through truths that would change my life and ultimately. Give me hope. Now, of course I told you that's exactly where it was going to go, right. I told you, hey, I was done saying Hod just gave me the.

27:37 Secrets that gave me hope. All right, Now you can hear my start, you can hear a little bit of sarcasm, you can hear my cynicism. Yeah, not necessarily a fan. Of this, but again, I'm still fascinated that this is coming from a free grace perspective. Right, So I want to hear there's supposed secrets, right, because every system of theology has their so called secrets, right, So let's see. Where they're going to go with this. Much to my surprise, we spent a good deal of time and First and Second Samuel.

28:19 What First and Second Samuel? Does that not throw you off a little bit? Okay, you got a pastor who's ready to he's done, he's ready to get out of ministry. He has no hope. You're like, hey, we're gonna spend some time together and for basically a year, we're gonna be spending time in First and Second Samuel, and there we're gonna find I guess is that where. The secrets are? Are the secrets to the Christian life? And First and Second Samuel historical narrative is that prescriptive or descriptive? Like I got a lot of hermeneutical questions here. Now my mind is racing. My mind is like, Okay, I gotta figure this out. Like there's a part of me that wants to set down this book Secrets of the Christian Life, and I just want to be like, Okay, I'm going to study for Samuel and First Samuel chapters one and two for the next year and see if I can find the secrets on my own, Like forget Zay and Hodge.

29:12 I'm gonna find them. Hey, you find them. So for this week, if you want to, just at least make it a priority to read First and Second Samuel, I don't know, a few times, to read it a few times, just to see if some secret jumps out to you, if you if you figure it out all of a sudden, if you if you see it, if you can figure it out, definitely let me know. COM's sitting here looking at this. Yeah, I'm just I don't know, I'm just looking at this. Yeah.

29:58 But well, let's continue reading, all right. We also discussed the topics that he would later publish as Six Secrets of the Christian Life. Those conversations changed my life and my ministry. I stayed. So this man was at the end of his rope. He had no hope. He calls saye Hodges, sayt Hodges is like, hey, let's walk through it. They spent a year basically in First and Second Samuel, and all of this becomes the book Six Secrets of the Christian Life. And these secrets. Changed this man's life, his ministry, and he went from getting ready to quit to staying in ministry. I told you that's where I thought it was going to go.

30:43 I mean, you could tell the story, you could tell the narrative was leading us that direction. Now, next section, regardless of what you believe, my guess is, there are millions of believers who are afraid of being found out. Wow, that's a strong statement. There are millions of believers who are afraid of being found out. That would tell me there are millions of believers who do a lot of pretending. Again, I know I use the same language, but I use it because I think it works. Christians are masters at wrapping ourselves and fig leaves a robe of self righteousness.

31:37 We say the right words, we play the part. We're the great pretenders. The whole time we're pretending there's stuff going on nobody wants to talk about, nobody wants to admit. But at the. Same time and aroundabout way, millions of Christians will stand in worship services where you begin the service with a confession. Because there everyone is confessing what they don't want anyone else to know, what they don't want anyone else to see. They confess in this very general way, and because they know, yes, we all stand here as sinners. My guess is that millions read Romans seven fifteen through twenty four and think, just like me, right, everybody knows Romans seven fifteen through twenty four. I'm gonna turn over here really quick, Romans chapter seven, starting in verse fifteen. Romans chapter seven, Verse fifteen.

32:53 You know this very famous words for that which I do, I allow, not for what I would that do I not? But what I hate that do? I paraphrase. The things I want to do I don't do. But the things I don't want to do, the things I hate, those are the very things I do, Ladies and gentlemen, If that's the Christian life, No, I know many Bible preachers and many Christians. Are going no, no, no, no, no, no. That was Paul explaining his problem. But he found the secret so that he stopped doing that. But just remember this verse ends Romans seven, Verse twenty five ends with I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with my mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with my flesh the law of sin. Paul ends the section with acknowledging, Hey, my.

33:45 Mind, it's about God. In my flesh, it's about sin. There's a duality, a contradiction in the Christian life. We look when we became. Christians, and everyone wants to talk about repentance. I believe it's a change of mind. I change my mind about God and about sin. I now acknowledge this as a sin. I now acknowledge this is how God wants me to live. I now acknowledge God's law. But guess what, even though I've changed my mind, my nature is still a sinful nature, and so I'm still going to sin. And this leads to the great struggle in the lives of believers. How do I reconcile. My mind knows this is wrong, understands it's wrong, but.

34:28 I continue to sin, and it leads to. Lots of very difficult struggles. My guess this is the back to the author. Millions of people read Roman seven fifteen through twenty four, and I think, just like me, I am certain there are people who have placed their faith in Christ alone for eternal life, are born again, and if they were very honest, they would admit that there are times the extent and frequency of their sin stuns and scares them. Are you ever stunned.

35:09 And scared by the the sin in you? The desires, the thinking? The church is the last place. See we can't. We can't do that now on an anonymous podcast. Right See you can. You're can be sitting wherever you are, in your car right now, in your house, right now, and you can be like man, that guy has no idea. Oh trust me, you have no idea. See See this is the podcast for all of us, all of us who are basically trash. See all of us who our lives are a dumpster fire and we're all sinners. See we can be honest here seeing a church, you gotta be like, praise. God, Everything's good.

35:50 I can do all things in Christ, Jesus victorious over I'm an overcomer man. Here's we can we can we can just take off the fig leaves, we can just burn the robe of self righteousness, and we can all be like, man. We got a problem. Now. My fear is he's gonna say, hey, this is this is how I used to feel. But dund I have the secrets. Let's let's see. Let's see what he goes on to here. Now, look, he names some sins here, right he goes So I am certain there are people who have placed their faith in Christ alone for eternal life, are born again, And if they were honest, they would admit that there are times and that the extent and frequency of their sins stuns and scares them. Fornication, anger, laziness and so on overwhelms them. But honesty must be kept at arm's length.

36:44 Why no one wants to think that they never had it or at some point lost it, so they're left to lead lives of denial, fear, or like me, giving up. I am saying there is hope. My sincere wish is that you will also come to realize the love and power of the one who is a savior, not only eternally but daily. Right now, that makes me a little nervous. Now, I do agree that people have to we cannot be honest within Christianity. We have to keep everything at an arm's length because you're left with either you were never saved or depending on your theology. So basically, within a lot of Christianity, you have too basically options if you can, if.

37:29 You admit all of that sin, then you have to come to two conclusions. You never were saved, so you're living a lie. Or you were saved and you lost it. That's basically the two major camps within Christianity. You never had it or you lost it. And I think that that never had it means now you're judging salvation based off action, not in the action of the person, not on the action of Christ. Salvation is determined by the action of Christ, not my actions. And well then that would be well, then that's a whole different problem. And then that's again another another version of a workspace system. But he is saying, hey, there's hope. There's hope. Now what is that hope?

38:18 Next paragraph? Now this may sound this might sound surprising, but when I first read the finished book, I didn't like it very much. The writing was strange, it was too skeletal, There wasn't much to it. So I called Zayn and I asked him why he wrote it that way. He says, six Secrets were meant to be skeletal. It was meant to teach basic principles that would be better learned when put into practice. The meat he helped me put, the meat he helped me put on was a direct result of me and my situation. All right, So this is already warning you. This is going to be very skeletal.

39:06 It's going to be very basic, but it's supposed to be because well, you got to put. It into practice. Now, I say, I'm already getting nervous because it sounds like the Six Secrets are going to be things once again that we have to do. Well, how many books have been written like. You need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do this. I mean, I've read every kind of book in the world about how to overcome this and how to overcome this. And while those books keep saying you would only need one book, you would think at some point and everybody would just put it into. Practice and done, du da dah, we would all be perfect. But everyone acknowledges we cannot be perfect, so that means there's still going to be sin, even if you apply all the secrets and all the keys that's ever been given.

39:48 Everyone admit, most Christians admit, you cannot. Get to perfection, which means then no matter what you do, you're still going to sin. So in this forward, they continue, that's why six Secrets might seem unhelpful at first. It's because reading it on paper is different from actually living those principles out and practice. Six secrets gives you the bones. Live out these principles, and life will put meat on the bones. I think Six Secrets is especially important in light of how some critics call us the no lordship view.

40:29 What they've never understood about free grace position is that we agree the lordship of Christ is an essential aspect of any good theology and the essential goal of any good theology. Perhaps surprisingly to some, I'm deeply grateful for the lordship theology and those who expouse it. From talking to them and reading their ideas, it seems to me that at least one reason they so dislike free grace theology is fear, and it's a good fear. They're concerned for the honor of Christ. They're concerned. Their concerned theology is like ours with will okay, let me read this again. They're concerned for the honor of Christ. Their concerned theologies like ours, will teach a type of Antiinomianism that won't honor the Lord.

41:13 Uh. Lord. From listening to and reading them, it's clear most don't understand our theology and in some cases deliberately deliberately misrepresent it. Right now, again, this is going to come at the Christian life from a non lordship position, and then the lordship position obviously will condemn it. And of course. Immediately they if anyone who ever tries to uh, if you move away from lordship in just slightly, you're going to be almost immediately accused of being an Antiinomian. And was it Martin Lloyd Jones the famous quote, you'll know you finally preach the Gospel correctly when you were accused of being an Antiinomian. Until you're accused of being an Antiinomian, you have never preached the gospel right now.

41:57 You can argue about the truthfulness. But I feel my own life, I was not accused of being an Antiinomian until I started trying to ensure that the Gospel was understood more fully and more correctly than the next thing. You know, I was accused of being an Antiinomian. Calling calling it the no lordship view is one example of the misrepresentation. May the Lord grant them mercy for this. What our critics don't understand is that only free grace theology can take the lordship of Christ seriously. Only free grace theology can take us to the goal. We all want. Only proper exegesis elicits proper theology. Free grace theology is biblical theology. And let me make it very clear, lordship would say the same thing. Lordship is the thing that will give us a proper exegesus. It's it's lordship that's biblical.

42:51 Everyone claims that their theology is the right exogesis of scripture. Everyone claims their theology is the biblical one. Everyone claims that lordship non lordships are many Calvinists, Calvinist, non Calvinist, uh. Charismatic, non charismatic. Everyone says their theology is the biblical one. Everyone claims that You see, critics want to attain the lordship of Christ with a decision of the will at the moment of faith. But the lordship of Christ over life is impossible to attain in our own strength. We can't do it without the Holy Spirit. Oh, here we go, dun dun dudum. You already know where this is headed right not now, see that the plot's been given away.

43:39 They they've they've they've they've. Revealed their hand once again. What the secret of the Christian life is going to be? Dun dun du du. We've got supernatural power. We've got power, ladies and gentlemen, We've got the power. Everyone thinks we've got power. Look, ultimately, all theologies believe that we have some supernatural power that will enable us to live out the Christian life in supposedly some supernatural way. Well, if we all have power, why is it that power cannot get me to perfection? And just think about this, If that power cannot get me to perfection, whatever is keeping me from perfection is actually stronger than the power I have been given. Because if the power I've been given is greater than the thing that tries to keep me from perfection, then I could get to perfection. You could get to perfection, you could get to sinlessness. I could get to sinlessness. As long as something is holding us back from sinlessness, then whatever that is holding us back is greater than whatever power I'm supposedly received. Now, whenever I try to articulate that, Christians lose their ever living.

44:54 Mind and get mad at me. But it's like, just take a deep breath, think that through logically, because the question is can I be sinless? Can I be holy as God is holy? Now? Some say yes, you can do some will say you can't. Well, if you think we can, then oh, then you know what. We don't need to argue. I just wait until you accomplish it, and whenever you accomplish it, it would be wonderful. Now, I've heard people who hold to certain theologies who believe in an entire sanctification as possible. They all say it's possible, but I've yet to achieve it. I'm like, well, you all everyone claims that it's possible, but nobody can pull it off. That's highly unlikely. Like, why is it so difficult to pull off? Because supposedly it's God giving me the power to do it. So if God's given me the power to do it, it shouldn't be difficult. Since God is omnipotent.

45:45 His power should get me there instantaneously. So the whole thing becomes maddening. So already here though we can't do it in our strength. That sounds so spiritual. Okay, I can't do it, but. Done, dun dun, dune. You've got power, So now you can do it in God's strength. Well, if I can do it in God's strength, you think that strength should get me to perfection, all right, So they go on to say this, we can't do it without his grace. Otherwise we're helpless. In fact, recognizing and experiencing that helplessness and inability is a key to beginning growth.

46:25 In the Christian life. For example, when I told Zayin and I got really angry, he taught me that failure properly responded to can be a great means of Christian growth. Of course, he did not mean sin was a good thing. What he did teach was how to learn from my failure to honor Christ. I truly believe Six Secrets has the potential to radically shake up your Christian life for the better. If you want to mature in your walk with Christ, read the book Zain Did Not Believe. Zain did not believe, nor am I suggesting that this is all you need to know. What I'm saying is that these are six essentials you can't grow without. I still go through times of great personal disappointment. So hey, these six secrets will change your life.

47:08 But just so that you know, I still go through times of great personal disappointment. What sod the six secrets work? Or do they not work? They work, but it's not going to fix everything. Is that what you're saying? I still live contrary to how I know I should. All right? So he still lives with great disappointment, and he still sins. He didn't use the word sin, but I still live contrary to how I know I should. So even with these six secrets, even with supposedly the Holy Spirit giving us power, he has to admit, Hey, I mean I still can't pull it off. What do the secrets actually accomplish? I don't know? All right?

47:53 Uh? I see I never. Hope is a good thing, and it's one thing I never had before understanding these principles. Today, I hope, but my hope is not in me. It is a savior who continues to save. And that's written by a pastor from a Grace Bible Church in Omaha, Nebraska. All right, now, but please now even after he has hope. Now, now I do like this idea. My hope is not in me, It's in a savior who continues to say, Now, I agree. My only hope is. In what Christ has done for me, in his imputed righteousness. But if you imply that my hope is that Christ will then do something in my practical life that I don't know achieve. What can I achieve perfection? No? If I can achieve perfection, then what's the Christian life going to be?

48:44 Consist of? Regularly daily sin? How do I know that? Because even two thousand years of church history, many worship services begin with a general confession of sin, because it's an acknowledgment that we're all sin, all sinners, and that we have been sinning all week. So we go from the ford to the prologue. Here's the prologue. A few years ago, Jimmy believed in the Lord for let me read this again. I'm skipping words here. A few years ago, Jimmy believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life. He knows that he is eternally saved and destined to live forever in the Kingdom of God. His initial experience of the Christian life was one of joyful discovery as he learned more and more about God's word in the Bible teaching church he attended. God also answered a lot of his prayers.

49:39 But now years later he feels bogged down. Christianity seems less joyful to him, and now he is struggling unsuccessfully with some personal sins. Oh no, this cannot be happening. This never happens. Now, maybe if he knows the Six Secrets. Okay, yes, I'm being somewhat again cynical. Look, here's the here's the idea. We're always going to struggle with sin. See that's that's that's the my thesis. And I'm just gonna say it. The Christian life is a life of sin. But let's see what they say here, all right. One day he bumps into Tom, an older Christian who he hasn't seen for a while. After a few minutes, Tom asks Jimmy a question, So how are you doing in your Christian life? Jimmy, Well, Tom, I don't know, not too good. I guess now right there, I do love the honesty, right, I mean, come on, how are you doing in.

50:45 Your Christian life? Come on? How are you? Now? You may want to say, I'm doing wonderful, I'm doing great, I'm a conqueror, I'm victorious. Okay if that, if that's the case, then all right. I sometimes I think Christians have to deny reality. All right? But what what what happens here? So this other person responds, Tom responds, well, how so, Jimmy, what seems to be the problem. Oh? I guess it's just that it all seems like such a struggle. I have some bad habits that I just can't seem to shake. And that's how the prologue ends. Now, obviously we can understand the strategy. The prologue is written in a way that we can all relate to.

51:29 This, we can all. Relate to Jimmy, Man, I'm struggling. I can't get I keep sinning. I keep struggling. All right, So now we come to chapter one. Dun, dundun dun. The sixth Secrets are about to descend from heaven, and now our lives are going to be radically transformed and we are going to find Okay, maybe I'm being a little hyperbolic. I'm not saying that's the way the book's presenting it, but clearly that's the idea we all can relate to. Jim. Now we just need the answers. So how does chapter one begin? How does a Christian?

52:12 How does a Christian live the Christian life? Oh? How does a Christian live the Christian life? By working hard at it, by firmly making up his mind to do it, by preserving in. Spite of all the difficulties. At best, such answers as these do not tell us very much. At worst, they misrepresent the Christian life by giving an unbalanced view of it. They suggest that the kind of life that's pleasing to God is primarily a matter of effort and striving. And this is where the duality within Christianity, this is where it becomes very contradictory, because.

52:55 Someone say, no, no, no, no, no. The way you live the Christian life is not by striving, not by working, by surrendering to God. And God will live the Christian life through you, and everybody in the congregation will be like, Amen, that was a great sermon, Pastor. But nobody goes gets in the. Car and go, well, wait a minute, if I don't have to strive and I don't have to try, and God is just gonna live the Christian life through me. If God is the one living the Christian life out through me, then my Christian life should be perfect because God is the one living it out through me. So do I have to do it? And then at the same time they say, it's not about what you do. It's not about your struggles and you're striving, it's about God doing it. But then at the same time it'll be like, but you need to make sure you show up to church. You need to make sure you tie, you need to make sure you pray.

53:41 You need to make sure you fast. You need to make sure you read your Bible. You need to make sure you memorize your Bible. You need to make sure you do this. You need to make sure you do this. You need to make sure you do this. Make sure you don't look at this, make sure you don't watch this. Don't do this. Have an accountability partner, don't do this. Don't be alone with this person, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this, and you're like for crying out loud I thought God was the one living out the Christian life through me. So do I do it? Or do I not do it? Of course, most Bible believing people would want to add something about getting help from God. Now that's true. Almost everyone would say, oh, well, you got to get help from God. You got to get help from God. That's the Christian go to. God will help us. God will do it. God will give us the strength.

54:29 Now the author here and then this is saying Hodges. He says, he writes this. But if we ask them how does God help us? The answers might turn out to be very general, perhaps even vague. So how does God help me? You say, God will help me overcome sin? How does he do it? How does he do it? Do I just all of a sudden get strength? I don't want that sin anymore. Now, if God's really going to help me, then the first step would be to get rid of my sinful nature, from which all sin arises. Now, some Christians will go so far as to say God has given basically eradicated the old nature.

55:09 But then they can't explain why I can't get to perfection. So how does God? I mean, if God's going to help that wouldn't be like, the number one way to help a sinner is to remove the sin nature. That would be like step one. Right, So let me read this again. Most Bible believing people would want to add something about getting help from God. But if we then ask how does God help us, the answer might turn out to be very general, perhaps even vague. He gives us strength, Some might say, but what exactly does that mean? What is the nature of that strength? If it is spiritual, what do we mean by spiritual? Now I do love the way this chapter begins, because it's already kind of too demonstrating some of the confusion within Christianity. Now I'm going to stop right there. I am going to go back to the table of contents. Now when you start reading chapter one, I still want you to get this book again.

56:18 It's called The Six Secrets of the Christian Life. I want you to get it. I am not saying, Look, I don't like the secret idea, the key idea. I don't like that. I don't like the idea that, hey, this is the book that's going to fix it. But what I do like is that this is another attempt in the history of christiandom to deal with the reality that the Christian life is one of sin. It's just the reality, and everyone approaches it differently. Some approach it by like, well, the reason there's so much sin within Christianity is because ninety nine percent of the people aren't saved. But thank God, I am, okay, And then somehow deny the fact that you're still sinning, right, all right, So that's an approach, or all these people lost their salvation, that's an approach. This is more of a free grace approach. And I don't know if we're going to agree with their approach, which either, but it's good to know all the different approaches. So I'm going to go back to the table of contents. I'm scrolling back, swiping back the six Secrets, page ninety three.

57:17 Okay, well, hang on, this may not get me to where I want to go. Here when I click on it, it's the hyperlink's not working. Hang on, let's see here. I thought they were going to give me. A summary. I thought they were going to give me a summary. Maybe they're not. I don't think they are. Okay, it doesn't look like it. That's weird the way the table contents have. They have something called the six Secrets. But it's not I guess it's not an actual hyperlink. Yeah, it just takes me to the beginning page. All right.

57:59 So I was hoping, hang on, let's go all the way, hang on, let's do this, even if you get all the way to the end. Yeah, they don't have. All right, Yeah, they don't really give us very far. They don't give us very far. So I'll do this. I'll go back to chapter one. I was gonna. I thought, maybe they summarize here are the six but they don't. They don't. They don't seem to do that. Here. I'll give you a hint. All right, they start off and and and see. I'm just I'm just gonna give you at least a hint of where the first one is headed. Right. I don't know if like, I don't know how he would summarize this, But here we go the section here for I guess the first secret is he calls it the Christian's dad body, the Christian's dad body, and talking about the Christian life. There are a number of superb biblical passages where we could begin, but one of the best that is found in the eighth chapter of Romans.

59:08 They're the Apostle Paul writes, and he wants us to look at Romans eight ten through eleven, and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But of the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, dwell in you. He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the spirit that dwelleth in you. All Right, See, I think I kind of see where they're going to go. Are they going to go with the idea that the way to understand sin in the Christian life is this Our body is dead in sin, but inside we've been changed.

59:54 So the conflict is with the inside with the external body. Now, well, you may want to go with that idea. This is how, Here in a nutshell, we have the fundamental problem. So they're gonna he's gonna summarize it. Here in a nutshell, we have the fundamental problem of Christian living. Every Christian inhabits a dead body. We often forget this. So is he gonna draw some kind of division? My body is dead, but inside there's what what shit? Remember we we've talked about this so many times. I've told you to try to just draw some kind of a picture of this, and it's so confusing when you listen to Christians. Right, you have a brand new heart. Okay, well I have a brand new heart, then the old heart is gone. Do I have a sinful nature or his heart nature the same thing? Do I have a new heart but an old nature? Or if I have a new heart, then the old nature is gone. Well, if I have a new heart, and if i'm and again, if you, if you the way Christians preach Second Corinthians, if anyone's in is a new creature, old things have passed away, all things have become new, then everything should be new. Right, you can't have still some of the old left if everything has become new. That's why that verse is so just misunderstood. That's referring to my positional standing.

1:01:13 Practically that cannot be true or everything but all the old would be gone, all the anything remaining would be of the old would be completely basically, I'd be glorified. So we know that that verse is not is so misunderstood. So some will say like okay, so, but then it's really weird because it'll be like, hey, you've got a new heart. But then it'll be like, but we're still fighting against sin, and we're still fighting with sinful desires, so we need to ask God to create in us a clean heart. Wait, I thought you already said I have a new heart. And wait, you told me that I'm a new creature, the oldest gone. What am I still fighting against? And it's like this weird contradiction. So I think what they're going to try to go with is, Hey, the way to understand this is that my body is dead, but inwardly, as a Christian, I'm all new, and so the conflict is between the new end and the old out.

1:02:06 But if the if the if the. Sin is out, it's my body. Well, wait, Jesus said all of our sinful things flow from our heart flows. I would still argue we still have. A sinful nature, not just a sinful body. So even this is going to be somewhat difficult to work its way through, all right, So I want to stop right there. Yeah, they're they're they're going to make a big deal out of this, and so we're gonna have to kind of we'll try to piece it together and try to understand what exactly is being stated here.

1:02:48 But In the meantime, I want you to get the book. It's only like three dollars, Like I said, four dollars even for a physical copy. It's The Sixth Secrets of the Christian Life by Zay Hodges. I'm not telling you to agree with it. I'm not telling you do it. I'm not telling you to agree with anything about it. What I'm trying to tell you is every form of Christianity tries to have some answer about the reality that we all know, which. Is sin, sin, sin, sin sin. And I think every approach is questionable, problem, problematic, convoluted, contradictory, illogical, insane, ridiculous, nonsensical, and denies reality. At least this book opens up with the fact that, hey, here's the reality. Are good even this states that some of the advice given makes no sense good, So we're starting off good here.

1:03:41 But I kind of feel I know where they're going. They're going to draw this contradiction that your body that's the problem inside, is all good inside your golden outside. And it's like, wait, so now I'm in a conflict with myself. Now in some ways I can agree with that, right because the things I want to do, I don't do, and the things I don't want to do I do, So there is a contradiction. Now I tend to go. My mind has been changed. Like the reason there's a contradiction or a conflict is because my mind has been changed in salvation, right, because repentance is a change of mind. I changed my mind about God, about sin, So my mind now knows this is wrong, this is what I'm supposed to do. But every other part of me, and even my mind, even though I've changed my mind, my mind is still impacted by the varied depravity.

1:04:33 That is still very much in me. So I do believe in some. Ways there's a duality. But I think overall my whole being is still very much dominated by a sinful nature. And you say, no, it's not dominated. You've been set free. Well, then I should be able to be perfect. Well, you're not going to be perfect. Whatever's keeping me from is obviously the thing dominating because it's keeping me from something, meaning it's in charge. All right. I want to Oh, we're sixty five minutes. I want to well, you know I done.

1:05:17 I did exactly what I did I wanted. I want you to go read the book. I want you to read the book, So get a copy. Six Secrets of the Christian Life again. Three dollars for the kindle, he said, I don't have a kindle. You get download the kindle app right. Four dollars for a natural physical copy, fifty five pages. You're not too much committed, and you can just kind of may you may read it and be just as confused. You may go, I don't get it. I have a feeling I'm not going to agree with something, or not only I agree with it. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to understand some of it. Because I think any attempt to try to fix this problem, nobody's got the answer. Even though everyone thinks they've got the secret. There's no secret.

1:05:58 You know what. The reality is, You're a sinner. You're still a sinner, and you'll be a sinner until glorification. You're going to sin all the way to glorification, and your only hope is the finished work of Jesus Christ and his imputed righteousness. He said, well, what does that mean for my practical life? Somehow we have to be prepared and acknowledge we're still going to sin, and the church seems incapable of knowing how to deal with that other than saying, well, you can commit all these sins and you're okay, just don't commit this one, because if you commit this one, we're going to kill you with a pile of rocks, you know, bashing against your head, or we're going to get nails and a hammer and we're going to crucify you and then we're going to burn the body. That just means we've just created our own list of mortal and venial sin.

1:06:53 All right, we'll stop there. Oh I want I got the book right here. I got the book right here. Do you want anyone else that says do do do you? Well? All right, we'll talk about it soon. Thanks for listening everyone, Have a great day. God bless