Ending on a Sour… Er… Sober Note?” Nehemiah 13:4-31 31 August 2014

“Ending On a Sour… Er… Sober Note?” Nehemiah 13:4-31 31 August 2014

Maybe you’ve heard the expression, “Jump the shark.” It is a phrase that was originally used to denote the tipping point at which a TV series is deemed by the viewers to have passed its peak, or has introduced plot twists that are logically inconsistent in terms of everything that has preceded them. Once a show has “jumped the shark,” the viewer senses a noticeable decline in quality or feels the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original charm.

The term has also evolved to describe other areas of pop culture where people, actors, authors, etc seem to lose their edge and they are on an obvious decline.

Where did the phrase “jump the shark” originate? The term comes from a Happy Days episode centering around Arthur Fonzarelli, also known as Fonzie, or the Fonz. Remember Fonzie? Fonzie was the cool, womanizer who could woo all the ladies with his love and looks. Fonzie would take your girl right outta your arms just by looking at her! He was that cool! Straight out of your arms into the arms of the Fonz.

Well, there is an episode of Happy Days where the Fonz is waterskiing in the ocean, with perfect hair and wearing his famous leather jacket, and he jumps over a shark in the ocean. So the Fonz is waterskiing in the ocean, he sees a shark fin, the viewer is terrified because we think the Fonz is gonna get eaten by a shark, and what does Fonzie do? He does what only the Fonz could do: he jumps over the shark! Hence, the expression, “jump the shark.”

That episode was the beginning of the end for Happy Days. That was the moment when Happy Days was about to experience the “sad days” of cancellation. Who waterskis in a leather jacket? Only the Fonz!

Well lots of TV shows have jumped the shark. But what does jumping the shark have to do with the book of Nehemiah?

On the surface it seems like Nehemiah is jumping the shark because of how the book ends. Remember that Ezra+Nehemiah are 1 book in the Hebrew Bible. They belong together. And Ezra+Nehemiah started off great: the people were in exile in Babylon. Cyrus the Persian king allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem so they could rebuild the temple and restore the worship of Yahweh, the Sovereign Lord. This happened under Ezra’s leadership.

In time, Nehemiah arrived and led the nation in rebuilding the city walls. These city walls were completed in 52 days and there was a big celebration that we saw last week in chapters 11-12 and the first 3 verses of ch. 13. They were so full of joy that they sounded the loud not of worship that was heard far away.

But Nehemiah does not end his narrative there. He could have ended on a high note. He could have ended on the loud note of worship. He could have ended his story with that big party Israel had where their worship caused their neighbors to call the police on them because it was so loud. But instead Nehemiah ends on what on the surface looks like a sour note. On the surface it looks like Nehemiah killed the ending to his book.

But as we’ll see today, it’s not a sour note that Nehemiah ends on, but it’s a sober note. Nehemiah doesn’t end on a sour note, he ends this book on a sober note. Stay tuned to see why Nehemiah ends his story this way. It looks like he has “jumped the shark”- but how he ends the book of Ezra+Nehemiah very well could be a means of grace in your life and the life of this church!

Our big idea today is something you have heard me say many times- BE KILLING SIN OR IT WILL BE KILLING YOU.

That comes from Puritan pastor John Owen’s book, which was released in 1656 with this magnificent title: The Mortification of Sin in Believers: The Necessity, Nature, and Means of it with a Resolution of Sundry Cases of Conscience, Thereunto Belonging.

You wonder why my sermon titles are strange? Blame it on the Puritans!

Nehemiah 13 is all about being reminded that we must always guard our hearts and be busy killing sin. In this chapter we’ll see a reminder that the people of God must continually be killing sin or they will be killed by it. Compromise, corruption, contamination by the world and sin are ever-present threats to the life of the church.

But understand this: Sin does not come to us as a murderer. Sin does not approach us as a killer in a horror movie with a bloody knife. Sin does not approach us as a Middle Eastern terrorist. Sin does not approach us as a monster from a Sci-Fi movie. Sin approaches us as a lover. Sin comes to us all “dolled up” and looking good and it makes sweet promises to us. Sin comes to woo us away from our first love, our wonderful Redeemer, Jesus. Sin comes to draw our affections away from Jesus. Sin seduces us. Sin lies. Sin deceives. And therefore it needs to be killed. That’s what Nehemiah is saying to God’s people as he closes his book.

And before we get into the exposition, let me make a plug for one of our Grace Seminary classes. Kurt Mason will be teaching out of a book called Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin. This book, by Brian hedges, is a great summary of John Owen’s book. And it’s easier to read. And since you struggle with sin, I recommend you take the class. Grace Seminary starts next week on September 7. So sign up today. The class will be during the 10:30 hour in Room 108.

Ok, back to Nehemiah. Notice first 2 verses:

Nehemiah 12:44 “On that day…”

Nehemiah 13:1 “On that day…”

NOW LOOK AT NEHEMIAH 13:4- “Now before this…”

What Nehemiah is doing in chapter 13 is telling us what happened before the covenant renewal and dedication of the wall in chapters 9-12. In other words, Nehemiah is telling us here in chapter 13 about what was happening before revival broke out and the people rebuilt the city walls.

So Nehemiah ends his book by going back to explain what was happening before and while they were rebuilding the walls. Instead of ending on a high note, instead of ending on the loud note of worship, Nehemiah goes back in time and reminds his readers of some of the situations that were occurring as he arrived in Jerusalem, started building, and was finishing the the city walls.

And what was happening back then when Nehemiah first arrived? We saw it also in Ezra 10. There was widespread contamination and corruption and compromise. The people of God were not being the city of God.

LOOK AT VERSES 4-9… Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

Eliashib had charge over the chambers of the temple where they would store all the gifts that people gave to the work of God. Then one day Eliashib decides to go against Scripture and hook his cousin Tobiah up with a sweet new crib! He actually converts one of the temple chambers into a “man cave” for Tobiah! It was like Eliashib was on an episode of Design Star or some other design show on HGTV.

But notice the danger of compromise here: Eliashib the priest was related to Tobiah. Remember Tobiah? We saw him earlier in Nehemiah as one of Nehemiah’s opponents. And here we have a priest who lets “blood be thicker than covenant!” He lets his relationship with Tobiah take precedence over his relationship with his God. Pleasing man mattered more than pleasing God.

All of this took place of course while Nehemiah took a trip to see King Artaxerxes. And when Nehemiah returned, well, Nehemiah went ballistic! He got angry and threw all of Tobiah’s furniture out into the street. The street was littered with end tables, a dartboard, a TV, a mattress, chairs, a grill, a pinball machine, some weights, all the things you would find in a man cave. Then Nehemiah brought in a cleaning crew that had some Clorox bleach and some Febreeze and who knew the book of Leviticus and it was turned back into a temple storage room.

And all of this is a picture of the disciple’s need to never give up the fight against sin, compromise, contamination, and corruption by the world.

John Owen said, “That the choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin…Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

The Christian life is a daily killing spree. We are to never stop nor tire from killing sin. So don’t pamper your sin. Hate it! Fight it! Kill it with the word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. Kill sin by believing the promises of God. Kill sin by treasuring Jesus. Kill sin by diving deep into the ocean of the Gospel. Kill sin by resting in God’s love for you.

And the sin of Eliashib and Tobiah had to be killed and dealt with severely. It called for violence, not gentleness. It called for killing, not coddling. That’s why Nehemiah acted the way he did. Oh, how Grace would change if we all had Nehemiah’s hatred for sin! Oh, how my life would change if I had Nehemiah’s hatred for sin!

Well, Nehemiah’s “spring cleaning” of the nation is far from over.

LOOK AT VERSES 10-14… I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

Nehemiah got wind that people were not giving their tithes and offerings to support the Levites, so the Levites were having to go get extra jobs. So Nehemiah confronted the officials and set them in place to receive the goods from the people. The people then brought their tithes and offerings that they had been negligent in. Then Nehemiah set reliable men in charge of the distribution to the Levites.

Basically, this is teaching us to fight the sin of hoarding our own resources so that the church can do what it’s trying to do. We have an electric bill to pay. It takes money to cover all that we do here. That’s why it’s important that we all fight the urge to hoard our resources and fight the urge to never give to the work of the kingdom here.

Then Nehemiah prays what looks like on the surface to be a self-righteous prayer. But it’s not. The people neglected to support their ministers and pastors and they were disobeying Numbers 18:21-24, which called them to take care of the Levites. Nehemiah prays, “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.”

Nehemiah is asking God not to wipe out his “good deeds.” The Hebrew here for “good deeds” is the plural form of the Hebrew word hesed, which is translated as “loyal covenant love, steadfast love.” Nehemiah is calling the nation out on their sin of neglecting to provide for the Levites and it’s all due to Nehemiah’s covenant commitment to Yahweh, his love for Yahweh. In other words, it’s “loving”, it’s “good” for Nehemiah to remind the nation of their covenant commitment to take care of the Levites, their pastors and shepherds. It’s good and it’s a loving thing to be reminded by your pastors and elders to continue giving faithfully to the work of God here at Grace. Nehemiah’s love for Yahweh and His Kingdom drove him to call out these Israelites who had believed the lie of sin that it was better to hoard their resources than to give them away and follow God’s commands.

It’s another reminder to al of God’s people to- BE KILLING SIN OR IT WILL BE KILLING YOU.

Sin promised these Israelites a better life if they hoarded their resources and did not give to the work of God. So they turned away from Yahweh. They fell out of love with their Lord. They were seduced by sin.

Remember: Sin does not come to us as a murderer. Sin does not approach us as a killer in a horror movie with a bloody knife. Sin does not approach us as a Middle Eastern terrorist. Sin does not approach us as a monster from a Sci-Fi movie. Sin approaches us as a lover. Sin comes to us all “dolled up” and looking good and it makes sweet promises to us. Sin comes to woo us away from our first love, our wonderful Redeemer: Jesus. Sin comes to draw our affections away from Jesus. Sin seduces us. Sin lies. Sin deceives. And therefore it needs to be killed.

Well, so far, it looks like we’re ending on a sour note, Nehemiah! You throw a man’s couches out on the street. You destroy his man cave. You call the nation to the carpet over not giving to the church. Not exactly the best way to end a book? Or is it?

Well, the sour note continues, but I’ll argue at the end of this sermon that’s it’s not actually a sour note, but a sober one!

LOOK AT VERSES 15-22… In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.

Notice in verse 15 that it says, “In those days…” So Nehemiah is going back in time once again to describe what life was like before the great covenant renewal of chapters 9-12.

The problem, the sin, the corruption that got Nehemiah worked up and needed to be put to death by the nation concerned the Sabbath. God gave Israel the Sabbath, from Friday evening at sundown to Saturday evening at sundown, to rest and relax and enjoy His blessings and to trust Him to provide. God did not want His people working 7 days a week! God’s not a workaholic! He values rest so much that He gave us one day to cease from work so that we can worship and rest.

So the problem here is two-fold:

1} The Israelites were working on the Sabbath, bringing in grain, grapes, figs, etc and then selling these items!

2} The Tyrians, who were pagans and did not give a rip about Israel’s laws, were selling food to the Israelites in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, and the Israelites were buying!

Notice that Nehemiah’s rebuke is very theological. It’s rooted in Scripture. He reminds them that they are about to be placed back under Yahweh’s anger {vv.17-18} and might end up in exile again. Nehemiah calls it an “evil thing” that they have done.

So what does he do now? He starts killing sin because Nehemiah knows that if he doesn’t, then it will be killing the city of God! So on Friday evening about sundown, Nehemiah shuts the gates of the city and sets guards at the gates. Then, those who think lightly of God’s word come up and hang around the gates. And what does Nehemiah do? He gives them this warning: “If I see you here again, I’m gonna lay hands on you!”

Now, you know, that’s the politically correct way of saying it, right? You get the idea, right? He’s gonna “lay hands” on them! That means he will rough them up if necessary. That means that he will feed them a “knuckle sandwich for dinner.” If they want to buy food so bad on the Sabbath, Nehemiah is offering to deliver “knuckle sandwiches” to their house for dinner! There is no way that Nehemiah is going to let Israel disobey because Nehemiah doesn’t want to go back into exile. He will resort to force if he must.

Nehemiah’s actions remind us to- BE KILLING SIN OR IT WILL BE KILLING YOU.

Sin promised these Israelites a better life if they worked harder and did not take a day of rest as prescribed in God’s word. So they turned away from Yahweh. They fell out of love with their Lord. They were seduced by sin.

Well, if you haven’t got the picture yet that Nehemiah takes his relationship with Yahweh seriously, then buckle your seat belt because he’s about to show us what church discipline looked like in the 5th century B.C. Nehemiah is about to go UFC on some people. Nehemiah is about to do church discipline not in the sanctuary, but in the octagon!

LOOK AT VERSES 23-30… In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?” And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Notice in verse 23 that it says, “In those days…” So Nehemiah is once again going back in time to describe what life was like before the great covenant renewal of chapters 9-12.

The sin that needed to be killed here was inter-marriage with the pagan nations, which was forbidden by God’s law. We saw this same sin in Ezra 10. And Nehemiah really gets worked up. He not only confronts those who have broken God’s laws, but he actually calls down covenant curses on them. And then he goes a step further and beat some of them up and pulled out their hair! He pulled no punches and he pulled hair! Not exactly how you want your pastor to treat you at a counseling session!

What Nehemiah does here is church discipline “old school!” And verse 28 says that he chased one of the compromisers away! He actually chased a guy down the street! How would you like to get chased down the street by a pastor after a counseling session?

And I can see it on some of your faces. This is making some of you uncomfortable. You may be thinking, “How dare Nehemiah beat people up and pull out their hair and chase them down the street! How dare you do this! You’re not acting like a Christian, Nehemiah! That’s not very loving, Nehemiah!”

Understand this: Sometimes extreme situations call for extreme measures. And that flies in the face of our “safe-don’t rock the boat-who are you to call me out on sin” society that we live in. And sadly it has crept into the church.

Let me say this: The leaders of this church would never beat you up or pull out your hair or chase you down the street. Or, I don’t think we would! Maybe I shouldn’t make that promise to you! But we will confront you when there is blatant, unrepentant sin. Jesus told us to do that in Matthew 18. It’s called church discipline. But we love you enough to get in your face graciously and lovingly when you are in hardened, unrepentant sin.

This doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to run around and be the “Fruit Police.” We’re not called to see if the fruit of the Spirit is being produced in someone’s life. “SIREN…Pull over! Let me see your Christian identification. Hmm. I don’t see any fruit, brother. Are you producing fruit? I don’t see any? Are you sure you’re saved? Have you been patient? Kind? How’s your joy level? I’m gonna have to write you a ticket for posing as a Christian because clearly you aren’t one.” We’re not called to do that. And that’s not what Nehemiah is doing here.

We’re not called to run around and be “Kingdom Monitors” as Mike Yaconelli said-

“…we decide to make grace ‘more responsible’ by being self-appointed Kingdom Monitors, guarding the kingdom of God, keeping the riffraff out (which, as I understand it, are who the kingdom of God is supposed to include).” {Messy Spirituality: God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People, p.47}

So some Christians run around like self-appointed Kingdom Monitors trying to keep the riff-raff out: “How are you doing? Reading the Bible enough? Praying enough? Giving enough? I have doubts about you, sister!” No, we won’t do that. And that’s not what Nehemiah is doing here.

And we’re not called to be “Spiritual Doctors” running around and checking everyone’s spiritual temperature: “Do you love Jesus? Is your passion for Him hot enough? Let me feel your forehead. Yep. As I suspected, Ice cold. Frozen. You watched that ‘Frozen’ movie and you let Jesus go, didn’t you? That’s what I thought. I’m going to write you a prescription for how you can get saved because clearly you’re not a Christian!” We’re not called to do that. We’re not called to be the “Fruit Police” or “Kingdom Monitors” or “Spiritual Doctors.”

Why? Because we all struggle with sin everyday! On any given day my passion for Jesus may be white-hot or seemingly non-existent! So the discipline being described here is not for our constant, daily struggles with indwelling sin that we all struggle with. We’re talking about getting to a point where the heart is hardened to Jesus and His love. We’re talking about someone flat out refuses to repent and change. For instance, if someone leaves their spouse for another lover and they refuse to kill that sin and refuse to leave their new lover and refuse to restore their marriage. If something like that happens, then there are steps that the leadership, the elders and pastors, will take to see restoration happen. And restoration to Jesus for God’s glory is the goal.

But the whole point of Nehemiah 13 isn’t that we become the “Fruit Police” or “Kingdom Monitors” or “Spiritual Doctors.” The point of Nehemiah 13 is this: Don’t flirt with sin. Compromise is just around the corner. Contamination by the world is subtle. Indwelling sin still remains in you, Christian. So guard your heart. Watch out for false lovers. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

BE KILLING SIN OR IT WILL BE KILLING YOU.

And instead of ending the book on a high note of covenant renewal, instead of ending his book on the loud note of worship, Nehemiah goes back in time to tell the stories of compromise and contamination by the world. Why? “Why end it on a sour note, Nehemiah? You had such a great story going, and now you go and jump the shark! You killed the ending, bro! You ruined the ending, Nehemiah! It was so great in chapters 9-12. There was a party! They ate steak and drank wine! They renewed the covenant with the Lord. Their worship was so loud their neighbors had to call the police on them! Why go back and tell your audience about a sad, dark period in our history? Why end on a sour note, Nehemiah?”

But the reality is this. Nehemiah doesn’t end the book on a sour note. He ends the book on a sober note. He wants every disciple who ever reads this book to know that compromise and contamination and sin are always a possibility for the people of God.

Nehemiah is telling the people of God, “We could end up here again. This could be us: we could end up hardened to the Lord. We could get contaminated by the world. We could end up in exile. We could give in to the subtleties of sin. Therefore, be sobered by this, church! Be killing sin or it will be killing you!”

I don’t think Nehemiah jumped the shark. I don’t think he ruined his story. I don’t think he killed the ending. I think his book was crafted superbly. You know why? Because his ending reminds me of Jesus. It reminds me that the people of God, the city of God, the church has always failed. The ending of Nehemiah makes me look forward to That Israelite, Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept the law and never failed the test. The One who kept the covenant faithfully. The One who did what Adam and Israel could not do!

No, Nehemiah, you didn’t jump the shark because you made us think about Jesus, who never sinned, never disobeyed, never was contaminated by the world. You made us think of Jesus, who obeyed the law for us. You made us think of Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God who died in our place so that we could be reconciled to God. You made us think of Jesus who will return one day to the earth to set up His kingdom and will rule from the New Jerusalem, the City of God.

No, Nehemiah, you didn’t jump the shark. You reminded us once again that sin does not come to us as a murderer. Sin does not approach us as a killer in a horror movie with a bloody knife. Sin does not approach us as a Middle Eastern terrorist. Sin does not approach us as a monster from a Sci-Fi movie. Sin approaches us as a lover. Sin comes to us all “dolled up” and looking good and it makes sweet promises to us. Sin comes to woo us away from our first love, our wonderful Redeemer: Jesus. Sin comes to draw our affections away from Jesus. Sin seduces us. Sin lies. Sin deceives. And therefore it needs to be killed.

And the only way that you’ll ever kill sin and avoid contamination by the world is by delighting in the beauty of the Gospel! By being overwhelmed with Jesus’ love for you! By being overwhelmed that He rejoices over you with great joy. By being overwhelmed with the fact that you sit forever under the banner of His love. By being overwhelmed that Jesus lived the life that we could never live. That He died the death that we all deserve. That He covers us with His righteousness. That we are in union with Him!

So let’s close this sermon and close this sermon series out with a quote by another Puritan, Walter Marshall {1628-1680}. In his book The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness By Living in Union with Christ, he says-

“You cannot love God if you are under the continual, secret suspicion that he is really your enemy. You cannot love God if you think that he condemns and hates you… Your love for God must be won and drawn out by your understanding of God’s love and goodness towards you… You simply cannot love God unless you know and understand how much he loves you…When you love him, it is because you see that he has been so good to you!… God does not drive you along with whips and terrors, or by the rod of the schoolmaster, the law. Rather, he leads you and draws you to walk in his ways by pleasant attractions {Hosea 11:3-4}. The love of Christ…is the greatest and most pleasant attraction to encourage you to godly living {2 Cor. 5:15; Rom. 12:1}.”

May Jesus draw us out of the arms of sin into His loving arms! May we leave behind all those lovers that promise us so much and may we return once again to our first love, Jesus.

“Ending On a Sour… Er… Sober Note?” Nehemiah 13:4-31 Sermon study Questions

1. Read Hebrews 3:12-13. How does sin present itself to us? What are the dangers of becoming hardened by sin?

* I highly recommend you read or take our Grace Seminary class on the book, “Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin” {Brian Hedges} http://www.cruciformpress.com/our-books/licensed-to-kill/

2. John Owen said, “That the choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin…Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.” Discuss.

3. Read Nehemiah 13:25. Does this make you uncomfortable? Explain why Nehemiah is justified in responding this way.

4. Have you ever encountered (or been a member of!) the “Fruit Police” or the “Kingdom Monitors” or “Spiritual Doctors”? How did it make you feel? Explain why we aren’t called to be this way with fellow believers. What role, then, does accountability play in our relationships?

5. Discuss “church discipline.” (see Matthew 18:15-20; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5)

6. Why did Nehemiah end his book by going back in time and describing the sin of the nation before the great covenant renewal of ch. 9-12? Why did he end it on a sober note? Explain how Nehemiah’s ending should cause us to think of That Israelite, Jesus Christ.

7. Discuss what Puritan Walter Marshall {1628-1680} said in his book The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness By Living in Union with Christ-