The Body of Christ, Part Two: Heart Surgery

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

My last post was about recognizing that, when you belong to the body of Christ, your personal sin does not only affect you. It makes the whole body sick, because we function as one.

But if today you are struggling with an addiction, or with jealousy, or unforgiveness, or some other secret problem that you harbor in the dark parts of your heart—there is a solution.

It’s not “working harder.” It’s not trying to manufacture “good attitudes.” It’s not striving through some ten-step program for recovery. It’s not secular therapy or drugs.

I don’t mean to offend those of you who have gone through any of these processes; they have their place. But if you are a believer, you have the ultimate solution.

It’s not administering an antidote to the poison. It’s throwing the whole bottle out. And this solution comes to the world through one man: Jesus Christ.

For we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name (Hebrews 13:14-15).

He desires mercy, not sacrifice. (See Hosea 6:6 and Matthew 9:13.)

He knows you will fail if you, in your own strength, sacrifice and sacrifice to overcome sin. He desires, instead, to grant you mercy: to take your problems on Himself, and give you freedom. “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Jesus didn’t bust down the jail cell so that you could scramble through a cycle of deliverance, failure, guilt, shame, and subsequent hard work to get back to deliverance. I am very familiar with this cycle. I’ve been through it too, every time I tried to overcome a sin that had captured my heart and bound it in chains.

It’s only when you give your sin to Him—and don’t pick it back up again—that you are really set free and can operate in your gifts, can become well, can move with the rest of the body in unity.

But it’s not a “wham, take my sin, please and thank you, now let’s move on” moment. It takes real, sincere, honest surrender. And in a culture that makes poison seem as innocuous, even as tasty, as peach tea, that can be a difficult place to reach.

I have heard so many stories of people who were set free of addictions to pornography, drugs, and alcohol in a moment, after struggling for years, because they finally admitted that they couldn’t do it themselves and laid it before the throne. These were people who thought all hope was lost. But they somehow had courage to approach the throne of grace, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). I’ve lain resentment, competition, perfectionism—the list goes on—at His feet, and have been delivered in a moment.

In order to do that, you have to be completely humbled. You have to be willing to lay open the wound—expose it to the One who can heal it. That takes bold honesty and surrender of pride. You have to circumcise your heart (Deuteronomy 10:16, Romans 2:29). Circumcision, I hear, is not a pleasant process. But it gets rid of things that need to go, and it consecrates you. And I won’t lie to you: it’s as painful as surgery.

But no surgeon lays open your chest and then refuses to sew it shut again. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God are the ultimate surgeons. They cut down to the root of the problem (Hebrews 4:12-13). But almost as soon as they touch you, they heal you.

That’s not to say you won’t ever face temptation again. But something will be altered, and you won’t fail. You’ll see. He’s ready for the unnecessary weight to fall off, and for you to be free to live out your destiny in Him.

He is the author and perfecter of our faith, and you can trust Him with everything. After all, you are His body. Worldly solutions, even your own resolve (as powerful as the human will is), will never stand against sin. But no one hates his own flesh (Ephesians 5:29-30).

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts….(Psalm 95:7-8).

He is waiting, my friend.