Apparently one is not supposed to plant a Magnolia tree close to the house. As first-time home buyers my wife and I were not aware of this tip. We liked looking out our bedroom window and seeing the beautiful flowering magnolias. That is until our basement wall started to crack.
This past week—when I was supposed to be on vacation—I spent my evenings killing and uprooting a Magnolia tree. I decided to do this in a three stage process. Stage one is chopping down the tree and leaving a 3 foot stump*. Stage two is to dig a hole around the tree until I expose and then kill those dastardly roots. Stage three is to rent several horses, badgers, cattle, Sherpa’s, and anything else I can find to pull the tree out of the hole.
While planning my lumberjacking festivities I started thinking a little about how this magnolia tree relates to sanctification. Specifically gospel-driven sanctification.
“So, I’ve got this porn problem”
A young man is in my office confessing his struggle with pornography. I know that the fundamental answer to his problem is the gospel. I also know that there are a few root issues that are likely causing his struggles with pornography. As we dig deeper we are likely to discover that his identity is found in sexual conquest and not in Christ. Those things must be dealt with.
All that is true, but do you want to know what my first advice to this young man will be (especially if he is a believer)? I will tell him…
“Dude, you need to stop looking at porn. Right now. This instant”.
Sometimes you’ve got to kill the visible tree (porn addiction) before you can start digging out the roots (idolatry). I fear that sometimes, with all of our talk of gospel-motivated obedience, we miss something crucial; namely, actual obedience. I like the way Kevin DeYoung put it:
Without [the biblical emphasis of effort], we’ll be confused, wondering why sanctification isn’t automatically flowing from a heartfelt commitment to a gospel-drenched justification. We’ll be waiting around for enough faith to really ‘get the gospel’ when God wants us to get up and get to work (Phil 2:12-13). Because when it comes to growth in godliness, trusting does not put an end to trying. (Deyoung, The Hole in Our Holiness)
You aren’t denying the gospel by grabbing the axe of effort and chopping down the tree of lust. At this point you might not even be dealing with root issues or motivations, all you know is that porn is bringing guilt and pain and you want it to stop. Don’t overcomplicate sanctification, grab the axe and start chopping.
What if I just leave the stump?
The problem with this passive—though gospel-sounding—approach to sanctification is that it spends all of its time and effort on uncovering roots and never chops. You’ve got to kill sin when you see it.
The other end of the pendulum, the Pharisee, is just as deadly. The pharisaical approach to sanctification chops down the visible without dealing with the root system. I’m not an expert on trees but I believe it is correct that if I don’t also sever the roots they will continue to grow (maybe even eventually sprouting another tree out of my stump).
You cannot just chop down the tree, leave a stump, and assume that the job is done. You’ve got to dig and get to the root of the issue. Otherwise you might outwardly tackle your pornography problem but your misplaced identity will lead you to bow to some other god.
Here is my point. If you and I are sinning we need to grab an axe and deal with it. The gospel is what causes us to grab an axe and get to work. And the gospel also causes us to grab a shovel and start digging out roots. But we must never confuse the gospel’s axe work with gospel’s root work. They aren’t the same but they are both necessary to our sanctification.
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*I should also mention that I did this with an axe and not a chainsaw. I tell you this just so you picture me as a true hardcore lumberjack…beard and all.
**In case you wonder why I would put a picture of an awkward guy awkwardly cutting down a big tree, it is intentional. Our attempts at grabbing an axe and hacking away at sin is often awkward and ugly. But it’s holy work.
That will preach Mike! Good stuff. Thanks for posting.
Very good points. I kind of get the feeling that these days everybody is so intent on avoiding anything that might be termed “legalism” that nobody is serious about active obedience/surrender. So you either have folks bent on fixing the root problem without ever chopping the tree down, or worse, you have folks that aren’t even wanting the tree to die.
This post was a great reminder that if we think the tree will simply die on its own then we’re likely to see our spiritual house crumble from the inside.
Mike Leake, Excellent Post. I would like your thoughts on this question. Don’t you think there is a difference between being delivered from porn and struggling to stay out of it, and not being delivered from it, and struggling to get out of it. The reason I asked this question is because many people wasn’t washed to begin with, so it seems as though it’s a never ending struggle to get out of it. When someone struggles to stay out of porn, who has been washed by Jesus blood. Then one can have victory over the flesh. Granted, it may… Read more »
Jess,
There is one sense in which we are already delivered from sin. And another sense in which that is a not yet. We are sanctified and are being sanctified.
Mike Leaky,
I see you have chosen your words carefully.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And I’m not sure if the last name typo is intentional or not. But so you know the last name is pronounced Leake as in Geek not Leaky as in Freaky.
I know that you stated that the fundamental answer (to any sin) is the gospel, but I wanted to stress that combating sin is a synergistic process. Therefore, in your analogy, it’s not just you alone chopping down the tree of sin, but the Holy Spirit is there helping as well, (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 5:17-18). It’s also important to note that the Christian must truly want to turn away from or repent of the sin, (Rom. 7:18-25); otherwise, the effort to change is in vain. Using a rubber axe is just as ineffective as leaving the stump.
Beth, I totally agree that it is the Spirit’s work as well in chopping down the tree. That is part of what I mean in saying: “The gospel is what causes us to grab an ax and get to work.” What I see happening, though, is that people “wait for the Spirit” to give them the desire to start chopping. After all they don’t want to “do anything in the flesh”. So they sit and do nothing…just waiting on the Lord. That’s not trusting the Spirit’s work of giving us a working an ax and not a rubber one. You… Read more »
“Stage three is to rent several horses, badgers, cattle, Sherpa’s, and anything else I can find to pull the tree out of the hole.”
How about controlled dynamite?
Or maybe some toxic poison specific to tree roots?
Just trying to be helpful and on-point.
oh please! BADGERS? no no no no NO! I have a better idea:
just ask a woman to pull the tree out of the hole for you . . .
she will rent a tractor and buy a large chain and have that tree out of the hole for you inside of an hour and not a badger in sight 🙂
On point, drill holes about 2-inches apart and pour Roundup in the holes.
Does the Roundup work? I’ve heard that and I’m considering giving it a go. I haven’t yet gotten the badgers or Sherpa’s. So I haven’t dug it up yet.
It works down here to kill tree stumps. Of course, eventually you’ve got to get the stump up, but you can Roundup it this year and burn it out next year once it’s been dead for a while.
I do *not* intend this to be used as a metaphor about dealing with sin. The application of toxic chemicals and fire is not a good idea.
“You cannot just chop down the tree, leave a stump, and assume that the job is done.” This reminds me of a stink tree we had in our back yard when I was young. My dad cut it down and as the one tasked with maintaining the fire in the fireplace, I wondered why we didn’t use it for firewood. Apparently the odor is worse when it is burned. But we had a stump left with roots all through the yard. My dad tried everything he could think of to kill the roots from the stump and nothing ever worked.… Read more »