In the church today we find an undeniable, brutal irony: believers filled with unbelief. Christians are often termed "believers," so this claim might at first seem surprising. But we don't have to look beyond ourselves to know with certainty that we too can beset with this sin. Do you see unbelief in God and His Word as a sin? It is among one of the worst faith-killing, power-sapping, glory of God-robbing sins a man can cultivate. To add to the danger, there is no sin more easily justified by our flesh than unbelief. We can be full of unbelief but perceive ourselves as strong, unwavering believers.
Familiarity with God's Word ironically provides an impetus to unbelief. We assume that because we can repeat verses verbatim we have in belief appropriated all God has granted us by grace. Through much hearing we become dull and senseless, finding more interest in reading the commentary in our study Bibles than by listening carefully for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as we read the naked Word of God. Did you realize this is a primary purpose of the Holy Spirit being sent? 1 Corinthians 2:12 reads, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." As we read the inspired Word of God, the Holy Spirit enables us to believe and appropriate what God has freely given us. We are trained to look to the scriptures for assurance concerning forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation, but we can look for feelings as confirmation when speaking about baptism with the Holy Spirit and physical healing. This ought not to be!
As I considered the unbelief in the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it struck me that it was not only Thomas who had to see to believe: every single one of them was full of unbelief of Christ's resurrection until Jesus revealed Himself to them. They all had to see before they believed. John needed to see the empty tomb, Thomas had to place his fingers in the prints of the nails, Mary Magdalene needed Jesus to say "Mary!," and the disciples on the road to Emmaus needed their eyes to be opened as Christ took bread and broke it while giving thanks. The fact is, we all need God to personally reveal Himself to us before we can see our unbelief, confess it as sin, and believe Him.
My familiarity caused me to miss the message of this insightful verse for many years. 1 John 5:13 in the KJV at first may seem redundant, but it points out the believer's need to believe: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." John was writing to people who already believed on the name of the Son of God. The purpose for him writing was so people would know they have eternal life, and that they would believe on the name of the Son of God. John saw there was unbelief among believers! People were building on the foundation of Christ, but they were also filled with doubts. It is possible to build a rickety building on a sure foundation. If we harbour unbelief, we give place to the devil. James 1:6-8 reads, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
When you look at your Christian walk, is it marked by stability or instability? Is your life better personified as a lighthouse firmly established upon a rock illuminating the way of salvation through Christ, or as a darkened ship being tossed about on waves, subject to the mercy of the tide? You do well to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ - hearing His Words, believing, and doing them - but if you build in unbelief spiritual and emotional instability will be the result. When you read the Word of God, do you believe it is absolutely true without fail, even if your experience seems to say otherwise? Some people take the wide, broad path of standing in judgment to explain away why your desired ends have not been met: "You obviously don't have the faith." It is not a question of faith, but more the issue of unbelief. 1 John 5:14-15 boldly proclaims, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
We can be confident that if we ask anything according to God's revealed will, He hears us. If He hears us, we know we have the petition we have asked. It may be that you have faithfully prayed 30 years for God's will in a situation and still you have not seen the end you desire. Does that mean that God's Word is wrong? No! Trust Him and continue to pray according to His will, thanking Him in advance for answering your prayer. Leave the timing and way to God. God in a way is like a taxi driver. He has revealed His plan to bring us and others to a particular end for His glory with sanctification, yet we are filled with doubts because He is taking a route unfamiliar to us. We complain about His driving, thinking He is taking us the longer way at our great expense. We want Him to take us by supersonic jet and He is content to let us walk through a desert. Confess your unbelief and follow Christ in faith. He will be true to His Word, and we are assured of His love, grace, and faithfulness.
[This Sunday at Calvary Chapel Sydney I preached on the subject of "Unbelieving Believers" from the second half of Mark 16. If you are interested to read them, the sermon notes can be found here. Please comment on what God is teaching you so we can all learn and grow!]
13 February 2012
09 February 2012
World Peace?
An oxymoron is a "combination of contradictory or incongruous words." Some common examples are "jumbo shrimp," "seriously funny," "modern history," and "long shorts." I visited a website which claimed to have an exhaustive list of oxymoronic statements, but from a biblical perspective they are missing at least one: world peace.
At the end of the halftime show during the Super Bowl, the words "world peace" were emblazoned across the field. Those are completely incongruous terms. The world's idea of peace is a world without war or conflict, unity of heart and spirit, a place free of suffering, racism, bigotry, nepotism, or hate. This is certainly a sublime desire. But this idyllic life cannot be realized in a world full of sin ruled by Satan, the prince of darkness. In scripture, the world's ways and humanistic philosophies are always at war with God's ways and perfect wisdom. There is not a square inch of shared ground between the world and God. There is no room for compromise because God's Laws are absolute and righteous, and the world is absolutely depraved, deceived, and doomed.
The wars, crimes, and death which ravages the globe finds its root in sin. Government, education, and tax dollars cannot bring this peace. Even if every mouth was fed, if everyone on the planet had clean water, proper education, and medical insurance, we would still not have peace. In the current state, "world peace" will always be a ghostly apparition because of the unchecked sin in the hearts of people who walk this earth. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Even people who truly have all the world can often fight a war in their hearts every day: fear of death, fear of man, hate, addictions, insomnia, fear of rejection, pride, violence, and lies. How many celebrities and millionaires have killed themselves through drugs, alcohol, or with violent intent because of disillusionment, loneliness, or sorrow? "Let me have their millions - that wouldn't happen to me." Oh yeah? Money can't buy you peace: it will rob you of the benefits you believe it provides. Murder, greed, violence among families, and hatred among people is only a symptom of the wickedness in the hearts of people when it rises to the surface.
Contrast the world with Jesus, who in scripture is called "The Prince of Peace." Ephesians 2:12-18 explains how Jesus has brought peace to this world of sin. "...You were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14] For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, [15] having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, [16] and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. [17] And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. [18] For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." For mankind, Jesus is our Peace, our only Peace. It is only through Him we can have peace with God through His shed blood, and only through Him we can have peace with one another. When Jesus came to the world, what did the world do? He was falsely accused, tortured, and crucified on the cross by those He preached peace to. The world could not accept the love, way, truth, or the life God offered through His Son.
The beauty of the story is that Jesus rose from the dead, proving His victory over sin and death. This is the victory He gives to all who repent and trust in Him. Not only that, but we can be at peace with God even though our bodies still dwell upon this sin-soaked world. The world can be in shambles all around us, but we can experience continually a peace that passes understanding. The peace of a Christian is not dictated by outer forces at work beyond his control which he must manipulate to be happy, but a peace that comes from within through faith in Christ. In a world where the news seems to only grow more evil and insidious, what grace that God should freely grant eternal life and peace to those who are redeemed through the blood of Jesus.
There can be no peace until there is first justice: not justice according to man's subjective standards, but according to God's righteous standard. The Bible says that Jesus will someday return to the earth as a conquering King, and the nations will be subdued before Him. He will bind Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit and set up His rule over all. Then, for the first time since Eden, there will be world peace. Music, dancing, athletics, competition, and the best efforts of men or combined government bodies cannot usher in this peace. Peace can only be obtained through the Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ.
At the end of the halftime show during the Super Bowl, the words "world peace" were emblazoned across the field. Those are completely incongruous terms. The world's idea of peace is a world without war or conflict, unity of heart and spirit, a place free of suffering, racism, bigotry, nepotism, or hate. This is certainly a sublime desire. But this idyllic life cannot be realized in a world full of sin ruled by Satan, the prince of darkness. In scripture, the world's ways and humanistic philosophies are always at war with God's ways and perfect wisdom. There is not a square inch of shared ground between the world and God. There is no room for compromise because God's Laws are absolute and righteous, and the world is absolutely depraved, deceived, and doomed.
The wars, crimes, and death which ravages the globe finds its root in sin. Government, education, and tax dollars cannot bring this peace. Even if every mouth was fed, if everyone on the planet had clean water, proper education, and medical insurance, we would still not have peace. In the current state, "world peace" will always be a ghostly apparition because of the unchecked sin in the hearts of people who walk this earth. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Even people who truly have all the world can often fight a war in their hearts every day: fear of death, fear of man, hate, addictions, insomnia, fear of rejection, pride, violence, and lies. How many celebrities and millionaires have killed themselves through drugs, alcohol, or with violent intent because of disillusionment, loneliness, or sorrow? "Let me have their millions - that wouldn't happen to me." Oh yeah? Money can't buy you peace: it will rob you of the benefits you believe it provides. Murder, greed, violence among families, and hatred among people is only a symptom of the wickedness in the hearts of people when it rises to the surface.
Contrast the world with Jesus, who in scripture is called "The Prince of Peace." Ephesians 2:12-18 explains how Jesus has brought peace to this world of sin. "...You were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [14] For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, [15] having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, [16] and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. [17] And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. [18] For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." For mankind, Jesus is our Peace, our only Peace. It is only through Him we can have peace with God through His shed blood, and only through Him we can have peace with one another. When Jesus came to the world, what did the world do? He was falsely accused, tortured, and crucified on the cross by those He preached peace to. The world could not accept the love, way, truth, or the life God offered through His Son.
The beauty of the story is that Jesus rose from the dead, proving His victory over sin and death. This is the victory He gives to all who repent and trust in Him. Not only that, but we can be at peace with God even though our bodies still dwell upon this sin-soaked world. The world can be in shambles all around us, but we can experience continually a peace that passes understanding. The peace of a Christian is not dictated by outer forces at work beyond his control which he must manipulate to be happy, but a peace that comes from within through faith in Christ. In a world where the news seems to only grow more evil and insidious, what grace that God should freely grant eternal life and peace to those who are redeemed through the blood of Jesus.
There can be no peace until there is first justice: not justice according to man's subjective standards, but according to God's righteous standard. The Bible says that Jesus will someday return to the earth as a conquering King, and the nations will be subdued before Him. He will bind Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit and set up His rule over all. Then, for the first time since Eden, there will be world peace. Music, dancing, athletics, competition, and the best efforts of men or combined government bodies cannot usher in this peace. Peace can only be obtained through the Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ.
08 February 2012
Eternal Moments
As I grow older, I am amazed by some of the things my brain has tucked away. What blows me away is how a single day, action, or statement has made a permanent effect upon my life. Both good and bad things in my past can have a positive influence on me today and the rest of my time on earth. I remember being corrected harshly as a child by the church secretary for asking her about her age or the embarrassing feeling when I unwittingly touched a toupee of my Sunday School teacher. I remember Coach Lib sitting down the cross country team to discuss philosophy, and Mr. Kennedy dropping a metal trash can on the floor at Emerald Junior High. I remember taking a friend to Taco Bell to cheer him up, and putting my foot in my mouth more times than I care to reflect upon. We would all likely agree that every day we have a chance to make a positive, permanent influence on the lives of those around us for the glory of God. The trouble is, because we can't mark those times on a calendar or plan for them, it seems those eternal moments go unrecognized.
Thinking back, it is easy for me to remember a lot of the people I worked with in the mechanical insulation industry. I remember conversations I had with Navy sailors, places I worked, jobs we accomplished. Yesterday I thought about a job I had at George Bailey detention center near the border. I only worked on the jobsite with my buddy Tim for one day. The "tin-knocker" (installer of the aircon duct we were wrapping) was a piece of work. He was happy, yelling in his Filipino accent, and seemed to be having the time of his life as he worked. Over and over he would yell, "Ho-kay sweet!" I asked him what he was saying. He said, "If you curse, people think you are a bad person. So I just made up my own words to say." And boy, did he say them with gusto! All day long we heard "Ho-kay sweet" until we found ourselves echoing him. The words echo in my head to this day, and I chuckle when I think of that crazy guy.
I don't know if that man thought working in the same building with me for one day would make such a long-lasting impression. I certainly had no idea! If someone is able to impact me simply with yelling "Ho-kay sweet!" at random times during working hours, how much greater and more positive an influence can God have through His people when they are yielded to Him! We will never know the breadth or depth of impact we are making on people around us every day, whether we realise it or not. If we recognized that every moment has the potential to be an eternal moment in someone's life, I'm thinking that simple fact would change the way we approach everything! However, it does me no good to be preoccupied with the impact I could make. In my flesh, no good thing dwells. I am not able to do good without the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Agreeing with the fact that God wants to use me and that anyone can be used by God for the purpose of making an eternal impact in a moment's time is most encouraging. When I focus on the fact that God can make a eternal difference through me, I look to Him for strength and guidance.
Today, you can make a difference! It all starts with us allowing God to make us different and align our temporal perspectives with His eternal one. Who knows? God can use a smile, hug, a word of encouragement or reproof, even a cup of water given in His name to make an eternal moment out of the mundane. Praise Him for His wondrous works!
Thinking back, it is easy for me to remember a lot of the people I worked with in the mechanical insulation industry. I remember conversations I had with Navy sailors, places I worked, jobs we accomplished. Yesterday I thought about a job I had at George Bailey detention center near the border. I only worked on the jobsite with my buddy Tim for one day. The "tin-knocker" (installer of the aircon duct we were wrapping) was a piece of work. He was happy, yelling in his Filipino accent, and seemed to be having the time of his life as he worked. Over and over he would yell, "Ho-kay sweet!" I asked him what he was saying. He said, "If you curse, people think you are a bad person. So I just made up my own words to say." And boy, did he say them with gusto! All day long we heard "Ho-kay sweet" until we found ourselves echoing him. The words echo in my head to this day, and I chuckle when I think of that crazy guy.
I don't know if that man thought working in the same building with me for one day would make such a long-lasting impression. I certainly had no idea! If someone is able to impact me simply with yelling "Ho-kay sweet!" at random times during working hours, how much greater and more positive an influence can God have through His people when they are yielded to Him! We will never know the breadth or depth of impact we are making on people around us every day, whether we realise it or not. If we recognized that every moment has the potential to be an eternal moment in someone's life, I'm thinking that simple fact would change the way we approach everything! However, it does me no good to be preoccupied with the impact I could make. In my flesh, no good thing dwells. I am not able to do good without the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Agreeing with the fact that God wants to use me and that anyone can be used by God for the purpose of making an eternal impact in a moment's time is most encouraging. When I focus on the fact that God can make a eternal difference through me, I look to Him for strength and guidance.
Today, you can make a difference! It all starts with us allowing God to make us different and align our temporal perspectives with His eternal one. Who knows? God can use a smile, hug, a word of encouragement or reproof, even a cup of water given in His name to make an eternal moment out of the mundane. Praise Him for His wondrous works!
06 February 2012
Cover the Sin with Love
"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."
1 Peter 4:7-8
One little word makes a huge difference. This is one of the verses from the King James Version I have been memorizing lately. In the New King James Version, the last part of verse 8 is a quote taken from Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." I am most familiar with 1 Peter 4:8 in the NKJV which reads, "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." As I repeated the verse a few times according to the KJV, I began to consider the difference between the use of "a multitude" or "the multitude." Though I am not a Greek scholar by any means, upon further examination the original Greek in this passage does not contain the definite article "the." The English indefinite article "a" does not appear in Greek at all! The text literally says, "...love will cover multitude sins." In translating the Greek into English, "the" or "a" have been added as well as "of" to allow the verse to flow naturally.
One thing I refuse to do is to pit differing literal translations of the Bible against one another. I do not believe I need to choose either the King James or the New King James version as divinely inspired and view the other as spiritually-substandard. The words we read in English are intended to aid us in knowing God as revealed in scripture. Both versions are fully supported with scripture. With the help of the Holy Spirit granting us wisdom and discernment, we can know the heart of God because He dwells within us. Love covers a multitude of sins, and love covers the multitude of sins. This minor difference reveals two versions of a single, powerful truth. As I read the scripture over and over to memorize it, the truth "love shall cover the multitude of sins" made a deep impression upon me.
Peter encourages the believers to above all have fervent love among them. The Bible says Christians are to be known for our love for God and one another. There are some in the world which ignorantly brand all Bible-believing, church-attending, Christ-professing people as hypocrites. This is only partly true. A more true and accurate statement is, "All people are hypocrites." The great irony is that the only way to become a Christian is to first admit that you are a rotten sinner, doomed to eternal damnation and separation from God because of your own sin. After confessing sin in repentance, a Christian is born again through faith in Jesus Christ and receives forgiveness of sins. No doctrinally sound Christian could claim he is sinless through his own merit, as 1 John 1:10 says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him [God] a liar, and His word is not in us." As a follower of Jesus Christ, we are to forsake sin and walk according to Christ's precepts. But no man clothed in human flesh can do this perfectly. We all stumble and fall, and we are not hypocrites to admit it. In fact, we begin to strip away our hypocrisy when we do this!
What comfort there is for Christians in 1 Peter 4:8: "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." There are some people who have spent years looking for a church that meets their standards. These same people would probably leave a church where Jesus Christ Himself was pastor because of all the sinners who attended! Love does not just cover "a multitude of sins," but "the multitude of sins." Even in church fellowships with only a few people, there are multitudes of sins represented. Jesus knew and knows this: people are sinners who need a Saviour! I love the fact that Peter does not speak theoretically: "If there's a multitude of sins, love will cover them." No! He says, "There are sins in abundance, and love covers them all." Proverbs 10:12 affirms, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." God knows our frame: He remembers we are dust. We do well to remember this too and refuse to stand in judgment of one another because a person's Bible translation of choice is a different translation than our own.
Proverbs 17:9 reads, "He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends." When the Christians in Corinth were taking private matters of offense before the legal system, he had strong words of challenge for them in 1 Corinthians 6:7: "Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" It would be better for me to allow myself to be cheated than to stray from walking in love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us a wonderful description of this kind of love: "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I can't count how many times I have read this passage, but it still blows me away. What love is this, the love of God shown sinners through Jesus Christ! We can't shed our blood to forgive sins, but we can cover them with the love of Jesus as we trust Him. Let us be faithful to cover the multitude of sins with God's love.
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