Given Over to What?

The Bible teaches that man is inherently wicked, not righteous.  Even as gravity exerts the same force on all objects to fall to the ground whether they be living person or an inanimate object, sin shows no partiality among man, woman, or child.  The downward spiral of every human soul towards Hell because of sin is certain and sure.  From our birth, sin has us in its death-grip.  We do not merely tend towards sin but are completely polluted by it, mind and soul.  As we grow older our appetite for sin grows.  Our capacity and desire to sin initially is fettered by childish ignorance and limitations.  It is when we grow out of this fetter that we make larger and stronger ones for ourselves by willfully seeking after sin and embracing it.  Greater bondage occurs because sin is suited to our natural state.  Sin is like a bait perfectly selected for our tastes, even as a fisherman covers the hook with bait to lure an unsuspecting trout.  Those who walk according to the lusts of the flesh are given over to sin.  Instead of the freedom one might think, sin enslaves in eternal bondage.

Though we can relate to being "given over" to sin because all sinned and fallen short of God's glory, the Bible gives us many examples.  Entire cities are described as being given over to fornication (Jude 1:7) and idolatry (Acts 17:16).  Romans 1:28-32 describes people who have no fear of God in plain terms:  "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

One of the most eye-opening experiences of my life were the amazing contrasts I saw during a 2005 trip to Israel.  In the Old City of Jerusalem I saw people given over to religious pursuits, tradition, and discussion.  It is a ancient city built with walls and streets of natural stone that reeks of tradition and history.  Orthodox and Russian Orthodox Jews wore traditional apparel, washed their hands according to the manner prescribed by the oral commands, and some wore yarmulkes and tefillin.  Men donned prayer shawls and recited from prayer books before the Western Wall to God.  But near the Old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv in the heart of the red-light district, I witnessed a startling contrast.  One night, the team and I went to hand out Gospel tracts and talk to people about our Messiah, Jesus Christ.  That part of the city was completely given over to drugs, alcohol, and prostitution.  People crawled on their hands and knees as they feverishly sorted through rubbish in the gutter, looking for a old syringe with a needle still intact.

Within the red-light district there was additional irony.  As we walked through the streets offering the Gospel we encountered veteran prostitutes in grubby clothes and blank, seemingly soulless men who sought them.  It felt like walking among the dead.  The pained faces I saw were not like the advertisements plastered on the sex shops.  Those poor people looked more like zombies or machines "going through the motions" than human beings, high on crack cocaine and heroin.  A painting on a wall showed a bright white light enveloping a joyful embracing couple, as they soared to heavenly heights on the wings of passion.  A man I saw who entered the building did not look victorious as he pushed past us as a goat heading for slaughter.  In his eyes I saw hopelessness and despair.  He looked like he wanted to die.  He bought a lie that could not save but only added to his misery.  A city given over to sin is a city of death.  The world doles out death as fast as man can sin.  The bright lights may obscure the facade, pulsing music can drown out the weeping for a time, drugs can numb and bring euphoria for a moment, but sin is a killer that strangles away your life.  It is a slow, painful death that leads to eternal torment in Hell.

Praise the LORD for the hope we have in Jesus Christ, the Light of the World!  He not only forgives us for our sins, but reconciles us to God.  He is a Deliverer, Redeemer, and Restorer.  He has come to set the captives free.  The prophet points to Jesus Christ in Isaiah 61:1-3: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ² to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, ³ to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."  If you are brokenhearted, held captive or bound by sin, God has Good News for you.  Jesus has come to seek and save those who are lost and to free those caught in sin's grasp.  Jesus has come to save you:  are you willing to be saved?  We are called to confess our sins and repent, trusting in Jesus for salvation through faith in Him.  God so loved this sinful world that He sent His only Son, so whoever will believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Instead of being given over to sin, all people are designed and called to be given over to God's worship and service.  Once we are born again of the Holy Spirit, we receive spiritual gifts to be used for God's glory and the edification of the church.  Our lives ought to be consumed for the glory of God.  This morning I read of Paul's exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:15-16:  "Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."  As a Christian, I cannot give myself entirely to God's work if I reserve parts of my life for myself.  If I am weighed down with unconfessed sins and cares, I am like an sprinter in an Olympic race with a 50-kilo backpack dragging me down (Heb. 12:1).  If I am running to win, I cannot do so with such a great hindrance.  I want to win for Jesus.  He's the One who receives the reward, for all who have been purchased with His shed blood are His inheritance.  All I am and have is His, and Christ is mine.  Let us make a decision to be given over to the service of God for His glory.  As much as we desire to hear from Christ, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" we should desire to truthfully say someday with great joy, "I am your humble servant.  I have only done what is my duty to do."

Do Good - Christian!

It is a wise practice to consider our reasons for doing things.  Our motivation can be even more important in God's sight than the good works we actually do.  A "good work" is sinful and hypocritical if spawned through selfishness.  If the way to Hell is paved with bricks of good intentions, sinful motivation is the mortar.

On Saturday I was talking with a couple who asked why I volunteer to spruce up the grounds at a local cemetery.  "Do you know someone here?  How were you connected with the clean-up committee?"  I explained that I am a pastor at a local church and emailed the council to request how we could bless the community.  I told them how the Hills Council responded with a couple of options, and the cemetery clean-up seemed the best suited opportunity for us to lend a hand.  We shared an excellent chat and morning of picking up rubbish, thinning overgrowth on the tombs, and clearing noxious weeds.

As I reflected on our discussion, God showed me something very important.  What I said to the couple was correct in a sense, but I had missed an opportunity to give Christ the glory.  The truth is, I chose to help out with the clean-up not because primarily because I am a pastor, but because I am a Christian.  In fact, this is true about every aspect of my life.  I ought to strive to be a good husband, dad, friend, and worker because I am a Christian.  I am called to love, forgive, and serve others because I am a Christian.  My motivation to do anything for God's glory comes from this most basic principle of being a part of the Body of Christ - not because I have a particular call upon my life of being a pastor.

The most compelling title of the Vance Havner books I own asks the question:  Why Not Just be Christians?  In some of his sermons Martin Luther echoed the same sentiment:  being a Christian is both foundational and paramount.  There is no greater purpose or call for a human being than to identify with Christ as LORD and Saviour.  The term Christian has hardly ceased to be a byword among men but for very different reasons over time.  When people were first called Christians it was a term of scorn and derision because men so resembled their Master in word and deed.  Today the term "Christian" remains a byword for the opposite reason:  many who claim such allegiance show little resemblance at all to Jesus Christ and the world knows it.  I say it is time to reverse the trend!  May we give Jesus Christ the glory for anything praiseworthy in our lives because in our flesh no good thing dwells.  Instead of perpetuating the lie that there is a reasonable divide between the service of a missionary, pastor, helper, or congregant, we ought shed all titles and do things because we are Christians.  Missionaries should go and preach because they are Christians; pastors tend the flock of God and serve because they are Christians; helpers help because they are Christians, and congregants receive the Word of God and believe with joy because they are Christians.

Philippians 4:8 reads, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."  The mind is a battleground where Christians can be victorious through Jesus Christ.  But Paul does not intend for us to only think of what is good:  we ought to do the same!  He continues in Philippians 4:9:  "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."  Even as the believers in Philippi were exhorted to do as Paul did, so we are called to follow Christ's example as well.  Since we are to do all things as unto the LORD, let us do so as Christians.  Give Christ the glory, for it is in Him we live, breathe, and have our being.  He is our All in All!

Calibrated on Christ

The Christian life is all about following Jesus.  We are called to abide in Christ, even as a branch is connected to the vine.  I don't know if you've ever tried following someone while driving, but its very hard to follow people when you can't see them.  When I worked in construction as an apprentice, I would meet at the shop and follow the journeymen out to the job.  Sometimes I wondered if the mechanic was intentionally trying to lose me in traffic!  Once visual contact was lost, following became impossible.

The good thing about following Christ is He will never try to ditch us.  While the world is constantly changing at a frenetic pace, Jesus remains stable, true, and trustworthy.  When we call out to Christ for aid, He does not hide from our sight, laughing to Himself about our predicament.  He doesn't try to avoid us because we've offended Him by our foolishness.  When we pray to the Father, Jesus isn't like someone who receives a call on their mobile, looks at the number and says out loud, "I'll just let that one go to voice mail."  The problem we face as disciples is not of Jesus being unreliable or forgetful, but how often we are distracted and therefore lose sight of Christ.  Our problems can appear so big, impossible, and beyond sorting out that all our focus is on the perceived problem or ourselves - and not look upon Christ alone.

Recently during a Bible study, our group looked at Psalm 73.  Asaph writes as a man who is disillusioned by the apparent prosperity of the wicked.  In modern vernacular he fumes, "Here is a man who blasphemes God, but he prospers while I struggle.  Why bother living for God when the wicked seem better off in this world?"  The psalmist was filled with pain as he thought about it.  But verse 17 is when he had an epiphany:  Psalm 73:17-19 reads, "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. ¹⁸ Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. ¹⁹ Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors."  It was not until Asaph entered the sanctuary, until he entered into God's presence, that he saw things clearly.  God gave him clarity and understanding he didn't comprehend before.  While away from the presence of God and focusing on externals, Asaph had missed the point.  It was in the presence of God that he realised his focus was wrong.  He concludes in Psalm 73:25-26:  "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  The struggles God's people endure in this life cannot be compared with the joyful glory that is ours eternally in Christ.  The wicked may seem to prosper now, but those who reject Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour will receive their eternal wages for sin paid in full:  death and everlasting torment.

Isn't it true that when we fix our eyes upon Christ, our perspective changes for good?  When I used to play video games on the computer which required a joystick, it was imperative the joystick be calibrated.  If when the game was booting up the joystick wasn't in the centered position, the controls would be off.  Instead of flying level the plane would always be banking hard to the left, or the car would incessantly steer to the right.  But once the joystick was properly calibrated, the player faced forward properly.  How important it is for our lives to properly calibrated to focus upon Christ!  When we focus on the things of this world, our own deficiencies or struggles, or anything other than Christ, we end up losing sight of Him.  If our calibration is off, we think we are heading right but we are heading down!  Once we do lose sight of Christ through being caught up in a stressful day or in a moment of foolishness, it is critical we learn to focus immediately upon Him again.  We do this through repentance, prayer, feeding on the Word of God, and fellowship with other believers in Christ.  Jesus is even now at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us (Heb. 7:25).  If we lose sight of Him it's not because Jesus has abandoned us:  it's because we've taken our eyes off Him and onto something else.  We need to be properly calibrated!

When your day begins, ends, and at all points in between, let us ensure we are properly calibrated with our eyes fixed on Christ.  Even as the sights on a firearm must be lined up properly to hit the target, we must be properly calibrated to be effective in our walk and witness.  We must train our gaze upon Jesus with sniper-like precision.  No matter how big the waves or how wild the winds, even if we begin to sink as Peter on the storm-swept Galilee, let us look to Jesus.  He is the only One who can save us!

Freely Forgive

The struggles we face as human beings are complex.  Past experiences, personality, mental, physical, and spiritual dynamics converge to create imposing, seemingly impossible problems.  Something God is teaching me which vastly simplifies issues I face is deciding I am going to do things God's way.  There are two basic ways to approach any problem:  we can follow the world's way, or the way God has revealed through scripture.

As we go through this life, stuff clings to us.  We need to change our clothes and wash our hands and bodies with soap.  Even if we avoided dirty things, our skin excretes oil and sweat.  Stress raises our heart rate and physical activity can produce unpleasant odours.  Not a lovely thing to think upon, but it is the truth!  In a similar way to our physical need for cleansing and hygienic maintenance, our life experiences can load us down with cares, worries, and baggage.  We can be beset with sinful thoughts, be overtaken by sinful actions, and become steeped in bitterness and unforgiveness.  The Bible says in 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven and cleansed from all sin which has enslaved us.

The world makes forgiveness a very complex issue.  For Christians, however, our basis for forgiving others is according to how God has forgiven us.  God has forgiven us at His own expense, as each applies the shed blood of Jesus Christ to our hearts by faith.  He has forgiven us of all sin not because we deserve it, not because we have promised never to sin again in the same way, or because we have become trustworthy:  He forgives us by His grace.  If we struggle with forgiving others, we only need to think of how gracious God has been to forgive us from our sins.  We are not worthy of forgiveness.  But God has freely given us the wondrous gift of forgiveness and reconciliation unto Himself.  As we have freely received, we ought to freely give.

As usual, God puts the onus upon us.  We can never blame anyone else for us not forgiving them.  No matter how vile the transgression, how real the pain, how terrible the offense, Christians are called to forgive.  Our forgiveness is to be without limit.  We should forgive others in our hearts even before they ask for forgiveness.  Sometimes we can be tricked by Satan into thinking that those who have hurt us have not suffered enough for their wrongs and so our refusal to forgive is justified.  We will make them pay!  In doing so we blasphemously claim Jesus did not suffer enough on the cross for sin.  What a wicked charge, that Jesus did not suffer enough or that His sacrifice was unworthy.  We can be reluctant to forgive because of questions like, "What if they do it again?" or "How can I have assurance they really mean it when they apologise?"  Forgiveness requires faith:  faith not in the person who we must forgive, but faith in Jesus.  Though He never did anything wrong, Jesus knows very intimately how it feels to be wronged.

Jesus plainly says in Mark 11:25-26:  "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. ²⁶ But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."  If you value God's forgiveness of your sins, then you will forgive others if they sin against you.  When we refuse to forgive, we show how little we value God's forgiveness.  We see Christ's sacrifice and our own sins as being insignificant.  But when our eyes our opened to the enormity of our sins and glory in Christ's gracious sacrifice of love on the cross, forgiveness is a natural response out of love for God.  Even if you don't "feel" like forgiving someone, forgive.  Place your faith in God by doing things His way.  In doing so we experience the fellowship of His suffering as Christ draws us to Himself with arms of love.