Put Those Mistakes to Work!

Yesterday morning I was listening to Calvary Chapel Radio New Zealand, a broadcast streamed online to the world.  Packed with great scriptural content and music, I highly recommend!  During yesterday's broadcast, Jon Courson provided a practical example.

He talked about how Joshua made a mistake by unwittingly making a treaty with the Gibeonites, a neighbouring group who pretended to be from a distant land.  Seeing their mouldy crusts of bread and ragged clothes, Joshua believed them to be truthful.  Because Joshua didn't seek the LORD, he struck a deal with enemies God had commanded Israel to drive out of the land.  Not long after the rulers of Israel became aware of the plot, Joshua 9:19-21 tells us their response:  "Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, "We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them.²⁰ This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them."²¹ And the rulers said to them, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them."

This was the point Jon made in his sermon:  when you make a mistake, choose to make that mistake work for you.  That is what the Israelites literally did with this people who deceived them.  They made them water carriers and wood cutters, people who supplied necessities for the worship of God.  Joshua 9:27 says, "And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day."  What an amazing concept, that our mistakes can work for us to aid us and others in the worship of God.  God is able to redeem even our foolish mistakes for His glory.  Let's seek God how to make our mistakes work for us so He might be glorified and the congregation strengthened and encouraged.

When God Fights

As I have been studying through the book of Isaiah, there are some remarkable insights all would do well to heed.  King Ahaz of the southern kingdom of Judah faced the threat of advancing armies, and he considered what he would do.  Instead of relying upon God alone and walking in obedience to His Word, Ahaz worshiped idols and made an alliance with Assyria.  The prophet provided a sobering example of the northern kingdom of Israel in Isaiah 9:8-13:  "The LORD sent a word against Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. ⁹ All the people will know-- Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria-- who say in pride and arrogance of heart: ¹⁰ "The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars." ¹¹ Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and spur his enemies on, ¹² The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still. ¹³ For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, nor do they seek the LORD of hosts."  In pride Israel did not turn to God in their trouble, and God stirred up enemies against them.

Countless nations and men have ignored God and His righteous counsel in dark days.  While the world is facing a threat of jihadists and terrorism, governments are mobilising and strategising to deal with this threat.  Guns, "radicalised" Muslims, and terror cell groups are seen as a massive problem.  In my view, these amount to nothing.  My chief concern is leaders and people of nations are not looking to God or His Word, nor is there repentance for our great sins before God.  We can plan and strategise all we want, invest in state-of-the-art equipment, amass supplies of weapons, armour, and ammunition, but unless God fights for us we fight in vain.  All I hear from politicians is what we are going to do about this growing threat.  What can we do?  Could it be that God is spurning on the enemies of nations who have turned their backs on Him?

In the wake of the shooting in San Bernardino, President Obama gave an address from the Oval Office.  He said, "The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it. We will destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us. Our success won't depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values, or giving into fear...Instead, we will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless, and by drawing upon every aspect of American power."  Yikes.  This is far from the wisdom King Hezekiah spoke in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 concerning their enemies, "Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles." There is no rest or comfort for me in the President's words which is found only through faith in God.  Where is God in the President's plans?  These great and swelling words lack any power whatsoever to eliminate threats of violence.  Whenever a man says without an acknowledgement of God, "I will..." or "We will..." it smacks of the tone we hear of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-15:  "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! ¹³ For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' ¹⁵ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit."  Lucifer's heart was lifted up, but God would bring Him low.  Those who walk in pride God is able to abase.

President Obama then laid out a plan to snuff out the threat of terrorism by utilising the military and air strikes, providing training and equipment, working with friends and allies, to dialogue for ceasefires in Syria, and establishing stricter laws and background checks.  What will these profit if we do not look to God first?  He said in his concluding remarks, "My fellow Americans, I am confident we will succeed in this mission because we are on the right side of history. We were founded upon a belief in human dignity -- that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or what religion you practice, you are equal in the eyes of God and equal in the eyes of the law."  From my view, the United States and all who look to them for help or hope are on the wrong side of history.  Our resolve means nothing if we refuse the path of humility and repentance.  When the men of Ai defeated Joshua, it was because there was sin in the camp which needed to be dealt with.  They did not seek God's guidance and were afraid and overcome.  God used the nations of Assyria and Babylon to defeat and take captive His own people as a result of their sin and rebellion before God, and the United States or Australia is in no way different.  If we look to an arm of flesh to save us, how can that turn away the judgment of a Holy God?

The Midianites were a numerous and well-equipped people who oppressed and terrorised the Israelites for years.  When God's people cried out to Him in their affliction, He raised up Gideon to deliver His people with a mighty hand.  Aided by God in whom they trusted, 300 men armed with torches, clay pitchers, and shofars defeated the great host of Midianites - whose swords God turned upon one another.  Could it be ISIS is being divinely aided - not by Allah but the Almighty I AM - to turn the weapons of nations against each other?  History says God is able to use conflicts between people and nations to chasten His people to repentance so they might live.  All are equal in God's sight, and He will not give the United States preferential treatment when it comes to sin.  There is a divine reckoning coming for all who persist in their sin, and also for every nation that in pride lifts itself up to oppose God.  God is patient and longsuffering, but the day of judgment will ultimately come.

Those who know God and are familiar with scripture know how it ends when a people forsake God and refuse the path of humility and repentance:  they lose.  How many loyal servicemen and women will die, how much more blood must be shed on city streets around the world until we come to our senses and repent before a just God?  We cannot blame anyone but ourselves if we do not seek God in our times of affliction.  President Obama concluded with, "God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America."  God has blessed the United States, and a wake-up call is a blessing when your house is burning down around you.  This post is not about blaming God or people, but an exhortation for each person to own his sins, repent, and return to the LORD.  Daniel confessed and prayed for the sins of his people, and Christians ought to do the same when we recognise them.  Hosea 6:1 urges us, "Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up."  Let us return to the LORD!  Sackcloth ought to be our strategy, and humble repentance before God must be our plan.  Brandishing his spear did Goliath no good, for God enabled a shepherd to bring him down with a single stone.  What man or nation can fight against God - and win?

The Spirit of Law

God has been opening my eyes to the importance of His Law as I have been studying through Romans.  God and His people made a covenant, and they affirmed all God had said they would do.  No matter how hard people tried to keep the 613 commands - to do the 248 positive commands and avoid the 365 negative ones - no one was perfect.  Knowing this full well, God provided a means of atonement through the offering of sacrifices.  By the deeds of the Law no flesh can be justified, for the Law can only condemn.  The Law cannot wash you, but is like a clean mirror which reveals your sin before God in truth.

What was intended to humble men became a source of pride.  Allow me to illustrate with the history of the I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) test.  There is no sense in going into great detail here (if you are reading this you have the internet!), but in the early 1900's a test was developed by a French psychologist to determine if children had learning issues so their educational needs could be better met.  A smart idea, right?  Discovering and quantifying intellectual disabilities early would afford the best future care for young people.  But over time, research and study led to different theories and tests.  Instead of intelligence testing being exclusively used to see how severe a disability was, tests were developed to quantify how intelligent "smart" people were - measuring the capacity of intellectual brilliance.

I am not an expert in the field of intelligence testing, but I do appreciate the irony that what began as a test to quantify disabilities has been turned into a point of boasting for some of their intelligence.  Chapters of exclusive, internationally recognised high-intelligence groups exist worldwide today.  I have not heard of people belonging to a low I.Q. society, and I can't imagine many people would proudly boast of their membership on their resume!  The point is this:  the point of the Law was to show how sinful people are - not how righteous or holy they are.  The Law was given to show that all men were sinners and unacceptable before God.  Over time, the keeping of the Law became a quantifiable, measurable standard through which people began to gauge how devout they were - and condemn others as wrong.  If people kept the Law better than others, they mistakenly considered themselves righteous.  The Law never shows how righteous a man is, but that he is corrupt, sinful, and condemned.

Jesus told a parable to illustrate the folly of thinking righteousness could be found by adherence to the Law rather than by faith alone.  Luke 18:8-14 reads, "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  A mark of self-righteousness is revealed in verse 8 through how people view others.  The Pharisee in the parable "kept" the Law even where it concerned his herbs, but his efforts did not grant him an audience in heaven:  he only prayed "with himself."  While the Pharisee stood in a prominent place the tax collector stood afar off - not daring to lift his eyes to heaven.  He simply cried out, "God, be merciful to me a sinner."  Through faith and humility before God, he went home justified, cleansed from his sins - without sacrifice, tithes, or any boast of obedience to God.

The Pharisee was proud because he kept the Law far better than the tax collector, but he failed to confess a single sin in repentance.  His sin remained.  The tax collector's prayer was heard and answered by a gracious God who rewards faith in Him.  God looks at the heart.  Our conduct matters because it is an expression of the reality within, but attempts to gain favour from God through keeping a Law which only condemns is futile.  All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, but we are justified freely by grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22-24).  Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Jesus has fulfilled the Law and instituted a New Covenant through His shed blood.  Allow me to close with a passage which explains our legal responsibility before God as it concerns His commands in 1 John 3:18-24:  "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. ²² And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. ²⁴ Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."

Don't Be A Sorry Christian

"I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. ⁴⁷ And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love. ⁴⁸ My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes."

Psalm 119:46-48

Our day is in dire need of unapologetic Christians, brave souls who love the word of God and live accordingly.  Standing on the firm foundation of God's everlasting truth, we need not wince and apologise when we hold forth a scriptural perspective.  People will not agree, and many will not understand.  This does not mean we have a license to be tactless or inconsiderate, but we should not be "sorry" Christians - apologising to those who cannot comprehend the truth, nor care to.  God is not like a politically incorrect family member we are a bit embarrassed of because we know he's stepping on toes.  God is God, and He has done whatever pleased Him.  And since He is righteous, just, merciful, and loving, I can know what He does is always works for the good of believers - even if I don't understand Him fully.

The Psalmist was unashamed to admit his love of God's Law and commands.  The world - much less many Christians these days - cannot understand what there is to love about the Law.  It would be a mistake for us to change specific references in the Bible of God's Law, commandments, or statutes to "God's Word."  The Jews even to this day love God's commands.  They are the everlasting words of God spoken to His people so they might know Him and do what is pleasing in His sight.  The Law is filled with the awesome revelations of God, provides His divine principles, warnings, and sure promises of blessing to those who walk in His ways.  To know God, to have His words, and to be called by God according to His purposes is a great honour and privilege.

How precious is God's Law!  The Psalmist knew it, and the Jews of Paul's day knew it as well.  Their identity as God's people was tied up in the keeping of God's Laws, offering sacrifices, and keeping the feast days.  They loved the Law so much they had a hard time letting it go.  In a similar way how people derive much of their personal identity from their career, so the Jews gained their identity from the Law.  Speaking from the perspective of a Gentile, attempts to keep the Law appears a spiked yoke of weighty lead - keeping the Law seems an arduous, painful, impossible exercise in futility.  The is no appeal for me to keep the Law, knowing the scriptures which say by the deeds of the Law no flesh shall be justified.  But though the Law cannot save me, it is still of infinite value because by the Law is the knowledge of sin.  We should love this aged Tutor who to this day faithfully leads people to faith and salvation in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:22-26).  Just because you can't keep the Law perfectly doesn't mean it isn't useful and necessary.

I encourage you to consider well the question:  do you love God's Law?  You should.  Without the Law we could not have known sin, and without a clear revelation of sin there would be no recognition of our need or the grace of God.  To the degree I recognise my guilt, the greater God's grace and mercy appears to me.  God's Law is right and will never change.  "But wait," you may protest.  "We are not under the Law but under grace."  True.  But Jesus did not come to destroy the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).  The Law is good because it is of God, and it will remain good forever like the God who wrote with His finger on tablets of stone.  The Law cannot save, but when used lawfully it leads people to salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

There is no greater tool than the Law in leading sinners to the Saviour.  Romans 3:19 plainly tells us this legitimate, relevant use of God's Law:  "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."  As long as a man justifies himself in his sin, he cannot be justified by God because of his sin.  But when a man's mouth is stopped and he acknowledges fully his guilt before a holy God whose righteous wrath demands justice, he will consider God's offer of forgiveness and salvation through Christ.  Unless a man is convicted he will not repent, and unless he repents he cannot be forgiven and thus remains dead in sins.  Kings and servants together stand on the level ground of God's Laws and are equally justly condemned.  The whole world is guilty before God, and thankfully He has provided the Way of salvation through Christ.  The Law is a useful Tutor indeed!