Standing Firm

Yesterday the results of the Australian same-sex marriage survey were revealed.  The LGBTI community and their supporters celebrated a strong majority result.  Though the laws have not yet been changed to reflect this result, the government and members of parliament are working to pass legislation changing the Australian constitution to approve gay marriage.  In the context of our secular society this result does not at all come as a surprise to me.  I am without fear; I am not worried for in Christ I stand firm.  I am resigned to acknowledge the opinion of the majority of Australians, but that does not deem it righteous.

And this is the place where the victory for same-sex marriage rings hollow:  even when the government legalises and acknowledges gay couples as married, the perversion of God's institution of marriage will never be acceptable in the eyes of God and many who hold a biblical worldview.  My heart breaks to consider the smiles and celebrations will quickly fade into disillusionment, frustration, and anger this result will not provide the kind of acceptance and "equality" many long for.  I am convinced the definition of marriage established by God cannot be altered by the legislation of men.  God's Word cannot be broken, and in Him I place my trust.  His approval is everything.  I love people who identify as gay and understand their desire to marry even as heterosexuals do, but my loyal adherence to the scriptures will likely be viewed as hate and bigotry.  Such is life for born again Christians.

People in the world will do what is right in their own eyes, but followers of Christ are exhorted to hold fast to God's righteous standards as revealed in scripture.  The Bible which clearly illuminates the way of salvation through the Gospel also says all will be judged by God according to their works.  All professing Christians ought to take heed to God's warning, for He has pronounced great woe upon His people who forsook His ways and approved of wickedness as it is written in Isaiah 5:20-21:  "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"  Many believers have been duped to think they can follow Jesus and celebrate abomination, but this is impossible.  The New Testament passage Romans 1:32 plainly states those who approve and consent to any manner of depravity endanger their own lives and souls.

When we chose to follow Jesus, remaining loyal and obedient to His Word is what we signed up for.  Whilst the world celebrates and rejoices Australia is now "on the right side of history" concerning the approval of gay marriage, I rejoice to hold fast to the truth of God's Word without apology.  I make no claim of perfection or being "holier than thou," but by God's grace He will enable me and all God's children to stand firm in the faith.  These are troubling times, but we have all the security, joy, and hope we need in Jesus.  We ought to rejoice and lift our heads because the day of our salvation draws nigh.  All is exactly as our Saviour foretold in His Word, and He will never leave or forsake us.  He gives peace not as the world gives, an enduring peace which passes understanding.

Narrow Truth and Broader Views

As we follow Jesus Christ and mature in faith and knowledge of His Word, He broadens our understanding.  Studying the scriptures led by the Holy Spirit enables us to connect ideas which provide greater insight into God's truth.  When I was a child after I knew how to count I enjoyed dot-to-dot puzzles.  What began as a mess of dots and numbers became a recognisable object which could be coloured in with crayon.  In a similar way, the more we heed the scriptures the better we comprehend what the Bible says, what it means, and how to rightly apply it in our lives.

Looking back, I believe my views of scripture used to be more rigid than they are now.  My views were rigid because my understanding was limited.  Truth and the Christian walk is narrow, and we cannot deviate from obedience to God and His Word.  We do not need to compromise truth to hold a broader view than we once did.  I have held views in the past which were not wrong in themselves, but I was wrong because I restricted the truth to my current personal view.  We all run the risk of parroting what we have heard from a pastor without critical thought or searching the scriptures ourselves.  We can allow a verse or pet-doctrine to direct us down a familiar track of thought like a dog running a well-worn circuit in the backyard when the gate is open and a world of discovery awaits.

There are people I highly respect, people I am convinced are anointed by the Holy Spirit and called to teach, yet based on my understanding of scripture I am not in full agreement with their Bible interpretation on particular points.  For instance, I recently heard a Bible teacher say leaven always represents sin in the parables of Jesus.  Since the Bible does not explicitly say this, it seems to be a narrow view which disregards the context of each parable.  I agree it is true leaven is commonly used to represent sin, I believe it is a mistake to say it always represents or is a "type" of sin (see Matt. 13:33).  It is commonly taught all birds in the parables represent evil or satanic influence, and whilst this is the given interpretation in one Parable of the Sower it is dangerous to attribute "type" status to birds without considering the context.  These assumptions cause us to read into the text rather than observing the context and interpreting correctly.  Wrong interpretation leads to incorrect application.  Parables are not the only tricky part of scripture to rightly interpret and apply.  Poetry, prophecy, and many hard sayings of the Bible make studying it a most rigorous and challenging exercise.  Without God's help, we could never understand or unravel it.

Praise the LORD for His wisdom and patience with me and all children of God.  My understanding has been expanded from the days of my youth, and undoubtedly there are many areas where I remain in the dark.  We too should be patient with others whose views seem unnecessarily rigid because we too are naturally like them.  A teacher of scripture who will not be taught by God or men is of no value, so let us remain humble and open.  Though there will be differences of opinion on secondary doctrines among genuine believers, let us be gracious - not threatened or suspicious.  Let us respond as Apollo when loving believers pulled him aside and explained the Gospel to Him more perfectly.  He received their correction with joy and boldly spoke the truth in love.  Sometimes we are the ones to come alongside in a spirit of gentleness to instruct and correct.  Love does not compromise truth, but it is willing to speak the truth for the restoration of others.

A Godly Perspective

It is a strange thing when a Christian goes from trusting God for salvation and begins to look to his own strength or abilities in daily decisions.  David provides a compelling example of this in 1 Samuel 17.  God's assessment of David was he was a man after God's own heart, but even he was prone to lean on his own understanding.  His life provides a compelling illustration of what is common to all men - even godly ones.  Just because we have trusted God in the past doesn't mean we are trusting Him today.

When David was a young man he was sent by his dad on an errand to the front lines of battle where a few of his brothers were.  He was shocked when Goliath the champion of Gath stood before the army of Israel and defied and cursed them by his gods.  David wasn't awed by the imposing size or the verbal threats of the giant, but was incredulous Goliath was permitted to reproach the armies of the living God whilst the men of Israel hid in fear.  News of David’s willingness to fight Goliath reached King Saul’s ears and he summoned David.  Saul said, “You can’t fight him.  You’re just a youth and he’s been a warrior from youth.”  David pointed out God had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear and God would help him defeat the Philistine also.

Saul finally agreed to allow David to face Goliath, but wanted to outfit him with armour and his own sword.  Being unaccustomed to the encumbrance of armour and unskilled with a sword, David politely declined using them.  He was content to trust God and fight Goliath with a sling and a handful of smooth stones which he gathered from a brook on the way to face Goliath in a battle to the death.  He came before the scoffing Philistine warrior in the name of the God of Israel, and God wrought a great victory.

Years later and then son-in-law to the king, David found himself only a step between him and death because King Saul sought to murder him.  As he fled for his life, 1 Samuel 21 details an incident when he dropped by the Tabernacle in Nob.  He and his men were hungry and desperate for food and supplies.  The chief priest Ahimelech was cautious but willing to help David, and provided him bread from the Table of Showbread for he and his men.  Read what 1 Samuel 21:8-9 says:  "And David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste." ⁹ So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

Isn’t this ironic?  David trusted God to deliver him from lions and Goliath, but having fought many battles since the victory over Goliath it appears he had grown accustomed to using a spear, sword, and other weapons.  Notice he said, "I have brother neither my sword nor my weapons with me."  Do you find it odd David demanded the sword which was not able to save Goliath?  What had changed?  Was King Saul a more terrifying foe than Goliath?  God had not changed, but in that stressful moment David's perspective had.  It seems it was easier to trust God when facing Philistines than when the attacks came from his own king and kin.

My point is not to second guess David’s choices, but to contrast how he faced conflict in these two instances.  Facing a Philistine in his youth David was fine to trust God, but having become a skilled warrior when threatened David felt he needed a sword.  In the end it turned out he didn’t need the sword because God delivered David.  God was patient and faithful to David, and He is also patient and faithful to us when we forget to trust Him.  Believer, have you started trusting yourself more than God?  Success and popularity can cause us to look to ourselves instead of seeking and simply trusting the LORD.  We trusted God to help, protect, provide, and guide us at the start of our walk with Jesus, and we need to keep trusting Him today.

Commitment or Surrender?

In a sermon I recently heard, the difference between "commitment" and "surrender" was a point of emphasis.  In warfare conditions of surrender are negotiated, but not so in a life which is surrendered to Jesus Christ as LORD.  Since our lives have been purchased with the shed blood of Christ, we are not our own.  As Jesus laid down His will before the Father, we are to voluntarily lay our lives down before our Saviour.  The comment by the preacher was if all we do is "commit" our lives to Christ, we seek to dictate our own terms or will even withdraw our commitment when it pleases us.

In light of this thought, the Oxford definition of "commitment" is interesting.  It means, "The state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.; a pledge or undertaking; an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action."  Men are fickle and often do not keep their commitments.  We make promises we do not or cannot keep, and do not like our freedom to do as we choose restricted.  A commitment can become a hindrance from what we want to do rather than being liberating.  It is a burden to be borne rather than a privilege.  In all our commitments we retain our sovereignty over our own will rather than surrendering our lives to the will of God.

Contrast the previous definitions with that of "surrender:"  "stop resisting to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority; give in to; give up or hand over (a person, right, or possession), typically on compulsion or demand."  Christ makes many demands of His disciples, and on the strength of our commitment we are unable to fulfil any of them.  We might as well claim we can do the work of God in our own strength!  We are called to stop resisting or grieving the Holy Spirit through rebellion and disobedience, repent, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.  If we stop short of full surrender, we attempt to remain in charge of our lives.  If we are Christ's disciples, we must lay down our will so we can embrace and be empowered by God to do His.

Many Christians "recommit" their lives to Jesus many times because they have not fully surrendered to Him.  Surrender is not a one-time decision, but one confirmed daily by obedience to God's Word as we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily (die to self), and follow Jesus.  Praise the LORD this is His will, and when we surrender ourselves to Him He will accomplish it.  Answer this question honestly:  are you totally surrendered to God?  Until then we resemble a child falling asleep on a merry-go-round - movement but no real progression.