Sober and Steadfast in Faith

Commonly quoted verses of the Bible sometimes stop short of important information and personal application, and I was reminded of this during a recent Bible study.  The speaker described how predators seek out easy prey that are isolated from the protection of the herd, ones that are young, old or injured.  He likened the one isolated from the pack as the Christian who is too self-conscious or embarrassed to confess their sin, isolated by their own pride.  Such a one may gather with believers on a Sunday or lead a Bible study and have many friends, yet they can foolishly go it alone in their struggle in sin.  "The devil is in the grey areas," he said.

I took the liberty of looking up the verse that describes Satan as a lion prowling about looking for prey in 1 Peter 5:8:  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  This is the passage many Christians are familiar with.  In the King James Version of the Bible, however, this verse does not end with a period but a colon.  Our proper response to this revelation is outlined in the following verse in 1 Peter 5:9:  "Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."  Verse 8 is not intended to strike fear into your heart that Satan is like a lion because verse 9 says we are not called to flee from him but stand steadfast in the faith of Jesus.  Fleeing is a prey response that triggers the predatory instinct to pounce and pursue.  We cannot outrun temptation; we cannot overpower the devil in our flesh.

Having been born again by faith in Jesus Christ, we are given strength and wisdom to resist Satan as we remain steadfast in the faith as Jesus keeps us.  We can take comfort that we are not alone in our struggles, whether it is being overtaken in a trespass, temptation to sin or trials that result in suffering.  Peter explained believers are a brotherhood in the world, the flock of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd Who protects, guides, corrects and comforts us.  The only time we are on our own is when we stray from the Good Shepherd and fellowship with believers, ignoring the conviction of our conscience and choosing to isolate ourselves in our pride and self-reliance.  This is when we are most vulnerable and open to attack.  But God be praised:  though we do have an adversary who seeks to devour, we have a Saviour who seeks to save and deliver.  Like Daniel in the lion's den, God has the power to shut the mouths of lions so we are unhurt, our lives a testimony of God's presence and protection.

Conflict Creates Opportunity

Conflict is a part of life and especially in our closest relationships.  Instead of seeing conflict as a bad thing to avoid at all costs. Myron Rush wrote this:  "One of the key ingredients to maintaining a cooperative relationship is the attitude that conflict is healthy and not something to be avoided.  Conflict creates an opportunity for us to know each other better and to serve each other more." (Rush, Myron, and Stanley C. Baldwin. Richer Relationships: Leader's Guide. Victor Books, 1983. page 121)  One of the reasons why we might want to avoid facing conflict head on is to avoid offending people we love and care about.  However, if we truly do love others and care for their needs, dealing with conflict directly in a loving manner demonstrates that fact.  My avoidance of conflict can be self-centered rather than loving others at all.

Jesus did not shy away from conflict when He spoke the truth in love.  He did not pander to His listeners by telling them what they wanted or expected to hear.  Even the disciples of Jesus did not understand or agree with what He said, like when Peter responded to Jesus with, "Not so, LORD!"  When Jesus conversed with the self-righteous Pharisees He exposed their hypocrisy--not to humiliate or embarrass them or make Himself look good--but to lovingly rebuke them so they might consider their sinful ways, repent and be forgiven.  As it was they blindly were headed to destruction and compelled others to follow them.  The conflict arose when they did not believe the claims of Jesus He was the Christ and were envious of His attraction to the people they desperately wanted to influence themselves.  Jesus came to save them from sin and death, yet they were determined to kill Him.  Conflict between them was inevitable.

After Jesus identified the Pharisees as those who drew near to God with their lips, whose hearts were far from God and thus worshipped Him in vain, they were incensed.  Matthew 15:12-14 states, "Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" ¹³ But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  It is likely the disciples came to Jesus to inform Him of the Pharisee's offence because He did not give any impression it concerned Him.  The Pharisees avoided confronting Jesus publicly out of fear of losing face before the people.  Jesus, being God in the flesh, knew perfectly why the Pharisees were angry and offended over His remarks.  In His response to Peter Jesus was not apologetic or sorry, having spoken the truth of God's word with a heart of love and sincere care for others.

The reason for the offence of the Pharisees was because they were not planted by His Father, even as the tares were sown among the good seed by an enemy in the parable.  They were not to be preoccupied with trying to make peace with people with whom their could be no peace or unity, for they were of a different kind.  The Pharisee's offence of Jesus was not to be the concern of His disciples, for unbelief in Jesus had blinded them.  As blind leaders of the blind they would fall into a ditch shrouded in darkness, for they refused to acknowledge the Light of the World Who shone upon them.  The response of Jesus was not a callous, "Sorry, not sorry!" but pointed out the reason behind their offence and how their vain worship of God would lead to ruin.  Their offence and anger at Jesus made plain the hidden reality of hearts distant from God.

Because Christians are not Jesus, it is easy for us when facing conflict to fall into the snares of pride, selfishness, fear of man and frustration He expertly avoided at every turn.  Nothing Jesus ever said or did was regrettable or should He have apologised for, but there are countless times we should have repented when we justified ourselves.  We have been offensive and rude, not because we spoke the truth, but because we said it in a haughty, mocking manner or to make others look foolish.  We have avoided saying the truth because we knew it would be offensive and did not love others enough to meet their hypocrisy head-on, calling it what it is.  Thus we played the hypocrite despite knowing better!  The love of God and commitment to loving others means we can view conflict as an good opportunity to explore rather than something to selfishly avoid.  Because our eyes have been opened to see Jesus and receive His word, let us follow His leading to deal with conflict directly rather than sweeping it aside.  If others will stumble at Christ or fall into a ditch of offence, let it not be due to our lack of love or our sin.

Judge With Righteous Judgment

Christians and unbelievers can both cite scriptures to affirm they speak the truth or to accuse someone else of doing wrong.  One of the most classic cases of this involves a Christian calling something sin or expressing disgust, and the immediate reaction by someone else is that "Christians aren't supposed to judge."  Some may even quote Jesus partially in the hackneyed manner, "Judge not."  The irony is the one who calls out those who judge as doing wrong have committed the exact error they accuse the other of.

For those who are born again and have a working knowledge of Bible doctrine, it is abundantly clear God Himself has given people the capacity and responsibility to make judgments all the time--for good or ill.  Education, knowledge and the ability to reason are pointless without judgment.  Judging or deciding something is not wrong in itself, but why and the way we communicate this can be problematic and even sinful.  Those who delight in pointing out hypocrisy for the purpose of condemning others expose their own hypocrisy as it is written in Romans 2:1:  "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."  Jesus is the only One who pointed out a hypocrite without being one Himself.  Jesus was not sent to condemn this world but that sinners through Him might be saved.  

Did Jesus actually teach it was wrong to judge others?  He did no such thing.  What He did teach is that our manner and severity in judging others would be taken into account and establish the standard for being judged by God.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-2, "Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  If we will judge ourselves to determine our sinful actions and words so we might repent of sin and do what is righteous, we will avoid harsh judgment.  It is very easy to find fault in sinners, and thus our primary responsibility before God is to take action to identify and put away our own sin.  This involves judgment, and it is a godly way to live.  Our mistake is to be preoccupied, vocal and confrontational about others doing wrong when we have ignored our own faults.

After Jesus miraculously healed a man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, the Jewish rulers were furious when the man told them it was Jesus who commanded him to carry his bed home.  In their view this violation of the Sabbath day revealed Jesus was an evildoer, and they literally sought to kill Him.  John 7:21-24 reads, "Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. ²² Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus did not condemn the Jews who accused Him of sin for judging Him but revealed they judged unjustly and hypocritically.  He asked why they were angry He healed a man.  They found fault with Him because they were envious of His miraculous power and fame, and they used His alleged breach of the Sabbath to justify their murderous plot.  They conveniently ignored the miraculous power of God at work through Jesus to heal and blindly condemned the Son of God.

As followers of Jesus, let us be wise to avoid the retaliatory style of the world that cares more about pointing out the faults of others, proving them wrong or humiliating others rather than first examining our own hearts according to God's word and the Gospel.  When Paul spoke to Felix in Acts 24 he reasoned concerning righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, and it is vital we navigate conflicts and disagreements with these points in mind.  The righteous God has provided His word and wisdom, and He holds us accountable to exercise self-control even when others are wrong.  We Christians will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so let us look beneath the surface and consider our own hearts when tempted to condemn others.

Rottenness of Unbelief

Today I made a disgusting discovery while putting potatoes away.  As I pulled out the basket where we keep them in a cupboard out of sunlight, the foul smell of decay hit my nostrils at the same time I saw a potato which had begun to rot.  I quickly carried the basket outside and deposited the potato in the bin.  Then I set about cleaning the cupboard and basket of any residue.

I found the damp spot inside the basket was quite small but moisture had seeped in a much larger area underneath.  I scrubbed the area with detergent, rinsed it thoroughly with water, then left the basket in the sun to dry.  It was surprising how the basket in a dry condition was strong and robust, yet moisture introduced by a spoiled potato in a matter of days caused areas of the basket to dissolve.  Had the bacteria-filled fluid remained longer, the whole basket might have been ruined.

Though the situation involved an inedible potato, ironically it provided food for thought.  The Christian's faith in Jesus Christ is a most practical thing, a gift from God that strengthens and enables us to serve our Saviour with gladness.  Faith is not only necessary but is useful as we take steps in obedience to God.  Like a rotten potato contacted the basket and began to weaken it, so doubt and unbelief can weaken our faith.  Jesus said faith in Him has the ability to move mountains, yet when we allow unbelief to permeate our minds we are the ones who move away from reliance upon God and His word.

The potato was secretly, silently rotting away in darkness, and so it is with unbelief in our own minds and hearts.  Unbelief is a sin which is the source of countless other sins like envy, fear, worry, lust, pride and malice.  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:30, "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones."  It was only a matter of time before the rotten potato was discovered, and it was important to remove the potato from the basket and throw it away rather than hoping in vain it would just disappear.  One bad potato put other potatoes and the basket itself in jeopardy of becoming useless, and thus it needed to be promptly and personally dealt with.

So it is with unbelief.  As a rotting potato is attended by offensive sights and smells, so unbelief reveals itself in our thoughts, words and deeds.  Unbelief is marked by refusal to trust and obey God, even as the children of Israel would not enter the land of promise due to unbelief.  They would not enter in and thus could not enter in, for faith in God was required to advance in obedience.  Left in a cupboard every potato will go bad, and thus is it not a matter of "if" but "when" we will discover unbelief has crept into our hearts.  Bringing sin into God's marvelous light by confession and repentance is God's prescribed way to restoration by His grace.  Unlike a basket that wears out over time our faith can grow and be strengthened more than ever as we obey.