The Reforming Paradox

Because God is the sole source of wisdom and does not change, wisdom from God remains timeless for every person and season of life.  God's wisdom is never outdated but relevant for everyone.  While our lack of faith in God can prevent us from heeding or observing God's wise ways, God's wisdom will endure beyond us and subsequent generations.  Knowing God is our Creator and Sovereign, this impacts our perspective of relationships God has instituted.

G.K. Chesterton touched on this in an essay titled "The Drift from Domesticity" he wrote and our need to consider the reasons why laws, roles and boundaries in society exist before we think we do well to destroy them.  Though these words were written almost 100 years ago, Chesterton touched on the timelessness of God's wisdom for us to heed today in this excerpt:

"In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox.  There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity; a fence or gate erected across a road.  The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away."  To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer:  "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away.  Go away and think.  Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."

This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense.  The gate or fence did not grow there.  It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep.  It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street.  Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody.  And until we know what the reasons was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable.  It is extremely probable that we have overlooked some whole aspect of the question, if something set up by human beings like ourselves seems to be entirely meaningless and mysterious.  There are reformers who get over this difficulty by assuming that all their fathers were fools; but if that be so, we can only say that folly appears to be a hereditary disease.  But the truth is that nobody has any business to destroy a social institution until he has really seen it as an historical institution.  If he knows how it arose, and what purposes it was supposed to serve, he may really be able to say that they were bad purposes, or that they have since become bad purposes, or that they are purposes which are no longer served.  But if he simply stares at the thing as a senseless monstrosity that has somehow sprung up in his path, it is he and not the traditionalist who is suffering from an illusion.  We might even say that he is seeing things in a nightmare."  (Chesterton, G. K., and Dale Ahlquist. In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton. Ignatius Press, 2011. pages 173-174)

The principle illustrated here shows the impact faith in God has on our perspective and worldview.  If we believe God created man and woman and instituted marriage between a man and a woman, we cannot reform these institutions without risk of deforming them.  While it is true people do change over their lives, our basic need for God and His wisdom does not change.  Having been illuminated by the word of God and born again by the Holy Spirit, we have learned that without God we are hopelessly adrift in the dark.  To follow our hearts may be to disregard God and the wisdom He has passed down through generations.  How blessed we are to have such a sure foundation in our God Who provides wisdom for abundant life and to be transformed by faith in Jesus into the people He intended us to be from the beginning.  Staying the course requires constant reformation--not of God's institutions but of ourselves--being sanctified by God's grace.

Seeing Clearly and Speaking Truly

"And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous."

Exodus 23:8

A bribe is a gift with strings attached given out of corrupt motives to influence or sway others away from doing or saying what they know is right.  A bribe is similar to flattery, for the heart behind both of them is insincere.  Giving someone a gift is a generous and kind thing to do, even as it can be encouraging to receive a compliment.  When the heart of the giver is corrupted and seeks to manipulate others, a gift is reduced to a bribe to gain influence.  Bribes may take many forms, and those made wise and discerning by faith in God are not immune to the negative impact of receiving them.

This verse provides insight into how receiving bribes affects those who receive them:  it blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.  A discerning person is one who sees with understanding of the truth of things, and receiving a bribe blinds us to the motivations of others, to the greed in our own hearts, and even keeps us from looking to Jesus.  Man's eyes are drawn to the gift and are prompted to please the giver in return--even more than God.  As one hand washes another, so receiving a gift incites a generosity of heart towards the giver.  This can mean turning a blind eye to the truth, and this is a very dangerous prospect when God speaks the truth and Jesus is the Truth.

The second effect of receiving a bribe is also of great concern, for the problem of perverse words goes right to the heart.  Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and when the words of the righteous are perverted they are no longer truthful and sincere.  Half-truths and plain lies will begin to permeate our thoughts and speech:  excusing, justifying or promoting something we know is not right.  Let us not imagine bribes must only be objects or money, for flattery or public honour can be a bribe as much as anything.  There is nothing wrong with praising one who does well, but we must be careful not to receive such things as one does a bribe--and being rendered blind and perverse.

The Jews were proud to be God's special people, and Paul revealed God's people in a spiritual sense are those who live for His praise in Romans 2:28-29:  "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹ but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."  It was not the outer conformity of being circumcised and keeping the letter of the Law of Moses, but the ones praised by God for their faith marked by obedience to Jesus Christ.  To those Jesus says, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"  Our obedience to Jesus is not to be a bribe to get what we want from Him but a joyful duty since He is worthy and as a grateful response for all He has done for us.  May the LORD give us by faith in Jesus discerning eyes, upright hearts and words of truth to speak and live accordingly.

Knowledge and New Life

In the Law of Moses, God demonstrated the knowledge a person has is a determining factor in consequences for transgression.  Exodus 21:28-29 says, "If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. ²⁹ But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death."  If the owner was made aware and knew of the propensity of his ox towards violence, he was responsible to restrain it in a appropriate manner.  Should the owner of the ox neglect this duty and the ox kill a person, his life would also be required.

In the book of Romans, Paul makes a strong emphasis on what born again Christians can know since we know Jesus by faith in Him, and this ought to directly impact our actions.  Romans 6 strings together many things a believer in Jesus Christ ought to know (bold emphasis mine):

• Romans 6:3:  "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?"
• Romans 6:6:  "...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."
• Romans 6:9:  "...knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him."
• Romans 6:16:  "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?"

Paul explained what happens spiritually when a person places their faith in Jesus Christ:  we died to sin and are raised to a new life with Christ.  Paul urged born again believers to reckon (to consider) this our new, immutable paradigm and reality.  Knowing we are dead to sin means we are no longer under the dominion of sin or the Law of Moses.  This knowledge ought to govern our decisions like knowing we are deathly allergic to peanuts makes us vigilant to avoid eating them.  If we own a car that uses petrol we never fill our tanks with diesel--even if it is bit cheaper at the pump.  If we quit one job and started another one, this knowledge direct us to wisely drive to the correct office to do our work and attend an important meeting on time.  God has graciously given us His word and the Holy Spirit so we can know God personally and helps us to do His will, for we can do all things through Jesus who strengthens us.

Believers know our body of sin was crucified with Jesus so we are no longer slaves of sin, the resurrection of Jesus shows death has no dominion over us, and that we ought to present ourselves as slaves of Jesus in obedience to Him.  The Law tells us what is right and wrong but gives us no power to follow it.  By the Law comes the knowledge of sin, and leads us to Jesus who has ushered in a new and living way to righteousness by faith in Him.  Man no longer can hide behind ignorance, for God commands all people everywhere to repent and believe on Jesus Christ Who will judge the world in righteousness with entire, perfect knowledge (Acts 17:30-31).  Know Jesus and know abundant life!  He is awesome beyond words.

Peace Of Mind

Only God has the power to save us from ourselves.  It is likely we ourselves pose a greater risk of ruin and fruitlessness than Satan and all his demonic minions could impose upon us by force.  As long as our hearts are selfish, self-confident, self-reliant and esteems self over others, we will stumble in our aim to walk in the Spirit.  While we can be focused on our tendency to do wrong, it can be what we neglect to do in obedience to God that hinders our spiritual growth and vitality.  Unbelief and lack of love towards God and others in our hearts causes more trouble for us than the symptoms of sin everyone can see.  I thought J. Sidlow Baxter made good points about the importance of examining our hearts:

"In the ultimate analysis there are just two things which prevent peace of mind--pride, and lack of love.  Pride always carries the haunting fear of humiliating fall; and where love is lacking there can never be that rest of heart which comes only with perfect motive.  I learned something about that years ago when I used to do a good deal of open-air preaching.  At times, when Communists and other hostile persons in the crowd seemed likely to react violently, I would feel fear.  Then I would say to myself, "If you were utterly down at the feet of Christ you could not possibly fear humiliation; and if you loved them as utterly as Jesus loves them you could not know fear, for 'perfect love casteth out fear' (1John 4:18)".  It is a high point in the spiritual life when, cost what it will, we submit to the divine will; but the highest point of all is when the mind has become so renewed by the Holy Spirit that every desire is altogether one with that divine will.  Oh, that is the way of "life and peace"!" (Baxter, J. Sidlow. His Deeper Work in Us: A Further Enquiry into New Testament Teaching on the Subject of Christian Holiness. Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1967. page 158)

In the classic rock song, "Peace of Mind" by Boston, the lyrics say the way to find peace of mind is to "take a look ahead."  While the song makes no allusion to the eternal state in the presence of God, considering our eternal future in the presence of Jesus does bring peace of mind.  But all those who are assured a glorious future can experience peace of mind now by humbling ourselves before Jesus Christ in faith, choosing to obey and rely upon Him to help us whether in our jobs or speaking to people who are hostile towards God.  The perfect love of God casts out fear and guides us to sacrificial living for the glory of God and the good of others.  There is no peace for the wicked, but those who submit self to the LORD to do His will find rest the world cannot know, for Jesus is our peace.