An Evil Generation

In his book Street Smarts on page 187, Gregory Koukl gives the advice to Christians, "Never read a Bible verse."  His point is not to say you or others should avoid reading the Bible, but to emphasise one verse often does not provide necessary context to accurately interpret and apply God's wisdom.  Solomon said in Proverbs 18:1, "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment."  One can also observe a tendency of what happens when a single verse is isolated, for it can easily be wrenched from the context to undermines the message of the whole Bible.  Following the flow of ideas helps us safely navigate around sharp rocks of supposed contradictions.

In the Bible study last night at Calvary Chapel Sydney, we discussed the latter half of Matthew 12 when Jesus was accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of Satan.  Jesus immediately refuted this falsehood logically, for a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.  Jesus continued His discourse against the unbelieving, evil generation who were eyewitnesses of countless signs and miracles Jesus did, and in response demanded He do another sign when they would only make more excuses not to believe He was the Christ.  It wasn't that these dishonest "seekers" lacked evidence necessary for belief, but the fact was they were unwilling to submit to Jesus as Saviour.  They loved themselves and their sin more than Him.

In response to a request for a sign Matthew 12:39-40 says, "But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  Jesus pointed to the miraculous survival of Jonah in the belly of the great fish as a sign that pointed to His future resurrection from the dead three days after His crucifixion and death.  For 40 days Jesus continued to appear and speak with His disciples until His ascension.  The Ninevites would rise in judgment of the evil and adulterous generation because they repented at the word of Jonah.  Jesus was greater than Jonah but His hearers refused to admit wrong.  The queen of Sheba would also rise in judgment of the evil generation because she travelled far to hear the wisdom of Solomon.  Jesus was greater than Solomon and came to them all the way from heaven, but they refused to hear Him.

Matthew 12:43-45 concluded the remarks of Jesus concerning that generation, and He went back to the subject of casting out demons:  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  Jesus cast out many demons, sweeping clean hearts and lives from demonic influence.  Jesus came to Israel and "cleaned house" spiritually, even cleansing the temple from moneychangers on two occasions.  Notice the final statement of Jesus that connects the last state of the man to be worse than the first:  "So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

The generation that would not believe Jesus was the Son of David when He cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, that refused to believe Jesus was the Christ after He rose from the dead following His crucifixion, the last state of that generation would be worst than the first.  We catch a glimpse of what Jesus meant when we observe the condition of the temple:  He cleansed it once at the beginning of His ministry, again before His crucifixion, and the next time the temple was cleansed around 40 years later the Romans swept it completely off the temple mount with fire.  The last state of an evil and adulterous generation--which can apply to the eternal state--points to eternal destruction due to willful unbelief.  The Jewish nation being occupied and subdued by the Romans was terribly oppressive but a very little thing compared to unbelieving souls who are slaves to sin and pride who will suffer the second death forever apart from Christ.

Praise the LORD there is hope for deliverance, forgiveness and salvation for all who turn to Jesus Christ today!  As Jesus proclaimed earlier in Matthew 12, Jesus is greater than the temple revered by the Jews; Jesus is also the LORD of the Sabbath the Jewish nation fastidiously observed and served.  Isn't Jesus more worthy to be revered, served and obeyed than a building or a day?  The penalty for breaking the Law of Moses at times was death, but the penalty for trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot and treating His sacrifice as an unholy thing is worthy of eternal punishment forever (Hebrews 10:26-29).  When we sinners receive the Gospel the curse of sin is lifted by Jesus Christ, and the natural order is overturned by faith in Jesus:  the last state of believers is infinitely better than the first.  This is the LORD's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.

Washed By the Word

While on staff at a church years ago, I remember observing the way people vacuumed the carpet.  Most of the time people employed what I will call the "search and destroy" method, targeting bits of obvious rubbish that littered the floor--bits of paper or thread, food crumbs, or soils that dropped from shoes.  Since I was the one who emptied the vacuum bags, I knew the majority of the bag's contents were nothing that could be easily seen.  The full bags were predominantly filled with fine dust, sand and hair.  The purpose of the vacuum was not to make carpet appear clean, but to agitate the carpet fibers and remove soils one could not see beneath the surface.

Knowing this principle of vacuum operation, I believed (and still believe) it is best to vacuum all the carpet and not merely target obvious debris.  I also observed people using an upright vacuum with an internal roll brush like one would use a lawn mower, walking behind it using a continuous forward pass rather than back and forth with overlapping strokes.  It may be easier to quickly walk behind a heavy, upright vacuum as one would a lawn mower because the moving roll helps pull it forward.  By virtue of the design, upright vacuums can agitate fibers and clean more effectively with a slower pull.  If all one cares about is brush marks in the carpet, pushing it forward quickly achieves this result.  But if your purpose and intent is to rid the carpet of hidden soils, it will require more time and overlapping passes.

It occurred to me today that we can approach God's word like we are vacuuming, searching for quick wisdom we can easily gather on the surface.  We breeze through a chapter or pages like a person pushing a vacuum, focussed on speedily covering the carpet with brush marks to move on to the next task or activity--when God has given His word for other purposes altogether.  God's word is living and powerful, intended to reveal the thoughts and intents of our hearts.  In light of God's law we see the inner filth of our hearts revealed and our need for God's cleansing and renewal; we are shocked by the unbelief, pride and selfishness that lies hidden within.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment, and God's word guides us to judge ourselves lest we be condemned.

God intends His word to have a cleansing effect upon our minds, hearts and conduct as Paul wrote in 

Ephesians 5:25-27:  "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."  We are called to embrace our sanctification Jesus Christ does through the "washing of water by the word" so the whole church might be presented to him "holy and without blemish."  Getting wet is not the same as washing.  Effective washing often involves clean water with pressure, detergent, friction, agitation and rinsing.  Whatever requires cleansing once will need washing again--like cars, clothes or bodies after exercise, working in the yard, or international travel.

There are likely people who wash their clothes, bodies and faces more often than being "washed in the water of the word" because it deals with spiritual matters of the heart that are not so easily seen--though the conditions of our hearts can be evidenced by what we think, say and do.  Let us not be as little children that cannot see the point of bathing because we recently washed, without comprehension of our need for cleansing.  Be in the word, Christian, knowing the way we approach the scripture makes a difference.  Let us read believing with a heart to obey, and submit ourselves to the cleansing flow of God's word in our inmost being.  Only the LORD can create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit in us, and His word is an indispensable part of the process.

Count It All Joy

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

James 1:2-3

Verses like these demonstrate how profound our need is for God's word, for God's ways are often a stark contrast to our expectations and reactions.  Even though Christians have been born again by faith in Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, when we face trials and tribulations we see them as foreign intruders rather than friendly visitors (1 Peter 4:12-13).  Various trials are not in themselves good, yet the child of God can rest knowing God is able to redeem and use them all for good.  He can take troubling, pressure-packed circumstances to exercise our faith and work to make us more like Him.

As the beloved family of God we can be joyful in the midst of various trials, and James explained one purpose of trials God allows:  the testing of our faith produces patience.  Blessed are those who endure  by faith in Jesus without losing heart.  Patience, we are told by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.  Experiencing trials, coupled with presence of the Holy Spirit, produces patience when we obey God to count it all joy.  I think it was Alan Redpath who connected our personal spiritual growth with our obedience to God in a sermon, and this is true.  Knowing what is right is not as important as doing what is right for the right reasons--in joyful obedience to God.

It is instructive that James says, "count it all joy" because our joy is not to be based on how we feel about things, something subjective.  We could call it Christian maths, a thought process as simple and straightforward as adding and subtracting whole numbers.  When we fall into various trials--tests that challenge us, difficulties that trouble us--we are to count it all joy.  Through the lens of God's word, we can view trials like when a corporate executive is pleased to receive a monetary bonus for meeting benchmarks that will boost his savings or allow him to afford travel.  Patience and wisdom for a Christian are not like a dream holiday that never eventuates, for trials are a vehicle God uses to help our lives produce these good, godly qualities.

The testing of our faith is more than an one-off exam we pass or fail but are tests designed by God that put our faith under stress to strengthen it through exercise.  No one can avoid the trials God allows, but we can count it all joy facing them knowing the testing of our faith produces patience.  If we do not count it all joy, it may be we are content with our current low-level of patience rather than trusting God has better plans in mind so we might grow.  If I could only grasp that the way I go through a trial impacts the lasting end result of a trial, that the redemptive aspects are bettered by my exercise of faith by obedience or hindered by my refusal to trust God to count it all joy knowing God is determined to produce patience in my life.

I have heard people quip (in jest) that praying for patience is an invitation to fall into various trials, and thus one ought to think carefully in praying that.  This is a foolish notion and a bad joke.  Consider what the next verse says in James 1:4:  "But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."  Those who shrink from trials that produce patience in our lives will continue to lack what God promises to supply by His grace.  God's plan is for us to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  Isn't that what we want for our lives--what God wants?  Since that is the case, let us learn to count it all joy to fall into various trials, for the testing of our faith produces patience which labours within us perfectly to make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  Isn't it amazing God uses various trials we hate and would rather avoid at any cost to provide us patience beyond price? 

Kept from My Iniquity

"I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity."

Psalm 18:23

In Psalm 18, David affirmed the rewards God gives those who are righteous before Him, and Christians are accounted as righteous by faith in Jesus Christ.  No Christian is a perfect person.  By virtue of being a Christian, it is an public acknowledgment of being a sinner and needing a Saviour.  David said he was blameless before God, and he kept himself from his iniquity.  This dynamic is very insightful for God's people to understand--how we are drawn away by our own lust, and when we are enticed to satisfy lust it conceives and brings forth sin which results in death (James 1:13-15).

Jesus has cleansed Christians by providing atonement by shedding His own blood, and though believers are completely forgiven of sin we continue to live in physical bodies that have been corrupted by sin.  We have been born again and given new hearts, yet living in a body of flesh in a fallen world with ever-scheming Satan prowling around means temptation persists.  Having our sins forgiven does not mean our minds are wiped from memories or that our bodies suddenly lose all fleshly appetites.  As drips of water over time can wear away stone, so sinful suggestions and temptations can wear down the believer's resolve:  our minds remember what we would rather forget, and our flesh hungers for selfish satisfaction of its senses.  Joseph was pestered by Potiphar's wife, and youthful lusts can seductively beckon the most august saint.

David said he kept himself from his sin, sin that was harboured in his heart and members, sin that lies dormant and keen to awaken like weeds that spring up when conditions are hospitable.  To avoid the stirring of our desire coupled with opportunistic action, we might prefer to live in a perpetual spiritual winter where snow blankets the ground and weeds cannot possibly grow.  Yet the frozen earth of winter means there can be no cultivation of crops and no fruitfulness.  God has wisely employed a cycle of seasons with a time for every purpose under heaven.  A season of cultivation, growth and bountiful harvest does allow for unwelcome weeds that shoot up and propagate unless they are quickly uprooted.  Similar to what we observe in nature, prime times of spiritual growth can also include opportunity for sin to spout and spread.

The child of God must remain vigilant to keep God's ways, remember His judgments, keep ourselves from iniquity, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth, convicts us of sin, and empowers us to be faithful witness of Jesus.  Having been forgiven, cleansed of guilt and born again, we are to guard our hearts and labour to remain pure from our defilements that corrupt us from within.  David did not only keep himself from iniquity, but his iniquity.  It was not "sin" in a general sense but specific and personal iniquity that arose in his own heart and mind, the natural tendency of his human frame to lead him away from obedience to God and feed the flesh.  Knowing we are kept by God who loves us and who demonstrated this by giving us His only begotten Son Jesus, we ought to keep ourselves from our iniquity.  By God's strength and grace, we can.