Love, Knowledge and Compassion

The combination of knowledge and love can result in extending compassion toward others.  The one who is ignorant of the circumstances of a child's outburst in class may be visibly irritated and offended, yet another who realises the child has a medical condition and loves him will be more compassionate and patient.  Knowing a person in the workplace has been going through painful circumstances prompts us to be gracious and merciful when it is in our power to discipline them for tardiness or being absent.  The law condemns, but the loving give more grace.

As Jesus hung on the cross He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).  Rather than seeing forgiveness as a welcome benefit of ignorance when it comes to judgment (which Scripture does not support), see how the love of Jesus for sinners combined with His knowledge of them prompted Him to show compassion on them.  Jesus knew the deceived, envious hearts of those who plotted His murder, yet He was compassionate to intercede on their behalf before His heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness.  Often we lack both love towards others and knowledge of what people are going through.  Being born again by faith in Jesus, we are aided by the Holy Spirit to consistently show compassion on others when we naturally know little and love even less.

A recent study of the first chapter of Romans was instructive to me in considering the prayer of Jesus to forgive those who knew not what they were doing.  They did not believe Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah God promised to send to save His people from their sins.  Had they known and been convinced Jesus was the Christ, it follows they would have treated Him differently.  Though the Pharisees had great knowledge of the letter of the Law of Moses, without faith in Jesus they were blind to His divine nature:  they had eyes that did not want to see and so they could not see; they closed their ears to the truth Jesus proclaimed and thus could not hear.  Their self-inflicted blindness, deafness and hardness of heart was in conjunction with the fulfillment of scripture (Isaiah 6:9-10) and God's sovereign plan to redeem the Gentiles as well as Jews (Romans 11:7-11).

In Romans chapter 1, Paul explained God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, to all of mankind to whom He gave His only begotten Son Jesus.  God's judgment of sinners is seen by giving man over to uncleanness through the lusts of their hearts (ver. 24), to vile affections or passions (ver. 26) and gave them over to a debased mind (ver. 28) to commit all manner of sin.  Though man is without excuse before a righteous God for sin (Acts 17:31-32; Romans 1:20-21), God provides knowledge how and why people are morally adrift today with consciences unfit for purpose--like a clock without hands that cannot be read.  Knowing this about the state of humanity, it provokes compassion within me to intercede in prayer on behalf of those who sin and think they do well, who know not what they do.  Since Romans was written to Christians, it is also a warning of the consequences should we suppress the truth of God, refuse to glorify Him, give Him thanks, or dislike to retain God in our knowledge.  God is not willing any should perish and that all should come to repentance, and thus shows compassion by His patience and continued proclamation of His truth.

Ignorance of sin or judgment does not exonerate a soul, but it ought to stir compassion in our hearts for the drifting, lost and perishing.  It would be a great shame to use Romans 1 or other passages of Scripture as ammunition to take shots at others in judgment rather than the humble consideration of the state of our own hearts and minds with repentance.  Should God give us over to a debased mind, how could we make one wise judgment?  Let us be those who proclaim the truth of God, glorify Him with thanksgiving and remember His goodness, love, and compassion to us always so we might be a light to those in darkness, knowing we too were once in such a state.  God demonstrated compassion to open our blind eyes and closed ears, give us new hearts and renewed minds, and let us extend the same grace to others without restraint.

Studying Through the Bible

I was asked a thoughtful question today about the Calvary Chapel style of teaching through the Bible verse by verse:  what happens after you teach through the entire Bible?  Do you just cycle through the same notes?  While I cannot speak for other churches or pastoral approaches to teaching, I can speak to the unfathomable wisdom of the revelation of God's word.  One could more easily bottle all the water of the oceans of the world before we could process or exhaust God's wisdom held forth in the Bible.  Because Scripture is God-inspired, living and active, there is much more to learn than we can possibly receive in a single pass or a thousand studies of the same passage.  This is one reason my practice is to study a passage from scratch every time:  God and the passage hasn't changed, but I do.

By the grace of God, faith in God and obedience to His word results in increased maturity.  Our experiences, feelings, and circumstances impact our perspective and outlook.  Thus the Bible and God's truth will impact us differently depending on our current frame of mind and what God has already been speaking to us about.  The timeless truths remain in full force, but what seems most relevant to us at the time can change depending on how we are feeling and what we are thinking.  The Holy Spirit is able to go beyond the words of the page as well, leading us to consider how other passages connect in new and unexpected ways that provide additional richness and depth of personal application.

Another aspect of teaching through the Bible is even if a text is repeated the congregation and hearers will also be a different group of people.  They too will be in various stages of spiritual growth and maturity.  God is able to help those preaching tailor a fresh message by His leading that takes into account things we cannot know, like an unbeliever who will be visiting or new believers in the congregation.  Even in the midst of teaching the Holy Spirit can prompt a new line of reasoning not written down to dovetail into the message that ministers to the minister and people alike.  The picture of Hebrews gathering manna to be eaten that day is a picture of the daily gathering of our daily bread with humility due to our need.  There is also a season to eat of the old store, and this suggests God's Word is no less nourishing when a sermon is shared that has been preached before.

As useful as commentaries and study materials can be, there is no substitute with digging into God's Word afresh ourselves to seek what God has to say to us or our congregation through us today.  The scene with Boaz who commanded handfuls of grain be conspicuously left for Ruth is a beautiful picture of how God supplies our needs with wisdom, illustrations, promises, instruction, rebuke and personal application:  all we must do is rise in faith and gather them up.  Even a short devotional talk with children can yield more leftovers than the bread and fish that remained after Jesus fed 5,000 men plus their families with the lunch of one lad.  Praise the LORD He supplies our need for spiritual nutrition that brings health, growth and transformation by His grace.  God and His Word never change, but He is faithful to change us by familiar and obscure passages alike.

The Non-Negotiables

When we establish priorities, it is reasonable this results in making decisions that are non-negotiable.  A pregnant mother who prioritises the health of her baby chooses to avoid drinking alcohol during her pregnancy.  Should a glass of wine or beer be offered to her--even when she is not "showing"--she will politely decline the beverage because having a healthy infant is more important than having a drink.   She does not need to wrestle every time alcohol is on a menu or on the table because it is not negotiable in her mind; the decision has already been made.  The decision was already made to choose drinking options without alcohol that pose no risk for her developing baby.

In a marriage, workplace or in our relationship with God, there should be non-negotiables.  During an interview with a company years ago, I told the business manager who was hiring I was not available to work on Sundays regardless of overtime.  For me, it was a non-negotiable because my wife and I were already committed to attend church with our children on Sundays.  I was not tempted by double or triple time because the decision to go to church had already been made.  The decision to go to church was not impacted by a busy week, late nights or if I was feeling well-rested.  I was going to church unless I was not physically able to go because of sickness that would keep me from going to work during the week.

Recently I heard someone say that we shouldn't make doing what is good and right dependent on our feelings, and I agree with this.  Doing what is good should be a non-negotiable for a child of God and going to church, giving, serving and helping ought to be in the non-negotiable category.  Nothing in this world is certain, but we ought not to waffle between going to church or staying home every week depending on how we feel.  What God commands us to do--like not forsaking the gathering of believers together--we ought to do by faith in Him.  God has given us wisdom in His word, the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and the ability to do His will:  He holds us responsible to do our part according to His will.

It is wise to determine before a pressure-filled moment to decide what is the correct course of action and not be swayed by fleshy, selfish influences that are not of God.  Sometimes our non-negotiables arise from transgressions.  We decide we will no longer drink alcohol even when it is offered because we find we are unable to show restraint.  At the same time we should not need to commit adultery before we establish wise boundaries concerning our conduct and communication with members of the opposite sex.  Our non-negotiables ought to be established by faith and obedience to the LORD as we communicate with our spouse and fellow believers.  The LORD is faithful to help us walk in wisdom and strengthens us to stand resolute in His grace.

The LORD With Us

After David was anointed king over Israel, the Holy Spirit came upon him and the Spirit departed from king Saul.  God sent a distressing, tormenting spirit to afflict king Saul and his advisors were discerning to know exactly what was happening.  Rather than urging Saul to repent of his pride and rejection of God, they suggested Saul find a man who could skillfully play soothing music on the harp when he was troubled.  Saul agreed with their advice and amazingly David was the candidate immediately suggested.

1 Samuel 16:18 states, "Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him."  One could say David had a lot going for him:  he was a skillful musician, a brave and mighty champion, a fit soldier, well-spoken and good looking.  I expect most people would be happy for others to ascribe only one or two of these qualities to them and speak well of them to those in authority.  But the final flourish of David's description is the most important of all that we can overlook and undervalue:  "...and the LORD is with him."  All those other desirable qualities in David flowed on from God being with Him, his Creator Who fashioned him in the womb of his mother.

The LORD being with David meant he was always near the living God Who helps, strengthens and upholds His people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Joshua.  By God being with him, David was assured of wisdom, provision, protection and guidance to successfully do what God called him to do and be all God created him to be.  God was with David whether he was shepherd over his father's flocks in a field or summoned to play the harp in the court of king Saul.  The power of God to deliver and save remained constant when he faced the Philistine champion on a field of battle or his own son Absalom who usurped the throne through political intrigue.

We find this immortal phrase used by Balaam when he looked at the camp of the Hebrews and blessed them in Numbers 23:21-23:  "He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. ²² God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox. ²³ "For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'Oh, what God has done!'"  The LORD God was with Israel, and the shout of a king pointed to the Son of David, the Messiah Jesus Christ who would deliver people from their sins even as God saved people out of the iron furnace of Egypt.  No evil spirit, curse or weapon fashioned against God's people will prosper while God stands guard over our souls and delivers us from evil.  It is fitting the name of the Messiah and KING OF KINGS would be called Immanuel, for Jesus is God with us (Is. 7:14).

We may not be skilled musicians, mighty warriors, well-spoken or have dashing looks, but what the king's advisors said of David is true of us by faith in Jesus:  the LORD is with us.  Of all the blessings God provides His people, there is none greater than our LORD being with us.  All praise and thanks to God for His gracious and unspeakable gift, truly too wonderful for words!