God has provided the scripture so we might know Him, be instructed in righteousness, and convicted of sin so we might repent. Because of the conscience God has placed within us, both Christians and non-Christians often seem confident in their knowledge of right and wrong. Premeditated murder, rape, and stealing are obviously wrong. There might be some who disagree by their actions, but the vast majority of people spanning nations and cultures of the world universally agree. Laws are created to set limits, protect the innocent, and punish lawbreaking offenders. The Bible goes way further than providing a list of "do's and don'ts," but ferrets out the sin that breeds in the human heart not governed by man's external laws: sins like pride, covetousness, envy, and greed. Unless the Bible had called these natural tendencies sin, I never would have known!
James 2:10 reads, "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." This passage is commonly quoted, but when I read it yesterday I was reminded of the immediate context. Did you notice that the passage begins with a "for?" This means the verse is predicated on the prior verse or verses. James 2:8-9 says, "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;
9
but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors." Showing partiality, favoritism, or nepotism is a sin according to God's righteous standard. I find it intriguing that partiality is the sin mentioned right before James says, "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." This proves that being partial is just as bad a sin as murder and adultery, sins mentioned in the verses following. Would you have ever dreamed that favoritism in God's eyes carries the weight of guilt of murder? Again, without scripture I could not have known this!
It is obvious that none of us is perfect according to God's standard. Even worse, the law has no power to cleanse or save us from sin. All it can do is point out my mounting faults and condemn me under divine justice. God, knowing this, sent His Son Jesus Christ to become a sacrifice for sin and establish a covenant in His own blood. Containing a promise written in Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8:6-10 states, "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." The Law can only find fault with us, but grace, peace, and salvation come through Jesus Christ. The Law is good in that it reveals our sin and desperate need for reconciliation with God.
Our hearts in their natural state are blind guides, leading us into every error imaginable. But the Bible holds forth with crystal clarity the nature of our hearts, the deceitfulness of sin, that being partial on one occasion is enough to break God's Law for eternity, and the forgiveness and salvation available to all through Christ. He uses His Word to open our eyes as the Holy Spirit instructs, corrects, and comforts us. Praise God for the New Covenant and for putting His law into our hearts. Though we have sinned, God will forgive when we repent and trust in Him. What good news for sinners this is!
04 April 2013
03 April 2013
Know Your Weakness
Samson is not often seen as a spiritually perceptive man. Because he was a man the Spirit came upon with power and made him strong, people look at his life as a tragic waste. He loved Philistine women, visited harlots, and ate honey from a swarm in a lion's carcase! Yet despite his many flaws and foibles, I still contend he had rare wisdom for one simple reason: he knew his weakness. When Delilah asked him the secret of his supernatural strength, he knew that if his hair was cut he would be "weak, and be like any other man." He tried many times to throw her off the scent, but after she pestered him to the point of death it says in Judges 16:17: "...he told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."
People use the common phrase, "You don't know your own strength." I say the opposite can be true: we often don't know what makes us weak. Samson knew the one thing that would make him weak as any man, and therefore he avoided doing it. He never would have cut his hair, but Delilah was happy to oblige! Satan is our Delilah, lulling us to sleep on his knees. The trouble is, we often don't know we are weak until we are beaten, blinded, and bound! In "Batman Begins," Bruce Wayne as a child falls into an empty well. The butler Alfred said, "Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce?" The father of Bruce replied, "And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." When we fall, sometimes we can't get up alone. Bruce couldn't. Spiritually speaking, when we fall we need the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ to lift us up. More than learning to pick ourselves up, we ought to learn from how we fell in the first place to prevent falling again.
I have heard many people discuss the liberty we have in Christ. What is commonly discussed is the importance not to allow our liberty to stumble or offend others. Drinking alcohol is a pat example. Many people through their lives struggle with alcoholism. If my drinking wine with dinner and having a beer with the boys emboldens others to drink, it would be to their detriment and possibly their destruction. Therefore Christians are called to honour God by valuing the conscience of others above their own freedom. Consider Romans 14:21: "It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak." The very last word of this verse is not often talked about. We should not do anything by which our brother could be made to stumble, be offended, or be made weak. It is wise to consider: are my actions causing others - my spouse, children, and fellow believers - to become weak?
The first and most important aspect of the application of the passage is to answer this question personally: what is my weakness? What makes me weak to resist temptation? What weakens my faith or resolve? Is it a thought pattern? Something I place before my eyes or something I eat or drink? A lack of prayer or reading God's Word? As Christians, we have the power of God within us. But what makes you weak as any other man? What causes us to stumble and trip over the same obstacles and fall for the same tricks every time? It is a wise man who not only knows his own weakness, but avoids everything which causes himself or others to be weakened. We can only find true strength through faith in our God, the One who has become for us Wisdom!
Samson knew what made him weak. Do you?
People use the common phrase, "You don't know your own strength." I say the opposite can be true: we often don't know what makes us weak. Samson knew the one thing that would make him weak as any man, and therefore he avoided doing it. He never would have cut his hair, but Delilah was happy to oblige! Satan is our Delilah, lulling us to sleep on his knees. The trouble is, we often don't know we are weak until we are beaten, blinded, and bound! In "Batman Begins," Bruce Wayne as a child falls into an empty well. The butler Alfred said, "Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce?" The father of Bruce replied, "And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." When we fall, sometimes we can't get up alone. Bruce couldn't. Spiritually speaking, when we fall we need the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ to lift us up. More than learning to pick ourselves up, we ought to learn from how we fell in the first place to prevent falling again.
I have heard many people discuss the liberty we have in Christ. What is commonly discussed is the importance not to allow our liberty to stumble or offend others. Drinking alcohol is a pat example. Many people through their lives struggle with alcoholism. If my drinking wine with dinner and having a beer with the boys emboldens others to drink, it would be to their detriment and possibly their destruction. Therefore Christians are called to honour God by valuing the conscience of others above their own freedom. Consider Romans 14:21: "It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak." The very last word of this verse is not often talked about. We should not do anything by which our brother could be made to stumble, be offended, or be made weak. It is wise to consider: are my actions causing others - my spouse, children, and fellow believers - to become weak?
The first and most important aspect of the application of the passage is to answer this question personally: what is my weakness? What makes me weak to resist temptation? What weakens my faith or resolve? Is it a thought pattern? Something I place before my eyes or something I eat or drink? A lack of prayer or reading God's Word? As Christians, we have the power of God within us. But what makes you weak as any other man? What causes us to stumble and trip over the same obstacles and fall for the same tricks every time? It is a wise man who not only knows his own weakness, but avoids everything which causes himself or others to be weakened. We can only find true strength through faith in our God, the One who has become for us Wisdom!
Samson knew what made him weak. Do you?
02 April 2013
The Proud Shove
While walking on the footpath this morning, my sons and I heard a warning "honk" from a cyclist who promptly whizzed by. There wasn't much time to react. Instinctively I moved towards the left, creating as much room as possible for the rider to pass on my right. In doing so, I gently bumped into Abel and almost pushed him into the bushes! As we walked and talked about how funny it would have been to see Abel dive headlong into the bushes and disappear, I was reminded of a time when that happened to my brother. And it was totally my fault.
I recounted the story to my sons. Since my parents were highly involved in church ministry, we always were among the first to arrive at church and the last to leave. For years, my brother and I would religiously play football by ourselves or with friends before first service, between services, and after second service. We literally wore out ball after ball playing touch football on the lawn, in a dirt lot, or on pavement. My brother and I were never on the same team because that created an unfair advantage. To have both of us paired on offense or defense meant an easy victory for us. So quite often we were paired up guarding or rushing each other. In case you don't know us, neither of us likes to lose. Thinking back, it's amazing how civilised the games usually were considering our competitiveness and youthful pride.
One morning before the service when I was in my early teens, my brother Mat "beat" me on a long bomb over the top. It was a perfect route, pass, and catch, the ball just sailing over my outstretched hand. Mat brought down the over the shoulder catch for the touchdown. I wasn't happy about being beaten. So what did I do? Just as his feet touched down on the concrete that marked the end zone, I gave him a small shove to the back. It was touch football, right? It wasn't a big shove, but with his forward momentum it was enough to send him sprawling headlong into a large juniper bush. He completely disappeared. In retrospect, it's a good thing that bush was there because it kept Mat from falling down a sheer drop five meters to a concrete path.
Oh no, I thought to myself. I felt bad. Because he didn't emerge immediately from the bush triumphantly with the ball, I knew something was wrong. I didn't feel bad about the extra "love" at the end of the play, but I knew Mat was going to be mad - really mad. He knew what I did, and he knew I did it on purpose. You see, all I could think about in that moment was how my bad decision was going to affect me. After calling into the bush a few times, Mat scrambled out of the bush fuming and thankfully unhurt. My pride had taken a hit being beaten by my little brother (who always could hold his own and was virtually equal or better than me in physical activities growing up) and so I dealt him a blow. We made up and the game continued. I am blessed to have a brother who showed me grace that day. "Shoving Mat into that shrub was the result of my pride and selfishness," I told the boys. "Pride will always make you do things you later regret. In that split-second it felt good to give him a shove, but it's something I have always regretted because of my proud and selfish attitude. I should have congratulated him and been a good sport."
Pride is an awful sin that has led to much more than a kid being shoved headlong into bushes, but the destruction of relationships, marriages, to fights, injuries, and bitter grudges. Pride causes us to hurt people we love. Pride is the primary sin of Satan (1 Tim. 3:6), and it keeps men from seeking God. Psalm 10:4 reads, "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." Pride is painted in a positive light in many cultures today. People take pride in all sorts of things. But when we lift ourselves up with pride, we only set ourselves up for a fall. Proverbs 29:23 says, "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honour." It is only through being born again by grace through faith in Christ that we can be free from the shackles of pride. Under the illusion of freedom we are actually bound by pride (Ps. 73:6). When we embrace humility, we don't need to fire away that hurtful parting shot, fight for our rights, or shove someone in the back. Walking in pride is a means of sowing to the flesh, and it will always breed corruption. Thank God that He has given us the example of Jesus, who not only shows us the way but places within us the power to walk in it through the Holy Spirit.
I'm sorry for shoving you into that bush, Mat. But I'm not sorry for the lesson God taught me through it! :)
I recounted the story to my sons. Since my parents were highly involved in church ministry, we always were among the first to arrive at church and the last to leave. For years, my brother and I would religiously play football by ourselves or with friends before first service, between services, and after second service. We literally wore out ball after ball playing touch football on the lawn, in a dirt lot, or on pavement. My brother and I were never on the same team because that created an unfair advantage. To have both of us paired on offense or defense meant an easy victory for us. So quite often we were paired up guarding or rushing each other. In case you don't know us, neither of us likes to lose. Thinking back, it's amazing how civilised the games usually were considering our competitiveness and youthful pride.
One morning before the service when I was in my early teens, my brother Mat "beat" me on a long bomb over the top. It was a perfect route, pass, and catch, the ball just sailing over my outstretched hand. Mat brought down the over the shoulder catch for the touchdown. I wasn't happy about being beaten. So what did I do? Just as his feet touched down on the concrete that marked the end zone, I gave him a small shove to the back. It was touch football, right? It wasn't a big shove, but with his forward momentum it was enough to send him sprawling headlong into a large juniper bush. He completely disappeared. In retrospect, it's a good thing that bush was there because it kept Mat from falling down a sheer drop five meters to a concrete path.
Oh no, I thought to myself. I felt bad. Because he didn't emerge immediately from the bush triumphantly with the ball, I knew something was wrong. I didn't feel bad about the extra "love" at the end of the play, but I knew Mat was going to be mad - really mad. He knew what I did, and he knew I did it on purpose. You see, all I could think about in that moment was how my bad decision was going to affect me. After calling into the bush a few times, Mat scrambled out of the bush fuming and thankfully unhurt. My pride had taken a hit being beaten by my little brother (who always could hold his own and was virtually equal or better than me in physical activities growing up) and so I dealt him a blow. We made up and the game continued. I am blessed to have a brother who showed me grace that day. "Shoving Mat into that shrub was the result of my pride and selfishness," I told the boys. "Pride will always make you do things you later regret. In that split-second it felt good to give him a shove, but it's something I have always regretted because of my proud and selfish attitude. I should have congratulated him and been a good sport."
Pride is an awful sin that has led to much more than a kid being shoved headlong into bushes, but the destruction of relationships, marriages, to fights, injuries, and bitter grudges. Pride causes us to hurt people we love. Pride is the primary sin of Satan (1 Tim. 3:6), and it keeps men from seeking God. Psalm 10:4 reads, "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." Pride is painted in a positive light in many cultures today. People take pride in all sorts of things. But when we lift ourselves up with pride, we only set ourselves up for a fall. Proverbs 29:23 says, "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honour." It is only through being born again by grace through faith in Christ that we can be free from the shackles of pride. Under the illusion of freedom we are actually bound by pride (Ps. 73:6). When we embrace humility, we don't need to fire away that hurtful parting shot, fight for our rights, or shove someone in the back. Walking in pride is a means of sowing to the flesh, and it will always breed corruption. Thank God that He has given us the example of Jesus, who not only shows us the way but places within us the power to walk in it through the Holy Spirit.
I'm sorry for shoving you into that bush, Mat. But I'm not sorry for the lesson God taught me through it! :)
01 April 2013
A Rock of Offense
Paul exhorts believers in Ephesians 4:15 to speak the truth in love. God's love looks very different than what passes for love according to man's selfish standard. Because we love people, we ought to tell them the truth. We know the adage rings true: the truth can hurt. Sometimes we don't want to tell people the truth because we are afraid of offending them. When I am faced with this dilemma, I admit that the battle is not so much about others. My natural tendency is first to consider myself: what others will think of me, how uncomfortable I am, or countless other self-absorbed rationale. Those are tendencies I must confess as sin and forsake as I follow Jesus. It is the love of Christ which should compel Christians to speak the truth in love because we deeply care about others more than ourselves.
The message of the Gospel and the cross is a most offensive message. 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, "Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone," 8 and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed." Jesus is this "rock of offense." The chief priests and scribes stumbled at Christ's Word because of His claims of deity and how He trumped the Law of Moses. He openly spoke of their hypocrisy and sin according to God's righteous standard. The offense of Christ continues to this day. To say a man is a sinner and needs salvation through repentance and faith to avoid facing the wrath of a furious God for eternity is very politically incorrect. There are some modern day churches that avoid any talk of hell, sin, judgment, or even the blood of Christ because it is offensive. But the love of Christ compels believers to speak the truth on even these difficult, unpopular, and polarising topics - even when faced with being ostracised, mocked, arrested, tortured, and killed. God and the scriptures are immutable, though the world continually sways like a ship at the mercy of the tide.
The day is coming, and even now is, that the divide between Christianity and the world becomes so wide no one can possibly straddle it. The world's opinion of Christianity and what is commonly called "the church" has changed markedly over the last twenty years. It used to be that Christians were considered "Jesus freaks" or a mild nuisance at best. Others looked upon followers of Christ as deluded people entrenched in tradition since their childhood, brainwashed of reason, and in need of a support group or crutch to cope with life's difficulties. "To each their own," people would say through a wry grin. Today even in countries with a strong Christian tradition, there is much more vitriol directed towards the church. People who are tolerant towards everything under the sun are increasingly intolerant and accusatory towards Christians as being bigots, haters, and unloving. Pity has given way to fierce anger. Are Christians without faults? Of course not. The Bible and our consciences tell us that all have sinned and no one is perfect. But the reality is we believers are called to speak the truth in love, and love does not mask the truth. We must be mindful there are ways to deliver an offensive message without having an offensive tone or attitude. 1 Corinthians 10:32-33 says, "Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."
Jesus came to earth as a revelation of divine love. Many of the things that He said were deemed offensive by the people who heard Him. His words were offensive because they did not believe He was God. If they believed He was God, the religious Jews would have given Jesus latitude to speak as God. But because they did not believe His claims, they were deeply offended by Him. Even though Jesus did many great things which could not be spoken against, they desired to kill Him! Therefore the followers of Christ will be despised, despite any social programs or good things we may aspire to do. Jesus said to His followers in John 15:17-19: "These things I command you, that you love one another. 18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Christians are not of this world, yet there remains a temptation to soften the rough edges of the Gospel to be more palatable to the world. What is created is another gospel which is devoid of the power to convict, justify, transform, redeem, or sanctify. It is a false gospel that is no Gospel at all. We are messengers bringing Christ's message of salvation unto all people, and only an evil messenger selectively edits the message.
As Joshua told the people who entered into the land of promise, so the Holy Spirit exhorts us today: choose this day whom you will serve. Choose this day whom you will fear. Choose this day whom you will trust. We cannot serve two masters: either we believe the scriptures are the perfect, unchanging, unalterable words of God and we preach and live them without apology, or we cast them aside and trample them under our feet as rubbish. It is time for us to believe the scriptures so we might know God. Even if our love is misconstrued, distorted, or interpreted as hatred by those blinded by the ruler of this world, so be it. May we speak the truth in love, fearing God alone. May we follow Christ's example as He went about doing good unto all. If it is ordained we suffer persecution, trials, scorn, slander, loss of credibility in the eyes of the world, loss of physical freedom, or even our lives, AMEN! Even in these things we can rejoice, when our eyes are fixed upon Jesus. Is a servant above His Master?
The message of the Gospel and the cross is a most offensive message. 1 Peter 2:6-8 says, "Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone," 8 and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed." Jesus is this "rock of offense." The chief priests and scribes stumbled at Christ's Word because of His claims of deity and how He trumped the Law of Moses. He openly spoke of their hypocrisy and sin according to God's righteous standard. The offense of Christ continues to this day. To say a man is a sinner and needs salvation through repentance and faith to avoid facing the wrath of a furious God for eternity is very politically incorrect. There are some modern day churches that avoid any talk of hell, sin, judgment, or even the blood of Christ because it is offensive. But the love of Christ compels believers to speak the truth on even these difficult, unpopular, and polarising topics - even when faced with being ostracised, mocked, arrested, tortured, and killed. God and the scriptures are immutable, though the world continually sways like a ship at the mercy of the tide.
The day is coming, and even now is, that the divide between Christianity and the world becomes so wide no one can possibly straddle it. The world's opinion of Christianity and what is commonly called "the church" has changed markedly over the last twenty years. It used to be that Christians were considered "Jesus freaks" or a mild nuisance at best. Others looked upon followers of Christ as deluded people entrenched in tradition since their childhood, brainwashed of reason, and in need of a support group or crutch to cope with life's difficulties. "To each their own," people would say through a wry grin. Today even in countries with a strong Christian tradition, there is much more vitriol directed towards the church. People who are tolerant towards everything under the sun are increasingly intolerant and accusatory towards Christians as being bigots, haters, and unloving. Pity has given way to fierce anger. Are Christians without faults? Of course not. The Bible and our consciences tell us that all have sinned and no one is perfect. But the reality is we believers are called to speak the truth in love, and love does not mask the truth. We must be mindful there are ways to deliver an offensive message without having an offensive tone or attitude. 1 Corinthians 10:32-33 says, "Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."
Jesus came to earth as a revelation of divine love. Many of the things that He said were deemed offensive by the people who heard Him. His words were offensive because they did not believe He was God. If they believed He was God, the religious Jews would have given Jesus latitude to speak as God. But because they did not believe His claims, they were deeply offended by Him. Even though Jesus did many great things which could not be spoken against, they desired to kill Him! Therefore the followers of Christ will be despised, despite any social programs or good things we may aspire to do. Jesus said to His followers in John 15:17-19: "These things I command you, that you love one another. 18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Christians are not of this world, yet there remains a temptation to soften the rough edges of the Gospel to be more palatable to the world. What is created is another gospel which is devoid of the power to convict, justify, transform, redeem, or sanctify. It is a false gospel that is no Gospel at all. We are messengers bringing Christ's message of salvation unto all people, and only an evil messenger selectively edits the message.
As Joshua told the people who entered into the land of promise, so the Holy Spirit exhorts us today: choose this day whom you will serve. Choose this day whom you will fear. Choose this day whom you will trust. We cannot serve two masters: either we believe the scriptures are the perfect, unchanging, unalterable words of God and we preach and live them without apology, or we cast them aside and trample them under our feet as rubbish. It is time for us to believe the scriptures so we might know God. Even if our love is misconstrued, distorted, or interpreted as hatred by those blinded by the ruler of this world, so be it. May we speak the truth in love, fearing God alone. May we follow Christ's example as He went about doing good unto all. If it is ordained we suffer persecution, trials, scorn, slander, loss of credibility in the eyes of the world, loss of physical freedom, or even our lives, AMEN! Even in these things we can rejoice, when our eyes are fixed upon Jesus. Is a servant above His Master?
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