Forgiveness For All

As I read through Luke 5 today and jotted down notes for this week's Discipleship Course at Calvary Chapel Sydney, I was blessed with many gems.  Priceless truth can be gleaned when we spend a little time carefully reading God's Word.  A single word has great power to shed light to our understanding, dispelling incorrect assumptions.

Take Luke 5:17, for instance.  It reads, "Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them."  As Jesus taught, Luke focused on the Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by.  These men were eminent scholars, famous teachers themselves.  The following sentence should be a surprise to all - especially to those learned men - the power of the LORD was present to heal them.  Now these were likely able-bodied men, some having traveled great distances to hear Jesus.  They would have been offended to think they of all people needed anything from Jesus.  They were the masters, and here was this young man without any formal training who spoke gracious words with authority.

Little did they know an object lesson would be presented before them.  The power of the LORD was present to heal them, and during Christ's discourse suddenly dust and debris fell from the ceiling.  Shafts of light passed through swirling dust as the roof was uncovered and a paralysed man was lowered down.  Luke 5:18-19 says, "Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. ¹⁹ And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus."  It was obvious the paralysed man was in need of physical healing, and a careful reading shows Jesus had the power and will not only to heal bodies but forgive lost sinners.  I expect the masters were annoyed to be thus intruded upon and all eyes were fastened upon the young Teacher who exuded infinite wisdom beyond His years.  Those judgmental Pharisees and self-righteous rulers of the Jews unknowingly saw themselves spiritually sprawled upon that dirty cot, for they saw themselves as blameless as they penned scathing critiques concerning the supposed blasphemous statements of Jesus.

Jesus said, "Man, your sins are forgiven."  Jesus healed the man before them all to show He indeed had power over sin, for it is sin which brought disease, sin, and death into the world.  There was a healing beyond the physical which was needed in every person in that room.  Jesus healed him, but there was power to heal and save them.  Later in the chapter Jesus was criticised for eating with sinners to whom He replied in Luke 5:31-32, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Only the power of the LORD can cleanse a man from sin, and the only means to receive this healing is through faith in Jesus Christ.  In sin we are all as that paralysed man, and Jesus looks upon us with compassion and grace.  Many think themselves in no need of a physician who are dying, and only those who see their need will seek healing.  Praise God Jesus has come, and through Him the power of God is present to save all!

Your True Identity

Your perceived identity can shape your destiny.  Our identity is often founded on temporary, transitory things like the opinions of others, our history, personal appearance, friends, and activities.  It is important as Christians we not hold to an identity based on the opinions of others or even ourselves.  If we will become all God desires we be, it is critical we see ourselves through His perspective.  Instead of fostering pride, walking according to our new identity in Christ is humbling and satisfying.

An angel came unexpectedly to Mary and said, "You are highly favoured among women, and the LORD is with you:  blessed are you among women."  The next verse reveals that Mary did not see herself this way.  Luke 1:29 says, "But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was."  She didn't say, "I knew it!  Finally someone else realises what I have known all along!"  She found the statement of the angel troubling even though it was the truth.  We can do the same.

Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress when the Angel of the LORD came to him and announced, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour."  Gideon's perspective was quite the opposite and he questioned the veracity of the claim of the divine messenger.  Judges 6:13 says, "Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."  Needless to say, Gideon struggled and even resisted to agree with God's assessment of him and His plans concerning him..

Perhaps one of the most classic instances of people holding onto their own identity despite being at odds with God's assessment is Moses.  The Living God said to Moses in Exodus 3:10, "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."  For decades God had been preparing Moses to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt, yet Moses initially refused to budge.  He was the very man God planned to use to save the children of Israel, but Moses could not see it.  Exodus 3:11 says, "But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"  God promised to be with Moses, but at that moment even that wasn't enough for Moses.

As Christians, our identity ought to be found in the person of Jesus Christ.  He demonstrated God's love for us through His death on the cross, and He rose from the dead in miraculous power.  The same Holy Spirit which came upon Him has filled all believers, and this should radically change the way we see ourselves.  It would be a grave error to distort this into a self-exalting or self-empowering theme.  In themselves Mary, Gideon, and Moses were unable to accomplish what God desired to do through them.  Each of these saints ultimately believed God's Word and walked in obedience to Him, and God brought deliverance and salvation through them.  When our eyes are fixed on Jesus and not on ourselves, then we can begin to live according to God's view of us.  God has great plans, and you can be part of them if you will trust and believe Him.

Matching Wine and Wineskins

People say it is what a person is on the inside which counts, and this is true.  This inner focus is likely pushing back against our human tendency to measure ourselves by externals.  We can obsess superficial and transitory aspects like the appearance of our body - the size of our nose or be self-conscious about a mole - more than the character of our hearts.  Jesus taught the words and deeds of a person is an extension of the inner reality:  out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34).  We can conclude therefore both the heart and conduct of a person is important.  Man looks at outer appearance, but God looks at the heart.  If the heart of a man is right before God, he should take intentional steps to see his conduct and words reflect that reality.

Jesus told a parable in Mark 2:21-22:  "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."  New fabric shrinks, and new wine expands because of the fermentation process.  One point Jesus is making here is how there should be an agreement between the torn fabric and the fabric used to make the patch; there must be agreement between the new wine coupled with new wineskins.  If new wine is placed into an old wineskin the production of carbon dioxide will cause the brittle wineskin to rupture and all the wine will leak out.  New wine requires a new wineskin.

When a Christian is born again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we are made new on the inside.  But we continue to live in a body of flesh saddled with a mind indoctrinated by the world and sinful habits.  A personal application for all to consider is a person who is born again must choose to live life in a new way according to God's Word.  A new spirit requires a new way of thinking, a new way of living.  Focusing on modifying behaviour without inner transformation is like buying a new wineskin for wine that has turned to vinegar.  Transformation within and holding onto the old life is untenable, like new wine in an old wineskin.  The old wineskin will burst and the wine will be wasted.  Like in the Parable where the seed fell on thin or thorny ground which sprang up yet remained without fruit, so it is for the professing Christian who is ensnared in worldly living.  Since God has changed us on the inside, we must be willing to continue changing on the outside too.

When a professing believer finds Christianity boring, reading the Word fruitless, and fellowship with believers tiresome, it may be that person has not been transformed within by the presence of the Holy Spirit.  He has laboured to appear as a new wineskin, but his original vinegar flavour has never changed inside.  Listen to what G.K. Chesterton says about the natural man and his appetites:

There comes an hour in the afternoon when the child is tired of 'pretending'; when he is weary of being a robber or a Red Indian.  It is then that he torments the cat.  There comes a time in the routine of an ordered civilization when the man is tired of playing at mythology and pretending that a tree is a maiden or that the moon made love to a man.  The effect of this staleness is the same everywhere; it is seen in all drug-taking and dram-drinking and every form of the tendency to increase the dose.  Men seek stranger sins or more startling obscenities as stimulants to their jaded sense.  They seek after made oriental religions for the same reason.  They try to stab their nerves to life, if it were with the knives of the priests of Baal.  They are walking in their sleep and try to wake themselves up with nightmares. (Chesterton, G. K. The Everlasting Man. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2008. Print. page 159)

People who become bored with Christianity and church resemble the pretender G.K. Chesterton speaks about.  It is not seen as strange a man should embrace the hobby of playing golf for years and sell his clubs to buy a bicycle, but people scratch their heads in disbelief when a man serves at church for years and walks away.  It is not for me to judge the hearts of others, but before God I am responsible to examine my own heart and conduct.  Is my inner man reconciled to my outer man?  Are my affections and desires in line with the will of my Father in heaven?  Too many professing Christians in word are not indeed Christians, for their conscience has been inoculated by their knowledge and service.  When we have increased the dose and we lose our buzz, the famished souls of men will search elsewhere.  Has following Jesus become stale?  Jesus Christ makes new creations, and a genuine new creation required newness of life.  Let us ensure our lives are reconciled to this truth.

Addressing Source or Symptoms?

Head colds are common ailments usually caused by viruses.  Symptoms include a sore throat, blocked or runny nose, and sinus pressure.  There are many over-the-counter medications which can alleviate the symptoms in varying degrees.  It is important for the sufferer to realise the runny nose is a problem and an irritation, but it is not the source of the problem:  the runny nose is indicative of a virus the body will overcome in due time.

It would be silly to think the source of the head cold was eliminated by jamming Kleenex in the nose or irrigating the sinus with a saline solution.  Treating the symptoms of a chronic illness or disease never touches the root cause.  It would be foolish to load up on caffeine to fight fatigue when the body is suffering anemia or heart disease.  Morphine is very good at numbing pain, but it does nothing to mend a broken bone or remove bowel cancer.  Unless the source is dealt with directly, all efforts to treat the symptoms will not promote healing or restoration.  Efforts to remove white patches off tonsils with a wire brush will only add complications to pain.  The alleviation of symptoms without discovering and addressing the cause is problematic as well, for it masks the insidious nature of the sickness which will continue to rage unchecked.

It may be we only want our symptoms relieved, but wisdom demands we discover the source of our symptoms and seek a genuine cure.  The symptoms of spiritual illness are often played out in the physical realm.  A lack of peace, joy, or contentment should be an impetus to seeking God and His counsel through the Word.  Waywardness of eyes and thoughts are often indicative of a wandering heart from steadfast faithfulness to God.  We can toil against the lusts of our flesh and eyes and not realise the problem is not with all the temptation offered in the world but the sin which sits enthroned in our own hearts.  We are called to guard our hearts, for from the heart springs all the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

Sinful conduct and habits is like a spiritually runny nose and fever:  it is an indicator something inside us is sick and in need of a physician's care.  It may appear passive to allow a virus run its course, but in truth the body is working overtime to see the viral threat destroyed.  God designed our bodies with an intricate defense system which identifies and attacks all threats to the health of the body, and God allows feelings we classify as bad, sickness, waves of depression, and circumstances so we might recognise our need to repent and refocus our trust on God once more.  It is not more self-control in one area we need, but to abide in Christ's love by making God's will our practice in all our lives.  Resist the urge to force superficial change in yourself by modifying behaviour without considering the implications of how your actions reveal your heart.  Unless a heart is humbled before God in faith and surrender, lasting transformation is not a viable option.  Efforts of the flesh to clean our exterior resemble a man with a fever who scrubs his inflamed tonsils with a wire brush - and that is an ugly picture indeed.