The Root of Sanctification is Internal, Not External Change

Today, something from an awesome blog find that I think we’ll be visiting again!  Dave Dunham is a Baptist pastor in Michigan who writes at Pastor Dave Online. This article is the first of three parts (so far) which are equally beneficial; the links to part two and three are at the bottom.  This was originally titled: The Power of the Gospel for Real Change: Reflections on the Process of Sanctification from Colossians 2:20-3:5 (Part 1)

How do people change? There are a myriad of ideas about what change looks like, and lots of proposed solutions are offered to what ails us. But as a Christian any solution I offer to others, or any that I claim for myself, must be rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the real center of all true, lasting change for humanity. But what does this mean: gospel-centered change? Paul gives us a picture of this kind of change in Colossians 2:20-3:5. By studying this passage we can learn how the gospel applied to our struggles can affect real change.

In the letter to the Colossians Paul is writing to a church beleaguered by false teachers who are promoting a sort of mystical Jewish/Christian amalgamation over and against the gospel.  So Paul urges them to remember the preeminence of Christ, resist the empty philosophies of others, and pursue the example of Jesus. The specific passage we are looking at discusses how to “put on the new self.” It states:

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” referring to things that all perish as they are used—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

To understand how this passage instructs us on true, gospel-centered, change let’s break it down.

Paul begins by warning us that self-discipline, in and of itself, is not enough. The Colossians had lists of things not to avoid, regulations and rules that were designed to keep the world at a distance. “Don’t handle,” “don’t taste,” “don’t touch.” They would say. The developed their own form of legalism to make themselves pure. But legalism can never achieve real growth in godliness. Following a list of rules, apart from the gospel of grace, leads naturally either to arrogance or depression.

If you succeed in keeping all the rules you become an arrogant jerk. You’re proud of your accomplishments and you pat yourself on the back. You compare others to your own standard of “godliness” and condemn those who don’t match your level. After all, you pulled yourself up by your bootstraps, why wouldn’t you expect everyone else to do the same. But, of course, we can never attain true purity this way.

As the reality of our imperfection manifests itself to us we become depressed. Legalism tends to produce depressed and ashamed Christians who are constantly frustrated and downcast because, after all, no one is perfect and they can’t keep the rules. So we are constantly aware of the slightest failing and sure that God must hate us for it. Rule keeping, and self-restraint alone, are not the pathway to our transformation.

That is not to say that self-discipline is not important. It is very important. And Jesus gives us rules to follow. But self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), not merely something we conjure up of our own will. Self-discipline apart from the gospel and apart from the Spirit of God leads to legalism, not to change.  I like how J. Alasdair Groves summarizes Paul’s point:

Paul’s point is simple: you are not going to overcome your sin by beating yourself into shape and keeping the outside world at arm’s length. Trying harder and being your own drill sergeant has “no value in restraining sensual indulgences.” You’ll feel better for a while if you establish a list of rules, an exercise regimen, and a plan to do more school work so you won’t have much time to be tempted. But it will never be enough. Rules (in and of themselves) simply cannot stop the flesh, and the world (and the devil). Looking to rules or your own effort to change is insufficient and opposed to how God works to redeem us. (“Exposing the Lies of Pornography and Counseling the Men Who Believe Them” in The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 27.1. p. 20)

Paul says that such things have an “appearance of wisdom,” that’s why so many legalists still exist. But ultimately this approach to transformation is “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” We want real change not merely an exchange of “indulgences.” Legalism tends to help us abandon one sin only to pick up another (like arrogance and pride, or judging others to name two examples). Real change must go deeper than our external behaviors. Real change must get at the heart, and that’s where the gospel takes us.

If you want real change you have to address more than our behaviors. That is why “solutions” that only ever address external behavior don’t affect lasting or real change.  The gospel doesn’t ignore our external behavior, but it treats us as whole people (spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, relational, etc.). Next week we’ll unpack some more of what Paul says about real change to the Colossians, but spend some time this week reflecting on the failure of rule keeping, and ask God to help you address more than just your actions. Pray and ask him to expose your heart, in order that you might find real transformation.

Continue reading other parts of this series:

• The Power of the Gospel for Real Change: Reflections on the Process of Sanctification from Colossians 2:20-3:5 (Part 2)
• The Power of the Gospel for Real Change: Reflections on the Process of Sanctification from Colossians 2:20-3:5 (Part 3)

Dallas Willard Quotations

We frequently take a break here to run quotation sets, this time around Internet Monk did the work for us.  The featured author is Christian philosopher Dallas Willard, who passed away last week at age 77.

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“We must understand that God does not “love” us without liking us – through gritted teeth – as “Christian” love is sometimes thought to do. Rather, out of the eternal freshness of his perpetually self-renewed being, the heavenly Father cherishes the earth and each human being upon it. The fondness, the endearment, the unstintingly affectionate regard of God toward all his creatures is the natural outflow of what he is to the core – which we vainly try to capture with our tired but indispensable old word “love”.”

“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.”
The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship

“The test of character posed by the gentleness of God’s approach to us is especially dangerous for those formed by the ideas that dominate our modern world. We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than one who believes. You can be almost as stupid as a cabbage, as long as you doubt. The fashion of the age has identified mental sharpness with a pose, not with genuine intellectual method and character. Only a very hardy individualist or social rebel — or one desperate for another life — therefore stands any chance of discovering the substantiality of the spiritual life today. Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as wildly individualistic and unbearably bright.” Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.” The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship

“What is truly profound is thought to be stupid and trivial, or worse, boring, while what is actually stupid and trivial is thought to be profound. That is what it means to fly upside down.” The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God

“Kingdom praying and its efficacy is entirely a matter of the innermost heart’s being totally open and honest before God. It is a matter of what we are saying with our whole being, moving with resolute intent and clarity of mind into the flow of God’s action.” The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God

“[Jesus] matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weaknesses he gives us strength and and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.”
The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God

“God is the treasure, and where the treasure is, there is the heart. By this we may test our love to God. What are our thoughts most upon? Can we say we are ravished with delight when we think on God? Have our thoughts got wings? Are they fled aloft? Do we contemplate Christ and glory?… A sinner crowds God out of his thoughts. He never thinks of God, unless with horror, as the prisoner thinks of the judge.”
The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship

“Few people arise in the morning as hungry for God as they are for cornflakes or toast and eggs.”
Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

“In many cases, our need to wonder about or be told what God wants in a certain situation is nothing short of a clear indication of how little we are engaged in His work.”
Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

“The union Christ had with the Father was the greatest that we can conceive of in this life—if indeed we can conceive of it. Yet we have no indication that even Jesus was constantly awash with revelations as to what he should do. His union with the Father was so great that he was at all times obedient. This obedience was something that rested in his mature will and understanding of his life before God, not on always being told “Now do this” and “Now do that” with regard to every details of his life or work.”
Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

“The cautious faith that never saws off a limb on which it is sitting, never learns that unattached limbs may find strange unaccountable ways of not falling.”

“And God has set up prayer in such a way that, if you want to explain it away, you can. That’s the human mind. God set it up like that for a reason, which is this: God ordained that people should be governed in the end by what they want.”

**More great quotes from Dallas’ book The Spirit of the Disciplines at this post at the blog Learning My Lines.

Just Deserts

This is from the popular website Crosswalk.com where it appeared recently under the title Comeuppance: A Study in Stewardship.

Micah 2:1-5 (New International Version)
Man’s Plans and God’s
1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. 2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance. 3 Therefore, the LORD says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. 4 In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ” 5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.

God’s plans will override those of the swindlers Micah describes. And that sounds only fair, doesn’t it? In fact, we get a certain sense of satisfaction when we read about the just deserts coming to these terrible individuals. It goes without saying that we can identify with the swindled, or at least that we stand with them in our righteous disgust over the injustice they are experiencing.

Pastor and author Bill Hybels points out in a sermon that each of us is born with closed fingers. He goes on to describe ways in which that grasping response stays with us until finally, in death, we relax our grip. That sounds pretty consistent with Micah’s oppressors. But Hybels is talking about you and me.

When we get to the Gospels, we see Jesus responding to peoples’ greed and oppression in a different manner than the judgment described in Micah 2:1–5. Hybels envisions a scene between Jesus and a certain swindler named Zacchaeus.

Luke 19:1-10 (New International Version)

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Zacchaeus was a clutcher… until he had dinner with Jesus…

Here is what I imagine Jesus might have said over dinner: “Hey, Zacchaeus. What your heart yearns for will never be satisfied by that which you are hanging on to so tightly. Your heart was meant to be in deep communion with God and in loving community with other people in the Family of God. You have walked away from that kind of communion and are settling for something far less. You are settling for trying to meet the needs of your heart by clutching stuff.”

I think Jesus might have gone on, “You know what I am going to do for you? In the not too distant future, I am going to open up my hands and they are going to receive steel spikes so that guys like you with hands like yours can be changed. I am going to be so generous to you, Zacchaeus. I am going to take your sin and greed and lack of love and I am going to pay for it on the cross and present salvation to you as a gift.

“And I won’t stop there. I am going to adopt you into my family. I am going to answer your prayers. I am going to give you strength through the storms of life. And I am going to give you heaven on top of all.”

At a certain point in the conversation, I think the enormity of Jesus’ generosity melted Zacchaeus and something changed on the inside. Zacchaeus emerges with his voice trembling with excitement and newfound conviction …

When your heart gets transformed by generous grace, your hands have a way of opening up.

Maybe it isn’t so hard after all to see ourselves on the negative side of justice, at least some of the time. None of us looks forward to comeuppance, but “Come to me, … and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28) sounds inviting.

Think About It

•What weighs most heavily on you?

•Are you ready to let it go?

•Are you willing, like Zacchaeus, to allow your life to be transformed?

Pray About It

Lord, transform my life by your power and presence. Help me to fully realize the extent of Jesus’ gifts to me.

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Christianity 201 is a melting-pot of devotional and Bible study content from across the widest range of the Christian blogosphere. An individual article may be posted even if some or all readers might not agree with other things posted at the same blog, and two posts may follow on consecutive days by authors with very different doctrinal perspectives. The Kingdom of God is so much bigger than the small portion of it we can see from our personal vantage point, and one of the purposes of C201 is to allow readers a ‘macro’ view of the many ministries and individual voices available for reading. You might even decide to make some of these a daily habit.

God Defends Us Against Accusation

Tim Burt has been blogging since 2006, and in the last couple of years has been posting daily devotions at his blog, Fresh Manna.  This recent one deals with how God sees us, not as we are but as we shall be; and appeared under the title How Does God See You?

by Pastor Tim Burt

I received the Lord into my heart and as my Savior in 1977 at the age of 24 years old. In the early season of my Christianity, growing in the Lord had been a wonderful, yet long and sometimes very difficult process. The only reason I say difficult is not because of hard times or bad things that happened. The process of growth was difficult because there were so many times where I felt like I stood before the Lord stained from sin, filthy, and unworthy of Jesus’ sacrifice for me.

I remember shortly after giving my life to Jesus and asking Him to forgive me of ALL my sins. I felt so clean and wonderful. Like a man who was given a second chance to live life right. I remember how I felt like it was yesterday even though it was many years ago. I felt so clean and fresh. I was determined not to do anything to violate the Lord and “dirty myself.” As much as I didn’t want to, it didn’t take long.

If you’ve ever had a pair of new white pants, new shoes, or a brand new car, you know how much you want to keep them fresh and new. The reality is, they just won’t stay new! That became a reality that made my growing process in the Lord seem difficult. Much like Adam in the garden, I wanted to hide when I did something wrong. Thank God someone taught me to do the opposite of that. I was taught to run to God not from Him. When I did, I often felt much like Joshua the high priest in Zechariah chapter 3. He also was standing before the Lord with filthy garments. The Lord did for him what He does for all who believe and receive Jesus and receive His forgiveness. He exchanged filthy garments for new snow-white robes.

Over the years, I have renewed my mind to God’s Word. I now know that my own righteousness is like filthy rags compared to the Lord’s. I have learned that I have to stand before God in the robes Jesus provided for me by His love on the cross – His robes of righteousness. It took me years to really understand that it is not my own righteousness that gets me into Heaven or allows me to stand washed before Jesus. It was His sacrifice and the gift – an unearned grace from God that made me worthy before Him. His robes of righteousness cover me and my faults. Like Joshua, God wants us to permanently exchange our filthy garments for His rich robes of righteousness.

You see the reason Joshua was before the throne of God was prayer. That’s what a high priest did. He interceded to God in behalf of others. He needed to be confident in his right standing with God. Just like us, Joshua was standing before the Lord, being accused as unworthy by Satan. Look at these verses and you will see.

Zec 3:1-5 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! … Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sins, and I will put rich garments on you.”  Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.”

The Lord rebuked Satan. He said, “Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” What did that mean – “a brand plucked from the fire?” What is a brand? You remember! It was one of those hot iron pokers that sat in a blazing fire until it was red-hot. They branded cattle with it as a sign or mark of who they belonged to. Joshua belonged to God. So do we! Jesus paid the price for us!

As God’s children, we represent Him in this earth. We are clothed with His righteousness and presented before God as righteous! We present His gospel as we are led. We pray and intercede for people. We minister to people. And God says we have been given the privilege to come before Him. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) Anytime you stand before God to pray and intercede, Satan will point out your faults and try to disqualify you – to literally embarrass you before the Lord. We are to go to the throne room and stand before God clothed in His righteousness. We shouldn’t listen to the condemnation of Satan. God will cleanse us, not condemn us! Then we can come in the authority of His Word and represent others before His throne – others who need our prayer. Their life may depend on it.

One night a woman at church said to me, “Pastor Burt, you don’t know me but my name is so and so. A couple of months ago, you were given my name and you and your prayer group held me up in prayer.” She said, “My friend who is in your group told me you all prayed for me.” She said, “I had very bad cancer, a terrible report, and I had to go in for surgery. Your group had prayed for me. When I went in to surgery, they closed me back up and said something had changed and they did not need to do surgery. She told me she was fine and wanted me to hear this great report.” Praise God!

God wants you to know you are His righteousness and His hands and feet in this earth so that He, through you, can “destroy the works of the devil.” (1John 3:8) We are now His body in this earth and He still wants to do what Jesus did then. Walk in your robes and in your authority! You’ve been branded as His!

Rev 5:10 “And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”

God’s Parenting Process

Spinning the giant Christian devotional blog wheel this week, we ended up at a new one called The Thought Just Ocurred To Me written by Mary Argusa. You are always encouraged to read these devotions at source — sometimes you get pictures — and this one appeared under the title, “I WANT.  I NEVER get ANYTHING!”

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

 

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4

Recently I recalled an incident from my childhood (back in the Stone Age). I don’t remember what prompted this action, but I vividly remember sitting and rocking to and fro while I sang, “I want. I never get anything.” My little ditty wasn’t well received by my mother at the time, but years later it provided ample opportunities for laughter in our family. I’ve not used those exact words but I’ve sung a version of that song, on occasion, to God. It hasn’t worked with Him either.

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At different times I’ve offered God my suggestions about how He could upgrade His parenting skills. With myself as an example, I’ve reminded Him what a diligent job I did to provide my daughter’s needs in a timely manner. I hoped He’d take a page from my playbook. For now, He’s still on His game plan. During one of our re-education sessions, the Father gently interrupted my diatribe with this thought. His goal is to raise mature sons and daughters, not spoiled brats. Spoiled brats! I hadn’t thought of that. Would it disrupt His grand cosmic scheme if for a short time I could be spoiled to my heart’s content? I liked the sound of this.

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One Saturday morning, at o’dark hundred, when I should’ve been asleep, I was wide awake. My mind buzzed with thoughts to process for this post. I remembered a guy I knew in the very early days of my relationship with God. I’ll call him Tony. Tony was an only child raised in a fairly affluent family. By his own admission, he was a spoiled brat. When we met, Tony was in his early twenties, married and about to be a first-time father. His life was in shambles. Why? He was undisciplined. Accustomed to having his way, his adjustment to responsible adulthood was rocky. He recognized his problem and reached out for help. When given sought after advice, he couldn’t act on it. He was so programmed to a life that fit his desires and parameters, any and all deviations from that norm were unacceptable. Tony’s marriage fell apart and he disappeared from the church. Occasionally I’ve thought of him and wondered if he ever got his act together.

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As much as I think being spoiled would be wonderful, it’s probably not all grand. Tony’s is an excellent example. To our advantage, God dotes on us endlessly. He generously lavishes us with discipline. His goal is to raise stable, mature individuals, not blithering idiots.

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I think I’ve got the picture, although it’s not the one I would paint. God won’t spoil me, despite my attempts to the contrary. His plan to develop me into a disciplined grown-up has no room from such nonsense. As I go through the process, I’ll have to trust that His design will produce something of eternal value, not just temporary enjoyment or ease. Am I going to change my tune? I think I need to.

Scripture portions from various translations quoted at Christianity 201 are always in green to remind us that the Scriptures have LIFE!

When God Doesn’t Say Yes

Six months ago we introduced you to WhyTheology,  the blog of Troy Medley. This look at the book of James appeared as part of a series of Lent readings.  Click here to read this one, and the click around to see more of the series.

Text
KJV Below (Link to NIV)

¹³ Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

¹⁴ Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

¹⁵ And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

¹⁶ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Comment
The main thrust here is that no matter what our circumstances, happy or sad, troubled or free, we should be in communication with God because it “availeth much.” However, this passage does raise some issues. What about the times I prayed in faith and the sick weren’t healed? Do I simply have to wait until they are “raised up” on the last day?

On the one hand it is tempting to say that our prayers merely change us, but not God (I think C.S. Lewis said something similar), but that doesn’t seem to be the case with this passage. Here, it seems that our prayers do accomplish something. That it is important to bring others into the prayer and fervently pray. So how do we reconcile the disconnect?

I don’t know for certain, but I have an idea. I think of it like I think of my relationship with my (still very young) children, after all, Jesus taught us to think of God as our Father. Now, when my kids ask me for something, I will do everything in my power to get it for them (or do it for them), at least most of the time. This doesn’t mean I didn’t have other plans, I very well may have and they were good plans, but there are certain aspects of those plans that can be done other times, or the particular aspects of which may be open to change (you want Strawberry Jelly instead of Grape? no problem).

Yet, other times it is not in my children’s best interest for me to fulfill their requests. If they want another cookie at dinner, sometimes I need to say no because the sugar makes it hard for them to sleep, and they’ve really had a large meal. Sometimes it’s even trickier. For example, my daughter likes to get herself stuck in places and ask for help. Sometimes, I leave her there for a bit because a) she really can get it out and its good for her problem solving skills, or b) she needs to face (at least briefly) the consequences of her actions, or c) sometimes I’m doing something else.

Now, I’m not suggesting God is ever busy doing something else, but I am suggesting that, in some way, perhaps a way we can’t see or even begin to comprehend (my kids don’t understand the complexity of sugar and how it affects sleep and future health issues), but that doesn’t mean it’s not for their betterment. Remember, we have a full eternity with God coming up, that’s the ultimate benefit of prayer. Sometimes, it may be in our best interest, in a way we can’t begin to fathom yet, for God to say “no,” even for our fervent prayer. Yet in that prayer, the “no” is still for our betterment.
Question
Have you ever had God say “no”? What might that situation look like if you put it in terms of a young child to a parent who says “no”? Do you think that our relationship with God can still be improved through the “no” answers that God gives to our prayers? In what ways?

We Are All Terrible at Morality

Christian singer Jimmy Needham blogged this earlier this month under the title Good Luck Being Good.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth. beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain
4. Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder.
7. And you shall not commit adultery.
8. And you shall not steal.
9. And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’(Deuteronomy 5:7-21 Edited)

Israel was summoned to a meeting. Down from the mountain came Moses to speak to God’s people. What followed would become one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture. Churches, city centers, courthouses and classroom walls would all be emblazoned with these words millennia later.  Folks would build whole cultures around them. Major motion pictures would be made about them. Men would lose status and reputation for upholding them. Others would lose their lives for ignoring them. These words have undergone such scrutiny, so many interpretations, applications and misuses that there is hardly anyone (at least, any westerner) without an opinion on what has come to be known as the Decalogue, or the 10 Commandments.

So the scene has been set. God issues 10 Commandments to His people to obey completely. Picture yourself standing at the mountain’s base for a minute. Fire and smoke swirl all around you. The Lord of glory’s majestic voice bellows through you as you hear Him speaking from heaven. What awe you must feel at His words! What terror! What can you say? What should you say? Well I’ll tell you what Israel said: “Yessir!”. Israel said to Moses,

“Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.” (Deut. 5:27).

Now, maybe this promise doesn’t phase you. God said “obey” and the people said “done”. No big deal, right? The problem is, Israel wrote a check they simply couldn’t cash. Look at God’s words to them about their noble pledge.

“And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:28-29)

You get the sense that the heart of God was touched at their promise, but ultimately the wisdom of God knew better. He said “O that they had such a heart”. What was God’s response to His people when the pledged allegiance to Him and promised to obey His commands? He said that they didn’t have the heart to do it. I believe that this phrase is one of the most important passages in all of Scripture. It’s important because it’s the exact same thing God says to us when we think that we can be good enough to meet His perfect standard. “O that they had such a heart”.

C.S. Lewis once said, “No man knows how bad he is till he as tried very hard to be good”. I don’t know about you, but I was raised with the understanding that the Commandments were the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Good people kept them. Bad people broke them. It was important, therefore, to do your best to obey. What I didn’t know was that the same Bible that told to obey also told me I lacked the ability to do so! The thing is, you don’t need to be taught this truth. Just go try to be good for one day. I mean, really good. How’d it go? Fact: We are all terrible at morality. Even when we get the external actions down, our heart’s internal motives are usually selfish and prideful the whole time. God demands goodness. Worse, God demands perfection, and all we do is sin. Is there any hope for us?

The answer is yes! But it isn’t found in more trying. Believe it or not, it’s found in open-heart surgery. Many centuries later, God spoke through the Prophet Ezekiel to the nation of Israel. Through the Prophet God gave His people insider information on how he intended to fix their sin problem.

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

The problem: God demands our obedience but our hearts won’t let us obey him because they are sinful. God’s solution: Give us a new heart. He removes that old stony heart that doesn’t care for Him and gives us one that beats for the things He loves. This was fulfilled after Jesus rose from the grave and sent His Spirit to live inside every believer. This is the great promise of the Old Testament fulfilled!

I pray this comes as a relief to those of us who have tried to be good enough for so long and have always failed. May we learn to cease trying in our own power and yield to the Spirit of God who gives us new desires and causes us to be obedient. Maybe you read this and think, “I have no idea what this means. I thought Christianity was about being good and moral.” May I say to you, there is only one way to be good, and it’s not by working harder. It’s by trusting in and treasuring the one who worked on your behalf, Jesus Christ. He achieved what we could not: Pleasing God perfectly. Give Him your sin and let Him give you His goodness. Then you will truly be free to obey all God has commanded you, for His glory and your good.

By The Rivers of Babylon

There are many verses that are used in sermons on music in the Church, but this one rarely comes up in a discussion on worship:

Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our lyres, hanging them on the branches of the willow trees. For there our captors demanded a song of us. Our tormentors requested a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

Psalm 137: 1-4 NLT

“C’mon. Sing us one of your camp songs. Sing us some Chris Tomlin. Let’s hear some classic Maranatha! Music choruses. How about some Hillsongs? Know any Graham Kendrick?”

That would be the modern equivalent(s). I think it’s interesting that they were taunted in terms of their music. Made to sing at a time they didn’t feel like singing.

The last verse really states the challenge facing us in these times:

But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

Turf was important to the Jewish nation. Land was history. Land was security. Land was a medium of exchange. When you are people of a land, a territory, a nation; captivity doesn’t fit well. Finding yourself on someone else’s turf is like wearing someone else’s clothing. Going by someone else’s name. Speaking someone else’s language.

Some days you don’t feel like singing. Some days it just feels all wrong.

But then:

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp.

Psalm 137:5 NLT

It’s like a giant “nevertheless.”

Spiritually speaking, as Christians we live in an occupied territory. The challenge of singing the Lord’s song in a foreign land is our challenge.

Nevertheless…

---

Bonus item today:

The church I grew up had a huge missions conference every year in which every available bit of wall space was covered with banners sporting all manner of quotations and slogans.

The one that is most memorable is:

Why should anyone hear the gospel twice before everyone has heard it once?

I’ve often thought about that. It does seem a bit unfair that North Americans experience so much exposure to the gospel message while in other parts of the world people are still waiting to hear this message for the first time.

Sometimes it amazes me that anyone in any part of the world ever gets to hear the gospel. What I mean is this: It is truly amazing that such a message of good news even exists.

Philip Yancey quotes Walter Wink saying:

If Jesus had never lived we never would have been able to invent him.

I would add:

If this gospel of grace, forgiveness, atonement and justification had never been invented, no fiction writer, no playwright, no artist  would have ever been able to compose it or conceive of it.

That’s good news.

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last I shall see
‘Twil be my joy through the ages
To sing of his love for me.

Knowing The Reality of Christ

A year ago at this time we introduced you to the blog, I Want to Believe in God by Justin Powell.  We return now where this post appeared recently under the title The Reality of Christ in Me.

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. –Philippians 4:12

I’m learning some truth to this verse in this season of life.  I’m going through things that in past seasons would have exhausted me and brought me down, but God has strengthened my spirit through past trials so that I am able to stand in the reality of Christ in me.  Through this reality I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

This world is beautiful but at times it can seem that everywhere we go we run into darkness.  When this happens I turn inward—to Christ in me—and ask the Spirit not only to give me comfort but to release His light to those around me and change the atmosphere.

And so, I do my best to do all things without complaining and disputing, that I may become blameless and harmless, a child of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom I shine as a light in the world. (see Phil 2:14-15)

I choose not to slander, I choose not to gossip or join in the complaining.  I keep quiet amongst those who partake.  I ask the Lord for strength to be swift to hear and slow to speak.  And I ask for wisdom that I may only speak life instead of childish, defensive words rooted in insecurities.  Christ is my security.  I do not need the affirmation of those around me.  They look for affirmation of other unbelievers to affirm their own insecurities rooted in their guilt of choosing unbelief in a God that they are mad at.  We must be careful not to get mad at God because of misunderstandings.  We were not made to understand everything.  We were made to live and to love.

I’ve caught myself daydreaming here and there about being old and close to the end of my earthly life.  To some this may appear morbid but I’ve just lost my fear of death and I long for that day that I can go and be face to face with God.  But I know that it’s a long journey from where I’m at and that day. 

For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (see Phil 1:23-24)

So I seek to know Him more in this world.  I seek to have His will done on earth as it is in heaven.  I seek to be conformed to the image of His Son. (see Rom 8:17) I seek to not only live for Him but to live with Him—to walk with Him.  I seek to live His will for my life.  To change the lives of youth and speak life into the lost and the seekers of meaning.

You all are partakers with me of grace. So be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (see Phil 1:6-7)

Live in the reality of His love.

Being a Disciple

While looking at the various blogs listed at Faithful Bloggers, I noticed there were only five indicated as being for men. Five out of at least a couple thousand. I investigated Steve Becker’s Intersections4Men and this one about being a disciple caught my eye. As always you’re encouraged to read these devotionals at their original website. 

This is one the toughest things for me to talk about because it is one of the hardest things for me to do.  Sure people know that I believe in God and that I am a Christian.  They know that if they ask me something I will tell them.  They know that I could talk to them about Christ, but I don’t often do it.  Again, this will be difficult to write about and may even end up helping me be a better disciple than anyone else.

First and foremost, we need to determine what a disciple is.  For that, we will look at Webster’s Dictionary as well as Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

Webster’s Dictionary definition of DISCIPLE

1- one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: as
a : one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ’s followers according to the Gospel account
b : a convinced adherent of a school or individual

2 - capitalized : a member of the Disciples of Christ founded in the United States in 1809 that holds the Bible alone to be the rule of faith and practice, usually baptizes by immersion, and has a congregational polity

Webster’s reads “one who accepts AND assists in SPREADING the doctrines of another”. Okay, I am really good at accepting. Seriously, accepting is no issue.  As a matter of fact, if it were just about accepting, I would be SuperSteve.  However, the spreading part is where I struggle the most.  Now, some of you may be thinking “But you are spreading by writing this blog”.  While that may be true in some sense of the definition, I believe I could be doing a better job by talking to others and working with them 1-on-1 to share the Word of God with them.

Let’s look at what Easton’s has to say now.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary definition of Disciple

a scholar, sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist  ( Matthew 9:14 ), and of the Pharisees ( Matthew 22:16 ), but principally to the followers of Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example ( Matthew 10:24 ; Luke 14:26, Luke 14:27, Luke 14:33 ; John 6:69 ).

Easton’s definition scares me and is a lot clearer.  The scary part?  It starts with two words that describe the opposite of me “a scholar”.  Wow, how about some eggs, bacon and a side of added pressure? A scholar?!? Really??? However, when you read on, there is a better description of what is expected from a disciple:

1. Believes His doctrine – We must believe in the doctrine we are spreading.  This means “without doubt”.  If we are going to excel at spreading the Word of God, we have to be rooted in God’s Word with zero exceptions.  Does that mean we are perfect and never slip up? Heck no! If that were the case, we would have to change our names and I’m not perfect.
2. Rests on His sacrifice – We have to rest easy on what we know to be true and that is that God sacrificed His only Son on a cross for all of our sin.  All sin past, present and future.  This sacrifice was the only thing we have that bridges us to God.
3. Imbibes His spirit – Imbibe is a new word for me, so bear with me.  It loosely translates to ‘drink or absorb’.  This means we need to drink in from His spirit.  We need to let ourselves be led and directed by the Holy Spirit and trust that wherever it takes us, He is in charge and does things for a reason.
4. Imitates His example – This is about the most self-explanatory item on the list.  We need to imitate Christ’s example.  We are to be kind, loving, gentle servants in everything we do.  Again, easier said than done, but it is part of what we are directed to do with our lives to become disciples of the Lord.

Spreading God’s Word is the only way we can bring others to Christ.  There is no way around that.  I mean, if there were no churches and no one to preach God’s Word, how many Christ followers would there be today?  Not many, I can tell you that.  It should not all land on our churches heads to do the work of God.  It is our duty as well to bring others to Him.

Then he said to them all:  “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.    For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.    What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?    Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
(Luke 9:23-26 – NIV)

“But I’m not good at talking to others about God.” I know the feeling folks.  I know the feeling.  However, I am not going to let that stop me.  I can sit and have a conversation for a long time with someone.  I have been told, by more than one person (and ESPECIALLY my wife) that I love to talk and I am willing to talk to just about anyone.  What I need to do is listen more.  I need to listen for the times when someone may be reaching out to me for guidance. I need to be listening for those opportunities that I know are presented to me and be fully prepared with Scripture and a soft open heart to do what I am here for, sharing the Good News.

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 11:1 – NIV)

Now comes the hard part.  How well are we all doing with this?  I can certainly say that outside of this blog, I need to be doing more.  I have that on my improvement and growth chart now.  Where do the rest of you see yourselves?

The author of today’s post, Steve Becker said in a more recent article that doing this type of writing is probably the last thing he thought he would be qualified for. You can read more in a post titled, Seriously? Me?

Defining Humility

^{James (NLT) 4:0} Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

^{John (ESV) 13:3} Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Last year at this time we visited the blog of Bill Williams, A Spiritual Oasis.  (You might want to read Bill’s story.) We return today for a recent post there originally titled Am I Truly A Humble Follower of Jesus?   As always, you’re encouraged to read featured articles at C201 at their original online source.

Humility tops the list of the virtues to be sought by God’s children. Jesus places it first on the list of blessed attitudes He endorses. The first beatitude begins, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

True humility is often an elusive quality. For most of us, becoming more humble is one of life’s most difficult challenges. We spend our lives endeavoring to more fully learn what it means to walk humbly with God. Tragically, the moment we conclude that we have “arrived” is the very moment we cease to walk in humility. One author jokingly conveyed this notion when he proposed the following title for his book on the topic: Humility, And How I Attained It.

Humility is also misunderstood. On the one hand, truly humble people are easily misused or abused. They will seldom complain or demand their rights. On the other hand, feigned humility can be used as an excuse for non-involvement in ministry.

This is illustrated by the response one church member made, when asked to help with a good work. He said something like: “Oh, I’m just one of the humble members around here. You should ask brother So-and-so. He’ll probably do it.”

Indeed, humility is often misunderstood; and, growth in humility is very challenging. Still, Jesus promises a blessing to those who are truly humble, stating “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Therefore, we should all endeavor to walk more humbly with the Lord. To help shed some light on the subject, the following characteristics of a humble person are suggested. A truly humble Christian is:

Honest: The humble person knows his or her God-given talents and limitations. She is aware of both her strengths and her weaknesses. She admits to failure as readily as claiming success. She is aware that it is only by the grace of God that she is what she is and will become what she hopes to be.

Unpretentious: The humble person is a sincere servant of God. Whatever he does, he works with all of his heart for the Lord, not for men. He seeks only to serve, not to be seen. His heart’s delight is to hear others praise the Father in heaven.

Manageable: The humble person has taken to herself the “yoke of Christ.” She remains teachable. She is growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God, the Master Potter, is constantly shaping her life. So, she remains soft and pliable and is continually being conformed to the image of God’s Son.

Bold: The humble person knows that serving God means he must dare to travel the road less taken. Because he marches for the Master, he must forge ahead when others shrink back. He also knows that standing with God often involves standing against those who oppose the will of God. He understands that a Christian must stand for something or he will fall for almost anything.

Loving: The humble person is one from whom others continually hear of God’s love. Love is in her heart, because the cross of Christ is always in her mind. She knows what it is to be loved, so her life is an expression of God’s love. She walks in love. Yes, she boldly stands with and for God; but she lovingly encourages others to do the same. She lives to show others God’s love.

Enthusiastic: The humble person remembers that someone once said that enthusiasm has a literal meaning of “God within.” He believes it! He is, literally speaking, an eternal optimist, always pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. He is known for reminding others that “if God is for us, who can be against us?” When the doubters seek to throw cold water on great plans for the Lord, his response is: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Even when things look bleak and gloomy, he or she draws strength from God within and remains fervent in spirit.

Perhaps we all should ask: “Am I truly a humble follower of Jesus?”

In addition to great Bible studies like this one, Bill Williams has a great page of online study resources you should know about.

Howard Hendricks Quotations

“You’re looking at a completely fulfilled human being. If I died today having produced some of the people God has given me the privilege of shaping, it will have been worth showing up on the planet.”

—Prof Hendricks to the Dallas Morning News, 2003

Many in the Christian blogosphere took time last week to pay tribute to Howard Hendricks.  Some of his books included As Iron Sharpens Iron, A Life of Integrity, Teaching to Change Lives, The 7 Laws of the Teacher, and Living By The Book. He was a mentor to many, taught the mentoring principle through his teaching and writing. You can read one such tribute at Daily Encouragement, and  at Dallas Theological Seminary’s online magazine.

The mentoring principle in scripture is best expressed in the relationship between the Apostle Paul and Timothy, who joins Paul at the beginning of Acts 16:

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named  Timothy,  the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.  He was well spoken of by  the brothers  at Lystra and Iconium.  Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him…    (ESV)

and in the introduction to his first letter to Timothy, Paul refers to him as a spiritual son:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

That’s the kind of relationship Howard Hendricks felt every mature Christian should have, and it works both ways; you can ask yourself, ‘Who is my Paul and who is my Timothy?” Sometimes we can emphasize one over the other; we are being helped and influenced by one person but not passing that on; or, conversely, we are constantly giving of ourselves to nurture another person, but nobody is guiding and shaping us.  Yes, it is God that forms us, but his desire is that we grow in community. Yes, God uses His Word to teach us, but he also works through other believers He places in our lives.

Many of Hendricks’ quotations online are one-liners from his teachings, but we’ve also included some longer quotations below as well.

• If your religion does not work at home, don’t export it.

• Succeeding in business and failing at home is a cop-out. For no success in the workplace will ever make up for failure at home.

• There is no fear of judgment for the man who judges himself according to the Word of God.

• A good leader has a compass in their head and a magnet in their heart.Our problem is that we are in the Word but not under the Word.

• You cannot impart what you do not possess.

• How big is your God? The size of your God determines the size of everything.

• The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ’s image.

• If you leave the church service thinking about how good the pastor was, he has missed the mark. If you leave consumed with Christ, the pastor has been used by the Lord.

• Man is the only animal which you can pat on the back and his head swells up.

A webpage devoted to Dr. Hendricks at Talbot Theological Seminary contains some longer quotations of which these are two:

The greatest tragedy among Christians today is that too many of us are under the Word of God, but not in it for ourselves. (p. 9) The genius of the Word of God is that it has staying power; it can stand up to repeated exposure. In fact, that’s why it is unlike any other book. You may be an expert in a given field. If you read a book in that field two or three times you’ve got it. You can put it on the shelf and move on to something else. But that’s never true of the Bible. Read it over and over again, and you’ll see things that you’ve never seen before. (p. 81) I think the great need among God’s people today is to get into Scripture for themselves. And because they are not doing so, they are losing the fizz in their spiritual life. They are flat and lukewarm. Nothing is more repulsive. People are weary of words, but they are starving for authenticity. (p. 340)

Living by the book. Chicago: Moody Press. (1991)

Perhaps you find yourself talking more these days and enjoying it less. If so, you may be on the verge of the greatest breakthrough in your Christian life and ministry. Nothing is as easy as talking; nothing is as difficult as communicating. Those to whom you and I effectively communicate are changed; they are never quite the same again. I believe communication is one of the most delicate and critical tasks ever to confront the human mind—especially communicating in the spiritual realm. Here the results affect not only time but eternity. (p. 24)The man or woman who stops learning today stops communicating tomorrow. (p. 26) I have found that the closer I get to an individual, the more influence I have on his life. I talk to many students; unfortunately, I teach very few. Those I teach, I change, and that requires personal involvement. (p. 58)

Say it with Love. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. (1972)

Where Accusation and Conviction Meet

^{NLT Ps. 51:3} For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.

^{KJV Ps. 51:3} For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

^{ESV Revelation 12:10} And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

^{NIV I Thess. 1:4} For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

^{NIV I Tim. 3:16} All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…

Sometimes you just know when you’ve messed up.  You need neither the devil’s accusation nor the Holy Spirit’s conviction. It’s black and white. You missed the mark. You weren’t even aiming for the target. You recognize that the border between the righteousness and holiness that people in your church think you live out, and the propensity to sin of weaker brothers is a border only micro-millimeters thick.

How did I think that? What made me say that? Why did I look at her/him the way I did? Why did I charge that customer for two hours’ labor when I did the job in one? Why did I click on that website? Where did that anger come from when they mentioned that person’s name? Why did I say I’d be there when I have no intention of attending?

Yikes! I’m no different than anyone else! Here I thought — and everybody else thought — that I was super spiritual, when in fact I’m … human.

That’s the moment to confess.

This is often referred to as “keeping short accounts with God.”  The blog Amazing Grace Bible Studies explains:

…let’s consider the phrase as it is used in accounting acumen. To keep your accounts payable on a “short basis” simply means to keep them “paid up”, or rather, not to let them become extended. An example of this would be to pay off your credit card balance every month.

In the spiritual sense, when looking at the theology that prescribes this practice, it always refers to confession of sin(s) (the equivalent of a liability or debt in accounting terms), and requesting to be forgiven of sins on a daily basis.1 When you hear believers say that they are “prayed up” this invariably means that they’ve got all their sins “confessed up.”

Rick Warren adds,

“Clean hands” simply means a clear conscious. Does that mean we’re perfect? No. None of us is perfect. But we can keep short accounts with God. 1 John 1:9 (TLB) says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” So when we sin, we just say, “God, I was wrong. I confess it.” There is no power without a clear conscience.

Classic writer A. B. Simpson wrote:

  It is a good thing to keep short accounts with God. I was very much struck some years ago with an interpretation of the verse: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:12). The thought it conveys is that of accounting to God daily. For us judgment is passed as we lay down on our pillows each night. This is surely the true way to live. It is the secret of great peace. It will be a delightful comfort when life is closing or at the Master’s coming, to know that our account is settled and our judgment over. For us, then, there is only the waiting to hear the glad Well done, good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matthew 25:21).

But sometimes we feel a sense of a nagging in our heads and hearts either because (a) we haven’t confessed yet, or (b) we have but something about our sin is such that our brain won’t let go of it — or at least that would be a superficial explanation to what is going on.

But what’s really going one?  In either case above, it has to be either:

• the conviction of the Holy Spirit (or you might read the I Thess. passage above as ‘the conviction of the gospel’ or in I Tim., the rebuke of God’s Word); or,
• the accusation of Satan who is described (in the Rev. passage above) as the accuser of the brethren (and, as some translations add, the sistren.) (Yes, I know that’s not a word.)

Conviction or accusation?

So when you find yourself in the situation of unconfessed sin, or of sin you feel you did indeed confess, then is what you are experiencing conviction or accusation?

Does it really matter?

No, I mean that question. We looked at a tough passage a few days ago where David took the census, and the two Old Testaments account differed in terms of whether the idea for David to do this came from Satan or from God.  Theologians still aren’t sure; the jury is still out on how to interpret this passage.

So here’s what I think. And remember this is just one guy’s opinion.

I believe that, to use a train analogy, sometimes conviction and accusation arrive on parallel tracks. Both will lead you in the same direction. One is very negative: “So I guess we’re not so spiritual after all, are we?” But the other comes from a heart of love, “Let’s get that confessed, so that we can spend the rest of the day walking in grace and forgiveness.”

One will beat you over the head. Actually, you don’t need to be a Christ-follower to have that experience. All humans have some degree of guilt-reflex.

But the other will free you, provided you act on that conviction, confess and move on.

PW

If I Have Not Love…

Peter Enns is a highly respected academic, who currently teaches at Eastern College.  This is the first time we’ve re-blogged him here, this one because we were intrigued with the title The Most Frightening Verse in the Bible (at least for me).  As always, C201 readers are encouraged to read and leave comments at the source blog.

I can still recall a conversation I had many years ago while I was still on the faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary. A recent graduate came back to visit the campus and felt strongly that he needed to let me know, in no uncertain terms, how I had failed him in his preparation for gospel ministry.

He was a pastor now, for several months, and was called by God to “contend for the gospel,” which is sort of code for pursuing debate with fellow pastors, elders, and congregants to make sure the appropriate level of precise theological orthodoxy was being maintained.

My own teaching style and theology were not oriented toward training polemicists. I was more interested in exploring the Bible with my students and encouraging them to let the Lord surprise them through a careful and alert reading of the text–wherever that would lead.

You can see where this was going. My style was the very problem for this student, who took the time to seek me out and let me know. He became quite belligerent–even a tad condescending. I asked him to consider whether the Bible might have a thing or two to say about whether contending and debating without ceasing was the best way to spend one’s life in service to God’s people.

“What about love?” I asked.

“Love!?” he answered, “That’s what the liberals told Machen” [J. Gresham Machen founded Westminster Seminary in 1929 in opposition to liberal influence, and he was quite contentious in doing so, which has served as a model of ministry for many in that tradition.]

That brief exchange has come to mind a lot over the years. To live in a near constant state of theological vigilance, ready to strike down a brother or sister for (perceived) theological failings seemed not only a colossal waste of the one life God has given us, but at odds with what the Bible makes a big deal of.

Which brings me to my most frightening verse –actually two–1 John 4:7-8:

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

This verse frightens me because when I think of that student it does not take long before I realize that I am looking at myself. I am prone to fall into the same patterns of this young, deeply troubled, student I last saw a dozen or so years ago. Hey, I’m a type A, German, analytical, intellectual guy. Bow before me as I conquer the universe.

This verse is followed by another in v. 12 that drives the point home even further:

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

I am tempted to insert “but” after the semi-colon, even though there isn’t one in the Greek. Still, I think the same point holds either way: The closest we ever get to seeing God is when we love one another, for that is when God lives in us.

I know the Bible sometimes makes absolute-sounding statements when something less threatening would do. I’m just not sure if this is one of those places. This actually sounds pretty foundational, especially since it’s hardly a minor theme in the New Testament.

Here’s what’s frightening:

• What if this is one of those verses we are supposed to take literally?

• And what happens if we do not love one another? Then what?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Christians should never disagree or exchange sharp words when needed. But… 1 John, and that conversation years ago, keep hanging around in the back of my head.

What if all that love business is as true and serious as it seems to be?

Peter Enns

Jesus, The Holy Nomad

To start today, another section from Matt Litton’s book Holy Nomad, The Rugged Road to Joy (Abingdon).

Reading the Gospels, I discovered that the Holy Nomad is not the least bit interested in the laws and doctrines of religion.  He is more radical than any philosophy of life.  He does not associate himself with a particular political agenda, a government, a race, or even a nationality.  He is not a hip cultural trend, and based on his violent reaction to people setting up storefronts in the temple, not cool with being presented as a business venture to be marketed and sold.  From the way he interacts with the sick and sinful it’s clear that the Holy Nomad is kind and compassionate, but, also obvious from his harsh words with the religious leaders… The Nomad is not safe.

The Gospel of John says that he was present at the dawn of time but broke into human history, climbed into human skin and walked around in it so that we could see and understand the true nature of God, his father.

In this Nomad we find the universe’s source of compassion, the essence of love, the loyal friend, the divine comforter.  In him we meet the intolerance of inequality, and the very power of freedom.  He is the Resurrection, the foundation of life and the leader of the most important invasion in the history of the universe – the invasion of light.

Witnessing the Nomad on the path of the Gospels, I am left believing he must be the source, the antidote for Spiritual Stockholm Syndrome, the one to bring us out of darkness.

But I also discovered again that there is urgency for us to respond to his call.  The gospel of Luke tells us a story of Spiritual Stockholm Syndrome.  It is a poignant scene where several men are asking Jesus what it means to follow:

On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.  Jesus was curt:  “Are you ready to rough it?  We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

Jesus said to another, “Follow me.”

He said, “Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please.  I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.”  Jesus refused.

“First things first.  Your business is life, not death.  And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!”

Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.”

Jesus said, “No procrastination.  No backward looks. You can’t  put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow.  Seize the day.”

“When once the call of God comes, ” wrote Oswald Chambers, “begin to go and never stop going.”  These words often remind me of my friend Craig.  They remind me of Jesus breathing on his followers as he sent them to their work.  I wonder how close the Nomad was in those moments and if we could see it – how he breathed on my friend to empower that first step from the cell of addiction.

Perhaps with each decision, every new step, we should take a fuller breath of God’s spirit – the sacred wind that powers our journeys.

For another excerpt from Matt’s book, click here.