Four Essential Beliefs About God (Part 2)

Yesterday and today marks our fifth time with Eric Wright, a retired pastor and missionary who lives not too far from us. Eric is the author of about a dozen books in different genres, including inspirational, doctrinal and  fiction. His website is at Country Inspiration. We’ve taken what was a longer article and split it up, over yesterday and today. To read these on his site as one continuous article, click the header which immediately follows.

Celebrating the Attributes of God – Essential Beliefs

THE MERCY OF GOD

David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 2007 to 2014, died recently. At age 3 he contracted polio and throughout his life struggled with accessibility challenges, a cause he promoted. His obituary states that the life he and his wife Ruth Ann built together for their family was a testament to their faith in God and love for one another in spite of all challenges. It was appropriate that he, as a Christian, championed the cause of those often forgotten. Christians have been and should always be at the forefront of those showing compassion and mercy.

In our meditations on the goodness of God, we note that throughout the Scriptures, God spoke of his compassion for orphans, widows, and all those who were poor or oppressed. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor’” (Zechariah 7:9,10).

God’s mercy is his goodness and love, his pity and compassion expressed to those who are in misery or distress irrespective of what they deserve. The fall in the Garden of Eden introduced chaos into the world and especially into human society. As a result, many fall victim to the consequences of those who act contrary to the ten principles (ten commandments) that define human flourishing. We need but look around us in the world to see the catastrophic effects of evil on people without number.

From the very initiation of the church, Christians have been at the forefront of demonstrating mercy. Read the Gospels and note how Christ demonstrated mercy. Read Acts 6 and note the distribution of food to widows in the early church. Read of Paul’s collection for the relief of the famine-afflicted in Palestine. It has continued thus through the ages from the care of plague victims, the founding of hospitals, the teaching of literacy, the establishment of schools, colleges and universities, the founding of the hospice movement, rescue missions in our cities, and other examples too numerous to mention.

The Western Church gets a lot of flack, and there are many causes for concern. But it isn’t condemned when it shows mercy. Lord, help us to be merciful. “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

THE LONG SUFFERING OF GOD

Good parents look back over their child-rearing years and wonder why they didn’t have more patience with the minor faults of their children. Sure, they wanted them to grow up perfect. But in most cases, they now view them with pride. They turned out well.

We may look back over the way our heavenly Father has been patient with us. Haven’t we often disappointed him? Haven’t we often made the same mistakes, committed the same sins again and again? God shows his love for us in being longsuffering.

Longsuffering is a facet of God’s goodness in which he shows patience and forbearance with the continued disobedience of his creatures. The whole of Old Testament history testifies to God’s goodness moving him to delay judgement on rebellious Israel. In spite of repeated warnings from prophets his people were slow to repent.

When Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of the ten commandments, he saw Israel dancing around a golden image and committing immorality. In anger, Moses threw down the tablets. God felt great wrath towards them but relented of the judgement he was going to rain down them. Instead he had Moses prepare two new tablets. The LORD came down in a cloud proclaiming “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6,7). And so Moses prayed; “Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin” (vs.8).

Paul urges us not to be stubborn and judgmental towards others thinking we are so much better than them. “Do you think you will escape God’s judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?” (Romans 2:3,4) Peter writes, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). Without God’s forbearance, we would have no hope of being saved from our sins.

Let us celebrate God’s longsuffering and forbearance. And if we have unconfessed sins let us hasten to the mercy seat in confession and repentance. I’ll continue this series on God’s attributes in subsequent posts.

Four Essential Beliefs About God (Part 1)

We are back once again with Eric Wright, a retired pastor and missionary that I have the privilege of knowing personally. Eric is the author of several Christian books of different types, including inspirational, doctrinal and fiction. You can learn more at Country Inspiration. We’ve taken what was a longer article and split it up, with Part 2 running tomorrow. To read these on his site (with pictures) click the header which immediately follows.

Celebrating the Attributes of God – Essential Beliefs

At a time when professing Christians are fuzzy about their beliefs, we need to re-affirm what must be believed by all who claim to be Christians. God exists. He has revealed himself as recorded in the infallible Word of God and in Christ, the incarnate Word, the Son of God. As Christians we affirm that God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. Let me continue with these meditations.

THE JUSTICE OF GOD

Like others we lament the injustice we see all around us in the world. But Asaph, the author of the 73th Psalm, after crying out to God about the prosperity of the unjust, realizes that he missed the first step in dealing with injustice. The place to start is with our own hearts.

He cried, “when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant” (Ps. 73:21,22). He realized that he had failed to keep his heart pure and free from bitterness, anger, and self-righteousness. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…the pure in heart.” Instead of being self-righteous we need to realize that “there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccl. 7:20, KJV). That includes us.

After confessing his bitterness, Asaph remembered more of what he had forgotten. Although a victim of injustice, he forgot that “I am always with you: you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you…God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps 73:23-26). The only way to live in an unjust world is to walk daily in fellowship with God. And to remember that if we have found mercy at the cross, Jesus walks with us and will never leave us.

If we are to walk with God, we must also understand God’s treatment of the unjust. We must remember that justice delayed is not justice denied. Delay reveals the weeping heart of God who longs to hear the repentance of the wicked in order to offer them mercy. This was Jonah’s complaint with God. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh of offer mercy so he fled. But when he did preach in Nineveh and they repented, Jonah was angry. Why? He wanted Nineveh destroyed. He complained to God, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2).

Clearly, like Jonah, we need a heart change toward the unsaved even those especially unjust. Old Testament history tells us that every wicked people from the Canaanites through Assyria, Babylon, Rome, Greece and Medo-Persia were judged by God—in their time. In Romans 2:4-6 Paul warns people not to ignore or despise God’s patient kindness and tolerance towards those who do evil. Sigh. So many of our problems with life are due to our impatience. (Jan 13, 23)

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

We enjoy things that are good and usually avoid what is bad. Depending upon your preferences, what you view as really good might be a luscious, ripe peach, a perfectly blended coffee, or a tantalizing steak. We might enjoy the beauty of an amaryllis or a stroll along a sand beach. Where do all these good things come from? From God.

God has been doing good since he created the universe. In fact, he said of his creation, “It was good.” In our studies on essential beliefs, we come to a consideration of God’s essential goodness, a very rich attribute. His goodness includes his love, mercy, longsuffering, and faithfulness. First consider the perfection of his character that moves him to deal bountifully with all his creatures.

David writes, “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made…The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time” (Psalm 145:9,15). Jesus explains that God’s goodness is poured on the whole world, irrespective of men’s goodness or evil. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). Paul explained to the idolatrous men of Lystra who worshipped Zeus and Hermes, that it was the living God “who has shown you kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he fills your hearts with joy” (Acts. 14:17).

The God we worship has been good to the earth in making us stewards of rich ecosystems where we can flourish. We can savor diverse fruits and vegetables, enjoy beautiful flowers and plants, rest beside sparkling rivers, lakes, and oceans, and marvel at the diversity of creatures in the air, on the land, and in the sea. We can discover amazing natural medicines and utilize a multiplicity of natural elements.

We cannot deny that mankind has not treated these ecosystems with the care they deserve. And yet, God continues to deal bountifully with mankind. Why? Because he is good.

Lord, help us to daily give thanks for your abundant goodness knowing that “every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.”

This devotional concludes tomorrow, or click the header to read both parts now at Eric’s site.

Hate What is Evil, Hold Tightly The Good

We are — once again — breaking the six-month rule to share an extra devotion with you from our online friends at DailyEncouragement.net. I would hold up Stephen and Brooksyne Weber as an example to anyone who wants to create a devotional/Bible-study blog. Click the header below to read this where it first appeared.

Calling Good An Abomination

► Listen to this message on your audio player.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).

“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Today’s message is written concerning current events here in the USA but the teaching is applicable wherever you may live.

For nearly 50 years among the most contested cultural and moral issues here in America has been the legalization of abortion, more specifically the killing of innocent life. In 1973 the Supreme Court decision asserted that abortion is a “constitutional right”. Two days ago a leaked report indicated that this decision may be overturned which has reignited simmering coals to a blazing hot fire in what has been called the culture war.

The report resulted in an emotionally strong reaction from both sides reinforcing the reality that there is a deep, deep division on this subject matter. But I was especially struck each time a statement played over and over on the news made by a prominent senator. He used a word from the Bible that describes what God strongly hates and abhors when he asserted that the decision to overturn Roe V. Wade would be “an abomination” (see here).

That immediately caught my attention since one of the abominations mentioned in the Bible is child sacrifice. “They built the high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin” (Jeremiah 32:35). Essentially he was calling an abomination the opposite of what God calls an abomination!

“An abomination is something that causes hate or disgust. In biblical usage, an abomination is something that God loathes or hates because it is offensive to Him and His character.”(gotquestions.com)

Today let us examine timeless truths from the Holy Scriptures that address this matter as we seek insight and needed discernment.

We have used the first daily text many times in the course of writing these messages over the last 25 years, especially the first part, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil”. Evil is increasingly called good and good is increasingly called evil. Evil has existed during every generation after the fall but there are certain periods of time it increases and other periods, such as revival, when it’s tamped down a bit. You can see this in Israel’s history during the period of the Judges with the ebb and flow of good kings and evil kings.

In the 1960’s the church, whether liberal or conservative branches, was practically unanimous in its understanding of life, marriage, family and sexuality:

1) Life begins at conception.
2) Marriage is a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman.
3) The family is the fundamental unit in society.
4) The moral understanding that sexual relations were reserved for marriage.
5) God created male and female.

For that matter even society at large had these moral underpinnings. Hollywood used to have Biblical standards which was reflected in the Hays Code in the 1930’s regarding the movies they produced to be viewed by the public!

But throughout my lifetime there’s been a steady erosion of morality and subsequently so much “calling evil good”. This has brought about the inevitable corollary; good is called evil, even abominable. And with a deep fog of spiritual blindness enveloping our country (and many other countries) people are frustrated and confused. There seems to be a huge lack of discernment.

Several years ago a nationally known preacher made a statement concerning our present moral condition that is imminently Biblical and sensible regarding the obvious consequences to children being raised without a father’s influence. He was excoriated by the national media with the typical charges of being intolerant, narrow-minded and of course hateful.

Among the signs of our culture’s moral downfall is the failure to uphold the Creator’s standards, which has led to great confusion as to what even constitutes evil.

What a powerful message in our first daily text. “Woe” is a literal transliteration of the Hebrew. In other words it’s an expression that sounds the same in Hebrew, English or any language (similar to the word, “hallelujah”). Woe is also an onomatopoeia, which is when the formation of a word imitates the natural sound associated with the object or action involved. Consider the sounds of deep, painful wailing. Isaiah’s “woe” is timeless.

“Woe” is an exclamation of pain and grief. As our culture drifts farther and farther from its Biblical moorings we see the truth of Isaiah’s proclamation. Do we also feel his exclamation of woe as well?

What is the subject of this woe? Three are listed in the daily text.

Those:

1) who call evil good and good evil,
2) who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
3) who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

Biblical morality is being turned on its head, not only in Isaiah’s cultural setting but also in our own lifetime. Sometimes I am stunned by that which is so contrary to the right and wrong I was taught as a child now being accepted by non-believers and sadly even some professed believers. Today much of what is evil is called good and what is good is called evil.

The second daily text is a zinger of truth that we all need to hearken: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Today let us remain faithful to the perspective that God gives us through the inspiration of Scripture. As unpopular, “intolerant”, socially insensitive, and politically incorrect as it may be described, let us continue to call evil “evil” and to call good “good”. For sure, let us not call a good decision an abomination!

As God’s children let us hear the words of the apostle Paul and “hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

 

Compassion in a People-First Culture

I wanted to share some of my experience reading the book, A Church Called TOV: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing by Scot McKnight with Laura Barringer (Tyndale House Publishers). The short word tov is a Hebrew word that means good. The second half (two thirds, really) of the book are about creating a culture in the local church that fosters goodness, and having a “people first” culture is the third of seven elements in what the writers call the “circle of TOV.”

A short excerpt follows.

Develop Jesus-Like Eyes for People

How did the Gospel writers and apostles know that Jesus was filled with compassion? There are only three options: he told them, his face showed it, or his tears flowed. Two and three are the most likely. However, Jesus’ emotional response to those in need was not simply to “feel bad” about their circumstances; it was an emotional response that prompted action. Each time the Gospel writers describe the compassion of Jesus, the also tell us what he did: he healed, he cured, he cleansed, he taught, he pastored.

The apostle Paul had a similar heart for people–though many people today get him wrong on this one. They think of Paul as a power-mongering, workaholic, money-grubbing, anti-woman, proslavery authoritarian who gathered together groups of new Christians and set up some rules for them before pushing off for the next shore, and who heard some stories about nonsense in those gatherings and dashed off angry letters telling everyone how to live. Okay, that’s an overstatement, but not by much, if you’ve ever heard the critiques of Christianity offered by some people today. Now read 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 and ask yourself if it lines up with the critical view of Paul mentioned above.

When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him.

Here’s a man who had such an intense love for the Corinthians (who, at least in Paul’s mind, lacked that same love for him) and concern for his protege Titus that he stopped in his tracks and couldn’t go on until he saw Titus and heard about the welfare of the Corinthians. Paula Gooder, chancellor of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, puts it this way: “Paul–the greatest evangelist of all time–passed up an opportunity to preach the gospel because his friend Titus was not there.” And not just “his friend,” but his “dear brother.” People first.

Notice now the focus of Paul’s mission to the church in Colossae–which was almost entirely a group of people he’d never met. We’ve italicized the people-oriented words:

We tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.  [Col 1:28-2:2 NLT]

Agonizing, encouraging, knitting together with “strong ties of love.” Paul was nothing if not compassionate and people-first. It was the foundation of his entire ministry.

pp 132-33, A Church Called TOV

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The fine print: Usually, buried here at the bottom is the publisher information and the little phrase “used by permission” but Tyndale no longer has a publisher’s representative in the country where we originate, and review copies of their books are now equally elusive, even though our readership is 78% American. So I could have ignored the book altogether, but I really think it’s something that is important reading in this cultural moment. Plus, I wanted to create my own little “culture of goodness” by sharing it. So… excerpt is ©2020 by the authors, and used without permission.

Our Prime Motivation

Sometimes we know we just must do something, but do we ever dig deeper to see where that seed was planted in us?

This is our fourth time at Before the Cross, written by Mike Mobley. You need to click the header which follows to read this where we first located it.

Sometimes Conviction Is Not Enough

How many times have we been there? We’ve heard a message, watched a video, or even had a conversation with someone and walked away feeling really convicted about something. We’ll even tell people “man I was so convicted about that” and others are like “yea, me too” but then after awhile, nothing changes. Or we’re in a small group and we can go around the room and basically everyone can chime in talking about how they are convicted, but then you come back the following week to just discuss the same convictions over and over again.

We seem to feel convicted or guilty in certain moments and tell ourselves we’ve got to change something, but then nothing happens. We just go back and repeat either the same mistakes or find ourselves convicted again the next time, possibly even about the exact same thing as before!

So why is this? Surely conviction itself from the Holy Spirit isn’t a bad thing and there’s good that can come out of that, but why is it often the case that change doesn’t take place within us? Perhaps being convicted is not enough?

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 4:14-15

That word compel basically can be defined as bringing about change. It’s not our conviction that actually changes us (conviction can bring awareness and help warn us and guard us), but what actually brings about change in our lives…what compels us and motivates us to change…the love of Christ.

We no longer live for ourselves but for Him, who died and was raised again. We are reminded of our motivation as followers of Jesus that while we are convicted and still make mistakes, we now live for Jesus. Not ourselves.

Why?

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

The incredible fact here is that Jesus had no sin. Zero. And He became sin for us, meaning He paid the price of all of our past, present, and future sins…not only so that we would be rescued, but that we would become the righteousness of God. That God would view us as His children through Christ. That the Holy Spirit would reside in us and give us power and self control over our actions and our lives for His Glory and for our own good.

It’s the love of Christ that truly compels us to change.

What motivates you more?

• Don’t do that, this is bad, this is wrong, you need to make changes.
• You are fully free and forgiven and will never be condemned by God ever again.

I’m not saying conviction is wrong, I’m asking which one motivates you more? Which one truly brings about change? When you think about how forgiven you really are in Christ and that you are a new creation, it frees you up and gives you confidence to move forward making changes in your life.

It’s the love of Christ that truly compels us to change.

What needs to change in your life? What is something God is asking you to stop doing and something He is asking you to start doing? When is the last time you paused for 60 seconds to reflect on the fact that if you believe in Jesus and follow Him, there is NO record of debt against you? It’s been nailed to the cross.

Christian, you’re forgiven. You’re free. Because Jesus is enough.

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Second Helping:

Here’s another article at Before the Cross, this one from Heather Bost, about allowing external things to define us. What defines you?

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If you’re interested in an index of topical articles at Before the Christ dealing with practical ways you can live out your faith or face challenges in your personal and family life, click here.

Are You an Outlaw, A Lawyer, or a Lover?

At Christianity 201, we’ve had a long relationship with Rev. Kevin Rogers, a pastor in Western Ontario, Canada whose writing appears at The Orphan Age. This is excerpts from a 4-part series. To read the introduction, where he sets up the distinction click this link. He says,

I see three categories of people when it comes to the acceptance and application of God’s law—we are all outlaws, lawyers or lovers.

To read the individual parts in full, click the headers which follow.

Outlaws

Outlaw culture is often glorified, and we all learned it early in life…So what does it mean to be an outlaw?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary says:

1 : a person excluded from the benefit or protection of the law

2a : a lawless person or a fugitive from the law

b : a person or organization under a ban or restriction

c : one that is unconventional or rebellious

Some perceived Jesus to be an outlaw based on his application of God’s Law. He and the disciples picked grain to eat on the Sabbath, brought healing to many on the Sabbath, did not always wash their hands before eating, association with people deemed unclean and a daily myriad of offenses drummed up by the faultfinders.

In spite of what the authorized experts had to say, Jesus was not an outlaw.

Matthew 5:

¹⁷ “Do not think I have come to get rid of what is written in the Law or in the Prophets. I have not come to do this. Instead, I have come to fulfill what is written. ¹⁸ What I’m about to tell you is true. Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter disappears from the Law. Not even the smallest mark of a pen will disappear from the Law until everything is completed.

It is when we determine that laws are unfair, unattainable or illegitimate that we are tempted by outlawry. It’s easy enough to find reasons to minimize or defy human laws, but what about God’s Law? There are many outlaws that choose to live in opposition or resignation to what they perceive to be an unrealistic or impossible standard.

The Greek word for sin is hamartia. It is an archery term that means your arrow did not land on the target. When we recognize that we are sinners, we admit that our arrow went astray or dropped to the ground before the ideal target that God gives us to aim for.

Jesus came to hit the bullseye and inspire us to have an improved aim. We are to learn from the ways that fall short and allow God to perfect our aim. You may have given up on basketball or piano lessons, but the reason to learn God’s ways are not trivial options. God’s ways are a matter of life and death in a very real cosmic and earthly sense.

Every outlaw must live by a code that supports their values and will be deemed heroic by those sharing those values. But you cannot love God and at the same time have a complete disregard for the things God says. To know and disregard the law of God is to be truly lawless.

1 John 3:

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, breaking the law is sin. ⁵ But you know that Christ came to take our sins away. And there is no sin in him. ⁶ No one who remains joined to him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, don’t let anyone lead you astray. The person who does what is right is holy, just as Christ is holy. ⁸ The person who does what is sinful belongs to the devil. That’s because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the devil’s work.

In recognizing that your aim is off, the key remedy is remaining joined to Jesus. As we  understand what Christ is doing, we find that he is taking away our lawless instincts. He is mending our broken bow and showing us how to aim true and hit the target. It is in our mimicry and imitation of Christ’s ways that we see through the fog and shoot for the bullseye. The apostle Paul understood this implicitly when he said,

1 Corinthians 11:

¹ Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ.

Lawyers

If the outlaw faces judgment, he is going to need a good defence lawyer. A lawyer will endeavour to prove that his client is not guilty, or at least not maliciously intent on breaking a law. The problem is that there will also be a prosecuting lawyer whose aim it is to prove that you are guilty.

There is an interesting phenomenon that happens to people trying to live up to God’s standards. If they are not rightly motivated inwardly, they will get obsessive about hacking their aim and telling others that they are the masters that can teach others how to achieve their spiritual aims.

It’s exactly the old adage that those who can’t, teach.

Matthew 23:

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat,” he said. ³ “So you must be careful to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. They don’t practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry. Then they put them on other people’s shoulders. But they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.

Watch out for people that try to load you down with high expectations but don’t offer any understanding or relief for the burden they lay on you. They may be legalistic in their passion for definition, but inwardly lack the law of God. They may have the authority to wield the law, but are more interested in winning their case than being personally answerable for the consequences that ensue.

Matthew 7:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Lawyers are often great communicators and can weave a story line that will either condemn or excuse a lawbreaker.

Watch my life carefully. I may appear to be a masterful persuader and still have a lawless heart. Fortunately, you will not have to answer for me. I stand before the one true judge that can truly condemn me or save me. Don’t be naïve and do look out for the Pharisaical lawyer in me and for the one in you.

Fortunately, God has mercy for outlaws and for self-righteous lawyers. Otherwise, we would be surely doomed.

Romans 9:

³⁰ What should we say then? Gentiles did not look for a way to be right with God. But they found it by having faith. ³¹ The people of Israel tried to obey the law to make themselves right with God. But they didn’t reach their goal of being right with God. ³² Why not? Because they tried to do it without faith. They tried to be right with God by what they did. They tripped over the stone that causes people to trip and fall. ³³ It is written,

“Look! In Zion I am laying a stone that causes people to trip.
    It is a rock that makes them fall.
    The one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Imagine that. Your faith in the goodness and mercy of God is the bullseye. Jesus died to save outlaws and lawyers and we are both.

Lovers

In essence, you become what you love. When it comes to the Law of God, are you a lover of His Law? You will not become Christlike if you do not love God.

If it’s true that we all fail to hit the target, there must be something that Jesus wants to teach us. When you are being coached in some ability, it is easy to get overwhelmed and distracted. So what will keep us in the game, so to speak? What is it about God’s Law that we can learn to keep us from becoming an outlaw or a lawyer?

That is a great question and one asked by an expert in law.

Mark 12:

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard the Sadducees arguing. He noticed that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “Here is the most important one. Moses said, ‘Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ And here is the second one. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There is no commandment more important than these.”

³² “You have spoken well, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one. There is no other God but him. ³³ To love God with all your heart and mind and strength is very important. So is loving your neighbor as you love yourself. These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said to him, “You are not far from God’s kingdom.” From then on, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.     NIRV

Your aim always improves when you love from the core of your being. Loving God means loving the wisdom and perfection of what he is teaching us. Loving your neighbour and loving yourself flows from the love you find in God.

Jesus says that all law is grounded in love. Until you know that and agree to it, you will resist the true nature of God. Jesus is the highest expression of God’s Law. He fulfills the law of God.

Are you convinced by the Holy Spirit that the ways of God are desirable? Listen to this ancient song of praise for the ways of God. Listen to effect that the love of God has on the fabric of our life.

Psalm 19:

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. NKJV

Talk about exactly hitting the target… love will do all of these things to establish your heart, mind and soul. We are taught by perfect love and changed from outlaws and lawyers. We are lovers of God’s Law.

If We Claim to be Without Sin

The phrase that forms the title of today’s thoughts is part of the first chapter of John’s first epistle.  Here’s are some thoughts from other online writers…

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Because a biblically-managed life depends on maintaining an eternal perspective while living in a temporal world, we must consistently examine our lives…

Dealing With My Sin

As a believer, the penalty of sin is gone but the propensity to sin remains. We will sin in word, thought, and deed. But the great truth is this: When we confess our sins, He forgives us. We need to confess our sins daily to the Lord.

Read the following passages and then list those sins that seem to continually raise their ugly heads in your life. Confess them to God and experience His forgiveness based on the promises of His Word.

For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
–Psalm 32:4-5

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
–1 John 1:8-9

~Ron Moore at The Journey

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Part of the sickness we can observe in our culture is the need to be good, or to seem innocent where guilt should be admitted.  As long as no one catches us, we tell ourselves we really haven’t done anything bad.  As long as we can find some problem in our background to explain our pain, we act as though we’re not responsible for our lives of addiction and irresponsibility.  As long as some lawyer can find a reasonable judge or a technicality that can get us off, we think we don’t have to worry about the cheating, stealing and assaulting that we’ve committed.  If we deny we do bad things, we suffer on the inside even if our reputation seems to hold together for a while on the outside.  God clearly tells us that one of the great gifts of true goodness is the cleansing we feel after we’ve admitted our faults and our sins.

 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9 NIV)

Keeping the rules and checking the “balance sheet” is another favorite method of tricking ourselves into thinking we are good people.  We follow the rules but push and shove anyone who gets in our way while we do it.  We use all the times we’ve done the right thing to excuse ourselves from taking responsibility for the rules we break.  We do good things for others and tell ourselves we are “pretty good people” even though we know we have bad attitudes and hidden resentments.

The Bible makes a clear distinction between doing good things and goodness as a character quality.  Jesus taught His follower,

“Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.”  (Luke 18:19 NIV)

In spite of the challenges and ethical confusion, as followers of Jesus, we are taught to do good.  Also we are told that one of the signs that God lives in us is that our lives demonstrate “goodness.”   God has created us for good work, flowing from a good heart.  The challenging question for us is:  Are we just “looking good” or are we really good?

~from the blog Partners In Hope Today

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“I’m wrong.”

It is hard for these words to roll off the tongue.

Pride doesn’t want to admit it. Fear won’t allow us to admit it.

Our pride tells us we are basically good people. Admitting that we are wrong might sully that good reputation.

Our fear doesn’t want to deal with the “potential” consequences.

Neither is of the Lord.

God calls us to walk in truth. Often times that means admitting we are wrong. The Bible calls this confession. It is simply agreeing with God.

Knowing that Jesus loves us puts our fleshly pride and fear in their place. Trust Him. Walk in truth. Go ahead and say those dreaded words, “I’m wrong.”

It will work together for good, just as He promised.

~Bob Christopher at Basic Gospel

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“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

(Colossians 2:13-14)

Reflection:

Paul has a way with words! There was a time when we were both dead and dying because of sin and our sins. Like the uncircumcised person we were spiritually unclean and seen to be outside the provisions and scope of the covenant. There was nothing we could do to alter this state – it was as if we carried within us a written conviction and sentence of death. Then God did something – Jesus Christ came and took into Himself our sin, our sins and our conviction and sentence, and went to death on our behalf. The sentence has been paid and, when accepted, our sins can no longer be held against us in God’s judgement court – “He forgave all our sins.”

As believers we no longer live under the law, we live in the grace of God – we live in forgiveness as those who have been forgiven, even in advance. Instead of facing death we have entered into life. That is not a mandate for us to live carelessly or to indulge ourselves in sin – that can never be acceptable when we look at the terrible cost to God of our forgiveness. It does, however, mean that when we do sin we can go to the Father and ask for forgiveness, a forgiveness that has already been achieved for us. But let us never forget that it is ‘the blood of Jesus’ that ‘purifies us from all sin,’

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9)

Although this amazing grace is extended and available to all people it is not a blanket provision acquired by all. It is a gift to be recognized, accepted, treasured and received. Those who reject the gift, reject God. Those who reject God reject the gift. Those who believe and put their faith and trust in the Saviour enter into the grace and love of God, as His sons and daughters, for eternity.

As believing Christians, no matter how difficult we find it to live pure and holy and faithful lives, the grace of God and the blood of Jesus have purified and continue to purify us. When we live in the grace of God we live in forgiveness, and in the new life and relationship that He has given to us. How wonderful is that! Learn to live in it every day – you are made right with God!

Response:

Take time to acknowledge and accept the truth.

Prayer:

Thank You so much Father for Your wonderful love and grace. Please help me to believe, accept and live in it every day – for Jesus sake, Amen.

~Soaring Eagle at the blog Softly Spoke the River