I Did It My Way

God has given each person free will, even as He is not willing that any person should use that gift for his or her own destruction.  Yet, to some extent, we all do.  Whether you are a Christian or not, rebellion is part of your DNA.  One one extreme is the atheist who rejects God, or worse, the person who is merely indifferent.  On the other extreme is that petty sin that tempts you do choose it when God has something better.  Proverbs 14:12 speaks to this.  So does Proverbs 16:25.  The principle is so important it appears virtually verbatim in two separate scriptures.

There is a way that seems right to a person...

But its end is the way that leads to death.

Proverbs 14:12 (NET)

The prophet Isaiah said basically the same thing to the Hebrews as Jerusalem was about to be overtaken by the Babylonians.  The reason God was allowing such a hostile takeover was because the nation as a whole had turned its back on God, with most folks "doing it my way".  

You were secure in your wickedness;

you said, "No one sees me."

Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray.

You said toyourself, "I exist and there is no one else."

But, 

Disaster will happen to you; you will not know how to avert it.

And it will fall on you, but you will be unable to ward it off.

Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.

Isaiah 46:10-11

As I read these verses, particularly verse 10, I think about so many people today who say this same thing.  It breaks my heart, because some of those I love believe this.  This godless, worldly philosophy is of the Devil and is the essence of atheism.

This philosophy is prevalent in our public schools and universities.  And, it is one explanation for why so many of our young people go astray in their later teens and 20s.  This is an outworking of the phrase, "Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray."  This happened even to King Solomon, who was judged to be the wisest man of his day!  We need to pray diligently for our young ones, as they are under tremendous pressure to abandon their faith.  The message pervades our world; they hear it everywhere.

People who believe this satanic philosophy do so for a variety of reasons, but one reason is central:  they want to hold on to their sin.  They love their sinful lifestyle, at the core of which is "self-determination", the ability to determine one's own path.  The anthem of this belief system is a "golden-oldie" from the mid-20th century crooner, Frank Sinatra - - "I Did It MY Way!" 

Rebellion is foundational to this movement.  It began with the first being to rebel against God, Satan, and has continued down through the centuries as he has continued his campaign to draw people away from the one, true Source of Life.

'I exist, and there is no one else."  Such self-centeredness!  Of course, if others "do not exist", we do not have to care for them, true?  We don't have to be considerate of their needs.  If GOD does not exist, then we can happily continue in our sins, true?  How very convenient...

For the Christian, our theology turns this belief system on its head.  There is no self-determination in Christianity, no "self-actualization", as Abraham Maslow called it.  There is only "God-actualization" and "God-determination".  A brother quoted Proverbs 3:5-6 yesterday, and it is so applicable here. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Don't depend on your own ability to understand.

In all your ways, give Him your allegiance, 

And HE will direct your paths."

Our faith is counterintuitive to our culture in present-day America.  It runs "against the grain."  To many whose eyes are clouded and ears clogged, it makes no logical sense.  It is offensive.  Many call it "ignorant".  Listen to what God says, through the apostle Paul about true wisdom: {The Message}

"Don't fool yourself.

Don't think that you can be "wise" merely by being up-to-date with the times.

Be God's fool - - - that's the path to true wisdom.

What the world calls "smart", God calls stupid.

It is written in Scripture, 

'He exposes the chicanery of the chic.

The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls.'  "

1 Cor. 3:18-20

God has made it abundantly clear in Isaiah 44 and 45 (and elsewhere throughout the Old and New Testaments) that HE is in control, that our "self-determination" will lead us to disaster.  He gives us the free will to either follow Him or not.  

Let's choose wisely.

Ah Father!  My heart breaks.  I beg You not to forsake those who wander from the Truth.  Please continue to woo them by Your Holy Spirit.  I am so grateful for Your promise to fling Your arms open wide and receive us, yes, even run out to meet us in our repentance, as the father of the prodigal son did in Luke 15.  Oh dear God!  Let today be the day.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Misapplication of Grace?

I've often wondered how frequently the apostle Paul was haunted by his own past, after becoming a Christian.  Perhaps his spiritual ability to receive and to communicate the grace of God sprang from that grace liberally applied to his own life.  As a reminder, Paul (while named Saul) had many Christians killed for their faith, while he zealously persecuted the Christian movement.  He had much to be forgiven.

(If we are honest with ourselves, don't we all?)

This morning's news program featured a U.S. Congressman who was railing against the fact a certain public figure had committed numerous legal transgressions.  Yet, no action has been taken or is being taken against her.  She is unrepentant.  There seems to be, increasingly, an uneven, one-sided application of justice in our country, a "misapplication of grace".  Those who are of a certain political persuasion or social class or of "greater value to society" are apparently "above the law".

This misapplication of grace is rather prevalent in our country.  Admittedly, it is a conundrum.  As a parent, for instance, it is very hard to know when it is best to hold our children responsible for bad decisions and when to "rescue" them, when to give grace.

For some, the story of Onesimus rankles.  It bothers them that this thief is being "let off the hook". To them, Onesimus will always be defined in light of his mistake; he will always be viewed a thief.  Of course, we do not know all the details of the story.  We do know this, though, that Paul is requesting
a.  to pay the debt Onesimus owes his master, Philemon
b.  that Philemon treat the returning Onesimus as a brother in Christ, as opposed to merely a slave.

The entire book of Philemon is a picture of God's grace to each of us.  The heart of the letter is love, the "law of God the Son".  Paul, here, represents our Triune God.  Onesimus represents every repentant sinner. Philemon represents the Church.

1.  Paul represents God.
He does not force Philemon to accept Onesimus although, with apostolic authority he could have ordered Philemon to obey.  Paul instead reminds Philemon that it was through Paul's ministry he was led to Christ.  He appeals to Philemon on the basis of love.  Father God treats us the same way.  He does not force.  He invites.   He appeals.  He beseeches.
Paul also represents the Father in that he pays the price Onesimus owes (vs. 18-19), just as Jesus Christ, God the Son, did for us.

2.   Onesimus represents slaves like we (are/were).
He had gotten himself into a situation from which he was unable to free himself. He owed a debt he could not pay.  In trying to fix his own situation, he only made it worse.  However, upon hearing the gospel from Paul (which is not to say he had not already heard it in Philemon's household), he accepted God's "fix", God's solution to his sin problem...salvation through grace/faith in Jesus Christ.
So, Onesimus is not being "let off the hook".  Rather, a tremendous price was paid by God to "make things right" for him positionally and eternally, the price of God's own Son.  Being accepted in Christ does not automatically free the new believer of the consequences of sin here on Earth, as we all know. Physical scars remain.  Nor does salvation cause us to never sin again in this world.  Sin ever seeks to again enslave us, pursuing us as a cheetah pursues a gazelle.

3.  Philemon represents the Church, the brotherhood of the saints.  Oh how hard it is to model ourselves after the character of God, according to His Holy Spirit who lives within us!  Perhaps Philemon struggled with this as well.  Satan tempts us to deal with each other harshly and with an unforgiving spirit.  Again, the key here is that Onesimus was a changed person, a repentant brother in Christ.  Nowhere in Scripture is the covering-over of sin applauded. This letter is not advocating overlooking sin or condoning a lack of confession or repentance. True restoration must contain those elements before restorative grace can be applied to one another and fellowship reaffirmed.
May we never be a Church that defines repentant sinners in light of their sins.  Instead, may we "remember them against them no more" (Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:12)

I am reading a book that contrasts the Muslim faith with the Christian.1  The writer, a former devout Muslim, now a devout Christian, points out that Muslims struggle mightily with the concept of the Christian God's grace.  It is totally foreign to them.  "Why obey if you are already forgiven everything?"  The Christian's answer:  the law of love.  He/she who has been forgiven much, loves much.  (Luke 7:47)

The Bible does not tell us whether or not Philemon received the transformed Onesimus as he would receive Paul, who led the both of them to faith in Christ.  But, I imagine he did.  May we do the same.

Father God, I have so much for which to be forgiven, day in and day out.  But, I marvel at Your eternal grace, which has covered all my sin.  I pray that I may never make you ashamed of the grace You so lavishly poured out on me.  May I be even more emboldened and empowered to share that message of grace with others, who don't yet know You, who so desperately need to hear it, who so deeply desire to turn from their sins and find their eternal salvation (their soul's rest) in You.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1   Qureshi, Nabeel (2016). No God but one: Allah or Jesus?: A former Muslim investigates the evidence for Islam and Christianity.  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

 

Unbowed

I think I established a few days ago that the book of Romans was written to the Jewish Christians in the early church of Rome.  Yesterday, we focused in on Paul's description of the unbelievers, the pagan Gentile peoples who comprised most of the population of that city.  More broadly, Romans 1:18-32 described pagan people groups around the world.  There's not a doubt in my mind that the Jewish Christians, reading chapter 1, were lapping it up.

The Jews had for hundreds of years viewed themselves as "better than".  So, certainly they were nodding and "amen-ing" as they read the description in Romans 1:18-32.  "OH!  The depravity and guilt of those pagan Gentiles!"

Then, they turned the page and began to read chapter 2.  That's when the hammer came down.

There's a tendency to "cherry-pick" verses in Romans 2.  We must resist that tendency.  Paul was verbose, to say the least; and, he was leading up to God's message of grace in chapter 3.  In order to get there, Paul had to destroy the Jewish Christians' self-righteousness, which he did quite handily in chapter 2.

The central gem of chapter 2 is verse 11:

For there is no partiality with God.

You see, the Christian Jews had a hard time moving from their perception of "works-based Judaism" to "grace-based Christianity".  These new believers still saw themselves as a better class of people than the Gentiles who openly and flagrantly engaged in riotous sin.  Paul points out that the Jews were little better than they!  The Jews put on the adornments of Judaism (circumcision, feast days, etc.), but many of them were hiding the sins they so lavishly practiced.  The difference was that the Jews believed that their "chosen people" status would protect them from God's judgment.  No.

The bigger hammer occurs in verse 16:

God will judge the secrets of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.

Here we see a glimpse of the basis on which God will judge all people.  He sees every thought and every intention of our hearts, every motivation, every secret sinful thought.  All of that, from our thoughts to our actions will be laid bare when He evaluates each person's life, and then the question of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be asked, "What did you do with my Son?"  (More on that in subsequent chapters)

I'm reminded of the scene in John 8, where Jesus asks the stoners to consider their own sinfulness.

These Jews in Rome, regardless of the grace of Jesus Christ, were still trying to gain righteousness by following the Law, and were boastful about it!

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relationship to God18 and know his will and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, 19 and if you are convinced that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth—21 therefore you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Can you feel the panic settling in?  Can you see them squirming?  Are you squirming?  I read this passage and thought about us Christians today.  In my mind I could see our church services, hundreds of people piously praying that a lost person would "walk the aisle" to accept Christ, with absolutely NO self-examination of the sin in his or her own life.  Hearts puffed up with themselves.  Hearts unbowed.  Are we not then doing exactly what the Jews in Romans 2 were doing?

3 And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment?

Yes, I know.  Grace covers it all.  Yes, it does.  No, we don't earn our salvation by our good works. No, we don't.  However, there will be consequences (either here on earth or in our heavenly rewards account) if we are walking in disobedience.  I had to ask myself this morning, reading this passage, if there were areas of my life in which I was walking in disobedience.  And then, I had to confess them, repent of them.  My butt got kicked.

Every, single one of us has our own set of "traps" - - sins that are so tempting to us.  It is different for each individual Christian - - different sins.  If we pooh-pooh our own habitual sins, thinking and merrily chirping, "I'm saved by grace," then we have utterly missed the point of Romans 2.  So-called Christians who live like that had better check their own salvation, to see if their hearts are bowed to their so-called Savior.

28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the letter. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.

Let's read this as Christians, shall we? (This is how I applied it to my own heart, this morning.)

"For a person is not a Christ-follower who is merely one outwardly, nor is 'walking the aisle' something that is outward, in the flesh.  But, someone is a Christ-follower who is one inwardly, and true salvation is of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the letter of the Law.  The person with a bowed heart is earning praise from God, regardless of what people say."

So, Christians, let's "tear our hearts, and not our garments" (Joel 2:13).  To quote Phil Robertson, "All bow."

Dearest precious Father, this passage of Scripture grieves me.  It breaks my heart.  It bows my heart. I'm so grateful that You inspired the apostle Paul to "cut to the quick" with these young Christians so that, centuries down the road, we could apply this same message to our lives.  There is no way that our good works amount to anything beyond being evidences of Your amazing grace, spilled forth into our lives.  May it be so, increasingly, every successive day of our lives.  May our hearts be bowed, that our lives will show forth Your praise!  In Jesus' name, amen.

My God Who Chases

I remember playing tag as a child.  On summer nights, at community or church gatherings, we children would burst out of the adult conclave and run with the fireflies.  How wonderful it felt to be chased, joyful screams of laughter bursting out of us when caught!

If you ever went to church as a child, you most likely heard the story of "Jonah and the Whale". You may have even worked on a coloring page about it, as this is a mainstay of children's Sunday School. On the face of things, it seems like just one more fantastical tale.  However, I believe it was chosen for inclusion in the Old Testament (Jonah 1:1 - 3:5) for the purpose of teaching us rich lessons.
Here are facts:

1.  Nineveh was a huge, rich, wicked city, the capital of the barbaric Assyrian Empire.  (Think Las Vegas, for example.)
2.  God instructed Jonah to go preach to Nineveh's inhabitants a message of repentance:  "Repent or be destroyed".
3.  Jonah refused to obey God.  Didn't like the message; wanted none of it...
4.  Jonah ran from God in an effort to escape this assignment.
5.  God chased Jonah, using a mighty storm and a huge fish for his purposes.
6.  Jonah (many believe) died in the belly of the whale.  Regardless, he was there for 3 days and 3 nights.
7.  The fish, heartily sick to its stomach, spewed Jonah out onto the seashore, alive.
8.  God re-issued the assignment to Jonah.
9.  Jonah obeyed.
10.  Nineveh repented.

That is not the end of Jonah's story, but we'll stop with the above facts for today's post.
Now, so what?  What does this have to do with Advent, after all?

Jonah was a real man, but he represents so much more!  I find myself resembling him way too much for my own liking.  Have you ever said, "No!" to God?  I have, on many occasions.  Essentially, any time we choose to act out, we are saying, "no" to God.  There are reasons we do this.  I don't need to list them here, because you know them.  Just like me, you've thought them or done them.

Imagine you are able to go back in time to Bethlehem and have the privilege of approaching the stable to kneel at the manger.  Can you picture it?  Can you see yourself?  What are you wearing? Are your clothes spotless?  Is your body clean?  Do you smell good?  At Advent, this is something we do: in our hearts, we approach the Manger, to worship the King.  And, this is good and right.  Many times, though, as we come to worship, we have manure on our shoes, and our pits stink.  There are food droppings on our chest from where we've been careless in our eating.  Our hair is tangled or our beards are nasty. There is crud under our nails.

The latter is a picture of our sin, our personal running from God.  It dirties us up so that, when we approach His presence, we are soiled, stained, ruined, in need of salvation, in desperate need of grace.

Ann Voskamp points out that repentance "is the only way to be ushered into grace."

Repentance means literally "to turn around and go in the opposite direction".  In Jonah's case, it meant to cease from running from God, then turning around and going toward Nineveh.  In our situations, it means to come to a full stop, turn around and move toward the God who chases, seeking His will in our lives.  When we move toward Him, our hands cannot bring our beloved sins with us. No, in our turning, we must lay them down and leave them behind.  Only cleansed, covered by His grace can we truly bow at His feet in worship.

Jonah not only represents us.  He also pre-figures, foreshadows Christ.  We read Jesus' own words in Matthew 12:40 - - 

"For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish (Greek: κήτους ) three days and three nights,

so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights."

It is because of these words of the Lord that many Bible scholars believe that Jonah drowned before being swallowed up by the great fish, and that after being dead for 3 days, God resurrected him.  I will not debate this point; I merely offer it for your consideration.

Whether at Advent or not, we often find ourselves drowning in life's stormy waters.  We cry out, "I can't handle this!"  So true.  We can't.  But God can.  No storm of life can submerge me beyond where His goodness, mercy and grace can resurrect me!

I am so glad that God chased after Jonah.  I am so glad He passionately chases after you and me.  He does so ... not only that we may carry out His perfect plans, but to rescue us, to wash and restore us, to resurrect and bring us out onto dry land.

It's right there in Psalm 23:6 (The Message) - -

Your beauty and love chase after me, every day of my life.

False gods expect us to perform, to measure up.  Our God comes down to us, in the form of a Baby, and He chases and chases and chases us.  The Hebrew word for "chase" in verse 6 is "radaph", which means "to pursue", "to hunt down".  My God, the Lover of My Soul, never gives up on me.  He chases me to repentance, pursues me with His love and grace.

Stop pursuing your image of "a better life".  Recognize that the Author of Abundant Life is pursuing you.  Stop running.  Allow yourself to be caught today.

If you have time, you will be so blessed by watching this adaptation of Francis Thompson's classic poem, "The Hound of Heaven".

Here is a link to the poem:
http://www.bartleby.com/236/239.html

And here is the wonderful video adaptation:
https://vimeo.com/89705938


Additional Sources:

Voskamp, Ann. The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. 

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/08/when-you-are-finding-it-hard-to-keep-up-chased-by-grace/

Cleaning House

Good morning,

There is something wrong with my dishwasher.  It cleans the dishes, sort of, but only after I've mostly washed them by hand.  A repairman said I only need a rinse aid product.  I have my doubts.  I am not a huge fan of cleaning house; every modern convenience is treasured.

1 Corinthians 5 presents a shift in Paul's emphasis.  He moves on to spiritual "house cleaning", addressing another concern observed among this fellowship of believers.  It had apparently been reported to Paul that sexual immorality was occurring in the local church.  He uses this example to emphasize that ongoing, sinful practices in the lives of professing believers should not be tolerated. Frankly, this is not a pleasant chapter to study, because the topic is difficult.

First of all, Christians do not want to admit to their own sin, habitual or occasional.  Pride comes into play here, although there is also the genuine element of not wanting to tarnish Jesus' name.  Yet, when "one of our own" is committing sin repeatedly, and especially in a very public way, something should be done to address it, whether we are comfortable doing so or not.  I remember, several years ago, in another church far away, a church member (also a prominent member of the community) was committing adultery; everyone knew about it.  The spouse was still attending the church.  The pastor and deacons visited their fellow deacon and urged him to repent, to reconcile with his wife.  Well, the man refused.  So, he was told that his membership was going to be rescinded until he changed his ways.  During a church conference, this was prayerfully handled.  It was not fun at all, Y'all.  It was downright awful, in fact.

The Corinthian church did not want to confront their "situation".  Remember, they were "pretty new at all this"; so, one could guess that they were perplexed as to what to do. However, in verse 6, Paul calls them "flippant" and "arrogant" about it.  They did not see that to allow this type of continual sin to go on would soon contaminate the entire congregation.

Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it’s anything but that. Yeast, too, is a “small thing,” but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this “yeast.”

1 Cor. 5:6 (MSG)

Today, there is wholesale cowardice, rampant "looking the other way" going on in many churches. Pastors, leaders and people in the pews are often unwilling to take a stand for righteousness in a godless society.  Taking such a stand often comes at a steep price, one that many are not willing to pay.  Today, for instance, I was reading that a so-called Baptist church in an adjacent state is planning to ordain as ministers those who live a sexually immoral lifestyle, by biblical standards.  This is heartbreaking to me, because it tarnishes the name of all Baptists (in a way similar to those Westboro Baptist Church folks do).  Obviously, not all who call themselves Baptists believe anything close to the same thing.

In chapter 5, Paul was not preaching condemnation to the man living in sin. He was condemning the man's sin.  There was always room for the man to repent and to be restored to the fellowship.  This is clear in verse 5.

I’m telling you that this is wrong. You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus our Master. Assemble the community—I’ll be present in spirit with you and our Master Jesus will be present in power. Hold this man’s conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can’t, then out with him! It will be totally devastating to him, of course, and embarrassing to you. But better devastation and embarrassment than damnation. You want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of Judgment.

1 Cor. 5:3-5 (MSG)

Paul's earnest desire (and Christ's) was for the man to repent of his sinful practices and be restored to God and to the community of faith.  The whole point of the censure was the sinner's restoration. God's grace is greater than all our sin.  It still is, today.

The other big reason that Christians shy away from confronting sin in the community of faith is because they individually are not walking in holiness.  And, in fact, Jesus railed against this hypocrisy in Matthew 7:1-5 (MSG).  (also recorded in Luke 6.)

7 1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

Dishwasher or not, "cleaning house" had better start at home, yes?  Hebrews 12:14-17 tells us that when we harbor sins that have not been confessed to God, a bitter spirit (spiritual weeds) can take root in our souls. We are wise to be very vigilant about our own shortcomings, our own "failures to hit the target", which is the Greek origin of the word "sin".  Swallow a big old "pride loogie"; confess (to God and to others as needed); repent (turn away from the sin and leave it in the dust); be restored (by the Holy Spirit) - - - the path to holiness, to Christ-likeness.

Remember this important point.  Paul was talking to Christians here about their behavior.  He was not preaching to the non-Christian folk outside the Corinthian fellowship of believers (5:13).

I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don’t we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

It is a distortion of the enemy to portray all Christians who stand on biblical truth as hateful or unloving. Now, granted, some are, ranging from the hate that Westboro spews to implicit condescension or to casual disregard.  However, nothing is more unloving that leaving a person enslaved to sin or on the highway to Hell.  Love isn't wimpy; love must be tough.  Speaking the truth in humility and love is exactly what Jesus did.  It is exactly what we must do.

Father, you know that I did not want to study or blog about 1 Corinthians 5.  Examining my life is not my favorite pastime.  It's so much easier and more fun to just...."la-la-la-la-LA" down life's path, looking the other way.  Save us from this "counterfeit discipleship", Lord.  Give us the courage, the power, through Your Holy Spirit, to be honest about our own sins and to help our brothers/sisters who are floundering in a mud pit.  Such is love.  In Jesus' name, amen.