GETTING ANSWERS TO PRAYER PART 1

April 1, 2013 at 3:45 PM (Answered Prayer, Faith)
Tags:

INTRODUCTION

Why do you pray? I suppose there are any number of reasons why we pray. But when it comes right down to it, we pray because we need God’s help.

But the sad fact of the matter is, not all of our prayers are answered by God. We pray. And pray. And pray. Yet Heaven remains deaf to our cries. The help that we earnestly seek doesn’t appear anywhere on life’s horizon.

This deafening silence stands in stark contrast and contradiction to God’s promise to answer our prayers. He beckons us in Jeremiah 33:3 to call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. He reiterated the promise in John 14:13-14,  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

So how do we reconcile the promise of answered prayer with the cold, harsh reality of unanswered prayer? How can God promise to answer our prayer, then turn right around and not answer it?

Brethren, there’s more to the Bible than just Jeremiah 33:3. You’ve got to read the rest of the Bible. When you do this, you’ll see that the same God who promised to answer our prayer also taught us how to pray. He told us what we’ve got to do to get answers to our prayer. THERE ARE CONDITIONS THAT WE MUST MEET IN ORDER TO RECEIVE ANSWERS TO PRAYER.

WHEN WE DON’T GET ANSWERS TO PRAYER IT’S GENERALLY BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T MET GOD’S REQUIREMENTS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER. Brethren, JUST BECAUSE WE PRAYED DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY MEAN GOD’S OBLIGED TO ANSWER. When we meet God’s requirements for answered prayer, then—and only then—will our prayers be answered.

So when our prayers go unanswered, then the key question that we must ask and answer is, What condition/s haven’t we met? What are God’s requirements for answered prayer?

Just so you know, I’m a very organized sort of fellow, but I’m not into formulas, steps, or secrets. I learned a long time ago that no one is going to put God in a box and make Him do things when we follow a prescribed method of action. All I’ve done is read through the Scriptures and saw God telling us in so many verses what He’s willing to do for us if we’re willing to do what He’s telling us to do. In this series of posts on GETTING ANSWERS TO PRAYER I’d like to share these verses with you and encourage you—as only the Lord and the Bible can—that God’s still in the business of answering prayer! We do not pray in vain! We just have to know how to pray the way God wants us to pray.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post In This Series. Being right has everything to do with whether or not our prayers are going to get answered. Drop by and I’ll show you what I mean.

3 Comments

THE MISTRIAL OF JESUS

March 27, 2013 at 9:52 AM (Incidents/Events, Life of Christ)
Tags: , , , , ,

We all know that Jesus had to die.

Here’s something you may not have known. If the High Priest and Great Sanhedrin—the Jewish Supreme Court—followed their own laws they would have had to let Jesus go! They broke so many of their own laws that, if the Judge was truly impartial and just, he would declared a mistrial and let Jesus go free. For example,

THE DECISION TO ARREST JESUS, Matthew 26:3-5

  • All meetings of the Court were to take place in the Hall of Hewn Stone IN THE TEMPLE. It was forbidden to hold Court anywhere outside this Hall. The first two of Jesus’ Jewish trials were held in the homes of Annas and Caiaphas.
  • The meetings of the Court were to be held in the Temple in order that the meetings be public and open to the people. Jesus’ trials before Annas and Caiaphas were held in private.
  • The law forbade the Court from passing and imposing the death sentence before it even arrests, indicts, and tries the accused. Death could not be meted or imposed before the accused has had a chance to defend himself before the Court. Jesus was condemned to death before He was even arrested.
  • The death sentence was passed only as a last resort. A cardinal rule of law was that the Court was to be consumed with life and not with death. A single reasonable doubt—even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary—was sufficient to spare the accused from death. The Court was to make every attempt, exhaust every means, to preserve the life of the accused. The Court in this case made absolutely no attempt to preserve Jesus’ life.
  • Jesus’ arrest was conducted by night. According to law, it was forbidden to conduct any criminal proceedings after sunset.
  • The arrest was conducted with the aid of a paid accomplice, hence involving bribery. The giving and receiving of bribes was expressly forbidden by law.
  • Some members of the Court, who themselves were judges, participated in the arrest, hence prejudicing them against the Lord.
  • Contrary to law, Jesus was arrested without a charge and without evidence or witnesses against him. There was no legal grounds to arrest Him, therefore, He should not have been arrested.

THE HEARING BEFORE ANNAS, John 18:12-14 

  • Jesus’ hearing before Annas was conducted privately in Annas’ palace. The law required all trials to be held in public. A defendant could not be tried in private.
  • A defendant in a capital case could not be tried, judged, or condemned by one judge. A minimum of twenty-three judges was required.
  • Annas sought to obtain a charge against Jesus without the law’s requirement for witnesses.  
  • Annas tried to get Jesus to incriminate Himself. By law, no man could testify against himself, hence, such testimony would not be admissible in Court.
  • It was unlawful to abuse a defendant during the trial. Jesus was slapped without reprimand from the High Priest.
  • It was unlawful to detain a person without charge, evidence, or witnesses against him. Instead of letting Jesus go, Annas sent Him to Caiaphas for further trial.

THE PRELIMINARY TRIAL BEFORE CAIAPHAS IN CAIAPHAS’ HOUSE, Matthew 26:59-68, Mark 14:55-65, Luke 22:63-65

  • The appointed meeting place of the High Court was in the Hall Of Hewn Stone in the Temple. Any meeting outside this Hall was deemed illegal. Caiaphas brazenly held court in his house.
  • The High Court could meet only during the day. Trials in a capital offence could not be conducted by night. Jesus’ trial was conducted in the darkness of night.  
  • The Court could not hear, or try, a capital offence on the day before Sabbath or a feast day. Jesus was tried the night before Passover.
  • The judges were disqualified from judging our Lord because they were already determined to put Jesus to death. The verdict and sentence had already been determined—even in the absence of a formal charge and witnesses.
  • In the absence of valid witnesses, the law ordained that the defendant be immediately released. Caiaphas did not do this as required by law.
  • Caiaphas stepped outside the boundaries of the law by interrogating Jesus and acting as prosecutor against Him when, as yet, Jesus was not charged with any criminal mischief.
  • Caiaphas asked Jesus a question that the law forbade him from asking. By the use of adjuration, he forced Jesus to answer it. And, in the process, he got Jesus to incriminate Himself. By law, a defendant could not be asked to incriminate himself.
  • Although Jesus was charged with blasphemy, He was not formally tried on that charge. He was condemned without being put on trial for blasphemy.
  • By law, once witnesses were found, the trial must proceed with arguments for the defense. Prosecution could not begin until the defendant presented his defense. In Jesus’ trial, no witnesses were summoned in His defense. He was charged and condemned without being given the chance to defend Himself.
  • The judges in Jesus’ trial acted as witnesses and prosecutors against Him. Their job was to defend Him, not prosecute Him.
  • The decision to convict and condemn our Lord was unanimous, which automatically rendered it null and void. The law stipulated that at least one judge must vote to acquit the defendant.  
  • By law, the death sentence could not be passed anywhere except in the Hall of Hewn Stone. In Jesus’ case, it was passed in Caiaphas’ house.
  • The death sentence was passed on the same day as the trial. Legally, it could not be passed until the next day. The law required that the Court take a whole day to consider the punishment when the defendant’s life was at stake.

THE FORMAL TRIAL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN IN THE TEMPLE, Matthew 27:1, Mark 15:1, Luke 22:66-71

  • It was forbidden for the Court to meet in session during a holy day.
  • The trial began with the verdict and sentence already determined. The judges were already prejudiced against the defendant before the case was heard in Court.
  • It was unlawful for the Court to act as prosecutors in a life-and-death trial.
  • No witnesses were called at this trial. No charge was preferred against Jesus. He was unindicted, hence, innocent in the eyes of the law.
  • Jesus was condemned solely by His own testimony. By law, a man’s confession—apart from the testimony of eyewitnesses—can’t be used against him to condemn him to death.
  • Jesus was charged and condemned for blasphemy, but He was never tried on that charge. The Court did not investigate the falsity or truthfulness of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. By law, a man could not be condemned if he was not tried.
  • Jesus was not given the opportunity to defend Himself against the charge of blasphemy. No witnesses were called in His defense, which automatically rendered the trial null and void.
  • The Court convicted Jesus on the same day as the trial—something it could not do legally. Conviction had to come the day following the trial.
  • The death sentence was executed on the same day as the trial—something it could not do by law. At least a full day had to pass before the death sentence was carried out in order to give the Court every opportunity to spare the life of the defendant.

THE POST-TRIAL FORMALITIES OF THE COURT, Matthew 27:2-10

  • Upon conviction in a capital trial, the Court was to remain seated and convened in the hopes that new witnesses or evidence could be found in favor of sparing the defendant’s life. In Jesus’ case, all seventy-one judges vacated their seats and escorted Jesus to Pilate.
  • When new witnesses or evidence presented themselves before the Court in favor of the defendant’s innocence, the Court was obliged to summon the defendant back to Court for another hearing. The High Court failed to do this when Judas stepped forward with his confession of Jesus’ innocence.
  • Whereas it took two or three witnesses to condemn, it only took one witness to acquit. By law, Judas’ confession alone was sufficient to acquit and free our Lord. But the chief priests and elders refused to bring that confession to Court and to light.
  • The Court was obligated to execute false witnesses and set a condemned defendant free. The Court did neither.

So what’s the point in all these? Beside the obvious one that I mentioned at the start of this post, if Jesus was a chicken and wanted to save His own skin, He could have  argued for a mistrial and conceivably, or justly, gone scot free. By law He should have been freed!

But instead of insisting upon His rights and going free, He willingly chose to suffer the injustices and abuses of the Court so that He could save you! Friend, do you grasp the extent of Christ’s love for you? He could have walked out of court a free Man! But He didn’t! Do you know why? Because He loved you and felt that you were worth dying for and saving. Calvary is  irrefutable proof that God loves you. Don’t let the devil, anyone, or yourself, tell you otherwise.

2 Comments

THINKING ‘BOUT ME

March 21, 2013 at 11:07 AM (God Thoughts, Musings)
Tags:

A lot of Christians struggle with God’s love for them. They don’t believe God loves them. Not after they’ve failed Him. Not with all the bad stuff that’s happened to them. They want so much for God love them. But they think God’s turned His back on them. In their eyes, they’re the living damned. It’s a hellish existence and my heart goes out to these tormented souls. How can I possibly help them? How can I convince them God loves them no matter what they’ve done and no matter what He’s allowed to happen to them?

Let me put God’s love for you on hold here. I’m changing scenes, but stay with me to the end because it’ll all come together. Scene 1. I honestly don’t struggle with God’s love for me. That doesn’t make me any better than you. I just found a way to get past the doubt and rest in God’s love for me. It goes back to the fundamental core beliefs that I live by. Maybe if I share these beliefs with you it’ll help make it a whole lot easier for you to accept God’s love for you.

  • I believe God exists. Every one of us has to settle it at some time or another whether there is a God. And if there is a God, which ones of these gods, or which one in particular, is the true God. The world offers us a ginormous pantheon of gods to choose from. I grew up in a Christian home. But even after studying the world’s major religions in college, I chose to place my faith in the God of the Judeo-Christian faith.
  • I believe the Bible is God’s inspired, infallible Word. Every one of us have had to wrestle with whether or not the Bible is wholly true, partly true and partly wrong, or wholly fable and fiction. Going to seminary, I had lots of chances to doubt the historicity and validity of the Bible. For so many Bible scholars, the Bible was nothing but a work of men—not God. And since it was written by men, without God having any say or hand in it, then, yes, it’s only inevitable that we would doubt the Bible, either in whole or in part.

Doubt is tormenting. It’s hellish. It’ll drive anyone crazy. Faith is the complete opposite. It’s a peace and rest.

I choose to take God at His Word. I believe He inspired the entire Bible, it’s true, and He’s managed to preserve it through all these generations so that we today can know what He wants us to know. I don’t doubt the Bible because I don’t doubt God. It’s as simple as that. Until you come to this point of faith you’ll always have your doubts about some things that God said in His Word.

I went through nearly a year of doubt and argumentation with God when I was a teen searching for answers to life’s most puzzling mysteries and contradictions. But when it was all said and done, God showed me He was God, not me. His thoughts weren’t my thoughts. He was so much smarter than me. And even though I didn’t know or understand everything, His Word was still true. From that day on, I chose to believe the Bible at face value simply because God said it. End of argumentation, doubt, or debate.

For some, it takes a lifetime of wrestling and seeking to come to this point of faith. Many never come to faith. But if you profess to be a Christian you owe it to yourself—and God—to believe God exists, He’s the one and only real, true God, and His Word is true in every way without any falsehood or lie. If you come to this point of faith, then everything else about the Christian life and experience becomes a lot whole easier. You won’t understand everything. I don’t. We’re finite creatures with limited brain capacity. We’ll never understand God totally. But we can believe even without understanding. That can be challenging at times. But all that God has ever asked us to do from the beginning is believe Him.

Change of scene.  Now we go to Scene 2.  There’ve been times when we’ve thought a lot about someone. Sometimes fear causes us to do that. Sometimes it’s jealousy. Lust. Or worry. But the one thing that most of us can easily relate to is love. If you’re married to the love of your life, like I am, you remember all the pre-dating, dating, and courtship time you spent dreaming, day-dreaming, visualizing, and thinking about the love of your life.  Longing for the next time you’ll be together again. The point is, a lot of your time was spent thinking about your love. It’s still the same way today, even after all these years of marriage. You think a lot about the one you love.

Change of scene again. Scene 3. Picture yourself at the beach. Just for curiosity’s sake, you make it your life’s ambition to count how many grains of sand there is on the beach. On all the beaches in the world. Impossible!, you say. You can’t possibly count each grain of sand that’s on all the beaches in the world. The point is, there’s so much sand in this world that it’s beyond numbering. And that’s just the sand on the beaches. Think of the enormity of the impossibility of counting each grain of sand in all the deserts of the world. That’s a lot of sand!

When it comes to God’s love for you, let me put these scenes altogether for you. Do you know that God spends a lot of time thinking about you? Yes, you my friend. I’m talking to you by name.  God spends an awful lot of time thinking about you! I know a lot of times we think that God’s so busy—like we are—that He can’t possibly think a whole lot about me. He’s got gobs of other people to be thinking about!

But no matter how many people there are in this world, the simple fact of Scripture is this: God is thinking about you. Remember that familiar verse in Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Wow! God is actually thinking about you! You’re on His mind! He hasn’t forgotten you! He hasn’t ignored you! He’s thinking about you just the way you think about the people you love. Now why do you suppose He’s thinking about you? Because He loves you!

What really clinches it for me is this. God is not only thinking about you, but He spends an awful lot of time thinking about you! He’s always thinking about you! Like the innumerable sands in life’s beaches and deserts, God spends a ginormous amount of time thinking about you! Read it for yourself in Psalm 139:17-18a, How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  (18a)  If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. Wow! How awesome is that! God’s thinking so much about you that, if you were to count how many thoughts He’s thought about you, His thoughts would number more than all the sand that’s in the world! That’s an awful lot of sand! And that’s an awful lot of thoughts that God has thought—and is still thinking—about you! God must love you an awful lot to spend a lot of His time thinking about you!

Think He doesn’t care about you? Think He doesn’t know what’s going on with you? Look at what David wrote in the first four verses of Psalm 139, O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me.  (2)  You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  (3)  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.  (4)  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. Dear friend, God knows you inside and out. God sees you every moment of every day. God cares a lot about you.

That’s easy for you to say, you might say. David was a man after God’s heart. God loved him. But I’m no David. If you knew all the things I’ve done, you’d know there’s no possible way God could love me.

But you’re wrong, friend. David was a man after God’s heart. But he was deceptive with the Philistines (1 Samuel 21). He got so angry one time that he was bent on killing a man (1 Samuel 25). He committed adultery with another man’s wife and ended up murdering the man to cover up his sin (2 Samuel 11). His General warned him not to count the army, but David insisted and, as God’s punishment, 70,000 innocents died in a plague (2 Samuel 24)! 70,000! I guess you’re right after all. You’re not David. You haven’t killed 70,000 people.

God chastised David sorely for his sins. But He still loved him dearly! And that’s the same kind of love that God has for you, my dear. Your sins, your past, or your present, do not keep God from loving you. He loves you still in spite of it all! And the amazing thing of it is, God’ll never quit loving you! You can read it for yourself in Lamentations 3:22. John 13:1 is my very most favorite verse of all time. I’ll let you read it for yourself. It’ll floor you. What these Scriptures are saying is, you can’t stop God from loving you!

God loves you, dear friend. He loves you lots. And He’s spending an awful lot of time thinking about you. Don’t doubt it or question it. Don’t resist it. Just believe it! Because that’s the way it really is.

6 Comments

THE JESUS I DIDN’T KNOW: THE PROPHET

March 15, 2013 at 10:26 AM (Life of Christ, The Jesus I Didn't Know)
Tags: , , ,

How well do you know Jesus? We all like to think we know Jesus pretty well. I’ve had close to fifty years of wonderful, sweet communion with Jesus. I’ve devoted over forty years of my life to studying and teaching His Word. I’m talking about going back to the original languages and learning as much as I can about Jewish culture, institutions, and beliefs. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Know-It-All. And you can ask my kids: I’m not inerrant or infallible. But still, knowing what I know, I’d like to think I know Jesus pretty good. To my pleasant surprise, however, I don’t know Jesus as good as I think I do. To this day, He still shows me more about Himself that I didn’t know before. Here, let me give you a snippet of the Jesus I never knew.

THE PROPHET WHO WASN’T

Hello. My name is Simon the Pharisee. As you can tell by my surname, I’m not one of Jesus’ followers. Many of my brothers in the fraternity had already made their minds up about Jesus. As far as they were concerned, Jesus was no prophet or messiah. If anything, he was possessed by the devil himself.

Their assessments of Jesus stood in stark contrast to the guy’s popularity and following. Wherever he went the people clamored after him. He was, after all, a miracle worker. And everybody needs a miracle.

As for myself, I wasn’t at all sure about what to make of Jesus. In all fairness to him, I decided that the only way I was going to know for sure was for me to invite him over to my house for a meal. Jesus graciously accepted, so I started making my supper plans.

Things were going well that evening. Then, to my horror of horrors, an adulteress entered my house! The entire scene was brought to a standstill. No one said a word. No one moved. We were all dumbfounded and frozen in time by the sinner known to all as such. Normally, she wouldn’t have been allowed in my house. She was an adulteress and her very presence would render my house unclean. She ought to have known that an adulteress would never be welcome in the house of a Pharisee. She was audacious and my blood started to boil. I was incensed!

But there was nothing I could do! A famous rabbi was in my house and, under such circumstances, it was customary for people to drop by and hear whatever the rabbi had to say. Grudgingly, the sinner was within her right to drop by. But I still didn’t appreciate it and I found myself starting to get volcanic at the sight of an adulteress in my house.

Things soon turned from bad to worse when the adulteress started sobbing profusely for no known reason. She didn’t utter a word. She came in the dining room and, when she saw Jesus, she just broke down and sobbed as if a levee had been breached. She fell at Jesus’ feet and, with her tears, started to wash his feet.

Then she did the unthinkable. She removed her head covering, loosed her hair pin, and with her long hair she began to dry Jesus’ feet. Now I don’t know if you know anything about our Jewish ways. But when a woman let her hair down or showed her hair in public this was an act of lewdness and immodesty. No woman with any sense or propriety would dare do such a thing! Especially in the presence of a rabbi! And most definitely not in the home of a Pharisee! I was beyond volcanic! But I found myself strangely speechless and unable to move.

When she was done drying Jesus’ feet, she took a small vial of perfume that hung around her neck. She opened it and poured it on Jesus’ feet. She rubbed it on and just knelt there, transfixed, as if everything was honky dory.

By now it became painfully obvious to me that if Jesus was truly a prophet he would not have allowed this sinner of a woman to do what she did to him. It was a common understanding we had amongst ourselves that no man of God who would allow a woman to touch him in public. And definitely not a sinner! More than anything else I’d heard about Jesus, his reclining there and letting the adulteress carry on the way she did proved to me that there was no way this guy could be a prophet.

As I was formulating my settled conclusion about Jesus in my mind, he looked at me and asked, Simon, do you mind if I tell you a story?

Not at all, I said. I’m all ears.

Jesus started in. Two men owed a moneylender some money. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other owed him fifty.  (42)  When they couldn’t pay it back, the moneylender kindly forgave both debtors and told them they didn’t have to pay him back. Now who do you think will love him the most (Luke 7:41-42)?

Well, that was a no-brainer for me. The guy who owed him the most would love him the most, I replied. What, I was wondering to myself, was Jesus getting at? I didn’t have long to wait on the answer.

You’re right, Simon, Jesus said. Then He turned to the woman and asked me, Have you noticed this woman? When I came into your home, you didn’t give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.  (45)  You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.  (46)  You didn’t even pour olive oil on my head, but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet.  (47)  So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love. (48)  Then Jesus said to the woman, Your sins are forgiven (Luke 7:44-48).

I was volcanic with the adulteress. But Jesus’ words so totally crushed and humiliated me. He was right! When he came to my door I should have greeted him with the customary Jewish greeting or kiss. I should have washed his feet. And I should have sprinkled cologne on him. These were customary things that were done for every visitor and guest. But I failed to show Jesus common human decency and respect.

Worse yet, the adulteress showed me up. She did what I had failed to do!

I was so ashamed of myself, so humiliated in the presence of my friends, and so volcanic with the sinner, that I wanted this meal to end. Thankfully, it ended rather quickly, in cold silence, and I was relieved when everyone left me to myself.

I thought Jesus wasn’t a prophet. No way was he a prophet! But he knew what I was thinking about him. I thought he didn’t know about the woman’s sinful life. But he knew her many sins. Turned out, he really was a prophet! I hate to admit that. But in knowing people he really didn’t know from Adam, people such as this adulteress and me, Jesus showed himself to be a prophet.

So take it from me. And remember that I’m not a Christian who’s telling you this. Just when you think you have Jesus all figured out and think he can’t possibly be the guy that Christians are making him out to be, you’d better think twice. Jesus is so much more than you think he is. If you think I’m wrong, have Him over for supper.

3 Comments

BULLYING ‘MIDST THE BRETHREN

March 11, 2013 at 10:13 AM (Church Life & Ministry)
Tags: , ,

Bullying has received a lot of press coverage lately. And rightly so. My heart aches for the children who are taunted, tormented, and abused by bullies. Bullies are heartless, insensitive, and cruel. They lack the love, care, compassion, and acceptance that they—their own selves—crave, seek, and long after.

Several victims of bullying have taken their lives. For them, it was the only way they knew to end the shame, suffering, and misery of a tormented existence. For some, if not many, of us it’s a tragic testament to our indifference and unwillingness to be proactive and do much much more to prevent bullying from continuing to happen without check, intervention, correction, or punishment.

I’m a Christian minister and I think a lot about things Christian, churchy, biblical, or spiritual. I was doing a blog on Christian liberty when the Lord likened a lot of what goes on in the church to bullying. We set all kinds of rules, laws, and expectations on one another. We exert pressure on others to be as we are, do as we do, and live as we live. And when people have the sense and courage not to bow before us or give in to our demands or control, we intimidate them, slander them, make fun of them, make them look bad, threaten them, punish them, alienate them, unfriend them, pray against them, wish evil on them, invoke curses on them, and pray God’s punishment on them. We discipline them out of the church for no real, valid, or biblical reason. We do it just because we have the power to do it. To punish them. For standing up to us.

Does this not sound like bullying? Christian bullying. ‘Cept there’s nothing Christian about it. There’s nothing christlike, loving, or scriptural about the abominable attitudes, thoughts, actions, and conduct that we display towards people who don’t care to be pressured into joining a fraternity of bible bullies.

So you hate the bullying that goes on in our neighborhoods and schools? The next time you look at yourself in the mirror, look and see if a bully’s staring you in the face. Bullying goes on in the church and it’s high time we fess up to it, hate it, and cut it out before the Lord seriously smacks us and teaches us a lesson in manners that we’ll not soon forget.

6 Comments

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY PART 8

March 5, 2013 at 11:41 AM (Christian Liberty, Doctrine)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

CLARIFYING SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM

PART VI

Earlier, I asked the question, What do we do with a freedom that isn’t edifying? What do we do with a freedom that has an adverse effect on us and others as well? In the first of a two-fold response, I pointed out the Biblical prescription for us to voluntarily put restraints on our freedom. You can read all about it in the 6th and 7th installment of this blog on Christian Liberty.

When we put the whole of Scripture together here is a second thing we see. While the Lord expects us to voluntarily place limits or restraints on our freedom, there may come a time when restraints may be placed upon us by the church, that is, the church’s pastors and leaders. This is necessary (a) in order to safeguard the well-being and unity of the whole church. And it’s also necessary (b) in order to preserve the church’s witness of Christ in the world.

We read about this in Acts 15. There were so many Gentiles getting saved that the early Church, which was predominantly converted Jews, was confronted with the question of whether or not these Gentiles were required to keep the Jewish, Old Testament law in order to be saved (verse 1). Evidently, some of the converted Jews in the early Church were still keeping the law and using the law as a means of salvation. They felt that if they had to keep the law to be saved, then the Gentile believers should also have to keep it if they wanted to be saved.

The controversy was so serious and divisive that the believers involved in this conflict appealed to the Lord’s apostles in Jerusalem for a clarification and resolution of this matter (verse 2). A council was held and many of the people present were given an opportunity to voice their opinion.

Finally, when everyone had their say, James, our Lord’s brother who was the recognized leader of the church in Jerusalem, gave his judgment on the matter: And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.  (20)  Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.  (21)  For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations (Acts 15:19-21, NLT).

Evidently, after James voiced his judgment on the matter, the rest of the church’s leaders discussed the merits of what James had decided. They prayed about it and sought God’s guidance. And God, in turn, through the Holy Spirit let the leaders know what His will was in the controversy (Acts 15:28). When everything was said and done, all the leaders agreed that James’ decision was the right one (Acts 15:25). In other words, James’ decision was not the dictatorial edict of one man, but rather, a binding proclamation that all of the church’s leaders were in agreement about. Most importantly, the judgment was God’s will.

The church then wrote a letter that was sent to, and read in, the churches in Asia Minor and Syria. It read, For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements:  (29)  You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell (Acts 15:28-29, NLT).

Now when James issued his judgment, he declared that the Gentiles were not required to keep the Law in order to be saved (verse 19). But because there were Jews in every city who diligently observed Moses’ Law, and even converted Jews who continued to attend synagogue services in addition to church; then James chose what he felt were the most important things that the Gentiles not do in order not to offend the Jews (verses 20 and 29).

Why didn’t James want the Gentiles to offend the Jews? Because the church was trying to reach out to the Jews. The apostles realized that the church’s ministry to the Jews would be greatly hampered and hindered—the Jews would not be won to Christ—if  Christ’s followers were guilty of doing things that were truly abominable in the sight of the Jews.

Now of the many things that James could have chosen to lay upon the Gentiles, he chose only four: the Gentiles must not eat foods offered to idols, not commit fornication, not eat blood, and not eat meats that had been strangled. [When an animal was strangled the blood remained in it and the Jews were prohibited from eating blood, Leviticus 17:10-14].

Note that these four prohibitions were from the Law. But James already said that the Gentiles weren’t required to keep the Law to be saved. That’s right. They didn’t have to keep the Law to be saved.

But as a matter of courtesy or consideration for the Jews and Jewish believers who lived among them, the Gentiles weren’t allowed to do these four specific things. James, you see, wasn’t trying to put the Gentiles under legalism or the law: he was simply setting forth the guidelines, limits, or restraints that were necessary to keep the Gentiles from offending the Jews. In other words, while the Gentiles didn’t have to keep the Law to be saved, they still had to keep these four prohibitions of the Law as a safeguard to keep the Jews from stumbling or taking offense. The Gentile believers were indeed free. But free not to sin (fornicate) and certainly not free to offend the Jews (eating blood, food offered to idols, and strangled meat).

Furthermore, by issuing a judgment that would be binding upon the other churches, James sought to bring peace and unity to a church that had been greatly divided on this issue.

So what’s the point in all this? The point is, while we must willingly and voluntary impose restraints on our freedoms, there is nevertheless a place for the church, through its leaders, to put restraints on us; and even prohibit or forbid us from doing some things that are, like the early church, divisive to the church and offensive to those whom the church is trying to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Naturally, this right and prerogative of the church to put restraints on freedom can be abused by carnally-minded, power-hungry, controlling, legalistic pastors and ministers. That is regrettable. God’s people ought to stand fast on their God-given liberty and not allow themselves to be brought under bondage to the whims and fancies of men, regardless of their calling or office in the church.

But, having said that, the misuse of restraints by carnally-minded ministers does not negate the right and prerogative of the church to put restraints on freedom if it is deemed proper and necessary by the will of God for the edification of the entire church and for the success of its ministry in the community or world.

CONCLUDING GUIDELINES

In bringing our study on freedom to a close, here are some general guidelines that I’d like for you to prayerfully consider and observe for your sake and the sake of others.

  • Don’t legislate your liberties over others and compel them to do something that their conscience won’t allow them to do.
  • Don’t exercise your liberties in the presence of the weak or the unenlightened. When legalists are involved, stand fast on your liberty and don’t let their religious laws bring you into bondage.
  • If you’re weak in an area of the flesh and are temptible or liable to give in to temptation and sin, then temporarily forego your liberty. IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE LIBERTY, THEN TAKE THAT LIBERTY AWAY FOR THE TIME BEING. For example, if you consider yourself free to drink alcohol, then quit drinking it altogether if temperance isn’t working and you find yourself becoming a drunkard or an alcoholic. If you consider yourself free to watch TV, then turn it off, or get rid of the TV altogether, if you lack self-control and find yourself  addicted to watching programs that aren’t any good for you.  Set your liberty aside until you’re crucified and dead to the temptation. If it takes several months or years, so be it. Join the club. Many of us have had to work hard and long to be free and stay free. Remember, liberty doesn’t force or compel you to do something that you’re free to do. Not everything permissible is profitable! Liberty is the power to not do things that you’re free to do. Concentrate on dealing with the problems that liberties have caused in your life. If you don’t deal with your problems, the Lord will deal with you about them and that’s never a pleasant or an enjoyable experience. Resume your liberty only when you’re in full control of your decisions and actions. May God bless you and help you to be free and to stay free.

5 Comments

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY PART 7

February 25, 2013 at 9:51 AM (Christian Liberty, Doctrine)
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

CLARIFYING SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM

PART V

In my last post I dealt with the adverse effects that our exercise of freedom can have on ourself or on others. Not everything that we’re free to do is edifying us or others. So what do we do with a freedom that isn’t edifying?

First, the wrong way. For a lot of conservative Christians and churches, the easiest thing to do with freedoms that have undesirable consequences is to deny and confiscate those freedoms, take them away from people, and outlaw them. Dating, credit cards, television, internet, beer, caffeine, meat, sugar, salt, and women engaged in a professional career outside the home, are just a handful of the countless prohibitions that some Christians  legislate over God’s people.

The fact that some liberties can be misused and thereby end up hurting others and ourselves isn’t a valid argument against the abandonment or confiscation of those liberties.

Consider the example of wine. We’re all familiar with alcohol’s tragic and deadly effects. Christ could have come right out and outlawed it. But He didn’t. What He does instead is He limits a Christian’s intake of the stuff (1 Timothy 5:23). Yes, God prohibits drunkenness. But He didn’t prohibit the drink itself.

Just so you know, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages. I can’t stand the taste of alcohol. I’m not advising or encouraging people to drink the stuff. I’m just honest enough to recognize the fact that Christ didn’t outlaw it, therefore, I see no Scriptural precedent to outlaw it myself.

Eating meats is another example. This was a big, divisive issue in the early church. It was causing all sorts of problems among the brethren. So did the Lord forbid the eating of meats? Did He tell His people to become veggans? No. He told them it was alright to eat meat as long as they didn’t do it in the presence of those who thought it was wrong (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8-10).

 THE BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO A FREEDOM THAT’S CAUSING PROBLEMS IS NOT TO CONFISCATE OR OUTLAW THAT FREEDOM. Rather, the biblical response  is a command for us to put limits or curbs on that freedom so that the freedom doesn’t lead to problems down the road.

Freedom isn’t the problem. It’s the misuse of freedom that’s the problem and this misuse begins in the heart. It’s called intemperance, not crucifying the flesh, not resisting temptation, and a whole lot of other things.

What do we do with a freedom that’s having an adverse effect on us and others as well? We put restraints on that freedom. This brings me to a fifth popular misconception that many people have about freedom.

5. WHEN YOU PUT RESTRAINTS ON FREEDOM IT’S NO LONGER FREEDOM. Many Christians wrongly believe that freedom must be left free and not subject to controls or restraints. They believe that the moment you put limits on freedom you’re putting yourself and others under legalism or law.

But this is simply not the case–not in the spiritual realm and certainly not in the natural realm.

In the natural realm, we’re free to own and drive a car. But our country puts all kinds of restrictions and laws on that freedom: we can’t drive without a driver’s license, we’ve got to have insurance, we’ve got to register our vehicles every year and pay taxes on them, our driver’s license must be renewed every four to six years and we’ve got to pass the eye test or else wear eyeglasses if we want to drive; we can’t drive unless we’re at least fifteen years old, all drivers who are sixteen years old and younger can drive only if there’s an adult in the car, and if student drivers get caught driving drunk, under the influence, are out past curfew, or get bad grades, their licenses will be taken away from them for a period of time; we’ve got to buckle up in both the front and back seats; infants and toddlers up to the age of five have to be in car seats, we can’t place these car seats on the front seat of cars with airbags, and children under the age of twelve aren’t allowed to seat in the front seat of cars with airbags; there are laws as to how fast we can drive, which lane of the road we must drive on, and when we can pass a slow moving vehicle. In some states, you can’t drive a car unless it passes an emissions test. You see, we’ve got all these restrictions and laws placed on driving. Yet we acknowledge the fact that we’re free to drive in this country.

In much the same way, the Lord puts restrictions on our liberties. Here’s a few.

  • We’re not to indulge in our liberties in the sight of those who are unenlightened to the truth and who would therefore stumble or take offense at our liberties, Romans 14:14, 20-21, 1 Corinthians 8:9, 10:25-29, 32. I wrote about this in my previous blog post.
  • We’re not to give place to the Devil or flesh and use our freedoms as an occasion to sin, Romans 13:13-14, Ephesians 4:27.
  • We’re limited to just a little bit of wine, not a lot, and certainly not so much of it that we become drunk, develop a drinking problem, and become alcoholics or drunkard, Ephesians 5:18,1 Timothy 3:2-3,8, 5:23, Titus 2:3.

We’re not supposed to be enslaved to our freedoms. If we ever come to a point where we’re compelled or addicted to do something that we’re free to do, then at that point we’ve become slaves to our so-called freedom and we’re no longer free.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12, All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (literally, I will not be ruled by any one thing, I will not become a slave to anything that I’m free do to).

You see, THE REASON WHY THE LORD PUTS RESTRAINTS ON OUR FREEDOM IS BECAUSE UNRESTRAINED FREEDOM CAN RESULT IN SIN AND SLAVERY. When our freedoms lead us to sin and slavery we’re no longer free. We’re slaves. And in order to avoid this entrapment of liberty and sin there has to be restraints put on liberty. In other words, THE FREEDOM TO DO SOMETHING ALSO MEANS THE FREEDOM NOT TO DO IT. For us to truly remain free we must apply discipline, control, or restraints on our freedoms. Freedom unrestrained leads to slavery. But FREEDOM RESTRAINED KEEPS US FREE.

We’re supposed to practice temperance, Galatians 5:23. What is temperance? It is self-control.

Now self-control is two things. First, it is control. It’s putting limits, restraints, regulations, rules, or laws on yourself so that while you’re free to do something, the freedom isn’t absolute and unrestrained. YOU PUT LIMITS ON THAT FREEDOM IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THAT FREEDOM AND NOT USE IT TO BECOME A SLAVE TO SIN, THE DEVIL, AND THE FLESH ONCE AGAIN.

In the example of wine, you limit your intake of wine, you don’t let yourself get drunk, and you don’t drink wine in the sight of  weak Christians.

You see, brethren, THE FACT THAT GOD WANTS US TO BE TEMPERATE IN ALL THINGS, INCLUDING OUR FREEDOMS, IS PROOF POSITIVE THAT THERE’S NOTHING WRONG, LEGALISTIC, OR UNCHRISTIAN WITH PUTTING RESTRAINTS OR CONTROLS ON OUR FREEDOMS. Freedom, dear friends, demands restraints.

Self-control, as I said, is two things. In the second place, it  is strictly personal or voluntary: it’s something you put on yourself, something that you freely choose to do for yourself (1 Corinthians 6:12, 8:13). No one forces you to put restraints on your freedom. No one puts those restraints on your freedom for you. You do it by yourself and on your own because this is something God  wants you to do (1 Corinthians 9:25-27, 2 Peter 1:5-6). You do it willingly because you see the value of putting curbs or restraints on yourself and your freedom.

Some people wrongly interpret not doing something that we’re free to do as a confiscation or abolishment of freedom. They view it as legalism. But that, brethren, is not the case. The restraints that we put on our freedoms are not laws against freedom. They’re not a denial or confiscation of freedom. We’re not outlawing our freedoms, nor are we taking those freedoms away. In no way do I advocate legalism.

THE RULES OR LAWS THAT WE PUT ON OUR FREEDOMS ARE NOT MEANT TO ABOLISH OUR FREEDOMS: THEY’RE MEANT TO ENSURE OUR CONTINUING FREEDOM. WE GOVERN OUR USE OR EXERCISE OF FREEDOM TO MAKE SURE WE DON’T BECOME ENSLAVED TO SIN ONCE AGAIN. 

Self-control is what keeps us from becoming enslaved to sin. Brethren, what kind of restraints or laws do you have on your freedom? What sort of guidelines or limits do you observe when engaging in your freedoms? Can you name them? Can you write them down so that you know what they are? Do you have any at all?

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 8. This final installment of freedom looks at the sensitive, if not controversial, issue of other people applying restraints to our liberties. Is that legal? Stay tuned for this exciting, eye-popping finale.

Leave a Comment

HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE IN GOD’S FAMILY

February 18, 2013 at 1:02 PM (Doctrine, Knowing You're Saved)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

INTRODUCTION

We all like to be sure about things. We want to know for a fact. We want to be confident. And not just confident, but absolutely confident. Beyond all shadow of a doubt. We hate uncertainty. We don’t like not being sure about things. We do everything in our power to make sure of whatever it is we’re unsure about.

Of course, once some of us get the facts and know the truth, we don’t like the reality that we’re faced with. So we go about deceiving and fooling ourselves into rejecting the truth. We make for ourselves a different truth. A different reality. And we engage in the lifelong, arduous process of convincing ourselves, and others, that we’re right. So we’re back to where we started. We all like to be sure about things. And when we’re not sure we do everything in our power to make sure.

For a lot of us, we take our salvation for granted. We just know, we assume, we’re sure, we’re saved. Period. End of discussion. The question—no, strike that, the matter—isn’t up for argumentation or debate. We’re saved and that settles that.

For others among us, the matter of salvation is a longstanding, if not a life-long, question–a torment, really– about whether or not we’re really, truly saved. How can we know for a fact? How can we be so sure? Our human frailties and sins, coupled with the devil’s constant torments and accusations, have many of God’s dear people tied up in a knot, worrying about whether they’re really saved or not.

I have a 7-part post about how you can know you’re saved. I also blogged about how you can know where you’re going when you die. And how you can know if you really, truly belong to Christ. If you find yourself tormented about your salvation status, please click on the link, study the Scriptures, search your soul, and be very very sure about where you stand with the Lord right now. Your soul is too precious, and eternity is too long, to miss out on Heaven.

In addition to these posts, here’s another way of looking at our salvation from a different perspective—from the perspective of being a part of God’s family.

HOW TO BE IN GOD’S FAMILY

In Matthew 12:46ff Jesus was teaching and was surrounded by gobs of folks. There were so many that Jesus’ mother and brothers couldn’t get to Him. So they sent a message to Him, asking if He would meet with them. You would think that Jesus would rush out of there and see what was up with the fam. Instead, He stretches His hand towards His disciples and says, Look, here are my mother and my brothers (Matthew 12:49).

Then He goes on to say in verse 50 how we can know, how we can tell, if we’re a part of God’s family: Whoever does the will of My Father who’s in Heaven, is my brother and sister and mother. In other words, short and simple, FAMILY IS WHOEVER DOES GOD’S WILL. If you’re doing God’s will, you’re in. If you’re not, and you don’t ever get around to doing God’s will, then you’re out. IT’S WHAT YOU’RE DOING—WHOSE WILL YOU’RE DOING, YOURS OR GOD’S—THAT DETERMINES WHETHER YOU’RE IN GOD’S FAMILY OR NOT.

I’ll elaborate on this in just a moment. The thing that I find so striking here is that Jesus doesn’t say that His family is everyone who believes in Him. Everyone who gets saved. Everyone who has a conversion experience. Everyone who professes to be a Christian. These are all important and they are the starting point: it’s your entry point to God’s family. You’re at the entrance and you made it into the building called God’s family.

Now what do you do once you’re in the building? Do you stay in? Or do you go back out?

Of course, in this world we’re constantly going into and out of buildings. We don’t spend our entire lives cooped up in one building. We go in and out.

In the building that we call God’s family, getting saved is you getting past the entry doors. You’ve gone through the doors and you’ve entered the building of God’s family. You’re in the family.

Now do you stay in the building or do you go back out into the world and the life that’s outside the building? You see, just because you made it into the building doesn’t mean you’re staying in the building. Many Christians leave the building to go back to the sin that they love; to go back to the world that they still love; to go back to the heathen friends and lifestyles that they just can’t seem to get enough of. Like the one lost sheep who’s left the flock (Luke 15), many Christians are outside the building, sinning, yet they consider themselves inside the building.

Jesus wants you to stay in the building. Getting into the building is great. Jesus isn’t knocking or discouraging that. He’s happy you made it into the building. But Jesus is telling us all that it’s just the start. For the rest of your life He wants you to stay in the building. How do you do that? How do you stay in the building? You do God’s will.

That’s a tough one. We all want our way and will. You can correct me if I’m wrong, but it just seems like that’s how a lot of us live: we live doing what we want. That’s no criticism or put down, believe me, because I’m every bit human like you and, golly, you don’t know how bad I want to have my way! I’m still human and I make mistakes, get in the flesh, and rush out to do my thing without taking the time to ask God for His take because I already have a good hunch what His take is. Not today, God. Not now. This is what I want to do and I’m gonna do it no matter what You say. In the flesh we’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to sin. We’re going to want to have things our own way.

But I’ve got enough sense as a mature Christian and a pastor to know that I’ve got to set my will aside, seek God’s face, learn His will, and do that. Believe me, I do that. I try to do that. To be entirely honest with you, I value one thing more than my will and that’s God’s will. I’m old enough, I’ve gone through the cycle of Christian experience long enough, to know that God’s blessings are found in doing His will. That’s where the happiness and contentment that we cherish and look for are found.

I have a few regrets from past sins and failures that weigh terribly heavy on me. They are a scar  that, upon remembrance, bring a fresh torrent of pain and hurt. I hate this. But seeing that I can’t undo the past, and I can’t entirely, completely forget it either, then such is life for me. I just find a way to set the pain aside and press on. I look for solace and happiness because  they’re all around me just waiting to be discovered, seen, and enjoyed. But without exception, and I mean without exception, all of life’s regrets and pain have come when I was in the flesh. When I did things my way.

And so I’ve learn the painful, bitter lesson: HAVING MY WAY DOESN’T MAKE ME HAPPY. DOING MY WILL HURTS AND GRIEVES ME. HAPPINESS, CONTENTMENT, SATISFACTION, PEACE: ALL THESE ARE FOUND IN DOING GOD’S WILL. IN OBEYING HIM.

So do you want to know if you’re a part of God’s family? Jesus is telling you right here in Matthew 12:50 how you can know for sure. If you’re doing God’s will, you’re in the family.

HOW TO STAY IN GOD’S FAMILY

You stay in God’s family by doing His will. A good place to start is to obey the Bible. The Bible is God’s will. So doing that the Bible says is one way we stay in the family.

Of course, God has a lot of specifics for each and everyone of us. What He wants me to do in any one situation in life may not necessarily be what He wants you to do in the same situation. So what applies to me may not necessarily apply to you.

This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. God speaks to us directly and personally through His Holy Spirit. He gives us the specifics and lets us know what He wants us to be doing right now and for the rest of our lives.

YOU CAN’T OBEY GOD UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT HIS WILL IS.  I think all of us often assume we know God’s will. My will is His will. But unless we’ve prayed about it and heard from God, we don’t know what God’s will is. And, chances are, we’re not doing it. WE CAN’T DO SOMETHING UNLESS WE KNOW WHAT IT IS WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO. So praying and learning God’s will is just one half of the equation. The other half is, once you know what God’s will is, are you going to do it? That’s hard—especially when you’ve got your mind set on doing what you want to do.

DYING IS SELDOM EASY OR PAINLESS. I know we’ve got all sorts of pain killers to numb the pain or make it unfelt. But when the vicodin or morphine wears off you’re back to feeling the pain. And boy does it hurt! That’s the way dying is. It’s hard and painful. And no one wants to go through it.

And that’s the way self-dying is. I’m talking about the cross and crucifying self, selfish interests, selfish desires, selfish will. It’s a hard thing to do that many people don’t want to do it. And when they do it, they do it screaming because it’s painful to give up your way to do it God’s way.

Yet, this is exactly what God would have all of us do. Luke 14:27, And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE CROSS WITH YOU, IF YOU’RE NOT PUTTING IT TO USE, IF YOU’RE NOT ON IT, JESUS SAYS YOU CAN’T BE HIS DISCIPLE.

What’s the cross for? The cross kills everyone who’s on it. No one comes down from the cross alive. When you get hung on the cross you’re hung until you’re dead.

So where are you at right now? Are you on the cross or off?

I know we say that all Christians are going to Heaven when they die. Listen. I’m not the Gatekeeper of Heaven. If it was up to me, everybody in church and everybody who’s a Christian will go to Heaven. But this isn’t exactly what God said! Jesus said here in Matthew 12:50 that you’re family only if you do God’s will. Which is to say, if you’re not doing God’s will you’re not family.

Jesus reiterated this condition of doing God’s will in Matthew 7:21-23, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Brethren, I don’t know how to make it any clearer to you than this. IF YOU’RE NOT DOING GOD’S WILL YOU’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO HEAVEN.

Let me hasten to say this doesn’t mean that if you mess up once or twice, or even a lot of times, you’re not going to Heaven. We all are human and imperfect. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to mess up. And just because we mess up doesn’t mean we’ve lost our salvation and we’re going to hell. No, God has given us the offer of forgiveness so that we can be forgiven and go to Heaven. Of course, we have to repent of our sins and turn away from them. But the point is, just because you sinned doesn’t automatically mean you’re not in God’s family.

Jesus here is talking about a pattern, a habit, a lifestyle, a way of living where you’re doing your will on a regular basis and not God’s will. Make that a life’s habit and you’re guaranteeing yourself a horrible surprise when you die.

So how can you know, how can you be absolutely sure, you’re in God’s family? If doing God’s will is a habit and lifestyle with you, then you’re in. It’s as simple as that.

If obeying God isn’t a habit and lifestyle with you, and you want to go to Heaven, then guess what you need to be doing: you need to start obeying God. If you don’t want to obey God, but don’t want to go to hell either, then ask God to give you a new heart. Ask Him to change your heart and mind. Ask Him to give you an obedient heart, Ezekiel 36:26-27. As a Christian, I’ve had to pray this prayer a number of times and it’s always worked for me. It’s a prayer that God will answer, Philippians 2:13.

God wants you in His family. If you want in, He’ll bring you in and, with a lot of prayer, crucifixion, teaching, and chastening too!, you’ll have a heart to obey God. That might not seem possible to you right now. But take it from me who’s gone down the road before you, it’s possible to say Not my will, but Thine be done, and to mean it with all your heart. It’s such a refreshing and gratifying stage to be at in life and you, my dear friend, can join me! With God’s help, you can make it! For with Him all things are possible and not even your hard head or heart is impossible for Him to change. If He can’t change you He’s not God. Of course, if you’re not wanting to be changed, then it’s all on you. Either way, God will always be God. If you want changed, God will see to it that you are changed. You have His word and His guarantee on that and He will not fail.

5 Comments

DO YOU BELONG TO CHRIST

February 13, 2013 at 11:01 AM (Doctrine, Knowing You're Saved)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

There’s a verse of Scripture in Galatians that puzzled me for the longest time. I mentally understood the words. I knew what they meant. But I just couldn’t see the spiritual meaning or sense of the verse. It didn’t make sense. I didn’t know why God said it the way He did.

Not too long ago, the light came on. I just love it when God does that! He gave me a peek into His brain and He explained why He said it just the way He did. And I marvel, once again, at the awesome wisdom that our God possesses.

Okay. Here’s the verse. God, through the apostle Paul, told us in Galatians 5:24, They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. God’s telling us here how we can know if we belong to Christ. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with all of its carnal passions and lusts.

The present perfect tense, have crucified, is what threw me off for the longest time. I knew that a lot of us Christians, myself included, weren’t crucified. Like most everyone else, we were living for self. The only time we’d crucify self was when we heard a particularly convicting sermon and our conscience wouldn’t stop badgering us until we dusted off our cross and reluctantly climbed up on it, screaming and arguing. Even though the cross was mostly nowhere to be found, yet we were, we are, we considered ourselves to be, Christians. We belong to Christ! Because we’re saved! We’re Christians!

If it was up to me I would have written the verse this way:  They that are Christ’s will crucify the flesh. Or, they that are Christ’s are going to crucify the flesh. Or, they that are Christ’s need to crucify the flesh.

But the Lord pointed out that, by making crucifixion something that needs to be done in the future makes it likely that it won’t get done. Have you ever told your hubby you were going to pay the bill, but forgot to?  Ever told your sweetheart you were going to stop and pick up a jug of milk, only to forget and come home empty-handed? Remember all those life goals and New Year’s resolutions that never made it past January or February? Doubtless, you know what I mean. Putting crucifixion in the future—like putting a lot of things—makes it likely that it’s not going to get done.

Okay, Lord, I said. If that’s the way it is, then, at the very least, I would have written Galatians 5:24 this way, They that are Christ’s are crucifying the flesh. Ahhh, I said in contentment and delight. This is a fool-proof way to say it. Christians are crucifying the flesh. They’re doing it! It’s in the process of getting done! What could possibly be wrong with saying it that way?

Well, that’s not what God said. That’s what’s wrong with making crucifixion a present tense, on-going thing.

Have you ever started a project you didn’t complete? Did you ever leave something undone? Are you getting the drift here?, the Lord asked me. Yeah, it’s a great thing to get started on crucifixion and to be actually doing it. Great job! But starting the job doesn’t mean it’s going to get done. Every one of us has started to do something, only to quit before the job was done.

So, while crucifying our flesh right now is truly a good and commendable thing, it’s not enough. God wants the crucifixion done. He wants the selfish will killed. He wants the carnal, sinful lusts dead. And, seeing how crucifixion is painful, knowing how hard it is to die, there’s no guarantee we’re going to stay on the cross until we’re dead. We’ve all come down from the cross before death set in. We’ve all walked away from the cross, bleeding, hurting, partially crucified. But with selfishness still alive.

That’s why, God said, I made crucifixion present perfect tense. Have crucified means My children not only went to the cross, they not only got on the cross, but they stayed there until the mission was accomplished. Until death set in.

So do you want to know if you belong to Christ? It’s simple. Are you dead? Are you dying? I’m talking about what you’re doing with self-will, selfish desire, carnal, sinful lusts. Are they dead? Are they in the process of getting nailed and dying? Or is the cross even around? Is it anywhere in sight? I see the flesh. But where’s the cross?

Now just so you know, I know there’s a lot more to salvation than just the cross. Galatians 5:24 may be in the Book, but so in John 3:16. I know that. I’m not out to tell you you’re not saved. God forbid! I want you to be saved! You’d better be saved!

All I’m saying is, don’t stop there. John 3:16 is a start, but Galatians 5:24 comes after it. After faith comes the cross. Let’s not get so focused on believing that we forget all about dying to self. Galatians 5:24’s in the Book and we ought not forget it. We ought not forget our cross.

YOU CAN’T BE CHRIST’S WITHOUT YOUR CROSS. YOU CAN’T BE HIS IF YOU’RE YOURS. IF FLESH OR SELF IS ALIVE. They that are Christ’s crucify their flesh and they keep on crucifying it until they’re dead. They don’t get off the cross when it gets too hard. Too painful. Too personal. Too costly. They stay put on the cross until the desire for sin is killed and gone and the hunger for holiness brings them to life. That’s the mark of a true Christian. That’s how you tell if you are Christ’s.

4 Comments

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY PART 6

February 7, 2013 at 12:36 PM (Christian Liberty, Doctrine)
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

CLARIFYING SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM

PART IV

In my last post I wrote that there are two times when it would be sinful and wrong for you to do what you’re free to do. I dealt with the first one. Now comes the second.

B) IT’S WRONG FOR YOU TO USE YOUR FREEDOM IN WAYS THAT ISN’T EDIFYING YOU.  Just as your exercise of freedom can have an adverse effect on others, so in like manner, your freedom can have an adverse effect on you.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 10:23, All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful for me, but not all things are edifying, constructive, or good. 

In other words, NOT EVERYTHING THAT’S LAWFUL OR LEGAL IS EDIFYING OR GOOD. NOT EVERYTHING THAT’S PERMISSIBLE IS PROFITABLE.  We may not want to admit it, so I’ll admit it and say it for all of us. Some freedoms have an adverse effect upon us.

Believe it or not, not everybody watches television or movies. Let me go on record here and say that I laud those who have no interest in what Hollywood dishes out. I don’t like the self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and pride that many of these Hollywood abstainers exhibit. But, in the main, I know they’re on to something. It is this simple fact and reality of life, namely, what you watch can affect you the wrong way. Of course, the opposite is likewise true. I’ve been incredibly inspired and encouraged by some of the movies I’ve watched. But since we’re talking about the things that are not profitable or edifying, let me blog about the adverse effects that television programs and movies have on some, if not many, people.

You watch a program that has a lot of cussing and profanity. At first, it offends you because Christians aren’t supposed to talk that way (Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 3:8, 4:6). But the storyline and the humor mesmerizes you, so you continue watching the filth. Before long, you find yourself watching more and more of the same. In time, you get to a point where the profanity no longer bothers you. It’s an acceptable form of speech. And, before you know it, you find yourself cussing. Hollywood’s changed you and soiled a portion of the  righteous garment that you’re supposed to be wearing as a Christian.

No, it’s not Hollywood’s fault. It’s yours. You watched. And kept on watching. And you allowed yourself to be changed and soiled by the freedom you indulged in. You just proved what Paul said. You may be free to do a lot of things, but not everything that you’re free to do is good for you. It doesn’t help or benefit you. It doesn’t make you a better witness, a better Christian, a better person.

We can talk about programs and movies laced with fornication, adultery, sex, and skin. There again, you know that fornication and adultery are forbidden and sinful. But the storyline’s compelling, so you end up watching the whole movie. Then you watch another. Then another. And, before you even realize what’s happened to you, fornication doesn’t bother you anymore. Everybody’s doing it. It’s the new reality. It’s the world in which we live today. What other people do is none of your business. Or anyone else’s business. You dabble in fornication yourself. You like it. I mean, who doesn’t like sex? Who doesn’t enjoy it? We all do. In time, you justify and defend what you once was convinced was sinful and wrong. You’ve taken a stance against God on this point. You’re at odds with His “rigid, puritanical” prohibitions concerning love and sex. You’ve undergone a transformation. What you watch has changed you. You’ve proven God and the Bible right. Not everything that you’re free to do is good for you.

I can talk about a lot of other freedoms that haven’t had a good influence or effect on many of God’s people. I can talk about contemporary music, alcohol, nicotine, credit cards, fads, fashions, and more. I’m not on a crusade to ban, outlaw, or deprive any of God’s people of their freedoms. I’m not a legalist. All I’m saying is what God, the Scriptures, and human experience all testify, namely, while we may be free to do some things, or all things; nevertheless, not everything that we’re free to do is good for us.

Why is that? Because WE LACK THE NECESSARY MATURITY, DISCIPLINE, RESTRAINT, OR SELF-CONTROL THAT’S INCUMBENT WITH EVERY FREEDOM THAT WE HAVE.

Remember what I blogged in my third installment in this series on Christian Liberty. There is no such thing as total, absolute freedom. Every freedom has its limits, restrictions, rules, or laws. For example, we’re free to drive a car and own guns. But, as you well know, there are so many rules and laws that limit or govern these freedoms.

In the spiritual realm, some people don’t like the use of words like rules, laws, or do’s and dont’s because we live in an age of grace, not law. So instead of using these freedom-limiting words, let me say that God has tempered or balanced our freedom with His will. His will is the Bible in its entirety.

One of the limiters that God’s placed on our freedom is self-control. It’s one of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23 (KJV temperance). Self-control is the power and ability to restrain oneself. To be temperate. Moderate. Self-control doesn’t rob you of the freedom to do something, assuming, of course, that sin isn’t involved. We’re talking about legitimate freedoms, not sins. Self-control doesn’t rob you, deprive you, or prevent you from doing the things you’re free to do. It simply tells you that if you’re going to do something that’s legitimate or permissible, then you’ll better do it in moderation. You’d better be able to stop when you’re going too far and the freedom’s becoming unhealthy, unedifying, and unbeneficial for you.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12, All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved or controlled by anything. Paul was free. But he had something that was greater than freedom and it was this thing that kept him free, namely, self-control. Paul wouldn’t let anything, any freedom, control him and adversely affect him.

Why is that? Because he knew that unrestricted, unrestrained freedom can lead you back into slavery and sin. Freedom without controls can make you a slave to sin.

SELF-CONTROL IS WHAT KEEPS THIS FROM HAPPENING: IT’S WHAT KEEPS YOUR FREEDOM FROM MAKING YOU A SLAVE OF SIN. Paul knew when to engage in a freedom and when not to. We’ve got to learn this for ourselves.

In summary, what I’ve been trying to say in this post is,  just because we’re free to do some things doesn’t automatically mean we should do them. Why not? Because not everything that we’re free to do is edifying us. Not everything has an edifying effect on us.  Some freedoms have an adverse effect on us. And we’ve got to have enough sense, and power or strength, to personally and voluntarily abstain and refrain from the freedoms that don’t do us any good. It’s called self-control…for the sake of edifying ourself. 

When Paul says all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved or controlled by anything; he’s telling us in no uncertain terms that edification is everything. It’s greater than freedom. Whatever we do, or don’t do, has got to edify us.

Brethren, there’s something greater, something more important, than freedom. It’s called edification. EDIFICATION TRUMPS FREEDOM. And self-control is the vehicle, the power, the limiter, that enables us to be edified without being adversely affected by our freedoms.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post in this series, Part 7. Another misconception about freedom that many of us have. This one deals with restraint. If you lack it or hate it, this next one’s for you. So don’t go playing hooky on me. I’ll be looking for you. And so will God.

2 Comments

« Older entries Newer entries »