The Freedom In Christ BlogSpot

A Good, Bible Teaching Church

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Bible is not a compendium of facts, laws, precepts and moral standards that are to be taught, learned and practiced for the purpose of being Christian or demonstrating to yourself or others that you are a good person. Neither do we implement them for the purpose of demonstrating to yourself and/or God that your behavior is improving and becoming more acceptable, or at least, should be more acceptable to Him and others.

One of the most critical problems we have with the so called "good bible teaching church" is that they have a greater capacity to churn out fruit inspectors than they have to churn out fruit cultivators.

Disillusionment and Hooks
Consider the not-so-far-fetched story of a church member named John. He was a man who, for one reason or another, left his church to find another. Upon arriving at that new church, it was the opinion of some that the visitor had not "learned a thing" at his previous church. Nevertheless, John was excited about a few of the new things he was learning about the bible. Regular Sunday school attendance, various service projects and knocking on doors for evangelism were part of his new life and activities. But after a while, when John's mind was once again full of doctrines and precepts, when the regiments of the law were consumed to overflowing and when the glancing judgments did not wane, the excitement wore off and he disappeared to find another good, bible teaching church.

Church staff members are painfully aware of how many tithing units they need to keep running through the doors in order to make payroll and bills. They also know that they can't keep everyone enrolled so they augment their services with in-depth bible studies, popular personalities and various blends of music and entertainment - the hooks, as I call them. They're a best effort of keeping those who do show up, returning as tithe-paying members. Although these churches may have knowledgeable pastors and staff members who want to do the right thing, their version of the right thing is usually not enough for some people - something is missing and members come and go, looking for that elusive fit.

Where's the Beef - Or the Focus?
When we look closer at these churches, do we find that the members are living by the spirit, or are they living by the letter of the law? Do they hold themselves accountable to the law of liberty, or something else? Are they active members of the Body of Christ, each joint supplying that which the other needs, or are they simply laying their minds bare at the alter of the pastor, only to go home and forget about the "God thing" until their next regularly scheduled attendance function, such as bible studies, evangelism, concerts or the next christian comedy troop?

Give us a King!
The problem is that We the People generally desire a leader. Israel had the same problem - give us a king - they said. But since our good, bible teaching churches haven't taught us how to be lead by and seek the Holy Spirit, haven't taught us to how seek first the kingdom of God for ourselves, haven't taught us how listen to the Holy Spirit, and frankly since the churches leaders would rather set themselves up as our authority, we've come to accept and expect that learning doctrine, principles and moral precepts are the only things necessary to being a Christian.

The problem is that's Christian Religion not relationship with the Creator. I've come to believe that in the minds of some, that's all God expects. Because to them, God is a dispensationalist - He did everything in various stages in order to do two things: to save man and give him the Bible, and now that Jesus has been to the cross and we have the Bible, He doesn't "do that any more" (what ever "that" may be). So, all we have is the Bible and it's rules and precepts to learn, memorize and follow.

Please understand that I'm not suggesting that we don't live by every word of God, or that we don't study the bible for the purpose of strengthening our relationship with God or to understand Godly principles. Rather, that we discern the difference between learning to do for the sake of doing, and just being. For example, scripture is clear regarding those in need:

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. (James 2:14-17)

Clearly, we're suppose to help those in need. But what happens when you simply practice the doctrine, but don't mix it with a relationship with God? In some cases, you'll loose all of your money to people who are more interested in stealing it from you than they are holding down a job.

It's About Being - Not Doing
In terms of being rather than doing, consider that Jesus never commanded us to do evangelism. If you disagree, then lets look at some of the core scriptures regarding evangelism:

{Jesus said} "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 20:18-20)

To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:3-5)

{Jesus said} "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

While it is abundantly clear that Jesus commanded His disciples to go, the follow on to that commandment wasn't to "do witnessing" or "do evangelism", rather that they would simply "be His witnesses." There is a vast difference between being a witness and doing a thing called witnessing. Anyone can perjure themselves and do witnessing in a court of law. But it's only those who are witnesses that don't get into trouble for their testimony. Furthermore, any number of people can learn the tenets of Evangelism Explosion, but have they learned to do witnessing or how to be a witness? We can go to college and learn to do medicine, engineering, and basket weaving, but we're not taught to be scalpels, re-enforced concrete or a basket. Rather we're taught how to learn and utilize specific skills so that we may be a doctor, be an engineer or be a basket case. And unfortunately some of our good, bible teaching churches instruct their members in only enough Bible knowledge to insure that they can some day be a participant in this frightening scene:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:21-27)

Acting upon the word of God, through faith, results in God creating a new creature, created by God for good works. A new creature is a new being, not a new doer: we can teach a dog to walk on its hind legs, that doesn't make the dog a human.

Faith and Works and Keeping the Law
But then, what do we do with the book of James? Aren't we supposed to do works to demonstrate our faith?

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25)

There are here a couple important things to consider.

First, we have to consider scripture as a whole. If we are dead to the Law, then why are we to look at the Law and be doers of it? Secondly, if the Law of Moses is the law of liberty, then why does scripture tell us the following:

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19-20)

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

Wasn't keeping the Law for the purpose of being right with God, to be blessed in what man does, the entire problem at Galatia? Of course it was.

So then, what James refers to as the perfect law, is actually the law of liberty, not the law of Moses which we find being discussed in Romans and Galatians.

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. (Romans 7:4-6)

Therefore, I submit to you that the perfect law of liberty is Jesus Christ, or in the least, Love. And that being the case, then the perfect law of liberty transforms us into a new creation. Therefore, in abiding by this perfect law, we are in essence submitting and yielding to that which can renew our minds. And through the regenerative power of God (love edifies - 1 Cor 8:1), we become effectual doers of Jesus Christ, through the perfect law of liberty. So then, it is through the perfect law of liberty that we may say:

For through the Law {of Moses} I died to the Law {of Moses}, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law {of Moses}, then Christ died needlessly. (Galatians 2:19-21)

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ {the Perfect Law of Liberty}. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, {not by the Law of Moses} and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, {the Law of Moses} which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:8-14)

So then, be careful of that which you learn to do at church: those things which you are taught to practice only to be acceptable to some external standard. Even in the day of Christ, Jesus said "but in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men" (Mark 7:7). Scripture teaches us to live by the spirit, walk by the spirit and pray in the spirit. Not live by the law, walk by the law and pray by the law.

What we need in a church is a spirit filled congregation interested in the individual, interested in edifying each other in the Body of Christ, as each member of the body of Christ is commanded (Ephesians 4:11-32). What we don't need is a bunch of people interested worshiping the pastor, who think they are there to make sure you tow the line, learn their doctrines and don't bring embarrassment to their establishment.

Although I said it before, it bears repeating:

One of the most critical problems with our churches today, is that they have a greater capacity to churn out fruit inspectors than they have to churn out fruit cultivators.

Depression - A spirit of Evil

2012-01-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

Of all the things that depression is, that which is most often forgotten by those of us who find themselves smack-dab in the middle of it, is that depression flows from a spirit of evil. If you're not so sure about that, then lets look at it this way. At the risk of proof-texting, I submit the following verses for consideration:

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (John 4:16)

Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. (1 Corinthians 8:1)

A quick rhetorical question: does depression edify, does it build you up? I think we would all say that the emphatic answer is no. Rather, depression tears one down, it destroys a person.

Therefore, what is the opposite of edification? Destruction. That which doesn't build you up, tears you down. Scripture says,

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:12-13)

Love and hate: they're opposites for a reason. Love builds you up, evil tears you down. I think this is why scripture says

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (James 4:4-9)

I dislike the academia that has become the corner stone many of our churches today. They've become institutions of learning Denominational Thought rather than places of rejoicing, places where we can discard our anxiety. Instead they're full of condemnation of you for not following the rules and precepts of God, where they pull down the Law that Jesus nailed to the cross and reapply it to your soul with guilt, duty and servitude.

Nevertheless, I suppose at the risk of being academic, there are some things that need to be discussed in lieu of helping us be active in God grace towards us in the process of defeating depression.

Rejoice. That's pretty much plain and simple. In rejoicing, specifically in this context, is praise. When I was a much younger man, Russ Taft sang a song 'Praise the Lord'.

The established religious intelligentsia of the day hated the song (at least those I was associated with), because it seemed to suggest that simply giving God credit, thanking Him and rejoicing in Him could some how be a stepping stone to making your problems less of what they were. No, instead what you needed was a good Bible teaching church, some self flagellating 12-Step doctrines and a good preacher you could submit to.

I on the other hand, I believe we should just skip all of that rot and just stick to the spirit of scripture:

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. (Acts 16:25-26)

Let your spirit be known to all men. That's not possible to do, in the spirit of the context of this scripture, unless you've moved out of depression, into rejoicing and from there into something better. And fortunately for us, the only pre-requisite is our choice to rejoice.

Don't be anxious, pray. Hopefully part of your depression isn't a self-condemnation for your apparent lack of all things "spiritual," including prayer. But even if it is, it doesn't really matter: "you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free." (John 8:32) The only thing left for you to do, is act upon the truth.

And finally, Change Your Thinking:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

That's a pretty big promise.

In the midst of depression, you're thinking about rotten, awful things. Your belief system is tied up in death and evil, and things which which do not edify. But changing your thinking is not the king-pin: you've got to first rejoice, then pray and then you'll be in a position to change your thinking.

Praying for Snakes

2012-01-03T18:47:00.000-05:00

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:7-12)

Praying for snakes is what happens we're so wrapped up in our own emotions and perceived well-being that we cannot see any other possibility or palatable outcome other than that which we desire. So we ask and ask and ask hoping that we'll be like the widow who bugged the judge until he relented and gave her want she wanted (Luke 18:1-8). And that some how, because of our persistent nagging, God will throw up His hands and say "here, have what you want but just leave me alone." If that is your view of your relationship with God, then I'm sorry - because that's not His relationship with you, and that's not the point of the story.

We must remember that God only gives good gifts (Matthew 7:7-12). Bad gifts destroy, good gifts edify. So, if you're not seeing what you're praying for then there are at least a couple reasons why:

There is something better for you.
You didn't hear Him say "I've got this taken care of - you don't need to pray anymore."

In other words, you're praying for snakes. You're asking God to give you something that He knows is not good for you. But because of your emotional investment, you either can't (or will not) hear Him respond with a better alternative or you can't (or will not) hear Him respond in the affirmative that the issue is taken care of.

When life "happens," our first response shouldn't be an emotional prayer of "God, please fix this!" Rather, it should be "God, what are you doing? What do you want me to learn? How do I pray through this?" The first, emotional response puts you in the position of making God into a vending machine: prayers in, goodies out. The second response puts you in the position of cooperating with God towards receiving a double blessing.

Maybe you need to back off just a bit and reflect. Are you praying for snakes when you should be asking for something else?

I am not a Butterfly

2011-12-05T17:39:00.001-05:00

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

When trying to find an analogy for 2 Corinthians 5:17, preachers seem to always pick the caterpillar-to-butterfly metamorphosis as their prime example and best proof-text of how to explain what it means to be a "new creature." They apparently think it's a good analogy because it demonstrates a creature of one type becoming a creature of another type, which does seem to fit the pattern being described by Paul in this instance.

The problem, as I see it, is that I'm not a butterfly. I don't understand what it means to be a caterpillar, to gorge myself on leaves, spin a cocoon and hope for the best, that I might later emerge as a butterfly and flutter about a flowery field. I don't know about you, but that's just not in my realm of possibilities, let alone personal experience.

I suppose the main problem I have with this analogy is that it requires too much of the imaginative. While we can clearly observe the changes that have taken place in the metamorphic process, I really have no I idea what it's like from the perspective of the caterpillar nor from the reborn butterfly. I can assume that the caterpillar likes to crawl around on trees eat leaves, for that's what I know of it's existence. I can further assume that the butterfly likes to flutter about in the wind and light upon various types flowers for lunch and dinner. But that's about it really.

But I can't really apply any of those things to my life as a Child of God, unless I delve into legalism.

The butterfly and the caterpillar do different things by mode of their basic natures. We could say that the spirit of both creatures is entirely different. But for the struggling Child of God, the one who doesn't understand the nature of their battles, they will take this metamorphic example and force themselves into different behaviors. They clothe themselves with Man's righteousness and Man's laws: don't taste, don't touch, don't handle (Colosians 2:20) or my favorite Baptist mantra: "don't drink or smoke or chew, or go with those that do." And so they will begin the journey of self righteousness and self flagellation, from which springs the ever so prevalent attitudes that we associate with the sanctimonious.

Is there a better analogy? I think there is, and I believe scripture provides the appropriate picture.

For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. (Romans 7:2)

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” (Revelation 19:7-9)

When two people are joined in marriage, a new covenant is born within each of them. They have together a new relationship, a new life. Their motives change from serving self interests, to serving one another. The old ways of sharing their heart with different people has been discarded: they now share intimacy with only one person - their spouse. Before marriage, they lived alone, now they live together. Before marriage, they sojourned alone, now they sojourn together. Before marriage, they longed for someone to share their life, now they no longer search for that special someone. You see, the marriage covenant transforms us into new creatures: the old things have passed away, and the new has come.

But it also does something else: it shows us that there are things which we carry with us into this new life: attitudes and beliefs that must be discarded. While the metamorphic example of the caterpillar is very good at demonstrating the complete and radical change which does take place at the new birth, it lacks that which the picture of marriage provides by helping us understand that core of our existence, our new life, is now a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Without a doubt, there are sometimes things that Jesus will completely and radically deliver us from, while there are other things that He leads us through a process of dying to self. One of my former pastors was an alcoholic before he was born again. Immediately after being saved, he was freed from that addiction. But there are other people for which such radical and immediate deliverance does not occur. Rather, through the process of learning who God is and who they are in Christ, God delivers them from their bondage.

And the same is true in marriage. There are those of us who just have not integrated some the parameters of the new relationship, but we have a mate who is more than willing to help us see our errors and failures in our understanding of the relationship. And through grace - that being their willingness to show us our errors and our response of changing our behaviors - we're able to grow in our relationship with our spouse.

So the next time your considering what it means to be a new creature, consider the marriage relationship and what exactly it means. Scripture encourages us to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that {we} may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." The renewing of the mind is a process, it is a journey of relationship with God that we must choose to participate in.

He is the Potter, you are the clay?

2011-10-30T10:49:00.000-04:00

Are you the clay, completely passive, turned which ever way whether you choose that path or not? That is generally how this passage is taught: we're the clay, He is the potter, what we think or want doesn't matter.

And then we wonder why our lives are such a mess, why we're in debt up to our necks, why our marriages are failing, and why we never have money to pay our bills. Typically we just blame our problems on someone else rather than formulating a budget, or seeking after Jesus. In the pulpits and seminaries we create doctrines based from reaction rather than the word of God.

So lets take another look at God's perspective of your relationship to Him, where you're the clay and He's the potter.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying, "Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you." Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; {but} if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; {but} if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.

So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds."’

But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ (Jeremiah 18:1-13)

Clay Always Yields Correctly
Jeremiah observed that the clay never opposed the potter, rather that in the hands of a master potter, the clay will always be made into that thing which is envisioned, even if the first go-around he spoils it. But at no time will the clay refuse to cooperate: the potter can always add more water or pressure.

In response to this observation, God stated "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as the potter does?" Although the rhetorical answer is yes, this is where most people leave the rails and get confused about the prescribed analogy. God could mold us into anything He desired - "behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel," but the truth of the matter is that He's not going too. In most cases, we don't see the implied "but" in the analogy between clay and Man.

You Have a Choice
There is a vast difference between non-resistant, always yielding clay and you. God revealed this truth when He said "Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds." And Israel echoed the same truth when they said, in their refusal, "it is hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans..." At that exact point Israel agreed with God that they were not perfect analogs of the clay in the potters hand. In essence God said that He has the power to fashion them into what ever He wished, but instead He would fashion them in response to their actions in His hand. In effect, the clay has a mind of it's own, a free will and God responds to our choices.

When does the clay say "you're making me into a cup when I wanted to be a pitcher?" It doesn't, it simply accepts the fashion provided by the maker. Man, on the other hand, having a free will may say 'I don't want to be a cup - I will not follow your fashion, but instead I will make myself a different vessel, according to my own will and desire.'

Consider again, "if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it," and " if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it." In both cases, the object of God's work (man) chooses a path they will take, which is most unlike the clay that has no say in the matter. And based upon the path chosen, God provides a fashion when he changes His mind regarding the good or the calamity He initially chose.

Useful vs. Non-useful
The point of the story is two fold. First, the only time one is molded into a useful shape by God is when one behaves like clay and choose to yield to His desires. In the process of God making us into the image of Christ, there is a two way communication. God leads in one direction and we yield and follow.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)

Secondly, one is not molded into a useful shape by God when one refuses to yield to His leadership. When we refuse to yield and follow our desires instead of His, then we reap the evils of that which we have sown.

A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. (Proverbs 29:1)

So, the only time you're an actual representation of the clay being made into something useful is when you yield to His will.

It's about how you choose to respond
Therefore, the question you must answer is this: do you really have no will in your relationship with God? Apparently you do, otherwise God would not have said, "Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds." Look at your life, and your circumstances and your relationship with God. What do these things reflect? Are they testimony of a refusal to participate with God, or a testimony of your cooperation with God? Please understand that I'm not advocating the health and wealth doctrine, for we are to "consider it all joy, my brethren, when {we} encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of {our} faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." But there are indicators of our choices all around us. Do you see the fruit of the Spirit or the corruption of the flesh?

Take some time and determine if you're following Jesus and refusing to be "conformed to this world" Determine this: are you are instead being "transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect?"

Allow God to make you into a useful vessel.

Grace, Faith and Yielding

2011-09-25T21:47:00.001-04:00

I've said before that grace is that thing which makes us into something we cannot become on our own. But I think people just don't get it. There's more to it than just sitting back on our laurels and soaking it up, and that's where I believe people generally error.

I have been misunderstood to be making grace into something it's not. And I can't say that I blame them, since I seemingly suggest that we think about it in non-traditional ways. But a traditionalist I am not, so if you're looking for run of the mill traditional thought on this subject, then you might as well move along now, because you're not getting it from me.

Sovereignty

So, lets start with sovereignty. What is it and what is the opposite of sovereignty? Lets start with the converse, the opposite of sovereignty: what is that? If you're thinking "man's free will" is the opposite of sovereignty, then you get the Gong (remember the Gong Show?) - in other words, "no: man's free will is not the opposite of sovereignty." Not convinced? Well, then lets take a look at Meriam-Webster:

Obsolete : supreme excellence or an example of it
Supreme power especially over a body politic

freedom from external control : autonomy
controlling influence

One that is sovereign; especially : an autonomous state

The take-away from this definition is two fold: the first thing we notice is the concept of autonomy and freedom from external control. The second thing is it's controlling influence. In other words, you being sovereign, get to make your own autonomous, controlling and influential decisions free from external control and external considerations (that's free will, by the way). See? Man's free will is not the opposite of sovereignty, free will is sovereignty defined. So, what is the opposite of sovereignty?

Grace

I submit to you, that grace is the opposite of sovereignty. Whoa, hold on a minute: didn't God in His sovereignty fore ordain that we should be saved by grace? How then is grace not sovereign? Well, for starters, you're confusing God's autonomy in choosing the mechanism through which salvation is effected with the mechanism itself. Did God choose to use grace? Yes. Was that decision sovereign? Yes, of course it was. But is grace sovereignty defined? No, it's not. Consider the scripture

... {while} in our transgressions, {He} made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that {salvation} not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.. (Ephesians 2:5-10)

Wow, that sounds like a lot of sovereignty to me, doesn't it to you? And you'd be right - there is a lot of that being expressed there. But lets take take a look at something else:

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. (John 3:18-21)

Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ... But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (Luke 8:11-15)

So, what's the point? The point is faith: belief and trust is faith: "for by grace you have been saved through faith" and "He who believes in Him is not judged."

Thus, the necessary rhetorical question is: can a person be saved who lacks faith? Obviously, the answer is no. Thus, salvation (which comes by grace) only happens in the presence of, or as scripture puts it "through faith." Therefore, salvation is not an act of sovereignty on Gods part, but an act of God in conjunction with the faith of the sinner. Thus, sovereignty says "I will do this thing outside of any consideration of you", whereas grace says "I will do this thing only in conjunction with you." Which is why repentance and reconciliation are required for salvation: repentance (my turning towards God) is the turning away from that which causes offence and reconciliation means to change mutually. Both only occur through trust and belief (faith).

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18)

.. solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)

In the two verses above, we see our requirements of entering into that ministry of reconciliation through faith.

I understand that for some, this is a hard thing to grasp. But we must separate what God does from how He chooses to do it:

So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5)

And the rhetorical answer is "by hearing with faith." And so it is with spiritual gifts: while they are freely given (charisma - grace gift), they are not exercised without our cooperation. Which means we are not puppets of God. We can choose to exercise our gifts and follow God, or we can choose to run away like Jonah.

Cooperation

In one sense, the only valid work we can do with God is cooperation. In many cases our cooperation is just as simple as faith. In other cases, it's yielding ourselves to Him. In other instances, it's resisting the devil and drawing near to God. All of these actions are examples of our cooperating with God. Finding someone willing to cooperate with God is of paramount importance to Him:

I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22:30)

The passage above is a clear example of the results of sovereignty and grace. One one hand, God was ready to destroy the land (sovereignty), but on the other hand, He wanted to show mercy and grace and save the land. But what was lacking: "a man among them who would ... stand in the gap." What was He looking for? Fortitude, intercession, faith and cooperation.

Consider also the seven years of plenty followed by the seven years of famine:

It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land. So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about. Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. (Genesis 41:28-34)

God was acting in sovereignty, with providence and in grace in this example. Through sovereignty and providence He provided the dream, the plenty and the famine. Through grace he provided the interpretation, the produce and the ability to harvest the land.

Living by the Spirit

Which brings me to yielding. I've often wondered how to reconcile being filled with the spirit (Ephesians 5:18), and walking in the spirit (Galatians 5:16) and dying to self (Matthew 16:24), and last but not least, being transformed by God (Philippians 1:6). At times, they seem incompatible, and most certainly if you spend any time in the average church, you will get seemingly conflicting and incompatible ideas regarding all of them. So I spent a lot of time considering spirit - what is it? Well, God is spirit. Jesus has given us the comforter, His Holy Spirit. Jesus described spirit as wind. I even determined that the effects of His Holy Spirit demonstrate the affections of God (that's a play on words, but it works out correctly). I've understood that the spirit behind the 10 Commandments is one of protection, concern and love - not of "I'm a Holy God and I get to make the rules, so do or die."

Unfortunately, I've not come to any grand conclusions. I've had to be taken back a step, back to yielding. It turns out that in the moment by moment decisions that we are presented with, yielding to one thing or the other is what it all boils down to: do I perform this thing, or that thing? Do this or that?

In the end, we've got to make a choice. We will yield to the flesh, or we will yield to His Holy Spirit. Is it that simple? Apparently so, for God did say, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:7-8) In order to submit, resist and draw, you must yield to His Holy Spirit and die to self.

Sometimes, yielding is not an easy choice. But it is fundamental to living in the Spirit, dying to self, being filled with the Spirit and being transformed by God. And it puts us in a position of living in Grace, as opposed to being fallen from grace. For when we are fallen from grace, we are living in our own strength, making our own way and working to build ourselves up with our own hands.

Yielding to His Holy Spirit and living in grace is a much better option, don't you think?

Being The Intercessor

2011-09-08T20:45:00.000-04:00

I'm on a different leg of the journey now, which isn't surprising. It seems that I'm always discovering or learning something knew - I think it has something to do with Philippians 1:6. Actually, a couple of things have captured my attention recently, but intercession has really been at the forefront my thoughts.

I've always understood (at least intellectually) the concept of standing in the gap. As a matter of fact, I've been called to do that on several occasions, unbeknownst to those who were blessed in the end. But it was the process of standing in that gap on at least one occasion that the gravity of the situation was made clear to me. From that point on, being the intercessor or the one who stands in the gap had new meaning, a deeper and urgent unction that made the process, at least to me, a reverent burden with catastrophic consequences should one be flippant, ignore or fail in their responsibilities.

You would think that in and of itself would be enough for one person, that the lesson had been learned. But I'm afraid that for me, it hasn't been. For on that one occasion (that is most memorable to me), I understood the problem at hand. I had lived it, I had made the same mistakes, said the same things, exercised the same misjudgements. But somewhere along the way, God revealed to me the sinfulness of my attitudes and that it had to go, that I must to die to self in that regard. So when I saw it in someone else, I understood it for I had lived it, and I was grieved because I knew it was something that the Lord despised.

I wrestled with it for about a day, and just at the point when I had determined that there was nothing I could do to change the situation (and there truly was not), and nothing I could do to change the person (and truly, there was not), I was ready to leave the whole mess alone and let God deal with it. And it was then that I remembered Moses (Exodus 32):

The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

And I remembered Ezekiel 22:30:

I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.

And it was then that the Lord said, "so, you're just going to leave him be and not stand in the gap?"

I have no idea what the Lord had in mind for him should I refuse - and it doesn't matter. I just know that I spent two or three days in constant communion and prayer until the burden was gone and I was released from my responsibilities as a gap stander.

But as I have circled back to this gap standing doctrine, I have learned that there is something else that I was unaware of before:

The Identification of the Intercessor

I really didn't get this the first times through, but it's becoming clearer to me now. There are examples of this identification of the intercessor all through out scripture. I alluded to it above, in the quote from Exodus 32. But there's more to the story. A little later on, we find that

On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”

This is one example of standing in the gap, of being the intercessor: it is a "take me instead of them" attitude, a "count me just as guilty as they are" and "account their guilt to me" position. When you stand in the gap, or protect someone else, you identify your whole self with them. It is this identification that is integral to the act of interceding on the behalf of another.

The apostle Paul said that

I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Cor 9:19-32)

Paul is speaking to the point of identifying himself with those to whom he was a witness and on whose behalf he interceded. In his case, he was identifying with or becoming one of the people to whom he spoke and to whom he lived out his life. In other words, he knew that from the perspective the Jew, the Gentile and the weak, an acceptable sacrifice was to become one of them, to understand their life, their hurts, and their perceptions of reality from their point of view. This identification gave Paul an authority in their lives, not because he was an apostle, but because from their point of view, he was one of them.

Jesus also identified Himself with us:

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

These actions of Jesus resulted in Him sitting down at the right hand of God and living to make intercession for us. (Mark 16:19, Hebrews 12: 2). But don't miss the other points of these truths: it was for the "joy set before Him" that he endured the cross, which in the end enabled Him to take His place of intercession.

And in seeing the joy set before Him, how does one thereby endure the cross? By dying to self. For we all are to take up our cross daily, resulting in the same thing: dying to self. Intercession is not just about praying: it's just as much about dying to self as it is about living your life in such a way that another is edified, which is love, for "love edifies" (1 Cor 1:8), and we all know that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.

I knew someone once, I'll call him Crosby, who took on the task of mentoring a young man, which we'll call Nash. Nash was your typical young college student who had definitive ideas about life and how the world should work. Crosby on the other hand, had been there and done all of that and had thus far, lived a long, full life in the Lord. He had been to seminary and earned several degrees. Furthermore, as being in his early 60's, he viewed himself as an Elder in the church, and as one who had earned some respect. He clearly believed he had a lot to offer in a mentoring relationship, or any relationship for that matter. Nevertheless, the mentoring relationship eventually broke down and the meetings ceased. It was explained to Nash's parents that the young man simply didn't provide Crosby the proper respect and that as such, the relationship couldn't move forward.

As a mentor or accountability partner (as we like to call it these days), it is not our place to choose the death, or the dying to self of the other person. How God chooses to work in some ones life is His business, not ours. Our job is to facilitate the process (Eph 4:15-16). If we enter into an accountability or mentoring relationship and start nit-picking this thing or that thing, then what we're actually doing is judging the other person. And any one who judges another person usurps God's authority makes himself a judge of the Law (James 4:11).

What Crosby did was fail to identify himself with his younger protege. He found a particular spec in his brothers' eye and neglected to see the log in his own eye. And having not removed his log so that he could better identify with his younger brother and help Nash remove his spec, his completely missed the opportunity to be an intercessor for his brother. (Matt 7:1-5)

You see folks, if you want to stand in the gap, if you want to be an intercessor for this or that, then you must get serious with God. You really don't have a right to tell someone to not steal or cheat or refrain from drunkenness when you yourself are a cheat and a thief and drink too much. If you really want to be the George Mueller of your generation, then pick up your cross and get busy with God and die to your selfish desires. Revival comes through and after repentance. If you truly want revival, then first find out what God wants removed from your life, those hidden, unyielding areas; give them up and remove them. And once God has brought revival into your life, intercede on the behalf of another, then another, and so-on until God gives you (and/or others) the authority to intercede for your entire church or community. That's what Moses did. He started with a burden for his people as son of Pharaoh's daughter, then spent a number of years in isolation from his people in Egypt where his vision for their freedom died and God made him in to a different man (Acts 7, Exodus 3).

So don't assume that this is an easy, overnight process. Bible scholars tell us that Jesus lived on this earth 33 years and we know that He spent at least three years of concentrated devotion for one purpose: to identify with His people so that He could go to the cross, die to self, fix His eyes on the joy set before Him, and live to make intercession for us all.

I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22:30)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)

Moving Towards Maturity

2011-08-20T20:02:00.030-04:00

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

There has been no end of debate regarding what is exactly being referred to by "when the perfect comes." Some have asserted that the perfect is Jesus Christ. This argument is used support the necessity of spiritual gifts to this day that others maintain have vanished. The reasoning is that Jesus has not returned and set every thing aright, therefore the gifts are still required. But, as others maintain, there may be reasons to believe that the scripture is not referring to the Messiah. Textually, the argument is made that in all other cases, Christ is referred to in the masculine whereas perfect in this instance is in the neuter.

Others have maintained that perfect refers to the Bible. This argument is used to support the notion that many of the spiritual gifts have vanished. The crux of the argument is that we have the Bible and that's all we need. But since the first century Christians didn't have the canon of scripture, they needed miracles, visions, tongues and healings in order to authenticate what the apostles were teaching was the truth. Apparently these people would have us believe, according to their reasoning and logic, that the spoken word is not as effective as the written word and as such, it needed additional proofs. Maybe that's why the Prophets of old were not effective in their preaching and Israel refused to repent?

But is there a third option? Of course there is. Someone once told me that scripture without context is pretext. I have to agree, and I call both parties on the carpet for committing a pretext, an eisegesis of scripture.

Let us therefore add some context.

Just prior to the dissertation on love, Paul said, "But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way." And that greater, more excellent way is love. Which makes sense, given the context and content of the previous chapters wherein Paul rebukes the Corinthians self centered attitudes regarding their teachers (Paul and Apollos), idolatry, immorality, lawsuits, food and communion. In all of these things, Paul had something to say which generally revolved around selfishness - attending to their own desires rather than attending to the needs of others. What Paul encouraged them to do in all cases was move away from their sinful attitudes and actions and move into position where they could act in accordance with the grace of God. All of this instruction comes to a head in chapters 12, 13 and 14. These chapters contain the culmination of what it looks like to move away from the selfishness of man and into the expression and edification of love focused on others. And indeed, "love edifies." (1 Corinthians 8:1).

What's Perfect?

So, what is this perfect we see in chapter 13? In the Greek, it is 'teleion'. In it's most basic form, it means maturity. It comes from a word which means "the point aimed at as a limit" or by implication, "the conclusion of an act or state." If you're one who thinks this mature thing is the Bible, then you're probably thinking I just confirmed your argument. Not so fast, because there is more.

What's Subjunctive?

In English, the definition of subjunctive is "relating to or denoting a mood of verbs expressing what is imagined or wished or possible", and "The mood of the verb that indicates possibility, conditionality or probability." According to New Testament Greek, the subjunctive is the same, it indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb that will "possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances." What we find in this scripture, "when the perfect comes", is that the word "comes" is in the aorist subjunctive mood. Which means the perfect is seen as a possibility that has not started, as opposed to being set in stone as an actual, it is going to happen, fact.

So, what does this mean? More than most people are willing to consider. For, if you maintain that "when the the perfect comes" refers the return of Christ, then you must also adhere to the possibility that He might not come back at all, rather it's just possible. But if you maintain that "the perfect" refers to the Bible, then you must also adhere to the fact that what you hold in your hands may not be the entirety of God's word, that it could in fact, be very incomplete. In either case, that of the return of Christ or that of the Bible, you just don't know with any certainty because of the "certain objective factors or circumstances" which are merely "possible" and which are out of your control and out of your view, may not have occurred - they were simply possibilities.

But what happens when we take scripture at face value, and let "the perfect" be "the maturity?" Then things begin to make a lot more sense, both in context and with scripture elsewhere as a whole.

Just prior to these words Paul says:"but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away." One of the keys to understanding this scripture is properly applying the phrases "in part" and "partial." Notice that the "in part" and "partial" refers back to knowledge, tongues and prophecy. And don't fail to keep these concepts in context with the prior discussions of Paul, regarding the selfishness of the Corinthians.

Consider how the Corinthians were living out their faith. In some aspects, they were doing it quite poorly - like adults who were acting as children. But in other aspects, they were doing it quite well. You could say that they were living out their faith "in part" or "partially." But isn't that true of everyone? Don't we all grow and mature throughout life? Could it not be said of us all that "when I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

When one considers that Paul generally views the Corinthians as children, then the phrase "knowledge and prophecy in part", and the possibility of maturity coming, begins to make more sense. Previously, Paul told them they were immature:

brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?"

But faith hope and love are the abiding actuaries, the abiding truths from which must flow all of our actions towards one another. They are the foundations of the fruit of the Spirit. Anything less is only occurring in part, or part-time, because of immaturity. In Ephesians (which just happens to also be in a context of spiritual gifts) we see Paul's similar encouragement:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints {unto} the work of service, {unto} the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Would you be surprised to know that mature (above in bold) is the same word use for perfect (teleion) in Corinthians? This specific tense of the word is used 17 other times in scripture, such as follows:

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory...

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete {mature}, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Being the Brick Builder

2011-08-14T15:31:00.015-04:00

Most of my family and my close friends are aware that I'm not a big fan of church. More to the point, I'm not a big fan of what we, as humans, have made church.

We have turned it into three songs and a sermon and have manufactured both venues and services that are designed solely around one person and two ministries: the music and the Preacher. We have so loved, honored and desired our earthly pastoral kings that we have even changed the scripture to suit our preferences. Case in point, Ephesians 4:12, regarding the purpose of the pastor/teacher:

... for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

What's wrong with this translation, you ask? Plenty.

One quick look at a Greek interlinear (http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/eph4.pdf)

Greek and English Interlinear of Ephesians 4:12 (TR)

will show the corruption. There are two different Greek words used to translate into the prepositions 'for' and 'unto': 'for' comes from the Greek word 'pros', and 'unto' from the Greek 'eis'. Based upon this information you would assume that the Greek structure of the Ephesians 4:12 is "pros ... pros ... pros", but you would be wrong, the prepositional structure is actually "pros ... eis ... eis". How much of a difference does that make? It makes a huge difference.

Lets review the scripture again with some additional context, and with the prepositions properly applied:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of the ministry, unto the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Most pastors will tell you, based upon this scripture, that the pastor/teacher is the hub of all ministry in the church, the CEO of the local representation of the body of Christ, which helps explain how our churches are designed, both physically and organizationally. They get there through their traditions, as follows:

There are no more gifts of apostles (they're all dead), hence, apostles are no longer needed for the Church / Body of Christ.
Prophecy has ended (we have the Bible and that's all we need), hence prophecy is no longer needed for the Church.
Evangelists are not necessary for the Church since the Church/body of Christ is comprised of believers only, hence, the Church does not need Evangelists.
And lastly, since there's only one thing left, and due to the proximity of "pastor and teacher" to that which comes after, the pastor/teacher is the supreme fitter, joiner and effectual minster to the Church on earth.

It's disturbing to see how some change the Word of God to suit their needs, isn't it?

So, ignoring the fallacies of their arguments in their self-constructed doctrine lets simply observe how applying the proper translation of "eis" (twice) in the given scripture changes the meaning:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of the ministry, unto the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Who's doing the majority of the work now? The "we" are, all of the saints are. Now consider again the rest of the thought and argument that Paul makes, based upon the entire body of Christ doing the majority of the work:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine ... but speaking the truth in love, {we} may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16)

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, 'In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.' These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:15-25)

So then, based upon these scriptures (and others, such as 1 Corinthians 2-3, and 12-14), where is the emphasis on a single ministry, or as Paul would put it, a single "body part?" It is not there, it does not exist in a single person. Why then do we suppose that the edification of the entire body of Christ happens through the single ministry of one man and his deacons, the pastor and his professional staff?

There is simply no scriptural support for our traditional, organizational structure of the local church with one minister, and his band of deacons, supplying and fitting the needs of the many. The only reason there appears to be such support is because of two things: careful manipulation and obfuscation of truth by the teaching of such pastor/teachers, and secondly, the eisegesis of the translators, whereby they imputed their world view of the church into their translation of the KJV.

Building the Temple

So, what does all of this have to do with being a brick maker? Well, consider 1 Corinthians 3:

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

While Paul is referring here to the work of him and Apollos, he is in the bigger picture, referring to work of the Corinthians - "you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?" What he is telling them is this: that as they walk through life - just as Paul and Apollos walked through their own lives, building into the Corinthians - they too (the Corinthians) are building to each other: "if any man builds on the foundation ... " In other words Paul hasn’t discarded the previous thoughts: jealousy and strife are wood, hay and straw in this context. And as building materials into another persons’ life, they’re worthless – that is the point Paul is making. He further brings home the point of them thinking themselves something they aren’t when they say “I’m of Apollos” or “I’m of Paul”, when he says:

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise … So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

And what makes this a tad bit scary is the relevance of “all things belong to you”, in the context of one of those things being us, a temple of God:

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

Which is precisely what happened to Ananias and Sapphria. (Acts 4-5)

So, are jealousy and strife, lying and stealing holy? Then why do we build them into our lives by not dying to self and discarding them? Why do we build them into others by repeatedly exposing and encouraging such things? There is a warning for these things: they are called wood, hay, straw and such things will be destroyed by God, just as will a person who tries to destroy a temple of God with such things.

Making Bricks

A lot of times, we simply do not see the results of our work, but that does not mean our work has no value. Consider the brick maker. Day in and day out he makes bricks and trusts that they will be used to create wonderful and elegant buildings. Yet, he never constructs the buildings, nor does he see them. And yet again, what he does has value.

Just because you’re a brick maker doesn’t mean what you do does not have value. Just because you can’t see the results of your efforts and your work into the Kingdom of God, does not mean what you do doesn’t have value. Your only encouragement is to not build with wood, hay and straw. Die to self, trust God and build with gold, silver and precious stones. You are a member of the Body of Christ, of whom God has gifted. Find your purpose, exercise your gifts and love (build up) one another.

The Paradox in the Sin of Expediency

2011-06-15T00:42:00.009-04:00

Have you ever noticed the paradox in the sin of expediency, which was turned into a blessing for all who would hear, see and believe?

The sin of expediency is one of function, it serves the purpose of Man. So, not only will we throw ourselves under the bus for the church, but there are those in the church who expect such behavior of it's members.

"God's sense of order is always earthed in relationships; therefore, it constantly adjusts to people as they grow, change and become more of who they are in Christ. Whereas, order in a functional paradigm never adjusts to people. It remains static and expects people to adapt to it. When the system is more important than the individual, then we become a Pharisee and are guilty of the sin of expedience; the individual should suffer for the whole ... {In the church} a box has been created that captures people instead of captivating them. We create rules of behavior to keep people in the confines of what we determine is decent and in order. The problem is that our sense of order comes out of a functional paradigm that is cemented in the need for leaders to possess, acquire, and control. This is eros love - love with a hook, love that uses people but does not fulfill them. The box becomes the coffin of their dreams and aspirations." (Graham Cooke)

While I'm aware that scripture never states that it was expedient for the Christ to die for the sins of the world, especially as taken within the context of some definitions of expedient, to suggest that the death of the Messiah was without merit and purpose is blasphemous. Thus to me, the sliver of the paradox in the crucifixion is that while on one hand it was the sin of expediency to the ruling class of the Jews, it was a necessary step towards the salvation of Man; the curse of Man turned into the blessing of God:

Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:44-49)

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

---

John 11:47-53

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man {Jesus} is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them,

“You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish."

Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

Isaiah 61:1-4 - Freedom in Christ

2011-05-10T16:57:00.004-04:00

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

On Changing Paths

2011-04-24T17:25:00.005-04:00

I've recently changed paths. Some of my friends are aware of this, others not so much. It's not really something you'd be able to see from a distance or ascertain from observation. I've had my ups and downs in the process, of which it's only been about a week now. And today, being Easter Sunday has been particularly difficult for some reason.

Perhaps it's because I don't like Easter any more than I like Christmas? Christmas is to me, quite bogus in a lot of ways. Jesus was no more born on December 25^th than there is a man in the moon. Reasonable consideration bears this out. Yes, I know – the day of His birth is a day worth celebrating, but why the 25^th of December? There are a lot of reasons, but lets' just boil it down to tradition, shall we, and with that be satisfied? And besides, the whole commercialization of the Reason for the Season just turns me off.

So, how does this loathing of Christmas relate to Easter? It is, after all, a much better season and is more accurately based in truth. Well, reason #1: the Bunny Hoppers. And I'm not just talking about the Cadbury Bunny, either. I'm also referring to all of the people who make Easter the second (or only) day they show up at church. Yeah, that's right: I don't like hypocrites any more than the lost man who stays away from church because of the hypocrites that show up every Sunday. Reason #2: the commercialization of the season, which gets back to the same thread I have regarding Christmas. Reason #3, the sermons. I must confess, they're usually well chosen and well presented for the Bunny Hoppers, but I also happen to dislike pageants in church too. Those things have their place, but I'm pretty much over them. And besides, the Easter Sunday sermons are extremely important – for the Bunny Hoppers. But I've heard them before, and since I believe the salvation work of God cannot be undone, I'm a once saved, always saved kind of guy, ergo, salvation sermons don't provide much edification to me.

The Ministry

But I don't think Easter is my problem. It has to do with this whole changing path thing. It has a lot to do with leaving behind those things which keep us in bondage, those things which we so dearly love to treasure and pet. The hurtful process is learning that you've got something in your life that you actually love more than God. And when that thing turns out to be The Ministry, well that when it all really starts to suck rotten eggs. You see, I like a good debate. I like being right, though contrary to the popular belief of some, I am right a lot of the time. It's a pity though, that some only saw an attack where I was only trying to present my side of the argument. But looking back, that pulling away appears to have been what I needed.

Hearing from God

Do you have an iPod? I do. I really like the thing too. It's an older model with only 32GB of space, that's enough to hold a huge amount of songs, the entire spoken KJV and more sermons than you can shake a stick at. I even have an adapter for the car, so I just keep the thing plugged in, unless I'm syncing new music or sermons. The adapter for the iPod plugs into a special purpose auxiliary port on the stereo, and the adapter understands specially named play lists, which the stereo interprets as CD discs. As you might imagine, I have play lists for the Bible, Sermons and various types of music. Although the car stereo recognizes six discs, the interface module to the car only recognizes 5 play lists. That leaves one disc unassigned, or so we thought.

The God Track

My wife and I talk about God and scripture a lot. We talk a lot when driving too, when going here or there on various errands, travels and dates. Surprisingly, those errands and dinner dates are among the sweetest times we have in the Lord. But there is one interesting thing we have discovered about how God chooses to work in our lives, or should I say better, reinforce those things He is teaching us through His word.

We'll be driving along, discussing this or that thing about God or the Bible with the stereo and the iPod both turned off. And then with no inference from us, the car or the road (the roads are pretty good where we live) the stereo and the iPod will turn on, as if an Angel pushed the 'on' button and reset the iPod track. Every single time this has happened it has always started playing some seemingly random Christian worship song or a sermon or a section of Scripture. And without fail, the thing it started playing has always spoken directly to a need we were discussing. We've seen it do this when we were dealing with betrayal, when we were battling cancer and when we felt lost in our walk. Never has it turned on (by itself) when what played next did not meet or reinforce some critical need in our lives. It's done it while we're together and while we're apart. Hopefully, you can understand why we have learned to refer to this happening as the God Track.

Getting to Know Him

So, we went to lunch on this particular Easter Sunday and headed off to the store to buy groceries. The day before we had been listening to Kari Jobes' "Revelation Song," over and over again – we had it on repeat, as a matter of fact. I think we listened to it probably a dozen times that day. We got into the car and went to lunch and the stereo was off. It's a 5 minute trip to the diner, and it was another 15-20 minute trip to the store. On our way back home my wife was especially tuned into my in-the-dumps spirit, and she was trying to encourage me. She was re-enforcing our need to not focus on externals, such as The Ministry, or whatever else it is we like to put before God. She was speaking directly to my new path, I knew this, but I was still feeling somewhat depressed. It's a normal part of the process, I've learned. There are some hurtful things that God will simply take away from you, but there are other things that He allows you the space to work through, a process to learn so that we can comfort others.

As we were pulling into the driveway, we had both reached the conclusion that seeking Him first is the only solution, the only viable lifestyle, the only way to be of any use to Him. And then God track started playing. And we listened to hear what it was. The first verse seemed innocuous, but then came the chorus:

The reason we're here and the reason we sing,

Is to thank you O God and give Praise to the King.

And then my wife reached up and turned off the 'repeat' button, as it had been set from the previous day.

And that's it. That's the path. The rest is just gravy, but don't seek the gravy. We would do good to remember and live His words:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

The Armor of God

2011-04-23T00:11:00.021-04:00

There seems to be no end of devotions, Bibles studies and sermons whose sole purpose is to teach or encourage you to pray on the armor of God. But why? When, exactly, does the Bible exhort us to pray through or pray on the armor of God?

Before we tackle that question, lets take a quick review of the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians begins with a background of who we were and now are in Christ:

In verses 1:1-14, we see the creation of the Body of Christ, how it was planned (1-6), purchased by the Son (7-12) and preserved in the Spirit (13-14). Paul then prays for the Church, that we might grow in His knowledge, understand our wonderful future in Him and the greatness of His power, and the position of Christ in relation to God the Father.

In verses 2:1-3, and 11-12, we are reminded of who we were before salvation (dead, under wrath, without God, etc) and reminded of what God did by saving us (4-6). Paul discusses how God performed salvation through grace and that we have been created in Christ to do good works.

Paul then goes on to explain the mystery of God (which we know to be Christ in us, 3:1-13). Paul then again prays that we will be strengthened in our inner being by the Spirit of God, that Christ will be at home in our hearts, and that we might be able to grasp the full dimensions of God's love.

Once we get into chapter 4, Paul begins to explain the Church (the body of Christ) is to be unified. Apparently they had the same problems of religiosity and bigotry that we have today through our walls of denominational boundaries. He says that there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one Faith, one baptism of the Holy Spirit and one God and Father. We are then encouraged to avoid an immoral life style and adopt a spiritual lifestyle instead (4:17-32). He continues by outlining how people should treat one another, as directed to children, husbands and wives (5:1-6:9)

In summary, the entirety of the book of Ephesians (up to this point) explains how one should live, how one should believe about who they are in Christ, and how one should relate one to another. It's about living out our life in Christ, as fully functioning members of the Church (the Body of Christ, not the local club on the corner - you know what I'm talking about, the one with the pulpit, the cross and the steeple on top).

The question I have then, is why do we assume that the armor of God is something we should "pray on" rather than "live out" through our lifestyles and relationships with God and others?

So let's walk through the armor of God:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

This isn't about praying, this is about being. Just has Jesus said, we "shall be" His witnesses (Acts 1:8), not "you shall do witnessing." The former describes the state of being, whereas the later portrays how scripture is typically incorrectly taught. The encouragement here is to "be something" not to "do something." However, we cannot ignore what comes next, which is an act of doing. But the attitude of being comes before the action of doing. In example, consider David fighting Goliath: He was not strong in the Lord because he was victorious, rather he was victorious because he was first strong in the Lord. The state of being comes before the action. And the action comes next:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

This is one of the places where we incorrectly trade "putting on" for "praying on" the armor of God. This is correctly seen as something we do: we are not to "be the armor" but to "put on the armor." The act of doing, at this juncture does not mention the word "pray" or the phrase "pray on the the armor of God."

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Paul now explains the reason for the first 6 ½ chapters of his letter to the Ephesians – we have a struggle, and it's not against each other, rather it's against Satan and his minions. So, while Paul was encouraging us what to believe about our position in Christ and how to treat others, he was really telling us how to defeat Satan's schemes. When we fully understand who we are in Christ, then life really comes about being, rather than doing. Anyone can "do" religion, but only a Christian can bear the fruit of the Spirit, not because of what they do, but because of who they are.

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

How do you take up something through prayer? You don't. In example, if one is to "take up" salvation, they must act in faith towards God with repentance of their sin. Contrary wise, the person who confesses all of their sin but one, is in rebellion due to that which they refuse to relinquish. Therefore, to "take up" the armor of God means that we choose to discard the negative things Paul has previously talked about and then put on all of the positive things. And how do we put on? By first being strong in the Lord. Admittedly, being strong in the Lord only comes through our seeking Him in a personal relationship - which of course involves prayer - but not the kind that says "I'm praying on the shield of faith ... etc, etc." Rather the shield of faith is born out of our knowledge of God, of who He is, and our knowledge of who we are in Christ.

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,

This statement reflects a result of the previous actions. Since we have done all that comes before, we can therefore stand firm. Next consider the phrase "having girded your loins with truth." What is truth? Jesus said that the He is truth, the Logos of God, the Word of God (John 14:6): Jesus said, "sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (John 17:17) We don't gird our loins, or gird our strength through God's truth or God's word by prayer, rather we gird and strengthen ourselves in truth by reading, memorizing and absorbing God's word. We receive the "word implanted" (James 1:21):

Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. (Psalms 119:11-16)

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)

Do you notice how the passage in James fits so nicely with the previous themes of Ephesians? That's not just a happenstance.

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Having put on is past tense, it is a thing we have already done. Although we are imputed righteousness by God, there is the commandment that we are to be Holy, because He is Holy. When we are saved, we have the breastplate of righteousness – it is imputed to us. However, when we live by the Spirit, we put on His righteousness – this breastplate of righteousness - for He says, "walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16) Living by the spirit is not something you pray into your life, it is something you must choose to do. And in so doing, we put on the the breastplate of righteousness.

How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! (Psalms 32:1-2)

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

What is the preparation of the Gospel of Peace? It is an understanding what the Gospel is and what it is for. Again, this is not something you receive through prayer. You don't ask God to fill your head with verses, the 10 Commandments, a 5 point sermon and the Romans Road. Rather, you study the Bible, you learn how to make friends and lovingly help them understand their guilt in lieu of the law and how the Good News helps them.

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Faith is your choice to believe and trust: "and without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) While it is certainly permissible to ask God to help your unbelief, faith is still something you must chose to exercise.

And take the helmet of salvation,

Salvation is something you already have, and here it is referred to as a helmet. This means that we must understand that salvation spoken of in the earlier chapters of Ephesians is something that has the power to protect our minds, but only if you're willing to believe the Word of God, and believe that God is God. A lot of times this involves us discarding the "God Box" we have created in which we make God exist for ourselves.

and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We can't pray the Word of God into our lives. We learn the word of God by reading it, studying it and meditating upon it.

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints … (Eph 6:10-18)

Finally, we're encouraged to "pray at all times in the Spirit", as a normal course of our life in Christ.

When we view the armor of God in the context of the rest of Ephesians, we see that it is concise restatement of those things which we have been exhorted to believe and act upon.

So, don't pray the armor of God onto yourself, live the armor of God.

Keeping Oneself Unstained by the World

2011-04-17T12:10:00.050-04:00

According to the Clark County Democrat, (and others) a bar owner sued a Baptist church who petitioned and prayed against the opening of his newly remodeled bar. Apparently, a thunderstorm dropped a lightning bolt on the establishment about a week before it was to open and it burned to the ground. Based upon the actions of the church the bar owner held the congregation responsible, either "directly or indirectly" and sued. The church responded by denying any and all culpability in the matter. The judge in the case noticed – quite correctly I might add – that the bar owner apparently believed in the power of prayer whereas the church congregation obviously didn't.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)

What is a stain?
What does it mean to keep oneself unstained (unspotted, unblemished) by the world? In order to answer that question, we first need to review the nature of a stain.

Some of the synonyms for stain are as follows:

discoloration, dirt, filth, grime, soil, grease, grunge, mark, stigma, brand, blot, smear, smirch, spot, appearance, color, coloring material, dirtiness, error, fault, mistake, symbol, uncleanness, visual aspect

While we could go on about how stains are difficult to remove, the real lesson here is that they affect the thing on which they are found. A stain on your shirt affects how the shirt looks and is used. A black and white checkered pattern (or stain) on a flag affects how that flag is used: it is a signal to indicate that a race has finished, whereas a solid black flag indicates punishment or hazard and the driver must return to the pits. In both of these cases the stain on the flags define their purpose.

What is being stained by the World?

As a Christian, stains function in a similar manner, but not identically to the examples I've provided. Simply put, a stain is anything that affects or directs you towards one or more ungodly behaviors.

A Christian, who is stained by the world, carries something of the world - something of the fleshly nature - that affects how the Christian behaves. In example, if such a person does not believe that all of their needs are met in the person of Jesus Christ, then they carry a fleshly behavior pattern, a stain. That stain affects their behavior – they may become co-dependent, or become involved in ungodly pursuits such as lasciviousness. They may become hoarders of things or of money.

The Stains of the World
There are plenty of things that can stain the Christian. Just a quick look a the internet will uncover all sorts of things that we can use to make ourselves dirty. But be careful with that precept: it's not just about living among the sin or being exposed to the sin that's the problem (otherwise, Jesus would have been stained, correct?). For example, an average Christian can visit a restaurant or bar and not leave drunk. It's a simple choice, right? But don't miss this: the stains exist in our motives that drive our choices. If your motive is to feel better and you believe that getting drunk or smoking will make you feel better, then you'll get drunk or smoke just to feel better, or have sex, or eat, or spend money - and the list goes on. And therein lies the stain. The truth is that only God can supply all our needs (and feeling better is a need no matter how you dissect it), and when we go to things other than God to meet our needs, then we are acting on our stains.

Keeping ourselves unstained by the world will not be achieved through works or by observing how other people live. Jesus said of the Pharisees,

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. (Matthew 23:1-4)

What was He saying? Follow the Law of God, not the law of man as observed through their actions and belief systems. In other words, the Pharisees were stained. And if you followed after their deeds, you would be stained of the world, just like they were.

The Stains of Tradition

There are other stains which we're not so keen to see, those being the stains of traditions. These stains are found within the confines of the church. Tradition, particularly in the Baptist church (of which I'm most familiar), states that we should not "drink, dance, smoke or chew, or go with those that do." What's the point of this mantra? To keep the impressionable away from danger, to keep the young ones unstained from the world. It's not a bad tradition, it has valid outcome desires. It's a "follow the rules and you'll be a good person" type of tradition.

The problem is that instead of making disciples of the young people, we instead give them rules to follow – as if forcing them to obey rules makes them righteous or turns them into good people. What about their innermost desires? Have those desires changed by virtue of them keeping these rules? If you listen to the doctrine of some people - read the right thing, believe the right thing, do the right thing, be acceptable to God - then in their world, the answer is yes. But as a student of four years at a fundamental Baptist University, I can with assurance tell you that those students who lived under and by the letter of the law (tradition) were the first ones to get into trouble. They were the first to break free from the bondage of hypocrisy in which they had been forced to live and instead pursued that which was in their heart. In these people, the letter of the law and the traditions of the church, made no difference to their innermost man.

God desires truth in the inward parts, not sacrifice or legalistic obedience to His law:

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. (Psalm 51:6)

"For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.'" (Jeremiah 7:22-23)

But the LORD said unto Samuel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD see not as man see; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

When God says He desires truth in our inward parts, what He is really saying is that He wants His nature inside of us, as opposed to the some other nature, that being the stain of the world. This other nature is what He was talking about in regards to Saul.

So, what's the point? The point is that just because we keep the rules doesn't mean we're not stained by the world. Had those college students not carried the desires of the world, then they would have behaved correctly, as ones who carried God's truth in their inward parts. But instead, they rebelled against the norms they were coerced into following. While at home, they were the perfect little Christians who obeyed the rules and precepts laid before them. But when on their own, those precepts meant nothing and their true colors, their true stains were apparent.

Back to the Bar
So what happened between the church and bar? I don't know what the final outcome of was, but I can certainly comment on what the church did. The followed the letter of the law – they tried to tear down the idols in their land. The prayed about it (good) and they petitioned against this man and his venture (not so good). And when confronted by their enemy on the veracity of their religion and their actions, they denied culpability (wrong).

This whole thing reminds me of the Old Testament: how many times did one King or another tear down the idols in Israel? And it didn't work, did it? Why not? Because the heart of the people were not changed. You can take away a man's idol, but you can't take the idol out of the man's heart.

A very good friend of mine responded to this particular Bar vs. Baptist Church happenstance in this manner:

"If Satan can't get you to do a wrong thing, then he'll get you to do the right thing in the wrong way."

Which is simply another way of saying:

"If God can't get you to do the right thing in the right way, Satan will get you to do the right thing in the wrong way."

Seeing that we all know (according to those who have the corner on proper scriptural interpretation) that alcohol is of the devil and drinking is a sin, then I'll bite on this bait. I'm going to assume that the "right thing" is that the congregation should have instead confessed their sins and the sins of their community, prayed for their community so that everyone would have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and the need for this bar would have therefore been obviated.

But I don't think that's what he meant at all. What he meant was that yes, they did the right thing in trying to dispose of the bar, but they tried to get rid of it in the wrong manner and didn't follow through on their not-so-convicting-convictions when they had the chance. What the average Christian believes, which was born out in this confrontation, is that bars turn people into things that God hates, so bars are bad and should be disposed of. Hence, the trick is to dispose of bad things properly. But what about the people? And God now hates them when He didn't before? That's Westboro Baptist Church theology, folks, and it's not of God.

Seriously, I don't know what to think. So, the right thing is that this guy shouldn't have a bar? Really? And how does that help the man? How does that help the community, other than cleaning up a few drunks that would otherwise offend the piety of a few ~~sanctimonious tithers~~ people? The truth of the matter is you can take the bar and the prostitutes away from the community, but you can't take those things out of the heart of people. Which gets us right back to the Kings of Israel who tore down the idols and groves of the land only to find that some other King had to do the same thing.

Instead of looking at the symptoms of spiritual death in our society (stains) as an ill to be healed by Jesus, we look at them as oozing cancers which must be eradicated because they're unpleasant to our moral standards. But what does the Bible say our response should be to the ills of society?

But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within {the church}? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Mat 28:18-20)

He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mar 16:16-18)

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Rev 22:11)

What people don't get about church is that it's not about evangelism or cleaning up your neighborhood – it's about discipleship - and that mostly outside the walls of the church. And what church members don't get about society is that there are those who, when presented with the Gospel, will turn away and say "no thank you." So instead of leaving those people alone, letting them "be filthy still," we try to clean them up. But there's a problem with that. It provides a false sense of security to the filthy or unjust man, and a false sense of purity to the self-righteous man. In other words it provides a false stain of righteousness.

But why do we do this? Because we're stained by the traditions of our church history. It's the Crusades all over again, without the murderous bits. Does God want a righteousness throughout all of our society? Of course He does. But we do not make society righteous by forcing obedience to law. Rather it is done one person at a time, through a change of heart.

It's not enough to clean someone up: you can bathe a pig but that doesn't make the pig into a horse. And it doesn't turn the pig sty into a palace. It just makes the pig think he's special when the truth is that the pig will be slaughtered like the rest of them.

On Being Offended

2011-03-20T21:40:00.006-04:00

Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus sometimes offended those who needed a blessing? Offenses come, and sometimes they even come from God.

Consider the Canaanite woman whose daughter was severely demon possessed:

And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us." But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once. (Mat 15:22-28 NASB)

Offense #1: The first thing Jesus did was ignore her.

But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us."

Offense #2: The second thing He did was explain how she was unqualified because of her nationality:

But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Offense #3: The third thing He did was personally insult her by calling her a dog.

"It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

Three times he tried to push her away and three times she came back. Why?

First, she came back because of faith: she knew something about Jesus. Hebrews 11 teaches us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Which is exactly what we see here: an acknowledgement of who Jesus was (specifically as pertaining to His character and compassion), and the promise fulfilled: a reward for diligently seeking Him. Nevertheless, aside from what must be considered by some to be insurmountable odds, this woman demonstrated faith in Jesus.

Secondly, she came back because of focus. When an offense comes to the average Christian, the first thing they do is cry out to their buddies about how bad things are, or possibly they complain to God about how mean He’s being to them. However, the Canaanite woman didn't pay any attention to her neighbors, but put her focus on Jesus. And she did what ever was necessary to make sure that those standing in her way of gaining an audience with Him were pushed aside. When God is working in your life, there will be opposition, even from those whom you think should know better. When my wife had cancer, we were told by several seasoned Christians, persons who would be generally considered elders by today's standards, that our faith would have nothing to do with her healing. Rather, God was in control and it was our simply our job to sit back and yield to His will in the situation. What we see demonstrated from this woman is ignoring those who would quench her faith and maintaining her focus on Jesus.

Consider what else might have happened: if this woman had turned away after being spurned by the disciples, her daughter would not have been healed. If she had spent her time asking the question, “why did Jesus ignore me,” then her daughter would not have been healed. If she had turned away after having her nationality criticized, then her daughter would not have been healed. And if she had returned home after being called a dog, her daughter would not have been healed. But she knew who she was talking to. She knew this Man Jesus was special, that he could heal her daughter. So she followed her faith and focused on Jesus, not the circumstances, not those trying to push her away, and not the offenses that He cast in her direction.

And that’s why we fail and fall away: we focus on the circumstances, on anything but Jesus. When offenses come, we pay attention to the offenses instead of the Lord God who supplies all our need. And amazingly enough, God will bring an offense into your life. Not because He’s in the mood to test your metal or that He doesn’t already know what kind of metal you're made of, but because you need to see exactly what type of metal you’re made of.

And this woman had the right stuff, the right metal. When she followed her assurance of that which was hoped for and her conviction of that which was unseen (Hebrews 11:1), then she opened the door walked into the experience of having her daughter healed. For that is what true faith brings: experience.

So the next time an offense falls your way, determine what you’re going to pursue and how you’re going to pursue it. Will you respond to the offense, or will you seek after God?

The Attitude of Idolatry

2010-12-19T13:11:00.022-05:00

The attitude of idolatry is a failure to trust God. It is one thing to “do” for God, but it is an entirely different thing to trust God for your needs. Anyone can read the the Bible, believe the right things and do things for God, but it doesn't automatically follow that they have trusted God for any particular thing (Matthew 7:21-23). This failure to trust is born out in our behavior. And this behavior is exemplified in the relationship of the Hebrews to Moses and God.

After the Hebrews had been freed from Egypt, they were lead to a mountain where God would speak with them and with Moses. Before Moses ascended the mount to speak with God, he had some parting words for the Hebrews: “Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!'" (Exodus 24:3) After the Hebrews made this affirmation of consecration and service to God, Moses ascended the mount and stayed there for 40 days. During this time God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and many other instructions regarding offerings, sacrifices, atonement, the tabernacle and the duties and adornments of the priests and various other things. This experience of Moses covers Exodus chapters 24 through 31, until we see the golden calf in chapter 32.

Sometime during those 40 days Moses was on the mountain, the Hebrews began to loose faith (trust and belief) in Moses and his God. So the Hebrews said to Aaron, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." (Exodus 32) From these actions we can see that the faith which the Hebrews testified to have in God, “all of the words which the LORD has spoken we will do”, was actually wrapped up in their perceived performance of Moses ("the man who brought us up out of Egypt") and his relationship to his God. In other words they said, “Moses is the one who got us here. And Moses has been gone for a long time and he’s probably dead. Nevertheless, we need a god. So, Aaron, make us a god because we don’t know what has happened to Moses and his God.”

This behavior is not unlike that which we see today - we just gussy it up so that it doesn't look the same. Today, Christians wrap and tie their faith to men, churches, denominations and Bible translations. If their denomination or church lets them down, they find another one. If their Pastor lets them down, they find another one. If some Bible translation appears to have an error or two, they cling to a different one.

Clearly, there are instances wherein one should divorce themselves from one thing or another. If you’re reading the Reader’s Digest Condensed version of the Bible, then I would suggest you get something else. If your pastor tells you He’s the Messiah, then you should move on to another church.

But those things are not the point of this conversation. The point is this: where do you find your security, your happiness, your peace and your comfort? Those are exactly the things the Hebrews believed they lost by coming out of Egypt. We see them complaining to Moses because they're being chased and cornered in by the Sea. We see them complaining because they didn't like the food. Over and over we see them complaining, rejecting to the point of looking elsewhere and failing to trust the LORD Jehovah.

As soon as the Hebrews had determined for themselves that Moses wasn't going to come through for them, they moved on to something of their own construction.

Which is precisely what we do today. We’ll find ourselves in a unhappy state, with one thing or another, and instead of turning to God or instead of waiting on God to deliver us, we’ll spend our effort in shopping and eating, or in sensual and erotic literature and activities, or something else that takes us away from the presence of God instead of into His presence.

Idolatry is a behavior, but it is fueled by a belief system which breeds an attitude. The belief system says “I can find {security, happiness, peace, comfort} in something other than God.” When that happens the attitude of self sufficiency takes over. That is the point at which we stop focusing on God and focus our attention on something else that meets our desires.

I’m certain that you've found yourself in this circumstance when waiting on God to act and He took longer than you wished, or He didn't meet your desires in the manner you wished. It is at these points in life that we become discouraged and downcast. Just like the Hebrews did. They were already upset that they had left the good life in Egypt. The 40 day delay of Moses was more than they could take, so they turned their focus onto something they could control: themselves and a golden calf. We do the same thing. We take our focus off of that which we deem to be causing us discomfort (God’s perceived tardiness or failure to work things out like we want) and redirect to something more manageable.

Jesus taught that it’s the attitude behind adultery that’s the problem. We tend to think of idolatry as a well defined action, of bowing down to a false god, but it’s the attitude behind idolatry that’s the real problem. We don’t think of our jobs as a form of idolatry. Nor do we tend to think of our shopping habits as idolatry either. But when we find comfort and security in something else other than God, in those dark periods of life or otherwise, then we have erected an idol to replace God.

The person who does not trust God, says one or more of the following.

See if you can honestly fill in the blanks:

When I do not trust God for happiness, I find happiness in __________________

When I do not trust God for security, I find security in _____________________

When I do not trust God for peace, I find peace in ________________________

When I do not trust God for comfort, I find comfort in _____________________

What is Love?

2010-09-01T12:02:00.004-04:00

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 3:4-8

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another." John 15:9-17

The Sting of Death

2010-08-21T21:39:00.030-04:00

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (1 Corinthians 15:55-56)

In most churches you will hear this verse of scripture changed to the converse. That is to say they (and some study Bibles) will teach you that the "sting of sin is death."

What? Seriously? The "sting of sin is death?" But doesn't it say the opposite? Of course it does. Then why are they teaching you a lie?

Is God not able to make His point? Is He not able to properly inspire His word for transcription? Does He really need us to take His word, turn it on it's end and teach it like we think He meant to say it instead of the way He did say it? If you are one of those people who actually believe that you or someone else is God's gift to mankind and as such, have a special anointing to preach and enumerate His word as he actually meant it (instead of how He actually inspired it), then maybe you should just stop reading here, because it's only going to get worse.

It's about Life, Not About Being Good
Ask just about any person on the street this question: "what is the purpose of Christianity?" They may tell you it's about teaching one how to do good, or be good, or how to do the right thing. They may tell you it's about not doing the bad or wrong thing. What they're saying is this: Christianity is about being good and not being bad. If they're really thinking (or parroting) well, they'll tell you that the purpose of Christianity is to provide one a system of beliefs which attempts to enable the believer to do good works instead of the bad works they're accustomed to performing. And when you die, if your good works out weighs your bad works, then you get to go to heaven.

Well, I've got news for you. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of Christianity is not to teach you how to be good. It's not about enumerating the bad things you shouldn't do, or the good things you should do. Someone once said "there are more do's in the in the Bible than there are don'ts. And if you spend all of your time doing the do's you won't have time to do the don'ts." Well, it's not about that either. So, lets take the tag of "Christianity" out of the discussion and simplify it like this: what is God's fundamental purpose for you? Before we can answer that question, we must have some rudimentary understanding of who God is.

Who is God?
Jesus said, "I and my Father are One" (John 10:30), and "I am the way, the truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:16). Jesus had apparently had a lot to say about 'life' in His ministry, for someone came to Him with this question: "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16). And who hasn't heard the saying, "the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:14) or possibly, "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29)

Fundamentally, God is Life. When God breathed Life in to the nostrils of man, He wasn't giving man blood and a heart beat, He was making man in His image, an image of spiritual Life, separate and distinct from all other living things. While all other creatures are "alive", it is only man that was given the breath, the spirit of Life. Sorry - all dogs don't go to heaven, any more than the trees some people love to hug.

God is also described as being Light: "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all", and "he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." (1 John 1:15, John 3:21) Light as we know it (as composed of photons) is an interesting way to describe God. Have you ever understood that you cannot have more darkness, but you can always have more light? Theoretically, it's always possible to add more photons, but you can't have any less than zero photons. Thus, darkness is not actually a thing, but a description of the absence of light. The same is true in death, it being defined as the absence of life. You can't have more death, but you can have more life. Even now your body is dying and being renewed: cells die and are replaced. What would happen if no cells died? You'd have more life, you would have perpetual or eternal life.

Therefore since God is Light, it' is impossible for there to be any darkness in Him. The same is true with Life: since He is Life, it's impossible for there to be death in God. Hence, seeing that Jesus and the Father are one, 'He is the way, the truth and the Life."

The Law of Sowing and Reaping
The Law of Sowing and Reaping is stated thusly: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Galatians 6:7) Therefore, God

will render to each person according according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. (Romans 2:6-8)

When Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually. When they sinned, they sinned for everyone because in them, everyone existed. They literally passed the consequence of their sin to every subsequent human. Thus, all have been and will be born born spiritually dead.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ... nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. (Romans 5:12-14)

So, since man is now spiritually dead, can he therefore co-exist spiritually with God? If that's a difficult leap to make, then bring the comparison into the natural instead of the spiritual. Can death abide with life? Do companies hire living people or dead people? Do you want to marry a living person or a dead person? Do you want to date a living person or a dead person? Spiritual death is the problem that God solved for man through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to give life:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Did you notice the reference to life in that scripture? Since God is Life, and that is what He provided man in the beginning, but man later lost, then God provided a mechanism for you to receive His Life (again) through His Son, Jesus Christ. See? It's all about life.

The Sting of Death is Sin

The sting of death is sin, because the un-regenerated (spiritually dead) reaps the harvest of eternal death in physical death. Since spiritual death is the result of sin, it is therefore sin that provides the sting after or or death. Thus in eternal spiritual death, you reap the sting of the sowing in sin, the rewards of sin. Just as a man reaps at the harvest the rewards of sowing wheat in a field, man reaps the rewards of sowing the seeds of sin throughout his life.

Thus we see that physical death will reward you in one of two ways: for those who have found the Life and Light, they will reap the harvest of sowing life and light. For those who have rejected the Life and the Light, they will reap the harvest of sowing death and destruction. The scripture says,

these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

Did you notice that part about "eternal destruction?"

Exactly how would you like to be destroyed or killed when you die? By a car, a train or by being riddled with bullets? Exactly how many times can a person be destroyed during an eternity? What exactly do you believe eternal destruction is, or have you never considered it? If you were to rot until you died, then how would you like to rot for eternity? When you sow death and destruction, you reap death and destruction. When you sow life and love through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from sin, you reap life and love.

Thus, when the scriptures state that the "sting of death is sin", they're saying this: that thing which stings you for eternity, that thing which discomforts you for eternity, that thing which destroys you for eternity, that thing is called sin. The scriptures are saying that death for the un-regenerate has a pain, and that pain is sin, because in that you have sown sin in your life, you will reap the rewards (or punishments) of sin in death - thus sin is the sting of death.

Contrary wise, for those who have sown Life and Light, scripture says "'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus, it is Jesus Christ that has removed the sting of death - He has obliterated the power of sin to sting you in death.

How to Sow Life and Light
In order to be given the Life of God, you must repent of your sins. Why? Because sin destroys. Life renews. Therefore, you must give up death and destruction and embrace Life. Turning away from sin is called repentance. Confessing your sin is agreeing with God that you have disobeyed His will, His desire for you. Through repentance and confession, you must place your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Why? Because you can not give yourself life. You didn't make your parents give you life and you didn't determine to come into this world on your own. When God breathed spiritual life into man, it was an act of Grace - God made man something he could not be or become on his own. Neither can you make yourself spiritually alive:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Thus we turn to God in faith:

But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "do not say in your heart 'who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down), or 'who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in you heart" -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "whoever believes in Him will not be disapointed." (Romans 10:6-11)

It's not Just about Belief and Forgiveness

2010-07-17T10:02:00.000-04:00

Not to long ago, I made the following comment: "Teaching people to know the Word rather than to know the Lord, is the single greatest failure of the modern church era." There were fewer responses to that post than one might imagine. A pastor friend of mine chimed in and took me to task saying that "properly teaching the word is teaching the Lord." The operative word in that phrase is "properly". There is a difference in teaching law and doctrine and teaching relationship with God. One may properly teach the Bible regarding law and doctrine, but not have a clue regarding how to demonstrate faith and relationship. The Pharisees and Scribes were masters in teaching law and doctrine as are many of our pastor/teachers.

If one lacks faith and relationship with Jesus, then what business does one have trying to teach it, or even the doctrine and law for that matter? And therein is the problem: we have learned how to teach and exposit the law (good verses evil), but rarely have we succeeded in properly teaching the word of faith and relationship (life).

Just because someone has been to Seminary and sat under or read after the venerated saints and learned from the self-proclaimed best, doesn't mean that same person can teach faith and relationship. We actually believe (to our determent, I might add) that all one must do is go to seminary and regurgitate what they've been taught and repeat the things they've managed to scribble in notes or memorized from Sermons On the Net.

Case in Point: Reconciliation vs. Forgiveness

If you are a Christian (or not), you may believe that going to heaven or hell hinges completely on God forgiving you of your sins. Or you may believe that you will be judged according to your works before God makes up his mind where He is going to send you. But the problem is this: your status before God does not rely upon what He is going to do in the future at your judgement, nor is it entirely about what you've done in the past, nor it is entirely about faith and Him forgiving you. There is a deeper root, and it's called reconciliation.

One of the core issues concerning redemption and salvation is reconciliation. Our misunderstanding of this stems from the fact that we have taught and preached that humanity needs, yea, requires God to forgive them of their sins when in fact, we should be teaching and preaching that humanity needs to be reconciled to God. To compound the problem, we have taught that reconciliation and forgiveness always go hand-in-hand, and at worst we have taught that they are the same.

No where is this fallacy more apparent than in the typical Sunday morning pulpit teaching regarding forgiveness and reconciliation between you and a friend. Conventional wisdom states that if your friend sins against you 490 times, and you forgive him 490 times, then you and your friend are also reconciled by the act of your forgiveness. And that my friends, is the lie.

Reconciliation is not Forgiveness

When you study reconciliation and forgiveness, you will find that they're not the same words and they don't have the same meaning. You will also find that forgiveness can happen privately while reconciliation is a mutual agreement between two parties. The word forgive is aphiēmi (af-ee'-ay-mee). It means "to send forth, in various applications: - cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let alone, let be, let go, let have, omit, put away, send away, remit, suffer, yield up." The word reconcile is katallosso; (kat-al-las'o). It means "to change mutually, that is, (figuratively) to compound a difference: - reconcile." In this day and age the word "compound" may seem out of place in this definition. Well, there is an additional meaning of this word, which is "to settle amicably : adjust by agreement" (Meriam-Webster)

While there are other words used for reconcile and forgive in the NT, it can be clearly seen from these definitions that reconciliation is not the same thing as forgiveness. Forgiveness is a singular, personal matter of laying aside, where as reconciliation is a co-operative, plural matter of mutually changing.

Consider the Matthew 18 discourse on forgiveness and reconciliation

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

The first step of the process, as outlined by Jesus, is to "show him his fault in private." And if he hears you, then you have won your friend. Also consider what Jesus said in Luke 17:3-4:

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him.

Therefore the Matthew 18 instruction of "if he listens to you" means that your friend, having been rebuked and/or shown his fault, there must be a subsequent and appropriate response: a demonstration of repentance. In such a case of demonstrated repentance, you offer him forgiveness. Pay special attention to the fact that Jesus said "if he repents". It is only in the presence of repentance that forgiveness is offered.

What then, of Forgiveness?

Does God command and expect us to forgive? Absolutely. But not the way we've been taught in our churches. There are two types of forgiveness. The first type is personal forgiveness which is commanded and expected of the offended in every case of an offense. Secondly, there is reconciliation forgiveness which is offered to the offender in the presence of repentance. Personal forgiveness and reconciliation forgiveness are not the same. Personal forgiveness is meant to free you - the offended - of bitterness and resentment and reconciliation forgiveness is meant to free the offender of his conscience regarding his offense against you.

In terms of a relationship with God, the scriptures teach that only through faith and repentance is reconciliation achieved. Why? Because without belief and trust, there is no acknowledgement of a Holy God nor an Holy standard. Without repentance, there is no turning away from that which caused offense. Therefore, faith and repentance are paramount, and reconciliation forgiveness does not happen outside of those two things.

During his journeys, Paul taught both of these things, repentance towards God, and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. And in doing so, he referred to this ministry as a ministry of reconciliation, not as a ministry of belief and forgiveness. Which is what some evangelists and evangelistic messages teach: just believe and you're forgiven.

What people don't like about this process is the rebuke. But doesn't God have plenty of rebuke for sin (just read the books of Moses and the prophets)? But people, like the friend who offended you, prefer not to hear the rebuke. Instead, they would rather persuade you to "just wipe this and that under the rug and move on, as if it never happened; we'll just forgive and forget the whole thing, okay?" It is the epitome of co-dependence, and Jesus is not co-dependent.

If God is not willing to be reconciled with you outside the confines of a rebuke and a reconciliation (whether it be of the Old Covenant of bulls and rams or of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ), why then do we act as if we can just wipe things under the rug and pretend they never happened, and call that forgiveness and/or reconciliation? Are we greater than God? Does God pretend sin never happened? Does He overlook rebellion? Does God save a person who refuses to repent of their sin?

"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 1:16-20)

Belief in God and faith in Jesus Christ must work in concert with repentance and confession of sin: they are necessities for salvation. Anything less or more is heresy - anything that adds works to faith, excuses faith, or removes or minimizes confession and repentance or excuses God from the process, is a lie.

Grace is that which makes you into something which you cannot become by yourself. And grace cannot not be used of God to activate the power of redemption unto salvation outside of the precondition of your faith, your confession of sin and your repentance:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

So, the point is this: you can believe that God exists. You can also believe that Jesus died for your sins. And you can believe that God has forgiven you. Or not, as the case may be be. But the fact of the matter remains, until you're willing to repent of your sin and be reconciled to God, you will remain in your sin. And should you remain in your sin, you will die and be judged in your sin.

Overcoming Bondage to Sin

2010-05-22T14:48:00.034-04:00

There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains, because they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; they stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart. (Psalm 107:10-14)

Our churches are not well versed in explaining why people find themselves in bondage to sin, nor are they well versed in providing mechanisms to enable people to overcome and break free from habitual sin. In most cases it seems that they'd rather shoot the sinner than bind the wounds. They're quick to condemn, reject and ostracize those who break their rules.

So, have you been shot down because of your sin, have you been condemned? If God does not condemn you of your sin, you who are in Christ, then why do so-called Christians condemn you? Actually, why do you condemn yourself?

What is Bondage to Sin?

Being in bondage to sin means this: you are repeatedly involved in a sin such that the involvement presents itself more as a habit, rather than an occasional failure or deviation. Alcoholism is bondage. Repeated involvement in pornography or sex outside of marriage is bondage. The need to always be right, or always needing to be approved of can be a bondage. Refusing to forgive is bondage.

Bondage is the state of being in which we find ourselves under the control of an abstract influence, force or power. If you can imagine an ox in a yoke, then you can begin to understand the abstract nature of being in bondage to sin.

How to Be free

First things first. Until you're ready to admit two things you will remain in bondage. First you must admit that you have a problem; that you're in bondage. Secondly, you must admit that it is your choice to be in bondage, just as it is your choice to be free.

British author Douglas Adams was correct when he said, "when you blame others, you give up your power to change." Until you're ready to take responsibility for who and what you are, and where you are in relationship to your habit, addiction or bondage, you will never be free. It is your right and responsibility to condemn the evil and wrong in your life. But until you are willing to call your addiction a sin, you will remain in bondage. Until you are willing to call your participation in your guilty pleasure a sin, then it will remain in bondage to your guilty pleasure.

Reject the Lie, Believe the Truth

The primary cause of bondage is an improper belief system which enables you to act upon a lie. Some people believe that pornography and strip clubs will make them feel better, so they participate in those things. Others believe the approval of people will make them feel better, so they make themselves dependent upon how others feel towards them and will do whatever is necessary to be liked or approved of (co-dependency). Others think that alcohol or drugs will dull their senses and help them feel better about their circumstances, so they drink or take pills until they're drunk or high.

I could go on and on. But the root of what I'm talking about is an improper belief system. There was a saying when I was in school: you are what you eat. The truth is, you are what you believe. If you believe you're just a sinner saved by grace, then you'll act just like a sinner. If you believe looking a pornography will make you feel better, then you'll look at pornography.

Choose you this day, whom you will serve: yourself, your feelings and your desires fueled through your improper belief systems, or choose to believe God.

What are the root causes of Bondage?

Jesus said, "you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:32)

Now, ask yourself this question: are you free from bondage or addictions? If you are not free, then according to Jesus, do you know and act upon the truth? No, you do not. Some where, some how, you have chosen to believe a lie. And the Bible is clear, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he: you are what you believe. (Proverbs 23:7)

"There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains, because they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High." (Psalm 107:10)

The scriptures are clear: those in bondage to sin are in bondage because of rebellion against the word and counsel of God.

There is a good reason we are to "pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." (Hebrews 2:1) Bondage to sin and addictions are never the result of believing the truth, they are always the result of believing a lie. And once you have believed a thing, you act upon it. Does sanctification result from believing truth, or believing a lie? Jesus prayed for us saying, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (John 17:17) What then does God use to sanctify His people? Truth or lies?

If believing (and acting upon) truth results in sanctification, what exactly do you think believing a lie results in?

Why do people refuse the grace of salvation? Because they have believed a lie. Why do people refuse to allow others to pray over them for healing? Because they have believed a lie. Why do people reject the notion that the laying on of hands and/or the anointing with oil is not necessary for healing? Because they do not believe the scriptures. I specifically prayed for healing in a person who, eventually, was not healed. Later they told me this: 'in the midst of the pain and suffering I asked the Lord why I was not healed when he laid hands on me and prayed for me, and the Lord responded, "because you did not believe."'

Where Does Freedom Begin?

It will start with faith.

You must understand several things about faith. Faith is defined as trusting and believing. Therefore, it is the substance and assurance of things not seen, of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). When you chose to believe God and His word, you will grow in your assurance of that which is hoped for. In the process of maturing your faith, God will take you from hope and assurance into knowledge and experience.

For, what happens when the thing hoped for shows up? You know longer hope for it, because it has arrived. You no longer have assurance that it will come, because it is here. Well placed faith always results in an experience with God and an intimate knowledge of God (2 Peter 1:2-11). That is the Law regarding faith: when faith is provided as a gift from God, it will always result in experience and knowledge of the thing hoped for.

We are released from bondage to sin and addictions when we reject the lies they are based upon, and delivered into freedom when we choose to believe the truth of Gods word, and act upon those truths. Therefore, in regards to your freedom beginning with faith, consider this:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

The process begins with you going to Christ and yoking yourself to Him, and learning His ways.

It Continues into Warfare

We are exhorted to "put on the full armor of God, so that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil", since our "adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." And while the devil is seeking to destroy you, you must remember that your "struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:11, 12; 1 Peter 5:8)

In the processing of rejecting the lies and renewing your mind through the word of God, you will be hammered by your adversary. He knows that as soon as you believe and act upon the truth, he will lose the battle. Confusion may set in - that's a sure sign of an attack from the enemy. You might not know which way to go. When that happens, stay in the word. Memorize the scripture God will give you. And continue to pray for His protection.

God wants you to be free, but He is not going to smack you with a Holy stick as if he were the good witch of the north. There are other people He wants you to touch, to lead out of darkness, and you can't do that unless you understand the process and have participated in the process. We need to learn, first hand, that is it God "who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (2 Corinthians 1:4) And until we walk this path, we can't lead others in this path.

We must believe we are free from the Power of Sin

As Christians, we are made free from the power of sin through the work of Jesus Christ. Consider, however, that unless you believe in the work Christ (that it has the power to set you free) and actively choose to apply it to your life, then you will never receive the benefit of His work.

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:17-19)

Although I've said this before, it bears repeating: if you believe you're just a sinner saved by grace, then you'll just act like a sinner. There is a vast and wonderful difference between living like a sinner saved by grace and living like a saint. In the first case, you believe you can never do anything right, that you're always going to mess up and thank the Lord, He will always forgive you of just continually being a screw up. In the later case, you believe correctly that you're a saint, that through Him you can and will do things right. But you're not deceived, you know that you will occasionally sin, but that doesn't slow you down. Why? Because "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ... Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." (Romans 8:1, 33-34) If Jesus does not condemn you (for how can one who lives to make intersession for you also condemn you), then why do you condemn yourself? Why do you allow others to condemn you? Take the yoke of Christ, let Him carry your burden and be free from your bondage.

The Steps to Freedom
Psalm 119:57-64

Psalm 119:57 - The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.

When you find yourself in bondage to sin, acknowledge two things: you have made something else your portion, your allotment, your nourishment, and secondly, that you have failed in your promise to keep His words.

Make God your portion in life, not things, not relationships, not pleasure. To keep His words means to guard the matters of which they speak. If God says not to covet the things of your neighbor, then to keep His words means to covet or want only the things you have.

All of us at one time or another have promised to keep Gods word: we’ve determined not to sin; we’ve determined to say the right thing; we’ve all said in our heart, "I will do the right thing in this or that circumstance." What you are effectively saying is that ‘you promise to keep Gods’ word’.

When you come to the realization that you have sinned, you are in effect saying, "I did promise to keep your words, but in this one thing I have errored and broken my promise."

Psalm 119:58 - I sought Your favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word.

How do you seek God's favor? By confessing your sin to God, and repenting (turning away from) your sin. You must do both. It is possible to confess your sin but not repent of it. It is even possible to somewhat turn away from what you did but never admit that you did it. You must do both.

It is the mercy of God that forgives us, and the Grace of God that changes us and saves us. But the word ‘gracious’ implies, within current context, the totality of God’s mercies and grace. God has promised to be gracious to those that seek his face

My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Psalm 119:59 - I considered my ways And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

Note that after he has confessed his sins and sought the graciousness of God, he then again considered his ways. After careful consideration of his ways, he ‘turned his feet to Gods’ testimonies. This is the action of repentance. You consider what you have done or are doing, and turn away from those things towards the word of God. Did you notice that the pslamist turned towards the testimonies of God? In effect, he turned from the lies causing his bad behavior (his ways) and turned towards the truth of Gods word which will change his heart and his actions.

Psalms 119:60 I hastened and did not delay to keep Your commandments.

There’s not much to say about that; don’t be slothful; seek God with immediacy and all diligence. Be Steadfast in your dedication to God and learn to Praise and Worship God

Psalm 119:61 - The cords of the wicked have encircled me, But I have not forgotten Your law.

Satan will try to keep you in bondage. Evil will do everything it can to keep you away from the grace and mercy of God. In the midsts of the attacks, do not forget the testimony and the word of God. Seek him, reject evil. Focus on God, not on your circumstances.

Psalm 119:62 At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances.

Continually give thanks and praises to God. Do not fail to make time to give thanks to God; go out of your way and cause yourself to give God thanksgiving, honor and glory. The psalmist even thanked the Lord when he woke up at night.

Psalm 119:63 - I am a companion of all those who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.

Seek out and surround yourself with Godly friendship. Godly friends and counsel are required in our lives. This does not mean that we cannot spend time with our unbelieving friends for the purpose of serving them through the power of the Holy Spirit. But it does mean that our core companionships must be Godly people. There may be people and relationships that you must remove from your life. Seek the Lord and His counsel regarding your friends, and be willing to make the adjustments. Don't put yourself in a position wherein God has to make the changes for you.

Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals. (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Psalm 119:64 (a) The earth is full of Your loving-kindness, O LORD;

You must believe, proclaim and acknowledge the loving-kindness of God. Those who cannot see God’s loving-kindness are deceiving themselves of the most precious truth there is to know about God: how He chooses and desires to relate to us. Your relationship with God goes beyond doctrine and belief - it must go into knowledge of His divine nature. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

Psalm 119:64 (b) Teach me Your statutes.

Learn the word of God and believe His word. You must base the foundation your life in the truth of God, not in your desires, not in your fears, not in your self protection. You must believe God's word. You must ask for and seek Gods wisdom.

It Takes Discipline

Discipline your mind against your sinful actions and thoughts, and discipline it to rest in God. In all cases of recurring sin, the mind has won the battle against the spirit:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ... (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother; bind them continually on your heart; tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life. (Proverbs 6:20-23)

While you are in the process of disciplining your mind and rejecting sin, your spirit is in the process of gaining strength. However, you must remember that discipline can take you only so far: it is the act of living by the Spirit that is the victor over sin and which provides true freedom.

Conclusion

Bondage and addictions have their root in mis-information, in believing a lie. When we confront the lies, reject them and replace them with the truth of God's word, then we begin the process of winning victory over our addictions. It is God's truth that provides the process of sanctification in our lives. When we do not know His truth, then we believe something else. And what we believe defines who we are and how we behave. In order to begin the process of winning the battles over addictions and bondages, we must discover and reject the lies we hold on to. We must choose to begin the process of finding our worth and comfort in God and in Him alone.

[ Also see my other post, Overcoming Habitual Sin: How to be free from Bondage ]

From Faith into Knowledge and Experience

2010-05-05T18:21:00.044-04:00

There are Christians who believe and teach that faith is the end all of our experience with God, that nothing exists beyond faith.

As a matter of fact, I cannot remember ever being in a church service wherein faith was presented as something that moved a person from point A to point B, rather it's just something to have and to hold for the purpose of "pleasing God."

Furthermore, I don't recall hearing that faith moves into or becomes something else. I have always heard faith being something you possess, a thing that you keep and maintain, but never as something which changes or goes away. Rather it is presented as once you've got this elusive, all needed ethereal faith, then you just need to maintain it: keep the faith, as they say.

In a previous post, I discussed natural faith vs. Biblical or God given faith. I provided an example of natural faith which, contrary to popular belief and custom, is used routinely and relied upon daily. In regards to faith, God has imbued man in the natural with that which he must exercise in Spiritual. In either case the results - though differing - are the same.

The Scientific Method
The scientific method requires that we postulate either an outcome or the reason for an outcome (observation vs. idea), and then set about proving or disproving our postulate. This postulate is known as the hypothesis (defined here and here), and the mechanism of proving or disproving it is known as the scientific method.

For example, man observed water in its various forms in rivers, lakes and oceans as a liquid and a solid. Even though scripture clearly tells us that water exists in a recirculating manner, man being who he is and liking to disprove God, set about to discover for himself exactly how water exists in nature and then, lo and behold, discovered exactly what the scriptures had already told us.

In this process of discovering for himself the nature of water, what exactly happened? Man made an observation, created a hypothesis and proved himself right. Or, we could also say that he accumulated a system of beliefs (based in observations) regarding a subject domain (water), created a hypotheses regarding that subject domain, and implemented a method to discover if his system of beliefs were correct.

But lets break this down just a bit more. Clearly man had knowledge of water in several states (liquid and solid), and a at least one other other variations known as the condensate (i.e., clouds). The question was, how do we get from water to condensate and back to water? That was the invisible, missing link.

So, he said to himself, "Self, I believe that water evaporates from a source, becomes a gas, travels through the air, condenses into a cloud, and then falls back to earth as rain." As a matter of fact, he believed it so firmly that he set about to prove it.

And prove it he did. When man went from a simple hypotheses into observing his hypotheses proven, he went from trust and belief into knowledge. Interestingly enough, the scientific method is inextricably tied to man, through and by his observations. It could be argued very well that man's scientific proofs, and their underlying theories, are based solely upon man's trust and belief in himself to first properly conjecture, and secondly, to properly observe a given phenomena. It's why we have a thing called "peer review." Peer review is the process of other people reviewing another's findings in order to determine if the other person has postulated and observed correctly.

What is Faith?
In it's simplest definition, faith is trusting and believing. Therefore, when man observed water and proved it's circulatory path, it is just as valid to say that man went from faith into knowledge and experience as it is to say that man went from hypothesis into proof.

What exactly are we saying? When trust and belief is well placed and well formed, it always results in a knowledge that proves and substantiates the belief. We no longer just believe that water turns into vapor and condensates into clouds, we have empirical knowledge that it behaves in this manner.

Faith works exactly the same way. Faith is trusting and believing.

Seeking the Experience: Religiosity says it's a no-no
There are Christians who will tell you that seeking an experience with God other than that which you currently possess through your faith and your doctrine (doctrine as derived from the knowledge of reading scripture) is wrong. What are they saying? Head knowledge good. Mustered up belief good. Actually expecting to have your cancer cured? Uhm, no: don't go there.

On one point I must agree: sometimes seeking the experience for the sake of partaking in the experience is wrong. It's like paying for sex: one has no desire for relationship nor the creation and nurturing of life, rather one just seeks the thrill and pleasure of the experience. Of course there are limits to this argument, hence the word "sometimes." For example, there was a point in time when I really, really liked roller coasters. I would seek them out and ride them until my heart's content. Was that wrong? No, not at all. But if I still did that today to the detriment of my family's financial welfare, then yes, it would be wrong.

An Example of Experiential Faith
So then, why did Moses raise his staff and his hand at the Red Sea? Well, because God told him to:

But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. (Exodus 14:16)

Did Moses believe God? Apparently so. What was the result of that belief? Works, experience and knowledge were the result. What exactly did Moses do? In my view, he thrust out his staff with his right hand in an upward and outward motion parallel with his body. His left hand went forward over the waters, perpendicular first to the left, then to the right in a parting motion.

That is probably not what you had in mind, but it does reflect exactly what God said to do: "... lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it." Have you ever understood before now that God told Moses to "divide" the sea? That's not exactly how it happened in the movie, is it?

So, when did Moses stop believing God would part the Red Sea?

Ah, I can hear the wheels in your head spinning! "Moses never stopped believing God would part the Red Sea!" Are you sure? "Yes", you're probably thinking. As a matter of fact, not only do I disagree, I assert that you've believed a lie. I maintain that at a given point, Moses stopped believing God would part the sea. Hear me out. Keep reading.

Are you a parent? (if not, imagine that you have a 3 year old running about).

When did you stop believing your child would be born? Seriously: in the midst of the labor, when did you stop believing that your child would be born? Do you still believe your child will be born?

Once the labor was over and your child was in your arms, you stopped believing your child would be born: at about that point, you moved from faith into knowledge and experience. You knew that your child had been born. And as our curtain climbing, crumb grabbing rug rats continue to evade even our simplest logic of normalcy and move into child hood, teenage years and adult hood, we no longer believe that our child will be born, we continue in the knowledge of the ever changing ramifications of that simple act of our child being born.

I submit to you that once Moses believed God and stepped into the works of his faith, he stopped believing and entered into knowledge of the sea parting from left to right and forward to the other side, just as God said it would.

Semantics you say? Hardly. Are you telling me that you sill believe your child will be born, after the fact?

Did God part the sea? Yes and no. Of course, God provided the power for the works. But He also told Moses to "divide it." So, not only did Moses have to believe God, to take him at His word, Moses had to provide the works in order to prove God, to provide an experience of the nature of God.

You believed your child would be born, and if you're a woman, you provided the works in order to do exactly what your faith provided.

In doing exactly what God told him to do, Moses moved from belief into knowledge, just as you moved from belief of your child being born into the knowledge that your child has been born. So, once Moses moved into the works of proving God, Moses stopped believing the sea would part and moved into the knowledge of seeing that it was parted before him.

Attacks against Experiential Faith
This tidy argument of rejecting an experience with God falls squarely into the plan of Satan: for if he can convince you that experiences with God are wrong and should not be sought, then he has short-circuited your faith journey. And by damaging your faith journey he effectively prohibits your ability to abide in Christ.

Biblical Faith Produces Knowledge
Biblical faith, that which is given by God, always produces an experience based in the faith which came beforehand. It's the law. If faith does not produce knowledge, then it was not Biblical faith. Scripture clearly says this about faith:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

What happens when the "thing not seen," the "thing hoped for" shows up? You no longer have faith: you have knowledge.

The experience provided by faith produces knowledge of God and the experience is always the effect of the faith given. Faith producing an experience is a cause and effect relationship: God gives us cause, reason and ability to believe Him and then provides a tangible experience of the faith He authored.

Practically speaking, I don't believe God heals, I know that He does (and I have seen the MRIs that prove it). I don't trust that God saves, I know that He does.

God's gift of faith always moves us into an experience resulting in knowledge. And once we have the knowledge He wanted to impart to us, we have a place of abiding and operating because we have knowledge of who God is.

Consider the first few verses of 2 Peter.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, ... For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God said that we would have knowledge of salvation, that Jesus came to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins (Luke 1:77)

The only way to have knowledge of salvation is to execute (perform) the works of faith for that which is given through grace. You can go to church, hear the good news and believe that Jesus is the Christ, but until you act out on your faith, you will never experience salvation. You do not go to heaven for being good, and you don't go to hell for being bad. Goodness and badness are results of belief systems acting out. Life and death, on the other hand, are states of being. You are either alive to God or you are dead to God.

That's why the Atheist cannot comprehend the Christian: the Atheist is operating from a position of disbelief where as the born again Christian is operating from a position of knowledge. Darkness cannot comprehend light because darkness has no substance, no reality.

A Bit About Darkness and Light
Enter a room and turn out the light. What happens? It becomes dark. Have you ever stopped to consider that darkness is not a thing? Light, on the other hand, is a thing: it's a photon. Conversely, darkness is simply the absence of photons. Darkness, in a real sense, does not exist - it is not a tangible thing. Darkness is simply the terminology we use to describe the absence of photons. But we certainly treat darkness it as if it were a tangible object.

The absence of knowledge is like darkness. Knowledge exists, and so does ignorance. But ignorance is not a tangible thing, it can only be defined by that which is absent: knowledge.

However, belief and trust without knowledge is still faith: faith has substance, it is evidence and substance of things hoped for. When God gives faith, He is providing a tangible substance of things yet to be. When God proves Himself, faith is no longer needed for that given thing for knowledge has arrived. It is this knowledge of God that we call abiding, since abiding provides fruit, or knowledge of salvation:

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

You cannot observe a tree bearing fruit without the fruit being on the tree. Observation of the tree bearing fruit is knowledge of the fruit. Knowing in the dead of winter that your apple trees will bear fruit in the summer is well placed faith. That well placed faith will be proven out in knowledge when you pick the fruit in the harvest (assuming frost does not kill the buds and the bees do their jobs).

Therefore, it is impossible to please God apart from faith. Why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

The Experience of Salvation
Although you, as a Christian, know that salvation is a gift given by grace through faith, have you ever stopped to think that salvation has a tangible and quantifiable effect? It results in a change that provides not only an immediate experience, but a life long experience as well.

This is why scripture admonishes us to work out our salvation (Philpians. 2:12) and that we will know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16). If you do not have the experience of salvation or observe the fruit of salvation in another, then you have reason for suspect. The result, the experience of salvation is quantifiable, it is something of which you have intimate knowledge.

An Example of Failure in Faith
On the other hand, Jesus told the disciples to feed the 5000, and they said "with what, 200 denarii?" Jesus set them up to respond and act in faith so that they could have an experience of feeding the multitude and thus move into knowledge of what the proper application of trust and belief can provide. Even though they failed the faith test, Jesus still fed the people, in order to provide knowledge that might grow their faith in the future.

The same thing happens today. When God provides faith that He will do something or does something unexpected, people become fearful and reject His presence, just as the Gadarenes did. If God's presence in your life is offensive, then you run the risk of excusing Him to move on to someone or someplace else.

Conclusion
God has provided in the natural an example of how His gifts of faith function. He provides reason to believe, gives the substance and evidence of things not seen through faith and then follows it up with an experience reflecting the faith He provided. Through trusting and believing we learn to abide in Him through the partaking of his Divine nature. Seeking the experience provided by God through faith is natural and expected, but seeking an experience for the sake of the experience only is rejecting the One who wishes to prove Himself to you through faith and knowledge. We all have the capacity to believe and to exercise faith, to take His word and believe it, and as such, it is impossible to please God apart from faith. Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Perseverance: Gaining a Proper Perspective on Trials and Tribulations

2010-05-01T09:37:00.048-04:00

Persevering through trials and tribulations is something that we must all do:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4)

But a problem arises when we fall back into the lessons of those who have taught us a lie, through either the error of man's understanding or by listening to evil.

We know, or we should know, that we are to no longer walk as the un-regenerated also walk, who in the futility of their mind, are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart. If you do not approach the trials and tribulations in which you find yourself with a proper attitude and perspective, then Satan will win the battle and gain victory. In defeat, you will have failed to exult in your heritage, and you will become callous and open the door to opportunities to fall further into sin (Ephesians 4:17-18)

It Begins with Knowing Who You Are

It all begins with our attitude and our perspective, both of which are formed by our knowledge of God and our belief and our trust of who we are in Christ.

For example, if you are a born again believer and you are in a church wherein the pastor refers you and other Christians simply as "sinners saved by grace", or you view yourself as "just a sinner saved by grace", then in the former case you need to find a new church, and in the latter case, you need to re-read your Bible and learn who you are in Christ. Christians are not just sinners saved by grace, Christians are Saints. If you believe you're just a sinner saved by grace, then you'll act like a sinner.

Understanding The Law of Being

There is a law called the Law of Being. For example, one is either male or female. There are dogs and there are cats, fish and birds. Each one has a given state of being. A fish can no more live and act like a bird than a dog can sharpen it's claws like a cat.

Satan understands the Law of Being and he uses it against you.

It's All About What you Believe

He knows that what ever you believe, you will become: "for as he thinks within himself, so he is" (Proverbs 23:7) and "whosoever believes in Him {Jesus} shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). I imagine that the Proverbs reference you were expecting, but the John 3:16 took you off guard. Why? Because you've never made the connection between faith in Jesus, faith in God's word and believing truth as a mechanism responsible for changing who and what you are.

Whenever possible, Satan will use circumstances and lies to alter your belief system. For if he can change your mind regarding the Word of God, or change your mind regarding who you are in Christ, then he has altered your belief system. And by changing your belief system, your actions, attitudes and responses to the trials in which you find yourself will be altered to match the desires of evil, instead of the desires of Jesus Christ.

The Word of God says that when we encounter various trials and tribulations, that we should consider it it all joy, because the testing of our faith will produce endurance (James 1:3). How do you consider a trial of cancer as joy? How do you consider a trial of unemployment as joy? And what about this endurance clause? Does this mean we're just supposed to suck it up and bear the burden of God's sovereignty?

The Proper Perspective

In the face of trials and tribulations, many Christians are quick, and rightly so, to quote Romans 8:28:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, "what are these good things that God has for me?"

You probably have, but maybe you didn't give it much thought. Instead, your mind went back to the circumstances in which you found yourself. You did exactly what you've been taught to do: focus on your problems and take them to God for remediation. You've been taught to lay everything at the cross, because if anyone is in trouble, they are to pray (James 5:13). And the people who have emphasized this truth to you are exactly right. God said it, we believe it, and that settles it.

And yes, I'm fully aware of the counter colloquialism, "God said it, that settles it." It's a nice counter platitude, but it's only half true, for if you do not believe what God says, then you have believed a lie. And when you believe a lie, you practice self deception. When God says it, you must believe it, otherwise it's not settled in your heart and mind.

But I'm not talking about taking things to God in prayer or popular colloquialisms.

What I'm addressing is your perspective of your circumstances. What I'm addressing is your beliefs regarding God in your circumstances.

If you approach your circumstances improperly, if you maintain an improper belief system regarding the attitude of God towards you through your circumstances, then you will loose that which is to be gained through your trials and tribulations. Furthermore, if you have an improper self image of who you are in Christ, then you will posses an improper understanding of how God views you through your trials and tribulations, and you will miss the entirety of the double blessing God has for you through your trial.

The Knowledge of God and the Partaking of The Divine Nature

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.(2 Peter 1:2-4)

Let's put a couple key concepts together and see what God is excited about doing in us through trials:

"... so that by {the promises} you may become partakers of the divine nature ..."

"... knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing ..."

Clearly there are things we lack, James 1 teaches us that. And clearly there are things which God is working into us, those being the aspects of His Divine nature; 2 Peter teaches us that.

When we focus on the trial, we don't see the work God wants to perform, we don't see the Grace of God working His Divine nature into us. By focusing on the trial, we focus on the negative. By focusing on the negative, we give strength to that which would defeat us.

What God wants to impart into us is the positive.

As a man thinks in his heart ...

If you believe that your trial is God punishing you for your sin, then you have made two errors. The first error is to believe that the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah was an insufficient redemption and an insufficient judgment of sin, that you must some how bear and pay for your sin through the punishment of trials.

The second error is related to the first: you believe that God is beating your sin nature out of you.

It's Not About Beating Out Your Sin Nature

Trials are not about what God is trying to push out of you. Read that again.

Trials are about God imparting His Divine nature into you.

But we have problem, and it goes like this: as being redeemed creatures, we still possess memories, patterns and habits of the old man, Adam. But as being new creatures, we are not bound to those old patterns. The Apostle Paul struggled with the old man, and he summarized it like this:

Romans 7:17-25 (Message Bible)

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

So, trials and tribulations are not about God beating you down to push out your sin nature. For, how can a person who has a new nature, a new life, who is no longer dead be made any more un-dead or any more alive than they currently are?

We have a new nature, we are a new creature.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:4-7)

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:7)

... in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ... for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household (Ephesians 2:2-6, 18-19)

It's About your Heritage

So, if God is not beating our sin out of us, then what exactly is He doing? Seeing that we tend to function in the old man, though being a new creature, God is at work making us Christ like through an on-going process called sanctification.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification ... (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

What you need a to do is change how you view the trials which present themselves in your life. In order to help us do that, we must first understand our heritage:

"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)

Your heritage is to stand against evil, to stand against condemnation. Your heritage is to condemn false accusation (evil against you) as wrong. Your heritage is to watch the vindication of God on your behalf.

Your enemy stands against you, your enemy accuses you:

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, ... "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (Revelation 12:9-11)

Therefore when you are in the midst of a trial, you must stand against the enemy and reject the lie that there can be no good thing come from the trial. You must reject the notion that God is punishing or chastising you on behalf of His righteousness because of your sin. And in doing these things, you are condemning the enemy and the evil beset against you, and you are acquiring God's perspective of who you are in Christ, and who you are in the trial.

Ask The Key Question

What you need to do in the midst of the trial is ask God this question: "What are the blessings you have for me in this trial?"

Change Your Perspective

Is God your stronghold? Yes. But only if you allow Him to be your stronghold. If you focus on the trial and the evil that is besetting you, then you are not in your stronghold. If you fail to hope in God, then you cannot enter the stronghold of God. What you need to do is change your attitude: instead of focusing on the bad, focus on the good that God has in store for you. Set your mind on things above not on things below. Ask God about His double blessing that He has in store for you.

The Law of the Double Blessing

Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; this very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you ... (Zechariah 9:12)

Every time the enemy knocks you back, God has a double blessing in store for you. The first blessing that God has for you in the midst of an attack from the enemy, is to restore back to where you were before the attack. The second blessing that God has for you is to move you forward past the place you were when the attack occurred.

But then, you may ask, why do I have to go through the same trials over and over again? Because God has a lot of blessing left over that you didn't get the first time. God isn't sitting in heaven thinking, "this is fun, lets smack her down some more", but rather He is saying to you, "you didn't get all of the blessing I had for you the last time. I want you to have all of the blessing I have in store for you."

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ (Jeremiah 29:11)

But if you refuse to see or believe that God can restore you and bless you through the trials you find yourself in, then you have defined for yourself the truth of your existence in that trial.

Read the story of the Demoniac of Gadarenes. Was there another blessing available for the people Gadarenes? Could not Jesus Christ have richly enhanced their spiritual condition, healed their diseases and taught them the Word of God? Of course He could have. But what happened instead? They had an improper perspective based upon the trial of loosing their heard of swine. In focusing on the negative, they missed the positive blessing Christ could have provided.

Conclusion

How you view your trials and tribulations is purely your choice. But when you stand against evil and choose not to yield, then you are embarking upon the process of seeking God and asking Him about how to obtain freedom, and you are knocking on His door.

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? (Luke 11:9-13)

If you persist in a negative perspective regarding your trial, then you will miss the double blessing God has for you. And eventually, you'll repeat the trial. But if you instead view the trial as a mechanism by which the blessings of God are poured into your life, then you can enter through faith the valley of the shadow of death, and walk out with the experience and the knowledge of who God really is in your life.

Reconciliation Forgiveness

2010-04-20T21:45:00.000-04:00

In a previous post, I discussed Personal Forgiveness. Personal forgiveness is not tied to the person who offended you in that it is something you can do even if the offender is dead or the offender cannot or refuses to communicate with you. Personal forgiveness is referenced in the model prayer, and it is required to maintain a proper relationship with God.

Personal forgiveness is not reconciliation, and personal forgiveness does not provide reconciliation, although it will free one up to move towards reconciliation.

God has standards for reconciliation: first of all, it happens in the presence of repentance.

What Is Repentance?

Repentance is a change of thought and action to correct a wrong. It is a turning away from that which caused offence for the purpose of gaining forgiveness from a person who is wronged. For salvation God requires not only faith, but repentance of sins:

But go ye and learn what that means, ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice’: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:13)

John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (Mark 1:4)

And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:20-21)

For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death]. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

For Whom is this Forgiveness?

Reconciliation forgiveness is for the purpose of mending and possibly restoring a relationship between two or more people. This type of forgiveness is not for the person who was offended, but for the person who caused the offense.

In as much that personal forgiveness heals the damage caused in us by the offender, reconciliation forgiveness enables the healing of the damage in those who have caused the offense. This is why repentance is required: for without repentance, the offender is in denial regarding the offence they caused.

When an offender realizes and is sorry for their error, remorse sets in. In the presence of this remorse, forgiveness from the offended releases the offender from their indebtedness and frees them to begin the process of healing the damage they have caused within themselves.

When does reconciliation forgiveness occur?

Some people will tell you (incorrectly) that as soon as someone has sinned against you, then you go to them, you forgive them and that makes everything right.

You, the offended, must participate in personal forgiveness for yourself and your right relationship with God – that much is commanded of us. The question then, is this: when someone has caused you damage - and before they speak to you or admit their wrong - do you go to them and say “I forgive you for causing me damage …”?

The Short Answer:
No, you do not.

The Reason Why: The Process

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17)

That is a very clear process. But first you must recognize that you’ve been damaged when your brother sinned against you. That’s usually the easy part, figuring out when you’ve been damaged.

The next step is to go to your brother in private. How many times have you seen this step ignored? Instead of going to the brother in private, the person is brought before a committee, or the friend of the offended goes to a friend of the offender, or the offended starts spreading gossip, or in the at least telling everyone who will listen what so-n-so did to them.

God is a one-on-one type of person, and He expects you to be too. So do it. When your brother offends you, you do what God said to do: go to him in private. You, the offended are to go, not your father or your husband or your wife or your sister. No one else has a place in this until you’ve gone in private and your brother has refused to listen.

A Failure to Communicate
What does it mean to “refuses to listen?” It means there is no repentance. Not listening means you have explained your grievances to the person who offended you and the offender ignores what you had to say. They may even give you good reasons why they’re paying you no attention, at least from their perspective, such as you’re immature to even bring this up or you’re creating lies out of whole-cloth, and so-on and so-forth.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what excuse is presented. Any dialog in which some type of resolution could be obtained is forfeited when the person who offended you refuses to acknowledge the possibility that they may have committed wrongs against you, or refuses to have dialog regarding the situation.

When you confront the person who hurt you and enumerate their sins, you are giving them an opportunity to contemplate and understand what they did to offend you. In this process, several things could happen: they will agree with you, become remorseful and repent, you will understand they actually meant no offense and they will apologize for the mis-communication, or they will disagree completely and spurn you.

Take Some Witnesses
If your brother does not listen to you, then you take witnesses.

What exactly is a witness?
A witness is someone who has intimate knowledge of the offense. A witness is not someone to whom you enumerate your side of the story and thereby turn them into your champion. It may be that there are no witnesses to the offense other than yourself and the offender. In such a case, personal forgiveness may be all that you have in the presence of the un-repentant malefactor.

And the rest …
If being confronted by yourself and the witnesses of the offense does not lead one into repentance, then the next step is to bring them before the Church. By this point in the game, it’s probably already gotten sticky, and if you’re not full of mercy and grace you might as well forget the process until you are. The point of this process is not to prove your righteousness; the point is to restore the offender from bondage to sin and un-repentance to a place which can receive the healing of God.

Do I really have to do this?
Jesus was clear on this process:

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

In this statement we have a warning, a process, and the possibility of two outcomes.

The Warning: You’re in a Pit
The first thing Jesus says of the person who has been sinned against is this: “take heed to yourselves.”

Read that again.

He did not say “take heed to your brother who offended you”. The first thing we are to do after having been sinned against is to “take heed to ourselves.”

What this means is that you’ve been pushed into a pit (example: Joseph) and you need to take inventory of where you are and how you’re going to get out. If you don’t, you will stay in the miry clay and your feet will sink deeper into the bondage of the damage inflicted upon you.

Once the average Christian has found himself in a pit, he usually tends to compromise himself further by offering forgiveness or an apology when neither has been sought by the malefactor, what-so-ever - typical co-dependent behavior. Can’t you hear Joseph screaming from the pit, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll never do that again,” all the while his brothers who never asked for an apology in the first place sat down to a tasty meal?

Job addressed the issue of taking heed to ourselves in this way:

Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? Is it that my help is not within me, and that deliverance is driven from me? For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; so that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty. (Job 6:12-14)

Once you’ve been pushed into that pit, you typically do not have the ability get out on your own. You have been damaged by someone else, and they owe you a repair. In such a situation, it is imperative that someone come along side you and help you out of the pit, lest you ‘forsake the fear of the Almighty’.

Causing your brother to forsake God is the risk you take when you sin against your brother and refuse the process God has outlined for reconciliation – as the malefactor not only have you pushed your brother into the pit, you have forsaken kindness and prohibited God’s purpose of reconciliation and peace.

The Next Step: Rebuking and Condemning
Once you’ve found yourself in the pit, there is a process to get out: it’s called rebuking: “If your brother sins against you, rebuke him.”

Ouch.

That doesn’t sound fun, and it certainly is confrontational. Can’t we all just get along? Apparently not, else why were you pushed into the pit in the first place? You have a right to call sin what it is. As a matter of fact, if you refuse to call sin wrong, you are denying your heritage in the Lord. Once you’ve found yourself in the pit, call it what it is: a pit. Don’t move in and setup the couch and big-screen television. That’s refusing to acknowledge the wrongs committed against you.

In Isaiah 54:17, God says it like this:

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, says the LORD.

So what does it mean to rebuke, and what does it mean to condemn? A rebuke as sharp scolding, and to condemn is to pronounce something as wrong. As a person in a pit, it is necessary to admit that the act of pushing you in that pit was wrong: that’s condemning the action. But be careful that you do not condemn your brother – God is judge of hearts and of people, not us.

However, refusing to acknowledge a wrong done is tantamount to standing in front of a moving bus that has already hit you once before. When we refuse to acknowledge a wrong done against us, it is impossible to act out in personal forgiveness and reconciliation forgiveness. Furthermore, it prohibits God from repairing your damage.

Nevertheless, we must consider the whole counsel of God when we confront our brother, for He says “be angry and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26), so this rebuke is not license for an all-out assault of verbal abuse. It is better that you stop, wait, and consider carefully your words:

He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly. (Proverbs 14:29)

All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the LORD weighs the motives (Proverbs 16:2)

In the Presence of Repentance Forgive

… If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

Does God provide salvation and reconciliation to those who refuse to repent? That's a patently simple answer: of course not. Unequivocally no.

Does God require you to offer reconciliation forgiveness to those who refuse to acknowledge and repent of their sins against you? Before we answer that question, read the scripture again:

… If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

There’s a really, really big “IF” in that commandment. This is not a conditional, if I feel like it process. This is a mandate. I cannot be stated any more plainly or clearly: “if he repents, {then} forgive him.” And “if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” The good thing about this part of this post is that God said it, and not me! Interestingly, the converse is true as well.

This isn't Personal Forgiveness

I will remind you that I am discussing forgiveness offered to those who have offended you and repented. I’m not talking about the personal forgiveness which we are commanded to exercise in order to provide a right relationship between ourselves and God. There is a vast difference between personally forgiving an offence and offering reconciliation.

Forgiveness clears the offense in your heart which provides release from the damage. It can be done with or without the participation of the offended. For example, you offender may be dead, but you can still forgive them. However, it is impossible to reconcile with them. Reconciliation provides two things: assurances that the offender is aware of the wrongs committed, and that he/she has repented of those wrongs, and secondly, an assurance that the offence will not happen again.

What If He Doesn’t Repent?
Then you don’t reconcile. Jesus said, “if he repents”. He did not “when you think about the offence", or "when you go to him to discuss the offense, forgive him.” If an offender refuses to repent, then we must not offer them forgiveness for something they either refuse to acknowledge or do not believe was an offense.

To offer an offender forgiveness outside of their remorse and repentance towards you (not towards a third party) is to give the offender permission to offend you again.

Scripture is clear: if the offender repents towards you, then you must offer him forgiveness. If he refuses to repent, do not offer him forgiveness. And again, I must stress that this forgiveness is for them - not for you. If you have not personally forgiven your offender, it is not possible that you can truly be reconciled.

Nevertheless, in the later case where he refuses to repent, you will need to take your hurts and damage to God, thus continuing the process of healing through your personal forgiveness.

But first and foremost in this scenario where repentance is not to be found, we do not ever hold a grudge of un-forgiveness. In no way do we ever not forgive – in our hearts we forgive the offense and the damage, we practice personal forgiveness, which releases us from the bondage of the damage inflicted upon us by the other person.

What we’re talking about is making an offer of forgiveness to the offender who is repentant – for the purpose of initiating their healing and for the purpose of providing some type of relational reconciliation between you and them. Offering forgiveness to a repentant offender is never performed from a point of self-righteousness or false piety, or from a point of abusive power: it is offered in love and grace knowing that it will initiate a form of reconciliation and healing in the offender.

If you cannot offer forgiveness to a person from a point of grace (allowing them to repent), love (building them up) and mercy (offering them something they cannot earn), then you have not forgiven them, you have not first practiced personal forgiveness.

They Must Repent
It is impossible for anyone to be released from bondage when they chose to remain under their self-imposed yoke. Therefore, when we offer forgiveness to those who do not seek forgiveness, we implicitly provide them permission to offend and damage us again in the future. A co-dependent would offer forgiveness without change. A co-dependent would also stand again in front of a bus that just ran them over if they believed it would make the bus driver love or approve of them.

Conclusion
There are clear processes outlined in scripture for conflict resolution. We are to take heed of ourselves when we have been offended, lest the result of the offense become a worse thing than the offense itself. In the least, we are to go to those who have offended us (in private) and tell them how they caused offense. If they listen and repent, then we have won our brother and we must offer them forgiveness.

In order to continue the process, for someone who is unrepentant, we take witnesses of the offense, or in the least, an objective and unbiased third party. If they continue to refuse to repent, then they are to be brought before the church. Should they continue to refuse, they are to be treated as one who is not a brother in Christ, as one who would continue to do you damage. (Matthew 18:15-17)

In such a case as this, reconciliation forgiveness is not offered to the un-repentant offender because to do so would provide them permission to do more of the same damage in the future. Furthermore, by excluding this person from your life, you take an active role in protecting yourself from future offenses.

Conflict resolution is never easy. Personal forgiveness is for you and your relationship with God: it is always necessary and is never optional. Reconciliation forgiveness is given only in the presence of repentance.

You may find that your circumstance prohibit you from following through on all of the steps. In such a case prayer and counsel are advised. Always remember that God can heal anything, but you may be the only one who receives the healing. In such case, thank the Lord that He rescued you from the pit and set your feet on solid ground.

Personal Forgiveness

2010-04-15T00:33:00.035-04:00

There is a fallacy maintained in our churches today, and it is this: forgiveness and turning the other cheek go hand in hand, that they are one in the same and as such, forgiveness should look like, be like and feel like turning the other cheek.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Turning the other cheek is one of two things: it is either getting what you know you deserve, or it is a subtle rebuke which will drive the repentant to confession and reconciliation. In the worst case, you will be slapped again, and having no more cheeks, you turn and leave.

In regards to forgiveness, wise people will tell you something like this: "forgiveness does not mean you allow yourself to be run over by the same bus more than once." Doing so is passivity which results in further damage and resentment towards the bus driver and yourself.

The two types of forgiveness
There are two types of forgiveness: personal forgiveness and reconciliation forgiveness. In this post, we will explore the necessity of personal forgiveness.

Why Forgive?
Forgiveness is necessary because damage has been caused in you. Someone did something to you that caused some type of damage. It’s as if you are a car and someone smacked you with a sledge hammer, leaving a large hole in your fender. Forgiveness is necessary because you’re damaged, physically and/or emotionally.

If you’re like most people, you may be thinking that forgiveness opens you up to another attack. No, actually it does not. What opens you up to another attack is an improper boundary. If you’ve been robbed because your door was unlocked, and you refuse to lock your door after the robbery, then you are partially responsible for subsequent robberies. Should the robber keep out of your house? Of course he should. Should you erect the proper boundary, in this case a locked door, to keep future attempts at bay? Most certainly you should. So then, forgiveness does not obliterate proper boundaries, rather it has the potential to enable you to erect proper boundaries in the future.

While you’re holding onto un-forgiveness, you are not in any way hurting the offender, nor are you protecting yourself. The way you protect yourself is by erecting a proper boundary, by locking the door. But this doesn’t negate that fact that you still have damage, something has been stolen. The robber is perfectly happy with your goods, and you’re perfectly unhappy without them.

It’s about letting go
Personal forgiveness is the mechanism that begins the process of releasing us from the damage caused by others. Until you can let go of the damage caused by others, you will continue to suffer in that damage in which you maintain.

If someone threw a rock through your window during the middle of the winter, do you fix the window or do you maintain anger against the person who broke your window? You fix the window because you’re cold and your heating bills will break the bank.

What sense is there in leaving the damaged window and maintaining anger against the person who threw the rock when you’re the one suffering? The logical thing to do is fix the window and ask the person who broke it to pay for the damages because to make you whole is what he owes you.

When we choose not to forgive, we chose to hold on to damage, and in doing so we become bound to the damage – we are in bondage to the pain, the suffering and the hurt. Furthermore, failing to forgive causes more damage than the actual offense: you’re living the hurts continually. Failing to forgive does nothing to the one who hurt you, but it causes a root of bitterness to grow deep, strong and hard in your heart.

What is Personal Forgiveness?
Personal forgiveness is a private, volitional exercise that we perform so that we may be released from the bondage of the damage caused by those who sinned against us. It is the forgiveness is spoken of in the Lord’s Prayer -

… and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors … (Matthew 6:12)

In this type of forgiveness, we do two things: we release the offender from their obligations to repair the damage they caused in us, and we release ourselves from bondage to the damage in us.

This type of forgiveness is not tied to the offender repenting of their sins, nor is it tied to the offender saying they’re sorry. Sometimes the offender cannot repent or refuses speak to you, or worse, they’re dead. In this type of forgiveness, the participation of the offender is never required.

Condemning the Damage
Personal forgiveness requires that you call sin what it is: sin. If you don’t mind people robbing your home, then you’ll leave the doors open and replace all of the things people take just so those things can be stolen again. In this case, you’re not agreeing with the sin, you’re not condemning the sin, and you’re not calling it wrong. But God has given us a permission to call a spade a spade:

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)

You have a right and obligation to call sin what it is: sin. When someone sins against you, you have the right to call it wrong. If you don’t call it wrong, then you have no place to forgive, for how does one forgive the good done by another? Good is not forgiven, it is praised and thanksgiving is offered.

Avoiding a Root of Bitterness

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled (Hebrews 12:15)

Un-forgiveness results in bitterness. But forgiveness is the key that opens the pathway to grace. And grace is that thing which makes you into something that you cannot become on your own. When your car is damaged by someone else, they typically have insurance that makes you whole again. But if they don’t you can call your insurance company and they will make you whole.

In personal forgiveness the participation, or repentance of the offender is absent. It’s as if they hit you and ran away. But God is your insurance company and He will make you whole again. But, you have to be willing to condemn the sin (agree that it was wrong) and report the offense to God, and then release the offender from their responsibility to you. Once you've released them of their obligation to you, then you have enabled God to make you whole.

Personal Forgiveness is not Reconciliation
You cannot be reconciled to someone who is dead, but you can forgive them.

Reconciliation is not the goal in personal forgiveness. Personal forgiveness is not for the offender and it is not for restoring relationship with the offender, it is for you, your freedom and your relationship with God. Personal forgiveness always frees you to persue reconciliation with the offender, should they be available and participatory.

When we take our hurts and our damage to God, He makes us whole. But only when we choose to let go can we be free of hurts. Personal forgiveness not only releases us from the damage caused in us by others, it is also the mechanism by which we maintain or re-establish communion with God in the midst of the trial caused by other people.

When we do not forgive, we shy away from God and hide from Him. When we harbor bitterness in our hearts, we damage our walk with God. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they not only hid from each other, they hid from God. Jesus said, "whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." (Mark 11:25) Having something against another is sin – it is something that you must confess. The Law of Bitterness insures that your relationship with God suffers while you suffer in un-forgiveness.

Conclusion
When we fail to forgive, we hold onto something that is not ours: we hold onto the damage caused and created by someone else. Ultimately, we allow the person of offended us to continue an additional offense.

Personal forgiveness is the gateway to eradicating or preventing a root of bitterness. It’s not necessarily easy, and you may find that you pick up the offense again and again. But when you do, just take the offense back to God and forgive again. Eventually, you will find God has honored his word by restoring you to the place you were before the offense, and by giving you an additional blessing to move you forward in your relationship with Him:

Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; this very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. (Zechariah 9:12)

What's so special about Christianity?

2009-10-21T18:00:00.044-04:00

Every religion has a method by which one may obtain a desired state of being, which in this discussion will be called salvation.

We define salvation as a state of being. It is a state which is absent of pain and suffering (whether inflicted upon us by ourselves or others) and free of sin. Sin is defined as the propensity of man to disobey (one or more times) a given moral law or code.

Salvation is the ultimate condition to which a person may aspire, and it is defined in contrast to man in his worst condition - as he is, living on earth in pain, suffering and sin. Salvation, therefore, is man being saved from the a condition of sin and suffering into a perfect state of being where the grip of pain, suffering and sin does not exist, neither can it ever lay hold upon man again.

Every Religion Has It

Every religion defines a process by which the undesirable is made null and void, hence salvation obtained.

The question many people have, or at least consider, is this: what must I do in order to be free of sin, what must I do to be free from pain and suffering? To answer that question, we're going to briefly review Buddhism, a religion that has touched the lives of many pious people. By doing so we will provide a general foundation by which other religions can be understood. Once we've done that, we're going to answer the question, “what's so special about Christianity?”

Buddhism

Buddhism identifies the burden of life in the two-fold problem of sin and suffering. The question Gautama Buddha (the founder of Buddhism), sought to answer was, “why is there pain and suffering?” In addition to this, he also held a belief common to Hinduism called reincarnation – being reborn to an earthly life in either an higher or lower form. So, one might return as a man, woman, a flea or a rat, depending upon one's good and bad deeds in the previous life. The point of reincarnation is ascension to a higher form all the while shedding that which encumbers you from reaching enlightenment, and subsequently, Nirvana.

How does one ensure they reach Nirvana? It is obtained via the eight-fold path, which is defined (briefly) as follows:

The “Right” …

Views. One must accept the four noble truths
Resolve. One must renounce all desires (lust, bitterness, cruelty, selfishness)
Speech. One must speak only truth.
Behavior. One must abstain from sexual immorality, stealing, and all killing.
Occupation. One must work in an occupation that benefits others and harms no one.
Effort. One must seek to eliminate any evil qualities within and prevent any new ones from arising.
Contemplation. One must be observant, contemplative, and free of desire and sorrow.
Meditation. One must be disciplined in meditation in order to overcome sensations of pleasure and pain so that one may enter a state of transcending consciousness and attain a state of perfection.

Therefore, in the most basic of statements, Buddhists believe that through self effort one can attain the state of peace and eternal bliss called Nirvana, or salvation. This effort which results in salvation is called atonement. Atonement is compensation for wrongdoing.

It's no Different Elsewhere

Seriously, it's not that much different in any other religion. In any of the world's religions the most basic tenant is this: man through his efforts provides his own atonement for his condition. Some people obey the Four-Fold Truths and the Eight-Fold Path resulting in Nirvana. Others place their faith in a creed followed by doing good works and possibly obtain the favor of their god resulting in salvation (The Five Pillars / Islam). And yet others follow another type of creed and/or asceticism that they hope will result in a type of liberation.

Christianity: There's Good News and Bad News

In Christianity, there's good news and bad news. Isn't there always? Someone always asks you “do you want the good news first, or the bad news first?” Most people prefer to receive the good news first – they think it will soften the bad news, but it never does. In lieu of this, someone once said, “do the hard part first and the easy part last, then the easy part will be easier.” So that's what we're going to do here – you get the hard part first.

The Bad News

You're dead, spiritually speaking that is. God said to Adam and Eve, “if you eat from that tree, then you will die.” And Adam and Eve did die, spiritually speaking. And just like some of us inherited blue eyes and blond hair form our mother, we inherited spiritual death from Adam. That's the root of the suffering, pain and sin that we see and experience in the world today.

Therefore, just as through one man {Adam} sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men … (Romans 5:12)

It doesn't feel too good, does it, thinking of ourselves as spiritually dead sinners? What we really want, deep down, is to be free from the bondage of sin and suffering. So we like to think better of ourselves - we don't sin that much and we do a lot of good things, surely God takes notice. In a real sense, you're correct: God does take notice and we will be judged according to our deeds, but you can no more enter a Corvette into a Formula-1 race, or make an apple pie with pork chops, than you can make a spiritually dead man persist in the presence of a living God for all eternity: they don't mix - death cannot comprehend life.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

As thou knows not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knows not the works of God who makes all. (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. (Hosea 5:4)

More Bad News: It's Your Nature

When was the last time you went to a funeral and heard the deceased give the eulogy? When was the last time you used wholly rotten apples in an apple pie? When was the last time an aborted baby re-assembled itself, came back to life and punched the Dr. in the family jewels? It doesn't happen – death cannot comprehend, abide or persist with life. Think of it this way: as a spiritualy dead person, you're a penny. In God's Coke machine of Eternity, only quarters make it to the money box, pennies are ejected out the bottom. You don't fit, you're the wrong size, you're spiritually misshapen to abide in spiritual life after physical death. That which is spiritually dead remains spiritually dead after physical death.

More Bad News: You've Got the Wrong Currency for Atonement

As a Spiritually dead person, not only can you not abide in life, you've got the wrong currency needed for atonement. Every time you sin, you earn wages. That sounds about right, doesn't it? Paid for the bad things, paid for the good things, and if the good out-weighs the bad, then you're in like Flynn. Wrong. You're getting paid with – you guessed it – death.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

But, what about all the righteous things you do? Surely my righteous deeds can wipe away my death, right? Lets take a look:

Your "righteousness" deeds cannot cleanse your death - who among us uses a greasy rag to clean a window? What's the point? It will be no better than when you started. Secondly, since the the power of your iniquities is death, when you die physically you will spend eternity reaping spiritual death:

... who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ... (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Revelation 20:12-13)

God has a Pattern - A Method Resulting in Eternal Spiritual Life

God's method and pattern is simple:

God's Redemption

The first step in God's pattern is redemption. The Israelites were redeemed by God from the bondage of Egypt. If the Israelites could have left the bondage of Egypt on their own, without a savior, without a redeemer, without the action of God, then they would have. What they needed was a deliverer, which is what they got:

And it came to pass in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them. (Exodus 2:23-25

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am the LORD.' (Exodus 6:6-8)

God's Law

The second step in God's pattern is Law. After the Israelites were redeemed and given a new life in the promised land, He gave them the Law - a basis by which they were to live their lives and understand their relationship with Him and others:

And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in thy mouth; for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. (Exodus 13:9-10)

And thou shalt teach them the statutes and the laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. (Exodus 18:20)

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. (Exodus 32:15-16) { The 10 Commandments - received after exiting Egypt}

God's Temple

The third step in God's pattern is the Temple - the place you commune with God.

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 'On the first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony ... Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:1-3, 34)

First, we must be redeemed. Redemption results in spiritual life. It takes us out of the bondage of sin (Egypt – spiritual death) and into the freedom of life (the promised land – spiritual life).

Second, we listen to and understand the Law which results in knowledge for two things: proper relations with our fellow man, and our ability to do the third thing …

Which is communion with God.

Man has a Pattern - A Method Resulting in Eternal Death

Mankind does not like God's pattern - we like being in control of our destiny, we like proving that we're able to do it ourselves, and we like being able to say that we are better than someone else. So we want to take control and do God's plan backwards, assuming all the while that it will be acceptable to Him.

Our Temple (Worship)

First, we worship at our temple. Call it what you may, be it a lifestyle of asceticism or church on Sundays, man has a way in which he worships that which he believes will provide eternal value to him.

Our Law

Second, through his worship man believes he will be changed by gaining knowledge of law and shedding of sin (pain, suffering, etc) which will improve his relations with mankind, resulting in good deeds.

Our Redemption (Heaven – Enlightenment – Nirvana )

Third, through his knowledge of the law and the resulting improved relations with himself and his fellow man, he believes that he will atone for his misdeeds, thereby redeeming himself before his god, in that the good deeds will out-weigh the bad deeds.

That is the absolute basis of every world religion, with the exception of Christianity.

What's So Special About Christianity?

Grace. Grace is the single, defining quality of Christianity – no other religion in the world has it.

In Christian circles, grace is poorly defined by an an acrostic: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. What exactly is that supposed to mean? It's an incredibly weak definition given that the people who are spiritually dead need to understand it the most. Seriously, what's the first image that “riches” engenders? Gold? Silver? Tons of money? Given the natural condition of man, that's just about as far as he can get.

What is Grace?

Grace is a gift which makes you become something, gives you a position that you cannot be or achieve through your own actions or merit. For example, a fireman rescuing a non-breathing victim and resuscitating them – Grace. Rescue workers digging victims out of the ruble of an earthquake – Grace. Giving a jobless person a job just because you can, not because he/she is qualified for the position – Grace. Providing a home to the homeless – Grace. Making someone your spouse – Grace. Human life – Grace (it's a gift given through the the graciousness of the mother and father).

Releasing the Israelites form the bondage of Egypt – Grace.

Grace is that external force acting upon a thing by which the means of becoming something better is provided. Grace provides improvement that cannot be obtained without the provider. A grain of wheat cannot become a stalk full of life giving seed by itself. It must fall to the earth, and it must have water and sunshine. It needs an external force acting upon it before it can transform from death into life.

You Need the Potter

What you need is something to make you alive. You need something to make you into that which you cannot become by yourself – you need grace. Consider again these verses from the Old Testament:

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, nor remember iniquity forever; (Isaiah 64:6-9)

We are the clay? He is the potter? He is our Father? What does that mean?

It means you're a penny, not a quarter. It means you're an unfired mound of clay, not a bowl useful for good works. It means He is the one that makes the dead come alive. It means that you cannot, through any amount of self discipline, work or asceticism make yourself alive – you need Grace – you need an external force making you into something you cannot become through your own efforts.

The Good News

The good news is that positionally, you've won the lottery. That's right. In the Death vs. Life quandary that you find yourself, you've been given the winning ticket as a birthday present. The present is this: your sins have already been judged, in Jesus Christ:

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:6-9)

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:10-11 KJV)

Well, you might ask, if that's so, then why do some people go to hell, and others go to heaven? That's a good question! The answer is simple - Faith - in God's order. Stop doing the process in the order Man provides, and submit to the Order the God has Provided.

In order to get the money from the Lottery Commission, you have to exchange the winning lottery ticket for the cash. You've got to make the trip to the lottery office, sign the ticket and turn it in to the officials. You have to trust and believe that the lottery officials will give you the money in exchange for your ticket. If you don't apply that little bit of faith and act upon it, then you'll never get the money you've won.

A Righteousness that's not Yours

But what if you don't believe they will give you the money? What if you believe someone will steal the ticket from you on the way to the lottery office? What if you believe you'll lose the ticket on the way there? If you believe those things, then you will live in and act out those beliefs and in doing so, you will stay in your home, clutching a winning lottery ticket, but never receive the money that belongs to you.

In the very same way you must also turn away your arrogance that you can become righteous in and of yourself. You must be willing forsake those things which keep you away from placing your Faith and Trust in God. You must be willing to receive His righteousness through His redemption, before doing the deeds of the Law or the self sacrifice of Worship which cannot, and never will, result in redemption, atonement or salvation.

How is Grace Obtained?

So how is this grace given? Exactly like it was given to the Israelites. Look again:

… the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God ...

What does it take to cry out to God? It takes faith. And what is faith? It is believing that God is (as the Israelites did when the cried out to Him), it is believing and trusting that God will do what He said He will do.

… without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

But isn't faith works?

No, faith is not works. Faith is trusting and believing, and when you trust and believe, you produce works, as in crying out to God, as in the trip you make to the lottery office. Before you can cry out to God, you must believe He is. Before you can make that trip to the lottery office, you must trust and believe that they will honor their lottery ticket they sold to you.

Therefore, grace is provided through trust and belief (faith) that God has done and will do the work for you, through the atoning work of the High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Once the Israelites were out of Egypt and had received the Law and the Temple (take note of the order – redemption, law, temple) atonement for common sins was provided through grace, by faith in the Word of God. This faith was acted out through the those who brought the sacrifices and through the actions of the High Priest. It was the priest that made the offering, but God who made it acceptable.

Why did He make it acceptable? Because of their faith. How did He make it acceptable? By His Grace.

Through these actions, God provided an imperfect picture of the perfect sacrifice to come, of the perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ on the cross, by which He Himself entered into the Spiritual Holy of Holies – rather than the earthly holy place found in the earthly temple – thus making a way of salvation for all mankind, not just the Israelites.

God Provides Atonement and Salvation By Grace Through Faith

And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him {Abraham}, saying: 'This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.' And He brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'So shall thy seed be.' And he {Abraham} believed in the LORD; and He {the LORD} counted it to him {Abraham} for righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6)

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. Surely the LORD'S mercies are not consumed, surely His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion', saith my soul; 'Therefore will I hope in Him.' The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:21-26)

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. (Romans 4:13)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)

The point is this: God has done the work, the High Priest, the Christ, has done His job: He has made the sacrifice. Our job is to humble ourselves before Him, accept the work He has done and turn away from our arrogance, our sins, and our disbelief. Through faith we can be clay in His hands, and be made vessels of Grace.

When we place our trust and belief in Him, He will do precisely what He promises to do: provide Salvation by Grace through Faith.

Faith - A Definition and its Application

2009-06-13T15:36:00.096-04:00

Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

The World's Definition of Faith

According to the world, faith is an ethereal, empty, mustered up belief of wishing in the impossible or improvable. It has been defined as belief in something that does not rest in logical truth. Many times the definition involves a belief in a given religion, dogma or denomination associated with various sects of Christian or non-Christian systems of belief.

A Proper Definition of Faith

Faith is a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. Some of the synonyms for faith are confidence, trust, reliance, conviction, belief, and assurance. Faith means to believe in, be devoted to and to trust in somebody or something.

All faith relies upon two foundations: a faith object, and a system of beliefs built around that object.

The Three Axioms of Faith

The Faith Object - The thing in which a given belief system is built around.
The Belief System - A set of axioms related to and about the faith object.
The Works - Actions that are performed as a result of both the Faith Object and the Belief System surrounding the Faith Object.

An Example of Faith

Any good Astronomer believes, and will tell you, that earth's moon may be found at a specified set of coordinates at any given time. Why? The moon has been found to be a very reliable object, to the point that the astronomer has, through observation, constructed a system of beliefs that has culminated in a number of algorithms and functions designed to locate the moon at any given time.

Without the reliability of the moon, and without a strong system of beliefs based upon the behavior of the moon, the NASA moon landings would have never been possible. Because in order to land on the moon, you must first believe that the moon exists, and secondly, you must study it in order to learn where the moon will be at any given time.

Without the establishment of these two fundamental requirements, the establishment of an object, and trust and belief regarding said object, it is impossible to interact with anything. Therefore we understand that every one lives their life based in a form of faith – trust and belief in something or someone.

Whether or not our faith objects and belief systems are proper does not negate the fact that we live our daily lives based upon our trust and belief in regards to numerous people, places and things – we live our lives based in faith. Many people would say that they live their lives based upon facts, but this argument is incorrect: consider the fact that there are possibly hundreds or thousands of incarcerated prisoners who are actually innocent of the crimes they were charged. Obviously, the fact is that they are in jail. But they're not in jail because of the facts surrounding the crime they never committed - they're in jail because of what the jury believed regarding those facts. In actually, the jury believed a lie, and convicted an innocent person.

Biblical Faith

Biblical faith is not that different from ordinary faith. The biblical faith object is God. First and foremost the primary Christian faith object is Jehovah God, not the Bible - although we trust and believe the Bible, thus exhibiting faith towards the written word of God.

However, what the Bible provides is truth in regards to our faith object (God). Even though one must believe the Bible and one must trust the Bible, and hence demonstrate faith towards the Word of God, the Bible is not our primary faith object - God is our primary faith object.

Jesus, speaking to the scribes and pharisees had this to say of our tendency to put our faith in the Bible, instead of God:

You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; (yet) it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." (John 5:38-40)

Clearly, Jesus Himself made a distinction between placing trust in the Word of God for salvation, rather than trust in Himself. He states the truth: it is in the scriptures we find the truthful testimony regarding Jesus Christ. He also states the contrary indication: they searched the scriptures because they believed that in them solely and exclusively, they had eternal life. Clearly they were wrong, as Jesus said that while the scriptures testified of Him, the Christ, they were unwilling to come to the One, the Christ of salvation, Jesus Himself - the author of salvation.

If it is impossible to make a distinction between the faith in the word of God and faith in God, then Jesus would have congratulated the Scribes and Pharisees for their diligent study of His word and thereby receiving salvation. Clearly, this is not what Jesus said.

Even so, we cannot separate God's word from God Himself - it is His word that we must trust and believe, for it teaches us the truth about Him, and it keeps us from sin - "Thy word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11) The point I'm trying make is that we must make sure that our ultimate faith object is God. To assume that you can believe in God but not believe His word is preposterous. But to make God's word an higher authority than God himself is an error. Remember: the point of God's word is to lead us into a relationship with God. It is God's tool to bring us to Himself.

Faith Depends upon it's Object

The author of Hebrews said

Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6, NASB)

and Habakkuk said

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4, KJV)

Neil Anderson states that “the issue of faith is not that we believe … it's what we believe or who we believe in that determines whether or not faith will be rewarded.” The question remains then, faith in what? Again, we find the author of Hebrews addressing our faith object:

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:7-8)

It wasn't just any “words” that were spoken to them, rather the author was referring to God's words – those words which God Himself uttered through His judges, prophets and servants. Therefore, the object here is God - “those ... who spoke the word of God to you … “. They could trust the words they heard because of the author of those words. They did not trust the words because they were written in a book that many before them had revered, but they trusted Him who spake them because they knew that God was trustworthy.

On the contrary, the person who's primary faith object is the Bible views God with suspicion and distrust. He or she uses the Bible to remind God of what He said he would do, for without this reminder God is (to them) untrustworthy to act on their behalf with benevolence, faithfulness or love.

But the person that trusts God, who's faith object is God, will also remind God of His word and His promises, but in the knowledge that God will act upon His promises. This person also does this from a point of humility and trust in God. Nehemiah is an example of a person who's faith object was God, and yet in his relationship to God, reminded the Lord of His promises:

… they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire." When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'if you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.' (Nehemia 1:3-9)

Faith is Dependent upon your Knowledge of your Faith Object

If you are like most people, you believe the moon circles the earth. You believe that on most nights, and some days, you can see the moon in the sky. But unless you are among a very few people with the right skills and/or equipment, you cannot tell me the exact coordinates of the moon over the earth at any given point in time. Why is that? Because your knowledge of the moon is limited. You may have enough faith in the laws of physics to believe that the moon will remain in the sky for as long as you live, baring some unforeseen external force. And you may have enough faith in the moon and these laws to believe that you can find the moon in almost any night sky. But that is as far as your knowledge takes you.

Our faith in God is no different. We will go with God only as far as our faith allows us to go, and our faith reflects the quality of our knowledge and belief in God. Consider again Hebrews 13:7-9:

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

The author suggests that we should “consider the result of their conduct”, that we should “imitate their faith”, that we should not be “carried away by varied and strange teachings” and that it is good to be “strengthened by grace”. Our conduct, good or bad, reflects both our quality of faith and the quality of our belief system.

Imitating the faith of another person and not being carried away by strange teaching both have the inverse effect of strengthening your belief system, and therefore growing your faith.

Being "strengthened by grace" means that we die to our selfishness, our pride and our desires and allow God to make us into that which we cannot become of our own accord.

In Victory Over the Darkness (pp.110, 111), Neil Anderson says:

The only limit to your faith is your knowledge and understanding of God, which grows every time you read your Bible, memorize a Scripture verse, participate in a Bible study or meditate on His Word … I doubt there is a Christian alive who has lived up to his or her faith potential based on what he or she already knows to be true.

The Apostle James said that we must

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when {we} encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of {our} faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that {we} may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-3, NASB)

When God tests our faith, He is working on our behalf by showing us the quality of our belief in Him and the deepness or shallowness of our trust in Him.

Faith is an Action Word

Why do you look up in to the night sky to see the stars and the moon? Because you know and believe they are there. Your belief produces and results in an action. Why does (or did) the Captain of a ship use the sextant to guide his way across the ocean? Because he believes and knows that the stars are trustworthy in their positions in the sky, and he believes in the result of a properly implemented sextant. In the same way, faith without action is not faith – it is dead and empty, it is powerless, wishful thinking:

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Therefore, everything you do is a product of what you have chosen to believe. If you believe that jumping into a body of water is likely to result in your death, then you have a fear of water – and your not a swimmer. If you believe that climbing to top of a tower could result in your death, then you stay on the ground – you have a fear of heights. If an escalator is nothing but a machine with the power to rip you into shreds, then you take the stairs – you have a fear of escalators. And the list could go on and on.

Do you share your Faith with those around you? If not, do you actually have any faith to share?

The Gift of Faith

Everyone has been given a measure of faith:

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

But the spiritual Gift of faith, as defined in 1 Corinthians 12:7,9

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. … to another faith by the same Spirit ...

is different from the common, “measure of faith” given by God to all, as a part of their nature of being made in the "image of God."

This spiritual gift of faith differs in that while many of us struggle to have faith, to grow our faith and to exercise our faith, those with this gift simply know that God will act in circumstances that seem impossible. This gift of faith enables one to trust and believe God in extraordinary circumstances, or for extraordinary works on the behalf of yourself and/or others.

The spiritual gift of faith Defined

The motivation behind this gift, as is the motivation behind all of the spiritual gifts of God, is based in and flows from love . This gift enables the recipient to understand and see what God wants to do and is willing to do in a given situation or circumstance. By virtue of this knowledge, this gift provides the peace of God for the given need or situation; it provides a supernatural ability to trust God to accomplish a given task. These types of people are ...

Are visionaries who dream big dreams, pray big prayers, and attempt big things for God.
Are optimistic, hopeful, persevering, change-oriented, and future-focused
Are convincing about the truth of Scripture because they themselves are so convinced of the truth and power of God and his Word.

A Contemporary Example

George Mueller was an excellent example of this gift. Early in his ministry he resolved to never ask anyone for money, but present his needs directly to the Lord. Mueller learned that English prisons held 6,000 children, simply because they had no other place to live. By 1845 he had 130 orphans housed in four rented buildings, and although he had only £5, wanted to build another building capable of holding 300. Using only prayer, he had the funds in just over 6 months, and when the building was finished and the children moved in, he had £776 left over; and he had not asked for one penny! Before he died in 1898 he built four other orphanages the same way, for a total cost of $575,000, while his own personal assets amounted to only $300. Mueller said:

"Seven million five hundred thousand dollars have been sent to me in answer to prayer. We have needed as much as two hundred thousand dollars in one year, and it has all come when needed. No man can ever say I asked him for a penny. We have no committees, no collectors, no voting, and no endowments. All has come in answer to believing prayer." If I should say that during the fifty-five years and nine months that I have been a Christian that I have had 30,000 prayers answered in the same hour or day that the requests were made, I would state nothing more or less than an honest truth in the sight of God.” ( A Personal Interview with George Mueller, Charles R. Parsons, 1897)

Are you a faith filled person? Consider the following questions:

Do you view obstacles as opportunities, do you trust God for the impossible?
Are you likely to boast about the power of God and what you have seen him do?
Are motivated by new ministries because you see them as an opportunity for God to do great things?
Do you find yourself feeling opposed to anyone who expresses that something cannot be done or accomplished?
Do you find other believers coming to you for hope when they face a seemingly overwhelming trial or task?
Do you have an effective prayer ministry, with many wonderful answers to prayers that were impossible from the human point of view?

All of these things have at their root a spiritual unction which is motivated from belief and trust the the ultimate faith object, God Himself.

Click Here for Part 2 - Moving from Faith into Experience

The Bondage of Depression - The Onion of Despair

2009-04-23T00:25:00.047-04:00

Jesus said a lot of things. But to me, the most important thing He ever said was this:

"If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32)

When you're battling depression, there's one thing you must get to: the truth. But therein lies a problem. Unresolved loss, anger and fear usually indicates self deception, which means you may be in a place where you don't know what it is that you are depressed about in the first place!

On the other hand, if you are depressed and you know why, then count yourself lucky. Some people who are really, really depressed haven't a clue why. They are so out of touch with their emotions and feelings that, if they're not in the middle of a depressed episode, they will deny to your face that they're angry or hurting about anything.

I was one of those people.

I was talking to a therapist when she looked me square in the face and said, "... well, you look angry to me. Everything you say is like darts spitting this way or that." I figured that since she knew more than me (at least, that's why I was paying her $125 an hour), then maybe I should consider that she was right about this "anger" she saw in me. I honestly did not believe her. But once I opened myself to the possibility that her theory was correct, I began to see myself clearly -- that's when I discovered the thing I call the Onion of Despair.

Unresolved anger, fear and loss is like a pill you swallow that doesn't go away, rather it grows day by day, adding a new layer with every new thing that rubs you the wrong way. That is, until some other unsettling event comes your way, and you swallow that pill too, which then grows day by day. Eventually, after you've stuffed so much anger and so many fears into your soul, you'll find yourself well within the center of debilitating depression: your head hurts, your body hurts, and all you want to do is make the pain go away. Some people find a Doctor who gives them a pill that takes the edge off, others self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, others find a weapon...

You must know the truth ...

The first thing you've got to do is know the truth, the truth about your belief systems. For example, if blue moons make you sad, and you believe the moon is blue, then you're going to be sad whenever you see the moon: "For as he thinks within himself, so he is ... " (Proverbs 23:7) In this scenario, we must understand that the first problem to solve is the improper notion that the moon is blue. Everyone knows that the moon is made of cheese, and as such, it must be white, or at least an off-white-yellowish color. Therefore, one must chose to reject the blue-moon lie, and believe the cheese-moon truth. So, now that we're on our way to discarding the lie of the blue moon, we must then determine, why did we believe the moon was blue in the first place?

And off comes the first layer of the Onion of Despair.

Once you've discovered the lie, you can then inspect your belief system and find the root of that lie. In doing so, you are successfully in the process of peeling off a layer of the Onion. If you're like most people, you'll eventually discover that there are multiple layers to your Onion that need to be handled. Each layer has a new problem to solve, a new loss to let go of, a new fear to deal with, or a new anger to address. So don't be discouraged when, after you've peeled off a layer and world looks a whole lot brighter, some time there after you find a new problem pops up. That's how it works. We are complex people with complex problems to solve, there's no getting around this simple truth.

This is not to say, however, that every fear, loss or anger is based solely in a lie - clearly when we've lost a loved one we're going to suffer in that loss. The problem occurs when we refuse to let go of that which we cannot hold onto. Once your mother is gone, there's nothing you can do to bring her back. Grieving for a period of time is normal and natural. But refusing to let go by placing memorabilia in your life that draws you back into grief on a daily basis, for months or years on end, is not normal or natural. When a person refuses to let go of something lost, they're holding onto a false reality. Although one never "gets over" a great loss, the healthy person learns to live with the loss, and learns to let go.

The blue moon vs. cheese moon myth is a trite example of the pitfalls of truth vs. lie, but it does help describe how our belief about a given thing can affect us. Once we've discovered that blue moons make us sad, we're on the right path to peeling apart the Onion. In this case, we discovered we always saw a blue moon, even though it was cheesy-white. We compared baby blue with cheddar white and observed the error. We may not, at this point, remember that it was a friend who persuaded us to believe the moon was blue, or that a particularly bright moon was out the night that friend died, but we have at least pulled off the outer-most layer of the problem.

Dealing with the outer-most problem you can lay your hands on will not resolve a deep rooted depression overnight, but it is a beginning, and it is a valid, iterative (if not recursive) process.

So what are we to do in the meantime, how are we to survive this process with a glimmer of hope?

You survive by changing your belief system about yourself. It's one thing to deal with anger issues regarding a person who has wronged you, but it is clearly another issue to deal with one's misconceptions of themselves, particularly in the area of who we are in Christ.

Depression has an insidious way warping our self-image. In actuality, this warping of our self-image is a Spiritual battle:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with TRUTH, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness , and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit ...(Ephesians 6:10-18)

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for theweapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ ... (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Ask yourself these questions, and provide honest answers:

Are you strong in the Lord and the Strength of His might?
Do you believe your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but is a spiritual battle?
Have you taken up the full armor of God?
Do you pray at all times in the Spirit?
Do you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and discard harmful imaginations?

If you answered 'no' or 'sort-of' to any of those questions, then you have an obligation to discover why you refuse to whole-heartedly believe the truth, because when you choose to maintain a flawed belief system, you are in bondage to it:

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. (John 8:34)

Choosing to believe anything makes you the slave of that belief system. Choosing to believe the truth sets you free, choosing to believe a lie puts you in bondage to that lie.

For the Christian battling depression, freedom is not based on our belief that Jesus is beautiful or precious, nor does this belief system set us free from depression, as John Piper would assert. Our freedom comes from defeating the lies of Satan, believing the truth, turning to God and resisting the devil: which is why we must process through the layers of the Onion that surrounds our inner most hurts, fears and angers.

What we choose to believe about the truth (of any situation) is vitally important to our walk in Faith, our life in Freedom, our tearing down of strongholds and depression -

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ... (2 Corinthians 10:4)

So, if you believe you're a good for nothing, broken sinner, then you will act like a good for nothing, broken sinner. And if you believe the change in your life is harmful, then you will avoid the change. If perhaps, you can't avoid the change, then depression will set in. Why? Because of fear. You perceive and believe harm is coming yet you have no way to avoid it.

Just as our actions and attitudes will different when we choose to believe that we are justified and sanctified Saints of God, then confronting our fears and finding and dealing with their causes will peel away that layer of the onion and allow us space to change our minds regarding a given thing:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

The process through the Onion of Despair may not be an easy one, but we survive by knowing and believing who we are in Christ.

Study this list of the attributes of the Child of God. Prayerfully deal with the ones you don't believe; memorize the scripture references (click the link to see the background verses), and trust God to love you as you are, as you confess your fears and your angers, and let go of your losses.

In Christ I Am Accepted ...

In Christ I am secure ...

In Christ I am significant ...

[ See also Part 1: The Bondage of Depression - A Root Cause Analysis ]

The Bondage of Depression - A Root Cause Analysis

2009-04-16T18:54:00.048-04:00

I'm not a psychologist, but I know a bit about depression. I lived intimately with it for most of my life, but God freed me from the bondage of depression years ago. This was not an overnight process. God lead me through it step by step. Occasionally, it rears it's ugly head, and if I'm not careful, I'll find myself in funk for days, even a week or more if forget the lessons I learned. So, in the spirit of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, we're going to delve into this phenomena called depression.

John Piper has an edited transcription on depression, entitled Can Christians be Depressed? The first postulation posed in the article states that the root of depression lies in the fact that something is wrong with the depressed person's hope. John Piper states: "All discouragement and depression is related to the obscuring of our hope, and we need to get those clouds out of the way and fight like crazy to see clearly how precious Christ is."

What? Is this man actually serious? As if depression and discouragement are even at the same par, the same level, or even slightly alike; that it's just about me refusing to know how precious Jesus is. So, there's a little fluffy cloud of despair obscuring my vision of preciousness of Jesus. Fine. I'll just change my mind about that simple fact and puff that silly little cloud away with a breath of fresh air and everything should just clear right up.

In my opinion, John Piper knows as much about how to battle depression as he believes in the Man in the Moon. Comparing depression to a loss of biblical hope, let alone despair, is both insulting and misguided at the same time. Clearly, this man has never been balls to the wall depressed.

The Truth About Depression
Any good psychologist or psychiatrist will tell you (excluding of course, any physical aliments such as hormonal imbalances) that there are three root causes of depression:

Fear
Anger
Loss

I would add a fourth cause, that of satanic oppression, but that is a subject for another post.

Nevertheless, if they're really good, they'll say 'unresolved fear', 'unresolved anger' and 'unresolved loss' or possibly even 'great loss.' However, if you spend any time at all researching depression on the Internet, you'll find a whole lot of reasons for depression other than those. But spend just a bit of time considering those other reasons and you'll find that you can pigeon-hole all of them into one of the following: fear, anger or loss.

However, the actuality is this: fear is the root cause of both anger and loss.

Consider for a moment: a loved one has a terminal illness, which leaves you depressed for many, many weeks. You know they're going to die, and you won't have them any more. You wonder, how you will cope with out them? You wonder, how are you going to fill the void their death will leave in your soul? Will the void destroy you? Will you survive emotionally? How will you pay the medical and funeral bills?

What exactly are we describing here? -- Fear.

Consider again: a loved one has been involved in a tragic automobile accident. They have multiple, and severe injuries. The Doctor cautions you that they may not make it through the night. Your mind races: will they live, walk again, smile again? Will I have them back? And why did this happen? Because a drunk driver hit them head on. Your anger rages against that man.

What is at the root of this anger? -- Fear.

There are many forms of loss and anger - some greater, some lesser than others. But if you will be patient and are willing to do some serious, soul wrenching introspection, then you may just find that at the root of your depression there lies unresolved anger, loss and/or fear. Furthermore, I'm willing to bet that at the root of any of your unresolved anger or loss you will find one or more fears.

God has a few specific words about fear:

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (1 John 4:15-18)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

... Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. (1 Corinthians 8:1)

While we may believe that courage is the opposite of fear, it is love the defeats fear since love edifies. There is no fear in edification, for that which builds you up does not and is not tearing you down. Courage simply says "I will stand in the face of danger, regardless of the potential for loss." Love says, "there is no loss, there is only adding of strength and fortitude - love says 'I will build you up.'"

What we need to understand about fear, more specifically - unresolved fear, is this: fear involves your perception of personal harm towards yourself - which is the opposite of love. Whether it involves a form of punishment or a form of loss, and the consequences of that loss, fear revolves around you and yourself, or possibly those of which you're responsible. Fear is a reflection of the harm that you believe to be fact, it is your understanding of how the situation is harmful to you.

Furthermore, your unresolved fears reflect the limit of your faith in God to meet your needs: they demonstrate the boundaries of your trust, the limits of your belief and the depth of your love for God, '... because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.'

You may believe that you love God very much, but if you are hanging onto unresolved anger, loss or fear, then those things speak very loudly to the extent you're willing to trust and believe Him, and in essence, love yourself because He first loved you.

God designed fear to be helpful to us, but only within the context of His sovereignty and grace. It is never intended that it should remain unresolved. Anger, and it's root cause fear, must be dealt with, and it must be dealt with immediately. Fear is always dealt with in truth:

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:25-27)

To harbor anger and fear, is to regard sin in your heart, it is falsehood. To let the sun go down on your anger is give the devil a place to sow the seeds of depression, it gives the devil a foot hold for oppression in your life.

Search your heart, find your angers, your fears, your losses. Let go of that which hinders you, and seek God's face through His word in order to be strengthened and healed. Seek the ministry of your Elders and your Godly friends; confess and repent of your sins.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

[ See also Part 2: The Bondage of Depression - The Onion of Despair ]

The Balancing Act of Grace

2009-02-20T09:28:00.026-05:00

What do you do with your sins?

You've committed them, you've confessed them, you've been forgiven - but are you still holding on to them?

Many times we hold onto our sins as a reminder of past failures. We treat their memories as a demonstration of our willingness to show God (and our selves) that, “yes, I really do know who I am and what I did, I really do know the price you paid, and I'm going to carry some of this burden with you.”

It's as if we convert our forgiven sins into merit badges that are some how supposed to demonstrate God's appreciation of our willingness to carry our part of His forgiveness, a heavy burden, a reminder of who we are in the light of a most Holy and Righteous God. The worse the sin and the greater the forgiveness, then the bigger and more shiny the merit bag.

But is that what God calls us to do?

For many of us, living with sin is a balancing that we play: this much sin, that much grace. We think sin and grace balance each other out, and once that's done, God is happy with us again...

Right?

So, lets explore this balancing act that we play.

Imagine that you're standing before a teeter-totter, and you've got your heavy burden of past sins that you carry with you. You know what I'm talking about: that big bag of failures you've thrown over your shoulder, that you just can't let go of. Now, with your bag of failures, sins and regrets, sit down on the teeter-totter. If you're like most people, and I must assume that you are, gravity will have it's way with you, and you and your bag will hit the dirt in short order.

So, there you are on the teeter-totter, just you and your bag sitting in the dusty earth looking up into the bright sunlight.

Now what?

Well, now you ask God to forgive you of those sins and failures that you're holding onto. Let's assume you've done that (or that you're doing it right now.)

Lo and behold, God, being who He is, hears your prayer and shows up and with a huge bag of grace and mercy and says, “Okay, let's play this game.” He climbs up on the teeter-totter and, with His bag of grace and mercy, sits down on the other side.

But there's a problem: God sat down on the teeter-totter with His bag of Grace and Mercy, but He is up in the air and you're still stuck on the ground with your bag of sins!

What's the deal with that? It's simple actually. God can't have your sins until you let go of the bag.

Ah, but you've done this before, haven't you? It's evident in that you still carry the bag around. You commit a sin, you confess the sin, and then you put the sin into the bag. At a later time you take the sin out of the bag, confess the sin again, and put the sin back in the bag. The problem is not in your confession, the problem is your focus.

So get up off the teeter-totter, but leave your bag of sin behind in your place, on the teeter-totter. Once you've done that, you notice that God gets off the teeter-totter too, but leaves his bag of grace and mercy behind. As you watch, you see the teeter-totter creak and groan and bend under the weight of God's grace and mercy. So what's going on now?

Seriously, you've really got to let go of your bag sins, regrets and failures. Just because you're not sitting with them doesn't mean you've emotionally let them go. So let go, and let God have them! Stop wasting your time worrying about the past, trust God to leave the past where it belongs and look to the future. Right now, bow your head ask God to forgive you for holding onto that which you have already been released.

As you lift your head too look, you see God's grace and mercy crashing down to the earth and your bag of regrets and sins ejected into the air! It travels further and further away, as far as the east is from the west, until it's a tiny dot, and then, until you can't see it any more.

Once your bag has disappeared, you turn to face the Lord, only to find that He's gone. However, He has left His bag of grace and mercy behind for you to use anytime you choose.

But, as you look at His bag of grace and mercy, you notice that it's no longer on the teeter-totter.

Seeing that it was apparently heavy enough to discharge your bag of sins, regrets and failures as far as the east is from the west, then this may seem to be a bit of a problem. But in actuality, it's not a problem. Look in the bag. Just untie it and open it up. What do you see? Big, fluffy pillows – you know the kind, the type you like best. Go ahead and dive right on in, grace, mercy and forgiveness is kind, gentle and warm.

So, the next time you find yourself carrying that bag of sins and regrets, come back to God's teeter-totter, and drop your bag. Then, ask God to forgive you of carrying the past into the future. Then put God's bag of grace and mercy on the other side of that teeter-totter and watch as your sins are ejected to a place that is farther than the east is from the west.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:12, KJV)

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32, KJV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9, KJV)

"No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62, NASB)