Pursuing The Christ Life

In the past couple blogs we've been looking at the issue of how the LORD disciplines his newborn children in Christ. We've been reminded of the sometimes harsh nature of that training and the resulting growth in faith and life it brings. Having explained this the Hebrews writer draws a couple conclusions, a couple therefores. Here's the first:

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. - Hebrews 12:12-17 ESV

Sounds like some football coaches I know. When the team is exhausted by the drills, with sweat pouring from every pore, he yells, "OK, sissies, ten more laps around the field!" That's what the LORD does with us at times. He pushes us beyond, making demands upon us to do things we absolutely are convinced are impossible.

"OK, sissies, weaklings, sinners! pick 'em up. Straighten those knees. Stand up and walk on you own two feet. It hurts? So what? Work through the pain. That's the only way to maturity, to wholeness, to becoming the man or woman you are called to be. 

"So you don't like that person with whom you've been quarreling. So she's mean, childish, narrow-minded. So? Get with the program. Your task is the pursue, chase after and grab hold of harmony, oneness with everybody, yes even with her. If you believe you are more mature than she is, act like it! Grow up! 

"And quit acting like the baby you once were. Remember how you used to pout and cry when things didn't go your way? Remember how you started a fight or crawled off into a corner to feel oh so sorry for yourself? Well, that was childish living. It only leads to more trouble.

"Holiness! That's the aim, the goal, the program. I want you to be holy, just as your heavenly Father is holy (Lev. 19:2). Consider again the words of the Apostle: 

'I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.'" - 1Cor 1:10 ESV 

Here's the secret. When you pursue the LORD's manner of living, when you submit to a life of forgiveness, forgiving even as we are constantly forgiven in Christ, then an amazing thing opens up. We begin to see God's grace at work. This business of love and mercy generates new life and love in the hearts of others. Getting even, running away, feeling sorry for yourself, etc., etc. only does the opposite. It only plants what the writer calls a "root of bitterness" that springs up, grows and causes even more trouble. Want an example from the Bible? Consider Jacob and Esau (Gen. 25:1-34; 27:1-28:10).

These two brothers, fraternal twins, never seemed to get along. Their talents and interests went in different directions from childhood. And they quarreled. And their parents chose favorites. Mama chose Jacob. Papa chose Esau. Stupid way to parent. Only caused more trouble. And Jacob lived up to his name, the trickster! He was smarter and sneakier than his brother. Mama encouraged him. And it led to more trouble. Read the story. Consider the example. Consider what happened to Esau and how he threw away his one chance for his father's inheritance and blessings.

That's what happens in life. The LORD gives us an opportunity. We waste it. It never comes again. Your choice. You allowed your sinful nature to take over. Think about it.

There's more in this chapter. We'll consider it next time.

Baby Christians Try To Live On Milk

Yesterday I wrote about Christ's suffering for all mankind, a very difficult topic. It is easy to say. Even little children can say, "Jesus died on the cross," but to grasp the implications and even begin to understand the meaning—that is another thing. So the Hebrews letter writer says,

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. - Hebrews 5:11-14 ESV

In fact, the writer goes into much detail in the next chapters, trying to explain. So let me try to explain the difference between the basic principles of the oracles of God—what he calls milk—and solid food. 
Lets start with milk. We'll be coming back to this again and again in the future.

Paul writes to the Corinthians about milk:

I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human? - 1Cor 3:2-4 ESV 

I've served congregations dealing with these issues. People line up behind one pastor and start mocking the other for what they consider his failures or weaknesses. The same thing happens between members of church staffs or church committees. Criticism, accusations, lies, complaints. Some examples.

"She made a pass at my husband."  

"He's been stealing from church funds for his own purposes."  

"We worked so hard at this project and she gets all the credit."

And on and on. Soon come notes and emails flying back and forth or phone calls, secret gatherings and special secret meetings! And then an all-out war of jealousy and strife.  This is what Paul means when he says, ". . . are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?"

Do you see the connection between what Paul is saying and the Hebrews writer? What are the basic principles of the oracles of God? Again, the baby or the baby-Christian can say, "Christ died for me," but what follows? What follows is what the Apostle John points to in his letter. Strife, jealousy, hate—this is of the devil. This is not how the new born child of God acts. The child of God rejoices in the fact that Christ died for sinners—and he seeks to follow in that path. He / she forgives as we all are forgiven in Christ. John writes,

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. - 1John 3:9-16 ESV

 Are you there yet? Look at your own heart. Do you still harbor jealousy, mockery, anger? Are you spreading stories, busily telling tales? Stop this instant. Stop and take a long, careful look at your own heart. How dare you pray our Lord's prayer, "Forgive us our debts," and then not follow up on your promise to forgive others their debts? You are still living on milk. And if you don't know how to deal with your feelings of hate and anger, here is another bit of counsel for you. Jealousy and strife are evidence of sickness in the body of Christ, of immaturity and childishness. If you are struggling with these issues it may well be time for you to visit with your pastor or elder.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - James 5:14-16 ESV

We'll go on to pursue maturity as we work our way deeper into this great letter to the Hebrews.

 

Not What, But Who Unites Us Christians

We Christians talk a good talk, but in reality we don't walk a good walk. We say we believe that Christ is in charge of God's entire house. He is the Son of God after all. In other words, He is the Groom and the church is His bride. He is also the Head and we believers are His body. That makes us all members of the same body. And so, we are members one of the other. It means we are brothers and sisters, members of the same family. Right?

Sounds good, but . . . there are such little matters as race, ethnicity, nationality, language, tradition, culture, sex, education and generation that keep getting in the way. And they are often not little matters. Consider those matters that separate and divide us.

• I'm white, but you're black (race)
• I'm German, but you're French (ethnicity)
• I speak English, but you speak Spanish (language)
• I'm American, but you're Chinese (nationality)
• I prefer classical European style music, but you only relate to African (culture)
• I have had the privilege of a post-graduate education, but you can barely read (education)
• I was born before World War II, but you were born at the end of the 20th century (generation)

How shall we overcome these differences? Is it even possible? Listen to the writer to the Hebrews. He uses the Greek word oikos (translated as "house" in English) to refer to the household of God. With this word he refers to that great host of mankind rescued from slavery to sin and death by the work of Christ. The previous chapter ends by emphasizing that Christ is the high priest who offered himself as the all atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. That's why he is able to help all who are enslaved by the fear of death.

THEREFORE, holy brothers (or brothers and sisters), you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. - Hebrews 3:1-6 ESV

What brings us together? The answer is not what, but WHO! What we share, says the writer, is our heavenly calling. When we get down to the bottom of it, we are all human, descendants of Adam and Eve. And Jesus united Himself to all of us when He was born of the Virgin Mary by the wondrous working of the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus who binds us into one body. It is Jesus who makes us members of one another. It is Jesus who has made Himself one with those of us who are black, brown, tan, white, yellow, red, with eyes and hair and complexions of all colors. It is Jesus who is Chinese, Malaysian, Russian, Swedish, Mexican, American and every other nationality. Jesus speaks to and in every culture. He puts the children on His lap and humbles the most highly educated with the mysteries and wonders of His creation.

And Jesus did it by doing for us all what we cannot and never shall be able to do for ourselves. He earned for us forgiveness and absolution for all our sins. He is the "builder of a house" with far more honor than the house itself, as the Hebrews writer says.

If you are interested in the so-called ecumenical movement I commend you. We Christians must be ready to acknowledge that we are members of the same household, brothers and sisters one of the other. BUT, please, please, let us not forget what unites us. As I noted above, it is not what, but WHO! Who is Jesus? What did He do upon Calvary's cross? What does that mean for you, for me? What is it that we share because Jesus? Blind Helen Howarth Lemmel put it beautifully when she wrote,

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

• O soul, are you weary and troubled?
  No light in the darkness you see?
  There’s light for a look at the Savior,
  And life more abundant and free.

Chorus: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

• Through death into life everlasting
  He passed, and we follow Him there;
  O’er us sin no more hath dominion
  For more than conqu’rors we are! - Chorus

• His Word shall not fail you, He promised;
  Believe Him and all will be well;
  Then go to a world that is dying,
  His perfect salvation to tell! - Chorus

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/645#ixzz2fky20JIJ

The Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit

We've been speaking about praying to the LORD for forgiveness and promising to do the same toward those indebted to us. But is there ever an instance when we must not forgive? Is there any such command in Sacred Scripture? Is there any sin God will not forgive? Listen.

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. - Mat 12:31-32 ESV

What is this blasphemy against the Spirit?

A man with a withered hand came to a Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath. For unknown reasons his hand was not getting blood to it. Was it gangrene? We don't know. What we do know is that the man desperately wanted to be healed and believed Jesus could do it. But it was the Sabbath and on the Sabbath all true children of Abraham could do no work. And healing a man was work.

Already the Pharisees had condemned Jesus for allowing his disciples to pluck grain heads and eat them. Jesus responded that about a thousand years before King David was given the bread of the Presence or Show-bread (Exod. 25:30; Lev. 24:5-9) by a priest. That sacred bread was to be eaten only by the priests (Exod. 28:32-33). David and his men were fleeing for their lives and in great need of food. So the priest gave them this holy bread, breaking all the rules about it.

Moreover the priests always worked on the Sabbath. In the temple on the Sabbath they had to offer lambs, flour and oil as well as other offerings. And that was surely work. Thus they desecrated the Sabbath and yet were guiltless in God's eyes.

Beyond that, something greater than the temple stood before their eyes. Jesus, the Son of Man to whom the eternal day of rest pointed, the Lord of the Sabbath, stood before them, but they did not see him. They saw only a false prophet. Yet this same Jesus, the true high priest, was to enter into the very presence of God, offering himself as the one, final sacrifice. And so true rest from the guilt of sin and the punishment of death would now be available to all who will receive it in faith.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV (consider the entire chapter)

With that response Jesus entered the Synagogue where he was confronted by the man with that withered hand. And the Pharisees were waiting. "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" they demanded.

Jesus responded by pointing out that they fed and rescued their sheep on the Sabbath. "Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!" And with that he restored the man's hand to full health.

This brought a firestorm of anger and hatred from the Pharisees. Jesus had to go. They conspired together on how to kill him. But they could not stop him—yet. He kept right on healing still others, even healing a blind and mute man oppressed by a demon. These further deeds caused them to accuse Jesus of being in the service of Satan himself. All this was, of course, blasphemy. This is why Jesus said what he did.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. - Mat 12:30-32 ESV

From this we conclude that some may—for a time—mock Jesus and be forgiven. But finally, if they reject what the Spirit has spoken in God's Word about Jesus as our High Priest, they commit blasphemy. Jesus has presented the one, final sacrifice for sin. The Spirit calls to us in that Good Word, inviting all to accept Jesus' sacrifice and so be eternally rescued from judgment and death. Turn your back upon that Gospel, join the Pharisees to pronounce Jesus as a servant of Satan, blaspheme the very Spirit of God, and you will not and cannot be forgiven. This is the unforgivable sin!

So humbly and with deepest gratitude we pray, "Our Father in heaven, forgive us our debts for the sake of Jesus, even as we promise to forgive those who are indebted to us."

Forgive As You Are Forgiven

What a huge topic forgiveness! So many to forgive, so much for which to be forgiven. And yet here we go, praying each day, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

Just a bit later our LORD says,

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Mat 6:14-15 ESV

Strange. Sounds almost as if we might convince our heavenly Father to forgive us, based upon how we have forgiven others. How could that be, especially in light of what we learned in the previous post about the impossibility of ever paying off the debts we owe because of our own sins?

And does it mean that our forgiveness depends upon the intensity of our own forgiveness? In Psalm 103 we learn about the kind of forgiveness we can expect from our merciful and gracious LORD.

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. - Psa 103:9-12 ESV

It appears to me that no matter how far east you travel you will never get there. No matter where you stand on our planet the east is totally separated from the west. That is, of course, the Spirit's way of saying that our sins are totally and completely removed from us. THIS is the kind of forgiveness He expects from us.

Joseph's Coat Of Many Colors

In this connection it is helpful to study the story of Joseph in Genesis. Joseph's brothers despised him for two reasons when he was but a teenager. His father favored Joseph as the child of his old age and gave him the so-called coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3 KJV). It may have been a coat with long sleeves or with stripes. No matter. His brothers were jealous. Their jealousy was increased when Joseph shared his dreams about how he would one day be their ruler. The upshot was that his older brothers allowed their jealousy to control them and lead them to sell him into slavery. Then they lied to their father about it, telling him that Joseph had probably been killed by a lion and his body dragged away and devoured. All they could find remaining was Joseph's bloody and torn coat.

Long story short, Joseph, as you probably know, ended up as the Prime Minister to Egypt's Pharaoh. Acting with wisdom and inspiration he saved the nation of Egypt from starvation caused by a many-years drought. As the famine persisted Joseph's brothers came to Egypt hoping to buy grain from the Egyptians (Genesis 43:1-44:34). In the process Joseph recognized his brothers and with a little trickery forced them to return with their youngest brother Benjamin who had been born after Joseph's disappearance. When Joseph finally revealed himself he spoke these wonderful words of forgiveness:

And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. - Gen 45:3-8 ESV

Joseph acted in faith, trusting the guiding hand of God. He believed in God's mercy toward himself and rejoiced in it. It did not matter what his brothers had done. He simply let it go. All this was God's plan. And so he moved his entire family to Egypt and cared for them. When his father Israel died his brothers thought he would finally get his revenge. In fear they came to him, asking for mercy.

But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. - Gen 50:19-21 ESV

What a lesson for us all. We have seen by faith how much our heavenly Father cares for us, even to the point of giving His only Son to death to ransom us and pay our debts. How can we not then follow the example of Joseph as we pray and promise, "So will we also forgive those indebted to us?"

Why Call Christ The Propitiation?

I trust that you prayed the LORD's prayer again this day. The fifth petition (Matt. 6:12) speaks about forgiveness. Most of us still pray it in its old English form:

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

But search as you will and you will not find that prayer anywhere in any of the translations of the Bible. So where'd we get that anyway? All the major translations (ESV,ASV,NASV,NRSV,KJV, NJ) read: our debts . . . our debtors. Not a single one has the word trespasses. How then did we get started with trespasses rather than debts? The answer: The Tyndale Bible (1526), a translation followed by the Book of Common Prayer (1549).  But all the English translations from the King James Version (1611) onward followed the Greek text to translate this petition as Forgive us our debts.

Let's take a look at the idea of debt and forgiveness of debts. 

In the third chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans we read about the insurmountable debt we all have piled up before God. Quoting Psalm 14:1-3, Paul writes,

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." - Rom 3:10-12 ESV

I recently counseled with a lady who said that she owed something like $40,000 in credit card debt. She said she was trying to pay it off, but did not have the means. Because of the insurmountable interest, reaching as high as 29%, her debt keeps growing and growing each month even though she tries to pay it down as best she can. This frightening reality has trapped many who rely upon credit cards. It is the dreadful manner by which the banks behind those cards make so much. And it is all quite legal.

This compares to what the Bible points toward. We simply cannot and never will be able to pay our debts to God. Our accounts are not and cannot be reconciled. The debt continues to mount daily.

But here comes Jesus Christ to redeem us. The image is that of paying a ransom to set hostages or prisoners free. Paul also calls him the propitiation.

(we) are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. - Rom 3:24-25 ESV

No one ever uses that strange word propitiation any longer and it cannot be understood without some background from the Old Testament.

God commanded His people to create the Ark of the Covenant during the time of the Exodus from Egypt to the Holy Land (Exodus 25:10-28). Within the Ark they placed the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s almond rod, and the tables of stone inscribed with the ten commandments. The lid on top of the ark was called the “Mercy-seat” (propitiation). The ark was placed in that inner room of the traveling tabernacle, called the “Holy of holies.”

Symbolically, the Mercy-seat (propitiation) concealed  from the Lord’s view the commandments of the law. Looking down upon the Mercy-seat He could not see, if you will, the commandments the people had broken. Each year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:23-32), the high priest entered the Holy of holies and sprinkled blood on the Mercy-seat. The blood of the sacrifice covered over their sins and indicated that mercy and forgiveness were available because of the death of the animal.

The Ark of the Covenant 

The writer to the Hebrews explains what this ritual pointed forward to. He points out that the way to the holy places, into the presence of God, was blocked. That is a symbol or a parable, a picture-story, for this present age. According to this parable all the sacrifices and gifts ultimately did not and could not pay the debt we and all men owe to God (Hebrews 9:1-10). They only pointed forward.

But now Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, has come as both the high priest and the sacrifice. He is the unblemished (Deut. 17:1) Lamb of God (John 1:29) whose blood was shed once and for all mankind (Romans 6:10). So the time of sacrifices came to an end and Christ has become the Mercy-seat (propitiation) for all as Paul said. 

Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. - Rom 3:25 ESV

 So we may confidently pray in faith, "Forgive us our debts . . . " 

But what follows from that? More on that tomorrow.

Hell Must Be Forever

The Christian church has always taught that hell is eternal, forever, unending. Holy Scripture quotes our Lord Jesus' reply to those who reject him in this life, contrasting hell with heaven.

Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." - Mat 25:45-46 ESV

John the Baptist is quoted as saying the same thing,

For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - John 3:34-36 ESV

Yes, it is true that the term eternity is sometimes used in the weakened sense of long duration. For example,

"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever (Hebr. 'owlam), you shall keep it as a feast. ... You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. - Exod 12:14, 24 ESV 

The Passover has been replaced by the Lord's Supper. Consequently the term forever does not mean eternal or without end in such references, but in all references to heaven and hell it does indeed mean forever. So the Apostle Paul also writes about the misery of those damned in hell.

Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. - 2 Thess 1:4-10 ESV

But why? Why? we ask again. Why would a loving God bring eternal destruction upon a world that he claims to love so much? The answer  lies in the very nature of God. He is totally reliable. You can always depend upon him and his Word. He never lies. He never changes. He is always the same. He is completely worthy of our trust. He does not change his mind. He will do what he has said he will do.

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. - 1 Thess 5:24 ESV 

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? - Num 23:19 ESV

There is but one God. To reject him is to reject life itself. This was so from the very beginning. And yet God loves us all, regardless of race, status, position or place. But there is not a just man among us who has loved God with all his or her heart, mind and power (Rom. 3:10-18). How can we possibly be reconciled to God? How can God remain true to himself and still forgive us and freely give to us eternal life? Only in Jesus Christ. In Christ God has reconciled us all to himself. So the Apostle writes of Christ,

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, - Col 1:19-22 ESV

It follows then that God has no other choice. To be who he is, both just, faithful and loving, he must pronounce judgment and eternal death upon  those who turn their backs upon his mercy and forgiveness freely offered in Christ. To quote John as I did above, "whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36).

God's Love For All You God-Fearers

We're back in John 9. Today we'll listen to the unnamed blind man whom Jesus healed by sending him to the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. The Pharisees, of course, didn't believe it had happened, even though it happened right before their eyes. To them it was all some kind of trick. They even challenged the man's parents. Those poor folks didn't want to get in trouble, so they said, "Ask him; he's of age. He will speak for himself." So for the second time they called the former blind man before them and demanded that he give glory to God. Jesus could surely have not healed him, for this work had been done on the Sabbath when it was strictly forbidden by Moses that anyone should work. Therefore Jesus was indeed a sinner. We can see the healed man shrugging his shoulders as he answered their questions.

"Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

All this did not fit in with their presuppositions. God would surely not answer a man like Jesus and heal someone on the Sabbath. Yet the man was healed. What to do? Get rid of him. They answered the man now able to see, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And so they cast him out. Done. Problem gone.

The poor man was cast out, but not forgotten by Jesus. The Lord found him and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

Jesus said, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you."

The healed said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him.

I'd like to pick up on that phrase: "he worshipped him." Note above the man said, "... if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him." There were a significant number of God-fearing Gentiles (non-Jews) who were impressed with the Jewish understanding of one God, but who could not or would not submit to the legal regulations about food, Sabbath and circumcision. They were known as God-fearers. We frequently read about them in the Book of Acts. They made up a significant number of early converts to Christianity.

• So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: "Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. - Act 13:16 ESV
• "Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. - Act 13:26 ESV
• One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. - Act 16:14 ESV
• So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. - Act 17:17 ESV
• And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. - Act 18:7 ESV

There's a great story in Acts 10 about one of these God-fearers, a certain Cornelius of Caesarea who was guided by an angel to call for Peter. Peter, in turn, was given a vision and a command to eat ceremonially unclean food. As he pondered the vision, Cornelius' men came to his house and the Spirit said to him that he should accompany them without hesitation (Acts 10:17-20). Peter went with them and proclaimed the Gospel to them. From that point on he and the other Apostles were thoroughly convinced that God's love in Christ was for all men. "Truly I understand," he said, "that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."

What great and glorious news to anyone who is confused and struggling to understand God and the mysteries of walking with Him. If you are one such God-fearer, it does not matter if you do not understand everything there is to know about spiritual matters. You may even feel thrown out by some congregation of so-called Christians for not observing all the niceties and rules of their fellowship. You may feel hopeless and confused about how your sins could ever be forgiven. You may be quite in the dark about what is right and what is wrong. You may be searching and longing for understanding and light, but not knowing where to turn. Listen again to Peter's words,

"Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." - Act 10:34-35 ESV

Know that God's love is not limited or restricted. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find that He is already at your side ready to accept and forgive and love and lead you.

Are You Sick? Its Because You Don't Believe!

Today we pick up the question about whether all sickness comes from the devil and the conclusions drawn from that claim. Those who make this claim argue like this.

• If God is all-powerful and all-good, why is there suffering in the world?  Why especially do faithful Christian suffer? Their suffering demands an interpretation.
• Jesus is the Son of God who has revealed the will of His Father. He said, "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me." - John 5:30 ESV
• Jesus never made anyone sick. By His words and actions He revealed that the will of God is to heal ONLY! 
• If you believe your sickness is God teaching you, correcting you or testing you; then you must conclude that it is something good based upon James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
• But is sickness ever good? Is wife beating ever good? Is child abuse ever good? If you think these are all good things then you are clearly confused and vastly deceived. I do not know of anything good about sickness. Sickness and disease is a thief and a robber of your well-being, strength, your life and substance.
• So where does sickness come from? God clearly calls sickness satanic oppression. Consider passages like this: John the Baptist proclaimed, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. - Act 10:38 ESV
• In the revelations of God in the New Covenant given to the church we hear that "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13 - KJV). 
• The curses of the Old Covenant included all forms of disease and sickness (Deut. 28:61). If Jesus Christ came to redeem you from sickness and disease then there is NO WAY that God is sending you sickness or disease to kill you. These things come from the devil. 
• Christians who have a zeal for God, but no knowledge of God's complete will as revealed in Christ, suffer and are sick because they do not renounce Satan in the all-powerful name of Christ.  
• Those who trust in Jesus and God's Word will follow the example of Jesus who freed a woman "whom Satan bound for eighteen years" (Luke 13:16).  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability." And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. - Luk 13:12-13 ESV

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Conclusion: If you, as a believer in Jesus, follow this rationale and are still sick, then it must be that you do not fully trust Him. You have not taken Him at His Word and renounced the devil. You have permitted Satan to have power over you. Its your problem, not Jesus'. He wants to heal you, but you won't let Him! 

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In a January, 2011 post I examined Jesus' healing of that woman bound by Satan as recorded in Luke 13. I urged confession of sins and the promise of forgiveness for the sake of Jesus. This is the true freedom from satanic slavery. In Christ the devil can no longer accuse us of sin. We are free indeed. And this freedom leads to wholeness. Quite often the mental or bodily sickness or dis-ease disappears. Body, heart, mind and soul become one under the blessing and power of forgiveness and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are at peace or shalom in Christ, as Paul writes in his beautiful letter to the Philippians, 

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. - Phl 4:4-7 NLT

 Yet there is so much more that needs to be said, for there are many among us, faithful believers in Jesus as Savior and Lord, who remain sick or disabled in mind, heart and/or body. Their struggle continues even as they believe in Jesus and God's forgiveness. I must speak to them lest they be overwhelmed by the terrifying burden suggested by those "you-don't-have-the-right-faith" teachers referred to above. More on that in my next post. 

Go Now And Sin No More

"Jesus was left alone with the woman the woman standing before him." So we come to the conclusion of the story John told.

Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." - Jhn 8:10-11 ESV

Some say this story was never in John's Gospel. Some say it always was in one form or another. In any event it teaches us something very strange and wondrous about Jesus.

How could he not condemn her? Had she not trampled upon the very plan of God established when Adam was introduced to Eve? Is not the union of a man and woman for life? Is there ever any reason why adultery could be condoned? Had not Jesus himself taught that adultery begins in the very act of gazing upon a woman with lustful desire (Matt. 5:28)? The answers are obvious.

And yet Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you." Did he mean to say she had not committed adultery? Oh no. She had been caught red handed, in the very act—or at least so went the story (John 8:4). What then did he say? That he, like the other men, was not without sin and so not fit to pass judgment? Surely not, for Jesus was without sin, holy, blameless and pure (Heb. 7:26-27). What gave him the right to say to this woman that her sins were forgiven, that God no longer held her guilty?

Here is John's answer, the answer to which all sinners must cling:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1Jo 2:1-2 ESV

This strange word propitiation (hilasmos in Greek) has a deep and profound meaning. It hearkens back to the great Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. The root for the word Kippur is kafar, a Hebrew word that comes from a word meaning "ranson." To ransom means to atone by offering a substitute. In the Old Covenant the blood of the sacrificial animals was required in exchange for the blood or lives of the worshippers who had broken covenant with the LORD by their sins and so deserved death. This was clarified particularly on the Day of Atonement when the High Priest, on behalf of all Israel, laid both of his hands upon the scapegoat and confessed all their transgressions, all their sins and all their iniquities before the LORD (Lev. 16:15-22). The same was true for the sacrifice of all the many animals killed during the days of the Old Covenant (Lev. 1:4-5).

Christ came as the final sinless sacrifice, the Lamb of God (John 1:29,36), to be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind from Adam to the end of this age. All the sacrifices before that were but parables or symbols pointing forward to the coming of this Lamb (Heb. 9:9). He himself was the High Priest who offered this sacrifice. Thus he became the mediator of a new covenant, because his death, his blood, is the Kippur, the all-atoning sacrifice, the propitiation, offered as the one, final substitute for all men.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. - Heb 9:11-15 ESV

Because Jesus was the Lamb of God, because he was to make atonement for this woman's sins upon the altar of Calvary, because he was the High Priest who was to offer the all-atoning sacrifice, he could say to her, "Neither do I condemn you!"

Cleansed and purified, he then gave her the power to change her life. With his Word and his mercy planted firmly in her heart, he could also say, "Go and from now on sin no more." In this Good News all sinners now find refuge and the power to change their lives.

The Invisible Kingdom

In my last post we heard Jesus respond sharply to those who followed him across the sea.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." - Jhn 6:25-27 ESV

 Notice their typical response.

Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" - Jhn 6:28 ESV

Its always that way. Everyone thinks he has to DO something to get God's blessings. In some way or another we have to get God to forgive us, like us, trade with us and so be on our side to rescue, redeem and feed us. That's called self-justification.

I've been pointing to Abraham Maslow and all his talk about the hierarchy of needs, starting with basic physiological needs and moving on to what he called self-actualization. Self-actualized people, he says, accept themselves for who they are, they're spontaneous and natural, have a mission in life, unflappable, alive in the moment, spontaneous, open to new ideas, and on an on. Maslow believed that everyone has an internal drive to realize those higher levels. Step by step anyone is capable of climbing up to that free, uninhibited uncontrolled, trusting, unpremeditated expression of the self!

Sounds really great. That's why his ideas are so overwhelmingly popular. Motivational speakers use them all the time. Corporations incorporate them into their culture. Popular writers publish books about them by the thousands.

But they all miss the point! You can't ever actualize yourself, no matter what you do.

Remember Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, one of the wisest leaders of Israel, a man who came to see Jesus secretly?

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.  

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - Jhn 3:2-6 ESV

Jesus spoke about an invisible kingdom, one you cannot enter unless you are born of the Spirit. In other words, the gates are locked until God opens them and leads you in. And only those on the inside know about and see this kingdom of God. In this kingdom the insider discovers forgiveness for all of his failures. He feeds daily upon God's mercy and love. He finds nurture for his soul and his heart is filled with peace, peace with God, with himself and with his fellow men. He sees the world with different eyes. He sees God's hand at work in his life, even in the midst of suffering, pain and loss. He is vibrant and filled with a hope that reaches far, far beyond the present and on into eternity. He actually believes that his body will be raised from death and that he will spend endless ages with loved ones and friends in a perfect world. And so he is filled with endless joy and with praise to God his Father and to Jesus his Brother, Savior and Friend.

Do you know about this secret kingdom? If you do, then you know why I say that Maslow and all his disciples, as well as any other teachers—be they psychologists, philosophers or priests—don't get it. The gates of this secret kingdom are locked to them.

Listen to Matthew as he shares Jesus' words to his disciples.

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. - Mat 16:15-20 ESV

The church is built upon Peter's confession: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus is the Rock (Deut. 32:4; Matt. 7:24-25; 1 Cor. 10:4), the immovable foundation against which all the powers of hell and darkness cannot prevail. So Paul writes,

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. - 2Cr 5:14-19 ESV

The disciples of Jesus are members of this invisible kingdom. They have all been reborn by the working of God's Spirit in their hearts and lives. They are, as Paul said, a new creation. They are the church, the living, active, loving members of Christ's Body. Jesus is their Lord and King and they live to love him, serve him and love others even as he loves and forgives them.

This does not mean, of course, that Jesus has relinquished his kingship over this world. He still controls it and provides us with a certain semblance of outward peace. This we have come to call his kingdom of the left hand. But more about that another day.

My Times Are In The LORD's Hands

In my last post I promised to say one more thing about destiny, a word often misunderstood, but important. This will be relatively short, because in my own life many things are changing. I've had another major operation on my heart. This time the LORD blessed me with skillful surgeons who worked together to successfully replace my aortic valve. So, it appears that I may, under the LORD's blessings, continue my journey on the this earth for some time since the procedure was successful.

As a result of that and some other heart issues in our family, we are busy downsizing and changing our lives and are in the midst of some major negotiations. So, I'm feeling a bit stressed. Many times I visited with folks in the hospital who needed to hear God speak to them from His Word as they dealt with sickness and stress. One of the psalms I shared with them in those times was the psalm I quoted earlier.

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! - Psa 31:14-16 ESV

This is a beautifully comforting Word from the LORD and I commend it to you. Note particularly that not only are nations guided by God, but the LORD (read Jesus), my God, is the One in whom I put my trust. Since He has called me to faith in Him and assured me that He has freed me from guilt and sin upon the blessed cross, I can indeed trust Him. Therefore as I face health issues and other stresses I can turn to Him, certain that He pays very close attention to me, even as He cares personally for each and every single one of His sheep. David spoke about this in the most favorite psalm of all, Psalm 23.

Note how this psalm speaks about what is going on: "My times are in your hand." Here I'm reminded of how the LORD spoke to Abraham and Sarah about the upcoming and planned birth of their first—and only—son Isaac.

The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." - Gen 18:10-14 ESV

The time was set and as impossible as it seemed, Sarah became pregnant in her advanced years and gave birth to a son. So I am reminded again of how the LORD guides the events of His children and answers prayers. This is the destiny of us who have been adopted into His family and made heirs of a life that will never end. "My times are in your hand, O LORD." And no enemies, be they human, demonic or inward, personal doubts, will ever snatch me out of Your hand, dear LORD.

Yes, we have a destiny, you, my fellow believer and I. We are in His hands for all eternity, from one age to another, forever and ever. May this be of comfort to you this day and in all the days to come.

Where Is Jesus To Be Found?

The church has always taught that Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection. Where then is He? In heaven? Yes. And everywhere else. But where may I find Him so that I too may speak with Him and hear Him speak to me? The specific answer to that question is where two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name. Let me explain.

As Jesus prepared to ascend to His rightful throne in heaven, He emphasized an important truth about Himself. He is both true Man, the Son of Man and He is LORD, the God who revealed Himself across the centuries to His people Israel. His is the Name revealed to Moses,

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" - Exd 3:14 ESV

A footnote translation reads: I am what I am, or I will be what I will be.

This is the Name of Jesus Christ. He is the ONE who revealed Himself to Moses and gave him the Name. This is the consistent witness of all true believers. As the Apostle Paul writes about true worshippers,

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Phl 2:9-11 ESV

To gather together in Jesus' name is therefore to gather together to worship, to praise and to pray to Him. Even before His ascension the LORD Jesus promised,

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Mat 18:20 ESV

Where is Jesus found? In His body, the assembly of the believers, the church among whom His Name is held sacred. There He is, teaching, warning, comforting, consoling and guiding. It need not be a great assembly of thousands—although it may well be. It can be two or three gathered to worship and praise. There He meets us. There He comes to speak to us through the mouths of our brothers and sisters. There is the power that only He can exert. There He speaks the word of forgiveness to the penitent. As Jesus said after His resurrection,

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." - Jhn 20:22-23 ESV

We all may at times have personal difficulties with the way our fellow Christians act. Even after baptism we believers retain our old Adam, our sinful natures. And we give into that nature. Indeed our life in Christ is a constant struggle, as Paul writes,

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. - Rom 7:18-20 ESV

And yet when we are assembled together in Jesus' Name He is among us, speaking His Word. The world around us does not see Him. But we do. And we rejoice in His Presence. He is what He is and He will be what He will be.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. - Prov. 18:10

No Forgiveness Without Blood

A couple of weeks after hearing a sermon on Psalms 51:2-4, a man wrote the following letter to the IRS.

"I have been unable to sleep, knowing that I have cheated on my income tax. I understated my taxable income, and am enclosing a check for $2,500.00. If I still can't sleep, I will send the rest."

King David had the same problem. His guilt about his adultery with Bathsheba and the arranged murder of her husband kept him from sleeping.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. - Psa 51:2-4 ESV

David had sinned against Bathsheba's husband and against his own family. He had sinned against his nation and failed to provide the moral and spiritual leadership required of his office as king. But his sin ran even deeper and he knew it. He had sinned against the LORD God. Whatever happened now, the LORD would indeed be justified in doing it.

As he pondered his failings, David spoke of yet another troubling reality. This sin, this iniquity, was in him from the moment of his conception.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. - Psa 51:5 ESV

 Breaking God's commands, iniquity, transgression, depravity, sin, and the accompanying guilt—this theme  pervades and saturates the Biblical account from the Garden of Eden onward. It is an inner soul-sickness that passes on from one generation to the next. David saw it in his own miserable life. He had flaunted the commandments of the LORD to honor marriage and protect human life. Not only was he guilty, but so also was his family, his siblings and his parents. He had been conceived in sin and guilt! Inwardly he felt like all his bones were broken, so intense was his pain. Was there no way out of this misery and pain? He pleads with the LORD God to wash him and make him clean.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. - Psa 51:6-9 ESV

He must not hide from the truth. He must admit his guilt and be prepared to accept punishment for what he had done and for what he had failed to do. This was the chokmah, the wisdom he pleaded for. This is the basic, practical skill that every sinner must learn. Each must face up to his/her personal failings and sins. No more secrets. Every layer of this perversity must be uncovered. Only then is purging and washing possible.

Notice David's strange prayer: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. What in all the world does a flower (hyssop) have to do with being purged and cleansed? Hyssop is an aromatic plant of the mint family. It has a strong wiry stem with bunches of flowers and leaves able to absorb liquids like water and blood in the same way as the natural and manufactured sponges we commonly use today. So hyssop was used in various rituals such as sprinkling blood on the doorposts at Passover (Ex. 12:22), blood and water on lepers (Lev. 14:4-7), on an infected house (Lev. 14:33-57), on a person who had touched a dead body (Num. 19:11-22).

These strange—at least to us—rituals were critical to the lives of these people. They were God's way of speaking to them through symbolical, ritual acts. And what was He saying? Death and disease is what you deserve. Separation from your family and homes is what you deserve. You deserve to be cut off from Me, your God, forever. You deserve death. But I forgive you and the blood of these animals who must die in your place, their blood sprinkled upon you with the hyssop, this blood is My word of grace and mercy to you. You are clean, you are washed.

The writer of the NT book Hebrews helps us to understand the significance of this cleansing. These symbolical rites and rituals were metaphors and parables that pointed to a deep reality: God does not desire the death of the sinner. He is a just God who demands that each and every command He has given must be obeyed, but He is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. How can these two contrasting realities come together? How can God be both just and merciful? All the OT sacrifices, with their accompanying rituals, point to the manner. Blood must be shed. Life for life. The animals—sheep, goats, cattle, birds— died instead of the people (Hebrews 9:9-10).

But were the deaths of animals truly sufficient to purify and cleanse the consciences of the sinner? For the moment it may have seemed so. But then sin came back and more sacrifices, more sprinkling and washing had to follow. Blood, blood, blood. Again and again. Sacrifices, rituals, sprinklings, washings. What did they all point to? What were these rites all about? The book of Hebrews interprets and clarifies it all for us. All the sacrifices and rituals were but copies of a greater heavenly plan. They pointed to that one, final and eternal sacrifice made by Christ. He is the world's High Priest who entered into the very inner Presence of God. There He has offered the final sacrifice, His life for ours, His death in our stead.

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hbr 9:18-28 ESV

Because of Christ the sinner may now be forgiven. I shall return to David and Psalm 51 in my next post.

Pruned And Blessed

As a pastoral counselor, I saw again and again what great release of fear and pain believers in Christ experienced when they admitted their failings, their sins and their guilt. What peace and joy was theirs when they received the forgiveness and mercy only Christ can offer through His cross. If you are one of those, even if you are caught up in some addiction, Jesus offers freedom from the vicious cycles you are in. He brings peace and joy in God's love.

Jesus speaks about this in His analogy of the vine and its branches.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:1-2 ESV

Pruning a branch means cutting away shoots that draw away energy and prevent it from bearing fruit. Jesus says that every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

In the original Greek language the verb for prune in Greek is kathairoh  (καθαίρω).  That particular verb is used only once in the NT—here. Its the basis for the Gk. noun for clean (καθαρός). From this noun comes the English word catharsis —emotional release, relief, release,venting, purging, purgation, purification, cleansing. 

Study where that clean noun is used in the NT and you find such passages as these: 

Mat 5:8 ESV - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Jhn 13:10 ESV - Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you."
Jhn 13:11 ESV - For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."
Jhn 15:3 ESV - Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Fascinating! How wonderful it is to be pruned. It means that the sin is exposed. Exposing sin is indeed painful. And may take some time. But our Lord allows us to go through this pain precisely so that He may speak His Word of grace and forgiveness to us: You are clean! Cleansed and thus able to draw near to our pure, holy God. The Scripture says, 

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.Hbr 10:22 ESV

Notice the very appropriate connection with Baptism! The Father prunes. He causes the Law to expose our sin and our temptations to sin, but then He brings us to our Baptism. We are once again buried with Christ and brought out of death to life. This is cathartic indeed. What an emotional and spiritual release. No longer does the sin weigh upon us. No longer are we burdened by guilt. We are cleansed. We are pruned! Our hearts, our entire inner lives are sprinkled clean from evil consciences and our bodies, our entire beings, are washed with pure water, the holy water of Christ's baptism. 

So we become pure in heart and we see God! We see Him as our Papa, our Abba and we are His children, adopted by Him into His family. 

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"- Rom 8:15 ESV 

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" - Gal 4:6 ESV  

Praise the Lord for His Word. We thank You, Father, for welcoming us as Your children and allowing us to cry out, "Abba! Papa!" Personally, I am reminded of our trusting, caring, dependent little great-grandson. He's just now learning to say Dada. And we are approaching his first Baptism birthday! 

Jim Died A Most Prosperous Man

I am very proud to tell you I live in a house that Jim built. Jim was a builder from Michigan who arrived here in Texas in the early 1970s. The house building business in Michigan was at a standstill. People were leaving the state in droves, looking elsewhere for work. But in the Houston area things were booming. So Jim ended up here. Sylvia and I contracted with Jim to build us a new house.

Jim was a very devout Christian lay member of our congregation. During the days he worked on our house a very strange disease he had already in Michigan worsened. Blood circulation to his extremities was cut off for reasons the doctors could only guess at. Little by little the tips of his fingers and toes died and had to be removed. As the disease progressed he finally lost his hands and feet, then his forearms and calves. By the time he died—a little over a year after the disease began—he had but stumps where his arms and feet had once been.

BUT! Jim never lost faith in the mercy, forgiveness and love of God! Astounding. How was that possible? I learned so much from this humble man, so very much about real faith. Jim was my Job. It was as if Job were there in the hospital bed as I visited and prayed with Jim.

"Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may. Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand? Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face." - Job 13:13-15 ESV

That was Jim. He believed that he was unworthy of God's love. He was a sinner and deserved, as we confess week by week in our liturgies, "Your present and eternal punishment." That prayer of confession continues:

"For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen."  

When Jim left this life, we joyfully committed what was left of his suffering body to the hands of his Lord in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. The congregation I served at the time later named a pre-school building in Jim's honor.

Here's where I return to my critique of the prosperity preachers.

Jim came to Texas to prosper. He believed in God and in His love. For a time he found work and gained money to care for his family. And then his illness. Why? I never heard Jim ask that question. He simply submitted and did his work until he had to be confined to a hospital bed.

It was as if God was hiding Himself—or at least so it seemed. In Martin Luther's terms, God was speaking from behind a mask. And what was he saying to Jim—as well as to all of us? Certainly that He has poured out abundance upon us, giving us all that we need in this life. We have homes, food, good weather, basically good government, protection from our enemies, friends and family. And what are we doing with all this? Honoring Him? Thanking Him? Serving Him? So often, so very often the answer is no, no, no. We forget about loving Him and serving Him with all of our being, with our hearts and minds as well as our bodies. We forget to reach out to share this abundance with the weak, needy and helpless.

So He spoke a word of warning to us through Jim's illness. He told us that this is what we each deserve—to die and to be separated from Him for eternity. BUT! Yes, but . . . He bent down low to speak to us another Word. And this is the good news, the most unexpected, wondrous news that ever there can be, the message that Jim believed and to which he clung until he drew his final breath. That Word is that the very WORD of God became flesh, incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He did what the ancient prophet Isaiah (to whom I referred in my previous post) said He would.

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. - Isa 53:3-5 ESV

From behind this wondrous mask, our hidden God has spoken His Word of forgiveness. It was all for us sinners. Because Christ died, we died. With His stripes our broken relationship with God is now restored.

Jim never became a prosperous man. He died from his sickness. His family struggled to recover from the loss. Yet we are all confident that Jim lives in the endless abundance of the Lord and God in whom he put his trust. He died in faith, faith given to him by the generosity of God, faith given to him by God's Holy Spirit at work in that Word spoken in Christ. Jim was unable to accept the bread of the Sacrament with his hand when we celebrated it in his hospital room. He no longer had hands. But he ate the bread and drank the wine and believed that in that precious gift of God he received forgiveness for all his sins. He believed that he received the very body and blood that Jesus offered up for him. And he rejoiced to know that by God's priceless grace he was God's child and would receive a renewed and eternal body on the great Day of Christ's return. He has been invited to the feast (Isaiah 25:6-8).

We thank you Jim. You are a saint, made holy by the blood of Jesus. And your works follow you.

I'll have a bit more to say about all this in my next post.

Genocide Or Justice?

One blasphemous website mocks the LORD God. The author writes,

Why would anybody worship the god of the Bible? He lies, cheats, and kills with impunity. But, he loves us! His mythical son Jesus is a little better, but he wants to torture people forever. The story of Jesus' crucifixion is a horrible story of human sacrifice, and Christians even celebrate it by ceremoniously drinking his blood and eating his body. This is ritual vampirism and cannibalism.

The site goes on to describe what it calls genocide commanded by the LORD as recorded in numerous places in the Old Testament. The author estimates that God killed roughly 33 million people, including many children! Why, he asks, would anyone want to worship such a God?

This is not a casual question. It is one that pastors often are asked. In my last post we looked at Elisha and the murderous bears. Let's look at another frightening slaughter commanded by the LORD, a story taught to every little child in Sunday School.

So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword. - Jos 6:20-21 ESV

This is the well-known story of the fall of Jericho's walls after Joshua and his army had marched around the city for seven days, led on the final day by the priests and the ark of the covenant. The city and all within it was devoted to the LORD for destruction. The bloody massacre of everything alive followed. I'm confident that most Sunday School teachers do not invite their students to picture in their minds Israel's soldiers chopping and slashing through Jericho's women and children with their swords. Many similar stories of slaughter follow in the history of the Children of Israel's capture of the Holy Land (Num 31:7-17; Deut.2:33, 34; 3:6; 20:13-18; Jos 6:21, 24; 8:24, 25; 10:2-40;11:11-23; 1Sa 15:3-9; 27:8-11). How shall we respond to the atheists who mock us for worshipping such a God?

To comprehend all this we must have some background. The principle cited to Israel by Moses applies:

"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. - Deu.9:4-6 ESV

What was so wicked about these nations in Canaan? Their polytheism, the worship of numerous gods and goddesses stood at the root of an utterly immoral and depraved population. Sacred prostitution, child sacrifice and snake worship abounded. Consider some of the gods, what was taught about them and how they were worshipped.

The word El is a generic name for 'god' in the Semitic languages of the time (Hebrew and Ugaritic). It was applied to the God of Israel by Joshua: The Living God, Joshua 3:10. In the Canaanite religion the god El was the head of their pantheon. Their gods reflect influences both from Egypt to the west and Mesopotamia to the north and east. This region was the site of numerous wars fought by the nations of these regions to control the land. Further, since the great bulk of the populace lived an agrarian life great emphasis was upon the fertility of the crops, their flocks and, of course, of humans. So we have many myths about how to please the gods and obtain their blessings and protection. Samples include:

<—Asherah - Mother goddess, wife of El, Queen of heaven. Her images were found in forests, carved on living trees or in the form of poles beside altars at the side of roads. Many references throughout the OT refer to Asherah images and condemn worship of the goddess (Isa.17:8; 27:9; Jer.17:2; Micah 5:14).


Ashtoret (Hebrew) goddess —> of fertility sexuality and war, known also among the Greeks as Astarte or Aphrodite and among the Romans as Venus or Diana. Among Phoenicians and Babylonians she was Ishtar, courtesan of the gods, worshipped in a cult involving sacred prostitution. Many other goddesses could be mentioned. As Israel settled into the land Moses sternly warned them about the practice of having intercourse with women or men devoted to these goddesses. He does, in fact, use a word we translate as 'holy' (qadesh), when referring to women and men set apart to serve as prostitutes.

None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute (qadeshah), and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute (qadesh). - Deut. 23:17 ESV

Baal - lord, master, son of and successor to El, Lord of heaven, god of rain, storm and thunder, giver of fertility. He fights with Mot (god of death, drought and adversity) to revive the land. 108 times the OT refers to the Baals (e.g. Exod.14:2; Num 22:41; Num 25:3; Num 25:5; Jos 11:17; Jos 12:7; Jdg 6:25; Jdg 6:28; Jdg 6:30; Jdg 6:31-32 ESV).

Moloch - one of the baals or lords. The primitive title of this god was very probably "king" (melech in Hebrew) the consonants of which came to be combined through derision with the vowels of the Hebrew word bosheth, "shame". The chief feature of worshipping this god was to put a fire inside the god's metal image with outstretched hands. When the idol was red hot a child would be put between the hands and burnt. The worship of this god continued long after Israel occupied the land. One special centre of such atrocities was just outside of Jerusalem, at a place called Tophet ("place of abomination"), in the valley of Gehennom. According to 1 Kings 11:7, Solomon erected a high place for Chemosh (Kemosh in Hebr.) the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, "on the mountain east of Jerusalem." On this account Solomon is at times considered the monarch who re-introduced the impious cult into Israel. Thus in the NT one of the words for hell is gehenna - after the valley of Gehennom (Matthew 5:22,29,30). 

We could go on and on about the many gods worshipped in this land, including Reshep - god of plague and the underworld, Shulman -god of health, Koshar or Hothar - god of crafts, Marqod - god of dance, Yaw - god of sea and river, Yarikh - god of the moon, etc. 

The point to all of this is that Canaan was totally and radically idolatrous. This worship of false gods touched every aspect of marriage, home, family, the raising of children, culture, economy, travel —everything they said and thought and did. For 40 years they had heard of the Israelites out in the wild places, the people whom the LORD God had delivered from slavery in Egypt. In Jericho only the prostitute Rahab accepted the stories and put her and her family's life into the hands of Israel and Israel's God. Thus she was spared to become an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Joshua 6:17,25; Matt. 1:5). 

Let atheists mock the true God. Let them accuse God of genocide or whatever they want. Like us all they will stand before God to give an account of their unbelief, their self-centered pride and their idolatrous worship of human intelligence. The story of Jericho and others like it are given to warn us that there is but one God. No others will be nor may be permitted to rival Him. Those who mock Him and worship idols will surely perish and die and will be separated eternally from Him and from all hope. 

But ours is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. In spite of it all He would have none perish. For this reason our LORD took upon Himself our human flesh and offered up His life in our place. We who put our trust in Him and in His sacrifice are surely forgiven and do indeed inherit life eternal (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 1 John 4:10).

Elisha And The Murderous Bears

In the early years of my pastoral ministry I was called to comfort a young family whose 3-yr. old had fallen into an open cistern and drowned. I was not well prepared for the task. I still remember the tears and anguish of that young couple as they berated themselves for their negligence.

Many questions arise at the death of a child besides guilt. One that keeps coming up is this. Why did God do it? Or why did God allow this to happen? What does the Bible have to say about this? Is God indeed behind the death of some children?

There are numerous stories in the Bible about children dying before their parents. Along with those stories there are many questions about why God permitted or even commanded these deaths. Were I to look at all the stories one by one we'd be at it for the next several months. Instead I'll look at but a few examples that will aid us in interpreting the others and provide some answers to these frightening questions.

For today let's look at Elisha and the murderous bears!

He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"

And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys   (2 Kings 2:23-25). 

Forty-two small boys torn to shreds by two bear sows! How terribly frightening. How do you explain this? An act of God? Nature gone awry? First some background.

Elisha ('God saves' in Hebr.) was God's chosen successor to the great prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19:8-21). After being called to follow Elijah, Elisha went with the prophet to the eastern side of the Jordan river where Elijah was suddenly separated from him by chariots and horses of fire and caught up into heaven in a whirlwind. As he was lifted up, Elijah dropped his mantle, confirming Elisha's call to be his successor. With that cloak Elisha parted the waters of the river and walked back over. The sons of the prophets who saw all this affirmed God's choice, saying, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." Shortly afterwards Elisha miraculously turned the bad water of Jericho into good with a new bowl of salt, further confirming God's choice (2 Kings 2:1-22).

Now to the text.

Elisha was God's chosen prophet. The choice was confirmed by the other prophets and by the miracle of turning bad water into water sweet and useful. Like Moses and Aaron of old, Elisha spoke for the LORD. His words were God's words (Exodus 7:1-2; Deuteronomy 18:18-19). To mock and revile him was to mock and revile the LORD whose representative he was.

Who were these "small boys"? The Hebrew words (qatan na'ar) can refer to small boys, but may even refer to young men of about twenty (Genesis 34:19) or servants (2 Kings 5:20). The NKJV and the NIV call them 'youths', the ASV 'young lads'. They could well have been a gang of teenagers. We all know how they can be when out of control.

What was this about calling him "you bald head"? The prophet Isaiah speaks God's curse upon the haughty daughters of Zion with their outstretched necks, wanton eyes, mincing about, tinkling with their feet. They will loose their fine anklets, headbands, crescents, pendants, bracelets, scarves, headdresses, amulets, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, signet and nose rings, festal robes, mantles, cloaks, handbags, mirrors, linen garments, turbans, veils, perfume, wavy hair and rich robes.  Instead the women will rot, be forced to wear sackcloth, and be branded as slaves with heads shaved bald. This was to be God's curse upon their prideful unbelief, greed and disobedience (Isaiah 3:14-26).

In that sense, these boys were not merely mocking Elisha for having a bald head—we don't even know that he did. They were calling down a curse upon him, asking God to turn him into a slave with a shaved head.

And beyond that they cried, "Go up, go up!" They had heard about this Elijah flying up to heaven. "OK, old baldy, let's see you do it. Up, up and away, like smoke into the air (Genesis 19:28). Fly, baby, fly if you can! You're a prophet after all and prophets are supermen who can fly. Go for it. Up, up and away!"

With their japes they joined the people who had mocked the LORD God during the ministry of Elijah. Perhaps you know the story of how Elijah confronted and destroyed the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-46). Mockery of the LORD and taking His name in vain was widespread in those days, as it is in ours. This story was but another example of it by the youth of Jericho. They were not merely mocking a man. They were making fun of the LORD Himself and they needed to know the consequences of this blasphemy. This was serious business. They and their families must learn that there is no other God and that by such sacrilege they invite His wrath down upon them (Deut. 5:11).

So the wrath came as they had dared God to give them. Elisha turned and cursed them in the name of the LORD and the LORD sent the bear sows out upon them. Surely there were many others gathered at the time, others who fled the frightful beasts, but these 42 lads did die in the malay.

This story, like so many others in the Bible, reminds us sinners that we must all one day stand before the judgment seat of God to give account of our lives, deeds and words. This story, like others, calls us all, little boys and girls, young or old men and women, to turn from our sinful ways, to fall before our God to beg for His mercy and forgiveness. To such there is always good news. We have an Advocate who pleads on our behalf before the throne of God and even now speaks to us forgiveness, life and hope (1 John 2:1-2).