The Promised Helper, The Spirit of Truth

I was invited to proclaim God's Word to a small congregation in East Texas last Sunday, the Sunday after Jesus' ascension into heaven. Based upon the Gospel lesson, I focused on the anxiety so many of us feel in these unsettled times. Take a brief look at but a few of the events here in the U.S.:

• Boston marathon bombing
• Slaughter of kids in Newtown, Connecticut
• Abortionist doctor convicted of murder
• Jodi Arias found guilty of murder
• Devastating explosion in West, Texas

I've referred only to a few of the recent frightening events in the United States. Yesterday I touched on the extreme hatred and persecution of Christians around the world. Why? Why does all this continue? Where is the Lord God? Why does it seem like Satan and the vast powers of darkness, confusion and death are winning? When will it end? 

To help us in this struggle the Lord Jesus said something we all need to keep hearing: 

"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. - Jhn 15:26-27 ESV

The Helper, as the ESV translates it, is no one less than the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, called by Jesus the Spirit of Truth, sent by the Father to bear witness about Jesus. In the original language used by Jesus the Helper refers to one who stands at your side to guide, comfort, defend you from the demonically inspired thoughts of despair and doubt that plague so many of us. The KJV calls the Spirit the Comforter. Of this Spirit of God Jesus further taught, 

"he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." - Jhn 14:26 ESV

The Holy Spirit at work in God's Word lifts up for us these important truths: 

• We have no right to expect anything other than that God would reject us and this world we live in altogether. If you followed the Jodi Arias trial for the past four months to the point where she was declared guilty, you learned that the trial is divided into two parts: the guilt phase followed by the punishment phase. Fox news reported that she prefers the punishment to be death. Would that be your preference? In God's eyes there is no righteous person on earth (Ecclesiastes 7:20). All are guilty and deserving death. But the Spirit reveals that death does not mean one ceases to exist. Rather death means that you continue forever in lonely despair and darkness, finally given the arid hell you ask for by your disobedience (Luke 16:19-31). Speaking for that same LORD, the prophet Jeremiah puts it this way: 

". . . for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." - Jer. 2:13 ESV

• But the Spirit speaks again and again a vital second truth in God's Word. Jesus has already endured that hell for you on the cross. This is what was behind his loud, despairing cry at the ninth hour, 

"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Mark 15:34 - ESV. 

• And the Father accepted that lonely sacrifice by raising Jesus up on the third day. All this was foretold by the prophets like Isaiah who spoke about the Suffering Servant who 

"poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors." Why? The prophet continues, "he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors." - Isa 53:12 ESV

• Speaking to our hearts, the Spirit confirms in this way that we are God's children and that despite everything else our Father will not forsake us, but will also raise us up with Jesus on the great day when Christ returns in victory and glory. 

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. - 1 Cor 15:21-27 ESV 

Comforted and strengthened by our Helper and Comforter, we set out again each day to give witness to our faith and pray that our witness will be used to lead yet others to know and believe in their Savior.  

Worship In Spirit And In Truth

On Sept. 21, 1956 Navy test pilot Tom Attridge was flying Grumman’s new F-11F-1 Tiger. He fired a burst from his 20mm cannon while diving and accelerating and ran into his own shells. He had to crash land, because he had shot his own fighter down. When that happened I had completed my vicarage-internship and returned to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis for my final year. I was looking forward to beginning work in the pastoral ministry and getting married to my wife. My life was full of activity and moving fast. 

Sometimes life can be going too fast, so fast that we have no time for Bible reading, meditation and prayer. When that happens we are in grave danger of shooting ourselves down. We no longer hear the warnings from our God in His Word. We are in danger of crashing. 

The Gospel lesson for the second Sunday in Lent is from John 4, the story of Jesus meeting the woman at a well in Samaria. In that conversation Jesus touched upon the critical issue of worship. True worship, he points out, must happen in spirit and in truth. Those are the only worshipers the Father seeks. 

Samaria was the place name of a mountain, a city and a region. The word means "mountain of watching." Forty-two miles north of Jerusalem a hill protrudes from a broad valley that cuts across the central highlands of Israel. The city of Samaria in O.T. times had been the capital, residence and burial place of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. Following that kingdom's fall to Assyria in 721 B.C. exiles from many nations settled in Samaria. At the time of Jesus' earthly ministry people from many places still lived there. There had been much intermarriage between former Jews and the Gentiles that moved into the Samaritan area. This led to the widespread worship of strange gods. As you can imagine, there was much unresolved tension between the Samaritans and the orthodox Jews of Judea. 

Instead of going around, as was customary for Jews of his day, the Lord led his disciples straight through Samaria. The story picks up around noon as Jesus and his disciples paused at a well for a rest. While the disciples went on into town to buy some lunch, Jesus engaged a woman who had come to the well in a conversation. He immediately made it clear that he knew who she was, that she had failed in five marriages, been frequently abused and was even then living with a man to whom she was not married. In other words, her life was a mess and she undoubtedly carried shame, failure and guilt in her heart. The fact that she came out to draw water at noon further indicated that she was trying to avoid the other women of the village who would come in the morning. 

I've known many who avoid gathering with others in public, especially in public worship. They don't want to face the truth about themselves and about God. Some, like the Samaritan woman feel they've made a mess of their lives and will never measure up to the standards God has set. I've often heard them say that the church is all a bunch of hypocrites. Church people talk about religion and pretend to pray, but lead lives as flawed and sinful as everyone else. I've heard others say that the whole religion thing bores them. Their boredom is really a cry for people who will reach out to accept and care about them as they are. Of course, it is true that there are 'religious' people who worship with their mouths, but not in their hearts. They boast of being orthodox and pure and look down with loathing upon the Samaritans of our day. 

What kind of person was this man who asked the Samaritan woman for a drink? She knew he was a Jew by his dress and his accent. Since the Jews normally avoided the Samaritans she was surprised that he even talked with her. This led into a conversation about the living water that Jesus said he could give her. She thought he was talking about some kind of artesian well. That, in turn, is what led Jesus to confront her about her failed marriages and the abuse, shame and guilt she carried in her heart. 

The amazing thing is that Jesus did not shun her, even though he knew all about her. He continued to reach out to her. Shook up by such loving attention, the woman tried to change the direction of the conversation. He must be a Rabbi so maybe they might get into a conversation about the usual conflicts between Samaritans and Jews and avoid dealing with those most uncomfortable personal issues. So she asked his opinion about the correct place to worship. 

Samaritans identified Mt. Gerizim as the place God had chosen rather than the Judean King David's Jerusalem. They called Gerizim the "navel of the earth," because in their tradition Adam had sacrificed there. Further, they limited the Bible to the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch, and taught that 6,000 years after creation, a Restorer or Messiah would arise to live on earth for 110 years. At the end of that period would come Judgment Day when the righteous were to be resurrected and the wicked roasted in eternal hell fire. 

Her attempts at redirection didn't work. Jesus turned the conversation back upon her, emphasizing that God looks not at where people worship. What He really seeks are those who worship Him in spirit and in truth, honestly and without lies and pretense. And since she asked about the Messiah he said right out that he was the Messiah, the Restorer. This changed everything for her. The Messiah had come, had known her and still accepted her. Without pausing further, she raced back into town to spread the good news. 

Here's the good news for us all. Regardless of our failures and sins the Messiah has indeed come and come for us personally. When you realize that Jesus is the One promised and that in him there is true mercy and forgiveness, fresh water does flow back into your life. That water is God's Spirit, His power and mercy flowing into all the dark corners to bring forgiveness and renewal. 

There are many places for worship. There are many styles of worship that reflect the many cultures and languages of people around the globe. But true worship is ever inward, spiritual. True worshipers hear Jesus speak to their hearts his blessed words of forgiveness and they respond with joy and thanks. Above everything, remember Jesus' words: "God is spirit and his worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth." 

Spiritual Armor—truth and righteouess

This is a continuation of my study of Ephesians 6:10-24 and preparations I'm making for a paper to be presented to a local pastoral conference the first part of next year. In earlier blogs we noted that the wrestling a believer endures is always personal, in fact a one on one contest requiring training. A wrestler/soldier struggles both with God and with the evil one, particularly the demon or demons in his or her life. Such demons are under the control and authority of the devil, the prince of this world. Having noted that, the apostle continues by detailing the whole armor of God that the believer is to take up (see also Romans 13:12-14). He describes it in terms that would apply to a Roman foot soldier's armament. We'll focus not upon the armor itself, but upon the metaphorical implications Paul makes as he reviews the soldier's armor.

Before we go there, a brief comment about spiritual warfare is in order. Writing to young pastor Timothy, Paul notes that his work will always involve battle. With this in mind he writes,

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.  (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

He writes, of course, to a man "enlisted" by Christ as a pastor, a public spokesman of the Word of God. Such a person will always find himself on the front lines of the fighting. This is why his focus must be on the real battle, the fight with the spiritual forces behind flesh and blood. The fact of spiritual warfare is, however, part of every Christian's life, regardless of his calling. So Paul provides instructions in Ephesians about the required armor. Let's look at his list:

• truth
• righteousness
• the gospel of peace
• faith
• salvation
• the word of God

We won't have time today to look in detail at every piece of this armor. For now let's focus upon truth and righteousness. What are they?  What is truth? What is righteousness?

Truth in the Greek language is a complex word (aletheia) from a verb that means to hide and the negative letter 'a'. So it means simply what is not hidden, but revealed. This is why our Lord Jesus calls Himself the Truth (John 14:6) and declares that to know Him in a personal manner is to become free (John 8:32). This is where it all starts. This is what holds the believer together. Just as a belt holds and supports the soldier's equipment, so Jesus Himself dwells within one's heart to confirm that the believer is a forgiven son or daughter of God. This truth has been clearly and decisively revealed by Jesus' cross and resurrection. God's love is for the entire fallen world. And the believer hears in his heart that Jesus loves me!

For his breastplate the believer wears righteousness. There are those yet even among Christians who believe they can live righteous lives before God and thus gain His forgiveness and blessing. Jesus encountered them among the pious scribes and Pharisees and warned that one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless his righteousness exceeds theirs (Matthew 5:20). Paul, himself once a Pharisee, knew this was hopeless. That's why he wrote about Christ as the One who came to show God's righteousness and forbearance toward sinners (Romans 3:21-26). In spite of our sin, we are declared righteous and holy in His sight—all for Christ's sake.

He who believes that and has a personal relationship with Jesus, seeks now to respond to Him who has accomplished such great things. He seeks to live a righteous life. He seeks to serve as a good soldier in Christ's kingdom. He constantly asks his Commander for orders and makes it his aim in life to carry them out—all because his Commander loves him and has rescued him from the powers of death and darkness and put him into the kingdom of heaven, life and light. This righteousness serves as the protection for the believer's heart and soul. He is righteous in God's eyes.

More on armor the next time. 

The Difficult and Dangerous Task of Truth Telling

Over breakfast this morning my friend and I got into a long discussion of truth. Does anyone tell the truth? we wondered. This all started because I was reflecting upon the Gospel lesson read in many Christian churches last Sunday (Luke 4:31-37). Jesus had been rejected by the folks from his home town, Nazareth. From there he made his way to the coast of the inland Sea of Galilee and the town of Capernaum where he taught in their synagogue on the Sabbath. In this synagogue, Luke reports, was a man who had "the spirit of an unclean demon."

From what I read, all demons are liars, since they serve the devil, who by nature is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Did the members of that synagogue's congregation assume this person had the spirit of an unclean demon because he was an inveterate liar? How many people today have such a spirit? And if they are among a body of worshippers, why are they permitted to remain and to spread their demonic influence?

I had a host of similar questions banging around in my head. We decided that all we could do was to make some guesses about this liar and his demon. Yet the discussion did lead us to reflect upon how vital it is for any community to strive for the truth, even though telling the whole truth is difficult and can be dangerous. Some examples found by Googling:

• Attorney James S.D. Johnson reflects upon the danger of accommodating Darwinism through false testimony. Christians make far too many compromises, he writes. 

• An organization pleads for the truth in labeling. The author worries about the dangers of MSG: a neurotoxic flavor enhancer. 

• A man is even afraid to reveal his name as he berates the I.R.S. for its lies about his wife's tax problems. The search for the truth, he writes, is a dangerous thing. 

The list goes on. Others worry about half truths being equally as dangerous as outright lies, if not more so.

Later on in his ministry the Lord Jesus did not only meet people who had the spirit of a lying demon. He met people who accused him of having a demon (John 8:48-50). His response to all their slander was straightforward. "Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God" (John 8:45-47).

Truth will ever remain an elusive thing in this world. The challenge we all face is to own up to our own accommodating to its lies and the liars. We need to turn away from our own lies and find forgiveness and daily renewal in Him who is the way to the Father. He is the very embodiment of the Truth and when his Spirit dwells within us lies and the demons that encourage them must flee.