Snakes & the Gospel

I have recently become the owner of two wonderful little snakes.  Ranger, a fiery red and orange Brooks Kingsnake, and Nathaira, a beautiful green Checkered Garter Snake with a 
yellow dorsal stripe, have become very welcome members of my life.  

As a happy pet owner, I take every opportunity to show them off to people.  Some love it, and they regularly ask me about them.  Others are interested and watch the videos.  Several are genuinely scared of snakes. I completely understand this, though.  Irrational fears are exactly that, irrational.  I have one myself, so I do my best to remember who and not show them pictures or videos.  They are likely to block me on Facebook, too.  The group I find fascinating are the ones who are repulsed by them.  There is really nothing to this.  Snakes aren't slimy or gross.  They are very interesting creatures.  In fact, I would say that snakes, more than any other creature on this earth, understand the predicament of humanity.

Genesis 3 begins by talking about the snake.  It calls the snake "crafty."  It seems that this "craftiness" made the snake the ideal tool in the hands of the Enemy.  "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden"?'" (Genesis 3:1).  

Now, anyone who owns a snake knows that snakes are super stealthy.  I was convinced I had lost Nathaira at one point.  She must have escaped while I was cleaning the tank because I tore that tank apart looking for her to no avail.  I put down hides and tape on the floor as well as heat to attract her.  One morning as I was checking my traps, I saw her slither up and over her tree IN THE TANK!!!  That snake had managed to hide in that tank the whole time...  crafty indeed.  However, no snake has the desire or mental capability to try to deceive mankind.  After all, snakes were created by God and He called them good.  "And God said, 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.'  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:20-21).  If the snake was created good without any reason to deceive mankind, who does want to deceive mankind?  Satan does, and he used that snake for exactly that purpose.

The Fall of Man proceeded in this manner.  Satan possessed the snake and used its natural craftiness (probably just a shadow of his own craftiness) to deceive mankind.  He planted the seed of doubt, and they doubted the goodness of God.  They made the choice not to trust their Creator and rebelled against His one command.  They sinned and were no longer innocent.  This climactic event sent ripples throughout time that have swollen into waves that crash on the shores of our daily lives.  Mankind fell, and in the falling there are four guilty parties.  Satan is obviously guilty for starting this problem and deceiving mankind.  God pronounced his punishment here:

 "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This is the first mention of the Good News we see in Scripture.  It is  referred to as the protoevangelium or "first Gospel."  I will talk about this a bit later as it deals with man, not Satan.

God will also deal with Satan at the end of days, "And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,  and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:9-10).  Mankind is guilty for rebelling against God.  God gave them their punishment:


"To the woman He said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
    and he shall rule over you.”

And to Adam He said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return'" (Genesis 3:17-19).

For listening to the snake instead of God, women's pain in childbearing is increased, and she will desire to rule over her husband.  However, God will give that authority to the man.  For listening to the woman instead of God, the ground will be cursed and man will labor hard to provide for himself and his family.  

However, God did not give punishment without hope.  God will punish evil.  Don't make the asinine assumption that "good" = "let's me get away with what I want."  God will punish wrongdoing, and He does not play favorites.  That means you will bear the penalty for the wrong you do.  Doing something good later does not take that wrong away.  However, He also desire reconciliation with you.  This is where the evangelium or "Gospel" comes in again.   The only way reconciliation can happen is if your wrongdoing is punished.  He wants reconciliation with you so much that He decided He would pay the penalty Himself.  He became man and paid that penalty by being tortured to death on a cross.  That is a good God.  That is Jesus Christ.

That brings us to the last guilty party, the snake.  Obviously, the snake let Satan use him.  God would not have specifically punished an innocent creature for the work of Satan, so the the snake bears guilt in this debacle as well:

"The Lord God said to the serpent,

'Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life'" (Genesis 3:14).

So God takes the snake's legs away from him.  Now, instead of walking, he will slither on his belly.  Even though slithering on their bellies is all the snakes of today have ever known, the absence of legs is still an inconvenience.  As fast as snakes are, legs would certainly increase that speed, and with the increased speed, they may very well feel more comfortable out in the open as opposed to the amount of time they spend hiding.  Maybe not.  That's just a thought.

God also said that the snake will "eat dust."  Now, does a snake actually eat dust particles other than accidentally?  Well, it does use its tongue to taste the particles of dust or anything else by quickly flicking out its tongue and then inserting the forked end into the openings of the Jacobson's organ at the roof of its mouth.  This allows the snake to sense its surroundings, escape from threats, and hunt prey.  Once the particles are sensed, the tongue is cleaned.  I do not know for sure, but it does seem likely that the snake would just swallow the particles to cleanse the tongue, making it ready to sense the particles coming in from the next tongue flick.  Is this part of the curse God laid upon the snake?  Maybe.  The term, "eat dust" is also symbolic of being brought low, abhorrent, despised, and degraded.  God uses the comparison in Micah 7:16-17.  The phrase "eat dust" may just mean that the snake has been brought low, and having just lost his legs, that is certainly true.  The feelings of many toward snakes today would also testify to that truth.

The snake is the only creature in all of creation that had a part with us at the Fall.  We got deceived, and he got used.  We both bear guilt, and we both got duped by Satan, so the snake, more than any other creature, can relate to us on having been fooled by the Enemy.  He lives with the consequence of it everyday, as we do.

With that connection, certainly we can get along.

Madison's First Snake

Caring Enough

Recently, I decided that I was done living alone.  I have wanted to get a pet since only a few months after moving up to Indiana, but the apartment complex I live in does not allow pets.

I went over to the office and got specific with them.  "Do you allow small pets?  Do you allow only certain kinds of pets, or is it a blanket ban on any pet?"  They said their concern was for the possible allergies of other residents, which I do not fully believe, so they allow only pets that do not have fur.  Well, that means no cat.  Please, no smart remarks about hairless cats.  They still have fur.

This made the choice easy for me.  I had considered getting a snake in the past, but now that owning a cat was out of the question since I do not want to move, a snake was the perfect choice.

Ranger - Brooks Kingsnake at 3 months old

The only experience I had to draw from in owning a snake was college. Some of the knowledge I got in my wildlife classes helped, and what I remembered about David's ball python, Abe, helped to start me out.  What was the most helpful was the online community that I had no idea existed for snakes and other reptiles.  If you are looking for help, or are just curious about herps of any kind, the people on this forum have been great.

Reptile & Parrots Forum

I have been very impressed by their kindness, willingness to help, and even a desire to be friends.  It has been a very nice welcome to the world of reptiles.

All of this has made me think about the Church a bit.  I know that the perception of the Church really comes to visitors through whatever local church they visit.  My question then is, "How do newcomers see us when they walk through the doors?"  Many of them have had past experiences with other churches, either good or bad, but they have come to our church desiring what I came to that forum desiring:  Someone who cared enough to help me.  I want to care enough about anyone else that I would not miss it if they needed me and not be callous enough to ignore their need.  

That is what God expects of us, right?
"A new commandment I [Jesus] give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).


That is what we will answer to Him for at judgment.

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.  Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And He will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink,  I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’  Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’  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” (Matthew 25:31-46).

Though, we know that it is not by works we are saved...
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We see that even while saved by grace, we will be judged by our works.

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-15).

This only makes sense, though.  True and living faith in Jesus Christ brings forth good works.

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:14-17).

What then do we say about the good things done by those who do not trust Jesus as their Savior?  These things that they do may very well be good works.  Think of Ghandi.  His passive resistance for the freedom of India from British rule was inspiring!  It certainly made this world a better place, not just because of his actions, but also by what those actions have inspired in others.  However, Ghandi still did wrong.  He was not perfect, just like the rest of us are not perfect.  God says, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:13-16).  

Nothing against Ghandi, but he was not holy.  He fell short of the standard of God like everyone else has, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  That is just the hard truth.  We cannot do it on our own.  That is why God did it for us, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).  What does it take?  Death, unfortunately.  Sin leads to death.  There is no getting around that little doosy.  "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life" (Leviticus 17:11).  That is why Jesus had to die.  He had to die so that the sin we committed would be paid for, and He was the only one who could do it because He never sinned.  "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" (Hebrews 4:14-15).  Once our sin is paid for, we can be free.  All we have to do is accept the gift.  Remember, the Bible said it was a "free gift."  How do we accept it?  Trust in Jesus.  "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.'  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him.  For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:9-13).

Believe in Jesus that His blood on the cross paid for your wrong doing.

Confess Him as your Savior.

That's it.  Trust Jesus.  You will not be put to shame, and you will gain eternal life in Heaven.

The Scarlet Letter

I had to read The Scarlet Letter in high school, and like most books I was forced to read, I didn’t like it.  It was drama, and I don’t like dramas.  Give me good comedy or action, and I’ll come back for more every time… but not drama.  My life has plenty of that.  The story followed Hester Prynn, a woman who was found out in adultery after giving birth to a child, Pearl, while her husband was not yet in the Puritan colony of Boston.  It was sad to see that she was forced to mark herself with a red “A” that showed all who saw her that she was an adulteress.  The story continues into the vengeful scheme of her husband and the pain of the minister who committed the sin with her.  The acts of the characters are certainly not in keeping with the love and desire for reconciliation found in Scripture, but the story does show the pain that can be caused by just one act fueled by lust. Dealing with the subject of lust can be uncomfortable for some, but it is part of our life here in this world.  God is interested in dealing with real life, not some sugarcoated facsimile, so the Bible deals with lust.  So must we.

What is lust?  Lust is the improper viewing of another person in a sexual connotation. How do we act against lust?  I can think of no better picture of how to do this than the story God gives us of Joseph and Potifar’s wife in Genesis 39.  After Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he was taken to Egypt.  He found his way into the service of the Egyptian captain of the guard, Potifar.  Joseph was a righteous man, and God was not only blessing him for it, He was blessing Potifar’s entire household for it.  It was a great situation until Potifar’s wife decided get a little too much Joseph for herself.  She tried to seduce him multiple times.  On the final attempt she even got grabby and found herself holding Joseph’s clothes while he scampered away.  “Flee from sexual immorality.  Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).  We are told to run away from lust!  That should clue us in on the danger of it!  God knows that we cannot stand in a situation of sexual sin forever and be victorious.  So get out of there!  Remove yourself from the temptation, or you will be consumed by it.  That is why you must end a relationship if you are sexually sinning in it.  If pornography is a problem, get software to block it on the computer and/or only use it in a public place.

Sexual sin consumes.  It will literally become a chemical addiction in your brain.  Phenylethylamine releases dopamine during sexual activity and gives you feelings of bliss, excitement, and attraction.  That plus the release of adrenaline and endorphins cause sexual activity to become addictive, even if it is harmful.  It has been compared to the addiction level of opiates like heroine.  That is why Scripture says, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases” (Song of Solomon 8:4).  This, of course, applies to guys as well.

Lust does not just exist in the physical realm, however.  It is pervasive in the realm of the mind.  Jesus said, ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).  That means that we must control our thoughts in this area as well.  “I never actually did anything with her” or “I was only thinking about him like that” are not excuses.  Merely thinking about a person who is not your spouse sexually is deadly sin.

You might be tempted to ignore what I’m saying because I’m not a teenager, and I don’t know your life or what you’re going through.  The truth is that I was a teenager, and I made some of mistakes in this area.  The consequences remain to this day.  What is the good of staying pure?  Your love life is saved for your spouse.  You are all familiar with Velcro.  What happens when Velcro is stuck together and pulled apart too much?  It stops sticking well.  The same is true with people who have had a lot of different relationships.  They have given away their heart too many times.  It does not connect with another very well anymore.  When you do decide to get married, your past relationships will not just fade from your mind.  They will always be there.  You will have to tell your spouse about your past, and that is not a fun experience.  Do not give your heart away so cheaply; it is way too precious for that.  Also, your risk of STDs and pregnancy outside of marriage drops to a staggering 0%!  If you don’t have sex, there is no risk!

 So, how do we deal with the opposite sex?
Dating, as we know it today, is a relatively new concept.  It used to be a slang term referring to prostitution, and the modern concept is not far from the origin.  A man takes a woman out, spends some money on her, and at some level eventually expects her to “put out.”

What a Godly man and woman should be doing is called courting.  If you want more details about this I would direct you to a great book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.  The major difference between dating and courting is that courting is looking toward one goal, marriage.  That’s it!  If a Christian man and woman are “going out,” they should be able to see marriage somewhere in the future.  If either of them cannot, they shouldn’t be in that relationship.

Why is it important for a Christian to only court another Christian?
For a believer in Jesus, who is your first love?  The answer is unapologically JESUS!  How can you be in a close romantic relationship with someone who does not share that love?  I could never court an unbeliever.  They would dump me by the end of the first month because they’d be sick and tired of me witnessing to them and talking about Jesus!  “You might be tempted to ignore what I’m saying because I’m not a teenager, and I don’t know your life or what you’re going through.  The truth is that I was a teenager, and I made some of these mistakes.  The consequences remain to this day.  When you do decide to get married, your past relationships will not just fade from your mind.  They will always be there.  You will have to tell your spouse about your past, and that is not a fun experience.  What is the good of staying pure?  First, your relationship with God is put first.  In every sin, He is the one chiefly offended.  Remember the woman caught in adultery?  Jesus did not go to her husband or deal with the guy she was sleeping with.  He looked into her eyes and said, “Your sins are forgiven.  Go and sin no more.”  Reconciliation must first come with Him.  Second, your love life is saved for your spouse.  You are all familiar with Velcro.  What happens when Velcro is stuck together and pulled apart too much?  It stops sticking well.  The same is true with people who have had a lot of different relationships.  They have given away their heart too many times.  It does not connect with another very well anymore.  Do not give your heart away so cheaply; it is way too precious for that.  Last, your risk of STDs and pregnancy outside of marriage drops to a staggering 0%!  If you don’t have sex, there is no risk.

So, how do we deal with the opposite sex? Dating, as we know it today, is a relatively new concept.  It used to be a slang term referring to prostitution, and the modern concept is not far from the origin.  A man takes a woman out, spends some money on her, and at some level eventually expects her to “put out.”

What a Godly man and woman should be doing is called courting.  If you want more details about this I would direct you to a great book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris.  The major difference between dating and courting is that courting is looking toward one goal, marriage.  That’s it!  If a Christian man and woman are “going out,” they should be able to see marriage somewhere in the future.  If either of them cannot, they shouldn’t be in that relationship.

Why is it important for a Christian to only court another Christian? For a believer in Jesus, who is your first love?  The answer is unapologically JESUS!  How can you be in a close romantic relationship with someone who does not share that love?  I could never court an unbeliever.  They would dump me by the end of the first month because they’d be sick and tired of me witnessing to them and talking about Jesus!  “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14b-15).  I am in Christ, and those in light have nothing to do with darkness except bringing light to it!  Darkness flees from the light of Christ within me.  If you are involved romantically with an unbeliever and they are not fleeing from you, you should ask yourself if you really are a light.

Be careful with your heart, Christian.  Don’t give it away cheap to bare scars that may never fully heal.  It is precious to your King.  Give it to Him completely.  Trust in Him.  Follow Him.  Obey Him, and He will show you the one person to give it to here.

"Only God Can Judge Me"

I spent ten and a half hours in the chair of Jered Peters getting my most recent tattoo.  He did a great job, and I highly recommend him if you are thinking about getting one.  Near the end of that time, we started talking about judgment. He said that he does a ton of "Only God Can Judge Me" tattoos.  I personally believe that tattoos should be personal and of unique meaning to the owner.  It does not seem worth the pain or the money otherwise.  I don't know if I can call the OGCJM tat the most common script out there, but it is certainly not unique by any stretch of the imagination.  The interesting thing about that tattoo is the improper, negative view of judgment it portrays.

I hear Christians all the time saying, "I can't judge" or "You can't judge me" to other believers.  Excuse me, but not only can you judge the actions and words of other believers, YOU ARE TOLD BY GOD TO DO SO! "When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?  Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?  Do you not know that we are to judge angels?  How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!" (1 Corinthians 6:1-3).  

You might be a little confused at this point.  Doesn't the Scripture say, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1)?  Yes, it does, but quoting that to support the idea of not judging the actions of other believers is a classic example of taking a verse out of context.  Here is the verse in context:  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).  If Jesus was telling us not to judge, why is he then telling us to judge in verse five?  "Take the speck out of your brother's eye."  The truth is that Jesus is not telling us not to judge.  He is telling us how to judge correctly.  Remove sin from yourself before judging it in others.  In other words, do not be a hypocrite and judge against someone who is sinning while you are wrapped in sin yourself.

If it is not "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), the words of Jesus taken out of context are often, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone" (John 8:7).  The mistaken interpretation of this verse is that no one can judge because everyone has sinned.  That is a nice, comforting thought to those who like to sin a lot because it allows them to hurl a stone right back at anyone they feel is revealing the fact that they did wrong.  I am sorry, but this is no shield for your wrong-doing.  Jesus is not saying that you have to be sinless to judge.  If taken to its conclusion, that reasoning states that Jesus was in opposition to the Law of Moses and was publicly condemning it.  He would therefore be committing Himself to abolishing the Law and replacing it with lawlessness.  Jesus was no anarchist.  In fact, He supported the Law because He was God and gave the Law on Sinai.  He came to fulfill the Law, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17).  Would Jesus stop a lawful execution under the Law of Moses.  Absolutely not.  The Law is just.  "Without sin" in this context is correctly understood as "without [this] sin."  Think about it.  How did those who brought the woman know where and when to catch this woman in adultery?  Adultery is not one of those sins that people commit out in the open, especially in a society that punishes it by bashing your skull with rocks until you die.  If these Pharisees and scribes knew where and when to find this women, they were probably visitors themselves.  They were adulterers and guilty of the same crime.  Someone who is guilty of the crime is not a legitimate witness against the same crime.  They just sent a guy over there to bed her and walked on over and arrested her.  Notice how he wasn't there?  Did they not have enough people in their mob to get him, too?  The penalty for him is death also, but why would they throw their buddy up there to die?  Jesus, like in all the other situations they tried to trap Him in, sees right through to their hearts.  He upholds the Law and says, "Go ahead and execute her...  if you can do it lawfully."  They couldn't.  They were guilty, too, and they should have been stoned along with her.  After that, Jesus forgives her, as only He could do, and then tells her to stop sinning.

These days, church discipline is one of those things that is often ignored.  Yet in those verses we see judgment at the level of the individual believer.  "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector" (Matthew 18:15-17).  It tells the individual believer that if another believer sins against you, you do not have to get approval of the church.  You do not have to confirm with other believers that what they did is sin.  You, as the believer, have the Holy Spirit.  You can judge whether it is sin or not.  Go in love and get the matter resolved.  Also, notice that the other believers and the church are not told to reevaluate whether or not the offense was sin.  The judgment is solely that of the individual sinned against.  How can church discipline exist if no one can judge?  It can't, and unfortunately, with our churches embracing no judgment, it isn't being enacted when it should be.  The result is sin infesting our churches, and why should we expect God to bless us when we allow sin to run wild consuming people in His church!

Believers, there is no justice without judgment.  Do not be deceived by Satan into thinking you cannot judge the actions and words of others saved by grace.  You can and should.  However, in doing so, do not fall in the other trap of Satan and start condemning them.  Even as you judge, you judge in love for the good of the sinner.  Your goal is reconciliation, not condemnation.  It is only when the one who is confronted refuses to repent are they cast out for the good of the body.

As it concerns unbelievers...  we cannot judge them.  "For what have I to do with judging outsiders?  Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?  God judges those outside. 'Purge the evil person from among you'" (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).  If they have not committed to following Jesus, they cannot be expected to live as one of His people.  Don't judge their actions.  Love them as Jesus loves you.  By His grace they may yet be saved.

Notice though, even as the Scripture says not to judge unbelievers, it tells us to judge believers!  Do not let Satan deceive you!  You must judge for the sake of other believers and the good of the church.  God will not bless a church in which sin is allowed to run wild.  Why should He?  A church that does that is negligent, and it does not deserve God's blessing.

Put God first and purge sin from the church!

Singleness/Marriage

I received a text from a good friend about the goal of single adult Bible studies:

"A singles ministry is not meant to be an intervention of hopeless, loveless people, nor is it to be a Christian bachelor/bachelorette pad where people are simply to mingle and receive roses.  Seeing to it that all the people get hitched should not be the ultimate goal."

I could not agree more.  I personally do not believe that I am called to singleness, but I believe that singleness is a calling.

Unfortunately, these days a particular view has come upon those in the Church who are single.  They are looked upon as the unlucky ones.  Those poor, miserable wretches!  No one loves them!  He/she seems like such a nice person.  Why can't they find a girl/guy?  For anyone who has thought this, has the thought occurred to you that maybe they should not?  It may be that God is calling that particular person to singleness, either for a time or for life.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Choosing to live, or being chosen to live, as Jesus did (and likely how Paul did) should not be viewed as a failing or something to be pitied.

The Church today is in bad shape in many ways, and one of those ways is marriage.  The divorce rate is up over fifty percent!  50%!!!  That's pathetic!  That is essentially the same as unbelievers, and it makes me sick!  Marriage is sacred.  When you say, "I do," it is for life.  There is only one reason I can see in Scripture that makes divorce acceptable,
"It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery" (Matthew 5:31-32).  Why does the Scripture suddenly get ignored when someone decides, yes decides, they do not "love" the other person any more?

Understand this:  love is a choice.  God has commanded us to love others.  He is just and good, and He will only command us to do that which it is possible to do.  That means we can choose to love, and that means a spouse chooses to love their spouse.

What about when money becomes an issue?
Did you not promise, "For richer or poorer?"

"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless" (James 1:26).

The state of marriage in the Church is sad, and it should be a source of shame in all believers.  If you cannot be truthful and steadfast in something like that, why should the unbeliever believe anything else you have to say?

I say all this about marriage for the following reason.

Singleness is not contemptible.  In fact, I believe that more should choose it than do.  The state of marriage in the Church is evidence that at least one of the two people there should have remained single.  It may be that one or both of the people that end up divorced have looked to the other to satisfy them in a way that only God can.  They should have been looking to Him.  They should have been seeking Him, and they should have been seeking Him together!  I don't remember the exact statistic, but the vast majority (somewhere around 90% to 95%) of couples who pray together regularly, stay married, and they are happy in that marriage.

If you are married, you need to be seeking and focused on God in your marriage.  If you are single, you should seek to know whether God would have you get married or stay single.  Both are good, but you need to know which way to go.

7x70

When I was a boy, one of the close family friends were my next door neighbors.  They were an older black couple that I remember being very nice.  To this day my mom enjoys telling the story of one morning when they realized I was nowhere at home.  Understandably, my parents worried and went looking for me only to find me over at Smitty and Laurice’s house having breakfast.

In the middle of the night, my mom woke me up.  I still remember the scene vividly as I write this.  She came and sat down next to my bed, and the look on her face coupled with the tone of her voice told me something was wrong.  She told me that Smitty was dead.  He was a mailman, and he had been out doing his route when a drunk driver hit his vehicle flipping it.  I never got to say goodbye.

Being around people is a situation that is bound to cause pain.  None of us are perfect, and we are going to hurt each other or let each other down from time to time.  That’s just the truth of it.  It’s life.

Renee had four daughters.  One day her daughter, Megan, was in a car with her friend on the way home from the beach when they were hit by Eric, who was behind the wheel drunk.  Both girls were killed by the collision.  Eric was 24 years old, and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. 

Renee began to travel around to schools and churches speaking about the dangers of drunk driving.  After doing these speaking engagements for a time, she started to see that something was missing.  When she realized this, God laid it on her heart that she had not forgiven Eric for taking her daughter’s life, so that is exactly what she did.  She reached out to Eric in prison and forgave him.  “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).  From that single act of compassion, the rest of her family followed her lead and forgave Eric for what he had done.  Through the immense love shown to him by this family, Eric was led to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Romans 4:7).

Renee not only forgave Eric.  She also got his prison sentence cut in half to 11 years, and the plans are to have Eric join her as she begins preaching the power of forgiveness along with the dangers of drunk driving.  They now describe Eric as part of their family.  They lost a daughter, but they gained a son.  I think Megan is smiling in heaven, and I know God is.

The Story Behind Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not a foreign concept for those who walk with Jesus, but often I believe we do not understand the lengths we are expected to go in forgiving others.  Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus responds to Peter, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).  Jesus is saying in no uncertain terms that there should be no end to your forgiveness.

The truth is that all of us are guilty before God, and He has forgiven us more than we can comprehend by pouring out His own blood at the cross.  There was no other way, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Leviticus 17:11).  All of us were guilty of our own sin and would have to pay our own debt, but God was not.  Only He could pay for the sin debt of another.  So He paid the debt for everyone.  We just have to accept it.

In light of that forgiveness we have already received for our sins against God, it is only right for us to act in the same way and forgive the sins against us.  If we cannot forgive, do we really have forgiveness?

“And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us…  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” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15).

After Smitty was killed, I had to figure out how to forgive the man who did it.  I was angry at him, hated him.  He didn’t know it, though.  He doesn’t even know who I am.  It has been said, “To hold a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”  It is true.  Holding onto anger against another person only hurts you.  Forgive them and experience the freedom God wants you to have in that forgiveness.  “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that prisoner was you” (Lewis B. Smedes).

Then, after you have experienced that freedom, show them the freedom of knowing Jesus and being forgiven of everything you have ever done wrong.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).