"While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, 'Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?'" (Luke 22:47-48).
Through history Judas has been vilified as the worst of the worst. How could someone who walked with the Christ suddenly turn on Him and betray Him into the hands of those who would murder Him for no reason other than preaching the forgiveness and grace of God? If that wasn't bad enough, why would Judas choose a kiss, the universal sign of love and affection, to initiate a betrayal? I have wondered that, too. Just what was going through his head when he decided to hand Jesus over to the wicked?
The truth is that Judas has completely earned the reputation he has been given in history. He is a self-serving and wicked person who is a natural infiltrator, "But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it" (John 12:4-6). Judas would have made a great spy. He completely fooled almost everyone he was with for years. His only mistake was that he was attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of God, and the Son was never fooled, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). Continue to the end of the story and you see that Judas certainly reaped what he sowed, "Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.' They said, 'What is that to us? See to it yourself.' And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself" (Matthew 27:3-5). The question of whether or not Judas repented and was saved is not the issue. He certainly realized what he had done to some degree, but whether that was a true salvation experience will not be known in this world. The point is that Judas was a wicked and vile person. The point is that we are, too.
In order to bring the light of Christ into this world, we must have a proper view of ourselves. Before we came to Jesus and were washed clean is the person the we are by ourselves. Some of you were saved very young, so it is hard to remember who that person was, but the aspects of the "old man" still come through from time to time, so work from there. That is you. Is that person anything to be proud of? Looking at myself, I can certainly say a resounding, "No" to that. I was as wicked and self-serving as Judas was, and if you look honestly at yourself, you have to come to the same conclusion. We all do. So, is there any reason at all for us to look down on any other person for what they do?
What about the murderer? "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:21-22).
What about the adulterer? "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 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).
If you have hated anyone, even if they are the most rotten person to ever exist, you are guilty. If you have ever lusted over another person, you are guilty. **BEGINNING OF SOAPBOX** By the way, it is not ok to talk about how good looking someone is to others (especially married people doing this). It may seem perfectly innocent, but all it is doing is inviting lust in yourself and others. This is true of both guys any girls. There is no exception. If there is something wonderful about them, that is certainly worth praise, but do not invite lusting eyes to feast on the physical. **END OF SOAPBOX**
"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it" (James 2:10). We are as wicked and guilty as Judas. The good news is that we are redeemed by the blood of Christ. We need to remember that when we see the unsaved sin because we did it too before Jesus got a hold of us. So, maintain purity, but interact with the unsaved like Jesus did, not the Pharisee that prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector" (Luke 18:11). Love them. Care for them. Reach out to them, and show them the same redeeming power in Jesus that was once shown to you. Jesus was willing to "get His hands dirty." We should be, too.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Abominations: Light & Darkness
"An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but the one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked" (Proverbs 29:27).
In the movie Braveheart, the English king, Edward I, offers William Wallace a bribe of land, title, and gold to stop his crusade against England's oppression of Scotland. When the princess, who was speaking for the king, offered him the bribe, Wallace responds, "A lordship and titles. Gold. That I should become Judas?" She continues, "Peace is made in such ways." Wallace, who is now visibly angered, shouts, "Slaves are made in such ways! The last time Longshanks spoke of peace I was a boy. And many Scottish nobles, who would not be slaves, were lured by him under a flag of truce to a barn, where he had them hanged. I was very young, but I remember Longshanks' notion of peace!" The princess takes Wallace's response back to Edward I who is baffled by what he hears. He assumed that his bribe would be accepted. He trusted in the greed of men. He trusted in his deception, and the fact that his bribe was turned away confused him. Even more telling of Edward's character is revealed in his response when he learns that his royal emissary gave the gold away to help those suffering as a result of the war. His son, Edward II, asks Isabella, "You brought back the money, of course."
Isabella: No, I gave it to ease the suffering of the children of this war.
Edward I: Ha! That's what happens when you send a woman.
Isabella: Forgive me, sire. I thought that generosity might demonstrate your greatness to those you mean to rule.
Edward I: My greatness will be better demonstrated when Wallace returns to Scotland and finds his country in ashes.
The wicked are confused, confounded, and offended by what is good. They expect everyone else to be as greedy, treacherous, and wicked as they are, and they do not understand it or expect it when a person acts righteously. You might even be able to remember a time when you stood for Jesus and there were people who reacted in a way similar to Edward I. They might have been confused by it. They might have even been angry about it.
I was informed recently about something like this that included me. I was in a group, and I mentioned something about homosexuality being wrong. Now, I do not dislike people that practice homosexuality. God loves all people. He commands us to love all people, too. However, homosexuality is not a people. Homosexuality is a practice, and it is a practice that Scripture says wrong, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). What is also clear is that it is not the only thing that is considered unrighteous. Homosexual sin is put on the same level as a number of other sins. It is also clear that people can come out of such practice just as they can stop being drunkards and thieves. Paul said so, "And such were some of you" (1 Corinthians 6:11). It is not easy. Just ask an alcoholic, but it is possible. The point is that I mentioned that homosexuality is wrong, but I did not say they were ugly, rancid, disgusting excuses for people. In fact, I believe just they are just like the rest of us, searching for good and missing it. However, to that person, it sounded like I was a hateful and horrible person merely by saying what Scripture already says. She did not understand it, and it was very offensive to her Therefore, I was offensive to her, and she got angry at me. Righteousness offended.
What is important to understand is that even those of us who are saved by the blood of Jesus are unrighteous people becoming more and more righteous. The process of sanctification is still at work in us. We come to Christ with many questions, and nobody understands everything from the beginning. The important thing is to submit ourselves and our thoughts to the Word of God. If we do this, we will be on the right course, but we will also offend. Even the thought of submitting to the Word of God is offensive to many ears, but Jesus did not come to have everyone get along, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:34-39). He came to reveal righteousness, and righteousness offends the unrighteous. In many cultures today, when one member of the family becomes a Christian, their whole family will turn against them. They will abuse them, disown them, or even kill them. Many have to keep their faith a secret from their own families in order to survive. Righteousness offends.
Righteousness is an abomination to the wicked because it casts light on the evil that they commit or give approval to. Jesus brought the light to the world, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" (John 8:12). It was because He illuminated the darkness that those who loved the darkness hated Him. The same will be true of us, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours" (John 15:18-20).
Edward I never got passed his confusion at the way Wallace acted. Lies and deceit were his strategy throughout the entire movie. He bribed Wallace's allies even as he sent assassins to kill him. At the end of Braveheart, Edward I has Wallace tortured. He attempts to use pain in order to get Wallace to submit to England, thereby admitting that he was wrong in fighting for freedom. I will always remember how the magistrate extended the English royal seal to the prostrate Wallace telling him to kiss it as a sign of submission to the crown. Wallace, in visible pain, coughing and heaving as a result of the torture, got to his feet and stood defiant in the face of pain and death for the what was right. In the same way, Christians must stand upon the Rock that is Jesus Christ in the fact of all opposition. We will offend. We will be hated, but we must never relent.
In the movie Braveheart, the English king, Edward I, offers William Wallace a bribe of land, title, and gold to stop his crusade against England's oppression of Scotland. When the princess, who was speaking for the king, offered him the bribe, Wallace responds, "A lordship and titles. Gold. That I should become Judas?" She continues, "Peace is made in such ways." Wallace, who is now visibly angered, shouts, "Slaves are made in such ways! The last time Longshanks spoke of peace I was a boy. And many Scottish nobles, who would not be slaves, were lured by him under a flag of truce to a barn, where he had them hanged. I was very young, but I remember Longshanks' notion of peace!" The princess takes Wallace's response back to Edward I who is baffled by what he hears. He assumed that his bribe would be accepted. He trusted in the greed of men. He trusted in his deception, and the fact that his bribe was turned away confused him. Even more telling of Edward's character is revealed in his response when he learns that his royal emissary gave the gold away to help those suffering as a result of the war. His son, Edward II, asks Isabella, "You brought back the money, of course."
Isabella: No, I gave it to ease the suffering of the children of this war.
Edward I: Ha! That's what happens when you send a woman.
Isabella: Forgive me, sire. I thought that generosity might demonstrate your greatness to those you mean to rule.
Edward I: My greatness will be better demonstrated when Wallace returns to Scotland and finds his country in ashes.
The wicked are confused, confounded, and offended by what is good. They expect everyone else to be as greedy, treacherous, and wicked as they are, and they do not understand it or expect it when a person acts righteously. You might even be able to remember a time when you stood for Jesus and there were people who reacted in a way similar to Edward I. They might have been confused by it. They might have even been angry about it.
I was informed recently about something like this that included me. I was in a group, and I mentioned something about homosexuality being wrong. Now, I do not dislike people that practice homosexuality. God loves all people. He commands us to love all people, too. However, homosexuality is not a people. Homosexuality is a practice, and it is a practice that Scripture says wrong, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). What is also clear is that it is not the only thing that is considered unrighteous. Homosexual sin is put on the same level as a number of other sins. It is also clear that people can come out of such practice just as they can stop being drunkards and thieves. Paul said so, "And such were some of you" (1 Corinthians 6:11). It is not easy. Just ask an alcoholic, but it is possible. The point is that I mentioned that homosexuality is wrong, but I did not say they were ugly, rancid, disgusting excuses for people. In fact, I believe just they are just like the rest of us, searching for good and missing it. However, to that person, it sounded like I was a hateful and horrible person merely by saying what Scripture already says. She did not understand it, and it was very offensive to her Therefore, I was offensive to her, and she got angry at me. Righteousness offended.
What is important to understand is that even those of us who are saved by the blood of Jesus are unrighteous people becoming more and more righteous. The process of sanctification is still at work in us. We come to Christ with many questions, and nobody understands everything from the beginning. The important thing is to submit ourselves and our thoughts to the Word of God. If we do this, we will be on the right course, but we will also offend. Even the thought of submitting to the Word of God is offensive to many ears, but Jesus did not come to have everyone get along, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:34-39). He came to reveal righteousness, and righteousness offends the unrighteous. In many cultures today, when one member of the family becomes a Christian, their whole family will turn against them. They will abuse them, disown them, or even kill them. Many have to keep their faith a secret from their own families in order to survive. Righteousness offends.
Righteousness is an abomination to the wicked because it casts light on the evil that they commit or give approval to. Jesus brought the light to the world, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" (John 8:12). It was because He illuminated the darkness that those who loved the darkness hated Him. The same will be true of us, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours" (John 15:18-20).
Edward I never got passed his confusion at the way Wallace acted. Lies and deceit were his strategy throughout the entire movie. He bribed Wallace's allies even as he sent assassins to kill him. At the end of Braveheart, Edward I has Wallace tortured. He attempts to use pain in order to get Wallace to submit to England, thereby admitting that he was wrong in fighting for freedom. I will always remember how the magistrate extended the English royal seal to the prostrate Wallace telling him to kiss it as a sign of submission to the crown. Wallace, in visible pain, coughing and heaving as a result of the torture, got to his feet and stood defiant in the face of pain and death for the what was right. In the same way, Christians must stand upon the Rock that is Jesus Christ in the fact of all opposition. We will offend. We will be hated, but we must never relent.
The Shield
We are centuries removed from the kind of combat that involves a shield, so the intricacies of such combat can be lost on us. A wide variety of shields have been used on the battlefield from the large, rectangular Roman scutum to the buckler, which was sometimes not more than six inches in diameter. The defensive capabilities of the shield are easily observable. When your opponent swings a sword or a club at your head, putting a large piece of wood or steel between your skull and that strike is obviously beneficial to your survival. Very rarely, though, do we understand the offensive capabilities of this marvelously simple tool.
The culture of ancient Israel and the Greek, Roman, and Near East cultures Paul spoke and wrote to would be well aware that the shield was not just a defensive weapon. It was also used to pummel and batter your opponent. A shield is a bludgeon, and it can kill as effectively as a mace. Roman soldiers used their huge scutums to push and bully their opponents, and they often brought the edge of their scutum down on the heads of grounded enemies to finish them rather than using their gladius. Spartan soldiers used their bronze shields to knock their enemies to the ground and the sharp edge to slash, wound, and kill. The buckler was used as a steel fist, the bosses of many types of shields were used similarly, and the Scots even attached a steel spike to the boss of their targe.
The common knowledge in those times of the shield's offensive use in combat should help refine our view of the shield used in Scripture. Paul tells us to, "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). The shield of faith is used to push forward and engage the enemy, to stand and fight against the darkness.
We have been shown the glory of God as He has spoken to us through His Son in these last days. Our response to such love and grace is faith and trust in who Jesus is. James reveals that the natural outworking of faith is works, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18b). For more on this, see Faith That Works. Faith is not passive. Faith does not simply sit still and defend what we know is true. It is active. The world tells us believing in more than the visible is foolishness, and the shield of faith slams itself against such ideas. Strong faith refuses to relent. It refuses to give in. It presses forward despite resistance. It extinguishes flaming arrows. It turns blades. It pushes through obstacles. It slashes, smashes, and crushes the evil that stands before it just like a strong shield.
God has given you a powerful weapon in faith. Use it. Push forward. Be relentless as you seek righteousness. When Satan tries to throw doubt and fear at you, let it bounce off your faith, but do not stop there. Let your faith in the Bright Morning Star crush it to the ground and deal the death blow. Fight the good fight. Stay the course. Keep the faith.
The culture of ancient Israel and the Greek, Roman, and Near East cultures Paul spoke and wrote to would be well aware that the shield was not just a defensive weapon. It was also used to pummel and batter your opponent. A shield is a bludgeon, and it can kill as effectively as a mace. Roman soldiers used their huge scutums to push and bully their opponents, and they often brought the edge of their scutum down on the heads of grounded enemies to finish them rather than using their gladius. Spartan soldiers used their bronze shields to knock their enemies to the ground and the sharp edge to slash, wound, and kill. The buckler was used as a steel fist, the bosses of many types of shields were used similarly, and the Scots even attached a steel spike to the boss of their targe.
The common knowledge in those times of the shield's offensive use in combat should help refine our view of the shield used in Scripture. Paul tells us to, "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). The shield of faith is used to push forward and engage the enemy, to stand and fight against the darkness.
We have been shown the glory of God as He has spoken to us through His Son in these last days. Our response to such love and grace is faith and trust in who Jesus is. James reveals that the natural outworking of faith is works, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18b). For more on this, see Faith That Works. Faith is not passive. Faith does not simply sit still and defend what we know is true. It is active. The world tells us believing in more than the visible is foolishness, and the shield of faith slams itself against such ideas. Strong faith refuses to relent. It refuses to give in. It presses forward despite resistance. It extinguishes flaming arrows. It turns blades. It pushes through obstacles. It slashes, smashes, and crushes the evil that stands before it just like a strong shield.
God has given you a powerful weapon in faith. Use it. Push forward. Be relentless as you seek righteousness. When Satan tries to throw doubt and fear at you, let it bounce off your faith, but do not stop there. Let your faith in the Bright Morning Star crush it to the ground and deal the death blow. Fight the good fight. Stay the course. Keep the faith.
Round Shield with Boss
Scottish Targe
Roman Scutum
Spartan Shield
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sex Outside
"How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights" (Song of Songs 7:6).
You could cross time, culture, and nations asking people what they find most alluring, and I guarantee that one of the top answers would be the opposite sex. They delight, entice, confuse, and irritate, but no matter what, it is hard to get them off your mind. Satan is perfectly aware of this fact, and he uses his influence to capture and enslave. There are those who seek to make money by keeping lust inflamed through pornography, on the internet or otherwise. This is the reason that sexual sin permeates society.
As Christians, we are called to run from these things, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body" (1 Corinthians 6:18). The Scripture reveals the difference between sexual sin and other sins as well as the seriousness of becoming involved in sexual sin. It is something that contaminates the body as well as the spirit. What I mean by this is that sexual intercourse is meant to be shared between no one but those who are married. The reason for this is that sex forms a connection between two people the persists whether we want it to or not. This connection is so real, so binding, and so lasting that Paul considers the act of sex akin to marriage, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute [or anyone else] is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh'" (1 Corinthians 6:16). When you have sex with someone, you bind yourself to them. When this connection is broken, it causes a lot of damage, spiritual and emotional, and part of that connection can never be broken. This damage is not always realized at the moment of the broken relationship. Many times it is not realized until years later, usually once a person gets married and engages in the appropriate sexual actions of a spouse. The mind starts to remember the images, smells, and feelings of previous encounters, and this makes committing to sex with just your spouse difficult because you remember your sexual experiences with others. It will bring distrust into your marriage. It can cause your spouse to feel betrayed, undesired, or even unloved.
In order to avoid this pain, Christians are told very clearly in Scripture that sex outside of marriage is an abomination to God, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous" (Hebrews 13:4). When one engages in any sexual action from caressing certain areas to sexual intercourse, they dishonor the person they are with, their future spouse, the future spouse of that person, God's institution of marriage, and the name of God Himself. God will not hold such a person guiltless.
Some might argue that they are in love, and that should allow them to have sex before marriage. One of my pastors said something once that I will never forget, "You cannot fall in love. You can fall in infatuation." It means that love is not a feeling. It is not an uncontrollable emotion that makes resisting the advances of another impossible. That feeling is lust and infatuation. It is the youthful desire we are told to flee from, "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). If love was that feeling, then how can God be telling us to flee from it and pursue it? Consider the great love passage. The first thing it says about love is, "Love is patient" (1 Corinthians 13:4). It also says that, "It [love] does not insist on its own way" (1 Corinthians 13:5). This does not sound like the uncontrollable passions of sex before marriage. Love waits for the right time. If it doesn't, it is not love.
This lust is a powerful thing, though. Many do not understand it, and fewer still understand how it effects males and females differently. For a long time I merely assumed that lust in males and lust in females worked essentially in the same way. I was right and yet so very wrong.
I am not even going to attempt to create a comprehensive study on that topic, but I will lay down a couple warnings:
Women, girls, and all females listen up. You have no idea the level of stimulation that comes through a man's eyes. Even if you are married, do not think that you fully grasp it because you don't. You have not experienced how difficult a battle it truly is without living it 24/7. It entangles and ensnares even those who hate it. When you dress in an immodest way, you conjure lust within him. I am not going to draw a standard and give you a list of clothes that you cannot wear. The reason is twofold: my standard is not the same as any other man's, and you should be listening to God about your choice in clothes. Does that sound strange? Listen to God about how you should dress. It shouldn't. God should be the guiding force in our lives. Why should that not include dress? However, if you are still having a difficult time dressing appropriately, consider the heart decision behind why you are picking out that particular piece of clothing. Is it because you like the color or the style? Is it because it shows off your figure? Who are you trying to show your figure off to? You desire to be desired, I know, but is it good to prey on the weakness of your brothers in order to satisfy this desire? "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases" (Songs of Songs 8:4). Wait until you are married, and then seek this attention from your husband as it pleases God to do so.
Men, it is all too easy to think that we are off the hook in this area. We are not. We need to dress modestly as well. Women may not fall as easily to sin because of visual stimulation as we do, but that does not mean that they do not. It certainly does not mean that we can try to cause them to stumble. So, keep your shirts on, literally. God will not hold us any less guilty for that kind of immodesty.
Guys, do not lead people on. This is for both men and women. Even when sex is not part of a relationship, spiritual and emotional bonds can be made between people, and these bonds can be very painful when broken. Unfortunately, this does happen. We are told to guard our hearts for this very reason, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). However, some lead people on. They date for their own amusement, to satisfy their own desire or insecurities with no serious consideration to continue the relationship for the long haul. How is that honoring your brother or sister! How is that loving them! What is the greatest commandment? "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37-39). If you are dating someone, you should have a serious consideration of possibly marrying them later on. This is not to say that you are ready to ask them or say yes, but you need to be able to see that possibility. Think about them for a second. Can you see yourself committing to this person for the rest of your life? If the answer is no, you need to stop taking advantage of them and end the relationship.
The first sexual union was described like this, "Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:23-24). C.S. Lewis said that the monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside of marriage is attempting to take one form of union apart from the others God intended it to go with. Sex is the union of two people, body, mind, spirit. To join like this without the marriage covenant will only cause pain and injury, sometimes so severe it can never fully heal. God would save you from that pain.
Beyond that, Christians are called to a higher standard than that of the world. If we live at the sexual standard of the world, we blaspheme the name of God before the world, and they will blaspheme His name because of us. Do not think there will be no consequences! God's wrath will be poured out on you in any number of ways, or He will simply abandon you to your sin. It will distance you from God, and He will not hear you. You will certainly not hear Him. If that doesn't cause fear or that sick, empty feeling in your stomach, you should consider how far away from God you already are. You know better than to fall to the world's standard, "For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God" (1 Thessalonians 4:2-4). There should not even be a hint of sexual immorality among God's people, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints" (Ephesians 5:3). Instead you should act in accordance with who God is and who He made you to be, "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 1:15-16).
You could cross time, culture, and nations asking people what they find most alluring, and I guarantee that one of the top answers would be the opposite sex. They delight, entice, confuse, and irritate, but no matter what, it is hard to get them off your mind. Satan is perfectly aware of this fact, and he uses his influence to capture and enslave. There are those who seek to make money by keeping lust inflamed through pornography, on the internet or otherwise. This is the reason that sexual sin permeates society.
As Christians, we are called to run from these things, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body" (1 Corinthians 6:18). The Scripture reveals the difference between sexual sin and other sins as well as the seriousness of becoming involved in sexual sin. It is something that contaminates the body as well as the spirit. What I mean by this is that sexual intercourse is meant to be shared between no one but those who are married. The reason for this is that sex forms a connection between two people the persists whether we want it to or not. This connection is so real, so binding, and so lasting that Paul considers the act of sex akin to marriage, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute [or anyone else] is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh'" (1 Corinthians 6:16). When you have sex with someone, you bind yourself to them. When this connection is broken, it causes a lot of damage, spiritual and emotional, and part of that connection can never be broken. This damage is not always realized at the moment of the broken relationship. Many times it is not realized until years later, usually once a person gets married and engages in the appropriate sexual actions of a spouse. The mind starts to remember the images, smells, and feelings of previous encounters, and this makes committing to sex with just your spouse difficult because you remember your sexual experiences with others. It will bring distrust into your marriage. It can cause your spouse to feel betrayed, undesired, or even unloved.
In order to avoid this pain, Christians are told very clearly in Scripture that sex outside of marriage is an abomination to God, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous" (Hebrews 13:4). When one engages in any sexual action from caressing certain areas to sexual intercourse, they dishonor the person they are with, their future spouse, the future spouse of that person, God's institution of marriage, and the name of God Himself. God will not hold such a person guiltless.
Some might argue that they are in love, and that should allow them to have sex before marriage. One of my pastors said something once that I will never forget, "You cannot fall in love. You can fall in infatuation." It means that love is not a feeling. It is not an uncontrollable emotion that makes resisting the advances of another impossible. That feeling is lust and infatuation. It is the youthful desire we are told to flee from, "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). If love was that feeling, then how can God be telling us to flee from it and pursue it? Consider the great love passage. The first thing it says about love is, "Love is patient" (1 Corinthians 13:4). It also says that, "It [love] does not insist on its own way" (1 Corinthians 13:5). This does not sound like the uncontrollable passions of sex before marriage. Love waits for the right time. If it doesn't, it is not love.
This lust is a powerful thing, though. Many do not understand it, and fewer still understand how it effects males and females differently. For a long time I merely assumed that lust in males and lust in females worked essentially in the same way. I was right and yet so very wrong.
I am not even going to attempt to create a comprehensive study on that topic, but I will lay down a couple warnings:
Women, girls, and all females listen up. You have no idea the level of stimulation that comes through a man's eyes. Even if you are married, do not think that you fully grasp it because you don't. You have not experienced how difficult a battle it truly is without living it 24/7. It entangles and ensnares even those who hate it. When you dress in an immodest way, you conjure lust within him. I am not going to draw a standard and give you a list of clothes that you cannot wear. The reason is twofold: my standard is not the same as any other man's, and you should be listening to God about your choice in clothes. Does that sound strange? Listen to God about how you should dress. It shouldn't. God should be the guiding force in our lives. Why should that not include dress? However, if you are still having a difficult time dressing appropriately, consider the heart decision behind why you are picking out that particular piece of clothing. Is it because you like the color or the style? Is it because it shows off your figure? Who are you trying to show your figure off to? You desire to be desired, I know, but is it good to prey on the weakness of your brothers in order to satisfy this desire? "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases" (Songs of Songs 8:4). Wait until you are married, and then seek this attention from your husband as it pleases God to do so.
Men, it is all too easy to think that we are off the hook in this area. We are not. We need to dress modestly as well. Women may not fall as easily to sin because of visual stimulation as we do, but that does not mean that they do not. It certainly does not mean that we can try to cause them to stumble. So, keep your shirts on, literally. God will not hold us any less guilty for that kind of immodesty.
Guys, do not lead people on. This is for both men and women. Even when sex is not part of a relationship, spiritual and emotional bonds can be made between people, and these bonds can be very painful when broken. Unfortunately, this does happen. We are told to guard our hearts for this very reason, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23). However, some lead people on. They date for their own amusement, to satisfy their own desire or insecurities with no serious consideration to continue the relationship for the long haul. How is that honoring your brother or sister! How is that loving them! What is the greatest commandment? "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37-39). If you are dating someone, you should have a serious consideration of possibly marrying them later on. This is not to say that you are ready to ask them or say yes, but you need to be able to see that possibility. Think about them for a second. Can you see yourself committing to this person for the rest of your life? If the answer is no, you need to stop taking advantage of them and end the relationship.
The first sexual union was described like this, "Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:23-24). C.S. Lewis said that the monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside of marriage is attempting to take one form of union apart from the others God intended it to go with. Sex is the union of two people, body, mind, spirit. To join like this without the marriage covenant will only cause pain and injury, sometimes so severe it can never fully heal. God would save you from that pain.
Beyond that, Christians are called to a higher standard than that of the world. If we live at the sexual standard of the world, we blaspheme the name of God before the world, and they will blaspheme His name because of us. Do not think there will be no consequences! God's wrath will be poured out on you in any number of ways, or He will simply abandon you to your sin. It will distance you from God, and He will not hear you. You will certainly not hear Him. If that doesn't cause fear or that sick, empty feeling in your stomach, you should consider how far away from God you already are. You know better than to fall to the world's standard, "For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God" (1 Thessalonians 4:2-4). There should not even be a hint of sexual immorality among God's people, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints" (Ephesians 5:3). Instead you should act in accordance with who God is and who He made you to be, "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 1:15-16).
Friday, August 5, 2011
Faith That Works
On 22 May 2011, a class five tornado ripped through Joplin, MO destroying 8,000 homes, 5,000 businesses, and 18,000 vehicles. The death toll of the tornado stands at 159 people with another person killed by lightning during clean up operations the following day.
Video of the Joplin Tornado
It killed the most people of any tornado in the United States since 1947, and it is the seventh deadliest tornado in the history of this country.
When we first arrived in Joplin, it looked like any other city. We drove in around 1730, so there were a number of cars on the road carrying people home from work or out to dinner, which is what we were looking for. Ever since I had moved to Paris, TX, I had missed Chick-Fil-A, so it was in my GPS long before we reached the city. I remember several of the youth commenting on the situation, "This doesn't look that bad." I didn't respond. I had to agree that it didn't look bad at all, but I had done disaster relief before. I knew that just over the next hill could be a completely different story. It was. As we continued north on S Rangeline Rd we found the Chick-Fil-A or what was left of it. Just after the car dealership we found it along with the Home Depot and a number of other businesses destroyed in a gash of twisted metal and debris. Later we found that this shocking sight was only the beginning. We drove down 20th to Connecticut, and what we saw was complete devastation. This was the residential area. We saw houses ripped apart and thrown off their foundations. Heavy appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines were flung like child's toys from apartment complexes that looked as if bombs were planted in every room and simultaneously detonated. Whole subdivisions lay in ruins and workers labored continually to sort debris into ever-growing piles. Stunned silence filled the van as we drove through the streets. We were no longer in a city. We were in a disaster area.
James was the brother of Jesus and the leader of the the Jerusalem church. He most likely wrote the book that bears his name in the early to mid-40s before the apostolic council in Jerusalem (A.D. 48-49) since the issues of that council were not mentioned in the letter. In the second chapter of the letter, James poses a question to his readers, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). It is a good question. Can someone say they believe Jesus is the Christ and be saved based solely on that? After all Paul says in Romans, "with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Romans 10:10b). James says that is not enough. He says that the demons believe the Jesus is the Christ. They know He is, but they will certainly not be saved from the coming wrath. Are these two fathers of the faith in disagreement over one of the essential pillars of Christianity? No, they are not because faith goes much deeper than words insincerely spoken. True faith is a matter of the heart which will flow forth in sincere words and actions. The real question is not, "Can someone say they believe Jesus is the Christ and be saved based solely on that?" The real question is, "Can someone believe that Jesus is the Christ, trust in Him for salvation, and not have that faith flow out from them in the words they speak and the things they do?" The answer is they cannot. When Paul speaks of confession in Romans, it is preceded by, "For with the heart one believes and is justified" (Romans 10:10a). True faith spawns both words and actions that back it up. When one truly believes in their heart that Jesus is their Lord, they will tell people that He is. When one truly believes that Jesus is their King, they will serve Him in their actions.
James follows his question in verse fourteen by asking another question, "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 then the things needed for the body, what good is that?" It does no good to preach the Gospel to someone who does not yet have their basic needs for survival met. Someone who is hungry, thirsty, or without shelter will not be ready to hear the things of God. That is why we went to Joplin. We went to in order to help meet those needs so that either we or someone else down the line would get the opportunity to share Jesus with them. Pray for that. Ultimately, they need Jesus more than anything, but unless our actions speak in conjunction with our words, the message will not get across! "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17).
Abraham was fully invested in propagating his family line. The fact that his lineage would continue was promised to him by God, "And he brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:5-6). Late in life God gave Abraham his first and only son, Isaac. You can imagine how confused Abraham must have been when God told him to take Isaac, the manifestation of His promise, and sacrifice him on an altar. Abraham trusted God, though. He had learned to trust Him even when it made no sense to do so. Abraham took Isaac, bound him, and had every intention of killing his son on that altar as God has instructed. His action backed up his faith.
In the same way, if we claim the name of Christ, every single word and every action should back up that faith. "But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works'" (James 2:18). This kind of separation is ridiculous. We have already looked at how you cannot have true faith without works, and apart from faith there is no work we can do to please God, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Isaiah says it a bit more graphically, "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" (Isaiah 64:6). faith and works are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. You either have both, or you have nothing at all. Through James, God worded the perfect connection between faith and works, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18).
MOB Joplin Mission Trip
Video of the Joplin Tornado
It killed the most people of any tornado in the United States since 1947, and it is the seventh deadliest tornado in the history of this country.
When we first arrived in Joplin, it looked like any other city. We drove in around 1730, so there were a number of cars on the road carrying people home from work or out to dinner, which is what we were looking for. Ever since I had moved to Paris, TX, I had missed Chick-Fil-A, so it was in my GPS long before we reached the city. I remember several of the youth commenting on the situation, "This doesn't look that bad." I didn't respond. I had to agree that it didn't look bad at all, but I had done disaster relief before. I knew that just over the next hill could be a completely different story. It was. As we continued north on S Rangeline Rd we found the Chick-Fil-A or what was left of it. Just after the car dealership we found it along with the Home Depot and a number of other businesses destroyed in a gash of twisted metal and debris. Later we found that this shocking sight was only the beginning. We drove down 20th to Connecticut, and what we saw was complete devastation. This was the residential area. We saw houses ripped apart and thrown off their foundations. Heavy appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines were flung like child's toys from apartment complexes that looked as if bombs were planted in every room and simultaneously detonated. Whole subdivisions lay in ruins and workers labored continually to sort debris into ever-growing piles. Stunned silence filled the van as we drove through the streets. We were no longer in a city. We were in a disaster area.
James was the brother of Jesus and the leader of the the Jerusalem church. He most likely wrote the book that bears his name in the early to mid-40s before the apostolic council in Jerusalem (A.D. 48-49) since the issues of that council were not mentioned in the letter. In the second chapter of the letter, James poses a question to his readers, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). It is a good question. Can someone say they believe Jesus is the Christ and be saved based solely on that? After all Paul says in Romans, "with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Romans 10:10b). James says that is not enough. He says that the demons believe the Jesus is the Christ. They know He is, but they will certainly not be saved from the coming wrath. Are these two fathers of the faith in disagreement over one of the essential pillars of Christianity? No, they are not because faith goes much deeper than words insincerely spoken. True faith is a matter of the heart which will flow forth in sincere words and actions. The real question is not, "Can someone say they believe Jesus is the Christ and be saved based solely on that?" The real question is, "Can someone believe that Jesus is the Christ, trust in Him for salvation, and not have that faith flow out from them in the words they speak and the things they do?" The answer is they cannot. When Paul speaks of confession in Romans, it is preceded by, "For with the heart one believes and is justified" (Romans 10:10a). True faith spawns both words and actions that back it up. When one truly believes in their heart that Jesus is their Lord, they will tell people that He is. When one truly believes that Jesus is their King, they will serve Him in their actions.
James follows his question in verse fourteen by asking another question, "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 then the things needed for the body, what good is that?" It does no good to preach the Gospel to someone who does not yet have their basic needs for survival met. Someone who is hungry, thirsty, or without shelter will not be ready to hear the things of God. That is why we went to Joplin. We went to in order to help meet those needs so that either we or someone else down the line would get the opportunity to share Jesus with them. Pray for that. Ultimately, they need Jesus more than anything, but unless our actions speak in conjunction with our words, the message will not get across! "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17).
Abraham was fully invested in propagating his family line. The fact that his lineage would continue was promised to him by God, "And he brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:5-6). Late in life God gave Abraham his first and only son, Isaac. You can imagine how confused Abraham must have been when God told him to take Isaac, the manifestation of His promise, and sacrifice him on an altar. Abraham trusted God, though. He had learned to trust Him even when it made no sense to do so. Abraham took Isaac, bound him, and had every intention of killing his son on that altar as God has instructed. His action backed up his faith.
In the same way, if we claim the name of Christ, every single word and every action should back up that faith. "But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works'" (James 2:18). This kind of separation is ridiculous. We have already looked at how you cannot have true faith without works, and apart from faith there is no work we can do to please God, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Isaiah says it a bit more graphically, "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" (Isaiah 64:6). faith and works are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. You either have both, or you have nothing at all. Through James, God worded the perfect connection between faith and works, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18).
MOB Joplin Mission Trip
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Freewill
"I don't have a choice."
Have you ever heard someone say this or something like it? Have you ever believed it yourself? There are a lot of situations that seem to force us into only one course of action.
Pilate certainly felt that he had no choice when he was presiding over the trial of Jesus of Nazareth. Pilate was a praefectus, ruling over the Roman-held are of Israel from 26AD to 36AD. During that time, he had several encounters with the Israelites that did not end well. Many of the peoples conquered by the Roman Empire had little difficulty integrating themselves into the empire, after all Rome required very little of them. They were allowed to maintain most of their culture, traditions, and religious practices. However, they were required to worship the emperor as a god. Obviously, this did not go over well with the Israelites, whose most preeminent belief is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). The people of God refused to do that, and Rome refused to back down.
There are a number of situations when Pilate provoked the Israelites. He brought images of Caesar on banners into Jerusalem and set up shields at the palace of Herod. Both seemed intended to irritate the Jews. Pilate backed down after both of these. Josephus recounts on incident in which Pilate used the money from the temple to build an aqueduct. This time, when the Jews protested, Pilate signaled to his soldiers who assaulted and murdered random Israelites in the crowd. Philo wrote that Pilate had "vindictiveness and furious temper," and was "naturally inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness." Pilate feared that the Israelites might send a delegation to Emperor Tiberius protesting the gold-coated shields, "if they actually sent an embassy they would also expose the rest of his conduct as governor by stating in full the briberies, the insults, the robberies, the outrages and wanton injuries, the executions without trial constantly repeated, the ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty."
Tiberius was not happy with the problems Pilate was causing in Israel, and when the trial of Jesus occurred, it put Pilate in a tenuous position. He had already provoked the anger of the Israelites multiple times, and Tiberius was quite clear that if any more blood was spilled under Pilate's rule, he would answer for it with his own. Pilate had no choice but to give the Jews what they wanted, Christ crucified. Wrong. He always had a choice. He could have let an innocent man go, but he showed who he really was. He chose himself over what was right, and that is the point. He chose.
Just like everyone else, Pilate had the freewill to make his own decisions. He chose to bring in the banners with Caesar's emblem even though past Prefects made the concession to use banners without emblems. Pilate chose to put up the gold-covered shields at Herod's palace. Pilate chose to steal money from the temple, and he chose to murder the Israelites who protested the theft.
Even though we have the freewill to make any decisions we want, the consequences of those decisions will follow us. The consequences Pilate faced because of his decisions were an unstable Israel and an angry emperor. These consequences pushed Pilate toward the decision to hand Jesus over to the Jews, but that does not mean he had no choice. If Pilate was a righteous man, he would have prevented Jesus' execution and accepted whatever would have happened as a result. Instead he chose to condemn an innocent. "So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves'" (Matthew 27:24).
Most of our everyday decisions do not involve the execution of anyone, but each of us has the freewill and responsibility to make those decisions. God gave us that freewill. Many times the correct choice will be obvious. Many times it will not be. Sometimes the right choice will be obvious, but you will not want to follow it. The correct decisions is not always easy to make. However, we will be held responsible for each of those decisions, no matter how difficult. God is good, though. He will give us the strength necessary to make the tough calls. Just trust Him to help you and take care of everything afterward.
Not knowing what the right choice is can make it even harder, but that is why you need to stay close to God. Trust Him to give you the right choice. Trust Him to guide you to the correct decision, and He will see you through to the end, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).
Have you ever heard someone say this or something like it? Have you ever believed it yourself? There are a lot of situations that seem to force us into only one course of action.
Pilate certainly felt that he had no choice when he was presiding over the trial of Jesus of Nazareth. Pilate was a praefectus, ruling over the Roman-held are of Israel from 26AD to 36AD. During that time, he had several encounters with the Israelites that did not end well. Many of the peoples conquered by the Roman Empire had little difficulty integrating themselves into the empire, after all Rome required very little of them. They were allowed to maintain most of their culture, traditions, and religious practices. However, they were required to worship the emperor as a god. Obviously, this did not go over well with the Israelites, whose most preeminent belief is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). The people of God refused to do that, and Rome refused to back down.
There are a number of situations when Pilate provoked the Israelites. He brought images of Caesar on banners into Jerusalem and set up shields at the palace of Herod. Both seemed intended to irritate the Jews. Pilate backed down after both of these. Josephus recounts on incident in which Pilate used the money from the temple to build an aqueduct. This time, when the Jews protested, Pilate signaled to his soldiers who assaulted and murdered random Israelites in the crowd. Philo wrote that Pilate had "vindictiveness and furious temper," and was "naturally inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness." Pilate feared that the Israelites might send a delegation to Emperor Tiberius protesting the gold-coated shields, "if they actually sent an embassy they would also expose the rest of his conduct as governor by stating in full the briberies, the insults, the robberies, the outrages and wanton injuries, the executions without trial constantly repeated, the ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty."
Tiberius was not happy with the problems Pilate was causing in Israel, and when the trial of Jesus occurred, it put Pilate in a tenuous position. He had already provoked the anger of the Israelites multiple times, and Tiberius was quite clear that if any more blood was spilled under Pilate's rule, he would answer for it with his own. Pilate had no choice but to give the Jews what they wanted, Christ crucified. Wrong. He always had a choice. He could have let an innocent man go, but he showed who he really was. He chose himself over what was right, and that is the point. He chose.
Just like everyone else, Pilate had the freewill to make his own decisions. He chose to bring in the banners with Caesar's emblem even though past Prefects made the concession to use banners without emblems. Pilate chose to put up the gold-covered shields at Herod's palace. Pilate chose to steal money from the temple, and he chose to murder the Israelites who protested the theft.
Even though we have the freewill to make any decisions we want, the consequences of those decisions will follow us. The consequences Pilate faced because of his decisions were an unstable Israel and an angry emperor. These consequences pushed Pilate toward the decision to hand Jesus over to the Jews, but that does not mean he had no choice. If Pilate was a righteous man, he would have prevented Jesus' execution and accepted whatever would have happened as a result. Instead he chose to condemn an innocent. "So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves'" (Matthew 27:24).
Most of our everyday decisions do not involve the execution of anyone, but each of us has the freewill and responsibility to make those decisions. God gave us that freewill. Many times the correct choice will be obvious. Many times it will not be. Sometimes the right choice will be obvious, but you will not want to follow it. The correct decisions is not always easy to make. However, we will be held responsible for each of those decisions, no matter how difficult. God is good, though. He will give us the strength necessary to make the tough calls. Just trust Him to help you and take care of everything afterward.
Not knowing what the right choice is can make it even harder, but that is why you need to stay close to God. Trust Him to give you the right choice. Trust Him to guide you to the correct decision, and He will see you through to the end, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Why Do Bad Things Happen?
I have been asked this question directly and indirectly many times during my life. Many people just do not seem able to grasp why bad things can happen when we know that Jesus has paid the penalty for sin and that God is good. I get that. I understand why it does not make sense from a certain perspective, but the truth is that bad things happening to us makes perfect sense. In fact, Jesus told us that we will face troubles in this life, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33a). The thing that is skewed is the perspective.
Before you can answer this question, you must first know why you are asking it. If you are asking it to find the reason why bad things happen in this life, then I have an answer, If you are asking it to complain or wallow in self pity, I have nothing for you. The truth will not reach someone who merely wants to bemoan their situation.
Do you value your freewill? Is the freedom you have to make your own decisions important to you? God thinks so. He loves us so much that He gave us freewill in order that when we choose to love Him and follow Him, the choice is not made by manipulation or predisposition. It is free choice made by the person choosing. That is real love, and real love cannot exist without the ability to choose. Adam and Eve chose to sin against God in the garden (Genesis 3:6). Praise God that now we are free by the blood of the Messiah to choose to love Him, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Now, that freewill that allows us to truly love God also allows us to do what is wrong. Freewill has allowed every sin against God to happen, and it has allowed people to sin against anyone one of us, even from the beginning, "Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand'" (Genesis 4:8-11). If we then have the ability to do evil to one another, that possibility is a reality. Combine that truth with another truth. We are a fallen people. Ever since the Fall, we have a predisposition to do wrong, "The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:2-3). The corruption of the first sin goes down to the very heart of humanity, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). This corruption is lasting and all-inclusive, "The hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (Ecclesiastes 9:3b). Our depravity is part of our very nature until we are remade by Jesus, "Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Ephesians 2:3).
That can explain murder, theft, etc., but what about the bad things that happen without being caused by another person? This answer goes back to the first sin as well. When mankind first sinned, there were consequences. God was very clear in laying out what these consequences were, "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). Cursed is the ground because of sin. That encompasses the entirety of the earth. The earth itself is cursed because of sin, and bad things come of it such as famine, hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. Some have postulated that it was God sending natural disasters to judge mankind. I am not arrogant enough to believe I know everything God does, so I will not say either way on that. However, I do know that our sin cursed the earth, so if natural disasters come upon us from the cursed earth, we are still to blame.
The final source of evil things is the Enemy. Satan hates us, and he is determined to destroy us in any way he can, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10a). However, we have the ability to resist him, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Again we have the freewill even to combat the Adversary. If we choose not to fight him, the responsibility falls not on God but on us.
When you trace back every bad thing to it's source, it will lead back to a fallen person, the curse of the earth, or the Enemy. In every situation, it is the freewill of mankind that causes all the bad things that happen to us, either through action or inaction. Blaming God for the wrong that befalls us is ridiculous. We should be blaming ourselves for not following Him.
Sometimes there are people that put an interesting phrase on the end of the question. "Why do bad things happen... to good people?" Good people? There are none. There is only one who is good, "And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good'" Matthew 19:17. Jesus talks about God. He talks about Himself. Here are two responses to that question by a couple very intelligent men.
"Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once, and He volunteered" - R.C. Sproul.
Voddie Baucham answers this question with great insight given to him by God: Voddie's Response.
Ultimately, our hope is in the cross. Any who look to find comfort in this life look in vain. This life will not offer what we truly desire. Only God offers what we need. Only He can bring us through the bad things to the good. The fullness of the above verses shows that even though we will face troubles in this life, God will not keep us there. He has better in mind for us. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
The next time you find yourself asking why God allows bad things to happen to you or someone else, remember that His concern is not our comfort. He wants to build our character. He wants to make us better than we are. Heaven is the reward, not earth.
Before you can answer this question, you must first know why you are asking it. If you are asking it to find the reason why bad things happen in this life, then I have an answer, If you are asking it to complain or wallow in self pity, I have nothing for you. The truth will not reach someone who merely wants to bemoan their situation.
Do you value your freewill? Is the freedom you have to make your own decisions important to you? God thinks so. He loves us so much that He gave us freewill in order that when we choose to love Him and follow Him, the choice is not made by manipulation or predisposition. It is free choice made by the person choosing. That is real love, and real love cannot exist without the ability to choose. Adam and Eve chose to sin against God in the garden (Genesis 3:6). Praise God that now we are free by the blood of the Messiah to choose to love Him, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Now, that freewill that allows us to truly love God also allows us to do what is wrong. Freewill has allowed every sin against God to happen, and it has allowed people to sin against anyone one of us, even from the beginning, "Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand'" (Genesis 4:8-11). If we then have the ability to do evil to one another, that possibility is a reality. Combine that truth with another truth. We are a fallen people. Ever since the Fall, we have a predisposition to do wrong, "The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:2-3). The corruption of the first sin goes down to the very heart of humanity, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). This corruption is lasting and all-inclusive, "The hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (Ecclesiastes 9:3b). Our depravity is part of our very nature until we are remade by Jesus, "Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Ephesians 2:3).
That can explain murder, theft, etc., but what about the bad things that happen without being caused by another person? This answer goes back to the first sin as well. When mankind first sinned, there were consequences. God was very clear in laying out what these consequences were, "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). Cursed is the ground because of sin. That encompasses the entirety of the earth. The earth itself is cursed because of sin, and bad things come of it such as famine, hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. Some have postulated that it was God sending natural disasters to judge mankind. I am not arrogant enough to believe I know everything God does, so I will not say either way on that. However, I do know that our sin cursed the earth, so if natural disasters come upon us from the cursed earth, we are still to blame.
The final source of evil things is the Enemy. Satan hates us, and he is determined to destroy us in any way he can, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10a). However, we have the ability to resist him, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Again we have the freewill even to combat the Adversary. If we choose not to fight him, the responsibility falls not on God but on us.
When you trace back every bad thing to it's source, it will lead back to a fallen person, the curse of the earth, or the Enemy. In every situation, it is the freewill of mankind that causes all the bad things that happen to us, either through action or inaction. Blaming God for the wrong that befalls us is ridiculous. We should be blaming ourselves for not following Him.
Sometimes there are people that put an interesting phrase on the end of the question. "Why do bad things happen... to good people?" Good people? There are none. There is only one who is good, "And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good'" Matthew 19:17. Jesus talks about God. He talks about Himself. Here are two responses to that question by a couple very intelligent men.
"Why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once, and He volunteered" - R.C. Sproul.
Voddie Baucham answers this question with great insight given to him by God: Voddie's Response.
Ultimately, our hope is in the cross. Any who look to find comfort in this life look in vain. This life will not offer what we truly desire. Only God offers what we need. Only He can bring us through the bad things to the good. The fullness of the above verses shows that even though we will face troubles in this life, God will not keep us there. He has better in mind for us. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
The next time you find yourself asking why God allows bad things to happen to you or someone else, remember that His concern is not our comfort. He wants to build our character. He wants to make us better than we are. Heaven is the reward, not earth.
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