I recieved some pretty negative responses to my whole idea that we as believers should not inspect each others fruit. However, this has driven to me study further and I am even more convinced of my position. Let me say exactly why I believe fruit inspection to be an unbiblical endeavor. First of all, this is not to say that we should not keep each other accountable. I think that keeping each other true to biblical standards has become a failing art in the church and I am praying, that as a church, we discontinue our habit of offense and accept exhorting words from eah other. Otherwise, my peeve resides pretty much in the phrase "inspecting fruit". I have heard it used numerous times in reference to each others as believers and I cringe every time I hear it.
Mat 7:15-22
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Sheeps and Wolves....Believers and unbelievers. A good tree....believers. A bad tree....unbelievers. Jesus did not die on the cross and create bad trees. We immediately become a good tree and bear good fruit.....ALWAYS!! "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. When we start judging fruit then, we are really judging salvation because if we say that someone is bearing bad fruit, we are concluding that they are a bad tree. For example, we might say, "that person has not born any fruit". We may furthur conclude that this person is not saved because of this. I am to judge whether a tree is good or bad. This comes in handy when judging between false teachers and good teachers. However, I think we must be very careful when we tread on this ground.
Gal 5:18-23
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self- control; against such things there is no law.
The fuit of the Spirit....always good...always pleasing to the LORD: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If I say about someone that I don't see fruit in thier lives, am I saying that I am around them 24/7 and I absolutely never see the Spirit of God working in their lives? Hmmm. I can't say that about anyone. Ah, but I can say that I see some DEEDS not fruit of the flesh. Perhaps you are like me, sometimes indulging the flesh. That doesn't mean that I am not saved, unless you believe that believers never sin. I wholeheartedly disagree with this but that is another discussion. It isn't pretty when I sin and I deserve to be called out on my misbehavior. Judging someone's output is appropriate. Judging someones salvation may not be appropriate. If I have any inkling that someone may not be saved, I am not going to call them out on their behavior, I am going to speak the gospel to them in love...maybe for the hundredth time, hoping that at some point repentance kicks in.
Some might say that I am just picking on symantecs. Maybe I am. But the words we use are important. Afterall, it is 90% of the way we communicate with each other. It is also the phraseology of the Bible. If I endeavor to live my life as close to the Bible as possible then why not use the words that it uses correctly. If I do so, then other places where I see the word "fruit", might make more sense to me. If I understand what Jesus is talking about when He refers to fruit and trees, I am in a better place to understand those words when used elsewhere. It might end up being a revelation towards other passages..."Gee, I never understood what this passage was talking about, but now that I understand, in the wholeness of scripture, what this phrase means, I totally get it now". For me, it is a joyful thing when scripture is brougt to light.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Righteousness Part 4
Do we, as believers, need to labor for holiness? This question is almost as old as the Christian faith. It is a question that has been preached and debated for centuries. Denominations have split over the concept of holiness and what part we play towards our own holiness. I have no delusions that I am going to answer this question with great resolve. But there are some simple concepts that I would like to offer a reminder concerning. In and of itself, a desire for holiness is ...well... a holy cause. Though, I believe, that the "how" towards this endeavor matters greatly. The end does not always justify the means because the ends, if done with improper means, may end up looking like something other than what we or the Lord may want. The ends being holiness and the means being our flesh. In other words: Is it possible that our zeal (I use this word as Jesus did speaking of the Pharisees) for God pushes toward something that is not pleasing to Him? And on the other side of the coin; do we take the concept of holiness seriously enough?
The book of Romans clearly reveals that our righteousness is completely provided for and solely based upon the saving grace purchased through the precious blood of Christ. Holiness is part of the purchase agreement. Holy means to be set apart. We are set apart at salvation when we become part of the family of God. However, we are also commanded in scripture to play a role in our own holiness:
2 Cor 6:14-7:1
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
" I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE ," says the Lord. AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,"
Says the Lord Almighty.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
NASU
There are things that we do in our lives that can either make or break how the world sees us. Remember that our first and primary purpose as believers is to worship God. That worship comes through everything that we do! From the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning as I begin my day with fixing breakfast and lunches, I am either serving and worshipping the Lord in my attitude and words or I am not. If I am not worshipping the Lord in my attitude I am serving something else. Out of this primary command comes how our lives look to those around us, which is called our testimony. If I maintain my attitude of worship through the day, my testimony will expose my supernatural affiliation with the LORD of LORDS. There is a very close link between our testimony and holiness. In this way, I very much believe that we have a very important part to play in being holy.
I have inadvertently run across many teachers and teachings that have broached this subject as well. This last weekend I had the privilege of listening to Eric Cartier preaching at Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel in Colorado Springs. This is not an exact quote from him but rather a paraphrase from my notes:
"The grace that we receive at salvation is the same grace that causes us to work for the kingdom. Our service unto The Lord is designed for us not according to any works we have performed but according to Gods choice and design for us and his grace upon us to do that work.
As believers we should desire to do nothing more than and nothing less than what Gods purpose and design is for us. To do “more than” is to move past what God is doing in our lives and strike out on our own. To do “less than” is to forget our primary purpose and created design. Ministry is not an earned position. It is the calling of every believer. We need to remember that Gods ways are not our ways. God’s purpose for the Christian is not like that of an individual climbing the corporate ladder. We have been molded, as Americans, to believe that busy and working are what causes us to succeed. But in the kingdom it is the other way around. It is our “success” granted upon salvation completely through grace that spurs us on to those works that God has prepared for us beforehand (Eph 2:10). Work that does not cause us to BE holy but rather is the walking out of that holiness. That "work" is birthed from grace. It is birthed from love and gratefulness of our Savior. In which case, the work may be physically exhausting but spiritually igniting. Joy being a result from the work which provides strength for future work. It is a machine that is oiled by the Spirit. Physically burdensome?... yes! Emotionally?....yes! Spiritually?.... NO! Jesus did say "My yoke is easy, my burden is light"? Because His yoke spurred by His Spirit is light if we continue in His Spirit and not switch somewhere along the way to the flesh. If there is no such love and gratitude to move us then there is no such holiness to walk in. Our endeavors may look holy but in the end they are empty and meaningless. We then become spiritually exhausted because it is us who carries ourselves and not the Lord.
When an individual is saved he/she immediately is deemed righteous and set apart (holy) unto God. Either you are part of the family of God or you are not. Does church attendance affect one’s membership status in the family? It may affect their testimony. It may cause one to forget what the Lord has done for them but it does not affect their holy standing before God. It is pleasing to the Father that we remain in fellowship with others who love Him (Heb 10:23-25) Through fellowship and the hearing of the Word together, the Holy Spirit is poured out into our lives making those challenges we face during the week endurable through the filling of the Spirit we gain at church. What if one neglects to read their Bible? Less holy than the one who does? Not less holy but less able to walk in that holiness. Reading the Bible is to the believer; as food is to the body. If one does not partake, one’s ability to access the impartation of the Spirit is diminished. I could say that a believer who chooses inattention to going to church and reading of the scriptures is weaker, more frail in the faith. I should encourage and love the one who makes such choices. I should undertake the effort to spend more time fellowshipping with this one. If I should shun them because they don’t make the effort themselves, do I not, on some level, disregard the price that was paid for them? Why would I treat my precious vehicle with more care and concern than my brother or sister in Christ who may be “out of gas“? Yes, it is their responsibility to “fill up” for themselves, but sometimes people just need a hand and not a holiness speech. Though there may come a time when the holiness speech may at some point be very well-suited and well received after the hand of help was offered.
I remember Lot in the Old Testament. He made some very poor choices and he was not the picture of a holy man. But yet God called him righteous because he believed (2Pet2:7). Are there those around us who appear as Lot to us? Those who struggle with visible sin and who consistently make bad choices. It is not that they are not saved or less holy…dare we make such a statement as that would be to limit the blood and grace of Jesus.
Rom 2:1-5
Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
NASU
Nor is it appropriate to treat them with any less respect than we would treat a Christian whom we truly admire and respect (James2:1-7). Again, we are to walk in the holiness that has been granted us. They may not be walking thusly but we are still called to do so regardless of their choices.
Recently I heard Charles Swindoll on the radio while driving. Since it was a radio program and I am unable to quote him word for word, as I am only going on memory, again I can only paraphrase. The thing that he said that really struck me was that we, as believers, are not called to be "fruit inspectors". "Fruit inspectors" was the exact wording he used. Fruit inspecting is the job of the Father. We are just branches on the vine. The branches do not inspect the other branches for fruit. Our scope is too limited. We have a tendency anyway to focus in on the bad in peoples lives; for instance the fact that we don't see them at church or see them reading their Bible. Actually, I don't see anybody reading their Bible unless it's open during church and they have their eyes focused on it. Even then, how do I know that they are reading it? This isn't how the Bible defines fruit anyway...more about that later. On the other hand, we are called to encourage and exhort each other with great patience, gentleness and love knowing that we are capable of falling into the very sin we exhort (Gal 6:1).
As believers there are some things we are called to judge.
1 Cor 5:9-13
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
NASU
And so there are those IN THE CHURCH that we are to carry out church discipline. They are members of the family of God, the Church. We have a right to issue out discipline in the love of God. We do not have the right to call into question their salvation standing. We do not have a right to call them Unregenerate. Christians who bear the name loudly but also bear very loudly certain visible and abhorrent sin like alcoholism, drug addiction, idolatry, and sexual immorality. We should not toss them to the wayside as hopeless. The thought makes me weep. If we carry out proper church discipline as described above, we may separate ourselves them for a time but not without hope and love and prayer for them. When there is proper repentance, will they not again be accepted into fellowship (2Cor2:3-11)? They are in as much need, if not more so, of the unending supply of Gods grace and mercy. We have a responsibility in our own holiness to treat them with love.
To me holy looks like the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 6: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, self control, faithfulness, kindness and gentleness. There is no limit to these things. We can practice them in as much abundance as our hearts desire. Remember that we are called to walk in the Spirit or speak His language. What is the language of the Spirit? Going to church every Sunday? Reading the Bible everyday? This definition differs not at all from the language of the world because all those in the world do these things and more so and they truly are unregenerate! These actions are imperative to our holiness journey but they don’t make us holier than those who don’t do them. But what about those among us who claim the name of Christ but don't live like we think they should live? Remember, we aren't called to be fruit inspectors. I am called to be a fruit bearer. So we show the world that we are Christians "by our love, by our love, we will show we are Christians by our love" for one another. I am afraid we have eaten our own alive because they don't add up to our standards.....eeek! That sounds like self righteousness. The very thing we strive against in our flesh we fulfill in abundance when we begin to question the availability of God's grace in other people's lives. Because we are the Church, our fruit is corporate fruit. In the very action of inspection, perhaps we have neglected production. Maybe the branch that doesn't produce will be tossed into the fire...but that isn't my job or for me to decide. The process of being productive does include helping (not inspecting) those around us to be productive....that's how we have thriving churches. I, for one, do not want to treat the grace of God lightly. For myself, that is living a holy life: obedience and submission to the Word of God; carefully and gratefully not taking the grace of God for granted. In my treatment of others it is supplying to them, out of the abundance I have been shown, the grace of God. In this I find that It truly is about finding the good in others around us and focusing in on that.
Titus 3:5-7
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The book of Romans clearly reveals that our righteousness is completely provided for and solely based upon the saving grace purchased through the precious blood of Christ. Holiness is part of the purchase agreement. Holy means to be set apart. We are set apart at salvation when we become part of the family of God. However, we are also commanded in scripture to play a role in our own holiness:
2 Cor 6:14-7:1
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
" I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE ," says the Lord. AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,"
Says the Lord Almighty.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
NASU
There are things that we do in our lives that can either make or break how the world sees us. Remember that our first and primary purpose as believers is to worship God. That worship comes through everything that we do! From the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning as I begin my day with fixing breakfast and lunches, I am either serving and worshipping the Lord in my attitude and words or I am not. If I am not worshipping the Lord in my attitude I am serving something else. Out of this primary command comes how our lives look to those around us, which is called our testimony. If I maintain my attitude of worship through the day, my testimony will expose my supernatural affiliation with the LORD of LORDS. There is a very close link between our testimony and holiness. In this way, I very much believe that we have a very important part to play in being holy.
I have inadvertently run across many teachers and teachings that have broached this subject as well. This last weekend I had the privilege of listening to Eric Cartier preaching at Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel in Colorado Springs. This is not an exact quote from him but rather a paraphrase from my notes:
"The grace that we receive at salvation is the same grace that causes us to work for the kingdom. Our service unto The Lord is designed for us not according to any works we have performed but according to Gods choice and design for us and his grace upon us to do that work.
As believers we should desire to do nothing more than and nothing less than what Gods purpose and design is for us. To do “more than” is to move past what God is doing in our lives and strike out on our own. To do “less than” is to forget our primary purpose and created design. Ministry is not an earned position. It is the calling of every believer. We need to remember that Gods ways are not our ways. God’s purpose for the Christian is not like that of an individual climbing the corporate ladder. We have been molded, as Americans, to believe that busy and working are what causes us to succeed. But in the kingdom it is the other way around. It is our “success” granted upon salvation completely through grace that spurs us on to those works that God has prepared for us beforehand (Eph 2:10). Work that does not cause us to BE holy but rather is the walking out of that holiness. That "work" is birthed from grace. It is birthed from love and gratefulness of our Savior. In which case, the work may be physically exhausting but spiritually igniting. Joy being a result from the work which provides strength for future work. It is a machine that is oiled by the Spirit. Physically burdensome?... yes! Emotionally?....yes! Spiritually?.... NO! Jesus did say "My yoke is easy, my burden is light"? Because His yoke spurred by His Spirit is light if we continue in His Spirit and not switch somewhere along the way to the flesh. If there is no such love and gratitude to move us then there is no such holiness to walk in. Our endeavors may look holy but in the end they are empty and meaningless. We then become spiritually exhausted because it is us who carries ourselves and not the Lord.
When an individual is saved he/she immediately is deemed righteous and set apart (holy) unto God. Either you are part of the family of God or you are not. Does church attendance affect one’s membership status in the family? It may affect their testimony. It may cause one to forget what the Lord has done for them but it does not affect their holy standing before God. It is pleasing to the Father that we remain in fellowship with others who love Him (Heb 10:23-25) Through fellowship and the hearing of the Word together, the Holy Spirit is poured out into our lives making those challenges we face during the week endurable through the filling of the Spirit we gain at church. What if one neglects to read their Bible? Less holy than the one who does? Not less holy but less able to walk in that holiness. Reading the Bible is to the believer; as food is to the body. If one does not partake, one’s ability to access the impartation of the Spirit is diminished. I could say that a believer who chooses inattention to going to church and reading of the scriptures is weaker, more frail in the faith. I should encourage and love the one who makes such choices. I should undertake the effort to spend more time fellowshipping with this one. If I should shun them because they don’t make the effort themselves, do I not, on some level, disregard the price that was paid for them? Why would I treat my precious vehicle with more care and concern than my brother or sister in Christ who may be “out of gas“? Yes, it is their responsibility to “fill up” for themselves, but sometimes people just need a hand and not a holiness speech. Though there may come a time when the holiness speech may at some point be very well-suited and well received after the hand of help was offered.
I remember Lot in the Old Testament. He made some very poor choices and he was not the picture of a holy man. But yet God called him righteous because he believed (2Pet2:7). Are there those around us who appear as Lot to us? Those who struggle with visible sin and who consistently make bad choices. It is not that they are not saved or less holy…dare we make such a statement as that would be to limit the blood and grace of Jesus.
Rom 2:1-5
Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
NASU
Nor is it appropriate to treat them with any less respect than we would treat a Christian whom we truly admire and respect (James2:1-7). Again, we are to walk in the holiness that has been granted us. They may not be walking thusly but we are still called to do so regardless of their choices.
Recently I heard Charles Swindoll on the radio while driving. Since it was a radio program and I am unable to quote him word for word, as I am only going on memory, again I can only paraphrase. The thing that he said that really struck me was that we, as believers, are not called to be "fruit inspectors". "Fruit inspectors" was the exact wording he used. Fruit inspecting is the job of the Father. We are just branches on the vine. The branches do not inspect the other branches for fruit. Our scope is too limited. We have a tendency anyway to focus in on the bad in peoples lives; for instance the fact that we don't see them at church or see them reading their Bible. Actually, I don't see anybody reading their Bible unless it's open during church and they have their eyes focused on it. Even then, how do I know that they are reading it? This isn't how the Bible defines fruit anyway...more about that later. On the other hand, we are called to encourage and exhort each other with great patience, gentleness and love knowing that we are capable of falling into the very sin we exhort (Gal 6:1).
As believers there are some things we are called to judge.
1 Cor 5:9-13
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
NASU
And so there are those IN THE CHURCH that we are to carry out church discipline. They are members of the family of God, the Church. We have a right to issue out discipline in the love of God. We do not have the right to call into question their salvation standing. We do not have a right to call them Unregenerate. Christians who bear the name loudly but also bear very loudly certain visible and abhorrent sin like alcoholism, drug addiction, idolatry, and sexual immorality. We should not toss them to the wayside as hopeless. The thought makes me weep. If we carry out proper church discipline as described above, we may separate ourselves them for a time but not without hope and love and prayer for them. When there is proper repentance, will they not again be accepted into fellowship (2Cor2:3-11)? They are in as much need, if not more so, of the unending supply of Gods grace and mercy. We have a responsibility in our own holiness to treat them with love.
To me holy looks like the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 6: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, self control, faithfulness, kindness and gentleness. There is no limit to these things. We can practice them in as much abundance as our hearts desire. Remember that we are called to walk in the Spirit or speak His language. What is the language of the Spirit? Going to church every Sunday? Reading the Bible everyday? This definition differs not at all from the language of the world because all those in the world do these things and more so and they truly are unregenerate! These actions are imperative to our holiness journey but they don’t make us holier than those who don’t do them. But what about those among us who claim the name of Christ but don't live like we think they should live? Remember, we aren't called to be fruit inspectors. I am called to be a fruit bearer. So we show the world that we are Christians "by our love, by our love, we will show we are Christians by our love" for one another. I am afraid we have eaten our own alive because they don't add up to our standards.....eeek! That sounds like self righteousness. The very thing we strive against in our flesh we fulfill in abundance when we begin to question the availability of God's grace in other people's lives. Because we are the Church, our fruit is corporate fruit. In the very action of inspection, perhaps we have neglected production. Maybe the branch that doesn't produce will be tossed into the fire...but that isn't my job or for me to decide. The process of being productive does include helping (not inspecting) those around us to be productive....that's how we have thriving churches. I, for one, do not want to treat the grace of God lightly. For myself, that is living a holy life: obedience and submission to the Word of God; carefully and gratefully not taking the grace of God for granted. In my treatment of others it is supplying to them, out of the abundance I have been shown, the grace of God. In this I find that It truly is about finding the good in others around us and focusing in on that.
Titus 3:5-7
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Righteousness Part 3
I
have attempted to establish that our righteousness, at its very peak
performance, fails miserably at reaching Gods expectations. If this is
true, then, there must be another way, right? There is. First we must
acknowledge our failure and must understand and completely comply with
the new system that God has put in place for us to be righteous.
I
will review what the old system originally looked like. It was a
structure of numerous rules that had to be carried out perfectly. It also
entailed carrying out numerous types of sacrifices in order to atone
for the lack of perfection in carrying out the rules. These rules are called the "law" handed
down through Moses from God. The law can be found in the book of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament of the Bible. Romans is a book in
the New Testament that speaks almost exclusively about the law. Part of
the message in Romans says, in a very small nut shell, that the law was
too heavy of a burden. We are unable to carry out its commands according the expectation of God. Humans
simply can not do it. The most logical next question: why did God give
us a law if he knew that we could not carry it out? The answer, in a
very small nutshell: BECAUSE THE LAW DEFINES SIN.
Romans 7:8
But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
Without the law, the word "sin" is meaningless. What
is sin? Sin means to miss the expectation of God in our actions, words
and thoughts. Literally, it means to miss the target when shooting an
arrow. The sport of archery is the perfect analogy for explaining the
law. For analogy sake let's agree that the arrow represents our
actions, words and thoughts. The target represents the law. At that
time, it became God's expectation for every human hearing the law to then
adjust his actions, thoughts, and words according to the law. The law
provides a target for every hearer at which to shoot. Because it is so
detailed, concise and thorough it is a very small target which makes
aiming at it challenging and hitting it impossible. If sin means
missing the target and the target is so difficult to hit, where does
that leave us? It leaves us understanding what we did wrong but nothing we can do about it. So why did God provide such a small target...why have a target at all? Without the target (the law) sin exists but humans have no definition. This, then, would be analogous to shooting an arrow into
the air aimlessly. What's the point in that?
At
the beginning, after God created Adam and Eve, He gave them one single
command, "Don't eat from this tree, the Tree of the knowledge of good
and evil! You can eat from every other one in the garden but not this
one." God gave them a gigantic target. In my own imagination, this
target would look like the size of a barn with a bulls eye the same size
as the target. It appears to me that they aimed rather carelessly and
missed horrifically. All they had to do was hit that one rather large
target....don't eat from this one tree. When they did this, God no
longer held onto the reigns of the knowledge of good and evil. This
knowledge was then transferred to humans as well. Humans, whom God had
created not to handle such information. Maybe there would have been a
day when we could have but we will never know. But this knowledge was
undefined and murky to humans. They did not know how to make use of it.
In
a way, I can say that Adam and Eve bent that proverbial arrow which,
remember, represents our actions, thoughts and words. Even if the
target is of manageable size and distance, if the arrow is not straight,
we will not hit the target. Now, let me summarize. Adam and Eve
bent the arrow that God gave them to shoot at His rather large target.
In response to this, several generations later, God gave the law to the
Israelite nation (the Jews). So using our analogy, we have a bent
arrow with no aim until the very small target was furnished, the law. Tell me,
if it's hard to shoot at a target with a straight arrow how much harder
would it be to shoot at a target with a small target and a crooked
arrow? Is this God's fault that this all happened? One may think so
but, in reality, it isn't. Adam and Eve made that choice. Did He know that they would fail? He did but
He also knew that when they failed He had another plan. This plan has
taken thousands of years to unfold and so I think that speaks to it's
worth-whileness.
The
next logical question: there are so many who have never laid eyes on
this law that I speak of? What about them? How can God hold to account something that has never been seen? When God dispensed the law,
He did so to the Israelites/Jews only. Anybody who was not a Jew is
called a Gentile. The Gentiles did not receive the law from Moses. The
rest of us received the law in another way.
Romans 2:14-15
For
when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of
the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that
they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience
bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else
defending them.
Everyone else, no matter who you
are, where you live, whether it be in the remotest part of the untouched
jungles of Africa, received God's indelible expectation on the
heart....THE CONSCIENCE. Our conscience is the answer to that question. And, our conscience is not much different than the ten
commandments. The Jews received a law, part of which, was literally
written in stone and the other part preserved through written
tradition in great detail. That, therefore, leaves us all accountable to
HIM, who created each of us. One of the reasons why the world does not
want to acknowledge that there is a God. If they acknowledge,
then His expectations for His created go right with it.
Romans 1:20-22
For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even
though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but
they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was
darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools...
I am here to tell you that we have failed,
every one of us, to follow our consciences. Gentiles have
failed along with the Jews to hit the proverbial target that God gave to them. We have all
ignored our conscience at least once.
How does anyone ever hope to be holy and righteous which is the requirement of God?
Knowing
full well that humans could not live up to the standard...which was
never his intent, he supplied the once and for all sacrificial atonement
for our consistent failure. Atonement is an odd word that is not much
used in the USA. It means: satisfaction
or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends. According to the old
system, atonement or reparation for wrong doing (sin) was performed
through various animal sacrifices and by releasing a scape goat into the
wilderness (Leviticus 1-7, 16,17,22). The scape goat was ceremonially prepared to carry the sins
of the people into the wilderness where they would be forgotten (Leviticus 16:8-10). This
system, as I have stated, did not entirely fulfill God’s desire of
having a righteous people. He knew that it would not fulfill his desire
but He went ahead with this primary plan anyway….why? So that the plan
He would reveal in time would be appreciated that much more. Here is
an analogy.
Let’s
say that a child daughter does not regularly do her household chores. The
desire is for her to do her chores. Her chores are good for
her and these chores will teach her responsibility for the
time when she is an adult. But, no matter what is done or said she won’t
do them. So a system is set up. For every chore that she does not do,
she owes 30 min on her bed doing nothing but reading a book. If she
fails at every one of her chores…the next day she owes 2 hours on her
bed plus she has to do all of her chores for that day. And it goes on
and on for months like this. This becomes a very heavy burden to her
and the parent. She is losing out on her favorite past times and
time with her friends. The burden, after several months
of this, is excruciating so it’s time to bring forth grace. This probably wasn't going to work but she needed to see that
there are consequences for wrong doing. One day the parent says, “Ok
Gertrude, you still didn’t do your chores yesterday so I am going to do
them for you and I will spend time on your bed for the chores that you
did not do yesterday.” What do you think her response is going to be? If she is very lazy child who simply does not care about me or chores I
might get, “I don’t care” for a time. But most likely after a few days of this she
is going to say eventually, “Mom, I will do my own chores” and she does
them from that day forward.
God
in His graciousness, understood that the law, the failure of following
it, and the numerous sacrifices were too much…but they were His way, in
His complete omniscience, of showing us that there was only way to fix
the problem….the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Not only was He the
ultimate sacrifice for every sin committed by every person, He was the
scape goat which removed those sins forever from the presence of God.
But, it is a gift of forgiveness that must be accepted and He asks
nothing in return. He does not force anything on to anyone…If you want
to receive His forgiveness He will give it to you through acknowledging
that you are in need of it and by acknowledging that the penalty for
your sin has been paid. And after this you need to repent or turn away from the things that you, in your heart, know were offensive to a loving God. In this you can be righteous in His eyes
too. Start reading the Bible and start learning about the Savior who
gave His life that you could have life.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Righteousness Part 2
Last blog I talked about a possible definition of righteousness and the righteousness of God. Today, I want to talk about self righteousness. I want to give a reasonable definition of self righteousness. I have been pondering and praying about how to go about this as there are various methods. This is, of course, what I came up with but I encourage you to look at self righteousness from other angles that I don't.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment...
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
Proverbs 16:25 AND Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
These last two verses are exactly the same which tells us something. I was taught by a pastor that if the Jews really wanted to get something across or wanted there to be emphasis, it would be repeated three times. There are at least two more verses that are similar in the Bible, therefore, it is a subject of great importance in the Bible.
Lets talk about the first verse:
This is what the Bible says our righteousness amounts to : a filthy garment. Filth to the nth degree. The farthest away from pure and clean one can possibly get. "Disgusting, throw in the garbage, don't want to deal with it" filth. This is the final word on what our righteousness amounts to. Can it, therefore, go without huge explanation that self righteousness is something to be avoided? The last three verses speaks to what happens when we follow a self righteousness path. Two verses says death and one says that is is the path of fools.
But what is self righteousness? I have 3 thoughts for you to consider.
1. Calling what is God's definition of sin, "not sin"
2. Calling what God does not consider sin, "sin"
3. Accepting God's standard of sin, but handling it apart from God.
An example of #1: Breaking any of God's commandments and then, in order to avert the pain of a guilty conscience, one justifies their actions by any number of excuses. A self righteous person will set up their own scale system so as to make ones sin seem less weighty. This is self righteousness. If you ask anyone in our culture, who isn't yet saved, if they are a good person they will inevitably say yes. However, we see from Romans that this is not the case. We are all sinners. We have all broken at least one commandment causing us to fall short of the standard that God set up. If you do not understand this point please read the prior blog.
Romans 3:12
All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one."
Basically, this example looks like a person who does not know Jesus personally or who chooses to skirt His Word entirely.
A simplistic but effective example of # 2: Some may say that a messy house is sinful. First of all lets see what the Bible says about this:
Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
And so older women are to be: reverent, not gossipers, not drunks and teachers of good things. Younger women are to: love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, be pure, workers at home, be kind, be subject or submissive to their husbands. This is all to be done so that the word of God is not dishonored.
If you would like please read Proverbs 31 because it is too long to quote here. This describes a woman who submits to her husband, clothes her family, provides food and nourishment for them.
There is nothing, that I can see, in either passage about messiness being sinful. Scripturally speaking, where would one find the definition of messy? Hmmm....good question. I don't think it is there...but am open to anyone who believes differently. Here's my defense. I have a friend who keeps an immaculate home. Mine seems messy in comparison to hers. I also a friend who keeps her house in a bit more disarray than mine. Who is to say which house is good and which house is bad? Could I fly to India, walk into the home of a godly Indian woman who has a dirt floor and declare her to be sinning because of her "messy" floor? I challenge you to look at the standards that you have set up for yourself and others.
Using this example, we can, hopefully, understand that making a standard that is not first determined by or through scripture could fall into the category of self righteousness. If one wanted to define what messy was for themselves....being not a life and death issue..... this would not fall into a self righteous category. But if I take my formula for messy and measure every one of my friends against it?....not gonna make happy friends am I? Sometimes the Bible gives no directive in an area. In that case, in order to avoid self righteousness, we too should remain neutral on the subject. Being a godly woman encompasses so much more than keeping a house clean, doesn't it? And being a Christian encompasses so much more than following a rule. Let's steer clear of setting up standards and keep to God's standards, shall we?
#3: We get our biggest example, scripturally, from the Pharisees. They knew the law, forward and backward. They considered themselves righteous concerning it. In other words; according to them, they knew it and they followed it. This is different from example #2 in that the Pharisees were actually attempting to follow God's canon.
If you would take the time to read John 8:1-11 as again I am short on space here. In this passage we see that a woman was caught in the act of adultery. Knowing that the law taught that anyone who was caught in this act was to be stoned to death, the Pharisee were sure they had trapped Jesus by asking him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" But Jesus says to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus perfectly reveals how sin is to be dealt with. Perhaps she did deserve to die. ENTER MERCY. Jesus was the only one that could have thrown the stone that condemned her and he would have been completely justified in so doing. Why? Because Jesus is perfect....sinless. Everybody there agreed that her action was indeed sinful. There was absolutely no debates between Jesus and the Pharisees on this point. Sin is sin and needs to be called what it is or else we fall into self righteousness #1. So what was wrong with what the Pharisees did? Why was Jesus always picking on them? Is it possible that they were trusting in their own human understanding of the law to carry out the law? Or if they understood the law, they carried out judgment in their own human deductions? Is it possible that they judged themselves righteous according to their own comprehension of God's ways? And not only this but took all the credit for such action (not that it looked good or was good to anyone else)....causing none of the glory to fall to God but on how they looked. What about mercy? Mercy is foreign to us...is it not? It surely falls into God's ways and not our ways. Therefore, I deduce that it did not even enter their minds. If it had they would have used it against Jesus or they wouldn't be "the Pharisees" that Jesus condemned. It was cut and dried for them...she should be stoned. The Spirit of God drives mercy and grace. The Pharisees never saw it coming because they were not, in any way shape or form, relying on the Spirit of God. This fatal flaw has a name: operating in the flesh and its also called legalism. The flesh never has the whole picture. Wait this is an understatement....the flesh never has a clear picture period. Jesus always sees the whole image perfectly.
Galatians 6:1
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
I represented self righteousness in 3 ways but really these are only 3 different symptoms of self righteousness. There are numerous symptoms of self righteousness. Self righteousness boiled down to it's ugliest character is really this: doing it our filthy way; a human natural way, a way that makes sense or feels good to our earthly comprehension; the flesh. When we try to live Christian lives with the strength of the flesh we come out, for all the world to see, including our children, looking like hypocrites. Is it no wonder that a "Christian" culture looks unappetizing to a hungry world?
Gal 5:16-24
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh . For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If you don't like the way I say it here....read the whole book of Galatians...actually...even if you do like the way I said it here....read Galatians anyway...it says it soooo much better!
Self Righteousness
Isaiah 64:6-7For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment...
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
Proverbs 16:25 AND Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
These last two verses are exactly the same which tells us something. I was taught by a pastor that if the Jews really wanted to get something across or wanted there to be emphasis, it would be repeated three times. There are at least two more verses that are similar in the Bible, therefore, it is a subject of great importance in the Bible.
Lets talk about the first verse:
This is what the Bible says our righteousness amounts to : a filthy garment. Filth to the nth degree. The farthest away from pure and clean one can possibly get. "Disgusting, throw in the garbage, don't want to deal with it" filth. This is the final word on what our righteousness amounts to. Can it, therefore, go without huge explanation that self righteousness is something to be avoided? The last three verses speaks to what happens when we follow a self righteousness path. Two verses says death and one says that is is the path of fools.
But what is self righteousness? I have 3 thoughts for you to consider.
1. Calling what is God's definition of sin, "not sin"
2. Calling what God does not consider sin, "sin"
3. Accepting God's standard of sin, but handling it apart from God.
An example of #1: Breaking any of God's commandments and then, in order to avert the pain of a guilty conscience, one justifies their actions by any number of excuses. A self righteous person will set up their own scale system so as to make ones sin seem less weighty. This is self righteousness. If you ask anyone in our culture, who isn't yet saved, if they are a good person they will inevitably say yes. However, we see from Romans that this is not the case. We are all sinners. We have all broken at least one commandment causing us to fall short of the standard that God set up. If you do not understand this point please read the prior blog.
Romans 3:12
All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one."
Basically, this example looks like a person who does not know Jesus personally or who chooses to skirt His Word entirely.
A simplistic but effective example of # 2: Some may say that a messy house is sinful. First of all lets see what the Bible says about this:
Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
And so older women are to be: reverent, not gossipers, not drunks and teachers of good things. Younger women are to: love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, be pure, workers at home, be kind, be subject or submissive to their husbands. This is all to be done so that the word of God is not dishonored.
If you would like please read Proverbs 31 because it is too long to quote here. This describes a woman who submits to her husband, clothes her family, provides food and nourishment for them.
There is nothing, that I can see, in either passage about messiness being sinful. Scripturally speaking, where would one find the definition of messy? Hmmm....good question. I don't think it is there...but am open to anyone who believes differently. Here's my defense. I have a friend who keeps an immaculate home. Mine seems messy in comparison to hers. I also a friend who keeps her house in a bit more disarray than mine. Who is to say which house is good and which house is bad? Could I fly to India, walk into the home of a godly Indian woman who has a dirt floor and declare her to be sinning because of her "messy" floor? I challenge you to look at the standards that you have set up for yourself and others.
Using this example, we can, hopefully, understand that making a standard that is not first determined by or through scripture could fall into the category of self righteousness. If one wanted to define what messy was for themselves....being not a life and death issue..... this would not fall into a self righteous category. But if I take my formula for messy and measure every one of my friends against it?....not gonna make happy friends am I? Sometimes the Bible gives no directive in an area. In that case, in order to avoid self righteousness, we too should remain neutral on the subject. Being a godly woman encompasses so much more than keeping a house clean, doesn't it? And being a Christian encompasses so much more than following a rule. Let's steer clear of setting up standards and keep to God's standards, shall we?
#3: We get our biggest example, scripturally, from the Pharisees. They knew the law, forward and backward. They considered themselves righteous concerning it. In other words; according to them, they knew it and they followed it. This is different from example #2 in that the Pharisees were actually attempting to follow God's canon.
If you would take the time to read John 8:1-11 as again I am short on space here. In this passage we see that a woman was caught in the act of adultery. Knowing that the law taught that anyone who was caught in this act was to be stoned to death, the Pharisee were sure they had trapped Jesus by asking him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" But Jesus says to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus perfectly reveals how sin is to be dealt with. Perhaps she did deserve to die. ENTER MERCY. Jesus was the only one that could have thrown the stone that condemned her and he would have been completely justified in so doing. Why? Because Jesus is perfect....sinless. Everybody there agreed that her action was indeed sinful. There was absolutely no debates between Jesus and the Pharisees on this point. Sin is sin and needs to be called what it is or else we fall into self righteousness #1. So what was wrong with what the Pharisees did? Why was Jesus always picking on them? Is it possible that they were trusting in their own human understanding of the law to carry out the law? Or if they understood the law, they carried out judgment in their own human deductions? Is it possible that they judged themselves righteous according to their own comprehension of God's ways? And not only this but took all the credit for such action (not that it looked good or was good to anyone else)....causing none of the glory to fall to God but on how they looked. What about mercy? Mercy is foreign to us...is it not? It surely falls into God's ways and not our ways. Therefore, I deduce that it did not even enter their minds. If it had they would have used it against Jesus or they wouldn't be "the Pharisees" that Jesus condemned. It was cut and dried for them...she should be stoned. The Spirit of God drives mercy and grace. The Pharisees never saw it coming because they were not, in any way shape or form, relying on the Spirit of God. This fatal flaw has a name: operating in the flesh and its also called legalism. The flesh never has the whole picture. Wait this is an understatement....the flesh never has a clear picture period. Jesus always sees the whole image perfectly.
Galatians 6:1
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
I represented self righteousness in 3 ways but really these are only 3 different symptoms of self righteousness. There are numerous symptoms of self righteousness. Self righteousness boiled down to it's ugliest character is really this: doing it our filthy way; a human natural way, a way that makes sense or feels good to our earthly comprehension; the flesh. When we try to live Christian lives with the strength of the flesh we come out, for all the world to see, including our children, looking like hypocrites. Is it no wonder that a "Christian" culture looks unappetizing to a hungry world?
Gal 5:16-24
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh . For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If you don't like the way I say it here....read the whole book of Galatians...actually...even if you do like the way I said it here....read Galatians anyway...it says it soooo much better!
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