Crucified, Yet Crucified Again

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Ga 5:24-25 AV)

Here is a great example of the doctrinal and practical in balance.  Paul uses the past tense in referring to the crucifixion of the flesh.  Yet we know from his other writings that this is an ongoing process.  It happened once at salvation.  Repentance crucifies the flesh and the lusts. This is what we see in verse twenty-five.  Verse twenty-four speaks of the one-time crucifixion of the flesh and lusts at the point of salvation.  Verse twenty-five reveals this process is an ongoing one.  Verse twenty-five states our positional existence as in the Spirit.  Seeing we are in the Spirit, then we should live as such.  We forget that at the point of salvation, the flesh and lusts of the flesh were surrendered.  We repented of our sins.  Our desires changed to that which is holy, righteous, and good.  If that happened in the past, then it needs to continue into the future.

Many of us struggle with maintaining a healthy weight.  We try many things.  We try one fad diet after another.  Dieting starts with recognizing the need to lose weight.  We take inventory of all the things in our kitchens or pantries that are not good.  We look at our meal plan and realize it is not helpful.  Regardless of what plan we choose; it all starts the same way.  We look at our weight and habits.  We decide that continuing to live as we are, weight will be gained and not lost.  So, we look at all the bad things we cannot eat and rid the house of them.  We plan our meals.  We watch what we eat.  We drink more water.  Our intentions are pure.  Our dedication is high.  Life happens.  It starts with a cursory introduction of the foods we cannot eat.  A piece of candy here.  A church fellowship there.  Little by little, the foods we are not supposed to eat creep back in.  Falling to temptation does not undo the initial dedication to the cause.  It happened.  Back then, we were truly committed and disciplined.  What we decided to do back then must continue.  So, we rededicate ourselves to the plan.

Accepting Christ does not come with automatic holiness.  The old man is still a factor.  The Holy Spirit convicted our hearts at the point of salvation, and we wanted nothing to do with sin.  We hated ourselves.  We hated what we did and what we were.  We turned our back on the filthy life of sin and cried out to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.  We arose from our prayer completely free from guilt and shame.  We promised ourselves that from that point forward, nothing but righteousness.  It didn’t take long.  Israel wanted to go back to Egypt after only three days of freedom.  It doesn’t take long for sin to return.  But here is where Paul is trying to teach the new converts.  The law is for our benefit.  Not our salvation.  The law is the means by which God blesses and we please Him.  If we began in the Spirit, then let us continue to walk in the Spirit.  This requires we forsake our sin over and again.  Every day we must return to the altar of confession.  Every day we have to renew our walk with God and surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Every day.  The battle was started.  But the battle must continue.

 

Frustrate Grace?

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Ga 2:21 AV)

Note here that Paul uses the present tense while referring to frustrating the grace of God.  Paul is speaking of the place of the law in the process of salvation.  The Galatian church wanted to add to the law.  Unsaved Israelites tried to convince the Gentile believers that salvation, in part, relied on obedience to the law.  Paul is teaching that they are saved by grace and kept by grace.  But the curious thing about the present tense is that it suggests that even if we are secure in our salvation, we can still frustrate the grace of God.  This is fascinating.  And also a bit convicting.  Many believers find themselves doing just that.  We know enough to believe that the law cannot save or keep us.  We accept and believe that God’s grace is what saves us and that it is His grace that keeps us saved.  What we struggle with is living a life of righteousness to earn continued grace.  Just like saving grace cannot be earned, abiding grace cannot be either.

It is our nature to reject grace.  A young man who lived on the streets was seen by a wealthy benefactor.  He enquired as to the identity of the lad and wondered where his parents might be.  He was informed that the boy had no living relatives.  He was orphaned on the streets.  This man, on a promise of a meal, coaxed the young man into his carriage.  They rode together and chatted for a bit.  Upon reaching his estate, the wealthy old man sat the boy down, and his chef prepared a wonderful meal.  When the boy rose to leave, the benefactor wondered if the young man would like to take a dip in the pool.  This street urchin hadn’t had a bath in years.  After he was all cleaned up, the kind gentleman gave him a fresh set of clothes to wear.  He had stayed long enough for dinner.  After dinner, it was too late to return him to the streets, so this wonderful man gave him a room to stay.  Little by little, the kindly gentleman won the trust of the young boy.  After a bit, the young boy simply felt out of place.  He would be found helping the employees cleaning, gardening, or any other chore that needed attention.  The master of the house would have none of it.  This precious life needed attention, and he was not about to require his young charge to do anything that might be construed as working for one’s keep.  As this young man grew older, he tried harder to do for the master so that he wasn’t enjoying things without some renumeration.  Eventually he left because he could not stomach being the object of another’s kindness.  He wanted to make his own way in the world.  He wanted to prove his worth.  He wanted to make his own statement.  This is our nature.

It is in our nature to work for the blessings of life.  Grace does not come easy.  Pride gets in the way.  Self-expression intervenes.  Self-determination interrupts.  To refuse the grace of God is to frustrate the grace of God.  Whether the needs of life, forgiveness, or joy and happiness are manifestations of God’s grace; they have to be accepted.  There is nothing we can do to earn the grace of God.  Humility is the necessary ingredient to accepting the grace of God.  Let God be God.  Even if being God means being kind and benevolent.  Let God be God.  I know.  Part of us wants to do something.  We feel guilty.  God fusses over us, and we do not deserve it at all.  We are shamed because God is so good.  The goodness of God leads us to repentance.  Accepting the grace of God is accepting the relationship of Creator/creation.  We do not want to take advantage of the grace of God.  We don’t want to fall on it as an excuse not to live for His pleasure and glory.  Frustrating the grace of God is no more than refusing it and relying upon something else.  Usually, we ourselves.

Strength Through Weakness

“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” (2Co 13:4 AV)

The phrase “through weakness” can throw us off a bit.  Remembering that Jesus was all human as He was all divine, helps.  From the blood drops in the garden to His seven cries from the cross, Jesus was at His weakest moment.  His humanity was pushed to the limit.  I think Paul is speaking of surrender.  As Christ surrendered to the event of crucifixion, we are also surrendered to the will of the Father.  That is what is meant by being weak in Christ.  Our wills are broken.  Our desire is to obey the Father.  The promise is what we want to consider here.  Even though Jesus surrendered unto the torture and death of the cross, He lives for the Father.  Because He lives for the Father, the Father gives Him power to do so.  In the same sense, if we are weak in Christ because we are surrendered, then it will be the power of God that enables us to live.  Becoming weak that we might be made strong is the idea here.

I drove a car recently that had a bunch of safety features.  We rented a car for a ride down to visit my son.  This car had a bunch of assists.  One of them was a lane assist.  When the cruise control is engaged, the car will watch for the white lines of your lane.  If you begin to drift, it will attempt to steer you back into your lane.  Unless the turn signal is on, the car will gently take over the steering so you stay centered in your lane.  The car I have now does the same thing.  It also has brake assist.  I have to tell you, I don’t care for the lane assist.  This means surrendering some autonomy for safety.  The brake assist is great.  I had a car in front of me spontaneously break and turn right.  If the brake assist were not engaged, I might have locked up the wheels.  Using the assists requires a bit of faith in the technology.  It also means the driver has to yield to something bigger than himself.  He has to allow the technology that can respond much quicker to have some control over the car.  I am not there yet.  I’ll use the brake assist all day long.  But the lane assist has to wait a bit.  Not there yet.

Giving up autonomy and the privilege of self-determination does not come easy.  We are thinking, acting, rational human beings.  We can make choices.  Sometimes those choices are correct.  We love being independent.  We love the statement of individual worth.  Paul is showing us that just the opposite is true.  By surrendering the sense of Self, we actually become stronger people.  By trusting and obeying the Father, as the Son, we live in power and victory.  The world tells us that individuality means empowerment.  The more of an individual we become, the stronger we become.  That is actually false.  The more like God we become, the stronger we become.  Surrender is often seen as a bad word.  Among our world that values independence and self-determination, yielding to a higher authority is seen as weakness.  This is foolish talking.  When I fly, the pilot surrenders the plane to air currents and gravity.  To do so means to soar among the clouds.  Paul says that to yield in obedience and faith to the will of the Creator God means to live in power rather than in weakness.

Rags to Riches

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2Co 8:9 AV)

Rich is such a relative term.  How rich is rich?  In what exactly is some rich?  Material things?  Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth regarding giving to relieve the needs of the saints at Jerusalem.  He uses the example of other churches much more destitute as the model for the church at Corinth to follow.  Although the immediate context is the giving of material things, the baseline is what Christ has done for us.  This measure is not in physical things, although God does provide our every need.  Rather, the baseline it given to the Corinthian church as the motivation to share the material by which God has blessed.  That which Christ gave was eternal life.  He gave everything he materially had.  He gave his family.  He gave his friends.  He gave His place in glory.  He limited the exercise of His divine attributes.  He gave His personal comfort and necessary food.  He went so far as to give His life.  When Paul says that Jesus Christ became poor, it literally means He became as poor as any one person could ever be.  They even took His garments from Him and gambled with them.  Wealth is not always measured in tangible ways.

I was asked many years ago why my gaze was primarily cast downward.  The one asking thought I was despondent or depressed all the time.  But that was not the case.  My eyes were primarily cast downward because there was an entire world to be discovered at the level of my feet.  There were many pennies found.  Several larger denominations were discovered.  There were relics buried in the dirt waiting to be risen anew.  When hunting became a hobby, one doesn’t look up for sign.  One looks down.  The eyes look for tracks, scat, or any other indication that one’s query is nearby.  A scrap here.  A rub there.  Fresh tracks.  Droppings.  They all indicated that meat might be coming to the freezer.  To take the shot, one must look down before one looks up.  If our eyes are constantly cast upward, we will miss the details that make up life.  With eyes cast down, life moves slower.  Prizes become more noticeable and appreciated.  I have a little wooden box with some of those treasures lying within.  A few Indian-head nickels are there.  A diamond tie tack is safely stored there.  A few rare pennies are in that box.  Many little things that mean the world to me are in that little box.

We go through life so fast that we miss the richness of what God has bestowed.  We are so temporally minded that we forget how eternally blessed we are.  There is a place called heaven where the streets are gold and the glory of God outshines the sun.  There is a place so wonderful that human words fail to describe it.  Most of all, an eternity of unbroken fellowship with our Creator is waiting the poor sinner.  No, Jesus did not die so that we could have a full bank account and a house so large that half the city could live there.  Jesus did not die so that every wish we could have would be met, no matter what that might be.  Rather, the riches from God are not tangible ones.  Those things we enjoy in this life will pass with this life.  Those things given for eternity are here to stay.  We are blessed.  More than our minds can comprehend.  All because Jesus made Himself poor.

Wanting Eternity for the Right Reason

“For we that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.” (2Co 5:4 AV)

Paul states the genuine desire of those who love the LORD and desire eternity.  The phrase “not for that we would be unclothed” means not so that we may be free from our temporal existence.  That is how the despondent lost world reacts to life.  They do not seek death because they have a far greater existence awaiting.  Rather, they seek death because they believe it will be an end to their miserable present. Paul, on the other hand, is sharing that those who know Christ look forward to physical death because in physical death, we are clothed in eternal life.  In other words, we look forward to eternity because there is something far better.  We do not look to eternity to be rid of something far worse.  I know.  It sounds like a distinction without a difference.  But it is not.  Paul understood the balance between serving God in the flesh and wanting to be eternally in His presence.  I think this is another example of this balance.

The difference is like a child who has a load of homework that he desperately wants to be done with.  He sits down.  He reads.  He writes notes.  He studies for tests.  He completes his worksheets.  He takes practice tests.  Why?  Perhaps he has friends outside who are waiting on him.  Perhaps there is a favorite TV program coming on.  Maybe because as soon as he is done with his homework, he can think of something else.  There might be another reason.  Perhaps he works really hard at his homework because he knows that the next day, his teacher will apply what he learned the night before.  Perhaps he sees the value in the present trouble.  Maybe he sees a higher grade.  Maybe he sees career opportunities based on how hard he works.  Maybe he sees recognition from his peers when graduation rolls around.  Maybe he sees different options with colleges or careers.  The first boy simply wants the homework to end because he doesn’t like doing it.  The second wants to finish his homework because he knows it has a purpose and reward at the end.  Both will be done with their homework.  The first will resent the work, while the second will welcome the work.

That is exactly how life is.  The LORD gave us one life.  By accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and LORD, there awaits a far better eternity.  We can either look toward eternity as an escape from a life we resent.  Or, we could look forward to eternity because it is the culmination of a fight well fought.  We can either look at eternity as an escape.  Or, we can look at it as a reward.  How we look at it will determine our attitude in the present.  Paul was well balanced.  He knew the moment God called him home, he was done with earthly ministry.  He knew the moment the trumpet blew his call, there would be no more soul-winning or church planting.  When the call to come home came, there would be no more scripture to write, no more churches to encourage, and no more missionary trips to make.  Did Paul want glory?  Obviously.  But he wanted it for the right reason.  He did not seek death because it would put an end to his struggles, persecutions, or infirmities.  We wanted eternity because Jesus is there.  He wanted eternity so that there could be no more barrios to sinless communion with God!  Glory!

The Cure is Better than the Disease

“And our hope of you [is] stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so [shall ye be] also of the consolation.” (2Co 1:7 AV)

Paul is speaking from experience here.  He knows the church at Corinth, even though they may be suffering at the moment, will be ok.  How?  Because they are not going through anything he has not already faced.  Paul was asked to go through hard times in part so that he could be a help to others facing similar situations.  Note in particular how complete Paul’s faith is.  The statement he speaks above is not idle one.  Our great Apostle is stating that our consolation will be equal to or greater than our suffering.  In other words, no matter how deep the water may be, when the trial is over and God has done His work, we will be the better for it.  Our consolation will more than meet the needs of our trial.  This is an astounding statement and is absolutely true.

A few years back, I was suffering from a condition that caused my emotions to be completely turned upside down.  It bordered on frightening.  Not knowing there was an issue with my neuroendocrine system, I thought I was going crazy.  A number of very hard losses, one after another, produced stress which I was not prepared to handle.  This caused a system to be damaged, which in return, caused emotional imbalance.  It was really bad.  It wasn’t until we moved and the LORD led me to a doctor who was a superb clinician that I had a diagnosis and treatment.  After several years of treatment, my emotional balance is pretty much restored.  There are situations I must avoid.  There are moments when I have a slight relapse.  But all in all, the effect of the damage has been mitigated.  If you were to tell me a few years back that I would be normal again, I wouldn’t have believed you.  I thought the condition of which I was suffering would be lifelong.  There was no light at the end of the tunnel.  My perception was skewed by a physical problem that, with a wonderful doctor and the right treatment, has been rectified.  My consolation has met the trial and overcame it.

All glory to God!  With the treatment came some exercises that help me when times are a bit trying.  The Holy Spirit works with me through the word of God, reminding me of truths that are distant.  These truths are there.  They simply have lost their place in the forefront of my mind.  The Holy Spirit works with my heart to remind me of things I forget.  He opens my mind’s eye to new truths that need to be learned and believed.  The promise of God never ceases.  It doesn’t matter how we feel.  Our bodies can tell us one thing.  But the word of God will stand forever.  All I know is that no matter how deep the waters may be, the consolation of God is much greater.  Hang in there.  Help is on the way.  By God’s grace you will make it.  The word of God promises as much.

Yield and Hope

“Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God:” (Ps 146:5 AV)

Note in particular the present tense of the help and the future tense of the hope.  The verbs are both in the present tense.  But help us present while hope looks to the future.  Both are active at the same time.  How can that be?  We forget that life is not linear.  It is hard for us to grasp that two or more things that might seem contradictory can actually work in concert with one another.  We can be both here and there at the same time.  To us, we are here.  Someone else will say we are there if they are not here with us.  Above, we have an active help while hope rests in the finished work.  Hope, help, and hope again work together.  When God is working and we hope in the result of His hand, we are happy.

Have you ever tried to help someone and somewhere in the midst of helping, they interrupt and try to do it themselves?  They don’t like how you are going about it.  They do not think you can do it.  After a bit of frustration, you blurt out, “Do you trust me or not?”  I am a bit better at desktop publishing than my lovely wife.  She will wait until the last minute of a project, then ask me to do it for her.  I never allow her to watch me.  If I did, it would slow me down.  She would want to compile the project according to her thinking or how she organizes.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  It works for her.  Yet, I have learned better ways to do the same thing.  So if she is watching, she will interrupt.  She will ask why I don’t do it a certain way.  At first, I might explain.  But the interruptions become less of a learning experience for her and more of a way to get it done how she is comfortable.  So, I blurt out the words: “Do you trust me or not?”  She would be much happier if she would let me do it the way I do.  I would get it done faster, better, and with less interruption.  She will have to hope that when the project is done, it will meet her expectations.

Being happy in the LORD is an ongoing process.  It is not a permanent state of being.  Being happy in the LORD requires that we trust the LORD and get out of the way as He works.  One cannot hope if he does not yield.  One cannot accept help unless he hopes that help will come through.  Help may come without hope.  When we help our small children, they rarely notice.  It does not register the sacrifice required to make them comfortable and happy.  As they age, they appreciate the effort and love behind our actions.  They learn to trust that the effort and love will continue.  As we mature in the LORD, we realize more and more just how much God works on our behalf.  As we study the word of God, meditate on just how active God is in our lives, we begin to see He is a God who can be trusted.  Do we want to be happy?  Then we must learn to yield and the hope.

God Is Good, All the Time and to Everyone

“The LORD [is] good to all: and his tender mercies [are] over all his works.” (Ps 145:9 AV)

To those who may be suffering, this truth is a hard one to accept.  Regardless of how we may feel or what our perception might be, the above statement is still the truth.  “It could always be worse” is not what David is saying here.  David had his share of troubles.  More so than most.  In fact, most of his troubles are not even recorded.  How do we know this?  Because a good portion of his psalms are written regarding events never recorded in scriptures.  Most commentators try to tie each psalm to a recorded event.  However, that assumes David only writes at these times of life.  Not so.  The troubles David speaks of come because he was king of the greatest nation on earth.  During the reign of David and Solomon, it could be argued there wasn’t a nation that could measure up.  With his stature among the world, no doubt he had his troubles.  He had a wife who left him, a father-in-law who wanted him dead, a son who was a rapist, and another whom he had to destroy in battle.  He had four sons who would meet untimely deaths.  David had insurrection among the men he led, many friends who turned on him, and at times was extremely lonely.  Yet through all this, David is able to pen the words above.

I was watching a video the other day of 25 facts we believe but that are incorrect.  One of them had to do with quicksand.  Hollywood loves to portray quicksand as certain death.  They love to make it dramatic.  If a person falls into quicksand, give enough time, they portray the poor soul as being swallowed up alive.  This is not true.  One cannot drown in quicksand.  He or she may to be able to get themselves out, but they will not totally sink into the sand.  Then it got me thinking.  What would I do?  After a bit of standing in it, what would I do?  Or better yet, I wonder what David would do.  Knowing the promises of God, he would be assured that somehow he would get out.  Given the promise of a throne, death was not a threat.  Perhaps he would devise ways to rescue himself.  Once those methods failed, I wonder if he rested his weight against the sand to make himself comfortable, then pondered how good God is.  Maybe he realized just how beautiful a day it was.  Perhaps because he could go nowhere or do nothing, it gave him time to notice the world around him and God’s mercy that was contained therein.  The singing birds, the crawling insects, a gentle breeze; all the little things God does that make life a joy.  Perhaps David learned to count his blessings and forget his troubles.

How soon we forget just how good God is.  I think that is the difference between people like David or Job and the many of us.  They are able to see how good God is regardless of their circumstances.  They are able to be grateful no matter the situation.  Because of their gratitude and faith, the LORD can then strengthen them through the deep waters.  David is absolutely right.  Even if our life was full of trouble, eternity will not be.  Paul said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Ro 8:18 AV) Again, not an easy one to believe.  Faith is a funny thing.  Our choice to trust something doesn’t make it true.  Rejection of a truth does not make that truth false.  Paul and David both make the same point.  The only thing left to do is believe it and live by it.

For The Sake of Another

“But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” (1Co 8:12-13 AV)

The details of the offense are eating meat once offered to idols.  One can imagine there would be both Jewish and Gentile people who are considering Christ that might wonder why the disciples of Christ are eating discounted meat sold at market that was once offered to a pagan god.  Some of us would not mind.  Meat is just meat.  Yet the association is what bothers the weak of conscience.  Paul does not allow judgment upon those who might consider it an issue.  Referring to them as weak of conscience is not a value judgment.  Paul does not imply that those who exercise this liberty with a clear conscience are somehow more mature or spiritual.  Rather, the measure of maturity is counted as the willingness to restrain one’s choices because another person’s conscience is bothered by it.  Note that the exercise of one’s liberty to the damage of another person’s conscience is a sin.  This sin is not only a sin against the brother with a weak conscience, but it is a sin against Christ!  Does that mean that Jesus Christ is an individual of weak conscience?  Heaven forbid!  It is the absence of Christlikeness manifested in selflessness that is sin.  If Jesus Christ sacrificed everything for our salvation, then surely the godly in Christ Jesus can sacrifice their liberty for the sake of another’s spiritual health.

Perhaps one of the most divisive topics in the body of Christ today is standards of separation.  Most of the arguments center on details rather than principles.  How long is long?  What exactly is permitted?  Is there a specific style that is absolutely forbidden?  What book, chapter, and verse tell me that I cannot do, use, or see that?  Exactly where does the Bible say that type cannot be used?  These arguments miss the bigger principle involved.  It seems as though separation falls into two camps, and neither is completely governed by principles.  There is the camp that does not concern itself with standards whatsoever.  Serious sin, yes.  But what I have noticed are those who never concern themselves with standards of separation will eventually tolerate more serious sin.  This is what happened at the church in Corinth.  Then, the other side is governed by rules.  There is a rule for everything.  These rules may be founded upon principles, but if there is a rule that can be found, altered, or applied, then it is to be followed.  The rule becomes an end in itself.  Those who grow up in such an environment seek biblical answers to the rules.  Sometimes there are direct scriptural passages that state what can and cannot be done.  Most do not.  Most do not.  Those that do not have a direct command are hard to defend.  The problem arises when answers are sought and those responsible for the rules cannot articulate why the rule exists.  What is seldom offered as a biblical reason for the standard is found above.

How we live matters because it matters to other people.  Christlikeness means we sacrifice our autonomy and self-determination for the sake of someone else.  Their spiritual well-being depends, in part, on the choices we make.  We make choices that affect others all the time.  All one has to do is ask someone who is lost of his expectations of those who claim Christ, and one would learn they have pretty high expectations.  Someone recently saved would expect those who have been saved to live a certain way.  They would expect an example be set that can be followed.  The example above is a cultural one.  Meat offered to idols is still meat.  But to the Jew, it was offered to a pagan god.  To the Gentile, it would be akin to lending credibility to a pagan god, or at the very least, not considering the pagan god one of great concern.  My thoughts went to standards of personal appearance.  We fix ourselves up the way we want to.  Seldom to we consider what effect it would have on others who look at us.  Where we might eat a meal could be an offence regardless of our lack of imbibing.  We may have innocuous music playing, but someone may think what we are listening to is less than innocent.  Opera may be beautiful, but the themes of opera often involve violence and immorality.  The list goes on and on.  The point is, if we do not consider the ramifications of our choices on the lives of others, we are being selfish.  We become the ones who are weak of conscience and not the ones whose liberty is restrained.

The Minuscule Matters

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:” (1Co 5:7 AV)

Paul uses a perfect picture for the cleansing of a harmfully influenced church.  The practice of purging leaven so that it did not influence the unleavened Passover bread was not done while the dough was already prepared.  Rather, Paul is speaking of the completely removing leaven from the Jewish home prior to any preparation of the Passover bread.  By removing the leaven, it removed any possibility of accidental contamination.  Out of habit, the baker could have added leaven.  Yeast spores could be made airborne and thus infect the dough.  There are several ways in which the leaven could, even if minutely, be a part of the Passover bread.  In context, Paul is applying this to a church that has allowed fornication to go on unchallenged.  Although the rest of the church was influenced by it only to the degree of permitting it, the presence of a fornicator without consequences could lead to worse circumstances.  The observation that they were unleavened at the moment meant there was cause for purging.  If the church did not resolve this issue, the leaven would spread.

This truth is not for a body of believers, only.  It is also for the individual.  Something that I find both interesting and amusing is that, as we age, the things we allowed in our life with little to no thought of consequence are not being forced out against our wills.  For instance, when you are young, you can eat as many carbs as you want.  Your metabolism can adapt, and you can remain rather fit.  Exercise was a lifestyle.  We were always active, so our calorie burn kept up with our diet.  I was skinny are a rail until I hit my forties.  Now, suddenly, carbs are pretty much off the table.  When I was young, I could eat greens and nuts with impunity.  Now that my kidney function is looking like I might have stones, not so much anymore.  I could stay up as late as I wanted.  Sorry, but I now have a bedtime like I did when I was a child.  The older we get, it seems, the more must be purged.  We could recover when we were younger.  As we get older, we cannot.  Gone are the days of high-risk activities.  There will be no more wilderness hunting for me.  No more amusement park rides for me.  No more sudden and large life-changing decisions for me.  It would take longer to recover.

We allow harmful influences to invade our lives without regard for the long-term effect.  Perhaps we will be fine for a while.  But allow these things for a long period and they can become seriously damaging.  It is sort of like the difference of ‘use by’ and ‘best used by’.  How many of us stretch that limit?  We are quick to respond to the obviously harmful.  But the subtly harmful we allow it to slide.  I am sure the Corinthian church maintained its holiness.  At least for a time.  There probably was not rampant immorality surging through the pews.  They were a carnal church and had much work to do.  But allowing even one unrepentant fornicator to continue without consequences would only lead to more and worse sin in the congregation.  The same can be said of our own walk with God.  If we allow a little, much is on the horizon.  If we open the door to a little sin, then a lot is soon to follow.  If we think we can keep our sin in a cage, it may be successful for a time.  However, it will soon become out of control, and the damage will be severe.  Purging even the smallest hint of sin keeps the soul and spirit clean.  Time to go through the cupboards of our souls and throw out the potentially harmful.

Confirmed and Conformed

“So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, [that ye may be] blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Co 1:7-8 AV)

That last phrase is so amazing.  For those who struggle with sin; and we all do; the promise of eternal perfection is one of our greatest hopes.  The promise of blamelessness is further bolstered by the words, ‘come behind in no gift’.  During the Christmas season, my parents were very conscious of how they purchased and distributed gifts.  They made sure their purchases were the same in both value and number.  Each child received the same number of gifts but also received the same value in gifts.  When the gifts were passed out, however, they were not always passed out evenly.  You might sit for a bit before your name was called.  You would watch your siblings get presents, and you would be passed by.  We knew the extent our parents went to be sure that all was fair.  We were okay with sitting for a bit because we knew in the end, we would all have the same.  This tradition continued with my wife and me.  The same funds are allocated equally.  But also, the number of gifts is also the same.  No one would come behind in the gifts.  In the same manner, it matters not what our abilities are or our track record was.  With perfect Christlikeness, no one will be left behind!

Note also the relationship between the confirmation and the state of being blameless.  This passage teaches that the purpose for eternal security is so that Jesus Christ can and will permanently change us.  Why save us with a plan to permanently change us only to lose us in the process?  Imagine you bought a car as a project for full restoration.  You had the funds.  You had the skill.  It was a simple matter of time and effort.  You took the car to a shop, got a price, paid the invoice, and on your way out, parked it on a hill with no brakes or stops to prevent it from rolling down the hill into an ocean.  You wouldn’t do that.  You would lock up the car.  You would protect it against the elements.  You would park it and secure it from further damage or theft.  This is the understanding of the phrase ‘confirm you unto the end’.  We are saved by the grace of God.  We are kept by the grace of God.  The end does not mean we are lost.  Rather, the end is the end of the purpose.  That purpose is Christlikeness.  Once transformed into the perfect image of Christ, there remains no more hypothetical situation whereby we might be lost by and effort of our own.  None.

These verses rejoice the heart of the saved.  It is the LORD Jesus Christ who saves us and keeps us.  Not merely to escape eternal wrath, but to change us.  This blessed blamelessness is the hope of all who desire to please the Father.  We spend pillow-soaked nights confessing our sins and failures.  We feel so horrible that we yield to the flesh.  Our souls crave to be completely and wholly perfect so that our heavenly Father will be pleased.  We know He loves us unconditionally.  We know He is quick to forgive and reconcile.  It is our hearts that condemn us.  We are the ones who will not get ourselves off the ceiling.  We put ourselves in a prison of disappointment and shame.  It is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit.  We know that God deserves much better.  He deserves it all.  The only hope we have of giving to the Father that which He deserves is to transform into the perfection of Christ.  It is promised!   It will happen.  It is the perfect will of the Father for all who have trusted Christ.  It is merely a matter of time and we will all come in the fulness and knowledge of the LORD Jesus Christ!

Four Simple Words

“I said unto the LORD, Thou [art] my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.” (Ps 140:6 AV)

Four little words determine the effectiveness of the second half of the verse.  Four little words will determine God’s attentiveness to our prayers.  What are those four little words?  “Thou art my God”.  That is the ultimate statement.  This confession is not an idle one.  This statement is not something someone can simply utter with little to no meaning.  When the psalmist confesses to the Creator that He is the God of the writer, it means far more that it may at first appear.  To say someone or something is your God is to say that He or it alone possesses the right to do with you as He or it wishes.  To profess Jehovah as your God is to confess that Jehovah created you and sustains you.  To declare Jehovah as your God is to declare there is no one or nothing else that can demand absolute devotion.  To say that God is our God is to say that there is no one else to whom we go, no one else whom we worship, no one or nothing else that commands our honor, obedience, and faith.

I have officiated several weddings over the years.  Some couples write their own vows.  Most use traditional vows.  Traditional vows go something like this. “I, [name], take you, [name], to be my lawfully wedded [wife/husband]. I promise to love and cherish you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, keep myself only unto you, for so long as we both shall live.”  There are many variations, of course, but the idea is universal.  This vow is a vow of complete and total devotion.  This vow promises faithfulness in marriage.  More so than faithfulness, it promises a singularity of relationship.  There is no room for second place.  All others are to be forsaken.  Many years ago, I dated a young lady who was a bit of a tomboy.  She had many male friends.  We had started to get committed, but she would not abandon her friendship with other men.  She promised to be romantically involved with only me, but she insisted she be allowed to continue her male friendships.  Needless to say, this did not go much further.  I didn’t want to be the best among many.  I wanted to be the only one. Forsaking all others doesn’t mean to maintain them but not grow them.  Forsaking means to turn one’s back on them as though they do not exist.  That is commitment!

Faith and obedience are our barometers.  If we obey the LORD and believe in Him with all our hearts, they He alone is our God.  Many worship God.  Many say that they love God.  However, if God is not in all our thoughts, then He alone is not our God.  If we have forsaken all others, then God’s wishes come before those of anyone or anything else.  Even human relationships must take a back seat to God.  If He is my God, then there is nothing that competes with Him.  When I married, I forsook all other female relationships, present and future.  There was and is no other lady who can expect from me my devotion and sacrifice.  None.  The same should be true for our God.  If God is our God, then there is no other.  Period.  He is our love.  He is our life.  He alone is our breath.  It is Jehovah God and none else.

Mercy On All

“Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” (Ro 11:31-32 AV)

Paul is playing referee with the Jews and Gentiles of Rome.  The contention between them is understandable.  For several thousand years, Israel existed as God’s chosen people.  The first two thousand years, there was no Jewish nation.  Everyone was a Gentile.  When Abraham was called, the Israeli nation began.  Through his grandson Jacob, the twelve tribes were established.  Upon exodus from Egypt, the LORD brought judgment on the Gentiles and gave Israel the law.  They were to be that nation through whom the LORD would reveal Himself.  This caused bias to grow between Jew and Gentile.  Jesus Christ died for all.  He extended the offer of grace to the Gentiles in part because of Israel’s rejection.  It was this rejection that caused the Gentiles to believe they were superior in the Jews.  They had forgotten that for the first two thousand years of human history, they also had rejected God, bringing about the Jewish nation.  Paul is trying to teach them the complexities of God’s dispensational plan.  As the Jews were supposed to reach the world being God’s chosen people, the Gentiles are not to have mercy on them and seek their salvation.  It is that mercy that presses the heart this morning.

The healthcare and emergency response personnel amaze me.  If a believer wants to learn how to treat every single person with compassion and respect, he or she should go on a few ride-a-longs.  Live police shows are common.  I like watching them every once in a while.  The professionalism that is shown is astounding.  At one particular stop, the passenger of a car was asked to exit.  He initially refused.  He reached for something the police officer assumed was a firearm.  The police sprang into action.  Once out of the vehicle, the police instructed the individual to keep his hands out of his pockets.  Instinctively, the individual reached into his pocket for what would turn out to be his cell phone.  The police tackled him, and they struggled a bit.  When they had the individual on his feet, I thought to myself, “Man, would I be so angry!  That person never followed one instruction, and I almost shot him.”  Not these officers.  They were smiling and chuckling when both the officers and the individuals agreed he had acted foolishly.  They were talking with him as though none of the drama ever happened.  True professionalism.  They did not allow their emotions to dictate how they responded to the person.  They did not allow any preconceived opinion shape how they treated him.  It was astounding.

Contrary to Calvinistic thinking, God did not, and does not, chose to create some to eternal damnation and others to eternal life.  The mercy of God is extended to all.  That is what Paul made clear.  This means it does not matter what the station of life a human soul is, God desires to show mercy.  It is that mercy that should be part of every believer’s heart.  This mercy sees the lost situation of the human soul.  He empathizes with their condition.  He can see the suffering soul in eternal hell-fire and will be moved to attempt to do something about it.  Paul is challenging the Gentiles to show some compassion.  It didn’t matter if the Jewish nation failed.  It didn’t matter of the Jewish nation when after Gentile pagan gods.  Their actions in the past do not dictate the mercy that should be shown in the present.  What the Spirit revealed clearly is that without mercy, we will not be faithful to share the gospel of Christ.  If our intent is to build churches or satisfy our egos, our motive is superficial and will not last long.  Having mercy is lasting and effective.  If the church does not have mercy toward those who are without, we will never reach them.