Suffering Long Unto Salvation

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;” (2Pe 3:15 AV)

 

We often wonder why the LORD is so longsuffering.  Why doesn’t He rain justice on all the evil of the world?  Or, more practically, why doesn’t the LORD quickly judge my wrong actions, intents, or disposition?  Why is it the LORD is slow to exercise righteous judgment?  Is He tolerant of wickedness and doesn’t take it nearly as seriously as we think He should?  Is He waiting for one day wherein the entirety of His wrath comes upon all disobedience?  Why is it the LORD is so patient even though we rebel so often?  Peter is making the application above to mankind in general.  The theme of the chapter is the longsuffering of God compared to the eventual destruction and recreation of the earth in holiness and true righteousness.  In short, the LORD is longsuffering that mankind will have every opportunity towards salvation.  As this principle can be applied to the saint, the LORD may withhold chastening that we might choose to do the right thing.

Mercy is a great way to influence people towards doing right.  It doesn’t always work out that way.  Mercy is also an attribute of authority to limit or negate all charges of unfairness.  When a judge shows mercy, he may be doing so out of a heart of compassion.  Or, he may show mercy in the hope his mercy would humble the defendant enough to stir him to a better life.  The defendant that ignores the mercy of the judge and uses that mercy as an opportunity to commit more crime is a fool.  In my experience, I have met more of the former than the latter.  As a pastor, I have counseled many who had made one wrong choice too many.  They knew they had done wrong and once forgiven, they never went back there again.  We tend to forget these types of people far outnumber those who ignore the mercy of God.  I think of the young man who made a habit out of rebellion against God.  He spent time in jail.  He fathered a child out of wedlock.  He got into drinking and smoking.  God chastened him for these things, but far less than he deserved.  As a result, he turned his life around and is not attending church.  Then there was the homeless drunk who accepted Christ but could never fully conquer the liqueur.  He would eventually pass away from complications due to his drinking, but the LORD was merciful to him and allowed him to live several years in the hope he would say no to the monster that plagued him.  All too often we seem to remember or dwell upon those who never do turn.  We forget the vast majority of us do.

When this principle applies to the lost world, just the opposite is true.  Regardless of how much longsuffering and mercy God shows to mankind, the vast majority will still reject.  The lesson we can take away from this is simple.  If we are impatient with God’s longsuffering, we must realize He is no respecter of persons.  The longsuffering He shows to us, He also desires to show towards all.  If we are agitated at the condition of the world and are perplexed as to why the LORD hasn’t returned, remember, the mercy He shows towards us is the same mercy He desires to show towards His enemies.  The above verse makes this clear.  His mercy towards rebellious mankind has salvation as its target.  God is withholding His hand of wrath and justice to give mankind more opportunity to accept His free gift of salvation.  I, for one, think the return of Christ is right around the corner.  I truly believe His return will be in my natural lifetime.  It may be longer.  But I believe His return is sooner rather than later.  With this hope, and knowing what will happen once the Church is carried away, I can understand why the LORD is longsuffering.  If we can plug into this truth, we will become aggressive and consistent soul-winners.  The reason that God-hating drunk who curses you as you visit the neighborhood is still alive is that perhaps the mercy of God will end with his salvation.

You Still Love Him

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” (1Pe 1:8 AV)

 

The context of this statement is enduring through trials of faith.  Peter is speaking to the Jews.  The Jews have a record of abuse and persecution like no other.  New Testament saints may have been, and are still being, persecuted.  But nothing we have endured compares to that which God’s chosen people have had to endure.  Peter is encouraging them that no matter what the devil or the world wants to tell us, we do love the LORD Jesus.  We may not be faithful in showing it all the time.  But we do love Him.  We may fail Him more than we care to think about.  But that does not mean we are absent of all love.  Yes, we know that love for God is manifested by obedience to His word.  He tells us that if we love Him, we will obey and follow.  No one is perfect.  We all fail.  Does that mean if we are more of a failure than we are a success then if we add it all up, we really don’t love God?  Not so!  This is a lie of the Devil to discourage us from striving after holiness.

I know.  What I have written above may seem like heresy.  But let me illustrate.  None of us were perfect parents.  None of us were perfect children.  Sometimes being who I am with the last name that I have required I went through some things that other children did not.  Our last name meant something.  To the community, our family was supposed to be an example for others to follow.  There were expectations placed on us that were not on our friends.  To a teenager, resentment was a real challenge.  Rebellion was not all that hard to come by.  We resented the lives we were forced to live and were not too pleased with a Father who enforced these standards.  At the time of enforcement, our love for Him may have been a challenge.  However, take away the environment in which the standard was applied, and we realized how much we loved our dad.  It may not have seemed like it at the time.  But that didn’t change the love we had for him.  There were times when temptation got the better of us.  We disobeyed.  This did not mean we ceased to love our dad.  It simply meant that at the time, we loved ourselves more than our dad.  Our love for our dad did not disappear.  Our love for ourselves was much stronger.  This is an important distinction to bear in mind.

The devil wants to convince us that when we fail, all love for Jesus has ceased.  This is not true.  Even though the child of God fails, there is still love.  It is merely that our love for self was stronger than our love for Him.  What that does not mean is that we have lost every ounce of love for our Savior.  We still love Him.  Otherwise, we would feel no guilt, remorse, regret, or desire for reconciliation.  As long as there is something that draws us back to Him, we still love Him.  Why, one might ask, is this important to remember?  Because the devil wants us to crucify ourselves to the point of complete defeat.  Like an erring child who is convinced they could never be forgiven, we wander aimlessly, failing to ever-increasing temptation, until we lay in ruins.  By convincing us we have failed to the point where we have no love for God, then we lose all motivation to return.  If we remember that even though we have failed to trust the LORD, or done something so horrible that we cannot even look at ourselves, that we still love Him, then the door of reconciliation is wide open.  You still love Him!  Don’t let the Devil convince you otherwise.  To cease to believe that is to end our relationship with the One who loved us first.

Finish The Run Before the Whistle Blows

“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” (Jas 5:8 AV)

 

James wrote this almost two thousand years ago.  It is just as true today as it was back then.  Some may look at this and limit His coming to His return before the Millennial reign.  Upon limiting it only to the second coming, they argue that if this was written two thousand years ago and Jesus hasn’t come yet, then surely we can go another two thousand years without His second coming.  To do so misses the point.  Earlier in his letter, James advises the saint not to boast of the future.  He tells his readers it is not wise to make plans as certain as we think they might be without considering God’s sovereign hand in all of it.  Specifically speaking, where it applies to the length of life.  He states, correctly so, that life is but a vapor and it is gone before we know it.  He was speaking of our death and not the second coming.  So, in the verse above, it could mean His second coming.  But it could also mean our graduation into glory.

One of the hardest shifts to work is the last shift before a holiday break.  You know when the whistle blows, everything will be shut down and a long-deserved break commences.  It is very difficult to punch in.  All we have on our minds is the end of the shift, knowing that in eight or twelve hours, we will be heading home for a time of refreshing with our family and loved ones.  We are impatient.  We want the holiday to start before it begins.  We punch in, we try to have a full heart with the tasks at hand, and we count down the minutes before we can punch out.  There were two types of products we manufactured.  There were the plates that were always run no matter what.  This product ran on the same line all the time.  The only difference was the packaging.  It was the same plate and same count.  Doing a change over required very little.  The line did not need to stop.  Bags and boxes were changed out on the run.  Other types of runs required a mold change, a material change, an equipment change, and packaging changes.  If we were running the later type on the last day before a holiday, this was a motivating factor to hustling.  If we could end the run before the final minute of our shift, then the line could be shut down and the next shift that came in after the break could spend their shift setting up for a new run.  We saw the clock ticking down and rushed to get down what we could.  This later example is comparable to our lives.  There is a course that is to be run.  Some tasks need to be completed.  Our clock is ticking down and there are precious few days left.

We cannot allow the situation of our lives or the world to overwhelm the heart that we cease to patiently work until our final whistle blows.  James tells us to do two things.  We are to be patient.  This points to patient continuance.  He is instructing us to continue in that which God has called us to do.  We are not to get sidetracked with all that pummels us, tempting us to panic at the affairs of this life.  Just keep rowing the boat no matter what the waves are doing.  Stay the course and work hard.  But then James tells us we need to get our emotions under control.  We are to establish the heart.  This means our hearts, or emotions, cannot be all over the place.  They have to be under control.  Whether the line is on fire, or we are approaching the seventh hour with no hope of finishing the run, we are not to allow the affairs of this life to carry us away from that which God has called us to do.  He is coming back.  Either His second coming or our home-going, it will happen.  Be patient.  Don’t allow fear and anxiety to take over.  He will be back before you know it.

Three Keys to a Happy Pilgrim

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Heb 11:13 AV)

 

To die in faith means to die, having our faith manifested by faithfulness.  As one goes through the list of the faith-filled saints in Hebrews chapter eleven, one will see people who never failed to thrust the LORD.  At least as a pattern of life.  They may have had personal failures along the way.  Like Gideon or Abraham.  But their lives were defined by a pattern of believing God.  Abraham may have waivered with Hagar, but God forgave him for that and they continued on.  Gideon may have compromised a bit after his great defeat of his enemies, but his life was a testament to his faith in God.  There are three keys necessary for promises to work.  First, they have to be seen.  That is, they have to be seen with eyes of faith.  We must believe God can do it and will do it.  Second, we have to be persuaded.  There can be no arguments that will work to dissuade us from the eventual of those promises.  Third, they must be embraced.  They have to be the very definition and motivation for our faith and worked out in faithfulness towards the LORD.

I am no pilot by any means imaginable.  I have flown a plane only once but that was under the guise of a qualified instructor.  However, in my younger days, I spent hours playing flight simulators.  When one begins, the program is quite forgiving.  Taking off and landing are not difficult to learn.  At least at first.  If the student pilot desires to learn true skills, he has to learn flying IFR.  Or, solely by instruments.  He or she learns to use the gauges and GPS onboard rather than rely on visual references.  That is referred to as VFR.  Again, I am no pilot, but I found it easier to learn to fly IFR than VFR.  The reason being, IFR was far more consistent than my perception.  This is particularly so when landing.  There is a point when one approaches the runway for a landing and perception is dramatically skewed.  Being able to land IFR, to me at least, is far more stabilizing than VFR.  One of the skills the player can learn is to pick an airport and approach based on the GPS map.  Different symbols mean different things.  One can know the size of the runway by the symbols indicated on the GPS.  The pilot can determine the correct runway to use for landing as opposed to taking off.  What the pilot must do is to believe the information presented to him on his GPS.  He has to see and acknowledge the information to be correct and trustworthy.  As he listens to air traffic control, he received further instruction.  He is then persuaded his choice of an airstrip and the direction of approach is correct.  He adjusts his altitude as instructed and lowers the landing gear.  But there comes a time he embraces all the information and instruction given and sets the airplane down.  It is seeing, being convinced, and embracing all he needs that gets that plane safely on the ground and to the terminal.  Note, it is called a terminal.  The flight does not end until the plane terminates at its only destination.

In much the same way, our lives by faith in God, require the same thing.  When we read of truth or promises in the word of God, how do we process it?  Do we spend a great deal of energy debating it, putting the Holy Spirit on trial, and demand an answer?  Do we have a wait-and-see attitude?  Do we acknowledge the truth of promise yet refuse to live in that truth or promise until we see someone else test it?  All those listed in Hebrews chapter eleven were pioneers.  No one else but Abraham left their land of nativity to embrace a promised inheritance.  No one else but Gideon faced an army outnumbering him thousands to one with nothing more than lanterns and ceramic pots.  No one but David faced off a giant with nothing more than a slingshot and stones.  These men and ladies took God at His word, decided to end the debate in their minds of the trustworthiness of God, and embraced the promises spoken to them.  The writer of Hebrews encourages the N.T. saint to do the same.  For us to remain faithful, we must see the promises, don’t argue against the promises, and embrace the promises.  It is the only way to have peace in a world of trouble.

No Pleasure In The Rebel

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Heb 10:38-39 AV)

 

The drawing back is defined in our passage.  Perdition is eternal damnation.  The writer is referencing those who have had a clear presentation of the gospel, have completely understood and acknowledged it, yet chose not to exercise saving faith.  The underlined phrase may seem extreme.  It may appear as though the writer considers himself better than those who reject Christ, or at the very least, judging them for their failure to accept the free gift of salvation.  Further light is gained by referencing Hab 2:4 from which this New Testament writer quotes.   “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” (Hab 2:4 AV)  We see the cause for which the one rejecting turns away from the truth. It is pride.  He does not turn away because of fear, doubt, or even procrastination.  He turns away because his pride will not submit to the Lordship of Christ.  For that reason, the writer takes no pleasure in that person.

We have come across all sorts of individuals going door-to-door as we seek converts.  Most are cordial.  Some are interested.  Most are ambivalent.  Few are downright rude and obnoxious.  This past week, we approached a house that was set back and hedged in.  This is rare in our neck of the woods.  We live and serve in an urban setting and to find any house that is set back is very rare.  As we approached this house, we noticed something was off.  The yard was not typical.  It was obvious they had children, but the yard seemed like it belonged in a completely different culture.  Upon ringing the door, we found out why.  The house was a four-unit house occupied by one family.  They had a Ring doorbell which allows one to talk with the occupant through the doorbell without them opening the door, or can also interact remotely through one’s phone.  At the same time, the door opened and the make occupant was yelling at us through the Ring doorbell.  Come to find out, they were fundamentalists from a completely different religion.  The mother and her two children simply stared at us as the father yelled at us through his Ring.  His parting words were, “Don’t ever come back here.”

I feel for this family.  In one sense, it was good for these children to see how true believers react to inhospitable behavior from their parents.  Being taught that Christians are evil and are the enemy, they were able to see the love of Christ on our faces.  However, when it comes to their father, I take no pleasure in his soul.  There is nothing I could ever desire from him.  This does not mean if given the opportunity I wouldn’t share Christ with him afresh.  In fact, I never saw his face  So I wouldn’t know him from anyone else.  What I can say is that I take no pleasure in his soul.  He was acquainted well enough with the Christian faith that he could search it more for the answers to eternal life.  But because his religion teaches that all others are evil and should be defeated, this makes his journey to redemption highly unlikely.  If we met while waiting for a taxi, I probably would not share a ride with him.  I would take no pleasure in his soul.  I would love him enough to try to share the love of Christ with him.  But we would not be best buds.  This is what the writer is trying to convey.  For the Jewish mind that is accustomed to hospitality and friendship, this would be a major adjustment.  To separate from someone who hates God and rebels against him is necessary, but difficult.  But it has to be done.  Otherwise, the ungodly tempt the child of God into compromise.  So, it is ok to take no pleasure in the arrogant who will turn their back on the grace of God.  In fact, it is required.

He Lives To Help

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Heb 7:25 AV)

 

Hebrews is a book written to God’s chosen people for the purpose of proving Jesus Christ is a new and better way than the Old Testament ceremonial law.  Specific to chapter seven is His attribute of eternality.  The writer of Hebrews makes the point the priesthood of Aaron was temporary.  The priesthood, or the act of intercession, was eternal in Christ in the person of Melchisedec and continues in Christ.  This, by the way, is the reason those denominations of Christendom that use a priesthood are unbiblical.  The priesthood in mankind was temporary.  The priesthood in Christ is eternal.  And only an eternal being can be a priest.  Jesus Christ is God and needs no help in the office of a priest.  He lives to make intercession for us.  We need not utilize a human intermediary.  Our verse for the day speaks primarily of salvation.  However, it also applies to any and all trials or circumstances which we are facing.  The definition of the ministry of Christ is to intercede for us in our human frailties.

In my younger years, I was a custodian for an office building full of lawyers.  My wife was secretary to a county judge.  We worked this way for about seven years.  Over those years, we got to know several lawyers and judges rather well.  There are those lawyers who are so because it is what they do.  It is how they earn a living.  There is nothing wrong with this.  In part, we are all that way in regards to our attitude towards our profession.  Others really do not like what they do and they will only take cases that are guaranteed to succeed.  These counselors are few and far between.  Then some do what they do for no other reason but to help the public.  I have known a few of these lawyers.  There are two that come to mind.  Although it has been almost thirty years since I saw them last, I can recall their faces.  Not so much their names, but their faces.  One lawyer was very successful at what he did and his office reflected his talent.  He had an above-average office with his own full bath and workout room.  The other shared a small office with an up-and-coming lawyer.  What these two men had in common was they constantly offered their services to me pro bono if I ever needed help.  Me, a lowly janitor, had the heart of two men who had more net worth than my mind could comprehend.  These two men lived to help others.  It was the definition of their profession.

Jesus Christ is eternal.  He has no beginning nor end.  Mankind came into being sometime in the past.  But long before then, the interceding person of the eternal Godhead existed.  He is from eternity. This means the desire and nature to intercede existed long before He created.  The person of Jesus Christ, His eternal person, exists that He might make intercession for those who come to the Father through Him.  Think about that!  A person of the Godhead exists for you!  No matter what you may face, we have a God who loves us more than we can ever know or appreciate and He exists for the express purpose of hearing your plea and advancing your cause to the person of that same trinity whose will is supreme.  What an awesome Savior we serve.  No matter how I feel or how lonely I may think that I am, I have a God who exists for the primary reason of loving me and assisting me through the hardest times of life.  This intercessor revealed just how much He cares by limiting Himself to human existence, being tortured and killed by an angry mob, and enduring the wrath of the Father, for the purpose of paying a debt that I owe.  Once paid, He further proves His love and devotion to me by approaching the throne of the Father, for my benefit.  He seeks God’s perfect will for us and comforts us in the hardest of times.  This is what He lives for.  This is what gives Him purpose.  This is what fills His heart.  To ever make intercession for those who wish to approach the Father through Him.

Text Somebody Today

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb 3:13 AV)

 

Constant human contact is necessary for faithfulness unto holiness.  What struck me here is the whole daily part of it.  Paul is writing to the Jewish population to have daily contact with one another and exhort one another that sin does not gain a foothold in the lives of individuals as well as the church.  Paul challenges the average saint to get involved in the lives of others that others do not fall into sin.  He does not exhort them to be busybodies.  He is not asking them to delve into private matters that would not be the business of all.  He is challenging them to do one simple thing.  Have contact daily with fellow believers and exhort them that they feel they are not in the battle all alone.  Rather, when hearing the encouraging words of others, they become reinvigorated to fight the flesh, the devil, and the world.

One of the most memorable ball games I have ever been involved in was a little league game that went sixteen innings.  It was incredible.  We were running out of pitchers.  They were running out of pitchers.  The score went back and forth.  The coach asked me to work with those who were in line to bat next.  My job was to get them psyched up and do their best in the batter’s box.  We used an aid called a target swing trainer.  Basically, it was a baseball mounted on the end of a pole.  My job was to use that aid and train our batters how to watch a ball coming in so they would make contact.  We taught them to watch the top edge of the ball.  Not the center and most would do.  I brought the balls in straight, on a curve, on a drop, and mixed the speeds up.  As the batter became more and more accustomed to watching the top edge of the ball, he became more constant in his contact.  While we were doing this, the entire team who was not on the field was cheering on those in the game as well as the practicing batter.  We constantly told the boys we needed to hear chatter.  From the dugout to the field, each teammate needed to hear others that would influence them to succeed.  Our walk with Christ is not all that much different.

In our modern-day of multiple forms of communication, it seems we are growing apart more rapidly.  Before electronic communication, we relied on a face-to-face or a letter in the mail.  Since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone we have the phone, email, texting, and instant messaging.  We have telegrams, video chats, and radio waves.  There are so many ways in which to stay in touch.  Yet, we grow apart ever more increasingly.  The electronic means by which we communicate, has instead, turned to the means to grow apart.  The phone, which could be used to speak or text, is taken up with entertainment far more frequently.  Video chats or meetings are rarer than a television program.  When we should be communicating with one another, we are entertaining ourselves away from human communication.  Paul asks the people of God to get involved with one another.  A simple text would do it.  No need to drag out an hour-long conversation every day with everyone we know.  A simple verbal touch to let others know you care and you want to encourage would go a long way.  So, instead of spending a half-hour trying to get the high score, go through your contact list and text someone a bible verse with a very short comment.  It may do more good than you will ever know.