My after-work time at home is normally very good - peaceful home, respectful wife, joy filled kids, all by the grace of God. The other night I experience a particularly glorious dad moment that blew me away. It started with my kids fighting.
"Anda, you're nuts."
Yes, but that is beside the point!
So the girls were supposed to be feeding the dogs, but one was in the doorway with a chair blocking the other, and the one in the back had the scoop for the dog food. "Give me the scoop." "Get out of the way." "Give me the scoop." "Get out of the way." "Go sit on the stairs."
After some contemplation time, I took them into their room one at a time. "What's your sin?" "I was thinking about myself and not my sister." "That's right, in that moment you didn't have love in your heart. Who did you sin against?" "My sister." "Who else?" "You." "Who else?" "God." "That's right, you need to tell all three that you are sorry."
Then I witnessed prayer, heartfelt apologies, and reconciliation. It was beautiful and glorious and just how it should be between God's kids, and it certainly beats an unmeant "SORRY. Humph."
Christian parents, take the time for settling down, getting kids to understand their specific sin, getting at the heart, and encouraging real apologies, real forgiveness, and real reconciliation. It's awesome.
Props to Mark Driscoll for excellent teaching through Proverbs that illuminated some areas regarding child rearing I needed to pay more attention to, and to Jesus for using him so mightily and for never ending work on my own heart.
Grace and Peace friends.
Showing posts with label repentance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label repentance. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
John And Jesus
Around the time of Jesus' ministry on earth, students of a particular teacher would serve them. If they lived today, they'd get their Starbucks, pick up their dry cleaning, and wash their car. There, however, was one job they would not touch with a ten foot pole -- untie the teacher's sandals and was his feet. That job was left for the lowest of slaves.
Enter John the baptizer, who says that he is preparing the way for the Lord and told people to bear fruit that lines up with repentance from sin, rather than relying on their ancestry to be right with God. Some people think he might be the messiah, the savior, the one promised in prophecy that people were expectantly waiting for.
What does John say to this? "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:16) So John says that there is someone coming, and he is not worthy to untie his sandals, the job relegated to the lowest of slaves in that culture. The one to come must be great, indeed.
That one is Jesus. So what does Jesus say about John? "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John." (Luke 7:28a) So, by Jesus' description, John the baptizer is the greatest man that has ever lived. Yet, John is not worthy to untie Jesus' sandals.
Now fast forward a bit to the Last Supper. What does Jesus do? He washes the feet of his disciples. He does the job of the lowest of slaves, yet he is the one who is much greater than the greatest person that ever lived. Why? Mark records Jesus saying to his disciples "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42b-45)
So to be great, those who follow Christ must not be great as those in the world attempt to demonstrate greatness, but rather as Jesus demonstrates greatness -- through serving others in humility. The first glorifies a man; the second glorifies God, and Jesus is all about glorifying God.
For the one who does this and belongs to Jesus, it's good news, as "the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than [John]." (Luke 7:28b) The lowest in Jesus' kingdom is greater than the greatest person who ever lived. That's awesome.
So how does one get into the kingdom then? How does one belong to Jesus? How does one find the ability to live a life for God and others instead of a life for self? He doesn't do it through his own strength, that's for sure. He does it through the power of God's Spirit in him -- the result of a transformed heart, mind, and life.
As Jesus told Nicodemus, "I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3). Make no mistake, a man cannot brag that it was his own decision to "become born again" -- rather, it is God doing the transforming work in a person's life, for "the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)
So what do you do if you are not a born again believer in Jesus Christ who has had his heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh that wants to live and die for God? Agree with God that you are in fact a sinner with no hope of saving yourself, and then turn from your sin to Jesus, who paid the price for your sin so that you don't have to. Ask him to save you. He doesn't say "no" to that.
Let's recap:
- John the baptizer is the greatest guy who ever lived
- If you're in God's kingdom, you're greater than John
- Jesus, bringer of the kingdom, was the ultimate example of a servant leader
- We're supposed to be like Jesus
- The only way to be like Jesus is to be born again
- The only way to be born again is to repent and trust Jesus for salvation
See, the external is not enough. Jesus helps fix the problem at the core -- our hearts, the internal. Jesus gives us a heart for God, a heart for him. If you don't have that, you might just be externally religious, looking good to men on the outside but dead on the inside. That's worse than being externally wicked, looking bad to men on the outside. If you're in the latter category, repent of your sin and turn to Jesus. If you're in the former category, repent of your religion and turn to Jesus.
There's a lot of variety in what a man may need to turn from -- but there is only one he needs to turn to.
Grace and peace, friends.
Enter John the baptizer, who says that he is preparing the way for the Lord and told people to bear fruit that lines up with repentance from sin, rather than relying on their ancestry to be right with God. Some people think he might be the messiah, the savior, the one promised in prophecy that people were expectantly waiting for.
What does John say to this? "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:16) So John says that there is someone coming, and he is not worthy to untie his sandals, the job relegated to the lowest of slaves in that culture. The one to come must be great, indeed.
That one is Jesus. So what does Jesus say about John? "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John." (Luke 7:28a) So, by Jesus' description, John the baptizer is the greatest man that has ever lived. Yet, John is not worthy to untie Jesus' sandals.
Now fast forward a bit to the Last Supper. What does Jesus do? He washes the feet of his disciples. He does the job of the lowest of slaves, yet he is the one who is much greater than the greatest person that ever lived. Why? Mark records Jesus saying to his disciples "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42b-45)
So to be great, those who follow Christ must not be great as those in the world attempt to demonstrate greatness, but rather as Jesus demonstrates greatness -- through serving others in humility. The first glorifies a man; the second glorifies God, and Jesus is all about glorifying God.
For the one who does this and belongs to Jesus, it's good news, as "the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than [John]." (Luke 7:28b) The lowest in Jesus' kingdom is greater than the greatest person who ever lived. That's awesome.
So how does one get into the kingdom then? How does one belong to Jesus? How does one find the ability to live a life for God and others instead of a life for self? He doesn't do it through his own strength, that's for sure. He does it through the power of God's Spirit in him -- the result of a transformed heart, mind, and life.
As Jesus told Nicodemus, "I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3). Make no mistake, a man cannot brag that it was his own decision to "become born again" -- rather, it is God doing the transforming work in a person's life, for "the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)
So what do you do if you are not a born again believer in Jesus Christ who has had his heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh that wants to live and die for God? Agree with God that you are in fact a sinner with no hope of saving yourself, and then turn from your sin to Jesus, who paid the price for your sin so that you don't have to. Ask him to save you. He doesn't say "no" to that.
Let's recap:
- John the baptizer is the greatest guy who ever lived
- If you're in God's kingdom, you're greater than John
- Jesus, bringer of the kingdom, was the ultimate example of a servant leader
- We're supposed to be like Jesus
- The only way to be like Jesus is to be born again
- The only way to be born again is to repent and trust Jesus for salvation
See, the external is not enough. Jesus helps fix the problem at the core -- our hearts, the internal. Jesus gives us a heart for God, a heart for him. If you don't have that, you might just be externally religious, looking good to men on the outside but dead on the inside. That's worse than being externally wicked, looking bad to men on the outside. If you're in the latter category, repent of your sin and turn to Jesus. If you're in the former category, repent of your religion and turn to Jesus.
There's a lot of variety in what a man may need to turn from -- but there is only one he needs to turn to.
Grace and peace, friends.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Do What For Who?
I was listening to a co-worker at lunch today describe some of the annoyances and other issues going on in his life. I've heard similar accounts a time or two before and couldn't help but think later "man, he needs Jesus in his life." Now that I say it, I wonder how many times one of my Christian brothers, and former co-worker, thought the same thing about me. This person is not very receptive to Christianity from what I can tell, and I admittedly don't try to steer any conversation in that direction with him. In my own weakness and self-righteousness, I admit I don't really care to have him in the lunch group because of the attitude I perceive he has toward Christianity -- as well as the worldly topics of conversation.
Now that I write it, it sounds like I have too much of a religious attitude that I need to repent of and get dealt with. After all, it was the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were the worst ones in Jesus' day -- and he told them to repent as well, being the worst ones enslaved by pride.
But that particular shortcoming is not what I wanted to deal with in this post -- rather it is my lame motivation behind the thinking "man, you need Jesus in your life." In this case, and others, I thought a person needed Jesus in his or her life because of some issue or attitude -- usually having to do with relationships with other people. While it is true that being transformed by God's Spirit can certainly improve strained relationships, that is absolutely the wrong motivation for coming to Christ.
I am somewhat sickened that the attitude revealed here reminds me of false teacher Joel Olsteen and his message that God just wants you to be rich, healthy, and have good relationships. What a load of crap. How was Jesus' relationship with people? Well, his family thought he was crazy during his earthly ministry. Many of his followers left him when he said something too tough for them to swallow. He was continually at odds with the religious leaders, who eventually murdered him because he claimed to be God.
When speaking about how people should view him, Jesus said "I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:35-37)
Clearly, Jesus is not all about fixing our personal relationships. He is all about us repenting of our sin and coming into a relationship with him, and God the Father through him.
And that is what the motivation for pointing someone to Jesus should be. It should not be "hey man, turn to Jesus, he can make stuff in your life better." Jesus can do that, but that doesn't mean he will. In fact, some things might get a whole lot worse, depending on your perspective. After all, those who hate Jesus don't care much for his followers, either. Think about the typical Hindu or Muslim on the other side of the world who is the first in their family to come to Christ -- it is not going to go well for them, considering how coupled religion, culture, and family are in much of the non-western world.
So again, our motivation should not be "Jesus can fix some of your problems" but rather "Jesus has already fixed the one big problem." He is, after all, Lord and Savior, not Genie and Magician.
Shalom, friends.
Now that I write it, it sounds like I have too much of a religious attitude that I need to repent of and get dealt with. After all, it was the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were the worst ones in Jesus' day -- and he told them to repent as well, being the worst ones enslaved by pride.
But that particular shortcoming is not what I wanted to deal with in this post -- rather it is my lame motivation behind the thinking "man, you need Jesus in your life." In this case, and others, I thought a person needed Jesus in his or her life because of some issue or attitude -- usually having to do with relationships with other people. While it is true that being transformed by God's Spirit can certainly improve strained relationships, that is absolutely the wrong motivation for coming to Christ.
I am somewhat sickened that the attitude revealed here reminds me of false teacher Joel Olsteen and his message that God just wants you to be rich, healthy, and have good relationships. What a load of crap. How was Jesus' relationship with people? Well, his family thought he was crazy during his earthly ministry. Many of his followers left him when he said something too tough for them to swallow. He was continually at odds with the religious leaders, who eventually murdered him because he claimed to be God.
When speaking about how people should view him, Jesus said "I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:35-37)
Clearly, Jesus is not all about fixing our personal relationships. He is all about us repenting of our sin and coming into a relationship with him, and God the Father through him.
And that is what the motivation for pointing someone to Jesus should be. It should not be "hey man, turn to Jesus, he can make stuff in your life better." Jesus can do that, but that doesn't mean he will. In fact, some things might get a whole lot worse, depending on your perspective. After all, those who hate Jesus don't care much for his followers, either. Think about the typical Hindu or Muslim on the other side of the world who is the first in their family to come to Christ -- it is not going to go well for them, considering how coupled religion, culture, and family are in much of the non-western world.
So again, our motivation should not be "Jesus can fix some of your problems" but rather "Jesus has already fixed the one big problem." He is, after all, Lord and Savior, not Genie and Magician.
Shalom, friends.
Monday, May 31, 2010
We Need To Fall In Love
You know what we need to do, if we haven't already? We need to fall in love. Not with another human. Not with a hobby. Not with a job. Not with food. Not with any person or thing on or of the earth we typically use the phrase "I'm in love with..." whether it is rightly applied or not. We need to fall in love with the one who loves us so much, he gave his only son so our relationship with him could be restored. We need to fall in love with the one who loves us so much that he willing suffered and died on a cross so that we might be saved if we put our faith in him. We need to fall in love with our great and glorious God, creator of the universe, and author of life.
Why? The answer is simple. He deserves it simply because he is God. Period. We need no greater reason, not that there is one. He loves us so much, has given us so much, and offers us so much more, its incredible.
But what do we do so often? Take his blessings for granted. Take credit for the good he does through us or for the gifts he has giving us. Call stuff "ours" instead of his. Claim control over "our" lives instead of acknowledging his sovereignty. Pick and choose which parts of his word we want to hear and follow without giving it full authority in our lives. Show up to church once a week, sing a few songs, listen to a message, and walk out of there maybe feeling uplifted, maybe feeling entertained, but not really feeling the joy of a full life that God Almighty has to offer us. Not really getting it.
Shame on us whenever we do crap like that.
The first and greatest commandment is to love the LORD with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. We're supposed to love God with everything we got, not just our leftovers. God doesn't want lukewarm, half hearted love. God wants our best.
Our best starts with acknowledging who he is, and who we are compared to him. Our best starts with giving his word authority in our lives and following it. Jesus said "if you love me, you will keep my commandments". If we say we love God but don't do what his word says, living like the world, we are liars who don't really love God or know him. This means repentance. This means not sleeping with your boyfriend/girlfriend before getting married. This means not getting drunk. This means not gossiping about others. This means controlling our anger and our tongues. This means forgiving when we are wronged and not holding grudges against others. This means putting Christ at the center of our lives, making him Lord as well as Savior -- you can't have the latter without the former.
So if we're not putting God's word in its proper place of authority in our lives, and if we have not repented of our sins and turned away from the fully into the waiting arms of Jesus Christ, what should we do with these other things? Don't bother, until we get right with God. If we're not deeply in love with him and showing it, he doesn't want our half baked offerings and worship songs that amount to lies. He doesn't want our service that means nothing without a real relationship with him. What he wants is us, fully and completely. Let's give him THAT, first.
Grace and Peace brothers, sisters, friends.
Why? The answer is simple. He deserves it simply because he is God. Period. We need no greater reason, not that there is one. He loves us so much, has given us so much, and offers us so much more, its incredible.
But what do we do so often? Take his blessings for granted. Take credit for the good he does through us or for the gifts he has giving us. Call stuff "ours" instead of his. Claim control over "our" lives instead of acknowledging his sovereignty. Pick and choose which parts of his word we want to hear and follow without giving it full authority in our lives. Show up to church once a week, sing a few songs, listen to a message, and walk out of there maybe feeling uplifted, maybe feeling entertained, but not really feeling the joy of a full life that God Almighty has to offer us. Not really getting it.
Shame on us whenever we do crap like that.
The first and greatest commandment is to love the LORD with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. We're supposed to love God with everything we got, not just our leftovers. God doesn't want lukewarm, half hearted love. God wants our best.
Our best starts with acknowledging who he is, and who we are compared to him. Our best starts with giving his word authority in our lives and following it. Jesus said "if you love me, you will keep my commandments". If we say we love God but don't do what his word says, living like the world, we are liars who don't really love God or know him. This means repentance. This means not sleeping with your boyfriend/girlfriend before getting married. This means not getting drunk. This means not gossiping about others. This means controlling our anger and our tongues. This means forgiving when we are wronged and not holding grudges against others. This means putting Christ at the center of our lives, making him Lord as well as Savior -- you can't have the latter without the former.
So if we're not putting God's word in its proper place of authority in our lives, and if we have not repented of our sins and turned away from the fully into the waiting arms of Jesus Christ, what should we do with these other things? Don't bother, until we get right with God. If we're not deeply in love with him and showing it, he doesn't want our half baked offerings and worship songs that amount to lies. He doesn't want our service that means nothing without a real relationship with him. What he wants is us, fully and completely. Let's give him THAT, first.
Grace and Peace brothers, sisters, friends.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Restoration Or Alteration?
I have heard the Mormon phrase "restoration of the gospel" in the past, and again just recently, but I never looked up exactly what that meant. If what I read was true, I am saddened by it. From the LDS website, it is this:
"When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He established His Church among His followers. After His Crucifixion and the deaths of His Apostles, the fulness of the gospel was taken from the earth because of widespread apostasy. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ restored the fulness of the gospel. The true Church of Jesus Christ is on the earth again. Because of the Restoration, the teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation are available to all people."
The phrase "teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation" is very scary already.
Ordinances is further define as:
"In the Church, an ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Some ordinances are essential to our exaltation. These ordinances are called saving ordinances. They include baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing. With each of these ordinances, we enter into solemn covenants with the Lord."
So "saving ordinances" include all these other things mentioned nowhere as necessary for salvation in the pages of the Bible. Paul makes it quite clear in Romans that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and does not come from ANY kind works we do on our own, including rituals like water baptism.
I had some discussions with one of my Mormon friends in the past, and it seemed clear to me that he believed in salvation by grace through faith, but yet here we have on the LDS website an indication that salvation comes through these other things as well. So I don't know what to think on the subject, but what I have to say is this:
If there is ANYONE out there in ANY organization trusting that their salvation comes something other than faith in Christ, they are dead wrong. It doesn't come from a family line. It doesn't come from affiliation with any certain group. It doesn't come from saying a certain prayer. It doesn't come from some ritual. It doesn't come from doing good works. None of these things will save anyone. All they will do is give people a false sense of security like many Jewish leaders had 2000 years ago. Salvation comes from genuine repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Period.
Grace and Peace
"When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He established His Church among His followers. After His Crucifixion and the deaths of His Apostles, the fulness of the gospel was taken from the earth because of widespread apostasy. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ restored the fulness of the gospel. The true Church of Jesus Christ is on the earth again. Because of the Restoration, the teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation are available to all people."
The phrase "teachings and ordinances necessary for salvation" is very scary already.
Ordinances is further define as:
"In the Church, an ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Some ordinances are essential to our exaltation. These ordinances are called saving ordinances. They include baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing. With each of these ordinances, we enter into solemn covenants with the Lord."
So "saving ordinances" include all these other things mentioned nowhere as necessary for salvation in the pages of the Bible. Paul makes it quite clear in Romans that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and does not come from ANY kind works we do on our own, including rituals like water baptism.
I had some discussions with one of my Mormon friends in the past, and it seemed clear to me that he believed in salvation by grace through faith, but yet here we have on the LDS website an indication that salvation comes through these other things as well. So I don't know what to think on the subject, but what I have to say is this:
If there is ANYONE out there in ANY organization trusting that their salvation comes something other than faith in Christ, they are dead wrong. It doesn't come from a family line. It doesn't come from affiliation with any certain group. It doesn't come from saying a certain prayer. It doesn't come from some ritual. It doesn't come from doing good works. None of these things will save anyone. All they will do is give people a false sense of security like many Jewish leaders had 2000 years ago. Salvation comes from genuine repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Period.
Grace and Peace
Saturday, August 15, 2009
What's In A Name?
The name "Christian" is tossed around a lot these days. It originally meant something to the effect of "disciple of Christ" or "follower of Christ", but today it's so watered down that there are even those who say there are "Christian" drunkards, drug addicts, homosexuals, pornographers, and so on. Bunk. Jesus came to die on the cross to save us from our bondage to sin, not so we could revel in it and slap a label on ourselves to make us feel better and give us a false sense of security.
There are a lot of people who believe they are Christians, but are so in name only. They may go to church. They may do church work. They may have said the "sinner's prayer". They may have been baptised. They may go to Bible studies. They may have gone to seminary. They may even hold a leadership position in a church. And they may be wrong about who they think they are because they never really turned from their sin and turned to the Lord.
Jesus never told people to "come forward" or "pray this prayer". That's an American cultural thing. He told people to turn from their sin and follow him.
So if there is no marked change in your life to show evidence that you're a Christian, don't shrug it off, examine yourself, as Paul encouraged us to do, to see if you really fit the bill. When you turn your life over to Christ, you're washed, you go through a transformation.
Does that mean a Christian is perfect? By no means. There is a difference between committing sin and practicing sin. A Christian can definitely still stumble into sin. I know from first hand experience, and let me tell you, it's miserable. The Lord convicts you, and hard sometimes. You know shepherds would sometimes break the legs of the wandering lambs so they would learn to stay with the shepherd? The same goes for our good shepherd.
So what's in a name? Sometimes not much anymore. But there should be.
Grace and Peace
There are a lot of people who believe they are Christians, but are so in name only. They may go to church. They may do church work. They may have said the "sinner's prayer". They may have been baptised. They may go to Bible studies. They may have gone to seminary. They may even hold a leadership position in a church. And they may be wrong about who they think they are because they never really turned from their sin and turned to the Lord.
Jesus never told people to "come forward" or "pray this prayer". That's an American cultural thing. He told people to turn from their sin and follow him.
So if there is no marked change in your life to show evidence that you're a Christian, don't shrug it off, examine yourself, as Paul encouraged us to do, to see if you really fit the bill. When you turn your life over to Christ, you're washed, you go through a transformation.
Does that mean a Christian is perfect? By no means. There is a difference between committing sin and practicing sin. A Christian can definitely still stumble into sin. I know from first hand experience, and let me tell you, it's miserable. The Lord convicts you, and hard sometimes. You know shepherds would sometimes break the legs of the wandering lambs so they would learn to stay with the shepherd? The same goes for our good shepherd.
So what's in a name? Sometimes not much anymore. But there should be.
Grace and Peace
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Eternal Punishment
I think there are a lot of people these days who have a big problem with the concept of hell and eternal punishment, and don't talk about it, or the seriousness of sin. They choose to pick and choose a more palatable picture of God the Father and the gospel of Jesus Christ, ignoring these very important things.
Watering down or altering what the Word of God says can never be helpful in the end, so let's have a look at what's what.
First, let's talk about the purpose of man. Man was not created just to live out life and enjoy it for no good reason. Man was not created because God was bored or lonely. Man was created to glorify God. God could have created robot-people to glorify Him, or He could have created people with free choice to glorify Him. I think its a no-brainer that He did the latter. Would you feel more love from a robot that did nice things for you because it was programmed to do so, or from a human being that could choose not to do those nice things, but did them anyway? An act of love only has value if there is an option to choose not to do the act!
Second, let's talk about the nature of man. There is a habit of painting man as generally good. Yes, there are a lot of "good people" by the standards of men, but we are still all in the same boat by the standards of God. We are all sinners in His eyes, and without His grace, we rebel against Him and become slaves to sin. Even the good things we would do would be tainted by sin, because they would only be done for some man-centered motive. In short, on our own, we don't do our job to glorify God -- we take our free choice and make choices that glorify ourselves.
That might not seem right to some. Why did God create us but make us sinners? He didn't. He gives us the choice, and we screw it up. He gave Adam and Eve the first choice, and they screwed it up. Is it that hard to believe that sin has tainted us, and we by nature now will choose something against God? Do we actually have to teach our children to be greedy? To not share? To lie? To be ungrateful because of one little thing in the face of all the blessings they have? No, certainly not! They figure that out all on their own, and we (should) teach them the exact opposite.
Third, let's talk about the nature of God. There is a habit of painting God as this loving old guy with a white beard whose love for use overrides all his other attributes. Yes, God is merciful, God is kind, and God loves us; however, God is also holy and righteous, and He will not tolerate sin. He hates it. Wickedness makes God very angry, and there are limits to His patience and mercy.
That might not seem right to some. Why did God create us and then hate a lot of what we do? Is it really so hard to believe? He nearly destroyed the world once because of His hatred for sin. Why would he have a more lax attitude to it now? If He were to be so merciful that people could get to heaven by just by being "a good person" according to man's standards, even while still rejecting Him and not glorifying Him in any way, then Jesus Christ died for nothing.
In short, we have a job to do. We don't do it. Instead, we do what God hates. That makes God angry. Since He is a just God, He must punish us for it; however, since He is also a loving and merciful God, He offers us a way out of this terrible predicament through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. If we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we're good. Not just Savior. Lord and Savior.
Let's assume we reject the offer, since that gets us to the point of this post. Why should we expect eternal punishment? Well, given God is an eternal and infinite being, there can be nothing less. He is outside of time, and the sin He hates would be before Him for all eternity. To satisfy His holy justice, our punishment must also be for all eternity.
Now what if people have never heard about the offer? That depends. Are these people seeking God, or not? Jesus said that those who ask will receive and that those who seek will find. I trust that God is a perfect judge of all men, and I also trust that He is big enough to help out those who earnestly seek Him. Depending on the answer, the "what if" question here could prevent people from spreading the gospel message, or it could block people's spiritual growth because its a tough one to get past. Let's not let it do either for us personally, and leave these really difficult answers in God's hands.
You'd think that this eternal punishment thing would be a good deterrent, wouldn't you? Many don't believe it, so the idea is completely rejected or watered down. People can't really do that and still line up with what the Bible says. People can try, but then they're ignoring scripture and just picking and choosing what they like -- with no basis for it other than their own rationalization.
So in the end, don't reject the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, and don't water down the reality of hell or God's complete hatred for sin because its distasteful.
Watering down or altering what the Word of God says can never be helpful in the end, so let's have a look at what's what.
First, let's talk about the purpose of man. Man was not created just to live out life and enjoy it for no good reason. Man was not created because God was bored or lonely. Man was created to glorify God. God could have created robot-people to glorify Him, or He could have created people with free choice to glorify Him. I think its a no-brainer that He did the latter. Would you feel more love from a robot that did nice things for you because it was programmed to do so, or from a human being that could choose not to do those nice things, but did them anyway? An act of love only has value if there is an option to choose not to do the act!
Second, let's talk about the nature of man. There is a habit of painting man as generally good. Yes, there are a lot of "good people" by the standards of men, but we are still all in the same boat by the standards of God. We are all sinners in His eyes, and without His grace, we rebel against Him and become slaves to sin. Even the good things we would do would be tainted by sin, because they would only be done for some man-centered motive. In short, on our own, we don't do our job to glorify God -- we take our free choice and make choices that glorify ourselves.
That might not seem right to some. Why did God create us but make us sinners? He didn't. He gives us the choice, and we screw it up. He gave Adam and Eve the first choice, and they screwed it up. Is it that hard to believe that sin has tainted us, and we by nature now will choose something against God? Do we actually have to teach our children to be greedy? To not share? To lie? To be ungrateful because of one little thing in the face of all the blessings they have? No, certainly not! They figure that out all on their own, and we (should) teach them the exact opposite.
Third, let's talk about the nature of God. There is a habit of painting God as this loving old guy with a white beard whose love for use overrides all his other attributes. Yes, God is merciful, God is kind, and God loves us; however, God is also holy and righteous, and He will not tolerate sin. He hates it. Wickedness makes God very angry, and there are limits to His patience and mercy.
That might not seem right to some. Why did God create us and then hate a lot of what we do? Is it really so hard to believe? He nearly destroyed the world once because of His hatred for sin. Why would he have a more lax attitude to it now? If He were to be so merciful that people could get to heaven by just by being "a good person" according to man's standards, even while still rejecting Him and not glorifying Him in any way, then Jesus Christ died for nothing.
In short, we have a job to do. We don't do it. Instead, we do what God hates. That makes God angry. Since He is a just God, He must punish us for it; however, since He is also a loving and merciful God, He offers us a way out of this terrible predicament through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. If we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we're good. Not just Savior. Lord and Savior.
Let's assume we reject the offer, since that gets us to the point of this post. Why should we expect eternal punishment? Well, given God is an eternal and infinite being, there can be nothing less. He is outside of time, and the sin He hates would be before Him for all eternity. To satisfy His holy justice, our punishment must also be for all eternity.
Now what if people have never heard about the offer? That depends. Are these people seeking God, or not? Jesus said that those who ask will receive and that those who seek will find. I trust that God is a perfect judge of all men, and I also trust that He is big enough to help out those who earnestly seek Him. Depending on the answer, the "what if" question here could prevent people from spreading the gospel message, or it could block people's spiritual growth because its a tough one to get past. Let's not let it do either for us personally, and leave these really difficult answers in God's hands.
You'd think that this eternal punishment thing would be a good deterrent, wouldn't you? Many don't believe it, so the idea is completely rejected or watered down. People can't really do that and still line up with what the Bible says. People can try, but then they're ignoring scripture and just picking and choosing what they like -- with no basis for it other than their own rationalization.
So in the end, don't reject the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, and don't water down the reality of hell or God's complete hatred for sin because its distasteful.
Monday, October 20, 2008
How We Come To Christ
I was reminded today what state we are in when we come to Christ. I needed that reminder, because for a while I had these thoughts in the back of my brain nagging at me that said "you're not doing enough" and "look at all these ways you're failing God, that's not good enough". Enough for what?
Time for a reality check.
We're only men, and we're sinners, plain and simple. That's not going to change. We don't spend all our lives eliminating the sin in our lives by ourselves so that we can come to Christ. No, that's completely backwards -- we turn to Christ first, admit the terrible state we're in, and ask Him to help us.
I just need to remember what Jesus tells us more often:
Mat 9:12-13: "...The ones who are whole do not need a physician, but the ones who are sick. But go and learn what this is, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Time for a reality check.
We're only men, and we're sinners, plain and simple. That's not going to change. We don't spend all our lives eliminating the sin in our lives by ourselves so that we can come to Christ. No, that's completely backwards -- we turn to Christ first, admit the terrible state we're in, and ask Him to help us.
I just need to remember what Jesus tells us more often:
Mat 9:12-13: "...The ones who are whole do not need a physician, but the ones who are sick. But go and learn what this is, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Need For Repentance
From what I read here and there on the Internet, people, myself included, don't mention the need for repentance nearly enough when talking about the gospel. However, Jesus makes a solid point about it:
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mar 6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Jesus' disciples made a point about it too:
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
So when we share the good news, let's not forget that repentance is a part of it -- we can't just turn to Jesus without turning from something. What is that something? That something is sin.
We have to admit that we're sinners. We have to hate sin. We have to abandon sin. Jesus will help us do these things as we turn to Him, and that is a whole lot better than being a fake Christian who says with his lips something contrary to what is in his heart.
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mar 6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Jesus' disciples made a point about it too:
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
So when we share the good news, let's not forget that repentance is a part of it -- we can't just turn to Jesus without turning from something. What is that something? That something is sin.
We have to admit that we're sinners. We have to hate sin. We have to abandon sin. Jesus will help us do these things as we turn to Him, and that is a whole lot better than being a fake Christian who says with his lips something contrary to what is in his heart.
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