A couple things brought me to think for a few about our mission here on earth. Brief forays into some popular evangelists and recent studies at church and home have brought me to this:

What is the chief and highest end of man?

Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Above is the Westminster Larger Catechism’s first question and answer. Two reference verses are provided along with the answer.  If you’re interested in more about this, hit the link: Westminster Larger Catechism.

I’ve heard discussion that Catechisms and Confessions are way to Catholic or that they are Man Made or Legalistic junk. This is simply not true, though applications of these resources can certainly be Legalistic with little effort. The facts are that the Catechisms and Confessions are the same thing as if God gave us a written test that required us to put into our own words the Truths he has provided in the Bible. They are a distillation of doctrines that are found, widespread, throughout the Bible.

So, back to the subject at hand, I did a simple search at the ESV website (because that is a Bible translation I find to be as plain English as possible without going funky, cultural or relevant in the process) on glorify.

Click here: GLORIFY

The search found:

23 verses containing glorify.

And all those references were God and Jesus, just for extra credit.
Men glorified God because of what God did to them or for them. Men were commanded to glorify God in their bodies, in all that they did. Christ glorified the Father; the Father glorified Christ. Men glorify God because of his mercy, the Gospel, because of salvation, because of God’s deliverance, because God alone is worthy.

So my conclusion is…

Is God glorified through me? Is his glory evident in my life?

Am I seeking my own glory?

There are a number of evangelists and churches out there who teach about a God who is glorified by glorifying his people. These preach a message that, in essence, God is not glorified more than when his people are prospering, shiny, happy, self-sufficient, healthy, well-dressed, affluent, positive, sparkling.

Wait.  That last one was a reference to some vampire thing, I think. Did that slip in there somewhere? LoL. Side humor, I guess.

Back on topic.

Too many are churches and preachers who are glorified by the numbers they amass to themselves; who are communicating the disease of self-glorification through use of the Name of the Most High One. Too many of us believe that we bring glory to God by doing stuff that generally improves our personal situation and lives. This has two effects on the people who do not believe.

1. They are attracted to the show and treats offered by these self-help, family-improvement institutions and become well polished pieces of art, pock-marked by flaws that are glossed over with the diamond-hard shellac of superficial self-glorification. Look great, feel great, shot full of holes and dying. They come seeking and find what looks good on the outside and conceals horror on the inside

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

2. They are repulsed by the completely apparent stupidity of a faith group that claims to be God’s Children, who cannot defend their faith, falter under the first heavy storm in life, clearly fake the miracles, love people to death in hugs and money but do nothing for the soul. Some seekers seek the truth, and they are graced enough with sense to see the absolute inconsistency and corruption when they see it.

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

I, we, are still under this spell, I think; us post-modern/post-baby-boomer/generation-Y children. We instinctively seem to expect that God will provide, make a way, sugar-coat our lives.

B.S. and I mean it. We have it backwards. Look at the verses again. We’re not doing God a favor by pursuing Glorifying. We’re not getting paid for it.

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We owe, not for payment for Services Rendered, but because it is our role as creation. God made us for that purpose.

A friend ran this through the media stream in my direction:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

This stuff, right here, is not decoration to make us prettier (though it does just that), nor is it meat that makes us more substantial (though it also does just that). This stuff, the fruit of the Spirit, is what glorifies God, for it is the very characteristics that we should have as the righteous, properly conformed-to-his-original-design creatures that we should be.

Here’s the rub: We can’t do these things on our own and call it glorifying God. God installs these things within us. He takes our intellectual grasp of the fruits, which we vainly attempt to bring about on our own. He takes the understanding and brings it alive in us (re: Holy Spirit) so that we realize the real reason and method and application of the fruit. He makes it clean and pure fruit; sweetness and fragrance directed solely at Him.

No longer do we love others so that we can get their love in return. No more happiness based on those around us. No peace, patience, kindness, gentleness so we can get along well with others. No more goodness, faithfulness based on our own capacity and definition. There is freedom from legalistic and self-flagellating self-control.

Because we love others only because we see God’s love for them and how it glorifies him. Because we find happiness within our relationship with God, which transcends all worldly and bodily hardship. Because we find that peace, patience, kindness and gentleness only serve to Glorify God who alone has the right to vengeance and has demonstrated, through his own works, especially through Christ, that these are greater than fire and hell. Because goodness and faithfulness are found in God, through God and by God’s definition and point directly back to him. Because we constantly strive to limit ourselves from our sinful tendencies in order to glorify God more as the fruit of the Spirit fills the void left by our tidied minds and souls.

In summary: We must find a church, a preacher, a pastime all that focus not on the numbers or the miracles or the benefits of this pseudo-gospel; instead pointing entirely to God, calling us to holiness and the real Gospel which produces people devoted to glorifying the Most High.

As a pastor said, back in Cuba: “O Lord, that they see less of me and more of Thee.”

Short prayer, though I’m not so into praying over the intertubes.

Lord, I can’t seem to make this fruit thing work. I think I understand, through your Word, that I cannot, though I am sure to go back and try again with my own power. Lead me, through my failures, to turn to you for the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that should be apparent in my life. Lead me, through my successes, to realize that all of it is of you, through me, but entirely of you, for your glory and nothing more. Make my poverty your glory, my destitute spirit rely upon you for all things because all things must glorify you. Keep me from me and turn me to thee.

Lead me to be

what my beloved most needs

what my children most learn

what my church most should have

what the world should most see

Lead me to be

a lover of you

a servant employed

with but one chief end

your fame my sole joy

“…we agreed that it was like being born again, again.” 

I found a good bit to think about today as I read a post on Tim Challies’ blog, which is a daily staple for me. He almost always puts up something of relevant value for my day. This was no exception. The really good part was actually a comment by one of the readers. 

My little post here is going to be long-ish and probably not entirely coherent.  I want to try to capture what’s going through my head clearly but not lose it from distraction by other things.  So it’ll ramble, maybe not make sense entirely.  Bear with me.

From a background of mushy theology and easy-way Christian living, my recent salvation did not impart much real change in my understanding of theology. The Gospel took on new meaning. My relationship with the Lord was definitely established along with a great desire to know him “for real.”

But I had no foundation in serious theology (meat). I had a pretty soupy milk diet of what I remembered from my childhood lessons in the Word. I had Warren and Lucado, mixed up military chapels, charismatic tongue-flapping, “Left Behind” and Christian Psychology stuff which all gave me just that… Stuff. Not much to work with.

So, back to the commenter’s words:  “I remember discussing my discovery of solid doctrine, specifically reformed theology with a friend of mine from West Minster Seminary, and we agreed that it was like being born again, again.” This is what hit me most. 

There was a point, and I can’t really put a finger on it directly, where my leanings toward deeper, more solid theology became more of a downhill run. I wanted it, sought it, and then it started flowing in. This was mostly from study prompted by books I picked up. Good stuff, like Jim Berg’s “Changed Into His Image,” Calvin’s “Institutes”, MacArthur’s commentary, Challies “Discipline of Spiritual Discernment” and many others, which illuminated my Bible with questions and thoughts there was no way I could have come up with myself. 

I was initially spoon fed this stuff bit by bit, starting with my little brother, Ben, who was much more developed in his grasp of the fundamentals of the faith and the Word. He pretty much ensured I had a grounding in basic ways to look at God’s message and how I could take off with it.

A friend, Perry, who sort of just appeared from nowhere (not entirely), sent me a box of books that were particularly complex and hard to get through. I tried to wade my way through Iustitia Dei and the Cost of Discipleship. I don’t remember much about those or some of the theology books I picked up other than a general sense of what was good and not good (helps to have a Bible open when you’re reading stuff that is about the Bible). But what all my reading produced, during the first couple of years following the Lord’s call, was a desire for better and more stable understanding grew.

I can’t honestly say that my Christian “walk” improved as a result of all the study and ah-hah moments because it was intellectual stuff. I don’t think much had made it to my heart. 

This past year, however, I believe I can really relate to “being born again, again.” The solid meat that we’ve found at our church, the sudden (well-timed) switch from a congregation that was going south rapidly (and is now well south of right, only months after we left), a few moments at a Presbyterian church (not the liberal type), some good counseling sessions with a couple of pastors and some timely Bible studies, I’ve found a renewal of my faith and relationship with the Lord. 

That renewal is based on one thing first off:  Taking the Word of God as the Word of God. That means viewing the Bible as commandment and principle, not just as cotton-candy assent-worthy snacks. Our pastor preaches as such, our Bible studies follow suit and I find myself affected by that.  The Bible has become a clear description of God, his works and his commands that direct my perception of the way I live. It’s not just a self-help book or a series of enlightening truths anymore.

What do I mean by affected? I am increasingly convicted of the sovereignty of God and that nothing I do is outside of his specific direction. In other words, I didn’t choose to take this fresh stance and perspective on my own. Instead, I’m affected by the work of the Holy Spirit in all this new environment. Our counseling, our church, these things are God’s method of impacting me and changing me. 

The Word has a depth and value that far outweighs that first step into the waters of personal Bible study almost 6 years ago. I am convinced that what is referred to as a high view of God and his revelation is absolutely critical for the transformation into a lifestyle committed to righteousness. I didn’t have that. Now I see what it is and it’s working its way in.

Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

Get this part though; I’m not bragging about some awesome turnaround in my holiness factor or some such. The battle there has, if anything become tougher and pitted with increased skirmishes with personal spiritual hygiene and my relationships with others. I think it’s harder, now that I am being more and more revealed for what I am, to consider myself improving in righteousness.

Psalm 1:2 “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

What I am bragging about is the wonder and joy of God’s revelation and how it is so amazingly clear how he maneuvers and sets up the situations all around to grow and teach me. That God has not crushed me in my resistance to change. That he has, instead, tweaked bits and pieces here and there to show me what I am and what he wants. And not just show but implant that below the belt in a way that both lifts up my head in hope and bows my knee in submission to his will.

The battlefield has, in the scarred remains, some pristine towers still standing. I really desire unity in my family, involving a real sense of devotion to our Lord and to each other. I really want to be involved in my church, more than just an attendee. I really hope to be a good witness at work. And these not for spiritual or worldly “attaboys” but because it really is my reasonable service.

Romans 12:1-2  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

When I was a wiccan, walking in the spirit would mean doing some cool astral travel.  I would tune out the world and hit the skies for a romp in a place of pure energy and peace.  I’d commune with my gods on a sort of non-verbal, sensual level.  It was immediately rewarding and fun, very empowering but left a rather empty, lonely space in the end.

There was no real fulfillment in such metaphysical activity.  I certainly never allowed the sheer peril in which I placed myself to come into my conscious thought, though I knew very well just what kind of trouble I was getting into.

But what I sought was a real pairing, a community, a relationship with deity.  Something I’d been raised with in my Christian home was missing.  I didn’t have access to God and never would in my failed condition.  Sin had always ruled my life, though I was just. so. close. to salvation as a kid in church that I knew something of what it should be like to be right with God.  I spent 10 years as a wiccan trying to reach that rightness.

And here it is in simplicity, the real Walking In The Spirit:

Galatians 5:12

“I say then:  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

I knew all along that I was in sin.  I knew what the result of sin was.  And I knew what was required to escape the result.  I just refused to accept it.  Not going into the long discussion of how it all worked or what the sordid details entail, I essentially was involved in the literal interpretation of nearly every item listed in verses 19-22 of Galatians 5.

Here I am now, still a sinner, still wishing it could all be packed up tight and taken from my pockets, but I’m stuck with the remnant of a sin nature that won’t go away until Jesus comes to get me.  I have, though, the means to suppress it, and that is the communion with the Spirit I have through prayer, fellowship and the Word.  That’s walking in the Spirit.  God is right here with me and He’s going to keep me straight on course just so long as I submit to the commands He’s given in the Bible.

I can’t do it without staying in the Bible and praying and keeping the relationships with my fellows.

I know this little post isn’t really as deep or wordy as most others, but this issue is simple to me, though hardest to keep on my table.  It needs to get displayed and studied and pursued.  So here’s my little reminder to me.  Pray, bud.  Pray and pray and study and pray.  Pray the Psalms, pray the prayers throughout the whole Bible, pray some more.  And finally, pal, act on it without fear or reservation.  Make integrity a synonym of Walking In The Spirit.

So today I think I’m going to talk about issues of the heart.  All of them, maybe.  One at a time.  Easy enough?  Here goes (I’ll start off complex and work my way progressively to more simple stuff):

A boss today essentially told me I needed to straighten up my act.  There’s a guy who works for me that has serious problems with authority.  He is a classic case of aggressive-passive (intentional wording).  Given a task, he will comply to the very minimum requirements of the task and grumble, back-bite, whine, blame and whatever-else-can-issue-from-the-mouth to the very maximum tolerance of his surroundings without actually crossing the line into blatant defiance.  And he cares not a whit for who hears him or observes it.  But this whole thing isn’t about him.  It’s about me.  The boss said I shouldn’t take that from him.  He said I really need to ratchet down on my little problem-child and basically tell him to put up or shut up.

The boss is right.  And I agreed with him.  As explanation (as opposed to excuse), I said I’d never really run into this type of character at work before and I wasn’t sure what buttons I could push to start getting through to him.  I’ve been in a lot (I think, A Lot) of odd situations with odd circumstances and a broad variety of characters, but honestly I don’t think I’ve ever been saddled with this type of total butt-pain.  So I’ve never really had to use the #9 boot calibration method, which is required in this situation.

The boss said “You wouldn’t let this kind of garbage go on at home with your kids, right?”  To which I obviously had to say, “Of course not.”  And that, of course, gave me pause and I really had to think.  Would I?

It’s two different situations.  I’ve spent my life with my kids and 13 years with my Wife.  I think I know how to diffuse, control, stop, bypass and deal with this sort of mess at home.  And I enjoy an authority and influence at home that I certainly do not possess at work.  So he’s right.  I wouldn’t let that go on in my own home.

At work, I’m in a different situation (keep with me here, it’ll make sense).  I’m experientially subordinate to the people who work for me.  They’ve been in the specific field we work in for a dedicated 3 years wherein I’ve been at it for less that 6 months.  They’re well acquainted with each other and the majority of the other workers in the environment.  I am not.  They have become set in their routine, methods and practice.  I am not part of that.  All of this combines to make a battlefield in which I am at serious disadvantage.  I don’t really know the lay of the land.  The enemy is thoroughly entrenched and they know the ranges, weather, terrain and maneuvers to get what they want done.

Bullshit.  If a guy consistently cusses you out behind your back and essentially tells you where you can stuff it, even if he ultimately complies with orders, he is an insubordinate failure.  And you have allowed him to fail.  Point one to God’s law.  As leader, I am responsible.

If someone persistently offends, practicing unacceptable practices, hurts others, leads the progression of others’ growing skills in the same negative behavior, then that person is a failure.  And you have allowed him to fail.  Point one to God’s law.  As leader, I am responsible.

It’s a matter of the heart.  I’ve a better grasp and performance rating in this leadership process at home.  While nowhere perfect at it, I strive as patiently and enduringly as I can to battle uprisings of bad attitudes, hurtful actions, fighting, backbiting and general monstrocity daily.  And I am as relentless as I can be.

I have not taken that integrity, ethic, standard to work with me.  Because I am afraid.  Because I’m dealing with people with whom I’m not intimate and with whom I’m not familiar.  So I err on the side of weakness, avoiding conflict with the problems because I want to be liked.  Because I want work to be good.  O do I want the work to be good.  But instead I hate my job.  I spend no little amount of time hating myself because of what I do (rather, don’t do) at work.

I have not kept my faith in my God in focus.  I faith myself to death at home.  Praying doggedly for my family in general and in specifics.  I push my kids’ buttons with as much strength as I can to get them as sin-free as I can, knowing each time that success is of God and not of me.

But I don’t do that at work.  I change faces at work.  And the face I have is not particularly admirable.

Simple bit:  It’s of the heart.  I’m not sick.  It is not the fault of the jerk at work.  It is not the environment at work.  It’s not the lack of fulfillment at work.  It’s not stress at home making my work wrong.  It’s me.  Me resisting the pulls of the Spirit to pursue God’s ways at work.  I have let the World work a weak spot of corrosion in my character.

It’s of the heart when you’re dealing with a liar.  It’s of the heart when you have a deep depression.  It’s of the heart when you’re battling someone who just. won’t. listen.  It’s of the heart when you can’t seem to give up this or that.

Yes, physical conditions, the environment, other people, the weather, body-odor can all contribute to aggravate a problem.  But the real root is just that, the heart.

We’ve been studying in Romans at church.  We read in Chapter 1 how things suck so bad that if we really grasped the depth of the problem, we’d probably all just curl up into little balls and wait for the meteor to obliterate us.

Romans 1:28,

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

Simple.  31 flavors.  One for everyone.  Pick.  I have most of them in my toolbox.

Simplest:  Just in case anybody didn’t see their personal colors in 1:28, here’s the catch-all:

Romans 3:10 (and Psalm 14:1-3)

“As it is written:  ‘There is none righteous, no, not one;’”

We’re messed up.  It’s in the heart.  Can’t blame it on the rain.

Now how does it apply to the current theme here on my little blog?  Healing?  Look.  I am aware of the physical problems.  I know about medications now, and clinical diagnoses and everything.  I may not know everything, but I know way more than I really want to know now.  I’ve done research and see the light.  There’s no denying a physiological and environmental part, huge part, in all this trial.  But in the end, should all those things be cured…

It’s still in the heart.

And that’s what I’m praying for most of all.  That He’ll put us all in the way of fixing her heart.  He’ll do it, I’m sure.  I just want the joy of being a part of that miracle.  And I want it more than I want to fix the thing at work.

But, I think, as I’ve said and have been told a million times before:  If you can’t be trusted in the little things, how can you make it in the big time?

Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30.  Look it up.  I did.

I’m going to give church studies a try this time.  Thessalonians is a pair of ecclesiastical letters written by Paul.  I’ve done a little reading in Constable’s notes (www.soniclight.com) and in my MacArthur commentary too (conveniently built into my study Bible), just so I can get a little smarter.  Mostly, this will be a personal series, however, since I’m not much in tune with church or pastors (having an unhappily small experience with either during the span of my New Life).

Why Thessalonians?  Ben led me right with Deuteronomy, and I know he just went through Thessalonians recently, so I’m going to go where I can certainly get some feedback on what I pull out.  And, since I’m keen on finally getting settled into a church, I should take a look at one of Paul’s church related writings.

So here it goes.

This letter is from three people, actually: Paul, Silvanus (a.k.a. Silas) and Timothy.  It appears all three were a part of the beginning of the church in Thessalonica.

I love how Paul opens up his letters.  Very direct.  I think it’s Greek standard to open with “From, To, Via” in the beginning, just like a formal memorandum today.  Mostly, I really enjoy his blessing.  It sets a sort of tone in the letter that I wish was more common today.  It’s poetic and just ties the Lord right into the communication first thing.

“To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

When is the last time you read that in a book or letter?  Not common.  I don’t think it’s all that common in church, IME.  Beautiful, though, isn’t it?  We’re joined in this communication through the Father and the Son.  Paul is speaking with the Lord in mind from the very start, and he continues with a prayer of grace and peace, all in the same breath.  Might be worth putting on a stamp or seal for church communications, or hand-written on the weekly newsletter, eh?

I’m taking a note here to remind me to plug this sort of greeting and prayer into my communications.  To share that simple truth with the fellowship.  Remember, when Paul wrote this, it was no simple quick greeting.  This was heartfelt and honest, especially considering the experiences of the early churches and especially those of Paul and his partners among the Thessalonians in the beginning.

This letter isn’t a lecture.  I like that it’s personal, that Paul is writing on the spiritual things as would a pastor, but also as if he was a brother (he calls the church “brothers” several times in the letter).  He prays for them, praises them, and shows knowledgeable approval of their activities.

O that I could be faithful and loving and patient like these folks must have been long ago.  They stuck to the faith that Paul preached to them with amazing vigor.  The Thessalonians appear to have made a pretty big impact on the region around them with their faithfulness and spreading of the Gospel.  One thing I read in the notes was that that part of the world didn’t cotton to plain rhetoric, but more to “walking the walk” as well as doing the talk.  Nowadays, it does not seem as though it’s quite as important.

I was talking to my friend the other day about this sort of thing, and thought it was funny that reputations and ethics have gone out the door in recent years.  Whole huge companies seem more interested in making a buck than preserving a good name (see multiple blogs on this subject in regards to the current financial fiasco).  This extends to individuals too.  Many of us are more interested in getting what we want than maintaining the respected quality of character and trustworthiness.  It looks like Paul was praising these people for sticking to the truth and way of life that he had brought to them at the start.

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love , and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father…”

And there’s more about this further down the chapter.  But Paul is praising these people for the three main principles of the walk with God.  Faith, love and hope.  I should be working on the same thing.  Practice and build my faith, practice and build my love, rest securely in my hope.  See how it’s work, work and then rest?  Pretty neat formula.  I should be doing 2 parts work to my one part rest.  God wants me to trust Him, Love Him (and my brother) and then enjoy the hope He provides through Christ’s atonement – my salvation.  Simple.  Simple.

It always seems hard for me to keep things simple.  Sometimes I think I need to work at it harder, buy more books to help explain things better, wrangle with the text until my eyes are crossed.  Sure, there are places in the Bible where wrangling is required, but there are more places that, though they are so simply simple, I still can’t seem to be able to minimize my research program and just look at the code.  Simple rules.  Faith, Love, Hope.  It is the child-like thing again.

Faith in my Daddy.  Faith that He’ll carry me through, that His way is the right way, that if I do it, He’ll make good on His instructions.

Love for my Daddy.  Love for the things He made.  Love for His family and knowing that loving Him means loving His things.

Hope.  When Daddy promises something or says something is going to be just so, then simply trust Him and wait on that blessed day when His promise comes about.

And yet I fail on this one.  I did it as a kid with my earthly Daddy.  He said to do it, so I did.  He loved his family, so I did.  He promised something, and I simply believed it.  Granted, this was imperfect, me and my Daddy both being sinners, Him being saved and me still counted among the unsaved (it took 29 years, but I’m here now, Dad).

Back to the walk-the-walk thing.  In verse 4, Paul speaks of the gospel he’d brought was not just word, but power.  He was observing how the gospel had not only convinced the people by reason, but by powerful, life-changing conviction.  The Thessalonians didn’t just assent to the truth, they acted on it.  The Holy Spirit was in their comings and goings, and apparently the church was very successful.

I want to grow into that quality.  I want faith and love, work and results for God to be first.  I want to find my true comfort not in the comfort of money and security here in this time frame, but in the eternal one to come.  I want to fear no persecution, to quit viewing my little temporal trials (finances, career, transportation) as persecution and look to the greater threat out there as my real challenge.

The Thessalonian Christians were entrenched among Jews and Greeks who were politically and religiously attacking them.  Things were violent, political, pressurized more than I face today in my little bubble.  I want to be fearless and forward-leaning like the people from those days.  I understand that God worked things in a pretty distilled fashion back in the days of the early church, for there was no complete Bible, no well-trod tradition or strong foothold of the catholic (whole) church.  So God’s methods were rather thunderous and forceful.

But I don’t see that my approach to my Christ-like life should be much different.  Circumstances may not look the same, but the underside, the temptation, the pressure and the need for faith and love are still just as strong.  That’s my prayer for today.  I want to meet up to Paul’s standards as he sent them to the Thessalonians in this letter.  Worthy of his remembrance, his prayers, his title of “beloved brother” used so frequently in the passages.  Most especially, I’d like to think he would refer to me with the certainty of words that he used with the Thessalonians.

With Paul not being available for consultation in person, I should seek that from God.  That confidence.  The recipe appears to be, once again (with feeling): Faith, Love, and Hope. Those things pursued, maybe someday, Paul’s words can apply to me too.

Final note: I believe that Hope isn’t a verb here.  It’s a noun.  A noun to be possessed.  I. Have. Hope.

This is the title for Chapter 9 in my study Bible. The passage revisits all sorts of Israelite defiance.

Reading through this chapter reminds me of how I should look at my relationship with the Lord, how I should look at my sin and how I should see Christ and the Spirit as well.

“Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land” (9:4)

“Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (9:6)

“You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.” (9:24)

The philosophies we are fed today concerning sin are most often concerned with “feeling good” or “self esteem” and mislead us into brushing off our unrighteousness as a condition that is “just part of the facts of life.” We are told (usually not in clear terms, of course) that avoiding our sinful past and glossing over our failures is the point of being Christian. We become convinced that the past is actually forgotten, not just forgiven, but erased.  There’s a major problem with this, though, if you consider the thoughts below:  What happens to people who buy this bunk that everything is erased, yet still have to face the reminder of sin in their past?

In some ways, this wipe-out thing sounds really good. But it sure doesn’t seem to fit what the Bible says. There isn’t a passage I’ve ever read that says everything is just “gone” when we get saved. There are hundreds of passages about forgiveness, seeking it regularly, and even more about work, failure, suffering, pleading, praying, feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, dirt and plain old misery.  There’s plenty of material written on “progressive sanctification” that all clearly states that our lives are not completely purged of all hint of evil at the moment of our belief.

I hate the times when past sins come back to haunt me. I still get those hackle-raising, embarrassed-flush sensations when I remember what I did with that book long ago, or the candy-bar episode at camp, or that event with that one friend. Remembering some of the insanely sinful activities in my pagan phase causes serious pain sometimes. I wish those memories would get swiped with the magnetic disc destroyer.

But they aren’t going anywhere. And, believe it or not, I think it’s better that way.

I have to be humbled. I must be reminded of my failures. The Lord has blessed me with a bittersweet gift that hurts more often than comforts.

But, like Israel, I don’t rate kindness and fuzzy-faith-facials. I can’t cover up what I was (what I AM). Neither internally nor externally can I pretend that nothing ever happened just because I’m forgiven. Just because I am forgiven doesn’t mean that I won’t return to my old defiance.

Note here: I am not supposing that it is right to dwell on all those past actions or make some sort of repetitive atonement for them. Past sins are covered by the blood of Christ once and for all, and the flashbacks are not indications that we have to revisit forgiveness.  If I seek forgiveness and repent from my sin, that is it, there is not a reflash-watch set to remind me that, oh, say six months from now I have to reset the forgiveness for that particular sin.

This blessing of memory has a practical application. If I am reminded of that which I am capable, in the humbling (sack-cloth and ashes humbling), I don’t get the chance to derail into oblivious false joy in my life.

I am to take joy in:
What Christ Did For Me and in My Relationship With God and that One Day I Will Be Free From This Sinful Condition

The Israelites needed to be kept from reaching the conclusion that the Promised Land had anything to do with their current state of righteousness.  It had nothing to do with their righteousness, but with God’s decision that the people were  His chosen children.  Heaven, my sanctification, my status here-now as a Christian have nothing to do with my righteousness, but everything to do with God’s choice to add me to the Book of Life.  Christ died for me, for all those who come to Him for restoration not because there’s some figure of merit within us that makes us worthy, but simply because we are His creation, His choice and His personal preference.

The periodic review of my screwups, keeping in mind the important fact that Every Single One of them was direct rebellion against the Father, is the most effective prod to keep me in line.  The passages below support the idea that there’s no glossing over my condition and that things aren’t just peachy yet.

We need a mediator still.  We need someone who can speak for us about us to the Father.  We’re not qualified, even if we’re great, high-performance Christians.  The Holy Spirit and Christ have the requisite position to keep the Father from shutting down the factory.  We, the helpless and unworthy, must bow to His mercy as we accept His grace.

Romans 8:26-27 portrays the Spirit as a mediator.

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

Christ is the High Priest and Mediator in Hebrews 9:11-15.

“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…”

A good take away from this: Sin is not just an activity to be avoided.  Sin is a condition that must be fought against.  As the military studies wars from long ago, we too must understand what sin in history really means.  Starting with how sin impacted the very first humans, how it affected the Jews on their approach to Canaan, how it resulted in Christ’s grisly death and how it will ultimately see the destruction of the world.  Seeing the power and impact of sin, both in the Scriptures and in our personal lives is a course of study that, while painful and tough to face, is very important.  It’s called hamartiology, if you want the fancy term, and there’s a lot to know.

I must admit that Deuteronomy really has been a good project to read and write on, for I have discovered quite a lot of important facts that apply to my life right here (duh, how surprising) in light of the Israelites. This is not just a book of the Law. It’s much more and I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about all this stuff to read the book, carefully and methodically (read: SLOW, SMALL CHUNKS, THINK and PRAY LOTS).

ere Moses recounts the series of events that led to God’s judgment of the fathers of these people who were about to enter the Promised Land. I’m most taken with the choices and attitudes of the “generation that grumbled” here, so that’s my topic for today. I’ll post small sections rather than the whole thing to ease the reading curve.

First, Moses presents himself as a leader who is willing to work with and go with his people’s wishes. He complies with their request to send spies into Canaan, to recon the land. He checked with God on this as well, so both God and Moses were reasonable here.

But take in mind the rest of the events and then look back on this request for spies. What was the real meaning behind the Israel intelligence mission?

So, after the spies get back, and give their report (great weather, pretty nature features, good deal, and really BIG badguys), the people decided not to go. They rebelled against God’s command.

“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; and you complained in your tents, and said ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.’”

Moses, of course tried to encourage them, bringing up the well used (and true!) sermon about “God is bigger than your biggest problem” and reviewed all the mighty things He had done for Israel since escaping Egypt (which alone should have been plenty to keep them confident in their Lord).

But that didn’t work. And the Lord proclaimed judgment right there.

“Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers,”

This goes on through the rest of the chapter, leads into the desert and round about for the rest of an entire generation. What a mess. The people try to repent, God won’t listen, the people finally start listening to Him again, and He brings them through some major battles, trials and lots of travel.

Here’s the stuff that I find most important to me.

Don’t the Israelites resemble modern people? How many times have you grumbled in your tent, away from earshot, maybe with a group of cohorts about the bad mess you got stuck with? I’ve been there. It happens so often in my life that I think I may never be rid of the grumbling. These people, just as we people, just couldn’t get it through their skulls that they were openly rebelling against God in their “mumblemumbledarnitmumblethismumblesucks” back in the shadows where they didn’t think anyone could hear.

Today, we are doubly wrong to do this. We forget this lesson in the Bible. Complaining about our situation is to speak out against God. Not only this, but we know darned well that He hears us. We also forget the Holy Spirit, who witnesses our very thoughts. The Israelites inconveniently forgot that God heard every word they spoke (and those they implied), even in secret, under their breath.

God’s judgment was swift and very harsh for this sort of activity. I think He’s shown himself to be very merciful toward those who bring their gripes to Him, and those who are openly afraid. But I don’t see lenient treatments of the actions such as this case of Israelite insubordination in the Bible. Conniving and clandestine sin are things He doesn’t take much liking to.

You want to know why? Simple. If it’s done in secret, we’re fundamentally admitting that we know it’s a sin, and we’re doing it anyway.

Had the Israelites simply voiced their fears and doubts before God, openly, transparently, lost their heads and shown their anger or weakness, would God have dealt differently with them? I believe yes. Look at what he did with Job and his complaints. What about David when he brought his anger to the Lord? God didn’t strike down the incautious, the frank or open statements of the people with such severity as He did with the tent-grumble-party. Look at Ananias and Sapphira in the NT. They got the roughest treatment, and it was because they knew darned well that their plan was sinful and still persisted in trying to fool God. Get this: They were intentionally collaborating in subverting what God had intended for them to do. There’s no simple mess-up here, it was conscious choice.

Our Lord doesn’t like falsehood. He won’t put up with our secret sins, especially those of mutiny, backstabbing and that which tarnishes His name and those of His servants. It is not wise for us to forget this.

The next thing that really interests me, is His absolute judgment. God didn’t let up when the people repented. He stuck with His chosen course, and there was no changing. Even Moses tried to get the Lord to allow him just a little peek at the promised land, maybe a roll in the sweet grass, or a taste of the wondrous bounty of fruit that, 40 years ago, the spies had brought back. God didn’t change His mind. This is another indicator of the severity of the Israelites’ rebellion.

It is also an indicator to us of what He is willing to do with us when it’s necessary to impose the rough discipline. When we really screw up, as in the case of this sort of back-talking God, we won’t necessarily just face a quick whack and “do better next time.”

It’s not fun to say this, but the consequences of our sin, especially if they involve tarnishing God’s mission, interfering intentionally in His plans are going to be decisive and final. If we push Him enough, He will cut us off. Think of recent pastors who have resigned or have been removed from their post due to scandal? Some of them will never serve in their pastoral capacity again. Some may return, but I wonder if that’s really God’s doing, or that of a church that has died and is apostate in the first place.  Do we truly love God?  Our private lives and words demonstrate this far more fully than our public version.  One who demonstrates insubordination, defiance in the manner of the Israelites or Ananias and Sapphira is destined for the quick-walk and quick-drop of a public hanging.  It may not kill us, but as James tells us, we can destroy our relationships, our walk with Him and our ministry.

When we, as parents, ground our kids for their gross error, do we ground them for a month and then let them off for good behavior? When does that become an option? Some cases merit such things, such as irresponsible choices that led to the grounding, and maybe the kids really demonstrate their repentance. But there are those cases where it’s no longer an option to permit possible time off for good performance. Parole isn’t always available when you have a kid who is openly, intractably rebellious.

So for practical from this study, I recommend the following thoughts.

1. When we start feeling guilty for being “too hard” on our kids, and feel tempted to let them off easy, what would God’s response to their circumstances be? As parents, we really are the direct representatives of our Lord to our kids. If we let off on the discipline because we’re too nice, too lazy, too irresolute, what are we teaching them of their Heavenly Father? We need to revisit God’s variety of judgment and the consistencies of that judgment and determine whether our immediate disciplinary activities are Biblical. Don’t let the world determine the length and breadth of disciplining, or parenting (or leadership, even) in general. Let the Bible do this, for the severity of the infraction and the penalty for such is right there in print.

2. Don’t expect to just get back on track from the big screwups. God may well revisit our discipline and let us back up on our feet. Then again, should the infraction be of those things He just won’t tolerate, look at what He did to the Israelites. I have no doubts that He’ll take strides with us that could seriously impede what we want to do, to demonstrate that it’s all about what HE wants to do. It all comes down to the fear of God, which I’ll get around to discussing eventually.

ohn speaks of witnesses. He is a first hand witness of the Gospel in its fulfillment, and he has the backing of the three most powerful characters in history. In addition, not to be discounted, are his partners in the faith, apostles and disciples too numerous to count.

“This is He who came by water and blood — Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

Legally speaking, John has a pretty airtight case. He is an eyewitness of the events which unfold over this Easter weekend. He was around when the last supper was served. He was around when Christ was betrayed, dragged to court, ridiculed and tortured and finally hung up on the cross. And John was there for the resurrection. He was one of the closest in friendship with Christ (the disciple Jesus loved). This man, last one standing at the close of Scripture, had a huge weight to his words. His testimony echoes throughout history. Not only that, but his words coincide with those of all the other great apostles in the Bible. John, Paul, Peter, James, all of them are partners in the preservation of the single most important event in human experience.

But John says here that the witness of God is greater. God lent His testimony in several vital moments throughout Christ’s life and death. He witnessed with the Spirit upon Christ’s baptism.

Mark 1:10-11, “And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

This wasn’t an assumption on the part of the writers of the Bible. This was an event which was heard and seen by humans. God stepped into the frame of time and spoke, and the Spirit literally lighted upon the One to whom God spoke. No question remains that Christ was the Son of God.

Throughout Christ’s life, He referred himself and others to His Father. He pointed people to God for the source of His direction. Christ laid responsibility for His mission on God. He deferred His wishes to the Father’s in the garden before He was crucified, He commended His life to the Father when He died on the Cross

Christ, the Holy Spirit and God are the three witnesses to all of Christ’s mission. And they did not stop upon Christ’s resurrection. When Christ appeared to the disciples in Acts, He underscored His testimony. When the Spirit was poured out among the disciples at Pentecost, His testimony was part of that outpouring.

Christ witnessed to Paul in person. John met God in Heaven while he was on Patmos. Much of our New Testament is literally accounts of the actions or words of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.

And we have that witness today. Any of us who claim Christ as our Savior, who have accepted His offer of atonement and who have made Him Lord of our lives, we have the Holy Spirit within us as constant witness. Never ever forget that the Holy Spirit is God. He is fully one third of the Trinity. We too often let that reality fade in our minds. A Christian has the Holy Spirit within them for their entire life. God is witnessing to us from the moment of our salvation until the very end of time and even then He will not stop His testimony, for He has us preserved for all eternity.

When you feel doubt. When you just can’t seem to embrace the reality of Christ, God, the Spirit, the Gospel, the Bible, Heaven and Hell in your daily life. When it just doesn’t seem real enough. When you can’t convince yourself of the veracity, of the absolute concrete Truth of all this.

Amen.

hy do we love? Why do Christians practice love? Is it because we’re commanded to love?

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know what we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

If God is invisible, how do we see Him? How does anyone see Him? This is one of those mysteries that demonstrates a couple of vital and fascinating qualities of God. God demonstrates His existence through Christians.

If you want to experience God, find His people. If you want to see God, go into His Church. That is how He is found today. God also reveals His great power through this mystery. Only God can make Himself known through His people. I cannot make myself known through my kids. If you want to see me, you can’t go hang out with my girls for a few hours and then depart with the confidence that you’ve seen me. Doesn’t work. Only God can do that with people.

This passage introduces the truth that proves Christians. We are not simply following a commandment to love, but we are loving because we are abiding in Christ. The Lord enables our love, and as we become more like Him we will (by His blessing, not by our choice) love more. We will love our brethren in the Church more and we will love our fellow men outside the Church more.

Here is the simple progression from zero to sixty in terms of love. We meet Christ and give Him our lives, accepting the forgiveness for sin and the atonement for the penalty of sin. We begin in His love and then continue in His love. As we grow in Him (which He will both enable and affect), our love will grow as well. When we are Christians, it is inevitable and fact that we will love more as long as we live on this earth. Not because God is rewarding us for our dedication to Him or because we are getting better with our Bibles and knowledge, but because God is love and if we are His children then we, too, are love.

CRITICAL in our sanctification is this idea of love. I believe we could boil down all the processes and definitions of sanctification throughout history and the result would be love.

• If we are sanctified, we are loving God.
  
  I Peter 1:16 “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy for I am holy.’”
  • You can try to be holy all day long, but a genuine love for the Lord will propel you into a desire to be holy. There is no other motivation than that love of God and His qualities that will work. He will enable us through our love for Him.
• If we are sanctified, we are loving each other.
  
  James 2:8 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well.”
  •  We can try to love all day long, but if we love the Lord, we will move past the hypocritical, self-preservation and partiality that drives the world’s type of love into the completely sacrificial and selfless love that God has defined as the real love.
• If we are sanctified, we are loving the Word.
  
  Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
  • If we love God, we will want to see ourselves as He sees us. When we love the Word, having accepted it as God’s word and His expression of love to us, then we will seek to treat it with the honesty and fairness of love. And we will love the way it can pare the corruption from our lives and release us from our bonds to love more and more.

• If we are sanctified, we are loving our fellow man.
  
  Luke 5:31 “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’”
  • When we love God, we will perceive the purpose He as set for us. We will love our fellow men for God sent His Son to them to save them. Love will drive us to reach for the ungodly and bring them to Christ.

If we have known and believed the love God has for us, which is absolutely characteristic of being saved, then we will be driven to love by that love for Him. If we know love, then we partake in that love. Christians can receive and give love. That circuit is broken in the unsaved, and only God can fix it. Once the circuit is closed and the contacts are stable, then we are Christians and we will love just as God does.

Once again, as in previous passages, I feel the need to confirm that all of this is a progression. We grow, we persevere, we run the race to reach the finish. God will work in us to perfect this love, this sanctification, as we walk with Him. Don’t sweat the imperfection with impatience and frustration. Savor the gifts of love, the fine tuning and improvements God makes as they happen. We should strive for greater and greater love of Him and our brethren, but remember that it is God who makes this work. Have peace and patience as He works His miracle within us.

he Automated Defense System. Christians have a very special gift from God that helps them in the face of false teachers.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are not of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Just as we can tell a spirit’s source when they are sought to “confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” we can also tell by their language. A worldly source is going to speak in worldly terms (as opposed to Biblical terms). A preacher who presents a reward system for good works to his church in the form of worldly promises such as money, health, respect and whatnot, is not preaching Biblically. Our rewards for our works are to be sought in the context of, and expected to be stored up in, heaven which isn’t even spelled like world (not a single letter in common).

So we can tell by the context of preaching or even just religious discussion what a person’s foundation is made of. Now, this is not a cue to start freaking out at everyone you know. We all contextualize our thoughts and actions in the world’s terms. We make the mistakes of applying worldly values to Godly things. What this passage is saying is that a consistently world-based presentation of Biblical (theological) teaching is error, false teaching. We should constantly seek the consistently word-based presentation of Scripture in our conversations and from our preachers.

Backing up, since I got out of order. The first sentence in the passage is speaking of God. Specifically, the Holy Spirit. He is in us. He is our Promise, our Helper, our Seal of security and the source of Truth in our lives. Is the Holy Spirit not greater than anything in the world? Is the Holy Spirit, being God Himself, not greater than the devil? If this is true, then we have nothing to fear, for we have God Himself in our lives, with us wherever we go, with us whatever we hear. We are given a guarantee by The Guarantee, that we will not be led astray. Here is another test of our salvation. If the false teaching rears up in our midst, where does the flock go? The church that follows the latest false teacher is a dead church! There are not going to be many true believers in a church that picks itself up and chases a new doctrine. This is not because Christians are inherently smarter than the unbelievers, but because we’ve inherited a far smarter Counselor to keep us from the false doctrines. The unsaved, pseudo-Christians will bend and flow with the world’s currents, and will be easily snatched from the Church, in dire danger of losing their near-salvation.

Sad to say, but it is a sign of our discipleship and devotion to the truth being shoddy when we watch members of our church wandering off to the “easy-believer-church” down the street (not always our fault, of course, for unbelievers are hardly going to be positively affected by our teaching if they haven’t accepted the Gospel to begin with). Having the promise that we, as Christians, are immune to the tricks of false teaching does not entirely protect us from the effects. We can slide off, as the entire book of 1st John depicts, the main route of Truth, and into the false teaching for a time, and the return to the Lord is not necessarily going to be a quick left back to the on-ramp. For a good analogy of getting lost and trying to get back on the road, watch the movie, “Cars.” Our fellows in the Faith can suffer similar situations, and so can we (I’d certainly appreciate someone revealing false teaching to me!).

So why keep verses 1-3 if we have the cure-all of verses 4-6? I’m going to reach back to an earlier commandment John illuminates in the letter. Here’s my suggestion: Loving my brethren includes studying my Bible. Is it love if I do not take the trouble to help my fellow Christian who is facing false teaching? That stuff is attractive sometimes.

I’ve had a few friends who have been tempted toward the RCOG. If you haven’t heard of them, search out Restored Church Of God on the Web. It’s a very hard-hitting, apparently Bible-Thumping, organization, resembling a lot of Christian teaching, but close scrutiny will show…Guess! YEP. Verses 1-6 of 1st John, chapter 4 are suddenly pretty handy. Glad to say none of the pals I know from that situation stuck with that false teaching very long. The Holy Spirit helped them out. And the Lord used some of my insight in part to help that protection. My knowing the truth, from the Bible, about that particular situation and organization was beneficial work for the benefit of the brethren.

Studying my Bible helped someone else who was facing false teaching. I think that pretty much summarizes the last paragraph succinctly.

And another, final thing. When we try to preach and teach the Word, truthfully and without worldly contextualizing, it’s going to be fairly easy to figure out who is with us and who is not. The last sentence in the passage, verse 6, clearly states that whoever listens to our teaching is of God. That means that if you just….can’t….get…. that simple doctrinal truth through to someone who really needs it, then there may be a much bigger disconnect than just a misunderstanding. When repentance from sin doesn’t occur in a person’s life, no matter how much you try to explain to them their sin, their need for absolution and the need to repent, then there may not be any source of motivation for the change. If God is not in a person, no matter how “nice” or “Christian” they may appear, they are not going to hear and apply Biblical teaching. The unsaved person is, period, diametrically opposed to God. We’ve discussed this a few times already. Black and White Christianity doesn’t have fuzzy subjects.

All this is why we have the Church discipline concept as in Matthew 18:15-19, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-7 and Titus 3:10-11. We are directed to depart from, or avoid the opportunity to be misled by false teachers, potential untruth and all the other evils that can mislead us or hurt us. This is one way of practicing love for our neighbors, too. An objective observer sometimes sees more in the situation than those actually involved. A Scripturally educated observer may be able to truly discern the false teaching or worldly context at war in another person’s life and be able to lead them away from sin!

Love your neighbor: read a Bible today!