Freedom In Christ

I’ve been following an interesting Twitter thread about the freedom of Christians from the law, originated by Steve Martin. The argument is that Christians have total freedom, not being restricted by any constraints of the law. Christians are not subject to the strictures of the 10 Commandments.

The starting point for the discussion was:

“Gigantic Christian Myth Number 9

The 10 Commandments still apply to Christians.
They most surely do not. If they did then every believer would go to Hell. They apply to creatures. Not to Christians. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe.” Romans 10:4″

I think it’s a starting point deliberately chosen to shock and provoke thought. The “natural” response is to say, “What, can I steal, murder, commit adultery, covet …?” The answer is “yes, and no”! Earlier in that Letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 10:1-2)

The issue is subtle, perhaps. There’s nothing a Christian can do that will affect salvation. Salvation is entirely at God’s discretion, and nothing we do, good or bad, can affect it. But a Christian loving God first and neighbors next is unlikely to do those things that moral law would prohibit. But what we do is not conditioned by the law — especially not the Old Testament law — but by our love.

English Pastor and Theologian Derek Prime wrote on this issue, commenting on 1 Corinthians 10:23-24:

A glorious truth of the gospel is the freedom into which our Lord Jesus Christ brings us. Our Saviour declared, ‘So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36) and Paul wrote, ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free’ (Gal. 5:1). But, like any truth, it can be abused by human sinfulness. Our freedom is not freedom to do what we like, with no restraints placed upon us. Freedom with no restraint becomes irresponsible excess and produces moral chaos. Prime, D. (2005). Opening up 1 Corinthians (p. 91). Day One Publications.

It is not the law that constrains us, but our love for Him who freed us!

Holy Saturday — The Trinity Comeback

My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake.
Psalm 31:15-16

On Friday, Jesus is on the cross and the tomb is waiting. On Sunday, the cross is empty — and so is the tomb. But on Saturday, what? The cross is empty, but what of the tomb?

On Friday, they crucified the Son of God. He was forsaken. On Sunday, the Son is resurrected, restored. But on Saturday, what?

The forces of evil seem to have won. The disciples are scattered and despondent. The city is uneasy, queasy even. Hungover, perhaps. It’s the moment when all of eternity seems suspended. Has God truly turned on Himself — Should that be “Theirselves”? The mystery of the Trinity seems deeper here. How can one part of the triune Godhead forsake another?

Every year, I think so many of us treat this day too lightly. It’s easy to think of it as a “nothing” day. Not Friday, not Sunday, no special church services. But that’s not it. For me, it’s a day to think about how we got here, and what happens next. On that first Saturday, did God even know? Was He blindsided, or did He know that the deck was stacked, and Satan couldn’t win?

Now if, about now, you’re thinking, “Hang on, Ian’s out of his depth here”, You’re right. I don’t understand how the Trinity, time, and destiny work. And I certainly don’t fully understand a plan that required the fall, crucifixion, resurrection and restoration. In Isaiah 55, The Lord says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” That, I understand! So if you stop reading now, I won’t blame you!

On Friday, the Father looked away. The Son was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended, mysteriously, into hell. According to Peter He even preached to “imprisoned spirits”! Then what? On the third day, He rose again.

How did Jesus rise? Of His own volition?  It’s even been argued that the Holy Spirit intervened. I don’t believe either magical answer. Jesus Himself said to one of the thieves crucified with him that they would be together in paradise, “this day”. His sufferings on the cross ended — “finished” — His spirit went, immediately, to be reunited with the Father. On Saturday, His body was all that was in the tomb. On Sunday, body and Spirit were reunited, the axis of history tilted, and while they might put a bold face on it, stretch out the story, the forces of evil knew their eternal defeat.

On that Holy Saturday, the Trinity was reunited. Don’t ignore it. It was the start of the greatest comeback ever!

Our Daily Bread

last-supper-2606046_1920“Give us this day our daily bread..” (Matthew 6:11)

If you are like me, God’s word keeps revealing new truths. You see something, and you say, “Of course, why didn’t I see it before?” It happened a few days ago. We were reading the passage in Exodus, where God sends Manna to the Hebrews. Here are the two verses that I’d never fully appreciated before:

But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. (Exodus 16:20)

On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. (Exodus 16:27-29)

It’s about how much we trust the Lord, and how much of his provision we grasp at once. “Give us our daily bread”. Lord, give me today as much as I need today. I trust you to give me what I need tomorrow. I trust you to give me rest when I don’t need to be grasping more.

But there’s more than just a trust issue. There’s a greed issue too. If I take more today than I should, the extra is going to stink! If I keep a “safety stock” instead of trusting God, it’s going to rot and stink. If I go gathering when I should be resting, I’m not going to find anything — especially if I do it on the Sabbath, instead of following God’s often-repeated instruction!

So does this mean that we should only ever gather just what we need for one day? I don’t think so. Sometimes God’s provision is to allow us to plan ahead, and sometimes it’s to allow us to share generously with others. The idea is not to gather more than what God intends to provide on any one day — as well as not consuming more than what we need to consume on any one day. It’s also about gathering when God tells us to gather — not just when we feel like it.

The Hebrews didn’t trust God. It’s amazing to me that, so soon after the miracles of the Passover and the Red Sea crossing, they are grumbling and fretting. What a bunch of entitled whiny kids! But things haven’t changed much, have they. I know that there are days when I forget what God’s given me and bother myself about whether He’s going to take care of another need. What an entitled whiny kid I can be! I’m going to try to do better at being grateful and trusting, because I know I’m blessed beyond all reason. It’s what God does.

It’s been a while …

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1, ESV)

It’s been a while since I posted to this blog, but I’ve felt the call recently. It won’t be daily, but just now and then, as inspiration strikes.

My subject for today is prayer. It once seemed to me that there were more books written about “how to pray” than such a simple topic might call for. Over the past several years I have learned better. It should have been plain to me. If Jesus’s disciples needed to learn to pray, then so do we all!

The difficulty starts because we don’t rightly know what “praying” means. Most of us start off, at least, with the idea that praying is a matter of presenting God with a shopping list. If it expresses a complete dependence on God, that doesn’t entirely miss the point. “Becoming as little children” in prayer is a great start.

“Praying” as the disciple meant is more than presenting a shopping list.  Two Greek words are used in the New Testament to suggest “praying.” One is almost always used for “shopping list” petitions. The other – the one used in Luke 11:1 — shows something more. It seems to indicate the broad scope of the act of praying to God. And that is what Jesus teaches to His disciples. His “model” prayer covers worship, submission, petition and confession (at least). At its heart is the essential clause, “Thy will be done.”

There’s a second issue that comes to mind though about why we seem to have such difficulty with prayer, and why there are so many books. It’s about how we learn to pray. Jesus didn’t say to his disciples, “well, there’s a lot of good examples in scripture – look at Moses and Joshua, David and Daniel, Amos and Joel, Nehemiah and Ezra….”. He said, “Do it like this.” I can’t remember anybody ever doing that for me. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, and in the places where prayer happened when I was young, and when I got saved, it seemed to be assumed that everybody knew how to pray. Well, they don’t. They need someone to say to them, “Do it like this.” It’s not just about telling someone what prayer is. It’s about telling them how prayer is done.

I could write a book about this … but the bottom line is that I think teaching a disciple to pray is a vital part of discipling

Take Care Of Your Own!

1 Timothy 5:8 — But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

I thought that my first devotion when I returned from being out for my brother’s funeral would be about church unity but it turns out that I need to talk about something else first.

Myra and I met a large part of my family for the first time. It’s somewhere between ten and twenty people. Add that to other close family members and I suppose there might be forty people that, if I was a really good family man, I’d be in fairly regular touch with.Well, shame on me. I’m really not that good of a family man … but I mean to do better.

Here’s the thing. Of those forty people, there are very few of whom I can say with any degree of confidence, “there is a saved follower of Jesus Christ”. You might wonder what that has to do with me. It’s that verse from 1 Timothy that convicts me. 

Paul tells Timothy that he expects a believer to look after “his own” and especially “those of his household”. “His own” are all the members of the extended family and “those of his household” are those he lives with. A believer that doesn’t fulfill this basic requirement is “worse than an infidel”.

It’s not clear what “worse than an infidel” really means. For myself, I think it’s about how outsiders will look at this neglect. Even those who don’t believe commonly take care of their own! Some believe that the condemnation is much stronger — suggesting that in “denying the faith” the uncharitable “believer” is no believer at all, having rejected God.

I don’t know how often I’ve been reminded of my duty to be a witness, as preachers and teachers bring me back to Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8. I know, as all Christians must, that I should never be ashamed of the Gospel or Him who gave it to me. I don’t remember being reminded so often of my duty to my own family. I’m glad to say that there’s no problem with those “of my own household”. That would be me, and my beloved wife. I’m a Christian, and she’s a better one. But when it comes to “my own” — my extended family — I guess I’m in danger of that fearsome condemnation. I don’t want to be “worse than an infidel”, so I have some catching up to do!

It Will Come, And That Right Soon

Psalm 39:4-8 — Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
One of my brothers died last week. I was not expecting it. He was only four years older than me.

We were not close, my brother and me, but we were family, and now there’s a gap in my life where he used to be. The tooth may not have been the soundest, but when you lose it your tongue keeps finding that gap …

The authors of the Book of Common Prayer understood death. They brought together scriptures that bring the certainty of death and the opportunity of  redemption into clear focus. At every moment we are but a footstep from the grave, and every death must bring the certainty and opportunity to mind. For Myra and me, as we get older, it is a sad reality that we attend more and more funeral and memorial services and the focus is ever sharper.

I know that at my (long ago) physical best I was no great specimen. At the height (not very high) of my career success I was no titan of industry. At my best state I have been altogether vanity and yet …

Depending on no resource of this world, I know I can depend on God. It is He that I wait for. With Job I can say, “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:”. My Redeemer it is who has paid my ransom, and will clear me of the blood guilt that attaches to all my transgressions. Whatever my sins — and they are many — I know that Jesus has delivered me from them, and I can say to any that wish to blame me for them that I know my Redeemer liveth.

My heart is broken that I cannot say the same for my brother. I don’t really know. But I am going to take that leap of faith that says I don’t need to know. I know that my God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”. I expect to see my brother again. 

I expect to see my brother again soon. I must know that although I do not know the measure of my days, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” My end is coming, and that right soon. And if I do not die, then I will see Jesus return. My hope is in Him.

If you are reading this, and you do not share my certainty about where you will spend eternity, please know that your end comes shortly too. It is time to admit that you are a sinner in need of redemption, that you believe Jesus died to pay for sins, and that He is the Son of God and your Lord. Please do it now!

Points Of Light

O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. (Psalms 43:4)
I was moved, today, to interrupt my series on the seven deadly sins of churches, by a need to celebrate churches. 

It’s hard to say accurately how many Christian churches there are. Of course, one way to answer the question is to say there is only one church, only one bride … but today I was touched, specifically, by the thought of the individual worshipping communities. There are certainly more than two hundred and fifty thousand in the United States, and more than three million worldwide. Some are large congregations, some are tiny. Some are young and vigorous, some might be just a few faithful older congregants. Each has its own character.

The world seems an increasingly dark place. Christianity seems always under attack. Specifically, here in America we seem unable to resist the tide that is overwhelming our beliefs and morality.

It is moving, when contemplating the blackness, to consider those three million points of light. Some shine very brightly, and some are very dim — but they shine. Consider the faithfulness of that priest serving six elderly worshippers day after day. Think of the courage of that young pastor, in the inner city, shining against all the odds. Or the house church in China, the village in India, the extraordinary brave Christians in Syria. Even the huge “megachurch” where the individual believer seems lost, but is still believing, worshipping and caring. There are so many people living the truth of the scripture:

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16) 

It is easy to despair, but if you have ever stood on a darkening hillside in the country, in the falling gloom of early evening, looking down over a town and seeing lights flicker on, on by one; if you have ever seen those lights seem brighter and brighter, you will perhaps share my excitement and my affection for all those churches great and small. 

It is easy to see the faults in churches. But churches are wonderful. Those lights shining on millions of hills are lighthouses, they lead people to His holy hill, and to His tabernacles. No wonder Christ loves His bride so deeply! Thank God for churches. Thank God for my church.

The Fourth Deadly Sin

2 Peter 2:1-2 — But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

I suppose I might have started or finished with this thought. Somehow it’s found its place in the middle of this set of pieces. The fourth deadly sin on my mind is an old one, but still pervasive. It is the intentional embracing and promotion of heresy.

A heresy is an opinion or teaching that conflicts with the accepted and generally approved doctrine of a faith or church. It is also the willful adoption and teaching of such an opinion, especially when the error has been pointed out. It might seem inconceivable, in the context of such a definition that anyone would be a heretic. Very few people willingly accept that they are heretic. Instead they seek to justify themselves.

Let’s look at a few modern heresies.

One of the most prevalent is the “Prosperity Doctrine”. This is a really attractive idea. Expounded by popular preachers like Oral Roberts, TD Jakes, and Joel Osteen, the prosperity doctrine claims that health and wealth are God’s will for Christians, and that faith, positive thinking, and generous giving to the ministry will guarantee physical and financial wellbeing. It’s a works-based doctrine, and plainly heretical.

Another modern heresy is liberation theology, which was born out of Latin-American Catholicism. Liberation theology interprets Scripture through the eyes of the poor. It argues that disciples strive for social and political change, creating social justice by aligning themselves with the working class. It’s claimed that Jesus, the carpenter, favored the poor and oppressed. His bride the church should do the same. Liberation theology assigns social action on the same importance as the gospel message — making bread as important as the bread of life. It is also exclusionary — Christianity is open to all, even the rich! Liberation theology is a heresy.

Lastly, let’s look at the Emerging Church. Emergent theology is really an “anti-theology” — a postmodern theology that truth is subjective — your truth does not have to be my truth! Each one of us must make our own way to God without leaning on the crutch of the Bible. It is self evidently heretical.

You might notice that modern heresies have two things in common. They deny the truth of the gospel, and they are superficially “nice”. They exchange the challenge of Christianity for easy wealth, or social justice, or the cult of self. If you’re in a church where the preaching seems to go that way counter the error. If that fails, move on!
 
 

The Third Deadly Sin

Luke 10:41-42 — And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

If I’m not careful, I’m going to upset somebody with these “deadly sins”, but these pieces are giving me a chance to get some things off my chest! Just like most of you reading, I care passionately about the body of Christ and I get really upset at the idea that people “doing church” like children playing at tea parties might damage that body!
Today I want to talk about the church on autopilot. These are churches that have a model — a process — for what they do. The process goes like this: First, identify the “hot problem” of the day. Second, design a “program” to attack the problem. Third, run the program. Fourth, declare success!

Does this mean I think programs are, by their nature, a bad thing? Certainly not! When I think of the great achievements of programs like “Celebrate Recovery” and “Divorce care” I’m full of admiration. Those programs are a great ingredient in the recipe for a living church. My point is that I see churches where the programs have become the point. Works have displaced faith as the justification for their existence.

I understand the temptation.  Programs can be measured. Heads can be counted. There seems to be some way of knowing whether programs are “working”. But in the end those things may not be very important.

It’s not that Jesus doesn’t love these “Martha” churches. But their busyness risks diverting attention form the “one thing” that is really needful. 

Jesus really loved Martha. You can hear that love in the way He repeats her name … “Martha, Martha …”. But He didn’t need her to be scurrying around “doing things” to show her love for Him. The busyness was getting her closer. Mary chose the essential “one thing”, sitting at the Master’s feet, listening and learning.

John Gill, in his “Exposition Of The Bible” says that the one needful thing is “the hearing of the word, the Gospel of Christ, which Mary was engaged in; and which, ordinarily speaking, is necessary to the knowledge of Christ, and salvation by Him, and to faith in Him“. If all the programs in a church don’t lead people to the gospel than they are a barrier, and not a entryway. Participants might as well be hamsters running in a rat race going nowhere!

Look at every program you’re involved in.  If any one isn’t doing the “one needful thing” get rid of it! Your life will be more productive.

 

The Second Deadly Sin

Revelation 3:14-16 — And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

I said I was thinking about new “deadly sins” of modern churches, so why am I starting with the Laodiceans? It’s because I want to think about the churches that are full of deadly warmth.

The Laodiceans were neither cold nor hot. They were voting “present”. They weren’t opposed to the gospel, but they had no passion — for the gospel, for witness or, in the end, for the souls of their neighbors. 

Did you ever go into one of those churches where the preaching was sound, and the music was wonderful, where the people welcomed you to coffee after the service and where there was no interest in you? That’s deadly warmth.

Did you ever spend time in a  Bible study group when the study was great, the teaching was really instructive, where somebody always brought cookies and there was even childcare — but anyone who didn’t seem the same as the other group members wasn’t welcome? That’s deadly warmth too.

Did you ever visit a church that was “inclusive”, watering down the truth of the gospel and refusing to take a strong position on moral issues because that would be “intolerant”, and might frighten seekers away? That’s more deadly warmth.

So what do you do if you find yourself in one of these dreadful churches? Well it depends.

Are you visiting a church with a warm surface and a cold heart? Run! 

Is the deadly warm church your own? Then you have a choice. Stay or go. The question is, “can you make a difference?” It’s certainly not going to be easy, because your fellow members share two terrible characteristics with the Laodiceans — they think they’re doing fine, and they think they’re safe:

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Revelation 3:17)

Unless the Holy Spirit steps in and a wind of revival sweeps through the church, the deadly warm church will soon be dead. I would rarely say such a thing … but get out before you start to enjoy the warmth!