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Friday May 06, 2022
Friday May 06, 2022
DEATH AND RESURRECTION
I was talking to myself today about Romans chapter 6. Here is what I said.
I’ve just been thinking, I was quite a scoundrel before I came to Christ. But God’s grace is endless, so there is no limit to how much wrongdoing is forgiven! It makes me wonder sometimes. I think, if grace is endless, why not just do wrong as much as I want? I mean, the more I do wrong, the more He forgives, right?
But then I realize that I’m thinking backwards. Why would I ever want to go back? I am forgiven, sure enough. But I’m also made alive! And if Christ made me alive, that should mean that I am dead to doing wrong.
At my baptism, I was lowered under the water. It was like I was joining Christ in His death and His burial.Then, when I came back up from the water, I was raised back to life, as He was. Now I live a new life in Him. It was like a promise: Since I joined him in his death, I also get raised to life as He was. My old nasty self was nailed to the cross with Christ, which means that all my nasty wrongs were killed there. Those wrongful habits don’t control me anymore. And if I died with Him, I’m sure that I will also live with Him, and my old nasty self no longer has to listen to that voice telling me to do wrong. I was set free from the power of doing wrong when I died with Christ. And since I died with him, I know that I will also live with him, because Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again—death no longer has power over him! This was the whole point of His death: He died once to break the power of wrong, but now he lives for the glory of God. So I guess I’m dead to that power that once held me down, alive to God through Christ Jesus.
I don’t have to listen to that voice inside of me anymore, and I don’t have to give in for a moment to the old things I used to do. Instead, I live using my whole body as an instrument to do what is right to give honor to God. Wrongdoing no longer owns me, for I now live under the freedom of God’s grace.
It brings me back around to think, I’m under God’s grace. That means I am not under the law! So, does that mean I can go back to doing wrong? Surely not! Because then I’d be a slave to my favorite selfish choice. Being a slave is not an option for me. I am a slave. My only choice is which of the slave masters to serve. Once I make my choice to obey someone, I serve them because I am a slave to whoever I obey. I gotta serve somebody. I can choose the road to death by doing wrong, or I can choose the road to life by loving and obeying the right things God does. It was easy to be a slave to doing whatever I want. I end up in impurity and lawlessness, and on my way to death. I don’t want to follow God’s laws, and I am not able to, even if I wanted to.
When I was a slave to doing wrong, I guess you could say I was free from having to do right. Yet I’m ashamed of the things I used to do, which were leading me to eternal doom. But now I am free from the power of doing wrong, so I guess you could say I have become a slave of God. And I am glad for the things I now do, which are leading me to eternal life. Because when I do wrong, I have earned death. But the free gift of God is life without end through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Saturday May 07, 2022
Saturday May 07, 2022
YOU AND YOUR HEART PROBLEM
Yesterday I paraphrased chapter 6 in first person. Much of chapter 7 is already in first person, so I will try to paraphrase it in second person. Here we go:
You, my friend, seem to have a problem with doing so much wrong. You break God’s rules of life daily. But it’s not the rules’ fault that you fail, you know. Of course not! That would be like claiming if you had no rules you wouldn’t be breaking them.
No, the rules of God simply help you to measure just how messed up you are. For example, one of the rules says, ‘you must not lust after what you can’t have.’ But your heart says, “Did you say I’m not allowed to do something? That’s exactly what I want, now that you mention it.”
You might think you would be better off, then, with no rules. No rules means no guilt, right? After all, when you were a baby, you didn’t need rules, because you weren’t able to break them. or to keep them, for that matter!” I’ m saying, when you were a baby, you did wrong—wanting what you can’t have, rule or not. But when you heard the rules, your conscience came to life, and you died. So God’s good rules ended up bringing you death instead of life.
I’m saying the rules themselves are good. They are holy and right and good. So how can good rules lead to death? Did the rules cause your death? Of course not! Don’t blame rules for making you imperfect. But that wrong that’s inside you, that’s the enemy! Can you see how terrible it really is? It uses the good rules for its own evil purposes. The trouble is not with the rules themselves, the trouble is with you—for you are all too human, and a slave to doing wrong.
Can you explain why you actually want to do something right, but you don’t do it. Instead, you end up doing what you hate. You know that you are doing wrong, which proves that the rules themselves are good. And your heart wants to follow them, which proves that you are not really the one who is doing the wrong. You have a heart problem. Your heart within you has chosen wrongdoing, and there is nothing good in you because of that.
And you know that nothing good lives in you, that is, in your heart. You want to do what is right, but you can’t. You want to do what is good, but you don’t. You don’t want to do what is wrong, but you do it anyway.
So now, if you do what you don’t want to do, then you are broken inside. When you want to do what is right, you inevitably do what is wrong. You can love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power inside you that is at war with your heart. This power makes you a slave to the wrong in your heart.
I can see that you are miserable, aren’t you? ! Do you wish you could be free? Do you know who will free you from such a prison of such evil? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In your mind you really want to obey God’s rules, but because of your heart you are a slave to doing wrong.”
Romans 7:7-25
Sunday May 08, 2022
Sunday May 08, 2022
A NEW LAW
Paul opens chapter 8 with some of the most powerful words in Scripture, profoundly life-altering, and it summarizes what he spent the first 7 chapters setting up. Ready?
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
The old Law measured mistakes, and marked down from perfection to where you were in your behavior. And since a perfect score was required to be in good standing with God, all of us stand accused, rather than to feel like we were pleasing to the Father. We lived under the weight of condemnation, and did our best to avoid being sent to the bad place.
But if we belong to Christ Jesus, there is NO CONDEMNATION. None! We are not counting our positive points and subtracting sins and then adding in sacrifices and hoping that the numbers add up. But that’s not what Jesus came to do for you and me. He came to set us free, if we merely belong to him!
Paul goes on:
And because you belong to him, the law of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the law of sin that leads to death.
Paul has spent 7 chapters talking about the law and how it can end up in death. And how he turns a corner here to say there are two laws. It’s like one set of rules has been in play for all these years, and we have been playing golf, where the goal is to get as low a score as possible, but now we switch to baseball and are trying to get more runs, not less. It is that radical!
Paul goes on:
The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our flesh (sinful nature).
We live under a new law. The old law was marred by my desires and led to sin and death. The new law is simple: live in the Spirit. He will guide you to do right, and will never guide you to do wrong. Don’t be afraid that you will mess up. Just walk with God. Jesus promised that he would give the spirit and that the spirit would lead them/us into life and all good things.
I’m saying that the Old Testament law had us facing in the direction of death. What to avoid, what to do to make up for sins committed, how to keep clean from touching unclean things. Our flesh used the law to lead us to death. But the Spirit has us turn around and face the other way. Rather than facing the source of our death, we face the other way (that’s the meaning of the biblical word, “repent.”) Walk in the moment. The Spirit will never guide you into sin. That’s why he is not the law of sin and death but the Spirit who gives life, don’t you know?
To use a different metaphor,
MOTHER RULES…WHAT WERE SOME MOTHER RULES?
God was parenting his people. First, he carried them where they needed to go (Exodus, etc.). Then, as a parent would do for young children, he gave them his law, his rules, so they would know how to avoid and fix their sin problem. By the time of the Spirit, God’s parenting went beyond rules and laws. By the time a child is old enough, they don’t need house rules and chore charts and curfews. They have your words and your example in their head, so that your rules are no longer needed.
WHAT MOTHER RULES DO YOU NOW KEEP AS AN ADULT?
Let’s keep going with what Paul wrote:
So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
The mistakes we make? Jesus took them away on the cross. He lived the perfect life in our place, and then received the penalty we owed in his death. And then gave us the Spirit. (More on that later)
JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD AND LIVED A LIFE THAT NO ONE HAD SEEN BEFORE. A LIFE OF POWER AND OF LOVE AND OF GRACE AND OF SINLESS PERFECTION. THEN JESUS SAID THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US IF HE WENT AWAY, BECAUSE HE WOULD SEND THE SPIRIT WHO WOULD GUIDE US INTO ALL TRUTH.
Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. JOHN 16:7
He did this so that the just requirement of the law would now also be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
So what is left for us to “do?” Nothing! We simply follow the Spirit now. As Jesus said, He will guide you into all truth. No worries. Just follow the leader.
So let me go back to an educational philosophy. The educational plan of Jesus himself. The plan was not, lecture-then-test. The plan was follow-then-go. More is caught than taught. What you discover for yourself remains yours for life, while what you hear someone else dispense is likely to be forgotten. The Holy Spirit becomes our guide, and he leads us to do righteous things and to hear the voice of God in a moment by moment walk that does the same thing for us as Jesus did when he was here in the flesh.
I’m saying that when we walk in step with the Spirit, when we are filled with the Spirit, when we do not grieve or quench the Spirit, when we follow the Spirit of Jesus,
So I urge you, turn around! Repent! Face the other direction from where you have been facing! Like back in the Garden, all you need to do is to walk with God.
Sunday May 08, 2022
Sunday May 08, 2022
A MOTHER'S DAY IS NEVER DONE (About 30 years ago, Ellen came upon a phrase that said children bind a mother's feet, and as a young mother, she resonated with the wording. We also knew--and know--of situations where the simplicity of mothering gets clouded with children as they grow older and break loose. So I wrote this poem, and, of course, turned it into a song. May it encourage mothers and all caregivers on this Mother's Day.)
A Mother's Day is never done
It hardly ends and it's begun
From goodnight kiss to nighttime fears
It's Mommy's love that drives away the tears
The endless chores will always come
To keep a house and make it home
It's all within her duty line
No clock to punch no log of overtime
She bears with joy these childish things
That bind her feet to give them wings
But seasons change and children grow
From little babes to rebel fools
They leave behind their crystal eyes
To fall and fail and tell their lies
She bears again these willful teens
Who break her heart and steal her dreams
And when they're grown, they're binding still
With grownup needs and grownup wills
For children once are children yet
And mothers never can or will forget
So tell me mothers young and old
If you could change your story told
If you felt then what you feel now
Would you still make the choice you made somehow
To bear again these troubled years
To pay the price to shed the tears?
Just ask the Father up above
If life is worth the price of love
Monday May 09, 2022
Monday May 09, 2022
WHY ME? ELECTION
It comes up far more often than you might think. The concept of God predetermining someone’s future. Especially if that future is not one of blessing and salvation. I mean, why Jacob and not Esau? Before they were born, even! Why the nation of Israel and not the Gentiles? Why would a God of love send people to eternal punishment? While we’re at it, why are some creatures insignificant (mosquitos, for example) and others are worthy of saving (endangered species, for example)?
I think the matter of people having free will is a bit confusing, but at least it leaves a person’s fate completely as their own responsibility. So I’ll take another running start at it:
Tell me if each of these pairs of things is acceptable or not, and why.
An artist creates an exquisite painting and then destroys it. Then creates a simple logo for a product and sells it for a million dollars.
A chef creates a hundred versions of a recipe, trying to get the balance of ingredients and the baking process refined to perfection. The chef threw out some of the early products, and gave some of them to a homeless shelter.
A doctor has developed a new surgical procedure, with amazing success. He operates on a 90-year-old billionaire, but refuses to do the procedure on a 50-year old undocumented immigrant.
A woman has an abortion in her second trimester because the doctors tell her the baby has a deformity and will likely have a low quality of life. A woman’s husband pressures her into aborting their baby because he wasn’t ready to be a father yet.
A farmer lets his land go fallow for a year, while he leaves to go on a year-long tour of Europe. An angry protester sets a store on fire, destroying the contents of the building and causing the store owner to go bankrupt.
Is that enough? What common themes did you notice in your answers? I hope that something you realized you often said was, “If it is theirs, they can do anything they want with it. Someone who doesn’t rightfully own it has no jurisdiction over it, and can voice an opinion but not touch someone else’s property without permission.”
A hidden question behind all these things is this: “Are we gods, or not?” Try going back through the questions and ask yourself if the particular action stated, or a nuance added to the scene, puts a certain ownership on the property. If so, then the Creator of that property can do whatever pleases the Creator. You might not LIKE what the person did, but you would defend their RIGHT to do it.
Now we are there: If God loves us, why would God create a person who is destined for anything less than a positive life? If God is righteous and just, why love Jacob; more accurately, why hate Esau? If God is all-powerful, why create someone whom He knew would not be in heaven? For that matter, why would God create anyone who is below average? What gives Him the right to destine someone for poverty, or political oppression, or chronic disease? What did the person do to deserve such ill treatment from their creator?
Now let’s get back to the questions at hand, and see Paul’s answers:
“So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.” Romans 9:18 NLT
“Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” No, don’t say that.
This is such a profound insight into our relationship with God, and I’m struggling to put it into words. If, in fact, God is the Sovereign One over his creation, why would we criticize his actions?
Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.”
Romans 9:19-22 NLT
The Old Testament prophet Job faced unspeakable loss, and then in his suffering Job dared to ask God some similar questions. “Why me? This is unfair! I am innocent! God, why don’t you speak to me about this?”
God responded by demonstrating his awesome power and saying, “Who dares to ask me questions about things you do not understand? Can you take care of the universe for even a day? Can you create all this?” God’s answer strikes me as similar to what Mom used to say: “Because I said so, that’s why!”
Then Job replied, “I have spoken, but I was wrong. I put my hand to my mouth.” And God proceeded to tell Job and his friends that He was sovereign. But God never told Job that he had gone ahead and made arrangements with Satan to test his friend Job. It was far too complex for Job to wrap his head around.
Time to stop talking and start listening. Amen.
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
SAVE ME!
(Walking down the street. A stranger walks up.)
“Hi, there.”
“Hi.”
“Are you saved?”
“Saved from what?”
“Have you been born again?”
“How many times is normal?”
“Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?”
“Oh, that. I’ve gone to church since I was a little baby.”
“”Which church?”
“The one on the corner down the street over there.”
“Oh, THAT one? Wrong church. You aren’t saved.”
(Turning toward another passerby): “Hi, there. Are you saved?” . . .
“Saved.” The term is used a lot. But what exactly does it mean to be saved? I guess you have to be in danger in order to be saved from it. What is the danger, exactly? And how do you get yourself saved? Let’s explore that topic today.
To be saved. The term is pretty consistently found in passive/middle voice: Be Saved. This might not be such a big deal, but Paul does not word it, “Save yourselves.” (Not such a big deal, perhaps, because Peter said to the crowd at Pentecost, “Save yourselves…”) So it’s not a biblical absolute, but perhaps it captures the heart of the Father most clearly. We need a Savior, not just an encouraging word.
What are we saved from? What is the danger? From this body of sin and death. From sin. From addictive behavior. From hell. From the kingdom of darkness. From God’s wrath. From judgment based on the law. From foolishness and unbelief. From bondage and captivity. We are saved from being on the wrong path, facing the wrong way, and being imprisoned by our own earthly ideas or fleshly lifestyles. Delivered. Indeed.
And who is that savior? Paul had said, “Who will deliver me from this body of sin and death?” Then he gave his answer: “Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord.” So it is God who saves us, and He does so through Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ=the anointed one, Jesus=an actual historical figure whose name means Jehovah is Salvation, our=we are now a family united in Him, Lord=owner, boss, supervisor, leader, master. Peter had said there is no other name by which we must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ.
And then comes the important question: HOW do we get saved? Paul gives several clues in Romans 10. So let’s focus on his message and see if it still resonates with us in this day.
First, Paul writes, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
It seems there are two aspects of saving faith: openly declare Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart, and you will be saved.
To “openly declare” is the same as the word “confess.” And the word “confess” means to say the same thing (con=with, fess=say) or agree with. And what we declare is that Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of the Universe. And He is the master of my own life, as well.
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. . . .
Again, Paul uses two phrases to tell us about this salvation: Believing in your heart, and openly declaring (“confessing”) your faith.
Apparently, believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth are at least two of the essential factors in being saved.
In this chapter, however, Paul includes a For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” . . Here is a new factor in being saved: Calling on the name of the Lord. It is an interesting concept that we will have to elaborate on some other day, but calling on the name of the Lord also brings us salvation.
We are like the apostle Peter, in the boat, late at night, in the middle of a storm, when we see Jesus walking on the water. If we are bold and decisive like Peter, we will ask the Lord to invite us to come and join Him, walking on the water. But as we do so, we see the wind and the waves and we begin to sink. It is genuinely frightening as we go down without a hope in the world. So we call out with Peter, “Lord, save me!”
That’s it. We have recognized our need of salvation. We have called on the name of the Lord. And He has reached down and saved us. Amen.
Wednesday May 11, 2022
Wednesday May 11, 2022
DOXOLOGY
Before Paul wraps up his long treatise on the nation of Israel and their relationship to the Gentiles, he launches into a beautiful doxology. Let’s explore this poetic song of praise from the apostle and the prophets.
A doxology is a poetic expression of praise. The word “DOXOLOGY” literally means glory (doxa) words (logoi). So the well-known Trinitarian doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” is, indeed, words of praise. But there are other, longer, more artistic and beautiful expressions of praise to God, and this one that closes out Romans 11 is one of the best.
Paul launches into this poetic praise after he has unfolded this long explanation of sin, grace, judgment and salvation through Christ Jesus. Here it is:
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.” Romans 11:29, 33-36 NLT
Putting the words into this context, Paul might be saying something like this:
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! “God has chosen Gentiles! It was part of His plan since the beginning! And His Spirit leads you and me! Oh, how great is our God!”
How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! Two laws?! The one that we call the law of God leads to death! But He has made a new way for all! Praise the Lord!
For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? Here Paul is quoting Isaiah, but placing those words into a new context of God’s mysterious change of standards! Who is the clay calling the maker unfair? We have no idea what goes on in that infinite mind. Praise the Lord!
And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? God created everything, and therefore owns everything. This is a line from the book of Job, the man who learned the hard way that God has secret plans that are too much for us to know all at once. Praise the Lord!
For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. He made it, he owns it, he sustains it, he is glorified by it, and we admire it. What is “it?” Everything! Every little thing. Every big thing. All of it. Praise the Lord!
This passage shows why the word doxology is appropriate to categorize the text. The word “glory” appears twice, and the whole theme is “praise.” Truly, God is worthy of such adoration and thanks for eternity. Amen.
Thursday May 12, 2022
Thursday May 12, 2022
THEREFORE . . . WORSHIP
We arrive at last at the “therefore” of the first 11 chapters of Romans. He has talked about the flesh, the law, the Jews, the Gentiles, the way of death and the way of life, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the bad news of sin and the good news of salvation. And now, he says, “Therefore, in view of God’s mercy…” I would love to hear this, the practical application of all that doctrine and theology. What is it, Paul? What are we to do?
Here’s the short version of what Paul writes: “Therefore . . . Worship.”
When we think of the word worship, the first thing that most of us think of is “music.” Therefore, in view of God’s mercy, show him your thanks by singing praises to God. And so we sing, “Thank you, Father, for taking care of my sin problem. In exchange, I say thanks by raising my hands and singing.”
No, it goes much deeper than a song of thanks. Remember, Paul had said we have been united with Christ in his death, that we are to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That we have been released from the law because we are dead, and that we now live in accordance with the Spirit. So when we get to this great therefore, it goes way beyond singing a song. This is a matter of life and death. A matter of fulfilling the law and replacing animal sacrifices and making the death of Jesus our personal state of life.
So here is how we worship in view of God’s mercy:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2 NIV
He’s not saying anything new, really. But he’s summarizing, and it’s good to see the center of our response in a few words. In view of God’s mercy, I offer my body as a living sacrifice. I count myself as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Yet, though I am dead, and I have been sacrificed, I am still a “living sacrifice” making moment-by-moment conscious choices to continue on the path of self-denial and absolute service to God.
And through this action, the sacrifice becomes more than the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world; it becomes me offering my own self as a sacrifice to God. I am the lamb. I am the one who is offering it on the altar. I am dead to myself and alive in Christ. God is my creator, and I am his creation, made to show his glory and love. So when I lay myself on the altar over and again, I am holy and pleasing to God—the kind of worship offering that is accepted, and even brings pleasure to the Father.
Remember how God said that the burning of animals on the altar were pleasing to him? How much more must He take delight in my surrender to his will.
This then becomes my true worship, and my right relationship with my creator. I purposely choose not to conform to the pattern of this world, but I let the Lord transform me by the renewing of my mind. The world has pressed me into its mold, pressuring me from the outside in. But the Spirit changes me by renewing my mind from the inside out. And his good, pleasing and perfect will includes me testing and approving His grand plan for me.
It is a glorious, life-giving relationship with my creator, offered through Jesus Christ, my savior and my God. Romans describes so well how and why of our relationship with the Father.
May you offer yourself on the altar today, and know that your doing so brings the Lord pleasure. Amen.
Friday May 13, 2022
Friday May 13, 2022
LIMITS OF AUTHORITY
“I don’t have to submit to my parents, because they aren’t Christians.”
“I didn’t vote for him, so I can talk bad about him.”
“I know that technically it’s against the law, but everyone is doing it, so what are they going to do?”
“He actively tortures and kills Christians. It’s time for us to rise up and let him know we won’t be bullied.”
Have you heard any similar stories? Perhaps you have said some of them yourself. In any case, we would do well to have an answer for each one. And I think all of them are answered in this brief teaching of Paul:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Romans 13:1 NIV
Let’s run each of the above statements past the first verse of Romans 13 and see what comes up.
“I don’t have to submit to my parents, because they aren’t Christians.” Parents are a governing authority, just as there are governing authorities in the civic, church, or organizational arenas. But what if they are unbelievers? Then certainly some of their decisions are counter to the will of God. And yet, Paul seems to say very clearly that “there is no authority except that which God has established.”
“I didn’t vote for him, so I can talk bad about him.” In America, this seems to be the unwritten rule of politics and news media. And some are going so far as to take action against a politician whom they do not trust. Yet, the Bible claims here that “the authorities that exist have been established by God.” Not by unanimous human election. Not by a quorum vote. Paul uses a word that seems counter to any selective disobedience on our part: EVERYONE. “LET EVERYONE BE SUBJECT TO THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES,” Paul wrote. If EVERYONE is subject, then we don’t have a lot of wiggle room to give us permission to divide ourselves.
“I know that technically it’s against the law, but everyone is doing it, so what are they going to do?” There might be a second challenge found near the end of this statement: What are they going to do?” The implication is that if they can’t enforce it, we don’t have to follow it. But clearly that is a bad idea. The main point has not been addressed yet: “technically against the law.” If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you join them? That’s the question that was asked of previous generations. Today, the question has to do with getting caught, say, speeding or using marijuana, when you are within tolerance levels.
“He actively tortures and kills Christians. It’s time for us to rise up and let him know we won’t be bullied.” This one again seems to have more than one point. But the main point is this: If someone is ungodly and not Spirit-led, then do they cease to serve as “God’s servant for our good?” There seems to be no such margin in this passage. Do you know who was Emperor at the time when Paul wrote to the church in Rome? Nero! You know, the guy who used to burn Christians alive and use them as torches to light his gardens?! If Paul can write such strong commands to the church while Nero was hunting down and killing Christians, how much more should we pray for our leaders and follow their commands, and simply obey them while we pray for them.
There is a reason that Paul felt the need to write these words to the church at Rome. It was like writing to the believers in Washington DC, I would guess. They were all far more aware of politics and authorities and persecution and rebellions, as well as to the enemies and friends of the state. There must have been factions among the believers who advocated for breaking free of repressive government, while at the same time there were government workers and servants in homes of government officials. Put it together and you can see why there would be a special tendency in the church there to debate and/or reject certain authorities.
And so, my friends, let us all be subject to the governing authorities, whether those of civil government, or those of family, or those of church, or of a professional workplace—be subject! Amen.
Saturday May 14, 2022
Saturday May 14, 2022
LOVING A VEGAN
In this chapter, Paul addresses what I think is easily the number one reason for failures and splits in the church today.
Some of us have more sensitive consciences than others. Or, you might say, some of us are more spiritually mature than others. Maybe it’s more accurate to say that some of us are more committed to a higher standard than others. But maybe the most accurate way to say it is that some have a weaker faith than others.
Weaker faith? Sensitive conscience? Higher standards? Spiritual maturity? Which is it? And what is it about those vegans that makes them so, what, judgmental? They think they are better than the rest of us.
Right. The rest of us. The ones who have never really seen the reason to avoid any kind of food. The ones who don’t think twice about having a beer. And in public and everything. Why would anyone do something that could cause a weaker believer to lower their standard and go against their conscience?
Stronger faith? Hardened conscience? Lowering the bar? Spiritually immature? How would you describe these people? Perhaps this group best represents the majority of American Christians. You know. Shallow. Compromised.
Do you see what happened in these descriptions and commentary? They shifted from simple descriptions and acceptance to judgmental and unsupportive. Using phrases and words that I have heard among church people.
But here is what Paul is saying throughout this chapter:
“Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.”
The unexpected plot twist in Paul’s descriptions and directions is that he doesn’t introduce the theological reasons as to why people hold each of the positions. He uses non-judgmental language and words about feeling, not about truth or doctrine. How each of us gets to their sincerely held belief is a matter of conscience, and is as much a matter of culture as it is of doctrine.
The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
Paul talks about two hot topics in this epistle: whether to eat meat or eat only vegetables, and whether to keep Sabbath or other special days. But we would have many others today, which seem to divide us and cause us to judge and mistrust one another: Use of strong language (curse words), size of family, home education, child rearing, alcohol, smoking, marijuana, politics, musical styles, and on and on. In each case, as Paul says, we must not treat the other group with contempt or judge them. Why not? “For God has accepted them.” He goes on.
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
Whatever my position and standards, I must stand before God and answer for my choices on earth. I must not live by someone else’s standards, which leads to cult-like pressure and control. And I must not isolate myself from the others and form my own little fellowship of those who live by my standards. After all, we are dead. Remember?
For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.”
The only thing to watch is your own conscience.
To eat, or not to eat. That is NOT the question. The question is, “To love, or not to love.” And the answer must be obvious by now.