If I were to pick one word to describe God's work through The Bible and in the world- His will for all of us- I'd probably want to choose many because I'm no good at picking just one. ;-) But one word I would certainly choose is redemption. The whole picture of The Bible and all of history is moving towards redeeming humanity from our sins. The dawn of grace came with the birth of Jesus Christ in one sense, but God already has always had a totally outlandish outpouring of grace waiting for us since before the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) One picture we get of that in the Old Testament is in the book of Joshua, where Rahab and her family are saved in the destruction of Jericho through her faithfulness to hang a scarlet rope out her window as a sign to the Israelites to spare them from death. Of course, we have the sign of scarlet blood down the cross that spares us from death. And though Rahab was a prostitute, we see that she has fear for The Lord and is changed through grace. And in another picture of grace and redemption, in Matthew 1 we find that she is included in The Lord Jesus' family tree. Thank God for His redemptive grace! :-)
"Tie a Scarlet Ribbon in the Window Please"
(parody of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ol' Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 4/29/2016)
(Joshua 2, Joshua 6, Matthew 1:1-17, Hebrews 11:1-6 and 30-31, James 2:24-26, Ruth 2:19-21, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Ephesians 1:7, Titus 2:11-14)
We've come on home- we've done our time
Now we've got to go and win what's Israel's right
Send 2 sneaky spies out there scouting out Jericho's streets
You should go to Joshua 2
And you will then read how they escaped (the) king
Whoa- Hide those fellows, Rahab, on the rooftop please
They don't belong here- use flax stalks please (flax stalks please)
So they won't see us hidden when the king's looking
We'll stay on the run- misdirected 'em- thus, Rahab saved us
We climbed down on a scarlet rope and made a deal, you see
"You spies- Sirs, please look for me
'Cause I'm getting scared to see God fell the city.
So when He deals destruction, spare my loved ones- me and family."
"This simple scarlet ribbon's what you need to set you free."
And the soldiers told her this:
"Whoa, tie a scarlet ribbon in the window please.
Get kinfolk in here- no one will harm thee (But one thing)
If I don't see that ribbon in the window, see
We'll stay all guiltless. If you tell on us, put the blame on thee.
If I don't see a scarlet ribbon in the window, please."
[Instrumental Interlude]
Jericho's slammed down- kept deal then
And that prostitute's redeemed
Her son and a descendant will kinsman redeem
Christ comes by Rahab...mmmm.......
(Scarlet ribbon down Calvary's tree)
(Christ's blood spilling down Calvary's tree)
(Check the women in His family tree)
(Matthew 1- His genealogy)
(Try 11 Hebrews- "By faith" deeds)
(Rahab's listed there and in James 2- read!)
(Scarlet ribbon saved her and family)
(Christ's been given to save you and me!)
....................................................................................
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Season for the Reason: Grace and Law- Of Sex, Marriage and Jesus' Word
Note: This blog post entry deals with some issues I've written on before, but takes on some things from different angles. They stem from real conversations I've had regarding the seeming inconsistency Christians have in following all of The Bible, including Old Testament laws that have since been rendered obsolete by the New Testament covenant of grace. (The entire book of Hebrews is a great read for this particular topic.) Thus, there are numerous issues being addressed here and again, it is in the context of a discussion on homosexual sin, regarding the upholding of the moral prohibition on that versus upholding dietary restrictions for the Israelites. To be clear, I don't regard simply having same-sex attractedness as a sin in itself; rather, I regard that as a byproduct of the fall of man, as I don't believe God made any of us to be that way originally. However, acting on lustful temptations (whether heterosexual or homosexual) is indeed a sin. Sex is relegated to a special act to happen between one man and the one woman he's married to for life. Any other occurence of this is sin. (1 Corinthians 7 deals with this, along with a number of other Scriptures.) Lust is sin- period. We must desire to serve Jesus above anything else and that means denying ourselves in the temptations that pull at us. (Luke 9:23)
I see some have some interesting opinions of Paul, but that aside- but seeing as how Paul directly met with Jesus and was called The Lord's "chosen instrument to carry His Name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." (see Acts 9)- I'd say Paul is trustworthy. (Especially considering that he suffered incredibly for Jesus' Name- including being hunted by the government, shipwrecked, bitten by a viper (and miraculously survived), even stoned- and all still kept alive by God, until he finally died a martyr's death by beheading. And all this is in keeping with God saying that Paul would find out how much he must suffer for God's Name. (Acts 9:16) It's also important to note Jesus' calling for Paul, as related in Acts 26:12-23- Jesus says he is appointed as a servant and witness to the things in which he has seen Christ and to those in which Jesus will appear to him- all for the purpose of opening the eyes of the Gentiles from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus.
Another point to be remembered is that Christians regard the entire Bible (Genesis to Revelation) as the Word of God- as 2 Timothy 3:16 indicates that all of it is God-breathed. The whole Bible was written by people inspired by the Holy Spirit to record "the word of The Lord" (as the prophets often put it in their writings.) Jesus identifies Himself as having oneship with The Father in John 10:30. Another important aspect of Christian belief is belief in The Holy Trinity, a concept seen throughout the entire Bible. (all the way back to Genesis 1:26 this can be seen.) In John 1 and Colossians 1, for example, Jesus is identified as being God- and being there in Creation. All three Persons of the Trinity are in place at The Lord's baptism when we see God the Father speaking about His Son Jesus and the Spirit descending on Him in the form of a dove. (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit- Three in One- the Triune Godhead.)
Thus, all of The Bible is Jesus' Word. And all the verses in Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1 all count as Jesus' Word. Of course, Jesus also said, while praying to God the Father, "Father, Thy Word is Truth." (John 17:17) Thus, Jesus validated all of God's Word. Of course, Jesus also prophesied that The Holy Spirit would come after He ascended back into Heaven and He would guide the disciples into all Truth. (see John 16) Jesus even said He had more to tell the disciples then, but they couldn't bear it right then. But He did say the Holy Spirit would come and tell them these things and He's only going to declare what He hears and He will declare the things that are to come. He will glorify Jesus, for He will take what is Jesus' and declare it to the disciples. (Thus, He will take Jesus' Word and speak it to the disciples after Jesus' ascension. How was that accomplished? The Spirit moved upon the hearts of people to write down God's Word via the New Testament letters of Luke, Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude and the dude who wrote down Hebrews (most scholars think it was Paul as well). Thus, the New Testament is also Jesus' Word, as much as the rest of The Bible is as well. (Jesus also speaks to the validity of the Old Testament as God's Word in Luke 24.)
However, to go back to Jesus' Word in Matthew 19, it is true that He speaks about marriage in the context of answering a question about divorce. Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? "He answered, 'Have you not read that He Who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What God has joined together, let not man separate.' " In quoting Genesis 2:24 here, Jesus upheld God's created order and model for marriage. (It's important to note that this verse is before chapter 3- which is where the fall of man happens. This is before the sin of Adam and Eve that corrupts the entire world. In God's original perfect Eden, this is the model of marriage that God lays out. This is the model that Jesus upholds for marriage. Jesus even goes on to point out that it was only because of the hardness of our hearts that Moses allowed for men to divorce their wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
There may be people today who have same sex attractions, but from the beginning it was not so. God made people upright, but we've gone off in search of many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
Jesus states that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. The disciples then say that if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry. Then Jesus tells them that not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it." (Matthew 19:12)
(Here, in answering the disciples' shock and conclusion that it was better just to stay single and live a celibate life, Jesus refers to men who have been born with a birth defect [and thus wouldn't be able to marry, in keeping with Jewish law], some who have been castrated by others [and thus wouldn't be able to marry in keeping with Jewish law] and some who choose to castrate themselves and/or live a celibate life for God's kingdom (i.e. much like Catholic priests today.) (Paul also speaks of himself being in the last category in 1 Corinthians 7, where he speaks of his chosen celibacy in order to focus fully on preaching Christ. This is also an excellent passage to consider in thinking about marriage as The Bible defines it.)
Since sex is only allowed within the bonds of holy matrimony (one man and one woman for life, as Jesus defines it in Matthew 19:4-6) [see Hebrews 13:4 as well], and sexual relations outside of marriage are condemned throughout the Old Testament and New Testament- including specifically by Jesus in His human form in this very passage- Jesus also thereby condemns any other sexual relationship as sin. (In John 8:11, Jesus identified adultery as sin again, when He told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more." Jesus also called out the woman at the well in John 4 about her sexual relationships, asking her to call her husband to come there. She responds that she has no husband and Jesus agrees with her, saying that she's right to say that because the fact is that she's had 5 husbands and the man's she with now isn't her husband. Jesus had a habit of doing such things to call people out on their sin, as He did a similar deal with the rich young ruler when He told him, since he claimed he'd kept all the commandments since he was a kid, to go and sell all he had and give to the poor and follow Him. [This got to the heart of the matter, as the rich young ruler was unwilling to part with his wealth in order to get to eternal life in Christ.])
It is true that Galatians 3:28 states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Of course, verse 29 states, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." What promise is that? The promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ- through faith in His substitutionary death and Resurrection for salvation and forgiveness of sins. Chapter 4 even goes on to berate the Galatians for observing "days and months and seasons and years". The chapter goes on to make the comparison between Abraham's sons (Isaac and Ishmael- Isaac being the one of promise and Ishmael the illegitimate one Abraham had from Hagar) allegorically as a comparison between being under the law and being under grace. All this leads up to a famous verse in Galatians 5:1, which says, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." When we keep reading, we find that Christ makes us righteous and that we should not use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love we must serve one another. We are commanded to walk by the Spirit so that we won't gratify the desires of the flesh. First among the desires of the flesh listed is sexual immorality. We are not to indulge the flesh, but rather we regard it as crucified with its passions and desires.
Galatians 3:28 is indicating our status of oneship in Christ Jesus in metaphorical terms. Of course, race and gender and slave status still exist (the latter to this day in some places, unfortunately), but we don't let them separate us from being one in Christ. We are all Father Abraham's sons [and daughters], as the classic Sunday School song says. :-):-) This verse in the right context would not be indicating God's dismissal of gender and gender roles, but rather a symbolic picture of oneness in Christ.
And Christ addressed the law as well in Matthew 5:17. But what exactly did He say? "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until Heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from The Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)
Now Jesus was addressing His disciples and the crowds who had gathered to hear Him speak. Jesus went on in the Sermon on the Mount to address a number of laws given in the Old Testament and reaffirm and redefine them for us- expanding beyond the limited idea held of them previously. Jesus said that just getting angry with your brother makes you liable to judgment, insulting him makes you liable to the council and calling him a fool puts you in danger of the fires of hell. Jesus said that not committing adultery goes beyond just the physical act; even looking at a woman lustfully is committing adultery with her in your heart. Jesus addresses divorce and states that, rather than divorcing for any and every reason, if it's not done on the grounds of sexual immorality, the one who divorces his wife then makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Jesus goes on to address oath-taking, retaliation and treatment of enemies and more. It's clear that Jesus did not rescind any of the moral laws of the Old Testament, but rather reaffirmed them and expanded them beyond the original understanding.
However, what did He say about dietary laws and civil laws for the Israelites? Well, the Pharisees called Him out about breaking some of these laws on various occasions. In Mark 7, the Pharisees bust Jesus' chops about His disciples not washing their hands before eating, thus being ceremonially defiled. Jesus points out that they ignore God's commandments in order to hold to the tradition of men. (Jesus gives the example of the command to honor your mother and father, yet the Pharisees would tell their folks that they couldn't give any money to help their parents because it's Corban (i.e. given to God). Thus, they were making the Word of God void by their traditions.)
Then Jesus goes on to state that whatever goes into a person is not what defiles him, but rather what comes out of his heart. "And He said to them, 'Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?' (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.' " (Mark 7:18-23)
Note that verse 19 explicitly states that Jesus declared all foods clean. Thus, He just rescinded all dietary laws for the Israelites, and He also in the same passage addressed ceremonial traditions as well. Also, in John 4, Jesus spoke of a time when true worshippers of God would worship the Father in spirit and truth, rather than on the mountain in Samaria or in Jerusalem. (Thus, more rollback of laws regarding worship in the temple.) The entire book of Hebrews is also an excellent companion to reading the Old Testament in light of the new covenant in The New Testament. It explains that the old covenant is rendered obsolete by the new covenant. (see Hebrews 8:13, as well as all of chapters 8-10 particularly.) And the New Covenant of grace calls us to be led by the Spirit (as Galatians 5 tells us), which leads to bearing the fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Goodness and self-control would certainly speak to maintaining sexual purity, among other things. Under the New Covenant of Grace, we are still called to uphold sexual purity (see 1 Corinthians 6 for a good discussion on this) along with other other morality commands (prohibitions against theft, murder, slander, etc.).
As Jesus summarizes for us in Matthew 22:34-40, the two greatest commandments are as follows, "You shall love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Loving God means obeying Him in all His commandments, as laid out for us in the New Covenant of grace in the New Testament. (Jesus Himself says that if we love Him, we will obey Him in John 14:15. [See also Luke 6:46 and Matthew 7 for even starker pictures.]) Of course, none of us can really keep all of God's commands on our own. (Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Heavenly father is perfect. [Matthew 5:48] This is the standard we must meet for entry into Heaven.) We all fall short on that. (Romans 3:23) Thankfully, God knows this and He sent Jesus to fulfill the Law for us. Jesus met the standard of perfection and kept the Law perfectly, as He stated He came to do in Matthew 5:17. In His meeting of the standard, we are set free from that burden through putting our faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection to pay for all our sins that we could never atone for on our own.
And when we become part of God's family (John 1:12), we get Christ's righteousness imputed to us and God declares us righteous because of Christ's completed work. (basically the entire book of Romans.) And we are then set free to do the good works that God created in advance for us to do- not in an effort to earn the salvation He's already freely given us, but in a way of showing gratitude to God by seeking to grow to be more like Him in all we say and do. (see Ephesians 2:8-10 and 1 Corinthians 10:31)
I see some have some interesting opinions of Paul, but that aside- but seeing as how Paul directly met with Jesus and was called The Lord's "chosen instrument to carry His Name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." (see Acts 9)- I'd say Paul is trustworthy. (Especially considering that he suffered incredibly for Jesus' Name- including being hunted by the government, shipwrecked, bitten by a viper (and miraculously survived), even stoned- and all still kept alive by God, until he finally died a martyr's death by beheading. And all this is in keeping with God saying that Paul would find out how much he must suffer for God's Name. (Acts 9:16) It's also important to note Jesus' calling for Paul, as related in Acts 26:12-23- Jesus says he is appointed as a servant and witness to the things in which he has seen Christ and to those in which Jesus will appear to him- all for the purpose of opening the eyes of the Gentiles from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus.
Another point to be remembered is that Christians regard the entire Bible (Genesis to Revelation) as the Word of God- as 2 Timothy 3:16 indicates that all of it is God-breathed. The whole Bible was written by people inspired by the Holy Spirit to record "the word of The Lord" (as the prophets often put it in their writings.) Jesus identifies Himself as having oneship with The Father in John 10:30. Another important aspect of Christian belief is belief in The Holy Trinity, a concept seen throughout the entire Bible. (all the way back to Genesis 1:26 this can be seen.) In John 1 and Colossians 1, for example, Jesus is identified as being God- and being there in Creation. All three Persons of the Trinity are in place at The Lord's baptism when we see God the Father speaking about His Son Jesus and the Spirit descending on Him in the form of a dove. (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit- Three in One- the Triune Godhead.)
Thus, all of The Bible is Jesus' Word. And all the verses in Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1 all count as Jesus' Word. Of course, Jesus also said, while praying to God the Father, "Father, Thy Word is Truth." (John 17:17) Thus, Jesus validated all of God's Word. Of course, Jesus also prophesied that The Holy Spirit would come after He ascended back into Heaven and He would guide the disciples into all Truth. (see John 16) Jesus even said He had more to tell the disciples then, but they couldn't bear it right then. But He did say the Holy Spirit would come and tell them these things and He's only going to declare what He hears and He will declare the things that are to come. He will glorify Jesus, for He will take what is Jesus' and declare it to the disciples. (Thus, He will take Jesus' Word and speak it to the disciples after Jesus' ascension. How was that accomplished? The Spirit moved upon the hearts of people to write down God's Word via the New Testament letters of Luke, Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude and the dude who wrote down Hebrews (most scholars think it was Paul as well). Thus, the New Testament is also Jesus' Word, as much as the rest of The Bible is as well. (Jesus also speaks to the validity of the Old Testament as God's Word in Luke 24.)
However, to go back to Jesus' Word in Matthew 19, it is true that He speaks about marriage in the context of answering a question about divorce. Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? "He answered, 'Have you not read that He Who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What God has joined together, let not man separate.' " In quoting Genesis 2:24 here, Jesus upheld God's created order and model for marriage. (It's important to note that this verse is before chapter 3- which is where the fall of man happens. This is before the sin of Adam and Eve that corrupts the entire world. In God's original perfect Eden, this is the model of marriage that God lays out. This is the model that Jesus upholds for marriage. Jesus even goes on to point out that it was only because of the hardness of our hearts that Moses allowed for men to divorce their wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
There may be people today who have same sex attractions, but from the beginning it was not so. God made people upright, but we've gone off in search of many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)
Jesus states that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. The disciples then say that if such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry. Then Jesus tells them that not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it." (Matthew 19:12)
(Here, in answering the disciples' shock and conclusion that it was better just to stay single and live a celibate life, Jesus refers to men who have been born with a birth defect [and thus wouldn't be able to marry, in keeping with Jewish law], some who have been castrated by others [and thus wouldn't be able to marry in keeping with Jewish law] and some who choose to castrate themselves and/or live a celibate life for God's kingdom (i.e. much like Catholic priests today.) (Paul also speaks of himself being in the last category in 1 Corinthians 7, where he speaks of his chosen celibacy in order to focus fully on preaching Christ. This is also an excellent passage to consider in thinking about marriage as The Bible defines it.)
Since sex is only allowed within the bonds of holy matrimony (one man and one woman for life, as Jesus defines it in Matthew 19:4-6) [see Hebrews 13:4 as well], and sexual relations outside of marriage are condemned throughout the Old Testament and New Testament- including specifically by Jesus in His human form in this very passage- Jesus also thereby condemns any other sexual relationship as sin. (In John 8:11, Jesus identified adultery as sin again, when He told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more." Jesus also called out the woman at the well in John 4 about her sexual relationships, asking her to call her husband to come there. She responds that she has no husband and Jesus agrees with her, saying that she's right to say that because the fact is that she's had 5 husbands and the man's she with now isn't her husband. Jesus had a habit of doing such things to call people out on their sin, as He did a similar deal with the rich young ruler when He told him, since he claimed he'd kept all the commandments since he was a kid, to go and sell all he had and give to the poor and follow Him. [This got to the heart of the matter, as the rich young ruler was unwilling to part with his wealth in order to get to eternal life in Christ.])
It is true that Galatians 3:28 states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Of course, verse 29 states, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." What promise is that? The promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ- through faith in His substitutionary death and Resurrection for salvation and forgiveness of sins. Chapter 4 even goes on to berate the Galatians for observing "days and months and seasons and years". The chapter goes on to make the comparison between Abraham's sons (Isaac and Ishmael- Isaac being the one of promise and Ishmael the illegitimate one Abraham had from Hagar) allegorically as a comparison between being under the law and being under grace. All this leads up to a famous verse in Galatians 5:1, which says, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." When we keep reading, we find that Christ makes us righteous and that we should not use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love we must serve one another. We are commanded to walk by the Spirit so that we won't gratify the desires of the flesh. First among the desires of the flesh listed is sexual immorality. We are not to indulge the flesh, but rather we regard it as crucified with its passions and desires.
Galatians 3:28 is indicating our status of oneship in Christ Jesus in metaphorical terms. Of course, race and gender and slave status still exist (the latter to this day in some places, unfortunately), but we don't let them separate us from being one in Christ. We are all Father Abraham's sons [and daughters], as the classic Sunday School song says. :-):-) This verse in the right context would not be indicating God's dismissal of gender and gender roles, but rather a symbolic picture of oneness in Christ.
And Christ addressed the law as well in Matthew 5:17. But what exactly did He say? "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until Heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from The Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)
Now Jesus was addressing His disciples and the crowds who had gathered to hear Him speak. Jesus went on in the Sermon on the Mount to address a number of laws given in the Old Testament and reaffirm and redefine them for us- expanding beyond the limited idea held of them previously. Jesus said that just getting angry with your brother makes you liable to judgment, insulting him makes you liable to the council and calling him a fool puts you in danger of the fires of hell. Jesus said that not committing adultery goes beyond just the physical act; even looking at a woman lustfully is committing adultery with her in your heart. Jesus addresses divorce and states that, rather than divorcing for any and every reason, if it's not done on the grounds of sexual immorality, the one who divorces his wife then makes her commit adultery and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Jesus goes on to address oath-taking, retaliation and treatment of enemies and more. It's clear that Jesus did not rescind any of the moral laws of the Old Testament, but rather reaffirmed them and expanded them beyond the original understanding.
However, what did He say about dietary laws and civil laws for the Israelites? Well, the Pharisees called Him out about breaking some of these laws on various occasions. In Mark 7, the Pharisees bust Jesus' chops about His disciples not washing their hands before eating, thus being ceremonially defiled. Jesus points out that they ignore God's commandments in order to hold to the tradition of men. (Jesus gives the example of the command to honor your mother and father, yet the Pharisees would tell their folks that they couldn't give any money to help their parents because it's Corban (i.e. given to God). Thus, they were making the Word of God void by their traditions.)
Then Jesus goes on to state that whatever goes into a person is not what defiles him, but rather what comes out of his heart. "And He said to them, 'Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?' (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.' " (Mark 7:18-23)
Note that verse 19 explicitly states that Jesus declared all foods clean. Thus, He just rescinded all dietary laws for the Israelites, and He also in the same passage addressed ceremonial traditions as well. Also, in John 4, Jesus spoke of a time when true worshippers of God would worship the Father in spirit and truth, rather than on the mountain in Samaria or in Jerusalem. (Thus, more rollback of laws regarding worship in the temple.) The entire book of Hebrews is also an excellent companion to reading the Old Testament in light of the new covenant in The New Testament. It explains that the old covenant is rendered obsolete by the new covenant. (see Hebrews 8:13, as well as all of chapters 8-10 particularly.) And the New Covenant of grace calls us to be led by the Spirit (as Galatians 5 tells us), which leads to bearing the fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Goodness and self-control would certainly speak to maintaining sexual purity, among other things. Under the New Covenant of Grace, we are still called to uphold sexual purity (see 1 Corinthians 6 for a good discussion on this) along with other other morality commands (prohibitions against theft, murder, slander, etc.).
As Jesus summarizes for us in Matthew 22:34-40, the two greatest commandments are as follows, "You shall love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Loving God means obeying Him in all His commandments, as laid out for us in the New Covenant of grace in the New Testament. (Jesus Himself says that if we love Him, we will obey Him in John 14:15. [See also Luke 6:46 and Matthew 7 for even starker pictures.]) Of course, none of us can really keep all of God's commands on our own. (Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Heavenly father is perfect. [Matthew 5:48] This is the standard we must meet for entry into Heaven.) We all fall short on that. (Romans 3:23) Thankfully, God knows this and He sent Jesus to fulfill the Law for us. Jesus met the standard of perfection and kept the Law perfectly, as He stated He came to do in Matthew 5:17. In His meeting of the standard, we are set free from that burden through putting our faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection to pay for all our sins that we could never atone for on our own.
And when we become part of God's family (John 1:12), we get Christ's righteousness imputed to us and God declares us righteous because of Christ's completed work. (basically the entire book of Romans.) And we are then set free to do the good works that God created in advance for us to do- not in an effort to earn the salvation He's already freely given us, but in a way of showing gratitude to God by seeking to grow to be more like Him in all we say and do. (see Ephesians 2:8-10 and 1 Corinthians 10:31)
Friday, February 3, 2017
Jesus, Be Louder to me than the World
It's been said a couple of different ways. Preacher Roe said, "Some days you eat the bear; some days the bear eats you." John Denver had a beautiful song that said, "Some days are diamond- some days are stone." Some days I want to cry out with the Psalmist- "O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom You remember no more, for they are cut off from Your hand." (Psalms 88:1-5) "The darkness is my only friend." (Psalms 88:18) - Hello, darkness- my old friend- I've come to talk with you again......
But like Paul and Simon said by the Holy Spirit- "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. .....My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account." "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 1:21 and 23-24 and 3:7-10) "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Sometimes I just want to tell all the cares of my personal life- all the demands clawing from all sides- all the chaos and craziness of life- whether it's on a personal and family level or for friends- or stretching nationally and worldwide....Sometimes I just want to tell it all to shut up for a while! Sometimes I just want to block out all the noise and just be still and know that The Lord is God. (Psalms 46:10)
I just need to hear You, Jesus, tell the winds and waves, "Peace! Be still!" And whether He tells the storm to calm down or He tells me, His child, to calm down- either way, I know He's with me and I ride uncomfortable but safe in His hands. (John 10:29)
And at those times- and all times- and the times I am not I want to be doing it more- I just want to say again with the Psalmist- "I love The Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the Name of The Lord; 'O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!' Gracious is The Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for The Lord has dealt bountifully with you." (Psalms 116:1-7)
Yes, soul- return to your rest in the tender arms of Jesus, who promises rest for the weary soul. (Matthew 11:28-30) I love how the rest of Psalms 116 goes on to say that God has delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I'm gonna walk with The Lord in the land of the living. Yep- all men are liars, but God is true always. His steadfast love endures forever! And He loves me like crazy and with an eternal love! :-) (Jeremiah 31:3) Even though I don't know why He does- I know He does and I know He's always true. And I thank Him for it! I love you too, Lord- help me to love You more! And for the times I can't face this world any more, grant me Your peace that passes all understanding. May I always know Your peace upon me- that You alone give; not as the world gives- Your peace that no one can take away! Keep my mind stayed upon You, Jehovah- and keep me in Your perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3 and John 14.....)
Lord, I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not Your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times. My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your ways. My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word. My eyes long for Your promise; I ask, 'When will You comfort me?' I remember Your Name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep Your commandments.Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments. My eyes long for Your salvation and for the fulfillment of Your righteous promise. I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise You, and let Your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.
(all taken from Psalms 119)
I don't particularly want to die any time soon, and there are a lot of things I'd still like to do in life before that day- or before the day when Christ comes again.....but even though I still have trepidation at times about both those times with the fear of the unknown and all those old fears about salvation and how God can love and even save a messed-up individual like me- I still have faith that calms all my fears and says that I am His and He is mine and I just trust that Jesus will do what He said He will do. And there are some days that I am truly just so longing for my Home in Heaven. There are some days that I am just feeling SO done with life- (to clarify not in a suicidal way)- just in a way that feels like I am so weary of dealing with so many things on and on again and again- and sometimes I just want a change from it all and a release. Sometimes I feel like chilling with Asaph and Habakkuk and Job, crying out- What's the deal, God? How come the wicked get to prosper, but I feel like I try to live for You and get the shaft instead? But One greater than Shaft is here and He binds up the brokenhearted. And He's suffered more than words can say and knows all about pain, betrayal and heartache. And thus, I trust again and leave things to Him. And some days I just long for His kingdom of light and love to come and redeem this old earth, while I wait up on the roof for Him. I know He will come soon in His time (whatever day that might be- and I don't know when it is- if in my lifetime or not)- but one day He will fulfill that promise. Even so, come Lord Jesus! And until that day or the day of my death- help me to be faithful every moment as You lead me on.
And I love how Psalms 116:7 says that The Lord has dealt bountifully with you, my soul. Or to put it another way- Thank The Lord because He's been doubly good to you. He's blessed me with physical life and spiritual life through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection. I thank and praise Him for that. I thank and praise Him for all the many other blessings He's given me. And I thank Him for all the hard things He's let me go through that makes me cling all the harder to Him. For all the things that pain me and open my eyes and ears with His megaphone to a deaf world that tells me that He is the only sure thing to hold on to above all else. [Kinda like C.S. Lewis said. ;-)] Where can I go but to The Lord? (as a classic song says- not to mention John 6:68. Jesus alone has the words of eternal life!) God is my portion and the strength of my heart forever! (Psalms 73) Whom I have in Heaven but You, Jesus? And what better could I hope to find down here on Earth? I could search the most distant reaches of this world but I'd just be wasting my time- I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find You're my one thing! (And the pure in heart shall see God.) .....(both Psalms 73 and lyrics from Rich Mullins' "My One Thing" :-))
And here's another great Rich Mullins song- one that Amy Grant actually recorded and made famous, but one that he wrote. Here's a clip of him actually performing it himself.
Even when I'm not feeling the best about everything, no matter how my life is looking and no matter how bad things may be looking in the world, I just want to say to all the negative forces in the world- I'm going to praise The Lord anyway! Thank You, Lord Jesus! Let everything that hath breath praise The Lord! He is always doubly good to me.
But like Paul and Simon said by the Holy Spirit- "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. .....My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account." "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 1:21 and 23-24 and 3:7-10) "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Sometimes I just want to tell all the cares of my personal life- all the demands clawing from all sides- all the chaos and craziness of life- whether it's on a personal and family level or for friends- or stretching nationally and worldwide....Sometimes I just want to tell it all to shut up for a while! Sometimes I just want to block out all the noise and just be still and know that The Lord is God. (Psalms 46:10)
I just need to hear You, Jesus, tell the winds and waves, "Peace! Be still!" And whether He tells the storm to calm down or He tells me, His child, to calm down- either way, I know He's with me and I ride uncomfortable but safe in His hands. (John 10:29)
And at those times- and all times- and the times I am not I want to be doing it more- I just want to say again with the Psalmist- "I love The Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the Name of The Lord; 'O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!' Gracious is The Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for The Lord has dealt bountifully with you." (Psalms 116:1-7)
Yes, soul- return to your rest in the tender arms of Jesus, who promises rest for the weary soul. (Matthew 11:28-30) I love how the rest of Psalms 116 goes on to say that God has delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I'm gonna walk with The Lord in the land of the living. Yep- all men are liars, but God is true always. His steadfast love endures forever! And He loves me like crazy and with an eternal love! :-) (Jeremiah 31:3) Even though I don't know why He does- I know He does and I know He's always true. And I thank Him for it! I love you too, Lord- help me to love You more! And for the times I can't face this world any more, grant me Your peace that passes all understanding. May I always know Your peace upon me- that You alone give; not as the world gives- Your peace that no one can take away! Keep my mind stayed upon You, Jehovah- and keep me in Your perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3 and John 14.....)
Lord, I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not Your commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for Your rules at all times. My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your ways. My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word. My eyes long for Your promise; I ask, 'When will You comfort me?' I remember Your Name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept Your precepts. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep Your commandments.Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments. My eyes long for Your salvation and for the fulfillment of Your righteous promise. I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise You, and let Your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.
(all taken from Psalms 119)
I don't particularly want to die any time soon, and there are a lot of things I'd still like to do in life before that day- or before the day when Christ comes again.....but even though I still have trepidation at times about both those times with the fear of the unknown and all those old fears about salvation and how God can love and even save a messed-up individual like me- I still have faith that calms all my fears and says that I am His and He is mine and I just trust that Jesus will do what He said He will do. And there are some days that I am truly just so longing for my Home in Heaven. There are some days that I am just feeling SO done with life- (to clarify not in a suicidal way)- just in a way that feels like I am so weary of dealing with so many things on and on again and again- and sometimes I just want a change from it all and a release. Sometimes I feel like chilling with Asaph and Habakkuk and Job, crying out- What's the deal, God? How come the wicked get to prosper, but I feel like I try to live for You and get the shaft instead? But One greater than Shaft is here and He binds up the brokenhearted. And He's suffered more than words can say and knows all about pain, betrayal and heartache. And thus, I trust again and leave things to Him. And some days I just long for His kingdom of light and love to come and redeem this old earth, while I wait up on the roof for Him. I know He will come soon in His time (whatever day that might be- and I don't know when it is- if in my lifetime or not)- but one day He will fulfill that promise. Even so, come Lord Jesus! And until that day or the day of my death- help me to be faithful every moment as You lead me on.
And I love how Psalms 116:7 says that The Lord has dealt bountifully with you, my soul. Or to put it another way- Thank The Lord because He's been doubly good to you. He's blessed me with physical life and spiritual life through faith in Jesus' death and Resurrection. I thank and praise Him for that. I thank and praise Him for all the many other blessings He's given me. And I thank Him for all the hard things He's let me go through that makes me cling all the harder to Him. For all the things that pain me and open my eyes and ears with His megaphone to a deaf world that tells me that He is the only sure thing to hold on to above all else. [Kinda like C.S. Lewis said. ;-)] Where can I go but to The Lord? (as a classic song says- not to mention John 6:68. Jesus alone has the words of eternal life!) God is my portion and the strength of my heart forever! (Psalms 73) Whom I have in Heaven but You, Jesus? And what better could I hope to find down here on Earth? I could search the most distant reaches of this world but I'd just be wasting my time- I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find You're my one thing! (And the pure in heart shall see God.) .....(both Psalms 73 and lyrics from Rich Mullins' "My One Thing" :-))
And here's another great Rich Mullins song- one that Amy Grant actually recorded and made famous, but one that he wrote. Here's a clip of him actually performing it himself.
Even when I'm not feeling the best about everything, no matter how my life is looking and no matter how bad things may be looking in the world, I just want to say to all the negative forces in the world- I'm going to praise The Lord anyway! Thank You, Lord Jesus! Let everything that hath breath praise The Lord! He is always doubly good to me.
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