Justifying Job

My personal Bible studies have landed me in the book of Job recently.  Job is a 'fan-favorite' because he famously suffered, and everyone feels that they suffer in similar ways.  Job was a "blameless and upright man" (1:1), and yet because of a wager between God and the fallen angel Satan, his family was killed, his possessions were lost, and all that was left for him was an unsupportive wife, and some friends who were as useless as they were ruthless.  I read how Jobs friends responded to Job's complaints with (an attempt) at theological correction, and when Job pushed back and they sheepishly didn't have anything further to say, I think to myself, "these guys would make excellent pastoral staff in a church today"!

Job spends much of the book (which is perhaps the earliest written book of the Bible) searching for answers regarding his plight.  He questions God and rebukes his friends when they fail to counsel him in a godly way, but all is wrapped up right before God sends a prophet in 32:1-2 with the story-teller telling us "these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes...(and) he justified himself rather than God". 

To Justify

Justified is a word that we don't typically use in Western culture today, but it is one that must be understood if you'd be a student of the Bible.  It has a couple of different meanings in Scripture (depending on context), but the most oft-used meaning is "to declare right".  It's a statement of judgment, where one is judged to be in the right--when a judge is presiding over a case, all the evidence is laid out before him, he hears the witnesses and arguments, and then he will execute justice based on what he declares to be right.  He will either justify the defendant or the plaintiff as in the right.  It's a declaration, and a sentence based on the declaration.

Job justified himself, and not God.  He considered himself to be in the right, and God to be in the wrong.  For how many of us is this the case with our suffering or hardships!  (Apparently this has been mans' battle for a long time).  Even after his friends' counsel, they found their selves at a loss because Job just wasn't having any counsel from them.  After all, Job was "blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil" (1:1), right?  But we have to remember that God often makes judgment calls in Scripture based on the generation of the person he's talking about. For example, Noah was "a righteous man, blameless in his generation" (Genesis6:9), but later he proved to be a drunk in 9:20.  He was good compared to everyone else, but compared to a holy God, the judgment would be pronounced a little different. 
I believe Job to be similar to his judgment of Noah for two reasons:
        a) although he had a solid theology at the first part of the suffering (see 1:21 and 2:10), as the suffering continued he found himself questioning God, justifying himself and not God, and "multiplying words without knowledge" (35:16) to the point that at God's rebuke, he repents for having "uttered what I did not understand" (42:3), despising himself and repenting in dust and ashes (42:6).  When the heat got hotter, he was just as weak as the next person.  And later he repented, despising himself.  Sounds like he was convicted because he had a lot to be convicted of!  And...
        b) 22:6-9 and 34:7-9 show ways in which Job was involved in ungodly activity even before the suffering and testing came on him: he took part in unfair deals towards weaker people, was no help to the poor and needy, scoffs at the things of God, etc.
Again, how much is this like many of us!  We like to think we're pretty righteous, but if we were laid on a just balance, we'd be found wanting in many areas of our lives.  We put up blinders to our own sin so that we can't see how we're wrong, though we're experts in how others...especially God...are wrong. 

Justifying Self vs. Justifying God

After Job is done singing the blues and his friends sissy out, a young man by the name of Elihu shows up, and he's a prophet sent by God before God himself shows up (Elihu is kind of like John the Baptizer, preparing the way).  Elihu arrives furious at Job's fickle faith and the friends' Jello backbones, and his mission ("I'm full of words...my belly is like wineskins with no vent...ready to burst--33:18-19) is very similar to the prophet Jeremiah, for whom the Word of God had become like "a fire in my bones...I'm weary of holding it in, and I can not" (Jeremiah20:9).  He proceeds to preach hard truth about the sovereignty of God and His eternal purpose in a not so gentle way, which is often what's needed when men are too busy feeling sorry for themselves to listen to truth. 

In the midst of this, Elihu tells Job, "I desire to justify you" (33:32), which is remarkable to me, because Job's problem is that he's been justifying himself!  Why does Elihu say this?  Because in getting a correct view of God, we will see ourselves correctly in the light of His Lordship and purpose.  When God is justified, Job will be justified; but if Job is defending himself, he'll get neither.  This could be helpful for you--if you'd stop defending yourself to God, and come up underneath His grace and mercy in Christ, you'd find that you have Him as your defense (and no one can speak a word against Him).  But as long as you keep fighting God, it's going to be a constant war that never ends. 

In Luke 10:29, after Jesus has been teaching of the need to love your neighbor, a man "desiring to justify himself" asks Jesus, "who is my neighbor?"  Do you see why he's saying this?  It's because he hasn't loved and doesn't want to, and so the easiest way to wiggle off the conviction hook is to throw your arms in the air and say "I don't know who my neighbor is, so I don't have to!"  That's self-justification.  Jesus later tells the Pharisees, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart" (16:15).  Since no one else can see your heart, you can make excuses and get by with it, and most of us do (we're such liars!).  Man's heart is deceitful above all things...but God searches the heart! (Jeremiah 17:9-10).  Job is in a similar boat, making excuses before his friends, and they believe him, because they can't see his heart.  But Elihu is sent to prepare the way for God--as a prophet, God has put His words in his mouth, and God sees Job's heart clearly. 

When talking about what true justification (being really justified before God) looks like, Luke gives us two pillar truths:
      a) You being justified comes from humbling yourself and crying out for mercy (18:13-14), which is to assume that God owes you nothing but even with your suffering has richly blessed you with life, provision, loved ones, food, etc. (even if you are rebelling in your faith right now); Jesus says that if you humble yourself and cry out for mercy from the Living God, you will be counted right in God's eyes right on the spot.
      b) Accepting the purpose of God is to "declare God just" (7:29-30--"when the people heard this, they declared God just...but the Pharisees and tax-collectors rejected the purpose of God). Job justified himself, and not God, when God is perfectly just in all He does.  To declare Him just is to accept His purpose without needing every answer.

Elihu tells Job in 33:19-30 that God gives hard times as a way to  to shake us up and awaken us out of our comfortable slumber where we are lord of our own lives while God the genie is kept in his bottle on our table (ie, a dusty Bible).  "God does these things twice, three times, with a man, to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted from the light of life" (33:29-30).

Do you think this was cold comfort for Job?  Do you think it's cold comfort, period?  Maybe it is.  But maybe it's the truth.  Maybe when the testing comes and that which is good is taken from us, our doubt and anger arises from our forgetting that the good He took from us was all a gift in the first place anyway!  Job lost not only properties, livestock, etc...but he also lost family members (2:18-19).  And yet, it's true.  Our problem is often that important things become ultimate things in our hearts, while God (the most important) remains trapped in his genie bottle.  His will is our having a correct view of Him so we can have a correct view of all else, and so that's why He tests us and tries our faith to bring us to that point.  But until that realization, we'll continually reject God's good purposes and struggle with whether or not He loves us.

All Things For Good

Paul famously writes in Romans 8:28 that all things work for good for those love God, who are called according to His purpose.  All things.  For good.  Do you believe that?  Maybe the problem with Job was that he loved God, given certain circumstances.  His theology weakened as the story-arc travels down.  The real tragedy in the Job storyline isn't the loss of his stuff, but the loss of his faith and the rise of his self-righteous rejection of Gods purpose.  Are you in the same boat?

Elihu's point in chapter 33 is that there is a purpose in this.  And you know what this is.  Maybe you're going through this.  But remember, if you love Him and if you are connected to the Father through the Mediation of His Son alone, even this is working for your good!  Surely Joseph struggled with believing this when his brothers sold him to slavery and he was naked and alone.  But later it was clear that God was at work.  The secret is not listening to your heart, but remembering His.  His heart is to minister to you and make you godly.  Often it hurts, but it is meant to be effective, and there will be a harvest of righteousness for those who endure. 

A similar experience happened in Paul's life.  After experiencing incredible affliction and discomfort in a ministry experience among haters, Paul can say, "We felt that we had received the sentence of death.  But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead" (2Corinthians1:9).  Hindsight is 20/20, but remember that one day this will be hindsight!  So cling to Christ and stand fast through faith.  God will not let fall by the wayside that which He began.  It was for the joy set before Him that Christ endured the cross for us...so you endure through this, knowing there is joy on the other side.  And the key is to continually declare God just, remembering His perfect purpose.  Like Abraham, don't waver in faith, but give God the glory, and you'll grow stronger in faith, "fully convinced He's able to accomplish that which He promises" (Romans4:20-21). 

You may doubt, question, shake your fists at God, etc.  But the grace of God is that because you are called according to His purpose, He will send His Spirit of Truth to bring you under conviction by remembering His purpose.  Job is a perfect example of this.  Even though his faith was tried and found wanting, the grace of God overflowed for him with truth.  God told Satan, "Job will endure", and then He sent the grace and truth necessary for him to endure.  Christian, you will endure, because His grace is never in vain.

Good Books, part 3

Well now is the time for the last post in my "good books" series.  Today I'll be showing my list of recommended reading regarding both Marriage and Ministry.  There is no shortage of either Christian marriage or Church ministry books, so these will be shorter lists (as it's difficult to narrow down to just a few).
 
When I say "marriage" what I don't mean is that which is discussed continuously today as a moral and political conversation (ie, what is marriage?).  What I do mean is books on how married couples can build a God-honoring and Christ-exalting marriage from day one, on the principals their Creator designed for them to flourish.

Marriage

-John Piper's This Momentary Marriage--this book is simply the best I've read on the Christian view of marriage.  Anyone who's read Piper knows that his pages are saturated with Scripture, not in a forced way, but in a way that shows he only sees the world through the lens of the Bible.  The best books are those where the writer writes on a topic with the intent of simply showing what God's Word says about it.  The title suggests Piper's main point throughout: marriage is intended to be a temporary covenant to be enjoyed while preparing us for the final Marriage of Christ with His Church.  Being a Reformed Baptist, Piper has many opponents, but I would encourage everyone to give this title a try.  I use it for premarital counseling.  It's short and accessible.  Each chapter begins with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (which is always a treat). 
-Tim and Kathy Keller's The Meaning of Marriage--a little larger in size than Piper's, the Manhattan pastor and his wife wrote this together to provide the theology (the Biblical definition) behind a healthy marriage.  I don't own this title, but I've read much of it at bookstores and recommend it anyway.  Keller is known for writing in an engaging way that communicates deep truths to the post-modern mind that not used to going deep.
-Les and Leslie Parrott's Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts--this was the book I read in my pre-marital counseling.  I liked it because the book is written answering 7 important questions that every marriage "candidate" should ask themselves before tying the knot.  The questions are pointed at the individual before the married couple (ie, relating to the marriage myths, communication, commitment, etc.).
-Eric Mason's Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole--I know this seems like an odd choice, but it actually was an obvious one for me.  Most often the problem with marriage is men having lost a sense of what it means to be a man as God defines it (if they ever had it begin).  Surely marriage is between two sinners in need of grace, but we all know us men need more of it a) because we're stupid, and b) because we're called to rise up, lead, and represent God as husbands/fathers.  Mason (in this his first book) deals very well with the Bible's definition of manhood, and Manhood will help any marriage almost as much as any marriage book.
                    -(for other helpful "manhood" titles, see also John Eldredge's Wild at Heart, Stephen Arterburn's Every Mans Battle series, Darrin Patrick's The Dude's Guide to Manhood, and Piper and Wayne Grudem's Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.)

Ministry

-Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church--this book changed my whole thought-process regarding what Christian ministry is.  The title itself almost turned me away (as it sounded cliche and sales-driven), but through wise counsel from a good friend, I started reading, and my whole paradigm was shattered, with a new one set in its place.  Dever (rightly) assumes that one's theology drives their ministry, and so one must have a proper understanding of God, man, sin, Christ, the Church, the Kingdom, repentance, etc. in order to be a minister of the Gospel.  This is why "Mark 1" is "Expository Preaching"--the preaching of the pages of Scripture, verse-by-verse. He even says in this first chapter, "if you only read one chapter in this book, make this the one, and the rest will follow".  This is because if a church has the Bible open, not skipping over any verses (ie, ones that may be difficult to swallow), the same Word of God that created all things and calls sinners to Christ will build the Church healthy on a solid foundation.  Almost every "mark" is theological in nature (Biblical conversion, Biblical theology, Biblical eldership, Biblical Church membership, etc.).  Like Piper, as a Reformed Baptist, Dever has many opponents, and he doesn't pull any punches with his theology in 9 Marks (which incidently has become the name of His inter-church organization). 
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together--as with many other readers, this book brought me an incredibly richer understanding of the communal aspect of the Church (and by that I mean the communal nature of the Church--it is communal).  This was written to crush any notion of individual stardom among Christians in community, save that which belongs to Christ.  The rest of us are to exercise mercy, truthfulness, and grace, as He does with us (and this communal commitment is often the means through which Christ gives it to us).  One could argue that this was the best book Bonhoeffer wrote.  Short and concise, I've given this book away countless times (okay, maybe like 4 times).
-Kevin Deyoung and Greg Gilbert's What is the Mission of the Church?--as the Western world continues to shift cultures, the new definitions of the Church's mission actually aren't new at all, but the dividing lines drawn by them are making it more and more difficult to discern what exactly is the Church's true mission.  Deyoung and Gilbert masterfully write to show from Scripture that the mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness to Jesus' Kingdom, period.  This doesn't exclude ministries of mercy, age-focused ministries, etc., but rather this defines what the end of those endeavors should be: the Gospel and repentance into Christ.  All that the Church does is to be focused on bringing people to know Christ (or else our endeavors will only be helping people into acquiring, at best, perishable riches).
-Alexander Strauch's Biblical Eldership--the New Testament makes clear at several points that each Church body is to be led by qualified men who take it upon themselves to shepherd, oversee, and serve first.  Strauch wrote his book to define what an elder is, what ministry in the Church is, and how the first fits into the context of the second, and vice-versa.  The reason I include this in my "ministry" list is that a Church body needs to know what God's Word says about leadership, because "when there is no vision, the people cast off restraint" (Proverbs 29:18).  Many churches don't have "elders" per se, and many denominations don't adhere to that model.  While I do know that Jesus builds His Church and does bless these churches and denominations, I believe individual church eldership to be Biblical and a true mark of health without which much fruit can (and will) be missed.

Thank you for reading!  Grace and peace in Christ
Scott

Good Books, pt2

Continuing my book list from lat week, these lists are books on apologetics (reasoning for the faith), and emotional health.  Again, these are not exhaustive lists, as I don't have the time or patience to read "everything" written on a subject.  But this is a start.  I hope this is helpful for you (especially the emotional health section for those who need help in this area).

Apologetics

-Francis Schaeffer's "How Should We Then Live?"--a classic from the Presbyterian minister who founded the L'abri Institute.  Schaeffer here follows the train of philosophical reasoning from ancient times to the somewhat-present (written several decades ago, as he's now deceased).  Schaeffer masterfully shows how the Gospel meets the needs world history shows we all have.
-Schaeffer's "Escape from Reason"--this is a somewhat abridged "version" of the title above, where he follows art, politics, and philosophy from ancient times to show how it's shaped our thinking today, and how knowing Jesus corrects the error.  I read this in one night, as it's 125 short pages.
-CS Lewis' "Mere Christianity"--arguably the best apologetic of the last several hundred years.  Lewis, a former atheist, aims to communicate the Gospel to a skeptical world starting with the moral law embedded on everyone's hearts, ending with unity to the one true God through Christ.  The middle section of the book, dealing with the Christian virtues, includes some of the best reasoning for such in print.  It's worth the price of the book.
-Tim Keller's "The Reason for God"--Keller, a pastor in Manhattan, has an exceptional gift of understanding the cultural questions (calling them 'Defeater Beliefs'--ie, "why does God allow suffering?", "why are many Christians hypocrites?", "isn't Christianity a strait-jacket?"), and answering them by dealing with the question underneath the question.  For example, the question about suffering really contains an assumption that suffering is bad and shouldn't be happening--but where did this assumption come from, if not from a God who created us for joy and peace?  Buy this book.  He's an intellectual, but being a preacher, this NYT Bestseller is accessible, and I try to give a copy to most of my friends with questions.
-Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ", "The Case for a Creator", and "The Case for the Real Jesus" --Strobel is a former atheist who, having been converted through seeing the deception in much of the post-modern skeptical viewpoint,  has given his life to bringing the deception to light.  His books are full of interviews with leading apologists such as Edwin Yamauchi and William Lane Craig, and, being a journalist, he commits these conversations to writing in an accessible way.  This is why many of his books are bestsellers.  Being convinced that the Jesus conversation (his existence, the reliability of the Biblical account of Him, His bodily resurrection, etc.) is the most important conversation of all, I found "The Case for the Real Jesus" especially helpful (especially his conversation with Messianic Jew Michael Brown).

Emotional Health

--Paul Trip and Tim Lane's "How People Change"--this is an exceptional book by former pastors-turned-counselors on what happens emotionally and psychologically when a person with baggage entrusts it to Christ.  Change takes time and grace, but it happens when Jesus is Lord, and His work is received in faith.  I give this to people who are struggling emotionally.
-Ed Welch's "Depression: a Stubborn Darkness"--I read this book in my "dark night" of depression in college.  It seemed to be the only beam of light I saw during that time, as its pages were saturated with the Word of God and the hope of the Gospel.  God lifted me through it, and while I'm still a jar of clay (and will be until Christ returns or I go to sleep), Welch helped me see that Jesus' resurrection can bring me back to life.  He grew up in a home with a dad who struggled with depression and anxiety, so he has a personal sensitivity to it.
-Peter Scazzero's "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality"--I've not read all the way through this, but a student in my church has read it and found it helpful, and from the little I have read of it, I agree.  I read Scazzero' "Emotionally Healthy Church" years ago, and "Spirituality" seems to get right to the source of the emotional health just like "Church" does in the congregational context.
-Tim Keller's "Counterfeit Gods"--this book was incredibly important in my dealing with emotional problems, as Keller aims to show that much of our emotional problems have to do with idols of the heart.  The idols are the source, and we don't kill the emotional baggage until we begin killing the source.  I can't recommend this book enough.
-Psalms, 1 Peter, John's Gospel, and Romans 8--of course, the Bible is the primary Book from which to glean wisdom from God and salvation.  But these four specific books have proven to be most helpful in my times of darkness.  That's because they all hinge on defining basic reality (which is what's threatened in anxiety and worry) and communicating the promises of God (which tell us that there is something even in this that God is doing, for our good).  It's through His promises that we "put on the divine nature" (2Peter1:4) meaning that the promises, received and believed by God's grace and the Spirit's power, connect us directly to God, and, drawing on Christ's power (John15:5), we can change. Many of our emotional problems result from lies being told us and believed on, so the solution is bringing truth into the fold, and letting it speak louder than the lies.  In this, God gets the glory and we get the joy and peace.

Next week, Ministry and Marriage.

Good Books For the Christian

I've been asked several times over the last couple of months what are some of my favorite books.  I don't think it's because people respect my opinions as much as it's because people hear me preach and teach a lot and they want to know where in the world I got the kool-aid I'm drinking.  And that's cool, too.

Jesus wants us to read His Word and listen to His voice through it.  He is a Shepherd who calls us to come follow Him and learn from Him (John 10:27, Matthew 11:28).  He is alive today just like He was in Palestine 2000 years ago.  The differences are that a final sacrifice for sin has been made, He's fulfilled the Scriptural promises made about Him, and now He's risen, ruling, and reigning, seated in Heaven at God's right hand advocating for His people (Hebrews 1:4, 1 John 2:1-2), sure to return one day like He came the first time.  So the call is still the same as back then: "Follow me".  This is why Paul many times spoke of "the obedience of faith" (Romans 1:6, 6:17, 16:26): to believe in the Gospel (as Jesus commanded) is to obey Christ.  And obedience to Christ brings about new and eternal life (see John 3:36, Hebrews 5:9).
To bring this about, He has sent men and women with the message of "good news".  Just like God serves us in His creation from behind the veil of His creation, He calls us to himself through His Gospel preached by those who know and love Him. "For this I was made a preacher and apostle" Paul said (1 Timothy 2:7), and so "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Isaiah 52:7).  In this vein, Jesus has given "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints for ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12).  It's His will that people write books and articles, preach sermons, and speak about Jesus in conversation. 

Every book's truth claims should always be tested against the Scripture's truth claims.  If someone's writing something contrary to what the Holy Spirit wrote, don't buy it.  But a real Christian book is one that takes truth from Scripture and unpacks it in an accessible way, pointing the reader to the real good Book. There is no substitute for learning the Word of God directly from the source.  And with that in mind, it is good to get help, because God's blessed us with much of it.

I grew up hating to read.  I'd pick the books to read for school that had movies so I could watch the movies and avoid the book.  I'm a natural cheat.  But in Christ I'm being made new, and books have been a major part of that.  I didn't like to read in college either (yeah, in Bible college).  But as I've been in ministry, it's forced me to read more.  Often we come across books that help shape us when we're least expecting it, because we don't really think we need shaped.  Then we read something that forces us to think, and we're never the same.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, but one that hopefully helps you as it's helped me too. I'm going to have two categories below, and then later this week I'll post two more, and then after that two more.  Most of these can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other book distributor (and many for cheaper than retail).

Understanding the Bible and the God of the Bible

-JI Packers "Knowing God"--this book is a biblical study on God's nature and character.  It changed my life, and is considered to be a modern classic.  Roughly 300 pages, it's well written, and accessible, regardless of your reading level or theological foundation.
-AW Tozers "The Knowledge of the Holy"--Tozer was a pastor in Chicago in the early-mid 20th century.  He wrote short books (roughly 100-150 pages), and they are incredibly deep.  This book unpacks God's attributes and character in a way I've hardly read anywhere.  Clear, Biblical, and deep.
-Arthur Pinks "The Attributes of God"--Pink is polarizing: a Calvinist largely hated by non-Calvinists (which is ironic), but largely treasured by Calvinists.  His book is similar to Tozer's in length, but is written more from a theologian's perspective.  Some will have a hard time agreeing with him on every attribute, but one can't argue that he lifts his conclusions straight from the pages of the Bible in a way that makes sense.
-JI Packers "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God"--this little book is a classic and must-read for anyone serious about understanding the Bible and doing ministry.  If one reads the Bible, they see two undeniable truths that appear contradictory: God loves us and wants us to know Him, and God is the One who saves the lost sinner by sovereign grace.  Instead of "picking a side" with this conundrum (as most do), Packer masterfully shows how these two truths are not contradictory but rather complimentary.
-Wayne Grudems "Systematic Theology"--Systematic theologies are typically extremely long treatises written to deal with one particular subject at a time, building on itself  to create one massive system of thought about the Bible.  These books are often 600-1000 pages long.  Grudem is a Reformed (Calvinistic) Charismatic who (while you won't agree with all his conclusions) masterfully unpacks the Scriptures in an easy-to-read, accessible way.  I think it's the best systematic theology there is.
-RC Sprouls "the Holiness of God"--this book changed my life as well.  Sproul is a master communicator, and this book shows the holy and righteous character of the God of the Bible.  An incredible read (and rather short, too).
-John Macarthurs "The Gospel According to Jesus"--Macarthur shoots straight.  He is polarizing.  But I've found his teaching on the Bible and Jesus' Gospel to be invaluable.  He has an entire New Testament commentary set that is unparalleled in recent church history, and this book will help you make sense of the differences in Jesus' tone between the four Gospels (ie, why do the parables sound so different than Jesus' teaching in John's Gospel?). 
-Jonathan Edwards' "The End For Which God Created the World"--Edwards lived in the 1700s and this is a difficult read.  But a good friend gave it to me once, and the second half of it (of two) was worth reading through what is a difficult first part.  In the first part Edwards masterfully answers philosophically what is possible the most important question we could ask, "Why?", and in the second, he masterfully answers the same question from Scripture, using thousands of citations.
-Jameison, Fauset, and Brown Commentary Critical, Experimental, and Practical--this is an old commentary from the 1800s written by (I think) 3 men with different ministry credentials.  It is out of print and hard to come by, but if you ever do, it's worth whatever you have to spend to get it for its historical analysis and exegetical notes alone.
-Mark Driscolls "A Book You'll Actually Read On the Old Testament" and "...On the New Testament"--these less-than-100-page booklets are excellent for the person with questions regarding whether or not we can trust the Bible.  Driscoll speaks clearly and helpfully on why we can.

Discipleship

-Dietrich Bonhoeffers "The Cost of Discipleship"--Bonhoeffer needs no introduction, but this book does. His concept of "cheap grace vs. costly grace" has indebted many a reader.  I honestly don't think I ever understood what it meant to follow Jesus as a disciple in a non-Christian world until I read this book.  If read carefully, this is a paradigm-shattering read, and you'll find yourself with a cross on your back at the end.
-Richard Fosters "Celebration of Discipline"--a modern classic on the discipline it takes to walk with Jesus, faithful to the Scripture.  While the yoke is easy walking with Jesus (because He bears it with you), the road is hard (because it's difficult in this world).  One must understand the call from the outset, and be ready to change.
-AW Tozers "The Pursuit of God"--considered by many to be one of the top 10 Christian books of the 20th century, this book calls Christians to follow Jesus with reckless abandon.  Tozer is forthright, honest, and clear about the call to discipleship.  It's short, too (only about 120 small pages).
-Shane Claibornes "Irresistible Revolution"--I read this little book in college, and it forced me to think about how fake my discipleship was.  I wasn't really trying to follow Jesus, and I wasn't really trying to serve and love others.  Claiborne challenged me when I needed it.  While I don't agree with him on many theological fronts, I did appreciate this books radical call to obedience.
-Donald Millers "Blue Like Jazz"--this is another book I read a long time ago.  Miller isn't necessarily orthodox in his theological views (from what I can tell), but he's an incredible writer, loves Jesus, and is honest about his feelings and thoughts.  While today I would recommend something from the first list before I would this title, this is still one that I'd endorse as being accessible, clear, and inviting to a non-believer.

Coming next week, Apologetics (reasoning for the faith) and Emotional Health.

When Old You Becomes New You's

"You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God...and this word is the good news that was preached to you"  
1 Peter 1:23,25

Peter knew something about revival and rebirth--he certainly didn't know the mechanics of how God makes a person new by the hearing of Jesus' Gospel (it is sovereign and mysterious).  But he had witnessed the fruit of it countless times by the time he wrote this letter which would eventually be accepted as divinely-inspired revelation from God.

It was him preaching the first Christian sermon where 3000 people made decisions for Jesus.  Of course, we don't know if all 3000 of those who received his sermon and were baptized really did continue on in the faith, but we know that Jesus began a revival from that point forward.  Jesus' Name became famous, and Peter was the main speaker for it.  It was he who repeatedly defended his miraculous healing of the lame beggar saying it was Jesus' Name and Jesus' power that did it.  It was he who spoke truth to the liars Ananias and Sapphira, after which they dropped dead for lying to the life-giving and life-sustaining God the Holy Spirit.  It was he who took the Gospel message to non-Jews, telling them that Jesus will judge them all, but that He died for them so that faith in Him would assure their forgiveness--and many more people came to faith.  And it was he who stood over the council of Jerusalem and said that God cleanses mens' hearts by faith, and that that faith is faith in being saved "through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 15:9,11).  Surely Peter knows a little something about the power of God's Word to make a person into a new person.  But what does it look like practically?

Searching Leads to Finding

If you've ever been bored with your usual music playlist, you know how refreshing it is to come upon a new artist or band that meets the need and fills the void.  Any fan of music knows what I mean.  You've been missing something, you've felt the miss, and some new sound has met you where you are to give you a jolt of energy. 
While this is a poor illustration, it certainly has parallels to what happens when one is born again.  They've been either empty, broken, or at the very least missing.  Perhaps they've been questioning God, or man, or both.  They've struggled with the important questions (ie, why are we here?, where does right and wrong come from?, did the cosmos just happen or was it created?, why is the Gospel so good but the people who believe it such hypocrites?), and they've not found sufficient answers.

At this very point, which seems dark and fearful, Jesus' words from 2000 years ago--"Come all you are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)--comes to them in a personal and powerful way.  To their joy, they realize that while they were slipping out of darkness's grip, it was because Jesus was pulling them into His.  The Father was teaching them and drawing them to Him so that they could have new life in His Name (John 6:44-45, 63), and just like all along He had been serving them rain, sunshine, and food from behind the veil of His creation (Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17, 17:25), He has now served them through the life-giving truth of His Word.

The Map

Sometimes it happens through solid preaching from a pastor, sometimes through reading authors such as CS Lewis or John Piper, and sometimes through simple Bible reading.  But it always coincides with Jesus' Words being on a collision course with the hard questions, and it always leads to a radical change in perspective whereby one who was skeptical of "God said" is now saying, "yes he did, and I can't help but believe it".

This is what Peter means when he says you were born "not of imperishable seed..." (ie, human cunning, wisdom, decision, etc.), but of "imperishable" (the grace and kindness of a loving God, who has a Father's heart and wills that all would be saved through His powerful Word).  God can't die and God can't lie, and so He continues on eternally, giving a never-ending salvation to those who draw near to Him through His Son (Hebrews 5:9, 7:24-25). 

Home

In a culture marked by opinions flying through the air like bullets in a militia battle (most missing their intended targets), everyone is looking for truth.  And truth exists.  And truth doesn't change.  But most would rather run from the God who created them, even after He pursued them. 
This is why the Word has to be powerful enough to overcome their rebellion.  And while there is certainly never a "forcing", there is certainly a transformation that can't be explained in human terms.  One awakes and sees that the One they ran from in hopes of finding truth had the truth all along, and they ran because they were unsatisfied by it.  Now they are satisfied.  And it's sweet, and it's joyful, and it answers the big questions while leaving the little ones "to be continued...".  But it's also line-drawing, and so "freedom" has new boundaries.  But these boundaries are even good, because the "freedom" the person had before wasn't really freedom after all--it was rebellion.  And one can rebel and rebel and rebel, but eventually one must land and call it "home".  And having landed in Jesus' truth, out of darkness and into light, one finds that they have turned from "one" into "two"--their self, and the life of Jesus in them.

And this is why Paul writes, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).  Paul believed that Jesus really did die for him, and really did put His life inside of him.  Paul certainly isn't Jesus (nor is anyone but Jesus), but Paul is "in Jesus" (3:28), and this unity has made him new, as it has for anyone who has "put on the imperishable" (1 Corinthians 15:54).

This new home is temporary, but it contains in it the reminder that an eternal one is coming.  One where truth will be fully unveiled to every eye, where justice will be fully carried out by He who alone can carry it out, and where there will be no more longing because all that can be had will be.  This is why Peter said earlier in His letter that the Father has "caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1:3).  This is a hope that becomes the center of one's gravity.  Whereby one assumed before that hope exists to orbit around them, they now find themselves orbiting around it.  And this is the way it should have been all along. 

Kingdom, week 7: Heaven-Mindedness and True Rest

"Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven...do not be anxious about tomorrow...seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew6:20, 34, 33).

Worry Roots

Our natural tendency to worry flows from several different avenues, but its primary root is a lack of acknowledgment of the Living God.  Our minds are set on comfort, satisfaction, and happiness from worldly and natural things (money, affirmation, possessions, power, family and friends idolatry, etc.), and because none of these things are guaranteed, we find ourselves in a constant struggle against anxiety.  It always feels like we're out of oxygen and ocean waves are crashing over us.  It's not that we don't believe in God...most of us do.  It's just that we function like we're God, and our narrative is the right one.  Because of this, we never find ourselves truly at rest and peace.

I remember being a younger man (not that long ago), and struggling with excruciating depression.  It was an extremely dark time that lasted several years and it never seemed it would let up.  I remember finding solace in reading the Psalms (especially 33, 42-43, 77), because the writers were brutally honest in communicating their anxieties and frustrations with God.  The reason I connected with that so well was because I saw myself the victim and God the mean "big man upstairs" who was withholding blessing from me and not giving me what I wanted.  No affirmation, no true fellowship, not a lot of success in the things which marked my livelihood (music, sports).  When it began to sink in that it wasn't going to work out for me, the darkness set in, and it didn't seem it would ever lift.
As I studied the Scriptures and came to ask Jesus about my struggles, I began to see that the reason I was so sad and angry was because I had allowed the world/culture to define "success" and "joy" for me, and since I couldn't measure up to that narrative, I was mad at everyone, including myself and God.  Instead of seeking out what God says is best for me, I was defining that myself, and getting upset at Him for not giving it to me.  I viewed God as a genie who was there to give me my wishes.  I remember writing songs and blog posts talking about how I was "waiting on God" and trusting Him, but it wasn't true.  I was really just upset with Him and trying to impress others with how "spiritual" and "patient" I was.  I was a poser, and Jesus knew it best, even if no one else (including myself) did.

Shifting Focus

Then things began to change.  When I moved back to my home state after college, I was in a church ministry capacity to teens.  It always seemed to me that the ministry of the Church was to teach the Bible.  As I studied it to get better at my "craft" (whoa to me for thinking ministry was my. craft.), I began to be enlightened.  I began to see that my hostility towards God was because I hadn't honored him or thanked Him, and in return, He had withdrawn His restraining hands and told me, "fine, let THY will be done" (Romans1:18-24).  I the creature was under judgment for not honoring Him the Creator.  I saw that not only was this the root of my sin, but that I was enslaved to it (John8:34), and that I had as much chance at changing myself as a leopard has at changing his spots (Jeremiah13:23). 
But then I saw that Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1Tim1:15), calling lost people to forsake their self and follow Him (Luke19:10), and that if they'd stop trying to protect their self, He would start protecting them and never stop (Matthew16:24, 2Timothy2:12).  I learned that Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived, but instead of seeking glory on earth, He died for sinners to draw them back to God.  I saw myself as a sinner who needed Him, and He brought me to faith by His powerful Word (John6:44-45, 63).  I also saw that I had never truly believed this before because I was seeking glory from other people, and this hamstringed me from submitting to Him (John5:44, 1Cor2:14).
This is what happens to true disciples.  At first, their minds are set on mans' things, but then they begin to see God's things.  It's painful, and it often takes time, but it brings them to child-like faith, which is necessary, because without it, they'll never make to heaven (Matthew18:3). 
Peter rebuked Jesus for Jesus' saying He would be killed, and then Jesus told him he was being selfish (Matt16:22-23).  Then Peter denied knowing Jesus three times in Jesus' greatest hour of need (Matt26:69-75).  Then after Jesus rose, Peter was still comparing himself to others (John21:20-23). 
But Jesus loved him.  And He patiently broke down Peter's hard-heartedness.  Eventually Peter led a movement in Jesus' name for Jesus' glory...one that's still continuing today.

Resting

Once one has been taken through this rebirth process, they see Jesus not only as God who's worthy of worship, but as a friend who has loved them and always will.  They read that He has all authority (Matt28:18), that He is seated at God's right hand interceding to Holy God for them (Hebrews1:4), that He's returning one day to take them to their true home (1Cor15:22-24), and that He has promised to love them and protect them and always be with them (John10:28, Matt28:20) even through the hard stuff, because He is actually alive inside of them (Galatians2:20, Colossians3:4). 
Not only do they read these things, but they actually believe them!  He has become to them not only the King who sits upon the throne of their hearts, but the Shepherd who holds them in His arms and makes them lie down and rest.  "I'm not perfect...but I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me His own" (Philippians3:12). 
"We who have believed enter that rest" (Hebrews4:3), one said about disciples' present reality of the future Kingdom which will come when Christ return.  It's a Kingdom of rest, because one has been brought to see their self subject to God (not man), and Christ has given them a permanent right-standing with God.  "There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" (Romans8:1), and "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (8:31).

There are surely moments of weakness and unbelief.  Temptation will come, and men will fail their Lord.  But He won't.  He'll convict them and bring them to repentance.  They'll grieve over their sin and confess, sure to be forgiven (1John1:9).
There's no greater way for a leader to gain the allegiance of those in his charge than to make them know he loves them and will go to the end of himself for them.  Jesus is the King of God's eternal Kingdom, and He has gained His peoples' allegiance by having born their sins and sorrows on the execution stake, and risen again to tell them about it.  They live in the world, but their King is the One who has always been King.  And He will continue as such until He returns and makes a new world.

10 Ways You Know You Belong to Jesus, part 2

Continuing from last week, here are the last five ways we know we belong to Jesus.

6. You are learning how to love others better

     Jesus Himself had said that the Law was fulfilled in just two commands: "Love God with all you have" and "love your neighbor as yourself".  Love is typically defined today as "doing everything you can to not offend or 'judge' others".  But this is really just self-protection: protecting one's self from awkward conversations and letting others in close.  There is a standard set by One who is above us (our Creator, Provider, and Redeemer), and this is why we all consider right and wrong to be so important (see Romans2:14-16). 
At the same time, it also isn't any good for a religious person to act like the morality police around everyone else, telling everyone when they're breaking the standard (as though you are the Holy Spirit!).  God's love which flows through His people is the love that Jesus showed: Grace and truth (John1:14,18).  The grace to patiently forbear with people the way He does with us...forgiving others when they wrong us (Matthew6:14-15), and earnestly loving them with a desire for their knowledge of the truth (because without love, this "knowledge" is useless...see 1Corinthians13:1-3). 

7. You are learning how to tell the truth to others better

      But also there is willingness to speak the truth even if it means awkwardness and hatred.  It isn't loving to pretend that the most loving thing we can do is let people continue on doing things that are going to destroy them in the end.  Sin is sin, and if left unchecked, it will win and we will lose (Matthew13:22). 
Belonging to Jesus is the only way to bring about the grace and truth balance.  And as we walk with Him, we see His perfect "tough and tender" love embodied, and, by His grace, it becomes part of our character as well.  An example of this is seen in Paul--his desire was for the Jews to believe the Gospel, so much so that he would weep for them and even wish a curse upon himself if it meant that they would believe (cf Romans9:2, Philippians3:18).  At the same time though, he would make clear the condemnation the Gospel speaks over those Jews who refused to submit to the truth, and he would leave and move on to those who might listen (cf Acts13:46, 28:28).

8. You have new desires to be obedient to God

     God has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness, and it is through His promises in the Gospel that we "put on the divine nature" (2Peter1:3-5).  The Gospel is based on the promises of God, and through faith in these promises, we are not only adopted into God's family, but we even begin to have His nature put inside of us.  We don't become God by any means, but we become like Him in much the same way a child begins embodying his or her parents' characteristics.  Because God is holy, His people are to become holy as well (1Peter1:15, Hebrews12:14).  Following the Bible's commands is not a chore to children of God--it's a privledge and a pleasure.   They want to follow God's Word; although the flesh might be at war with the Holy Spirit inside of them, it's the Holy Spirit's desires that the Christian really wants.  See Galatians5:17.

9. You trust Him

     While Peter walked out onto the water and began to sink, Jesus then asked him, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew14:31).  Peter rightly lacked faith in himself and the water, but he began sinking when this lack began eclipsing His faith in Jesus and His perfect command.  Surely no one should have complete faith in fallible humans and created things.  But Jesus' command is completely trustworthy regardless of how untrustworthy everything (and everyone) else is. 
     A Christian may struggle with doubts at different points in the journey, but Jesus' death, resurrection, and continual intercession for His people until He returns becomes enough for them to trust Him even now.  You might be prone to fail, and so might the water.  But Jesus doesn't.  As Christians are transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans12:2), they believe more and more that although they are prone to sin and faithlessness, He is faithful (2Timothy2:13)...and in this they not only rejoice, but their faith increases.

10. You pray for His will, and really want it

     Finally, one of the first things Jesus taught His disciples to pray for was God's will to be done:  
          First, that God's name be hallowed (regarded as holy);
          Second, that His Kingdom come; and
          Third, that His will would be done on earth as in Heaven (Matthew6:9-10). 
     To pray that God would have His way can be faked (as it is anytime one prays this prayer as a religious rite, but don't really mean it).  But to earnestly desire His will being done requires one's trusting that His will is best, and one's trusting that God can bring it about (which is why they're praying for it!). 
     Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew6:33-34) isn't like one seeking to end world hunger--a goal that isn't yet reached, and that's why they're trying.  Seeking first God's Kingdom is what one does because the Kingdom has already made a home in them!  The Kingdom has already been established--not in its fullness yet--but established nonetheless.  Those in Christ desire that His Name be made much of, and His glory fills the whole earth, because His glory fills them.  Called to proclaim His excellencies, one believes He is most excellent, and this pushes them to desire His will to be done.

Again, I hope this has been helpful for you.  Grace and peace!

10 Ways You Know You Belong to Jesus, part 1

The Bible says we can know we belong to Christ (1John5:13, Philippians3:12), and that the Holy Spirit (the very presence and power of God in us) is the One who tells us this (Romans8:16, 1John3:24).  But Jesus also said that one can be recognized by the fruit that they bear.  We'll spend the next couple of posts looking at what the Bible says is "good fruit", sure that the Holy Spirit will guide us into the truth.

1. You love Him

     "Love" is a word thrown around like a rag doll today.  It's meaning is found in the eye of the beholder, defined however the person wants to define it.  Jesus, the Word and Creator of all things--thus qualifying Him for having the right definition--defined it in several ways: a) laying your life down for your friends, the way He did for us (John15:13); b) having a deeper affection for Him than for even your family (Matthew10:37); and c) living in obedience to His Word (John14:15).  A disciple is one who has left all to follow Him, acquired a love for Him that surpasses love for even family, and is willing to die for Him because obedience to His command is worth even death.  "Though you haven't seen Him, you love Him" (1Peter1:8).

2. You know He loves you

     Far from the myth that "actions speak louder than words", actions do provide context to the words that are spoken.  God told Israel that their mouths honored Him, but their hearts denied Him (because He could see their hearts) (see Isaiah 29:13).  Jesus' act of dying on the cross to bear His peoples' sins ("His people" being those who believe in Him--John3:16) demonstrates His and the Father's love for us--that while we were still sinners and ungodly, "Christ died for us" (Romans5:8).  For the one who is in Christ, this isn't just a head-knowledge that gets sung about on Sunday mornings at church--this is the very center of their existence, that they are those whom Jesus has loved, like John continually referred to himself throughout his Gospel account.  This can be communicated and told...and it should be (1Peter3:15-16)...but the cross and all of its effects can only be appreciated by those who are in Christ.  See Paul's prayer for us to understand this more in Ephesians3:14-19.  When understood, this loves makes a person into a new person--a new creation in Christ (2Corinthians5:17).  They can't explain everything, but they know they love Jesus and they believe that He loved them first.
     This is important because many live lives of religion where they try and please God enough that perhaps He will one day say that He loves them.  In Christ, we know that He pleased God for us.  And in believing in Him, we're not seeking to please Him in hopes that He'll love us, but rather, because we know He already does love us.  And living in Christ is a joy when you're not performing for a grade.

3. You hate sin

     On the cross, Jesus became sin so that we would become God's righteousness (2Corinthians5:21).  He bore our sins in His body that we would die to sin and live to righteousness (1Peter2:24).  God hates sin (Psalm5:5, 11:5), and on the cross, God treated Jesus like He had committed our sins, so that we who committed them would be treated like we hadn't.  Jesus was "cut off" for a short time so that we who were cut off would be grafted back in...adopted into the family of God through our big brother Jesus having purchased our adoption.  Because of this, Christians despise and grieve the sin they have in their lives, because sin destroys and leads to death (James1:15).  They hate it so much that they're willing to dig deeper to find the real reason behind it.  For example, if a man lusts after another man's wife, he'll afterward think, "why did I do that?  I know I shouldn't, so what makes me do that?"  The presence of sin grieves him because Jesus died to put away sin and make us new creations who are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.  They also hate seeing others destroy themselves in rebellious, unrepentant, following after sin.  This grieves the Christian, the same way it grieves God.

4. You are convicted in areas that need repentance

      Being willing to dig deeper, conviction then comes.  The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John16:9-10), and to lead us into all the truth (John16:13).  He shows us what the "sin underneath the sin" is, and leads us to see what areas we need repentance in.  This is important, because most will usually only assume that the act of sinning is what needs repented of...and this is true, there is a reason why the Christian would still give into things that lead to death while eternal life dwells in them: the flesh, which battles with the Holy Spirit, wages war on the person "to make them do the things they don't want to do" (Galatians5:15-25).  This is contextualized to the exact situation, and one finds their self with a choice.

5. You then repent

     Since hatred of sin and even conviction isn't enough--actual repentance is necessary.  Jesus said that those who love Him will keep His commands (John14:15, 15:8), and His command is to abide in His love (15:3-5).  Love for Him and love for sin can't coexist, because they're two different masters, and both can't be served.  One will either follow after one and deny the other, or vice-versa (Matthew 6:24).  Those in Christ renounce and forsake that which would hold them back from fellowship and eternal life with Christ.  Justification (God's pronouncement that we are forgiven in Christ) is only a reality if it is then followed with faithful obedience to God's leading (see Romans5-6).  Justification comes by faith in Christ, but if it be without the good works the Father has given us to do (to repent, be faithful, follow Him by His Word and Spirit, etc.), it's not real.  Faith without works indeed is dead (James2:17).  We consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ, because Christ died not only to give us forgiveness but also freedom from the sin that had us needing forgiveness (Romans6:11, 1Peter2:25).

#s 6-10 will come next week, Lord willing!  I hope this is helpful for you, and thank you so much for taking the time to read.  Grace and peace be on you and in you, in Christ.

Kingdom, Week 6: God-Centered Worship

"Beware of practicing your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."   Matthew 6:1

Jesus has been showing that his disciples are to embody humility, mission-mindedness, and diligence with God's Word.  Now His focus shifts to their character as they worship God in their religious acts. 

God our Father 

Almost every religion recognizes the need for generous giving, prayer, and fasting.  And almost every religion recognizes that these are to be done towards the ends of seeking a reward from God.  But only Christianity has Jesus saying to do these for the ends of receiving a reward from your Father in heaven. 
The idea that God becomes a Father to us is intensely personal, as we each have an earthly dad, whether a good or bad one.  And much of our self-image and worldview is shaped by our dad and how connected we are (or were) to him.
Jesus says that in Him, God becomes a Father to us.  The Bible says when we receive God's Son Jesus, we're born of God (John1:12-13), and He adopts us into His family because our big brother Jesus paid for our adoption (Romans8:14, Galatians4:4-6).  God is loving, but He's also Just, and we, being sinners, while being continually blessed and provided for by Him, are under His condemnation for our sin.  But Jesus bore our sin and became sin for us.  In Him, God forgives us, adopts us, and makes us His children.  We're reborn through Jesus' resurrection into a new family.
When God is our Father, our worship of Him is soaked in thanksgiving, because He's lavished on us grace upon grace in Christ.  "Whatever you do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians3:17), for "this is God's will for you, that you'd pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances" (1Thessalonians5:17). 

Every Blessing

If we're in Christ, God has blessed us with every blessing that can ever be imagined, even though we don't see it in all of it's fullness yet (see Ephesians1:3, 1Peter1:7-9).  Surely God could never withhold anything from us if it's already ours, which is Paul's point in Romans8:33-39.  So this saturates our prayers and acts of service: we know God has blessed us, is blessing us, and will continue to.  So we continue coming to Him in prayer and thanksgiving.

But if we don't think we're going to receive blessing from God, we'll begin to seek blessing from others ("Scott, I love that song, thanks for singing it"; "excellent message..you nailed it!"; "oh you're fasting..wow, you're really committed!"). 
Jesus says that if this praise from others is our motive, it, in and of itself, is the only reward we'll receive (6:2, 4, 16).  This is because we're not approaching God as a Father who accepts us on Christ's basis.  Since we're not doing it thankfully in Him, we're trying to achieve acceptance from others, and so we're worshiping them but not Him.  In much the same way, many of us don't care as much about others' opinions of us, but we care deeply about our own opinion of ourselves.  Since men naturally feel more godly and pious when they do worshipful things, this gives us assurance.  But in this, we're worshiping us but not Him.  Either way is giving honor and glory to created things over the Creator, and is a direct breakage of Commandment #2. 

Fake Worship

Jesus says that many will come to Him with claims of intimacy, crying out "Lord Lord!", but He will say to depart, because He doesn't know them, to which they'll respond, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" (Matt7:21-23).  These are people who are expecting that God will accept them because they've done religious service like what's described here in chapter 6.  But profession and religious service isn't enough.  Truly being God's son or daughter is what's required.  This is why 7:21 said that it's not those who claim "Lord Lord", but those who "do the will of the Father", which Jesus later defined as sitting at His feet listening, calling those who do it His "brother and sister and mother" (see Matt12:46-50).  Ah! And we're back to needing to be Jesus' family--sons and daughters of the most high God.

How do you worship?  Do you worship God as a Father who has loved you enough to bury your sins through Jesus' cross?  Do you worship Him as a child who can only say thanks and enjoy spending time with Dad?  Or are you still performing for others, hoping for their approval?  Or worse, are you performing for God, hoping for His approval, when Jesus already said, "It's finished"?

Honesty

One can't "fake" worship with God--He sees our hearts (1Samuel16:7, John2:24-25); so we need to come honestly when we're giving, praying, or fasting.  There will be times when we won't "feel it", as well as times when we'll be angry with God even.  But there is never a time when God isn't worth it, nor is there ever a time when we don't need to be seeking Him and disciplining ourselves.  That's what it means to be a disciple.
This is why the truth that God is our Father in Christ is so important to remember.  If we have struggles, temptations, questions, and emotions, we can come to Him as a child comes to their father.  In Christ, God's not going to love us any less, because His acceptance of us is based on the performance of Jesus on our behalf, not on our own.
And so this should spur us on to not view our worship as a performance, but as a "sacrifice of praise, holy and pleasing to the Lord".

Kingdom, week 5: Careful With God's Word

Jesus spoke in Matthew 5:21-48 of the need to tremble before God's Word, never assuming you're doing a "good enough" job of keeping it that He'd consider you righteous.  "Be perfect, as your Father is perfect" is the concise summation in 5:48.  Implied is the need to continue to approach the Word of God and listen to it in order to bring about this end.  Jesus perfectly embodied this, in that He always quoted the Old Testament as authoritatively God's spoken Word.
This falls to the floor among many believers today.  Because the Word of God is being doubted, questioned, debated, and tossed around like it's an awards show acceptance speech, the idea of "being perfect as your Father is perfect" isn't popular.

But among those who actually HAVE God as their Father (and it's not everyone, but only those who have received Jesus, God's Son, as Lord; see John 1:11-13), this is a welcome invitation because they love the Word of God.  We trust that it tells the truth.  We don't look at it as a scientific textbook when it comes to the details of physics and things like that, but we consider that if it ever says something that's directly contrary to any other truth claim being postured in the world, the Bible wins, because the God who created wrote it.

We shouldn't think God's Word can be put on the same plain as "reason, tradition, and experience", as though it's worthy of being subjected to the mind of fallen people and the history of a fallen world (and if you do adhere to the so-called Wesleyan Quadrilateral, which has these three with Scripture as the top-left first point, you might disagree that here Scripture is made equal with the others; but practically, it is made equal with the rest, because the nature of a quadrilateral is that all the points are equally necessary to make the quadrilateral, even if some of the angles are wider than others).  On the contrary, obedience to Jesus' command to be careful with God's Word places the Word of God as the sun around which everything else (reason, tradition, experience, etc.) orbits.
Jesus' people believe that God has spoken, and all he speaks is right.  "I the Lord speak the truth" (Isaiah 45:19).  They view every word found in the Bible as authoritative, because a) Jesus and Moses both said that man lives by every Word that comes from God's mouth (see Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4), and b) Paul said that all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16).
Therefore, we should shut our mouths if we are hasty to utter a word before God, if we aren't first listening to God's Word to us.

Pharisaism had fallen into a state of apostasy, upholding with great care religious acts that made the people look like they were worshiping, while their diligence and care with God's Word spoke something different.  Jesus spoke this way in His Sermon on the Mount to show that God requires perfection, because He is perfect.  You can imagine that this would thunder through the peoples' hearts like a lightning bolt when they heard it.  But this is how Jesus the Living Word spoke--He spoke the truth, and truth pierces like the double-edged sword the Word of God is. 
If you've never been led to the foot of the cross and seen your need for the perfect sacrifice of the perfect God-man, Jesus, His teaching that one must be perfect should do the trick (and yet, for most, it won't).  But if you have been led there, and Jesus is your righteousness before a holy God, Jesus' teaching here should make you want to dig into the Word of God and seek a deeper discipleship and faithfulness.  Disciples are taught to obey "all that Jesus commanded" (Matt28:19), always "let(ting) the Word of Christ dwell in (them) richly" (Colossians 3:16). 

The fact is, you're building your life on some kind of foundation, assuming that it's the right one.  You hope that the foundation will keep your house standing during any storm the future might hold.  What a fearful task, to find the truth and build on it perfectly!

But Jesus offers an easier yoke--one that says "come and learn from me, and I will give you rest" (Matt11:28-29), and "if you build your life on my Words, you will stand firm" (see Matt7:24-27).
His Gospel is the way to be freed from the enslavement to sin and the world that would draw you away from His Word.  Beginning with understanding that you're a sinner and Jesus is the Savior who invites you to come as you are to be changed into a new creation by His grace and power, you're sure to make it, because He is sure to deliver.  His cross pays the ransom for sin that ensnares and His resurrection sets free those who have died with Him.
His Word promises it's true.  "This is the one to whom I will look--he who is humble and contrite in heart, and trembles at my Word" (Isaiah 66:2).

Kingdom, week 4: Salt and Light

"You are the salt of the land....You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."  Jesus, Matthew 5:13-16

It's no secret that Christians know they should be evangelical, meaning they should be sharing the message.  Everyone knows this, and this is part of the reason so many Christians have such a hard time loving each other--one group thinks the other group is misrepresenting Christ by being too loose, while the other thinks the first group is misrepresenting Him by not intersecting with non-believers at all.
There is no shortage of material, books, sermons, and opinions out there on what it means to the the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Though it certainly wouldn't be a waste of time to talk about this, I want to look at it a different way: what MAKES Christians the salt and light?

Many believers who want to make an impact in the world are doing whatever they can to bring the message of Jesus' love to the world and are doing a good job of seeking to live as salt and light.  The problem is in motivation: they aren't doing it because they love Jesus, but because they love the world.  And make no mistake: true Christians don't love the world (see 1 John 2:15--"if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him", and also James 4:4).  Instead, true Christians love Jesus, and this makes them love their neighbors.  There's a difference between loving the world and loving your neighbors--the former is concerned with one's own identity in the world, and the latter is concerned with one's neighbor's identity with Jesus.  What needs to change with this group is their starting point: they need to see themselves as Christ's ambassadors (2Corinthians5:17-21), sent to bring people to Jesus. 
Think of the "light" analogy:  Light shines from the object producing the light, outwardly to objects outside of itself.  Christians need to know that their identity with Jesus (who is Himself the light--John 8:12) is what makes them the light.  The world is not the light, but Jesus is.  Instead of seeking acceptance with the world, one seeks fellowship with Jesus, and wants others to have it as well.  This makes them the light.  But they're not the light if fellowship with and acceptance in the world still matters more to them than Jesus. 
They must remember that Jesus had said earlier that there's blessing for being persecute for Him.  One might need also to ask the question, "Is my evangelism flowing from my love for Jesus and desire to see people come to know Him, or is it flowing from a desire for people to accept me and my Christianity?"  Verse 16 said the motivation for shining the light is that of wanting people to glorify God...not you.  Where do you fall on this?  I have to repent daily.

On the other hand, many believers are into the practice of staying behind closed church doors and talking about two subjects: what's wrong with the world, and how following our religious activity would fix it.  And this isn't light either.  Believers who spend all their time talking about what's wrong with culture, society, and non-believers are both guilty of not "letting their light shine before others" (v16), or being "the salt of the earth" (v13).  Salt seasons and preserves--it is only useful in that it is scattered and spread on the objects that aren't salty.  Salt is of no use if it stays in the salt shaker, the grains talking amongst their self about how unsalty everything outside is. Jesus says true Christians are only fulfilling their call when they're poured out of the shaker and are salting that which isn't salty.
This means you're NOT taken "out of the world" but are "kept from the evil one" (John 17:15).  You live in the world, but you're not under Satan's power as you're here.  You belong to Jesus, and so you can be a citizen of your city, town, neighborhood, etc., seeking to connect and build bridges with non-believers in hopes that they come to know Jesus, without the fear that they'll influence you more than you'll influence them.
Religious activity never saved anyone (cf Matt15:8-9; Ac13:39, 15:10; Rom3:20; Gal3:10).  If you're with your church group, talking about what's wrong with the world and how if they came into your church they would be fixed as they become like you, you'd actually make them worse if they came in, because Jesus' people live as salt, and you're not salt, so you're not Jesus' people.

People who believe the gospel share the gospel with others.  This doesn't mean they don't struggle with cowardice (Paul was even afraid at times--Acts18:9; 2Corinthians1:8, 7:5). It just means that, having the Holy Spirit, God's Word wells up in them like it did for Jeremiah, a "fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot" (Jerem20:9).  If you believe, you speak and act (cf 2Cor4:13). 
But you do it knowing who Jesus is: the Beginning and End of all things, who came to bear our sin on the cross, rose to make us new, and is coming again for those who are waiting for Him.  He's the Light, and that makes us the light.  And our shining the Light proves we have the light. 

Some may be in danger of loving the world and that's why they speak and act.  Others may be in danger of loving themselves and that's why they don't speak (because they think "people should come to me, not me to them").  Both are wrong.  God's people shine as light in the world, for everyone to see, that His glory would fill the earth, and His Name would be made much of.  "I have made you a light for the nations, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).  What makes us the light is acknowledgement that a) people need saved by Jesus, b) we've been saved by Jesus, and c) no one, including us, has any light without Him.  Let those who have the light shine it that people would know Him who is Light.

Kingdom, week 3: Persecution

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when others revile and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."   (Matthew 5:10-11)

Persecution is what happens when someone holds a conviction, others disagree vehemently with it, and the latter makes life hard for the former.  This can either happen with physical persecution, emotional persecution, verbal, etc.  People have been persecuted for their race, their religious beliefs, their actions, their words, and anything else under the sun that has put them in opposition to others. 

Jesus here speaks of two kinds of persecution in His Kingdom: persecution for righteousness, and persecution for Him.
The first, righteousness, in this passage, simply refers to performing and acting in line with what is God's revealed will and purpose for us.  It refers to living life before God's face, and earnestly desiring His will to be done. 
People don't just hate God's word and will if they're atheists or if they live in a 10-Commandment-less culture.  People can live in a Biblical theocracy and still be hostile to it.  This is why people didn't receive Jesus when He came to Israel--they hated God, even though they thought they loved him.  In reality, their religious observance didn't flow out of love for God, but out of love for self, as all religion does.
Anyone willing to be persecuted for the sake of God's Word and will are promised two things: a) persecution, and b) God's Kingdom.  Since the Fall, man leans away from God and His Word, and so anyone who assumes His Word to be true and lives in light of it will be opposed.  But Jesus promises here that they'll receive the Kingdom.
This is because if they're hungry for God's righteousness, they'll be hungry for Jesus.  "If you believed Moses, you would believe me...if anyone's will is to do God's will, he'll know whether my teaching is from God" (John5:46, 7:17).  Simply, if you believe in God's Word, the truth therein, and live in light of it, you'll receive Jesus, because the Word leads you to Him and the salvation that He provides for us (see Galatians 3:24-26).

This leads us to the second persecution: for Jesus' sake.  It's no secret that Jesus is "the stumbling block" all throughout the Bible.  This is because He's the only way to God (see John14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, and Hebrews 7:25), and He saves people by His grace and work, not by the peoples' work (see Isaiah 53:11-12, Luke 19:10, and 1 Timothy 1:15).  Very simply, Jesus is the King of God's Kingdom, and the only way into this Kingdom is through the King: Jesus. 
To be saved, one has to believe that they exist because God created them, that they're sinners in need of salvation, and that Jesus' perfect life which culminated in a bloody crucifixion and triumphant resurrection is the only way to salvation. 
This doesn't make them judgmental towards others.  It makes them citizens of a different "Kingdom" while still living in the same physical world as others.  And being "called to belong to Jesus" (Romans 1:6), they're called to shine their light so others see (Matt5:14), make disciples of all nations (Matt28:20), and bear witness to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts1:8). 
So of course they'll be persecuted: they believe everyone (including themselves) is on their way to hell if not for Jesus having born their hell on himself on the cross, "to be received in faith".  Have you, Christian, ever talked to a non-believer about what you believe about Heaven and Hell?  It's even more uncomfortable than being a Broncos fan this past Sunday night around 8:00!

But it's the truth.  And Jesus' death and resurrection proves it to be true.  If you've repented and followed Him, you have no choice, not only to believe it, but to proclaim it.  "Make disciples of all nations...teaching them to obey all I've commanded you" were His words to us. 
The stakes being so high in the Bible run completely counter to the way our minds work.  But so is grace counter to our way of thinking.  God says He saves us by HIS powerful working (see Ephesians 2:10, Hebrews 4:12-13). 
As offensive as Jesus the Stumbling Block is to people (1Peter2:6-8), the proclamation about Him is what saves many of those offended people (1Peter1:23-24, cf Romans 1:16). Blessed are you for being persecuted for Christ's sake--it means you are "counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name" (Acts5:41), which puts you in a long line of witnesses who will receive an eternal inheritance.  And in many cases, blessed will be those who are standing within eye-shot of your being persecuted, because many of them will be saved.

Are you willing to suffer dishonor for Jesus?  He gave so much for us...how much have you given? 
One more thought: Jesus is telling us to be persecuted, not to be the persecutors.  Just because you have the truth doesn't mean you can smack people in the face with your every conviction.  Let the Holy Spirit do the discerning.  Be known for talking about Jesus, not for disagreeing with everything.  You will have opportunity to share conviction, but don't get to 5:10-11 in Matthew without first going through 5:3-9 ("blessed are...poor in spirit...meek...merciful...peacemakers...").  It is your humility which will "heap burning coals on peoples' heads", not your actually heaping burning coals on their heads.

Kingdom, week 2, part 2

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:5-6     

In describing the character of saving faith in His Kingdom, Jesus has said that it's only the humble who get in.  As with any "group" or "organization", there is a prerequisite for entrance, and with His Kingdom, it's humility.  We've seen that this humility includes poverty in spirit (5:3) and mourning (5:4).  
Now Jesus continues by showing that the next two characteristics are meekness and an appetite for righteousness. 
These are in keeping with how the Kingdom of God works exactly opposite the way the world works.  In the world, it's self-seeking, self-building, smiley-faced optimism that makes you worthy of glory.  Jesus' Kingdom works the exact opposite.  It's self-slaying that gets you into His Kingdom.  "If anyone comes to me and doesn't hate...even his own life, he can not be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).  The attitude is hatred of all one has known up until that point.  Then he is called to "renounce all he has", because without this, "he can not be (Jesus') disciple" (14:33).  Thus Jesus calls for meekness--an attitude of one not trying to build their own kingdom and set their own self up, but instead having a hatred of all that he's known, so that they love all that Jesus is and all that Jesus has. 

If this be you, you are "blessed", because Jesus says you will inherit "the land" (Gk).  This refers to the final restoration of Israel in the "Promised Land" as promised in the OT prophets, and then clarified in Revelation 21-22.  One day all of God's people will be brought together for eternity in "the New Jerusalem" (Rev21:2).  Whereas those who "lay up treasure for their self" will die, those who are "rich toward God" will find rest (see Luke 12:20-21), which begins now, and is fulfilled then.
Jesus then says the next characteristic is a hunger and thirst for righteousness.  "Righteousness" in the Bible simply refers to holy character and actions that are in line with what glorifies God and His revealed word and holiness.  It's not based on what seems right to man (for "there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is death"--see Proverb 14:12), but that which is right according to God.  The trust is that one can lie to their self and really be convinced they're doing things for God and righteousness, only to have Jesus tell them "I never knew you...depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23, emph. mine).  The question isn't do you think you know Jesus--it's "does Jesus know YOU?"  Well, does he?

This is what "hungering and thirsting for righteousness" means: having a hunger for right-relatedness to God.  It's not about feeling good about yourself or being lifted up and exalted by others (Jesus says the glory of man keeps people from believing in Him--see John 5:44 w/ Romans 2:28-29).  Rather, it's about truly wanting to be lined up with God's perfect righteousness.  It's being over the world and others, and wanting God alone.  Only then does Jesus and His coming to us shine forth in all of its glory.
Are you over the world?  Do you long for being more obedient to His Word?  Do you long to glorify Him and make much of Him?  Jesus says that those who do will be satisfied.  Because Jesus has come.  

The glory of the gospel is that Jesus came to give us His righteousness.  Sin is deadly in that the wages of sin is death.  Since God is infinite, sin against Him deserves an infinite punishment.  So who could stand before Him?  "If the Lord were to mark iniquities, who would stand?" (Psalm 130:3).  "How could man be in the right before God?" Bildad asked while "comforting" his suffering friend Job (Job 25:4).  The answer to these questions are "No one", and "no way" respectively.  No one could stand before God, and no way could one be "in the right".  God is too holy and perfect, and you and I not only have sinned too much, but have hearts with sinful intent. 
So Jesus came to save us.  He is the God-man who lived the sinless life and paid for our sins on the cross so that we'd be made righteous.  We were lost, and Jesus came to find us.  "The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10).  When the Word of His seeking and saving is proclaimed to us, the Holy Spirit regenerates us and gives us new life (see 1 Peter 1:23), we believe it (Ephesians 2:8-9), and God counts the righteousness of Christ to our account (Rom 1:16, 3:20, 5:17-19), justifying us free of charge because Jesus paid for it (Rom 3:25, 4:5).  It's a work of grace, because no one but Jesus could pay for it, because He's the only one with the currency for it (perfect righteousness).  And He paid it so that we'd receive it as a gift, "to the praise of His glorious grace" (Ephesians 1:6).  He does it this way so that grace reigns supreme for what it is: the gift of eternal life. 

This is why one must be poor in spirit, mourning, meek, and hungering for righteousness.  It's because only with that character does one receive the gift.  Otherwise they still think they're good, righteous, and worthy of credit for being a "good person".  Only when people mourn for sin and hunger for God's righteousness (which, by the way, implies that they don't HAVE God's righteousness) does the gift of salvation by virtue of Jesus' seeking and saving make them be satisfied. 

Not only do we get "satisfied" by His gift of righteousness, but we change.  God's grace changes us into new creations in Christ. 
Many hear this grace message and say "well that's cheap grace and it'll lead to loose living".  Friend, you're not understanding.  It couldn't be cheap if Jesus paid for it with His blood, and it couldn't lead to loose living if in it people die to sin, the world, and their self.  On the contrary, the grace of God here changes the person's mourning to rejoicing, their poverty in spirit to filling with His Holy Spirit, their meekness into inheritance, and their hunger for righteousness to satisfaction in Christ's, and hungering for more!

Don't be deceived.  Many think they're doing things for God, but they're really only doing it for man, and it starts with wrong ideas of God's mission.  God doesn't need us to meet people's felt needs, because He does this--Matt5:44; Acts 14:17, 17:25.  He wants us to give people Christ, who is the True Bread from Heaven.  Don't try to avoid offending people and then call what you're doing "Gospel ministry".  It's far from it.  The Gospel does offend people.  A God fashioned in our own image might not offend, but the real God will (and you can see which one you lean towards by monitoring your statements about God--do they start with "I think..." or with "God...").  People need to know Him, not just "love".  They need to be offended by Him, so that they can be melted by Him, and then satisfied in Him.  Only in light of His holiness is His love seen in its glory.

What are you hungry for?  More money?  A warmer climate?  More "equality"?  Acceptance by others?  Jesus never promises any of those things in this world.  But He promises that if you hunger for God, you'll be satisfied, because Jesus gives Him to us.  "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father".  Stop hungering for that which doesn't satisfy.  Feast on the True Bread.