Category Archives: Sin

Perfect

1 Reply

Are you perfect yet?  Me either.  And yet, that is the goal: not ‘pretty good’ but perfect.  Really?  Take it straight from Jesus:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. “ (Matthew 5:48)

And Paul says, the reason he struggles to teach everyone about “Christ in you”  (See: Don’t Miss This!) is:

“… so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28b)

You’re thinking, “If following Jesus means I become perfect, then either I’ve failed or the whole thing is a hoax.”  Not to worry; Jesus’ brother, James, wasn’t perfect and he knew we all mess up:

“We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” (James 3:2)

And Paul knew he wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot.

” Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,… (Philippians 3:12a)

But he knew that perfection was the ultimate goal:

“…but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12b)

So, what’s the deal?  If no one attains perfection, how can that be the goal?  Why does Paul work so hard to “present everyone perfect in Christ”?  It’s the last two words, “in Christ,” that make all the difference.  Perfection is something Jesus does, not something we attain by our own striving.  It comes for all believers in the future, at the end of the age and the renewal of all things .

But right here and now, it is important for us to know that the word, perfect, in Greek, also means, complete.  And that helps us understand.  When someone trusts Jesus, Jesus completes that person by installing the essential, missing piece, His eternal life and Spirit in their soul (See: Don’t Miss This).  Their connection with God is restored immediately and the process by which He will one day  perfect them begins.  All that has been prepaid by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

“But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… because by one sacrifice he has made perfect [complete]  forever those who are being made holy [perfect].” (Hebrews 10:12&14 with my explanations)

So, are you perfect?  Not yet.  But, with Christ alive in you, you will be.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

James 3:2; Phil 3:12; 1 Co 13:10; Heb 10:14 & 12:2; Eph 4.13

Don’t Miss This!

4 Replies

Sadly, many churches have missed the most important point in the message of Jesus.  Which is to say they missed the whole thing.  They talk about Jesus and the Bible but have never understood what Paul called “the Word of God in it’s fullness.”  It’s the key.  It changes the News into Good News. You don’t want to miss it!

God foretold the coming of Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection, but He held one part back, hidden, until Jesus had come.  Paul called it a “mystery.”

“…the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.” (Colossians 1:26)

Without grasping this “mystery,” nothing about the message of Jesus “works.”  Jesus’ atoning sacrifice and God’s forgiveness would be useless.  The idea of being “holy and without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22 – See: No Halfway Measure) would be a farce.  Except for this amazing truth:

“… God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27b)

The “fullness” of the Gospel, the “mystery” held back until Jesus had appeared, is this:  When a person trusts and surrenders to Jesus Christ, Jesus begins to live eternally in his or her soul, by means of His Holy Spirit.  Jesus said,

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20)

“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. [literally, dwell within him]“ (John 14:23)

Receiving the Spirit and life of Jesus is how the believer crosses over from death to eternal life.

““I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)

This eternal life in us is the reason for our “hope of glory,” literally, for our confidence in the successful eternal outcome of following Jesus.  Trying to follow Him without His Spirit would be like trying to use GPS without a satellite connection.  Or a blender without electricity.  It would be impossible, without His life in us, to commune with God and grow in His ways.  We would be reduced to trying to follow a list of religious rules and failing.  But the Good News is this: if we truly trust Him, Jesus lives in us, empowering us and transforming us.

Don’t miss this!

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Reconciled

1 Reply

When you are in the doghouse, there’s no use pretending.  A busted love relationship brings down everything else.  You may not be sure what went wrong (especially if you are a guy!), but there’s no denying that the tension needs fixing.  Papering over conflict with smiles and nice talk doesn’t work.  Caving in, going along to get along is worse.  Both attempts are temporary at best and lead to sullen, resentment.  But when someone initiates real repair by doing whatever is necessary to truly reconcile the broken relationship, the results can be exhilarating.

It was God Who took the initiative to repair our broken relationship with Him.  Paul described it like this:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him (Jesus – See: Seeing the Invisible),  and through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. –  (Colossians 1:19-20 – with my comment)

Carefully note that it was God Who took the initiative.  And, He did not give in and say, “Let’s just pretend everything is OK now.”  He did everything necessary to truly repair the break.  The sobering, necessary cost was the blood payment for our sin.

Notice also that His act reconciled “all things” to Himself, not the other way around.  When you reconcile your bank statement, in almost every case it is your figures that must be adjusted to match the bank’s record; you change to reconcile to the bank.  God did not lower Himself to adjust to our sinfulness, but reached down through Jesus to lift us up to Himself.

The end result is peace.  Peace is not pretending to get along, it is the absolute, settled, restoration of the way things between us were always meant to be.  Peace wipes out all tension.  God, through Jesus, made this peace.  He took the initiative and He accomplished it.

You know, because you have been there, when your partner makes the first move to reconcile your relationship, it requires a certain humility to receive that act of love.  But if you are willing, you exchange brittle tension for peace and joy.

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ … God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation…We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20 – excerpts)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

An Old Tool

Leave a reply

Old tools fascinate me.  Looking at the areas worn bare from use, I  try to imagine who used it, what he was making.  Sometimes I’m more curious to know what it was used for.  Tool magazines frequently post pictures, asking, does anyone know what this is?

Words are tools. As they are used less, they get left in the toolbox. In time, people may not understand how they were used. Like the word, redemption.  In biblical times, it was not uncommon for someone to sell himself into slavery, to cover a debt.  Someone else, usually a close family member, could pay the slave’s owner a fee to purchase his (or her) freedom. He purchased redemption.  The former slave was now free.

Imagine how that felt, waking, the next morning to suddenly remember that everything that happens next is now a choice, not a command.  More profound for someone born into slavery, who had never known freedom. Such a person might not have realized he had been in bondage, nor the full implications of now being free.

When Jesus taught about how He could redeem us, some asked Him:

…“We … have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
     Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.   So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  –  (John 8:33 excerpt-36)

Perhaps the word, redemption, has suffered disuse because most of us, like Jesus’ listeners, don’t truly understand our condition of slavery.  But even those who were born into slavery can be redeemed, set free, and given a full and permanent place in God’s family.  If The Son sets us free, which He freely does for all who will trust Him, we have redemption, we are free indeed. 

Freed slaves eventually get it; they notice.  They rub their formerly bound wrists, look around in astonishment and gulp in fresh draughts of freedom.  Life is more than better, it begins!  Which is why Paul was so excited to say:

” …  For He (God, through Jesus) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.“
–  (Colossians 1:13-14)

Sometimes, when I learn how an old tool was used, I discover it works better than anything more recently made.  The word, redemption, is one of those.

There’s More

2 Replies

“But wait, there’s more!” Those words, made famous by infomercial hucksters, were given full measure by Ty Pennington on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition.  After walking each flabbergasted, tearful family through their newly built super-home, he’d say, “But wait, there’s more…” and then surprise them with another lavish gift, perhaps a fully paid off mortgage. 

The lavishness of the generosity, the “but wait, there’s more” attitude, is what made that show. It would have been enough if they had fixed their house and cleaned it up. But instead, anything they could imagine and accomplish to bless the family was piled on, with joy and enthusiasm. “But wait, there’s more…!”

That’s the feeling Paul must have had as he told his friends why he was so excited and happy for them as new believers. They had become recipients of the lavish, “but wait there’s more,” generosity of God. Look at his short list:

“… giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” –  Colossians (1:12-14)

Imagine the excitement experienced by each Extreme Makeover family when they first heard they qualified for an extreme makeover. God qualifies the new believer for full rights as an heir in His Kingdom. I once visited a mansion of an heir to a breakfast cereal fortune. Impressive, but not even close to the riches awaiting those who share in the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. It’s a wealth that cannot be measured with money.

Paul calls it the Kingdom of Light, and says, God has “rescued us from the dominion of darkness.” Ever met a meth addict? Most are pretty vivid examples of how the promise of fun quickly turns into dominion by very dark forces. Many worldly pleasures and treasures take control of us in a similar, if more subtle, way. But God rescues us, redeems us, forgives us and welcomes us home into the Kingdom of His Son.

Some of the most enthusiastic, happy people I know have been rescued from a very dark place and brought into His light. But they haven’t seen anything yet. To say it another way, “But wait, there’s more…“

Ransom

2 Replies

Why would teenage girls leave freedom and join up with ISIS?  Why would they willingly give themselves to a group that enslaves and abuses women?  Somebody must have lied to them, told them they would be better off, that their lives would matter, that they would be fulfilled.  Who knows what else?  And they bought it.  They believed the lies.

Suppose they get to Syria and pledge themselves to ISIS: what comes next?  Nothing good.  So, what would happen if these girls realize they’ve made a mistake and want to go back to Mom and Dad?  Almost certainly, ISIS would say, “No, we own you now; your lives belong to us.”   What if the girls have babies?  Those babies would be born into captivity and would belong to ISIS, too.   And what if Mom and Dad wanted to buy their daughter back – how much would ISIS demand in exchange for just one of their lives?  I’m not sure another life would be enough.

This modern day scenario works as a parable to explain how we humans have rebelled, bought into lies, run away from “Home” and have become enslaved and owned by Satan.  He holds us hostage, separated from God and destined for death.

Psalm 49 sums up our predicament:

“No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him— the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— that he should live on forever and not see decay.” (Psalm 49:7-9)

He says, there is no way any of us could pay enough to escape death and attain eternal life.  None of us could pay for anyone else, either.  Nevertheless, this same psalmist was inspired to know this:

“But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.” (Psalm 49:15)

No man can pay enough so God will do it; He will redeem me.  God gave that writer a peek and a hint of the most amazing good news!  God will pay the ransom and it will be enough.  As revealed to the prophet, Hosea, God said:

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death…” (Hosea 13:14a)

Jesus explained that His coming crucifixion would fulfill the promise of God:

“… the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Matthew 20:28b)

You can be set free.  You can return to your real “Home.”  You can escape death.  Here is the deal:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Jesus and ISIS

1 Reply

How would Jesus tell us to respond to ISIS?  Should we turn the other cheek?  Love our enemies?  Pray and trust God will handle it?  Overcome evil with good?  Certainly Jesus taught all of the above.  However, we must also remember that Jesus:

  • Publicly identified evil and stood against it.

    “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34, NIV)

  • Taught us not to turn away from the needy without helping.

    “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” (Matthew 25:35-36)

  • Commanded us to love one another and that the ultimate act of love is to lay down our own life for another.

    “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

Jesus’ teachings are directed to us as individuals; they do not easily adapt to directing national policy.

“But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39)

However, we, as a nation, cannot pretend that “strategic patience” is Christlike or good.  We have:

  • Failed to clearly identify evil and oppose it.
  • Failed to help innocent people by providing what they need to defend themselves.
  • Failed to sacrifice our resources and lives out of love for the oppressed.

The day may come when we as individuals can reach out with goodness and love to those who have been our enemies.  The day may come when we can set aside our desire for retaliation and actively work for reconciliation.  Perhaps we may adopt these attitudes as a nation.  But it is wrong for us as a people to dither and do nothing as wicked people torture, enslave and murder others.

Quotes:  The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Thou Shalt Not

Leave a reply

Two weeks ago, a toddler shot his mother and her boyfriend.  He found a gun in her purse and was messing around with it.  Ten days before that, a two year-old fatally shot himself with a gun he found in the glove compartment.  I’m not anti-gun; my son-in-law used a gun to protect his family from a rattler.  But anyone in his right mind would insist that his children not touch his guns. (He would also lock them up but this post isn’t about gun safety, it’s about loving rules.)  It isn’t being harsh for a parent to make strict rules about guns and enforce them.  It’s loving.  The kids may think you are spoiling their fun.  They may resent your rules and try everything they can to break them.  But the rules are loving, because you have made them to protect their lives.

The same principle holds true for God, Who is often perceived in a negative, kill-joy sort of way.  People say, “Why should we follow a bunch of rules laid down thousands of years ago by a mean-spirited, ignorant deity?  Let’s make up our own rules about what we can do.”  They resent God and decide to ignore what His rules.

But God says,

 “… ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11b)

God loves you.  He wants you to live.  Remember that the next time you feel like breaking one of His rules.

PS:  CHECK OUT THE NEW DOWNLOAD PAGE AT THE TOP!

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Testing, Testing

Leave a reply

When Jeff Bezos said Amazon was testing drones for package delivery, I’m sure he meant that they were putting the drones to the test in various kinds of bad circumstances, to make sure they would respond faithfully to the commands sent to them by Amazon.  No doubt, there are bad guys out there who will also try to influence and control those drones but in a different way.  They are going to try to override the delivery instructions, to tempt them off course, so to speak, in order to steal the goods.  Presumably, there will be two kinds of testing going on for the drones – perhaps even simultaneously.  Amazon’s testing will be designed to make them succeed; the other type of testing will be designed to make them fail.

There are two kinds of trials, two kinds of tests that happen to us humans, too.  God allows us to encounter trials, in order to help us learn to operate responsively to His instructions.  But we also encounter temptations (in Greek – both “trial” and “temptation” are the same word) designed to cause us to go astray or be destroyed.  This kind of test, temptations, come from Satan.  Remember the distinction between those two kinds of testing as you read these words from Jesus’ brother, James:

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” (James 1:13-14)

Temptations that drag us down toward evil and destruction never come from God.  His tests are designed to help us “fly right.”  Satan’s temptations usually are experienced as “evil desires.”

“Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15)

If we respond to the commands from the One Who made us, the end result is life, not death:

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” (James 1:16-18)

Quote: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Attaining the Impossible

1 Reply

Babies tell lies.   By the age of only 6 months, they have learned to pretend to be hurt, cry, and then look around to see if anyone is paying attention.  How about you: Do you lie?  Have you ever?  According to a communication study done in 2010, the average human tells 1.65 lies a day (that is if the subjects were telling the truth).  If you say you have never lied, that’s just the most recent one.  Lying is breaking the Ten Commandments.

Jesus was confronted by a wealthy young man, wondering what he needed to do to get eternal life (See: Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough).  Jesus told him to obey the commandments.

““Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”” (Matthew 19:18-20)

Notice that the man was lying when he claimed to not lie.  His idea of keeping that commandment was, “I usually don’t lie – at least not very much… unless it is really necessary.”  But “keeping” the commandments means always.  The standard for attaining “eternal life” is absolute perfection!  We see this in Jesus’ response:

“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  (Matthew 19:21)

If you want eternal life, if you want to earn a place in Heaven, you must be perfect.  Startling, but logical because, if God let’s imperfect people into Heaven – even somebody with smelly feet – it won’t be Heaven any longer.  Nobody qualifies for Heaven because nobody has been perfect.

But there is a way:  Jesus told the man, if he wanted to be perfect, to sell his possessions, give to the poor and follow Him.  That is not a universal formula, since many of those who follow Jesus are already poor.  Jesus was not requiring a life of poverty.  But that young man was convinced that his money was his life, his security, his happiness.

“When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Matthew 19:22)

He was unable to trust and follow Jesus, because, his money was more important.  Trusting Jesus doesn’t require giving everything up, it means letting go of everything.  Trusting Jesus means that nothing else is more important to us than Him, that nothing else has a greater hold on us than He does.  That is why Jesus then told His disciples that this kind of trust is very tough for those who are rich (verses 23-24).

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” (Matthew 19:25-26)

It is impossible for man to attain perfection and qualify for Heaven.  But God has made it possible for us through Jesus.  We are “credited with perfection” (righteousness) when we let go of all our other “security blankets” for life, trust Jesus and follow Him.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.