Jesus has these words for us in the Gospel of John–"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." John 13:34.
This is not a mere suggestion made by Jesus; it is a commandment. It is not sufficient to think of this as simply a proposal to love one another. No. Jesus uses the very specific word: commandment. This means that this is how God expects us to live. There is no getting around this one, Jesus calls us to love one another. And not just to love any old way but to love as He has loved us. This is no small feat. It demands that we rely fully upon Christ for it is only by His strength and in His Spirit that we could ever fulfill this commandment. Let us then turn to Christ so as to fulfill His new commandment.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Love is not a Word
Love is an entirely overused word in our vocabulary. We throw it around for food or for a pair of shoes. But in reality, love is something different altogether, something bigger. To talk of love with a sort of flippancy would be to do a diservice to the depth and breadth of love, namely, God Himself.
It is not enough to think of love as merely any other vocabulary word. No. Love deserves its own category. God and what He has done for us in Christ is everything about love. Whenever we say love, or we think about, we need to remembering that we are but referring to God and to Christ Himself.
Love is always something more. Let us, then, always treat it as such.
It is not enough to think of love as merely any other vocabulary word. No. Love deserves its own category. God and what He has done for us in Christ is everything about love. Whenever we say love, or we think about, we need to remembering that we are but referring to God and to Christ Himself.
Love is always something more. Let us, then, always treat it as such.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Made Alive in Christ: 1 John 4:9
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him." (1 John 4:9).
It is by God's love for us that He has shown through Christ Jesus that we are made alive. In this, we are made alive to grace, to faith, to obedience, and to covenant relationship that is the Church. Christ Jesus has brought us to life, He has caused us to be reborn by His grace in baptism and we who were once far off have been brought near by the shedding of His blood. For this reason, we should always remember the goodness of His grace and the awesomeness of the gift that His Son has given as the substitutionary atonement for the sin of mankind. Today, on this day, praise God for being made alive in Christ Jesus.
It is by God's love for us that He has shown through Christ Jesus that we are made alive. In this, we are made alive to grace, to faith, to obedience, and to covenant relationship that is the Church. Christ Jesus has brought us to life, He has caused us to be reborn by His grace in baptism and we who were once far off have been brought near by the shedding of His blood. For this reason, we should always remember the goodness of His grace and the awesomeness of the gift that His Son has given as the substitutionary atonement for the sin of mankind. Today, on this day, praise God for being made alive in Christ Jesus.
Monday, February 25, 2013
"Love the Lord" Matt. 22:37
When asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus replied: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matt 22:37; Luke 10:27; cited from Deut. 6:5)
Today, I urge you to take an inventory of how well you are loving God as He has commanded. Are you using your whole heart? Your whole soul? Your whole mind?
Often times we can get really good at loving God with a single component of our person while we can neglect loving Him fully with the others. This makes for deficient humans that are not letting God permeate every nook and facet of their lives. Today let us strive to open up every pore and every part of our beings to love the Lord completely!
Today, I urge you to take an inventory of how well you are loving God as He has commanded. Are you using your whole heart? Your whole soul? Your whole mind?
Often times we can get really good at loving God with a single component of our person while we can neglect loving Him fully with the others. This makes for deficient humans that are not letting God permeate every nook and facet of their lives. Today let us strive to open up every pore and every part of our beings to love the Lord completely!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Free Indeed
Jesus says this profound statement as recorded by John: "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36).
This is a lovely statement for Christ to make. It is a status given to those who Christ chooses: freedom. But the relevant question is, what are we freed from? or to?
First of all, we have been freed from sin in Christ. This is not just freed from the curse of sin but also from the presence of sin, meaning that someone in Christ does not have to sin, they have the freedom to holiness. This freedom is all and out not available unless a person is in Christ and only through faith is it possible.
Additionally, however, we are freed from hostility in relationships and freed to love as Christ has loved us and gave Himself up as a perfect substitutionary atonement. God has not only reconciled us to Himself but we have been reconciled to each other too. We should not ever forget that Christ has done this for us as well.
In the end, God has saved us in Christ, and He has set us free in Christ. This is the reality. We need only have faith that it is as God has promised it to be. In this, then, we will see all the promised blessings be manifested in our lives and in the world.
This is a lovely statement for Christ to make. It is a status given to those who Christ chooses: freedom. But the relevant question is, what are we freed from? or to?
First of all, we have been freed from sin in Christ. This is not just freed from the curse of sin but also from the presence of sin, meaning that someone in Christ does not have to sin, they have the freedom to holiness. This freedom is all and out not available unless a person is in Christ and only through faith is it possible.
Additionally, however, we are freed from hostility in relationships and freed to love as Christ has loved us and gave Himself up as a perfect substitutionary atonement. God has not only reconciled us to Himself but we have been reconciled to each other too. We should not ever forget that Christ has done this for us as well.
In the end, God has saved us in Christ, and He has set us free in Christ. This is the reality. We need only have faith that it is as God has promised it to be. In this, then, we will see all the promised blessings be manifested in our lives and in the world.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
A Time to Remember
Most of the Holy Scripture is dedicated to the singular task of remembrance. There is a certain power to memory as if the heart is activated by remembering the past. Biblically speaking, though, remembering is all about bringing God's previous acts of grace and mercy to bear upon our present circumstance. When we remember the Lord and all that He has done, we are in a place of faith and worship. We have faith that God is good and trustworthy to fulfill all of His promises. Remembering is part of that faith. Therefore, today let us spend time in the simple practice of remembering the Lord and all that He has done!
Friday, February 22, 2013
The Gift of a Friend
There are few things greater than a good friend. That friend who is willing to answer their phone while they're working (not really working but they are getting paid ;). The friend that is always willing to offer a helping hand, a sound word of advice, and a good laugh when you need it. Truly, a friend is one of the sure joys of life.
There is so much to say about this, but my usually verbose self would like to add a simple exhortation: today, this day, make an effort to thank your friends and just jet them know how much you appreciate and care for their friendship.
There is so much to say about this, but my usually verbose self would like to add a simple exhortation: today, this day, make an effort to thank your friends and just jet them know how much you appreciate and care for their friendship.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Gift of a Day
For most people, the day rolls on with a relative regularity. We wake up, we eat, we work, we come home, we relax, and then we go to sleep--wake up and repeat. Everyday, though, has its own set of troubles and its own schedule of things that need to be done. There is a natural undulation that is the passage of day to night to day again.
I know this information. It is fundamental for life as a human. But from time to time I still find myself unable to handle the passage of the day with grace or forbearance. There are those days that are so overstuffed and over-scheduled that I feel like my head is going to explode from my deficient inabilities to multitask effectively.
It is at these moments that I need to remember the profound truth: God created the days and the nights for a reason.
When God tells us to rest on the seventh day, He says that for our benefit. And when Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow because every day has its own troubles, He says that for our benefit. The God-ordained passage of days is for our benefit too. This is such a comfort to me on days that feel overwhelming. Praise God for the gift of a day!
I know this information. It is fundamental for life as a human. But from time to time I still find myself unable to handle the passage of the day with grace or forbearance. There are those days that are so overstuffed and over-scheduled that I feel like my head is going to explode from my deficient inabilities to multitask effectively.
It is at these moments that I need to remember the profound truth: God created the days and the nights for a reason.
When God tells us to rest on the seventh day, He says that for our benefit. And when Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow because every day has its own troubles, He says that for our benefit. The God-ordained passage of days is for our benefit too. This is such a comfort to me on days that feel overwhelming. Praise God for the gift of a day!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
No Substitute for Faith
Faith is a word we throw around with such flippancy these days. We talk about faith in cars, faith in people, faith in fate, or just having faith, as if it's some sort of substance like putty used to smooth out all the roughness of life. It has lost its potency, lost its richness, lost its meaning.
But faith, in its purest form, is a vertical relationship: the relationship between man and God. Any understanding or definition of faith that neglects this is, in reality, not talking about faith at all. Faith is something more, something bigger altogether.
Faith refers to God. If we are not referring to our relationship with God when we think of faith, then we are not, as it were, thinking about faith. The whole definition of faith relies upon recognizing God as the aim and source of our faith.
Faith is not a substance that can be kept and held. Nor is it an attitude or hope to be applied to any thing or person at whim. Faith is a relationship, the relationship between God and man. Any description of faith must take this into account.
When all the jargon and all the lingo are washed away, when we talk about faith we are talking about dependence, we are talking about reliance, we are talking about submission, and we are talking about a recklessly-abandoned love for God. Therefore, there is no substitute for faith.
But faith, in its purest form, is a vertical relationship: the relationship between man and God. Any understanding or definition of faith that neglects this is, in reality, not talking about faith at all. Faith is something more, something bigger altogether.
Faith refers to God. If we are not referring to our relationship with God when we think of faith, then we are not, as it were, thinking about faith. The whole definition of faith relies upon recognizing God as the aim and source of our faith.
Faith is not a substance that can be kept and held. Nor is it an attitude or hope to be applied to any thing or person at whim. Faith is a relationship, the relationship between God and man. Any description of faith must take this into account.
When all the jargon and all the lingo are washed away, when we talk about faith we are talking about dependence, we are talking about reliance, we are talking about submission, and we are talking about a recklessly-abandoned love for God. Therefore, there is no substitute for faith.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
No Substitute for Consistency
Consistency is key. Doing something with consistency is the surefire way to master it. Spiritually speaking, this means that bad habits become ingrained while good habits become mastered.
This means that habitual sins that are not dealt with become more and more stubborn. The only way to overcome consistent unrepentant sin that stems from habits is to change our habits. When we replace bad habits with healthy ones, we set ourselves on paths to godliness.
An equal measure of consistency is needed to replace habitual sin with godly habits. Consistency is an attitude as much as a practice in scheduling. It is not enough to merely plan to be consistent, effective consistency demands that consistency is purposed for growth and improvement.
In the end, becoming a consistent Christian requires an eye on sanctification and a desire to grow in godliness. Because of all this, there is no substitute for intentional consistency in the life of the Christian. Let us, then, make it our goal to be consistent Christians!
Monday, February 18, 2013
No Substitute for Scripture
The Holy Bible is the authority for the life of God's people. It is the rule for life, for theology, and for guidance in the life of the believer. There is nothing more important for the believer than a regular, committed Bible study.
Holy Scripture is God's message to mankind. It is how God communicates to us by the Holy Spirit. When we read the Scripture, the Holy Spirit uses the text to transform our hearts and our lives. Because of this, there is no substitute for Scripture.
Committing to a daily discipline of studying the Bible, then, is an essential component to the Christian life. If we are not engaging His Word, we will not see the fruit that He has intended for us. Only in prayerful Bible study do we grow the way God would have for us.
Let us then never forget to read the Bible for it is life for the believer.
Holy Scripture is God's message to mankind. It is how God communicates to us by the Holy Spirit. When we read the Scripture, the Holy Spirit uses the text to transform our hearts and our lives. Because of this, there is no substitute for Scripture.
Committing to a daily discipline of studying the Bible, then, is an essential component to the Christian life. If we are not engaging His Word, we will not see the fruit that He has intended for us. Only in prayerful Bible study do we grow the way God would have for us.
Let us then never forget to read the Bible for it is life for the believer.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
No Substitute for Repentance
There is perhaps no more vital part of faith than repentance. It is repentance that turns us from our sin and towards Almighty God. Additionally, it is repentance that calls us into salvation and transforms us in sanctification.
Repentance means turning away. It means turning away from our self and turning to God in faith. There is no other way to love God. You cannot have faith apart from repentance, for they work in tandem to draw a person to God.
Faith in Christ demands true and continued repentance. It is in this turning away that we learn who God is in light of who we were. Repentance is, therefore, as much a part of salvation and sanctification as is faith itself. Let us never forget this truth!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
No Substitute for Forgiveness
I do not know how to say this any more clearly: forgiveness is the truest expression of love. There is no greater pain but no greater joy than asking for forgiveness, either to forgive, or to be forgiven. In the former, we are the forgiver, and in the latter we are the forgiven.
To be sure, each of those is a difficult position but they are both sweet like the purest water, healing like cool aloe rubbed upon the wounds of the heart. For the forgiven, they are forced to face love head on. For the forgiver, they are forced to love face-to-face.
Neither is an easy thing to do, but they are both the finest acts of love. Asking for forgiveness demands that we accept and face our own flaws and transgressions. But scrubbing a donkey's stall is dirty business; why would asking for forgiveness be any different.
The other side of this coin, the side of the forgiver, is equally challenging. The forgiver is forced to be emptied of all the junk of pain and anger. It takes a mighty arm and an outstretched hand to clean out a dirty closet full of embitterment and old baggage.
In the end, however, there is no sweeter cure to sick relationships, no purer tourniquet for the broken heart. And though it will almost certainly be painful, there is no richer demonstration of true love than to seek and to offer forgiveness.
To be sure, each of those is a difficult position but they are both sweet like the purest water, healing like cool aloe rubbed upon the wounds of the heart. For the forgiven, they are forced to face love head on. For the forgiver, they are forced to love face-to-face.
Neither is an easy thing to do, but they are both the finest acts of love. Asking for forgiveness demands that we accept and face our own flaws and transgressions. But scrubbing a donkey's stall is dirty business; why would asking for forgiveness be any different.
The other side of this coin, the side of the forgiver, is equally challenging. The forgiver is forced to be emptied of all the junk of pain and anger. It takes a mighty arm and an outstretched hand to clean out a dirty closet full of embitterment and old baggage.
In the end, however, there is no sweeter cure to sick relationships, no purer tourniquet for the broken heart. And though it will almost certainly be painful, there is no richer demonstration of true love than to seek and to offer forgiveness.
Friday, February 15, 2013
No Substitute for Service
Christian are called to serve. But this service is not done begrudgingly but generosity and joy. Service is sweet and active, but it is also one of those rare opportunities for love. By its nature, service gets people together for an agreed-upon task and purpose, making it a fertile ground for fellowship.
To be sure, the service we are referring to here is the kind that has no eye on repayment, that is done purely out of a motivation of love. This kind of service is sweet and robust; it is gracious and godly; and, what's more, it has been commanded as a vital part of the Christian life.
Unfortunately, we have often thought of service as a chore and not as a gift of grace. We have refused to serve because we have thought it an obligation, or we have spurned the opportunities to serve because we couldn't see the personal benefit.
But service is a gift of grace in itself. It is a joyous salve for the weary heart. For anyone who may feel downtrodden or enervated, service may be the very cure for all your languor. It is through service that that love of God passes through us. We truly become vessels for the love of God when we serve.
Let us then never lose sight of service in our lives. Let us make it part of our schedule. For when we serve others, we will be served ourselves by God Himself as His Spirit flows through us unto others. This is a beautiful and sweet transmission. And truly, there is no substitute for service.
To be sure, the service we are referring to here is the kind that has no eye on repayment, that is done purely out of a motivation of love. This kind of service is sweet and robust; it is gracious and godly; and, what's more, it has been commanded as a vital part of the Christian life.
Unfortunately, we have often thought of service as a chore and not as a gift of grace. We have refused to serve because we have thought it an obligation, or we have spurned the opportunities to serve because we couldn't see the personal benefit.
But service is a gift of grace in itself. It is a joyous salve for the weary heart. For anyone who may feel downtrodden or enervated, service may be the very cure for all your languor. It is through service that that love of God passes through us. We truly become vessels for the love of God when we serve.
Let us then never lose sight of service in our lives. Let us make it part of our schedule. For when we serve others, we will be served ourselves by God Himself as His Spirit flows through us unto others. This is a beautiful and sweet transmission. And truly, there is no substitute for service.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
No Substitute for Fellowship
Fellowship is one of those strange words the is thrown around Christian circles more than dirty clothes on my bedroom floor. Fellowship, though, is one the grandest and most nourishing parts of the Christian experience and it's high time we reclaim that word for all its significance.
Fellowship, generally speaking, refers to genuine Christian community. People of faith getting together for the expressed purpose of vulnerability, growth, and mutual affection. Fellowship is the prescribed mode for the people of God to be sanctified as Christ's Church.
True fellowship requires Christian brothers and sisters gathering together in Christ. We have been reconciled in Christ and by faith we can come together in love and affection, to grow as one people, the Church.
There is no substitute for this kind of transformational fellowship, when the people of God truly get together to praise together, worship together, cry together, study together, pray together, and to grow together. Let us then strive to make a regular habit of fellowship!
Fellowship, generally speaking, refers to genuine Christian community. People of faith getting together for the expressed purpose of vulnerability, growth, and mutual affection. Fellowship is the prescribed mode for the people of God to be sanctified as Christ's Church.
True fellowship requires Christian brothers and sisters gathering together in Christ. We have been reconciled in Christ and by faith we can come together in love and affection, to grow as one people, the Church.
There is no substitute for this kind of transformational fellowship, when the people of God truly get together to praise together, worship together, cry together, study together, pray together, and to grow together. Let us then strive to make a regular habit of fellowship!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
No Substitute for Speaking Prayers
Prayer is powerful. It is the way we communicate to and with God that has been prescribed to us in Holy Scripture. Consider that: Jesus Himself prayed! Jesus prayed constantly. Prayer is how we bring our requests to God.
Again, it is quite simple. In truth there is not much to it. Pretty much all you need is a heart of faith, honesty, reverence, quiet, and time. However, there is one more element that I submit is a necessity of prayer: speaking out loud.
For some who think that those 'silent' prayers are just as effective and powerful as the spoken ones, this may seem like an altogether controversial or provocative thought but, again, I submit that prayer is as much a vocal activity as it is a spiritual one.
After some analysis, there seem to be no instances of 'silent' prayer in the Scriptures. It seems that prayer is always, it turns out, a spoken-spiritual activity. Space may not permit for an exhaustive look at why this is so, suffice to say that God intends us to speak our prayers to Him.
Let us not forget this. Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life. Because of this that it is so important that we learn how to do it. Remembering what it is goes a long way to understanding how we should it. Jesus' words of instruction are also quite useful: Matthew 6:9-13.
Again, it is quite simple. In truth there is not much to it. Pretty much all you need is a heart of faith, honesty, reverence, quiet, and time. However, there is one more element that I submit is a necessity of prayer: speaking out loud.
For some who think that those 'silent' prayers are just as effective and powerful as the spoken ones, this may seem like an altogether controversial or provocative thought but, again, I submit that prayer is as much a vocal activity as it is a spiritual one.
After some analysis, there seem to be no instances of 'silent' prayer in the Scriptures. It seems that prayer is always, it turns out, a spoken-spiritual activity. Space may not permit for an exhaustive look at why this is so, suffice to say that God intends us to speak our prayers to Him.
Let us not forget this. Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life. Because of this that it is so important that we learn how to do it. Remembering what it is goes a long way to understanding how we should it. Jesus' words of instruction are also quite useful: Matthew 6:9-13.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
No Substitute for Praise
Worship is an insurmountable salve for all the ills of the human condition. There is a unique healing that happens when a human bows before the Lord. It is a sweet comfort for the worshiper to praise God with an earnest and humble heart.
It is a simple thing, really. Yet despite the reality of it all, many people either neglect praising God or willfully reject worshiping Him at all. But those that do not praise Him are worse for their wear while the worshiper is strengthened to weather any tumult or storm.
There is no substitute for genuine praise. The sincerest praise heals hearts and mends the broken, giving them strength in weariness and hope in desolation. It is a matter of honesty and reverence, recognizing who God is and how much we need His mighty hand for every breath for in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Let us then offer Him praise for who He is and all He has done and continues to do!
It is a simple thing, really. Yet despite the reality of it all, many people either neglect praising God or willfully reject worshiping Him at all. But those that do not praise Him are worse for their wear while the worshiper is strengthened to weather any tumult or storm.
There is no substitute for genuine praise. The sincerest praise heals hearts and mends the broken, giving them strength in weariness and hope in desolation. It is a matter of honesty and reverence, recognizing who God is and how much we need His mighty hand for every breath for in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Let us then offer Him praise for who He is and all He has done and continues to do!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Free Will Expounded
Free will necessitates the freedom to make any conceivable choice at any spontaneous moment, but it also demands that the choosing agent is capable of choosing the 'right' choice, that is, the choice of greatest good, etc. In every choosing scenario there is a greatest good choice. In every situation, the right decision is the one pleasing and praising to God. If this choice is reckoned unavailable to the natural, unrepentant man then free will is equally unavailable.
It is not enough to see the ability to choose as the definition of free will. No. Free will demands that the one freely making the choice can choose the 'correct' choice, that is, the choice of most rightness, i.e. God. But because of sin, man is not able to make the very choice they need to; the freedom to choose the right choice is forfeited. As such, free will is rendered unavailable to the natural man.
Only if the natural man is transformed, reborn as it were, can he posses the freedom of will to choose God. Some would say that the natural man has a certain free will in his ignorance, but knowledge is insufficient to transform the natural man. Knowing I cannot move my limbs does nothing to make them more usable; a quadriplegic cannot run a marathon without new legs!
Desire is the determinant for decision making. It is cognitive desire which assesses the greatest desired end that becomes the discriminating factor between two like choices. For instance, if I can choose between a carrot and a cheeseburger, my choice will almost always be the cheeseburger because my own personality sees that as the greater choice; my own desire determines which choice I will make.
Moreover, the natural man will not choose God for he understands that he stands condemned already. If all the choices of the world were stacked up alongside the choice of God, the natural man will most certainly choose anything other than God because his nature constrains him to reject and spurn anything of God. He is not only unable to choose God but, even more so, he is determined against God in his heart, meaning he would not choose God even if he were able to do so.
If I am unable in my flesh to choose God or even to be able to please God then we must say that I do not have freedom of will in the utmost sense. If our ability to choose means that I must have the right to choose the ultimate good then any deficiency in this regard should be carried through the entirety of the system.
If I cannot choose God then I do not actually possess free will because I am utterly incapable of choosing that which is the ultimate definition of choice. Why would Jesus say man must be born again if it is not because the man as is will not be able to willfully choose God. Only a reborn man can choose God at all.
Additionally, if the unbeliever can only make choices that do not please God and is unable to do otherwise, then we must conclude that he does not have free will on the true sense. The decisions and choices made are but shadows and perceptions of choice, they are not actual choices because he is unable to make the only choice that matters: to love God.
Taken altogether it can be reasonably asserted that free will, as we might conceive of it, is an ability, it turns out, that only the man called and transformed by God possesses. Any conception of free will that neglects the fact that the freedom to choose God must be present would be, as it were, a deficient concept amputated of freedom and of will. While this may seem like philosophical philandering, it does affect how we do life and how we understand the human condition. We would do well to dwell on what we mean by choice, freedom, will, et al.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Grand Illusion of Free Will
Free will is an illusion. It is a human fancy that can be supported neither by logic nor by the constraints of reality. Free will is defined, traditionally, as the individual moral agent possessing the ability for spontaneous choice. Simply put: a person can choose whatever they want whenever they want it. The key elements, thus, for free will's definition are spontaneity and choice. This is to say that free will only exists if the elements of spontaneity and choice are present.
However, if we consider the two things necessary for 'free will' then with some reasoning it can be seen that neither of these things exist in the scope of space/time. Because both of these things are to be considered necessarily present for free will, they need to be addressed as one. The point, I submit, is that neither of them actually exists as we may think of them.
Spontaneity means that we may have the ability to make any momentary snap decision desired and that a variety of choices must be present at the moment of that decision's making. But by that very definition, spontaneity cannot be present while allowing for the maximum number of choices because at any specific moment only a limited number of choices are available. I cannot wake up and go to sleep at the same time.
We are constrained by reality, then, to limit the number of choices available to the spontaneous chooser, but does this in itself challenge the reality of free will? Consider a hypothetical scenario to illustrate the point. For this let us limit the available choices to two in an effort to perhaps address the concepts of spontaneity more acutely.
Say there are only two options on a menu. Both items are specialties of the restaurant but, nonetheless, any patron may order either one or the other, not both. One of them is a sweet dish, the other a salty one. A patron sits down at the booth and makes a spontaneous decision. However, I submit that the decision is not spontaneous but was in fact predicated upon a number of contributing factors (think preference, health, et al), meaning that the choice was not, in the most rigid sense, a free choice but was in fact a highly predictable one. In this sense, although the individual experiences a spontaneous choice, there was, in actuality, no real free choice made.
Additionally, we must consider the reality of time, particularly the moment present, that is, the precise instant that past and future meet in the present passing moment as a defined and definite historical mark in time. If we consider that time is a passing of successive moments and the past is the historical logging of the finite certainty of those moments, then we can say that the past has a defined certainty. Simply put, once the moment passes it is gone and it can not be re-lived.
In reference to free will this is of particular interest. Choices are not choices in the past, for once a decision is made in space/time it was the only choice that could have been made. Once something is written in the record of history, it cannot be re-written. Because of this certainty, we cannot look back at choices made as hypothetical; we can only see them as sure realities that have passed.
So, in reference to past decisions, we are constrained to say that the definite nature of the past compels us to understand that in the light of history spontaneity and the availability of choice are irrelevant indicators of the presence of free will.
In summation, free will is an illusion because its dependence upon spontaneity and choice cannot be carried throughout the system. And, as choice meets present that passes into past, we must say that merely the presence of a definite, unalterable past inhibits our understandings of free will.
In the end, will is always impeded by the limitations of reality at the very point that the 'free willing agent' meets the present passing moment. This is not, obviously, to remove at the very least the appearance of choice, however, it is meant to highlight inherit challenges to conceptions we hold towards the human construct of free will. To be sure, this has been a less-than-exhaustive look into free will but perhaps it may stir up more consideration of this important categorical assertion of the human condition.
However, if we consider the two things necessary for 'free will' then with some reasoning it can be seen that neither of these things exist in the scope of space/time. Because both of these things are to be considered necessarily present for free will, they need to be addressed as one. The point, I submit, is that neither of them actually exists as we may think of them.
Spontaneity means that we may have the ability to make any momentary snap decision desired and that a variety of choices must be present at the moment of that decision's making. But by that very definition, spontaneity cannot be present while allowing for the maximum number of choices because at any specific moment only a limited number of choices are available. I cannot wake up and go to sleep at the same time.
We are constrained by reality, then, to limit the number of choices available to the spontaneous chooser, but does this in itself challenge the reality of free will? Consider a hypothetical scenario to illustrate the point. For this let us limit the available choices to two in an effort to perhaps address the concepts of spontaneity more acutely.
Say there are only two options on a menu. Both items are specialties of the restaurant but, nonetheless, any patron may order either one or the other, not both. One of them is a sweet dish, the other a salty one. A patron sits down at the booth and makes a spontaneous decision. However, I submit that the decision is not spontaneous but was in fact predicated upon a number of contributing factors (think preference, health, et al), meaning that the choice was not, in the most rigid sense, a free choice but was in fact a highly predictable one. In this sense, although the individual experiences a spontaneous choice, there was, in actuality, no real free choice made.
Additionally, we must consider the reality of time, particularly the moment present, that is, the precise instant that past and future meet in the present passing moment as a defined and definite historical mark in time. If we consider that time is a passing of successive moments and the past is the historical logging of the finite certainty of those moments, then we can say that the past has a defined certainty. Simply put, once the moment passes it is gone and it can not be re-lived.
In reference to free will this is of particular interest. Choices are not choices in the past, for once a decision is made in space/time it was the only choice that could have been made. Once something is written in the record of history, it cannot be re-written. Because of this certainty, we cannot look back at choices made as hypothetical; we can only see them as sure realities that have passed.
So, in reference to past decisions, we are constrained to say that the definite nature of the past compels us to understand that in the light of history spontaneity and the availability of choice are irrelevant indicators of the presence of free will.
In summation, free will is an illusion because its dependence upon spontaneity and choice cannot be carried throughout the system. And, as choice meets present that passes into past, we must say that merely the presence of a definite, unalterable past inhibits our understandings of free will.
In the end, will is always impeded by the limitations of reality at the very point that the 'free willing agent' meets the present passing moment. This is not, obviously, to remove at the very least the appearance of choice, however, it is meant to highlight inherit challenges to conceptions we hold towards the human construct of free will. To be sure, this has been a less-than-exhaustive look into free will but perhaps it may stir up more consideration of this important categorical assertion of the human condition.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Utter Dependence
Scripture makes a great case for utter dependence. In fact, it would not be an overstatement to say that man only seems to get into trouble when they are not utterly obedient upon God (think Adam, Eve, et al). Therefore it seems that a brief definition of what this utter dependence looks like is a useful and relevant endeavor.
Utter dependence means praying with the first breath of the morning and the last breath at night. It means that we will think of everything that we do as an act of obedience and faithfulness. It means that every good thing that comes our way will be thought of as a blessing for our good. It means that every difficult thing that comes will be thought of as a blessing for our good. It means that we will seek out ways to love our neighbors throughout the day. It means that we will seek out the Lord to direct our every step. It means that we will go the extra mile for every person we can and it means that we will exhaust ourselves for their good. It means that we will abandon ourselves upon the Word of God. And it means that we will love, truly love.
This is just a snapshot of utter dependence. Let it become our heart's song and our life's goal.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Covenant Works of Love
I have become determined in my theological structure to state that there is no room for individualism. By individualism I mean any personal effort thought to contribute in one way or another to God's acts of redemption.
I need to say this clearly: this does not mean that the human being does not have an obligation to to work. Rather, our work performs no salvific function. We do not work to earn salvation; we work because we are saved.
This is a covenantal thing. God relates to humanity covenantally. This distinction is, to be certain, a dense one but there are a couple points of reference: God initiates the covenant, claiming a people for His own. People enter this covenant community in baptism, formerly circumcision. Part and parcel to the covenant are promises of either blessing or curse dependent upon obedience to covenant obligations, i.e. commandments.
If there is a place for effort it can only be in the mandate to love one another. We have been commanded to a certain ethic and lifestyle characterized by love and faithfulness. Understanding that we are deeply connected to God in covenant is how we can recognize that our relationship with God is dynamic and we do have to do works. But these works are a matter of covenant obedience and faithfulness, they do not earn us anything.
I need to say this clearly: this does not mean that the human being does not have an obligation to to work. Rather, our work performs no salvific function. We do not work to earn salvation; we work because we are saved.
This is a covenantal thing. God relates to humanity covenantally. This distinction is, to be certain, a dense one but there are a couple points of reference: God initiates the covenant, claiming a people for His own. People enter this covenant community in baptism, formerly circumcision. Part and parcel to the covenant are promises of either blessing or curse dependent upon obedience to covenant obligations, i.e. commandments.
If there is a place for effort it can only be in the mandate to love one another. We have been commanded to a certain ethic and lifestyle characterized by love and faithfulness. Understanding that we are deeply connected to God in covenant is how we can recognize that our relationship with God is dynamic and we do have to do works. But these works are a matter of covenant obedience and faithfulness, they do not earn us anything.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Holiness is Not Attainable
One of the primary characteristics of the people of God is that they will be holy as the Lord is holy (Lev 20:26; 1 Pet 1:16). But this identification is something affirmed, something declared by God to define His chosen people. God places the badge of holiness upon His people, holiness. But it is essential to recognize that this distinction is not earned or attained by the chosen people; it is given by God's grace.
This is important. There has always been a large swatch of the Christian experience that has thought of personal piety as a status, some state of being to be attained through personal discipline or strength of will. But this does not conform to the narrative of Scripture. Holiness is an attribute that only God possesses and the only way for a human being to possess holiness is for God to bestow it.
The key is this: no man can achieve holiness, God gives it by virtue of His choosing. There is no effort to exert aside from obedience to the covenant obligations, but God, because of who He is, bestows the status of holiness to whomever He pleases as expressing His love and faithfulness. Only in Christ are we made holy. This cannot be stated any more firmly. What it means, though, needs to be carried throughout its ripples in the pool of theology.
This is important. There has always been a large swatch of the Christian experience that has thought of personal piety as a status, some state of being to be attained through personal discipline or strength of will. But this does not conform to the narrative of Scripture. Holiness is an attribute that only God possesses and the only way for a human being to possess holiness is for God to bestow it.
The key is this: no man can achieve holiness, God gives it by virtue of His choosing. There is no effort to exert aside from obedience to the covenant obligations, but God, because of who He is, bestows the status of holiness to whomever He pleases as expressing His love and faithfulness. Only in Christ are we made holy. This cannot be stated any more firmly. What it means, though, needs to be carried throughout its ripples in the pool of theology.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
He Purchased a People
God does not choose a person, but a people. He works with the individuals within that people. But Scripture confirms that God does not choose individuals, rather, He chooses a people to be His own. Certainly, God does chose specific individuals in history as representatives for His redeemed peoples: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus. But God chooses people not persons.
This is to say that election and predestination is not a personal ordeal, it is a community one. It is a covenant matter. God chooses to initiate a covenant relationship with a certain people. This is the very essence of how God relates to man.
It's like a giant box of crayons owned by God. Each crayon has a unique color and hue but apart from the rest of the colors it is useless, only capable of coloring monochromatically. Understanding that we are a 'people' not autonomous individuals of faith will go a far way to reconciling this broken world and repairing broken churches.
This is to say that election and predestination is not a personal ordeal, it is a community one. It is a covenant matter. God chooses to initiate a covenant relationship with a certain people. This is the very essence of how God relates to man.
It's like a giant box of crayons owned by God. Each crayon has a unique color and hue but apart from the rest of the colors it is useless, only capable of coloring monochromatically. Understanding that we are a 'people' not autonomous individuals of faith will go a far way to reconciling this broken world and repairing broken churches.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Saving Faith for the Rugged Individualist
I am currently in a long-running discussion with a family member [dad] about the place of personal effort in the Christian experience. To be sure, this has become a 'lively' but loving dialogue at the dinner table. But in the quest to crystalize my own theology, I thought it a useful exercise to lay down in type my own view on this very important topic, partly for you and partly for myself. The issue at hand, from my perspective, is the idea of 'rugged individualism' as it pertains [if at all] to Christianity.
The Christian experience, it turns out, begins with Christ Jesus Himself. This may seem rudimentary but it deserves to be stated and restated again. Jesus the Nazarene, the prophesied Son of God who lived a perfect, sinless life in Palestine in the first century and was betrayed to a crucifixion at the hands of the Romans only to be found risen from the grave three days later. This alone is the foundation, the cornerstone of the Christian experience in the highest sense.
Every Christian worth the grace implanted with them would exclaim the previous paragraph with shouts of praise and exuberant exaltation. But this information, the very salvific content of the gospel that transforms hearts and lives in its proclamation, needs to be applied to the unrepentant sinner unto salvation. But how? Now we must look to that application of redemption which is a matter faith.
This is not meant to be derogatory in the slightest, but at this point, the 'rugged individualist' would like to smuggle personal effort into the equation. This emphasis on effort comes in the form of a 'choice' for faith in Christ, this is to say that Christ's work is applied by the individual's enacted belief. Get the covert intricacy of this: grace is applied not by God Himself but by man's personal faith.
In other words, this conception gives man the power of salvation by virtue of his personal control over whether or not he will be saved. Think about that, then think about it again.
"We are saved by grace through faith." The next question tends to be: where does this faith come from and why doesn't everyone have it? But I submit that this is not the right question. There is another more fundamental one: what is faith that saves?
There is, obviously, not enough time to give a complete definition of saving faith but one thing needs to be stated clearly: faith is not the same as saving faith. Every human being has faith: faith in tomorrow, faith in family, faith in friendship, faith in the car starting, et al. But saving faith is something else altogether.
Saving faith is faith that saves. In this way, saving faith is not just a means unto salvation, it is an end of salvation too! Saving faith is as much a matter of depending on God's grace as is the life and resurrection of Christ. Only in Christ can a person possess saving faith at all. This is to say that saving faith is God's grace. Only by an act of God convicting a hardened heart can a person cast themselves in faith upon Christ Jesus at all!
Needless to say, there is so much more to say on this but let us leave it on this point: God saves and He causes saving faith to transform the unrepentant heart unto repentance.
The Christian experience, it turns out, begins with Christ Jesus Himself. This may seem rudimentary but it deserves to be stated and restated again. Jesus the Nazarene, the prophesied Son of God who lived a perfect, sinless life in Palestine in the first century and was betrayed to a crucifixion at the hands of the Romans only to be found risen from the grave three days later. This alone is the foundation, the cornerstone of the Christian experience in the highest sense.
Every Christian worth the grace implanted with them would exclaim the previous paragraph with shouts of praise and exuberant exaltation. But this information, the very salvific content of the gospel that transforms hearts and lives in its proclamation, needs to be applied to the unrepentant sinner unto salvation. But how? Now we must look to that application of redemption which is a matter faith.
This is not meant to be derogatory in the slightest, but at this point, the 'rugged individualist' would like to smuggle personal effort into the equation. This emphasis on effort comes in the form of a 'choice' for faith in Christ, this is to say that Christ's work is applied by the individual's enacted belief. Get the covert intricacy of this: grace is applied not by God Himself but by man's personal faith.
In other words, this conception gives man the power of salvation by virtue of his personal control over whether or not he will be saved. Think about that, then think about it again.
"We are saved by grace through faith." The next question tends to be: where does this faith come from and why doesn't everyone have it? But I submit that this is not the right question. There is another more fundamental one: what is faith that saves?
There is, obviously, not enough time to give a complete definition of saving faith but one thing needs to be stated clearly: faith is not the same as saving faith. Every human being has faith: faith in tomorrow, faith in family, faith in friendship, faith in the car starting, et al. But saving faith is something else altogether.
Saving faith is faith that saves. In this way, saving faith is not just a means unto salvation, it is an end of salvation too! Saving faith is as much a matter of depending on God's grace as is the life and resurrection of Christ. Only in Christ can a person possess saving faith at all. This is to say that saving faith is God's grace. Only by an act of God convicting a hardened heart can a person cast themselves in faith upon Christ Jesus at all!
Needless to say, there is so much more to say on this but let us leave it on this point: God saves and He causes saving faith to transform the unrepentant heart unto repentance.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Adam Gained only the Loss of Everything
Whether film or theology, the beginning is always a good place to start. The Bible starts with the story of creation: God speaking creation and the created order into existence merely by the power of His spoken word. Then comes the apex of God's creation: man. Made in the image of God, man is purposed to reflect God's image and glory not only back at God but also throughout creation.
It is important to note that there is a change of name in Genesis 2. In Genesis 1 it is God creating, but in Genesis 2 there is a transition to the Lord God. This is a significant change, for the Lord God refers to the covenant name of God, Yahweh. Although space is not permitting for an exhaustive look at this point, suffice to say that Moses is making a clear point to ensure the original Israelite readers (and us too) that the same Lord God who brought them out of Egypt is the One who created Adam, the original man. Moving on...
Think about the scenario: the Lord God creates Adam and gives him everything, even a wife. The emphasis is that the Lord provides everything for Adam. Adam lacks nothing. Again, Adam already had everything in God. There was not a single thing in all creation that Adam lacked.
However, Adam willfully disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of that one tree that God forbade. Adam did not believe that God actually had provided everything. Instead, in the most powerful act of volition he challenged God's goodness and His promises by eating of the fruit. This is the very essence of sin.
But it is important to note: because Adam already possessed everything, there was no thing, nothing he could do or say to merit more because he already had it all. Therefore, when Adam ate of the fruit, he did not gain anything, it turns out he lost everything. The willful act of disbelief in the provision of God caused a separation from the source and giver of life that Adam could not bear in life; he had to die. This needs to be said again: by willfully not believing what God had promised, Adam gained nothing but the loss of everything. Let us not forget this when we see the traps and snares of temptation trying to woo us away from the glory of God.
It is important to note that there is a change of name in Genesis 2. In Genesis 1 it is God creating, but in Genesis 2 there is a transition to the Lord God. This is a significant change, for the Lord God refers to the covenant name of God, Yahweh. Although space is not permitting for an exhaustive look at this point, suffice to say that Moses is making a clear point to ensure the original Israelite readers (and us too) that the same Lord God who brought them out of Egypt is the One who created Adam, the original man. Moving on...
Think about the scenario: the Lord God creates Adam and gives him everything, even a wife. The emphasis is that the Lord provides everything for Adam. Adam lacks nothing. Again, Adam already had everything in God. There was not a single thing in all creation that Adam lacked.
However, Adam willfully disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of that one tree that God forbade. Adam did not believe that God actually had provided everything. Instead, in the most powerful act of volition he challenged God's goodness and His promises by eating of the fruit. This is the very essence of sin.
But it is important to note: because Adam already possessed everything, there was no thing, nothing he could do or say to merit more because he already had it all. Therefore, when Adam ate of the fruit, he did not gain anything, it turns out he lost everything. The willful act of disbelief in the provision of God caused a separation from the source and giver of life that Adam could not bear in life; he had to die. This needs to be said again: by willfully not believing what God had promised, Adam gained nothing but the loss of everything. Let us not forget this when we see the traps and snares of temptation trying to woo us away from the glory of God.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Has Faith Become Meritorious?
Do we become saved by grace? or through faith? Which comes first? Does faith earn grace? Or is faith how we receive God's grace? Is it that man does nothing to merit the grace of God but only by faith is grace paid to the believer?
The proof text for Christianity in this debate is Ephesians 2:8-10:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which were created beforehand, that we should walk in them."
This text is often used to define the nature of salvation. Clearly Paul has in mind here that grace is unmerited and that faith is merely the reception, the application of God's grace. And while this may seem unequivocal, modern Christianity has taken this and distorted it to a dangerous degree. Traditional theology would term this distortion as some form of Arminianism.
Basically, Arminianism would say that God has offered His grace to everyone and that man has it within Himself to choose that grace and to have faith for Jesus. Essentially, under this concept faith initiates the reception of God's grace to the believer. This seemingly obvious affirmation about the nature of salvation, however, smuggles in merit in the form of faith.
God bestows grace. God alone initiates salvation. In fact, God transforms the heart of unrepentant humans so that they can have faith at all. Only God can compel the natural man to faith. This means that faith, though apparently a 'work' of man is as much a gracious gift as is Jesus death!
Let us not, then, ever think of faith as something we are capable of in and of ourselves. God is the Creator of faith as much as He is the Author of salvation.
The proof text for Christianity in this debate is Ephesians 2:8-10:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which were created beforehand, that we should walk in them."
This text is often used to define the nature of salvation. Clearly Paul has in mind here that grace is unmerited and that faith is merely the reception, the application of God's grace. And while this may seem unequivocal, modern Christianity has taken this and distorted it to a dangerous degree. Traditional theology would term this distortion as some form of Arminianism.
Basically, Arminianism would say that God has offered His grace to everyone and that man has it within Himself to choose that grace and to have faith for Jesus. Essentially, under this concept faith initiates the reception of God's grace to the believer. This seemingly obvious affirmation about the nature of salvation, however, smuggles in merit in the form of faith.
God bestows grace. God alone initiates salvation. In fact, God transforms the heart of unrepentant humans so that they can have faith at all. Only God can compel the natural man to faith. This means that faith, though apparently a 'work' of man is as much a gracious gift as is Jesus death!
Let us not, then, ever think of faith as something we are capable of in and of ourselves. God is the Creator of faith as much as He is the Author of salvation.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Law is Not Burdensome
For the past few centuries, since the Reformation of the the 16th century, the predominate theological understanding of the Bible as it pertains to the Old and New Testaments has been a distinction between law and grace. Law begin the duty of the Old Covenant and grace being the joy of the New.
Essentially, this system of theology comes to dominate our interpretive lens and renders law, thought of as the commands of God, to be primarily an Old covenant thing but that it is no longer in effect because 'we are under grace.' To be sure, this amputates the reality of the New covenant from its history and tragically severs the Scripture, cutting it up into law and grace. But the text does not support this understanding of the history of redemption.
Consider this:
Israel had been enslaved for some 400 years at the hands of the Egyptians. God hears the cries of the Israelites, whose forefather Abraham He had promised a land and a nation to, and determines to save the people. He calls Moses to be the representative. Some plagues ensue until finally the Egyptians release the Israelites to leave, giving them treasures and riches fro their journey away. However, as the people approach the Red Sea, Pharaoh decides that this arrangement is unacceptable and sets out with his forces to kill Moses and claim Israel back for Egypt.
God tells Moses to strike the sea. As Moses does, the sea parts and the Israelites walk through the sea floor on harmed. Once on the other side, God tells them to turn back to watch as God releases His power over the waters and they come down upon the Egyptians. God leads the people to valley below the Mount of Sinai, where He gives Moses the Law, the commandments for how the people of God are to live.
The Law does not redeem the people of Israel from the Israelites: God does. The Law is not meritorious, as in, if a person is obedient they can merit God's grace. No. The Israelites understood that God had chosen them (Deut 7:7-11), and it was only by His grace that they had been saved. The Law was the further expression of that grace. God chose them and then He gave them His Law to teach them who He was and how they were to live as His chosen people.
The Law was never burdensome, because the Law was further evidence of God's hand of grace. The commandments of God were the merciful commands of a gracious God revealing both His very character as well as what His choosing of the Israelites meant for how they were then to live. This is to say that all of God's grace has encompassed within it God's commandments. They run parallel.
As Christians, we speak a lot about the grace of God, but we often forget that God's grace has commandments to it. Christians are to live a certain way with a particular ethic. We should not forget that we are under covenant. This means that God has chosen Christians and bestowed grace upon them. But in that grace are promises, both of blessing and of curse.
If we are not obedient to the covenant commandments, we will receive the promised blessings. And if we are disobedient to the covenant commandments, we will receive the promised curses. This is covenant. It is not meritorious blessings. Rather, it is the way that God has chosen to relate to mankind. If we forget that this situation is His idea, we will naturally neglect all of the parts that we would rather not do.
Remember, we are not saved from the Law, we are saved from the curse of the Law. There is a new law for the New Covenant in Christ. Christians need to learn what these commandments are and we need to consider that we are the chosen people of God, under His promises and in His covenant. This means that we need to meet Him on His terms.
Essentially, this system of theology comes to dominate our interpretive lens and renders law, thought of as the commands of God, to be primarily an Old covenant thing but that it is no longer in effect because 'we are under grace.' To be sure, this amputates the reality of the New covenant from its history and tragically severs the Scripture, cutting it up into law and grace. But the text does not support this understanding of the history of redemption.
Consider this:
Israel had been enslaved for some 400 years at the hands of the Egyptians. God hears the cries of the Israelites, whose forefather Abraham He had promised a land and a nation to, and determines to save the people. He calls Moses to be the representative. Some plagues ensue until finally the Egyptians release the Israelites to leave, giving them treasures and riches fro their journey away. However, as the people approach the Red Sea, Pharaoh decides that this arrangement is unacceptable and sets out with his forces to kill Moses and claim Israel back for Egypt.
God tells Moses to strike the sea. As Moses does, the sea parts and the Israelites walk through the sea floor on harmed. Once on the other side, God tells them to turn back to watch as God releases His power over the waters and they come down upon the Egyptians. God leads the people to valley below the Mount of Sinai, where He gives Moses the Law, the commandments for how the people of God are to live.
The Law does not redeem the people of Israel from the Israelites: God does. The Law is not meritorious, as in, if a person is obedient they can merit God's grace. No. The Israelites understood that God had chosen them (Deut 7:7-11), and it was only by His grace that they had been saved. The Law was the further expression of that grace. God chose them and then He gave them His Law to teach them who He was and how they were to live as His chosen people.
The Law was never burdensome, because the Law was further evidence of God's hand of grace. The commandments of God were the merciful commands of a gracious God revealing both His very character as well as what His choosing of the Israelites meant for how they were then to live. This is to say that all of God's grace has encompassed within it God's commandments. They run parallel.
As Christians, we speak a lot about the grace of God, but we often forget that God's grace has commandments to it. Christians are to live a certain way with a particular ethic. We should not forget that we are under covenant. This means that God has chosen Christians and bestowed grace upon them. But in that grace are promises, both of blessing and of curse.
If we are not obedient to the covenant commandments, we will receive the promised blessings. And if we are disobedient to the covenant commandments, we will receive the promised curses. This is covenant. It is not meritorious blessings. Rather, it is the way that God has chosen to relate to mankind. If we forget that this situation is His idea, we will naturally neglect all of the parts that we would rather not do.
Remember, we are not saved from the Law, we are saved from the curse of the Law. There is a new law for the New Covenant in Christ. Christians need to learn what these commandments are and we need to consider that we are the chosen people of God, under His promises and in His covenant. This means that we need to meet Him on His terms.
Friday, February 1, 2013
In Him we Live and Move and Have our Being
Paul, on his second missionary journey, came to the city of Athens. A city heralded for its sophistry and its intellect, Athens was also an influential city in the mediterranean world. In many ways, outside of Rome itself, Athens may have been the port of ideas that spread philosophy and education across the known world. It proved to be a good place for Paul to preach a message to the Aeropogus on Mars Hill.
And while Paul's gospel message was met with varied apathy and sneering flippancy, there was a minority of listeners that were touched by God. This message is recorded for us in Acts 17. The message in its entirety is certainly worth reading and thinking through, however, it is the final words of the message that strike me to the heart today: "In Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28).
Perhaps no statement in Scripture outside of Deut 7:7-11 or John 3:16 rings more clearly about the nature of God and His relationship to man. He made us, knitting us together with every strand of DNA and fiber of marrow or joint in the womb (Psa 139:13). This fact alone is the fundamental truth of reality, the truth of humanity, and the primary description of the human life.
He made us. He owns us. Every breath we breathe is a gift from His sovereign hand of grace. There is nothing, not one thing about humanity that cannot be boiled down to this: we are His. He has it in His full rights to terminate our lives at any moment. And we deserve that termination because of our disobedience and lovelessness (please read that sentence again).
But yet He shows us mercy. He does give us breath, He does give us reason and intellect, He does give us relationships, and He does give us the ability to not choose to recognize those gifts of grace at all. In fact, He loves humanity so much that He allows to spurn Him for our very beings! And He still loves us!
Today, do not let this day pass without considering the graciousness of God. I implore you to think about Him. Dwell on His mercy, linger on His forgiveness as it relates to our faithlessness. And when you feel that you have tired of that, think, at last, of what God Himself has done by sending His Son to be crushed and murdered for all our sin so that we would not have to meet that fate. Think about that. Pray about that. Above all else: praise God! For "In Him we live and move and have our being."
And while Paul's gospel message was met with varied apathy and sneering flippancy, there was a minority of listeners that were touched by God. This message is recorded for us in Acts 17. The message in its entirety is certainly worth reading and thinking through, however, it is the final words of the message that strike me to the heart today: "In Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28).
Perhaps no statement in Scripture outside of Deut 7:7-11 or John 3:16 rings more clearly about the nature of God and His relationship to man. He made us, knitting us together with every strand of DNA and fiber of marrow or joint in the womb (Psa 139:13). This fact alone is the fundamental truth of reality, the truth of humanity, and the primary description of the human life.
He made us. He owns us. Every breath we breathe is a gift from His sovereign hand of grace. There is nothing, not one thing about humanity that cannot be boiled down to this: we are His. He has it in His full rights to terminate our lives at any moment. And we deserve that termination because of our disobedience and lovelessness (please read that sentence again).
But yet He shows us mercy. He does give us breath, He does give us reason and intellect, He does give us relationships, and He does give us the ability to not choose to recognize those gifts of grace at all. In fact, He loves humanity so much that He allows to spurn Him for our very beings! And He still loves us!
Today, do not let this day pass without considering the graciousness of God. I implore you to think about Him. Dwell on His mercy, linger on His forgiveness as it relates to our faithlessness. And when you feel that you have tired of that, think, at last, of what God Himself has done by sending His Son to be crushed and murdered for all our sin so that we would not have to meet that fate. Think about that. Pray about that. Above all else: praise God! For "In Him we live and move and have our being."
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