Celebrate Repentance (Colossians 3:5)

The other day I did a Google Search to find all the Celebrate Repentance groups there are in Charlotte, NC. Surprisingly, even in a city of Charlotte’s size, I did not find a single one. That meant that if such a group were going to exist, someone like me would need to start it.

Of course, this is a fictional organization. Celebrate Repentance as an organization does not exist, but I think that it should. And so, I began conceiving of what this group would look like. Although there are many passages in Scripture that speak about repentance, there are two that would be foundational to my group:

Luke 13:3, 5 and Colossians 3:5

LUKE 13:3, 5 – THE CALL IS TO REPENT OR PERISH

Jesus spoke with some people who supposed that a sudden, tragic end to life occurred only to those people who were rebellious and really wicked. In other words, “Of course the bad guys get punished. They deserved it, but the rest of us are okay.” Jesus used that occasion to speak about the universal sinfulness of man and the universal need for repentance. “I tell you unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:3).” To make sure that these people did not ignore His warning and imagine, instead, that He was speaking only in hyperbole, Jesus gave another story and restated His warning: “I tell you, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (13:5).” Jesus made a big deal out of repentance, so Celebrate Repentance would make a big deal out of repentance.

COLOSSIANS 3:5 – THE CALL TO PUT OUR SINS TO DEATH

In Colossians, Paul is writing to Gentile Christians who have recently been delivered from the pagan world of idolatry and immorality (“the domain of darkness” – Colossians 1:13) and been “transferred into the kingdom of His beloved Son (1:13).” To make sure that these disciples show the fruit of repentance and begin to display holiness, Paul gives them direct instruction: “Therefore, put to death the members which are upon the earth: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (Colossians 3:5).” Paul made a big deal about disciples of Jesus putting sin to death, so Celebrate Repentance would make a big deal out of putting sin to death.

From these two foundational passages there emerge two basic questions that would define the content for the local Celebrate Repentance chapter:

  1. What does it mean for the disciple of Jesus to REPENT?
  2. How doe the disciple of Jesus PUT SIN TO DEATH?

I anticipate that there would be two groups of people attending these meetings of Celebrate Repentance. One group wants to vanquish their indwelling sin and to cut it out of their life like a malignant cancer, and the other group wants to learn some new tools to better cope with their indwelling sin and to find some fellow travelers who could join them in their coping journey. These two groups are separated by a wide chasm, although they seem the same in outward appearance. What is it, then, that distinguishes a person from being a member of one group or the other?

A member of “the vanquish group” has mentally brought a scalpel to the meeting, and they are willing to use it. They have identified their sin and they have sharpened their dagger, but up till now, they have not learned how to use the dagger effectively enough to kill their foe. It seems that every time they think the quarry is in their sights, it somehow dodges the bullet. In fact, the reason they have come to the Celebrate Repentance meeting is to learn how to wield the dagger with skill so that the sin is put to death. A member of this “vanquish group” hates their sin and has come ready for war.

By contrast, a member of “the coping group” has brought no scalpel and no dagger to the meeting. They may have identified their indwelling sin, but they have no current plan or desire to kill that sin. While they do not like the effects the sin is having on their life and they are a little ashamed that they haven’t gotten rid of it yet, they have not resolved to kill the sin and to do violence to it. They do not hate the sin; truth be known, there are times when they still enjoy the sin, even though they know they should not.

“The vanquish group” will find fellow warriors in the Celebrate Repentance group who are willing to give them ammunition and tactics for putting sin to death. The “coping group” will probably decide that they need to find another group that “knows more about grace” and allows them to continue in their sin as they continue to “struggle” with their sin.

Celebrate Repentance would indeed be a celebration of the freedom that we have in Christ to live as conquerors (Romans 8:37). Repentance is the weapon that appropriates for us the freedom that Christ bought for us on the cross. “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36).” We were slaves of sin, but now we are slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:18), and Celebrate Repentance would give you the comrades and the tactics to trample sin underfoot and to rejoice in the holiness we were meant to have (1 Peter 1:16).

What do you think of this idea of Celebrate Repentance?

SDG                 rmb                 8/28/2020

Jacob was left alone (Genesis 32:24)

Jacob took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone.

The Lord of the universe dwells in unapproachable light surrounded by many angels, myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy!” (Revelation 5)!” Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), sitting on a throne of fiery flames and burning fire, a stream of fire coming out before Him (Daniel 7:9-10). His eyes are too pure to look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13) and He has a settled holy hatred of all sin. Why, then, would this thrice holy God ever have pity on us and pursue us to rescue us? And if He did, how could mere man ever bear an encounter with the living God without being consumed?

            We, the ruined ones, live among myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands of other ruined sinners. Crammed into this crowded planet, we wander down the wide way leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). We grope along the wall like the blind, growling and moaning as we go (Isaiah 59:9). Foolish and disobedient to the Lord, we, as slaves of passions and pleasures, pass our days being hated by others and hating one another (Titus 3:3). This is the picture the Bible paints for unsaved man, the natural man. It is not a pretty picture and it is not a picture with any hope.

THE LORD CONDESCENDS TO US

Yet here is one of the many mysteries of the Bible, for despite the fact that the LORD is a consuming fire and cannot be seen by mortal eyes because of His holiness, and despite the fact that all mankind has been ruined by sin and each of us is under God’s righteous wrath (Romans 1:18; John 3:17-18, 36), the Bible is full of encounters between the Lord of the universe and ordinary human beings. It seems impossible, but the Holy One, who is surrounded in heaven by myriads of angels, condescends to earth to meet with a single sinful human being, such that the human is not consumed, but is blessed and has their life changed. There is no way that mortal man can find or approach God, so God seeks out His chosen ones and brings them home (Luke 19:10). And in the Bible, these encounters are all one on one. The holy God condescends to meet with a single human being and arranges the circumstances so that the human is alone. It is just God and a single human.

JACOB AT THE JABBOK

In this post, I want to talk about the Lord’s encounter with Jacob in Genesis 32, because this encounter is staged to create a feeling of drama and awe and foreboding. Jacob has returned to Canaan from Paddan-Aram and is now defenseless against his brother Esau. Messengers have sent word to Jacob that the brother he tricked and enraged many years ago is now coming to meet him with four hundred men. In response, Jacob prays to the God he barely knows, asking Him to deliver him from his brother Esau, asking the LORD to protect his wives and his children. Jacob the deceiver has now become Jacob the man of prayer. Throughout his life, Jacob has tricked and cheated and deceived those around him. He tricked and cheated his brother Esau, not once but twice, stealing his birthright and then stealing his blessing. Jacob tricked and deceived Laban, stealing his flocks and running away with Laban’s daughters and grandchildren. By his conniving, Jacob has become two camps (32:10), but now it appears that Esau will have his revenge and will destroy all that Jacob holds dear. Jacob has no more tricks; he wants no more tricks. “Enough of tricks and conniving and deception! O LORD, I need You! I need Your help! You said, ‘I will surely do you good (32:12).’ I ask that You fulfill Your word.” Then Jacob sends his flocks and herds in droves as gifts to his brother Esau. “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me. Perhaps he will accept me (32:20).” So the present passed on ahead of him, and he stayed that night in the camp (21). The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok (22). He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else he had (23).

And Jacob was left alone (24a).

Alone. Jacob was left alone. Alone with his fears. Alone with his thoughts. Alone with his regrets. Alone. But he was not alone for long. “And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day (24b).” There at the ford of the Jabbok in the middle of the night, a humbled and fearful Jacob wrestles with “a man.” These two are alone in the wilderness. There is no one to witness their striving. And all night they wrestle to see who will prevail. Who is this “man” with whom Jacob wrestles? Where did he come from? How did he know that Jacob was here? What does he want from Jacob, since Jacob has already sent everything he has over the Jabbok to safety? At last “the man” tells Jacob to let him go, “but Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me (26).’” Who is this man? Then the man renames Jacob, calling him Israel, “for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed (28).” Jacob asked the man, “Please tell me your name,” but the man refuses. But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him (29). Who is this man who renames Jacob but refuses to tell his name? So Jacob called the name of that place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered (30).”

            The LORD had arranged this wrestling match at the Jabbok. Jacob is alone and is fearful and humbled. God condescends to Jacob, not only meeting him but wrestling with him all night. Instead of consuming Jacob in His wrath and overwhelming him with His unbearable glory, God takes on the appearance of a man and wrestles with Jacob. Of course, at any instant, God could have destroyed Jacob, but that was not the goal. Jacob needed this night to wrestle with God and with his own fears. Jacob needed to strive to a place of surrender. In eternity past, God had chosen Jacob as one of His own, and now He has arranged the details of this night to claim His prize. During this night God allows Jacob to wrestle himself into surrender. Jacob prevails, yet he leaves the encounter surrendered and limping on his hip. Jacob is allowed to prevail, but God has won His man. Before this night of striving beside the Jabbok, this second-born son of Isaac carried the name “he cheats,” but now God Himself has renamed him “he strives with God.” All alone, the human has an encounter with the living God and lives, emerging from the encounter blessed and changed.

            Our God is a God who ordains the events of history, of time and space so that He can encounter His people and bring them to Himself. He arranged the events of the night by the Jabbok so that He could wrestle with Jacob and break his resistance. We see this over and over again in the Bible. Not only Jacob, but also Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses, Joshua, Hagar, and Elijah all have one on one encounters with God that define their lives and change them forever. And not only in the Bible, but our God does this with us as well. Not every believer, but many believers can testify to their own “night by the Jabbok when they wrestled with a man.” We emerge from these life-changing encounters humbled and blessed and “limping on our hip.” Somehow, we have encountered God face to face and our life has been delivered.

SDG                 rmb                 8/26/2020

Trifling against sin or Striving against sin? (Hebrews 12:4)

“You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:4

There is “trifling against sin” and there is “striving against sin.” It may be apparent, but these two expressions are vastly different from one another. “Trifling against sin” suggests a friendly tussle between equals. Either contestant may win, but it makes no real difference who eventually comes out on top. Win or lose, it’s just not worth a lot of excitement and energy. The world trifles against sin (of course, not using this expression) when some famous someone is exposed as having a particularly distasteful habit. “He is struggling (trifling) against his (fill in the blank).” For example, imagine that a famous athlete is “trifling against his ‘sexual addiction’.” He knows that it is not “good” for a famous athlete to have this unsavory habit of being found in bedrooms of women other than his wife, so he checks himself into a clinic where he can wrestle with this problem and develop some coping strategies so that the filthy habit is not so prevalent or obvious. This is his attempt to placate his fans and work on his “addiction,” but he is merely “trifling.” He does not want to get rid of the behavior; he just wants to manage and disguise the behavior. After all, if he never stops the distasteful habit, what real difference will it make? It doesn’t really matter who wins this contest.

Sadly, many professing Christians have also adopted this same worldly way of thinking. Many believers today have an attitude of “trifling against sin.” For example, when the Holy Spirit or a brave and faithful brother or sister points out sin in their life, they know that it is time to begin “struggling” against that sin. So, they will do something drastic, like check themselves into a support group that deals with these types of issues. Maybe it is Alcoholics Anonymous or maybe it is Celebrate Recovery or some other group where, together with the other members of the group, they can “struggle against their sin.” The reality is that many of these efforts amount to trifling against their sin. They know that it is not “good” for a professing Christian to have this blemish of sin on their record, so they go to a support group to learn some coping strategies and learn to manage and minimize the behavior. After all, the point is for others to see that you are fighting against this filthy sin. If he never stops the distasteful habit, what real difference will it make? It doesn’t really matter who wins this contest. Or does it?

            A number of years ago, I was sitting at the bar in a restaurant watching the TV screen behind the bar. On the screen was a nature broadcast about some large white birds similar to egrets who lived in South America. These birds made their nests directly above the river as a means of protecting their young from predators. No predator was willing to risk the dangers of the river to get to the birds’ nest above the river. The broadcast showed two of the young, gangly birds perched on the thin branches of the nest and the surrounding area. They seemed to be balanced carefully until one of the fledgling birds slipped off the branch. What ensued was a desperate struggle as the bird fought ferociously to regain its perch. Because the bird was awkward and gangly, the struggle appeared almost comical as the bird flapped and pulled and clawed to make its way back onto the branch. It seemed like “much ado about nothing.” “Relax, guy! You don’t have to try so hard!” Finally, after several minutes of all out war, the young bird was back on the branch sitting peacefully beside its sibling, and all was well.

            The next scene was a few days later, and once again, the two young birds were perched on their branch. Suddenly, one of the two birds slipped off the branch and did not catch itself but splashed into the water of the river. Within seconds, the first piranha arrived, and that fish was followed by dozens of others. The doomed bird tried to flap and jump, but the piranha attacked mercilessly until, in less than two minutes, all that remained of the young bird was a few feathers floating on the water.

            Then I realized that the first scene had been far from comical. The first scene showing the young bird trying to regain its perch was a life and death struggle where failure was not an option. If that bird did not get back on that perch by the nest, it was going to be food for the river’s piranhas. The bird’s life depended on getting back on that branch. The goal was clear, and the outcome mattered.

            One of the great dangers for disciples of the Lord Jesus is somehow to assume that our striving against sin is, like the first scene with the young bird, comical and largely unnecessary, and that the outcome of a “slip from the branch” doesn’t matter. If we make that assumption, we will always trifle with sin. We will assume that we do not need to vanquish the sin, but just put on a sincere show of “struggling.” We will try to manage and minimize our sin, but we will not put it to death. We will think that our trifling with sin is good enough and that, even if we “fall off the branch,” no harm will be done. But, what if instead we feared sin the way those young birds feared the piranha? What if we viewed holiness as a life and death struggle where failure was not an option? What if we realized that trifling with sin can lead to shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:19-20)? What if we strove against sin because we feared that “an evil, unbelieving heart” could really lead us to fall away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12)? What if we heeded the warning of the author of Hebrews who tells us that neglect of diligence in our faith and a failure to come all the way to true repentance can lead to falling away, a place from which it is impossible to be renewed again the repentance (Hebrews 6:6)?

            Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of faith, endured the cross to purify for Himself a people for His own possession (Titus 2:14), who are zealous for good deeds. Like our Lord, we are to strive against sin and “be holy, just as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).”

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David’s Repentance (Psalm 51)

How is a disciple of the Lord Jesus to rid himself of besetting sin?

As a disciple grows in their walk with the Lord, it is certain that sin will emerge from the murky depths of the soul. The pure milk of the Word begins to soak into the recesses of the mind and into the closets of the past, and loathsome sins well up from the depths. Until we come to faith in the Lord Jesus and come face to face with His holiness, we have no concept of the ugliness of our sin. If Isaiah the prophet felt himself ruined when he saw the thrice holy Lord, lofty and exalted, and declared himself a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6), how much more should we expect to need to dredge the black mold of sin out our lives!

But once the sin is uncovered and identified, how do we get rid of it?

Before we get too far along this article, I need to make clear that, in this article, I am not talking about the way for sin to be forgiven. No amount of confession or repentance will ever result in one sin being forgiven. Offering “thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil (Micah 6:7)” will give the Lord no delight and will leave you exactly where you were before the offering. There has always been only one way for any sin to ever be forgiven. “In Him (Jesus), we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (Ephesians 1:7).” It is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the only means of forgiveness of sins. Do you want to be forgiven of your sins? “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).” If you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are following Him in faith, all your sins are forgiven. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has the LORD removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).” “The blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).”

But for the disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ who has come to faith in Christ and has thus had his sins forgiven, there arises the matter of practical righteousness. Through faith, my sins are forgiven, but the ugly effects remain. As the Holy Spirit reveals sin in my life, and as I begin to recognize and identify and confess my sins before the Lord, the question becomes, “How do I remove the remaining sin?” This is what repentance is for. Repentance is the most powerful weapon in the disciple’s arsenal for removing the filthy remains of sin, but for repentance to be effective, it must be genuine. How do I know if my repentance is genuine? You know you have truly repented when the sin ceases. True repentance results in victory over sin. Colossians 3:5 tells me to “put to death whatever is in the earth of your members: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed.” How do you know if you have put sin to death? It is no longer active. It no longer moves. There are no signs of life. Repentance is the blade that puts sin to death. If the sin remains active, you have not yet truly raised the blade of repentance.

King David was a man after God’s own heart. His passion and zeal for the LORD explode from the psalms which he wrote. The LORD was with David and he rose in power and conquered all the neighboring kingdoms. There seemed to be nothing that David would not accomplish. But David was also very human, and he had some prominent areas of weakness. David was a man who seemed to have a weakness for the fair sex. When he was king in Hebron, he had six sons by six different wives. Then when he moved to Jerusalem, David added more wives and concubines. And finally, there was the disastrous one-night stand with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Through the prophet Nathan, the LORD confronted David and told him that there would be consequences for his sin and his rebellion against the LORD, but more than that, the LORD made clear that if David did not repent of his sin and once again draw near to the LORD, or the LORD would bring more disaster upon David until he was destroyed. David immediately confessed his sin (2 Samuel 12:13) and went into the temple to pray for sin’s consequences to be taken away. But most of all, David repented.

How do we know David repented? First, as a result of his sin, David wrote Psalm 51, his powerful psalm of repentance. In none of the 19 verses of Psalm 51 does David ask the LORD for forgiveness (because David is already forgiven – see above), but he does long to be purified with hyssop, to have the joy of salvation restored, to be washed whiter than snow, and to have the LORD blot out his transgressions and his sins. As a result of David’s sin with Bathsheba, we have this powerful psalm of repentance that can serve as a model for how we can repent of our sins. But second, we know David repented because, when he came back to Jerusalem after the defeat of Absalom, he refused to be intimate with his concubines. Remember that genuine repentance vanquishes sin. David had repented of his sexual sin and so he refused to indulge in any more sexual sin with his concubines. His repentance bore the fruit of repentance. The third piece of evidence of genuine repentance involved Abishag the Shunammite. She was a beautiful young virgin who served the king and kept him warm in his old age (1 Kings 1:1-4), but the Scripture makes explicitly clear that “the king did not know her.” David refuses to violate his repentance from sexual sin by “knowing” this beautiful young woman.

REFLECTIONS

  • Repentance is the most powerful weapon in the disciple’s arsenal to defeat active, remaining sin in their life.
  • True repentance results in the vanquishing of sin. If the sin is not vanquished, then the repentance is not genuine. You must hate the sin to put it to death. If you don’t yet hate the sin, then you will not hire the assassin of repentance.
  • Psalm 51 is an excellent Scripture to use for repentance.

SDG                rmb                8/18/2020

Are you a contender? (Ephesians 6:11, 13)

(To get the full effect of this article, it is recommended that you watch Marlon Brando in one of his most famous scenes in the movie “On the Waterfront” where “he coulda been a contender.” You may get nothing more from this article, but you will see a brilliant actor at the pinnacle of his craft.)

He coulda been a contender! I mean, this kid had fists like iron and threw a left hook that would take down the walls of a city. He could fell a tree with that hook! Yes, he coulda been a contender, if only the other guy didn’t punch. Well, that’s not really fair. In addition to being a powerful puncher, he could also take some punishment and still remain standing. And that was a good thing because he just could not keep his guard up. “He coulda been a contender,” if he had only been able to keep his guard up. But he couldn’t do it. And so, before he could launch that lethal left hook, he was usually lying on his back as the referee counted him out.

What’s the point of this story? Nobody can be a victorious disciple if they can’t keep their guard up. That is, you will never be a “contender” if you do not have your defenses up. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul says, “Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (13) Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” The disciple who would be a “contender” must know the devil’s schemes and must have his armor on so he can resist the enemy’s attacks. Don’t let the devil put you on your back and have you counted out! Know your weaknesses and make sure they are fiercely defended.

SDG rmb 8/13/2020

Can the prey be taken from the mighty man?

24 “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?” – Isaiah 49:24

            Picture a scene in the dungeon of a medieval castle. There are two captives in the cell of the dungeon dressed in filthy tattered clothes. Their ankles are adorned with shackles and a ball-and-chain. At the door of the cell is an armed guard, muscular and cruel, who is talking to the king of the land, dressed in ermine and silk robes. This is the type of scene that the prophet Isaiah has in mind as he asks his question about the mighty man and the tyrant. Can this prey be taken, or can these captives be rescued? The operation seems hopeless. The mighty man is too strong, and the tyrant is too well-fortified. The captives are doomed, because where would you ever find a rescuer who would be willing and able to deliver such miserable wretches?       

WHO ARE THE CAPTIVES?

            To understand what the prophet Isaiah is saying by this illustration of captives and tyrants, we must realize that, in Bible prophecy, something greater than the actual picture is being communicated. Isaiah tells us of prey and captives who are oppressed by overwhelming enemies and troubles. He asks the question he does in 49:24 to highlight the impossibility of the rescue. We also know that biblical prophecy has universal application, meaning that the story of the captives and the tyrants is not a mythical story of folklore, but is a story that involves you and me. From these pieces of information, it becomes clear that we are the captives. You and I are the ones who need to be rescued from the tyrant. We are the prey of the mighty man.

WHO IS THE MIGHTY MAN AND THE TYRANT?

            If we are the captives and the prey, then to what or to whom are we captive? Who is this mighty man that holds us under his power?

            In one sense, the “mighty men” who hold us captive are all the things that cause damage and destruction in our life and in the lives of others. We all have these types of “tyrants” who oppress us and who seem to show up just when we want them least. These are “tyrants” like shame about our past or fear and anxiety about the future. The “mighty man” might come in the guise of loneliness, or feelings of failure or of hopelessness. Maybe they are anger or guilt or insecurities or jealousy. All of these can oppress us and hold us captive and in chains.

            But in the true sense, the “mighty man” who is holding us captive and who threatens to destroy our life is sin and all the manifestations and the effects of sin. Sin has been the great tyrant of mankind since Adam ate of the fruit in the Garden. Sin is the mighty man who oppresses us and abuses us and brings us under God’s wrath and condemnation. Jesus said that, “everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34).”

WHO CAN RESCUE THE CAPTIVES OF A TYRANT?

            Now we come to the crux of the matter. We now know that we are the captives and that sin is the tyrant and the mighty man, but there is also talk of a rescue.

25 Surely, thus says the Lord,

“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued.

For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will save your sons.”

            In the next verse, Isaiah 49:25, the prophet makes clear who will perform the rescue. It is none other than the LORD Himself! But we also need to keep in mind that, in this section of Isaiah, the prophet is telling about the LORD’s suffering servant who will come to rescue His people. Later, in the gospel of John, after declaring that “everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin,” Jesus goes on to say, “So if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:34, 36).”

Thus, the full picture is revealed. We were held captive, enslaved to sin, with no ability to escape ourselves. But the LORD, in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, has the power to take away sin’s captives and to set them forever free. And the Son has set us free.

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What if I am unaware of the disease? (Leviticus 5:17)

                I want to start out this article with a medical question:

MEDICAL QUESTION

            Is it possible for a person who does not know that they have terminal cancer to still die of that cancer?

            Many people in our society today have enough medical knowledge to answer this question. From our common medical knowledge, we know that, unless cured, terminal cancer ends in death. So, the answer to the medical question above is, yes, a person who does not know that they have terminal cancer can still die of that cancer. In fact, if the cancer is not both detected and cured, the person certainly will die of the terminal cancer, whether they know they have it or not.

            That answer was pretty easy. Let’s move into a different field and see if we can answer a similar question. So, let me ask a theological question:

THEOLOGICAL QUESTION

          Is it possible for someone who has sinned against the Law of God without knowing it to still be guilty and condemned by that sin?

            This theological question will probably be more difficult to answer than the medical question because relatively few people in our society have a great deal of theological knowledge. God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness in His book, the Bible, and yet few people take the Bible seriously. In the Bible is all the theological knowledge necessary for a person to spend eternity in heaven in loving fellowship with the living God, the Creator of the universe, and all the theological knowledge needed to avoid condemnation and an eternity in hell. Yet, again, few people can be bothered.

            In my current Bible study, I am reading through the book of Leviticus, a book that gives careful instruction about the various sacrifices that the ancient Hebrews were to give to the LORD to atone for their sins. Leviticus is a fascinating book, and in Leviticus 5:17 it says this:

“Now if a person sins and does any of the things that the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.”

            Here in this one verse, in Leviticus 5:17, we find the answer to the theological question that was posed above. From this verse, it is clear that any person who sins and breaks any of the LORD’s commandments is guilty and is under condemnation, whether they know about their sin or not.

            Now, because our sin is against the living God, there is no more dangerous place to be than to be guilty of sin and under condemnation. Just as it is the nature of terminal cancer, unless detected and cured, to end in physical death, so it is the nature of sin, unless detected and removed, to end in eternal death. And because the situation of our sin against the living God is so perilous, the Bible is full of warnings about our sinful condition. Here in Leviticus 5:17 we read one such warning, which tells us that we are guilty of all our sins and liable to punishment, whether we know it or not. Just as the MRI and the CAT scan detect and warn us about our terminal cancer so that we can remove it and live longer physically, so the Bible detects and warns us about our sin so that we can remove it and live eternally in heaven.

            We know, from our medical knowledge, that there are some cures for cancer, but what is the cure for our sin against the living God? If the Bible is full of warnings about our sin, which will lead to eternal death, surely there must also be some instruction somewhere in the Bible about how we can remove our sin. If the Bible graciously tells me about my sin and warns me about my condemnation, doesn’t it also graciously tell me how I can escape from my condemnation? Having revealed to me my disease of sin, doesn’t it also tell me of the cure?

            The Bible does indeed provide the cure for the disease of sin. Having revealed to us the ugliness of our sin and condemnation, the Bible also reveals to us the beauty of our salvation. Or rather the beauty of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. As condemned sinners, we need a Savior who will rescue us, and so God sent Jesus Christ from heaven to earth on a rescue mission. After living a sinless life filled with miracles, teaching and healing, the Lord Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross as an atoning sacrifice for sinners. He died on that cross and was buried. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead, proving that He had conquered sin and death, and ascended into heaven. Now the good news of the gospel is that any person who has sinned and has done many things that the LORD has commanded not to be done, will be forgiven of his sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”

the apostle Paul to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31

SDG                 rmb                 8/9/2020

Trading Retirement for a Mission (2 Timothy 4:7)

            There is in the American experience an expectation of “retirement.” That is, part of the American dream is this persistent idea that, after some number of years of working and struggling to make our mark in the world, the time has come to retire and to slow down the pace and to ”enjoy the golden years” hopefully “doing what we have always wanted to do.” Maybe we will get a hobby and spend some time with our grandkids and take it easy. At first glance, this seems like a great idea. And haven’t we earned it? Don’t we deserve to bask in the fruits of our labor? But as the Christian examines this idea against the teaching of Scripture, we may find that completing our mission too early is not a good thing.

KING SOLOMON

            Consider, for example, King Solomon. Solomon was chosen by the LORD Himself to be the one who would build His house in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 28:6, 10). Then King David, Solomon’s father, charged him with the task of building the house of the LORD (1 Chronicles 28:20). Additionally, Solomon himself had decided to build a magnificent royal palace for him and his wives. So, it can correctly be said that what defined King Solomon’s life was the completion of these two great building projects. And what an amazing task to be given and what a remarkable mission to accomplish, to be the one who would be known for all time as the builder of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem! After twenty years of construction, Solomon finished these projects (2 Chronicles 5:1; 6:10; 7:1; 8:1), and thus his life’s accomplishment was completed. He had successfully done what the LORD had called him to do.

            So, if we are armed with our current “bask-in-his-glory” mindset, we would expect to see Solomon reaping the fruits of his vast labors and that the rest of his life would be a glowing success, an example of a life well-spent. That expectation, however, is shattered as we witness this great man’s life slowly unravel in indulgence, opulence, and idolatry, marrying many foreign wives and building altars to pagan gods (1 Kings 11). After the mission of his life is accomplished, Solomon turns his heart away from the LORD and spends the remainder of his days in disastrous pursuits. Toward the end of his life, Solomon pens the book of Ecclesiastes in which, as an uncertain, cynical, pessimistic older man he asks essential questions about the meaning of life and about the purpose of existence. Without oversimplifying things, I think the main problem was that Solomon completed his life’s mission long before his life was done.

            This is the inherent danger of our modern idea of retirement; namely, that we complete our life’s work or accomplish our life’s mission, and then spend the rest of our days in leisure. The danger of retirement is intentionally putting an end to our life’s mission long before our life is over.

            Related to this are two fundamental truths that must be grasped. First, mankind was created by God for mission, and every individual man and woman is most fulfilled and most alive when they are most fully engaged in the mission God the Creator has given them to do. When Solomon was engaged in his building projects, his kingdom flourished, his advice was wise, and his life was fulfilled. But when his mission was over, he drifted downstream and ended up on the rocks. Again, I say, we are made to fulfill out God-given mission until we draw our last breath, not just until we decide to “retire.”

            The second truth that we must grasp is that we are fallen creatures and our entire being has been corrupted by sin. The Fall of man was very effective, and, because of it, all human beings are bent toward sin and are bent toward disobedience. By nature, we love sin and, even when we have been born-again through faith in Jesus Christ and our sins have been forgiven by His blood, we still live with our “flesh,” which tempts us toward indulgence, opulence, and idolatry. Therefore, since we are fallen and still live with our “flesh,” each of us needs a noble, compelling mission that infuses passion into our lives. Without a compelling, God-given mission, we are likely to waste our time and squander our lives in aimless pursuits. Because Solomon was fallen like all men, and because he had finished his life’s mission, he lost his zeal and aimlessly drifted. In the end, his life, which had such spectacular promise, disintegrated into a dubious legacy of disappointment.

A CONTRAST

            While the Bible gives us examples of people who, like Solomon, did not finish well so that we might be warned not to follow their course, the Bible also gives us other examples of people who pursued their mission to the very end and died while still pressing forward. One of those examples is the apostle Paul. For Paul, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21).” In this verse, and in many others, Paul makes clear that he had received his mission from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and that he was going to accomplish that mission. In all of Paul’s writing there is no mention of “leisure” or of “retirement.” Instead, we read of fruitful labor, of striving, of pressing toward the goal, of spending and being expended for people’s souls, and of being poured out as a drink offering. Instead of indulging his flesh, Paul buffets his body to make it his slave. Rather than playing it safe, for the sake of the gospel Paul was constantly being exposed to real dangers, like beatings and shipwrecks. There is no record of Paul ever living in a palace or of him musing about the “golden years” of rest that are up ahead, unless you count the times the Apostle talked about heaven and his desire to go there where he would receive his crown (2 Timothy 4:8).

LESSONS ON MISSION

            One of the immense blessings of being a follower of the Lord Jesus is that, with our salvation we have also received a calling, a mission. The entire Christian life is about living on mission, about finding and living out that unique place to which the Lord has called you where you are most satisfied. We have all generally been called to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8) and His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are all to be fishers of men (Matthew 4:19) and are all to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). But I am convinced that we are also all given a unique mission to accomplish that the Lord has entrusted to each one of us.

            Since that is the case, the first thing to do is to seek and find your mission. “How do I know what my mission is?” You will know it when you find it, but you will also know it when you have not found it, because when your life is not running on mission, you will know a level of dissatisfaction. The search for your mission may be a long search, but the treasure of the mission is worth the effort.

            What are the characteristics of an ideal “mission?” Your mission will probably not be a narrowly defined, specific task or endeavor. Rather, it will be somewhat broad. (Examples: “A ministry of prayer in which I lift up immediate needs of my church and also pray for our supported missionaries.” “Writing articles and blogs on Bible passages to increase the love of the Word among God’s people.”) Your mission should be context independent. That is, it can be done in any country, in any season; it can be done whether you are rich or poor, at any age of your life. The mission should be something that can be done until the day you die, whenever that is. The mission should allow you to still bear fruit in old age (Psalm 92:14). Your mission should be something about which you are passionate. Finally, your mission is something that you know that you will never complete. If you have a mission of praying for your church’s needs, you know that you will never finish praying, for there are always more needs. If your mission is writing articles, blogs, and books about the Bible, you know that you will never finish your mission, because there will always be articles to write and people to encourage. And this is a good thing, because it ensures that you will always have “missionary” work to do, and so your passion will ever flow hot.

            Finally, consider these two statements about mission:

“I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course (mission); I have kept the faith.” – (2 Timothy 4:7) written by the apostle Paul as he was awaiting his execution in a prison in Rome.

“I glorified You (God the Father) on earth, having accomplished the work (mission) that You gave Me to do.” – (John 17:4) spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ on the night of His betrayal.

            So, rather than thinking about retirement and how we can enjoy the leisure of your “golden years,” let’s think about laboring in a compelling mission from which we will never retire and which will allow us to hit the finish line at full speed.

SDG                 rmb                 7/29/2020

Walking a Darker Path (Mark 10:32-33)

My walk with Christ easily lends itself to the analogy of a path. That path began in late 1990 when I came to Christ from a very non-Christian worldview and found myself suddenly following Christ.

Much of my walk with the Lord has been pleasant and many days have been spent strolling through meadows or climbing through forest glades on well-marked, smooth paths. As the Lord effortlessly strides ahead, I struggle to keep up, occasionally stumbling over a rock or a root. When I lag too far behind, He stops and looks back waiting for me, always smiling, always patient, always encouraging. Thus He and I have spent many idyllic days in sweet fellowship, and thus over time He has taught me about His ways and has taught me how to walk, and thus I have gradually gotten stronger and better able to follow Him. I have seen His power and His faithfulness, and my trust in Him has become more sure.

This trust and increased strength are important, because the Lord knows, and I know, that my path will not always meander through pleasant meadows. There have been times in the past, and there will be times in the future, when the character of the path changes. There are times when, for His perfect purposes and for my deeper discipleship, the Lord needs to lead me into a darker, dangerous place.

I sense that I am now entering such a time and following Him toward such a place, and I feel that there are many others in this decaying world who are feeling the same thing. For the past two or three years or so, the Lord has led me past alpine lakes and through hardwood and hemlock forests, but now, as I peer up ahead, the landscape seems much more barren. Towering thunderhead clouds loom, billowing up to obscure the sun and rumbling their foreboding tune. The path is beginning to drop steeply and to narrow, becoming harder to follow. Rocks, prominent and jagged, threaten the sides of the trail. A gloomy dusk has cloaked the scene, making it harder to see where to walk. There in front of me is the Lord, still leading, still smiling and still patient, but His looks back to me are now more frequent, wanting to make sure that I am staying close. Does He sense my reluctance to follow Him into the darkness? Does He know my fear? And now it has become clear that the Lord is, in fact, leading me into a season of a darker path as He beckons me down into the foggy chasm.

What, then, is the believer to do when the path becomes treacherous and when the Lord leads us toward the edge of a murky chasm? As I walk with the Lord, there are some basic things to do to make sure I stay on the path.

  • Consider Jesus’ example of fearless obedience to His Father’s plan. Jesus’ entire life was one of suffering. He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).” He knew what it was to walk a dark path. In Mark 10:32-33, the Bible says:
    • And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise.”

When I consider that I am going to walk a dark and difficult path, I need to remember and keep my eyes on the Lord Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). In Mark 10, as they go up to Jerusalem, He is the only one who knows EXACTLY what awaits Him there. The Lord is beginning the walk to the cross. He knows with certainty that mocking and scourging and crucifixion await Him and yet He is walking ahead of the crowd. Since my Lord accepted this darkest of all possible paths and persevered, so I need to accept whatever path the Lord leads me down and persevere to the end.

  • As Jesus trusted and obeyed His heavenly Father and accomplished His work (John 17:4), so I need to trust and obey the Lord and accomplish the work He has given me to do (Ephesians 2:10).
  • Regardless of the darkness of the path, the Lord is with me. He has sworn that He will never leave me of forsake me (Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5).
  • Regardless of the darkness of the path, the Lord is the one leading me. The path on which I am traveling may seem dark and difficult, and I may not know the short-term destination, but I know and trust the One leading me. The Lord is trustworthy, and He has sovereignly chosen this path for me, and He is leading me along it. Regardless of the nature of the path, because of the One who has chosen this path for me, I can trust that this is the perfect path.

SDG                 rmb                 7/24/2020

To Bow Down or Not to Bow Down in Babylon

We live in a world that is desperately short of heroes, and what we need today are heroes. We need those people who have noble convictions which they will never compromise regardless of the cost. Oh, where are those like the hero in Psalm 15: “He swears to his own hurt, and he does not change.”

One of the best places to find heroes is in the pages of the Bible where people like you and me display extraordinary courage and valor as they trust the Lord and are obedient to Him. Lately I have been spending time in the book of “Daniel,” and here I have found men who are willing to obey the LORD even in the face of dreadful consequences. Yes, here in “Daniel” I have found heroes.

In Daniel chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar decides to build a giant golden idol in Babylon and to command all his officials from all over his realm to bow down to his golden image. As a motivator for their obedience, the king promises that anyone who does not bow down to his image will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. So, as expected, when the signal is given, everyone obediently bows down to the golden image – everyone, that is, except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In a field full of prostrated people, these three Hebrew men remain conspicuously standing. Apparently defying the king’s command and despising the flames of the king’s fiery furnace, our heroes stand firm. They REFUSE TO BOW DOWN to a false god and idol WHEN THEY ARE COMMANDED TO BOW DOWN, even though their disobedience comes with a death threat. Unless God intervenes, these men will surely die. But God “sent His angel and delivered His servants (Daniel 3:28)” so that our heroes are vindicated.

In Daniel chapter 6, King Darius is tricked into establishing an injunction in Babylon that says “that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions (Daniel 6:7).” It is obvious that this ridiculous injunction was conceived to trap Daniel, since it was well known that he prayed to his God three times a day, every day. The conspirators’ plan was that the injunction would either result in Daniel’s ceasing to pray or it would result in his death in the lion’s den. What does Daniel do? Apparently defying the king’s injunction and despising the teeth of the lion’s den, our hero continues to bow down. Daniel REFUSES TO NOT BOW DOWN because of a man’s injunction WHEN HE IS COMMANDED TO NOT BOW DOWN, even though his disobedience comes with a death threat. Unless God intervenes, Daniel will surely die. But God “sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths (Daniel 6:22)” so that our hero is vindicated.

APPLICATION

In both these cases, our heroes are commanded to obey a man’s command that is contrary to God’s commands. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, because to worship the idol would be to disobey the LORD. And so, they refused to bow down, even though a fiery furnace awaited. Daniel refused to stop bowing down to worship his God, because to stop worship would be to disobey the LORD. And so, he continued to bow down, even though a den of lions awaited.

Also, their decision to obey God rather than man (Acts 4:19; 5:29) was both automatic and absolute. Automatic in that the decision was made without deliberation. The decision had been made long ago and this event was merely an occasion to put the resolution into effect. Absolute, in that it was unconditional and was not subject to change. No threat or coercion could sway the decision.

How does this apply to us? As our gospel message and mission continue to become more and more hostile to our culture, we will experience opportunities to compromise to the commands and demands of our society. Therefore, the disciple of Jesus needs to decide NOW to obey the Lord and to do what the Lord commands automatically and absolutely. Our enemy is a crafty and deceitful liar (John 8:44) and he will provide temptations to compromise suddenly and without warning. We must have our lines already drawn in the sand and we must already be prepared to stand firm (Ephesians 6:11ff). We must have already decided what it looks like to not bow down to what the world worships and never stop bowing down in our worship to the Lord.

SDG                 rmb                 7/20/2020