How To Build the Temple For God

The God we serve is a holy and glorious god, who deserves our reverence and our obedience. Reading today of the story of the building of the temple by King Solomon in 1 Kings 6, there is a very powerful fact about how Solomon went about the construction. 

1 Kings 6:7 - When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built. 

Solomon was so bent on constructing the temple in a way that, not only followed God’s specifications, but was also built in a very special manner. As we read, Solomon made sure that no tool could be heard in the actual process of the on-site construction. Why would he take such stringent actions in this work? Solomon understood that the temple was to be a place of reverence and worship to his God, because God is a holy god, worthy of our complete worship and respect.

God no longer chooses to dwell in man-made buildings. We see this truth recorded in Acts 7:48, which tells us that “ the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands.” No, God has chosen to replace the temple of stone by placing His Holy Spirit within the very hearts of His people and making them His temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

In light of this truth, what does Solomon’s careful construction of the first temple say to us today? 

When we receive salvation and begin to follow Jesus, we are a new creation. But as we all can clearly understand about ourselves, there is still much work to be done. We use the word sanctification to describe the process of growth that begins at salvation. But it is a work that takes our entire life to be completed. We know it will because the Apostle Paul wrote this to us in Philippians 1:6  saying, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

The work of salvation is completely of God, according to scripture. But the work of sanctification is a work that involves both the empowering of the Holy Spirit and our commitment to follow Jesus and walk in obedience to Him. 

Like the construction of the first temple, the construction of the temple within us must be accomplished with the same commitment to reverence and respect to God. We should be diligent to study His Word and to build His temple with the same dedication to God’s plan for our lives.

Listen to what God said to Solomon as he was building the temple.

1 Kings 6:11-13 - Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon, 

“Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.” 

This is how we must respond as we also build God’s temple, the temple not of stone, but of our own hearts. 

Listen to how chapter 6 ends up.

1 Kings 6:14 - So Solomon built the house and finished it.

1 Kings 6:38 - And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it. 


It’s a new year. There is no better time for us to get to work and to build God’s temple and to build it according to all His specifications.

Do so and God will dwell among us and in us. 

Chossing the Right Route

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Most of us Christians are familiar with that verse. When we hear it, we usually think of the unsaved. We look at the people around us and we apply it to them. They don’t want to follow God, believe in Jesus, and accept that He is the only way to get to heaven, so we apply this saying to them and them only. And yes, it does apply. If our faith is true, then all who reject the Gospel, the plan of salvation as laid out in scripture, then they will find themselves outside God’s heavenly Kingdom. They will be eternally damned and live in hell.

But if we were to be honest with ourselves, look hard at the Word of God and use it as the only standard by which we judge ourselves, we might be surprised to find out that far too often, we choose our own paths.

Last Sunday while preaching through the Book of Genesis, our pastor used a very good analogy to describe the way people navigate through life. If you know me well, you know I love analogies.

He was talking about using GPS units. The ones that are independent of your phone. Garmin and TomTom are two of the more well-known units. They stick on your dashboard and you type in a destination and then usually this woman’s voice instructs you with step by step directions. “Turn left at exit 23B.” “Take the third exit at the roundabout.” “Make a U-turn,” she says should you miss her last command. And then theoretically, she guides you to your destination in the most efficient route, getting you where you’re going.

But Pastor Micah mentioned something that many of us do as we use these devices. I used one these GPS units quite often as a repairman for AT&T, traveling the streets of the greater metropolitan St. Louis area. I almost always did this. You see, you don’t have to follow her commands to the letter. If she says to turn left at Telegraph Road, but you know the area, or think you do, better than her, then you can take a different street and she will then say this, “Recalculating.” She will then determine the new path to your destination based on the street you now are on. Sometimes I would do this because I liked the scenery better my way. Other times I wanted to stop at a specific restaurant to eat at. In other words, I simply liked my way better than hers. Even though most of the time, the computer chip in the GPS knew that its directions were shorter or faster, it was my belief that I knew the direction I was going would please me more than the lady speaking through its speaker.

That is fine for getting from point a to point b. But the truth is, most of this are doing this with God. When Jesus ascended back to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He sent us His Holy Spirit to live in us and to be our guide. John 16:13 tells us that
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” All truth. This is our Spiritual GPS unit; which God has placed within the heart of ALL believers.

But what we do is we read our Bibles, our pastors preach its truth to us, and the Holy Spirit says this is the way, and then we say “Yea, but…” Then we go the way we want and expect God to just recalculate the route our way. And then we wonder why we have trouble, sickness, and sorrow in our hearts. Sometimes we even blame God. “Why didn’t you recalculate that little change I made and then get me to my destination without the pain?” we ask God.

When we venture off the route and make a left instead of a right, because we want the pleasures on that street, be they sexual, financial, relationships or whatever, God allows us to experience the difficulty that he knew that road would bring after the pleasures of our sin had passed. The road I took to eat at Bandanas, might have at its end a traffic jam. Or maybe a tractor trailer waiting to plow me over at the next stoplight. He is trying to grow us and to teach us that he is God, He is sovereign, and He knows what is best for us.

Oh. the pain and sorrows we might have avoided had we just followed the way He set out for us as written in the Bible and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. This the cost of free will we all clamor for so loudly. The truth is that usually we use our free will to make sinful and/or poor decisions that God had already warned us of.

The good news for Christians is that God has provided a recalculated route for us in the work of Jesus and by His mercy and grace He will get us home to heaven. He made this promise in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

But following our own way at any stage of our journey towards God is never the best option. He is the perfect GPS. Follow Him. If He says turn left, then do it.

Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 30:1-5
 “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the LORD. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.  For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade.  But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.  For though his power extends to Zoan and his officials have arrived in Hanes, all who trust in him will be ashamed. He will not help you. Instead, he will disgrace you.”

This is what happens when you try and direct your own way. But listen,

Isaiah 30:18-22
 So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.  O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.  Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.  Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.  Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!”

The result?

Isaiah 30:23
Then the LORD will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.

When we follow our way, even turning just a little to the left or right of His way, we lose the blessings, but when we turn to Him, “He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.  Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.  Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.”

God isn’t recalculating anything, but He will show the way back and the only way, His.

We get to choose. His way? Or ours? Remember this, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Choose wisely.

The Two Gates

“This life’s hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid.” Hang around Facebook long enough and you will probably see a meme with John Wayne being credited with saying this. The quote is from a book titled, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, written by George V. Higgins. John Wayne never said it, but truth is, it’s an accurate statement.

Jesus said something similar about life also, and though He never used the word stupid, the implication should lead us to the same thought. Living this life without Jesus, well, it’s a bad idea, maybe one could say it’s even stupid to do so. The quote is from the greatest sermon ever, the sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 7:13-14
 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Those two verses are jam-packed with information we need to understand. The first thing we must understand is that simply calling oneself a Christian, does not make one a Christian. Jesus makes it clear throughout scripture that the way to Him is a narrow one. He would tell the disciples that for a rich person to enter His Kingdom is tantamount to trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle. I have trouble getting thread through the eye of needle, much less a camel. This path to Jesus and salvation is a very, arduous thing.

Let’s pause here a moment and address something most of us don’t grasp. We live in a very prosperous time and in a very prosperous place. We are rich. Yes, I know there are poor people in America. I know where some of them live. But let’s be real here. If you are reading this it means you have some type of a computer, that most likely has more computing power than NASA had when we sent men to the moon in 1969. That phone in your hand is a symbol of the wealth you possess. When Jesus spoke those words some 2000 years ago, he was amongst a people who knew nothing of the easy life we live. We are abundantly wealthy in terms of our lifestyles.

Whether we have a big bank account or not, the majority of us live the easy life. We get cold, we dial up a thermostat. We get hot, we dial it down. We get hungry, we open a refrigerator that keeps our food readily available. Or we drive our car to a place that has a little box we speak into and then someone hands us warm food. We get a little pain; we take a pill. If it’s a serious problem, we go to a doctor who can put us in a hospital where even our clogged arteries, (clogged from going to that little box and getting food), can be cleaned out or even replaced. We live the easy life, for the most part.

It is this easy life that makes understanding the true Christian life, hard to grasp. so, we have made church into a place where we tone down the truth of God’s Word. We tell people Jesus loves them and if they will just say a little prayer, we can baptize them into Him, and all will be ok. Yes, there is some truth in all that, but the problem is that there is by omission, a lot of untruth.

Jesus said, “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

One of the problems we have in this age is that we simply have it too easy. We live in the “instant gratification” age. Because we are so blessed, we have begun to expect that everything has to be easy. We expect everything can and should be fixed. This is contradictory of what the Bible tells us happened in the very beginnings of man’s existence. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, that changed the world. That brought a curse upon us and upon the entire creation. If you have never really studied the “fall”, then you need to get yourself under some good teaching of the Book of Genesis. Because of the sinful, rebellion of Adam and Eve, there is a curse upon the earth that will not be lifted until the return of Jesus as spoken of in Revelation 21:1-8. Until that time, we are living on an earth where decay and death are everywhere. Life will be a struggle, and there will be pain, sorrow, and suffering.

Yet, man tries to defeat God and the curse He placed upon us. The greatest example is lawn care. In 2015 Americans spent 29.1 billion dollars on lawn care. 29.1 billion dollars to eliminate weeds. Yet the battle to eliminate weeds, never ends. Weeds pop up everywhere. They find cracks in concrete and push through. They grow on top of the weed barriers we place in our rock gardens. They even grow on roofs sometimes. No one plants them there. Well, technically God does. The Bible is clear in Genesis 3:17-18, “Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.  "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.” This is a picture of life.

Our pursuit of health is another example. Everywhere we look, we see people afflicted with cancers of all types. Billions are spent each year on cancer care and cancer research. There are campaigns to eradicate cancer. I get it. Yes, we all hate cancer, but truth be known it is all part of the curse. God was clear in His warning. Genesis 2:16-17 tell us “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;  but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Yet, we spend billions and take all kind of pills in the hope we might defeat sickness, extend our lives, and even try and defeat death.

I have bad news; we won’t. I am not saying it is inherently wrong to seek to alleviate suffering. But scripture is clear, our hope is not in ourselves it is in Jesus. This is why Jesus said we must enter in by the narrow gate. Our only true hope is in Him. He did not stutter, He said that “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

The Christian life is a hard one. It requires sacrifice. It will involve suffering. There will be pain. But to the one who lives by faith, who dies to self, who refuses to allow his own self-will to control his desires to decide what is right and what is wrong, to Him comes peace in Christ. It is a peace that transcends understanding.

I could on and on with scriptural words that explain what this Christian life demands of us. Each of us must do the work and open our Bibles daily to see who God is and what He desires we do. I simply feel called to remind each and everyone of us that the gate is narrow. The way is hard that leads to life. The answer to how to live it is through complete surrender of self.

We must take the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction.

The Bible has this amazing way of appearing almost contradictory. The same Jesus who just told us the way is hard that leads to life also said this in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” There is no contradiction here. Jesus is simply saying the Christian life is a hard one, but when you let go of self, and cling to him, the hard way is easy to walk through.

Amazing. Turn to Jesus and He will shepherd you through the narrow gate. He will lead you to life, life eternal. But we must avoid the wide gate for it will lead us to destruction.

Our Works Prove Our faith

This morning as I continued to study the book of Romans, the words of Paul continue to convict me. It’s popular these days to say, “I am a Christian”, yet live as if that only matters on Sunday. If we think that we can go to church for an hour, sip our coffee, sing some songs, and listen to an entertaining sermon that never strikes fear into our hearts, then we are deluded. The Bible tells of a very different life for those who claim Christ as savior. The Christian life is not just about us “going to heaven” or having the “best life possible”, as one very misguided TV preacher claims.

Be clear on this; We are saved by grace, not by our works. But any complete study of the scriptures will take us to an understanding of God’s Word and His law that warns us of the coming judgment.

I could spend hours preaching about the demands our faith puts upon us. Instead I am simply going to share in this post, fourteen passages from God’s Word that instruct us on the importance of our works. Please, please take time to look at these, meditate on them, and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what they mean. Maybe take one verse each day and make it your object to think on and seek to employ in your life.  

I will sum them up with this conclusion for you to consider as you read these scriptures. We are saved by grace, but our salvation is proven by our works. How God judges you at the end of your life will be based on whether your works have either proven your faith or whether they have shown that your profession of faith was not real, but they were a careless effort to secure simply insurance against hell, and not from a heart that desired to please God and bring glory to His name.

I am not passing judgment on any of you. That is not my agenda. My agenda is to lead you to do as I am trying to do and that is follow this command in 2 Peter 1:10-11 which says, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.  For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Here are the fourteen scriptures.

Romans 2:6-10
He will render to each one according to his works:  to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;  but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.  There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,  but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

Revelation 20:12-13
 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

Isaiah 3:10
 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

Jeremiah 17:10
 “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Matthew 16:27
 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

John 5:28-29
 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice  and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

1 Corinthians 3:8
 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

1 Corinthians 3:11-13
 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—  each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

Romans 14:12
 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Matthew 7:16-20
 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Ephesians 2:10
 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Philippians 2:12
 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

James 2:14
 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

James 1:22
 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

May we not deceive ourselves. The consequences are too important. They are eternal.

 

 

 

The Best New Year's Resolution

Nothing seems to amaze me more each year, then that moment it hits me; Christmas is over, and it is about to be a new year. This is a time of reflection. A time to look back and to remember. For me, it’s been a good year. God has continued to bless me with many wonderful things. I finally lost the weight I’ve been battling to lose for at least two years. I got a few things fixed around the house. I went fishing and I went camping. I had some great family time. But as I look back, as a Christian, I must ask myself this; Did I grow to be more like Jesus this year? Or am I pretty much the same guy I was?

The new year is the time that we reflect back, so that we can maybe plan for the next year. We may make resolutions. We may make some plans. We may set some goals. As a Christian, I can come up with a great many ideas as to which direction I should go and in what ways I need to grow. If we’re all honest, we know that we all need to grow.

So, where do we start? I was just reading the second to last lesson in a book that is a forty-day study on how to be a better man. The topic is love. As I read the little study it hit me. Love is one thing we can all get better at. It ought to be the priority in every Christian’s life. Let’s look at what God has to say about love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

If I do not have love, I am nothing. Without it I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 16:14
Let all that you do be done in love.

Everything we do, must be done in love. Everything. All that we do, if we are Christians, must be done in love. Everything. No ifs, no ands, no buts. Everything should be done in love.

What does that mean? What is love? I cannot do something if I do not know what it is and how I am to do it. Take a look.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Verse 8 goes on to say that love never ends. Ever.

John 13:34-35
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.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Christians are to love one another. That’s how the lost world will know we are Christ’s. that is our greatest witness.

Luke 10:27
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Christians are to love God.

Christians are to love their neighbors. And love them as much as you love yourself.

Matthew 5:44
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Christians are to love their enemies.

That doesn’t leave anyone left who we are not to love. Christians are to love everyone.

I don’t know about you, but I am not too good at this. So, if God says that without this love, I am nothing, then it sounds like I have found the place to start as I face a new year. Why not make love a priority in 2019? Why not make it first on this list of resolutions?

We all need to work on this. The Bible commands us to help each other in this lofty endeavor.

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Love will change the world. It changes everything. It will change us.

I close with some of God’s truth on love.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Let all that you do be done in love.

The Violence of the Christian Life

The Bible is an amazing work of writing. The very concept that men sat down and wrote its words as the Holy Spirit inspired them to do, is for many, a difficult concept to believe. One of the defining attributes of the committed Christian is that he believes this. Adding to the confusion in the minds of those who doubt God, is the fact that the Christian believes these things because God’s Holy Spirit has placed that truth within the heart of the Christian. Without a complete belief that the Bible is the very Word of God, the entire Christian faith, fails. The Apostle Paul confirms this truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

I believe every word in the Bible is from God and true. I believe that it is complete and in it is truth is everything we need to live a life pleasing to God.

Yet, there are scriptures that are difficult to be sure of the proper interpretation and we must seek the Holy Spirit’s teaching if we are to lay hold of God’s truth as presented in His Word. The fact is, none of us are perfect in this pursuit. I am not, you are not, and even our pastors and teachers are not. If this were not true, we wouldn’t have so many different viewpoints on things such as the end times and other doctrines of our faith.

One of the verses that fascinates me is Matthew 11:12. It is Jesus who is speaking here and in it He says this, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”

I have read that verse many times over my years of Bible study. Though I had never spent any time trying to break it down and dig deeper into its meaning, I believed it had a simple meaning. I believed it meant that the enemies of God, violent men, have opposed God and His kingdom with everything they could and in the end, this culminates in killing Jesus. Since the days of the Garden of Eden, Satan has battled against God and sought to stop Jesus from bringing salvation.

That interpretation is true. But last week I encountered this verse in my Bible Study and I learned that that interpretation is not the only possible one. John MacArthur offers a different viewpoint on what Jesus meant when He said “the violent take it [The Kingdom of God] by force.

I took a little time reading several commentaries on this verse, and many admit that this is a difficult verse to be sure of Jesus’ intent. Many scholar’s offer that there are at least two possible meanings. The first is similar to what I stated above. This would mean Jesus is speaking of God’s enemies.

The second viewpoint and forgive me if I fail in explaining this as the scholars do, suggest Jesus is talking about those who seek Him and His salvation. I suggest anyone reading this would do well to do your own Bible study on this verse. But the following is how I have come to understand what Jesus is saying.

I believe that Jesus is instructing us on what the true Christian life is in terms of reaching the end goal of our walk here on earth, sanctification. The call from Jesus is that we become “perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48

Many Christians seem to ignore this command and live comfortably in their imperfections, knowing God is full of grace and mercy. He is. And He does forgive us in our imperfections. But that does not change the command to be perfect. Our imperfections and our daily failings are the background for this interpretation that it is us Christians, who are taking the Kingdom by force. The Christian life is a life of warfare. We have an enemy, Satan, who wants to destroy us. Satan does not want us to give glory to God, but to Him. The war is won, Jesus finished that on the cross, but we still have to fight the mop-up battles of our own lives as we progress down this road of sanctification. To do that requires we respond to Satan’s attacks with great violence. We must storm the beaches of our own sin nature as the soldiers did on D-Day. This isn’t speaking of violence in the literal sense of physical violence, but as a metaphor for spiritual warfare.

The best way to interpret scripture is with scripture. Here are some verses that support this idea of us taking the Kingdom by force, that show us we are in a battle. Listen to how they describe the intense effort our Christian walk requires of us. I am not talking of how we are saved, that is by faith alone, I am talking about how we are sanctified. I am speaking of how we become more like Christ in this life and in being obedient to the commands of God.

Luke 13:24
 Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Acts 24:16
So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

1 Timothy 4:10
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:10
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Galatians 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Take careful notice of what the Christian life is. It is a battle, but the true enemy is our old nature, called the flesh. Satan tempts us, but he cannot make us sin. It is our own free will that chooses to sin against God. Notice the words used in the scriptures I shared. Strive, toil, fight, beat your own body, crucify and put to death our flesh and its passions and desires.

Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come, and that His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Until Jesus returns, we are the means by which God’s Kingdom comes to earth and we are to do His will.

If we are to have victory over our sinful flesh and present to the world God’s Kingdom, we must do so by violence. Not physical violence against the world, but spiritual violence against our own sin nature. The violent take the Kingdom by violence. That violence is what Jesus means when He tells us to crucify our flesh. It must be put to death. It will not die easily. Self-examination reveals the power of the flesh in leading us to sin and it must be killed. That my friends, is a violent act.

My prayer is we Christians live out lives that show the unsaved world the Kingdom of God in how we live. I know how far short I fall in this quest. Let us encourage each other as we watch and pray for the return of Christ, to do whatever it takes to be His light. Let us take the Kingdom with a fervor and a zeal for God that can only be described metaphorically, as violence.

Open His Word and strive to live as He calls us to. The same power that raised Christ from the tomb. Lives in us. That is the Holy Spirit. We must strive to let the Spirit be what drives us, not our own flesh.

Be Blessed.

The Simple Message of Mercy

Mercy. It is a powerful word to the Christian, for it is because of God’s mercy that a poor, wretched sinner, like me, can have a relationship with Almighty God.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

We have been saved by grace because God has mercy upon us. What response does this great news require of us in return? Jesus spoke about what He wants from us in Matthew 9:13 instructing us to “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Because God extended mercy to us, we are to extend mercy to others. The question then is this, do we know what mercy is?

The simple answer is to look up the word mercy in the dictionary. The first definition I find when I searched online is a good one. It says that mercy is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” In other words, it is giving them something they do not deserve, while holding back the punishment they do. This is what God has done for us by sending Jesus to die on the cross so that we can, not only be forgiven, but are also given His righteousness. This is called imputation in theological terms. It means that though we are still sinners in our thoughts and behaviors, we are cloaked in the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. When God looks upon those He has saved, He sees them just as He sees Jesus, without sin, pure and holy. This means that when a Christian dies, He will enter the presence of God. It means a Christian can come into His presence anytime through prayer. This is why we add “In Jesus’ name” to our prayers.

In terms of practical Christian living we are to also show mercy to those who are not deserving of our love. This includes every and all types of offenders. Drug addicts, prostitutes, adulterers, and even child molesters are to be shown mercy by the Christian.

Does this mean we simply overlook their offenses? No. The Bible is clear that government is put into place to yield the sword against those who perpetuate violence and crime against us. So, yes, we let justice be served within the parameters of our society. It means we protect the innocent. It means we defend life.

But it never authorizes personal hatred towards even the vilest of society. Jesus said we love our enemies. We are called to pray for them. They are a part of the world in which we are sent to preach the Gospel to. We cannot show them the love of Christ if our minds are set on anger and bitterness. This will require a heart of mercy and the only way to have that heart is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us learn what mercy is and let us show the same mercy to all people as God has shown to us. Before our new birth we were enemies of God. Without His grace given, expressed through mercy, we would all be cast into the eternal darkness of hell.

I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul from His great letter to the Romans. May we all learn what mercy is and make it real in our lives.

Romans 11:30-32
For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.  For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

Go now and learn what this means.

 

Following the Path of Christ in Suffering

I’ve always said that being a Christian is hard and this morning’s lesson in 1 Peter is one that proves that point. I say that because I just don’t see many of us living out the truth of the section of scripture I studied this morning. Certainly I cannot say I have submitted to its truth yet. As many of you read this, my guess is that there will be a tendency to discount the lesson or to try and change the message. The words from Peter are clear and they are repeated in other readings of scripture. So as I am so often heard saying, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Personally I take every word of the Bible seriously and I am praying this morning that as a disciple of Christ I will begin to apply these words into my Christian walk.

Holiness, again, is at the forefront of Peter’s writing. Glorifying God is the goal of our lives.

1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

First of all we need to come to grips with the fact that as Christians this is not our home, heaven is. We are just passing through. Yes we live in America but being American is not the most important driver of our behavior. We are blessed to live here. Things in America are much easier than in most places throughout the world. But our first allegiance is to God. So when those in the world hate us because we are American our reactions must be honorable. They need to see “good” deeds out of us so that when the day of visitation from God comes for them they will see His glory. We are ambassadors of Christ. They are watching us. They are reading what we say about them and about others on social media. Hating someone does not glorify God.

Next Peter speaks about authority and how we as Christians are to respond to it.

1 Peter 2:13-17
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Again I remind you that Peter is not preaching some new idea about those in authority over us. This is clear Biblical teaching supported by Jesus and the Apostle Paul. The Bible has many stories about God’s people living this out. In those stories we find men who didn’t follow authority when it violated God’s law, but go through those stories and you find respectful reactions when they had to break civil law. Look at Daniel and see how he dealt with the king’s dietary law that violated his conscience. Peter and the others were ordered to stop preaching in the name of Jesus by the authorities. They didn’t stop preaching but they remained respectful in their opposition to the leaders. They also were willing to accept the consequences of breaking the law. Paul was always respectful when facing legal trouble for standing up for truth. You see these men trusted God to be their protector. They were willing to suffer for the cause and they did. They even died for their faith. They didn’t die by going down in some gun battle; they died in complete submission to the authorities. This goes against our American way. We are fighters and rebels. But this is where we fall back on who we are. In this we must not act as Americans but act as Christians. Our pride is what gets in the way here.

Peter wraps up chapter two with a comparison of a slave and his owner. He uses this analogy so that we get the point. The point is this; we must be willing to suffer for Christ. And the suffering he is talking about is not suffering that comes when we deserve it; it is suffering that is unjust and unfair.

1 Peter 2:18-25
 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.  For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.  For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Did you read that? Carefully? Here is the point; “if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

We are called by God to suffer unjustly. Why? Because the greatest witness to the world is to show them Christ and how He suffered for our sins. He took the complete penalty for what we do. We are to follow in His steps. Then means if we have an unsaved spouse we suffer in that relationship so that they might see Christ in us. We suffer at work so that bosses and co-workers might see Christ. We suffer on the highways and in stores and wherever we go so that the unsaved world will see Christ.

This is not the teaching of modern psychology nor do we hear much about it in church. But it is the teaching of the Bible. Many who read this are going to argue. I’m not interested in that. The Bible is clear. Your flesh and your mind will rebel against this. Rather than argue with me here I suggest you pick up your Bible and read it from cover to cover. This is what it teaches. This is what Jesus lived. This is what the apostles lived. This is how both died. My prayer for myself is that someday I can live this type of obedient life.

Yes, I know you won’t like this message. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The Bible is clear and I’m not going to argue with it. I’m not going to try and spin its truth. As usual I leave you with a scripture. It’s about death. The Christian faith is actually a paradox. Death brings life. But as I asked, rather than argue with me just read your Bible. As a matter of fact rather than agree with me you should just read your Bible. Listen to God not man.

Philippians 2:5-8
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

God bless each of you.