Bible studies – Page 31 – Like An Anchor

Washed Clean by Jesus

1 January, 202231 December, 2021Marissa

I read a chapter in my Bible each night before bed, and I recently finished Exodus and moved into Leviticus. This book is full of God’s laws and instructions for His people Israel, and much of it has to do with ceremonial uncleanness.

Those parts of the Torah might not seem as if they have anything to do with us today. There isn’t a temple building anymore or a priesthood conducting animal sacrifices. We don’t worry about doing things that might make us unclean until evening or take turtledoves and lambs to the temple to ask God to pass over our sins. But the fact that we don’t have to worry about that anymore means something changed, and that something isn’t God. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8). He’s still just as holy as He was in the Old Testament. What’s changed is something having to do with our holiness and God’s relationship with us.

This “something” is that Jesus’s sacrifice cleanses us from our sins. The fact that we say “cleanses” us from sin, though, points to the same problem Leviticus was trying to deal with. God is holy, but holiness is not the default state of human beings. Sins (and even things that aren’t sin which once resulted in ceremonial uncleanness) would separate us from God if there wasn’t a way of washing us. I think this is why the New Testament writers spend so much time talking about cleanliness and holiness. When they described what Jesus is doing in us, they’re working with this background knowledge that God didn’t allow unclean people into His temple.

Uncleanness and Sin

In the Old Covenant law, people became ritually unclean in several ways. One was by sinning, which required sacrifices offered as atonement even though they couldn’t actually remove sin. There were also ways to become ritually unclean without sinning, such as by touching animal carcasses or dead bodies, contracting leprosy, having a baby, and having sex (Lev. 5:2;12:2; 13:3, 44-45; 15:1-33). All sin made people unclean, but not all the ways to become unclean involved sin.

Even though many of the things that resulted in ritual uncleanness weren’t sins, they could still disqualify you from entering the temple or eating of the holy things (Lev. 7:19-21; Chr. 23:18-19; Rev. 21:23-27). Because God is holy, His people had to “make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” so they wouldn’t die by defiling God’s dwelling place with their uncleanness (Lev. 10:10-11; 15:31). God is still holy today, but the process for making us clean is much more lasting and complete.

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:13-14, WEB

Image of a waterfall, with text from Hebrews 10:12-14, WEB version: "when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from that time
waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” — Image by Jaesung An from Pixabay

Washed by Jesus

Jesus spent quite a bit of time during his earthly ministry engaging in debate with the religious leaders of His day. One thing in particular that He pointed out to them was that their efforts to be clean had gotten off-track. It wasn’t the outward cleanliness that mattered the most, but the holiness of the heart (Matt. 23:25-27; Luke 11:40-42). This doesn’t mean we ignore the outside, but outward things aren’t our focus; the outside becomes clean as a result of the cleaning happening inside us.

In John’s account of Jesus’s final Passover, he mentions that “many people went up to Jerusalem from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually” (John 11:54-56). This is a detail I’ve overlooked in the past; it just seems like a note explaining something about the culture at the time. But a short time later at Passover, Jesus has this conversation with Peter:

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said to him, “Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, “You are not all clean.”
John 13:8-11, WEB

We are clean in every sense–ritually and in terms of forgiveness for sin–if Jesus Christ washes us. Paul emphasizes this in one of his letters, saying “Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without defect” (Eph. 5:25-27, WEB).

Jesus’s sacrifice mediates a new covenant that involves more immediate and lasting cleansing than was ever available under the old covenant (Heb. 9:13-15, 22-24; 10:1-14). Instead of making it possible for us to walk inside a physical temple dedicated to God, Jesus’s cleansing makes us part of God’s undefiled spiritual temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:16-20; 2 Cor. 6:15-18). It goes beyond just being allowed to visit God. We actually get to be part of His dwelling place.

Image of a waterfall, with text from 2 Cor. 6:16-18, NET version: "For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, ‘I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore ‘come out from their midst, and be separate,’ says the Lord, ‘and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,’ says the All-Powerful Lord.” — Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Dwelling in the Clean Vine

Becoming clean is something that Jesus does to us. Staying clean is something we’re involved in. It’s part of a lifelong process of becoming holy the way that God is holy (Matt. 5:48; 1 Pet. 1:15-16). We need to “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1, WEB). We’re actively involved in the process of sanctification because we choose what behaviors shape the sort of people we are (1 Cor. 5:6-8; 2 Tim. 2:20-21).

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer. Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. …
“In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.”
John 15:1-4, 8-10 WEB

The way we stay clean is by staying firmly attached to Jesus and following Him. Under the Old Covenant, we could have become “unclean” in all sorts of ways and becoming clean again involved the passage of time and/or ritual washing or sacrifice (depending on how you became unclean). Now under the New Covenant, Jesus washes us clean all the time so long as we’re sticking close to Him.

Staying in God’s Presence

Image of a waterfall with the blog's title text and the words "Unclean things don’t get to stay in God’s temple, but thanks to Jesus we’re cleansed and made holy so we can dwell with Him." — Image by Josef Schiller from Pixabay

Jesus doesn’t let anything that could make us “unclean” stand in the way of us getting into God’s presence. The relationship we have with God isn’t cut off if we touch an unclean animal or become seriously ill; there’s no more ritual uncleanness to worry about. However, God still cares about the way we live our lives.

Just like there was a difference between ritual uncleanness and law-breaking sin in the Old Testament, there’s a similar difference today. The first doesn’t matter at all anymore–Jesus takes care of washing us from any ritual uncleanness. The second doesn’t have to matter, but still could. Jesus’s sacrifice washes sins away as easily as any other uncleanness, but in this case we’re also supposed to stop sinning after we’re washed clean and repent if we make a mistake.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.
1 Corinthian 3:16-17, NET

The word translated “destroy” here is phtheirō (G5351), and it can also mean “corrupt” or “defile,” though most modern translations use “destroy” (see Thayer’s Dictionary and KJV translation). I wonder if Paul was thinking about the effect that uncleanness had in the Old Testament when he wrote this. If something that was holy touched something that was unclean, then the holy didn’t sanctify the unclean–the holy thing became corrupted (Haggai 2:11-14). God doesn’t want that happening in His temple (i.e. the church body of believers).

If you look back at Jesus’s words in John 15, you see that remaining in Him involves keeping His Father’s commandments. Jesus washes us from sins as well as from ritual uncleanness, but we’re still not supposed to do things that would defile us. If we do realize we’ve sinned, then we’re supposed to repent and ask for forgiveness so He can wash those sins away again just like He did the first time we were sanctified (1 Cor. 6:9-11). The cleanness of our souls should matter to us because one of our chief desires should be to dwell in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11; 140:13), and He doesn’t have close relationships with people who won’t let Him wash them (as Jesus told Peter in John 13:8-11). So let’s stay close to God, repenting if we sin and continually praising Him for cleansing and making us holy so we can dwell with Him.

–

Featured image by jplenio from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “In Your Presence” by Paul Wilbur

Click here to learn more about these books or to order a copy.

God’s Generosity With His Wealth

25 December, 202124 December, 2021Marissa

In Isaiah, God says, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Is. 55:8-9,WEB). There are many examples we could use to illustrate this truth by contrasting God’s take on something with the typical human ways of seeing things. One example is how God taking justice to the next level turns into mercy. Where people might typically be inclined to administer justice more strictly, God calls us to follow His example of reconciliation and mercy.

Another key way that God’s thoughts are higher and different than ours shows up in how He handles the question of what to do with the wealth that He has. “The world and all it contains belong to me,” God says (Ps. 50:9-12); He’s the wealthiest being in the universe. And what does He do as the One who has everything? He gives.

Parable of the Rich Fool

Jesus spoke several times about wealth. He’s living proof that God views abundance as something to share (and what greater proof could there be than Him wanting to share eternal life with us?). He also tells us what sort of “wealth” we ought to prioritize. One example is found in this parable:

He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:16-21, NET

True riches are located with God in heaven. If we’re more focused on building up wealth here on earth than on being “rich toward God,” then we’re not in a stable place from an eternal perspective. The notion of building larger storehouses to hoard abundance when you have more than enough is a very different attitude than the one God displays.

Image of gold coins and jewelry, with text from Matthew 6:19-21, WEB version: "Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." — Image by Johanna Pakkala from Pixabay

Open the Storehouse of Heaven

Let’s say you do have a proper view of wealth and prioritize treasures in heaven far more than treasures on earth. Even so, God often blesses His people with more than enough in a physical sense. Just because we’re not supposed to prioritize wealth doesn’t mean we won’t be blessed with more than enough physical things. What do you do then? Do you lay it up for yourself, or is there a different model that God shows?

“Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it all.”
Malachi 3:10, NET

God doesn’t invite us to test Him often, but He does in this matter of His generosity. It seems counter-intuitive that we could give Him 10% of our income and that He’d give us even more back, but that’s who He is. Just look at the blessings promised in Deut. 28:1-14 if you’re skeptical about His willingness to provide for us physically as well as spiritually. Those blessings were offered to ancient Israel in particular, but God hasn’t changed since then; He still “gives to all generously” (James 1:5, NET).

All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.
James 1:17, NET

This attitude is a sharp contrast to that of the rich person in Jesus’s parable, whose first thought when he had more than enough was to heap it up for himself. God doesn’t do that. He does give us the power to do what we want with the things we have (Matt. 20:15), but He also watches closely to see how we react when He blesses us. The choices we make for how to handle our abundance (whatever is over and above the things we need to live) help show God where our priorities lie.

Will we be dishonest as Ananias and Sapphira were, trying to fool people into thinking we give more than we really do (Acts 5:1-5)? Or will giving be so much a part of our walk in Jesus’s footsteps that we don’t bother to keep track of our kindnesses (Matt. 6:2-4)? Will we be selfish with our blessings, or will we be generous like God is with us?

A Guide for our Generosity

Image of cattle grazing with the blog's title text and the words "God says, “the world and all it contains belong to me,” and He is generous with that wealth. His view on
abundance is that it should
be shared, not hoarded." — Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay

I’m not saying that we need to divest ourselves of possessions and live in poverty, having given everything we have away. That’s not the call God gives to most of us. And generosity isn’t only specific to money; it can also involve giving of our time, our hospitality, and our attention. That said, we do need to be aware of our attitude toward the blessings God gives us and be sure that our choice of what to do with our “more than enough” is a godly one.

I often think of this quote from C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity : “I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. … If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small” (click here for full quote). God’s people should be above-average generous because we serve a God who’s been beyond imagination generous toward us. Psalms and Proverbs make it clear: the righteous are generous and will be blessed (Psalm 37:21; 112:5, 9; Prov. 11:16, 24-25;22:9). Similarly, Paul weighs in on this question by saying,

My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. Just as it is written, “He has scattered widely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.” Now God who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow. You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,
2 Corinthians 9:6-11, NET

Walking with God involves a change in the way our minds work. We are supposed to become like Him, and the way He thinks is very different than the way human beings think, especially before His spirit begins transforming us (1 Cor. 2:6-16). There is great value in shifting our mindset from one that sees blessings as something we need to hoard for ourselves and one that sees abundance as something to share generously. Psychology research backs this up, too–it’s far healthier to have an “abundance mindset” (i.e. there’s enough for everyone) than a “scarcity mindset” (i.e. resources are limited so I need to guard mine) (see “5 Ways To Go From A Scarcity To Abundance Mindset” and “Abundance Vs. Scarcity — Which Mindset Is Yours?”).

Ultimately, God doesn’t want us to worry about things we might lack now or which we have but could possibly lose. He wants us to focus on His provision and His goodness, storing up treasures in heaven rather than temporary things here on earth. He wants us to care for other people, desire to see them blessed, and be a blessing to them when it’s in our power to do so. Just as those who receive God’s mercy should be inspired to show others mercy, so should those who benefit from God’s generosity be inspired to have a generous, giving attitude. As Paul said, “God loves a cheerful giver,” and Jesus showed that even the tiniest amount of sharing is enough to catch His eye (Mark 12:41-44). It’s not really about how much you can give, but about the attitude that prompts you giving of your time, attention, money, and/or other things you have the potential to be generous with.

–

Featured image by TanteTati from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Let it Rain” (sometimes this song seems way too repetitive to me, but it’s been playing through my head off-and-on all week since I started writing this post so here it is).

Walk in the Way

18 December, 20211 January, 2022Marissa

“Walk” is an often used analogy for the Christian life. We talk about walking with Jesus and sing about walking in the light. Sometimes it becomes a sort of cute religious-speak phrase, using “walk of faith” as a metaphor for living as a Christian. But it’s also a description of a serious commitment. Two can’t walk together unless they’ve met and agreed to the walk (Amos 3:3). Walking in the Christian way means meeting and getting to know God, then agreeing to faithfully, absolutely follow the words and example of Jesus.

Closely related to walking is the notion of having a way of life. There’s a right way and many wrong ways to live, and those two options are described in the Bible as different “ways” (i.e. paths) where we can walk. This concept is so important that Christianity was called the Way throughout much of Acts (Acts 9:2; 16:17; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

Two Ways to Walk

Early in His ministry, Jesus talked about these two ways in His sermon on the Mount. As He offered reconciliation and relationship with God to humanity, He also laid out what God expects from people who want those things. We need to actively seek Him and choose to walk in His ways.

Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!
Matt. 7:13-14, NET

This passage puts me in mind of one from Isaiah that counsels readers to “Seek the Lord while he makes himself available” (Is. 55:6, NET). There’s a sense of urgency here, urging us not to get distracted but to focus on seeking God now. Thankfully for us, He does a lot to make Himself accessible. Unfortunately, many people don’t find the way of life; they walked right by it even when Jesus was walking among them personally.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.”
Jesus replied, “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?”
John 14:6-10, WEB

This conversation took place a few years after the sermon we just quoted, at His last Passover with His disciples. Here, Jesus got more specific about how to find the Way. He’s the one true Way to a relationship with the Father, and therefore to eternal life (John 17:3, see also Heb. 10:19-21). It’s not a complicated idea, but even so “there are few who find” the narrow way to life. Even the disciples like Philip took a long time to understand how this worked.

Image of a path through a forest, with text from Deuteronomy 10:12-13, WEB version: "Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep Yahweh’s commandments and statutes, which I command you today for your good?” — Image by Peter H from Pixabay

Walking with Jesus, Like Jesus

The ones who do find the Way and start down that path to eternal life begin a walk with Jesus that’s meant to be life-long. As John says, “he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked” (1 John 2:6, WEB). We want to be like the people Jesus talks about in the letter to Sardis who “didn’t defile their garments” and “will walk with me in white, for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4, WEB). Jesus empowers us to walk with Him and in Him, as God has done with people throughout human history who respond to His call.

“I will strengthen them in Yahweh;
and they will walk up and down in his name,” says Yahweh.
Zechariah 10:12, WEB

For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:16, NET, referencing Lev. 26:12; and Ezk. 37:27

God wants to walk with us. He wants a relationship as we live our lives according to His ways. This is something He’s always wanted to have with His people, and accomplishing the reconciliation that makes such a walk possible is one reason Jesus came and died for our sins. We’re made holy so that we can walk with God, in the name of God.

Image of ____, with text from Micah 4:5, WEB version: "Indeed all the nations may walk in the name of their gods; but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever." — Image by jplenio from Pixabay

How To Walk

So far, we’ve spoken in general terms about walking with God. We know this means walking in His ways and walking with Jesus. This gives us a pattern to follow–our walk imitates the way Jesus walked. The Bible also gives more specific instructions for how to walk which can help us understand exactly what walking like Jesus means in our day-to-day lives.

In light

Walking in the light is the type of walk that shows up most often in scripture. Psalm 119:105 praises the Lord saying, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path” (WEB). Isaiah calls for people to “come, and let’s walk in the light of Yahweh” (Is. 2:5, WEB). He also prophesied Jesus coming as a Light to the world (Is. 9:2); a title Jesus connected with our ability to walk in the light rather than in darkness (John 8:12; 11:9-10; 12:35). Similarly, Paul instructs us to “Walk as children of light” because the Lord has called us out of darkness (Eph. 5:8, WEB). God’s word is a light to show us the right way to walk. He Himself is also Light, and that’s supposed to show up in how we walk as well.

If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7, NET

In integrity

Closely related to walking in the Light is the notion of walking with integrity. In this section, I’ve also included passages that tell us to walk with uprightness and to walk in the Lord’s commands since those ideas are so connected. Psalms and Proverbs highlight this idea more than any other section of the Bible (Ps. 101:2, 6; 119:35; Prov. 4:14; 8:20; 14:2; 19:1; 28:6, 18, 26). Walking with a mindfulness of the Lord’s commands and a commitment to doing the best we can to follow Jesus’s perfect example of blameless integrity is key to our ongoing Christian walk.

(Now this is love: that we walk according to his commandments.) This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus you should walk in it.
2 John 1:6, NET

In the spirit

For New Testament believers, walking in the Light and following the commands of God with integrity also involves walking in the spirit. We’re to keep the law not with a rote, outward sort of obedience but with obedience that comes out of a heart changed by the Spirit of God working in us. It’s a fulfilment of prophecies where the Lord said, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezk. 36:26-27, WEB). Now, those who belong to Jesus walk in the Spirit (2 Cor. 12:17-18; Gal. 5:16-17, 24-25).

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom. 8:1-4, WEB

In love

As we walk in the Light and in the Spirit, keeping God’s word with integrity, His character traits become more and more a part of us. One of those most important character traits is love (1 John 4:8, 16), and so it’s not surprising to find that love is the most excellent way to walk (1 Cor. 12:31-13:13). It involves walking according to His commandments (Deut. 10:12-13; 2 John 1:6) and it’s preeminent among other instructions such as putting on compassion, kindness, and humility (Col. 3:12-17).

Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
Ephesians 5:1-2, WEB

Walking Fearlessly with God

Image of a forest path with the blog's title text and the words "Walking with God in light,
integrity, the Spirit, and love affects us in incredible ways that reach beyond this life we're living right now." — Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay

There’s one final thing I want to mention about walking with God. When we’re walking in God’s ways, it affects not only the way we live our lives but also the way we experience life. There’s power, security, and peace that comes along with walking in the ways of the Lord even if we’re “walking” through physical dangers (Ps. 138:7; Is. 40:31).

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4, WEB

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned,
and flame will not scorch you.
Isaiah 43:2, WEB

When we’re walking with God, we can walk without fear no matter what’s going on in the world around us. We can walk knowing that He is traveling alongside us. We can walk with strength to face whatever comes, as well as wisdom, integrity, love, and light. Walking in the Way of God benefits us in incredible ways that reach beyond this life we’re living right now.

–

Featured image by SplitShire from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Walk in the Light” Ted Pearce

A Tale of Two Lions

11 December, 202115 December, 2021Marissa

Lions might seem like an odd topic for a Bible study. I don’t usually spend a whole lot of time thinking about lions unless I’m building a habitat in Planet Zoo or thinking about rewatching The Lion King. But then last week, I heard an excellent sermon about the lion that Peter talks about in his first letter. Peter warns, “Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, WEB). Hearing about this “roaring lion,” the people he preys on, and the way to guard against him got me thinking of another Lion mentioned in the Bible–Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

I was shocked when I did a word search for “lion” in the Bible and found over 100 verses. I hadn’t realized there were so many lions in the Bible. There are animal lions like the ones Samson and David slew and the ones that didn’t eat Daniel (Jud. 14:5-6; 1 Sam. 17:34-35; Dan. 6:16-22). There are vicious, wicked people who are compared to dangerous lions (Ps. 7:1-2; 22:13, 21; 57:4; 2 Tim. 4:17). There are accounts of God protecting His people from both real and metaphorical lions (Ps. 91:13; Heb. 11:32-33). Comparisons between people and lions are used as compliments and blessings (Deut. 33:20, 22; Num. 24:8-9; 2 Sam. 1:23), or as criticisms and warnings (Ps. 10:9; Prov. 28:15; Eze. 22:25). Lions figure prominently as a creature that’s local to areas where the Bible writers lived. They presented a very real danger and their use in these writings would have been readily understood by the hearers.

With all the mentions of lions in the Bible, another thing that surprised me is that the the Lion of Judah and the comparison between the devil and a lion aren’t mentioned very often. There’s really only one or two verses each that explicitly discuss those two lions. That doesn’t make these ideas any less important, but it did surprise me. I think, though, that these two uses of lion build on overall patterns in the Bible of using lions to talk about stand-out examples of goodness and wickedness.

Wicked Lions

One of the most prominent ways that lions are used in the Bible is to describe the dangerous natures of wicked people. In several psalms, the writers compare their adversaries to lions, highlighting the danger they face as they cry out for God to protect and deliver them (Ps. 10:9; 17:12; 22:13, 21; 35:17; 57:4; 58:6).

Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you.
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
lest they tear apart my soul like a lion,
ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.
Psalm 7:1-2, WEB

The imagery of God’s people being hunted by lions who threaten to “tear apart my soul” lays groundwork of lions standing-in for human or spiritual threats that likely influenced Peter’s letter. This imagery also shows up in prophecy (Jer. 50:17, 44).

Raise a signal flag that tells people to go to Zion.
Run for safety! Do not delay!
For I am about to bring disaster out of the north.
It will bring great destruction.
Like a lion that has come up from its lair
the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base.
He is coming out to lay your land waste.
Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.
Isaiah 4:6-7, NET

It is against this backdrop that Peter writes to his first-century audience of Jews and Gentile converts. Most would have been familiar with the Old Testament writings, and those who might not have been before conversion would be learning from those scriptures. Peter’s comparison of the devil to a lion works even without the OT background, but it’s even more effective when we know the history of how lions were used in scripture.

Image of a shadowed lion, with text from 1 Peter 5:8, NET version: "Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour." — Image by Ian Lindsay from Pixabay

Good and Mighty Lions

In sharp contrast to the depictions of dangerous, wicked lions stands Bible verses about people who are like mighty, powerful lions. In David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan he says, “They were stronger than lions” (2 Sam. 1:23, WEB). Proverbs tells us “the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1, WEB). Most of Ezekiel 19 compares Israel to a lioness (Ezekiel 19:1-9). Moses’s blessings on the tribes of Gad and Dan speak of them as a lioness and a lion (Deut. 33:20-22). Most notable, though, is this passage from Jacob’s prophecy for his sons.

Judah is a lion’s cub.
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down, he crouched as a lion,
as a lioness.
Who will rouse him up?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs.
The obedience of the peoples will be to him.
Genesis 49:9-10, WEB

I wonder if perhaps this prophecy, with its connection between lions and kingship in the tribe of Judah, is why Solomon had 12 lions on his throne (1 Kings 10:19-20). It’s ultimate fulfilment, though, comes through Jesus Christ.

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Revelation 5:5, NET

Jesus is identified elsewhere in scripture as both David’s son and his Lord (Matt. 1:1; 22:43-46; Acts 2:22-36; Rom. 1:1-4). He inherits the kingship covenant that God made with David’s decedents as well as the blessings spoken of here in Genesis. And though Revelation 5:1-14 is the only time Jesus is explicitly identified as the Lion of Judah, it’s not the first time God reveals Himself as a lion.

The Lord as a Lion

Image of a majestic lion with the blog's title text and the words "The Bible describes the devil as a “roaring lion” and Jesus as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” These descriptions fit into a pattern of lion references in the Bible that reveal something about the character traits of our adversary and our King." — Image by Daniele Albertini from Pixabay

The verses talking about God as a lion stand out for their sharp contrasts. On the one hand, people like Job and Hezekiah talk about God attacking them as if He were a lion (Job 10:16; Is. 38:13). But then on the other hand, God reveals Himself as a powerful, protecting lion.

This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord Almighty will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Like birds hovering overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”
Isaiah 31:4-5, NET

The imagery of God as a protecting lion are more rare, though, than times when He compares Himself to an angry, vengeful lion (Jer. 25:37-38; 49:19; Hos. 5:14-15; 11:10; 13:6-8). We don’t often like to think of God as dangerous, but if we don’t realize that He’s a God of justice and wrath as well as mercy and love then we run the grave danger of underestimating Him. God’s self-revelation in scripture is nuanced (for example, when Jesus is called Lion of Judah He appears in the next verse as a Lamb who was slain [Rev. 5:5-6]). It’s impossible to put Him into just one box, or even to fully comprehend all the facets of His character right now with our human minds.

The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
Like a lion he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate
because of the sword of the oppressor
and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.
Jeremiah 25:37-38, NET

The descriptions of the Lord as a Lion remind me of a quote from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Susan learns that Aslan is a lion, she asks if he is “safe.” Mr. Bever replies, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Someone as powerful as a lion can’t really be called “safe.” But do we want a toothless, tamed God? I want to worship the Lord who is powerful and mighty enough to totally conquer an enemy described as a roaring lion that prowls around looking for a chance to devour everyone. When you’ve got a lion after you, it’s reassuring to have a Lion at your side. Especially one who is Good and who has already triumphed over the enemy as the Lamb slain to redeem us from sin (Rev. 5:5-14).

–

Featured image by Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Unto the Lamb” by Julie Meyer

Judge Yourself (and Others) as You Would Like God to Judge You

4 December, 20213 December, 2021Marissa

I hadn’t planned to write any more about Paul’s teachings on the topic of self-judgement. I only found three passages on that topic, after all; what more was there to say? But after I received a request from a reader to keep studying that topic, I prayed about it and these verses came to mind:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 12:31; Leviticus 19:18, WEB

Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.
Luke 6:31, NET

At first glance, these principles don’t seem to have much to do with judgement. But then I remembered my study about what “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” teaches us about the positive aspects of self-love. Perhaps something similar is going on with the idea of judgement. Paul only talks about judging ourselves a few times, but he spends quite a bit of time discussing how we are (and are not) to judge other people. It would make sense that if you’re going to judge others in certain situations that you should be judging yourself similarly, and we’ll see from looking at Jesus’s words in the gospels that this is the case. We can take what we learn from Jesus’s instructions to treat others how we want to be treated and apply it to this topic of self-judgement.

How You Love Yourself

It’s been four years since I posted a study on the idea of how you love yourself, so let’s do a quick review. When Jesus says to love your neighbor as you love yourself, it implies that we know how to love ourselves. Many of us feel guilty about the idea of loving ourselves since it sounds selfish, but it’s not when we love in the correct way. As I wrote four years ago,

Real love never stops with yourself. If you’re the only object of your love and you always put yourself first, then you have a problem. That’s what it means to be selfish and self-centered. But avoiding selfishness doesn’t mean you refuse to take care of yourself. We’re to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, not abuse ourselves. If you never meet your own needs or do those loving things mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13 for yourself, then you’re going to burn-out. And God loves you way too much to want that.
“As You Love Yourself”

Jesus tells us to agape others the same way we do ourselves. Agape is the word most often used of God’s love for people. It’s unconditional, benevolent, and always seeks good things for the person being loved. The better we understand how God loves us, the better we’ll treat ourselves, and the better we’ll understand how to love others properly. Having the right kind of love for ourselves helps us know how to love other people the way God loves both them and us. And because love is foundational to the types of relationships God has with us and which He wants us to have with other people, understanding love helps us understand all the other interpersonal topics we can study in the Bible, including judgement.

Image of a man reading a bible, with text from Leviticus 19:15, 17-18, NET version: "You must not deal unjustly in judgment: You must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. ... You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. ” — Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

How You’ll Be Judged

In relation to judgement, Jesus gives us a similar principle to “Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” Here’s what He says on the topic during the sermon on the mount:

Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5, WEB

Judging others properly must first start with judging ourselves. Judgement, particularly of others, should be done cautiously, always keeping in mind that we’ll receive the same type of judgement that we show other people. It’s so important that we judge correctly that before telling us how to judge, Jesus warns it’s probably better not to judge at all. Especially for us human beings, who don’t have the perfect perspective needed to understand other people’s motivations and actions, it’s better to error on the side of mercy than judgement. As James says, “judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (2:13, WEB).

Jesus’s words here in the sermon on the mount show that the way we judge others is directly related to how we’ll be judged by God. It is also related to how we judge ourselves. We have a big problem if we’re eager to judge others but never turn that examining, critical perspective on ourselves.

Image of men having a discussion with Bibles in foreground, with text from Romans 14:10-12, WEB version: " But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written,

“‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow.
Every tongue will confess to God.’” So then each one of us will give account of himself to God." — Image by Claudine Chaussé from Lightstock

Paul on Judgement Within The Church

Echoing Jesus’s words in the Sermon on the Mount, Paul also counsels his readers to examine themselves and consider the things which they might need to remove from their lives. As Jesus did, Paul directly relates this idea to the topic of how God will judge us.

But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world.
1 CORINTHIANS 11:31-32, NET

As I mentioned when we looked at this verse a couple weeks ago, “examined” is translated from diakrino. In this verse it could be translated “if we took a proper view” or “formed a just estimate of ourselves” (Zodhiates’s dictionary entry G1253). It involves the idea of separating, making distinctions, and judging thoroughly. Paul encourages a type of self-judgment that involves seeing ourselves accurately rather than seeking to condemn anyone. When used properly, this type of judgement works alongside God’s accurate judgement of us to help make us more and more like Him.

Interestingly, Paul makes this point in the same letter where he most directly addresses the topic of judging other people. In 1 Corinthians, one of his reasons for writing the congregation is to tell them they need to deal with a sin-problem in their group. One of the men in the church was sleeping with his father’s wife. The church tolerated this sin and even became arrogant about how they handled the problem. In no uncertain terms, Paul told this church group they needed to put that person out of the congregation because we have a responsibility to judge those within the church (1 Cor. 5). God is in charge of ultimate judgement, but because we have His holy spirit there are certain discernment-based judgements we can make, such as not allowing an unrepentant sinner to continue fellowshipping with the group. The key there is “unrepentant”–those who acknowledge their sin, repent, and turn back to God should be shown mercy immediately and welcomed back with love (2 Cor. 2).

Judge Yourself First

Image of a woman looking up at the sky with the blog's title text and the words "As with other areas of our lives, the way we "judge" ourselves must balance love and truth, justice and mercy the same way that God does." — Image by Brightside Creative from Lightstock

So how does all this relate to self-judgement? The first thing that comes to my mind is that since there are certain things Paul says we can judge others for, then we need to make sure we’re judging ourselves on those things first. As Jesus said, we can’t see clearly enough to help another person with their problems when we’re blinded by our own flaws and faults. In keeping with this, Paul has some scathing things to say about people who judge others without examining themselves.

Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things. And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
Romans 2:1-4, NET

We need to keep in mind that God is judging us today and He’ll pass judgement on our lives at the end (1 Pet. 4:17). That knowledge should remind us to examine ourselves carefully and be cautious when judging others. As in other areas of our lives, we need to balance love and truth, justice and mercy the same way that God does. We need to pray for an accurate view of ourselves in the light of God’s truth, yet also show ourselves mercy once we’ve repented and started to change (much as Paul did by not judging himself). Self-examination and self-discernment are important tools God gives us to help keep ourselves rightly aligned as we live in relationship with Him.

–

Featured image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Love You With The Truth” by Casting Crowns

Compassion: A Month-Long Scripture Writing Study

27 November, 202128 November, 2021Marissa

I have another scripture writing list for you all today, along with a continuation of the study we started last week with “God’s Parental Compassion.” As with my other Free 30-Day Scripture Writing Plans, I started out by studying all the words in the Bible (English, Greek, and Hebrew) related to the topic. I narrowed that down to about 50-60 scriptures, then started praying and stitching them together to get the 31-day list that I’m sharing here for the month of December.

If you write all these verses out, then go back and read through them they should form something like a narrative. It made me so happy to see that emerge; as I’ve talked about many times before, I love to think of the Bible as a “love story” that God is sharing with us and using to invite us to live with Him as part of a great narrative He’s composing. The fact that story arcs within scripture connect so well is one of the greatest proofs that the Bible is a cohesive “God-breathed” text. For example, I start off this study with these three scriptures:

But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. …Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”
He said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:33-34, 36-37, WEB

But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person?
1 John 3:17, NET

A traveler came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
David’s anger burned hot against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die! He must restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity!”
2 Samuel 12:4-6, WEB

Jesus’s parable, John’s reminder, and David’s reaction to the prophet Nathan’s story all highlight the same idea–God places a high value on His people showing compassion. Compassion is one of the things that shows whether we are or are not becoming more like God. And if we learn (as David did) that we’ve failed to show compassion we ought to repent and ask God for His compassion, as David does in the next verse on my list:

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love.
Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.
Wash away my wrongdoing.
Cleanse me of my sin.
Psalm 51:1-2, NET

Compassion is one of God’s most prominent character traits. It’s closely associated with His mercy and His loyal, covenant love. We benefit so much from God’s compassion. The more we realize how much compassion He shows us, the more motivated we should be to show similar compassion to others. Ultimately, I think that’s what this study of compassion is about–learning more about God’s compassion so that we can properly appreciate what He does for us and model that character trait in out own lives. I hope you’ll consider joining me for this month-long study.

Click here to download a printable scripture list:

compassion Download

–

Featured image by Corey David Robinson from Lightstock