Works That Make Faith Live

22 March, 201421 March, 2014Marissa

I’ve been thinking about our role as the body of Christ, particularly in how we relate to other people. In the past two weeks here, I’ve written about and studied the fact that we need to be acting as Christ’s hands and feet in reaching out with compassion, healing, and love. I also wrote about Jesus wanting us to love indiscriminately.

In settling on a new topic for this past week of study, I turned to the last place I’d left my ribbon bookmark. It was James 2, for the verse I quoted last week about respect of persons based on their wealth being a sin. Right after that is the famous “faith without works” passage. That started me wondering, What specific kinds of works are we supposed to be doing as members of the body of Christ?

Faith Without Works

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

We know from Romans 3:20 that “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified,” but these verses in James also show that we cannot claim to have true faith unless it is accompanied by some kind of works. It kind of reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13, where even the best gifts are useless without love.

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. … Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:18, 21-26)

As shown by these examples, the actions we take demonstrate to God whether or not our faith is genuine. Both Abraham and Rahab showed by their works that they believed in God enough to actually follow His orders.

Care For Others

Abraham and Rahab are positive examples of faith supported by works. The discussion opens, however, with a negative example of someone who sees “a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food” but does “not give them the things which are needed for the body.” Apparently, it is a sin to not help someone when it is in our power to do so.

It’s a simple idea. If you have two coats, give one to someone without a coat. If you have food, share it with someone who is going hungry (Luke 3:11). The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches that “love your neighbor” includes anyone in our sphere of awareness who needs aid. Simple, but so easy to ignore. Someone else will do it … How do I know they’re really homeless? it could be a scam … That’s what welfare’s for — I pay my taxes.

I’m as guilty of using these excuses as the next person, and they might even be true in some cases. But I suspect God would rather have us error on the side of giving too freely than withholding help from someone who actually needs it.

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.” – C.S. Lewis

True Religion

In the first chapter of James, we are given the following definition of religion that pleases God:

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)

Did you know there are 100,000 legal orphans in the United States and 300,000 Christian churches? That’s 3 churches that profess to follow Christ per child who is waiting for adoption (from iCareAboutOrphans.org). I started crying the first time I read this statistic.

God is in the business of setting “the solitary in families” (Ps. 68:6). Jesus promised, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). If He’s doing that on a spiritual level, doesn’t it make sense that He would approve of efforts to do something similar on a physical level? Not everyone is in a position where they can adopt — I’m not right now — but we can help by sharing awareness of this need, doing what we can to help families who are able to give children homes, and supporting ministries like Focus on the Family’s Orphan Care Initiative.

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Is. 1:16-17)

Learning to do good involves speaking out on behalf of people — both old and young — and defending those who don’t have families to protect and care for them. Even if we feel like we can’t “do” anything, we should be praying and speaking up when necessary.

Bear Fruit

The really cool thing is, when we stop focusing on ourselves and focus on helping other people, it benefits us as well.

Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. (Is. 58: 6-10)

God is glorified, and pleased, when we “bear much fruit” by abiding in Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments (John 15:4, 8, 10). The commands involve an active interest in helping other people with the same attitude we would have if serving Jesus Christ directly.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ … ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matt. 25:34-36, 40)

The reverse of this is also true — if we ignore people in need, we are ignoring Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:41-46). Godly love, agape, is not passive. It acts for the good of others, even as Christ did when He died for our sins.

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal. 5:13-14)

Much Too High A Price

15 March, 201414 March, 2014Marissa

I wrote last week about questions the church can ask herself regarding our role as the body of Christ. Like the Casting Crowns song “If We Are The Body,” it was meant as a challenge for the church as a whole to reach out with compassion, heal others, teach Jesus Christ’s words, walk in His steps, and love everyone. The reason for this is mentioned in the line which provides me with a title: “Jesus payed much too high a price / For us to pick and choose who should come / And we are the body of Christ.”

What Price?

Christ said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). That, in a nutshell, is the price paid. He willingly gave up first His eternal existence with the Father and then His human life to be a sacrifice for sins (John 1:1-2, 14). A more complete picture of what this entailed can be found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Here’s a few verses:

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Is. 53:3-5)

I have a hard time thinking of what to write after this. It’s so deeply moving to think of how much He suffered for my sake, and for your sake, and for the entire world (John 1:29; 4:42; 6:33; 12:47).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)

I find it interesting that John 3:16-17 doesn’t say that Christ died to save the church — it says He died for the entire world. The goal is to save as many people as possible (2 Pet. 3:9).

Paid For Whom?

No one can come to Christ unless the Father draws them (John 6:44), and once that happens “he who believes in the Son has everlasting life” (John 3:36). If someone shows up at church with that one requirement — belief in Jesus Christ — then we have no right to turn them away. Their belief is a sign that God is working with them. Look how strongly Christ rebuked His disciples when they thought certain people were not worth His time:

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Mark 10:13-15)

In Matthew, Jesus further said, “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:5-6) Since we are all God’s children, whatever age we are, I think it safe to extend what Christ says concerning His little ones to every new believer. James 2 talks about not showing partiality, or respecting people based on how much money they have. This principle can be extended to other factors as well. Take the example of “strangers” who joined Israel in the Old Testament.

“Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants — everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant — even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.” (Is. 56:6-8)

In our modern churches of God, a similar situation might be new people coming into the church without a Worldwide background and no clue who Mr. Armstrong was. Or maybe people in other groups that we not-so-secretly wonder if they are really part of the body. It is not our place to make judgements about who is and who is not part of Christ’s body and living in His sheepfold (John 10:16). If someone believes in Him, we should welcome them with open arms. If they keep His Sabbaths and enter into covenant with Him, like the strangers in Israel, we must not dismiss them.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” (Acts 10:34-35)

This statement should disabuse us of any notion that people of a certain social class or church background or ethnic group are in some way better or worse than others. The Pharisees had that idea — “We have Abraham as our father” — and John the Baptist told them they were a “brood of vipers” and “that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” on the ground near the river. Their background did not matter, only that they repent and “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt. 3:7-9).

What Should We Do?

The Father and Jesus want to save every single person who will let them. Are we helping them in that goal as members of the body of Christ? Or are people “tripping over me” when they try to reach God (Rom. 14:13)? We are so quick to take and cause offense, to indigently puff up and bluster at people over even trivial things like music selection, whether or not to worship with hands raised, and are jeans appropriate for church services. But look at Paul’s attitude:

Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (1 Cor. 10:32-33)

How much less strife would there be within the church and in our interactions with those who do not yet believe if this were our attitude!

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” (Rom. 15:2-3)

When we set aside our selfishness and look after other people before ourselves, we are following in Christ’s footsteps. When we are becoming like the “head over all things to the church,” we truly begin acting like the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). We are supposed to imitate God and “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph. 5:2). In the night He was betrayed, Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Lest we think this statement is ambiguous, John spells it out clearly in his first epistle: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). Still, we might try to find some wiggle-room in this command. It only says to love the brethren — I don’t have to love all those other people, right? Wrong.

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt. 5:44-48)

Well there it is — not a smidgin of wiggle-room left. We have to love everyone the way God loves them and the way He loves us. Jesus paid the highest price ever paid so that the world could be saved. He is not going to look kindly on our actions if we try to pick and choose who is worth our love and who we should “let in” to His body. That’s not our call.

If We Are The Body

8 March, 20148 March, 2014Marissa

Today’s post is inspired by a Casting Crowns song called “If We Are The Body.” I’ll add a video of it at the end of this post, so you can listen to it if you’re not familiar with the song. It is basically a challenge to the Christian church — if we really are Christ’s body (and we know from verses like Colossians 1:18 that we are), why isn’t the church as a whole acting more like Jesus Christ?

Arms Reaching

♪ ♫ But if we are the body, Why aren’t His arms reaching?

Do we have the same kind of compassion that Christ showed? He wept over Jerusalem because His people rejected His attempts “to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Matt. 23:37; Luke 19:41-42). He was constantly reaching out to help, encourage, and teach people.

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Matt. 9:36)

Each of us can bear witness to the compassion and mercy of God in our lives. Take just a moment to think about all the forgiveness He has shown you, all the times He picked you up out of hopelessness — and then look at the next chapter in Matthew.

When Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, He instructed them to do the same thing He was doing: “preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:7-8). It’s this last sentence that I want to focus on. Are we giving compassion, forgiveness, and help to others as freely as Christ gives those things to us? Or are we holding ourselves back from reaching out to certain people?

Hands Healing

♪ ♫ Why aren’t His hands healing?

We often seem to gloss over the phrase “gifts of healing” when reading about spiritual gifts in the church. We say that since we don’t see people today performing the same kinds of miracles that were happening in Acts 3:1-10 and 5:12-16, that these gifts are not present in today’s church. Paul did not, however, indicated that there will be a time when certain gifts simply are not around.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (1 Cor 12:7-9)

The word translated “healing” here is iama (G2386). It is much like our English word, and means a “cure, the result of the process of healing.”It is used in the gospels of Christ healing with a touch or by a “word of power.” Of the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, Zodhiates points out that iama is always plural, and that the Lord gave “gifts or abilities to provide the means of various healings in His divine providence whether they be with or without medicine.”

I suspect that the gifts of healing can include a wide range of emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Some people have a gift for counseling others through emotional distress. Others with a gift for physical healing might practice a form of medicine. Those with a gift of faith can pray, trusting this promise:”the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:15).

There is no reason to assume the lack of showy miracles means there are no gifts of healing in the church. Not every person in the body of Christ will have a gift of healing (1 Cor. 12:28-30), but if those who have been given this gift are using it, then the overall body will have healing hands.

Words Teaching

♪ ♫ Why aren’t His words teaching?

The verse I most often see/hear people turn to in the context of the church’s responsibility to teach is at the end of Matthew. Jesus told His followers, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations … teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). Often, I think churches approach this verse one of two opposite and extreme directions. One is to adopt disciplining the nations as the chief and greatest occupation of the church. The other is to ignore it completely and say it’s not our place to “shove our religion down someone’s throat.”

As in many things, the balanced view is both rarer and a better goal. We cannot afford to ignore a clear instruction from Jesus Christ to teach, but if we adopt this as the one great commission of the church, we risk overlooking Christ’s instruction to “feed My sheep” — to care for and teach people who are already in the church. In Paul’s continuing discussion about spiritual gifts, he says,

Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. (1 Cor. 14:12)

The reason to want spiritual gifts is so that we might build-up, teach, and help each other within the church. Then, when conditions inside the church are as they should be, God will bring in new believers.

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. (1 Cor. 14:24-25)

How many of our church congregations would inspire this kind of reaction in someone who just walked through the door? TV shows, radio spots, websites, magazines, and booklets might help someone find a church group, but it’s the people who will inspire them to stay. If a new believer doesn’t see evidence that God is truly among us and hear His words being taught, they will keep looking for a church that actually acts like part of the body of Christ.

Feet Going

♪ ♫ And if we are the body, Why aren’t His feet going?

When studying for this section, I was surprised to find how prominently feet figure in the Bible. The Lord “will not allow your foot to be moved” (Ps. 121.3), He delivers “my feet from falling” (Ps. 116:8), and His “word is a lamp unto my feet” (Ps. 119:105). The Israelites “feet did not swell” during all their years of wandering in the wilderness (Neh. 9:21). People sat at and anointed Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:38; 8:35; 10:39; John 12:3). Jesus washed the feet of His disciples (John 13:5-6). John the Baptist’s father prophesied that he would “guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79).

Where our feet are going indicates the direction of our lives. Are our feet headed toward evil, such as “feet swift to shed blood” (Rom. 3:15)? Or are our feet beautiful like “the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,” and shod with that same gospel as part of our spiritual armor (Rom. 10:15; Eph. 6:15)?

In Jeremiah, it says that “it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23). The only one who can direct our steps rightly is God, and He directs us to walk in the steps of Jesus.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps (1 Pet. 2:21)

The context here is that to endure “grief, suffering wrongfully,” is commendable before God because it gives us the opportunity to mimic Christ’s actions (1 Pet. 2:18-20). As His body, we must be willing to walk in His footsteps, wherever that might lead.

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:6)

Love Showing

♪ ♫ Why is His love not showing them there is a way? There is a way

Love — agape (G26) — is the key to relationships. It is called “a more excellent way” compared to gifts of leadership, prophecy, healing, and working miracles. Even “the best gifts” are of no value if separated from love (1 Cor. 12:28-13:3).

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

Jesus said that love among the breathren is how the entire world will recognize us as His disciples. This builds right upon the idea of someone being able to walk into a gathering of the church and see “that God is truly among you” (1 Cor. 14:25). As the discussion continues, Jesus also connects love to the idea following in His footsteps.

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:12-13)

Like in 1 Peter 2, following Christ includes the very real possibility of suffering. Here, with the focus on love, it also includes the idea of voluntary sacrifice for the good of another person. That is the kind of attitude that the entire church is to have.

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Cor. 12:26-27)

I am so blessed to regularly fellowship with a congregation like this. As we individually and collectively grow more and more like Jesus and learn to use our spiritual gifts “for the edifying of the body of Christ,” we will be better able to serve Him by serving other people (Eph. 4:12).

Forgetting God

8 February, 20148 February, 2014Marissa

I was reading Hosea early this week when two phrases jumped out at me from this verse:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hos. 4:6)

The phrases were “rejected knowledge” and “thou hast forgotten the law of God.” I also accidentally loaded an NIV translation which renders the word “forgotten” as “ignored.” I’m not sure which translation I like better — forgetting makes me think of gradually letting something slip your mind because you don’t think about it, while ignoring sounds more like a conscious choice. Either way, it is a dangerous thing to do with God’s law.

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.” (Hos. 4:1)

Destruction comes upon those who reject knowledge of God, and who forget God’s law. It is so very important that we continue to grow in knowledge of God and keep His commandments.

Knowledge of God

According to my study Bible, the Hebrew word translated “knowledge” is H1847 dha’ath. it refers to knowledge gained through the senses, and is the opposite of “folly.” Meanings include knowledge, insight, intelligence, understanding, and wisdom. “Knowledge of God,” Zodhiates writes, “describes the proper relationship between God and a man who truly obeys Him.”

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:23)

Knowledge of God increases as we grow into a closer relationship with Him. They are inseparably connected. If we reject knowledge of God, we reject a relationship with Him. As pointed out in the definition of dha’ath, a relationship with Him is dependent on keeping His laws. God cannot be in fellowship with a person who is walking contrary to Him.

And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. (Lev. 26:27-28)

Do Not Forget

Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. (Deut. 4:23)

The Israelites were commanded, multiple times, to remember all God had done for them, and to teach their children His laws “That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Ps. 78:7). But “they forgot God their Savior,” and did not teach His laws to their children (Ps. 106:21). This set up generational cycles of forsaking God, punishment, repentance and forgiveness, and then forgetting God again.

Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number. (Jer. 2:32)

Can you feel God’s heartbreak in this verse? His presence is what made His people beautiful and His grace clothed them in dignity, yet they cast Him away (Ezk. 16:8-14). It’s as unthinkable as a bride forgetting to put on her wedding dress before walking down the aisle, but it happened over and over again.

In Psalm 50, God addresses the wicked who “hate instruction” and “cast My words behind you,” asking them “What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth?” (Ps. 50:16, 17). These people were thieves, adulterers, liars, slanderers, and evil supporters of others who committed sin (Ps. 50:18-20). Though they knew God’s law, they thought He would overlook their sins — an error He corrects.

These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes. “Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” (Ps. 50:21-23)

As this last verse hints, there is an antidote to forgetting God. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit, which would “teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). Keeping God’s commandments puts us into a right relationship with Him, and gives us access to aid through the Holy Spirit.

The Law of God

To recap (since this has become a long post), God says in Hosea 4:6, “because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Keeping God’s law close to our hearts and minds, holding it in remembrance, is key to knowing Him and maintaining a lasting relationship.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. (Ps. 19:7-11)

This is why it makes no sense to say Jesus Christ did away with the law under the New Covenant. Keeping the commandments is how we show God and Jesus that we love Them (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10, 14). We can’t pick-and-choose which parts of the commandments we want to obey, either: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:17-19)

Jesus warns that breaking “the least of these commandments” will make us “least in the kingdom of heaven.” Other scriptures reveal that a pattern of sin will block us from the kingdom all together (Gal. 5:19-21). Forgetting and rejecting God by turning our backs on keeping His laws is like asking Him to forget about and reject us. But, thankfully for us, the flip-side of this is that showing our love for God by obeying Him puts us into a personal relationship with Him that has incredible, lasting rewards.

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:21, 23)

What Makes Us Remarkable

1 February, 2014Marissa

After healing a lame man in Acts 3, Peter and john are brought before the Jewish leaders to explain their actions. After hearing from Peter “that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth … this man stands here before you whole,” the leaders marveled at them.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

When looking at Peter and John, the only exceptional thing the Jewish leaders noticed about them was that they had been with Jesus. Even the people working against Christ’s teachings could recognize that being in His presence had changed these fishermen who would otherwise be considered unremarkable.

Wisdom of the Poor Man

Not surprisingly, a similar thing happened to Jesus. He was not what people expected the Messiah to be, and some people rejected Him because He seemed so ordinary.

And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. (Mark 6:2-3)

These people missed out on knowing the son of God because they rejected the wisdom of the poor man (Ecc. 9:16). All too often, we fall into the trap of rejecting someone because of an unfavorable first impression based on a stereotype rather than actually knowing them. Rejecting someone because of their lack of education and credentials isn’t solely confined to intellectuals, but I’m afraid it’s a trap that educated people might be more likely to fall into than others. I’m very much in favor of education, but I do agree with this quote by Dr. J. Budziszewski: “there are some forms of stupidity that one must be highly intelligent and educated to commit.”

Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” (John 7:14-15)

Instead of asking how they could know Jesus better, or listening when He explained that “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me,” the people accused Him of having a demon (John 7:16-20). Seeing this kind of rejection towards Jesus, it should not surprise us if people reject us as well. Christ warned His followers,

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:18-20)

That’s Not Fair

Not only will we be considered ignorant and foolish by the world for our belief in God, but in addition to that we are not usually remarkable by worldly standards before our calling either.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 27-31)

There’s a verse in Ecclesiastes that I’ve often seen used to talk about how life doesn’t always seem logical or fair that comes to mind in this context.

I returned and saw under the sun that — the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecc. 9:11)

Usually when we talk about the unfairness of life, we only think of what is working against us. But “unfairness” happens in our favor as well. We just read in 1 Corinthians that we’re the weak, base, and poor of the world — where would we be if God only let the swift run the race (Heb. 12:1), only worked with the strong to win battles (Eph. 6:12-12), only fed those who were already wise (Mark. 6:34-42), only gave understanding to rich men (Mark. 10:23-25), and only showed favor to those who are skilled (Ex. 4:10-12)?

Be A Well of Water

25 January, 201425 January, 2014Marissa

I talked about Christ’s meeting with the woman at the well last week. This week, I’d like to focus on a specific verse from that interaction:

But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4.14)

Jesus told the woman that once He gives someone the gift of living water, they continue to receive a steady supply. We learn more about this a few chapters later.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)

Here, we are clearly told this water is the Holy Spirit, and shown that the fountain Jesus spoke of in John 4 isn’t a tiny trickle that supplies just enough water for the person He gives it to — it is enough to supply a river that flows out from people who Christ is working with.

Don’t Stagnate

As I talked about on Monday, we all need outlets to keep from becoming stagnate. We have to share what we have been given. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be flowing through us an manifesting as fruits borne in our lives. “By this My Father is glorified,” Jesus said, “that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8).

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-25)

To briefly re-cap the analogy from Monday’s post, the Sea of Galilee is a source of freshwater because it has both an inflow and an outflow. The Dead Sea, on the other hand, has no outlet and is filled with brackish water. We are like that too. We either flow with Christ’s living water, or we become dead. We can’t be both alive and hoarding God’s gifts all to ourselves — “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?” (James 3:11).

Flowing With Life

In 2 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy that he needs to “stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” because “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:6-7). A similar admonition is given to the whole church: “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thes. 5:19). There is a very real danger if we do not use the talents that God had given us (Matt. 25:14-20).

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2)

We do not want to be the ones that the Father prunes out of the True Vine for lack of fruit. We are to become more and more skillful “in the word of righteousness” and at some point grow to the point that we can “be teachers” (Heb. 5:12-14). We need to learn this now, because in the future the Church will be teaching alongside Jesus Christ as His bride, living and working with the One who promises, “I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts” (Rev. 21:6).

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Rev. 22:1)

If we don’t become a well of water now, overflowing with God’s spirit and the fruts thereof, we will not be included in the inhabitants of the city that flows with God’s living water.