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Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 3

Thursday, July 05, 2012

The Third Text:
Luke 11:1-4

The Forgiveness of Sins is the Simplest Foundation for our Prayer Life

Life as a first-world citizen complicates things. We are knowledge-based, intellectually oriented, and mentally rooted in a critical-scientific method of thinking.

We feel like we must have all things proven to us. There is often this deep-rooted feeling that we are owed all the pieces of the puzzle. We take it personal when there are any variables or unexplained elements. Largely too smart for our own good, there is an inherent pride about the fact that can discover and create just about anything, solve and resolve just about any problem, and mass produce just about any product we can dream up.

I have found in my own life, as well as the those whom I've discipled, that prayer is a spiritual discipline that has become the victim of complication. That inherent pride I just spoke of drives us to feel like we are owed an explanation about everything. Consequently, when we go to God in prayer, the Creator of the Universe who owes no man any explanation is largely silent in His sovereignty.

This in turns makes us uncomfortable in what is largely a cognitive dissonance about our obligation to submit to His sovereign ways. As a result, we pray less. Or in some cases, we pray "harder", making things more complicated than they need to be. When I read Jesus anywhere on the subject of prayer, He makes things simple. It is all about asking the Father. Period.

That's why I'm so thankful to God for Jesus' teaching on the forgiveness of sins. When connected with the subject of prayer we find an incredible simplicity which forms the foundation for a simple prayer life. We find such a connection in Luke 11:1-4, and here is a familiar though concise story as told in the New Living Translation:

1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of hisdisciples came to him and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2 Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need, 4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation."

If the forgiveness of sins was the sick man's friends's simplest foundation for faith, and if it was the prostitute's simplest foundation for worship, then it is aso the simplest foundation for the prayer life of a follower of Jesus.

Notice how simple that kind of prayer life gets. It's simply about asking that we keep God's name holy, that God would bring His kingdom to earth, that He'd feed us, forgive us, and not let us fall to temptation. Yet how complex and difficult do we make our prayer life?! We make things so hard, don't we?

I don't want you to miss two crucial truths here.

First, Jesus doesn't teach you to ask for forgiveness everyday because you've got to do this everyday in order to be saved. That would make our salvation and our relationship with Him based on merit. Jesus is not some priest sitting in a confessional to whom we must go in order to actually be forgiven of our sins. This is especially good news to those in denominations or theological circles where the teaching is put forth that a person can lose their salvation, or that they must "get saved" again after every sin committed.

If Luke's story of the prostitute worshiping Jesus showed us anything itwas that her sins were already forgiven as was evidenced in her worship. In the same way then, asking for forgiveness of the sins we commit daily is evidence that we recognize the absolute necessity of God's forgiveness, and the truth that we have already received forgiveness.

Second, Jesus is showing us the reflection of humility in His teaching on prayer. If anything, the simplicity of this kind of prayer life is simply about a recognition that we live every breath under the need of and protection in God's forgiveness of our sins. Again, this teaching of Jesus on prayer is not about humiliating us under God's wrathful hand of judgment for every sin we commit. No, it is about humbling us under God's gracious hand of mercy for the forgiveness we receive for every sin we commit.

Are you humbled by such simplicity? Does it humble you that Jesus' death on the cross for your sins is something applicable each and every time you sin against God? Or do you feel this inner awkwardness about what to do after you've sinned? Is there this strange sense of obligation you have, like you've got to do something to make up for it? Something like...praying more, or praying harder...or reading your Bible more...or going to church more...or giving more money to the church...or whatever? If so, this is the enemy's way of complicating the simple message of the forgiveness of your sins.

Don't let him get the upper hand any longer. Choose instead to pray to the Father like one who's simply been forgiven. Choose to worship like one whose sins are forgiven...forever. Choose to believe what God promises because your sins have simply been forgiven. This changes everything, doesn't it?

In the next post, we will discover the fourth text (Luke 24:47), and explore the forgiveness of sins as the simplest foundation for our life mission.

About the Author: Rob is a entrepreneur in Statesboro, GA, where he envisions and pursues missional-shaped business for the kingdom. He and his wife Sherri have been married for 18 years and together have three sons and a daughter. Rob believes the mission of the gospel is summed up in four simple phrases: know God, obey Jesus, make disciples, and plant churches. This is the pursuit of his life, as well as the point of his blog.

arrogance

Pursuing the Humility of the Gospel: Part 2

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Part Two:

Why Jesus Chose a Pharisee for His Story

Have you ever stopped to wonder for any length of time why exactly it was that Jesus chose a Pharisee for this particular story He told? I spent a great deal of time considering the answer to that question, and I've come up with three answers.

Reason One: Jesus chose a Pharisee for His story because of their childishness.

They busied themselves with elaborate discussions, disputations,argumentation over the most trivial matters. For example, one scholar on ancient old and new testament times (Alfred Edersheim), records that a major controversy between the two schools of Pharisaism – the Hillel and Shammai schools – was whether a blessing should be said over the leaves and blossoms of a berry or just over the berry itself (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. 2, p.206). That leaves me absolutely speechless.

They also had a controversy over “what blessing should be used when a dish consisted of various ingredients, some of the product of the earth, others, like honey, derived from the animal world.” Further, “the controversy was long and bitter between the schools of Shammai and Hillel, on such a point as whether the hands were to be washed before the cup was filled with wine, or after
that, and where the towel was to be deposited” (p. 210).

Going further, the three goals in life that made a Pharisee distinct from allother Jews were (1) not to make use nor partake of anything that had not been tithed; (2) to observe the laws of purification; and (3) to abstain from getting too close to all those who were NOT Pharisees. On this last point, Emil Schurer, another scholar in the same field notes that just as an Israelite would avoid as far as possible a heathen or Gentile, so a Pharisee would avoid as much as possible a non-Pharisee (Jewish Backgrounds, II, ii.24).

The historical-cultural context of this last point provides some insight as to why Nicodemus came to visit Jesus at night in John 3. It's also the reason why the Pharisees hated Jesus so much, primarily because was found frequenting the homes of sinners, Gentiles, prostitutes,and publicans (Mark 2:14-17; Matt. 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32), and yet sporting himself as a teacher of the law.

So...I've got to ask...does this sound like you? Are you one to quarrel with other sover petty things? There is no end to the number of church splits which have occurred in church history over the most trivial and petty things. There is no end to the number of relationships that have been severed among Christians over such petty things. Are you one of these Christians who gets caught up in pettiness and childishness when it comes to your relationship with God and others?

Reason Two: Jesus chose a Pharisee because of their hypocrisy.

The Pharisees were especially good at stretching requirements very, very farby elevating all commandments, no matter great or small, to the same leveland they further expected everyone to obey them. In reality, however, what they were accomplishing was an elaborate construction of hypocrisy, for their system allowed them to focus everyone’s attention on smaller matters of God’s law while neglecting the weightier matters.

Remember the man with the withered hand whom Jesus healed on the Sabbath? That was a perfect example of their hypocrisy. They taught that everyone should honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Then they made up additional rules and regulations that people ought to follow to make sure they don’t break the Sabbath command. And in their little contrived system, healing anyone was forbidden because it meant a breaking of the Sabbath day!

But Jesus goes on to teach that mercy and love and acts of kindness and assistance on the Sabbath are not at all acts which violate the Sabbath command. Love is the supreme guide governing all the commands. So to neglect to love someone just so you can keep your own understanding of one of God’s commands is actually hypocrisy. It claims to be godly when in fact it largely ignores much of what God has said.

This is what made Pharisees hypocrites, then: enforcing the Law of God but neglecting the parts of it they didn’t like so much. This is why it was to a Pharisee that Jesus said those famous words, “you must be born again” (John3:3). Nicodemus, like all the other Pharisees, were so wrapped up in following the smaller, lighter matters of life that they missed the big picture called love. That’s why Jesus picked a Pharisee to illustrate His main point inthis parable.

So again...I've got to ask you...as far as you are concerned, what does your meter read on the hypocrisy scale? Do you get on to others when you do the same things (Rom. 2)? Do you condemn others in your heart for things they do when you do things that are just as bad, if not far worse? How often do you stop and consider your own sinfulness before pointing out the sinfulness of others? Do you take the telephone pole out of your own eye before trying to help your friend take the speck of sawdust out of his eye (Matt. 7)?

Reason Three: Jesus chose a Pharisee because of their prayer life.

The prayer life of a Pharisee really is one of the most remarkable things –remarkably arrogant that is. Listen to a couple of Pharisee prayers I found in my research. They date from around the time of Jesus, and they show that the prayer we read by the Pharisee in Luke 18 was really nothing out of the ordinary.

“I thank thee, Jehovah my God, that thou hast assigned my lot with those who sit in the house of learning, and not with those who sit at street corners. For I rise early and they rise early: I rise early to study the words of the Torah, and they rise early to attend to things of noimportance. I weary myself and they weary themselves: I weary myself and gain thereby, while they weary themselves without gaining anything. I run and they run: I run toward the life of the age to come,while they run toward the pit of destruction” (William Hendrickson, Luke, p.820).

“I thank Thee, O Lord my God and God of my fathers, that Thou hast cast my lot among those who frequent the schools and synagogues,and not among those who attend the theatre and the circus. For, both I and they work and watch – I to inherit eternal life, they for theirdestruction” (Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, p. 32).

Notice a couple of things Jesus points out in His story about the Pharisee praying.

1. Look at where he stands when praying.

When we compare where Jesus says the Pharisee is standing with where thetax collector is standing in verse 13, Jesus may be indicating that thePharisee is standing as close as possible to actual sanctuary, with its HolyPlace and the Holy of Holies (Hendrickson,
Luke, p. 819).

If this is so, then what arrogance this guy possesses! When Isaiah was in the very presence of God he feared for his life (Isa. 6). But not this Pharisee. He marches right up totemple, getting as close to the Holy of Holies that he can get and proceeds topray without any inhibitions of his own sinfulness like Isaiah had.

2. Look at who he addresses while praying.

The text reads that he prayed “by himself.” This is from the Greek word proseauton, which normally means to or about oneself. These two Greek words when used together can never mean “by himself” in the sense of “alone.” The imperfect tense of the Greek verb for “praying” when used with the phrase pros eauton gives one of two nuances here, both of which highlight indifferent ways the principal point Jesus is making about the arrogance of the religious leader here.

First, it could mean that he “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently. Or second, it could mean that he “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral resume, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the second understanding seems preferable. Therefore, if this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than aformality (from The NET Bible, p. 1861, n. 16).

One pastor went on to point out that, “outwardly he addresses God, for he says, ‘O God.’ But inwardly and actually the man is talking about himself to himself…Moreover, having mentioned God once, he never refers to him again. Throughout his prayer the Pharisee is congratulating himself.” (Hendrickson, Luke, p. 819). His prayer starts out as thankgiving to God, but the prayer ends up not being about God but about himself.

3. Look at what he doesn't say in his prayer.

If you’ll notice, there’s no confession of sin...anywhere. There is no mentionthat he has done anything wrong. There is no asking of forgiveness. Thereis no sense of guilt. “Now if he had any sense of the divine presence, wouldhe not also have had a sense of guilt? See Isa. 6:1-5; Luke 5:8” (Hendrickson, p. 819). This is the surest sign of a Pharisee in my book. Anyone who does not acknowledge that they are a sinner or that they sin isself-deceived, as John taught in 1 John 1.

4. Look at who he compares himself to.

Moving further, you’ll notice that the Pharisee compares himself not to other godly Jewish leaders like Samuel or Simeon in Luke 2:25-32. Rather, he compares himself with those of a bad reputation. It is always easy to think well of yourself because there is always someone who behaves worse than you do!

But is this really the best standard of judgment? The mark of a Christ-righteous person is one who compares himself to God first and then to other Christians, always thinking of himself as lower than they, and acting like it also. Pharisee ends up looking over while praying andprobably spotting the publican, which is why he probably ends his prayernaming tax-collectors and talking about money.

5. Look at what he says in his prayer.

In verse 12 you’ll notice that the Pharisee congratulates himself on hisfastidious and strict ceremonial lifestyle with regard to fasting and giving. Now, it seems the two facets of life with which Pharisees held to suchrigorous rituals was eating and tithing. They treated every single meal they ate as an official ceremonial ritual feast. So it is not surprising to find Jesus addressing these two issues in His parable.

The Pharisee's fasting: the normal fast was refraining from food and drink for 24 hours, from sundown to sundown. It was often accompanied by refraining from sex and from wearing leathershoes. (Dictionary of Judaism, Neusner, “fasting” on p. 224). Jews only required to fast once a year according to Leviticus 16:29. This Pharisee fasts twice a week. Probably on a Monday and Thursday, which just so happened to be the very same days in which most people would go to the market to shop! Any coincidence there? Absolutely not. Jesus told us in Matthew 6 that the Pharisees pray and fast for one purpose: to be seen by other people.
The Pharisee's giving: Jews required to tithe only certain kinds of income. He tithed from all of his income, including vegetables, fruits, and yes, even herbs and spices. (See Deut. 14:22,23; Luke11:42) Some went so far as to not even eat with other non-Pharisees for fear that they might be eating from food that had not been tithed (Edersheim, Life and Times, 2:291) James Hastings (Dictionary of Christ and Gospels, 2:356) writes, “In Luke 18:12 [Jesus] illustrates how compliance with external requirements,especially when these are exceeded, as in the case of the Pharisees, and dissociated from the corresponding state of heart,breeds a culpable and overwhelming self-righteousness.”

So here we go again with the crucial questions. What is it in your Christian life that you value so dearly? Is it how much you give? Is it how you pray? Is it what you pray? Is it the way you parent your children? Is it the version of the Bible you use? Is it your schooling preferences? Is it your denomination? Is it your denominational distinctives? Is it your theological system?

Summary of the Pharisee in this Story

The bottom line here is that the Pharisee’s prayer was all about himself. As I said before it was nothing but a congratulatory speech on what he loved most about himself. And while we may not go around talking or praying like this, we do think like this, don’t we? We do congratulate ourselves on who we are and what we have accomplished in life. We thank God for the blessings He has given us and then we thank Him that we are not like “so and so” who does this and that.

The Pharisee's prayer acknowledged no sinfulness. It shows no understanding whatsoever of the fact that he even sins at all, much less a proper view of his own righteousness. If he did refer to his "sin" it would surely be with the terms “mistake” or “accident” or the like. But never would he view his sin with the utmost wretchedness as God views it. And there is the narrow gatethrough which the Pharisee is unwilling to enter, and through few human beings, for that matter, are willing to enter. How many people truly feel the brunt of guilt as they should for the sins they commit? How many truly sense the condition of absolute poverty they are in clothed with their own righteousness?

How do you know if you are acting like this Pharisee? You’ll know it when you talk or think just like he does in verse 11. You’ll know you’re acting like a Pharisee or perhaps are a Pharisee when you say or think, “I’m glad I’m not like other men.” This is the manifestation of contempt for others.

When you say to yourself that you’re glad you’re not like them for whatever reason,you are acting like a Pharisee. Perhaps you’ve even said at some point in this post, "I’m glad I’m not like that Pharisee in Luke 18!" If so, then you are probably that Pharisee!

The challenge to you and I is simply this: examine your life to see whether or not you have truly met the Lord Jesus Christ because if you have, you would talk more like the tax-collector than the Pharisee.

Which one are you at this very moment? Since all of us act like the Pharisee from time to time, perhaps your resolution this morning is to put him to death within your heart – resolving only to think of yourselves and others as sinners saved by grace, as saying“there, but for the grace of God, would I have gone.”

In the next post: You are pursuing the humility of the gospel when you exalt in the mercy of God and humble yourself (Luke 18:13-14).

condemnation

Pursuing the HUMILITY of the Gospel: Part 1

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Part One:

You Are NOT Pursuing the Humility of the Gospel if You Exalt in Yourself and Reject Christ's Righteousness

Take a look at the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-12. Then ask two important questions about yourself.

Question #1: Do you trust in your own righteousness?

Look at verse 9 carefully. The word “trust” here is the perfect tense form of the Greek word peitho, which simply means “to be persuaded of, to seek favor or approval from, to reassure, to rely on, have confidence in, to be confident or sure.” One dictionary defines as “to be induced to believe” (Thayer).

Key cross references are found back in Philippians 3:3,4 where this word, peitho, is used twice. First in verse3, Paul says, “we should put no confidence in the flesh.” This is what the Judaizers did and what Paul rebuked. This is what the Pharisee in Luke 18 is doing. We see him putting confidence in who he is and what he has accomplished.

This same form of the Greek word in Luke 18:9 is also used in Philippians1:25 where it means to be convinced of something. In Acts 5:39 another form (the aorist) of this word is used to mean “taking advice from.” In Acts13:43 another form (the imperfect) is translated as “urge”, and again in 27:11 it is translated as “listen.”

The present tense form of peitho is translated in Rom. 2:8 (see also Gal. 5:7) as refusing to obey the truth. This is especially fitting since Jews are subject.Now plug these into the statement, “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous” as Luke writes in 18:9.

In short, there were many, the chief of whom were Pharisees, who were convinced of their own righteousness before God. They listened to themselves and to their fellow Pharisees, men of their own “stripe”, who affirmed them. They were fully convinced and persuaded that they were okay with God. This is what is so sad. It is impossible to change the mind of someone who only listens to themselves or to those with whom they agree.

Luke goes on to write that they “trusted in themselves that they were righteous…” The Greek word for “righteous” is the word dikaios. It means conforming to the standard, will or character of God; upright, good, just, innocent, faultless, guiltless, to be in a right relationship with God. To be approved or acceptable to God. It means to be in accordance with what God requires. Thayer writes,

“of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves on their virtues, whether real or imaginary…preeminently, of himwhose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in heart or life…”

These things are what the Pharisee believed about himself. Let me put it into perspective for you in terms of the Pharisees of today. This is most noticeable in people today who call themselves Christians and act and think as if they do nothing wrong.

When trying to confront them about wrongdoing, they explain it away, rationalize it or excuse it or blameshift.
They show no sign or reflect in no way that they actually think about what they have done wrong or that they think at all with respect to them doing wrong.
There’s no self-examination, no questioning of self, no apologies,confessions, asking of forgiveness, etc.
When a standard of behavior is held up to them, they change the standard, twist it to fit their misbehavior, or virtually ignore it yet all the while still clinging to the thought that they are Christians.

Now ask yourself, “Am I thoroughly aware of and completely convinced of my unrighteousness before God? Or do I excuse myself when I do what is wrong? Do I rationalize it away when I am confronted with something I’ve done wrong? Do I look down on others because I don’t think they are as godly as I am?

Do I think less of others because they don’t do what I think they should do? Do I always act in completely conformity to God’s will? Do I try to pretend like I am always in conformity to God’s will? Do I try to hide my failures and sins and mistakes from others so they won’t think less of me? Am I completely honest with God about how sinful I really am? Do I really view myself as sinful as God does? These are hugely important questions to ask yourself.

Question #2: Do You Look Down on Others Who are not as Spiritual as You Think You Are?

Look at verse 9 once more. Notice there that the Pharisee is Jesus’ primeexample of those who not only trust in themselves, in their ownrighteousness, but also treat others with contempt. This Greek word is exoutheneo, which means to treat as nothing; to despise and count something as of no value or worthless; to reject or cast aside.

Is this how you view others, friend? Is this how you treat your spouse? Your children? Your neighbors? Your co-workers? Your employees?

Do you compare yourself to others and then think little of them because they do not believe what you believe, go to church where you do, read the kind of books you read, spend their money the way you think a person should, drive the kind of cars you think they ought, live in the kind of houses you think Christians ought to live in, discipline their children the same way you do, etc.?

It is so easy to allow our opinions and estimations of others be lessened and lowered bit by bit because they don’t “measure” up to the way we do things? It is easy to look down on others, not thinking of them as spiritual as ourselves. This is the number one cause of church splits and fights – it is all about judging one another. We see the Pharisee doing it in Luke 18, we’veseen it happen here in recent weeks, and we will continue to see it unless we kill the Pharisee within us. We must put to death the hypocrisy, childishness,pettiness, and self-righteousness and look only to Jesus Christ and the righteousness He offers.

In the next post: Three Reasons Why Jesus Chose a Pharisee for His Parable.

Christ's righteousness

Pursuing the HUMILITY of the Gospel: Introduction

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Introduction

The gospel means good news. It is good news because there is bad news. The bad news is that there is a righteous God whose holy standard for allhumans is perfection. Period. And that's bad for humans because none of them are perfect. And none of them will ever be perfect. Except for one.

His name is Jesus Christ. He was a human being like all of us at one time.Now He's a glorified human being in heaven. But He is also God. And that's good news for humans because Jesus Christ is perfect.

The reason that'sgood news for humans is because God offers His holy standard of perfection and righteousness in Jesus Christ to all humans as their substitute. If they choose Jesus Christ as their substitute righteousness, they have believed the good news. If they reject Jesus Christ and embrace their own righteousness,they embrace the bad news...whether they like it or not.

Rejecting your own righteousness and accepting Jesus Christ's is called humility. And when you're humble, you're made right with God. This is what it means for a person to be justified by God. You're made right with God because of Jesus' righteousness. Rejecting Christ's righteousness in favor of your own is called pride. And when you're prideful, you're an enemy of God. This is what it means for aperson to be justified by yourself. You're an enemy of God because of yourself-righteousness.

The walk of every Christian should be to pursue the humility of the gospel. That means we run as fast as we can, as often as we can, for as long as we can after a humility that makes us celebrate the substitute righteousness God has given to us in Jesus Christ. We've happily made up our minds to pursuerest in God's justification of us, rather than a never-ending, wearying effort of trying to justify ourselves. Using the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14 about the Tax-Collector and the Pharisee, I want this series to paint a picture of this part of the Christian's pursuit of the gospel.

Let me start by first explaining what a parable is. It's a story meant to convey a main point. In a parable the details are just part of the story, and are not meant to be a point for point comparison to something else. That's called an allegory.Parables are not allegories. That's important to remember so that you don't get caught up in spiritualizing all the details in the story. They're important,but only for fleshing out the story. With that said, we start in verse 9 of Luke 18 where Luke tells us that Jesus told the parable to a specific group of people. The New International Version gives this reading, that Jesus was telling the parable, "to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else." The New American Standard says Jesus was talking, "to certain ones wh trusted themselves thatthey were righteous, and viewed others with contempt."

So right off the bat then, this parable is about one thing: a self-righteousness, or self-justificationthat is exclusive. It's about self-righteous people who view themselves aselite and erudite. Now this brings me to the two goals I want to accomplish in this series.

The first has to do with you personally. I want to challenge you personally to examine your own heart and life to see whether or not you measure yourself by what others are doing and what you are not doing. I want to challenge you to see if you meausre your family by what yours is doing and what other families are not doing. I want you to check yourself and see if you are measuring your church by what you're doing and what others are not doing.

This is extremely important because if you continue to measure your own righteousness by others rather than by God’s, you are in for a heap of trouble in this life and in the next. But if you measure your self, your family and your church and everything else that is important to you, by the only standard in life which is God’s righteousness, then you are in good shape for the rest of this life and the next.

The second goal I want to accomplish this morning has to do with the corporate body of Christ, and specifically our local churches. I want to challenge local bodies of believers with the application of God’s righteousness to us all. You see, if we all establish God’s righteousness in our hearts and minds as the only standard by which we condemn or affirm others’ actions and words, then we will experience deeper fellowship between ourselves.

There will be an immensely deep fellowship because we will judge each other by the standard of righteousness which holds the atonement and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ as of primary importance. When we judge each other by each other, we kill our churches. But when we judge each other by God’s standard in Christ Jesus we will constantly breathe new and fresh air into our local church bodies which will cause them to explode both in depth and in numbers.

In the next post: You are NOT pursuing the humility of the gospel if you exalt in yourself and reject Christ's righteousness (Luke 18:9-12)

charity

Our Mission and Vision

Thursday, December 31, 2009

boxing

Handling Other People with the Gospel of Jesus - Part Two

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Too many Christian relationships enter the boxing ring. And it's usually over something petty, like a misunderstanding, a misperception...or just a plain ole' mistake. I don't know why many Christians, particularly in America, are so touchy and sensitive. I don't know why I, specifically, used to be this way. Perhaps it's pride...whispering in the ear of my heart...

"pssst...hey Rob, what do you think he meant by that? What was he really trying to say? Sounded to me like he was implying that you........."

You know how it goes. You've been there too, haven't you? And what happens next? That's right...we put on the Holy Spirit boxing gloves and get ready to "thow down," as they say here in the hood.

Our church plant got started this way, with well-meaning Christians disagreeing over normal stuff. But their disagreements went too far to the point where they were in serious conflict with one another. Each person seemed to have on a pair of Christian boxing gloves, going at it with each other...everyone professing to be motivated by the glory of God.

While meeting together with this small group two years ago, we blew through the breakfast and lunch buffet of the local Shoney's discussing how the gospel drives our relationships. I shared with the group that day what was a rather startling yet obvious teaching: gospel-driven Christians wear the gloves of forgiveness and forbearance. Forgiveness is like a work-glove, and forbearance like a velvet-glove. And that brings me to the second means of how to handle other people with the gospel of Jesus in this post.

2. Use the Two Gloves of Forgiveness and Forbearance

As I just stated, the gospel glove of forgiveness is like a work-glove. It is rough and tough. It is caloused. It can handle anything, take anything, receive anything. Forgiveness is that leather palm that covers the heart protecting it from resentment, bitterness, and malice. When the Christian is wearing this, he can handle even the most prickly and barbed person around. Paul ended the fourth chapter of Ephesians this way.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

The other glove is a velvet glove. It is the gospel glove of forbearance. It is tender and soft with those who are different from us...those we normally reserve adjectives like "strange" and "wierd" for. But they're just different...from us. Normally it's things like personality conflicts that get in the way in these cases. Other people just rub us the wrong way. And with these folks, we must handle them gently, humbly, and patiently. Here's the way Paul began this same chapter.

1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Someone might easily mistake that the gloves ought to be reversed...that the gospel glove of forbearance is like the work-glove, and forgiveness like the velvet glove. Though that is normally how we see it, that's not the way of the cross.

Forbearance is not rough and tough, simply "putting up" with somebody cause we have to. And forgiveness is not smooth and soft because that would deny the intense pains and hurts we cause each other in our relationships.

No, the Christian must forbear patiently with gentleness, and forgive each other with diligent hard work. That's the real work of Christian unity. And that's why Paul began the statement in Eph. 4:3 with the Greek word, spoudazo, which means "to spare no effort, to hold nothing back." Unity is something every Christian must give their all to...all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. And that unity is obtained and maintained by forgiving each others' sins, and by forbearing with each others' differences.

1 corinthians 15

Handling Other People with the Gospel of Jesus - Part 1

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Whether it's our kids, our wife or husband, our neighbors, fellow workers, church members, etc. we're always going to be dealing with other people. We interact with them every day, even if we don't speak to them. Life has always contained the ripple effects that occur in the daily habit of bumping into each other: that single interaction or interchange, no matter what size, shape, flavor, or color, will have some sort of impact on both of us, for the better or for the worse.

So how's a Christian supposed to handle other people? Especially when those other people have so many problems! "I mean, come on! What's wrong with them! If they'd just watch us a little more closely (but not too closely, cause then you're in my personal space), they'd probably see how to get it right!" If you're giving a hearty "amen" to that statement, then here's how you can help those other people who so badly need it.

1. Keep a mirror in front of yourself at all times.

Remember the tax collector and the pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). It appears, "Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else" (v. 9, NLT). Pay careful attention to what Jesus taught here. The tax collector had a spiritual mirror in front of him...the pharisee did not.
Remember Paul's testimony. 3x in Acts he referred to himself as the persecutor of the church. 3x in his letters he refers to himself with increasing degredation in light of who he was before Jesus met him (and who he would have been if Jesus hadn't have met him). Trace your own spiritual journey and see how it measures up to that of Paul's in 1 Corinthians 15:9, Ephesians 3:8, 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (focusing on verse 15).
Get the telephone pole out of your own eye before attempting to get the speck of dust out of the other person's eye. Jesus taught this to us in Matthew 7:1-5. This means that Jesus wants you to view your problem as bigger and more important than the other person's problem. And if you do this, then your hands will be splintered with the pain and suffering of repenting from your own sins when you go to help someone else repent from theirs.

Do the Word of God rather than just reading it. James teaches us to do this in 1:22 of his letter. No one respects or listens to a person who doesn't practice what they preach. That was the problem with the Pharisees in Jesus day (Matt. 23:3).

I think you see the key here, don't you? It's called humility. I sin just as much as the other person does.

Here's an exercise toward this goal of getting humility.

1. Write out your perspective of the other person's sin problem and why they are the way they are.

2. Then for each point you list about that person, write a comparative statement about yourself, making comparisons with the same analyses and perspectives about yourself whether present or past sin issues in your own life.

The point is compare how you are and what you've done to what they've done. Do you see the same sin issues in your life? Right now? Recently?

Oh...and here's some more homework. Take two and call me in the morning. This series of two messages changed my life, my marriage, my parenting, my thinking, my perspective...basically everything. Download and listen to "The Surgeon, the Scalpel, the Saint in Sin" by Dave Harvey.

Until next post, keep the mirror in front of your face.

confession

Reflections of Gospel-Driven Repentance: Whose in Control?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

While in the discovery process of a person's repentance, a key area to focus on is the status of the pride in the fallen brother or sister's heart. Everybody has some operating in their hearts. It's really inescapable since we are born in sin. That fact alone means it's woven into the very fabric of our soul.

That said, discovering to what extent it is operating and controlling the person's behavior and thoughts is extremely crucial. And the important thing to remember is not to take any display of pride personal. Reacting to the pride may impede the discovery process, for that means I've forgotten what I'm really after, which is humility. Responding to the pride is the way of wisdom, which uses the display to teach the person that humility has not quite had enough work in the heart.
A major way in which pride shows itself in the behavior of the fallen Christian is a desire to control the process or the outcome. If I had to name the single most significant impediment to the restoration process, especially in cases where men have sinned sexually, it is the desire to maintain some control over the process, whether great or small. In most cases, they are just not willing to do whatever is asked of them...unless they have been able to bargain in some way with those expectations.

When key questions are asked and there is resistance to answering with adequate or complete detail and explanation, they are in control.

When questions are asked about what needs to be given up or surrendered in order to fully give oneself over to true repentance and restoration, and the person exhibits ambivalence and non-compliance, they are maintaining control of the situation.

When he or she bristles or squirms at reasonable and wise requests that are made, they are holding on to control.

If such a person was in a position of leadership, the way they accept their removal will reveal whether or not they desire to maintain some control.

But when a person realizes their sin, sees it the way God does, feels the burden and gravity of its consequences, and is in agony over the fall, he or she will hardly ever resist any requests.

If they are truly broken they will place themselves in a position to be humbled, and realize that they really have no right to ask anything of anyone. Such humility will accept any help, counsel, or wisdom that is given.

Such a person truly has a divine view of their sin when they genuinely expect nothing and desperately accept everything.

The most practical thing I can do in a situation where a brother or sister has fallen is to help them see the necessity of restructuring their life for change, and then to help them see that they must actually do it. They are two different things, and they can be very difficult things to work through...but not when gospel-driven repentance is at work in the soul.

In almost every case, the person's life-structure created a context where they could sin and get away with it. That structure needs to change when the sin is revealed, and that change will often mean great discomfort. Reacting to it means there is yet more work to be done by God in the heart, first. Responding to it means hopeful but watchful progress. The heart is so desperately wicked and deceitful here.

Generally, one who is desperate for change does not display resistance to change. They are so overcome by the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual effects of their sin that they are willing to do almost anything that is asked of them. In some situations, however, a person's reluctance may indicate genuine confusion of the why (why do I have to do this?) and the what (what is it again you think I should do?).

But don't quickly conclude that the genuine confusion is not genuine pride, working to deceive themselves and you into thinking they are not really resistant when in fact they are. Confusion and pride are hard to differentiate in discussion, but are generally identified quite readily when consequences are communicated, expectations are explained, and decisions are made.

On the whole, the goal is for those who are restoring to feel a humble and wholehearted compliance from those who have fallen. Anything less is most likely flowing out of pride that has not yet been completely dealt with by the mere revelation and confession of the sin. Thus a reflection of gospel-driven repentance is, once again, this visible, tangible, and humble display of the kind of sorrow that is in utter agony over the sin, and has a sense of utter desperation to make things right, restore fellowship, and sometimes to simply breath.

Back to Series Listing

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 3

Pursuing the Humility of the Gospel: Part 2

Pursuing the HUMILITY of the Gospel: Part 1

Pursuing the HUMILITY of the Gospel: Introduction

Our Mission and Vision

Handling Other People with the Gospel of Jesus - Part Two

Handling Other People with the Gospel of Jesus - Part 1

Reflections of Gospel-Driven Repentance: Whose in Control?

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