Sanctification and Holiness
1 Thessalonians 4:3

This is Paul’s call to holiness for the believers. It’s important to notice that, up until this point, there is not really any other thing that he spotlights so bluntly. Up until this point, he’s been very elegant, almost poetic at times, not so with this topic. It’s important to notice that fact, because it’s important to understand the dire need for this in our walk. Peter exhorts us that “we have spent enough of our past lifetimes in doing the will of the Gentiles; when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and idolatry.” (1 Peter 4:3). John tells us that “if we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:6). In Hebrews, we are warned to “pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which none shall see God.” (Hebrews 12:14). Paul admonishes Timothy to not “share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure.” (1 Timothy 5:22). See, it’s this idea that all throughout Scripture, especially in the New Testament, we see this consummate calling to holiness for the people of God. See, it’s such a popular thought to consider a doctrine called “imputed righteousness,” which is the idea that we ourselves are not able to become righteous, but rather are considered righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice, thus we should never do anything to be made righteous. Yet, look at some of these passages, if we walk in darkness, we do not PRACTICE truth. Without holiness, none shall see God. KEEP yourself pure. These are all actions on our behalf. The very means of describing our faith is to WALK with God, a verb. Jesus commands us to FOLLOW Him. It is not our deeds that makes us worthy of entrance to the kingdom, however, it is our deeds which display the faith that is required for that entrance. It is by our fruits that we know that we are walking in the true faith. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves. When the rich young ruler asked Him how to be saved, He first answered to keep the commandments, which the young man said he had done. Then He tells him to sell all that he has. It’s this idea that, to follow Jesus means that there are works and commandments that we must obey. To die is an action, and to die to ourselves is an action that we don’t like, so we do whatever form of theological contortion we must to explain away the command, but it’s there no matter how wisely we think we can erase it.

There’s an expression that I’ve heard that I absolutely love. “God loves you enough to take you just the way you are; and too much to allow you to stay that way.” And, that’s kind of this image that Paul is presenting to us here. Think about to whom this letter is addressed. This isn’t some random church down the street with a decent band that he’s never met and doesn’t know anything about. No, rather, this is the church that the word has spread all throughout the land. It’s a church where, from city to city, people are raving about their faithfulness. People are constantly talking about how they’ve endured persecution, how strong their faith is, how much they believe, and how great their love is. And Paul has affirmed each of these statements to be true. They are like the model church. But, in spite of all of that, he wants to make sure to stress to them the importance of their sanctification, of their holiness, “without which no one will see the Lord.” See, it’s this idea that Paul wasn’t convinced that, just because they were believers. and just because they had faith and went to services, that they were “covered.” He wasn’t concerned about their faith and if they believed or not, because he knew that they did. No, he knew that in spite of their faith, their belief, that “you believe God is one, you do well. The demons believe and tremble.” (James 2:19). JC Ryle admonishes us that “The union with God which produces no effect on the heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. The faith which has not a sanctifying influence on the character is no better than the faith of devils.” See, as any father with their children, Paul didn’t want them to strive for the bare minimums, but rather to be able to be assured of their salvation. In the Book of Hebrews, we read that “it is impossible for those who have tasted the heavenly gift and become partakers of the Holy Spirit; if they fall away to again renew them to repentance.” (Hebrews 6:4-6) and again “if we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment.” (Hebrews 10:26-27). Peter teaches us that “judgment begins at the house of God.” (1 Peter 4:17).

See, we like to think that everything is fine. We like to think that we go to church and say His name, acknowledging that Jesus is God. And we like to think that, because of that, we’re “saved.” And we’ve had generations and generations of teachers, priests and pastors, who have proclaimed this; as though we’re safe just because we’re in the church. Jeremiah admonishes us, however, “do not entrust yourself to lying words, for they will not profit you when you say, ‘this is the temple of the Lord.'” (Jeremiah 7:3). See, the priests in Jeremiah’s day were teaching people that the Lord would never destroy His own temple, thus the people were safe so long as they were in it. The Lord goes on to say of His nation, His own holy people, “falsehood, not faith, prevails in the land. For thye went from evil to evil and have not known Me.” (Jeremiah 9:2). Our generation has been taught, and thus teaches, that all of the commands, all of the expectations, all of our personal responsibility, was “nailed to the cross,” and yet, in the Epistles even, we see otherwise. We’ve been taught that there is no wrath, no judgment to come, for those of us who “intellectually acknowledge” that Christ is God, and because of that, multitudes walk away from a service on a Sunday morning “feeling good.” Through the Prophet Ezekiel, we see the Lord’s warning concerning this very topic, “I shall stretch out My hand against the prophets who see lies and utter worthless things…they have deceived My people saying ‘peace, peace,’ and there is no peace.” (Ezekiel 13:9-10). And, isn’t that sort of our culture? “God made you that way, He would never judge you for it,” or “all roads lead to heaven,” or “God’s will for you is that you be happy, healthy, and prosperous,” or even, “God is a God of love, and in Him there’s no room for judgment, just be yourself.” Ultimately, it becomes this idea that Bonhoeffer wrote about when he describes “cheap grace,” it becomes “Christianity without the cross.” We create a God that allows us to seek after ourselves instead of Him, and that God isn’t the God in the Holy Scripture, it’s an idol that makes us the one whom we are truly worshipping. We need to be honest with ourselves, when we pray, we pray “Your will be done.” What does the rest of our prayer look like? Are we truly praying for His will to be done? Or, do we spend 20 minutes or so focused on our will and then sort of pay lip service to Him by casually making the statement, your will be done?

Paul exhorts the believers here to holiness, to sanctification, because he understands the temptation to practice this easy, workless/worthless faith. He understands the temptation to give in to sin, to “continue in sin that grace may abound.” (Romans 6:1). He understands that it is easier to sit and twist Scripture to grant free license to sin than to strive for this holiness that Jesus and all of the apostles admonished believers must be the guiding force in our lives. And, he understands the desire within each of us to justify that teaching. As he admonished Timothy, “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN DESIRES, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This is exactly what we have done. We have removed the demands of the Lord that teach us the importance of denying ourselves, and the judgment to come if we ignore that warning. When we teach justification in absentia of sanctification, we create this easy-believist theology where there is no accountability, no sanctification, no obedience, no holiness…this theology where God was our Creator and everything else is our decision. Should we be holy? “Sure, but we don’t have to be.” Should we deny ourselves? “Sure, but it’s not necessary for salvation.” And, regretfully, that ideology is unbiblical. In Scripture, we find the exact opposite. We find a theology that states that grace is a gift freely given, but we must receive this gift, and we receive that gift through “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you.”

“Every Christian should find within himself the imperative and incentive to become holy. If you live without struggle and without hope of becoming holy, then you are Christians in name only and not in essence. But, without holiness, no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). It is a trustworthy saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), but we deceive ourselves if we think that we are saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves sinners by giving them the means to become saints.” (Philaret of Moscow, Sermon, September 23, 1847).

May the grace of the Lord be with you all, my beloved family.

 

In Scripture, we see that the people of God are called the Church. In our culture, we’ve allowed the building to become the Church. Have you ever consideredwhat that means? That means that we have created a mentality where we can leave God behind. We can shove Him into a box, this building, and leave Him there until the next time we go “to Church.”

It’s a trick of the world to consider the building the Church instead of the people. It allows the world to convince many of us that we are free to worship on Sundays however we choose, but that we should never allow our convictions to shape our life. The true measure of your faith is not in your attendance of this service or that one on Sundays, but rather your steadfastness in living your faith outside of the body of believers. Surrounded by the Body of Christ, it’s easy to avoid temptation, but we must evaluate how strongly we rely on the Holy Spirit to resist the temptations that the world, the enemy, and even our very hearts throw against us when we are amongst the world.

I would never say anything against the necessity of being around the people of God, it is through our fellowship with one another that we grow and mature in our faith. However, we should never consider ourselves to be growing in holiness until we consider this fact; are we resisting temptation or merely avoiding it? Sadly, we tend to trap ourselves in this same box, never allowing our might to shine amongst those who do not walk in the faith.

Our “freedom of religion” has become our largest impedance. In allowing us to worship however we want, the world has actually been allowed to force or faith into a box. A neatly sealed, rarely opened, box. And our faith, much like our best closeted clothing, only sees use once a week.

Hollywood celebrities can feign sexual acts and use profanity before our children on public television, sin can be openly promoted, and yet a young child can’t give thanks to God before they eat their lunch in a public school, for fear that someone may be offended. This is the freedom that we celebrate.

We must remove God from this box and allow the Holy Spirit to move in us with boldness, never quenching the Spirit by submitting to the world.

“‘Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29-31).

Remember, my beloved family, wherever we are, whatever building we are in, we are the Church. Never allow the world to convince you that the teachings of the Church are to be limited to a single day, to a single location. We are the Church on Saturday night, Wednesday afternoon; at work, at home, or during the liturgy.

May God go with you, strengthening you and filling you with His boldness, to live according to His will at all times, my beloved family.

On the Command to Holiness
Study on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

In true Pauline fashion, the apostle “brings it all back home” for the believers in Thessalonica. See, he has spent over half of his epistle thus far praising and building up the believers, commending them for their faith and their love, for their steadfastness in the face of the endless persecution that they are facing. Now, however, having dealt with the immediate purpose of his writing, he moves on to doctrinal issues which he recognizes must always be addressed. And, in doing so, the letter begins to take a completely different tone.

See, Paul recognizes the importance of building up his beloved children in the faith. He recognizes that you can’t just constantly pound someone with doctrine and warnings. It’s unloving. Could you imagine the relationship you’d have with your child if the only time you ever spoke to them was to yell at them? And yet, in parenting, there are times when you must do exactly that and not be afraid to do so. But, to exclusively yell and warn and punish would be tantamount to child abuse, you must also encourage and build up and seek a relationship with them. And that’s kind of where Paul is at this point in his letter to this body of believers. He has taken the time to encourage them, to build them up, but he also recognizes something that I think we oftentimes forget in lifting one another up, it’s very easy in doing so to build a foundation of prideful self-reliance. It’s so easy to praise someone so much that they forget that it is God who is working through them, and they begin to think that it is their own strength and ability that allows them to do the very things that we are praising them for. In the ultimate divine irony, praising someone for their faith in God can be the very step that causes them to stumble. In doing this, we tend not only to shift our focus away from God Himself, but also away from the things of God, things like the constant demand for holiness in our lives.

Paul here “calls them back” by reminding them that, “you’ve remained steadfast in your faith, your love is evident, but let us not forsake personal conduct as well.” His actual wording is, “just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.” See, he is reminding them that their faith is to be evident in all areas of their lives, it should be their very governing thought concerning their behavior. It should manifest itself in their lives in all aspects of their lives; not only in their worship and love, but also in their conduct amongst the unbelievers. John reminds us that “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:6) and that “he who says he abides in Him ought to himself walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:6). See, it’s this whole idea that, yes we must endure suffering; yes, we must believe in Him; and yes, we must love one another; but there’s a lot more to it than just those three things. When we’re walking with the Lord, pleasing to Him, there are a lot of other things that He commands of His followers in His word, as well as a multitude of things that we are commanded to abstain from. Jesus tells us, “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.” (John 14:21). To know Him is to love His, and to love Him is to obey Him.

There is a trend in our culture today, and by our culture, I don’t mean the world of our generation, I mean our church culture. See, for years, there was this all-encompassing focus on personal holiness and morality. There were preachers, called “fire and brimstone preachers,” who would preach exclusively on sin and punishment, wrath and judgment. And, while those teachings are important, teaching exclusively on those things yields a multitude of problems. As we saw from Paul, it’s very unloving to punish and warn and threaten without edifying and encouraging. Another huge problem with that movement was that it created a very introverted, self-absorbed church. See, when all you hear about is wrath and judgment, then all you care about is making sure that you are right with the Lord, and thus you create this atmosphere of apathy towards those outside the church. You’d find homeless beggars being forsaken by “men of God,” and ultimately, a church so focused on the spiritual that they would utterly neglect the physical needs of others. It was this mentality that “the duty of the church isn’t to feed the poor, it’s to spread the gospel.” When I think about the church that this trend had created, I think of Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7). It’s the church that’s so overwhlemed with doctrine and systematic theology that it forgets to love people. So, you can identify false teachers and apostles; can you feed the starving man outside on the street. Chrysostom said that “I assure you, if you can’t find Christ in the starving man outside the gate, you assuredly will not find Him in the chalice.”

The trend in our current culture, however, has completely shifted that paradigm. In our generation, it’s popular, trendy even, to help the homless, to feed the hungry, to fight against human trafficking; but we’ve become so steadfast and dedicated to those things that we’ve all but forsaken the Lord’s command to be holy. There are certain sinful behaviors that we’re told to abstain from, and yet we’ve fully embraced them, not in the world, but in the church. We’ve gone from Ephesus to Pergamos, compromising with the world. This is the church that says, “we accept everyone; we’re all sinners; God loves you just for who you are.” Read any contemporary Christian publication, and you’ll read about churches raising money, churches building buildings, churches collecting supplies for those in need, all of these great humanitarian causes. But you’ll also read about so many of those same churches allowing adultery, same sex marriage, drunkenness, avarice, covetousnesss, etc. See, so many times in Scripture, we see the warning to turn neither to the right nor the left, but to stay perfectly centered and focused on Christ. And yet, so much of church history is exactly that, turning from one extreme to the other. We combat legalism with antinomianism, we combat loveless doctrine with doctrineless love, we combat works without faith with faith without works. We seem to do everything but what Scripture tells us so many times to do.

This is Paul’s very warning here to the believers. He says, “you have faith, you believe; you have love; and you endure suffering. Now, you have to be mindful to remember the traditions that we have taught you concerning holiness.” See, the Church has long held to the traditions of God in terms of holiness, sin, morality, behavior, and conduct. It is only in the last few centuries that believers have turned away from these traditions, and this to our own detriment. In turning away from the traditions of Church history, we’ve created this system where, basically, anything goes. No behavior is frowned upon, in fact, to insist that the Lord commands certain behaviors has been branded heresy. Considering how many times in Scripture the people of the Lord, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, and the Church in the New Testament, are called to holiness, it seems like something that we should consider. When we think of the warnings that in the end times there will be a great falling away from the Church, with people seeking teachers who will “tickle their ears,” it seems like the mainstream church turning away from 2000 years of tradition would be a frightening thought.

Jesus and all of the apostles taught us that, as Christians, as “little Christ’s,” we are to conduct ourselves as holy, as ones filled with the Holy Spirit, as ones walking in the light. I can’t help but wonder if we should stop decrying Jesus and His disciples as being “unbiblical legalists” and possibly start studying what each of them says about what it looks like to walk in the faith. Our Lord Christ Jesus Himself teaches us that “a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, neither can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 7:18-19). When we look at our lives, what kind of fruit do we see coming forth from it? Not in human terms, but in terms of Jesus’ commands for our lives. We must be mindful to maintain the “commands given us through Christ Jesus our Lord” and the teachings of His apostles. When we look at our lives, do we see a focus on sanctification, on holiness? Do we see ourselves being conformed to the image of Jesus? Or do we see ourselves living as we wish to live, occasionally twisting a random verse to justify our actions.

We must remember, my brethern, that the enemy has been doing this a long time. He knows Scripture better than any of us ever will, and he knows what we want it to say versus what it actually says. Jesus teaches us to deny ourselves, thus any command out of Scripture that is too comfortable ought to be cause for warning. Any teaching that allows us to continue in sin is a teaching of the devil, because so much of Scripture, including the teachings of Jesus Himself, deny that right to us. But, Satan can be very subtle and very convincing, and we must be on guard against such doctrines. That’s where the fellowship of other believers and the traditions of the Church can be so useful, so that when we are tempted to twist something to mean something other than what it means, others can bring us back to the true meaning. When Scripture admonishes us that it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom, it means it’s hard for the rich to nter the kingdom. When Scripture teaches us to care for the needy and feed the hungry, it means care for the needy and feed the hungry. When Scripture teaches us to remain streadfast in suffering, it means remain steadfast in suffering. And when Scripture warns us to “be holy, as I am holy,” it means, “be holy, as I am holy.” Any teaching that teaches otherwise is not of God, for God will never contradict Himself.

May the grace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

 

Book of Amos 3:4-8

In this passage, through all of the imagery we see contained therein, what we ultimately see is the fact that the Lord has always warned His people of any upcoming judgment. It’s important to notice this because it’s ever important to recognize that the Lord always gives His people the opportunity to repent before He judges, lest His judgment be found unfair. “Will a lion roar from his lair if he has no prey, will a snare be sprung if it has caught nothing.” Each of these are images of the predator seeking prey, but never striking if none is present. If there is no prey, no natural enemies, then the lion would never roar from within it’s lair, neither would a snare be sprung were there nothing within to spring it. So too, the judgment of the Lord will never strike out if there are none who are deserving of it. So, the question then becomes, who would become the prey of the Lord? Who would become His enemy? Through the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear the word of the Lord, “”Cursed is the man who will hear the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers…hear My voice and do all I command you.” (Jeremiah 11:3-4). Jesus further asks us, “Who is My mother and My brothers? Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48,50). See, it’s very much this image that he who would hear and do the will of the Father is the brethern of Christ, thus he who would become an enemy of the Lord is he who would turn away from Him, the one that would walk in his own ways, ignoring the ways of God. We see this all through Scripture, particularly in reference to the nation of Israel. “”The sons of Israel did evil before the Lord” (Judges 6:1), “he did evil before the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and in the sins by which he caused Israel to sin.” (3 Kingdoms 15:25), “all we like sheep have gone astray. Man has gone astray in his way, and the Lord delivered him over for our sins.” (Isaiah 53:6). Compared to Jesus’ words that those who walk in the Lord and obey Him are His brothers and sisters, we see that when we choose our own ways, we make ourselves an enemy of the Lord. Be it straying from His Church, walking in sin, ignoring His commands, whatever the case may be; so often we choose our own ways and make ourselves to be our own lords instead of truly accepting Him as our Lord.

The Lord goes on to say that “if a trumpet has sounded, will not the people be alerted?” See, the Lord will never randomly bring down judgment upon His people, but instead warns us. I think of Noah and the Ark, Noah who spent years building this ark with all of the people’s knowledge of it. I think of the numerous questions that Noah would have endured with people mocking him for his faith in the Lord. I think of Abram, who was told to leave his land, and he obeyed his Lord, but then I think of those who were left behind, those who mocked him for his faith. I think of the numerous prophets who, all throughout the Old Testament, delivered words of warning to the people of God, who were mocked, ignored, punished, tortured for the very message of repentance that they carried forth. I think of the time that Paul spent imprisoned for preaching the gospel of Jesus, and his ultimate execution, and of John the Baptist who also faced imprisonment and execution for offering the warnings of the Lord.

The world has the warnings of the Lord, they just choose not to hear them. I think of our generation, where we deliver constantly the warnings of the Lord to the world and they imprison, mock, persecuted and execute us for those same messages. And yet, we have received the warnings that they choose to ignore, and far too often, we join them in their ignorance. Through His Scripture, through His Prophets, through His very Church of which we are members, He warns us. And how do we respond, but through denial and apathy. On the day of the Lord, He will come as a thief in the night, and yet, on that day none of us can ever say that we weren’t warned. He has given us no date, but an expectation and an admonishment. He admonishes us to “watch therefore, for you do not know what hour the Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42), and elsewhere all throughout Scripture. He has warned us a thousand times over. Jesus’ entire ministry was built upon the very warning to “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And that is always His warning to us. He warns us to “deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him,” and yet so often we refuse to do exactly that. We, in our own wisdom, instead argue and debate what He is truly saying. We assume that His commands could never be for this age, after all, how can we worry about feeding the poor? See, they didn’t have cell phone bills in Biblical times, so it must not be for this generation. Love your neighbor? God, have you ever even met my neighbor? Surely I don’t have to love him…he called the city on me. Obey governing authority? But, look at our government. They legalized this and outlawed that.”

But, there’s a problem with this mentality. God doesn’t make these exceptions. Actually, He does the exact opposite. He challenges us to willingly choose to “pray for your enemies and love those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:14) and takes it even further with this very strong warning, “if you forgive men their trespasses, then your heavenly Father will also forgive your trespasses. But if you do not forgive men their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15). Have you ever truly contemplated that passage? If you aren’t willing to forgive someone who sins against you, then the Father won’t forgive you your sins against Him. That’s a hard message to hear. It’s hard because it goes against our normal response to injustice. If someone hits you, your reaction is to hit back. If someone steals from you, your reaction is to seek restitution and retribution. And Jesus says, “no.” He says that you have to be willing and able to forgive them, to love them, to pray for them.

The Lord concludes this passage in Amos by saying, “the Lord God speaks and who will not prophecy?” It’s important to remember that Amos was neither a prophet, nor the son of a prophet. He was a shepherd, whom the Lord had chosen to call the nation to repentance. He had never gone to seminary, had never trained under the watchful eye of some big-named theologian. He never sold a million copies of a book. He was “unqualified” in the eyes of the prominent scholars of his time, and yet, the Lord Himself qualified him to deliver this message to the nation. There were the scholars and scribes of his time who were being made wealthy from the faith of the nation, and they wished to silence Amos’ message. See, Amos was speaking God’s truth, which is never easy. It’s not the message that draws the most people, so those seeking personal financial gain from the name of God hate when someone comes along and ruins that. The priests and prophets of his time were preaching this easy, popular message that God loves you and would never demand anything of you. This message that there was no judgment, “peace, peace” when there was no peace. Amos comes along with the true message of the Lord, teaching judgment, obedience, true repentance, and it seems to ruin this financially profitable racket that the mega-tabernacle priests had going on.

It’s funny how so few things from Scripture have changed. Jesus warns constantly that to be His follower requires sacrifice, it requires obedience. It will lead to persecution. Jesus warns us that the path that leads to the kingdom is narrow and hard and few will find it. It will always lead to persecution, to pain, to suffering; but that he who endures to the end will be rewarded. So, we always have to ask; is the path that we are following this hard and narrow path? Jesus tells us that we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him. Is that the path that we are on? How often must we deny ourselves on our walk of faith? See, there remain so many who teach that the road to salvation is easy, pray a prayer, acknowledge that Jesus is God, and we are done. Dietriche Bonhoeffer defines cheap grace as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.” And those who teach that brand of “Christianity” will stop at nothing to silence the true word of God.

But the Lord will not be silenced. I’ve often said that the best way to offend people and be branded a heretic would be to read the word of God to people. Not give a sermon on, not exposit away the meaning, just read the word of God and allow that to speak for itself. Stand before a congregation and read some harder passages to hear. Read chapter 14 of the Gospel of John. Read 1 Corinthians chapter 6 to a room full of “Christians” and see how many immediately try to explain away the warnings therein. We must always remember that the message of the Lord will not be silenced, and He has delivered that message to us through the Holy Spirit, through Whom we are able to understand His Holy Scripture. Go before a Church with the name grace in the title and, again, just read James 2. Watch a pastor perform a theological contortion act to explain away the fact that, according to Scripture, faith and works are two halves of a whole, something even CS Lewis affirmed when he taught that faith and works were the equivalent of the two blades on a pair of scissors. Which blade is more important? John tells us that we should no longer love in word or tongue, but in deeds and actions. So, to display our love to someone should lead us unto action. And, if our foremost love is the Lord, then there should be actions befitting the object of our love. Not as a means of acquiring the grace of the Lord, but as a result of it.

We have been warned, by the word of the Lord Himself, and we must choose whether or not we will walk with Him. We are personally responsible for our decision to abide in the Lord or not. The Lord stands at the door knocking, and “if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.” (Revelation 3:20). The grace of God invites all, but compels none, for the Lord seeks sons, not slaves. Cyril of Jerusalem states “It is for God alone to grant His grace, your task is to accept that grace and guard it.” As Athanasius once stated, God does not save us without us. No, we have received His warnings as well as His blessings and we must choose whether or not we will obey them. Will we obey His warnings, or will we go our own way? “A lion shall roar and who will not fear? The Lord God speaks and who shall not prophesy?” As His followers, “Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:28). It is our duty to not only obey the Lord but to spread His teachings throughout the land. To make disciples of all nations. And in proclaiming this Truth, many will try to silence you. Much as each of the prophets, many will try to silence this message. They will try to convince you that you are wrong. They will say “did God really say that? Surely that’s not what He meant.” But allow the word of God to speak for itself, and when those many turn against you, remember the words of our beloved Jesus, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did they speak of the false prophets who came before.” (Luke 6:26). Think about the words of Scripture, think about what the Lord says to us in His word, and then think about your life. If the two don’t line up, then one of the two of them is off track. And be careful not to get so lost in interpretation and wisdom that we miss what is actually said in the Scripture. Jesus says that “whoever believes in Me shall have eternal life” (John 3:16); Jesus also says “whoever believes in Me will do the works that I do.” (John 14:12). Same word “to believe” in the Greek. So, whoever believes in Him and does the works that He does will have eternal life. Paul says “we are saved by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8) and that we are “saved for good works” (Ephesians 2:10), and James says that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Thus, we are saved by grace through a faith that is strong enough to produce good works, and without those good works, one’s faith isn’t true saving faith, thus that faith is dead, since “even the demons belive and tremble.” (James 2:19). We’re not saved through our works, but through faith in our Lord, faith strong enough to produce those works for which we are saved. A faith strong enough to say, “Lord, not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served…and if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15). The choice is ours, and because that choice is ours, so is the responsibility of our convictions ours. If we choose the Lord, then we are liable to abide in the Lord; but if we do not choose the Lord then we are responsible for whatever outcome that leads us to. There is no in-between. Scripture tells us that God will say one of two things to us on the day of the Lord, either “well done, good and faithful servant,” or “depart from Me, I never knew you.” There is no room for the lukewarm in the Kingdom. The words of our Lord, “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33).

May the grace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

 

On the discipline of fasting…
Fasting not only serves to bring the flesh into submission to the spirit, but it also serves to help kindle a feeling of thanksgiving in the heart. The homeless refugee is not said to be fasting though he suffers and wastes away for lack of sustenance. Rather, fasting serves as the reminder of the abundance that we have received from the Lord. “Every good and perfect gift comes from above.” (James 1:17). When we willing deprive ourselves of those gifts, it helps us to remember that they are gifts and from whom they are given. When we refuse to deprive ourselves of them, we have given power to the appetites of the flesh to control us. How often, in our abundance, do we take that very abundance for granted?

I’ve heard children in a store screaming about a particular toy they want. When finally the patent surrenders and agrees to buy that toy, the child oftentimes has chosen something else that they “have to have” before the first purchase is even completed. There is no thankfulness in the pleasure of the first gift because the desires of the flesh, when fed in abundance, can never be sated. So too is it with our fasting. We must bring the flesh into submission to the spirit else it’s desires will be an all consuming flame. As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that He may increase.” Only through bringing the flesh into submission can we truly free ourselves from our bondage to the desires of the flesh.

Do You Believe?

Do you truly believe that the Lord is still able to work miracles? I want you to be honest with yourself and ask yourself this one question. Do you truly, deeply, believe in your heart that a man who has been blind for thirty years could come into your church service, the congregation could pray for him, and he could recover his sight? Truly and deeply, can you bring yourself to believe that this could happen?

See, there was a group in the 4th century Church called the Eunomians, and this group was characterized by many false teachings. The foremost heresy of which they were guilty, however, was that they denied that Jesus was of the same or like nature as the Father, and they denied the Holy Spirit. See, this group, they were blinded by their own pride, so much so that they felt as though anything that couldn’t be explained in human logic was obviously false, and thus they sought to distill all of the mysteries of Scripture out of Scripture and reduce it to only that which could be logically understood. If it didn’t make sense in their human minds, then it was taught that it was false. They would perform these theological contortion acts with the Scriptures to make them fit what they could understand, not only denying the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, but denying literally anything that couldn’t be empirically proven through concrete physical evidence. They denied any of the miracles of Scripture and any supernatural aspect of the faith, by reducing it into formulaic theological systems which could fit into the theological equivalent of the scientific theory.

I pose this question because it’s kind of an extreme version of conservative evangelicalism. See, in our evangelical world, we look at the things that “don’t make sense” and try to explain them away as much as possible. We’ve gone out of our way to destroy the mystery of our religion, removing the Supernatural elements of it, and, in turn, reduced it to a human philosophy rooted in Christian theology. We’ve reduced our very faith to a sort of moralistic humanism, with a list of “do’s and don’t’s.” Christians don’t watch “R” rated movies, Christians don’t get drunk, Christians don’t argue, Christians don’t commit adultery, etc. And, while those moral truths are relevant, is that really all that our faith represents? And unfortunately, that’s all that we seem to believe in. See, I’ve heard teachers, one very prestigious teacher in particular, in our generation say things like “if you want to really see the true power of the Holy Spirit, watch a lost sinner come to repentance.” And, while that is truly a powerful sight to behold, is that really all that the Holy Spirit can do? Is it beyond His power to do anything more than save us and lead us to clean up our own lives?

See, what bothers me is this; there’s a group now called the “cessationists” who have taught that all of the miracles in Scripture have ended. They teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit such as healing, speaking in tongues, and prophecy, ended with the apostolic age. They most often cite the words of the apostle Paul, where he writes, “whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). But, is that really saying that those things will end while we are on earth? At what point in our sordid history has that which is perfect come, bearing in mind that Paul wrote this after the ascent of Jesus back into the Kingdom? No, rather, I challenge that “when all things are perfect have come” alludes to the Christ’s return, when all believers are restored to the Kingdom with the Father. At that point, there is no further need for prophecy, or for tongues, or for knowledge, because all of those things serve to point us to the Father. And once the Father has returned, there would be no need for those things to continue, since “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is King.” At that point, there would no longer be the need for people to prophecy about the coming, or to speak in tongues concerning the Father, or even for people to increase in their knowledge of the Father, because on that day we will be standing in His presence, communing with Him personally. But, until that day, each of those things are not only important, but vital.

See, Paul wrote that in his first letter to the Corinthians, and yet in the second letter to the Corinthians, he writes about this spiritual warfare in which we are entangled. In his letter to the Thessalonians, he warns us, “do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20). In the Book of Romans, he exhorts that, “having gifts differing according to the grace given us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophecy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching…” (Romans 12:6-7). James tells us that “if any among you is sick, bring them before the elders that they may pray over them, and the prayer of faith will heal them.” (James 5:14-15). All through the Scripture, we see the apostles, after the crucifixion and ascension of Jesus, performing miracles, healing the sick, raising the dead, including Paul, who was not one of the 12 who had originally been given the power to do those things in the Gospel (Matthew 10:1, Luke 9:1). See, those claiming that these gifts, these signs and wonders, ceased with the apostolic age, then hit the obstacle of determining when exactly that age ended. Some claim the apostles were the original twelve, others feel the need to add Matthias and Paul, some would claim that the apostles chose their own successors. I think of Polycarp, who was to John as Timothy was to Paul, who would therefore be a successor to the title which John and Paul trained them up to be. Further, if those signs and wonders ended with the original twelve, then there would be no further miracles worked beyond their demise, and yet, again, the martyrdom of Polycarp seems contradictory to that statement. He was placed on a stake and the fires lit to burn him, and yet, the Lord would not allow the flames to touch him, thus he was stabbed at the stake with the flames burning around him like a loaf of bread within an oven, in much the same manner as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.

See, when I read the Scripture, I believe everything that it says. It is the very foundation through which we can know the will of God. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (James 5:17), and yet, he was able to summon fire from the heavens. Was it his own power that allowed him to do that? No, it was the power of the Holy Spirit working through Him. The Holy Spirit is one third of the Trinity, making Him God the Spirit, and Scripture tells us that God doesn’t change. So, to claim that the Holy Spirit has changed would be to deny the divinity of the Spirit. But, if we accept that He is divine, that He is part of the Trinity, then everything written about the Lord is applied to that third of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Thus, if it was the power of the Holy Spirit working through him that allowed that to happen, and that same Spirit, who never changes, dwells within each of us, then why would we think that He no longer performs those miracles? Why would we ever conceive that His power is now limited to helping an alcoholic quit drinking or a fornicator to stop committing adultery? It’s easy, because those are concrete results. Those are actions that we can easily attribute, and prove, and give the Holy Spirit the credit for. But, when it comes to something like healing the sick, or raining down fire, or anything supernatural, then it becomes a different story.

See, someone can quit drinking without faith, A.A. has proven that. Someone can quit watching pornography without faith. Someone can even be charitable and give away a portion of their income to feed the hungry and help the poor without faith, we see it all the time from big Hollywood actors and musicians. But, to get up and leave where you are comfortable requires faith. To truly believe that God can perform a miracle, that requires faith. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to turn to the Lord when everything falls apart, but how easy it is to forget Him when everything is going well? When you lose your job and the bills are piling up, you’ll go out and seek employment, but it’s easy to fall on your face in prayer, out of desperation, and beg God to help you. And He usually comes through, because you’ve placed your full hope and faith in Him and humbled yourself by recognizing that you can’t do it. But, when you’ve got the full time job and you’re making enough money to pay the bills, it’s so easy to forget that He is the source of that, because you start thinking that you did it on your own. It’s so easy to say, “dear Jesus, we paid for all of this ourselves, so thanks for nothing.” It’s only when you have nothing that you can easily turn to Him for everything. And that’s a very dangerous place to be in, because that means that we may be humbled very soon. Ultimately, what we do is distill the power of the Holy Spirit down to the ability to perform things that the world can accomplish in absentia of faith.

When I think about the power and the control that God has in our lives, it’s amazing to me that He would allow us any of the gifts that He has given us, knowing that our very nature is to turn away from Him and worship what He has instead given us. I have come to believe in and expect those miraculous things that the Scriptures constantly talk about. I believe that God listens to us when we pray, assuming we pray in the manner that He has commanded us to. And it sickens me when I hear someone say, “well, the gifts were only for the apostles. God quit performing miracles after the close of the canon.” It grieves me because that would imply that God, who for thousands and thousands of years worked all of these miracles, had for some reason decided to change, something Scripture vows He will never do.

I totally understand, these very miracles are so often and so easily imitated, that it is often easier to want to believe that they have ceased. When I think of the “faith healers,” so prominent in the early 80’s; when I think about the Charismatics babbling nonsense and proclaiming that they are speaking in tongues; when I think about the “end-times” prophets, claiming that they know the last days; I understand completely. It is so easy for someone to fraudulently perform these “miracles” and so embarrassing when it happens that it’s easier to say that they have fully ceased. When a prominent name in evangelical Christianity claims that November 19th is the end of the world, it’s pretty embarrassing to explain on November 20th that he was wrong. When a faith healer is revealed to be recruiting people and paying them to pretend that they couldn’t walk, it’s embarrassing. But, John warns us to “test the spirits to see that they are of God” (1 John 4:1), Luke emphasizes to us that we should “search the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things are so” (Acts 17:11), and Paul admonishes us to “test all things, hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and to “let two or three prophets speak and let the others judge.” (1 Corinthians 14:29). See, I understand that it is more work for us to test the spirits than to just outright deny them, but the Lord in His word tells us that we must, in fact, test the spirits rather than just deny them. Paul tells us, “do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20). I think of it this way, there are many false teachers in the world, and those people teach a different gospel, they teach health, wealth and prosperity. When it comes to those teachers, we don’t deny the gospel, we acknowledge their teaching to be false. Why would we not offer the same esteem to the gifts of the Holy Spirit that Scripture promises that we will have?

The Lord is a very mysterious God, One that we will never understand. And yet, we so often twist and contort the things of God to make it comprehendable to our frail human minds. We must be doubly cautious of this habit, because, when we create a God that we can understand, we have created an idol who is no longer God. Solomon warns us, “Then I saw the works of God, that a man cannot discover how He does His work under the sun, No matter how much a man labors to discover it, yet he will never find out. And no matter how much a wise man may speak of knowing it, he will not be able to find it out.” (Ecclesiates 8:17 LXX). When we create a God that we can fully understand, then we create a god that is on our own level. Regardless of what name we give it. Thus, when we worship a god who is unable to perform miracles, the god that we worship is not the True God of the Scriptures, but a god made in our image, one to whom we can relate. And, that god will not be able to perform these miracles, because that god isn’t a true god. It’s the god that the Lord spoke of to the prophet Jeremiah, “they will be taken up and carried, for they cannot walk by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, because they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” (Jeremiah 10:5 LXX). See, when we create a god in our minds that is unable to perform miracles, signs and wonders through his people, then we create this god that we can understand in our own minds, this god who has the power to fulfill anything that doesn’t require faith to fulfill. We create a god that can do all of the things that we are able to do and explain, a god who can help us quit drinking or smoking or looking at pornography or cheating on our spouse, but not the True God who has the power to heal the blind and deaf, to raise the dead. If we truly believe that the lost are dead then how are we to raise the dead with the power of a god who can no longer perform these mighty deeds? No, the Lord, the True Lord of Scripture, still has all of those powers and is still willing to work those deeds through His servants, we just must approach Him in faith, not with doubting, and believe that, for the sake of His holy name, these miracles can and will still happen. Do we believe that a blind man could be prayed over and regain his sight? If we don’t, I fear that we are more blind than the very person that we are speaking of, because we are blind to the supernatural powers of our God, and if we are blind to that, if we feel that He can’t, or won’t do that, then we must ask what god we are worshipping.

Further, when it comes to the word of God, we must be careful not to distill the Scripture down to a textbook, where we can logically detect certain algorithms and determine what something means. I believe fully what Scripture itself tells us about Scripture, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. I believe that there is nothing in the Holy Scriptures that the Lord would ever have us forsake. However, with that knowledge, I also recognize that there are many things in Scripture that we will never fully understand until the day comes that we are with Him. Some of the things that are written about require that we accept them on faith. God created the heavens and the earth in six days. Was it six literal 24 hour spans of time, or was it six undisclosed periods of time? We will never know that, it is a mystery, all that matters is that we know that He created it. There is no systematic approach which will unlock all of the hidden mysteries of the Lord for us, that is our own pride leading us astray. Oftentimes, in our systematic theology, we miss the forest for the trees. We spend so much time in depth studying the Scriptures that we miss what they are actually saying, and sometimes we spend so much time looking at the Bible that we forget that it is not a textbook. I’ve actually heard a well-renowned pastor give a sermon where he had dug so deeply into the story of the good samaritan that he said it had nothing to do with helping someone less fortunate, that same pastor turn around and explain that the Lord was never actually pleased with the widow’s offering of “everything that she had.” And, while there may be deeper messages in each of those parables, it doesn’t negate the basic principle put forth in Scripture. It is the sacred Holy Scripture, and we must revere it as such, never thinking in our own pride that we can understand with finite minds the entirety of the actual living Word of God. When we open the Bible, it’s not just another book that we are opening, it is the revealed word of God given to us throughout generations of tradition and the preserved by the blood of many martyrs and saints. Always remember that each time you open your Bible. It’s not words written by someone in speculating, it’s the word of God given to human authors to record for our sake. When Jesus tells us that we won’t know something, it’s never a challenge, it’s always a truth. When Jesus tells us to do something, that is a command from God to go and do it. When we read a passage like “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you,” that passage should strike fear in our hearts and make us examine our obedience, not question which theologian we should turn to for our favorite interpretation, or argue what that passage means to us. What does Jesus say? See, when we pick and choose which parts we are listening to, we are effectively telling God that we know better than He does, and that is nothing more than pride. It’s the same temptation that the serpent used on Eve in the garden. “He knows that if you eat of this then you will be like Him.”

I will close this with this; I’m not saying that we shouldn’t study Scripture by any means. It’s imperative that we know the Scripture, so that we can better understand the character of God. Paul even warns Timothy about the importance of knowing the truths of Scripture. But, it’s even more imperative that we spend time getting to know our God, and we can only do that through spending time alone with Him, in prayer. Again, looking to the apostle Paul, after he turned to the faith, he spent time alone in the desert, years, alone with God. In human terms, I think of it this way; I can read a person’s diary all day long, but only through spending time with that person, speaking to them, can I truly know them. So it is with the Lord. We must know about Him, through reading His word, and we must know Him, through experiencing His presence in our lives. And we must always remember that.

May the grace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

 

Studies on the Book of Amos 1:1-3

The Lord begins this passage in speaking to the people of Israel by stating that He has “spoken against you, against the whole family I brought out of Egypt.” As Israel of the Old Testament, so the Church of the New Testament, being as though in the New Testament, believers are called a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” (2 Peter 2:9). The Lord here is rebuking His people, this special nation, for innumerable sins against Him. But, what’s most important here to notice is not who He is rebuking, but rather, who He is not rebuking. He is not rebuking the world. He is not rebuking those who are non-believers, but rather He is rebuking those specifically who call on His name. He is rebuking the entire family that He brought out of Egypt. That’s important, because in our generation, we constantly hear that “all roads lead to heaven” because we are all “God’s children,” yet, when we look unto Scripture, we see otherwise. There is no one nationality or ethnicity or financial status or any such human labels that are God’s children, but rather those who are born of the promise of the Lord. The reason that Isaac was chosen and not Ishmael was because Isaac was born of the promise of the Lord, whereas Ishmael was born when Abram and Sarai wavered in their trust in the Lord. See, Scripture promises us that all who fully trust in the Lord will be born again, becoming “sons through adoption,” and thus becoming “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). And Scripture details that adoption into the family of God means that the people of God are set apart. We who once were no people have become a people unto ourselves. And, in so doing, the apostle admonishes us, “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to your former lusts…but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘be holy, as I am holy.'” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

See, Peter also warns us that “judgment begins at the house of God, and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). And that is exactly what we see exemplified in this passage. The Lord has brought this word not agains tthe world, for they shall already suffer, having received their reward on earth. No, rather, He has brought this word against the “family He rescued out of Egypt.” Chrysostom, in his homily on this passage, states that “they deserved greater punishment, because they sinned after receiving the honours He had bestowed upon them.” And that makes perfect sense, considering the strong warning we receive in the Book of Hebrews, “if we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins, but the fearful expectation of judgment.” (Hebrews 10:26-27). See, in this passage from the prophet Amos, the Lord is basically saying, I gave you all of these things, I rescued you from out of the world, and you have turned away from Me. He says, “out of all the famlies of the earth, I have especially known you. Therefore I shall exact vengence upon you for all your sins.”

I know this isn’t a popular thought for anyone to have, but when we turn to the Lord, He expects to be our Lord. When we proclaim that we are His followers, He expects us to follow Him. There are many things that the Lord expects of us, as believers, but one of the foremost things is obedience. In the gospel of John, Jesus tells us that “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.” (John 14:21). See, it’s this idea that to love Jesus is to obey Him, it is the outward manifestation of our love. Much as “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” (John 3:16). Love always manifests itself in action, and the first of these actions is obedience. Speaking to the nation, the Lord tells us “hearing is better than a good sacrifice and obedience is better than the blood of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22). Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord tells us that “I did not speak to you fathers…concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But…commanded them, saying ‘Obey My voice…and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you.'” (Jeremiah 7:22-23). Through the prophet Micah, we learn,” what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love merecy, and to walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8).

In this passage, the Lord asks us, “if two people walk together, will they not come to know one another?” Isn’t that the very way that we describe our faith with the Lord? That we walk with the Lord? If we are walking with Him, shouldn’t we be increasing in knowledge of Him, of His likes and dislikes, His affinities and offenses? See, logically, the longer we walk with God, the better we should come to know Him and the stronger our love for Him should grow. I’ve always noticed that the more time people spend around someone, the more like them they become. Have you ever noticed that? You begin to pick up speech patterns, certain expressions and idiosynchrosies. Maybe even some of their values and morals may “rub off on you,” (for better or worse). So too should it be in our walk with the Lord. The longer we walk with Him, the more we should become like Him. The holier we should become. John tells us that “by this we know if we know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says ‘I know Him’ and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:3-4). If obedience is the manifestation of our love for the Lord, and the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and might, then it seems as though to fulfill His commandment is to love Him, and to love Him is to be obedient to Him. Jesus Himself questions, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).

The popular thinking in our culture is that since we are saved by grace and not through our own works, “we’re not perfect, just forgiven,” that there is to be no striving towards holiness. Our culture claims that we are assuredly saved no matter our own behaviors or sins, thus we need not worry about anything. There is a dangerous infection within the body of Christ, spreading like a plague, that states that attaching any works (which is defined besides actual works as including repentance, holiness or obedience to the Lord) is a heresy teaching works based salvation and needs to be stopped. But, then I look unto the Scripture and find that John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Paul, and even Jesus Himself taught those very demands as conditions for salvation. In our generation, I think soon that requiring faith will be considered blasphemy against the sovereign grace of the Lord, since faith is something we have to willfully consider and commit to. John the Baptist admonishes us to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8) and Paul repeats a very similar statement when on trial before King Aggripa, explaining that he has been commissioned by God to save the Gentiles, teaching that they “repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” (Acts 26:20). He also explains that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” (Ephesians 2:10).

The Lord in this passage is speaking to Israel, but His warning is for all believers. He is warning His chosen people, His royal nation, is being judged, not in spite of their knowledge of the Lord, but rather because of it. He had rescued them out of the world, and yet they chose to return to it. They chose the world over Him. And how often do we do exactly that? We look at His promises of the life to come, and then the temporal pleasures of the world, and, oh so often, we foolishly choose the temporary. We, like Esau, choose to sacrifice our eternal birthrite for a morsel, for a minor pleasure. I love the story of Esau, because, notice, when he trades his birthrite for the lentil stew; it doesn’t even say he enjoyed it. He ate it, got up and left. And so often, that’s us.

We must be fully guarded, my brothers and sisters, against this temptation to look back to the world. The Lord has rescued us from our own Egypt, our own world in which we were lost and trapped, and has brought us into the promise of the Kingdom. Let us “learn from Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). Once we have been rescued from our sins, let us not gaze longingly back on that world, but rather let us look forward unto the Lord, “pursuing peace with all people and holiness, without which none shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14). We must walk with the Lord in all holiness and righteousness, understanding that holiness belongs to God. We cannot attain it on our own, but rather we receive it from Him. And knowing that, we must choose to receive that holiness, we must choose to walk with Him, that we can truly grow to know Him.

May the grace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

 

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it. The cols theme looks better with longer posts, so we’ll fill this one out with some filler text. ‘I’ll fetch the executioner myself,’ said the King eagerly, and he hurried off.

Alice thought she might as well go back, and see how the game was going on, as she heard the Queen’s voice in the distance, screaming with passion. She had already heard her sentence three of the players to be executed for having missed their turns, and she did not like the look of things at all, as the game was in such confusion that she never knew whether it was her turn or not. So she went in search of her hedgehog.

The hedgehog was engaged in a fight with another hedgehog, which seemed to Alice an excellent opportunity for croqueting one of them with the other: the only difficulty was, that her flamingo was gone across to the other side of the garden, where Alice could see it trying in a helpless sort of way to fly up into a tree.

By the time she had caught the flamingo and brought it back, the fight was over, and both the hedgehogs were out of sight: ‘but it doesn’t matter much,’ thought Alice, ‘as all the arches are gone from this side of the ground.’ So she tucked it away under her arm, that it might not escape again, and went back for a little more conversation with her friend.

When she got back to the Cheshire Cat, she was surprised to find quite a large crowd collected round it: there was a dispute going on between the executioner, the King, and the Queen, who were all talking at once, while all the rest were quite silent, and looked very uncomfortable.

The moment Alice appeared, she was appealed to by all three to settle the question, and they repeated their arguments to her, though, as they all spoke at once, she found it very hard indeed to make out exactly what they said.

The executioner’s argument was, that you couldn’t cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from: that he had never had to do such a thing before, and he wasn’t going to begin at HIS time of life.