February 14, 2009

If We Hold Fast – Hebrews 3:6

"Christ [is] a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end."

The question of eternal security (that is, whether we will make it all the way to heaven once we start out with Jesus) has been wrestled with since theological wrestling first began. Like several things in scripture, there are verses that sound like we can never lose our salvation, and other verses that sound like we most certainly can.

It has always been my thought, in matters such as this, to operate under the more risky scenario. In other words, I would rather be overly concerned to do what is needed to insure my place in the kingdom, than to take it for granted and somehow miss out. The question, of course, is -- what is needed?

Hebrews 3:6 tells us we are part of Christ's house if we "hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing." Notice that it does not mention living a perfect life or doing certain religious practices or praying a certain prayer. Confidence and rejoicing are matters of the heart. Only when the heart is right does the life of Christ overflow in our own lives.

But also notice that it speaks of the confidence and the rejoicing. Believers are to hold on to the very unique experience they have when they are first born again. This becomes an important thing to consider. At that specific time you understand to be your entry point into the family of God, did you also experience a supernatural confidence and rejoicing? For those of us who started very young, and thus responded to the call of God several times as we grew older, can we recall at least one of those events to have included an astonishing, God-given faith and joy?

You see, salvation is the most supernatural and holy event that can happen to a person. Even divine miracles such as healing are not as significant, for we will still eventually die. But at the moment of salvation God takes our deadened spirit and breathes eternal life into it. What is more, the Spirit of God Himself somehow enters our beings, becoming our counselor and comforter.

If this doesn't produce an overwhelming assurance and gladness, I don't know what could. However, the emotions of those first hours or days do eventually fade. What follows is a lifetime of determined "holding fast" to what we know once happened. Difficult questions will arise, and our enemy will tempt us to doubt God. Painful circumstances will severely test our joy.

I find it helpful to make a distinction between understanding and faith, and between happiness and joy. You see, unlike understanding, faith doesn’t exactly reside in the mind. It affects the mind, and in some ways we have contact with it through our minds. But faith lives in our spirits. Thus the man in Mark 9:24 could say, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." In his inner being he somehow knew that Jesus could heal his son. In his mind, it made no sense.

In the same way, even in the darkest hours of fear or suffering or grief, when our hearts are melted or broken, there can still be a deep and abiding joy and hope down in our spirit. And it is there that we must "hold fast," knowing that God's strength and healing will eventually come to our emotions as well.

There is, however, another process described in Hebrews 3. Verses 7 through 11 quote Psalms 95:7-11, which speaks of the children of Israel "hardening their hearts" or "going astray in their hearts" when the trials came. The writer of Hebrews then clearly warns us in verse 12, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God."

I think what happens here is that instead of our minds and emotions being fed and nourished by our spirits, the flow gets turned around. We decide to let our thoughts and feelings take the lead, and in that they are never strong enough to withstand the testings and temptings of life, our hearts become hard and rebellious. Therefore we are instructed to "exhort one another daily...lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (verse 13).

The children of Israel who had rebelled in this manner all died in the wilderness and did not enter the promised land. It is not as clear that all who rebel today are equally without hope. But to the extent that rebellion still resides in us, we should be very, very concerned. Verse 14 says, "For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." It seems that if our confidence is not steadfast, we may not be truly "partakers" of Christ.

The Greek word for "partake" is a combination of having and being with. It means a very close sharing of nature and purpose. We speak of partaking of the bread and cup in communion. The bread and wine literally become part of our physical selves. This is a picture of how Christ's nature becomes an actual part of our spiritual natures.

What is His nature? It is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). We who partake of His nature will by definition have these qualities as part of our natures. If we don't, He isn't part of us and we aren't part of Him.

I believe these scriptures are challenging us to test our confidence and joy. First, we must decide if these are truly there, deep within us. This requires a quieting of all the noises and distractions until we can "hear" the voice in our spirit. If we don't find God's nature in ours, we must humble ourselves, confess our sins, and plead for His grace until the assurance of His acceptance comes. That's how salvation actually takes place.

But even after we are able to "know in our knowers" that God is alive in us, we must continually and willfully keep the flow going from our spirits to our mind and to our emotions...and not allow the stream to be reversed. Those of us who are truly born again will want to do this. That is our eternal security. If the "want" is not there, neither is the life.

"Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isaiah 12:3



February 10, 2009

The Pursuit of Happiness – Titus 2

Most of us who follow Christ believe (or at least, we believe we believe) that riches do not bring happiness. Many of us also have figured out that fame can be a truly difficult blessing. But the one place where we often assume the end of the happiness rainbow can be found is in our relationships.

The problem with this is not that there are not great joys to be experienced in healthy relationships. The issue is that when we are unhappy, we have an almost universal impulse to put pressure on those around us to remedy our discontent. In other words, we pursue our happiness by subconsciously demanding it from others.

But as I read the Bible, I do not find support for this plan. To be sure, there is much written about how we are to treat others with godly love and kindness. Yet surprisingly, even this is not to be done primarily with their happiness in mind. How much less are we encouraged to expect them to be responsible for our emotional well-being.

Titus 2 is a little chapter that is packed with relationship instructions. Older men are to be "sound in faith, in love, in patience." Older women are not to slander and are to teach "good things" to the younger women, including how to love their husbands and children. Young man are be a pattern of godliness so others can find nothing bad to say about them. Servants are told to please their masters in all things.

But if we look closely, all of these qualities are to be pursued for one very specific purpose: the glory of God. In verse one they are called "the things which are proper for sound doctrine." In other words, the holiness of our lives is intended to bring credibility to the truth of God’s principles.

Therefore, young women are to be "discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their husbands" ... why? "That the word of God may not be blasphemed." Bondservants are to be "obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back" ... why? "That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."

I have learned that the best motivation for me to authentically and permanently change my behaviors is my desire to please God. While I realize that His acceptance of me is based on His own love, not on what I do, nonetheless I have no greater joy than to know my words and actions are pleasing to Him.

But if you think about it, this recipe for honoring God is what also makes our human relationships healthy and fulfilling. A husband who is "sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience" for God’s glory is going to be a joy to his wife as well. A servant who is honest, loyal and respectful because God is pleased by this will certainly be a pleasure to his master too.

The world around us, and sometimes even the church itself, can so often become obsessed with finding formulas for a happy marriage, well-adjusted children, and prosperous business relationships. We sometimes even ask God to help us with these goals.

But suppose we were to make a healthy relationship with God Himself our primary goal? Suppose our minds were so focused on seeing His kingdom come, His will being done, in our lives for His sake, that everything else became secondary?

It is my belief that as we deliberately turn our hearts and thoughts toward Jesus, the things of earth will begin to take their proper place in our lives. That's because He always directs us back to the needs of those around us. "If you love Me, feed My sheep," He told Peter (John 21:17). But we will love them best if we minister to them for Him...not because of their loud, hungry bleatings.

For you see, they are in fact His sheep...just as we ourselves are. He is providing for their happiness, and He will provide for ours.
And so truly, when we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all good things will also be added to us (Matthew 6:33).

February 8, 2009

Barriers - Psalms 107

Four very specific barriers separate man from God. Each of these barriers is part of our fallen nature, and each requires supernatural grace to overcome. In Psalms 107 we find four pictures that vividly depict these four aspects of our fallenness.

"They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

Like these men, all of us are lost...and we don't even realize it. We have no true food, no drink, no shelter for our souls. We may wander in this lostness for years, until somehow we discover there is a God to whom we can cry out. He responds to our cries by leading us to a safe city, where He feeds our souls with His own goodness. In this way, the first barrier,
ignorance, is overcome.

"Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons--because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two."

Even after we taste of the goodness of God, our nature soon rebels against His word and His counsel. God then "brings down our hearts" with affliction, irons, and the shadow of death. Once again we must reach that place of desperation where we cry out to God. Once again, He mercifully breaks our chains and destroys our prisons, thereby overcoming the barrier of
rebellion.

"Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing."

In addition to the problem of our resistance to God's word, we also are separated from Him by our foolish indulgences and iniquities. God responds by sending afflictions that torment our bodies and again bring us near death. The means of our salvation is yet the same: we must confess our transgressions and cry out to God to rescue and heal us. Only then can the third barrier,
sin, be torn down.

"Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise Him in the company of the elders."

This final picture is interesting. These men are not lost, they are not rebelling, nor are they sinning. They are simply going about their business, and in fact are very aware of the works and wonders of the Lord. Yet once again God sends a deadly storm that brings them to the point of terror and desperation. Only when they cry out does He calm the storm and still the waves.

What is this fourth barrier? I think it is hidden in the little phrase, "at their wits’ end." These men were separated from God by their own
self-sufficiency. They were competent sailors who understood the sea. They appreciated what God had made. But they needed to know Him more fully, and we can only know God fully when we come to the end of ourselves.

As we look over these four stories, we see a clear pattern. The barriers that separate us from God rise out of our own nature. Yet only He can tear them down. He will not destroy them, however, until we become profoundly aware of our helplessness, and are humbled enough to cry out to Him.

Once these authentically desperate cries reach His ears, God responds quickly and dramatically. He feeds our hungry souls. He tears down our prisons. He heals our broken bodies. And He guides us to our "desired haven."

As the psalmist says so well, "Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

February 6, 2009

Depending on the Lord – Isaiah 10:20

"And it shall come to pass in that day that [they] ... will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."

Let's face it. When things get really tough, we depend on whatever seems to us most solid and most real. Usually, that's ourselves. Sometimes it's an authority figure such as a parent, or an authority structure such as the government. But Isaiah is prophesying about a time when people will depend on God "in truth."

Here is the whole verse.

"And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."

You may know the story. For generations, the Israelites had drifted away from God's laws and God's worship, trusting instead in the idols they made with their own hands. Isaiah was warning them that God would soon turn them over to their enemies, the Assyrians. As captives in a foreign land, they would be completely dependent upon their captors for every aspect of their survival. But the day would eventually come when God would bring a small group, a "remnant," back to the land of their birth, where they would then depend on Him only.

Later in Isaiah we find the same process summed up in two verses.

"Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God. Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled –- this you shall have from My hand: you shall lie down in torment." (Isaiah 50:10,11)

I call it arranging our own blessings. When we have no light, we "encircle" ourselves with the sparks of whatever seems best to us. It's much harder to trust in something we can't see, much less control.

But God does not let this plan work. By His own hand, the scripture says, we will lie down in torment. He will even give us over to our enemies. Depending on how hard-headed we are, He will allow us to suffer as long as it takes to discover the uselessness of every support structure except Himself.

Nevertheless, the day will come when at least some of us (a remnant) will figure out that God alone is to be depended on in truth. The Hebrew word for truth, "emet," means something that is reliable and permanent. The word is made up of three letters from the Hebrew alphabet: the first letter, the middle letter, and the last letter. God created everything, God sustains everything, and God will complete everything.

Thus it is wise, when the storms of life come upon us or the darkness surrounds us, to choose to trust in God alone. We should not think of painful trials as the work of our enemy, but as the work of God to bring us to a total dependence on Him. Even if the enemy does have a part to play, he will be most upset, and most defeated, if in our distress we turn quickly to God with our radical, and restful, trust.

February 4, 2009

Lest We Drift Away - Hebrews 2:1

"Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away."

It is impossible to park on a river, unless I suppose it is frozen or dried up. But in the normal flow of life, life will take you with it. Which, if life were holy and good, would be a good thing. Unfortunately, life in our world is rarely good.

And so we must diligently, tirelessly row our boats upstream. How do we do this? Hebrews 2:1 says we must "give earnest heed to the things we have heard." If we translate the rather old-fashioned phrase "earnest heed" into something more modern, we might say we should give the things of God our eager attention.

Eager is different than dutiful or fearful. Eager means it's something we want very, very much to do. The only way we can become eager to pay attention to God is through a daily process of discovering how wonderful He is. Otherwise, there are many other things and places and people and ideas that can easily seem more wonderful.

D.A. Carson has summed up this process very wisely.

"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to scripture, faith and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated."

If we truly desire to discover the wonderfulness of God, in a way that is powerful enough to fight the strongest currents, I would suggest spending some time reading the book of Hebrews. You see, if the key is in the "things we have heard," well then, we need to hear those things very often and very clearly.

So, let's start with chapter one, verses one through four.

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."

When I read this a few days ago (and when I've reread it every day since), I am overwhelmed by the idea that God upholds ALL things. In a world where so many things seem to be falling through the cracks, or just plain falling apart, it is immensely reassuring to know that if we back far enough away, we can "see" (with the eyes of faith) that God has it all well in hand. In His hands. Every terrifying event, every evil deed, every arrogant ruler, every desperate circumstance -– all of these are still being upheld by the hand of God, by the simple word of His power.

And in this knowledge, we will find peace. It is a very different sort of peace than the "peace" of ignorance or indifference. Those will take our boats downstream faster than we can imagine. Nor should we settle for the "rest" that comes from indulging in pleasant distractions. If we seek comfort by amusing ourselves, we will miss God.

True godly peace requires every bit of our spirits straining to resist our flesh and the temptations that surround it. What Dr. Carson calls "grace-driven effort" is the steady hand that grasps the oar of God's truths, even when we can't quite see where we're headed.

But as we pull against the tides of temptation, we will discover that it becomes easier and easier. Why so? Because in fact we are created to do His will. Our beings are actually designed to agree with God. Even though our fallen nature is still with us, we can by God's grace choose in our spirit to line up with His will.

And as we make this choice to agree with Him on a regular, moment-by-moment basis, we will not only grow strong and confident and joyful, but we will also become truly eager to keep our full attention on Him.