My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)
James, like many other Bible writers, does not speak of self-improvement. That's a human-level perspective on God's agenda. Rather, he uses these enormous, impossible words: "perfect and complete, lacking nothing." All of us have a sense that we ought to be getting a little more holy over time. But very few of us dare to measure our lives on a daily basis against God's divine standard of perfection.
If we look closely at this first chapter, however, we will discover that James is asking us to do things we actually can do. He understands that as we do these things, God Himself will supernaturally work His perfection into us.
He opens his discussion with the phrase, "Count it all joy." He's not saying we should naturally be happy when we find ourselves in times of trials. The joy he speaks of is not a response. The word "count" is a matter of the will, not the emotions. We are to choose to see our trials as good and acceptable because of their power to bring us to God's perfection. Our emotions may tremble or grieve, but our spirit can find peace in the knowledge that God is working something of great value in these very difficulties.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (5-8)
Next on our to-do list is asking. Among the challenges of the Christian walk is that there is much we don't understand, and there are many decisions which are hard to make. God tells us that when we ask Him for the wisdom we lack, He will give it to us "liberally and without reproach." The catch is, we must be very serious about accepting this wisdom and adjusting our lives accordingly. God isn't going to give us something to simply ponder, another viewpoint we can weigh against other competing views to see which we prefer.
Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. (9-11)
Here is one of the things God apparently wants us to be wise about: our attitude toward wealth. Being poor, James tells us, is a position of honor, whereas riches can be a snare, leading us to put our energies into things that will quickly disappear. Notice again that our assignment is to "glory" in our lowliness. Like "counting it all joy," this glorying is a matter of the will. We must deliberately choose to evaluate poverty and wealth--and every other aspect of life--in the same way God does.
This reinforces the truth that God's wisdom is often backwards from the world's wisdom, and therefore is not something that can be successfully merged with it. I should also point out that James is not saying we should pursue either poverty or wealth. Rather, if we are poor it is something to rejoice about. If we are rich, we should have a sober and humble awareness of the unreliability and transience of our wealth.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (12-15)
Next on our list is endurance. The key to endurance, according to James, is our understanding of temptation. Temptations are different from trials, in that trials are about suffering whereas temptations are about sin. When we give in to something that tempts us, it is like testing positive for a disease. There's something wrong inside. Our inclination is to blame the tempter (Eve tried that, remember?). But God says we are drawn by our own desires.
We can only endure (that is, make it through a temptation without falling for it) when our desire for God becomes stronger than our desire for the thing which would entice us. In other words, we must become so aware of the beauty and desirability of God that our love for Him changes us on the inside. And that, my friend, is again a matter of choice. We must choose to think about God, and to keep our eyes and minds away from those attractions that do not fully honor Him.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. (16-18)
Here the instruction is to "not be deceived." This one is a little tricky because deceptions are, well, deceiving. So James spells out the lie. He says that no one else but God is responsible for the things that are good in our lives. No one else can take credit for truth, or for human achievements, or for the blessings we enjoy. The government doesn't give us our security, colleges don't give us our wisdom, technology doesn't give us the solutions to our problems, and (most of all) we ourselves don't earn or deserve the successes we experience. If something is good, it has come from God and God alone.
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (19-21)
Although this seems like just another series of to-do's, James is actually beginning here to describe the picture of God's perfection. Because the testings of our faith have taught us patience, because our understanding has been made clear by God's wisdom, because we now are able to evaluate our lives from His perspective, because we have learned to endure temptations and to reject lies, "So then...." So then, we are able to be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to become angry. So then, we will lay aside filthiness and wickedness. So then, we will receive with meekness the redemptive words of God.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (22-25)
Do not misunderstand. We still must make continual and deliberate choices to live out the perfection God has worked into us. But that perfection is now truly ours. We know the truth of God's priorities. Our faith through patience and endurance has built into us a supernatural strength. We have discovered God's love and we respond by loving Him.
How can we test our perfection? That's simple, says James.
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (26-27)
If God has made us complete, it will be made evident by what we say and do. Let me emphasize this. Our words and actions are the result, not the source, of our perfection. Good talk and generous deeds and clean living mean nothing unless they are the outflow of God's own nature in us. If they come from anywhere else, they are not part of the righteousness of God and have no eternal value.
So in review, we must begin by gratefully acknowledging that our sufferings are God's chosen means to teach us patience. We should prayerfully seek His wisdom, that we might understand and follow in His ways. As our knowledge of His perspective on things (such as wealth) increases, our attitudes and choices should reflect these same values. And finally, when temptations come, we must resist them with great endurance, knowing that if we do, we will "receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
September 2, 2009
August 17, 2009
Partakers of the Divine Nature - 2 Peter 1:2-4
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
In our world of seemingly endless options, we sometimes overlook the reality that scripture only gives us two. Either we are "partakers of the divine nature," or we are in bondage to the "corruption that is in the world through lust."
The first option is ours by choice. We "partake" of God's nature as one might choose to partake of good food. The Greek word is actually koinonos, which some of you will recognize as being related to koinonia, or shared companionship. We gain this nature of God by deliberately associating (communing) with Him. He is always willing, but we must also consciously determine to be part of this supernatural community. It is never forced upon us. Notice how Peter phrases it: "that...you may be partakers."
Option two is very, very different. It is something that must be escaped. It holds us captive against our will. It is described as corruption, as something that is in the world, and as something that is produced by lust. The word translated "corruption" is a powerful word. It refers to things which destroy and which will themselves be destroyed. This is our destiny apart from the mercy of God.
The word I want to focus on, however, is the word "lust," or epithumeo. It literally means directing our passions toward a desired object. While we normally associate this with sexual desire, it actually can apply to anything we deeply long for. In most of the scriptures that use epithumeo it is translated "lust" or occasionally "desire." However, in the King James Version you will sometimes find instead the old-fashioned word "concupiscence."
Picture if you will a long line, a continuum. At one end of the line is concupiscence. At the other end of the line is agape, which is the word that best describes God's nature. Each of us lives somewhere on that line, and we are affected by both forces. Even before we are saved we see the mercies of God, in the natural world and in the people around us. There is even an echo of God's nature within us, which enables at least some of us to be kind and good.
But no matter where we are on that line, until the point of our salvation we are moving toward the concupiscence end. Only by God's redeeming grace can we be turned around and headed toward agape. The agenda of our life then becomes this steady movement toward heaven. It happens through the moment-by-moment decisions to keep our eyes and minds (and even our bodies) turned in the right direction.
This is what Peter is discussing in his second epistle. He says we who are believers have everything we need to keep ourselves aligned with God's nature, specifically the power, the knowledge, and the "exceedingly great and precious promises." God also continually "calls" us, not through loud demands, but through the beauty of His glory and virtue. Peter goes on (in verses 5 and 6) to identify the steps we must take to make this calling a reality in our lives: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.
Because it is a process that obviously requires great commitment, it would be helpful to understand more about this line we're on. I'm going to borrow two natural images to describe our options. For the concupiscence end, I picture a black hole. This is a strange component of our universe that sucks everything into itself, even light. It is always consuming and is never satisfied.
There is a description in Habakkuk 2:5 of a man who lives in concupiscence. "Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, and he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, and he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, he gathers to himself all nations and heaps up for himself all peoples." This man craves wine, women other than his wife, and endless power...but despite all that he "gathers to himself," his hungers are never abated.
The agape end of the line can be represented by the sun. Out of its own resources it endlessly pours light and warmth into the universe around it. From this light and warmth there springs up new life which is blessed and sustained by the energies it receives, and which in turn passes good things on to others.
There are many wonderful descriptions of the agape life in the New Testament. I've chosen this one (Romans 12:9-13) because it has so many practical aspects. "Let love (agape) be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality."
I doubt there is anything that can be more strongly contrasted than concupiscence and agape. But here is the crux of the matter: we can be facing in only one direction on our line. We are either receiving the warmth of God's love, or we are being drawn into the blackness of death. If, after our rebirth (which effectively turned us heavenward for the first time), hell no longer holds power over us, then why would Peter and the other writers of scripture be so concerned that we "give all diligence" to becoming like God?
I think the key comes down to our epithumeo (desires). You see, while most of the time this word is used in a negative context, there are several scriptures that speak of desires which are godly. For instance, Jesus tells His disciples (in Matthew 13:17) that "...many prophets and righteous men desired (epithumeo) to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." In Philippians 1:22 Paul writes that he has a strong epithumeo to "depart [from this life] and be with Christ."
Some religions have proposed that the path to holiness is found through renouncing all desire. Christianity instead promotes increased desire...but only for God Himself. The more we look toward Jesus, and the more we come to know Him deep in our innermost beings, the more our desire for Him will replace every other epithumeo we might have. As Peter expressed it, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us."
Concupiscence tempts us to be self-seeking and self-exalting, and then demolishes the self in its all-consuming corruption. Agape requires absolute selflessness, but even as we are dying to ourselves we are mysteriously raised to join into the koinonia of Christ, a fellowship that frees us to become more significantly individual than anything that can be found "in the world."
In our world of seemingly endless options, we sometimes overlook the reality that scripture only gives us two. Either we are "partakers of the divine nature," or we are in bondage to the "corruption that is in the world through lust."
The first option is ours by choice. We "partake" of God's nature as one might choose to partake of good food. The Greek word is actually koinonos, which some of you will recognize as being related to koinonia, or shared companionship. We gain this nature of God by deliberately associating (communing) with Him. He is always willing, but we must also consciously determine to be part of this supernatural community. It is never forced upon us. Notice how Peter phrases it: "that...you may be partakers."
Option two is very, very different. It is something that must be escaped. It holds us captive against our will. It is described as corruption, as something that is in the world, and as something that is produced by lust. The word translated "corruption" is a powerful word. It refers to things which destroy and which will themselves be destroyed. This is our destiny apart from the mercy of God.
The word I want to focus on, however, is the word "lust," or epithumeo. It literally means directing our passions toward a desired object. While we normally associate this with sexual desire, it actually can apply to anything we deeply long for. In most of the scriptures that use epithumeo it is translated "lust" or occasionally "desire." However, in the King James Version you will sometimes find instead the old-fashioned word "concupiscence."
Picture if you will a long line, a continuum. At one end of the line is concupiscence. At the other end of the line is agape, which is the word that best describes God's nature. Each of us lives somewhere on that line, and we are affected by both forces. Even before we are saved we see the mercies of God, in the natural world and in the people around us. There is even an echo of God's nature within us, which enables at least some of us to be kind and good.
But no matter where we are on that line, until the point of our salvation we are moving toward the concupiscence end. Only by God's redeeming grace can we be turned around and headed toward agape. The agenda of our life then becomes this steady movement toward heaven. It happens through the moment-by-moment decisions to keep our eyes and minds (and even our bodies) turned in the right direction.
This is what Peter is discussing in his second epistle. He says we who are believers have everything we need to keep ourselves aligned with God's nature, specifically the power, the knowledge, and the "exceedingly great and precious promises." God also continually "calls" us, not through loud demands, but through the beauty of His glory and virtue. Peter goes on (in verses 5 and 6) to identify the steps we must take to make this calling a reality in our lives: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.
Because it is a process that obviously requires great commitment, it would be helpful to understand more about this line we're on. I'm going to borrow two natural images to describe our options. For the concupiscence end, I picture a black hole. This is a strange component of our universe that sucks everything into itself, even light. It is always consuming and is never satisfied.
There is a description in Habakkuk 2:5 of a man who lives in concupiscence. "Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, and he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, and he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, he gathers to himself all nations and heaps up for himself all peoples." This man craves wine, women other than his wife, and endless power...but despite all that he "gathers to himself," his hungers are never abated.
The agape end of the line can be represented by the sun. Out of its own resources it endlessly pours light and warmth into the universe around it. From this light and warmth there springs up new life which is blessed and sustained by the energies it receives, and which in turn passes good things on to others.
There are many wonderful descriptions of the agape life in the New Testament. I've chosen this one (Romans 12:9-13) because it has so many practical aspects. "Let love (agape) be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality."
I doubt there is anything that can be more strongly contrasted than concupiscence and agape. But here is the crux of the matter: we can be facing in only one direction on our line. We are either receiving the warmth of God's love, or we are being drawn into the blackness of death. If, after our rebirth (which effectively turned us heavenward for the first time), hell no longer holds power over us, then why would Peter and the other writers of scripture be so concerned that we "give all diligence" to becoming like God?
I think the key comes down to our epithumeo (desires). You see, while most of the time this word is used in a negative context, there are several scriptures that speak of desires which are godly. For instance, Jesus tells His disciples (in Matthew 13:17) that "...many prophets and righteous men desired (epithumeo) to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." In Philippians 1:22 Paul writes that he has a strong epithumeo to "depart [from this life] and be with Christ."
Some religions have proposed that the path to holiness is found through renouncing all desire. Christianity instead promotes increased desire...but only for God Himself. The more we look toward Jesus, and the more we come to know Him deep in our innermost beings, the more our desire for Him will replace every other epithumeo we might have. As Peter expressed it, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us."
Concupiscence tempts us to be self-seeking and self-exalting, and then demolishes the self in its all-consuming corruption. Agape requires absolute selflessness, but even as we are dying to ourselves we are mysteriously raised to join into the koinonia of Christ, a fellowship that frees us to become more significantly individual than anything that can be found "in the world."
July 10, 2009
Consider Him - Hebrews 12:3
"For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
Some of the hardest tests in our walk of faith are the criticisms and rejection of others. We may think we're not really affected by these, but all of us are. Particularly when the judgments come from people we admire, or from those who are our own friends and family, we can find ourselves quickly becoming "weary and discouraged."
The wise response, according to the author of Hebrews, is to put this process into perspective. I am on a race track (12:1), running a custom-crafted course that has been laid out from all eternity specifically for me. There are weights I must cast off, snares I must resist, and endurance I must learn, or I will never finish my race.
The hostilities of others are testing points. They test whether I have become more thrilled by the "joy set before me" (12:2), or whether I am still seeking joy from earthly sources. The affirmation of others is very exhilarating, and thus it can be a very powerful distraction away from that eternal joy at the end of my race.
One might think, then, that God would help us out a bit by making the future joy clear and easy to see. But, we are told, that's not exactly His first thought. Instead, He disciplines us. Verses 5 and 6 actually use even stronger words: "chasten," and "rebuke," and "scourge," which means to beat with a whip. We are put in a position where we must choose between being directed by the rebukes of God or by the admiration of our friends. It is indeed a very difficult spot.
The solution to this challenge is always the same. "Consider Him." Oh, you might say, but Jesus never had to be disciplined. He always chose to obey His Father. Well, amazingly, that's not what the scripture tells us. In Hebrews 5:8 we learn that "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." He too had to endure earthly pain. He too had to choose between His earthly family and His heavenly Father (see Matthew 12:46-50), and it may not have been exactly easy for Him either.
The difference, we are told, was that Jesus truly understood the "joy that was set before Him." He knew what heaven was. He knew His Father. But perhaps most importantly, He knew what awaited Him at the end of His race (which is, I believe, the same destination toward which our individual races are headed). Jesus never lost sight of the glorious union He would one day enjoy with His beautiful, perfected Bride.
If we can understand this, we will not be discouraged by our testings. For in fact, these are precisely the means whereby our loving Father is preparing us for His Son. When we are willing to trade our present joys for an unseen future joy, we will gradually discover that God provides us with another gift for which we do NOT need to wait. It's something called peace.
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (12:11).
Some of the hardest tests in our walk of faith are the criticisms and rejection of others. We may think we're not really affected by these, but all of us are. Particularly when the judgments come from people we admire, or from those who are our own friends and family, we can find ourselves quickly becoming "weary and discouraged."
The wise response, according to the author of Hebrews, is to put this process into perspective. I am on a race track (12:1), running a custom-crafted course that has been laid out from all eternity specifically for me. There are weights I must cast off, snares I must resist, and endurance I must learn, or I will never finish my race.
The hostilities of others are testing points. They test whether I have become more thrilled by the "joy set before me" (12:2), or whether I am still seeking joy from earthly sources. The affirmation of others is very exhilarating, and thus it can be a very powerful distraction away from that eternal joy at the end of my race.
One might think, then, that God would help us out a bit by making the future joy clear and easy to see. But, we are told, that's not exactly His first thought. Instead, He disciplines us. Verses 5 and 6 actually use even stronger words: "chasten," and "rebuke," and "scourge," which means to beat with a whip. We are put in a position where we must choose between being directed by the rebukes of God or by the admiration of our friends. It is indeed a very difficult spot.
The solution to this challenge is always the same. "Consider Him." Oh, you might say, but Jesus never had to be disciplined. He always chose to obey His Father. Well, amazingly, that's not what the scripture tells us. In Hebrews 5:8 we learn that "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." He too had to endure earthly pain. He too had to choose between His earthly family and His heavenly Father (see Matthew 12:46-50), and it may not have been exactly easy for Him either.
The difference, we are told, was that Jesus truly understood the "joy that was set before Him." He knew what heaven was. He knew His Father. But perhaps most importantly, He knew what awaited Him at the end of His race (which is, I believe, the same destination toward which our individual races are headed). Jesus never lost sight of the glorious union He would one day enjoy with His beautiful, perfected Bride.
If we can understand this, we will not be discouraged by our testings. For in fact, these are precisely the means whereby our loving Father is preparing us for His Son. When we are willing to trade our present joys for an unseen future joy, we will gradually discover that God provides us with another gift for which we do NOT need to wait. It's something called peace.
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (12:11).
June 16, 2009
Siftings - Luke 22:31-32
"And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'"
In this remarkable statement, Jesus gives us a behind-the-scenes view of how His kingdom operates. At the time Peter did not, and could not, understand what He was saying. But we who now know the whole story have much less excuse for our wrong theologies when it comes to the matter of temptation and testing.
I have found eight insights in these few lines that have given me great assurance whenever I encounter difficulties in my life.
1. Jesus tells us that trials will come. In His final hours with His disciples before His crucifixion, it was a subject He mentioned often. At the Passover supper He told them, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). In the garden of Gethsemane, He asked them to pray, not for Him, but for themselves: "Pray that you may not enter into temptation" (Luke 22:40, 46).
2. Satan can do nothing without God's permission. As in the more extensive story of Job (see Job 1 and 2), Jesus reveals here that Satan acts only in full submission to God.
3. God permits our trials.
4. Our trials are designed to be siftings, that is, violent shakings to determine what we are made of. Will we be grains of wheat, which do not fall to the ground, or are we chaff and debris?
5. During the sifting, Jesus does not abandon those who are His. Rather, He prays for our faith to remain strong.
6. Jesus' prayers are always answered. This is an important thing to understand. As we know, Peter's faith seemed to fail. In his hour of temptation, he was confronted not by a sword-wielding soldier, but by an inquisitive servant girl. Fear overtook him, and three times he denied the Master to whom he had hours earlier pledged undying allegiance. Jesus, knowing full well this would happen, set up the rooster signal specifically because He wanted Peter to grasp His sovereignty in the situation.
7. Jesus knew Peter would return to Him. He did not say "if," but "when." He understood that the more significant event was not Peter's personal failure but his resulting comprehension of faith. Faith is the outworking of God's nature within us. When Peter came face to face with his own helplessness, and wept in bitter repentance, he was far more victorious against the kingdom of Satan than he would have been if he had never denied Christ.
8. The testings of our faith give us something to give others. Peter was able to look Jesus in the eye, both in the hour of his temptation and later on the seashore when Jesus recommissioned him as a trusted disciple (in John 21:15-19). But most of the people to whom Peter would later minister (including ourselves, who read his wonderful letters) do not have that eye contact with our Lord. The power of Peter's testimony is not only his unwavering devotion to Jesus, but also his deep appreciation of the value of suffering (see I Peter 4:12-14).
You see, we mature spiritually only as we discover both our weakness and His strength. If you are able to learn the life-story of anyone who now walks in deep fellowship with God, it will invariably contain times of intense suffering and personal failure. Why then should we ever view our own trials as anything less than God's precious gifts, carefully designed to bring us to Him, to conform us to His nature, and to provide us with the means to strengthen others?
In this remarkable statement, Jesus gives us a behind-the-scenes view of how His kingdom operates. At the time Peter did not, and could not, understand what He was saying. But we who now know the whole story have much less excuse for our wrong theologies when it comes to the matter of temptation and testing.
I have found eight insights in these few lines that have given me great assurance whenever I encounter difficulties in my life.
1. Jesus tells us that trials will come. In His final hours with His disciples before His crucifixion, it was a subject He mentioned often. At the Passover supper He told them, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). In the garden of Gethsemane, He asked them to pray, not for Him, but for themselves: "Pray that you may not enter into temptation" (Luke 22:40, 46).
2. Satan can do nothing without God's permission. As in the more extensive story of Job (see Job 1 and 2), Jesus reveals here that Satan acts only in full submission to God.
3. God permits our trials.
4. Our trials are designed to be siftings, that is, violent shakings to determine what we are made of. Will we be grains of wheat, which do not fall to the ground, or are we chaff and debris?
5. During the sifting, Jesus does not abandon those who are His. Rather, He prays for our faith to remain strong.
6. Jesus' prayers are always answered. This is an important thing to understand. As we know, Peter's faith seemed to fail. In his hour of temptation, he was confronted not by a sword-wielding soldier, but by an inquisitive servant girl. Fear overtook him, and three times he denied the Master to whom he had hours earlier pledged undying allegiance. Jesus, knowing full well this would happen, set up the rooster signal specifically because He wanted Peter to grasp His sovereignty in the situation.
7. Jesus knew Peter would return to Him. He did not say "if," but "when." He understood that the more significant event was not Peter's personal failure but his resulting comprehension of faith. Faith is the outworking of God's nature within us. When Peter came face to face with his own helplessness, and wept in bitter repentance, he was far more victorious against the kingdom of Satan than he would have been if he had never denied Christ.
8. The testings of our faith give us something to give others. Peter was able to look Jesus in the eye, both in the hour of his temptation and later on the seashore when Jesus recommissioned him as a trusted disciple (in John 21:15-19). But most of the people to whom Peter would later minister (including ourselves, who read his wonderful letters) do not have that eye contact with our Lord. The power of Peter's testimony is not only his unwavering devotion to Jesus, but also his deep appreciation of the value of suffering (see I Peter 4:12-14).
You see, we mature spiritually only as we discover both our weakness and His strength. If you are able to learn the life-story of anyone who now walks in deep fellowship with God, it will invariably contain times of intense suffering and personal failure. Why then should we ever view our own trials as anything less than God's precious gifts, carefully designed to bring us to Him, to conform us to His nature, and to provide us with the means to strengthen others?
June 12, 2009
Let Him Take Heed – I Corinthians 10:12
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
We have a propensity, if we are honest, to read scripture mainly for someone else. But in this sobering passage in I Corinthians, Paul is addressing me, because I am someone who truly thinks that she "stands."
There's nothing wrong, of course, in believing that I stand, that is, that I am in right standing with God. The danger, according to Paul, is that we who think we stand still can fall if we stop paying close attention to some very specific threats.
Here is his list of threats:
1. We must not lust after evil things (verse 6).
2. We must not become an idolater (verse 7).
3. We must not commit sexual immorality (verse 8).
4. We must not tempt Christ (verse 9).
5. We must not complain (verse 10).
Paul is basing this discussion on the example of "our fathers," the children of Israel who were led by God through the desert. He begins by noting that this group of people were all in 'right standing.' "All our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ."
"But," Paul reminds us, "with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." He then tells us they are to be specifically seen as examples for our instruction, so that we might not fall as they did. Therefore I must ask myself continually some important questions.
Am I lusting after something that is evil? In other words, do I desire something other than God Himself or things that are consistent with His nature? In Numbers 11:4 it says that the Israelites "yielded to intense craving" for the food they had known in Egypt. In their hearts they thereby turned from willingly following God, and they lusted for what He had taken them away from and out of.
Am I an idolater? Paul quotes Exodus 32:6, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." This is a reference to the Israelites' response to the golden calf idol Aaron had built. After doing their "duty" to this idol, by rising early and offering sacrifices, they lapsed into riotous self-indulgence. When anything other than God is our god, we will at some point allow ourselves to compromise our devotion.
Am I sexually immoral? In Numbers 25, the Israelites had joined into the immoral lifestyle of some foreign nations. An Israelite man even brought a Midianite woman to the tabernacle and was having sex with her in front of everyone. God responded by sending a plague that killed 23,000 people. What stopped the plague was a brave priest, who stabbed them both through with a spear. God not only wants us to be sexually pure ourselves, but we must also defend sexual purity as an ideal. When we tolerate what God does not, we too are sharing in that immorality.
Do I tempt (test) Christ? The sin here (in Numbers 21:4-9) is impatience and disrespect. God had not provided the Israelites with as much water or with the variety of food they had once enjoyed. In the assumption that God owed them what they desired, they challenged His goodness. He responded again by a severe punishment, but this time it wasn't a plague. Instead, the people were given the opportunity to look at a bronze serpent that represented God, or they would die from the bites of the poison serpents He had sent. We test God when we forget His sovereignty and our total helplessness without Him.
Do I complain? While the Israelites complained against God more than once, probably Paul is thinking of the time when they stood on the edge of the promised land at the end of their journey. But there their gripe wasn't about the food. This time they mourned their entire exodus from Egypt. "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!" (Numbers 14:2). Finally, God had had enough. "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me?" He told the people, "As I live...just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you" (Numbers 14:27,28).
We might see God's decision to allow all but a handful of faithful followers to die in the desert as being the consequence of sin only in the Old Testament. We who have access to the salvation of Jesus are not in the same place. But if it were that simple, why is Paul treating it so seriously? Why does he warn us, in this detailed fashion, to "take heed"?
Far from giving us a pass because of Christ's substitution, Paul says that these ancient experiences were deliberately intended to be an "admonition" (instruction) for those "upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (I Corinthians 10:11). That's us. The difference (in verse 13) is that, unlike the Israelites, we have been given a "way of escape" so we might bear up under the temptations to lust and complain (and so forth) without sinning (verse 13).
Nevertheless, the choice is ours. We must not only "take heed," which means to pay VERY close attention to our lifestyles and habits, but also, Paul reminds us in conclusion, we must actually flee from idolatry (verse 14). This is the primary sin, reflected in the first of the ten commandments, and it is the one thing that requires the most energy and devotion. You see, our enemy will let us rise above a lot of other lesser sins, if it means he is able to keep our attention and priorities centered on anything else but God.
We have a propensity, if we are honest, to read scripture mainly for someone else. But in this sobering passage in I Corinthians, Paul is addressing me, because I am someone who truly thinks that she "stands."
There's nothing wrong, of course, in believing that I stand, that is, that I am in right standing with God. The danger, according to Paul, is that we who think we stand still can fall if we stop paying close attention to some very specific threats.
Here is his list of threats:
1. We must not lust after evil things (verse 6).
2. We must not become an idolater (verse 7).
3. We must not commit sexual immorality (verse 8).
4. We must not tempt Christ (verse 9).
5. We must not complain (verse 10).
Paul is basing this discussion on the example of "our fathers," the children of Israel who were led by God through the desert. He begins by noting that this group of people were all in 'right standing.' "All our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ."
"But," Paul reminds us, "with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." He then tells us they are to be specifically seen as examples for our instruction, so that we might not fall as they did. Therefore I must ask myself continually some important questions.
Am I lusting after something that is evil? In other words, do I desire something other than God Himself or things that are consistent with His nature? In Numbers 11:4 it says that the Israelites "yielded to intense craving" for the food they had known in Egypt. In their hearts they thereby turned from willingly following God, and they lusted for what He had taken them away from and out of.
Am I an idolater? Paul quotes Exodus 32:6, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." This is a reference to the Israelites' response to the golden calf idol Aaron had built. After doing their "duty" to this idol, by rising early and offering sacrifices, they lapsed into riotous self-indulgence. When anything other than God is our god, we will at some point allow ourselves to compromise our devotion.
Am I sexually immoral? In Numbers 25, the Israelites had joined into the immoral lifestyle of some foreign nations. An Israelite man even brought a Midianite woman to the tabernacle and was having sex with her in front of everyone. God responded by sending a plague that killed 23,000 people. What stopped the plague was a brave priest, who stabbed them both through with a spear. God not only wants us to be sexually pure ourselves, but we must also defend sexual purity as an ideal. When we tolerate what God does not, we too are sharing in that immorality.
Do I tempt (test) Christ? The sin here (in Numbers 21:4-9) is impatience and disrespect. God had not provided the Israelites with as much water or with the variety of food they had once enjoyed. In the assumption that God owed them what they desired, they challenged His goodness. He responded again by a severe punishment, but this time it wasn't a plague. Instead, the people were given the opportunity to look at a bronze serpent that represented God, or they would die from the bites of the poison serpents He had sent. We test God when we forget His sovereignty and our total helplessness without Him.
Do I complain? While the Israelites complained against God more than once, probably Paul is thinking of the time when they stood on the edge of the promised land at the end of their journey. But there their gripe wasn't about the food. This time they mourned their entire exodus from Egypt. "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!" (Numbers 14:2). Finally, God had had enough. "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me?" He told the people, "As I live...just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you" (Numbers 14:27,28).
We might see God's decision to allow all but a handful of faithful followers to die in the desert as being the consequence of sin only in the Old Testament. We who have access to the salvation of Jesus are not in the same place. But if it were that simple, why is Paul treating it so seriously? Why does he warn us, in this detailed fashion, to "take heed"?
Far from giving us a pass because of Christ's substitution, Paul says that these ancient experiences were deliberately intended to be an "admonition" (instruction) for those "upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (I Corinthians 10:11). That's us. The difference (in verse 13) is that, unlike the Israelites, we have been given a "way of escape" so we might bear up under the temptations to lust and complain (and so forth) without sinning (verse 13).
Nevertheless, the choice is ours. We must not only "take heed," which means to pay VERY close attention to our lifestyles and habits, but also, Paul reminds us in conclusion, we must actually flee from idolatry (verse 14). This is the primary sin, reflected in the first of the ten commandments, and it is the one thing that requires the most energy and devotion. You see, our enemy will let us rise above a lot of other lesser sins, if it means he is able to keep our attention and priorities centered on anything else but God.
May 7, 2009
A Great Rock in a Weary Land – Isaiah 32:2
"A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
Most of us in our modern world rarely deal directly with the harsh forces of wind, storm, drought and heat that nature can wield. But in Isaiah's day, people were often caught without defense against the rages of the environment. However, they had also come to realize that nature itself provided their refuges, in the rivers and in the rocks.
In this verse, Isaiah is prophesying that a man, the man Jesus, would Himself be a refuge. People would seek Him in great desperation because of the overwhelming winds, tempests, and famines in their lives. He would be their cover, their security, their source of refreshment, and their comfort.
What we need to understand, however, is that the only way we can know the great strength and provision of Christ is precisely in the context of great need. Without the storm, a shelter has no meaning. Unless we thirst, water has no appeal. Until the sun beats mercilessly down upon us, we never look for a shady place to escape it.
In the same way, God deliberately brings each of us into situations where we have no resources of our own by which to survive. From our point of view we might think of this as cruel, but in fact there is no other way we can comprehend the great glory and mercies of God except in the specific context of harshness and poverty.
Nevertheless, there are many who foolishly reject the grace and gifts of God, clinging proudly and stubbornly to their miseries. These are also people who routinely deceive others, not knowing that they in fact are the ones being deceived.
But they will be exposed, Isaiah tells us, in the day when "a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice" (verse 1). Then, he says, "The foolish person will no longer be called generous, nor the miser said to be bountiful" (verse 5). Also, the schemes of the schemers will be revealed as evil, as intending to "destroy the poor with lying words" (verse 7). Only the truly generous will continue to stand (verse 8).
Isaiah also warns those who are not particularly evil, but who are merely complacent. In verses 9-14 he speaks to women who are accustomed to enjoying the benefits of pleasant fields and fruitful vines. He tells them to be troubled, and to go into mourning, for they are about to have all their comforts and securities removed from them.
The time is coming, he writes, when "the palaces will be forsaken, the bustling city will be deserted, the forts and towers will become lairs forever, a joy of wild donkeys" (verse 14). But once again, we should see this devastation not as cruelty, but as the necessary backdrop for the revelation of God. For these things will only last, Isaiah says, "until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest" (verse 15).
Just as a cold drink is most pleasant when we are most thirsty, so the reign of God will be established after a season of deep desolation, that His glory might be most evident. We sometimes think we understand the goodness of God now, but how much more will we (or if not us, then those who live during that coming day) be unspeakably grateful when Isaiah's prophecy is finally fulfilled.
"Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (verses 16-18).
Most of us in our modern world rarely deal directly with the harsh forces of wind, storm, drought and heat that nature can wield. But in Isaiah's day, people were often caught without defense against the rages of the environment. However, they had also come to realize that nature itself provided their refuges, in the rivers and in the rocks.
In this verse, Isaiah is prophesying that a man, the man Jesus, would Himself be a refuge. People would seek Him in great desperation because of the overwhelming winds, tempests, and famines in their lives. He would be their cover, their security, their source of refreshment, and their comfort.
What we need to understand, however, is that the only way we can know the great strength and provision of Christ is precisely in the context of great need. Without the storm, a shelter has no meaning. Unless we thirst, water has no appeal. Until the sun beats mercilessly down upon us, we never look for a shady place to escape it.
In the same way, God deliberately brings each of us into situations where we have no resources of our own by which to survive. From our point of view we might think of this as cruel, but in fact there is no other way we can comprehend the great glory and mercies of God except in the specific context of harshness and poverty.
Nevertheless, there are many who foolishly reject the grace and gifts of God, clinging proudly and stubbornly to their miseries. These are also people who routinely deceive others, not knowing that they in fact are the ones being deceived.
But they will be exposed, Isaiah tells us, in the day when "a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice" (verse 1). Then, he says, "The foolish person will no longer be called generous, nor the miser said to be bountiful" (verse 5). Also, the schemes of the schemers will be revealed as evil, as intending to "destroy the poor with lying words" (verse 7). Only the truly generous will continue to stand (verse 8).
Isaiah also warns those who are not particularly evil, but who are merely complacent. In verses 9-14 he speaks to women who are accustomed to enjoying the benefits of pleasant fields and fruitful vines. He tells them to be troubled, and to go into mourning, for they are about to have all their comforts and securities removed from them.
The time is coming, he writes, when "the palaces will be forsaken, the bustling city will be deserted, the forts and towers will become lairs forever, a joy of wild donkeys" (verse 14). But once again, we should see this devastation not as cruelty, but as the necessary backdrop for the revelation of God. For these things will only last, Isaiah says, "until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest" (verse 15).
Just as a cold drink is most pleasant when we are most thirsty, so the reign of God will be established after a season of deep desolation, that His glory might be most evident. We sometimes think we understand the goodness of God now, but how much more will we (or if not us, then those who live during that coming day) be unspeakably grateful when Isaiah's prophecy is finally fulfilled.
"Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (verses 16-18).
April 16, 2009
We Have Waited – Isaiah 25:9
"And it will be said in that day: 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.' "
Every now and then in Isaiah's flow of fearful prophecy, he peels back the corner of the present and gives us a glimpse of the reality that will become fully visible "in that day." Chapter 25 begins with praise to the Lord God for what He has done. The prophet is looking back from the end times, rather than forward toward them.
The passage contrasts two groups of people. There are the strong and terrible nations, and there are those who are poor and needy (see verses 3-4). In that day, it says, "The strong people will glorify You, and the city of the terrible nations will fear You." But the reason they now honor and respect God is specifically because He has turned their fortified city into a ruin, never to be rebuilt.
On the other hand, the poor and needy have found God to be their strength in times of distress, and a refuge from the storms. Note that (prior to the end of time) God does not remove the distresses or the storms. Instead, He provides a place of safety (Himself) in the middle of these difficulties. He is also described as "a shade from the heat," and a wall against which the "terrible ones" could only storm and blast.
If we truly know God, we should expect to find ourselves among the poor and needy. Jesus spoke of those who were poor in spirit, mournful, meek, and spiritually hungering and thirsting (see Matthew 5:3-6). It was these, He told us, who would inherit the kingdom of heaven. What especially divides this group from those who do not inherit the kingdom? I would suggest it is that they were willing to wait for God.
We get another glimpse of the strong and terrible crowd in verse 11 of Isaiah 25. It says that God "will bring down their pride, together with the trickery of their hands." Here we see these people as independent, self-directed, and grasping for what they desired--even if it involved dishonesty. God will trample them "as straw is trampled down for the refuse heap." By contrast, those who trustingly wait for the Lord will eventually come to the day when they are able to fully rejoice in His salvation. For them, God will prepare a great feast.
One other verse in this chapter especially astonishes me. Many years ago we were driving in Alabama along a remote but lovely stretch of Highway 65. Suddenly I had what I would call an inner vision. About a hundred yards above the surface of the ground, I "saw" a strange invisible membrane stretched out over us. I somehow knew that this shroud was preventing me from seeing something very real, just on the other side. It struck me then that we think we know so much, when there is so very much we have been given no awareness of.
It was much later that I came across verse 7 of this chapter. "And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations." Verse 8 goes on to say, "He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken."
If these things are true, and I believe they are, then we are foolish if we make our decisions and choices based on what we now see, instead of waiting, in hope and peace, for the God whose word WILL come to pass.
Every now and then in Isaiah's flow of fearful prophecy, he peels back the corner of the present and gives us a glimpse of the reality that will become fully visible "in that day." Chapter 25 begins with praise to the Lord God for what He has done. The prophet is looking back from the end times, rather than forward toward them.
The passage contrasts two groups of people. There are the strong and terrible nations, and there are those who are poor and needy (see verses 3-4). In that day, it says, "The strong people will glorify You, and the city of the terrible nations will fear You." But the reason they now honor and respect God is specifically because He has turned their fortified city into a ruin, never to be rebuilt.
On the other hand, the poor and needy have found God to be their strength in times of distress, and a refuge from the storms. Note that (prior to the end of time) God does not remove the distresses or the storms. Instead, He provides a place of safety (Himself) in the middle of these difficulties. He is also described as "a shade from the heat," and a wall against which the "terrible ones" could only storm and blast.
If we truly know God, we should expect to find ourselves among the poor and needy. Jesus spoke of those who were poor in spirit, mournful, meek, and spiritually hungering and thirsting (see Matthew 5:3-6). It was these, He told us, who would inherit the kingdom of heaven. What especially divides this group from those who do not inherit the kingdom? I would suggest it is that they were willing to wait for God.
We get another glimpse of the strong and terrible crowd in verse 11 of Isaiah 25. It says that God "will bring down their pride, together with the trickery of their hands." Here we see these people as independent, self-directed, and grasping for what they desired--even if it involved dishonesty. God will trample them "as straw is trampled down for the refuse heap." By contrast, those who trustingly wait for the Lord will eventually come to the day when they are able to fully rejoice in His salvation. For them, God will prepare a great feast.
One other verse in this chapter especially astonishes me. Many years ago we were driving in Alabama along a remote but lovely stretch of Highway 65. Suddenly I had what I would call an inner vision. About a hundred yards above the surface of the ground, I "saw" a strange invisible membrane stretched out over us. I somehow knew that this shroud was preventing me from seeing something very real, just on the other side. It struck me then that we think we know so much, when there is so very much we have been given no awareness of.
It was much later that I came across verse 7 of this chapter. "And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations." Verse 8 goes on to say, "He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken."
If these things are true, and I believe they are, then we are foolish if we make our decisions and choices based on what we now see, instead of waiting, in hope and peace, for the God whose word WILL come to pass.
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