Get up! Get Right!

"The Lord then said to Joshua, "Stand up! Why are you on the ground? Israel has sinned. They have violated My covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart.  They have stolen, deceived, and put the things with their own belongings. This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from you what is set apart" (Josh. 7:10-12, HCSB).

The natural human response to tragedy is to blame God. After the amazing victory at Jericho, Joshua should have deduced a problem when his men lost against the small village, Ai. Yet, Joshua blamed God. In essence, he said, "Why have you brought us here just to let us be defeated?"

Before I go any farther, I think I should make a few things clear. Every tragedy is a result of sin. However, that does not mean that every person who goes through tragedy is the cause of their own difficulty. Difficulty is not always (not even usually) the result of personal sin. But difficulty happens because of sin. Adam sinned and brought the human race into a fallen state. His sin impacted all of the created order, so that now creation groans for the appearing of Christ. All human beings, except Jesus, have been born with a sin nature. God is not the author of sin.

The sin of others affects us. Sometimes, difficulty is the result of someone's sin against us. For example, let's say I am driving down the road, in my lane, at the legal speed. All of the sudden, a drunk driver speeds through a red light and smashes into my car. Let's say that the experience paralyzes me. Should I assume that I did something wrong? Would the God who punished my sins in Christ, punish me in this way? I doubt it. The story of Job teaches us that not all who suffer are suffering because they have displeased God. Job pleased God very much. God permitted Job to suffer so that the world would know how pleased he was with Job.

Now back to our example. I'm in a wheel chair do to the sin of another (and not my own sin). Let's say the drunk driver is put in jail. Is he being punished for his sin? Yes, of course he is, but that doesn't mean he is beyond the reach of grace. However, that is a post for another day. What I want to point out is that just because one person suffers as a consequence of  their sin that doesn't mean everyone who suffers is personally responsible.

Back to Joshua and Israel. Instead of accusing God, Joshua should have been asking why the defeat happened. Maybe he should have began by asking if he did something that cost his men, but considering his close relationship to the Lord, Joshua would have known if he was the problem. He would have immediately asked for forgiveness. He should have said, "God, what went wrong?"

Two more things should be pointed out. First, the sin of one Israelite had an affect on all the other Israelites. God's people were held accountable for the sin of one of their own. Second, God was more concerned with the sin of his people than of the nations. The nations that dwelt in Canaan were all under the judgment of God. Their sin had reached its full measure, but God permitted the Amorites to have victory over Israel because of Israel's sin.

What's the point? Judgment begins at the house of God. Those who know God are held to a higher standard. To whom much is given, much is required. Israel floundered in its forward advance because their was sin in the camp. Maybe the church is floundering today because there is sin in the camp. We don't practice church discipline much any more.

God is still holy. He still demands holiness of his people. The author of Hebrews tells us that without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). We are called to live righteous lives. The church is called to maintain righteousness within the body. The enemies of Christ appear to be gain victory over the church in several places. It's tempting to believe that it is because the enemies possess greater power. Maybe it's because of the weakness of the Church. The Lord's solution for Joshua is our solution as well, "Get up! And get right!"

One No Too Many

"They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, "Let's go to the place the LORD promised, for we were wrong." But Moses responded, "Why are you going against the LORD's command? It won't succeed" (Num. 14:40-41).

Israel had stood at the doors of the promise land, but they allowed fear to grip their hearts. They trusted more in the strength of their enemies, than in the might of the Lord. God had delivered them with many demonstrations of his ability, yet they would not trust him. They rejected God's plan, and judgment was issued. Everyone over 20, except Caleb and Joshua, would perish in the desert. The quote above reveals their thinking the morning after God had spoken against them. They wanted a do-over, but it was not to be.

How many times to we harden our hearts against the will of God? Yet, each time we expect immunity. We assume that God's patience and grace will embrace us anew with the rising dawn, but will it. Is God required to extend to us mercy upon mercy? If so, what requires him to show his mercy? If not, why don't we fear him more? We have lulled ourselves into presuming on the grace of God.

These people thought that they could just undo their rebellion. They seem to be saying, "Sorry we weren't ready when you were Lord. Now we're ready." They report for duty to a job that is no longer open for them. They have been consigned to wander the desert until they die.

I wonder how many of us are one rebellion away from a wilderness wandering. We might arrogantly assume that God will get over it, but why would we believe that? If we can treat the blood of Christ with such contempt, what gives us the right to believe it covers our sins? Consider who these people were. They were the people rescued by the Passover Lamb, the people who walked through the parted waters, the people who had feasted on the bread come down from heaven. However, when they rejected the will of the Lord, the Lord punished them.  Is Christ not our Passover? Are we not baptized into his death? Is he not the Bread of Life? Will God not punish those who reject his Son?

We each stand at the intersection of obedience and disobedience many times everyday. Are we certain, as we weigh our options, that we can really come back this time? What if we rebel against him and our opportunity slips away forever? What if he allows our influence to diminish? What if he takes our lives, to preserve his glory? What if he allows the consequences of our sins to ravish us?

It will do no good to rise up the next day, and acknowledge the mistake. All our attempts from that point forward would be in vain. The remainder of our lives would be a joyless walk in the desert, until the sun set the last time on us. I think this is what Paul meant when he talked about people shipwrecking their faith. We make a fool's bargain when we jeopardize our testimony for the fleeting pleasures of sin. 

Numbers 14:1-45 should serve as a warning to us. There are many who see the Spirit at work, but who never experience the work of the Spirit in their heart. They profess Jesus, but they have never been born again. Then, there are believers who will damage their testimonies by participating in vile sin. Like Esau, they will cry out for the blessing, but none will be given. My heart trembles at this passage. I see in my heart a rebellious core. My flesh wars against the Spirit. Paul words come to mind, "Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:26-27, HCSB).

May it never be that we disqualify ourselves. Run with aim. Fight the good fight. Hold on. Stay Strong. It would be wise to remember that if you harden your heart one time too many, there is no coming back. There is no way to know which time is the one time too many. The promises are stretched out before you. In Christ Jesus, they are "yes," and the "amen" is spoken (2 Cor. 1:20). In faith, with humility, enter in.

Revere the Word

"Whoever despises the the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded" (Prov. 13:13, ESV).

This proverb is about one's attitude toward the revealed word of God. Solomon offers a warning through this proverb, one that is often ignored because of a misconception on our parts.  We often use the images we associate with such terms to help us interpret them when we read them in the Scripture.  These images can help us to understand what it means to despise something, but they may mislead us also.

When I think of someone despising something, I imagine them seeking to destroy it.  Sometimes I envision the person publicly protesting the thing (or person) they despise.  Images from news casts, commercials, television shows, movies, and books flood my mind.  Most of these images have violent content or passionate emotional responses attached to them.  They lead us to assume that every mention of the word, despise (or hate), carries with it strong emotions that lead to public outcry or militant resistance, but that is not always the case.

When Solomon says, "Whoever despises the word," he is not only talking those who seek its destruction, or publicly protest it.  Many people who despise the Word do so without every trying to destroy it, and never utter a complaint against it.  Many of them poses a copy of the Bible and display it with great pride.  They may even speak highly of its contents, characters, and themes.  They may study it, memorize it, and quote it with ease.

Yet, in all of their affirmation one thing is missing: obedience. Even in the absence of negative emotions, one can despise something.  Let's say I am driving down a road and encounter a sign warning me of a collapsed bridge ahead.  Let's say I shrug it off, and drive off a cliff.  It can still be said that I despised the sign.  Failure to heed the warning is the same as defying the warning.  Failure to respond in obedient faith to the Word is the same as despising the Word.

Conversely, revering the commandment means obeying it.  Where there is no obedience, there is no reverence.  We can't really say we understand the Word, if we are not doing what it says.  Obedience brings reward; disobedience brings destruction.  Therefore, we must choose the course we will follow: reverent obedience to the Word or rebellious disobedience to it.  It doesn't matter if rebellion is red hot defiance or cool apathy.  God still views it as despising his Word, and it leads to destruction.  Revering the word leads to reward.

Spiritually Dead

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Eph. 2:1-3, ESV).

Spiritually speaking, we were dead before the Holy Spirit regenerated us, by applying the gospel to our hearts, and brought us to faith.  Our trespasses and sins had us cut off from God's holy presence.  We had no access to him, nor any desire for such access.  We were dead.  Cold. Rotten. Stinking. Dead.  That is not to imply that we were without morals or scruples, for even the most ungodly live by some internal set of rules. Yet, human morality is little more than a tomb covered over by whitewash (see Matt. 23:27).

Apart from the gracious work of God, in our hearts and minds, through the Holy Spirit applying the gospel, we would continue to be incapable of coming to life.  The dead are unable to do anything about their situation, even though they want to do something about it (see Luke 16:19-31).  Once the human spirit has left the body, our fate is sealed.  There is no second chance in the grave.  James states, "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead" (James 2:26, ESV).  Likewise, the author of Hebrews reminds us, "And just as it was appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" (Heb. 9:27, ESV).

We are born into this world spiritually dead and slowly creeping our way toward physical death.  Those who are not born again from above, that is, through the Spirit's regenerating work, will suffer the second death.  However, Paul speaks to believers as those raised from the dead, and so they are.  Paul prayed for their hearts to be enlightened so that they may know "what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe" (Eph. 1:19, ESV).  He explains the "immeasurable greatness" in terms of the resurrection.  It seems that Paul understands the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be the greatest display of God's sovereign power.  That power Paul reminds us, is the very power that raised us from our deadness.

Where once we followed in the "course of this world" and "the prince of the power of the air," we now follow a different course and a different prince.  Where once we were filled with "the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience," now we are filled with the Spirit "who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it" (Eph. 1:14, ESV).  Formerly, we were children of wrath, now we are the children of God--chosen, adopted in love, forgiven, known, cherished, and kept (see Eph. 1:3-14).

The description of this death is that we willingly obeyed our dark master.  We served him with the "passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind."  We earned all of our bitter wages. We deserved every penny we were to be paid.   As it is written, "For the wages of sin is death . . ."(Rom. 6:23).  We were not only born corrupted by sin, but we willfully indulged ourselves in it.  The desire to sin is not something imposed on us from the outside.  If a person is forced to do something against their will, they are not guilty of that sin.  A woman who has been raped is not guilty of fornication.  Yet, a man who seduces and uses multiple women is a fornicator.  He willful does what is unlawful, because it is what he wants.  Paul states that obeyed the spirit that works in the disobedient to serve our passions and to carry out the desires of our mind and body.  Sin strikes from the inside (see Rom. 7:7-25, James 1:13-15).

Paul's description in Ephesians 2:1-3 would cause us to despair were it not for one word--were.  If we are in Christ, then we are no longer "dead in the trespasses and sins" in which we once walked.  If we are in Christ, then we are no longer "following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air."  If we are in Christ, we are no longer "by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."  No, in Christ we are holy and blameless (Eph. 1:4).  We are the beloved children God has adopted (Eph. 1:5).  We have been redeemed through Christ's blood (Eph. 1:7).  We have been told the secret of God's plan (Eph. 1:9-10).  We have become his prized possession (Eph. 1:11).  We have been marked out as his people (Eph. 1:13-14).  Once we were dead--killed in cold blood by sin, but now we have been made alive in Christ. 

A Bad Experience?

I recently had a bad customer service that left me a little hot under the collar. I hopefully obeyed the command, "Be angry and sin not." I was (am still a little) anger. I feel kind of mislead. But this post isn't a rant about what they did wrong. It's about something that popped into my head while I was thinking about my experience. I couldn't help wondering, "What if people are leaving our church thinking they have been misled?"

Some people get mad at church, because they are offended by the gospel. They are sinners who love their sin, and they don't like the conviction that comes from being confronted by the gospel. Jesus said that people who reject him, the light of the world, do so because they love the darkness. We can't do much for these individuals, except to pray. We need to pray that God would open their eyes and work faith in their heart.

But some have legitimate complaints. They have been promised a simple fix to life by trusting in Jesus. No one told them about the tribulation and persecution they would face. No one informed them about the demands of the gospel: holiness, faithfulness, and obedience. Others were told that church is the family of God, but they have been treated like the black sheep. They are permitted into membership, but they don't really belong. Others have been brought out of the darkness, and are confused by the church members who still revel in the things of the world.

Are we doing enough to ensure we haven't unnecessarily offend people? Do we tell them the truth in love? Are we faithfully loving them to the Lord? Are we presenting the true and complete gospel message or are we offering them a watered down message? We cannot take the sting out of the gospel, but can make it more attractive by living it. We need to show the love of Christ to others, esteeming them better than ourselves. We need to understand, and make sure they understand, in Christ, we are truly family. If people walk away from a church because they reject the gospel, it isn't in our power to change it. If they walk away from church because they have never heard the gospel, or were promised one thing only to receive another, or because the church isn't walking in the light, it is sin, on our part. We need to live what we proclaim, and do so in love with tenderness and compassion.

Signs of Life

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36).

John teaches us an important truth through the use of this parallel structure. If one "believes in the Son" they have life, but if one "does not obey the Son" they don't have life. The expression teaches us that believing the Son and obeying the Son are the same thing. To put it another way, failure to obey Jesus is disbelief.

Our trust must go beyond mere head knowledge. Our faith isn't just acknowledging certain doctrines are true. Jesus borrowed an image from the world of construction to stress this point. He said that those who hear his words and obey them are like one who builds his house upon a rock. Their structure is stable. However, those who hear Jesus' teaching, but fail to practice it are like fools who build their house upon the sand. Their structure will be washed away in time.

Obedience matters. I am not speaking of rigid legalism. I am speaking about loving obedience. The simple truth is that truly trusting in Jesus produces obedience. If we know him, or more correctly, are known by him, then we will walk as he did. To walk in obedience is to walk in life. Consistent, habitual, unrepentant disobedience exposes a unbelieving (and unconverted) heart. If a person has an unbelieving heart, then the wrath of God remains on him.