I want to begin with this one point. These things that came to me over the past week or more do not leave me any room for hate. Jesus did not hate, he simply and clearly spoke the message of salvation through word and deed. He did not push anyone away. Those that left did so by their own choice. Honestly, I think the same is true of the Apostles and I pray as you read this you would not perceive this as an effort to push you away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is just the opposite.
This morning is my third attempt at generating this post. The first time I studied and read and prayed but did not really put any words to paper. The second I generated a complete post that was ready to go. Today I trashed that one and started fresh with a new title but the same theme.
The issue? I had a friend post an article that was a response by a retired Methodist preacher to the church’s decision not to endorse same-sex marriages. The title of his article was “Be Careful Using the Bible.” The writer warned of the dangers of using the Bible to define morality.
My heart still bounces around like a super ball in a small room when I think of this article*. I have quit getting angry about it now it is just sad and disappointed and at the same time not surprised because we are warned that this will happen; churches will turn from the word.
Wolves
Paul warned the elders of Ephesus when he saw them, for what turned out to be the last time, in the book of Acts. He told them that there would be those from among the church that would rise up and work to destroy the congregation. He called the false teachers wolves
Acts 20:29-32 (ESV Strong’s)
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
And what is Paul’s counsel? He tells the elders to be alert and commends them to God’s word of his grace.
More Wolves
Jude warns of this too. His short book proclaims the danger of the ungodly and in the end reminds us of our responsibility.
Jude 1:17-23 (ESV Strong’s)
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
I read this close of Jude and I am not filled with dread, but with HOPE. Yes, Jude says that there will be ungodly all around us, but those of us that believe need only to cling to our Lord. But he also says we are to have mercy on those that doubt and save others by snatching them out of the fire. Those that we snatch from the fire of damnation must be done with great care as to not be trapped in the lie of the sin ourselves.
When I think of that group in verse 23 of Jude 1, I cannot help but think of saving a person, who cannot swim, from drowning. If you are not very careful the person that you try to save can drown you both. This person needs your help desperately or they will drown, but you better be sure that you are careful not to drown yourself and the only thing I know of is a life jacket. In the Spiritual world that is God’s Word.
Our Life Jacket
If we are going to face the scoffers and naysayers in the world today, we must have our life jacket… or armor. The first thing that came to mind this morning was 2Timothy.
2 Timothy 3:12-17 (ESV Strong’s)
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.**
If we are going to be persecuted and we are going to face scoffers and those that would call us fools and haters we must be armed with the truth and it cannot be simply a passing truth and it cannot simply be what someone else tells us, we need to understand for ourselves through prayerful study.
Good Counsel
The Lord did not leave us with no directions on how to strap this life jacket on. There is a section in Colossians that He uses Paul to walk us through the path we took to become born again. He starts with where we should be.
Colossians 2:6-12 (ESV Strong’s)
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Then we are reminded where we were before that glorious day.
Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV Strong’s)
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Then finally he reminds us of our blessings if that is all true.
Colossians 3:1-4 (ESV Strong’s)
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
If in fact, we have all that, our hope does not rest in the things of the world but in the things of God in the heavenly places.
Reflections
Looking at all of this I cannot see how anyone could steer anyone away from the Word. It is our only source of truth. It is our source of truth and understanding. The Bible is our guide to grow closer to God and live a more godly life. It does not say anything about setting ourselves above anyone else. We all fall short. And in most, if not all letters in the new testament the writer reminds us that we once were dead in our sins and we need to remember that. We all have a past and we all have a future.
Our Past
One of my favorite examples where Paul walks us through our past, present and future is in Ephesians 2.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV Strong’s)
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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— 3 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. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We were children of wrath dead in our sins but despite it all God saved those who believed. What a wonderful and glorious God we serve. He is clear. We have a past, present and future just like those lost in this world today. I think sometimes we forget that Paul’s harshest critique was for the church.
Judgment
One of those critiques the world throws at the church is that we are judgmental, always looking down on people. If we do that as Christians, we are in rebellion against God. In 1Corinthians Paul explained the extent of church discipline. In fact, it came in a rebuke for its poor handling of sexual immorality in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (ESV Strong’s)
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
The passage is clear. We have no business judging the world. That is for God to do. Our responsibility is with those that claim to be Christians and still do these things that God condemns. Jude talks about them at the end of his letter. He gives us the direction of how to stand strong and show mercy. Look back in the text to Jude 1:17-23. Those outside the church need our mercy and our love that we might pursue them and share with them the Gospel.
Closing Thoughts
I struggle with men that mislead people turning them away from the only thing that can bring them to the truth – God’s Word. The world in which we live is filled with lies and deception, but it is not my place to condemn the world. It is my place to love and share the truth of the Gospel. I like the way that John conveys it in John 1.
John 1:1-5 (ESV Strong’s)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Verses one through five say it so well, but I love the words through verse eighteen and would encourage you to take the time to read that as well.
We have this simple message of salvation in John where he proclaims that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. This book we call the Bible is His Word and it is the one source of truth.
Men with selfish desires seek to distort it. It is not enough to live their lives, but they must also draw condemnation on God through His people. Today one of the issues is same-sex marriage.
It is not enough to make it the law of the land. It must be endorsed by the church. The thing is it cannot be. God defined marriage long ago. He defined it in Genesis and Jesus affirmed it in Matthew.
Genesis 2:22-24 (ESV Strong’s)
22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV Strong’s)
4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Just as Paul said to the Corinthians it is not my place to judge the world for its practices. My role is to share the Gospel. But I must stand on the Word of God and that means the Church… the body of believers cannot endorse or perform same-sex marriages. I need to always keep my eyes on the things above.
Closing Prayer
Today I make this scripture my prayer, replacing the original “you” with “me” etc.
Heavenly Father,
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in me you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these I you too once walked, when I was you were living in them. 8 But now I you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from my your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that I you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of my its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:5-11 ESV)
In Jesus name, I pray, Amen!
*The article that prompted this post.
My wife, Pat woke before I did this morning. That doesn’t happen too often, but it was nice to wake up and not have to make coffee. But I must admit, out of habit, when I went in the kitchen, I pulled the light cord on the fan and found myself in the dark before I realize that it had already been turned on.