Saved from…

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north, and great destruction. (Jeremiah 5:23–6:1)

A pastor says we can choose whatever we want, but we cannot choose the consequences. This remark was made to encourage listeners to choose faith in Jesus Christ because sitting on the fence is the same as saying NO to Him and the consequences for doing that are eternal condemnation.

The OT prophets wrote the same message to those with that same attitude and God said, “Shall I not punish them for these things?” He had every right to do so because His law says, “The soul that sins shall die” with death meaning separation from God forever. Very likely this is the consequence referred to by His statement, “But what will you do when the end comes?” Yet the above passage speaks of other consequences, such as withholding rain and other disasters in their lives.

Not all current affairs are the result of the sins of those who suffer in this life, but that final separation from God is certain for those who say NO to Jesus Christ. That is the bad news. The good news is:

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

And for those who take that seriously, the Word of God says: 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

And this is very good news!

Jesus, You don’t promise comfort and a perfect life here as a consequence, but You do promise an abundant life, and the peace that passes understanding, and the assurance of eternal life. You walk with me and hear my prayers. Death is no longer a dreaded separation but a changed life now and assurance of eternity with You. 

All fall short…

But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. (2 Kings 17:14–18)

When reading passages like this one, a question comes into my head that would horrify most Christians. Did God “remove” Israel out of His sight for rejecting Jesus by using the horror of the holocaust? 

This question is considered a theological interpretation rather than a widely accepted scriptural doctrine because there is no evidence in the NT that God would deal with His people that way. His desire was that the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ would go out to the world, to the Jew first and then the Gentiles. When the first disciples followed that pattern, eventually the people of Israel rejected it, so they turned to the Gentiles.
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:46–48)

Many see the holocaust as only about the Jews. But besides, the six million Jews who were murdered, others were also put to death who had no historical involvement with the crucifixion. The only commonality is that all are sinners just as I am even though Roma and Sinti were targeted on racial grounds, people with disabilities were considered "unworthy of life" and a threat to genetic health, Polish and Soviet Civilians, Soviet Prisoners of War, political opponents such as Communists, Socialists, and Social Democrats, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, “Asocials" and Social Outsiders including the homeless, prostitutes, alcoholics, and those deemed to be "professional criminals” as well as black people, and anyone else considered "racial enemies," "biological threats," or "enemies of the state” were targeted. 

As for all being sinners, the NT says, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ is for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. . . .” (Romans 3:22–24) 

Another issue is that the OT speaks of unbelieving people who prosper in this life, yet will not have eternal life, yet their ‘punishment’ for rejecting God is not mass execution, but an eternity in  torment.

Not everyone thinks this was a horrible event. A Jehovah Witness (a cult that imitates Christian without faith in Christ) told me that they feel honored to have been “persecuted for their beliefs.” While that seems weird, it is a NT truth that those who believe in Christ (which excludes cults) are to rejoice when others persecute them:

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11–12)

Certainly the ways of God are above our normal ways of thinking. Yes, it is horrible that millions of people were put to death by others who hated them for various reasons, yet thinking God allowed this to happen to punish them does not make it right. I tend to agree with those who say that we ask the wrong question. Instead of trying to figure out why some are being punished and others receive eternal life, we should wonder why anyone is saved. 

Jesus, when Christians decry the evil that others do, it is best that I respond with, “Yes, yet I am a sinner too” and praise You for Your mercy in forgiving me and giving me life. I don’t want to use the sins of others in an effort to make me look more righteous than they are. Except for Your amazing grace, all deserve to die.

 

Rising to the Challenge?

When macramé was popular, I decided to try it and picked the most difficult pattern available. When I started making quilts, my first project was a queen-size using a pattern I had to resize and add borders to make it large enough. I’m one of those people that if someone suggests a task might be too difficult, I jump at the opportunity to try it. 
 

Challenges to accomplish something are one thing, but this “I can do it” attitude could get me into trouble when applied to forbidden things, like the “shall not’s” that God commands. Even speed limits and other legal or moral restrictions tend to bring out a “who says?” and “I can do whatever I want” response in most of us.

The apostle Paul wrote of his struggle with sin and with the desire of his old nature to rule his life. He recognized that attitude when he said: “For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” (Romans 7:11) 

From this verse and the context around it, I can see that Paul was aware of the danger of sin. It is not a mere annoyance to brush off or take lightly. Sin is deceptive and deadly, deceptive in that most of us regard it too lightly, thinking it “really isn’t so bad” or that “everyone does it.” 

As for being deadly, sin like breaking the law or running over the speed limit obviously can lead to physical peril, but there is another kind of death that is far worse. Instead of life being separated from the body, this more serious death is being separated from God. 

It happened first in Eden. Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit and hid from God. After He confronted them, He put them out of the garden. The New Testament explains that, “just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Every one of us has been ‘put out of the garden’ away from God and the perfection He created for us, because all are sinners.

Paul clarified this to the Gentile church at Ephesus. He reminded them that before they believed in Jesus, they were “separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12) 

In Romans, he also wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

When he wrote of his own struggles with sin, Paul said that sin “seized an opportunity through the commandment.” Another verse says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56). This makes me wonder about the connection between my struggle with sin and how that connects to the law and to death. 

Part of the answer is that tendency of sinful human nature to rise to the challenge when given a “you cannot do it” command. That tendency to resist the law gets us into trouble all the time. When God says no, the sinful human heart responds otherwise, seemingly oblivious to the danger.

Instead of trying to control these crazy impulses, the solution is found through faith in Jesus Christ. Trusting Him brings eternal life, forgiveness of sin, and the power of the Holy Spirit to live in a new way. Instead of trying to live by rules and “thou shalt not” commands, Christians are set into a different realm where we die to the law and can put to death that old nature.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

The law of the Spirit of life gives me a new response to the choices that are before me. Instead of being challenged to “do it anyway” the Holy Spirit changes my desires and removes my interest in being stubbornly independent. Like Paul, I have lapses, but God is persistent and thorough. He patiently and continually opens my eyes to the deception of sin and helps me stay alert to its deadly consequences. 

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Lord God, thankfully You care about the dangers of sin and the awfulness of what it can do to those You lovingly created. You sent Your only Son to die for my sin and offer me new life to replace that sin nature that was (and still is) determined to kill me. Keep my eyes open and my heart turned toward You.

Always with Him

God has impressed this as my focus verse for 2010: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). The easier part of this verse is the last part.

Today’s devotional reading describes the positive aspect of death for those who believe in Jesus Christ. It says that when I die, I go immediately into the presence of Christ. Some say there is a “soul sleep” or an intermediate waiting place, or something called purgatory, but the Bible teaches none of those. In Philippians 1:23, Paul wrote about his desire “to depart and be with Christ” as it is an instant thing. Also, the verse for today says:

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

The Bible does talk about a resurrection of our bodies. However, from what I understand, when my spirit leaves my body, my body will “sleep” until that resurrection, but my spirit will be with Jesus.

Paul also wrote that Christ “died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:10). The point is that whether I am physically awake (alive) or physically asleep (dead), because I believe in Christ, I am with Him. I am with Him in a spiritual sense now and will be with Him in a literal sense when my body is dead.

That means there is no time in my life when I am ever out of the presence of Jesus Christ. He also said that He would never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). Being conscious of the reality of His presence is one of the most joyful experiences of being a Christian.

Faith without works means I’m dead?

Yesterday I was writing a piece about Bible study and stressed the importance of being teachable. This morning, I asked the Lord to teach me, to speak to me, to give me something that I need to hear. He did, and what I am hearing is a profound challenge.

All my Christian life I’ve been taught that Paul wrote about salvation by faith alone to those who tried to justify themselves before God with good works. However, James wrote about the need for good works to those who abused Paul’s teaching. James stressed that faith was not genuine without good works because they proved that a person is actually saved. Today, I am challenged to see this differently. First of all, the focus is on this verse:

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? (James 2:14)

I’ve understood it this way: What good is it if someone claims to be a believer but there is no evidence in his life. Can that kind of ‘faith’ save him? In other words, faith will produce good works, so they are inseparable. The faith saves a person, and the works prove it.

However, two of my commentaries suggest a different approach. The first one says that James was trying to “combat the Jewish tendency (transplanted into their Christianity) to substitute a lifeless, inoperative acquaintance with the letter of the law, for change of heart to practical holiness, as if justification could be thereby attained.”

In other words, the original readers of James were Jews who had been converted to Christ. Their problem was that they brought into their belief in Jesus the old tendencies of their past where they rested on their Jewishness rather than doing what God wanted them to do.

Note this, James was not writing to unsaved Jewish people. He wrote to “my brethren” and “to the twelve tribes scattered abroad” (James 1:1) who were Jews that believed in Jesus and were being persecuted. His words about faith and works were to people who were already saved, and not a recipe for salvation to those outside the kingdom of God.

The second commentary backs this up. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary says this, adding even more challenges to my prior thinking.

Some claim the faith mentioned in this passage is not genuine faith that produces eternal life. But James addresses this section to believers (“my brethren” in v. 14), that is, people who have exercised genuine faith. The issue in this paragraph is not true faith versus false faith; it is faith that is alone, meaning without works (v. 17) versus faith that is accompanied by works. “Saved” (Greek sozo ) is used five times in James (and) each time it refers to the saving of the temporal life, not saving from the penalty of sin (see 5:15). In this context James is referring to being “saved” from the judgment without mercy at the judgment seat of Christ (v. 13) and possibly the saving of one’s life from physical death (1:21). Works are actions that follow the “royal law” of love (vv. 8, 15, 16). James is implying in this verse that faith in Christ will demonstrate itself in love for others . . .

If I interpret James this way, then other ideas come into play. For instance, God saves people then leaves us here on earth to be His witnesses. We are to tell others about Jesus Christ and our lives are to be evidence of His glory. But what if we don’t?

I’ve known Christians who genuinely believed, but insisted on hanging on to a blatant and obvious sin. Their lives were not fulfilling their purpose as believers and they died, suddenly. While I don’t know for sure, it seemed as if God took their physical lives in the way this commentary suggests, rather then leaving them here as a terrible example of what it means to be His children.

A less tentative thought is a definition of dead. James says in 2:17, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” In the Bible, dead means separation. A spiritual dead person can be physically alive but is separated from God by sin. A physically dead person is separated from their body, but present (in spirit) with the Lord. So what kind of “dead” is James talking about?

Could he be saying that faith without works describes the life of a person who believes that Jesus died for their sin, has been born again, but because they are not responding to God (perhaps because of some pet sin, or they are just not obedient) they are thus disconnected from Him? Does dead mean that these people do not have fellowship with God and that their lives are ‘lifeless’ in the sense that the life of Christ who lives in them cannot be seen?

Whatever James means, it is a warning to me. If Jesus lives in me, then I am to step aside from all my own wants and desires and let Him be seen. I am to pay attention to what He says to me and obey Him. Otherwise, the faith that I have is separated from the evidence that shows it, and that faith is useless. If I know the Savior yet live in sin, I might as well be in heaven as mucking about here on earth.