Faith and obedience are partners

 

MacArthur starts his devotion by saying how unpopular it is to speak of the Bible as a book of commandments, even though the Bible says:

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; (Psalm 19:8)

Obeying God identifies true believers:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (1 John 2:3–5)

Even Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments . . . . Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:15;21)

God’s commands are “pure” and “enlighten the eyes” meaning Scripture (and the work of the Holy Spirit) brings spiritual truth into clear focus. Not every passage of Scripture is easy to understand, but taken as a whole, the message of the Bible is clear to the regenerate mind.

This showed up this morning. A woman in the education system is under fire for posting two photos on social media. One was a group of children waving swastikas, and the other was a group of children waving rainbow flag. It was captioned, “Brainwashing is brainwashing.”

Knowing what the Bible say about these matters is one thing, but having the courage to repeat it is noteworthy. However, today’s newspaper printed a letter from a liberal church leader condemning her for saying she was obeying the Holy Spirit. He obviously didn’t get it.

As MacArthur says, the Bible is clear to believers, but unredeemed people can’t understand it. To them it’s foolishness because their minds are unenlightened. Some will even used it to support their sin. God knows this:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

At first, that letter made me angry but soon God reminded me that any ability to understand His Word is a priceless gift. Yes, I can mess up, disobey, and so on, but He keeps working on me to take advantage of what He says by reading and studying it daily. As He expands my Bible knowledge, His expectations of obedience also increase.

I praise Him for giving that woman a command to speak out against the way our school systems are teaching kids that sin is okay and speaking against it is not. The woman who obeyed can say with the psalmist, “Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.” (Psalm 38:20)

God’s prophets also speak out against calling evil good, even if God’s people do it:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not. (Jeremiah 4:22)

I know the power of spiritual blindness. I also know that I cannot convince someone of truth because only the Holy Spirit does that. I’m just thankful that I can pray for this woman who bravely obeyed and suffers for doing what God told her, and for the man who cannot see that saying sin is okay. May all of us be open to what God’s Word says. His ways are holy, just and true and if sin is not sin, then Jesus did not have to die.

PRAY: Without You, Jesus, I’m not sure what sin would ruin me, but I know that the saving power of Your Word is both humbling and painful, yet liberating as it opens my eyes so I can see the difference between grace and license. No one lives without sin except You, and knowing it means loving, trusting, and obeying You — and in that there is great clarity and freedom.

PONDER: While the natural person cannot accept the things of the Spirit of God because they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned, I know I can be like that if strong ‘I wants’ and opinions take over and ruin my focus on Jesus. I also know that the spiritual person judges all things, and others cannot judge me concerning my obedience to You. My prayer today is for those who speak up about the will of God. May all obey the Spirit’s leading with the mind of Christ, even if the whole world thinks we are evil instead of good. They thought the same about Jesus.

 

 

Be perfect as God is perfect?

It has been said that true discipleship means I should always be involved in life in such a way that what I do cannot be explained by any other reason except that it happens by the power of God.

Elihu said to Job, “How great is God—beyond our understanding….” (Job 36:26) The average person doesn’t understand His power. To them, prayer is a puzzle. To them, successfully rebuking rising flood waters in the name of Jesus (as some did in the High River flood) is a puzzle, never mind that the name of Jesus has such power.

To them, a changed life is also a puzzle for they cannot imagine people being transformed. Without faith in Jesus Christ, the human mind cannot see that He is God the Son, God appearing in human flesh that we might know Him personally and in that knowing, begin to understand the greatness of God. Such knowledge is beyond mere human comprehension.

However, Christians can also be stopped in their tracks by the ideals of the Christian life, ideals that appear beyond us. When Jesus said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), the disciples may have shook their heads and stroked their beards in total bewilderment. How can this be? How can I be perfect like God is perfect? This command makes me shake my head.

Yet in context, Jesus was talking about being generous to all. As Oswald Chambers puts it, my natural life has affinities; some people I like and others not so much. However, I must never let those likes and dislikes rule my Christian life. If I walk in the light as God is in the light, then He will give me communion with people for whom I have no natural affinity. That is a puzzle but in Christ, also a possibility.

Notice Jesus does not lift up other people as an example of this, but God Himself. I am to live in such a way that my attitude toward others is the attitude God has shown toward me.

Oh my, I have been forgiven much! He has given me grace beyond all expectations, generous love that makes me weep for joy. When Chambers says I am to be “therefore perfect” then this is the perfection he means.

He also says that God will give me ample opportunities in actual life to prove whether I am perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect. That is, to be a disciple means that I deliberately identify myself with God’s interests in other people, that I love others as He has loved me, and I will get many opportunities to do so.

It is only because the Holy Spirit has transformed my life that I can display His characteristics in my life, not merely good human qualities, nor merely my own efforts to try to be godly. This means the supernatural can make godlikeness happen in me through His grace and power. This works out in daily life and cannot be explained by anything else except that God is doing it.

Today’s regular devotional reading adds to this call to perfection with a call to courage and sacrifice. Loving others requires both. As I bow in humility before the Lord, He offers me a new capacity for life. Like the saints of old, this capacity makes possible the conquering of kingdoms, the application of justice. They gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of flames. Their weakness was turned to strength, they became powerful in battle, and they loved the unlovely in the great courage God gave them.

What is true of this courage is true also of sacrifice. For them, it was not a showy and fanatical sacrifice, but spiritual discipline, self-renunciation, the esteeming of others better than one’s self. Such suppression of self is practical stuff, not barren sentiment, and it is wholly unexplainable.

Besides making a true disciple of Christ into someone who lives like God in love and courage, His power can make a Christian like God in another way; we can be a puzzle like He is, unknown and unknowable. If I live in utter obedience, then those around me will not be able to figure out what makes me tick.

Mark of a Genuine Christian

Last week I asked about a person who was brought in to give advice and counsel in our church. The one that I asked replied with the other person’s professional qualifications. I interrupted and said, “But is he godly?”

We have all met “intellectual idiots” and people who are over-qualified for their job, yet inept. We all also know what it is like to have a good knowledge or ability in one area of our lives and totally fail in another. When it comes to being a Christian, everyone has an idea about what that should look like, but the Lord is only interested in one thing: obedience.

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:4–6)

The criteria or standard for being a Christian and knowing that I am a Christian is always Jesus. Do I walk as Jesus walked — and that does not mean “on water” but in grace, humility and the power of the Holy Spirit?. It is said of Jesus that He went about doing good. He helped people in need, not all of them for some were sponges looking for freebies, but those truly needy. Do I do that?

Do I talk like Jesus talked? That does not mean what others might call “always the right words” but it does mean speaking the truth in love, even if the truth hurts and even if I don’t feel particularly loving. Jesus said what people needed to hear. This includes the beggars and blind people, but also the self-righteous Pharisees who mocked Him. Can I speak that way? Or do I fudge when it comes to opening my mouth?

Do I think like Jesus thought? This  might be a taller order than walking and talking. All that Jesus did came from the attitude of His heart. He was obedient, but not out of fear or a desire to make His mark in the world. He did everything He did because He considered others more significant than Himself. 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. (Philippians 2:3–9)

In my Christian walk, it is easier to compare myself with someone else than line up beside Jesus. I can always find another person who falls short and who might make me look better than I am, but even the thought of doing such a thing puts me down several notches on the scale. Jesus was not into comparing Himself with others. He obeyed God without any thoughts of how He might appear in the estimation of His friends or His critics. 

To say that I am a Christian and then ignore the standard of life set by Jesus Christ is a mockery of the faith. Because He lives in me, something of Him ought to shine through. If it doesn’t, His Word says that I am a liar, and someone so full of myself that I will not allow God to govern me. 

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Every day brings challenges to obedience. It may be what seems like small things, like speaking graciously to a telephone salesperson. It may seem more important, like listening to a friend in trouble. Whatever comes my way today, help me remember that I not only belong to You, but that You set the bar for how You want me to respond. Because You live in my heart, and because the world needs to see You, help me be obedient to do what You ask and keep my selfish self out of Your way.