There once was a man who developed and distributed a most extraordinary soap.
Unlike other soaps, which only remove current dirt, the most extraordinary soap removed all history of uncleanness and was able to protect against and even wash away future stains. Only one treatment was required and a person would be completely and forever clean.
Naturally, despite initial skepticism about the claims made by the developer and distributor, the most extraordinary soap caught on quickly.
As it became more and more widely accepted, there was a proportional adverse affect to the business of the ordinary soap distributor. Seeing his sales curve declining ever downward, the ordinary soap distributor set out to destroy his most extraordinary competitor.
Knowing that he could not compete in a direct face-off, the ordinary soap distributor used several independent plans, rumors and marketing schemes to boost his own standing and undermine the most extraordinary product.
He hired mercenaries to intimidate the sales force and destroy the warehouse and manufacturing plant (this actually had an oddly backward effect; the plant was back and in full force only three days after being completely razed to the ground, and all but one of the sales force were changed from being somewhat timid to wildly enthusiastic).
He hired a group of experts to teach people that it was not possible to become truly clean forever (he began marketing a special “maintenance soap” to help people who had used the most extraordinary soap remain clean).
He hired another group of experts to teach people that the only way to properly use the most extraordinary soap was to first bathe and get cleaned up (he began marketing a special pre-cleaning process with a confusing regimen of classes and follow-up work and a large number of bath salts and cleansers and processes to be used before using the most extraordinary soap).
He hired another group of experts to teach people that the most extraordinary soap was unnecessary; claiming that dirt, stains and soil were actually non-existent and illusory; that the most extraordinary soap distributor was a fraud (he even distributed posters of himself inviting people to join him in eternal soaplessness).
The most extraordinary soap distributor continues unabated to this day, ever reminding people that they will one day emerge from the bath either in genuine cleanliness or intricate artifice and that they should choose wisely.
He further recommends choosing quickly, as he will be removing his product from the marketplace one day soon.
Indeed.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV)
God has created each of us unique, within a certain set of statistical norms, and all for His glory.
That was easy enough.
God has given each of us gifts and abilities in order that we might glorify Him and help each other do the same.
That was easy enough.
God has allowed us the freedom to choose whether we will serve Him with what He has provided…
That becomes problematic.
Remember the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve were tempted by the one of the two things they couldn’t have. And the enemy of our souls is still encouraging us to want–not what we don’t have, but what we see someone else does have.
When we engage in this, however, we not only sin directly against God (it would be called coveting), but we also stop appreciating and utilizing the gifts and abilities with which we have been gifted (remember the unfaithful servant from Matthew 25:14-30).
The thing that may assist in maintaining proper perspective is that I will not be held accountable for how I might have used someone else’s gift–but I will answer to how I have used mine.
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Acts 18:24-25 (ESV)
Way back in the beginning days of the Church, there was a man named Apollos who was going around preaching about Jesus. He was deficient in his knowledge, so he was only baptizing with the baptism of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist had been calling people to repentance in preparation for the coming of the long awaited Messiah, Jesus; and the people submitting to his baptism were turning from their worldly ways and toward godliness.
Apollos was calling people to repentance, and baptizing them, like John, in keeping with the rights of proselyte baptism, as a demonstration of the turn away from the ways of the world. But Apollos was only offering half of the picture as he didn’t know about baptizing people in the name of Jesus. He was, in a sense, baptizing people out of the world but not into Jesus Christ.
Providentially, Aquila and Priscilla were able to set him right and God brought Paul, who arrived in town and followed up on the converts.
And I notice that today the pendulum has swung to the complete opposite side of the metaphor. Today, with the widely preached, Finney-esque, cheap grace, easy-believe-ism, people are being baptized in Jesus’ name without first coming out of the world.
Apollos had, in his wake, a bunch of half-delivered baby Christians; so does Finney.
The reason the Church is so malformed today is not a lack of programs for bringing baby Christians to maturity; it is for lack of getting them out of the birth canal before teaching them to walk.
C. H. Spurgeon said, “Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father’s house, and never making him say, “Father, I have sinned.” “
The Church must repent of her lack of repentance, in her pulpit and in her pews. Only then can she make disciples as she was commanded…
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
The meal from yesterday has been promoted to nibble-away-the-leftovers status. And I find I’m also still chewing on a bad sermon I heard on “Christian” radio yesterday morning.
A well-known and respected speaker very disturbingly coupled the above Scripture with:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (ESV)
…and said we could give thanks because we can be sure God is going to do great things for us.
He was riding the shoulder of the road where it falls off the prosperity gospel cliff. Although he never promised me a new car if I supported his ministry, he did suggest that anytime things don’t go my way I simply have to figure out what wisdom God’s trying to gift to me, send up a “popcorn thank you” prayer and God will make certain I have smooth sailing until the next lesson.
For the record, I don’t see anywhere in Scripture that God is longing to be either my cosmic butler or motivational coach. In fact, in His final sermon before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus said:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (ESV)
And I really believe this is the point of what Paul was saying to the people of the church at Thessalonica and in turn to me as I continue to be eviscerated by the twisted, jumbled message coursing yesterday’s airwaves under the guise of Christianity.
I wish he had given the point of the Scripture more like this:
No matter what situation I am in, I am to have a grateful attitude toward God.
He didn’t have to send Jesus and I don’t deserve the shed blood of Christ applied to my sin-stained life. This world is still a dark, fallen and falling place, but this world is no longer my home, just my temporary residence.
He didn’t have to do that either.
But he did.
How could I ever be anything but grateful?
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Psalm 116:15 (ESV)
It often strikes me as odd that I find comfort in places I would never have thought to look.
When my grandmother passed away some years ago, her unwavering faith was (indeed, has been and still is) inspirational. I still recall her initial response to hearing that she was in a terminal situation and had only days left: “I’m not afraid. If my Father’s calling me home, I’m going home.”
I miss her and look forward to seeing her again, someday, after Father calls me home, as well.
Until then, I have an odd, unexpected comfort in this little verse from Psalm 116.
It was seeing her faith as she passed from life temporal to life eternal that started me rethinking my own situation and facing the sad truth that I was not prepared to die. I was forced to face the truth that I would step from life temporal into the unending horror of death eternal. I was forced to realize that I wanted the same certainty she had.
It’s been a long, strange road since then; repentance in fits and starts, backsliding before I had gone forward, my spiritual cart perpetually before my horse. And the Lord has been faithful and patient…
There is a quote from pastor John MacArthur’s father which has really struck a chord with me: “A preacher should be ready to preach, pray or die at any moment.”
And I disagree with him; I don’t think it’s just preachers. I think we should all be ready as we don’t know when we will be giving a testimony to someone who needs the experience of seeing a believer pass over. That is the ultimate testimony.
And who knows, it may become as precious a thing to someone else as it is to the Lord…
He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”–so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.
Matthew 12:9-13 (ESV)
I’ve often missed an important point in this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees.
The questions regarding the sovereignty of the Sabbath observance over the duties toward others is an important one and has far reaching consequences. Jesus, in this and other clashes, sets the proper perspective in place.
The Pharisees, Saducees and scribes regularly miss the obvious points made by Jesus because they were not looking for answers to a moral dilemma, they were seeking a way to trip Him up within the dilemma so they could call Him a blasphemer and be rid of Him.
And in all four Gospels they go around and around in the dance over various legalities.
Meanwhile, as I am reading the story, I find myself also missing the point of the story. Jesus said of His own mission that He came to seek and save the lost; that it was His task to fulfill the Law and His duty to fulfill all Scripture regarding the Christ; that this would include His own death, burial and resurrection, in order that the good news of salvation — the forgiveness of sin — might be available to all who believe.
Lost in all the words of doctrinal import, is the individual who is lost; the very one Jesus came to seek and save. Just as the man with the crippled hand is reduced to being a mere prop when I get drawn off point into a battle of the Sabbath and the intent to kill Jesus by tripping Him in His own words.
Lost is the incredible sermon it is preaching to me this day about obedience.
Jesus was living and preaching in absolute obedience to the Father. And He was demonstrating the point that God always gives the grace to carry out His commands.
Implied in the command is the grace to obey, and there also is the rub. My own flesh has a thousand logical reasons for the disobedience of inertia.
Jesus said, “Stretch out your hand,” which was an impossibility only a moment prior, and the crippled man did it!
That little moment is the greater point of the entire story! It’s not about the Sabbath or the legal wrangling or the questions of doctrinal matters or the way Jesus was wiser than those who sought His life or any of those important side issues; the point is that the crippled man did it!
In the midst of all of these other points comes a simple, direct, straightforward command from God incarnate to a crippled man. And the crippled man is obedient. The crippled man did it!
And I wonder if I will simply trust and obey the next time I find myself sitting with my own figuratively crippled hand in front of a seemingly impossible command from God…
I don’t need to write you about the time or date when all this will happen. You surely know that the Lord’s return will be as a thief coming at night. People will think they are safe and secure. But destruction will suddenly strike them like the pains of a woman about to give birth. And they won’t escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (CEV)
So many times, and in so many messages, I’ve been reminded of this passage, and received the admonishment to be sure and even more sure of my salvation.
My friends, you must do all you can to show that God has really chosen and selected you. If you keep on doing this, you won’t stumble and fall. Then our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will give you a glorious welcome into his kingdom that will last forever.
2 Peter 1:10-11 (CEV)
Somehow, I’ve managed to get stuck dwelling in uncertainty, rather than living in faith. As a result, I have wound up looking forward to the rapture in the same way nominees wait for the envelope to be opened at the Academy Awards; lots of hope but fully aware the odds are 5:1 against my being selected.
That’s so very wrong.
I know better than that and the worry and trepidation is simply a lie from the pit whispered in my ear so many times I’ve begun to buy into it.
Bu I know better.
I am a follower of Christ Jesus.
My sins have been–and are–extraordinary and vile, yet Christ is greater.
But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away.
1 John 1:7 (CEV)
I love that statement about the absolute efficacy of the blood of Christ; it “washes all our sins away!”
If you doubt your own standing, then by all means do all you must to be sure, start here and check this out:
goodperson.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)
If you are sure and certain…
With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever. Encourage each other with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (CEV)
I love that last sentence. Encourage each other with these words. I am finding great encouragement from them right now, and I hope you are, too.
With that in mind, listen up…
Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector.
Matthew 18:17b (CEV)
In this treatise on discipline, Jesus instructs that the one who refuses to be corrected should be treated like an unbeliever.
As I read this phrase, I find myself pondering the notion of treating unbelievers.
Often, I have heard the idea of disfellowshipping, shunning, or whatever other words we have for the Protestant version of the RCC excommunication. But, however we may come to the notion of shaking the dust off of our feet, I wonder about the treatment truly prescribed.
When the religious people commented about Jesus’ spending so much time with sinners and tax collectors,
Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.’ I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”
Matthew 9:12-13 (CEV)
There is a balance which needs to be found and maintained in order to follow the teaching. As with the practice of medicine, the sick must be quarantined from the healthy even as the healthy offer treatment to the sick, so should it be within the body.
There comes a time when a person’s belief is found to be lacking and fallacious. Sometimes, that person is also blessed with the humility to be recognize the error when it is shown, as well as to receive the given correction, and all is well. Sometimes, that person refuses. When this happens, that person must be removed from positions of responsibility within the body so as not to infect others.
But they must also be offered treatment in keeping with the sincere desire to restore them to spiritually robust health.
Here is where it really gets tricky. So many are so easily caught up in all the details that both sides forget about humility.
I’ve been the one who lacked this attribute, on both sides of this kind of issue at various times, and I can report that it does not go well without it.
Having doesn’t guarantee success, but not having it pretty much assures failure. It is the very thing which has given the Church a reputation for shooting her own wounded and eating her own young.
With an absence of humility, there seems to be a sick sort of glee over the punishment of the wicked. Rather like the desire of James and John to call down fire from Heaven on a town which didn’t receive them well. Pride relishes any form of destruction–especially in the name of God–while true humility reads the following quote from Jesus with a broken heart:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you. I have often wanted to gather your people, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you wouldn’t let me. And now your temple will be deserted.”
Matthew 23:37-38 (CEV)
A most important lesson for me to take to heart whenever I am treating unbelievers, wherever I may find them.
At one time, I thought these two verses were separate thoughts. Now, I have come to think of them as really belonging side by side.
Scales and measures are used for determining the size and weight of something, in order to ascribe to it the proper value. Dishonest weights and measures cause things to be undervalued upon sale and also overvalued upon resale.
Rather like the way I often catch myself practicing with dishonest weights and measures. Sadly, one of my greatest joys comes from judging other people. Usually, I am able to spot their imperfections and puff myself by comparison…
And I know I’m not alone in this.
And even as I come to repentance — again — I find myself feeling as though I’ve repented enough for one day can’t I just come back tomorrow… ?
The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, “God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner.”The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
John 6:18-21 (ESV)
Too many times to count, I have heard someone excuse their own bad behavior with the statement, “Well, I don’t walk on water, you know.” Of course, they’re referencing the Biblical story of Jesus walking out on the sea to meet His disciples.
This little story has a lot more than meets the eye on a first reading.
This miracle always struck me as odd –even unique– in the Gospels. It seems rather like the miracles from the later, heretical, gnostic writings, like the much heralded Gospel of Thomas. This particular miracle always struck me as being less believable because it gave no testimony; it seemed like Jesus did a cool trick but it benefited no one and only demonstrated His ability to do a cool trick — I was very wrong.
First, when Jesus walked on the sea (during a storm, no less) He was confirming His deity. Job 9:8 refers to God being the only one who walks on the waves of the sea, and the Hebrew word in that verse refers to someone actually walking on the sea. So, when Jesus did this, the action itself was a testimony to His deity, since only God could walk on the water and Jesus was doing it!
Second, in response to the fear of His disciples, Jesus speaks to them. Part of what He says, from the Greek, is ego eimi, “I am,: although in most translations this is usually rendered as something along the lines of, “It is I.” He demonstrated His deity, then He announced it.
Third, when the disciples received Him into the boat (with gladness, by the way), they immediately arrived at their destination. He brought them to the other end of their trip at once, demonstrating His power over all of nature — including the distance between point A and point B.
As I was re-reading John’s telling of the story, it occurred to me that this was also my experience of salvation in parabolic miniature. First, I came to recognize my own lost-ness and the futility of my own efforts to relieve my distress. Second, I came to recognize the deity of Christ Jesus and His sovereignty over all of creation — including myself and the very road to Hell I was traveling. And third, upon receiving Him I was fully saved, I passed from death into life and my citizenship in God’s Kingdom was conferred, at once.There was nothing more for me to do, for it was already done.
The next time I hear someone announce that they don’t walk on water, I’ll have to remember this link to my own testimony and offer to introduce them to the One who does walk on water…
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12 (ESV)
