Jesus doesn’t have Conversations…
Now before you pick up a stone…let me define the title further so that the statement makes sense. I am not speaking of dialogue such as recorded in the Gospels or the sense of petition and answer in prayer. I am not speaking of the declaration that Jesus calls us “friends.” What I am speaking of is the authority behind His declarations, whatever they may be.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that it is through the foolishness of the preached message that God saves souls! That is not some slighted statement…the foolishness of the “words of the cross” is actually the power of God unto Salvation to those who believe. The preached message is not a conversation. The Message (words) of the Cross is not an interpretive dialogue. It is a declaration of truth and a decisive call for acceptance by a divine authority, namely God Himself.
My point is: God is not negotiating with you and me. God is not asking for our opinions or seeking to build consensus on certain issues. God declares what is good, what is right, what is expected, and what is holy. He does so with authority and He wraps it in immeasurably abundant grace! But it is still authoritative.
One may ask…what if I don’t agree? What if I dispute and have a good argument? What if someone else stands up and says differently? Do any of these things change the fact that what God declares is already Sovereignly and righteously decided in Heaven? The answer is certainly, “No.”
In our cultural understanding of what is “acceptable” by OUR norms, we like to soften authority and make the determination of what is authoritative more subjective than we ought. We want to have conversations rather than hear declarations. We hear that “the Bible says…” and we say, “Yes, but I am not certain I agree with that.” Friend, honestly…that doesn’t matter. Jesus doesn’t have conversations about whether something is right or wrong, expected or optional. He declares truth and we decide to obey or disobey. Those are our options. He is our King. His Word is settled. His declarations are unimpeachable.
Shalom, CA
Righteousness by Compulsion is not…
Philemon is a pretty amazing story of Paul discipling a brother, Philemon, in how to live out an aspect of the gospel practically. He says, among other things, that Philemon should rejoice over a “run-a-way” slave who probably stole from his master…because he crossed paths with Paul and now was a Christ-follower. Tons of lessons bubble up from the text. We ought to rejoice over the salvation of an enemy. We ought to serve and honor God above all else and pursue His agenda as priority. When we fail and sin against another, we should repent in humility and trust in God’s grace (Onesimus).
Another nugget presents itself in verse 14: “but with out you consent I did not want to do anything [that is, keep Onesimus, your slave, with me to minister to me and chalk it up to you being a brother and assume you would want to do the right thing], so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will.”
In this verse, we are confronted with the importance of heart motive. If we do something to please me or because of peer pressure…even if it is a good thing, it is not righteous. If we feel guilty and therefore do a good “act” we are still not acting righteously.
God looks on our hearts. WOW! I know many people who say that as if it were comforting… “I may not do right, but God knows my heart” they may say! Well, that terrifies me more often than it brings me comfort. I know how to DO the right things…but sometimes I do them without the right motive. I may correct a person out of a desire to help myself more than to help them. I may do charitable deeds for more of how it makes me feel than for how it reflects Christ or serves the other person. These actions are then, in effect, wicked in God’s sight because they are right things done by compulsion or with wrong motives.
It sometimes terrifies me that God knows my heart…because as much as I know my own heart…it is sometimes wicked. Not always…but sometimes.
Paul seeks to disciple Philemon in this letter. He is not concerned with what is right. He is not concerned with the ability to do what is right. Paul is concerned with Philemon WANTING to do what is right of his own free will.
That requires heart surgery!
Friends…this letter encourages me BECAUSE of two things. One…God is at work on my heart. He is changing, softening, crushing, and rejuvenating it. Second…God graciously saves me KNOWING my fits of wickedness and strongholds of selfishness. The Gospel reminds me that it is not my good works that provokes God’s goodness toward me. His goodness toward me proceeds from His nature which is completely good and gracious, and merciful.
Today…don’t just do good. Beg God to help you to want to do good and when you sense that your heart is not in it, ask God to change your heart rather than trying to justify your wickedness as somehow righteous.
Shalom, CA
#P5: Devotion Much?
Several years ago I began promoting in the churches I served, churchwide Scripture reading plans or corporate devotional initiatives of some sort…plans to get folks into the Scriptures that might not otherwise step over the initial “hurdle” of beginning a devotional discipline. I remember one man in one church coming to me and strongly declaring that he would not be joining us in the initiative because it wasn’t deep enough for him. He soon left the church I served and connected to another for short season. Now he doesn’t attend anywhere and by all accounts I am familiar with…faith has no role in his lifestyle, choices, or desires. That grieves me because I was investing in his discipleship. He was in a place of leadership and influence and we had an accountability relationship.
You might ask, “Where did he run off the rails?” My answer: He lacked discipline. He was not devoted to the best things. Sure, he did some good things but he did not do the best things. He was familiar with “Jesus stuff” but not devoted to Jesus.
A better question is, “How could he have prevented the slide into practical agnosticism?” (An agnostic is one who does not deny that God may exist, but operates as if it doesn’t matter either way). That term may seem a bit strong but I don’t know what else to call it when you live daily as if you alone are the source of your own strength, peace, and security.
One of the ways (assuming he was and is born-again…an argument I am not making but am allowing for since I can only judge the fruit in his life) is by choosing discipline.
Discipline is when we choose to act in a certain manner because we have decided it is best, particularly when doing so is uncomfortable. It is skipping dessert when we want the cake but we need to shed a few pounds. It is going for a walk when we might prefer to watch television. It is setting aside 15 minutes in the quiet of the morning to read from the Scriptures and maybe a devotional guide along with prayer.
As a pastor, I hope it goes without saying that I have read the Bible numerous times and that I have a “better than average” knowledge of the Scriptures. Yet, in my “normal” PERSONAL Christ-follower discipline…I read daily from the Scriptures, read from 3-4 devotional guides, meditate/consider what I read…and pray. My discipline involves 30 mins to an hour daily. This, of course, is outside of my sermon/message prep and study discipline for teaching.
Here is the question: “If I find a need to discipline myself in pursuit of quiet time/devotion…how might someone with less exposure to the Scriptures find it less necessary for themself?”
Regardless of where you are NOW, you could start a devotional discipline if you choose, or start back in your discipline. Choose today to give God your focus and attention for a certain period of time every day. My guess…what begins as DISCIPLINE will blossom as DEVOTION very soon.
Shalom, CA
#P5: When the king heard the words…
“Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord’… When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes .” 2 Kings 22:8,11, NASB.
Can you imagine losing your Bible and not missing it? In front of me this AM I have six copies of the Scripture (not counting the four electronic devices with Bible on them). Misplacing the Bible and not missing it seems foreign to me. At the same time, if you go back to the era of this Scripture, it is less of a “stretch” to see how it could be misplaced.
I wonder though…do you physically have to lose the Bible to really LOSE the Bible? I think not…and perhaps our shame is even greater than those in Jerusalem in the last millennium before Christ…since we have it so readily accessible.
Josiah followed after his father and grandfather as king. He was considered a good king whereas his father and grandfather pegged the needle on evil. Grand-dad (Manasseh) undid all of Hezekiah’s reforms in a generation and went as far as erecting idols within the Temple walls before the Lord. Josiah’s dad (Amon) was no better and lived only two years before he was assassinated. But Josiah…he was a good king. He reversed the course of evil in the kingdom (mainly because a priest was his chief counselor–since Josiah was only 8 years old when he become king).
Still, when he heard the words fo the law he responded in repentance. What was different about hearing these words? Well it seems clear that he had heard about the Law of God since he had enacted many reforms and was prioritizing the renovation work at the Temple to restore worship of Yahweh to its rightful prominence. He was not unfamiliar with the Law. Still, when he heard the words read to him…he responded in humble repentance. Why?
Because the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword…able to discern between motive and action of man. It is powerful and never returns void! The Word of God is POWERFUL and always accomplishes God’s will in its proclamation.
So…if this is true (and it is even if we do not affirm or agree)…why do WE not know it better? Why is it not the first place we turn for wisdom or advice or guidance…rather than opinion polls on Facebook for instance? Why is it the least read book in our home? Even in my experience in college and grad school/Seminary…we read from the Bible daily but the bulk of my assigned reading was the writings of man ABOUT the Bible…not the Bible itself.
I appreciate the fact that there are great pieces of literature and helps in biblical understanding. I read them and grow in doing so…but if you know “Experiencing God” better than you know the experience with God in His Word…you have missed the point.
Here’s a thought…if God’s Word is so powerful and possesses the promise of its limitless ability to accomplish God’s purpose…why not make it your mission to know it as well or better than the pastor? Just a thought…
Shalom, CA.
Chris Aiken
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