9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John continues his discussion of the differences between those who walk in the light and those who do not in verse 9. In this verse, we find a conditional statement that ought to help us to see how we can walk in the light. Continue reading “1 John 1:9 | Sin and Forgiveness Require Confession”
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The greatest form of deception is self-deception. When we make a conscious decision not to take heed of the knowledge, wisdom, and experiences of those we trust we have set our course toward self-destruction. Continue reading “1 John 1:8 | We are Fundamentally Broken”
Over the last couple of days, I have been witness to a wide range of sentiments regarding what should be done with and for the Syrian refugees. I believe, it is without question a situation that must be addressed. However, the way that it is addressed will have consequences and implications for all those involved. I am still trying to make sense of the situation that is before me as an individual and pray that the decisions that must be made by those in the highest offices of our nation are in accord with wisdom and not political expediency.
As I have read, watched, and listened to what has been produced (and it has been a lot), I have found myself conflicted by all that I have seen. It is not just that people are taking sides. What has truly been bothering me is the manner in which we (and by “we” I mean Christians) have been skewering those who do not agree with what “we think Jesus would do.” The polarizing rhetoric is so stark, it has left me troubled by how far we are from embodying the grace we claim to have experienced.
When the apostle Paul wrote that we should not be “conformed to this world,” he was indicating that there is a very real tendency toward this (Romans 12:2). As a matter of fact, it may be one of the greatest temptations for those who have been plucked from the clutches of sin. As fallen and yet redeemed sinners, we have been unshackled from the bondage of sin but, we are still making our way out of the prison of this fallen earth. We are no longer trapped and without hope but the struggle to walk out our faith by walking out of the prison is still an arduous endeavor. There are no shortcuts on this long walk from sinner to saint, from condemnation to glory.
What makes this idea of non-conformity so powerful is that Paul clearly identifies what we are to avoid—this world and its entanglements. The call to distance ourselves from the world is not a casual warning. It is a call that is only amplified by what follows. [su_pullquote align=”right”]There are no shortcuts on this long walk from sinner to saint, from condemnation to glory.[/su_pullquote]
Paul goes on to tell the Romans that we are to fight against conformity to the world and we are to be renewed in our minds. The intellectual faculties of the human mind truly set the species apart from all of God’s creations. The mind serves as a distinguishing characteristic, one that the apostle points to as the guide away from the temptation to become enthralled by the seductive allure of the world. John actually marks in greater relief this compulsory schism by saying that “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15b ESV). We may not like this demarcation but, we cannot explain it away. We have to grapple with it face on.
This conundrum regarding the Syrian refugees has been a match to the kindling of the passions of a good many people. This is why Paul’s admonitions are an ancient clarion call to sober thinking in our time. Especially in times like these. Our passions are God-given gifts but, they are to follow the mind that has been renewed by the truth of God’s word. How do we know? We know because Paul spells out for us the purpose for the renewing of the mind. So that “by testing [we] may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The essence of what Paul is saying is that we come to know the will of God because our minds have been changed, not because our hearts and passions have been roused. This is one of the perils of allowing ourselves to be carried along by the turbulent waves of societal turmoil. This is why we must think more clearly than ever before about what needs to be done and how it ought to be accomplished.
There are many within the Christian community who are calling for the President of the United States to proceed with the plan of domiciling around ten thousand Syrian refugees within the continental United States. Arguments are being made for a wide range of reasons. It’s the right thing to do. We have to show the compassion of Christ. We have to act like Christ himself. All of these sentiments are nice and maybe even correct. However, this is not the problem I have with the reasoning. This is the problem I have. Who is being asked to take in the refugees? Who is being asked to bear the brunt of the logistical and financial burden? The short answer is the government.
[su_pullquote]We come to know the will of God because our minds have been changed, not because our hearts and passions have been roused.[/su_pullquote]To all those who are calling for the reception of the refugees, to all those who are doing so and call themselves Christian, I would ask you to reevaluate your position. Not because what you desire to see happen in wrong. No, I ask you to take a look inward and ask yourself if what you truly desire is to show Christian hospitality or only a bastardized version of it.The globalization of Christian hospitality is not hospitality at all. It is an abdication of our prerogative to serve the needy for ourselves. Or do we think that the government has the ability or even the inclination to apply a gentle hand to this situation? No, it does not. The reality we have to face as a church is that hospitality, in order for the word to have any meaning and moral substance must be pushed down to the individual. It is the individual who demonstrates compassion. Not some faceless, impersonal bureaucracy.
All of the calls for compassion, all of the accusations of hard-heartedness, all of the self-righteous indignation at those who “don’t get it” only reveals that we are not as hospitable as we would like to think. All of this reeks of manipulation and intimidation. Most of those who are complaining about the “rest of us” do not truly appear interested in getting their hands dirty with the hard reality of serving the “least of these.” As the body of Christ on earth, vicarious altruism can no longer be accepted as a substitute for authentic, humble servanthood. When we do not see this for what it is we have become complicit in the injustices we say we are fighting so hard to avoid. The sin of vicarious hospitality is pernicious. But, it also blinds us from truly identifying with those suffering terrible injustices.
Finally, I want to say something about, what I would call, the unnecessary accusations being flung around by those who say “yes” to bringing the refugees here to the lower forty-eight. Just because people disagree with a course of action, that does not make them fearful, bigoted, racist, ignorant, or unChristian. As a matter of fact, I would say that this kind of language is not in line with what Jesus would want for his followers, regardless of where you fall on the social justice spectrum.
I am one of those who has not made up my mind. I honestly do not know what the best way of handling this would be. I am glad this is not my responsibility but, I will be affected by the course chosen by those who do have to make the call. And because I will be affected I would like for some wisdom to be exercised, particularly in light of what happened in Paris. To take a moment’s pause is not outside the question. And, while I doubt it will happen, rethinking the plan may be in order, rather than proceeding with a business-as-usual mentality. This is such a big issue, it cannot be reduced to simple answers. Or to answers motivated by feigned compassion when no skin is actually at risk.
However, I want to focus on the inter-Christian exchanges I have seen that are unfortunate at best, and horrifying at worst. The bottom line to me is that making people feel stupid, calling people names, calling people’s motives into question (particularly people you don’t really know) is not going to win people over. This kind of behavior and attitude will not win anyone over.
Jesus’ own brother provides some needed parameters regarding how to proceed.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? (James 2:14-20 ESV)
Do you believe that Jesus would want for the refugees to come to here? Then call your local congressman, call your senators and tell them you will buy a ticket for one refugee and house them. Show me your faith. Don’t just tell me that it is the right thing to do. Don’t just allow the impersonal, anthropomorphized arms of the government to do what should be done by the body of Christ. Allowing the government to shoulder the burden to bring them and then counting that as an act of hospitality is a farce. But, in the process don’t demean me or try to shame me into agreeing with you. Don’t hurt me when I am not there yet. Live out what you believe and help me to see it in your example. Extend some grace to those of us who find it harder to jump into this particular pool head first without looking.
That’s unrealistic. That’s just plain dumb. Maybe. But, I’m sure the first-century believers who sold everything they had to feed the widows and orphans were probably accused of the same thing too. Or have we become too sophisticated in our time to do the same? Have we evolved beyond that kind of thinking? Could it be that it really is just too inconvenient? As a nation, we do not appear to be interested in results anymore. We are so easily pacified with some impassioned lipservice.
Paul put it this way when he was correcting the practice among the mature in the Roman church about eating meat sacrificed to idols.
20Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:20-23 ESV)
Your strength of faith does not give you the freedom to beat me up over my weakness. Paul said, “that for the sake of food,” and I say, for the sake of refugees, do not destroy the work of God in me. Imagine that. Paul is saying that even when considering something as mundane as where we get our food we should not cause others to stumble. How much more important then when we are talking about people who are in need. If you think (or even know) you are right, then win me over. Do not run me over. I am not equating. I am applying the principle that Paul himself provides.
If this is the right thing to do, then let’s put our money, our homes, and our lives on the line. This would be a radical hospitality I can cheer. Otherwise… well, I do not know what the otherwise is. I am still trying to figure that one out.
As we draw closer to Easter morning we will take some time to explore what it means that God has redeemed us
We have interacted with the idea of redemption at various times during this series of reflections (here, here, here, and here). Today, as we draw closer to Easter morning we will take some time to explore what it means that God has redeemed us.
Redemption is a financial term. Many of us have used coupons before. We go to a store with the coupon and when we redeem it we get what it offers at the time of check-out. The reality of this transaction is included in our salvation. When Jesus came to earth, his mission was to redeem that which was lost. In what way was it lost? It was lost to sin and sinfulness. No man or woman who has ever lived can rise up to God. Our blood has been tainted by the sin of Adam and Eve. When they disobeyed God and decided to do their own thing, they damned their ancestors to a life of struggle, strife, and strain.
I want to correct a common misconception here. There are some who believe (and teach) that Jesus redeemed us from the devil. The idea being the enemy of God was holding us captive. This does not make any sense because he too is captive. The devil must still submit to the will of God, even though God is waiting to pronounce his final judgment! So, if we were not redeemed from the devil, who are we in debt too? We are in debt to ourselves. The reason we are stuck in our predicament is because we keep making withdrawals from the account and have been overdrawn for millennia. The debt of sin is the belief we can live independent of God. This however is not the case. If it were not for God we would have nothing. Paul, said it this way,
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for, ‘In him we live and move and have our being’.” (Acts 17:24-28a, ESV)
If it is true that “in Him we live,” then we need someone to redeem our debt and make a deposit into our account of unrighteousness. The only one who could do that was Jesus. When we came into this world, he lived the life we could not live; he died the death we deserved; was raised to life from the grave so we could stand before God forgiven–not perfect. We will never be perfect, but we are being perfected.
Redemption is what Jesus has done to remove the burden of our sin debt. He was submitted the coupon of his blood for the balance of sin in the world. The hymn writer was correct when they said
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
(Source)
Repentance is not something to get better at over time. It is a pivot point in our lives.
This is a word far too often used by those who have not fully understood its meaning (or even experienced its reality). The underlying reality of this word has escaped many of us because we have thought of it in degrees rather than as a simple, completed whole. What does this mean? It means we think we have more time to “get it right,” when the truth of the matter would frighten us. Repentance is not something to get better at over time. It is a pivot point in our lives.
The original intent of repentance has been described a change of mind. We are not talking about a curious thought crossing through our minds or something to just sit and mull over. When we encounter the truth of the Gospel of Jesus we have a choice to make. We can turn around or we can keep moving forward. Repentance is turning away from anything and everything not in line with God’s word and will. This is what God is expecting and calling us to. We must turn from sin, not with the indifference of an distasteful odor, but with the intentionality and seriousness of a death inducing threat.
Maybe this is the problem. We have lost our fear of sin and thereby lost our fear of God. As I write this I am moved by my tendency to minimize my sin because I know how marvelous God’s grace is. This may be what Paul meant when he said the following in Romans 6.
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
What I have come to see is that repentance is not a one time choice. It is a constant act. One requiring the heart and mind to work toward holiness. What we have to see is that the only reason we do this is due to the work of the Holy Spirit of God as he moves us to such an act of obedience. As we move to closer Easter we must seek as clear an understanding as we can of what it means to be a citizen of God’s kingdom. My prayer is that you will join me on this journey.
This morning the town of Newtown, CT, was ravaged by the news that an elementary school was taken hostage and the lives of over 25 people were ended, some before they had even had a chance to really begin. When news like this hits it spreads quickly because that is what bad news does. So many thoughts comes to mind about how bad this event is. None of them are good and most of them remind me of what is wrong with the world. A world without love and hope will lead to death and chaos.
As a man of faith I am further convinced that the world does not have the answers to the brokenness of the human heart and soul. Life devoid of God and faith divorced from Jesus will never lead to the kind of peace people hope the government to provide. Followers of Jesus must refrain from placing any faith in the systems of this world. They are broken, tainted and governed by principles that are anathema to the Kingdom of God.
What I dread is the fact that some will being posturing and positioning this horrible tragedy to make a point that neither considers the victims or their families. Some politicians will use this (eventually) to mark some points with someone about needing more gun control. Second Amendment folks will argue that we can’t blame the guns. I have to be honest, I could care less. The only thing that hurts my heart is thinking of all those families (moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents and others) who have had their lives, not just turned upside down, but destroyed. Life as we all know it has changed… again.
This is why I write. These kinds of tragedies just keep happening and they will continue to happen because we are not living in a utopia. That place does not exist! It never will because the people who would make it up are irreparably flawed. The only cure is the heart transplant the comes from a relationship with God in Christ. I am not trying to be trite or overly simplistic. I am trying to point to the only solution that I have found and is available to solve the human predicament.
There will never be an explanation satisfying enough to help the hurting hearts and souls of those who have lost today. No answers will make what has happened go away or feel better. The wound that was inflicted this morning may never truly heal. Time may dull the pain, but it will never remove the memory. The pain of loss, and that of a child, will linger in the dark corners of the heart for as long as blood courses through vein and artery.
Now is the time to invite God in and even to invite him to come. Only then will there be an end to senseless and unconscionable acts of violence. There was something more than innocence destroyed today. We are losing our ability to imagine a better world. The illusion of a good world is being chipped at by the evil that lays potential within the human heart. I am losing my faith in humanity. And maybe I should be. Humanity has never had to power to save itself. Something we seem to have forgotten.
People of God, pray. Pray for peace and comfort. Pray for the strength to love and continue to live. Pray that hope would come in the morning after the dark night of this day. Pray. Pray. Pray.
If anyone needed a reminder of the reality of suffering and sin, we have seen another example this morning in the early hours of The Dark Knight Rises premier. Reports are still being clarified, but the alleged suspect arrived and threw a tear gas like gas in the theater and then proceed to fire an unknown number of weapons and rounds of ammunition. As of this writing twelve are reported dead and over forty injured in a variety of ways. As many may be asking at this point in the day, “What was the point?”
The sad truth is that there may never be an answer that will satisfy those of us that are wondering. There will never be an answer that will ease the pain of the loss of life. Events like this occur far too often, but it is not until a sensational event takes place, like the one this morning that our attentions are sharply drawn. I am frustrated by this. I am angry that this has happened again. But, some of my frustration and some of my anger is pointed at a culture that insists that it understands the deepest longings of the human heart, mind and soul. We have become so enlightened that we are more ignorant and more perverse than ever before.
I find it somewhat ironic that James Holmes, the suspect that was arrested, was released from the University of Colorado where he was a PH.D. student in neuroscience.
While I was finishing my undergraduate degree, I had to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It is an interesting tale of a man by the name of Tomáš. His defining characteristic is that he has an insatiable sexual appetite. And yet, he never seems to find any peace or satisfaction. Instead of finding a weightiness to his existence, Tomáš realizes that his being is unbearable light. There is no substance, no significance, nothing of value or worth to his life. As you read the book you find that it is not in the abundance of pleasure that you find meaning. This is the strange existential reality of life. While many of us who heard about this terrible event feel sorrow and mourn with those that have lost; and while we feel a righteous anger toward the one who committed these heinous acts, we eventually all turn our attentions inward.
We turn inward because we think about what we would have done if we had been there. We turn inward wondering how we would feel if we had been injured, known someone who died or second guessed our decision to get out without helping others. We turn inward because we all are faced with the undying and unrelenting question, “Am I doing anything with my life worth remembering?” This is a fundamental reality.
If we were honest with ourselves we would have to acknowledge the general self-centeredness of our lives. I hate to even admit it, but it is true. We more often than not are looking out for “good ole #1.” What do we have in our lives that helps us to counteract this? The only example we have is Jesus’ self-less love for sinners. Jesus died for those that deserved it least. We are the reason for his death and suffering and he is the reason for our life and joy.
Paul says it this way in Philippians 2:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NKJV)
The mind of Christ, as Paul calls it describes the change that takes place within those who follow Jesus. This change affects everything that we do, especially how we see and respond to tragedies like the one that occurred this morning. I do not make any claims in knowing how Jesus would respond to this event. I do think that it would include sorrow, weeping and a desire to serve those affected.
A dark night rose last night. It just was not the one that everyone was looking forward to.
Came across this quotation from Pastor Erwin W. Lutzer:
“The thief’s forgiveness reminds us that there is more grace in God’s heart than sin in our past.”
Amen to that!
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say,"… 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (Genesis 3:1a, 8-11, ESV)
What was the first sin? It has been described in different ways: pride, greed, ignorance, being deceived. In the end it doesn’t matter what you call the first sin, there is one undeniable reality that remains. At the root of the first sin was a failure to be satisfied by God and God alone.
As we look at what faith is, we must take the time to consider that faith must be pointed at something. Faith that is not moving, or said another way, faith that does not cause us to move is not faith. Faith is an action word. What makes this word different and unique when we talk about it in a Christian sense is that the object of our faith is not a place or state of being. The object of our faith is actually something that is really unexpected. As followers of Jesus and believers in the Gospel of Jesus, the object of our faith is God. God is the only object in all of the universe that is worthy of worship and devotion.
Now that we have the obvious statement out of the way, we have to take this a step further and realize what we are saying. God is not merely the one that calls us to a better life. God is the better life that we are striving to have. God is not merely offering us joy and peace and grace in this life. God is the joy and peace and grace that are lives need. To get to the point: If God is not enough, then nothing else will be either. What we have to see is that as we are looking for the things that God offers to us because of our relationship with Jesus, we fail to see that what God is offering to us is himself.
Look at this statement that Jesus gave to the disciples in John 15:
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)
What is the location that Jesus is inviting us to? It is not someWHERE, but rather to someONE. Come to ME. Jesus is not saying that in being physically close to him we will find peace and rest. Jesus is saying that he is the peace and rest and if we are in relationship with him we will have what we are longing for.
I will admit, this is not an easy subject to think about or consider. But, we have to take the time to understand what this means for us. I don’t remember who said this first or who said it to me, but it has never left me. It goes like this, “We are so busy looking at God’s hands, that we have stopped looking at God’s face.” I don’t know about you, but this is very true of me. I can fall into the “give me” game that I forget that what God is interested is in the “with me” game. God wants us to be with him.
This is the sad scene that we find in Genesis 3. God has created paradise, but that is not enough. God has given freedom, but that is not enough. God has given them responsibility, but that is not enough. God has given them pleasure, and that is not enough. God has given himself, and we see that even this does not satisfy the first couple. Why was it so “easy” to trick and trap Adam and Eve into sin? It was easy because when we are given everything we want, we think that there is more to be had. There was nothing missing in Eden. Everything that they could have ever wanted was there, but in an attempt get more they lost it all. We still haven’t figured that out. We still are trying to exceed the boundaries of God’s love and grace.
There it is. The great sin is not that Adam and Eve disobeyed God. I am not diminishing this. The great sin was that they believed that they needed more than what God has provided for them. As we walk this path of faith, we must recognize that faith is not the ever increasing experience of new things. Faith is the simple delight in the same thing, in this case, God himself. God is the only thing, and he is also everything.
Where are you? Have you allowed the extravagant opportunities of this world distract you from the simple joy of fellowship with God? Has your heart been dulled by the constant barrage of stimuli offered to every sense? What is it that is keeping you distracted from looking forward to those moments spent with God in the “cool of the day”? Until we allow God to satisfy our every need, longing, desire and appetite we will struggle to live the abundant life that Jesus promised.
Faith is… totally and unashamedly satisfied with the Person of God.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7)
This is a very significant verse of Scripture. John gives two basic principles in this passage. First, he tells us that the Christian needs to walk in the light as He (God) is in the light. John does not say that Christians can or should live according to the light. That would mean that we could be sinless and we all know this is impossible. The Apostle says, instead, to “walk in the light.” This is a reference to our submission to God’s truth. God is truth (light) and the evidence that we are walking in the light is determined by our reception of God’s truth.
The second principle is that we “have fellowship with one another.” Most of the time this phrase is interpreted to mean that we have fellowship with fellow Christians. But this is not what John is saying at all. The fellowship John is speaking of is between the Christian and God. Allow me a paraphrase.
Since God is light (truth) and if we become transparent enough to accept God’s truth (His light), then we can have fellowship with God because we will both be connected through the light of His truth.
It is this fellowship with God in the truth that makes the third clause of the passage even more powerful: “He purifies us from all sin.” What a blessing to be in God’s presence and feel cleansed of all sin simply because we accept His truth and walk in His light! Amen.
Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/20/09)
