Category: devotional

Tone and Walking Worthy of the Calling

pastortravislv

Ephesians 4:1-3 – 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

So you’re a Christian. Lovely. What parts of your life look different? Does your speech change? Does your attitude change? Do only bigtime outer behaviors change?

After Paul has shared the gospel with clarity in his letter to the Ephesians, he turns to calling the church to live in a way that befits the gracious plan of God. The Lord wants his people to have lives that reflect the fact that we are saved, forgiven, followers of God. And that change will come in many areas.

In our present world, there are some interesting arguments happening regarding issues related to speech. Particularly, this argument happens around the word “tone.” there are a few groups who suggest that no Christian should be checked in his or her speech or writing based on tone. There are others who use tone as if this is the final trump card allowing them to demand that nobody ever say anything with which they disagree or which might hurt their feelings. Is one group right?

As the Lord through Paul calls us to walk worthy of the calling, I notice that he particularly is interested in our attitude. We are to walk with all humility, having a properly lowly view of ourselves and our own goodness. We are to walk with gentleness, meekness, with our strength kept under control. Just consider those two things in how you converse, especially on-line where conversation tends to lose civility. Is your speech humble? Would someone think that your view of yourself is in check? Is your attitude gentle as Jesus claimed to be gentle in heart toward us (Mat 11:28-30)? Understand, gentle does not mean that you refuse to use strength. Gentle simply means that you use strength under control. In speech, this would mean speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).

Walking worthy of the calling includes patience, a willingness to suffer long for the sake of the glory of God and the good of others. It includes bearing with one another in love. These must include a patience with those with whom we disagree but who are in the family of God. Loving others must include true sacrifice for their good, including sometimes sacrificing our perceived right to get the last word for the sake of the life and good of another. The one who walks worthy of the calling is eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are careful to make sure that believers understand that we are on the same team, in Christ, even when we may need to correct.

OK, so does that put me on the tone police or anti-tone side of on-line debates? Neither. In point of fact, I am on the walk worthy of the calling side. If your on-line conversation, or your personal conversation, fails to demonstrate humility, gentleness, and unity, your conversation has a problem. And, yes, your tone, your choice of words, your attitude, your illustration, your sarcasm all can communicate that you are not humble, not gentle, and not seeking unity in the faith or willing to bear with others through their weakness.

Ah, so have I just proved I’m actually a big tone monitor? No. Why? Because, if a person is in sin, teaching things that dishonor the Lord, they must be corrected. And it is likely that none of us, when corrected, will feel like the person who corrected us was ever gentle enough. Correction hurts. Reproof almost always brings emotional pain. And the more a fool I have made of myself as I try to double down on my particular behavior or my particular doctrine, the more I will be upset when somebody shows me that I need to change.

I would recommend, whether on-line or in person, you check your attitude and actions in a different way depending on whether you are the one rebuked or the one doing the rebuking. Are you introducing a polemic? Speak the truth. Be strong. Be clear. But, if that clarity is not gentle, strength under control, then you are not walking worthy of the calling. If your words are snarky, insulting, harsh, ugly, mean-spirited, you really cannot claim to be humble, to have unity in mind, or to simply be loving. Remember the call to restore wayward brothers gently (Gal. 6:1-2). You can be strong and meek at the same time. And, be honest enough with yourself and with the Lord to know where your weakness lies. Are you more apt to cower and not tell the truth out of the fear of man? Are you more apt to try to score points by being nasty and belittling? Battle against your own sin as you seek to speak the truth in love.

Be careful not to excuse bad behavior simply because you just know that you’re right. Be careful thinking that, since Jesus turned over temple tables, you are Christlike enough that you can come crashing into somebody else’s world with the same righteous indignation. Be careful thinking that the sarcastic words of Elijah to the prophets should mark your daily interactions with those who oppose your view. Yes, maybe there is a time when really hard speech needs to be used. But, if this is what people regularly accuse you of, perhaps there is more of the flesh and less walking worthy of the calling in your life than you think. Be bold enough to examine yourself and ask the Lord to show you if, just maybe, you are not the perfect prophet you have built yourself up to be in your own mind.

But, if you are more likely to ignore an argument because you dislike another’s tone, be careful. One of the words translated “repent:” in our Bibles’ is a word that means to feel differently, and it implies a godly sorrow. If you are wrong and you are reproved, it is very likely that you will emotionally not like it. If you are given to shutting down if your emotions are tweaked, fight against that. Read past the tone you do not like. Listen beyond your feels. Ask the Lord if there is any truth in the case another is making, even if you think the person making the case is being a stinker. Do not shut down a person’s solid, biblical argument just because you are offended by the person. Be determined to embrace the truth of God even if you do not think the person bringing that truth is acting godly.

Dear friends, may we walk worthy of our calling. That means that we walk in the word of God. And it means that we walk in humility, gentleness, love, and all the rest.

The Mistakes of Mrs. Job

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Job 2:6, 9-10
6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

The account of Job and his suffering is something that is familiar to most believers. The Lord allowed Job to go through great suffering as a testament to the glory and faithfulness of the Lord. And this kind of experience is something we can sometimes struggle to understand, especially when we suffer in our land.

Two things get my attention as I look at what happened in Job 2. First, as people often point out, God is in control. When the devil challenged the Lord, God prescribed his boundaries. Satan had no ability to go one inch further than the Lord allowed. In verse 6, God said the devil was not allowed to take Job’s life.

In verses 9 and 10, we see the conversation between Job and his wife. Often when I have read it, I have thought of Mrs. Job as another form of persecution for the Old Testament saint. Today, however, I hear the words of Job’s wife as something pretty familiar. She faces hardship in the life of someone she loves, and she despairs. Mrs. Job loses her way, stops trusting God in her circumstances, and fails. And her failure is not something we only see in her.

Today, there are many in our world who would curse God for the hardships we face. Many would suggest that, if God does not manage the world in a way they understand and approve, they should be free to curse God and do things their own way. We see this in those who demand the right to sin in order to exact the justice they desire. We see this in those who say they will never follow God if he allows tragedies like natural disasters and school shootings. We see this in those who refuse to worship God in his commanded ways if his limitations do not allow for women in the pulpit or a redefinition of marriage.

In point of fact, Mrs. Job’s counsel to curse God and die is not foreign to us. Yes, it’s pitiful, but it is not strange. And her failure is born out of two problems in thought. First, Job’s wife has forgotten that this universe exists first and foremost for the glory of the Almighty. As she watches her husband suffer so greatly, as she faces the loss of so many and so much that was dear to her, she fails to set in her heart that God is the highest purpose and most valuable being there is.

Second, Job’s wife has taken her eyes off of eternity. She has forgotten that whatever we go through in the here and now is brief, infinitesimally brief, when compared to the forever that people will spend in the presence of the Lord. Yes, Job suffered. Yes, his wife suffered. But that suffering will only last a moment.

As we look at a world with terrible hardships all around us, may we not make the mistakes of Mrs. Job. May we remember that God is in control. May we remember that God’s glory is the highest good. And May we remember that we are not living in this broken life forever. There is an eternity ahead of us where we will glorify and be comforted by the God who made us if we find ourselves under his grace through Jesus. .

Does Your Gospel Sound Like This?

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Luke 24:45-47 – 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

What is the gospel? How do we proclaim it? What is the Great Commission? How do we obey it?

Here at the end of Luke’s telling of the gospel, we see Jesus present the Lukan version of the Great Commission. It does not contain everything that we see in Matthew, but it still shows us something important.

Boiling this passage down, Jesus, in commissioning his disciples, tells them that they should understand his death and resurrection and they should proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins. That is all Luke was led by the Spirit of God to include in his expression of the Great Commission. And I think we should learn from it.

The first part is easy. We know that anybody who gets the gospel must grasp the death and resurrection of Jesus. After all, there is no gospel without the Son of God dying to pay the price for the sins of others. There is no gospel if Jesus stays in his grave. We must see that the price was fully paid and that all who are saved by Jesus will live with him eternally just as he lives after death in a glorious, resurrection body.

But how about that other part? When you think about the gospel, when you share it, would you describe your gospel presentation as the proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins? Is that the message of your church? Or have other things snuck in there?

What is present in this gospel? Those who repent are saved. What is repentance? To repent is to change how you think, how you feel, and what you do. To repent in a gospel context is to stop thinking you are OK on your own. It is to stop trusting in yourself and your own goodness. It is to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and your only hope of salvation through is life, death, and resurrection. It is to genuinely sorrow over your sin and to understand that you have earned the judgment of God. It is to throw yourself on the mercy of Jesus, asking for salvation based solely on Jesus and his finished work. And it is a salvation that, once you receive it, leads to a new life of repentance where you continue to turn from sin and continue to trust in and obey the Lord.

What is not in this message? Look at the text. It’s not anything gimmicky. It’s not a sappy, emotion-only appeal. There is nothing here that should lead a church to try to bribe someone into the gospel with giveaways, false promises of prosperity, or capitulation to modern political whims. There is no message that says that you can have salvation while continuing to be and believe all that you were and thought before salvation. There is a demand for faith that will change your very life even as that demand tells you that you are saved by Jesus and not by your change.

I would never want us to proclaim a loveless message of a harsh Jesus. Nor would I suggest that there is not beauty in the promise of grace. But I do believe that many a church has mistaken the call to make disciples for a call to make converts by any means necessary. I believe that many seek to draw people to pray a prayer without actually calling them to repentance. I believe that many people are fooled into thinking they have checked the box to gain a free pass to heaven without ever being called to change a single thing about who they are. And that kind of presentation is not a call to repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Is the message about God’s love? O yes! God is wonderfully, gloriously loving toward his people. All of us have sinned. All of us deserve judgment. God has provided one and only one way of salvation. None of us can work to earn it. The way of salvation is Jesus, his perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. The way of salvation is by God’s grace through faith alone, trusting Jesus alone. And God’s way of salvation can be summarized by this call, “Repent!” All who wish to be saved let go of everything to take hold of Jesus. All who wish to be saved stop thinking they can define morality in their own way, and they surrender to the lordship of Jesus. All who wish to be saved turn from sin to follow Jesus. All who wish to be saved trust only in Jesus. And when they are saved, all who are saved are saved, not by their actions, but by the person and the finished work of Jesus.

A gloriously God-Focused Testimony

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Galatians 1:15-17 – 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

How do you speak of your salvation? What words do you use? When you speak of being saved, are you the prime mover? Does your doctrine of salvation focus more attention on yourself or on the Lord?

Just recently, we had a new members class at our church. Eight folks sat with me through an afternoon of looking at our church’s beliefs, structures, values, strategies, and all the rest. In the beginning of that class, we took time simply to get to know one another. The stories of how couples met, how people found their way to Vegas, and past church experiences were fascinating.

Of course, in our discussion, we talked with each other about how each person came to faith. Some had particular moments they could point to. Some had only a season of life that blossomed over time into true trust in Christ. And many in the group included in their story a time when they grew in greater understanding of the gospel they had already received. For many, as they grew, a greater grasp of the powerful working of God that drew them to salvation gave them great hope, peace, and joy.

So, this morning as I was reading Galatians, I found myself drawn to Paul’s words of personal testimony beginning in verse 15 of chapter 1 and the four parts of that testimony that give all the glory to the Lord. Paul, speaking of his salvation and his later calling to ministry, says that God had set him apart before he was born. Like Jeremiah, Paul is clear that God knew him before he was formed in the womb. God not only was aware of Paul’s person, but God chose a path and purpose for Paul before Paul was conceived and before Paul had ever chosen to do anything either good or bad. God predestined Paul.

Next, in his testimony, Paul declares that god called him by his grace. Think here of what you do and do not hear in that. Paul does not give you a big list of the ways in which he investigated the faith before coming to a conclusion. Nor does Paul talk about his willingness to give God a try in order to fix his struggling marriage or to give his waning career a boost. Paul simply says that, by his grace, God called Paul. The picture is not one of Paul set on neutral ground, given two options, and picking the one he liked better. The picture is of a firm, authoritative, commanding, calling voice of God moving Paul from death to life, from lostness into salvation.

Then Paul points out that God revealed his Son. Paul did not know Jesus. If you know Paul’s story, you know that Paul had many of the facts about Jesus. Paul just hated Jesus and the church that followed Jesus. But one day, one single moment, took place that changed Paul forever. Jesus came to Paul. Jesus powerfully took Paul by the soul and changed him. Jesus changed Paul, by grace, out of love, for God’s glory.

Then, Paul says that this also included his life-change and mission. God had set Paul apart, called him, and revealed Christ to him. Once Paul was drawn to Christ, Paul had a new life mission, to preach Christ. Paul was no longer to be a man living for advancement in the Jewish religious ranks. Paul was to suffer for the sake of the gospel that saves souls and truly honors the Lord. Paul was to take the message of Jesus to Jew and gentile alike. Paul was to proclaim that salvation is not to be found in obedience to Jewish laws or participation in ceremonies but only in repentant faith in Christ. And Paul would find joy and eternal reward in doing what God had planned for him since before he was born.

When Paul told his story, he was clear that all glory for his salvation belongs to the Lord. God set Paul apart before birth. Paul can take no credit for that. God called Paul to himself. Again, Paul cannot claim that he did something to make that happen. God revealed Jesus to Paul. That was not the future apostle’s doing. And God changed the newly believing Paul into a powerful preacher, missionary, and author of Scripture. No way would Paul say that he had earned that job.

What about you? Are you saved? How do you speak of your salvation? Does your testimony as you present it include God’s plan for you from before the dawn of time? Do you tell of God grabbing you and drawing you, calling you, supernaturally changing you and pulling you to himself? Do you tell of God showing you the truth of Christ by God’s revelatory power and not by your intellectual wranglings? Do you tell of how God changed you and set you on mission for Christ?

The interesting thing is you do not have to have a dramatic testimony like that of Paul to have this story. Even if you were converted as a young child, this story is still yours. God predestined you to salvation. God called you to want him, moving you by his power. God revealed to you your need for Jesus. And God gave you a mission, to live for him and his glory for the rest of your life.

Think about your testimony. Think about your doctrine of salvation. Be sure that as you tell your story, you know that it is far more about the God who saved you than the you he saved. Give God the glory he so richly deserves. And continue to yield yourself to the mission that God saved you and gave you to accomplish.

Puffed Up or Built Up

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1 Corinthians 8:1-3 – 1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

In Corinth, a controversy stirred as to whether or not a Christian could eat meat that had been offered in the temple of an idol. Such meat was later sold in the market and certainly might be on the table in a person’s home. Some believers believed that to eat that meat was to participate in the worship of the idol. Some thought differently.

As Paul begins to address this issue—an issue I do not intend to be central in this post—he talks about a dangerous sort of knowledge. At the end of verse 1, Paul writes, “This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.” What is the “knowledge” that puffs up? How does it contrast with love? And how might this all apply to the lives of Christians today?

Contextually, it appears that the puffing up sort of knowledge has to do with a knowing of the truth that leads a believer to poorly treat a weaker brother or sister in the Lord. Because Bob knows that whether or not the food has been sacrificed to an idol, he is unkind when Jim is uncomfortable with it. What might Bob do? Perhaps he eats his food and makes a point to let Jim know what he is doing. Perhaps he dumps a truckload of knowledge on Jim’s head about this food whenever they are together. Perhaps he lets himself feel superior to Jim because Bob knows something that Jim simply is not knowledgeable enough to understand.

How then is love a contrast with knowledge? After all, none of us think that knowledge in and of itself is a bad thing. Love builds up. Whereas knowledge might fill one’s head with one’s own superiority, love will focus us on the good and the needs of others. Love will teach us to value the good of others even above our own comfort for the glory of God.

Consider Bob and Jim again. Bob knows that there is no worshipping of the idol if he happens to have a steak that was served in a home where idol-worshipers live. Jim is uncomfortable. What would love have Bob do? If Bob is not puffed up, Bob will certainly refrain from making fun of Jim for his confusion. Instead of mocking Jim for his lack of knowledge, Bob will speak wisely, gently, and even kindly to Jim. Perhaps Bob will seek to help Jim understand what Bob knows. Perhaps Bob will listen to Jim to better understand him even though Bob does not agree with him.

Will Bob then refuse to ever eat meat? Interestingly, this is something Paul said he would be willing to do if it would help in 8:13. However, I do not assume that this means that every Christian, in every circumstance, must put away every part of his life that others do not understand. Just before Paul talked about not eating meat, he particularly mentioned a hypothetical situation in which people were to see him eating in an idol’s temple, a place where people could be very confused as to whether or not he was participating in the worship of that idol. Paul’s greater point is that he would not want to do another person harm because of knowledge without love.

How might this apply in today’s world? Of course we could take this chapter and try to develop an exacting standard relating to liberty of conscience issues that are divisive in our culture: alcohol, entertainment, etc. But rather than focusing on the issues, I am focused as I write on the love side of things. I do not think that this passage is intended to tell us how to come down on the meat or no meat, drink or no drink, movies or no movies issues. Instead, I think that a greater point exists that we should treasure our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should love and build one another up. Sure, sometimes love means that you will forego your rights for the sake of another person’s conscience. Sometimes love will mean that you are careful as to how or even where you exercise your liberties. But always, absolutely always, love should prevent you from thinking yourself superior to a brother who does not understand what you understand. Love will keep you from mocking that brother for his views. Love will keep you from dumping a truckload of knowledge on a brother’s head before first caring for and hearing that brother’s heart.

Want to make an application that is closer to home for many than alcohol or meat sacrificed to idols? OK, how about modern issues like COVID or CRT? You can, and in fact probably should, have strong opinions about these issues. You need knowledge here. And I would not suggest that you avoid expressing that knowledge. However, as you express your knowledge, are you showing yourself puffed up? Are you seeking to build up others? Or are you looking to dunk on someone on-line so that you can show how witty you are and how stupid the people are who disagree with you?

No, I’m not saying that there is no room to disagree. Neither am I suggesting that one’s beliefs related to those issues is irrelevant. Some of our social hot-button issues include significant baggage that could led others to dangerously unbiblical views. And, yes, we must warn against those views. But love builds up. Love teaches far more than it smashes. Love warns without seeking to squash the one warned. Yes, eventually, love will tell the church that the teaching of wolves in sheep’s clothing must be abandoned and anathemized. But I would suggest that, when this must be done, it is done with a broken heart far more than with a snappy flourish.

You’ll have to figure much of this out for yourself. And I surely do not want to encourage you to lower your guard on biblical truth. But I recommend that you also look into whether or not you have already lowered your guard on love. Are you puffed up? Do you build others up? If you are going to make a mistake, on which side are you more likely to err? Defend the word of God with zeal. Build others in the family of God up with joy. It’s hard to balance these two, but we must if we are to look like Jesus.

An Argument for Church Membership from a Different Direction

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1 Corinthians 6:1-8 – 1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!

Quite often, when I hear any reference made to the above passage, the reference has to do with whether or not a Christian can file a lawsuit against another person, especially another Christian. Of course, that is a fair topic of discussion in the passage. Paul is clear that there should not be a reputation in society of Christians going after one another in courts of law. But I think there is something that we miss if we only think that the question is, “To sue or not to sue?”

Paul’s argument is quite simple, and it speaks to a need that every Christian has. Small matters should be adjudicated in the church. Issues of conflict between members of the church should be brought before church leadership, and godly church leaders should be able to judge well enough to prevent Christians from going to law against one another.

Ask yourself what is implied in this standard. What does the word of God assume? It is almost a throw-away assumption, but it really matters. Assumed in this paragraph in the word of God is that every Christian will be so connected to his or her local church that the ways of God may be followed. It assumes that every local church should have recognized, godly leadership. It assumes that every local church will know who does and who does not belong to that church. It assumes that individuals will have a genuine concern not to go against the decisions handed down by church leaders and affirmed by the body. In short, this passage implies a clear grasp of biblical church membership.

Every Christian should be connected to a local church. Let’s not play the exception game here. We all know that a person providentially hindered by health or inalterable circumstance has to deal with that statement differently. But, given all normal life, every single Christian should be actively connected to a local church. Every local church should know exactly who is and who is not a member of that body. There is no way to follow the commands of God as a church if your church does not keep track of exactly for whom the church is responsible and who has sought to be a part of the body. And, no, attendance in general is not enough. No pastor or group of elders can be held responsible for the souls of every individual who happens to come in on a given Sunday morning. Shepherds have to have a way of identifying which sheep they are caring for and which belong to other flocks.

Are you a Christian? Go to church. Connect to your church. Officially join that church. Let the elders know that you want to be under their care. Let the elders know that you want to be someone they can count on.

Are you part of a church? Urge your leadership to take biblically based church membership seriously. Plead with leaders to know who belongs to the body and who does not. Plead with the body to recognize how important it is that we all know each other and care for one another. Ask for leaders to practice genuine church discipline with a heart for restoring the wayward.

The truth is, 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 makes no sense at all for a person who will not join a church. Nor does it make any sense for a church that is not faithful to pay attention to church membership and practice church discipline. Nor does it make sense for a person who says they are connected to a church but who will not connect with the life of that church. The passage only makes sense for a person who actively, joyfully, willingly joins and participates in the life of a local church.

I’m Not My Own Judge

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1 Corinthians 4:3-4 – 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

When writing to the Corinthian church, a body that had been playing favorites among different teachers, Paul is clear that he does not find their opinion of him to be a big deal. Their judgment is not how he evaluates his spiritual life before the Lord. And then Paul says something very helpful. The Apostle tells us that he also is not the one to truly evaluate his spiritual life. It is the Lord who judges him.

In our world today, we often will talk with people who will be quick to tell us how good they are. There are many who will tell us of the rightness of their choices, even choices that go against the word of God. And they will tell us that what they choose to do is OK because they feel no particular conviction regarding the issue.

Perhaps, however, we should take a lesson from Paul. Perhaps we should not think that we are the ultimate determiners of whether or not our thoughts and actions are righteous. Instead, perhaps we should hold our lives up to an external standard, an unchanging eternal standerd. Perhaps we should weigh our actions, our choices, our hearts against the holy word of Almighty God. The Bible will help us to know if we are doing and thinking things that please the Lord. The Bible is far more stable than our wavering emotions or society’s shifting standards. I am not my own judge. You are not your own judge. The Lord is the only judge.

I do not judge myself. It is the Lord who judges me. And, thanks be to God, he has caused to be perfectly written down for me what his standards of righteousness are . May I love the Lord and live under his word. And, thanks be to God, he has provided Jesus Christ to fulfill on my account the commands of God and cover my guilt for falling short of God’s glory.

Speaking Truth and Giving Offense

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Luke 11:45-46 – 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Sometimes the thing that you learn from in a passage is not exactly the passage’s teaching point. In Luke 11, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees and teachers of the law for their hypocrisy. But the content of the reproof is not what got my attention this time. Instead, the method of Jesus, particularly in light of recent conversations about tone, is on my mind.

In the middle of this conversation, lawyers, experts in the law, told Jesus that his rebuke of the Pharisees offended them, insulted them. What Jesus did in response was to double-down, directing his next series of reproofs specifically against the lawyers. They tell Jesus, “You’ are offending us.” Jesus responds, “Woe to you.”

One of the dangers of our present culture is that many see offending others as doing them harm. Thus, many believers refuse to directly speak out against sin. Instead of pronouncing the kind of woes that Jesus spoke against the Pharisees, many hide behind a series of qualifications, of prefacing remarks about how loving we really are, before hinting at the possibility that certain acts are destructive and forbidden by God. Many believe that they can soft-sell condemnation, look more loving, and draw crowds to the church. They fail to recognize that, if the church truly preaches the gospel, either people will be actually saved, or they will hate the message. After all, the gospel is either the aroma of life to life or death to death.

I think there is certainly a difference in being, for lack of a better term, a jerk and in being honest. We should be able to speak to others with class, respect, and civility. But as we tell the truth, we will offend others with the truth; there is just no avoiding it. Jesus could not have been Jesus and ignore the sin of the lawyers. The Savior was never going to say, “O, I’ve offended you? I’m sorry, just keep on doing what you’re doing.” That would not have been holy.

No, I do not wish to be ugly in my social interactions. I surely want, if I must offend others, to offend them with the content of the message and not its delivery. But, if I am going to be a faithful preacher of the word, I will have to say things that, no matter how I would try to package it, our modern culture will hate. I cannot refuse to tell the truth simply because somebody says that the truth insults them. And, thanks be to God, if I stick with the gospel and do not find ways to take ugly cheap shots, I’m going to look like Jesus in the process.

Unexplained Good Law

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2 Samuel 6:6-8 – 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.

Sometimes we fully understand the laws of God. Sometimes we do not. Some spend a great deal of time looking through Leviticus to offer explanations and rationales for the regulations. Why the food laws? Why the thing about boiling the young goat in its mother’s milk? Why not wear a garment of two fabrics?

In many a discussion of this sort, I have often responded with a reminder that God has every right to make a regulation for Israel, and for us, without explaining to us his rationale. We do not need explanation to obey our Heavenly Father any more than does a toddler need to know why mom and dad have made rules about not running out in the street. There well may be a solid reason that the toddler can understand. There may not be. But either way, the rule is good and, and the toddler should obey.

At the same time, I think it can be nice, from time-to-time, for us to see that God’s laws are not only right because he gave them. God’s laws are good because they are always good. God has never given a regulation that is unrighteous. The Holy One could not do that, as to do so would be to go against his very nature.

This all comes to mind as I watch the account of the death of Uzzah. This is a familiar passage for many a believer. Uzzah touched the ark of the covenant. The wrath of God burned against him for his presumption, and Uzzah died. And there we learn something of the deadly nature of holiness. The unholy dare not touch the holy.

We can draw from this account a gospel picture. If we were thrust into the holy presence of the Lord without the Lord doing something to shield us, to cover and take away our sin, we would be consumed. Like Uzzah, we are not nearly holy enough on our own to touch the holy. We would die. Thanks be to God that Jesus, the Son of God, took on flesh to pay for our sins and to impute to us his righteousness!

And, when it comes to understanding the law of God, this passage offers us a reminder that I find important in this time reading it through. Touching the ark will kill a sinful man. This is apparently why God gave meticulous instructions as to how the ark should be carried. It was to be wrapped up and not exposed. Levites who knew what they were doing were to carry the ark on their shoulders and walk it to its destination using the poles God commanded made for this purpose. And, had the people of God followed God’s instruction for carrying the ark, Uzzah would never have been in a position to come close to touching the ark or to have felt the need to do so.

What do I see here? God had a law. God’s law was good. God’s law had a purpose. And even if Uzzah or David did not understand the purpose behind the command of God, Uzzah and David should have obeyed. Taking the command of god lightly got Uzzah killed.

I’m grateful to God that Christ has come to fulfill the law of God on our behalf. I’m glad not to be under the Old Covenant codes. I’m glad not to be part of a legalistic religion. But I think there is great wisdom in realizing that God has good commands, even ones he does not explain to us all the way. It is good for us to trust the Lord and keep his commands for his glory and our good.

Unequally Yoking Your Affections

pastortravislv

2 Corinthians 6:11-16a

11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God…

I want to ask us to think about our affections. Whom do you love? Toward whom are your emotions stirred? Where are your loyalties? Do you realize that loyalty in one area can impact loyalties in a variety of areas in your life?

In 2 Corinthians 6, we see a verse and thought which are well-known by many Christians. This is the “unequally yoked” passage. Almost any faithful Christian reads this passage and knows that it tells us that Christians should not willingly and knowingly marry non-Christians. It is unwise for a Christian single to date someone who is not a believer. If our lives are going in different directions, we cannot pull the plow together.

For certain, I agree that not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers includes not dating or marrying someone outside of the faith. My goodness, as a pastor, I have seen far too many people’s faith deeply hurt by them attaching themselves to someone who does not share it. So often, a person’s walking out of the church for a season of life is tied to them developing a romantic attachment to someone who is not a part of the family of God. So, certainly, do not hear what I’m about to say as going against the classic teaching on this passage.

But I want to suggest that this passage is about more than dating. The passage is about developing tight connections to unbelievers in a variety of ways. It has to do with major business partnerships, deep friendships, strong admirations that develop devotion. After all, there is more than one way to yoke yourself together with another person. If yoking yourself together with a person has the ability to influence what you desire or how you think, you should be careful not to put on that type of yoke with someone whose life is valuing as ultimate things that you, as a Christian, cannot value as ultimate. If your life is given to Christ and his glory as number one, you will have a hard time living as a business partner with somebody whose top priority is increasing their own wealth, even for basically good reasons.

Now, let me expand even further. After all, in the past, I have had no problem applying unequally yoked to things beyond marriage. What I’m wondering about in this reading through this passage is the immediately prior context. Paul brings up the call not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers just after challenging the Corinthians about their affection for those who faithfully teach the word of God. The Corinthians seem to have grown disaffected toward Paul and those in his ministry who are bringing the faithful proclamation of God to the Corinthians. In the first letter, Paul also pointed out that there were divisions growing in the church as people followed this teacher or that one.

Why would Paul need to challenge the Corinthians not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers immediately after pointing out to them that their affection for faithful teachers of God has waned? Might it be that the more affection we give to the things of the world, the less affection we will have in our hearts for those who proclaim the word of God? Could it be that, as we grow more and more committed to things outside the church, our hearts have less and less room for loving the people of God, the teaching of God’s word, and the brothers and sisters in Christ who should be central in our affections?

I certainly do not wish to develop my own moralistic standard for you to have to follow here. But I would like for you to think for yourself about the things that can grab a person’s affections so as to lessen his or her affections for the things and the people of God. These things may or may not be evil things. But they can be a yoking of one’s heart with things that have nothing to do with the Lord and his ways. It might be a hobby, entertainment, or friendships. It might be a particular commitment to something political, to an activity for your kids, or to your favorite sports team. It could be scholastic, relaxing, or adventurous. It seems that, the more our hearts are committed to things that have nothing to do with God, the less our hearts have room to be committed to the things and the people of God.

So, without me spelling out what I think you are too committed to, especially when that commitment ties you together with those who do not love Jesus, let me ask you to examine your heart. Examine your time. Examine your budget. Examine your soul with true honesty. What is in your life that is keeping you from loving the people of God more? What is keeping you from loving the word of God and the worship of God more. Where have you voluntarily yoked yourself together with others who do not know the Lord? What was your original purpose? What is your purpose now? Is that purpose truly God-honoring?

Ask another way. Is your affection for the people of God dull? When you consider the people of God, do you just like people outside the church better? Is that a personality thing? Is there something wrong with the people of God? Is that a “you thing?” Might it be that your commitments to things that do not honor God have overridden your affection for eternal things?

Of course we are to love our neighbors and take the gospel to the nations. I’m not suggesting a monastic existence. However, if you are a maturing Christian, you can look at your life and see where your affection for the people of God needs to be widened. And you can, if you seek the Lord honestly, see where you may have yoked yourself too tightly to the world.