When I read Psalm 46:10, I find it interesting that God says, “Be
still, and know that I am God.” The Hebrew word for “still” means to
“cease striving,” or, literally, “to put our hands at our side.” At
first glance this seems to be a rather risky piece of advice, since our
first instinct in trouble is to keep our hands on the situation and
control it to our advantage. God in essence is saying, “Hands off! Let
Me deal with your problem, and rest assured that the outcome is in My
hands.”
But knowing when to take our hands off and let God work can make us
feel vulnerable. Unless, that is, we believe that God is indeed “our
refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (v.1) and that “the
Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (v.7). In the midst of trouble, we can rest in God’s care.
I'm one who finds it hard to let go. It's important for me to remember to put things in God's hands.
If you think a past sin disqualifies you from serving Christ, consider Peter. That's who Joe Stowell points to in this piece, which I recommend you read.
Some people refuse to worship or get involved in a local church because they feel that they're not good enough. Pay heed to the wisdom of Virgil M., a member of the first congregation I served as a pastor:
"If there weren't any sinners in the church, it would be an empty place."
He's right!
If you're a sinner who can acknowledge your dependence on the mercy God gives to all with faith in Jesus Christ, God has great plans for you!
Learning what they are begins, as it did for Peter, with confession, repentance, and belief in Christ. As with Peter, that happens within the fellowship of Christ's very body on earth, the Church.
If you're an imperfect sinner, I invite you to be in worship this weekend with Christ's fellowship of recovering imperfect sinners, the Church. The Word of God you encounter there can erase the power of sin to keep you from becoming all that God made you to be.
When it comes to church membership, only sinners need apply.
And only sinners who trust that Christ is greater than their sin can be used by God. If you doubt it, just consider Peter.
Leaving out for now any concern regarding the specific sin of intimate same-sex relationships, the video below is disturbing.
Taken from a presentation held during freshman orientation at a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Gustavus Adolphus College, both atheism and sexual intimacy outside of marriage are commended. Both notions, of course, are contrary to the teaching of Scripture.
It also conveys the curious idea that we human beings are the hapless victims of sexuality, the idea that our biology must inevitably force us to express our particular sexual impulses.
Really? We're animals driven by instinctive forces and not human beings with the capacity to make decisions?
Are Christians then mere automatons, rather than Spirit-filled people given the power to God to live as loving, responsible human beings? If we're instinct-driven automatons, then what's that whole confession of sin thing about?
Granted, not all students who choose to attend a Christian college or university are Christians. But if non-Christians do come to such Christian institutions, they should be forewarned that those institutions are built on the Gospel, the teachings of Scripture, and the Lordship of Jesus. It should be made clear to them that those building blocks will inform every course, every administrative decision, and the total social life of the institution.
While the Gustavus Adolphus orientation presentation commendably attempts to address the horrors of bigotry and name-calling, it also commends sinful behavior and, in the case of atheism, spiritually dangerous behavior.
It conveys the notion that sexual promiscuity of all types and atheism are intrinsic impulses we cannot and should not resist. I agree that faith doesn't come naturally to us as human beings. Adhering to God's will doesn't either. But, God's words to Cain in the Old Testament, apply to us as well: "...Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." The orientation doesn't commend mastery of sin and its temptations, but acquiescence to whatever impulses may be driving us, irrespective of the will of God.
Sin isn't to be commended; it is to be mastered. Of course, we can't do this on our own. We are born into sin, each of us born with common sinful inclinations and some that may be more peculiar to ourselves, what I call our "sins of specialization." Some may be tempted by the inclination to get rich at others' expense, for example, while others aren't even be moved by such inclinations. Some may have to battle to resist the temptation to take God's Name in vain, while others find the appeal of cursing and the general misuse of the gift of language indecipherable. It appears that we human beings then, have sins which we, either by heredity or socialization, find more appealing than others. Our peculiarities in this regard are something we all appear to have in common.
But as we humbly appeal to the power and goodness of the God we know in Jesus Christ, sin can be mastered. Temptation can be resisted. Jesus relied on God and God's Word during His wilderness temptations. We can rely on God and God's Word, too.
A man once wrote to me about his lengthy battle with pornography—a disheartening cycle that punctuated seasons of victory with crushing forays back into an online world of empty lust. Finally, he found that putting a visible reminder of Jesus in the corner of his computer screen helped him achieve lasting victory. That constant reminder of the One who set him free caused the offensive Web sites to lose their appeal. The man wasn’t tapping into some gigabyte good-luck charm. He was giving himself a simple reminder of the teaching of Colossians 3 where Paul says, “put to death . . . fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness” (v.5).
When we turn our eyes toward Jesus, He becomes a powerful reminder that our old life “died, and [our] life is hidden with Christ in God” (v.3).
In Galatians 5:19-25, the Bible says:
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
None of us is perfect. Christians sin. That's why we repent. That's why I repent daily...often hourly...for my sins. The Holy Spirit comes to those who lay their lives before Christ enables Jesus Followers to fight temptation each day, not to surrender to our temptations.
But those who sin unrepentantly are telling God to go away, a request that God will respectfully fulfill.
And those who turn God down are throwing away their lives, severing themselves from the God Who gives life and meaning to this life.
God loves us and wants to give us life. God makes that life available to all people through repentance for sin and faith in Jesus Christ.
That teaching may be suppressed, repressed, or ignored at other academic institutions, of course. All people and institutions have the freedom to ignore Christ and the Bible.
But at a Christian institution, it seems to me, even while respecting the beliefs of others and not expecting acquiescence from its student body to Christian belief, that the Lordship of Jesus and the teachings of Scripture will always be held up.
Church-affiliated institutions should be unapologetic in their advocacy of the Lordship of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the necessity of Christ for salvation, the truth about sin and God's grace for sinners, and belief in the existence of God.
Lutherans love to sing, "Lift high the cross!" Why should Lutheran colleges and universities then, put the cross away and instead commend the life style of, "Lift high whatever boat you want to float"?
Does the important principle of academic freedom mandate that the teachings of Scripture be dissed and condemned at a church-related college?
Does this example of political correctness and heedlessness of Scripture's teachings cause any ELCA member to think twice about support ELCA-related colleges and universities in any way?
At the very least, I think, it should incite all ELCA Lutherans like me, who love the Church and want what's best for it, to redouble their efforts to reform the Church, to stand firm for the Lordship of Jesus, the authority of Scripture and the truth of the Lutheran Confessions, and above all, to pray without ceasing that God will spiritually renew the Church, turning it from all its errors and heresies.
The world needs the God revealed in Jesus. It should be a given that at least Christians and the Church would realize that.
Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness speaks deceitfully. 18Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 19Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment. 20Deceit is in the mind of those who plan evil, but those who counsel peace have joy. 21No harm happens to the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. 22Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Also read Proverbs 6:16-19:
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, 19a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.
"Rather than becoming more crotchety, intolerant, and unloving, the maturing follower of Jesus grows better at forgiving, loving, and caring." Please read the whole thing.
If God were fair, I personally would be in an eternity of trouble. But God is patient with all of us. In the New Testament, the apostle Peter, writing to Christians anxious for Christ's return, talked about not just God's patience, but the purpose behind God's patience:
...do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)
Until Christ returns at the end of earthly history, God's patience with human rebelliousness, lovelessness, injustice, and immorality will continue. God is giving the whole Church on earth the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with others, so that people have the chance to turn away from sin (repent) and to trust in (believe in) Jesus as God, Savior, Lord, and Messiah, the One Who destroys the power of sin and death over us.
Peter goes on to write though:
10But the day of the Lord [the day when the risen and ascended Jesus] will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. (2 Peter 3:10)
The time will come when God the Father will send the Son to draw the curtain on the life of this world. Besides that, none of us can know when the curtain will be drawn on our own individual lives. We dare not presume on the merciful patience of God, as a world or as individuals.
Our call then, is clear: To repent and trust in Jesus while we can and then to live in that characteristic lifestyle of the Christian, as described by Martin Luther: "daily repentance and renewal," daily surrender to the will, lordship, and grace of God, given to all the world through Jesus Christ and His cross.
For the follower of Jesus Christ, self-righteousness will never do. My sins are as worthy of condemnation as any other person's. I am as worthy of everlasting separation from God--of hell--as anyone else. It's only by God's grace that I have hope.
I'm thankful that God doesn't give me what we deserve: First, God shows mercy by affording us the chance to know Christ; second, God passes over the sins of those who surrender to Christ, submitting to God's will for their lives.
Thank God that God isn't fair! But why keep presuming on God's unfairness when you can surrender to Jesus and His grace and begin savoring today, this very moment, an eternal relationship with your loving God.
Jesus said, "“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16).
If you don't enjoy a personal relationship with Jesus Christ yet, I invite you to explore what such a relationship is like.
One good place to begin that exploration is to read the Gospel of John. You'll get to know Jesus there.
Then, you might want to consider continuing your exploration by visiting a church near you: go to worship, get involved in a Bible study or in Sunday School, make an appointment with a pastor or a priest who will pray with you and help you know Jesus.
Once you get to know Jesus personally, I'm confident that, as was true for me when I was in my mid-20s, you'll want to follow Jesus...and you'll thank God every day that God isn't fair!
