“Chronically Sin-Sick”

 

I’ve often said that the whole human race was plunged into eternal damnation by an infraction no greater than stealing a cookie from Grandma’s cookie jar.  My point, of course, is that there is no such thing as an insignificant, irrelevant, acceptable “little” sin (First John 5:17, “All unrighteousness is sin…”  and Romans 6:23, “…the wages of sin is death…”). 

 

To our dulled and hardened humanistic sensibilities, it may seem a mite harsh for God to send billions of people to hell because our grandfather ate a piece of fruit – forbidden as it was.  This only proves that we are all fools without God’s helpful enlightenment and wisdom. 

 

Truth – Adam ate in rebellion and disobedience.  The curse was a grantee that he chose willingly.  Obviously God did not celebrate when Adam made his foolish decision to trust himself, Lucifer and Eve (no offence intended ladies) rather than his Creator.  God clearly instructed the first man about the surety of death if he disobeyed.  Adam disregarded that warning and plunged all of us into misery.  Again, I’ve often said, don’t get mad at Adam – every time we sin ourselves (no matter how “minor” our error), we are essentially commending Adam for his choice; voting with him over and over again.

 

According to my understanding there are seven particular moral infractions that men have singled out over the ages as more damnable than all others.  God specified ten in the Decalogue – but let’s use the seven from our manmade list today.

 

The 7 Deadly Sins:

1.       Lust

2.       Gluttony

3.       Greed

4.       Sloth

5.       Wrath

6.       Envy

7.       Pride

 

Somewhere along the way someone naturally enumerated the nemesis of each of these vices.

 

 The 7 Holy Virtues:

1.       Chastity (purity, opposes lust)

2.       Abstinence (self-control, opposes gluttony)

3.       Liberality (generosity, opposes greed)

4.       Diligence (ethics, opposes sloth)

5.       Patience (peace, opposes wrath)

6.       Kindness (satisfaction, opposes envy)

7.       Humility (modesty, opposes pride)

 

As educated believers walking in the age of grace, we understand that holiness and righteousness is precisely something that we are clothed with, not something which we accomplish.  The plain doctrine of justification states that we have been granted the perfection of Christ by which we lay claim to the eternal blessedness of all saints with Him.  Yet there is also the vital doctrine of sanctification which applies to the practical behavior and attitude of the believer in our day to day, visible expressions of our faith.  True, we depend upon the Spirit of Christ to both justify and sanctify us, yet, the continual willing subjection and free-will humility of each man is a repetitive decision that requires reaffirmation of our original intention (at the moment of salvation) to subject ourselves to the authority and presence of Christ.  We have been forgiven – do we act like we appreciate it.  Indeed, God knows my name and has my eternal destiny securely intact… however, Second Timothy 2:19 states both that truth and its companion, “The foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are His. And, Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”  I’m saved and always will be (His power and promise assures me of that), but my conversation (manner of life) does not (though it should) automatically reflect my position in Christ. 

 

So what are we to do?  Well…

•               Romans 12:21 says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

•               Psalm 34:14 also exhorts, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

•               It’s like Daniel preached to the great king Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:27, “O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto you, and break off your  sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of you tranquility.” 

Sure sounds to me like there was a prerogative in the hands of ol’ king Neb.  Paul and David also laid the responsibility firmly in the hands of the individual. 

 

Can we do it alone?  Of course not!  But, with God’s “help” a willing heart can enjoy real victory.

 

Dr. Fred Moritz has preached several times in my hearing and has frequently codified my salient point like this: “Sinners leap into sin, and love it.  Saints lapse into sin, and loath it.”  Not only has this been my experience, it is consistent with the “new creature” terminology of the Bible.

 

Considering the seven deadly sins, I find easy personal identification with the classic universal struggle against these evils.    Who can say they have never struggled with weaknesses in the areas of sexuality, food, selfishness, laziness, anger, jealousy or pride?  [OK – I commend both of you.  I don’t understand how you’ve done it, but… good for you nonetheless.  I suppose you don’t need my advice or help then.  Admittedly, I doubt your honesty or ability in self-evaluation.  But, anyway!  I personally have wrestled (and do wrestle) with temptation in every one of these areas.]  Are these problems deadly?  Sure they are!  But here is something that I have found interesting and instructive in my brief spiritual journey thus far… 

 

All seven iniquitous plagues can follow a cycle from nonexistent to peak to obsolete within one’s lifetime.  See if you can follow me here.  Take the first “deadly sin” (lust) for an example.  This is how “The Cycle of Sin” has gone for me:

 

1.       Ignorance of the temptation

2.       Awareness of the presence of the vice

3.       Curiosity about the possibilities

4.       Intrigued by the prospect

5.       Affinity toward the practice

6.       Denial of the severity of the sin

7.       Dabbling in the activity

8.       Habitual offences despite guilt

9.       Addiction to the momentary satisfactions

10.   Inadequacy of the thrill

11.   Boredom despite the extreme intensity

12.   Misery surrounding every aspect of the vice

13.   Disillusionment because of the vanity  

14.   Aversion toward the moral pollutant

15.   Disgusted by reality of the evil

16.   Repentance concerning my role in it

17.   Crusade against all associations with it

18.   Compassion for other “victims” of it

19.   Assistance for those captivated by it

20.   Gratification because of success over it

21.   Disillusionment due to failure to destroy it

22.   Character and wisdom attained

23.   Recognition of a different area of weakness

Read that again more slowly…

 

Obviously It isn’t necessary to follow thorough every step.  With God’s filling we can and should exit this “long black train” as soon as we realize we are a passenger on it traveling to a wrong destination.  It would be great if we could jump from step # 2 to step # 16 without experiencing the pain, guilt and shame of the other ladder rungs.  There are, after all, societal immoralities (such as drug abuse, for example) that I know about, but have never gone through the fall and recovery cycle on.

 

Unfortunately the unbeliever can make it through step # 12 or maybe 14, but no further.  Rather than ending in victory, they get stuck in defeat.  Sin when it is finished brings forth death (James 1:14-15, “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.” 

 

We as children of God escape the ultimate result of sin through the cross of Christ.  We can also (and do sometimes) escape the immediate dominance and damage of sin through the presence of Christ in our heart.  But, though this victory is a gift to believers, it requires a constant willingness on our part to claim and enjoy this conquering power over moral defeat.  If we will judge ourselves, we will not be judged.

 

In my Bible I have written an outline from a preacher I’ve never met.  As I understand it, he preached on “The Circle of Decision” and described our overall Christian journey in this order:

1.       Commitment

2.       Contentment

3.       Confidence

4.       Comfort

5.       Complacency

6.       Carelessness

7.       Commission (sin)

8.       Chastisement

9.       Conviction (by the Spirit)

10.   Correction

11.   Confession

12.   Conciliation

13.   Consecration

14.   Clemency

15.   Charity

 

This cycle may not be a perfect description, but it sure hits home hard in my mind.  This list starts at victory.  My list started at innocence.  Hence, they don’t necessarily parallel one another perfectly.  “The Circle of Decision” is more general in nature and would fittingly follow chronologically after the more specific “Cycle of Sin” that I have endured. 

 

The thrust of my meditation today is this:  I have found that, as a genuine Christian, I absolutely despise the “law of sin” that (more often than not) dominates my days.  Even more I find the specific vices from my past highly deplorable.  But sadness and aversion only get me ½ the way to where I need to be.

 

Reality - I can overcome evil with good, if I will practice the “faith” principle of replacement as commanded in the Scripture.  Paul did not leave this issue in despair and hopelessness in Romans 7:18-25.  Read the whole section and focus on verse 25a.

“I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

 

He wasn’t saying, “It can’t be done.”  He was saying, “You can’t do it alone.  You’ve got to have Jesus Christ the Lord working with you and in you.”

 

I haven’t “arrived” or “attained” by any means.  But I’m so thankful that Christ in me has brought me to a place where many things that were once appetizing to me have become repulsive.  It is both a logical and natural outcome of regeneration, yet the preservation of this holy perspective depends upon persistent maintenance and faithful protection on our part.

·         Psalm 97:10, “You that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.” 

·         Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil…”

·         Amos 5:15, “Hate the evil, and love the good...”

 

The commandment implies both responsibility and possibility (through faith)… at least seasonally… 

 

I am chronically sin-sick.  But, the deadly sins that easily beset you and me can be overcome through faith in Christ.  It will involve repentance, instruction, fellowship, submission, forgiveness, failure and cyclical repetitions – but it is not impossible.

 

Proverbs 24:16, “A just man falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

 

God, help us!

“Inventing Holiness”

I’m so disgusted with pluralistic relativism that I think I’m going to puke!  This morning I read the news about John McCain distancing himself from Rod Parsley and John Hagee.  Without getting into the whole stupid political copout, allow me to include a brief excerpt from the article…

"I'm glad to have [Hagee’s] endorsement," [McCain] said on ABC's "This Week" in April.  "I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything."  (emphasis mine) 

Well indeed I’m no great fan of John Hagee (his views on eternal security are highly disturbing to me).  But McCain is pandering to the cultural ignorance around him and condemning Hagee simply to protect his own political aspirations.  I’m sure he also doesn’t actually agree with Hagee, but that’s beside the point.  Hagee was noting how God works in mysterious ways.  God must have allowed Hitler to do what he did, or else none of the Führer’s despicable actions would have come to pass.  As Hagee said, God did, does and will continue to have an agenda and schedule for bringing His people (the Jews) back into the Promised land – certainly He has used both positive and negative means to accomplish that end.  McCain is taking a theological position that is incredibly naive and dangerous, yet it is sadly growing in prevalence and dominance in America.  I would express the philosophy like this: “TOLERANCE IS GOD!  Don’t confuse me with the facts.  Leave the truth out of this discussion.  All that matters is that we include everybody.”  (Well, include everybody except those people who actually stand for something…)  What did McCain say – “I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything.”  This is absurd!  He is saying that he condemns condemnation of anything.  What ballyhoo and poppycock!  This is lunacy.  This is idiocy!  He would have to be anti-self because he himself is anti-Hagee, anti-evangelical and anti-biblical in denouncing the truth as dangerous.

McCain’s god is ambition.  I’ve no use for McCain, Hillary or Obama because they are all three so distant from my ideological position as to make possible dialogue with them incoherent (not that I would get to talk to them).  Modern humanist have constructed a moral system of self-contradiction that tolerates tolerance and condemns condemnation.  There is no difference in the level of tolerance or condemnation which they have or which I have – the only difference is the object of rejection.  I reject evil as defined by God in the Bible; they reject actual righteousness after labeling it as “evil” per definition by popular opinion.   

Isaiah 5:20-21, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” 

I’m so weary of trying to make God “palatable” to those who cannot understand spiritual truth because they are children of the Devil.  In reality, God can’t be calibrated to their taste anyway.  He is who He is. He is not going to change.  Sinful men had better get used to this.  We are the ones who need our mind adjusted.  Humanity is so pompous and self-righteous in our judgment of Him.  It’s ridiculous!  God has one plan; a simple plan, for expressing His love for us and bringing us back to Himself.  What do most people do?  Most reject the single legitimate solution to their cursed condition – Jesus Christ.  Adding insult to this, increasingly more people condone all of the hopeless religious and anti-religious systems that have evolved over the centuries and accept as plausible everything except the only true way to God – Christ.

I get so fired up about this that my head hurts.  We have lost our sense of direction in this country.  God has established and blessed our land like no other nation in the world – yet we effectively spit in His eye as we give His glory to other gods.  I was reading Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian believers yesterday.  He said in chapter 11 verses 3-4, “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”  He was afraid that they would make the damnable mistake of tolerating a redefinition of Christ. 

We Christians are not in a popularity contest.  We have to please one (and only one) individual; that is our Father in heaven.  We must stand without apology for the truth.  We should expect to be ridiculed and rejected.  If we think we have a safe haven and home in either major political party in America then we are delusional.  The only Christians who will be accepted or acceptable are those who refuse to admit their staunch and immovable doctrine, or those who have actually forsaken true doctrine.

Dear God, help me to say it loud, clear and often – I KNOW that Jesus Christ Your eternal Son is the ONLY Savior of this wicked world.  Those who choose to surrender to Christ will live forever in the heavenly pleasures of Your presence; those who continue to rebel against Christ will die miserably forever in the literal hellish fires of damnation.  I make no apology for this position.  It is the true and final truth of God’s inspired Word.  Yield and live, or refuse and die.  Submit to Him or be destroyed!

If you want to be bitter against God; if you want to blame God, find fault in Him, deny His existence, defame His name, redefine His Son, divide His rightful glory among imagined deities, claim His authority as your own, mock His disciples, criticize His Book and question His motives… you go right ahead, but you’ll pay for your insubordination forever, unless you find a place for repentance at the foot of the Cross.  There are an infinite number of immoral and amoral systems that you may adopt to the temporary satisfaction of your fallen mind and twisted conscience, but only one system was designed by our Creator.  Only that one “WAY” will do you any good when you take your last breath here on earth.

In Mark 7:6-9 Jesus laid out the plain reality in a raw confrontation, “He said, ‘Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.’  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things you do.’  And He said unto them, ‘Full well you reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.’”  We still pledge to “One nation under God” – but which deity are we honoring specifically?  We have “In God We Trust” on our money – but is our God a living Christ or is it mammon.  With our lips we claim to be a “people of faith” – but faith in WHO?  Belief in yourself, faith in the goodness of the human race, spirituality, trust in “a” higher power?  Sorry, that’s not good enough!  Jesus said in John 5:23, “All men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.  He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which hath sent Him.”  It is impossible to respect our Creator without respecting His beloved and only begotten Son.  If you reject Christ, you have ostracized yourself from the one and only omnipotent Almighty.  Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Atheist, Pagan, Humanist, Socialist, Satanist or Christian – your titles and moral standards are all equally useless… you must find submission to Christ and salvation in His shed blood. 

Now, here is where the rubber meets the road.  Most (or both) of you who read my weekly meditations already know all of this that I have written and likely agree with the gist of it at least.  But this broad principle is also a two edged sword that divides and discerns between the soul and spirit of the stable believer just as well it does the civilized heathen we are trying to proselytize.  We rightfully condemn as futile the artificial morals of unbelievers, yet are we found to establish our own reachable standard in an effort to salve our own conscience?  Here is the rub:  we can manufacture our own list of standards that are just as offensive to God as the twisted ethics of the ungodly.  Today many speak of values as if they are intrinsically good – wrong!  Who has established your values: you, your church, your family, your hero, your culture, your experience, pragmatism, education, Satan or God?  Galatians 3:2-3, “This only would I learn of you, did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?”  Do we imagine that God is impressed with our manmade scheme of morals?  Traditions, liturgy, habits, customs, culture, bias, methods, style, flavor, programs, personalities, expectations and opinions – all of these things naturally change with time.  Yet we pretend that if we fit comfortably within some locally orthodox and currently acceptable structure based upon these then we are superior, impressive, acceptable, holy and right.  Hey pal – the only thing that makes you and me acceptable is Jesus Christ’s mercy and grace.  We as true believers daily depend upon His compassion, patience and benevolence to get us through any and every moment.  So, let’s not put up the pretence that we have arrived.  If we have “attained” (as Paul put it) – it is only to some fictitious figment of religiosity and absurd construct of piety designed to appease either our own conscience or to impress the conscience of our neighbor.  The absolute moral standard set by Christ is so high and transcendent that we have no real option other than to fall humbly upon the mercy of the Father, as we again claim the continual forgiveness and victory offered to us because of His Son’s precious blood.

I’m not saying that we should defy the “wholesome” and well meaning established principles and practices that make up our weekly Christian exercises.  Jesus clarified this in Matthew 23:2-5 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do for to be seen of men…”  Why did He say this?  If their regulations were creations of their own mind (and, they were) and not from the mind of God, why follow them?  The answer is simple – but, I want to make it complex.  J

Bear with me a moment: in Romans 2:14-15 we read that “When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another…”  In this passage Paul demonstrates the condemnable attitude of an ignorant barbarian in that the barbarian willingly violates his own conscience, regardless of the fact that it is not a properly trained conscience.  Likewise – my willingness to submit to ridiculous manmade standards is good for me in that I continually learn to exercise a proper attitude toward authority.  Is the authority over me sometimes needlessly and even vainly manipulating, domineering and controlling – yes!  However, their authority comes from God, so I am to humbly comply with any and every rule or custom (as long as it doesn’t force me to directly disobey or distrust God).   Romans 13:5-6, “You must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake… for they are God's ministers…” 

Read these verses slowly and ruminate upon them: 

·         First Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” 

·         Then verses 27-33, “If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and you be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.  But if any man say unto you, ‘This is offered in sacrifice unto idols,’ eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake: for The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof: Conscience, I say, not your own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?  For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” 

·         Chapter 8 verse 11-12, “Through Your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?  When you sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”

On the one hand, these passages require me to live not only by God’s standard but also to consider my brother’s view of my behavior.  If I have the “knowledge” of liberty that frees me from constant fear and guilt – wonderful!  But, I must never use my freedom as an occasion to satisfy my flesh, especially at the expense of a weaker brother.  Some have a hypersensitive conscience due to their background and experiences – we must live with loving deference to their viewpoint. 

On the other hand – God has never called any one of us to exercise the “gift” of a weak conscience.  There is no calling to the ministry of being the weaker brother.  In other words, we who lead should be so careful not to construct artificial morals under which we can hold other believers as prisoners.  We must never invent our own standards of holiness as the Pharisees did in Christ’s day.

Conclusions:

1. The world’s artificial systems of morality are always hostile and antagonistic against actual morality – the world is anti-Christ.  
2. The church’s artificial systems of morality are generally a degenerate replacement and substitute for genuine holiness. 

Dear God, may I (by your grace and wisdom) refrain from contributing to the erection and maintenance of either of those wicked edifices.  Forgive me for the pride and arrogance that I allow into my own heart.  I know that “spiritual” conceit is always based upon false presumptions; artificial morals invented to feed my own ego.  Holiness is a gift from You, never can it result from a cunning innovation on my part.

“Without Rhyme or Reason”

Surely it can’t be evil to ask “why” periodically in this life – as long as the “why” is accompanied by humble submission; willing obedience.  Christ Himself cried out “WHY” . . . yearning to grasp the emotions surrounding this moment when He was forsaken as He hung upon the cross, freely paying for our sins. 

Moses asked God “why” in Exodus 5 as conditions deteriorated for the enslaved Jews rather than improving, despite Moses’ obedience to Jehovah.  He was truly puzzled: “Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, ‘Lord, wherefore have You so evil entreated this people?  Why is it that You have sent me?  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.’’  He again inquired about God’s reasons in Exodus 32 when God threatened to kill the nation of Israel and start over with Moses as a ‘new’ Abraham. 

Not surprisingly, Job asked “why” over and over again during his period of suffering. 

The Psalms are peppered with this interrogative:

·         Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?

·         Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? 

·         My God, why are You so far from helping me?

·         Why have You forgotten me?

·         Why do You cast me off?

·         O God, why have You cast us off for ever?

·         Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? 

·         Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

·         LORD, why do you cast off my soul?

·         Why do you hide Your face from me?

The Psalmists ached to understand the logic behind God’s infinitely mysterious ways of interaction with His creatures.  Not that there was anger against God, bitterness toward Him, distrust of Him or doubts about Him – its just that at certain times in life we as human beings crave to know the causes behind God’s moves and allowances.  We groan within ourselves, “O, Why does it have to be this way?”  Of course, we who are true believers know that God is never capricious, arbitrary or haphazard in His Sovereign expressions – yet the purposes He has are generally not evident to us. 

God is not the author of confusion.  Every minute detail of life is both known of God and potentially (at least) postured to accomplish some divine end.  All (not some) things work together for the good of them who love God, who are the called according to His purposes.  Joseph elucidated the complex theology behind this reality when he explained to his guilty brothers that they intended evil toward him but God had managed to bring good even from their hateful, spiteful, selfish misbehavior.  This doesn’t excuse any particular act of sin, naturally – but what it does do is this: it gives us an example of how we are simply too finite in our temporal perspectives to attempt to “judge God” (as if we have the right to) based upon the incredibly limited view that we all have.  So, we ask “why” . . . wishing that God would give us an answer that would satiate our curious and tormented little minds. 

This is no passive twitch of inquisitiveness.  The desire to know the sense behind the apparent madness of life can quite literally dominate our entire philosophical world-view.  Some people’s questions are used to excuse their own rebellion.  That mentality might be expressed as follows: “I don’t have the answers I feel the right to have, so I refuse to follow God.”  Others, (PTL) query life’s circumstances too, but with a different attitude; a spirit of subjection and awe inspired interest.  This frame of mind drives me to my knees to say something like: “I don’t have the answers yet, so I come to God (mostly through His Word and His church) seeking to know…”

Does the sincere student of truth always get every question answered to his complete satisfaction?  Obviously not!  No wonder the hymn writer wrote, “We’ll understand it better by and by…”  Clearly, there are painful realities that we will never grasp this side of eternity.  Here, faith enters in where education, experience and common sense fall short.  Upon the authority of inspired revelation we declare with confidence that God is both wise and good, even if our view of specific pieces of evidence may sometimes (seemingly) lead to other conclusions.  God’s power is indeed unparalleled, but so too is His love for us.

We go through valleys, troubles, trials, pain, suffering, misery, sickness, loss, loneliness, frustration and failure; dilemmas of every shape and size…  Over and again we wonder “why” things have to be the way they are.  Sometimes there are answers, sometimes only more and more questions. 

Why ask why?  Because we a human.  We instinctively search for the source of every effect.  It is a part of our makeup that God uses to bring us to Himself.  Let us always remember that in digging for the rhyme and reason that so frequently eludes us – we can always find comfort in the fact that though we may never know the “whys” of God, we do know the God of “whys” . . .  I don’t have to possess the answers myself.  Admittedly, I want to know them, but my understanding of the logic of life is unnecessary.  Though (wisely) I keep exploring His customs, the realization that God knows the answer to every “why” should ultimately be good enough for me.

That’s faith…

"In, Not Of”

Mulling over the demise of Lot is sobering in today’s cultural climate here in the USA.  It was said of him that he vexed his righteous soul from day to day with the filthy conversation (lifestyle) of the wicked.  Well, no surprise… He lived in the notorious and infamous city known as Sodom.  We all think we know very well what the filth of that city was all about – but do we?  Ezekiel 16:49-50 says, “Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.  And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.”  The sexual perversion and stubborn violent tendencies of the men of the city are both well known and most easily condemned, but homosexuality and hostility weren’t the only vices there – they were simply the most intense, obvious and egregious of their transgressions.  Even so, it is not the misbehavior of the sodomites that I wish to point to today – but the effect of their vices on the righteous soul of Abraham’s nephew. 

The Apostle Paul stated that though we are to separate from unruly, divisive, heretical or lewd members of Christendom (that is, professing believers – though their possession of Christ be suspect at least) – he pointed out that the same rules of moral “segregation” do not apply totally to our interaction with the lost.  Again, even Jesus was well known for His companionship and association with the segments of society which had the worst reputation . . .  He was never one to condone sin, but neither did He shrink from the sinners themselves; nor did he tirade against them in aloof haughtiness or pompous frigidity of heart.

So, what’s the difference?  How can two men pass through the same city: one man is polluted and the other rescues some from the populous through sharing the light of truth?  For example, in juxtaposition to the demise of Lot: Jonah (his personal prejudices aside) seemed to be unaffected and untempted by the iniquity of Nineveh; Noah lived at a time when the whole world was jammed with dirty old men whose minds were only on evil continually – did he join in once during those many decades of heavy construction?  Yet, Lot was vexed…

Jesus was burdened and broken hearted, but not besmirched.  “Well, naturally – he was God,” you say.  True, but He set the example of how to live, how to love, how to lead in the midst of crooked and perverse people….

There is a verse that I memorized as a teacher several years back that speaks loudly to this inquisition.  (Titus 1:15-16) “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”  The whole context may be going in a different direction, but concentrate on that first phrase… “unto the pure, all things are pure.”

There are some trite (and true) old fashioned phrases that come to mind here.  “You can’t clean up pigs by getting into the hog pen with them,” or “Would you sift through the garbage can just to find a few good bites of food?”  “You will never succeed in pulling the world up to your standard, they will just pull you down to there level.”  True, the Bible says that a friend will sharpen the countenance of his friend, but sharpen how?  And who sharpens who?  Are we not called “the light of the world?”  We are salt?  He said that He has sent us out as sheep among wolves; to seek for the lost and to loose the bonds of the sin from the hearts of men.  Can we accomplish this mammoth task from a distance?  Jesus was accused of being a winebibber, a glutton, a sinner, a demon possessed man, a maniac – and why?  Was it not in part because of His willingness to minister in close and intimate proximity with the most needy of His day?  The woman at the well, the maniac of Gadara, lepers, prostitutes, crooked publicans, insecure religious leaders, etc, etc, etc…  He met them where they were.  Surely He did not leave them there, but He did go to them there.  However, He was never vexed; He remained virtuous.

Do we live greenhouse Christian lives in order to avoid contamination?  If we do – is it commendable, acceptable or reprehensible?  Perhaps there is a place for such “quarantining” of ourselves for periods of solitary worship, meditation, prayer and preparation for service.  But, shouldn’t our 40 day fasts be followed by years of contact with this world which we pretend to be reaching?  If we ostracize ourselves in the name of holiness, do we not also potentially limit our outreach to the very sinners that we once walked comfortably with before our own regeneration. 

The qualifying principle is this: if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  One man is tempted by a hooker, another man is repulsed by her sin and burdened for her soul.  What a contrast!  The prostitute is the same, but the impact is dissimilar.  The difference in the result is found in the man, not in his surrounding environment.

Consider this – Abraham had affiliations with the Sodomites.  Oh, perhaps he wasn’t as involved as Lot was over a long period of time, but he was there with them on the battlefield.  Instead of loosing all of his family, possessions and testimony to them, He was a witness to the King of Sodom. 

It’s the doctrine of personal separation that I’m addressing here.  Unequivocally, we are supposed to avoid sin personally.  We are to remain unspotted from the world.  But… disassociation, avoidance, segregation, hermitic seclusion or reclusion can’t be God’s plan – can it?  While I admire the devotion and sacrifices of the Amish (for example), how would the world receive the truth of Christ if all true believers retreat from society at large and build their own “Babel” without intermingling with the needy everywhere.  Maybe God still calls some people today to a life of eccentric uniqueness in the style of John the Baptist.  But, Paul said, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some – Jew, Greek, Barbarian, etc. (First Corinthians 9)”  Obviously Paul was not excusing personal compromise of moral principles.  But, he was just as evidently willing to go to great lengths to fit into the culture he was reaching out to in order to obtain a hearing.  It worked for him over and over again.  And, it’s not just pragmatic evangelism – it’s intelligent and discerning evangelism.  We must learn to differentiate between those things which are simply matters of taste, preference, culture and experience; and those matters which are of moral, theological and spiritual import.     

We are not called to save people from their culture in humanity, but from their crime as humans.  Let me grossly and cynically overstate my case in a bizarre and totally hypothetical illustration: if we make a middle class, stoic, sophisticated, educated, calm, hard-working, conservative, republican, American out of a poor, emotional, backward, illiterate, lazy, liberal, socialistic, foreigner (please don’t imply any stereotype) – have we necessarily accomplished our Devine commission?  Obviously not!  What I’m saying is this – we should find the world where it is and meet the people in it where they are.  This is what Christ did.  He condescended to men of low degree and He commanded us to do the same. 

So, our motive must play a gargantuan role in the outcome – i.e., who influences who; who (if anyone) is changed.   Lot went to Sodom solely for economic advantages.  Abraham went because of moral obligations.  Lot became an immoral loser; Abe remained a faithful victor!

Truly in this process we must not fall into sin – but assuredly we will be exposed to the ugliness of sin in a way that should break our hearts, challenge our minds and move our souls. 

Indeed we should avoid vexation.  Broadly, “to vex” means to irritate, to annoy, to be a nuisance, to provoke, to torment, to trouble, to distress, to plague, to worry, to disturb, to stir up, to toss about, to afflict, to harass, to tantalize, to torture or to tease.  Supposedly the Greek word translated as “vex” in Second Peter 2:8 (describing Lot’s downfall), etymologically stemmed from a “test by the touchstone... used to test the purity of gold or silver by the color of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal.”[1]  In another description it is used to portray “those who at sea are struggling with a head wind.”  So, to make it simple – Lot was changed by Sodom instead of being an element of change in Sodom.  The iniquity of that city teased and tossed him with tantalizing efficiency.  This should not be the case.  Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!  If God be for us, who can be against us!  If the Lord of hosts is on our side, we have nothing to fear – what can men do unto us?  Yet, Lot was ruined.  He was no missionary; he was acclimated into the cesspool of carnality until his own judgment and piety was irreparably skewed.  How sad.  

We are to be in the world, but not of the world.  But let us not fool ourselves into approving a removal of ourselves out of the world until we have no affect upon the world.  When it is time for us to be taken out of the world altogether; well, that will happen according to God’s timing and prerogative; not ours. 

First Corinthians 5:9-11, “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” 

We MUST reach out to to world.  We MUST mingle with them.  We MUST speak their language.  We MUST share the story of redemption with them.   We MUST be genuine in our compassion and frequent in our contact.  We MUST be close enough to them to be heard, yet never allowing their ways to rob us of our holiness in life or fellowship with the Father.  Truly, only the Spirit can keep us balanced in outreach and peculiarity.  Like everything else in the Christian life – it’s a matter of faith and submission.  No combination of determination and will can protect us – only devotion to our love for the Savior can produce that impregnable submarine wall that will allow us to dive into our depraved society to share Christ without losing our Christ-likeness in the process. 

We are ambassadors, strangers, pilgrims, soldiers of the cross.  We have to be on the field to fight.

What a call!  What a commission!  And, how dangerous if we endeavor to do it on our own…