The Price of Righteousness…

This week I read the end of the book of Judges.  I was once again miserably amazed by some of the notable events that occurred during those centuries after Joshua’s death and prior to the rise of Samuel the prophet.  I have no doubt that similar occurrences could be pulled from most any other culture, geographical location or historical era, yet this story is told by GOD Himself about HIS OWN PEOPLE and is evidently presented as a representation of the immoral condition of the nation of Israel as a whole at that time. 

In chapter nineteen a horror story of violence and perversion is told.  Read it for yourself, but allow me to point out the two pinnacles of debauchery. 

First, in verse twenty-five, the Scripture says that the wicked Jewish men of Gibeah (sodomite Benjamites) accepted as a consolation prize the loose concubine of a certain Ephraimite and “…they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.”  Quite literally she was gang raped all night; violated so violently that (according to the following verses) it killed her. 

There were many horrors which proceeded and which also followed that tragic night, but the second unbelievably staggering event that I must point out centers on how the Ephraimite man responded to this situation.  He hacked his dead woman into twelve pieces and sent the parts all over the nation as an advertisement of how cruel the men of Gibeah had been to his concubine and as a call for retribution!

Well, thankfully…. the response of the people of Israel was certainly commendable.  They gathered under the leadership of the mighty and fearless Phinehas and declared war on Benjamin.  Now consider what happened next:

1.       The nation was unified against this sin – Judges 20:11.

2.       The nation demanded (unsuccessfully) that only the perpetrators be delivered up for justice – Judges 20:13.

3.       The nation went to the house for God for council from their God – Judges 20:18a.

4.       God told them to send the tribe of Judah out FIRST into the war – Judges 20:18b.

5.       The nation lost the first battle and 22,000 soldiers of righteousness died in the battle; killed by the hands of those wicked Benjamite warriors – Judges 20:21.

6.       The nation wept before the Lord, asked HIM if they should continue and at HIS word went out again to fight the rebels - Judges 20:23.

7.       The nation lost again in this second battle and another 18,000 soldiers of righteousness died in the battle – Judges 20:25.

8.       The people of God wept, fasted, sacrificed, prayed and enquired of God again – Judges 20:28.

9.       At God’s command they went to fight the third time.  After the loss of “about thirty men of Israel” God finally gave them the victory and they utterly annihilated the evil tribe of Benjamin.  Only 600 men of that tribe escaped.  Every man, woman, boy, girl, infant and animal was killed and every city of the tribe of Benjamin was burned to the ground.  Righteousness at last prevailed! – Judges 20:39-48.

Here was what struck me when I read this story again.  Why did God take three days and allow 40,030 of the “good guys” to die before he blessed the nation with victory?  Sure, it’s His prerogative to do whatever He pleases… I’m not debating that.  He’s isn’t required to answer to you or to me for anything that He causes or allows.  On the other hand, perhaps we can detect a pattern and precedent that is being established and therefore a lesson that is being taught. 

Conceivably we’ve discovered one of many precepts here.  When we chose to follow after righteousness there is frequently (if not always) a great price to be paid; a sacrifice that is required!  The evil sodomites and their equally evil defenders won a few battles; their prosperity was initial and frightening.  The holy defenders of righteousness walked in faith and yet they were initially cut down to the ground, embarrassed, humiliated, defeated and even confused… yet they persisted faithfully.  Their cause was a cause worth killing for and worth dying for.  A nation that allowed such profuse amoral rottenness to continue would shortly be no nation at all.  The Benjamites HAD to be wiped out because they would not submit to righteousness.  Their sin was base and inhumane; contrary even to the natural hungers of the human soul. 

What about us?  How dedicated are we to the cause of Christ?  Would the God of grace and glory require any of us to be a Deacon like Stephen, a preacher like John Baptist or a missionary like Nate Saint?  These men died in their quest to proclaim the truth of Christ.  They died because of their call.  God sent them, as it were, into the teeth of Satan’s unholy machine gun of resistance… God knowing that they would have to give up the ghost for their faith. 

What is the price of righteousness?  Can we yet find a man today who will meekly lie down on the altar even as the patriarch Isaac did and be offered as a sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom of God?

Paul said in Hebrews 12:4, “You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”  Notice the word “yet…”

Christ truly died for us.  Sufficient and finished; those words describe what He has done for our salvation.  Yet, what must now be done to bring down God’s holy and purifying Spirit of power to empower His holy church and to purge this world of the ever encroaching flames of Satanism.  Abortion, homosexuality, violence, materialism, sensuality, ambition, etc… these things dominate this world and are seeping into the church.  Pride, coldness, selfishness, self-righteousness, hedonism, etc… these words characterize the body of Christ on the whole.  We indeed think that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing; yet we are actually poor, wretched, miserable, blind and naked spiritually… not walking in the faith, love and power which were beneficently granted to us at salvation.   

The blood of martyrs could still be the seed of the church.  Second Timothy 2:12,              “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him…”  I’m not saying the nation of Israel eagerly played kamikaze with smiles of blissful imbecility; just thrilled to be able to die for the cause of removing sodomy from Israel.  No, they wept when they were defeated.  There was anguish and spiritual wrestling.  Yet, when the sun arose, they again ventured their lives with abandon in order to promote justice.

As a child of God, would God use me as kindling to start a revival in His church?

As a husband and father, would God consider me expendable in this world in order for the spiritual growth of those that I love to be accomplished most perfectly?

As citizens of this great country, would God accept the sacrifice of some of us who fear Him before He rids this land of the blights that stare and glare defiantly at everything that is called sacred?

What is the price of righteousness today?  Could it be that we don’t seem to be stemming the tide of unrighteousness because God knows that we aren’t willing to stand the heat that is required to prove our sincerity.  Salvation can indeed come in a moment.  However, don’t forget that it was John the baptizer who said, “Make straight the path for our God!  Prepare the way!”

“Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” – Amos 5:24.

“Thy kingdom come!  Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven!”

This sober meditation which I have written today is no self-righteous diatribe; neither is it bravado.  I’m simply wondering if we are really ready to do REAL battle with Satan.  “Resist the devil” – James 4:7.  But, just be forewarned… God never promised that there wouldn’t be any casualties.

The options are plain… comfortable cowardice… or… contented courage…  

I need grace….

“Find That Golden Mean”

Philippians 4:5 says plainly, “Let your moderation be known unto all men.”  Be balanced.  Find that golden medium.  There are ditches on both sides of the road.  Don’t go off the deep end!

Recently I discovered the RFD channel on my TV.  Say what you want to, it’s my new favorite channel.  Yesterday, during lunch, I watched a couple of rodeo cowboys practicing their calf roping skills and training their horses to do exactly what they were supposed to do.  It was incredibly interesting.  The younger cowboy was having problems keeping his horse from overrunning the calf.  My untrained eye couldn’t see any difference in the horse before or after their session of training.  Yet, according to the cowboy, the exercises which they were repeating were helping to “soften” the horse up enough that he had more control of the horse and therefore a better shot at the calf. 

The way they got the horse to stop pushing so hard was like this: several times out of the gate the rider would suddenly stop the horse at the point where he would usually have thrown his rope instead.  Evidently this keeps the horse from knowing exactly what’s about to happen; so he doesn’t run quite so hard that way.  If he never has to stop, then he gets accustomed to running full speed with no reservations and is therefore not adjustable – not good.

This reminded me of a struggle that I face weekly in the ministry… balance. 

Imbalance is one of the easiest pitfalls for me to fall into.  How do we prioritize our activities, interests, responsibilities and (hardest of all) our doctrine?  Devotion, marriage, parenting, pastoring, preaching, family, friendship, education, household chores, citizenship, neighboring, sanity… when are we to be focused on which, or must we endlessly multitask?  How can anyone do their very best (Ecclesiastes 9:10) at anything when there are more directions to go than we have appendages to send?  Hence, we have the need for wisdom to discern proper prioritization; to live a balanced life. 

I can vividly recall Mike Allison stating once that, (borrowing another cowboy analogy) it is possible to have so many irons in the fire that we put the fire out.  We can be so zealous to get the branding done that our vigor becomes counter productive and we destroy that which we are trying to build.  We smother the energy source.  I suppose this is a rather common dilemma in 21^st century American life, particularly for a Christian.

The balance problem I’ve been frustrated by most recently, though, is a bit more impractical than deciding whether to answer the phone or to kiss my wife (I’ll hear it for that one).  In preaching the truth of God’s eternal Word, one can “go to seed” as “they” say on any one truth and neglect or even eclipse other equally vital concepts.  Oh, how we need the Spirit’s guidance.

In preaching through the book of Galatians, I have recently emphasized without apology (still today) the liberty which we have in Christ.  I am free indeed.  I’m forgiven, redeemed, owned, accepted, beloved by the Creator.  Not by works of righteous which I have done, but according to His mercy… He saved me (adaptation of Titus 3:5)!  God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved me, (loved me even while I was still dead in sins), has brought me back to life with Christ, (by grace I am saved;) and has raised me up, and made me sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (loose adaptation of Ephesians 2:4-6)!  I choose not to frustrate the grace of God (adaptation of Galatians 2:21)!  By attempting to trudge up an avenue of self-improvement or by proclaiming a gospel of self-righteousness I would be spitting in the face of the sufficient Savior.  I dare not go that route.

Yet, in all my justifiable vim and vigor to destroy my own sense of self-worth and self-sufficiency, I may have overstated the case (as I have a habit of doing).  In decrying “rule keeping” and the “standards” of religion and tradition as a means of access to the Father, I hope I haven’t made anyone comfortable in the middle of their own iniquity.  While we as believers are FREE INDEED, we are not free TO sin; rather we are free FROM sin. 

I know we will get to Galatians 5 in a couple of weeks (Lord willing) and I will be able to adjust the tone of this series with verse 13, “Brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”  If anyone liked my sermons (putting the law back in its proper place) because they felt less condemnation and more peace while still embracing evil – then may God have mercy on me and my foolishly unclean lips.  Let it be heard loud and clear, “God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11).  Someone might retort, “Oh, that’s Old Testament dispensational theology; not applicable today.”  Really… well, you might try to tell that to Ananias and Sapphira.  I tell you that the propitiation of God’s wrath only applies to those who are under the blood.  Our Holy Lord still hates sin with a great passion, and He ALWAYS will.  He has 6000 years of pent up anger which He will soon unleash without dilution upon the unregenerate human race in the great and terrible Day of the Lord; which IS still to come.  When King Jesus comes stomping on the winepress full of sinners and executes their bloody sentence, then you might try to explain to me again how our God is all nice love and cuddly mush… Oh, ‘tis true, He desires to extend that kind of generosity to everyone, but it is found ONLY under the blood and ONLY in faith in Christ. 

So, moving past the lost sinner and on to the wayward saint: Hebrews 12:6 says clearly, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”  God EXPECTS obedience from His young’ns.  In faith, sure!  Dependence on Him, absolutely!  Led by the Spirit, always!  Embraced in God’s liberal and condescending grace, Amen!  Answering to our Master and NOT subject to human judgment, Whew, Hallelujah!  Free to worship in spirit and in truth regardless of circumcision, race, gender, culture, intelligence, clothing style, health or socioeconomic standard, yes! 

But, BUT… free to choose our own route and live as we please, hardly!  God didn’t save me so that I could do as I please; He saved me so I could do as He pleases.  Salvation is enablement.  Prior to redemption I had no capacity for pleasing the Father.  My most moral efforts were far too insufficient.  However, now, the least little service or desire which I am involved in (if clothed in love for Christ, faith in Him and sincere humility of mind), IS INDEED accepted as an eternal investment and raises a balance of fine gold in the spiritual treasury vault in heaven.  Faith is the victory!   YEEEEEEHAW!!!  

So… balance, eh?  Let’s try it this way…

1.       Since even the very perfect law of God wasn’t meant to save us, only to condemn us, neither can any man-made system save us (nor can it sanctify or perfect the saved).  Moral codes can only bring us to the realization of our own wretched guilt and our own feeble inadequacies.  As such, we need to be very careful not to construct religious systems (outwardly attainable by our disciples) that can detract from the image of the permeating power of the grace of Christ.   If we make a list and say, “Do these things and you are acceptable; fail and you are rejected,” then we are distracting people from the encompassing gift of God’s compassion and the natural holiness which only He is capable of imputing into the life of a believer.

2.       On the other hand, clearly God has never issued even one “license” to sin.  Believer to believer… do right brother!  Do right till the stars fall.  Romans 13:14 commands us, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”  God hates lying, cheating, stealing, killing, coveting, selfishness, pride, fornicating, backbiting, gossip, laziness, bitterness, grudges, violence, filthy minds and filthy mouths.  If anything, these vices and others bother Him more in His children than they do in the Devil’s children.  We have no excuse.  He has GIVEN us the victory if we will but live in it.  

Back to # 1 though, if we avoid lying, cheating, stealing, killing, coveting, selfishness, pride, fornicating, backbiting, gossip, laziness, bitterness, grudges, violence, filthy minds and filthy mouths and assume that our “saintliness” impresses God and makes us acceptable, we are deceived (whether saved or lost).  Luke 15:7, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Now, if we (for example) skip church to do something of lesser significance, God knows our heart.  I don’t condemn people for missing church services.  They answer to God, NOT to me.  Yet, I say without apology that if a person is pushed by the Spirit toward faithfulness to the assembly of the body, and he or she resists – it is sin.  Be not deceived, God is not mocked.  Whatever a man sows, that he also will reap (that’s from Galatians 6:7; we’ll get there soon enough too).  

Obviously, if my high attendance record makes me feel acceptable or superior then I need to return to point # one and restudy liberty vs. legalism.  I need a reminder of my absolute worthlessness apart from God’s grace.  God is not impressed with, nor does he need, my righteous record.  It’s supposed to be a result of my walk with Him anyway (not the basis of my walk with Him).  Of course, faithful attendance can certainly be conducive to growth and faith, depending on the attitude of the heart.  Remember, the same sun that melts wax also hardens clay; so this is very subjective.  Yet, faith does come by hearing… and faithfulness is indeed required of a steward… 

Still, if I, on the other hand, focus primarily on my eternal security and allow myself to become lax in my fellowship with and service for the Savior, then the law should reasonably raise its hard browed head and shake a fist at me, reminding me of the holiness of my God and of the high expectations that condemn millions who behave no differently than I do.  Not that there is any power within the law any more to actually damn me, but a reminder might be healthy and helpful anyway.  

Again… the dilemma remains; how to achieve an appropriate balance in emphasis?  I’m called to comfort the simple sinner by magnifying God’s abundant grace and the power of the blood to wipe all sin and guilt away.  Yet, I’m also called to proclaim God’s righteous call for diligent and faithful service... to the growing believer.  Lastly, I must warn the mature saint who struggles with keeping their wholesome distaste for the sins of the flesh from expanding into self-righteousness and meddling judgmentalism.  Balance, balance, balance…

Where is that golden mean?

Even as I study the teachings of Jesus, Paul and James, I find there certain lectures that are all “wrath” or, sometimes conversely, all “mercy.”  Maybe it just depends on the circumstance and the audience.  Just like whether the cowboy stops his horse or pushes it harder depends on many things, even so the emphases required on the various characteristics of the gospel might logically be diverse, depending on whom God is trying to adjust on any given Sunday.

Is this blog an apologetic effort?  Maybe…  But mostly, I’m just working through (albeit somewhat publicly) some troubling wrestling matches that are in my mind.

Tender-footed babes who have been so reassured by three weeks of “all grace” preaching – beware.

Mature leaders who have become shifty and uneasy, wondering where in the world preaching on holy living has gone – be comforted.

These two truths are in no way contrary to one another – at least they shouldn’t be presented that way.  It’s just that I (for one) struggle at times with communicating the one (grace) without doing damage to the other (holiness).

True, Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”  But, then again, my evil work was nailed to the cross.  Having been judged in Christ, I say with 100% confidence that I will not ever answer for my pre-salvation vices.  Now, the backslidings of the present, well, that’s a different story. 

Where’s the balance?

I can’t even quite satisfy myself that I have found it, even when that is the very foundation of my thesis.

I think I’ll quit typing and go see if I can find a well balanced lunch… less of a challenge.  Or, should I wait for Tonya?  Decisions, decisions…  Where’s the golden mean? J

 

 

“Old Practice, Current Need”

I can’t imagine fasting for 40 days like Jesus and Moses did.  What must it have been like?

Plain and simple, a spiritual or religious fast involves abstaining from something, typically food.  (Usually by choice) to not do something pleasurable and physical in order to do something else of more eternal and spiritual significance should be accepted as a more precise description.

One thing fasting is not; it is not a hocus-pocus leverage tool by which we force God to do for us what we want done.

One of the reasons why I unequivocally prefer a more general definition for fasting; broader than just skipping a meal (or three), is because the Bible clearly paints more broadly and inclusively than does tradition.  For example, in First Corinthians 7:5, Paul mentions how married couples can “fast“ from sexual intimacy in order to focus on prayer: “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” (See also Exodus 19:15 where God’s men were commanded, “Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.”  It was apparently in preparation for the worship expected at the giving of the Decalogue.)

Why am I even interested in the topic of fasting right now anyway?  Well, it’s simple really.  I’ve asked for and received seven volunteers to secretly fast and pray once a week every week until our Youth Pastor’s wife has her baby.  She’s pregnant – Hallelujah!  The fruit of the womb is God’s reward!  Yet, she has received dire warnings from medical professionals concerning the dangers to her life associated with her being pregnant.  So, in obedience to James 5, we are praying for God’s merciful and powerful hand of gracious intervention on her behalf; that she might retain her health and strength, and also that she will deliver this child without serious problems for her or the baby.  In praying, we want to proceed intelligently and biblically.  I write this meditation today for the seven secret fasting saints; glean from it too, if you can.

The core of my advice comes from Isaiah 57:20-59:2.  (Notice the intentional negligence with respect to the typical chapter divisions.)  We don’t want to fast in vain as these Jews did.  We want god to hear, not ignore, us.  Please read this section carefully…

“The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.  ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘to the wicked.’”

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.  Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.  ‘Wherefore have we fasted,’ say they, ‘and You see not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge?’“

“Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact all your labors.  Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: you shall not fast as you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.  Is it such a fast that I have chosen?  A day for a man to afflict his soul?  Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?  Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?”  

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen?  To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?   Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh?”

“Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rearward.  Then shall you call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, ‘Here I am.’  If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness be as the noonday: and the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  And they that shall be of you shall build the old waste places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, ‘The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.’”

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding you own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and to feed with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that He will not hear.”

Now, I’m not using this passage as a rebuke and reproof (as it was originally intended), but instead as a warning and instruction to us today.  Allow me to pick out a few simple salient points based upon that Scripture… and a few others (noted).

1.       Not all fasting impresses (pleases) God or get’s results from Him.

2.       Fasting is still legitimate today. (Luke 5:35)

3.       The motive behind the fast matters immensely.

4.       Fasting should be kept as secret as possible. (Matthew 6:16-18)

5.       Fasting to prove piety is strictly forbidden.

6.       Fasting in order to obtain vengeful or covetous ends is forbidden.

7.       Fasting (abstaining) should extend beyond food.  We should also abstain from other comforts and pleasures that could distract us from our holy purpose; things that consume valuable time… time which we could be spending in prayer.  This is equally important to restraining from food consumption, whether in part or absolutely.  (Some of us might consider a “technology fast”).

8.       Fasting fits specifically with particularly serious dilemmas. (Matthew 17:21)

9.       Fasting is senseless if the devotee has known and unconfessed sins in his or her life.

10.   Fasting for the purpose of blessing others is principally emphasized in the Scripture.

11.   There are joyful times of celebration during which fasting is entirely inappropriate. (Mark 2:19)

12.   Attempt to spend the money you would have spent on yourself (for food, etc., if you hadn’t fasted) on someone else who is in need.

I suppose I could drone on and on explaining and “proof texting” every principle I’ve laid out there, but I refrain.  If you are curious about the source of any of these… well, let me know and I’ll gladly flesh it out.

In short, fasting allows me as an individual to have the time and focus to accomplish more in prayer than I would have otherwise.  I perceive that it also magnifies the seriousness of the matter at hand which has driven us to our knees.  When we change up the most basic aspects of our daily routines and proceed by skipping food, sleep, sex, comfortable clothing, aesthetic hygiene, TV, cell phones, computers, sports, hobbies or whatever else God may lay on our mind… the gravity of the issue for which we intercede is greatly enhanced.

Fast and pray that you enter not into temptation…

This kind comes forth only by prayer and fasting…

When the bridegroom leaves, then you shall fast…

In the case we are dealing with at GBC… the very life of a wife, mother, daughter, sister, leader and friend depends upon the grace which we may obtain from the throne of our God through bold, faith filled fasting and prayer.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much!

We say it.  Do we believe it?  Will we prove it?