Day Five: Do Not Judge?

Read Matthew 7:1; then read Matthew 7:1-6

This is a great verse to memorize and have on hand whenever someone starts to point out that some action, attitude or thought that you or someone else is involved with is not in line with God's Word.  As a matter of fact you do not even need to memorize the whole verse, just the first three words. When you say them, pull them out quick, like you are withdrawing a sword from its sheath to defend yourself from some deadly attack.  Trust me, it will work.  Nobody wants to known as the judgmental type and you will be free to live your life of sin...

The only problem with this thought it that really is not what Christ intended when He spoke those words.  When we read further, down through verse five, you see Christ's purpose for telling His listeners not to judge:

The reason Jesus wants us to be passionate about dealing with the sin in our own lives (the plank in our eye) is so that we will be see more clearly to help remove the sin in our neighbor's life (the speck of sawdust).

Christ is passionate about our lives being lived in purity, separate from sin, as much as possible. He wants to use us in the lives of others when they are not able to remove the speck of sawdust in their eyes.  But in order for us to do that effectively, in order for us to do that without being a hypocrite, we first need to be passionate about eradicating sin from our own lives.

If you have followed Christ's prescription, when someone pulls out the defensive sword of "do not judge," your proper response should be something like the following:

Judge? Believe me, I am not judging. I suffered under the slavery of that very sin (or one similar to it).  It destroyed my life and my relationships and I can tell you that my life has been so much better having gotten rid of it.  All I am trying to do is to help free you from something I have been freed from.

You get the idea.  Hypocrite?  No way, I am no different from you.  Judgmental?  No way, I am no better that you.  Don't have an issue with me, have it with God's Word.

Day Four: Don’t Love the World?

Read 1 John 2:15; then read 1 John 1:5-2:17

It is a beautiful verse, it really is (although isn't that true of all of God's Words?).  It is a beautiful call to separation from this wicked world.  For if we do not hate this world and separate ourselves from it then we have rejected God.  That is what this verse says isn't it?

Well, I have a problem with that conclusion.  It kinda struggles against something else John wrote and Jesus said:

So, God loves the world, and we are supposed to hate it?  You are all probably reaching for your Greek New Testaments right now to see just what words are being used for "world" in these two verses.  Well, I beat you to it and it is the same Greek word (kosmos).  Sorry, same goes for the word "love." For all of you Greek scholars the type of love referred to here in both cases is the intense one: agape.  So what do you do when John tells you to not love the very world that Jesus tells you God loves enough that He turned His back on His own Son as He was dying for it?

You read for context!!

When you read the context of 1:5-2:17 you realize that John in constantly contrasting two positions:  1) sin and 2) the love for God as demonstrated by following his commands.  In verse 16, John even goes as far as to tell us in pretty clear terms what he is speaking of:

The phrase in verse 15,  "things in the world" is defined in verse 16 as "the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does."  Clearly these things are sins within a person, not things outside of a person.  John seems to be saying in this section that if you harbor sinful attitudes and actions within you, the Father will be squeezed out.  Don't let that happen.

The Greek word used for "world" is kosmos and while it is usually translated "world" is can mean everything from "the surface of the earth," to "the universe," to "the value system of mankind,"  to "mankind," and even "the outward adornment of a person."  It is impossible to know what "world" means without understanding the context.  And rarely will the context disappoint us.

So what is John's challenge to us about the world?  Show your love (agape) for God (theos) by loving (agape) people (kosmos) while not loving (agape) sin (kosmos).  <smileface>

Day Three: Plans to Prosper?

Read Jeremiah 29:11; then read Jeremiah 29 1-23

It is always awkward to feel like you are going to get in trouble before you even do something (of course my mother would sat that if you feel that way, maybe you shouldn't be doing whatever you are planning to do).  That is how I feel as I sit down to write this blog.  Today's verse is one that is beloved by many, many people.  I hear it quoted often.  Yet rarely, when asked, do those who so freely quote and claim this verse know of its context.  This past Sunday one of the points that was made in the sermon Read: for Breadth was:  If it is worth knowing, it is worth knowing the context.  I do no wish to remove the importance of this verse to anyone who holds it as a source of hope in difficult times.  I do however want us to understand why God spoke through Jeremiah and to whom He was speaking.  In doing do we will have a fuller understanding of God's Words and will be less likely to take misapply this verse.

If I could have had a dollar for every time I have heard this verse quoted I'd be able to sent my kids (any maybe your) to college debt free.  It is always quoted confidently, often by someone who finds themselves in a difficult situation.  They conclude that "God knows where I am, He has better plans for me than this.  He has plans for prosperity in my life. I can trust Him, because I can trust His Word."

On  the surface it seems impeccable.  And if it were only for this verse, it may be true.  But as we are learning, verses have context and the context of this verse would have us wade cautiously into out understanding of the "hope" it professes, lest we believe something God has not said.

As we read the immediate context (verses 29:1-23) we find verse 11 is from a letter that Jeremiah has sent from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon.  It is towards the beginning of the their 70 year exile.  The LORD even says as much in verse 10.  What is the LORD's promise in verse 11?  It is to bring the Israelites back and prosper them in and around Jerusalem again ... after seventy years.  Until then, the LORD's instruction to them is that they are to make their home (plant gardens, have families and increase in number), where they are (in captivity), seek the peace and prosperity of their captors (the Babylonians).  God's promise was intimately connected with God's timetable.  God would fulfill His promise, but the reality was that many who were reading Jeremiah's letter would not see it for themselves, they would be dead, buried in a foreign land.

As a matter of fact, God even warns those in captivity not to listen to the "prophets and diviners" among them.  These false prophets were telling the captives that their captivity would be short, that they should resist their captives and fight for their freedom.  They were preaching a feel good gospel, but  they were not speaking for God.

How did your understanding and use of this verse compare to its actual context?  I find that most people's application of this verse is more in alignment of that of the false prophets.  In no way do I think that it is intentional.  But it is usually unaware (dare I say ignorant?) of the context.

A proper understanding of this verse would have us being determined to "do good" in the midst of our difficult situation.  We should bring God glory by how we live in difficult times instead of simply trying to seek a way out of it.  It could be that whatever difficulty you are in will last your entire lifetime.  The plans for prosperity that God has for you may only be eternal ones, like it was for many of those who read Jeremiah's letter.

But God does have plans for you to live and make a difference in your difficult situation, just as he did for the captives in Babylon.

God wants you to live your life in such a way that you make a difference in the life you have today, and not waste you life daydreaming about the life you wish you had.

Day Two: Praying to the Saints?

Read Revelation 5:8; then read Revelation 5:1-14

The phrase at the end of Revelation 5:8 reads

So what does this phrase mean?  This is a verse that is used to support the practice of praying to the "Saints" either all the time or some of the time, instead of praying directly to God and or Jesus Christ.  Before we move to the context, allow us to examine just this phrase.

The words "prayers of the saints" is a straight forward phrase in the Greek.  Its literal translation would read "the prayers of the holy (ones)."  This greek phrase ton hagion is commonly used to refer to the first century believers, the ones who were "set apart" (which is literally what "holy" means) for God through the blood of Jesus Christ.  It was almost always translated as "the saints" and in the first century when the New Testament was written, it had no other usage.  There was no practice at that time of canonizing individuals as "saints" as some churches do today.  So, from a first century usage of the word "saints" it would only have referred to Christian believers, and not to some specific believer or believers who were declared to be saints by a church body.

Burning incense was common in the first century and in Jewish history.  It created a pleasant aroma and was often used in the temple during the worship of God.  With this understanding we can translate the prayers of the Christian believers into a beautiful aroma that pleases God. As we will see, this fits in well with the context of that surrounds this verse.

Beyond this verse itself (and that truly is what this week's blogs are about) we have to look at the context and ask what does the context say about this verse.  Revelation 5 is a scene from the throne room of heaven.  We see many participants, but the focus in verse 1-5 is a scroll which no one is found worthy to open.  When this causes the apostle John to weep, he is informed that there is actually One who is worthy to open it:  the Lion of Judah, the Root of David (i.e. Jesus Christ).

The discovery that Jesus is worthy of opening the scroll causes everything to change.  The elders and four living creatures begin worshiping Him as He comes and takes the scroll.  Verses 8-14 are the account of all of heaven worshiping Jesus Christ who has been found worthy to open the scroll.  It is in the middle of this worship of the worthy lamb that we find verse 5:8 and this reference to the incense, which is the prayers of the saints.

To focus too much on anything else in this passage other than the worthiness and worship of Jesus Christ actually takes away from Jesus' Glory.  If we summed up the theme of Revelation 5:1-14, it would be "worship Jesus, for He is worthy."

One of the benefits of Jesus' death and resurrection is our ability to have direct access to God again.  Our unworthiness was removed, the curtain separating God and man in the temple was torn in two.  We are invited into a face to face conversation with the Living God.  Let us never take that for granted or offer our prayers to any other than to God, His Son and His Holy Spirit.

Beyond this we need to realize that praying to canonized saints or anyone other than God is not a biblical practice.  It actually does the opposite of Revelation 5's purpose by elevating (and worshiping?) someone or something other than the person of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray to and worship Jesus Christ alone, for He alone is worthy.

Day One: Prosperity?

Read 2 Corinthians 8:9; then read 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

If you have come here from the sermon insert you are probably confused.  I apologize but I had the wrong Bible references in the insert.  The correct references are 2 Corinthians 8:9 and  2 Corinthians 8:1-15.  The links to BibleGateway.com are above.

The Bible has much to say about our being "rich" because of a renewed relationship to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Much of this has been robbed of its context to mean something very different than what it meant when it was originally penned.  Today's verse, 2 Corinthians 8:9, is an excellent example of this.

This is a classic verse to support the prosperity gospel that has been robbed of its context.  On the surface, using only this verse, it is taught that Jesus became poor so that we could become rich.  Makes sense.  God wants to bless His followers.  And it does say that we might "become rich."  I kinda want riches anyway.  God just wants to give me the desires of my heart (I think that is another Bible verse somewhere?).  And out comes the prosperity gospel:  Jesus Christ died for our sins and to make us rich (monetarily).

The difficulties of this interpretation really begin with the first half of the verse.  In what sense was Jesus rich?  And, in what sense did He become poor?  Is that really talking about material possessions?  Was Jesus ever "rich" materially on this earth?  Is it talking about riches in heaven?  What are riches in heaven if the streets are paved with gold anyway?  Just verse 9 alone leaves us begging for answers.  So, we read.  We read broadly.  We read for context.  And God's Words do not disappoint us.

The context of 2 Corinthians 8:9 is actually not a plea for our becoming richer, but rather becoming poorer for the sake of Christ and his church.  Paul's plea is that the Corinthians would become overly generous, giving away their money and possessions so that others would actually become better off at their expense.  Paul brags on the Macedonian churches who welled up in generosity even while they were enduring extreme poverty.  And Paul wants the Corinthians to do the same.

The whole point of Paul bringing Christ into this discussion is as an example to follow.  Ultimately, it is Christ that the Macedonians were imitating.  Christ became poor so that others could become rich.  I believe that while the riches of the Macedonians are referring to monetary riches, with Christ He is referring to spiritual riches.  Christ took our spiritual burden upon Himself, becoming spiritually impoverished and dying on the cross so that we could become spiritually rich both on this earth and for eternity.

The saddest thing about this verse being used as evidence for our monetary prosperity is that its command is actually the complete opposite.  Christians are not promised riches on this earth, rather we are called to give our riches up in voluntary generosity.

In doing so, we become imitators of Christ.