Facing Death

Death is not a pleasant subject to contemplate.  But sometimes we need to face reality. We live in a society that wants to pretend it does not exist. We use all sorts of methods to stay fit and remain healthy, in hopes of delaying death. We use all manner of cosmetic accessories or surgery to look younger. But life remains nearly 100% fatal. (For the two Biblical exceptions, it had nothing to do with their attempts to remain healthy and fit.) Living in denial does not help. But there is One who has conquered death (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Romans 1:6; Revelation 1:18) and who offers to do the same for those who put their faith in Him (John 14:19; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; Romans 8:11). Sin, death, and hell are 100% curable, if you have the right physician.

Now death is the result of sin coming into the world (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; Genesis 3:17-19), and we are all sinners (Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 64:6). But Jesus Christ has paid the full price for our sin (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and offers salvation to all who put their faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9). This results in God working in our life to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:29), not we may earn something from God, but out of love for Him for a salvation already received (1 John 4:19; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15). 

For those who put their faith in Christ, it is possible for them to have hope in spite of death (Romans 8:18-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-3). Now death is not an easy thing to face for anyone. That was brought home to me in a new way recently, when my wife and I were diagnosed with cancer. But Christians can face this with an assurance of their ultimate destiny (1 John 5:11-13; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:31-29). Further, we can avoid being conformed  to this world (1 John 2:15,16; James 4:4) if we recognize our life here is only temporary  (2 Peter 3:10-13; Matthew 6:19-21; 1 John 2:17). As a result, we should see ourselves as strangers and sojourners on the earth and behave accordingly (Philippians 3:20,21; 1 Peter  2:11,12; Hebrews 11:13). Also, we need to recall the brevity of our lives (Psalm 90:3-8; James 4:13-16; Isaiah 40:6-8) so that we may make careful use of our time (Psalm 90:12; Ephesians 5:15,16; Romans 13:11-14). And to do this, we must trust in God rather than our own abilities (Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalm 127:1,2; 37:3-6). Therefore, looking at our death is a good thing if it is done through the lens of trust in the God who has conquered it.

A Touch of Humor - Once

Should we build our systems on single verses of Scripture? Does God have to say things more than once?

Old Erich Proverb - Fires

God wants to do more than just put out the fires in our lives; He wants to be in charge, in the good times and the bad.

A Voice from the Past - Luther

Wherefore it ought to be the first concern of every Christian to lay aside all confidence in works and increasingly to strengthen faith alone and through faith to grow in the knowledge, not of works, but of Christ Jesus, who suffered and rose for him, as Peter teaches in the last chapter of his first Epistle (1 Peter 5:10).

Martin Luther, 1483-1546, The Freedom of a Christian, (Luther's Works, edited by Harold J. Grimm, Muhlenberg Press, 1957, Career of the Reformer: I, Vol. 31, p. 347)

What should Christians base their confidence on? Why is this important?

Facing Homosexuality

How do, we as Christians, deal with those we disagree with? Especially those we disagree with on fundamental doctrinal or moral issues. Particularly those our culture finds totally acceptable.  One of these issues is the question of homosexuality. Now Scripture makes it clear that homosexual behavior is wrong (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). Underlying this is the idea that God originally designed sexuality to be expressed in a permanent, committed relationship between a man and a woman for the purpose of raising the next generation (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:3-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-7). Now there is room for some minor variation in this design, but God takes it very seriously. This fits with God’s principle of unity in diversity (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Romans 12:3-13; 1 Peter 4:10,11). This also fits with marriage being a picture of the relationship of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33; Revelation 19:7,8; 2 Corinthians 11:1-3). But how do we respond to those who totally disagree with us on this?

We must reject the strident self-righteousness that looks down on those we disagree with. We must remember we are sinners (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9), saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9). Also, we are called to love all people, even our enemies (Matthew 22:35 -40; 5:43-48; Galatians 6:9,10). And we are called to correct people with gentleness (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 4:5,6; 1 Peter 3:15). But we also cannot just allow ourselves to be conformed to the world and simply follow its standards (Romans 12:1,2; 1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4). We are called, as Christians, to recognize we belong to God and need to live a life that reflects this (1 Corinthians 6:20; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10). And part of that involves opposing the wrong type of behavior (Ephesians 5:7-14; Jude 22,23; Romans 13:11-14).

How this works out in practice can be difficult. Especially when you are dealing with people who are willing to settle for nothing less than full acceptance of their behavior. We need to carefully walk the line between loving them as individuals and approving of their sin. It does not help that there is the claim made that their behavior is genetically determined, and that this justifies it. There are serious problems with this as a basic concept. If my behavior is absolutely genetically determined, then not only is all moral responsibility undermined, but all thought and knowledge. I can never claim that what I believe is really based on truth, because I am determined by my genetics. But if this is merely an influence and a tendency, there is no basis for saying it is right and I should not resist it. We are all sinners, and undoubtedly we each have tendencies toward some sins more than others. But this does not mean justifying that sin, either in ourselves or others.  Therefore, we need to resist this idea with a loving attitude, but a firm stance.

Love and Unrighteousness

Many people's idea of love is for people to be left to do whatever they want and never be corrected for it. But 1 Corinthians 13:6 says that love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. On the contrary, we are told that love for God and our neighbor is the sum total of God's commands and that all the other commands flow from it (Romans 13:8-13; James 2:8-11; Galatians 5:13,14. Why is this so? As C. S. Lewis points out in The Problem of Pain, a genuine deep love, like the love of parent and child or husband and wife, wants what is best for the other person and not just what they happen to want. This represents a stronger type of love, rather than a weaker type. Now there are those self-righteous people who condemn others to build themselves up (Matthew 23:4-7; Luke 18:9-14; Romans 2:1). But there are also those who correct in love, in order to help the other person (Hebrews 12:7-13; Galatians 6:1; Luke 19:1-10). Therefore, we should not just accept all behavior, but be careful we are dealing with it in the right attitude.

Meeting People Where They Are At.

What are you not willing to give up in order to reach people for Christ? This is a question that was asked in a group discussion at a previous church I attended. It is a question worth considering as individuals and as a congregation. The Scripture does say that we should be willing to reach out to people where they are (1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 10:31-33; Matthew 9:10-13). But it gets more complicated than that. The one thing we cannot give up is the message (Galatians 1:8,9; John 14:6; Acts 4:12). At the heart of this is the cross of Christ, that He died and rose again so that those who put their faith in Him will be saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Romans 3:21-31; Colossians 2:9-15). And we are told that this is a stumbling block to those outside of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; 1 Peter 2:4-8). But the question still needs to be asked, are people stumbling over the message or are they stumbling over us?

Now there are a couple of issues that must be faced from the outset. We cannot make the things that please people the ultimate criteria of what we do (Galatians 1:10; Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 6:1-18). And if we do there is a real danger we will end up losing the message and then we will have nothing to offer people. Further, there is a place for not simply going along with people’s unbiblical requirements (Matthew 15:1-14; Luke 13:10-17; Galatians 2:11-16). But too often we can fail to reach out, not because we are genuinely concerned with following God, but because it violates our comfort zone. And there is the danger of seeing the church as a closed club that we will let people into if they will accept our traditions and meet our standards. But we must not water things down or make them superficial just to cater to people. There is also the fact that we are not going to be able to please everyone. But the real question is, are we really trying to reach people who need Christ? And are we willing to give up the things we might prefer to do so as to reach people? Are we willing to find ways to eat with tax gatherers and sinners? This comes back to the most basic issue, of whether we genuinely love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:13,14) But I am convinced that the first step is to look at our own hearts and honestly ask the question, what am I unwilling to do or not to do to reach people for Christ? And is this something that is a genuine concern as to whether I am doing the right thing? Or does it simply reflect what I happen to like and am unwilling to change? These are not always easy questions to answer, but we need to be willing to ask them.