"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."
The Bible has much to say about the cravings of the flesh and sexual immorality/idolatry. It is the predominant sin associated with males from a physical standpoint based on the intensity of testosterone men possess within our bodies; and in essence, the accepted stereotype that mankind generally agrees with. Men passionately desire sex with great intensity most often. Therefore, greater warnings are required for men to intentionally guard themselves when it comes to physical lust and desire for sexual satisfaction. Whether fair or not, sex has always been and undoubtedly will always be the most relevant sin issue men face. Where men face the greatest challenges are in the areas of transparency and vulnerability that defuse isolation and expose secrecy.
In order to apply the divine inspiration of absolute truth Christ professes, a man must be willing to face his demons and accept the fact that what he feasts his eyes upon can easily become the object of his desire. Jesus warned, "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness" (Luke 11:34). In our present culture where sex sells and women are indoctrinated from an early age to look a certain way in order to be pleasing to a man's eye, men are equally persuaded to lust after an air-brushed manifestation of the female anatomy (in a heterosexual example) that is most pleasing to them. Therefore, beauty is diminished from that of a gentle and quiet spirit to a physical standard only, glorified by a chest, waist and hip measurements which fits the culture's standard of sexual perfection.
When men fall prey to this depravity of thinking, truth is completely relative to whatever a man wants it to be. It becomes solely based upon experiential thinking interwoven among a web of false reality and fantasy, and a justification of desires masked under the facade of needs rather than the resolute promises and warnings of Holy Scripture. A man would be best served to heed the warning of John who wrote, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17). True satisfaction will never be found within the pleasures of the world because they are temporary, for beauty fades over time and evolves through a downward spiral of depravity and vulgarity within our culture. Therefore, why would a man pursue it with such passion and resolve when he knows full well the destructive consequences of his actions? Is he not aware of the danger which lies before him, especially after he has fallen into the same trap, time after time without recompense?
There is no passage of Scripture that convicts me more than this for the level of guilt and shame I feel for my utter failure in relation to it. I am permanently marked like a scarlet letter, completely self-inflicted, because I have not been able to maintain self control more often than not when it comes to resisting impure sexual thoughts and actions throughout my life. "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls" (Proverbs 25:28). And regardless of the forgiveness I have and continue to receive by my Lord and Savior through repentance, the memories of who I was and the sins I formerly committed predominately remain at the forefront of my mind each day. True, with time memories fade (which I consider a priceless gift of mercy from the Father), and I am fully aware that forgiveness of self also plays into the equation. But I have learned that God purposely does not grant "sin amnesia" for the sole reason that what brings us low to the foot of the cross is the single most imperative tool God uses for our benefit. If I forget who I was, I will never appreciate the gift of grace God gave and continues to repeatedly give me in spite of myself.
As a self-proclaimed, born-again Christian man, it is my duty and obligation to heed the warnings of Scripture unconditionally. I do not have the right to pick and choose what I believe is true and worth applying, and what can be minimized or written off as irrelevant to today's culture. God does not give that option for it minimizes Jesus Christ who is the manifestation of the Word itself. Consider this admonition of the apostle Paul as a foundation for God's perspective on the issue of sexual immorality: "'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be dominated by anything. 'Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food'—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).
Scripture declares, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (James 1:22-25). A man can never gain victory over the lust of his flesh without embracing Scripture as absolute truth and applying it unconditionally with full submission and obedience to its authority. Truly, it seems too simple a reality that victory begins with truth, but in fact truth has always been the answer because Christ himself is God's manifestation of truth in the flesh. Every man must wrestle first and foremost though with two pivotal questions: 1. Will he will accept Christ as truth? and 2. Will he will testify to the truth of Christ in his life by not only standing for what the Word says and represents (hearing) but for the freedom it provides (doing) when he lives it out for God's glory?
Let us begin with the foundation: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1), "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14), "for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:14-17). Jesus cannot be separated from any sin discussion because He innocently died for sin in order to reconcile mankind unto the Father. "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7). Accepting Christ is not simply a state of mind but a way of living that charts the course of a man's life. Without it, he has no compass to guide him nor illuminate his wayward attempts of charting his own course in defiance of God's absolute truth.
Thus in considering Matthew 5:27-30, once acceptance of Christ as absolute truth has been established, a man must confront his tempestuous process/tendencies of yielding to sin in order to understand what his degradation progression looks like when his lust becomes adultery. In my experience, the process essentially follows this cyclical pattern:
1. His natural propensity to sexual stimulation by means of his flesh.
2. Temptations that stir his mind with promises of pleasure and satisfaction.
3. Methods which provide a medium, outlet or forum for acting out on his lust.
4. Consideration of the "balance scale" between perceived pleasure and consequences.
5. Acceptance/acknowledgement of what he knows to be wrong yet proceeds anyway.
6. Hormonal escalation to the point where mental fantasy results in physical climax.
7. "Moment of clarity" where his false satisfaction is replaced by the reality of his sin.
8. Guilt, shame and (in reality) empty promises to finally turn away from his sin.
9. Period of time where judgment is distracted until his sin desire is stirred and the cyclical pattern begins again.
While most men can logically follow the pattern of this list against their own experiences as true on the whole, the reality is that the "balance scale" and "moment of clarity" typically do not garner enough attention and prayerful consideration. The truth of the matter is that God gives opportunities for accountability to men struggling with lustful temptations. King David echoed this emphatically and without reservation following the consequences of his adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah, when he plainly stated, "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3). How refreshing are the pages of Scripture when the reality of my heart's condition is perfectly united with an imperfect man, who for the most part sought God's will throughout his life, yet struggled with sin progressions I personally relate to. David understood the magnitude of his sin. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:4). Therefore, he humbled himself before the judgment of a Holy God, who forgave him because of his solemn and reverent plea of repentance by fully accepting and taking responsibility for his sins. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1-2).
I have personally not found one God-fearing, Bible-believing man who struggles with sexual immorality (which is a glorified term for lust and sexual sin) confess that he does not know the balance scale more personally than he cares to admit, nor refutes that the moment of clarity occurs when he sees the disparity between his flesh and the enormity of God's holiness more clearly than ever. In that spiritually clarifying moment following the object of his obsession (typically, physical release/climax), his sin has been illuminated for what it truly is and he is nakedly ashamed and guilty for desiring what was wrong all along. It is as if the clouds immediately roll back, darkness is scattered, and the light of judgment strikes with a convicting blow. Why we as men do not hold fast to these moments of life-altering truth that emphatically shout, "Choose to sin, choose to suffer," is beyond comprehension! But I know this is undoubtedly tried and true because I've personally lived and breathed its reality countless days that have morphed into years and decades. I've weighed my lustful sin to the point of scheming my exit strategy in the throws and aftermath of adultery, so I know full well how warped the mind can become even for one who professes himself to be a follower of Jesus Christ. How wretched and hypocritical I have been far too often, but how gracious and merciful is the God I serve that would lift me out of the ashes and declare that my life, though unworthy of being called a child of God, would be of great value to Him. That is truth that defies all understanding because I have lived a life of "being sick and tired of being sick and tired" to the point where I simply wanted the weight of guilt, shame and remorse lifted at all cost, even if it meant exposing my secret sins and risking all my comforts and securities. I intimately and regretfully know what it feels like to sin grievously and have to face judgment and immense consequences. Yet in my depravity, God graciously continues to extend me an invitation for the forgiveness of my sins that simply declares, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from not on sin no more" (John 8:11b). My heart can only respond in praise and worship, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33).
Truth is the only hope we have for breaking our respective sin cycles. Daily study and examination of the Scriptures with an open spirit and a teachable heart are the first course of action. Again, it seems simple, but truth is the starting point. Consider the 9-point pattern listed previously with what the apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth as a warning for essentially knowing what is right yet choosing sin over truth: "For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:1-14).
It is imperative that we understand that temptations will always be present because we unfortunately live in a fallen world. Yet in the midst of that truth, God provides a way of escape for those who trust in Him and are willing to take heed lest they fall. When we come to our balance scale moments, we have not yet crossed the line of committing sin...but we are dangerously close. It is in those moments that we need to remember the words of James: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:12-15). Temptation becomes sin when it is considered and thus yielded to. When we yield, we obey the cravings of our flesh and quench the Spirit that seeks to guard us from our own demise at the workings of our hands.
The moment of clarity following whatever method of climax a man receives (typically ejaculation) is essentially the moment we are joined with Adam and Eve when they bit into the fruit from the tree of knowledge. We see the enormity and the rawness of our sin as they did and immediately seek to cover ourselves from the Spirit's conviction, as if it were foolishly possible to hide our sin from God. We also witness how our sin pierces the flesh of Christ with deep severity. We see how our sin severs our fellowship with God and yet we inevitably end up back in the same sin cycle sooner than we care to admit. Many Christian brothers I have held accountability with over the years have echoed and affirmed the truth of that moment as we have identified in unison that the moment of clarity is absolutely real and in essence, spiritually haunting due to the level of conviction God allows us to experience. How then do we cast aside those moments with empty promises of change rather than full surrender to turn away and never return to our depravity? Why do we know full well that "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 13:38b), yet ignore it as if we never read this teaching proclaimed before?
I wrestle with these questions daily. And while it can be detrimental to live in a state of guilt and shame after I have been forgiven and accepted Christ's sacrifice for my sin, it can be a turning point or spiritual marker when I realize that while I still am a sinner, I have been made new, washed by the blood of the lamb. Therefore, as a born again Christian, I have the Spirit of the living God dwelling inside of me, enabling me to choose righteousness over sinful tendencies when I trust in the Spirit and not in my flesh. I am affirmed for I follow a Saviour who can relate to my struggles, "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2:18). In my inner-dialogue moments where I am balancing the scale of good and evil, I must remember, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).
The reality is this, Christ calls us as men to turn away from lust in every form and fashion. Considering our wandering eyes that are easily swayed by the female anatomy (unless one is skewed toward the temptation of same-sex attraction), we must hold to the truth of Job: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1). We must remember that opportunities will always abound when we are led by our sexual cravings: "For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol" (Proverbs 5:3-5). We must not accept fantasy as truth and allow the false sexual appetite personified in pornography to become our sexual expectations in marriage. We must see past the seductive mask that hides the wrath reserved for our wayward hearts. "With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life" (Proverbs 7:21-23).
Most importantly, we must consider these convicting questions: "Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished" (Proverbs 6:27-29). Those of us who have tested the merit of these questions know firsthand the consequences of sin that destroy a wife's heart and demolish a family unit beyond comprehension. Therefore, it is our duty and calling to warn our fellow brothers in Christ that the grass is not greener on the other side, and that so called "needs" are not inevitably met nor is full satisfaction found outside of the gracious gift of the wife God gives us. "Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love" (Proverbs 5:15-19).
Let me clear on this though...there is absolutely, positively no justification to sin that enables a man to commit adultery both in his heart and mind or in the bed of an adulteress. None! Many men enslaved by the power of their lust never embrace this truth. Conversely, they would rather justify and/or blame shift for their sinful choices on anyone and everything else that influences their lives. "This is the way of an adulteress (or adulterer): she (he) eats and wipes her (his) mouth and says, “I have done no wrong" (Proverbs 30:20, emphasis mine). Healing can come to a marriage though and forgiveness is possible when complete humility is embraced and consequences for actions are fully accepted by the individual at fault without excuse. That is truly non-negotiable in order to gain victory over the downward spiral of lust that drives a man deeper and deeper into sin. For sexual lust usually involves conquest, and with each conquest the severity of lust increases and his desire for manifestation of those fantasies which feed his depravity becomes more demanding, vulgar and grotesque. It is a slippery slope indeed when wandering eyes evolve over time through various forms of idolatry until they are fully manifested in full blown adultery. In these moments, this truth is clearly evident: "Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly" (Proverbs 26:11).
The Old Testament chillingly reminds us, "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10). And while we do not live under OT law per say due to the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, the reality still holds true based on experiential knowledge that death is imminent. Sadly, death is a reality for many men who have crossed the line of physical sexual adultery, as a carnage of broken trust has obliterated countless marriages and families both outside and within the walls of the church. But we cannot be misled into believing that lusting after a woman and thus committing adultery in our hearts does not result in death either. The punishment for sin is death and Christ pays for every sin, whether grave or minute, with His death on our behalf. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). Sexual sin in the Bible is straight-forward enough that we cannot misinterpret how it is defined. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality" (1 Corinthians 6:9). And while the point here is not that if you practice any of these particular sins you will not be saved; rather, what the apostle Paul is admonishing is acknowledgement that these practices are sinful and need to be resisted, not accepted. Plainly stated, in practicing these sins, a man is resisting the truth of the Word, of Christ Himself, which can only magnify his lack of trust in God's provision and cast doubt on whether the fruit of the Spirit is even present in his life. Therefore, if you accept Scripture as absolute truth, you now have a starting point for understanding the depth and breadth of what qualifies as sexual sin, which is controversial even within the church amazingly enough on certain practices Paul clearly defines as sin.
Bottom-line, as men we are all susceptible to the temptations of sexual idolatry in its various forms. Therefore, we rest confidently in the truth that "the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one" (2 Thessalonians 3:3). We are in the midst of a truth war and sexual identity is at the center of its hottest topics for discussion. Consequently, we must guard our hearts to the extent which Christ declares: "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30).
There are tools available to help men who struggle with sexual addiction (which if you even look at a woman lustfully on a regular basis, you are addicted to lust...so don't bristle at the reality that you are a sexual addict and try to compartmentalize sexual addiction for deep gross perversion only!). Most notably, filters and accountability software are available for practically every computer and mobile device that accesses the Internet to guard against pornography, chat rooms, etc. (Covenant Eyes, Pure Eyes, X3 Watch, to name a few). Find an accountability partner (a trusted, devout, humble, Biblical brother in Christ who will hold your feet to the fire in love and not be passive for your soul's sake). And men who are married, get your wife involved by holding you accountable by receiving accountability reports that detail and score everything you view online (if you want to build trust, embrace humility, die to self, and live in transparency before your wife to rebuild your marriage). Concerning movies, screen them before you watch (Screenit.com). Limit television in general or cut it our completely (honestly, there are very few channels that do not have anything sexual in nature), and have your wife password protect the television with parental controls for the sake of your children and for you. When you're in public, bounce your eyes when you see an attractive woman and avoid browsing the covers of tabloid magazines, billboards, and other visual media used to exploit sexuality. Avoid venues where sexual temptation is high according to your respective tendencies to frequent sexually stimulating locales (parties, bars, strip/gentlemen clubs, massage parlors, adult "porn" stores, red light districts, etc).
Concerning married men specifically, avoid all opportunities of any form of personal relationship or friendship with a woman other than your wife that could compromise your marriage, your wife's security and her spiritual/emotional/physical protection. Adhere to a simple test my personal counselor relayed to me: "Who would I rather offend in this moment, the other woman or my wife?" Men who willingly provide a listening ear or shoulder to cry upon for another woman are flirting with disaster far greater than they realize. Remember, most women are stimulated emotionally which means when you provide interpersonal communication and a caring attitude, you can in essence give a woman an emotional orgasm, which is usually a light-bulb moment for most men when they recognize the analogy of that truth for the first time as it relates to the physical orgasm they as men typically seek. And please do not allow yourself to have lunch with another woman (sharing a meal together carries with it a 1-on-1 opportunity to speak intimately, which is extremely dangerous with a woman other than your wife). Avoid contact with women altogether, plain and simple (keep the lines drawn firmly in the sand)....you will never regret that decision as a married man. These are just a few suggestions for avoiding pitfalls which can propel you toward righteous living if you intentionally and consistently apply them to your daily routine. Bottom-line, be proactive and resolute if you want victory over sexual sin and temptation.
In addition to placing guard rails in your life on what to avoid, it is also essential to embrace the absolute truth of Scripture in various forms. Christian music that echoes the truth of Scripture helps bring the Word to life in many cases with a fresh perspective. Songs like "Indwelling Sin" and "Prayin For You" by Lecrae which illuminates the inner-dialogue battle a man faces during temptation, "Killa" by Lecrae which brings to life the entire sexual warnings of Scripture found in Proverbs 5-7 in a most-chilling way, and "Covenant Eyes" by Trip Lee which echoes Job 31:1 are lyrical masterpieces that can remind a man of God's truth in a way that applies the Word to everyday living. Bottom-line, the truth of Scripture can be preached to you audibly throughout the day as part of your routine, without having to stop and study Scripture in-depth when time is limited. Moreover, I implore with all of my being to men who are married and for those hopeful that God will grace them with a Christ-centered wife on day: please steer clear of the cavernous pit of comparison and/or expectations. No greater mistakes have I made in my marriage than in the context of placing unrealistic expectations upon my wife that are (in truth) rooted in vulgar and unacceptable sexual practices manifested by the fantastical world of pornography I allowed my mind to be exposed to for multiple decades. A wife, regardless of whether she is Godly or not, should never be subjected to comparison of quality or quantity as it relates to sex by her husband, nor expected to look a certain way in order to be sexual gratifying. Never! Nor should her body or appearance ever be demeaned in any way. For "charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:30). The moment you allow your mind to wander down that lonely road of comparison and expectation, you are headed for disaster. For Satan knows that you are always most susceptible to sexual sin when your mind is isolated in fantasy.
Do yourself a favor and embrace the free gift of contentment in God's provision and self-control for the sake of my obedience unto Christ, for those are the only tools you have at your disposal to distinguish the fiery arrows that seek to destroy you. "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers" (1 Peter 4:7). Bottom-line, it literally takes a radical approach for a man to gain victory over lust and sexual sin. Intentionality, unwavering commitment and consistency are absolutely critical in order to change behaviors that in some cases have been ingrained in a man's DNA for decades. More importantly though, accountability is non-negotiable and mandatory to break the pattern of isolation that is the breeding ground for sexual immorality. "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment" (Proverbs 18:1) Sadly, most men are not willing to relinquish lustful tendencies because over time they do tend to become a security blanket in times of stress, frustration and boredom. Yet we were never promised an easy road to righteousness: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14).
In the end, a man must feed his mind with the truth of God's Word daily and seek wisdom and discernment through prayer, while offering praise, adoration and thanksgiving to God for the grace and mercy He continually provides. My humble prayer is that as men, we all seriously embrace the warning Jesus provides in Matthew 5:27-30 and abandon our lives of isolation and secrecy by confessing ours sins, accepting full responsibility for our foolish choices, and living out our faith by weighing our balance scale moments in the hope that we never need a moment of clarity to illuminate our sin and show us how wretched we are before a Holy God who will judge our thoughts and actions. "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:10-12).
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Matthew 5:21-26
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."
At what point in our personal walk of faith do we begin to realize that accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour demands a higher level of dedication and sacrifice that in reality we would rather sidestep or justify rather than accept literally? Like it or not, a follower of Christ can measure very quickly whether the spiritual fruit he/she bears is lush and plentiful or stricken and barren beginning with each of Jesus' antitheses ("You have heard that it was said....but I say to you") found in Matthew 5. This is an extremely profound technique Christ uses because in today's melting pot culture of post-modernism whereby truth is relative and experiential, Jesus confronts our knowledge by honing in very specifically on whether we truly understand the infallible truth of His teaching and the deeper meaning of righteous living.
In order to begin breaking down this passage of Scripture, one must address whether he/she accepts unconditionally and universally, Christ as truth. Jesus stated plainly, "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63), so why then do we struggle to live according to His Word that gives eternal life? James, the brother of Jesus, gives us no clearer answer than this: "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:13-15). Our carnal bent to live unto ourselves drives a wedge between the purest truths of God and our own selfish desires that manipulate God's Word into a Pharisaical exercise of rule-abiding legalism. Therefore, if we desire to live unto Christ by abiding in His Word, we must be willing to accept that heart surgery will be performed at the deepest level of our being, and that begins with what we accept as our foundation of truth.
It is imperative that again we recognize that what Jesus addresses in each of these antitheses is NOT a contradiction of what the Old Testament says regarding the issues of anger, lust, divorce, oaths and retaliation. Rather, He is questioning the depth of our understanding, i.e. whether we are content to keep our distance from obvious sins like murder (in this particular study), yet neglect the murderous thoughts we harbor in our hearts and minds toward other people who were created in the image of God himself. God desires for us all to obey His commandments, but the command to love far exceeds any other because in everything we say and do, we are choosing whether we love God, ourselves or one another. Christ's command is supreme though: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).
Why then is love an issue at all when considering the issue of anger? In truth, anger is familiar to our flesh for our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit of God that dwells within the heart of any man or woman who accepts Christ as Saviour. It is natural to feel angry at times because our sin nature becomes very angry when we do not yield to it. But what is the standard from which that anger derives? We must understand that who and/or what we love is the foundation from which we build our understanding of anger. For the Christ-follower, that inevitably comes down to Holy Scripture which begs the question: Do we hate what God hates or what we choose to hate? And do we love who God loves or who we choose to love? Bottom-line, Jesus felt passionate enough to address the issue of anger first, therefore we are best served to heed this warning with great consideration and accountability in hopes of recognizing the wildfire that consumes our lives when anger is allowed to run rampant, destroying everything in its path.
Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary gives a tremendous reference point to the meaning of this powerful emotion:
ANGER, n.
1. A violent passion of the mind excited by a real or supposed injury; usually accompanied with a propensity to take vengeance, or to obtain satisfaction from the offending party. This passion however varies in degrees of violence, and in ingenuous minds, may be attended only with a desire to reprove or chide the offender. Anger is also excited by an injury offered to a relation, friend or party to which one is attached; and some degrees of it may be excited by cruelty, injustice or oppression offered to those with whom one has no immediate connection, or even to the community of which one is a member. Nor is it unusual to see something of this passion roused by gross absurdities in others, especially in controversy or discussion. Anger may be inflamed till it rises to rage and a temporary delirium.
Personally, I physically cringe at how raw and descriptively accurate the first sentence of that definition feels, for in my heart I know it far too well. Anger begs for vengeance and retaliation, for our flesh desires retribution whether justified or not based on the real or supposed injury we have experienced throughout our lives. No doubt, some anger is justified at times and in particular situations, but on the whole, getting angry about people, things or circumstances that are of little consequence in the big picture of God's redemptive plan is meaningless. "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27) should be a reminder to us that while not all anger is sin, we must guard ourselves to not be consumed by anger and thus allow our anger to become sin. The Old Testament is full of examples of God's holy wrath and anger toward the sin of mankind, but His anger is rooted in love that paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying for sinful anger.
I find it impossible to consider the breadth and depth of anger without considering the depravity of my own heart. For while I find it virtually effortless to be angry about practically anything that inconveniences my own selfish desires, the greatest convicting truth is that I cannot seem to bring myself to the same level of passionate anger for sin in my own life, and that is undeniably convicting to admit after 9 stalemate months considering the enormity of that personal truth with God before writing about it! How sick the human condition can become when a follower of Jesus Christ becomes numb toward anger of his/her personal sin, yet passionately angry about the sins of mankind and the world around him/her. No doubt the apostle Paul understood this dilemma as well when he wrote: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:14-15). Bottom-line, if I spent my time channeling my anger toward the ongoing sinful tendencies of my own life rather than the sins of others and inconveniences of life in general, perhaps applying the truth of Matthew 5:21-26 would become much more effortless and common-place, and reconciliation with God and others would become my first thought rather than my last resort.
Anger can be a pervasive cancer in the heart of a Christ-follower when it is not based upon God's truth but man's selfish desires and experience. True, selfishness sits at the root of such divisiveness in the heart of man and in the church of Jesus Christ today, but anger unfortunately is the weapon that we use to drive wedges within the body of Christ which does nothing more than create distance between ourselves and Christ Himself. Therefore, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31) because anger is often mentioned throughout the New Testament writings of Paul with sins that we can tend to flippantly dismiss as well: "quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder" (2 Corinthians 12:20) and "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these" (Galatians 5:19-21).
In my opinion, the key takeaway in studying Matthew 5:21-26 is to heed James' loving advice: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:19-20). Anger is best served when guarded by our hearts and reserved for God Himself to own, for only His righteous anger is holy. Our righteousness is simply dependant on our ability to apply the truth of Scripture, and begins with personal reflection of our own lives and a passionate anger for all sin within us that distances us from the righteousness of God. We are called to predominately channel anger first inward toward personal sin and begin to eradicate the cancer by the power of the Holy Spirit who illuminates the truth of God's Word. By doing so, we will begin to align our will with the will of God that seeks our reconciliation unto Himself as first priority. "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).
At what point in our personal walk of faith do we begin to realize that accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour demands a higher level of dedication and sacrifice that in reality we would rather sidestep or justify rather than accept literally? Like it or not, a follower of Christ can measure very quickly whether the spiritual fruit he/she bears is lush and plentiful or stricken and barren beginning with each of Jesus' antitheses ("You have heard that it was said....but I say to you") found in Matthew 5. This is an extremely profound technique Christ uses because in today's melting pot culture of post-modernism whereby truth is relative and experiential, Jesus confronts our knowledge by honing in very specifically on whether we truly understand the infallible truth of His teaching and the deeper meaning of righteous living.
In order to begin breaking down this passage of Scripture, one must address whether he/she accepts unconditionally and universally, Christ as truth. Jesus stated plainly, "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63), so why then do we struggle to live according to His Word that gives eternal life? James, the brother of Jesus, gives us no clearer answer than this: "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:13-15). Our carnal bent to live unto ourselves drives a wedge between the purest truths of God and our own selfish desires that manipulate God's Word into a Pharisaical exercise of rule-abiding legalism. Therefore, if we desire to live unto Christ by abiding in His Word, we must be willing to accept that heart surgery will be performed at the deepest level of our being, and that begins with what we accept as our foundation of truth.
It is imperative that again we recognize that what Jesus addresses in each of these antitheses is NOT a contradiction of what the Old Testament says regarding the issues of anger, lust, divorce, oaths and retaliation. Rather, He is questioning the depth of our understanding, i.e. whether we are content to keep our distance from obvious sins like murder (in this particular study), yet neglect the murderous thoughts we harbor in our hearts and minds toward other people who were created in the image of God himself. God desires for us all to obey His commandments, but the command to love far exceeds any other because in everything we say and do, we are choosing whether we love God, ourselves or one another. Christ's command is supreme though: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).
Why then is love an issue at all when considering the issue of anger? In truth, anger is familiar to our flesh for our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit of God that dwells within the heart of any man or woman who accepts Christ as Saviour. It is natural to feel angry at times because our sin nature becomes very angry when we do not yield to it. But what is the standard from which that anger derives? We must understand that who and/or what we love is the foundation from which we build our understanding of anger. For the Christ-follower, that inevitably comes down to Holy Scripture which begs the question: Do we hate what God hates or what we choose to hate? And do we love who God loves or who we choose to love? Bottom-line, Jesus felt passionate enough to address the issue of anger first, therefore we are best served to heed this warning with great consideration and accountability in hopes of recognizing the wildfire that consumes our lives when anger is allowed to run rampant, destroying everything in its path.
Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary gives a tremendous reference point to the meaning of this powerful emotion:
ANGER, n.
1. A violent passion of the mind excited by a real or supposed injury; usually accompanied with a propensity to take vengeance, or to obtain satisfaction from the offending party. This passion however varies in degrees of violence, and in ingenuous minds, may be attended only with a desire to reprove or chide the offender. Anger is also excited by an injury offered to a relation, friend or party to which one is attached; and some degrees of it may be excited by cruelty, injustice or oppression offered to those with whom one has no immediate connection, or even to the community of which one is a member. Nor is it unusual to see something of this passion roused by gross absurdities in others, especially in controversy or discussion. Anger may be inflamed till it rises to rage and a temporary delirium.
Personally, I physically cringe at how raw and descriptively accurate the first sentence of that definition feels, for in my heart I know it far too well. Anger begs for vengeance and retaliation, for our flesh desires retribution whether justified or not based on the real or supposed injury we have experienced throughout our lives. No doubt, some anger is justified at times and in particular situations, but on the whole, getting angry about people, things or circumstances that are of little consequence in the big picture of God's redemptive plan is meaningless. "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27) should be a reminder to us that while not all anger is sin, we must guard ourselves to not be consumed by anger and thus allow our anger to become sin. The Old Testament is full of examples of God's holy wrath and anger toward the sin of mankind, but His anger is rooted in love that paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying for sinful anger.
I find it impossible to consider the breadth and depth of anger without considering the depravity of my own heart. For while I find it virtually effortless to be angry about practically anything that inconveniences my own selfish desires, the greatest convicting truth is that I cannot seem to bring myself to the same level of passionate anger for sin in my own life, and that is undeniably convicting to admit after 9 stalemate months considering the enormity of that personal truth with God before writing about it! How sick the human condition can become when a follower of Jesus Christ becomes numb toward anger of his/her personal sin, yet passionately angry about the sins of mankind and the world around him/her. No doubt the apostle Paul understood this dilemma as well when he wrote: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:14-15). Bottom-line, if I spent my time channeling my anger toward the ongoing sinful tendencies of my own life rather than the sins of others and inconveniences of life in general, perhaps applying the truth of Matthew 5:21-26 would become much more effortless and common-place, and reconciliation with God and others would become my first thought rather than my last resort.
Anger can be a pervasive cancer in the heart of a Christ-follower when it is not based upon God's truth but man's selfish desires and experience. True, selfishness sits at the root of such divisiveness in the heart of man and in the church of Jesus Christ today, but anger unfortunately is the weapon that we use to drive wedges within the body of Christ which does nothing more than create distance between ourselves and Christ Himself. Therefore, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31) because anger is often mentioned throughout the New Testament writings of Paul with sins that we can tend to flippantly dismiss as well: "quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder" (2 Corinthians 12:20) and "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these" (Galatians 5:19-21).
In my opinion, the key takeaway in studying Matthew 5:21-26 is to heed James' loving advice: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:19-20). Anger is best served when guarded by our hearts and reserved for God Himself to own, for only His righteous anger is holy. Our righteousness is simply dependant on our ability to apply the truth of Scripture, and begins with personal reflection of our own lives and a passionate anger for all sin within us that distances us from the righteousness of God. We are called to predominately channel anger first inward toward personal sin and begin to eradicate the cancer by the power of the Holy Spirit who illuminates the truth of God's Word. By doing so, we will begin to align our will with the will of God that seeks our reconciliation unto Himself as first priority. "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Matthew 5:17-20
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Rarely does one come across a passage of Scripture from which all other verses in the Bible's entirety hinge upon. In retrospect, the whole of Scripture rests upon the words of Jesus found in this incredible passage. Here we come across the crossroads of Christ's ministry where His purpose and prophesy fulfillment intersect upon the pages of the Old and New Testaments, for our Lord and Savior came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. Yet despite our best efforts to cast aside the somewhat confusing customs and practices of the Old Testament as archaic and perhaps even over-the-top, Jesus crushes our perspective to disregard any Scriptural passage not spoken directly from His mouth because He is the true manifestation of the Word as a whole. Therefore, to disregard even the slightest facet of the Old Testament would be a direct rebuke of Christ Himself because "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
Distinguishing the Old and New Testaments first begins in its general themes: God's law (OT) and God's grace (NT). Of course, God's love is the predominant thread woven throughout every Scriptural book (from Genesis and Revelation), but it must be noted that these aspects of God's character (law and grace) cannot be viewed disproportionately. God must be true to both aspects of His character/nature, which means while He judges the sins of mankind (law), He also provides a way of escape for His children (grace by faith) for those who would call upon His name in humble repentance. Therefore, we cannot focus solely upon either the Old or New Testament as complete in and of themselves. Rather, they are one in mind, body and spirit: Jesus Christ. He is the bridge, hanging upright on a wooden cross with arms outstretched as if He is clutching the final words of the Book of Malachi in one hand and the opening words of Matthew's Gospel in the other. His Word is bound by the Communion offering of His shed body and blood for the sins of mankind that must be judged, and He is the sacrificial lamb offering Himself on our behalf as a grace offering for our salvation.
I believe most in our day and age would lean disproportionately upon grace by devaluing the strict law God provided in the Old Testament. For while logically we understand in theory the importance of the OT historically and prophetically, we live in the protective grace of the NT Gospel which dangerously tempts us by our own accord to water-down the law of God simply because we have an eternal insurance policy that covers our sins: past, present and future. The apostle Paul puts it this way: "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2). "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:26-29). There should be no mistake from the apostle Paul, the most prolific NT writer, and the author of Hebrews that those who profess themselves as saved by grace through faith must deliberately go against the grain that caters to the flesh and intentionally choose to live righteously in reverence unto God Almighty.
A Bible-believing, God-fearing Christian is one who actively lives out what the Bible says. Granted, he or she will ultimately fail in attaining perfection under the Law, but that is to be expected. True Christians are not deceived into thinking that life is nothing but roses when one accepts Christ as Lord and Savior. He/she is a realist, and therefore can accurately profess, "For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" (Romans 7:22-23). A true follower of Christ embraces the law of God for it is the structure needed for a man/woman to live within healthy boundaries before God and His creation.
The great writer, preacher and pastor, J.C. Ryle, beautifully addresses the relationship between law and grace as such: "It is a symptom of an ignorant and unhealthy state of religion, when the law is lightly esteemed...let us beware of supposing that the Gospel has lowered the standard of personal holiness, and that the Christian is not intended to be as strict and particular about his daily life as the Jew. This is an immense mistake, but one that is unhappily very common. So far from this being the case, the sanctification of the New Testament saint ought to exceed that of him who has nothing but the Old Testament for his guide. The more light we have, the more we ought to love God. The more clearly we see our own complete and full forgiveness in Christ, the more heartily ought we to work for His glory. We know what it cost to redeem us far better that the Old Testament saints did. We have read what happened in Gethsemane and on Calvary, and they only saw it dimly and indistinctly as a thing yet to come. May we never forget our obligations! The Christian who is content with a low standard of personal holiness has got much to learn."
It is incredible to think that a follower of Jesus Christ could ever back down from the Word that defines who Christ is, cover to cover. For without Holy Scripture, we know nothing of the mind of God Himself nor nothing of the atoning sacrifice of Christ that fulfills every OT promise of the coming Messiah. Yet it is extremely popular today to confess faith in Jesus but not accept the Bible as 100% truth. Moreover, it is just as pervasive in our society to confess faith in Jesus yet live in disdain and animosity toward fellow "Christians." In either case, one important truth remains constant: the Word has been compromised, and as a result, truth is no longer absolute but relative, often because the Word is simply too difficult to accept and/or apply in one's life, which causes one to begin doubting whether it holds the position of ultimate authority. Bottom line: the Word is what it is because God ordained it that way. "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him" (Proverbs 30:5). To convey even the slightest doubt that Scripture is unconditionally true implies that any portion of the Word can be refuted and not fundamentally held as absolute truth. "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).
The crux of the Christian faith rests on the authority of Scripture. I dare say that a man or woman cannot truly grasp who Christ is without coming to terms with the Bible and specifically this passage of study, Matthew 5:17-20. This unfortunately produces a great weight of despair for the millions of professing Christians who do not believe the Bible is either culturally relevant and/or unconditionally true cover-to-cover. The magnitude of this cannot be overshadowed or cast aside for a battle of "What is truth?" is waging war upon the church. Therefore we must consider that if truth is absolute, we must conform to it accordingly or face the consequences to which that truth defines. However if truth is relative, we have lost our foundation and destruction is inevitable for there are no absolutes. Yet that is why Christ essentially came, simply stated. "Then Pilate said to him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice'" (John 18:37).
We must address our current church epidemic regarding how any professing Christian could ever dismiss the Bible as fallible, incomplete or simply historical and not practical for application. Our hearts must be thoroughly examined in order to extract any "relative-truth" virus plaguing our belief system. But the only way we can do that is to be willing to adopt a standard of truth that is absolute and unwavering. For the Christian, that should be the Bible as it alone has the power to pierce the heart of man. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews4:12). I am completely dumbfounded though at how cancerous a lack of faith in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture has become, spreading rampantly throughout the church of Jesus Christ and creating an acceptance of various sins that Scripture clearly stands against. How can this be when there are myriads of Scriptures that point to Christ's fulfillment of OT prophesy, proclaiming the purpose of His coming and elevating the authority of Scripture as absolute? John's Gospel alone practically shouts from the mountaintops the multi-faceted identity of Christ as spirit, word and flesh that forces us to come to terms with the Bible as ultimate and absolute truth in the heart of a professing believer:
I understand this tension, personally. There are those who have crossed my path of life over the years who presently live unashamed in sin, blinded to the authority of Scripture because the Word speaks directly against their sinful behavior. Consequently, they dismiss the Word as condemnation in order to transform the Word into either acceptance of the aforementioned sin or merely misinterpretation in order to justify sin. Tragically, many professing Christians have bought into this false doctrine and adopted it as absolute truth rather than relative, elevating it above what the original text of Scripture denotes. Sadly, this is the essence of post-modernistic thinking in the culturally influenced church of America that argues there is no absolute truth, particularly not Holy Scripture which is interpreted as legalistic, judgemental and downright offensive and malicious. What a tangled web the church has found itself caught in! Thankfully, Jesus warned His church of such behavior in order to direct our path:
In closing, I believe it only fitting that in light of John 1:1, we allow the words of Christ, Himself, to challenge and convict our hearts of any false doctrine. For the Word of God is the person of God, Jesus Christ, and He has much to say about His fulfillment of OT prophesy and the authority of His Word, the entire truth of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation which is the manifestation of His personhood and deity. "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (John 5:30-47).
Rarely does one come across a passage of Scripture from which all other verses in the Bible's entirety hinge upon. In retrospect, the whole of Scripture rests upon the words of Jesus found in this incredible passage. Here we come across the crossroads of Christ's ministry where His purpose and prophesy fulfillment intersect upon the pages of the Old and New Testaments, for our Lord and Savior came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. Yet despite our best efforts to cast aside the somewhat confusing customs and practices of the Old Testament as archaic and perhaps even over-the-top, Jesus crushes our perspective to disregard any Scriptural passage not spoken directly from His mouth because He is the true manifestation of the Word as a whole. Therefore, to disregard even the slightest facet of the Old Testament would be a direct rebuke of Christ Himself because "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
Distinguishing the Old and New Testaments first begins in its general themes: God's law (OT) and God's grace (NT). Of course, God's love is the predominant thread woven throughout every Scriptural book (from Genesis and Revelation), but it must be noted that these aspects of God's character (law and grace) cannot be viewed disproportionately. God must be true to both aspects of His character/nature, which means while He judges the sins of mankind (law), He also provides a way of escape for His children (grace by faith) for those who would call upon His name in humble repentance. Therefore, we cannot focus solely upon either the Old or New Testament as complete in and of themselves. Rather, they are one in mind, body and spirit: Jesus Christ. He is the bridge, hanging upright on a wooden cross with arms outstretched as if He is clutching the final words of the Book of Malachi in one hand and the opening words of Matthew's Gospel in the other. His Word is bound by the Communion offering of His shed body and blood for the sins of mankind that must be judged, and He is the sacrificial lamb offering Himself on our behalf as a grace offering for our salvation.
I believe most in our day and age would lean disproportionately upon grace by devaluing the strict law God provided in the Old Testament. For while logically we understand in theory the importance of the OT historically and prophetically, we live in the protective grace of the NT Gospel which dangerously tempts us by our own accord to water-down the law of God simply because we have an eternal insurance policy that covers our sins: past, present and future. The apostle Paul puts it this way: "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2). "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:26-29). There should be no mistake from the apostle Paul, the most prolific NT writer, and the author of Hebrews that those who profess themselves as saved by grace through faith must deliberately go against the grain that caters to the flesh and intentionally choose to live righteously in reverence unto God Almighty.
A Bible-believing, God-fearing Christian is one who actively lives out what the Bible says. Granted, he or she will ultimately fail in attaining perfection under the Law, but that is to be expected. True Christians are not deceived into thinking that life is nothing but roses when one accepts Christ as Lord and Savior. He/she is a realist, and therefore can accurately profess, "For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" (Romans 7:22-23). A true follower of Christ embraces the law of God for it is the structure needed for a man/woman to live within healthy boundaries before God and His creation.
The great writer, preacher and pastor, J.C. Ryle, beautifully addresses the relationship between law and grace as such: "It is a symptom of an ignorant and unhealthy state of religion, when the law is lightly esteemed...let us beware of supposing that the Gospel has lowered the standard of personal holiness, and that the Christian is not intended to be as strict and particular about his daily life as the Jew. This is an immense mistake, but one that is unhappily very common. So far from this being the case, the sanctification of the New Testament saint ought to exceed that of him who has nothing but the Old Testament for his guide. The more light we have, the more we ought to love God. The more clearly we see our own complete and full forgiveness in Christ, the more heartily ought we to work for His glory. We know what it cost to redeem us far better that the Old Testament saints did. We have read what happened in Gethsemane and on Calvary, and they only saw it dimly and indistinctly as a thing yet to come. May we never forget our obligations! The Christian who is content with a low standard of personal holiness has got much to learn."
It is incredible to think that a follower of Jesus Christ could ever back down from the Word that defines who Christ is, cover to cover. For without Holy Scripture, we know nothing of the mind of God Himself nor nothing of the atoning sacrifice of Christ that fulfills every OT promise of the coming Messiah. Yet it is extremely popular today to confess faith in Jesus but not accept the Bible as 100% truth. Moreover, it is just as pervasive in our society to confess faith in Jesus yet live in disdain and animosity toward fellow "Christians." In either case, one important truth remains constant: the Word has been compromised, and as a result, truth is no longer absolute but relative, often because the Word is simply too difficult to accept and/or apply in one's life, which causes one to begin doubting whether it holds the position of ultimate authority. Bottom line: the Word is what it is because God ordained it that way. "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him" (Proverbs 30:5). To convey even the slightest doubt that Scripture is unconditionally true implies that any portion of the Word can be refuted and not fundamentally held as absolute truth. "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).
The crux of the Christian faith rests on the authority of Scripture. I dare say that a man or woman cannot truly grasp who Christ is without coming to terms with the Bible and specifically this passage of study, Matthew 5:17-20. This unfortunately produces a great weight of despair for the millions of professing Christians who do not believe the Bible is either culturally relevant and/or unconditionally true cover-to-cover. The magnitude of this cannot be overshadowed or cast aside for a battle of "What is truth?" is waging war upon the church. Therefore we must consider that if truth is absolute, we must conform to it accordingly or face the consequences to which that truth defines. However if truth is relative, we have lost our foundation and destruction is inevitable for there are no absolutes. Yet that is why Christ essentially came, simply stated. "Then Pilate said to him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice'" (John 18:37).
We must address our current church epidemic regarding how any professing Christian could ever dismiss the Bible as fallible, incomplete or simply historical and not practical for application. Our hearts must be thoroughly examined in order to extract any "relative-truth" virus plaguing our belief system. But the only way we can do that is to be willing to adopt a standard of truth that is absolute and unwavering. For the Christian, that should be the Bible as it alone has the power to pierce the heart of man. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews4:12). I am completely dumbfounded though at how cancerous a lack of faith in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture has become, spreading rampantly throughout the church of Jesus Christ and creating an acceptance of various sins that Scripture clearly stands against. How can this be when there are myriads of Scriptures that point to Christ's fulfillment of OT prophesy, proclaiming the purpose of His coming and elevating the authority of Scripture as absolute? John's Gospel alone practically shouts from the mountaintops the multi-faceted identity of Christ as spirit, word and flesh that forces us to come to terms with the Bible as ultimate and absolute truth in the heart of a professing believer:
- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
- "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
- "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).
- "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free'" (John 8:31-32).
- "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).
- "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me" (John 15:26).
- "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come" (John 16:13).
- "For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me" (John 17:8).
- "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17).
I understand this tension, personally. There are those who have crossed my path of life over the years who presently live unashamed in sin, blinded to the authority of Scripture because the Word speaks directly against their sinful behavior. Consequently, they dismiss the Word as condemnation in order to transform the Word into either acceptance of the aforementioned sin or merely misinterpretation in order to justify sin. Tragically, many professing Christians have bought into this false doctrine and adopted it as absolute truth rather than relative, elevating it above what the original text of Scripture denotes. Sadly, this is the essence of post-modernistic thinking in the culturally influenced church of America that argues there is no absolute truth, particularly not Holy Scripture which is interpreted as legalistic, judgemental and downright offensive and malicious. What a tangled web the church has found itself caught in! Thankfully, Jesus warned His church of such behavior in order to direct our path:
- "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
- "And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray" (Matthew 24:11).
- "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24).
In closing, I believe it only fitting that in light of John 1:1, we allow the words of Christ, Himself, to challenge and convict our hearts of any false doctrine. For the Word of God is the person of God, Jesus Christ, and He has much to say about His fulfillment of OT prophesy and the authority of His Word, the entire truth of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation which is the manifestation of His personhood and deity. "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (John 5:30-47).
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
There is a vital application to the Christian faith that accomplishes one of two outcomes for the one who publicly professes him/herself as saved by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8). It either provides circumstantial evidence of an inward change of the heart manifested in good works from an obedient will that gives glory to God, or it polarizes those who the Christian comes in contact with by creating division and confusion as to how someone who claims to be a Christian can live a hypocritical life. This is truly the crossroads we find ourselves within a highly skeptical culture, micro-analyzing the Christian faith community for signs of authenticity and fruits of the spirit. Make no mistake, Christ's admonition in Matthew 5:13-16 is the litmus test of our faith, exemplifying our depth of Biblical character or lack thereof, and giving testimony to the glory of God for his infinite grace and mercy, or in contrast, how surface we have become in our spiritual walk with Christ that in truth does more damage than good to the cause of the Great Commission.
I find it incredibly intriguing why those who are most critical of Christians and their sinful behavior first and foremost rarely point out their issues with what the Bible defines as sinful behavior. While there are exceptions of course, most often greater emphasis is placed upon the inconsistencies of application rather than the Biblical standard. It would appear that they don't necessarily have issues with what the Bible says when Christians practice what they preach, but that rarely happens. Therefore a skeptic may conclude, "Why want what they have because it doesn't look any different than what I have?" Again this is not a blanket statement, but is this a fair criticism? Absolutely. There is no greater standard of morals, ethics and character than the Bible, yet we know as habitual sinners it is impossible to attain perfection on our own through good works. Only through Christ do we attain perfection, "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). And let us be reminded that sanctification does not mean made clean upon conversion and perfect from this day forward. Rather, it supposes that righteousness is a progressive trial and error process of being conformed into the image of Christ--turning from sin and submitting unto Christ and His Word in increasing application.
It is difficult to see Christians acting out in direct or indirect defiance of Scripture. How can people who profess themselves to be Christian act like they do? It is a huge stumbling block to both unbelievers and immature believers and creates a Christian cultural melting pot that is inconsistent to say the least. No doubt the apostle Paul felt this weight within the church of Corinth when he wrote, "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?" (1 Corinthians 3:2-3). The consistency of our Biblical application is rooted within the flesh which opposes obedience and submission unto God the Father. It exalts self, thus rejecting God's protective love. Perhaps writing through his experiential application of rejecting Christ, Peter conveyed similar understanding when he declared, "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:11-12). If our conduct does not match the truth we hold as absolute, we dishonor God by glorifying ourselves, plain and simple.
The Bible gives strong warnings to professing Christians who fail to apply Biblical truth and become stumbling blocks to those who do not know Christ. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42) is a perfect example of what Jesus taught concerning the importance of practicing what we preach. And if surgical procedure is needed to extract the cancer we allow to reign in our lives, Christ implores, "And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another" (Mark 9:43-50).
What an amazing picture Christ paints for us that everyone will be salted with fire! In its most basic form, salt provides flavor as a seasoning and acts as a preservative in food while also containing antiseptic properties used for cleaning wounds. Salt is a most useful substance, yet Christ likens salt to the process of cleansing by fire. In other words, while we are washed by the blood of the lamb in the obedient act of baptism, likewise our guilt and shame are purged--burned away by fire with the salt of the Spirit that gives us our flavor (righteousness) and preserves us (sanctification) against the forces of evil that wish to destroy us by cleansing us (justification) from sinful behavior we no doubt will experience in the future due to our fallen nature.
It is extremely difficult to pause and reflect upon my own personal application of this truth because the aftermath of wrong decisions I have made throughout my life is always top of mind. Even though I find great comfort in knowing I am being salted with fire, my mind naturally gravitates upon my shortcomings and how I have failed my Lord & Savior more times than I care to remember. However, it is critical to spiritual growth and maintaining the salty flavor needed to live out the Christian faith because it promotes a balance of the past (accepting full responsibility for personal sin), present (living in constant battle against sin and temptation) and future (constantly focusing on the victory found in Christ's shed blood which pays for our entry into eternity upon acceptance of His sacrifice). In all, it requires a man to take full responsibility for his actions and embrace the process of reconciliation before God for salt is the true test of our effectiveness as Christians, not perfection through good works.
No where else in Scripture is this truth better exemplified than Psalm 51 where King David declares in repentance, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:1-4). David understood that he had sinned gravely and sought reconciliation first before God as his ultimate judge (Note: David had to reconcile with those he directly sinned against as well, i.e. Bathsheba, etc., even though verse 4 focuses specifically upon his relationship with God). He recognized through the accountability of Nathan the prophet that his saltiness was losing its flavor and if he did not seek forgiveness and accept the consequences of his actions (which inevitably resulted in the death of his son), he was destined to be useless for the God whom he so loved and trusted.
I know I can relate to David. The greatest fall from grace I have ever experienced came when I stood proudly upon the mountaintop of hypocritical pride and self-exaltation that I (like David) was "a man after my (God's) heart" (Acts 13:22) while at the same time wallowing in the filth of my sin. How ridiculous I had become to think I could continue to willingly live in adulterous sin (James 4:4) while presenting myself before a community of Christ followers as righteous before God and worthy to do His will. There is no greater regret I have than not only destroying my own life to various degrees but destroying the lives of those around me while blaspheming the name of Christ and abusing the gift He gave through his death for my sins. Praise God though for His deliverance of my soul and restoring the years the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25) for I once was incredibly blind, but now I see more clearly and am progressively being restored to righteousness.
Perspective is an amazing grace God gives to His children. For even in my regret and despair for the pain I have caused those I love, God still chose to lift me out of the depths and restore me unto Himself. Like David, I humbly cried out, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you" (Psalm 51:10-13). Praise God! He heard my cry, for now my soul proclaims, "O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit" (Psalm 30:3). What a privilege it is now to share how Christ has redeemed me and continues to illuminate His truth to me through Scripture passages such as these! To God be the glory!
It is imperative to note that the warning of salt losing its saltiness is a stern rebuke for those who believe they can continue living in sin without reproach or consequences. We must be clear that Jesus is not saying that if you sin, you have lost your effectiveness to share the Good News of His death, burial and resurrection. Rather, it focuses specifically upon any man or woman who believes that they can knowingly live as "whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). Make no mistake, truly seeing the full depth and breadth of our sin is crucial to understanding Christ's teaching. And I believe if we are truly being honest with ourselves, which requires prayerful introspection and the help of others who know us, there are areas of our lives where we know we are sinning and need to stop, repent and never return to. Granted, temptation will always be present, seductively luring us back into self idolatry, but we do not have to continue living in sin without the slightest care of its destruction. Often times sin is extremely discreet and indirect, virtually undetectable without Biblical accountability with fellow Christians and a daily meal-plan of the absolute truth of Scripture that is "a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). But nonetheless it must be extracted before it kills you like cancer, ravaging your spirit unto death.
We must guard against any inclination to allow our flesh (self) to elevate its desires for a quick fix to sin and its destructive wake above the righteousness of God that will use our sin as an opportunity to draw us closer unto Christ in His time, not ours. The Bible states, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6), and that is a promise to embrace because while God will not typically remove the consequences of sinful actions, He promises that ultimately we will not pay the final price for those sins if we surrender our lives unto Christ by grace through faith. Our time on earth is temporary, therefore we must take full responsibility for our sinful actions, allowing God to purify our hearts through their consequences, so that we may retain the salty flavor God placed within us when we accepted Christ as Lord & Savior--and that is how we allow God to shine through us as light to a dark world desperately in need of the transforming and saving power found only through Jesus Christ.
If we as Christians embrace the calling God sets upon our lives to submit to his will and authority and apply His Word in our hearts, then the light that shines forth from us will not be quenched. Does that mean we will flawlessly execute our duty unto Christ? No. Rather, God allows sin to take partial residence in our hearts in order to display His grace as we seek reconciliation with Him through repentance. And this will be a testimony to all that God is merciful and "gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6) who seek His face. Bottom-line, the Christian walk is not one without freedom. We have the choice to follow absolute truth that unwaveringly withstands the test of time, or self-truth that ebbs and flows like waves upon the shore. But in obedience and thanksgiving unto Christ, we submit to God's Word and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit that He gives through baptism, knowing that the truth of Christ sets us free (John 8:32). Moreover, we embrace our born-again identity as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:13-16 should be one that we approach with reverence and humility, for the responsibility God places upon us as ambassadors for His name is incredible. Whether fair or not, those who do not share our faith scrutinize our every word and action and make judgments based on what they see and hear, which alone should bring us to our knees daily, seeking discernment and understanding from God through prayer and Scripture reflection on how we can live unto righteousness. But that does not give us permission to lord over others in judgment from what we see and hear in them, for we are subject to the same measure. "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5). We are called to rise above such secular philosophy, for in that we become lamps upon a stand in the homes, churches, workplaces and culture where we reside.
I pray that this Scripture passage from the mouth of Christ through the pen of Matthew inspired through the Holy Spirit grips your heart as it has mine. It has taken six months for me to finish composing this journal entry, which is by far my longest hiatus from writing since this blog began two years ago. I have wrestled with what God desires to teach me through it and been distracted and sidetracked by countless things from finishing it. As I conclude though, ultimately I believe God has taught me to take my role as a Christian man, husband, father, friend, etc., much more seriously, understanding that my thoughts, attitudes and actions reflect the condition of my heart which is of supreme importance to God. No doubt, I continue to struggle simply reading God's Word and praying daily let alone resisting selfish desires, ambitions and temptation in general, but I also understand that Satan continues to oppose every attempt I make to live for righteousness (which be encouraged, is a good sign, for Satan only seeks to devour those who are not already his). Therefore it is in my best interest to apply all I learned earlier this year studying the Beatitudes, for they are foundational to living as salt and light. God continues to build a new framework within my life as I have slowly progressed through Matthew 5, which at times has been excruciatingly convicting yet refreshing to my soul. May God continue to illuminate my heart and mind and may I continue to humble myself and maintain a reverent posture as he conforms me into the image of His Son through the power of His Word. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8).
There is a vital application to the Christian faith that accomplishes one of two outcomes for the one who publicly professes him/herself as saved by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8). It either provides circumstantial evidence of an inward change of the heart manifested in good works from an obedient will that gives glory to God, or it polarizes those who the Christian comes in contact with by creating division and confusion as to how someone who claims to be a Christian can live a hypocritical life. This is truly the crossroads we find ourselves within a highly skeptical culture, micro-analyzing the Christian faith community for signs of authenticity and fruits of the spirit. Make no mistake, Christ's admonition in Matthew 5:13-16 is the litmus test of our faith, exemplifying our depth of Biblical character or lack thereof, and giving testimony to the glory of God for his infinite grace and mercy, or in contrast, how surface we have become in our spiritual walk with Christ that in truth does more damage than good to the cause of the Great Commission.
I find it incredibly intriguing why those who are most critical of Christians and their sinful behavior first and foremost rarely point out their issues with what the Bible defines as sinful behavior. While there are exceptions of course, most often greater emphasis is placed upon the inconsistencies of application rather than the Biblical standard. It would appear that they don't necessarily have issues with what the Bible says when Christians practice what they preach, but that rarely happens. Therefore a skeptic may conclude, "Why want what they have because it doesn't look any different than what I have?" Again this is not a blanket statement, but is this a fair criticism? Absolutely. There is no greater standard of morals, ethics and character than the Bible, yet we know as habitual sinners it is impossible to attain perfection on our own through good works. Only through Christ do we attain perfection, "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). And let us be reminded that sanctification does not mean made clean upon conversion and perfect from this day forward. Rather, it supposes that righteousness is a progressive trial and error process of being conformed into the image of Christ--turning from sin and submitting unto Christ and His Word in increasing application.
It is difficult to see Christians acting out in direct or indirect defiance of Scripture. How can people who profess themselves to be Christian act like they do? It is a huge stumbling block to both unbelievers and immature believers and creates a Christian cultural melting pot that is inconsistent to say the least. No doubt the apostle Paul felt this weight within the church of Corinth when he wrote, "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?" (1 Corinthians 3:2-3). The consistency of our Biblical application is rooted within the flesh which opposes obedience and submission unto God the Father. It exalts self, thus rejecting God's protective love. Perhaps writing through his experiential application of rejecting Christ, Peter conveyed similar understanding when he declared, "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:11-12). If our conduct does not match the truth we hold as absolute, we dishonor God by glorifying ourselves, plain and simple.
The Bible gives strong warnings to professing Christians who fail to apply Biblical truth and become stumbling blocks to those who do not know Christ. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42) is a perfect example of what Jesus taught concerning the importance of practicing what we preach. And if surgical procedure is needed to extract the cancer we allow to reign in our lives, Christ implores, "And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another" (Mark 9:43-50).
What an amazing picture Christ paints for us that everyone will be salted with fire! In its most basic form, salt provides flavor as a seasoning and acts as a preservative in food while also containing antiseptic properties used for cleaning wounds. Salt is a most useful substance, yet Christ likens salt to the process of cleansing by fire. In other words, while we are washed by the blood of the lamb in the obedient act of baptism, likewise our guilt and shame are purged--burned away by fire with the salt of the Spirit that gives us our flavor (righteousness) and preserves us (sanctification) against the forces of evil that wish to destroy us by cleansing us (justification) from sinful behavior we no doubt will experience in the future due to our fallen nature.
It is extremely difficult to pause and reflect upon my own personal application of this truth because the aftermath of wrong decisions I have made throughout my life is always top of mind. Even though I find great comfort in knowing I am being salted with fire, my mind naturally gravitates upon my shortcomings and how I have failed my Lord & Savior more times than I care to remember. However, it is critical to spiritual growth and maintaining the salty flavor needed to live out the Christian faith because it promotes a balance of the past (accepting full responsibility for personal sin), present (living in constant battle against sin and temptation) and future (constantly focusing on the victory found in Christ's shed blood which pays for our entry into eternity upon acceptance of His sacrifice). In all, it requires a man to take full responsibility for his actions and embrace the process of reconciliation before God for salt is the true test of our effectiveness as Christians, not perfection through good works.
No where else in Scripture is this truth better exemplified than Psalm 51 where King David declares in repentance, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:1-4). David understood that he had sinned gravely and sought reconciliation first before God as his ultimate judge (Note: David had to reconcile with those he directly sinned against as well, i.e. Bathsheba, etc., even though verse 4 focuses specifically upon his relationship with God). He recognized through the accountability of Nathan the prophet that his saltiness was losing its flavor and if he did not seek forgiveness and accept the consequences of his actions (which inevitably resulted in the death of his son), he was destined to be useless for the God whom he so loved and trusted.
I know I can relate to David. The greatest fall from grace I have ever experienced came when I stood proudly upon the mountaintop of hypocritical pride and self-exaltation that I (like David) was "a man after my (God's) heart" (Acts 13:22) while at the same time wallowing in the filth of my sin. How ridiculous I had become to think I could continue to willingly live in adulterous sin (James 4:4) while presenting myself before a community of Christ followers as righteous before God and worthy to do His will. There is no greater regret I have than not only destroying my own life to various degrees but destroying the lives of those around me while blaspheming the name of Christ and abusing the gift He gave through his death for my sins. Praise God though for His deliverance of my soul and restoring the years the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25) for I once was incredibly blind, but now I see more clearly and am progressively being restored to righteousness.
Perspective is an amazing grace God gives to His children. For even in my regret and despair for the pain I have caused those I love, God still chose to lift me out of the depths and restore me unto Himself. Like David, I humbly cried out, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you" (Psalm 51:10-13). Praise God! He heard my cry, for now my soul proclaims, "O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit" (Psalm 30:3). What a privilege it is now to share how Christ has redeemed me and continues to illuminate His truth to me through Scripture passages such as these! To God be the glory!
It is imperative to note that the warning of salt losing its saltiness is a stern rebuke for those who believe they can continue living in sin without reproach or consequences. We must be clear that Jesus is not saying that if you sin, you have lost your effectiveness to share the Good News of His death, burial and resurrection. Rather, it focuses specifically upon any man or woman who believes that they can knowingly live as "whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). Make no mistake, truly seeing the full depth and breadth of our sin is crucial to understanding Christ's teaching. And I believe if we are truly being honest with ourselves, which requires prayerful introspection and the help of others who know us, there are areas of our lives where we know we are sinning and need to stop, repent and never return to. Granted, temptation will always be present, seductively luring us back into self idolatry, but we do not have to continue living in sin without the slightest care of its destruction. Often times sin is extremely discreet and indirect, virtually undetectable without Biblical accountability with fellow Christians and a daily meal-plan of the absolute truth of Scripture that is "a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). But nonetheless it must be extracted before it kills you like cancer, ravaging your spirit unto death.
We must guard against any inclination to allow our flesh (self) to elevate its desires for a quick fix to sin and its destructive wake above the righteousness of God that will use our sin as an opportunity to draw us closer unto Christ in His time, not ours. The Bible states, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6), and that is a promise to embrace because while God will not typically remove the consequences of sinful actions, He promises that ultimately we will not pay the final price for those sins if we surrender our lives unto Christ by grace through faith. Our time on earth is temporary, therefore we must take full responsibility for our sinful actions, allowing God to purify our hearts through their consequences, so that we may retain the salty flavor God placed within us when we accepted Christ as Lord & Savior--and that is how we allow God to shine through us as light to a dark world desperately in need of the transforming and saving power found only through Jesus Christ.
If we as Christians embrace the calling God sets upon our lives to submit to his will and authority and apply His Word in our hearts, then the light that shines forth from us will not be quenched. Does that mean we will flawlessly execute our duty unto Christ? No. Rather, God allows sin to take partial residence in our hearts in order to display His grace as we seek reconciliation with Him through repentance. And this will be a testimony to all that God is merciful and "gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6) who seek His face. Bottom-line, the Christian walk is not one without freedom. We have the choice to follow absolute truth that unwaveringly withstands the test of time, or self-truth that ebbs and flows like waves upon the shore. But in obedience and thanksgiving unto Christ, we submit to God's Word and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit that He gives through baptism, knowing that the truth of Christ sets us free (John 8:32). Moreover, we embrace our born-again identity as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:13-16 should be one that we approach with reverence and humility, for the responsibility God places upon us as ambassadors for His name is incredible. Whether fair or not, those who do not share our faith scrutinize our every word and action and make judgments based on what they see and hear, which alone should bring us to our knees daily, seeking discernment and understanding from God through prayer and Scripture reflection on how we can live unto righteousness. But that does not give us permission to lord over others in judgment from what we see and hear in them, for we are subject to the same measure. "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5). We are called to rise above such secular philosophy, for in that we become lamps upon a stand in the homes, churches, workplaces and culture where we reside.
I pray that this Scripture passage from the mouth of Christ through the pen of Matthew inspired through the Holy Spirit grips your heart as it has mine. It has taken six months for me to finish composing this journal entry, which is by far my longest hiatus from writing since this blog began two years ago. I have wrestled with what God desires to teach me through it and been distracted and sidetracked by countless things from finishing it. As I conclude though, ultimately I believe God has taught me to take my role as a Christian man, husband, father, friend, etc., much more seriously, understanding that my thoughts, attitudes and actions reflect the condition of my heart which is of supreme importance to God. No doubt, I continue to struggle simply reading God's Word and praying daily let alone resisting selfish desires, ambitions and temptation in general, but I also understand that Satan continues to oppose every attempt I make to live for righteousness (which be encouraged, is a good sign, for Satan only seeks to devour those who are not already his). Therefore it is in my best interest to apply all I learned earlier this year studying the Beatitudes, for they are foundational to living as salt and light. God continues to build a new framework within my life as I have slowly progressed through Matthew 5, which at times has been excruciatingly convicting yet refreshing to my soul. May God continue to illuminate my heart and mind and may I continue to humble myself and maintain a reverent posture as he conforms me into the image of His Son through the power of His Word. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8).
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