The Difference

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance:
(2 Corinthians 7:9)

As a preacher, I want what God wants for you. I am not trying to get you to feel guilty; I am trying to get you to be godly. I want you to think about something, but then also to act on it. I don’t want you to feel guilty unless you get godly. The difference between feeling guilty and being godly is the difference between remorse and repentance. Not just feeling sorry and crying, but being sure and changing.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

All But One

"Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"
(Genesis 3:1 – ESV)

Satan tempted Eve with a focused plot, “we never have enough unless we have it all”. It was Satan’s sin, covetousness. God hadn’t said “not any”, He had said “all but one”, but when focused upon, that one forbidden thing seemed as important as anything. It continues today. It is now a part of our fallen nature; the one thing we can’t have is the one thing we must have.

This truth applies in many areas, but let us consider one “hot topic” from this perspective. If a woman is not supposed to be the leader at home, and the home is a model for Christianity and the Christian life, why then would that change for the church, a model itself? Is this Christlike? Jesus was equal with the Father but He functionally subordinated Himself for the sake of His role (1 Corinthians 15:27-28 / Philippians 2:6), and so wouldn’t it be more Christlike for a woman to do the same? Wouldn’t the biblical idea of submitting to not being able to be a pastor / elder / teacher of men (1 Timothy 2:12), in spite of our gifts, be an opportunity for Christlikeness not an obstacle to it?

You might say, “But I have these talents; and God has given them to me, so why shouldn’t I use them?” Indeed, you should, but in the way that God wants you to, and this is defined by His Word, not by His giftings. The temptation is great, but consider something first. Sure, you could preach and teach men and perhaps do it more effectively than any man in history. However, Christ had all the power of the Godhead, but in His role as Messiah, He was limited in using that power. He could have demonstrated His power by jumping off the Temple. To come down off that Temple would have been a powerful witnessing tool to proclaim His role as Messiah, but it would have been out of God’s will.

Just because you have the power to do something, or you could be effective at doing something, more effective than the current way of doing things, well this doesn’t make it right. The temptations of Christ in the wilderness teach us that it is not about what you can do, it is about what you should do. God allows us to be rebellious and out of order, but to be godly and Christlike is to be in order, as the Word of God defines it. Practical benefit is not the measure. If Christ would have turned the stones to bread, the next thing Satan would have said is “now feed the world!” The world may have been fed, but with ill begotten bread. Is this what you want?

When God says that there is something we cannot have, Satan says it is the one thing that we must have. When God says all but one, Satan says all or none. Then in a way, so does God. Think about it.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Speech and Reach

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
(1 John 3:16-18 – ESV)

As Christians we are to demonstrate sacrificial love for those of the household of faith, but also to those who are not (Galatians 6:10). As we lay down our lives in service, we are doing so as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23), knowing that our labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). This is the driving force behind our benevolence, and the truth is that Christians have shined as lights in the world (Matthew 5:16 / Philippians 2:15), and as showers of blessing upon mankind (Ezekiel 34:26).

Now it is also certainly true that many horrible things have been done in the name of Christianity. However, for all of our many problems, it is the church that has maintained the moral standards that are the fabric of our society. The church has built the hospitals, the schools, the orphanages, and was the backbone behind the civil organizations as they were born. The church fed the poor, and ministered to those whom the world forgot. It is the church that is the first to respond to disasters, personal, regional, and national, giving sacrificially and giving when no one is looking.

Yes there are humanitarian and other religious efforts not associated with Christianity that reveal God’s love in an indirect way by their sacrifices to help other people, and these give glory to God even if they do not subjectively do so, because objectively speaking, they show forth the fact that God shows mercy through other people and that the Christian ideals are the right ones. But this does not constitute saving faith or Christianity. It is not Jesus teachings, but Jesus Himself that makes Christianity what it is.

Now as Christians, when we do these things, but also by our words and hearts give glory where it really belongs, to God, and do so proclaiming the gospel while we do it, then we subjectively and objectively give glory to God, and not only are people helped, God is praised and pleased as we rightly give Him what He is due in a conscious fashion. It is not merely social action; it is spiritual action. We speak of Christ, and His sacrifice, as the ultimate demonstration of God’s love, which is why we reach out to others.

It is not that these things aren’t good, in many cases they are, but the fact is that as non-Christians they are not thanking God for them, and God is the source of all that is good. It is good that they do civil good, but it is God that has made them do any good at all. This speaks of common grace, but as Christians we must speak of saving grace as we reach out to help. Let us thank God that we can do any good at all.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©