Follow up on previous entry

An interesting observation from our discussion in Church Sunday evening. (We discussed the previous entry in the blog – in the context of Romans 1 – 4.) We were intrigued with the hypothetical situation of the letter from the court. The consensus was that we would respond with questions, objections and challenges if we had no idea that we had broken any law. We would respond with gratitude and celebration if we knew we were accused of something serious.

How true that is in Paul’s letter, too. The law was given at least in part, to remove any doubt that nobody can live to the standards of God’s perfect holiness (Romans 3:19,20). The clear evidence is that the Jews, as a whole, didn’t get that message. They were trying their best to keep the standards of the Law and feeling spiritually successful, superior and righteous because of it.

It seems that as a race, we are each skillfully adept at failing to notice that “I am a sinner.” And we reject the mercy of God because of it.

Paul's Doctrine (Part 4)

Imagine that a letter arrives. It claims to be an official letter from a legal representative of the court. It says…

“I would prefer to tell you this personally, but have not been able to do so. Acting in my role as a legal representative of the court, I have very good news for you. You will not be required to serve any prison time, or pay any penalty. In addition, you will be given everything you need to live comfortably and confidently. The only requirement is that you maintain a residence within the jurisdiction of this court.

How would you respond?

• Would you compose a reply that challenges the court decision by asking “What do you mean I don’t have to serve prison time? What have I done to deserve any prison time? Why am I being given the award? Why do I have to keep a residence in this jurisdiction?
• Would you start packing to move to another jurisdiction?
• Would you jump for joy, and begin celebrating?

Most of us think we would do the third, but in reality, we do the first AND the second.

Paul wrote, in so many words… “I am speaking as an official representative of the all powerful deity. I have good news for you. God will use His power to rescue you from penalty and give you the ability to live in comfort and confidence. The only thing you need to do is have faith in Him.” (Romans 1:16, 17)

Rather than rejoice, people in Paul’s time and ours start asking questions and challenging the offer.

• Why do I deserve a penalty?
• Why should I get a penalty, when others are worse than me?
• What other options do I have to get out of this penalty I may deserve?

Does asking those questions sound like having faith in Him? Of course not! That’s how we are really taking the second option (moving to another jurisdiction and invalidating the gift), when we begin on the first option (challenging and questioning the offer). The questioning and challenging IS moving away from a position that acknowledges the jurisdiction and authority of God.

Why do we choose such a bizarre, self-destructive, course of action? The same reason we deserve the penalty to begin with. Questioning and challenging the good news confirms and further entrenches the guilt. We refuse to recognize that God has jurisdiction, and that He desires our best interest. (Romans 1:20)

Paul's Doctrine (Part 3)

Some positions require a nuanced explanation. In a recent Presidential debate, the moderator asked the candidates to raise their hands if they believed that “global climate change is a serious threat and caused by human activity.”

One of the candidates refused. “I’m not doing hand shows today, no hand shows.” The moderator tried to force a yes or no answer to the question but the candidate refused. He made it clear that he would be happy to answer the question if he could take a minute to give a full explanation.

Sometimes a topic is important enough, that a simple answer isn’t accurate enough to be helpful. That’s the kind of topic Paul has tackled here. In that vein, and like the politician, Paul must embark on several clarifying arguments as he explains the gospel.

If we summarize his teaching so far, we could do so as…

1) Being rescued depends on God’s power and generous mercy.

2) No-one deserves His generous mercy because everyone has sinned, and sin is rooted in denying His power and generous mercy.

Paul has taught this gospel before. I think he knows the misunderstandings and accusations people commonly make about it. As the text will later show, one misunderstanding of the gospel Paul taught is a wrong conclusion drawn from the last two points.

“If everyone has rejected God and turned to sin, and no-one deserves to be saved, but God saves people anyway, then it doesn’t really matter how I act, or whether I sin or not. I might as well ‘sin big’ and show God’s grace even more.”

Chapter 2:1-16 is Paul’s answer to this common misunderstanding. He explains that God will judge every person, every action, and every intent.

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment is revealed! He will reward each one according to his works (Romans 2:5-6)

It’s worth noting that the mind bent away from God, can take the greatest “good news” imaginable and turn it into license to sin. Paul notes this in verse 4.

You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him? (Contemporary English Version)

But the main point is that Gods generous mercy should not make us forget that sin and righteousness still matter.

Romans 2:1-16 If you judge anyone, you basically condemn yourself by agreeing that judgment should be given and should be based on works. (Which I just pointed out condemns everyone.) In contrast, God’s judgment is based on the attitude and faith of the person, not just the deeds. Don’t think that pointing at others that have done worse things, will get you off. Don’t imagine that God is too merciful to punish anyone, so you can go ahead and sin. Doing that, will just making your judgment worse because He will surely judge. He will judge on the bases of faith, and deeds, not on some arbitrary or inequitable scale. He will punish those whose deeds are selfish and disobedient. He will reward those whose faith and deeds are right. Knowing what’s right or coming from the right background is not important; having the right faith and the right deeds matters. In fact, there are people who have never heard all of God’s truth, but they still have the right attitude and many of the right deeds, they prove that the essential truths are evident in creation. They prove that His truth is evident unless it is deliberately suppressed. They will be judged by the standards of the gospel I am preaching. (God will apply His power and mercy to anyone that has the faith He is looking for.)

Anybody Need a Star?

Have you ever envied the “three wise men” of Christmas tradition? I don’t envy them a long Camel ride, or even having enough gold to spare giving some away. What I really envy is their star. They started on a trip with a clear objective… follow the star.

I wish I had a star to follow. I spend far too much time trying to decide which goal I should be pursuing right now. Nothing wrong with writing, but maybe my time spent writing this would be better spent writing a note to my mother. If I just had a shining miraculous star to show me the path, I could feel confident that I was always doing the right thing, pursuing the right course of action.

But if you read the story carefully, at some point, the star disappeared. What did the wise men do then? If they were like me, they wandered about confused and uncertain. But like I said, they were wise men so, we could be pretty sure they did something different. They thought. They reasonably decided that the most likely place for a king to be born was in the closest palace, so they headed to the palace of King Herod. Sure enough, they got enough information to be back on the right track, and the star re-appeared.

The truth is, that most of the time, I actually do have a Star…not a visual light in the sky, but a written light in the darkness. It says “Love your enemies,” “Give a cup of cold water in my name,” “visit the widows and the orphans,” “Love your neighbor as yourself” and plenty other things, but that’s enough to focus on most of the time.

But what happens when I’m in a place and can’t see the path? Should I be writing this, or should I be writing a note to my mother? The star is a bit too unclear for me. Well, that’s when a wise man would stop, think, make a reasonable decision, and proceed.

That’s all for now, I’m going to write a short note to my mother.

POSTSCRIPT: I sent an e-mail note to my mother a few minutes after this was posted. My brother read it to her that night. She died about 28 hours later. I feel grateful that The Bright and Morning Star led me.

The bad news that makes the good news so good

The “good news” of God’s salvation is really only appreciated when we realize how hopeless we are without it. The good news of the gospel is truly good because it is our only hope. Without the power and merciful justice of God we are all hopelessly doomed. The next section in Romans (1:18 – 32) is important because the bad news is the context that makes the gospel such spectacularly good news.

Ignorance of God’s law, Paul tells us, is not a valid excuse. It is a chosen blindness to some truths evident in what can be seen, namely God’s power and divinity. (It’s arguable that the essence of divinity here is righteousness, in which case there is a wonderful parallel here that God’s power and righteousness form the truths that are evident in creation and essence of the gospel [verse 16,17].)

This chosen ignorance has consequences in our behaviors.
It would be a mistake to read these verses as a simple list of sins.

It is unfortunate that this passage is sometimes used to present homosexuality as chief among sins. So, why did Paul seem to put such emphasis on homosexuality? Paul wrote this epistle to Rome sometime between 2 and 8 years after Nero became Caesar. Nero was by no means the first Caesar to engage in homosexual behavior, but he was the first Caesar to marry a gay lover. In fact, it’s possible to read this passage and find virtually every evil used to describe Nero by his contemporaries. He came to power by deceit and murder of his step-father. He kept power by the same means. His political rivals, including his mother, were murdered by his order. He was the first Caesar to aggressively persecute the Christians and yet he was “Divine” in the state religion. Verse 32 concludes the list with the observation that the ungodly not only do these awful things “but also approve of those who practice them.” Paul could hardly have said more plainly that the approval Rome gave to Nero was proof of a depraved state.

While I suspect that Paul was thinking of Nero, I believe that the Holy Spirit was moving to accomplish a deeper and more lasting objective. The passage lists the results of willful ignorance when God “gives them up.”

The Holy Spirit knowingly makes it impossible for anyone to read this passage and indulge in a self-righteous judgment against others whose sins are more “grievous” than our own. Like everyone I am tempted by certain sins, but not by others. Homosexual activity is extremely tempting to some, but not most. That reality makes it easy for the self-righteous to take prideful comfort in the condemnation of others.

Homosexual sin is one that far too many view with self-righteous contempt. It is wrong, but it’s no worse than gluttony. It’s no worse than telling a “little white lie.” It’s no worse than disobeying a parent. Those who struggle with homosexual urges should not be placed in a category different from any other sinner. To tell them they must stop their sexual behaviors and cease their desires in order to be in good standing is consistent only if you require the glutton to become thin and cease craving sweets to be in good standing. God’s love and His salvation are not based on the actions of the sinner, that’s the Gospel! God’s love and His salvation are based on God’s power and generous justice to treat faith as faith regardless of who has it, and regardless of what sin that person finds tempting.

Lest any of us feel any superiority to those of “greater sins,” the inspired apostle moves the target smoothly between wickedness, murder, deceit, arrogant God haters (all of which are easy for the self-righteous to deny) and the “lesser sins” of envy, gossip, and disobedience to parents.

The clear conclusion of any open-minded reading of the passage is that “I am no better than those I willingly condemn.” This intent of the Holy Spirit is confirmed in the first phrase of the next paragraph.

Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. (Romans 2:1)

The good news that God’s salvation is applied on the basis of faith alone is good news indeed.

Paul’s Theology 101, part 2

The entire good news from God is encapsulated in the short phrases of Romans 1:16 & 17. This is the thesis statement for the doctrinal treatise that follows. It is a premise well memorized.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (KJV)

I memorized these verses as a child, but I don’t think I really understood them until I started trying to paraphrase them, keeping in mind that many have called them the thesis statement for the book.

Here’s my current paraphrase.

I have complete confidence to preach and live in the good news of Christ because it’s anchored in the unchanging attributes of God. First, God has the power to rescue everyone. Second, God does rescue anyone who puts faith in Him regardless of their background. The faith of a Jew, the faith of a gentile, either way, it’s faith that God honors. As it says in Habakkuk 3:4, “the ones that live rightly with God have been rescued because of their faith."

The King James phrase “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” does not imply a primacy of the Jews, it simply means “The Jews learned it first, but it’s now available to everyone.” The phrase “revealed from faith to faith” is reinforcing the thought that God is generous and equitable in His offer to rescue everyone. Faith is treated like faith no matter who has it. God not only has the power to rescue all, but also the fairness to rescue all based on faith, rather than heritage.

God has the power to save. (God is great.)

God will save all those who believe, regardless of their history. (God is good.)

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Paul's Theology 101

All of Paul’s epistles (with one exception) were written in response to reports he received from a church with which he was intimately familiar. These epistles are written to address the specific challenge each particular church was facing.

Romans on the other hand, is different. Paul was not very familiar with the church in Rome (1:10). He wanted to go there and make sure that they were rooted in the true teaching of the gospel (1:15). Since he could not get there to teach them the good news (1:13), the best he could do was to write a letter.

In Romans, it can be easily argued, we find the clearest and purest statement of the “good news” as Paul taught it when he was making converts and establishing churches throughout Macedonia and Greece. His other epistles are the practical applications of his basic doctrine to particular situations, but in the epistle we find the basics of the “good news” of Christ.

For this reason, many have described Romans as a theological treatise hidden in the middle of a personal letter. Also for this same reason, it is doctrinally one of the most important books in the Bible.

This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. – Martin Luther

"We interrupt this prayer"

I intended to write another short thought about prayer but that will have to go on hold. My wife and I toured the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. I was devastated to learn how the United States did so little to help Jewish refugees from Germany. I had never heard of a boat called the "St. Louis." It left Germany full of Jews that were fleeing to Cuba. Cuba changed its mind and wouldn't let them enter. The ship came and sat off the coast of Miami. The trapped passengers could see the lights of Miami, but the Coast Guard was patrolling to prevent any attempt to swim to freedom. Eventually the ship sailed back to Europe. Several European countries finally agreed to take some of the refugees. Almost all of them were eventually murdered in concentration camps.
The U.S. talked a good game about the Jews being annihilated, but did very little. We were instrumental in starting an international summit about accepting more Jewish refugees, but we did not increase our limits on immigration. I don't normally feel a lot of shame over the United States, but I did in that museum.
It reminded me of how slow we have been to react to Pol-Pot, to Serbia, even to segregation, more recently to the Sudan, and to the Congo. If our Government can be silent while people are systematically murdered, how can we consider ourselves a Christian Nation? If our churches stay silent as well, how can we call ourselves His people?
I will return to this topic, and soon.

What are the right things to pray for?

I don’t believe God is ever annoyed that we pray for the “wrong things.” I think He is so delighted that we have decided to show up for a conversation, that what we ask for is of relatively minor importance.

The fact that we show up at all reveals at least a modicum of…
Recognition that He exists
Recognition that He is powerful enough to answer
Recognition that He is kind enough to respond
Recognition that we are dependent on Him

I think He is so delighted that we show up in prayer, that the content of what we pray for is less critical. I’m not certain there are “right things and a wrong things” in what we pray for. (I don’t think my view contradicts I John 5:16.)

The Faith of "Dogs"

A Canaanite woman cried out “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is demon possessed!” Jesus did not respond to her at all. His disciples finally begged him to get the woman to shut up, because she kept on yelling after them. So, Jesus rebuked the woman by saying “I have been sent to feed the children of God.” She interrupted by repeating her plea “Lord, Help me!” But Jesus replied, “It’s not right for me to take the food meant for the children and give it to the dogs.” She answered “Even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from the table.” Jesus responded to her faith, “Woman, your faith is great! You have what you request.” Her daughter was healed from that time. Matthew 15:22 -28

Why was Jesus rude to this woman?

She called Him the right thing. He is “Lord, Son of David.” She recognized Him as King of the Jews, the Messiah. When Peter said it, Jesus blessed him. When a blind, beggar yelled it, Jesus marveled at his faith. She called Him the right thing but he “did not answer a word.” He ignored her.

She also had the right attitude. Her prayer was “Have mercy on me.” When Jesus taught about the attitude of prayer he contrasted a proud Pharisee who publicly boasted in his prayer with a humble tax-collector who said “have mercy on me.” This woman’s prayer came from the right attitude of humility. But he ignored her.

She also had the right persistence. Jesus taught that “even an un-just person will answer your request if you pester him long enough, how much more so will God give good things to those that ask Him?” She was persistent to the point that she was annoying the disciples because she “keeps crying out after us.”

If praying well is a formula, she seems to nail it. She rightly knows who she’s praying to (check that box). She has the right attitude of humility and dependence (check that box). She has the right method of being persistent (check that box).

So why in heaven’s name did He react rudely by completely ignoring her? And then, when He did speak, He said probably the most demeaning thing He ever said to anyone. “Why should I take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” He called her a dog! He was saying, “there are other people here who are so much more important than you, that it would be wrong to spend any time on you. The “children” deserve and warrant my time and attention, not a “dog.”

If God said that to you or me, while we were praying to Him about something desperately important, how would we respond? I would be hurt and angry. I could easily see myself accusing God of hypocrisy. “Excuse me? Exactly how do you call yourself the ‘God of Love,’ and then go around calling those that pray to you, dogs?”

But, I stand in humble amazement at the woman’s answer. “Even the dogs can get the crumbs that fall from the table.” Ponder the humility of that response. She did not argue the validity of her comparison between her and the dogs. She did not argue the rudeness of His response. She remained humble. She remained humble. She remained humble. Her steadfastness in humility, submission, and persistence frankly puts me to shame.

Clearly she was so convinced of her own dependency and His power that she would not let anything, including His behavior change her mind. Her faith was not dependent on anything, including His words and actions.

I don’t know why God would choose to model rudeness in this story. (He compared Himself to an unjust judge to teach about persistence.) But maybe He chose His response so that we could see the humble persistence that would be amazing even to Him. “Woman, your faith is great! You have what you request.”

Personal Bible Study 1

The first step in personal Bible study is done before you pick up the Bible.

Pray! Pray that God would open your eyes, your ears, and your heart to see, hear, and learn what He would wish for you. It’s not a bad idea to confirm with him that the purpose of personal Bible study is not checking a box on a spiritual to do list, or learning factoids so that you can win Bible Trivial Pursuit. The primary goal is to please Him. Personal Bible Study involves learning truth, but not for the sake of knowledge, for the sake of knowing THE Truth (the way and the life). Our desire should be to Learn truth about, and from, our Lord so that we might know Him better. It is an amazing truth that perhaps the best way you can please Him is to know Him. It reveals something of His desperate desire and passion for you. However, there is more we can do to please Him. We can obey Him, and show His love to others, on His behalf.

Learn truth….. SO THAT we can please Him
--by seeking to know Him
--by knowing Him
--by obeying Him
--by showing His love to others

Pray that your purposes and goals would be aligned with the ultimate goal of pleasing Him. Pray that His Spirit will guide your mind and emotions as you study. Believe that He will be faithful. (He said “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding {in the matter} for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11)

The second step still does not require you to pick up the Bible. Prayerfully determine what kind of study you want to do. There are at least 5 main approaches:

1. “Chapter” summary (or book, or paragraph, or section) – looking for the “big” meaning in the larger context
2. Topical study – studying everything the Bible has to say on a particular subject (as deep as the “End Times” or as practical as “parenting”)
3. Character or Biographical study – a careful look at one particular Bible Character
4. Devotional or Contemplative – slow meditative reading asking probing questions of yourself and the text
5. Word study – studying how one word is used in a text and in other texts to shed light on the specific meaning

I list them in the order I suggest they should be undertaken based on the spiritual maturity level of the student. (A new believer would be much better studying by “chapter” summary, than doing a word study.)

If you will start with a “chapter” study, you need to select a “chapter.” If you are new to personal Bible study, a New Testament Book (not The Book of the Revelation) is probably best. The Gospel of John is a very good place to begin.

A “chapter” (or section) summary can be done on a chapter or a whole book or a paragraph. Paragraphs may actually be best, since chapter (and verse) divisions are not “inspired” and are usually better used for convenience of reference instead of for an accurate division between topics. Determining where paragraphs could best be placed can be difficult depending on the translation you use. (Paragraph divisions are not inspired either, and can vary from translation to translation, but they are deliberately placed to keep sections of meaning together.)

A section summary is best begun with a little bit of background work. The understanding of a section is sometimes affected by the setting, the author, the historical context, and the geographical and social context. (On Sunday, I’ll show you how this works in I Corinthians 11:2-16…)

After all that, read the section you have prayerfully decided to digest. Remember, God went to the effort to inspire this and preserve this… He believes it is important. Read the section repeatedly, in as many different translations and paraphrases as you can find. Reading it 10 times from at least 5 different versions is not uncommon or excessive. (On Sunday, we’ll talk a bit about various translations and their strengths and weaknesses.)
Then, write a caption or title for the section. Answer the question, “What’s the “Big Idea?” Outline the section. Re-write the section in your own words. List the key words and concepts. Write out what is confusing in the section. What questions does it raise but not clearly answer? (We’ll talk about answering those questions when we look at topical studies). Write a summary of what this section reveals about God, any member of the Godhead, and about you. (I’ll show you a simple form that is useful.) Develop an application that is:

· Personal – It should be central to my daily life
· Practical – It should contain elements that are practicable on a regular basis and are measurable
· Possible - Each application should be realistically doable and realistic (not necessarily easy)
· Provable – You should keep a record of the measurable element to each application

Faith - 1

Some have claimed that Romans is the most important book in the New Testament, for doctrine. The word “Faith” is used 5 times (and “believes” is used one time) in the first 17 verses.

- Paul says that his role was to call people to the obedience that comes from faith.
- Paul was thankful because the faith of the Roman Christians was reported all over the world.
- He longed to see them and be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
- The gospel reveals a righteousness that is by faith.
- “The righteous will live by faith.”
- The gospel is the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes.

All of that is the background for a contrast that starts is verse 18. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.”

Following this is a detailed list of what the depraved mind of man has done. One of the descriptions of these people is “faithless.” (vs.31)

What does this introduction to doctrine tell us about faith?

Based on this introduction to doctrine, what is faith?

Based on this introduction to doctrine, what is it we should have faith in?

Based on this introduction to doctrine, what does faith produce?