If You Have
You have a secret weapon in life!
Whenever we gather on the Lord’s Day at Harvest Church Knoxville, my wife Sheila welcomes everyone and always encourages them by saying, “If you have a word from God, you have all that you need.”
That statement contains a lot. The word (Logos) of God says that Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word (Rhema) of God. Logos is that which is written, and Rhema is that which is alive in the moment and spoken to us.
The Logos word can be a step towards receiving a Rhema word from God. When we see it in the written word and meditate upon it, seeking God’s voice in the matter, our spirit hears that word, and faith comes alive in us, activating the kingdom on our behalf.
Jesus’ words echo with the transformative power of faith. ‘If you have faith the grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain be removed and cast into the sea, and it will obey you.’ This is not just a promise but a testament to the potential of our faith.
It’s not about ‘naming and claiming’ here. It’s about having unwavering faith in a matter because we have heard from God concerning it. This is the essence of our belief, the cornerstone of our faith.
Too often, believers know all too well what others say about a matter that concerns their lives. They know the opinion of the “Experts,” whether it be about their sense of well-being.
For instance, someone might be keenly aware of what a popular “motivational speaker” says about having a positive attitude to gain momentum in pursuing a purpose in life. They may be equally aware of what a politician promises to give them a sense that all will be okay in their day-to-day lives because of shifts in direction within a nation. They may have amassed knowledge regarding their physical health from healthcare professionals or emotional health from listening to or reading information from psychologists. It is amazing how easily people are able to run to these sources for insight to make their choices in these areas of life without even a single hint of shame or embarrassment for doing so. However, true enlightenment and empowerment come when we contrast this with seeking God’s word. That is when we truly discern and make sound choices, empowered by His Spirit.
Why is it that when a man or woman of God stands to encourage believers to go to God’s word regarding these matters so that they can hear from Him about it and stand in real faith regarding it, it is often seen as strange?
Do you know what God says about the things happening in your life right now? You need to because if you have a word from Him about it, you have all you need to become activated according to His kingdom. Learning how to go into His word in specific areas of life day to day to get His wisdom and desires for you concerning it empowers you to walk according to faith regarding it.
It might not yet be seen in the natural, but it can be seen according to the spiritual as being done already.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
When we speak according to faith because we know God has spoken, it sets into motion things unseen in the natural realm, bringing about the fulfillment of what He has spoken to us in His timing in the natural realm. Abraham believed God, and it was accredited to him as righteousness. If you have a word from God, you have all you need.
Foolishness
Don't waste time and effort!
There is an idea afloat in some circles that righteousness by faith is like an initiation into being a disciple of Jesus. It is how one gets started, but then………..
Such an idea is utter foolishness. Faith is not merely how righteousness is obtained initially; it is how it is kept and experienced for the whole of one’s journey in Christ. Not only that, but the consistent experience of the Holy Spirit is also by faith!
How else would anyone explain the defense of the gospel that is presented in,
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Performance does not initiate, nor does it increase one’s chances of seeing the move of the Holy Spirit in one’s life.
It could not be clearer than it is here regarding how the Holy Spirit is to be experienced by believers.
“Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?”
In other words, is the Holy Spirit experienced because you have your act together in accordance with the law, or is it because you have faith?
These Galatians had started in the Spirit according to faith, but now some men had come to them, teaching them that law observance was necessary if they desired to go further spiritually and keep experiencing the move of the Spirit.
There is a problem with such an idea. It shifts reliance and hope from being centered on Christ and His completed work at the cross and puts the focus on the strength of the flesh to earn the right to have the Spirit. Such thinking provoked the Holy Spirit in the Apostle Paul to say,
“Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”
If you wish to walk in a blessed life with God, then look to Jesus and all that He did to make you right with God and engage in the relationship that freely offers you according to faith. Follow the advice and counsel of,
Colossians 2:6 As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Jesus did everything that was needed to secure our place in Him, our relationship with the Father, and the promise of the Holy Spirit in our lives for all our lives. Faith in Him is the way! Any other idea for obtaining or maintaining it is foolishness.
Real Relationship
Want a deep relationship?
Having been married to the love of my life for decades, I find that what matters most to me is not that she performs perfectly at fulfilling a checklist of expectations but rather that she delights in knowing me and being known by me. The adventure of discovery as we both do life together is part of the process.
She has matured beyond the young woman she was when I first met her because her knowledge of God has increased over the years, and her experience of Him has grown as well. The same holds true for me. If we had a checklist from the start that we were unyielding about, it would have ended our relationship many years ago, or it would have put us in such bondage as to not allow for growth and maturity.
Whenever a checklist of to-dos is allowed to become involved, the idea of closeness is pushed to the side. If items on the checklist are incomplete, a sense of disapproval sets in, and the idea of closeness is put on hold. The checklist becomes the barometer for approval or disapproval. That means the relationship is based on performing certain tasks as opposed to an interest in discovering each other and appreciating what is discovered. When delightful discovery is the quest, even odd quirks can become delightful and intriguing things because they are what makes a person an individual and unique. I know I have quirks that my wife has to look past.
I do not want my wife to be me, and I’m pretty sure she isn’t hoping I will be her. Real relationships at the human level involve knowing how to overcome the nuances of differences and come out on the other side of experiencing the differences with greater depth and stronger respect and appreciation.
I see things about my wife that I respect and appreciate, even if they differ from my preferences. These things make her stand out as an individual and help me trust her even more when I let her just be her. The Lord did not put us together to fix each other. He put us together to love each other. The more this is understood and appreciated, the stronger our relationship will grow.
When it comes to God and who He is, there are no quirks about Him, as He is absolutely perfect. The fact that He is perfect should be a plus to us. That means He makes no mistakes. Everything He does is the right thing, and it is always perfectly timed because He is able to see the end from the beginning. He is not bound to time as we are and thus can know just what to say and how to lead based on knowing forward and backward what is going on presently and what is just around the corner. Add to that the fact that He cannot lie, and you have a recipe for trust on a whole other level.
Abram trusted God when God appeared to him in a vision and told him that He was his shield and exceedingly great reward. Abram believed this about God, and it led him to ask boldly for something he deeply desired. God then promised Abram he would not only have an heir from his own body but that his descendants would outnumber the stars of the heavens. Abram believed in God, and it was accredited to him for righteousness. In other words, Abram entered into a deep, unmerited relationship with God based purely on faith in God. Abram believed God was as good as He had declared Himself to be to Abram, and it led Abram to be able to boldly ask for favor from God in an area of deep concern.
Real relationships trust and rely on the other party to be who they claim to be. They then ask for things, make decisions, and move forward on the basis of such trust without fearing it will bring an end to the relationship but instead lead to further discovery and bring hope into it.
This is why Scripture says, come boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy to help in your time of need. It describes what a real relationship looks like. Religion says to get it together before you even think about approaching. God is good, and He has invited us to come to Him, trust Him, and ask of Him. Our approaching and asking says a lot about the depth of our relationship with Him.
Be Patient
Are you in a hurry?
Throughout my 61 years, I’ve learned that rushing often leads to undesirable outcomes. This lesson, however, is not unique to me. Even the patriarch of faith had to learn it. It’s fascinating how the Holy Spirit unveils the triumphs and tribulations of the men of God in the Bible, serving as a guide for us all.
In Genesis 15, God gives Abram a promise of an heir and descendants to follow that outnumber the stars. That’s a great promise, and Abram believed God. The promise spoke of Abram having an heir, but it did not give specifics on how that would happen except that this heir would come from Abram’s own body.
In Genesis 16, time has passed, and Sarai has not become pregnant. So, Sarai’s impatience sets in, and the suggestion of how to fulfill the promise without involving her comes into play. A solution according to the flesh is offered by Sarai to Abram, and he accepts it.
The problem is that this solution after the flesh creates a false heir. The child named Ishmael, born by Sarai’s maidservant Hagar, is not according to God’s plan of an heir for Abram. The result is tension and conflict in the camp. Hagar begins to hold Sarai in contempt, and then Sarai blames Abram for it. Abram gives Sarai permission to treat Hagar however she wishes, and Sarai treats her harshly, and Hagar flees. That’s when God gives Hagar a promise of how the child she carries in her womb will be a wild man, and his hand will be against every man. God sends her back to Sarai in submission. Abram was eighty-six years of age when Ishmael was born.
Four years later, when Abram turns ninety, the Lord appears to him. God establishes a covenant of circumcision with Abram as it pertains to all the men and the male children. After this, God interacts with Abraham again and changes both Sarai’s name and Abram’s name to Sarah and Abraham. He tells Abraham he will give him a son born of Sarah. Abraham asks if a son should be born to a man one hundred years old with a wife who is ninety and asks that Ishmael be his heir. God refuses to accept Ishmael as the heir and insists that Sarah will bear the promised child, who is to be called Isaac. God reveals what type of covenant He will make with Isaac: an everlasting covenant.
A year later, Isaac was born. At the time of Isaac’s weaning, it was evident that Hagar and her son Ishmael disdained Isaac, the promised son, and Sarah was displeased and asked that they be sent away. God promises Abraham that he will make a nation of Ishmael but that Abraham’s seed is tome through Sarah’s son Isaac. So Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away.
Sarai and Abram’s impatience led to this moment of heartache and pain. Abraham had to send a son whom he deeply loved and wished could be his heir away, never to be seen again. Can you imagine how hard this must have been for Abraham?
The greater revelation in all this is how it speaks of the New Covenant in Christ and the Law Covenant of Moses.
Galatians 4:21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Galatians 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
God was able to take the impatient mistake made and preach the gospel through it generations before the gospel was to be fulfilled in Christ. But let’s learn the lesson impatience reveals here and the heartache it can produce. Beauty came out of all this, and a prophetic picture of how the law is to be sent away once one is born again into promise. Trying to have both dwell together creates conflict and tension. So, I want to learn to be patient about the promise God gives me, and I want to make sure I am allowing myself to tolerate the Law covenant as a way of attaining anything from God. To experience the promise we have in Christ now, we must put away the bondwoman and her son from us. Everything good that God has is ours in the promised son!
Thirty One Years Ago
What's your story?
On September 12th, 1993, my family and I left the comfort of our larger fellowship of which we had been a part for so many years and ventured out with their blessing to plant a new church in another part of our city. It was a huge step of faith for us at the time.
Some years later, we were challenged to believe God again and take Him at His word of promise. With only a $100.00 surplus in the church budget at the time, I felt the Lord challenging me to leave my employment where I had benefits, stock, and insurance and enter the ministry full time.
This was not a decision I could just make and drag my family into. As part of my training in leadership, the Holy Spirit moved me to go to my family and present this matter to them and ask them to pray and see what God would speak to them. They took it seriously and prayed, and came back with a unanimous determination to do it.
With no apparent supply in the natural to do such a thing and with four young children and a wife to care for, I left a secure job and entered full-time ministry purely on faith. From that moment until today, God has supplied our needs. I have never missed a paycheck.
There is something about pioneering and stepping out in faith that brings an increase of revelation and understanding in one’s relationship with God. There’s something about standing on a promise spoken to you by Him, holding fast to believing even when it seems delayed, that causes a closeness to take place in one’s heart and soul.
I had a vision of standing before thousands and preaching the gospel shortly after I came to Christ. That vision was like a fire in my soul. But it would take decades before it came to fruition. I never gave up on it. Somehow, I knew it would come. I did not try to self-fulfill it either. I had been involved with crusade ministry through a friend and mentor who has done them for decades and invited me to participate by traveling with him and ministering to pastors and leaders in conferences held during the days of the crusade. I am forever grateful to him for his willingness to include me and allow me such an opportunity.
In May of 2024, I conducted my first major crusade as Tim Atchley Global Ministries and was able to include respected friends in ministry to go with me to serve pastors and leaders in conferences held during the days of the crusade, and we were witness to a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit during our time there. Jesus was magnified greatly, and many came to know Him, were filled with the Holy Spirit, water baptized, and many received deliverance from demon possession and were miraculously healed and set free.
By faith, I am planning now to return to a different area in that same nation in September of 2025. A walk with Jesus calls us into the activity of faith in what seems impossible in the natural, but because of His amazing love and faithfulness, it is made possible for us supernaturally simply because He desires to include us in His plans and bless our lives with His presence.
You may not be asked to conduct major crusades in the nations. You may be asked to simply share your faith with others you encounter in the workplace, school, or the marketplace. Maybe you will be moved to pray for your neighbor or family member and stand strong and firm in your belief in His desire to touch them unmistakably. We are all called to walk in His love and make Him known to our generation in whatever way He leads us to do so. I am simply testifying today that there is nothing that can compare to taking a step of faith in Him according to His leading and letting Him show up and show out in your life. Some big things take time, but there are daily things He wishes to do in your life so that you know He is with you and cares for you. There are many more things I could reveal here, but it would make this post too large. I pray you will step out in faith today and experience Him in a fresh new way. He is with you today and always!
Shall I Hide?
Are you in the know?
It’s interesting what favor can do in a relationship. When a relationship is healthy and alive, openness is a fruit of it.
In Genesis 15, Abram believed God, and it was accredited to him for righteousness. In other words, a real relationship with depth and trust was established with God for Abram.
Abraham was in God’s favor! This time, the Lord has come to visit with Abraham and revisits the promise of a son for Abraham. But the visit has a two-fold purpose.
When we arrive at Genesis 18, God is about to do something on the earth, in fact, not that far away from Abraham. I find it intriguing to look closely at how God acted and, in doing so, unveils His thinking and reasoning.
Genesis 18:16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
Because of the relationship with Abraham and the favor resulting from it on Abraham’s life, the Lord lets Abraham know what He is up to nearby.
We all know how this information leads Abraham to intercede for the city based on the fact that his nephew lives there with his family. You can read these passages and get all caught up in how Abraham became an intercessor and why and how Sodom was destroyed, but Lot was spared. Or you can pay close attention to the beauty of the relationship between the Lord and Abraham and observe how favor with God due to being made righteous by God behaves itself.
There is a dynamic in this relationship with God that is very powerful and can ignite a believer’s imagination and spark a renewed desire to interact with God on an intimate level. Dead religion behaves as though God is distant and only getting to heaven is the goal. All close intimacy with God will really occur once in heaven for the merely religious. But here we have evidence of a mere man who has found favor with God and been made righteous by God according to believing God, enjoying an intimate relationship with God to such a depth and degree that God is unwilling to keep what He is up to on the earth from this man. We should let that truth sink in. “Shall I hide this thing I am about to do from Abraham?” Those words shall I hide are filled with hope and promise for any and every believer when it comes to being in a relationship with the One who created all things and is still at work on this earth. We are more than just in the favor of God now. We are joint heirs with Jesus, new creations in Christ! We are called sons, given an inheritance along with Jesus, and are hidden with God in Christ! He’s not hiding from us! He is willing to discuss His plans with us! Abraham met with Him and extended hospitality to Him with the desire to sit with Him and listen to Him.
I look forward to hearing from Him every day. I hope you do as well. He loves you and wants to talk with you.
Being A Light
Do you shine?
For a believer in Christ, what exactly does it mean to be a light to your generation?
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Is Jesus saying that up till this moment, these people He is speaking to have never done anything good?
What are the good works Jesus is talking about?
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
If what Jesus was talking about was merely a moral lifestyle, then how would that set a believer apart from other moralistic religious people in the world?
Millions of people do not know Jesus but do good works on par with what Christians do as good works. So, is it a good work in the most common understanding that Jesus was referring to?
I believe Jesus was referring to walking in the life that He gives. I believe this being a light has to do with being made alive in Him and living out from that place of faith in Him that animates our very being. I think it involves walking in such faith that our lives exude joy, peace, and confidence in what it means to be loved by God. I think this is the light that shines so that others can see.
While even those in the world might do good works, they cannot live out the kind of animated life and light that a true believer in Jesus can. They cannot exude confidence in the love of God and the kind of joy that only the Holy Ghost can produce.
1Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
For me, this is that light! That ability to live in the experience of Him and the joy that it brings no matter what might be happening to me in life. Like others in this world, believers in Jesus will also experience hardships, trials, and challenges. But the way they handle them and the attitude they bring to the moment is a real game changer. They come to that moment equipped with His life and power in the Spirit.
Believers exude joy and peace in the midst of storms. They walk in something those of this world cannot walk in. They have eternal life flowing in them. They have Jesus! Jesus is the light of the world! He is the light that shines in the darkness! Being a light on our part is simply letting His light shine through us towards others. Let others see the joy and peace that we have because of Him, and give the credit for having such to Him! This is being a light.
Relationship 101
Do you want real relationship?
Imagine with me, if you will, that someone you desire to have a relationship with is discovered to be a liar. I mean, you are endeavoring to get to know them only to discover that all they have been telling you about themselves and their intentions is a lie.
Would you think you have a good relationship with that person?
Do you really believe you can have a good, healthy relationship with someone without any ability to take them at their word and trust that they are honest with you?
Has anyone ever heard of a deep and meaningful relationship being established with a lack of trust?
The truth is that in order to have a really rewarding relationship, belief and trust are needed.
That is what Scripture reveals to us with regard to Abraham when it says,
Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Righteousness is a right relationship. It is a relationship where everything is as it should be. It is a relationship with no hindrances, obstacles, or issues. It is a relationship based on belief and trust.
Abraham believed God! Abraham took God at his word! What word?
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Abraham is having a vision where God comes to him and speaks to him. This encounter makes Abraham afraid at first, but God tells him not to be afraid because of whom God wants to be to Abraham. God is Abraham’s shield and exceedingly great reward. Because Abraham takes God at His word on this, he feels he can ask for something. Abraham asks for an heir!
God promises Abraham that he will have an heir from his own body even though Abrhama is past his prime, as is his wife. That would be a stretch to believe already, but then God invites Abraham outside of his tent at night in a place and time where the night would be crystal clear and the night sky filled with stars. God then promises Abraham that his descendants will outnumber the stars, and Abraham believes God is being honest with him and will follow through on His promise.
Religion cannot offer this to anyone. It offers a set of conditions and rules that must be kept in order to earn any measure of right standing. Relationship with God is based on believing what He has promised through His Son Jesus Christ. When someone feels the need to perform a certain way in order to get close to God, they have moved away from believing the gospel into a merit-based mindset that is contrary to how God has established a relationship with Him. It will always and forever be by grace through faith in Jesus. Believing and receiving His generous offer of love and goodness revealed in the giving of His Son will always be the bedrock of a real relationship with Him.
Is God Angry?
Do you think God is mad at you?
You will find today’s devotional to be slightly longer than my usual offer. I am addressing a very important and timely issue today, and I hope you will read this in its entirety. Naturally, you are free to do as you please with no condemnation from me about it. But I do hope it will pique your interest and curiosity enough to take it all in.
It is becoming increasingly popular today for some to dismiss the idea of God being angry for any reason. They say that since Jesus went to the cross, the wrath of God has been satisfied, and He is no longer angry.
I wholeheartedly agree with that statement when it is applied to those who put their faith in Jesus. But to declare it to the lost who have yet to come to Jesus for life and hope such a statement is misplaced although well-intentioned.
Such an idea seems to come from a place of struggling with the concept that God is able to be loving, forgiving, and a merciful Savior and yet at the same time capable of being holy, righteously angered, and a just judge. I could be mistaken, but it seems that it also comes from those who sat under judgment preaching in the church Sunday after Sunday and thus were made to feel that they will never measure up and that God is continually angry with them because they fail to measure up under the law.
This is why a mixture of preaching of law and grace in the church is a spiritually unhealthy practice to undertake. It sows confusion and discouragement because it feeds a performance mindset that is contrary to the true work of grace made available in Christ. No one will ever measure up to the righteous standards of the law in the flesh. It must be met by faith in Christ, who is the only One who perfectly kept the law and fulfilled it on our behalf and now imputes His own righteousness to us according to faith in Him.
Galatians 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
I fulfill the law only in Christ. It does not exonerate me from good works that are rooted in my life in Christ. It simply sets me free from the condemnation and death that the law ministered to me in order to bring me to Christ so that I might have life in Him.
Using the law regularly on believers in churches is akin to a parent regularly using a belt or paddle on their child just to remind them of what will happen if they get out of line in the hopes that they will never misbehave. This has fueled the anti-fear of punishment movement that is growing in popularity.
Church history would reveal to us that whenever the church predominantly operates in applying the law and an over-emphasis on moralistic performance, universalism arises and grows in popularity as a backlash to believers feeling abused by the church. It enhances the appeal of such teachings.
An overly focused, moralistic church consumed with policing behavior that might embarrass its reputation produces the fruit of extreme positions being taken on by those who flee from it. Being overly focused on performance for a relationship with God as opposed to faith in Christ produces such backlashes.
It is what I believe has produced the increasing popularity of the “God is not angry” mantra.
Although I understand how many arrived at such a position and declaration, it does not mean I agree with such a position when presented in extremes. I do agree that God is not angry with His children who are hidden with Him in Christ. However, I’m not at all convinced that this statement applies to the lost without Christ or to the merely religious who abuse and bring harm to those who desire to be in Christ and seek to know Him according to His goodness and enjoy a real relationship with God through Christ.
We should always turn to Scripture with the aid of the Holy Spirit to help us navigate these conflicting ideas with wisdom. Here are some examples.
Jesus demonstrated anger with the religious leaders who had no compassion for those in great need and thus set out to resist Him in His desire and effort to heal and deliver.
Mark 3:5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Luke 3:7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
The words anger and wrath in Greek are orge. It is the same Greek word translated as anger in Mark 3:5 and as wrath in John 3:36 as well as many other Scriptures, and this Greek word orge deals with a violent passion, by implication - punishment: anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath. It is at times translated as anger and at other times as wrath.
John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Some would say that this application of wrath was diminished once Jesus went to the cross. If that is true, we should not be able to find any idea of it in the New Covenant letters to the churches.
Romans 2:5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
Romans 3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)
Romans 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Colossians 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
I would agree that once someone comes to Christ, the wrath that was once upon them in their unbelief is removed. I think sometimes the difficulty those promoting this idea have is that they struggle with the idea of God loving the world and being angry at the same time. They somehow deduce that He cannot be love and anger simultaneously. But this is rooted in human reasoning and a single idea of what love has to be. Anytime we adopt a doctrinal position, we should be able to confirm it with much Scripture.
Revelation 6:16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Revelation 14:19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
Revelation 15:7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
It is still true that some are storing up wrath against the day of wrath. I am not sharing this to put fear on anyone, nor am I sharing it to promote the idea of mainly preaching the wrath of God to the lost. I am sharing it to say that yes, God can be angry even though He is love, just as He can be just and yet forgive. The idea of a coming judgment and the means to escape it is still part of the gospel message. The good news is that God’s justice is only satisfied in Christ Jesus, and those who are hidden with God in Christ have escaped that justice that will still inevitably require satisfaction. It can be satisfied in Christ, and when a person comes to Christ in faith, the wrath it calls for is done away with. But to refuse such a gracious offer is to accept to remain under wrath, and there is only the expectation of pending judgment in that case. Is God angry? It depends on the context.
Cheated?
Have you ever been tricked?
Have you ever launched out to purchase something of great importance only to find that the more you got into the process, it seemed, the more came out that you had to do in order to have what seemed to be promised so simply at the start?
If you have ever purchased a streaming service or internet-based service, you may know what I am talking about. The advertisement said you would get ….. but what they didn’t tell you is that the …… would cost you extra to have…..
This is how some in the church are made to feel at the hands of some ministers. They are given an overview of wonderful things, but then when they say yes, they are then told the reason some are lacking is that……….
It’s a yes you received Jesus, but to experience all that He has to offer you, you must……….
When this is done to people, it makes the claim of abundant life and the promises of God that are supposed to be yes and amen, a hoax or a cult-like trick to draw you in at first and then put you on the hook for more.
It’s like being told that what you signed up for was actually the bronze plan. To get the silver, you must….. and then if you wish to go all the way to the gold, you must…. Only the elite among us can experience the platinum offer…..
It is as if all the wonderful things offered in Jesus have levels of membership involved. So some of the preachers make sure to tell the ones listening to them that they’re missing out, but if they will give more, and …… then they will walk in………..
This kind of instruction causes passages such as 2 Peter 1:2-4 to be like some sort of fairytale.
2Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The promises of salvation, deliverance, healing, and abundant life by being filled with the Spirit are true! They are true for every believer in Christ. They are true based on what Christ did to secure them for us. They are ours by simply believing. The repentance needed today is not that of sins in particular but rather of the sin of not believing the truth that all has been purchased, paid in full, and made available to us in Christ. Believe is all we’ve asked to do.
1Corinthians 3:21 Therefore, let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:
The Corinthians were all caught up in who had the best teacher. Competition and comparison ruled their existence. Meanwhile, they did not realize that all was theirs and there was no need for all the competition and comparison to start with. They had been given by God a rich supply of all that was needed in Christ, and Jesus had given these gifts to them to enrich their lives, but by picking and choosing, they were cheating themselves of the full blessing of the buffet set before them.
Things were being presented in a way that suggested they were missing out, and it led them to think that if they just…… If they did ………. It also led to promoting one gift over another just to feel better.
I’ve not been cheated, and there are no things withheld from me simply because I haven’t reached level 14 and become part of the more spiritual “in crowd.” All is mine in Christ! Everything God promised is mine in Christ. It is all withdrawn by faith in Him. None of it is based on my performance to get it. There is no “But wait!” There is believe. Believe in His completed work at the cross, believe in His goodness, believe in His integrity, believe in His faithfulness, and believe that what He has said is as true for you as much as it is for anyone else. You have not been cheated, and there is not something else that you must do in order to experience all that He has promised you. Jesus can be trusted! Only believe.
Not Offended
Have you ever been offended?
Have you ever had someone you highly respected and trusted and defended do something out of the ordinary?
Did their out-of-the-ordinary action cause you to waver just a little? Did it lead you to question something about them?
Have you ever been made to suffer in some way, great or small, for your defense of someone else and then discovered others were questioning their validity?
John the Baptist was the forerunner prophet for the Messiah and a cousin to Jesus, who was the Messiah—because of his righteous stances against Herod, John had been put into prison. Up till that time, John had been pointing others to Jesus. But he was in prison awaiting a death sentence to be carried out.
Matthew 11:2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
John was in the press of trial. His faith was undergoing incredible testing. I cannot imagine what he must have been going through and the battle he faced in his soul. I’ve never been unjustly imprisoned for taking a stand on righteousness. So, I cannot say I can equally identify with John in that sense. But I do know what it is like to be ostracized, misunderstood, and kept at bay, so to speak, because of one’s views concerning who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished.
In such moments, the test comes to be offended with Jesus as though it is somehow His fault this inconvenience, distance in a relationship, or rejection from someone you care about has come into your life. When John sent his two disciples to Jesus, you would have thought Jesus would have spoken way more compassionately than it seems He spoke here. But John’s greater need is not identification with his weakness in the moment but a reminder of who he is by calling him back to the real core of what his ministry was to start with. Jesus does not want John to lose sight of the wonderful calling he has and the significance of what his ministry has been. For that to be real, Jesus had to lovingly but factually point John’s attention to the things that truly matter.
The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them. Oh, the love Jesus has for his cousin, who is the greatest of all the prophets. A man who is now suffering in a prison awaiting his moment of death.
Then Jesus says those famous words, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of me.”
Jesus was who He was and is who He is now. He shocked the apostle John when He appeared to him in a different way on the Isle of Patmos. So much so John fell as one dead before Jesus. It was a Jesus, unlike the one whom John had walked with. It was a glorious Jesus so different that He had to lift John up after falling and tell him not to be afraid.
There are many facets to who Jesus is. He desires to reveal Himself as He is so we can be who we are on this earth. I never want to be offended by Him because others do not like what I’ve come to know about Him and speak concerning Him. Rejection from others due to representing Jesus is going to happen. But it does not have to result in my allowing an offense to come into my heart toward Him because of it. It also should never be allowed to silence me with others concerning Him so that the rejection is somehow avoided. By His grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, I desire to live outspoken, bold, and free of offense.
The Offense Of The Cross
Have you been offended?
In these modern times, offenses come easily for many. It seems all of society is offended by something.
The New Oxford American Dictionary defines offense this way: annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one's standards or principles.
Sadly, being offended seems to be in vogue in the culture at large. It has even become popular for some in the church.
Interestingly, the Apostle Paul expected his preaching to be offensive in his day. There was something about the gospel he declared that was offensive to some. It was a key point that caused such offense. Paul speaks of it as something to be proud of.
Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
Hmmm, the offense of the cross. Why should the cross offend anyone? Many have proposed that it has to do with the cross being an instrument of death. But Paul’s thinking isn’t in line with that being the cause.
Here, Paul is speaking of the cross when it is presented as the means of Christ’s finished work.
To better understand this, we need to put this verse in its context.
Galatians 5:7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.
Some men had come to Galatia and began teaching that in order for justification to really work, the believers had to be circumcised. In other words, they must embrace what it means to be Jewish. To be circumcised was to accept the Jewish ways, which involved coming under the Law of Moses. Basically, they were being told that what Jesus did at the cross was just a jump start to being justified, that it was really just a means to get them in the door to the rest of what is required for real righteousness. How can we know this for certain was the issue?
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
The offense of the cross is not about our call to take up our cross and follow Jesus. It is the scandalous truth of what was accomplished by Jesus upon His cross that is offensive to so many. To fall from grace, one must become offended at the cross of Christ by being deceived into thinking it was not enough and into thinking that the law must now be applied accompanied with one’s own best self-effort in keeping it.
By preaching, Christ did the work of making righteousness and justification our reality at the cross, and it was enough. Paul suffered persecution. That kind of preaching was an offense to many in his day and still is in our day when we truly get it right and preach it right.
Our Sabbath
Do you know how to rest?
Have you ever experienced a long work day or week, and when you reached the end of it, all you wanted to do was to sleep in, and then once you got up, just relax and do nothing for a whole day?
There is a benefit to our physical and mental health in taking a rest such as that. It can be rejuvenating and refueling to do so. There’s a place of importance in the idea of resting as it denotes restoration and is a part of our understanding of what is needed to have good health.
In the United States, once a year, we observe Labor Day. It is a national holiday that is meant to be observed by companies, where they give employees the day off with pay. People get to stay home and relax and enjoy the day however they wish.
Interestingly, though, many end up doing as much or more work on that day as any other day because they feel like they need to catch up on things around their homes. Their day of rest turns into a day of exhaustion.
Spiritually speaking, we are meant to enter into rest. Sabbath in the Hebrew where it originated means to cease, desist, rest, stop.
The idea was for all work to stop for just one day because God created everything in six days, and then He stopped. It was not like He was exhausted from the work of creation. It was that He was finished and well-pleased with what He had done and ceased to admire it. God never gets weary, so we know He did not need rest in the way we think of rest. Rest for God is an on-purpose pause to reflect and enjoy. So, if we are to rest as He does, we would need to pause and reflect for the purpose of enjoying.
However, this, for a believer in Christ, has become a way of life as opposed to a day. The writer of Hebrews brings this out.
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
The idea for a New Covenant believer is the practice of bringing an end to their own works for righteousness and living a life of reflecting on the finished work of Christ at the cross. It can still incorporate a day that is set aside to enjoy rest, relaxation, and reflection, such as our Lord’s Day, when we gather to celebrate Jesus and His finished work. However, it is speaking of a way of life for the believer now.
Hebrews 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore, a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
The practice of the Sabbath for the believer in Jesus is laying aside the idea that righteousness can be obtained by self-effort and instead is possessed now by faith in the finished work of Christ. The act of ceasing, desisting, stopping, and resting is Sabbath. In Christ, we get to live the Sabbath because He is our Sabbath. Have you ceased from your own works? Are you resting in Christ? You may observe a day referred to as the Sabbath Day and enjoy resting on that day. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you think that keeping that day is somehow making you righteous or keeping you righteous, you’ve missed the whole point. A real observance of the Sabbath is resting in the finished work of Christ Jesus. I sincerely hope you will rest in Him and reflect on His goodness today and always.
Determined Love
Do you know determined love?
Imagine, if you will, that you are in a pile-up on the highway and gravely injured. I came upon you carrying a fully stocked medical kit, possessing the knowledge and the skill to treat you and rescue you from certain death. Still, instead, I simply said to you, poor thing, I’m so sorry. I hope you make it; if you try hard enough, you might be able to survive this.
Would you consider leaving you in that condition an act of loving you?
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When we read this passage, we think of how sweet and marvelous it is that God loves us enough to send Jesus to die. But if we stop there and do not follow through to what His death is meant to accomplish on our behalf, we will only wax sentimental about God’s love without appropriating it.
Now, let’s go back to my earlier example and add this. When I come to help you with my resources, knowledge, and skill, you tell me I am wrong and start to insist I do it your way, and your way would end up killing you for sure. Would it be loving you to do it your way?
Sadly, many in our modern times are trying to define love in this way.
Jesus’ death is not meant to leave us in the condition of being sinners! Our belief in God’s love on display at the cross where Jesus died is meant to produce a supernatural transformation in us and move us out of darkness and into His kingdom of light and life. It does this when we truly believe as we should.
Even though love can be directed towards someone undeserving, it has no intention of leaving them in their broken condition, but it also will not force itself upon them. If the willingness of love to transform is rejected by the one needing it, the blessings and benefits of that love are not realized in that person’s life. They may go on to blame the person who tried to love them for being unloving. But their accusations are groundless and false.
If, in the example, we started with, I came upon you and was willing to help you, but you refused it, I would not be able to bless you with what I have to offer and would have to move to the next person in need of what I have to offer. Loving you does not force me to camp out where you are, trying again and again to get you to let me do for you what is most needed. It does not mean I have to hang out until you die. You know my offer of lovingly helping you still stands and that I am still in proximity or within calling distance, but I would be forced to leave your side, knowing others need what I have to offer if you reject my offer to you.
Determined love is not immobilized by the rejection of its offer, and it is not stuck with the person to whom the offer was made in order to prove it was love to start with. Determined love can move on to the next person in need with a readiness to turn and help the person who rejected its offer earlier when they humble themselves and ask for it without putting their own conditions on it.
Determined love has a goal of bringing the right solution to the situation of need. It does not come to the situation as a barterer or negotiator about what is needed. It already understands the need and knows what the solution is. It knows what it has to offer. God, in His love, has set the parameters on how it is to be received. His offer of eternal life is set to a one-way only. Jesus is that one-way. God’s determined love made provision for all to be saved, but in order to receive and benefit from that provision, a person must humbly ask for it on the terms on which it is presented.
The Proof Of Love
Are you convinced God is love?
Often, when someone thinks of love, they think of a strong feeling or emotion. But is that really love?
The Bible tells us that God is love. It does not say that “love” is God.
There are many definitions of love in these last days. If we accept the idea that love is God, then all the many definitions of love describe God, and if that were true, we would be most confused about who God is and what God is truly like. But the Bible makes it clear that God is love, so we need to get our idea of love from looking at God and how He describes it.
Here’s the challenge: God is Spirit and thus invisible, so we do not see Him like we would see someone or something in the material world. But there is a way to see Him.
Jesus was talking about the Father one day, and Philip, one of His disciples, said, “Show us the Father, and it will suffice us.” Jesus responded,
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Jesus came to show us the Father. He came to reveal God to us. Jesus also said this,
John 6:46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
But this brings us back to the question of how we describe love according to who God is instead of trying to describe God according to our own worldly idea of what love is. God proved He is love by a single act in history.
The apostle John said it simply this way,
1John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The Scripture goes on to say,
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God went out of His way; the Son laid down His life, and the Holy Spirit was sent to us as a seal of inheritance after we believed. God proved His love not by intense emotions He could not control. But by a deliberate act that was planned because it was rooted in His love for mankind.
The God kind of love sacrificially gives of itself to those who are loved. God’s love is revealed in the way He was willing to be put out and inconvenience Himself for the benefit of those who were the object of His love, even when they did not deserve it and could not do anything to earn it.
God’s love was rejected by many during the time of Christ, and still today is rejected by many. But it still stands clear and powerfully intact, just as it was on that fateful day when Jesus laid down His life. Scripture says we love Him because He first loved us, so until a person is reconciled to God’s love as it is presented in Christ, they will struggle to love God or others appropriately. The proof of love will always point us to Jesus and the sacrifice He made to reconcile us to God.
Spiritual Amnesia
Do you remember?
There’s a show called Monk. It’s about a brilliant detective who is very quirky but very smart. He is germaphobic and likes things to be very clean. In one episode, he hits his head and forgets who he is while on a trip. When he stumbles up to a crazy woman’s house who is very unkempt, she tricks him into believing he is her husband and has him doing all kinds of dirty work around her home. He is the dirtiest he’s ever been and doesn’t seem to mind. He does things and puts up with things he would not have when he was in his right mind.
Eventually, he gets his memory back. When he does, he cleans up and returns to who he truly is.
There is an interesting passage in Scripture that reveals what I call spiritual amnesia. It involves the Corinthians. They were a messed up bunch of believers engaging in things they should avoid because they were not in step with who they truly were in Christ. For that reason, Paul called them carnal. But Paul, as an apostle, wanted those believers to know who they were and establish them in their true identity and purpose. Look at what he says to them,
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
In this case, they had forgotten who they had been made to be in Christ and were returning to who they had been before coming to Christ.
I call this spiritual amnesia. It’s when a believer slides back into their old way of living before coming to know Jesus and being transformed into a new creation in Him.
What were they before they came to know Jesus?
1 Corinthians 6:8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
Those believers in Corinth had slipped back into selfish modes of thought and practice. They were taking advantage of each other and then seeking to punish each other by means of secular law as a result. This was a bad example to unbelievers outside the church. They had forgotten who they were made to be in Christ and had slipped back into their old way of thinking—spiritual amnesia.
Paul goes on to point out how wrong self-indulgent, hedonistic thinking is.
1 Corinthians 6:13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 15 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 harlot? Certainly not!
Paul does not threaten them that they are going to be damned forever. He reminds them of how they had become joined to Christ and their bodies had become His temple, His dwelling place. He is reminding them of who they are in Christ and thereby calling them to return to the kind of living that is in step with such an identity. He is reminding them that they were sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus! To say in the name is to say for the glory and purpose of the Lord Jesus. Those suffering from spiritual amnesia in the church need to be reminded of who they are in Christ and what He has done for them.
Was The Apsotle Paul A Legalist?
Are all warnings about behavior legalistic?
When we examine the body of teaching the Apostle Paul delivered to the different churches, we discover some very interesting truths that are worthy of our consideration. Of course, all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable.
It’s universally acknowledged that the Apostle Paul was deeply rooted in the truths of the New Covenant, a belief I share. So let’s consider something he spoke to the Corinthians, who were a very carnal bunch.
1Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
These passages are a stark reminder that it is not legalistic or improper to warn believers about the dangers of out-of-step behavior in relation to the new life we receive in Christ. It is our responsibility to address such issues in the body of Christ when appropriate, and it is not an unloving act but a sign of our engagement and care.
Notice the things Paul warns about. First, he makes it clear that the rock they drank from was Christ and then speaks of how God was not well pleased with most of them. He says these are our examples and indicates in what way and for what reason, and it is to encourage us not to lust after things. He encourages the avoidance of idolatry, not to commit sexual idolatry, not to tempt Christ, nor to complain.
Then he warns that no one should be so arrogant as to say they cannot be tempted in such ways and to think they are in some way to look down on others, or else they will discover just how easy it is to fall themselves.
I love what he reveals about God and the temptations that come our way. God always provides us with a way of escaping temptations. God equips us to rise above such things as we look to Him and learn to listen to Him. God is not going to allow us to be tempted beyond what we can resist. There is no temptation so great that we cannot resist it in Christ! No believer is so compelled that they must be enslaved or overtaken by any temptation.
No minister of the gospel should be incapable of addressing such things when necessary for the benefit of believers who are struggling. This is another expression of loving others in the body. To think otherwise would be to accuse Paul, who was a chief promoter of New Covenant grace and truth, of being a legalist. Now, I would not recommend that a minister dwell on these things as though they are the only truth worthwhile. Paul did not dwell on such things in all of his letters to churches. The greater focus should always be who Christ is, what Christ accomplished, and how that is to be applied to believers.
Whole, Not Part
Do you know the whole truth?
What if you went to a place to eat, ordered a four-course meal, and paid for it in advance, but all they brought out to you was the appetizer and then expected you to give them a good tip on top of that?
What would you think if your employer said, “I know you worked 40 hours, and I promised to pay you a specific rate for each hour, but I only pay a portion of what that amounts to each payday?”
Would you be okay with such actions? Would you feel misled and lied to?
Why, then, should any follower of Christ be okay with partial truths delivered to them? Half-truths can lead us astray and can hinder our spiritual growth. We should seek the whole truth for our own sake and the sake of our spiritual journey. If what is being preached has to omit better than half of what is revealed in the New Testament to be spoken, is that really the whole truth?
If a minister avoids large portions of the truth delivered to us by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament letters of Scripture because it will cast a shadow over some new idea that seems popular to many, is delivering the whole truth?
If all a fellowship of people receives is one specific idea about God and the work of Christ, even though there are many things revealed concerning them in the New Testament, is that delivering the whole truth?
Here in the United States of America, right now, in 2024, people cannot be assured they truly know all that is needed to be known about any political candidate. They are expected to vote based on bits and pieces of information, and much of that comes from statements taken out of context to steer opinions in a preselected direction. The reason for this is that the media only uses sound bites selected to lead people to think a certain way. It seems impossible to truly know accurately what to think. So, a person simply has to choose a side based on how a candidate makes them feel rather than having a solid sense of what they truly stand for.
I share this not to be political but to demonstrate how sound bites, or mere small portions of the truth purposefully selected versus the whole, can affect things. Especially portions of truth designed to put the spotlight on just one particular topic until it becomes embellished in an unhealthy way. Spiritual leaders with integrity understand the importance of delivering the whole counsel of God in Scripture just as Paul and others in Scripture did.
Acts 20:25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Paul, as an apostle who loved and cared about the truth, was speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus. He could say with all integrity that he had declared to them the whole counsel of God. We also know by the Scriptures that Paul was a great defender of the true gospel concerning Christ. He took the handling of the word of God delivered to the churches seriously. That is why he was committed to the whole counsel of God and not just to select the more popular parts that would make him popular with more people. He was willing to be misunderstood, persecuted, and even cast aside for his integrity in the handling of the truth. The preservation of the gospel and the whole counsel of God was worth the suffering and sacrifice he had to endure to make sure it was delivered to the churches. Paul was about the whole, not just a part.
One Way
Going the right way?
We’ve all seen this phrase on street signs and know that when they are set alongside a street, we can only go in the direction designated by it. Violating it, at worst, could cause an accident, at the very least, get you a ticket, or it might result in clogging up the flow of things and halting any progress for a time. This analogy is a familiar one, and it’s a powerful one when it comes to understanding our spiritual journey.
In other words, it just isn’t wise to try to violate such a clear communication. Doing so could lead to serious consequences, just as it would on the road.
This same idea applies to our spirituality and peace with God. There is not just one of many ways, but only one way to obtain them. This singular path is the one we must follow.
Think about this: when was the last time you were allowed to go into your town or city and put up a street sign that affected the flow of traffic? Would you not get yourself into trouble if you went out and attempted to set up your signs for speed or direction along the roads where you live?
Why, then, do some think they can insert their own idea of what makes for peace and right standing with God and then seek to teach them to the church? Only God, who has given us His word, is allowed to set the parameters for being right with Him and remaining right with Him. His authority is absolute, and we must submit to His will. He has declared how we are to obtain peace and unity.
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
The early church had to rise above the idea that Gentile believers had to come under the law and, of sorts, become Jewish in order to hold on to their salvation. Many were mistaken in thinking that Christ died to make it possible to keep the law and finally maintain righteousness before God by being empowered to adhere to it. This is a mistaken idea regardless of how sincere and seemingly devoted it might seem.
Christ came to annul, take away, and remove the enmity - meaning reason for opposition, hostility, and hatred that the law created. The law was separating the Jews from the rest of the world, not because it was evil, but because it was designed to reveal the fallenness of man, and, at that time, Only the Jews possessed it as their mantle of belonging to God as a special people. When Jesus died on the cross, it put an end to the law for righteousness and made it possible for anyone, regardless of race, to draw near to God through faith in Jesus alone. It became the One Way sign of God for all humanity without exception. We are brought near now through the blood of Christ and by no other means. Now, only being born again counts with Him. All other attempts at approaching are refused. There is only One Way, and it is by grace through faith in Jesus.
Continual Need For Grace
Do you know your need for grace?
Simplification, a blessing, and a friend can be a demonstration of great wisdom. A wise person knows how to simplify things. The Proverbs of wisdom, for instance, are not spoken as run-on sentences but rather as short, profound reflections.
Jesus also had a way of simplifying things. In one instance, He summarized the Law with just two Commandments when a lawyer came to Him asking which commandment was the greatest.
Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Unfortunately, this was not a simplification to make something doable. Yet, I have encountered many people who thought this was a recipe for success in keeping the law, that somehow Jesus was making keeping the Law a doable thing by focusing on loving God this way and loving others.
Some are so caught up in making the grade and impressing God with their efforts of perfection that they actually think Jesus is offering a shortcut. But such is not the case.
This is a demonstration of how even when a thing is simplified and reduced to the bare minimum, it still cannot be perfectly kept.
In other words, even if eight of the ten commandments and every prophecy were reduced to just these two things, only one person in human history has kept them perfectly, thus putting all others in the same boat of needing God’s grace that is supplied through that one man.
I am not saying that we should abandon our efforts to be disciplined or cease our efforts to pursue God’s will for our lives. I am simply saying I’ve never met anyone other than Jesus who could even meet this simplified reduction of the Law that Jesus put forth.
Only Jesus perfectly loved the Lord His God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength and loved His neighbor as Himself. All others, including myself, have come up short in this matter. Even after coming to know Jesus and being born again, I still have not perfectly done these two things. Even when trying to make my best effort to do so, I still have not met the mark of perfection in it.
This understanding and respect for the Law helps me realize my continual need for grace. There is not a moment in my life that I do not need to trust and rely on the obedience of Jesus on my behalf. At my peak levels of effort, I still require that the righteousness I boast of is the righteousness gifted to me by faith in Him. Jesus gifted me with God’s righteousness! Any righteousness I could produce on my own cannot compare with it. The truth is that the obedience I seek to bring to Him needs to be born out of thanksgiving for who He is and the byproduct of His life in me, not some effort on my part to get His attention and affection. That has been settled already in Christ. In other words, I need to live my life out of the righteousness I have in Him.
On the flip side of this thought, a thankful, joyful heart does not produce spiritual laziness and a reluctance to do His will. This is why grace is so empowering. I continually need His grace.