tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79861479674382424722024-03-12T16:37:50.060-06:00Oasis Books—the blogLaw and Grace in Theory and PracticeBradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-57583356380008490012020-09-25T17:21:00.006-06:002020-11-06T14:31:27.556-07:00A YOUNG WOMAN'S INSIGHT INTO THE HUMAN HEART<h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b> <i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">My Surprising Conversation with Bethany</span></i></b></span></h4><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Brad Scheelke<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bethany (about 22) came to Oasis Books and
Conversation September 11 and asked about a specific Tolkien essay. We chatted
about Tolkien and CS Lewis and I asked if she was a student at USU. She was and I
told her about Professor Kleiner and his class on Tolkien and Lewis. She was
unaware but interested. The conversation turned to Viktor Frankl and his
vision that we live by our awareness of meaning. She expressed curiosity about
not hearing of him. I opened his favorite of his books and read from the
preface about our lack of ability to choose to love, to choose to believe, to
choose to hope, or to choose to choose. She agreed and was intrigued.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I
told her I thought she was a fully valuable person. She smiled and thanked
me. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">This accelerated our conversation as we discussed implications and applications of this.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></p><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCTZQPzlWv8/X25tVrTb1DI/AAAAAAAAHIk/MWuiNoIhXsEbcx9jJDsNL57kXruCk5BlQCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/Your%2BLife%2Bis%2BAn%2BAdventure.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCTZQPzlWv8/X25tVrTb1DI/AAAAAAAAHIk/MWuiNoIhXsEbcx9jJDsNL57kXruCk5BlQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Your%2BLife%2Bis%2BAn%2BAdventure.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">She told me about her LDS mission to Brazil, from which she recently returned. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">She mentioned meeting many troubled people there who had been treated as worthless. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">When we talked about the importance of good expectations, she mentioned trying to do good. I </span>pointed to the chalkboard behind me (shown here) <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">and asked what she thought of it. She liked it. I then asked the difference between her word trying and the word trust on the chalkboard. She said trying focused on her ability and trust focused on God. I heartily affirmed her words and told her I often discuss this difference, but few people seem to notice the difference as she had. We discussed some implications of the difference.</span></span><p></p><div><h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000;">What does the natural man (the flesh) want to do?</span></span></b></h4>
<p style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I asked what she thought of the natural man
being an enemy of God. She said it was true, said the flesh and the natural man
were the same thing, and then surprised me by saying the natural man wants to
be alone and do good without God's help. I joyfully affirmed her words and
asked how she learned this as nearly all of the many with whom I discuss the
natural man have said the flesh wants to do bad things. She disagreed with them.
I told her that it took me years, some significant frustration, and finally
honesty about my confusion before I noticed the scriptures teach what she
said: the flesh longs to achieve good.
She said she didn’t read it in a book or learn it on her mission. She just knew
it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">What is corrupt about the human heart?</span></span></b></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">I asked her to read Jeremiah 17:9 to me. </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 107%;">“</span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: #001320; line-height: 107%;">The <b>heart</b> is more deceitful than all else and is
desperately sick; who can understand it?</span>” -Jeremiah
17:9</i></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">She did and agreed
fully with it even though it was new to her</span><i style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">. </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I then told her I had
memorized this verse in college as a new Christian, later memorized the context,
and in reading it much over the years was blind to what the context said about the
meaning of the deceitfulness of the human heart. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I asked her to read verses 5-9 to me and tell
me what the wickedness of the heart concerns.</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Thus says the LORD,</span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Cursed is the man <b>who trusts in man</b>,</span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And <b>makes flesh his strength</b>,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">whose heart turns away from the LORD</span></i></b><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For he will be like a bush in the desert<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And will not see when prosperity comes,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">a land of salt without inhabitant.</span>”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Blessed is the man who <b>trusts in the LORD</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">And <b>whose trust is the LORD</b>.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For he will be like a tree planted by the water,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">that extends its roots by a stream<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And will not fear when the heat comes;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But its leaves will be green,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And it will not be anxious in a year of drought<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nor cease to yield fruit.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="background: white; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The heart is more
deceitful than all else </span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And is desperately sick;</span></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #001320; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Who can understand it?”</span></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background: white; color: #001320; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">-Jeremiah
17:5-9</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She read it aloud and said the
heart turns away from trusting God's strength and turns to trusting in human
strength. She said the flesh is human strength. She liked Jeremiah's
illustration of two plants in the desert, one nourished by a stream of water
and one not. She saw trust as the issue and the object of trust as the
difference. </span></p><h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">Is the fruit of the Spirit</span></span></b></h4><h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;"> the result of possessing the Spirit or
of trusting the Spirit?</span></span></b></h4><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I then told her the Apostle Paul says
something similar to Jeremiah in one of his letters, but he leaves a word
implied which Jeremiah declares openly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I turned to Galatians and asked her to read to me Galatians 5:16-25. She
did and we discussed the word Jeremiah states and Paul implies. Does Paul imply
trust or possession? Does Paul mean trusting the Spirit bears good fruit or
possessing the Spirit bears good fruit? Does he mean trusting the flesh results
in bad things or possessing the flesh results in bad things?</span></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #001320;"> </span></i><i><span style="color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and
you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in
opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now <b>the deeds of
the flesh</b> are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,
factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I
forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such
things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But <b>the fruit of the Spirit</b>
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p><p style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not
become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”</span></i><span style="color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p align="center" style="background: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> -Galatians 5:16-25</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She clearly saw the difference and said Paul’s point is all about trust
and not about possession. Good things come out of our lives while we trust the
Spirit and bad things come out of us while we trust the flesh—while we trust human
ability to do good. I said in my circles people say possessing the Spirit bears
good fruit and not possessing the Spirit results in bad things, and that this
way of thinking easily leads sensitive people into discouragement when they see
their performance as lacking.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial;">What does it mean that God is the source of all goodness?</span></span></b></h4><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The conversation then turned to comparison to
Christ. She said we should always make moral comparisons to Christ and never to
other people. We discussed how this changes our view of ourselves and others—we
identify with people rather than against them. We realize we all are together
in the same boat as failures. I asked if thinking about Christ brought anything else to mind about what Christ did. She said that God revealed his love by sending
Christ to die on the cross. She said that Christ’s death took care of all her
sin, shame and guilt. We discussed the power of remembering to see a person as
a fully valuable person; remembering to make comparison to Christ; and
remembering that Christ died to take care of all sin. We discussed our practical
experience of self-condemning thoughts and bad reactions toward others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000;">What does it mean that God is the source of all goodness?</span></span></b></h4><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We then discussed how God is the source of all
goodness and how we have no ability to be a source of goodness. As the sun is
the source of all light shining from it and the moon, so God is the source of all
spiritual light shining from Him and from all of us. We bear God’s image but
not his reality. We are image-bearers who receive God’s goodness and overflow
with it to others, while we are in our proper place of focus on his goodness.
We are receivers and not achievers of the goodness we sense we need.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000;">The surprise of being a co-lover with God</span></span></b></h4><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then we talked about the nature of love and how
our sense of love can mislead us. Since it is good to love we think we can love
directly. Yet we often fail to love. Why? The surprise is that God calls us to love
indirectly, to </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">co-love</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> with him. I do this by seeing him love a person.
And while I see him loving the person his love overflows from my heart toward
that person. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">At some point Bethany's eyes filled with tears. I gave her </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Spirit
is Moving</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thankfulness and Confession,</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> urging her to begin thanking
the Father for what Christ had done for her. She asked me for the Jeremiah
reference. I gave her my card and wrote the Jeremiah and Galatians references.
I urged her to get these things deep in her heart as many people are struggling
in life and need to hear this message from her because they are confused about
trying and about the flesh as well as forgetting to make comparison to Christ. I
said all this is a heavy load for them. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">She said she is on campus only on Wednesdays
for an LDS Institute class. I told her that was my day on campus to give away
free books to students. I urged her to stop at the table on Wednesday for a
free copy of Frankl's book.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000;"> _____________________________</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On Wednesday September 23, while I was at USU
with the free book table, Bethany came to Oasis to talk. I wasn’t there and she
wrote the following note for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">“I wanted to thank you for giving me a new
perspective on Christ’s atonement. I really liked our conversation a few weeks
ago. I hope you have a fantastic day!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Bethany” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-33286494135071408672020-07-03T18:04:00.000-06:002020-07-07T17:03:56.401-06:00HAVE YOU ENDURED TO THE END? I did 41 years ago<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>"He who endures to the end will be saved." </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This statement by Jesus is recorded in Matthew 10:22; 24:13 and Mark 13:13. Jesus makes a similarly puzzling statement in the parable of the sower in Luke 8:13 in speaking of those who believe for a while and subsequently fall away from believing.</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did Jesus really mean that enduring to the end was a condition of salvation?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was Jesus exaggerating?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What does it mean to endure to the end?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is it possible you are confused about this?</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have met more than a few Christians who stumble into anxiety when they read or hear these words of Jesus. Have you ever had that experience?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I once heard a preacher friend declare boldly in a sermon the meaning of these words. He said you could believe the gospel for thirty years and then stop believing the gospel and prove that you never really believed the gospel. Do you agree with my friend? If you don't agree, why not? Is his boldness too much for you? Is his statement of thirty years too long for you? Do you feel sorry for him that he totally missed the point of Jesus' words? If your experience as a Christian is anything like mine you had a different response. You had a gut feeling that something was wrong with his explanation. You can't put your finger on the issue, but you know something is wrong or at least missing. I responded this way my first 35 years in Christ whenever I heard or read a milder form of my friend's explanation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The reason for this gut feeling </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John 3:16 declares the simplicity of the truth of the gospel. "For God in this way loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." To believe in Christ results in a person having eternal life and freedom from destruction. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are you persuaded that John 3:16 is true? Are you confident that Christ's work on the cross is all the work you need to enter into Christ and have eternal life? Many non-Christians have told me that personal works as well as Christ's work on the cross was necessary for a person to be right with God forever. Have you heard that? Do those words cheer you or lead you to pity the speaker? It is obvious. If you are a Christian as I am, you know personally and certainly that resting in Christ's death in our place is enough to be at peace with God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To endure to the end means to believe the gospel. If it doesn't, then either Jesus was confused or he was misquoted. Why then did he describe believing the gospel as enduring to the end? In short, context.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What is the context?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus came into our world at a point of history. He died on the cross at a point in history. He knew he was going to die for the sins of the world to reconcile sinners to God. And he told his disciples he was going to do it. Before creation the Father planned to send the Son to be the savior of the world. (1Peter 1:19f) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was Jesus' purpose and goal for himself in coming into the world. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Isn't this what we Christians say?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus also had a goal and purpose for his disciples and all other people. His purpose for them was for them to join him in his purpose and vision of life. In other words, Jesus wanted to give people a new way of life. He wanted people to be free from the pressure of their sins. He wanted people to boast in God's love revealed in the cross rather than in human performance. We see this clearly in the gospel writings. Did the disciples grasp Jesus' purpose for them? Did they urge Jesus on to the cross so they could receive forgiveness through his blood and receive the promised spirit of God? No. They were worse than clueless. After three years of ministry Jesus mentioned the cross for the first time (Matt. 16:21ff). Peter rebuked Jesus for this. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus turned and rebuked Peter in front of the others, declaring the absolute necessity of the cross as the way of following him. Shock and silence followed. Why? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Their hope was in their temple and the system of law and sacrifices given by God to Moses over 1000 years earlier. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They couldn't imagine why Jesus would talk about dying as a sacrifice for sin. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were blind to their own prophet's clear teaching of a coming new way of forgiveness. They were so confused they couldn't even muster a fumbling question to request</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Jesus to explain himself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Again, Jesus' goal and purpose was to get to the cross to free his people from their sins. The disciples' goal and purpose was for him to free them from Roman domination. The four gospels record Jesus winning the hearts of the people though compassion and miracles. But when he turned his teaching to the cross, they sneered and lost interest. His words couldn't break through the hardness of their hearts. People began falling away from following him. His closest followers abandoned him the night before the cross. This is obvious. So what is the big deal?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our problem is that we are culturally distant from Jesus' context. I easily get tricked to read the events of Jesus' life as if they were lessons to help me know the right things to do. In doing this I miss the story of Jesus' relationship with his close followers, with the multitudes of onlookers and with the leaders of Israel. Ever had my problem?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What does end mean?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is the big surprise. Jesus said a person must endure to the end to be saved. What does the word end mean? I suspect that you think the word end means something about time running out, like in the end of a class, exam or sporting event. And in this context you think that enduring to the end means believing the gospel until your last breath on earth. True? In English the word end usually means this, but not always. Look on your Bible app for the Greek word translated end. Look closely at the definition given. Do it before you read on and see if you notice where I am going. The Greek word translated as end is telos. At Biblehub.com the definition is given as end-goal or purpose. We occasionally use the English word end to mean purpose or end-goal, but not often. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus Jesus said a person needs to endure to the purpose to be saved. What purpose? Jesus' purpose, not his disciples' or yours. Jesus' telos (purpose) was to create a new way of life through his death and resurrection. If you are a Christian you are alive in Christ and no longer dead in sin. You have been </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">adopted into God's family. You are free to live as a righteous child of the king of glory. The hamster wheel of human performance is no longer your identity. Christ is now your life and his sin-bearing love is your new motivation to love others. You have a new song in your heart: "It is finished!" By the way, in Greek these three words are one word, a form of telos. Hmmm... </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You don't merely have a new label. You have a real experience with God in union with Christ. You are no longer an outsider to God. The moment you believed the gospel you entered into Christ and were in his telos (purpose), you had come home. You endured to the telos (end-goal, purpose) Christ desired for you. Now he is free to be your life and to overflow from you by his spirit to everyone you encounter. All the pressure is on him and he can handle it. I endured to Christ's telos (end-goal, purpose) 41 years ago. How about you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>A Hint from the Westminster Shorter Catechism</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most Christians are unaware of the Westminster Shorter Catechism written in the 1600's. For those who are aware of it, have you considered its first and most famous question as you pondered Jesus' words about enduring to the end? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Q: What is the Chief end of man?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is the chief purpose of man? Man's chief purpose is to glorify God, and to enjoy him always. The first step in glorifying God is to believe the gospel. This means totally abandoning oneself to the work of Christ on the cross. The next step is to maintain focus on Christ's work whatever one's circumstance. Keep boasting in the cross. You can't keep boasting in the cross until you do it for the first time. Have you entered into God's purpose for you, i.e., have you believed the gospel and boasted in the cross in your heart for the first time? If so, you have already endured to the end. Now that you are in the end--in God's purpose for you--why not keep boasting in God's purpose for you? Why get distracted from the cross to boast in human performance? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The spiritual battle rages. God's way is for us to always boast in Christ's work on the cross. The world continually and intensely pressures us away from the cross to boast in human work. Is enduring to the end about boasting in the cross or about focusing on (boasting in) some human performance as a requirement or an evidence of salvation? Let's be honest. If you don't think you can get tricked away from boasting in the cross, then likely you are far more gullible than you think. Our traditional view of enduring to the end is about boasting in human performance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Why endurance?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why did Jesus say that we needed to experience endurance in order to make it to the telos (to his purpose)? Again use your Bible app on endure. Biblehub.com says that this word literally means to remain under. Under what? Jesus' disciples objected to Jesus' new teaching about the cross. Jesus didn't give up on them. He kept telling them about the cross. They kept opposing the cross. All the way to the cross they rejected the message of the cross. When Jesus died they despaired as their old hopes were crushed. Something changed when they encountered Jesus after his resurrection. They were now ready to listen to his crazy message. He explained in detail the meaning of his life, death, resurrection and more from all the scriptures. Jesus spoke to them for 40 days, ascended to heaven and then poured out his spirit on them at Pentecost. All but Judas (who had killed himself) remained under Jesus teaching for those 40 days. Sometime in that period the message of the cross broke their blind trust in their temple system and in their own righteousness. They moved their trust to the message of the cross. They believed the gospel. They embraced Jesus' telos. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the message of Christ." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While at university I heard the gospel clearly for the first time. I strongly opposed it. Since I liked the Christians I joined their activities. I subjected myself to their words of the cross at Bible study, prayer meetings, church and more. I wanted some excuse to leave their company as the message bothered me. But I endured (remained under) the message of the cross for months until finally the message broke my self-righteous pride and I trusted in Christ as all my righteousness. Catch that? I remained under the hearing of the gospel until I had Isaiah's experience of seeing myself as a ruined sinner, embracing Christ and being purified by God. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My father-in-law endured to Christ's telos (purpose) a few days before he died at 89. He had heard the good news in church all his life. He learned the right answers in Sunday school. He married a pastor's daughter. He used to tell me that others were wrong to trust in their good works for salvation and that Christ's work was enough. Whenever I made it personal for him as to why God should let him into heaven, he never mentioned the work of Christ and always told me of various good things he had done. But when he told my wife that he was ready to die because he knew that he was a good person, she told him that he was a sinner like everyone else. For three hours she reasoned with him about sin, righteousness and judgment. This broke his confidence in his own righteousness and he entered into Christ. He lived as a Christian in Christ's telos for a few days before going to glory. He had remained under the hearing of the gospel for over 80 years before the message broke through. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Much has simplified and clarified in my reading of the gospels after stumbling onto a simple double question. Did Jesus say this before or after the cross and does it matter? Very few of Jesus' recorded words were spoken after the cross. Nearly all were spoken to God's dear lost sheep under the Mosaic law--the Old Covenant. It matters that Jesus spoke his words before the cross. Nearly all his words were spoken in anticipation of the cross, which is the door into Pentecost, which is the celebration of Christ and his work as all our life. We don't anticipate the cross and Pentecost. We look back to them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pentecost is God's telos come to earth. He anticipated us sharing in his life. He delights for us to share in his purpose. His purpose for us is to be satisfied with his goodness (Jeremiah 31:14) and to have peace because he has done all our work for us (Isaiah 26:12). The way into this satisfaction is to remain under the hearing (as long as it takes) of the message of the cross--Christ's flawlessness and substitution. The message of the cross needs to be preached if lost people are to remain under the hearing of this message. The message of the cross applies to all aspects of my life and yours. Let's preach the cross continually, boldly and joyfully, first to ourselves, and then to a dying world until we go to glory. Christ is all of life for all people.</span><br />
<br />Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-7642692706938972982019-04-16T18:11:00.000-06:002019-04-19T15:59:44.190-06:00WHAT IS SIN? Some Surprises and Counterfeits <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><i>Small Steps in Understanding Grace, Seminar #2</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Review of First Seminar: What is a Christian?</span></b></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">First, let's review our
first seminar for those who were not here. That topic was the question: What is
a Christian? This seems simple, but most people who say they are Christians,
aren't. We looked at the confusing passage where Jesus declared that to be his
disciple one must deny oneself, pick up one's own cross, and follow him. We
discussed the possible options. I had thought of four, but Kevin added a fifth.
These five are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Deny one's physical life
and die physically—following Jesus to physical death on a cross.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Deny one's tendency to
disobedience and die to unwillingness—following Jesus into willingness to
always do what is right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Deny one's tendency to
rebellion and die to being uncommitted—following Jesus into commitment to
always do what is right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Deny one's human desires
and die to having human desires—following Jesus in always having only God's
desires.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Deny one's own
righteousness as good and die to life and identity in personal
righteousness—following Jesus into His righteousness, receiving a new identity
as righteous in His work, and be given the call to proclaim as He did that
righteousness is perfection. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The first four are in
some way about behavior and in some way deny what it means to be human. My
question was: Why can't following Jesus be about Jesus? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My conclusion was that being a Christian was all about God and His goodness.
God is good and created the universe good. God allowed an intruder into the
universe to be a voice distracting Adam and Eve away from dependence on God's
goodness. They fell under the condemnation of their own conscience as well as
under God's judgment. It is good for God to provide a good way of resolution
for His fallen universe. The only good way honors both the call to the details
of goodness and the call to be faithful to the details. Since goodness includes
freedom from moral imperfection, and humans have no ability to be free from
moral imperfection, the only good hope for humans is for them to be free from
obligation to goodness. Since God is good, it naturally follows that He would
in a good way free His creatures from the obligation to be faithful by carrying
that burden Himself. This means that substitution is the only good way for Him
to do this. Since God is good, He naturally will provide a good way for
His image bearers to have a good relationship with Him. That good relationship
is called being a Christian. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The good way into becoming a Christian is personal
and non-manipulative. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Jesus is the way, truth, life, peace, holiness, righteousness,
redemption, light and more for a Christian. He is both the way into the new
relationship and the way of life once in that new relationship. Since God is
good, all of life is His responsibility to provide and maintain. Therefore, a
Christian is a person who has a good relationship with God—a relationship that
is good in all aspects. A Christian is alive in God's goodness—God's
righteousness—God's faithfulness—and is free from the pressure of his own
righteousness, his own faithfulness, and his own goodness. Again, God initiates and
maintains this relationship. It is beautiful to be in a good relationship
with God. So being a Christian is a real experience with God's goodness—a
continuous experience of righteousness as perfection and as a gift. Aren't
you glad that all the pressure is on Him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">TODAY'S TOPIC: WHAT IS SIN?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Our topic for today is
the question: What is sin? We Christians have a good and simple way of defining
sin. What have you heard or said? Sin is missing the mark. You may have even
explained sin as an archery term for missing the target. Is it always obvious
what sin is—what the target is that a person is not hitting? Since we
Christians sometimes argue about sin, I suspect that this is not always
obvious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Satan is a Counterfeiter</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">We here all believe that
Satan is our enemy and that he seeks to trick us into believing his lies. How
does he trick us? Does he come right out and boldly declare that he is going to
trick us? Does He tell us that stealing and murder are good things and that
therefore we should do them as much as we want? If he operated this way, we
would almost never buy his lies. In the real world he seeks to deceive us by
first counterfeiting some point of God's goodness. Then he shows us the
counterfeit in some deceitful way so that we will think that it is the real
thing. Then, if we think it is real, we will operate in life as if it were
real. Do you agree that life is a spiritual battle and that it is easy for us
to get fooled by the world's counterfeits? Do you think that Satan desires us
to be at least a little bit confused about everything? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is There a Counterfeit of Sin?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">If Satan wants us to be
confused about everything, then do you think he would seek to counterfeit bad
things, too, like laziness, legalism, worldliness, or sin? In other words, is
there counterfeit sin that we need to be alert to avoid? This seems a little
strange at first, but if Satan wants us to be confused, then he would want us
to be confused about what is bad, too. If there is a counterfeit sin, then we
should evaluate what we think or hear about the target. Does Satan have a
counterfeit target that he wants us to focus on? If so, how can we discern it?
First, we need to remember that a counterfeit looks very much like the real
thing. Therefore, counterfeit sin looks very much like real sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A Counterfeit has no authority</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The difference between a
counterfeit and the real thing is authority. US dollars are backed by the
authority of the US government. We properly trust these dollars for financial
transactions. In the past some counterfeit dollars looked exactly like the real
ones, but they were still illegal because they had no authority. But some
people were tricked to trust them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
God's ways are backed by His authority. Satan's counterfeits have only an
appearance of authority. Satan seeks to fool us into trusting that his
counterfeit is the real thing. If we trust that it is real, then we will
embrace it as a good way to function in life. At first glance a
counterfeit seems good, but upon close inspection it can be seen as a
forgery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
Fortunately, my illustration breaks down at the right place. Currency is
physical and thus counterfeits can be made that have an identical appearance to
authorized currency. In such a case there is no way to detect bogus bills. The
government has to work hard to stop the production of perfect imitations.
Satan's counterfeits are not physical; they are about ways of thinking about
life. Therefore, his counterfeit is always detectable upon close
inspection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
It is not good to be tricked or intimidated by counterfeits. Therefore, it is
not good to stay naive about Satan's tricks. The way to not be tricked is 1) to
become very familiar with the simplicity of God's goodness, and 2) to learn
God's mark that is on all his ways and that is missing from every
counterfeit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
What is that mark?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Satan Counterfeits Goodness</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">How many of you have
heard or thought that Satan wants you to do evil things, such as stealing,
murder, hatred, gossip, slander, or envy? When we think this way, we have
already been tricked to look at the symptoms of a problem and not at its
cause. Satan and the world preach not that a person should do evil, but
that a person should do good. God also calls us to do good. If God and
Satan both call us to do what is good, then doesn't that leave us stuck in the
middle of the war between them? It is not good for God to leave us stuck like
this. Therefore, there must be a good way forward in discerning the difference
between God's voice and Satan's voice. The door into understanding the
difference begins with understanding that Satan counterfeits goodness. This is
a huge step forward because Satan seeks to hide the fact that he is a
counterfeiter. He wants us to think of him as a promoter of evil thinking and
behavior. Mormons have told me that Satan would never entice a person to do
what is good. This is in their Book of Mormon. I see in the Bible that Satan
always starts with some point of God's goodness, then twists it subtly so that
we think that it is still good, so that we might swallow his twisted version of
goodness. The second important and critical step is to notice how he
counterfeits goodness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Satan's Counterfeit is Simple...Always Simple</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Satan simply removes
God's identifying mark. All of God's ways contain that mark and all
counterfeits lack that mark. In a sense, Satan is always missing the mark as he
hates God's mark and seeks to hide and deny God's mark. In First John 3:8 we
read that Satan has been sinning from the beginning. This means that he has
been missing the mark from the beginning. We Christians teach that Satan is
always seeking to get us to miss the mark. In our archery illustration, and at
first glance, Satan's target is identical to God's target except for God's
identifying mark of authority. It seems that Satan wants to trick us to shoot
at his target instead of God's. But reality is simpler and more subtle. Paul
declares that we are transformed by the renewing of the mind. Therefore,
Satan's real strategy is to stand beside God's target and point at it in such a
way that distracts us from noticing God's mark on the target. The mark is
there, but it is easily overlooked. I am convinced that Satan's total strategy
is to get us to get so focused on various parts of God's target that we don't
notice God's mark. And when we do that, we are in his trap. We all are called
to become experts at noticing and remembering God's mark on the target. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
The target is God's vision for us of what is good in life in thought, word, and
deed. So, in a humorous sense, we Christians sin and miss the mark that we are
trying to hit—we have bad thoughts or behavior—because we are missing (lacking)
awareness of God's mark on the target. We miss the mark because we don't have
God's mark in view. God's mark is God's authority. It is a declaration that goodness
is all or nothing—that it is good to do individual good things, but it is never
good to miss any good thing—that only perfect goodness counts—that only moral
perfection is good. This is what Satan seeks to distract us from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
Goodness is a seamless whole. James declares that if a person does everything
good and misses just one point, then he is guilty of wrecking everything. Satan
continually tells you to do good things, but he never says that you have to be
perfect. He even declares that we shouldn't worry about being perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What is the The Mark?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">God always declares that
the mark that is to be hit is perfect goodness in all its individual points and
in its wholeness. Satan always declares that the mark to be hit is some
individual good thing. Individual good points are good, but wholeness of
goodness is good too. Wholeness is the key ingredient to goodness. Satan never
mentions the wholeness of goodness except to belittle it. When we neglect to
consider the wholeness of goodness we are not walking in God's authority. And
to not walk in God's authority is sin—missing the mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus Died to Free Us from Sin—Two Kinds of
Sin and Two Surprises</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The New Testament states
in various ways that a Christian is free from sin. John even declares that a
Christian cannot sin. How is this possible since Christians do bad things every
day? To avoid serious confusion, it is critical that we embrace John's teaching
in 1John 5:16 that there are two kinds of sin: sin that leads to death and sin
that does not lead to death. What is the difference?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
Jesus did not die to make us robots. He died to set us free from both types of
sin. But this freedom is about Him and not about us. This is a very difficult
thing to grasp: your freedom from sin is not about you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
Every person is born in sin, which means that we all are born under the
obligation to do what is good or face eternal consequences. It also means that
we are born addicted to finding some goodness in ourselves rather than in our
creator. Jesus died the death we deserve in order to offer us a new kind of
relationship with God—one where we are dead to our identity in personal
righteousness and alive in Christ's righteousness. Sin is violation of the law
and every Christian is dead to the law. This means that every Christian has
diplomatic immunity, which is freedom from obligation to keep the law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
So, in one sense a Christian can't sin because God can't count a Christian's
sins. Jesus has died the death we deserve and if we are in Christ, then His
death is ours, and His life is ours, too. It is not that we can't do bad things
but that God counts our badness against Christ. This is the first type of sin
and the first surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br />
In another sense, Christians do sin; we do bad things. The surprise is that the
only reason we do them is because we forget our freedom. In Christ we are free
to do as many bad things as we want, and we do as many bad things as we want.
But when we remember the cost and meaning of our freedom in Christ, then we
don't do bad things. You do bad things because you are not thinking about the
wholeness of goodness and Jesus' good sacrifice that bought your freedom. And
when you are not seeing this for yourself then you certainly are not seeing it
for others. If you doubt me, then try an experiment. The next time you find
yourself upset at someone, ask yourself what you are thinking about. You will
discover that you are not thinking about God's perfection and Christ's
sin-bearing love at the cross. Guaranteed. This is the second type of sin and
the second surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Good Works Flow Naturally </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Life is simple. We are
too weak to resist God's goodness. When we think about goodness rightly, then
goodness flows out of us naturally, and we don't forget to do any good works.
James 1:25 declares this clearly. The goodness in our hearts sweeps us along
into good works WHEN—and only when—we are properly focused on goodness. Doing
good works is not about us but about His goodness in us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Christianity is not just
a way to get to heaven, it is a new way of life based on Christ's faithfulness.
We get into Christ by resting in His faithfulness—by being satisfied with His
goodness. It is good to always be satisfied with His faithfulness, and so it is
no surprise that we Christians are called to always find our satisfaction
there. When we do that, we are free from sins of thought, word, and deed. If
God is your satisfaction, why go back to seeking satisfaction in imperfect human
performance—yours, mine, or anyone's? This is your temptation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Have you noticed that
you have only one temptation? But Satan counterfeits that one in order to trick
you into fighting the wrong battle. Temptation is an upcoming topic.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Application</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Thank the Father often that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is fully satisfied with the finished work of Christ. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good works overflow naturally out of a vision of His goodness. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comparison to Christ's perfection is the only good way to evaluate life. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christ has already put away all sin by the sacrifice of Himself. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pray this often for yourself and often for other saints who come to mind—especially for those who rub you the wrong way.</span></div>
</div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-30892784661253624442019-03-23T18:15:00.001-06:002019-03-23T18:15:51.822-06:00ARE YOU ABUSING GRACE? James Denney's Surprise<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The grace of God is beautiful and glorious. Since it is not good to abuse what is beautiful, do you think that it is good to abuse God's grace? I suggest that this topic is full of surprises. Let's begin by making the issue personal.</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you think that you have ever abused the grace of God?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If so, how did you abuse it? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you were only pretending to abuse grace, would you want to know?</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I suggest that you were only pretending to abuse God's grace. Read on to discover what you were really doing when you were pretending to abuse grace.</span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Abuse of Grace</span><span style="color: #990000;">: an Important Concern</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does the abuse of grace concern you? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you heard anyone express concern about the abuse of grace?</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I have read this concern in books and heard it in sermons. Mostly I have heard it in my many hundred annual conversations</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">about grace</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> with non-Christians</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Reason for Concern about the Abuse of Grace</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I have declared that a person's forgiveness with God is guaranteed by the the sin-bearing death of Christ apart from any personal works, my non-Christian hearer has more than occasionally responded with concern that such a guarantee would give a person a license to sin. We Christians commonly emphasize our point with non-Christians by quoting Paul's declaration "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><i>For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span><i>and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God</i></span><span class="p" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span><i>not by works, so that no one can boast."</i> (Ephesians 2:8-9).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">It is common for non-Christians to continue their objection and declare that guaranteed forgiveness would mean that God doesn't care about good works. At this point it is common for a seasoned evangelist to respond that God actually does highly </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">value</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">good works and indicate such by quoting the next verse, Ephesians 2:10: "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><i>For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."</i> This has generally not persuaded my non-Christian hearers. After many hundred such conversations I have concluded that the critics of guaranteed forgiveness are not really concerned about good works<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>though they declare that they are and I suspect that they honestly think that they are. But in listening closely to those who disagree on this point, it seems clear to me that what they are really concerned about is human effort. Since it is good to do good, they unwittingly think that good works are sourced in human effort<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>in trying to do good.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Many true Christians have expressed to me a concern about specific non-Christians, Christians, pastors, or authors<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>that these people are abusing grace. Have you ever wondered if another Christian might be abusing grace? </span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Have you heard a non-Christian declare that Christians are abusing grace?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Have you heard a Christian express concern that some Christians are abusing grace?</span></span></li>
</ul>
<h4>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;">Who is Concerned About the Abuse of Grace?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">My conclusion from much reading, discussion, and meditation of scripture is that God is also concerned about the abuse of grace. Who do you think is the most concerned about this issue: you, me, your pastor, your favorite theologian, the apostle Paul, or God? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find that framing issues in terms of questions helps me to notice my confusion. Let's go back to the beginning and apply some questions to the assumption that you weren't pretending but were actually abusing grace.</span></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it good to abuse grace? Yes or No</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you abuse grace? Yes or No</span></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="background-color: white;">How can you abuse grace?</span></span> Pause and write down your understanding of how grace is abused and how you have done it. If you are unsure then write down what you have heard other people say that it means. Note: Jude 1:4 may be the scripture you have heard used to explain this issue. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What prevents you from abusing grace? Pause and write down what you understand or what you have heard. Note: Romans 6:1-2 may be the scripture you have heard used to urge people not to abuse grace. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Are you meeting the standard you set in your answer to question 4? Write down the name of one or two people you think might be meeting those standards. Write out your understanding of the proper standard for evaluation of abusing grace or preventing the abuse of grace. </span></span>___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></li>
</ol>
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who is Responsible to Prevent the Abuse of Grace?</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it is not good to abuse grace, then God must have a way for grace to not be abused. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Who is responsible to carry out God's way? </span><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Write down your understanding of who is responsible. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is God's way being successfully carried out by whomever you named. Explain if necessary. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In all your pondering of my above questions, did you consider God as the person who might be responsible to prevent the abuse of grace? Let me ask the question more clearly.</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who is responsible to prevent the abuse of grace: God or humans? </span></li>
</ul>
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">James Denney's Insight: God Guarantees that Grace Cannot be Abused</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">James Denney was a Scottish theologian and pastor. I. Howard Marshall called Denney the theologian's theologian. I find reading Denney to be like Jeremiah's experience of having his heart on fire while seeing the Lord as our dread champion (Jer. 20:9-11). Denney saw all of life and theology to be about the sin-bearing love of Christ. In 1894 Denney gave a series of lectures at a seminary in Chicago. The lectures were promptly published as <i>Studies in Theology</i>. Currently there is one review of the book on Amazon Kindle. It is a very long review in which the pastor author declares: "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to explore this point further to attempt an answer to a perplexing and disturbing question: <b>Why has the evangelical church in America refused to embrace wholeheartedly this uniquely gifted pastor/theologian whose passionate expositions of the Gospel far exceed anything that has been written or preached in the entire twentieth century?</b></span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span> </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The author ends by urging saints to read Denney with an honest heart. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is Denney's bold and surprisingly simple declaration that God is the only one who is responsible to prevent the abuse of grace and He does it perfectly. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111;">At the end of this post is the quote in a lengthy context that is full of light and life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"But in the death of Christ, and in faith laying hold of that death, we have the security against such abuses of the grace of God." page 146</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are four explicit or implicit declarations in Denney's sentence. </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><div>
God is responsible to prevent the abuse of grace.</div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><div>
God guarantees, secures, and enables that grace cannot be abused on any condition.</div>
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Thus it is impossible to abuse God's grace.</div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><div>
God's way to perfectly prevent the abuse of grace is through the death of Christ, and the faith that lays hold of that death.</div>
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According to Denney, God's grace cannot be abused; therefore no human has any participation in abusing or preventing the abuse of grace. This should make us sigh with relief. Points 1 to 3 are equivalent statements that God makes it impossible to abuse grace. Point 4 summarizes how God does it. Is his meaning clear to you, even if you disagree with him?</div>
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Reading Denney takes some getting used to. It isn't that Denney uses too much academic language or lacks clarity of style. The exact opposite is the issue. We are the problem. First, we are not used to Denney's clarity. We are used to talking in circles and fooling ourselves into thinking that we are saying something useful. Second, we are used to using words in artificial ways that are disconnected from real life. Denney chooses his words so very carefully and roots them so deeply in the reality of life, that we feel intimidated. How can life be that clear and simple? Denney declares in the book "that the more we reflect upon it [the sin-bearing death of Christ] the more we shall be convinced that it is as simple as it is great." Wow! The great scholar declares that the atonement is very great and very simple. Can you explain how both are true?</div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><div>
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Thank the Father often that grace cannot be abused.</div>
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Thank the Father often that the sin-bearing death of Christ is the door into freedom.</div>
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Thank the Father often that true faith lays hold of the sin-bearing love of Christ.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;">If Grace Cannot Be Abused, Then Why is there a Problem?</span></h4>
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First, we need to notice our common confusion about grace. If grace means unmerited favor, then why do we so often use it as a synonym for kindness or leniency? My Mormon culture has much helped me notice my confusion. In my culture grace has two common definitions: God's help to keep the commandments and God's additional chances to keep the commandments. These are both moralistic and un-scriptural. Let's remove more potential confusion from unmerited favor by sharpening our definition of grace as a relationship of total freedom from merited favor. This clearly implies that there is zero pressure from any source of obligation, duty or rules. Unmerited favor is not like an empty jar that used to contain law, though for many years I was trapped in that confusion. Unmerited favor is like a jar full of the performance of Christ, which always honors the perfection of the law. Every true Christian is full of the unmerited favor of God<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>of the performance of Christ, which is the life of Christ. Have you been tricked to seek to live your old life better rather than to live the new life? Paul declared in Galatians 2:20 that "you no longer live, but Christ lives in you and that the life that you now live in the flesh [the realm of human faithfulness] you live by the faithfulness of the Son of God." </div>
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Second, the apostles speak much about forgetting and remembering and the power of both. Let's use Peter's letters. In the first letter he commands his readers to set their hope completely on the unmerited favor brought to them in Christ (1:13) At the end of the letter he commands his readers to stand firm in unmerited favor (5:12). Every word in the letter is an explanation of the power of unmerited favor. In 4:1-2 Peter declares that unmerited favor frees a person from sinning<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>from doing evil. "One who has suffered [experienced strong emotion with Christ] in the flesh [the realm of human faithfulness] has ceased from sin [rebellion against goodness] so as to live in this world for the desire of God." Let's be honest. Do you agree with Peter that unmerited favor frees a person from doing evil? If this seems unrealistic to you, then I suggest that you don't understand the simplicity and power of standing firm in unmerited favor. Christ's life is yours to live now, but Satan seeks to trick you to try to live your old life better. Read Peter's second letter and notice in the first chapter his triple declaration of the call to remember unmerited favor, which is the performance of Christ. Also notice that Peter declares that bad fruit is the result of forgetting unmerited favor. Can life really be this simple?</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;">The Problem is Forgetfulness of Christ's Performance</span></h4>
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You can't abuse unmerited favor, but you do have a problem. It is a problem of vision. Your every sin has been a natural result of disregarding Peter's commands to stand firm in unmerited favor<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>to set your hope completely on the performance of Christ<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith [which means Jesus' faithfulness] (5:9). When you expect a person to be perfect and for Jesus' sacrifice to be enough for that person, it is impossible for you to be surprised and upset by the person's failure to perform. But when you lower your expectations from Christ, you are on your own. You are seeking to manage or control life your way and God doesn't support that way. This is not your job and you should not be surprised by your bad reactions. Also, since it is wickedness to lower God's expectations, why do it? This means that all the sins of people result from the disregard of Peter's commands. Let's get over ourselves.</div>
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I have discussed this with many hundred people [Christians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, agnostics] in the past two years. Recently I discussed these matters with an old Chinese woman who didn't believe in God. She had heard of the Bible and Jesus but knew nothing about them. She was surprised to hear that Jesus had never done evil. She said that she should always do good, never do wrong. She feels bad when she does wrong. We started there and laughed together much as we talked about the power of comparing ourselves to perfection and the evil of lowering expectations to control other people. By the end of the long conversation she was surprised to understand the reason for her bad reactions, the importance of always judging life compared to perfection, which is Jesus, and her need to be free from having to obey her conscience. It made sense that God wanted to take her place in death to free her to do good without pressure. She gladly took a bilingual New Testament and materials I have written on this topic. </div>
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000;">What Were You Pretending When You Thought You Were Abusing Grace?</span></h4>
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As you began reading this article, were you worried that you might have abused grace? You may even have been a bit worried about God's reaction against your possible abuse, but God knew that you were only pretending to abuse grace, even if you didn't know. This should be a relief and comfort for you about yourself and about all other people. God has guaranteed that grace cannot be abused, but He hasn't guaranteed that grace cannot be forgotten or neglected. </div>
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Pause to let that sink in. </div>
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All evil has already been put away by the sacrifice of Christ (Heb 9:26). Why not embrace God's way of sin management? All evil is a result of neglecting, forgetting, or losing focus on God's way of managing life. Distraction from the simplicity and purity of Christ is Paul's great fear (2Cor. 11:3). Are you familiar with Paul's words here? Have you ever heard a sermon on this passage or matter? This is Paul's introduction to his description of Satan and his helpers as counterfeiters of righteousness. I suggest that we need imitate Paul and make his concern ours.</div>
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000;">Context for the Quote from James Denney</span></h4>
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James Denney's words are simple and piercing. They cut through human pretenses, discomforting our pride. But is it possible that you have some blind spots that you need help to notice? Below is some context for Denney's declaration [in green] that God guarantees that grace cannot be abused. The passage is multicolored to facilitate meditation. I plan to write soon a post on his last sentence about miserable theology.</div>
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<span style="color: #111111;">"This suggests the last remark which I would make on the subject. Reflection on the atonement, a recent theologian has observed, has in our time proceeded mainly under two impulses: (1) the desire to find spiritual laws which will make the atonement itself intelligible; (2) the desire to find spiritual laws which connect the atonement with the new life springing from it. The legitimacy of these desires no one will contest. There is certainly work for theologians to do under both of them. </span><b style="color: #111111;">It has always been too easy</b><span style="color: #111111;">, referring to this last point first, </span><b style="color: #111111;">to treat the atonement as one thing, and the new life as another, without establishing any connection whatever between them.</b> <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">It has always been too easy, in teaching that Christ bore our sins and died our death, to give conscience an opiate, instead of quickening it into newness of life.</span></b> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>It is a task for those who hold such a doctrine of Christ’s work in relation to sin, as I have just been asserting, to show that there is a natural, intelligible inspiration to a new life in the acceptance of it, and that it cannot be lodged in the heart, in all its integrity, and leave the life, as it was before, under the dominion of sin.</b></span> <span style="color: #073763;"><b>Even in New Testament times the gospel which Paul preached was accused of antinomianism; and so will every gospel be accused which makes pardon a reality.</b> </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">But in the death of Christ, and in faith laying hold of that death, we have the security against such abuses of the grace of God.</span></b><span style="color: #111111;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;"><b>To accept the forgiveness so won is to accept forgiveness which has in it God’s judgment upon sin, as well as His mercy to the sinful; it is to have the conscience awed, subdued, made tender and sensitive to the holy will of God, and the heart bowed in infinite gratitude to His love.</b></span><span style="color: #111111;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>It is not the law which can secure its own fulfillment; it is not by gazing on the tables of stone that we are made good men.</b></span> <b><span style="color: #bf9000;">It is by standing at Mount Calvary, and taking into our hearts in faith that love which for us men and for our salvation bore our sins upon the tree.</span></b><span style="color: #111111;"> <b>It would be a miserable theology that by any defect in this direction gave room to think of Christ as the minister of sin.</b>" pp.148-9</span></div>
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Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-86974074190543964252019-01-03T18:00:00.002-07:002019-03-26T11:16:06.631-06:00WHAT IS YOUR ADDICTION? HERE IS MINE.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>True or False...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. I have blind spots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. It is not good for me to have them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Blind spots lead me into confusion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. It is not good for me to be apathetic about my blind spots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. I can't see them and need your help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. It is good for me to be glad for your help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. It is good for me to want, welcome, invite and pray for this help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>8. I am addicted to minimizing the seriousness of my blind spots.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. All humans are like I am on the above 8 points.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. I am on a high energy search to discover my blind spots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Are you with me on number 10?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you want to be honest about your addiction?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are interested in being honest about your blind spots, and becoming sensitive to your addiction to minimizing them, then I suggest a simple starting point for application. This will be painful to your pride but a real blessing to the people around you. Pray regularly variations of the following.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following is a bit long for effect, but short pieces of conversation with God are good.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">re is no need to be formal; simply talk to God as if he were right next to you. The point is to learn to become sensitive to you weakness and need for community--for God and others. Notice as you read the following if you hear a voice telling you that you don't really need this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Father, thank you that Jesus is all my righteousness, holiness and wisdom. Thank you that Jesus has carried all my condemnation, shame and guilt. Thank you that my weakness is the place where your strength is made perfect. Thank you that Jesus is my new identity and that I don't need to pretend to be someone that I am not. Thank you for helping me realize that it is not good for me to have blind spots because they lead me into confusion. Thank you that you are always with me even when I get tricked by my pride into confusion. Thank you for giving me other people to remind me of your goodness and to help me notice my blind spots. Thank you that critics are always good for me to help me discover more of my blind spots or to reveal my defensiveness or other character flaws. Thank you that critics are good for me even when they have a bad attitude or are completely wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Thank you that you are my defender and you don't need my help. Thank you for declaring in the scriptures that a wise person always responds in love toward critics, even harsh ones, and that it is fools who have bad reactions. I admit that I am addicted to minimizing the seriousness of my blind spots. It seems that I often would rather be a fool than a wise person and would rather mistreat a person Christ died for than to doubt my own virtue or rightness. You have sent me saints to help me grow in wisdom and I have many times mocked them in telling them that they didn't need to remind me. I have many times been irritated or angry at your dear saints for criticizing me, even the ones I realized later had valid criticism. This is not good and is a huge blind spot. Thank you that even when I mistreat people you value highly, you never condemn me, shake your finger at me or stop rejoicing over me in Christ. Even when the critic is wrong, a wise person would have listened closely and been glad and thankful that the person cared enough to offer help, and risk getting rejected. Thank you for being patient with me and not treating me like I treat others. Thank you that you don't keep score on my critics even though I too often do. I wonder if some people have given up on offering me insight because I have been so dismissive or irritated toward them in the past. I am concerned about the blind spots of other people, and get critical that they don't seem to want to be honest about them. So why am I so insensitive about my own blind spots? Do I think I am above correction, or am I just afraid of admitting that I am weak and need other people? This is a big problem in my life and is hindering my relationship with others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Please bring me some critics to help me notice some blind spots and especially to help me become sensitive to my prideful defensiveness about my blind spots. And please bring me one friend whom I can trust to be gentle so that I can invite that person to point out my blind spots. I would like to start slow, so please be gentle with me. But if I am so prideful that gentleness won't work, then please do whatever it takes to soften my heart. Thank you that your ways are always good. In Jesus Christ I pray. Amen." </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Questions for reflection</span></h4>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can you remember a time when you attempted to offer someone a gentle suggestion and the person responded in a defensive way?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you appreciate that defensive reaction? Did you think it was good?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How did it affect you?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think back to a recent time that someone criticized you. Did you welcome the criticism as an opportunity to grow in understanding? Or did you react defensively as if it were a threat to your security or rightness?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would that critic tell me that he felt warmly welcomed when offering you his criticism?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would that critic tell me that you made it easy or difficult for him to offer his insight?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think back again, but this time as long ago as it takes to a time when you invited someone to offer you an insight or an opinion. Notice if you can even remember having this experience.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can you remember asking a person for their criticism, insight or opinion when you were confident the person was going to disagree with you or point out your weakness?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Self-honesty is the point of these questions. Likely only God heard your answers. We all have room to grow in this area, but I suggest we each need to come to a place of embracing our need to grow rather than remaining unaware or apathetic about that need. It is obvious that we all do need to grow, and all do grow at some pace, even if we are unaware of it. The point of this writing is that it is good to actively embrace that need and become aware of our addiction to suppressing, resisting and hindering growth in this area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Certainly those who are close to me would appreciate me gladly inviting their suggestions, insights, and criticism and asking clarifying questions instead of resisting and hindering such conversations. As mature adults we should be able to thrive on criticism. I read somewhere recently that only children take offense; mature adults don't. What does that say about your maturity level?</span></div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-82508949936234832432018-12-29T15:17:00.000-07:002019-01-03T18:01:41.289-07:00LOVE: WHY DO WE REBEL AGAINST IT?<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Do you ever rebel against love?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you think that it is good for you to love other people? How often do you think that God wants you to take a break from loving other people? Is it good to get impatient, frustrated or angry toward other people? Can you remember having a bad reaction toward someone in the past year? Why do you think you had that bad reaction? Ponder this a moment before reading further. </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000;">Haley’s
Conversation of Surprises</span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Recently</span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Haley</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> stopped
by the free book table at USU and joined conversation with </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kyle</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and
me. Both spoke like active Mormons. I commonly get at our rebellion and our
need for Christ by asking about a person's experience of struggling to love
others. Here is the sense of our conversation that revealed to her surprises in
her heart (understanding). This reflects very many conversations I have had the
past 2 years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;">Read along as if you were Haley.</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Do you ever struggle
in loving others?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Sometimes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Do you know why you
struggle?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> I am an imperfect person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> That sounds like an
excuse to me. I know why you have done every evil thing you have ever done. You
know it too but don't realize that you know it. Would you like to hear what I
mean?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes, I would.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is easier to understand
this matter if we evaluate our experience. Theoretical conversation often
leaves us confused. Here is a simple example that has helped me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><b>The sun and moon illustration</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Me: </b>The sun and
moon both light our world, but shine for different reasons. What is the
difference?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The sun has its own
light, but the moon only reflects the light from the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> How much light of its
own does the moon have?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> None.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Even though the moon
has no light of its own it does a good job lighting our world. We get the
benefit. The moon’s role is to be a reflector of light. The sun's role is to be
a source of light. Isn't this what we learned in school?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> I suggest that this
can help us understand our role in life. God is good. He is the source of all
goodness and created the world in a good way to display his goodness. He
created us in his image to be in a good relationship with him where we would
live in his goodness and shine out his goodness in all directions. This keeps
pride out of life. Do you like this illustration?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes, it makes sense to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is a
difference between the moon and us. The moon is not a person. Light simply
reflects off of its surface. The moon doesn’t think about it. But we are people
who live from the heart. God’s goodness and love flow from our hearts while we
are properly focused on his love and goodness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;">How do we shine out God's love?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Me: </b>Here is how it works. Can you think
of a recent time when you got irritated, impatient or frustrated with someone?
We all have these experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> I am thinking of one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Don't tell me about
it. Just keep that experience in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let’s start simple. Do
you believe in God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Do you believe that
God is love?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Do you believe that
God showed his love by sending Jesus to die for your sins?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> For all your sins?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> So, all your sins are
forgiven?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> That is wonderful. Do
you ever beat yourself up for your failures? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Very often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Is God's love only
for you or for other people, too?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> God loves everyone
and Jesus died for everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Did Jesus die so that
everyone could be completely forgiven?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> We are on the same page. Go back to
your experience of being irritated. Does God love that person and did Jesus die
to take away all that person's sins?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Are you sure?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Positive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> While you were
irritated at that person, were you thinking about how much God loved her and
that Jesus died to forgive all her sins?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (with a surprised
look) No, I wasn't, but I should have been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Everyone tells me
that. They should have been thinking love but weren't. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>The experience of remembering Jesus' death for sinners</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let's say that one day
you were praying for that person who gets under your skin and thanking God for
loving her and sending Jesus to die to take away all her sins. And let's say that
while you were praying this way, the woman came up to you and did the thing
that often irritates you. While you were praying or thinking this, do you think
that you would have gotten irritated? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (in surprise) No, not
while I was thinking that. But I might forget easily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Isn't that
interesting. While you are thinking of God's love, you don't get irritated. I
have asked many people about this and they all describe the same experience. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><b>The experience of seeing people properly</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Me: </b>There is one other surprise about Jesus that helps us understand our experience
of not loving others. Is it good for you to look down on me so that you can
feel good about yourself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> No.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Is it good for me to
look down on you so that I can feel good about myself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> You should not do it
either. No one should, but everybody does it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> That is painful but true. Then how
should we compare ourselves?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> We should look up and
compare ourselves to Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> That is good to do,
but our pride doesn’t like it. Is it ever okay to lower the standard from Jesus?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> No. We should never
do that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> I agree with you
completely. Go back to your experience of irritation. While you were irritated,
were you comparing that person to Jesus?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (in surprise) No. I
was thinking about what she did wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>The experience of forgetting love</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> You simply forgot
that your place in life was to see that God manages her through love. The
situation needed to be managed and you took matters into your own hands,
lowering the standard and managing her through rules. It gets ugly when we do
this. And we do this more that we realize. Our bad reactions always have this
same cause. Jesus reveals the love of God through his perfection and death in
our place. While we are remembering these two things, God's management through love
overflows from our hearts. And it works this way for everyone else too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;">Why is it easy to forget love?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Me: </b>Here is the reason
that we so easily forget God’s way. Go back to our illustration of the sun and
moon. The moon shines brightly unless something happens. What can stop the moon from shining? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Haley: </b>When there is an eclipse. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Me: </b>For us the
problem is different. No one else can block light from us. But we
can self-eclipse. we can block the light from ourselves by forgetting our proper place of dependence
on God’s goodness and love. We are made in God’s image and feel deeply his imprint
that it is good to be a source of goodness. But that is his role in life. It
isn’t yours, or mine or anyone else’s. We thrive when we are satisfied with our role as
receivers of love and goodness. While we are satisfied this way, we overflow properly with
his love and goodness to those around us, even while they are causing us
trouble. But when we get tricked into forgetting our role, then we can have bad reactions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;">The experience of self-condemnation</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s go back to
something you said earlier. You said that Jesus died for you and that you are
completely forgiven. Am I remembering correctly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes,
that is true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Has Jesus taken all
your condemnation, shame, and guilt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes<b><span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;">H</span></b><span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;">H</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Has he taken all your
beatings?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It sound like you
believe that Jesus is enough for you for all of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He
is enough for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I really like what you
are saying. But if Jesus is enough for you for everything, and has taken all
your beatings, condemnation, and shame, then why did you tell me that you often
beat yourself up for your failings?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(surprised
and embarrassed) I don’t know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(smiling) You forgot
Jesus and in forgetting Jesus you tried to do his job. You were pretending to
be God. This is really bad. Jesus took all your beatings and you believed the
lie that there are some left for you to carry. Right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(smiling)
Yes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><b>A testimony of how we experience change</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is not good to
believe this lie but we all do sometimes. I suggest that you are too weak to change, but there is hope
because God wants to change you. Your job is simple—to trust him to do it by
you remembering who Jesus is for you. The most natural way to remember is to
pray without asking. Here is a testimony I wrote about my friend Pat, who was
diagnosed with three mental illnesses and was nearly always super depressed. He
read the Bible much and memorized many verses, but couldn’t escape his
depression. He was so depressed that some people felt depressed just being around
him. After many years of seeking to encourage him, in 2000 I gave him a piece
of paper containing four Bible verses simplified into a prayer of thankfulness
for who Jesus is for him. I told him to pray that daily. He said he couldn’t
because it was too hard. But he somehow began to pray it. After five months he began to
smile and now after 18 years he is consistently cheerful and seeks out
discouraged people to encourage them. Please take a copy and follow his simple
example. Pray as often as you want, thanking God for what you told me is true.
Don’t ask for anything. Just thank God something like this. “Father, thank you
that Jesus is enough for me for all of life. Thank you that Jesus carries all
my sins. Thank you that Jesus has taken all my shame, guilt and beatings.” As
the months go by you may notice that your mind more easily goes to what Jesus
has done for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><b>The beauty of self-honesty</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have been thanking God for my family, friends and church…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(beginning to cry) but
I have forgotten to thank him for what Jesus has done for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Don’t beat yourself up. Simply start today
thanking God for who Jesus is for you. He is enough for you for all of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Haley: </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Please
may I take Pat’s story?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Me:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yes of course. You
likely know someone else who struggles with self-condemnation, with whom you could
share the story after you begin practicing it. We need each other. I am glad
for our conversation. I am here on Wednesdays in good weather. Feel free to
come downtown to Oasis Books inside the Great Harvest Bakery if you want to
talk on other days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Note: Haley left happy,
with two books and Pat’s testimony.</span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-72503788639175871692018-03-23T16:53:00.000-06:002018-05-23T15:12:17.133-06:00HOLINESS AND WORLDLINESS - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Holiness simply means to be set apart or to be different.
Different from what? Different from the world. Both holiness and worldliness
are about focus. Worldliness is about focusing on imperfect human effort. Holiness is different in that it is about focusing on
perfection which is embodied only in Jesus. Jesus is enough for all of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Holiness is about the experience of being aware that Jesus is
enough--that both 1) his perfection is the only good measuring stick and 2) his
death is the only good resolution for the problem of human failure. This easily and naturally applies to all human relationships in all
circumstances. Life flows freely from a heart while it is satisfied with
goodness. A satisfied heart doesn't struggle, but rather responds to others as valuable
people. This is what it means to be human.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Worldliness is the distortion of what it means to be human.
It is a focus that doesn't see the whole picture of life, that only perfection
is good. Life becomes a check list of good and bad thoughts and actions. I doubt that you
appreciate people seeing you as part of their check list. No one does, but there
is no other way to function when perfection is not in view. Goodness is
shattered and the only way forward is to try to pick up the pieces one by one.
Trying mocks doing, mocks our humanity, and mocks goodness. It bears the ugly
fruit of the works of the flesh (<a href="http://biblehub.com/esv/galatians/5.htm" target="_blank">Gal 5:19-21</a>). Worldliness
denies goodness as a real experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Humans live only in the current moment. Therefore, in the
current moment we either see life as a check list of ideals (kindness, patience, self-control, love) to strive for, or as
perfect goodness to experience now. As you notice human
behavior, do you occasionally get distracted into forgetting the big picture that goodness
includes perfection, or do you always maintain awareness that only perfection is good?
Where is your focus? You can't do perfection, nor can anybody around you. But Jesus did, and his life flows out of you when you simply focus on His
goodness (His perfection and His sacrifice for sin). Trying is like a hamster
wheel. Only the hamster thinks he is getting somewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Note: In a recent sermon (listen <a href="https://www.mixcloud.com/AllSaintsLogan/are-you-a-holy-person-hebrews-109-25-3-18-2018-hebrews35/" target="_blank">here</a>)
in Hebrews 10, I explained how the world is all about trying and how trying is a lie. The sermon visual aid (white board photo) can be seen <a href="http://allsaintschurch.weebly.com/sermon-series-hebrews---it-really-is-finished-a-letter-of-reminder-of-the-simple-gospel-to-jewish-christians-living-in-the-shadow-of-the-temple.html" target="_blank">here</a>
by scrolling down to Hebrews#35. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-47134851631500226152017-12-06T15:46:00.000-07:002019-10-01T17:41:11.435-06:00SPIRITUAL COUNTERFEITS: CAN YOU SPOT THEM? #1<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why Counterfeits?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Life is a real experience that is full of surprises and meant to be enjoyed. To be human is to be a moral creature bearing the image of the personal creator of the universe. To be human means to be a person of heart, mind, soul, and spirit</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—all of which are intermingled and inseparable. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus, spirituality is a natural and inseparable part of what it means to be human. Spirituality is connected to our moral sense of what is good and evil</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">what makes for good human relationships and what makes for violation of goodness. This moral sense is pliable; it is molded by our family, culture, and experience of life. Atheists tell me that no child is born a racist, but rather trained to be one by culture. A shallow glance at this variation in moral understanding has led some to wrongly conclude that culture and experience create our moral sense. But something that doesn't exist can't be molded into something real.</span></span><br />
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Real or true spirituality is the experience of being in harmony or at peace with what it means to be human. This is a real experience of life. False spirituality is the opposite of that—anything that denies, suppresses, or violates what it means to be human. Because we have an awareness of what it means to be human, and a sense of need to experience that reality, the alternative to real spirituality is counterfeit spirituality. It is a pretended sense of moral harmony, a mask we wear to fool ourselves into thinking that we are in harmony with who we are. Pretending something to be real doesn't make it so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A counterfeit has some degree of appearance of the real, but is lacking a critical element. Counterfeit currency lacks the authority of the government that the currency claims to be backed by</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. A counterfeiter may fool me into accepting his counterfeit currency. If I in good faith take it to the bank, I likely will receive the unpleasant news that I have been tricked and therefore the bank will not deposit the expected funds into my account. Authorities don't like this kind of activity and may use my unpleasant experience to seek to find and punish the counterfeiter. Authority is the key to understanding what separates the real from the counterfeit. Poorly printed but authorized currency may look inferior to carefully crafted and printed counterfeit currency, but the issue is not one of quality, but rather one of authority. The authority in the moral world that separates the real from the counterfeit is the mark of goodness. This mark of goodness is highly nuanced to be appropriate for every aspect of human activity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What does it Mean to be Human?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To be human is to have a sense that life has meaning. This applies both in the moment in every relationship, as well as in a general way about life as a whole. I suggest that both senses are reflected in the question: What is our place in the world? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist, describes in <i>Man's Search For Meaning</i>, the human struggle to find meaning in life, even when trapped in the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. He also tells of his counseling method, which he called logo-therapy. He states that logo is the Greek word for meaning. Thus, his therapy method focused on helping patients look for meaning in whatever situation they were troubled about. When I first read his label, I wondered if Frankl might help clarify my shallow thinking about the New Testament statement that Jesus was the word (logos) of God. It has been a simple and enlightening step to fill the word "word" with the meaning "meaning". Jesus is the meaning (word) of God. Jesus is the meaning (word) of life. Jesus is the meaning (word) of truth. Jesus is the meaning (word) of peace. Jesus is the meaning (word) of righteousness. Jesus is the meaning (word) of wisdom. Could it be that every word in the New Testament is full of meaning, and thus full of surprises for us humans who tend to bumble through life unconcerned to discern the counterfeit experiences around us? I highly recommend Frankl's short, accessible, and insightful book. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is Our Place in the World?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This year an illustration came to my attention. The sun and moon both light our world. The Bible declares that this was the purpose of their creation. The sun is the source of the light that it shines out in all directions. The moon has no light of its own, but does reflect well the light of the sun. In the same way God is the source of all spiritual light—goodness, love and value. He created us to be his image bearers in this world, to know and reflect goodness, which comes from Him. Dependence describes the human relationship to goodness. It is good to be a source of goodness if one has the ability to be that source. God does, but we don't. The role of a dependent person is to be satisfied being a receiver of goodness. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There is a cascade of surprises in this satisfaction. This is a result of the nature of moral goodness. Moral goodness is about the meaning of relationships, which is all about community. God is community (trinity) and created humans to be in community with Him and to be satisfied with His goodness. When we are content with His goodness, then we naturally overflow with (or reflect) His goodness to those around us, treating them with goodness, and delighting to do so. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sin is Rebellion Against Our Place in the World</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Community is a beautiful and natural place to thrive in life. Why would anyone rebel against that good and proper place? If we understand what it means to be human, we will realize that it is very easy to rebel. Adam was created with the imprint of God's goodness so as to naturally and freely experience and reflect that goodness in all directions. As mentioned above, that imprint includes the nuanced distinction that it is good to be a source of goodness, if one has that ability, and good to be content being a receiver and reflector, if one doesn't have that ability. Adam and Eve reflected well God's goodness in all directions all the time. It was a simple matter for Satan to suppress this distinction and trick them into thinking that since it is good to be a source of goodness, they too were or could be a source of goodness. To seek goodness in themselves was rebellion against their proper place of dependence as receivers and reflectors. This was a real and traumatic experience. They failed morally and suddenly were in desperate need for restoration (justification). Something became twisted deep in their nature, and this deep twisting has been inherited by all their descendants except Jesus. We all were born with a rebellious desire to find goodness in self and with a real and good need for resolution for this rebellion. G.K. Chesterton wrote humorously that this inherited rebellious nature is the only empirically provable Christian doctrine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Restoration of Proper Dependence</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God came to the two rebels and spoke a blessing over them, that one of the descendants of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (who had deceived them). God anticipated and promised that He would provide restoration for humanity, which He did provide 4000 years later. But for 4000 years it was good and proper for humanity to be content with God's anticipation of that restoration. The Old Testament and the gospels are a record of discontent with that anticipation</span>—with some notable exceptions. That initial place of good dependence where human faithfulness was in the equation of life, vanished with Adam's first sin. The world was broken by that one act of rebellion. There was no going back. A new kind of dependence was needed, one of death to personal faithfulness so that humans could love without external pressure or impure motives. Isaiah said much in anticipation of that new kind of dependence on God's goodness. His words climax in Isaiah 53:11, circa 700BC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall make the many righteous, for he shall bear away their transgressions." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A century later, Jeremiah boldly declared this anticipation of the human experience of what God would provide. I find this to be the theme of the New Testament.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"I will fill the souls of the priests with abundance, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord." -Jeremiah 31:14</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At Pentecost God poured out the experience of this anticipated satisfaction. The cross had just prior been the experience of Jesus dying the death that rebellion deserved in order to create a good, fitting, and glorious place of dependence where God would do all the work and get all the glory. What had been in God's heart from before the creation of the universe was now a reality in the world. The death of the faithful one had become the door into death to, and thus freedom from, human unfaithfulness.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He in His delight was now free to live in His people.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why Rampant Counterfeit Spirituality?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Above was mentioned the ease with which one can fall into rebellion against our proper place in the world. Do you agree that this is true for you? In case this is not clear, here are a few simple questions. Is it good for you to be irritated with your spouse, parents, children, friends, and fellow humans who happen to interrupt your plans for the moment? Is it good for you to hold a grudge, withhold forgiveness, or keep score on those who have hurt you? Is it good for you to minimize, or excuse away your sins or the sins of others? Is it good for other people to seek to manage your failings? Is it good for you to seek to manage the failings of others? Have you violated any of these principles (the ones which you agreed with) this past year, month, week, or hour? Socrates, who died about 400BC, said that one should rather die than violate one's conscience. That is serious. No wonder we feel guilty so often. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some years ago, I had an enjoyable conversation with a woman, Haley (23), at our "Are you a good person" booth at the local fair. She failed the test and received the dollar coin as a surprise gift. In the course of the conversation she declared that she had left her religion of birth and become an agnostic. As she was leaving, I asked her a few questions to encourage her to think more deeply about life. Here is a short dialog representative of that exchange.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Me:</b> Haley, I have a few questions about your boyfriend (he was with her).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Haley:</b> Okay</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Me:</b> If I see him sin, is it good for me to let him get away with it? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Haley:</b> That is wrong. You shouldn't do that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Me:</b> Okay, here is another one. Is it good for me to be his judge when I see him sin?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Haley:</b> You shouldn't do that either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Me:</b> Okay, then what should I do when I see him sin?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Haley:</b> I don't know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Me:</b> What about this? What if I let God be his judge?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Haley:</b> (smiling) That's it. That is good. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Me:</b> My role in life is to agree with God's judgment when I see your boyfriend sin. The cross is the only place that resolves sin. and I need to be content with what God has provided. When I think that way, then I am glad that Jesus died for him and I am careful to be gentle in helping him notice what he did wrong. If you know that rape and child abuse are wrong, then deep inside you know that Jesus had to die to bring justice into the situation. I would encourage you to think about these things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Haley knew intuitively that sin (evil) is not good and needs to be resolved. She also knew that it is not good to act as judge for others. With my help she realized that these two good things leave people in a quandary of what to do about human moral failings. Without the surprise that I offered her, we humans are left stumbling in the dark about how to manage sin. Evil needs management, and we all know it. It is near impossible to resist the urge to become sin managers. Some people manage the problem by sweeping it under the carpet. They deny the existence of the moral world and declare that right and wrong are imaginary. It is just tough luck for those who get raped, abused, or enslaved. Other people create lists of what needs to be done to overcome evil. Some manufacture gods to help harmonize the sin problem. All these are counterfeit solutions that dishonor what we all know intuitively about the meaning of life. It is important to realize that we need sin management solutions every waking moment every day. Counterfeit solutions are lurking in every situation we face.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Christians are not Exempt from Confusion</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Socrates' shocking statement above</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">that one should die rather than violate one's own conscience</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">predates by centuries the apostle Paul's similar statement (Romans 1:32) that every person knows the righteousness of God, that every evil thought or act deserves death. This is moral knowledge, part of our intuitive knowledge of the meaning of life. Every human is born with the need for justification (resolution) for their own rebellious longing to find goodness in self. We criticize others for justifying their failures, all the while doing it ourselves. Everyone I have asked has told me that it is wrong to self-justify for moral failure. One USU student agreed that he and I had both failed morally and needed justification. When he declared that it was wrong for us to justify ourselves, he suddenly burst out with emotion, asking, "If I don't justify myself, then how do I get it?" This led to clear conversation about the cross. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We all are so sensitive to our need for justification for failure, that we would rather deny our humanity than honestly declare our nakedness. This is a huge blind spot. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A close cousin to this is another blind spot related to our understanding of life. Because life is full of meaning, it is easy to think that I have to be able to explain that meaning in order to not be guilty of failing at being good. This thinking leads back to the potential for self-justification. This time the real issue is suppression of our ignorance. We talk in circles to avoid honesty about our confusion. Some weeks ago a new grad student friend (not a Christian) laughed at me when I shared my slowness to notice my ignorance. He declared that I was just like everyone else, thinking that I knew everything and oblivious to my need to ask questions. I laughed with him.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We all are confused at some level, and it is not good to be confused. We all have blind spots, and it is not good to have them. Whether you are a new Christian or a seasoned Bible school professor, you are confused and have blind spots. By definition we cannot see our blind spots. Noticing them in others should make us aware that we have them, too. It is not good to be apathetic about out confusion or blind spots. It is good to seek to notice them and to want, request, and welcome help from other people to reduce our confusion and notice our blind spots. This is one blessing of community. Glad thankfulness is a good response to a person who cares enough to help us in this matter. Do you gladly thank those who criticize you?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Are you insecure about your confusion and blind spots? Insecurity means that you are confused about satisfaction in life, as quoted above from Jeremiah. It is good and fitting to find your satisfaction in God's goodness. All other satisfaction is fleeting or impaired. Begin thanking God that He is everything for you. Declare openly that you are confused and have blind spots. Thank Him for loving you anyway. Tell God that only perfect freedom from confusion and blind spots is good. Thank Him that it is good for other people to offer you help in this matter and that it is good for you to want and welcome their help. Invite God to send helpers your way. Get ready for answers to this prayer. One blessing of this prayer is that all critics and complainers become answers to prayer rather than being an opportunity for defensiveness resulting from self-justification. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Key to Begin Spotting Counterfeits</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If there were a spiritual key that would open your understanding to notice many of the lies, counterfeits, points of confusion, and blind spots around you, would you be interested in at least hearing about the key to see if it might possibly be real? Jesus stated</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">in Luke 11:52</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> that there was a key to understanding. Have you ever heard anyone talk about it or tell you what it was? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First, I suggest that what is entered is life</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God's life</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—life in God's goodness</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">eternal life. Second, I suggest that the key is the simple understanding that perfect love is the only good way to see life. This means that perfection is how we should evaluate all things moral. Jesus is the only place we find perfection in this world. Therefore, He is the only good reference point and we should always compare ourselves and all others to Jesus. When we do this, much confusion disappears quickly. Are you an obedient Christian? Not, when compared to Jesus. Are you holy? Not when compared to Jesus. Are you a good person? Not when compared to Jesus. Are you confused? Yes, when compared to Jesus. Comparison to Jesus leaves us with nothing but Jesus as perfect love to cling to. Sin management loses its appeal and we find ourselves drawn toward other people. We separate with them concerning their evil rather than from them.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Awareness of this key is highly motivational. Isaiah saw the perfection of God and was stripped of his pride and prepared to gladly preach to hardened and unresponsive Israel for 50 years. They couldn't hear him because they had rejected the key and were drunk on their own righteousness (Isaiah 29). With practice one can see how perfection fits every situation of personal relationships and helps clear away our confusion. I further suggest that it is very helpful in gaining clarity in Bible passages that seem confusing. God and scripture are not confused; we Bible readers are. For many years, I have experienced hundreds of witnessing conversations annually. My principle is to carefully use the key of perfection to help people honestly and properly evaluate themselves and realize their intuitive awareness of their need for the death of Jesus as the only good way of righteousness and the only good way to perceive life in every moment. It still surprises me sometimes to see the surprise on a person's face as the person hears their own mouth declare that they should always compare people to Jesus (or perfection, in the case of atheists or agnostics). My goal is to sensitize people to their intuitive knowledge that only perfection is good in all aspects of personal relationships (including with God). My hope is that this new awareness will take root in their hearts and the cross will become unavoidable for them. I also use the key of perfection in conversations with Christians to help them realize the simplicity of God's way of life and begin renewing their minds to perfection as the place of God's delight.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;">Application</span></span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Do you see life as a spiritual battle? Do you see life as full of counterfeits? Do you want to grow in sensitivity to them so as to be less often tricked by them? Might you be unwittingly embracing some counterfeits right now? If you were, would you want to know about it? This is the first in a series of posts on counterfeits. I suggest that every Christian concept has a corresponding counterfeit. Satan is a counterfeit Jesus. Paul declares that he counterfeits light and righteousness (2 Cor 11:14-15) Below is a list of some of the counterfeits that I have spotted and plan to write about. They are set as questions because I find that questions help me notice where I have been tricked. The first one is set first intentionally (others are in random order) because it has been my biggest surprise (that I am aware of) and seems to have accelerated my awareness of other counterfeits. It will be the focus of the next in this series.</span></span></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is the flesh?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is righteousness?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is holiness?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is worldliness?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is walking in the spirit?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is love?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is a Christian?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is a sinner?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What does it mean to die to self?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is sin?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is forgiveness?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is grace?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is law?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is light?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is the discipline of the Lord?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What does it mean to endure to the end?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is repentance?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is the fruit of being a Christian?</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is the alternative to laziness?</span></i></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-36807458311764066942017-06-26T10:00:00.000-06:002017-08-18T19:06:01.948-06:00GRACE AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD: SOME SURPRISES<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Is Grace Unmerited Favor?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Christians often and rightly say that grace is unmerited favor. This is a beautiful declaration. However, we Christians easily get tricked into forgetting grace when we we look at our relationship with God and with other people. To say that Christians have a relationship of unmerited favor with God means that merited favor has no place in that relationship. </span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What Is Merited Favor?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Merited favor means that some personal performance is in the equation of the relationship. If my wife has to perform properly in order to avoid my displeasure, then I perceive her as needing to merit my favor, in part or in whole. If I were her employer that would be fine, but good personal relationships are free from merit. Since it is never good to lower the standards of goodness, merit in a personal relationship would necessitate moral perfection. Let's be real: n</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">one of us are perfect. Thus merit cannot be part of a good personal relationship. Is a personal relationship about doing good things?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Symptom of Merited Favor</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In your relationships with other people, do you have check lists for them--do you require them to merit your favor? If you say that you don't because it is not good, then it seems reasonable that you would want to know when you violate your own principle. Here is the symptom that reveals that you (or someone else) have been tricked to include merited favor in a relationship. I would like to approach this from a different angle to increase clarity. Have you ever had others irritated, impatient, frustrated, or angry with you for something you did wrong? </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course your failure was not good, but did you appreciate the other person's reaction? We all have been on the receiving end of such treatment and know that it is wrong. But it is also wrong when we have these reactions. And these reactions have only one source: some flawed human faithfulness is perceived to be in the equation of the relationship--some check list must be met--some work done--satisfaction is not in God's goodness alone. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Remembering </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to exclude flawed human faithfulness from the relationship creates peace with God and </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">peace of heart in the moment. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is good to do good and it is good to be faithful, but it is never good to find satisfaction in sin, which is what you are doing when you perceive flawed human faithfulness to be a part of a good relationship. Sin is any violation of moral goodness. Let's be honest: human faithfulness is always flawed and thus is not good. So why not exclude merited favor from relationships? Faithfulness is good and necessary to put our minds at ease. But whose faithfulness? Perceive your relationships through the lens of God's faithfulness and goodness and you will be free to notice human sin in a razor sharp way with no bad reactions.</span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Does Merited Favor Belong in Parenting?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Have you ever cringed when observing parents express disappointment, frustration, anger, or harshness toward their children? Did you ever receive such treatment from your parents? Was it helpful to you in learning love, forgiveness, trust, and good behavior? Hardly. Parents are entrusted with the lives of children and given the great privilege of helping those children learn to understand life, goodness, and how to thrive in relationships. Children are born with physical and moral senses that are immature and need development. They need to learn to walk and talk. This is a natural process. In the same way, it is a natural process to learn to navigate the moral world. And that process is shepherded by parents, relatives, and extended community. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. Good parenting is about shepherding a child's heart, realizing that right thinking results in right living. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is tragic when parents fail to realize that right behavior flows</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">naturally</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> out of right thinking and bad behavior flows naturally out of bad thinking. It takes practice for parents to notice bad behavior and not take that bad behavior personally. "How dare that child not do what I say." Alert parents will have been preparing themselves by applying this principle to themselves first and then to other people. This is intuitive knowledge and one need not be a Christian to grasp it. Personal maturity is skillfulness in applying this principle in its all-encompassing application to life. Identifying the principle clearly, helps us evaluate and understand our experiences and reactions. Because bad behavior is bad, it is so very easy to get distracted from the principle and then criticize human behavior as the problem. But the root cause of bad behavior is bad thinking--always. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is also tragic when parents don't realize that a child is born with a moral sense that needs nurturing. I think and teach that</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> frustration, impatience, manipulation, rage, and abuse are always out of place in parenting, as well as in the rest of life. These reactions are the natural fruit of the parent being offended that the child is not conforming to the parent's wishes. This is a symptom of forgetting the child's common humanity, moral sense, and tendency to make excuses. All of us make excuses, so why be surprised if a child does it? The child's moral sense is very real and touches all aspects of goodness. It is a great privilege for a parent to help a child learn to be honest about that moral sense and to learn to honor it and not suppress it. A child is not his behavior. Realizing and remembering this frees a parent to have a compassionate, tender, and firm response while identifying clearly the wrongness of the child's bad behavior. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> parent has no authority to dispense merited favor just as I have no authority to dispense merited favor in any personal relationship I have.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> The parent is not the child's sin manager, but rather an advocate to help the child learn that sin is managed fully and solely at the cross. Therefore, being disappointed (frustrated, impatient, angry) with your child is always wrong because it is a sign that you perceive that your child needs to merit your favor. </span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Where Does God Find Satisfaction?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God is not an impersonal force or vending machine.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> As the creator of the universe, He is the source of what it means to be a person. He is the ultimate person--good, perfect, and righteous in all ways. We are made in his image, but that image has been distorted by human pride. Since God is a divine person and good, he desires a good personal relationship with people. To be a Christian means to have such a relationship. God initiates and maintains the relationship without our help, otherwise our flawed faithfulness would distort the relationship. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God does want something from us, and it is good for Him to want it. But it is not our faithfulness, goodness, obedience, or works, for they are all flawed. If you are a Christian then you have done only one thing perfectly, the only thing that a person can do that is not a work. It </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is to rest in the work of another person--Christ. Paul declares this explicitly in Romans 4:5: "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness." Christian faith is confidence, trust, rest, and satisfaction with Christ's faithfulness as all one needs to be in a good relationship with God. Our initial conversion was a pure rest in Christ's faithfulness. Jeremiah anticipated the Day of Pentecost when he declared: "I will fill the souls of the priests with abundance and my people will be satisfied with My goodness, declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 31:14) To be satisfied with God's goodness excludes finding satisfaction in your own work or in the work of other flawed humans. Is God fully satisfied with His goodness in the work of Christ on the cross? Are you fully satisfied with God's goodness? Isaiah also anticipated unmerited favor flowing naturally from the cross when he prophesied, "Lord, You will establish peace for us, since You have also performed for us all our work." (Isaiah 26:12) Do you see peace as a fruit of God doing all the work for you and other people? Conversion is entrance into this new mindset, but it is easy to revert back to the corrupt mindset of seeking some satisfaction in flawed human faithfulness.</span><br />
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Christians are Royal Children of God</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All Christians have the great privilege of being adopted into God's family. In Christ we are God's royal and righteous children. Our righteousness is real and present, but it is not our own; it is the righteousness of Christ. He has taken our identity as lawbreakers under the law and given us His identity as children under the authority of grace. This is very difficult for us democratically-minded people to understand. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Read <a href="http://oasisbooks.blogspot.com/2016/03/motivation-of-grace-testimony-of-two.html" target="_blank">here</a></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> the testimony of a Jordanian Muslim attorney friend who did not become a Christian. He understands what grace means at a deep level because he has a real king with real authority. He told me that his impossible dream was to be adopted into the royal family. He added that if that came true, then he would be above the law and free to do whatever he wanted. He then made the amazing declaration that he would be so happy for what the king had done for him that he would never do anything wrong again. I pressed him and was finally able to shake his confidence. He admitted that he might do something wrong if he forgot what the king had done for him. He saw that remembrance of that great gift would motivate him to do good</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">always</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. I suggest that this is what the New Testament teaches Christianity to be: that the death of Christ is what turns the world right side up to provide both a way of royal adoption and a way of good, pure, and sufficient motivation for good works, where they flow naturally and effortlessly out of a vision of love received. Does this seem to you to be too good to be true? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Is God Ever Disappointed, Frustrated, or Angry with Christians?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Forgetfulness by </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">an adopted royal child </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">can have bad consequences, as my Muslim friend stated. But that forgetfulness and its consequences are not part of the relationship with one's king because human performance is excluded. This is not to deny that consequences can be tragic, but it is to establish satisfaction with the goodness of God as the center of the universe. "God passed over the sins previously committed so that he might demonstrate His righteousness at the present time [the cross]." (Rom.3:25) The cross resolves all evil not just the small stuff. God calls all people to be satisfied with that resolution and He leads the way in being satisfied with it Himself. If God is ever disappointed, frustrated, or angry with a Christian, then He is not satisfied with sin-bearing love at the cross and</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> He perceives merited favor to be in the relationship. There is no way around this fact. In theory, merited favor has had no place in my parenting of my five children. I was tricked to put it in sometimes, but God is a perfect parent and thus never puts it in. This means that God has no disappointment, frustration, impatience, or anger toward any Christian. NONE! If you disagree, then there are two options: either I need to be corrected, or you are unwittingly reading the Bible upside down. If you were, would you like to know it?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Does the Lord Discipline Christians?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Bible clearly teaches that God disciplines Christians. Have you noticed that the Bible also clearly teaches that God disciplined Israel under law? Discipline simply means training. The question we need to ask is this. What is the purpose of the training? In the Bible the purpose is clearly something moral and not anything like skillfulness at some musical instrument or sport. This leaves only two options for understanding what the purpose is: 1) to take sins </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">seriously</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> control them, and 2) to grow in skillfulness in seeing life through the lens of righteousness (perfection). If my observation of scripture is true, and my Muslim friend's understanding of motivation is true, then sin by a Christian is always a result of forgetting righteousness. Therefore the two options are not equally valid. The latter is true, real, and good, while the former is counterfeit. If the latter is true then the former plays into the hands of Satan. Satan appears as an angel of light; he is the father of lies; he is a master counterfeiter. And he seeks to deceive us with his counterfeits. Do you ever get tricked by them? I do. What does he counterfeit? </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have lived 85% of my Christian life, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">33 years, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">in the den of master gospel counterfeiters. My Mormon culture uses Christian terminology and spins it to make life all about you becoming a better you, rather than about you getting a new identity as a royal righteous child in Christ. For Christians here, the conflict and contrast are very real. Still we get tricked sometimes. Paul declares in 2Cor. 11:15 (see the context of 11:3-15) that Satan counterfeits righteousness. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Counterfeit Righteousness</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I discuss the gospel with hundreds of Mormons annually. In a typical gospel conversation, a Mormon will tell me some or all of the following things about righteousness.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is not good to sin, therefore we should try not to sin.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is good to be righteous, therefore we need to try to be righteous.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Righteousness is trying.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God said to be perfect, which means that we need to try.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God doesn't expect perfection, only that we do our best.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is unrealistic to stop all sins now, so we work on them one by one.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Repentance is a slow process of turning from sins and obeying God.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God forgives us for the sins we repent of.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God will not give you righteousness as a gift. You have to try to be obedient.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you get righteousness as a gift, it will make you lazy. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Do you see any counterfeits hidden in these statements?</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The focus is on me, my behavior, and my efforts. Merited favor is here. Mormons tell me that life is a process of learning to make right choices. They say that the discipline of the Lord is about getting people to be serious about their sins individually. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All Satan's counterfeits are really just different nuances of the same thing: God's perfect goodness is turned into something manageable--something less than perfection.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> This is a suppression of righteousness (Rom. 1:18). It is fair to summarize the battle lines in my conversations with Mormons as identity versus behavior. They are striving to get their sinful thoughts and behaviors under control so as to be righteous. They openly declare to me that righteousness goes up and down with obedience and disobedience.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They are their own sin managers.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I declare to them that compared to Jesus we all are failures and therefore righteousness can only be perfection (all or nothing) and thus only available as a gift. This is the titanic struggle of the universe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have you been tricked into the counterfeit thinking of my Mormon friends: that God's discipline is about controlling your individual sins? Of course your individual sins are bad, but the whole of your sins are bad. Of course it is good to be honest about your sins and take them seriously, but to be fully honest means that it is good for you to deal with them ALL immediately and simultaneously. Anything less is not good. Do you want to take them that seriously? Or do you want to be your own sin manager? You can't manage perfection, but Christ can and did at the cross. Also, y</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">our sins are not random actions. They are the simple result of perceiving life in a way that is not good. Read my articles on this: </span><a href="http://oasisbooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/do-you-see-christianity-as-simple.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">simplicity in Christ,</a> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://oasisbooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/holiness-is-way-of-seeing-life.html" target="_blank">holiness as a way of seeing</a></span><span id="goog_1789232588"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1789232589"></span>,<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <a href="http://oasisbooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/obedience-is-it-about-success-or-just.html" target="_blank">obedience: success or trying?</a> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You sin only when you don't see life through the lens of righteousness (perfection as required and given freely as a gift). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">God's Discipline is Always About Righteousness</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God's discipline is always about righteousness. The letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians living between Pentecost and the destruction of the temple. They were under intense pressure from their Jewish culture to go back to the law. From beginning to end, Hebrews is a reminder of the </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">simple</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">gospel to weary Jewish Christians who were giving in to that pressure. They needed encouragement to stand firm and not be </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">intimidated</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. They needed a long refresher course in the simplicity of the gospel that had come to them at Pentecost and freed them to be righteousness by the work of Christ without their own works. They needed to hear again that though s</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">in is bad, going back to the law is tragic.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Law is all about externals as part of what it means to be fully acceptable before God. The whole letter is about this conflict over righteousness. Hebrews 12 is the go to passage in the Bible on God's discipline. Since this teaching </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is in this context, d</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">o you read discipline in light of this conflict, or as my Mormon friends do? For 25 years I read it as my Mormon culture does. I am living proof that it is very easy to get distracted from identity to behavior and not even notice having been distracted. I still prove it every day. Have you realized that you do it too? Therefore, according to the context of Hebrews, the sin that so easily entangles (12:1) is going back to the law. The race </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(12:1,2)</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> is about always considering Jesus (His work as all we need). Endurance (12:1) is needed to not give in to the pressure to go back to the law. The sinners (12:3) who were applying the pressure were the super religious Jews, not the prostitutes and irreligious people. Resisting them (12:4) meant resisting going back to the law, not resisting doing bad things.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Joy is absent or suppressed while one is not considering Jesus (12:11). </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Christians are righteous by faith alone; we have a new identity as righteous children in Christ independent of our behavior. God disciplines, or trains, us every waking moment in every situation, to be alert to remember what this identity means and to live out of that identity. God wants us to always see and evaluate every situation in light of His goodness, of righteousness as perfection, not some manageable performance expectation. He wants us to grow in wisdom, and His wisdom is skillfulness in the word of righteousness. (5:13-14) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Israel was Disciplined to Righteousness as Perfection</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The discipline of the Lord is first mentioned explicitly in Deuteronomy 4:36. "He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and hear His words from the midst of the fire," Was God's word to them some form of do your best, try harder, or partial obedience? No. We see this earlier in the chapter. "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." (4:2) We also read, "It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to keep <u>all</u> this commandment." (6:25) "<u>All</u> the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers." (8:2) </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Notice that God's word is inflexible--zero fudging by adding or taking away--it must be kept in full as it is.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> This means that God wanted Israel to keep their eye on His perfection and not compromise His perfection in thought, word, or deed. To be righteous required perfect obedience. The Old Testament is the record of God's compassion and Israel's dishonor of His perfect law. Their history is an ugly one. Finally Jesus arrived among them. He preached in such a way as to reestablish the honor of the law, that it required perfection. Israel hated that message and killed him for it. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jesus knows (taught, believed, understood) that God wants you and all people to keep all the commandments perfectly now and always, no matter the situation. If you don't believe this</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, by what authority do you compromise God's expectation of goodness and make it something manageable? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Honesty About Sin</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let's be honest about sin. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">John declares that sin is lawlessness (dishonor of the law). (1John 3:4) In other words, sin is violation of goodness--any violation. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Life is a spiritual battle to honor God's goodness. If you are not doing it fully, then you are not doing it, and you are a violator. God has brought resolution to this problem by making the cross the place where all sin has been put away by the sacrifice of Christ. (Hebrews 9:26) This concerns the power of sin as well as its guilt. The cross does not</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> make people into robots. Rather it frees them to live in a good way, in a new identity in His righteousness without any need to find justification or satisfaction anywhere else--no matter how great the violation they commit, receive, or observe. God declares, and we all know, that it is not good to seek justification for any human failure in any human action. God is satisfied with Christ's sacrifice of Himself. Therefore, why be satisfied with a vision of God's discipline that does not honor God's goodness (perfection) or His satisfaction with Christ? Let Jesus be the sin manager of the world.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Embrace His clarity about sin: that only perfection is good.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Embrace His righteousness (perfection as required and given freely as a gift</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">) as the point of His training for you and all other people. Embrace forgetfulness or rejection of righteousness as the cause of all sin. Embrace remembrance of righteousness as the place of restoration, healing, life, truth, peace, and joy. Let's together embrace and celebrate satisfaction with God's goodness and His good training of us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>God's discipline or training is all about growth in skillfulness in seeing Jesus as ALL our righteousness, holiness, and redemption--our wisdom from God.</b></span></div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-89238618096184742182017-06-08T12:11:00.000-06:002017-11-11T13:04:39.037-07:00CAN YOU DRIFT AWAY FROM GRACE? SOME SURPRISES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"</b></i></span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it</i>.</b></span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>"</b></i> -Hebrews 2:1</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I have had true Christians tell me that reading the Letter to the Hebrews troubles them. Some have called it scary. If I remember correctly, some have </span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">even</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">admitted to avoiding it. Have you ever had these thoughts or heard others say such things? If the gospel is so beautiful and so powerful, then why do true Christians have this response to reading this inspired letter? I have heard this about the letter of First John as well.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">Who is the Audience?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">The Letter to the Hebrews was written to the community of Jewish Christians living around Jerusalem between Pentecost and the destruction of the Jewish temple and its rituals. That community had been previously under the law of Moses for centuries and had recently been freed by Jesus to live in unmerited favor. They were surrounded by pressure to go back to the old ways. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">Which Message is Superior?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">The message of Jesus is about His faithfulness and His work of "putting away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." The message given by angels to Moses at Mt Sinai was of personal faithfulness and the work of the temple system to take away sin. Jesus sits in authority and the angels are merely servants. Therefore since Jesus is greater, His message overrides the old message. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">Is it Good to Get Confused about the Two Messages?</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">It is never good to be confused about anything, but since Satan is the author of confusion, it certainly is possible to get muddleheaded about what is good. It is easy to get fooled about how law and gospel fit together. It would have been especially easy if one lived in the neighborhood of the beautiful Jewish Temple with its old, respected, and inspired system of sacrifices and rituals.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;">Confusion in the Word Must</span></span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The little word must has two general senses. It is commonly used as some form of threat. "You must give me your money or I will shoot you." "You must clean your plate or you won't get ice cream." "You must give that back because I had it first." "You must change or I won't forgive you." Do you hear the threat in these statements. Another common meaning, that isn't so noticeable, relates to what is natural, fitting, or proper. "You must get here before noon if you want to see your grandmother, as her ride to the airport leaves at noon." There is no threat in this kind of statement. It is simply a declaration of how consequences naturally follow actions. The latter is the true sense in our verse. Those who unwittingly read this verse in the threat sense, can easily turn this verse into a command from God. But this verse is simply helping to set the stage for the first command (3:1). That command naturally follows chapters one and two.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="color: #990000;">Is it Possible to Drift Away?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #001320;">Is it possible to drift away? How confident are of your answer? Let me paraphrase this verse, but set it in the negative for emphasis and clarity. "In light of the above reasons, it is not good, fitting or right for us to not give more careful attention to the message of Jesus, that He has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, lest we drift away.</span>" I <span style="color: #001320;">suggest that drifting away is a far greater and more common problem than we think. Have you ever wondered if you or someone else might be guilty of drifting away? Have you ever thought that you need to be careful to not drift away? Have you ever thought that you can't drift away? </span></span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The surprise is that it is not something that we do but rather something that happens to us naturally. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Notice that the verse states that drifting away is the fruit of neglecting to do something else. That something is to give careful attention to the message of grace. In short, drifting away is the natural consequence of not considering the work of Christ. To be even more blunt, you do drift away when you don't consider grace. I drift away often every day. I don't intend to drift away, but it is the natural result of forgetting to see in the moment through the lens of grace. It takes practice to notice that it is this simple.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">Here are some examples. When a preacher declares that people must be careful to not drift away, he has already drifted away himself, because he has unwittingly not considered that it is Jesus' job to keep a person from drifting away. When you sin in any way, you have already drifted away from grace. When you are looking at life through the telescope of grace, it is impossible for you to sin. You can't keep yourself from sinning or drifting away, but God can<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>WHILE you are considering grace properly.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">Salvation is like marriage. Marriage doesn't end with the ceremony; it begins there. In the same way salvation is a new kind of life, relationship, or identity with God<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>one of unmerited favor. It begins in the moment of conversion and continues on forever. It begins when one for the first time finds satisfaction in God's goodness or faithfulness without holding in reserve any satisfaction in one's own faithfulness. We are all born with our faithfulness in the equation of life. After conversion, only Jesus' faithfulness is in the equation. Thus Christianity is life in the faithfulness of Christ free from the pressure of pretended personal faithfulness. No one is faithful when compared to Christ, so let's get over ourselves. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since all Christians have their identity purely in Christ's faithfulness, it is impossible to drift away from one's own identity in grace. Period. If you think otherwise then you have been tricked into thinking that there is some merited favor in the Christian life. It is Jesus' job to keep you from drifting away and, unlike you, He handles His job perfectly. Satan has created many counterfeits and many of God's dear children have been tricked to see counterfeits where there is pure grace. I am currently preaching through Hebrews and in my first sermon declared that I plan to shine the bright light of the gospel on every scary verse so as to reveal the glory of the cross and remove all scariness for the Christian, all the while maintaining that God is a consuming fire. This includes chapters 3, 4, 10, 12, and especially 6:4-6. An article on the last one is almost finished and should appear here soon. Counterfeits, counterfeits, counterfeits. Let's put the blame where it belongs: on us for being fooled by the counterfeits. I have much experience here. Do you?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's get real. </span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whose faithfulness are you considering right now?</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> It is never good to be unfaithful. Therefore only perfect faithfulness is good. It is not good to have expectations that are not good. Therefore g</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">oodness includes expectation of perfect faithfulness. This makes it simple to realize that 1)</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> only God's faithfulness counts, and 2) it is a deception to expect flawed human faithfulness to count. But the spiritual battle rages<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>the flesh versus the spirit<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>flawed </span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">human faithfulness versus God's faithfulness<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>trying to do good versus success at doing good. In the heat of the moment the pressure is on to drift from a vision of perfect faithfulness into Satan's counterfeit of flawed human faithfulness. We need to retrain our minds to what is good if we are to stand firm in God's faithfulness and not drift away into valuing counterfeit faithfulness. If you want to prepare your mind for battle, I would suggest frequent prayer of thankfulness for what God declares to be good, for example:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Father in heaven, thank you for calling me to always value what is good. Thank you for making your faithfulness is to be all my satisfaction even when I fail or other people fail. Thank you for calling me to remember your faithfulness and to remind others of your faithfulness. Thank you for making Christianity to be the community of satisfaction in your goodness. Thank you that it is your job to keep me from drifting away. </span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you that your Son fully put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and that he did this without my help. Thank you for making sin to be overcome easily by a vision that only perfect faithfulness counts.</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you for making my job to be simple</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">—</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">to consider your Son's faithfulness at the cross as the only hope for anyone in any situation." </span><br />
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<b style="color: #001320; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><u>Consider Jesus</u> the high priest of our confession, that "He has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"></span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-40390778034106685272017-05-25T18:00:00.000-06:002018-05-23T15:13:49.441-06:00OBEDIENCE: IS IT ABOUT SUCCESS, OR JUST ABOUT TRYING?<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How Do You Read the Bible and Life?</span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">In the New Testament we run across the words keep, do, and obey in reference to a proper response to what is good in life or to what God commands. Below are but a few examples. </span><br />
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<li><i style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">“If you love me, you will <b>keep</b> my commandments."</i><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> -John 14:15</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i>"</i></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i>Whoever has my commandments and <b>keeps</b> them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”</i> -John 14:21</span></li>
<li><i style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"You are my friends if you <b>do</b> what I command you."</i><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> -John 15:14</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;"><i>"</i></span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i>By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and <b>obey</b> his commandments."</i> -1John 5:2</span></li>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">When you read the above passages, how did you understand the words do, keep, and obey? Let me clarify. When you read the third statement that to be a friend of Jesus requires doing what He commands, did you interpret the word do to mean: feel good about, to unsuccessfully attempt to do, or to succeed at doing? Likely you resonated with the statement and felt good about Jesus' call to do what He commands. This response of yours was good but insufficient because Jesus is calling a person to action beyond just feeling. Do you see yourself as a friend of Jesus? It is good to be Jesus' friend, but have you done what He said is required to be His friend? Do you do what Jesus commands? Think of what you consider that Jesus commands you to do. Have you done it? Do you do it? Has your doing been successful or unsuccessful? In other words, is success in action important to Jesus, or is He simply interested that you put in an effort even though you fail? </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fdfeff;">In sports competitions, one person or team wins the competition. The winner declares that victory was achieved. The losers declare that they tried to win, but failed. The loser's attempt was unsuccessful. When you think of Jesus' call to keeping, doing, or obeying His commands, have you achieved victory, or been unsuccessful? I suspect that more clarity is needed. First, is Jesus declaring that His friends keep, do, or obey what He desires just when it is convenient, or all the time? Second, does Jesus want us to evaluate success by looking at our effort or the lack of success of others? Many non-Christians have told me that for moral issues, comparison to other people is never good. </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does God desire you to succeed at being righteous, or just that you try to be righteous?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does God desire you to succeed at being holy or only that you try to be holy?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does God desire you to succeed at being free from sin or merely that you try not to sin?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does God desire that you succeed at keeping all His commands all the time, or simply that you put in an effort?</span></li>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Standard of Evaluation</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is good for God to desire that you always do what is good. It is not good for God to think or declare that it is satisfactory that you only imperfectly do what is good or only do good part of the time. Thus God's expectation for you (and all other people) is that you always do what is good. No compromises. Do you agree? Are you succeeding at doing good always?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's apply this to obedience. Do you agree that imperfect obedience is disobedience? Let's say that God gives you a glass of pure water and commands you to drink all of it. Let's also say that you drink 60% and decide that that is enough for you, and so you don't finish the glass of water. Did you obey God? No you didn't. Imperfect obedience is not good and thus not satisfactory to God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus came into this world to reveal what is good. On all moral issues, it is good to compare ourselves and all other people to Jesus. It is never good to compromise that standard of evaluation. Compared to Jesus how are you doing in terms of holiness, obedience, and keeping the commands of Jesus? Are you an obedient Christian? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Honesty About Confusion</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first step in understanding God's ways is to notice our confusion about what God desires. I have the privilege of living in a culture that is overwhelmingly Mormon. It is a</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">surprise blessing because they use our words, but with different definitions. This helps us to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">think more critically about what we believe. As we here are challenged, we at least occasionally realize that we have lies in our own minds. This is a wonderful revelation. Until I notice a lie that is in my thinking, I am unaware that I need to discard it. I witness to hundreds of Mormons annually and in nearly every conversation I hear words something like, "Since it is good to do good, this means that we need to try to do good. God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but only to do our best." People commonly tell me that the commandments are a goal to shoot for, not something to expect success at now. Therefore, I commonly get corrected for telling people that God expects immediate success at doing good, being righteous, and obeying His commands. When I tell them that God always expects perfection now, the conversation opens to the gospel. All people know that I am not perfect in my thoughts, words, and actions, and so how can I so gladly and confidently preach that only perfection counts with God? I preach to myself first this message of perfection now on all topics of the Christian life. I find it in all of life and everywhere in the Bible. Thinking this way makes life a joy and makes it easy to preach non-hypocritically to others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you preach to yourself first that God expects from you perfection now on all aspects of the Christian life--say holiness, obedience, keeping the commandments, and loving others? If you don't preach perfection now, by what authority do you compromise God's goodness, or what verses or reasoning do you use to correct me to embrace your view that God doesn't expect perfection now--that, for example, He doesn't expect complete holiness now? I have commonly heard Christians (including pastors) talk about obedience, loving others, keeping Jesus' commands and more, and have wondered how they could speak so positively since it was impossible for them (or me) to be succeeding at what they were preaching since what they were saying was clearly about behavior. It is clear to me now that they were not meaning successful obedience but rather an attempt (unsuccessful) at obedience. We Christians know that we shouldn't say try to obey because obedience really includes success. But we have been tricked into a pretense. We mean try but don't say try because that is not good. It is okay to use the wrong words as we express ourselves. But it is deceptive to use good words when we mean something that is not good. God sees the heart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The critical issue for you to consider concerns how you use words. It can be painful to be honest, but honesty is important in order to embrace change. When you talk about obedience, doing what is right, or loving others, do you mean success when compared to Jesus, or do you mean just putting in an effort? Is success important to you like it is important to Jesus? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Next Step: A New Question</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If perfection now is God's expectation and imperfect obedience is disobedience, then you need a new question when you read the Bible and when you think about life. I suggest that not asking good questions has us in much confusion in seeking to understand both the Bible and life. If the Bible and life are to be trusted, then either God is confused, the writers of the Bible didn't hear clearly from God, these writers were confused, the Bible has been radically changed all over the place, or you are seriously misunderstanding the Bible and life. Is it possible that you are confused about what Jesus meant by keeping the commandments, obedience, holiness, and much more? Is there even a slim possibility of this? It is true for me. It seems to me that we Christians often talk like God is confused. I suggest that both all of the Bible and all of life are perfectly consistent with God's call to perfection now. The big question I ask myself and I urge you to consider is this: Is it possible that you are confused about what Jesus (or the other writers) is talking about? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As stated above, my Mormon culture has confronted me much and taught me to daily check myself for confusion. Just because I don't notice any today doesn't mean that it isn't there. My principle it to pray every morning that God would bring to me during the day a Mormon, atheist, or child to say something that would reveal another lie in my thinking, that I might discard it. Please join me in this prayer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do or Do Not, There is No Try." </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This quote by Yoda of Star Wars fame is on a wall at Oasis Books. It gets laughs but also affirmation from everyone I ask about it. Do you affirm it? If you do then it is a wonderful tool to use to cleanse your mind of the polluting affect of manageability--of worldliness--of do and try harder--of the flesh--of human glory--of quenching the Spirit. Yoda's words point to Jesus, since only Jesus succeeded in always doing what is good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you read the Bible or think about your behavior and that of other people, I encourage you to seek to read every verse in light of God's good expectation of perfection now. Think of Jesus. Think of Yoda's words. Learn to notice failure clearly in light of perfection. I predict that you will begin to enjoy the people who previously have rubbed you the wrong way. Also your reading of the Bible will be like a treasure hunt for new riches. It may even feel like you are reading the Bible right side up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The focus of this post is to tease you to notice that almost certainly your mind is infested with trying where success should be. This is for life and for reading the Bible. I have sought to only hint at fresh ways to understand both. In other posts at this blog you can read my views on what complete holiness now means and the simple way to do it (perfectly), what Jesus meant by the fruit that reveals certainly if a person is a Christian, and much more. Soon I will post an article on how I know why you have done every sin that you have done as a Christian. Do you know? Are you surprised that I claim to know this about you, even if we have never met? Watch for it. Here is Jeremiah's hint (it foretold of Pentecost) "I will fill the priests with abundance, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord." (31:14)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's celebrate God's goodness as our full satisfaction!</span></div>
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Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-5649194843135116702017-05-23T12:00:00.000-06:002017-05-25T16:28:13.443-06:00WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND LOVE?<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Brad is patient, Brad is kind, Brad is not envious; Brad does not brag and is not arrogant; Brad does not act unbecomingly; Brad does not seek his own; Brad is not provoked; Brad does not take into account a wrong suffered; Brad does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; Brad bears all things; Brad believes all things; Brad hopes all things; Brad endures all things. Brad never fails." </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-1Cor. 13:4-8, with my name substituted for love</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The above is absurd. It would still be absurd if you put your name in the place of mine. Put Jesus' name for mine and suddenly it is not only not absurd, but becomes real and life-giving. This points us to realize that love is about Jesus and not about us. If you are a Christian, then the love of God has been poured out in your heart through the Holy Spirit who was given to you. (Romans 5:5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This passage is not a command, but rather a description of the fruit of love--perfectly consistent fruit. The command, which comes 6 verses later (in 14:1), is: pursue love. We all are called to not resist this love which is in our hearts. In the moment that you are pursuing love, the fruit of love flows out of you like a mighty river and you look like the above.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The question is: how does a weak person like you pursue love? How do you not resist love? Is it by</span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">focusing on proper behavior (the above description of love), </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">will power (choosing to do the above description of love) , </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">commitment (committing to do the above description of love), </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">making vows (vowing to be like the above description of love), </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">denying your human desires and following Jesus in having only God's desire (and thus doing the description of love), </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">considering life from God's perspective, that only moral perfection is good? </span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Below is Fyodor Dostoevsky's short declaration about love. I find in his statement that each word is carefully placed and each is full of meaning. Ponder each word and especially probe the word see (perceive). Also, meditate on what God intended each person to be. </span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"To love a person means to see him as God intended him to be."</span></b></i><br />
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Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-2322231900206343582017-05-16T15:58:00.000-06:002017-08-20T12:34:10.289-06:00HOLINESS IS A WAY OF SEEING LIFE<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Holiness is about being set apart, about being different. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The question is: set apart and different from what?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Two Ways of Life</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are two sources of wisdom: heaven and this world. We can read about this in the Letter of James. We can also read it in intuitive human knowledge since it relates to what it means to be a person. Holiness is the label for heavenly wisdom. Worldliness is the label for the wisdom of this world. Holiness is the theme of the letter of James, which describes the war between these two ways of wisdom. God's wisdom and true holiness are all about perfect love--that only moral perfection is good and that Jesus died to offer it as a gift apart from personal righteousness. Worldliness is all about moral manageability, the compromise of moral perfection. Moral compromise is the lowering of moral standards from perfection. The only reason this is done--consciously or unconsciously--is to honor human striving. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Counterfeit Worldliness</span><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Worldliness is a counterfeit way of wisdom. Worldliness is counterfeit holiness. And surprisingly, worldliness declares that there is a worldliness to be avoided. It is what my culture is all about. We Christians don't have a corner on using the word worldliness. My non-Christian friends talk about avoiding it. Since worldliness is a way of thinking, and since it is manageability (rather than true holiness), it declares that moral laziness is the enemy. It declares that the conflict in life is between laziness and moral diligence. Notice that both of these are about human effort. They differ only in degree.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We Live Only in the Present Moment</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We live in time in the current moment. As Christians we have our life in Christ outside of time. That life we have in Christ is real. We are called to live that life out in time in the present moment. Even when we make plans for the future, we are doing so in the present moment. Our past does affect out present, but we live in the present moment only. True holiness is thinking God's way about life in the present moment. This includes thinking about the past in a good way and thinking about the future in a good way. Proper thinking about life in the present moment honors both the individual aspects of goodness and that goodness is a seamless whole--that goodness is all or nothing. There is great freedom in embracing these two realities: </span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We live life in the current moment only.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Goodness is all or nothing.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Do you embrace these two realities that are critical if we are to embrace God's wisdom, His holiness?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Counterfeit Holiness</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Worldliness is the shepherding of behavior rather than the shepherding of the heart. Worldliness sees falsely that behavior is the point of holiness. This counterfeit holiness sees that behavior can be addressed directly. Every time you are impatient, frustrated, or angry at other people for their behavior--every time--your sinful responses are a result of embracing the worldly wisdom, the counterfeit holiness, that behavior can be addressed directly without going through the heart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus declared that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. He then lists bad behavior and bad words. Do you agree with Jesus that the heart is the source of all bad behavior? If you agree with Jesus, then why does bad behavior distress you? Of course bad behavior is wrong, but it is only a symptom of a bad heart. Your distress is an indication that you have been tricked to focus on the fruit and not the root of the problem. The fruit simply reveals that there is a root problem in the heart that needs to be addressed. Why not deal with the root? When I had cancer, the appropriate action was to entrust the surgeon to cut out the cancer. Focusing on stopping the symptoms would have been a foolish solution. In the same way it is foolishness to deal with behavior directly. The heart is the problem and the heart of a Christian is super easy and natural to change. For a non-Christian it is a different story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In summary, counterfeit holiness focuses on behavior, dismisses the heart as the source of behavior, dismisses the reality that goodness is all or nothing, and seeks to address behavior (conduct) directly. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">True Holiness Brings Freedom</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Bible writers call for complete holiness now. Peter commands "As the One [Jesus] who calls you is holy, so be holy in ALL you do." (1Peter 1:15) Do you think that it is unrealistic for God to expect you to be holy in all things like Jesus was? Jesus' life reveals clearly what goodness is--total freedom from sin. If God does not expect you to live a good life in all ways, then God's expectation is not good. Let's embrace that God is always good and always expects goodness from all people. Do you notice that Peter does not command holy conduct? He is commanding us in all our conduct (thoughts, words, and actions) to be holy. Do you see the difference? The difference is critical. It is the difference between slavery and freedom. It is very simple once we notice what Peter means. 1) Holiness is a way of seeing life. 2) There are only two ways of seeing life: through eyes of perfection or manageability. 3) In the present moment, God calls us to see (discern, appreciate, honor, consider, regard, perceive, be aware of) every person and situation in the light of perfect love (perfection expected and provided at the cross). 4) Right awareness sets the heart in a good place and goodness then overflows in all directions effortlessly. (James 1:25) 5) Bad behavior is simply an indicator that the person has been distracted from awareness of perfect love. 6) The solution of a sin problem is always a restoration to a vision of perfect love (Gal 6:1). 7) In summary, each moment of life takes care of itself as the mind is set on perfect love. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Deeply Rooted False Cultural Bias</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Counterfeit holiness is deeply rooted in Western Christian culture which is rooted deeply in Roman culture. The Hebrew and Greek cultures saw that life overflowed from the heart--from the big picture understanding of life in the moment. When the Roman Empire took over from the Greeks it slowly imposed its cultural bias which dismissed the value of the mind and culture. Roman culture declared that right behavior was what was important. It also declared that people know the right things to do and are simply too weak or lazy to do what they know is right. What they need is external pressure to help them make their own right choices. This way of thinking became deeply entrenched in the West. Do you appreciate people pressuring you to make right choices?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This cultural bias suppresses the truth of what it means to be human.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> In the past 150 years we Westerners have begun to notice the fruit of this bias and to seek to confront it. The light is dawning and clarity is coming. We now make a distinction in child rearing between shepherding the heart and shepherding behavior. We need to apply that distinction to all of life. I ask people if they have ever been manipulated to proper behavior. All have said yes and all have said that they both did not like it and that it was not helpful.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Simple Application</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Evaluate yourself.</b> The next time you become aware of having a bad reaction toward someone, ask yourself what you are thinking about.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Are you comparing that person to Jesus, the only perfect person?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Are you rejoicing that the only hope in life for that person is the gift of righteousness provided at the cross?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>By the way, by what authority do you think of other people in ways that are not good?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Renew your mind.</b> Why not simply think of people as God does? We all need to continually renew our minds to God's good vision of all people. I suggest another simple application that has many nuances.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When you notice someone fail, be honest and immediately talk to God about the violator saying something like, "Hey God, he shouldn't have done that, he should have been perfect." </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When you notice yourself fail, be honest and tell yourself something like, "Hey, that sin deserves death, good thing Jesus died the death you deserve and has taken all your condemnation." </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thank God often that He is good and and expects perfection from you and all other people. Thank Him that He gives the gift of righteousness to all who rest in Christ's work on the cross. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When you notice someone sin, thank God that the behavior is just a symptom and that the root problem is that the person has simply been distracted from perfect love.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thank God that He has poured out His love in your heart (Rom 5:5) and has made loving others to be simple--seeing them through the eyes of perfect love. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thank God for specific riches you have in Christ. Do this also for Christians who rub you the wrong way. </span></li>
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Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-63705389599187195302017-05-08T12:33:00.002-06:002018-04-12T14:37:37.110-06:00HAVE YOU BEEN TRICKED BY SATAN AWAY FROM THE SIMPLICITY AND PURITY OF CHRIST?<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"</i></b><b><i><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320;">But I
am afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320;">your minds
might be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity in Christ."</span></i></b><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320;"> -2 Corinthians 11:3</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #990000; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christianity
Is All About Christ</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The New Testament declares in various places and ways that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the revelation of the Father. This means that
we approach God properly by seeing Him in Jesus Christ. To bypass Jesus in
approaching God is to approach God in an unauthorized way—in a way that is not
good. It is the worship of a false God. Do you agree?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christianity then is simply the label for proper worship of
God, whatever that means. This label is rooted in the name and title of our
Lord. Jehovah is the name God declared for Himself for the first time to Moses
at the burning bush. Jehovah is good and is the creator and sustainer of life.
Jesus means Jehovah brings resolution. Christ is not Jesus' last name as I was
self-deceived to believe for much of my Christian life. Christ is Jesus'
title and means anointed one. What was he anointed for? In the gospel of Isaiah
we see that the theological meaning of Christ is: Jehovah is my righteousness.
Thus Jesus Christ as the revelation of God is full of meaning with His name and
title reflecting who God is.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">It should be natural then to see that the person, Jesus
Christ, is Christianity. When we declare with the apostles various statements
that they made, or quote Jesus as having made, we are declaring realities of
the universe; we are not merely using words. Words can and do have various and
shifting meanings. Words do not determine meaning. Words are simply identifiers
used to identify or tag objects. The words: present, gift, bribe, and reward
each signify or tag something different. Each of those different things is
real. And I suggest that we have been much tricked to drain the
meaning out of words. The statement that Jesus is the way, the truth and the
life is reality and not merely a doctrinal statement. Paul's statement
that Jesus is a person's holiness, righteousness, redemption, and wisdom from
God is a statement of reality not merely wishful thinking or sentimentality.
Peter's declaration that God commands complete holiness now with Jesus as the
standard of evaluation, is not flowery overly optimistic language, or a goad to
get Christians to work harder, but is reality. The question that I (you) need
to continually ponder is: what is the reality behind the words that I am using,
reading or hearing? Since I (and all of us) am easily tricked into shallow or
confused thinking, it is not good for me (all of us) to just assume that I or
others know what words mean. I see this as the center of the spiritual battle</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">heavenly wisdom versus worldly wisdom (James 3)</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;"> —</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">truth versus lies</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">spirit versus
flesh</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">real versus
counterfeit authority</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">perfect love
versus manageability</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">worship of
the true God versus idolatry</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">honoring
others versus dishonoring them. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the past few years the above scripture has moved to the
center of my thinking and theology as I have begun to scratch the surface in
understanding the reality behind the words we Christians use.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>"</i></b><b><i><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320;">But I
am afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320;">your minds
might be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity in Christ."</span></i></b><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320;"> -2 Corinthians 11:3</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #990000; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
is the simplicity and purity in Christ?</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Do
you agree with Paul's statement that what is in Christ is simple and pure? Do
you share Paul's great concern that Christians can be corrupted away from this
simplicity and purity? Is it possible that you may have been corrupted away
from this simplicity? This is true for me and is my constant spiritual battle.
Do you see this corruption to be about the mind or do you see it as about
something else such as behavior, commitment, or dedication? If it is simple and
pure, then it is possible to explain it as simple and pure. If I can't do it,
then the implication from this passage (assuming or trusting that the
passage is true) is that either God is confused or I am. I assume that I,
in my thinking, am always the problem. How would you explain this simplicity and
purity? Ponder it a moment. Here is my explanation:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
<b><i>Perfect love.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
This simple phrase is full of meaning which shines brightly in the person and
work of Jesus Christ. The words perfect and love are both full of meaning.
Jesus always saw the world through eyes of perfect love, which has two aspects.
1) Jesus always saw, thought, and spoke that which honored the reality that
only perfection is good. 2) Jesus always saw, thought, and spoke that which
honored His death on the cross as the only place where sin (violation of
goodness or rebellion against perfection) is taken care of.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
Do you see the simplicity of perfect love? Perfect love implies that:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1.
Imperfect righteousness is unrighteousness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2.
Imperfect holiness is unholiness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3.
Imperfect obedience is disobedience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4.
Love is a way of seeing (thinking, perceiving, reckoning) that honors
perfection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
God is and commands perfect love ALWAYS</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">no compromising of goodness. Do
you agree that God ALWAYS calls you: to ALWAYS love perfectly, to ALWAYS be
COMPLETELY holy, to perfect obedience, and to perfect righteousness? If you
don't, then by what authority do you compromise the reality that goodness is
perfection? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Opposite of
Simplicity and Purity</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
opposite or alternative to perfect love is not perfect hate, but rather
manageability. Manageability is the compromise of perfection. It declares that
God doesn't really mean perfection now</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">that goodness is about striving
not about success at being morally flawless. Manageability is the big lie of
Satan. It is THE counterfeit. It is the polluting and defiling thing that Jesus
and the apostles continually warned against and criticized. Manageability is
the leaven that defiles. It is the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. It is the log in
the eye that hinders one from seeing clearly the speck in one's brother's eye.
It is the flesh</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">human strength and wisdom at its
best</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">which bears such ugly fruit. It is
spiritual blindness. It is what causes stumbling. It is walking in the
darkness. It is hard-heartedness. It is what the prophet's called the people to
circumcise their hearts of. It is what defiles the flesh and spirit. It is
spiritual slavery. It is the wide gate and the broad road to
destruction. It is the rocky soil. It is the eight demons that made the Israel
of Jesus' day to be far worse than the Israel that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed. It
is worldliness, irreverence, and unrighteousness. It is quenching the Spirit.
It is the source of all counterfeit spirituality. It is the demonic or
worldly wisdom that James warns about. It is the object of all temptation. It
is the draw to honor human performance rather than God's goodness. It is
looking away from Christ. It is lawlessness</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">the dishonor of the law. It
is the heart of idolatry. It is a way of thinking that mocks God's goodness,
but God will not be mocked. Manageability cries out that since it is good
to do good, all people need to try to do good. And it is the only thing
that Jesus hated, and he hated it so passionately that He died to create a way
of life free from it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
Perfect love versus manageability is the titanic spiritual battle which we all
are part of every waking moment. The Holy Spirit always cries out for
perfect love and always points to the finished work of Christ. Manageability
always cries out "do what is right but don't be concerned about
perfection."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Application of
this Simplicity</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At
conversion every person receives the perfect love of Jesus. It is poured out in
the heart by the Holy Spirit (See Rom. 5:5). Have you ever wondered why this
love flows out of you and me so inconsistently? If perfect love is the
simplicity and purity in Christ, then the reason for this inconsistency is
simple. Here is a simple example.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
Think of the last time that you were impatient, irritated, or angry with a
Christian. While you were irritated, impatient, angry, etc., what were you
thinking about? Were you thinking that the person was dearly loved by God,
covered by the blood of Jesus, fully forgiven, and clothed in the righteousness
of Christ? No you weren't. Guaranteed. You were thinking about the
behavior or words that you reacted to. Why were you thinking that way? Now
let's say that later today you are praying for that same Christian
and thanking God that the person is fully forgiven, delighted in by God, covered
by the blood, and righteous in God's sight. Now let's say that while
you are thinking and praying this, that person sneaks up on you and does
that action that you reacted to previously. While you are thinking and praying
this way, will you have a bad reaction toward that person? I have asked this of
many dozen Christians over the years and all have said the same thing with
different intensities and varying humorous comments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
asked it recently of some BIOLA students who were on campus witnessing. One
woman laughed and said she often gets impatient with her friends. She spoke in
a way that indicated that her recent impatience was still vivid in her mind.
She said that in that moment she was not thinking of her friend's identity in
Christ but of her bothersome behavior. To the big question she responded as if
her mind was slowly opening to a new reality. At first she hesitatingly stated
that while she was praying this way she didn't think she would have a bad
reaction. This was obviously a new train of thought for her. She slowly gained
confidence, eventually smiling and declaring that seeing a person in their
identity in Christ would make bad reactions impossible for her</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">while
she was thinking that way. I have had this basic conversation many times</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">. And I have even had it many time with non-Christians. All have been
surprised about how considering or forgetting to consider the love of God so
consistently affects them. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
The critical question is this. Why did this Christian declare to me that it
would be impossible to have an impatient reaction while seeing a person through
identity in Christ? One dear Christian friend who has suffered much from long
term depression told me that it would be impossible for any Christian to have a
bad reaction while seeing the violator through identity in Christ. How does he
know this about you and every other Christian? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
The testimony of these Christians is what I see in the scriptures. 1) When you
see a person through eyes of perfect love</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">that perfection is required now
and that perfection is provided as a gift now and always in the death of Christ</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">while
and only while you are seeing that way</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">it is impossible for the works of
the flesh (bad reactions, evil, sin) to come out of your heart toward a person
who is mistreating you, even while you are being mistreated. Actually not only
do bad things not come out, but good things overflow naturally from your heart,
and in abundance. 2) All your sinful reactions are a result of you seeing life
through eyes of manageability. Point one is walking in the Spirit and point two
is walking in the flesh. It is that simple.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
The surprise in the Christian life is twofold: 1) that what is in Christ is
simple and pure, and 2) that we all are too weak to do anything except resist
the work of God in our hearts. His work is always perfect love and it is His
work not ours. We are called and commanded to maintain and grow in a razor
sharp vision of perfect love. The one and only way that you can resist perfect
love overflowing right now from your heart is to get distracted from a vision
of perfect love. That distraction is by definition manageability. It has a
multitude of forms.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If
you doubt my words that it is actually this simple, I suggest an
application for you. The next time you are irritated, impatient, or angry with
a person you think to be a Christian, ask yourself what you are thinking
about. Is it God's viewpoint of perfect love or some form of
manageable behavior? Try this experiment many times to confirm it to yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If
you are convinced that my words are true and you are discouraged at how easily
your get distracted from this vision of identity in perfect love, I would
suggest an application for you. Today begin thanking God for details of
your identity in Christ. Feel free to thank Him often for this. Then as other Christians come to mind, thank</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> God for some aspect
of their identity in Christ. Pray for the Christians by name. Especially
do this with the Christians who tend to rub you the wrong way. The
more you do this the faster your mind will be renewed. As you do this often,
you may be surprised at how quickly your mind runs to identity when you
see a Christian fail. This is not about minimizing </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">moral failure, it
is about maximizing it, about considering it God's way, through the eyes
of Christ</span><span style="background: rgb(253 , 254 , 255); color: #001320; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">that only His death resolves sin.
You may find yourself surprised that you actually like the other
Christians and are happy with them even while they are mistreating you. It
is not that you are dismissing their sin, but you are no longer playing judge.
In that moment, you are their advocate and are delighting in them because of
Christ's work and not their own good behavior.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: 12.0pt;">Summary</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God
calls all people to always to do what is good. Let's agree that this is perfect
love. This perfect love was poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit at
conversion (Romans 5:5). We are called to continuously set our hope totally on
the grace (perfect love commanded and provided) revealed in Jesus
Christ, (1Peter 1:13) and to be continually renewed to that new
simple vision of life (1Peter 1:14). We are called to goodness, to in every
waking moment have the mindset of perfect love. Having this mindset in the
moment makes behavior in the moment to be fitting and beautiful. This
simplicity is what holiness is. Thus the call to perfect holiness NOW in
all behavior is THE good, simple, easy, natural, beautiful-fruit-bearing call
to see (consider) life in the current moment through perfect love (1Peter 1:15). We
all live in the current moment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Let's be honest about our place in the universe. Let's be honest that we are
weak and our problem is that we are easily tricked into pretending that we are
strong. Let's be honest that only perfect love counts with God. Let's be honest
that Satan is a counterfeit Jesus. Let's be honest that it is easy to get
tricked away from seeing (considering) ourselves and all others through eyes
of perfect love. Do you want to see the simplicity and purity of Christ?
Wonderful. This is a good desire. Take the baby step in the
current moment of seeing through the eyes of perfect love yourself,
those you interact with, and those who come to mind. In the next moment do
the same. When you find you have been distracted, simply look back to perfect
love. That is the full resolution for your failure. It is so simple and
good that we ought to be always celebrating that simplicity and
goodness. </span>o</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">dness. </span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-14653102974766052432017-04-21T18:07:00.000-06:002017-05-26T10:57:05.329-06:00IS YOUR HOLINESS ABOUT YOU OR CHRIST?<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I spend much time meditating on questions to help me think more clearly about life. Here are a some to ponder on the topic of holiness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Is being a Christian about you or about God?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Who maintains your relationship with God: you or Christ?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Is it good to lower standards of obedience and goodness to some manageable level so as to feel good about yourself or others?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Did Jesus ever lower standards from perfection?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Is your holiness about you or about Christ?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-What does it mean that Jesus is your holiness? (1Cor 1:30)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-What makes a person holy?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-If holiness means to be different, then different from what?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hint: Mormons tell me that holiness is about trying not to sin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Is holiness a process? If so, then how do you do it</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-If holiness is a process, then why did Peter command complete holiness now? (1Peter 1:15)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Is holiness about behavior or about a way of seeing?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-If holiness is a way of seeing, then how does it work and how do you do it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My view is that holiness is a way of seeing just like love is a way of seeing. In my view I don't have to compromise any scriptures to make them fit with something manageable. Shepherding the heart versus shepherding behavior. As we begin to see what is at the root of the difference we begin to see that it is easy to be "deceived away from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2Cor 11:3) That simplicity is the root of all holiness and love, and so much more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-28686527707795079992016-10-21T12:11:00.000-06:002018-05-03T16:25:26.039-06:00WHAT IS YOUR SIN TOLERANCE? GOD'S IS ZERO.<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Noticing Human Failure</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you look at yourself, other people, or the world in general, how do you deal with the failure you observe? Do you get disappointed, depressed, impatient, frustrated, or even angry? What do you do with these reactions? Do you wish you could stop having them? Do you wish that the people would change so that your life wouldn't be so troubled? Have you ever tried to not care so that then you wouldn't feel so hurt?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's approach this situation from a different angle. We have all failed morally, and more times than we notice. Have you ever been surprised at your failure, wondering how you could possibly have done such a terrible thing, or done it again? Have you ever wished that you had tried harder so as to have avoided failure, or at least to have not failed so greatly? Have you ever found yourself surprised at the failures of others: your wife, your children, your friends, fellow saints, or even pastors? Why were you surprised?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God Notices Human Failure</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God is never surprised at your moral failings or mine. It is good for us to always love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And it is never good to compromise those standards. God always loves perfectly. Since He is responsible to resolve all issues in the moral world, He notices every violation of perfect love. Perfect love doesn't pretend sin away, but rather deals with it in a righteous way--always--and sends it away. Read about the first failing of our first parents and see if you can notice any surprise, impatience, frustration, or anger on God's part. It isn't there. Adam and Eve sinned and hid in fear from God. But God didn't hesitate to draw close to them. He went to them and spoke to them like a kind father to bless them with words of a promise of hope, even while explaining the curse resulting from their sin. Have you ever wondered why God did not seem bothered by their sin? I suggest that it is because God's goodness is full of surprises and that this is the biggest surprise.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All Sin Converges at the Cross</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All the sin committed from Adam to the cross was left unresolved by God in anticipation of the cross. God saw this from before the creation of the universe (1Peter 1:17-23) and desired to reveal His goodness in a glorious way. Read closely Paul's declaration in Romans 3:24-26 that God passed over ALL sin in order to reveal His righteousness at the proper time--at the cross. Notice that God both is righteous and makes righteous all who are persuaded that Christ's faithfulness is their only hope. David killing Goliath didn't reveal the seriousness of Goliath's mockery of God. The flood didn't reveal the seriousness of the world's sin. Sodom being consumed by fire from heaven didn't reveal the truth about their sin. Certainly these events hinted that sin was terrible, but only the cross reveals the seriousness of sin. The cross reveals that only the death of God Himself can overcome sin. Read Romans 1:32 in several translations and notice that God has written into the conscience of every person that every sin deserves death. Paul declared earlier in the chapter (verse 18) that we humans suppress that knowledge. Today we live in the light of the cross, looking to Christ as the one who 1) in His death and resurrection is our freedom, peace, and satisfaction in a broken world, and 2) in His future coming to bring physical recreation and make public to all His good judgment--that goodness is a seamless whole, that violation of it deserves death, that He gladly took the death all people deserve, that He offered as a gift life in goodness free from the pressure of personal performance, and that those who rejected His goodness will receive the full weight of His good judgment on their self-righteousness.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God is not Surprised at Human Failure</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notice the theme in the following three passages from Isaiah. "Lord, you will establish peace for us, since you have also performed for us all our work." -26:12 "The Lord is well-pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the law and make it glorious." -42:21 "By his knowledge my righteous servant will make many righteous, for he will bear away their transgressions." -53:11 Here it is again 100 years later in Jeremiah 31:14: "'I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,' declares the Lord." God is not surprised at human failure because He delights to be the provider of all we need. He has made His goodness to be our satisfaction. If God thinks this way how could He possibly be disappointed or surprised by human failure?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your Surprise at Human Failure</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your surprise at human moral failing results from only one thing: not viewing the world in a good way--through perfect love--through the goodness of God being the satisfaction for His people. If you are a Christian, then God has declared for all time that His goodness is your satisfaction. Do you see how all encompassing that is? When you fail and get upset at your failure, you have two problems. When you see a fellow saint fail and you get upset about it, you simply have more of those same two problems. If you see a non-Christian fail and you get upset about it, you have those same two problems nuanced from a different angle. Here are the two problems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Both problems are related to forgetfulness. First, God is not a God of second chances. Rather, He is the God of one chance and a new creation. If you had a zero tolerance for sin like God does, and you never forgot this principle, then you would never get upset with anyone who sins, no matter how great the violation. You may wonder at this point, "Then why is God's anger mentioned so often in the Old Testament?" I plan to write on this topic, but for now would suggest two teaser questions. In my observation the first mention of God's anger or wrath is toward Moses at the burning bush--2500+ years after Adam. I suggest that there is a surprise in the larger context that helps answer the first question: Why was God angry at Moses? I suggest that there is one event during Moses lifetime that precipitates the regular expression of God's anger that continues all the way through Jesus' preaching. What is that event? Notice the expressions of anger and work backwards in context to the point at which they disappear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back to forgetfulness. it is a big deal--far bigger that we tend to think. Again, if you are a Christian, then God's goodness is your satisfaction. The only reason that you would not have an active experience of this satisfaction is because of your forgetfulness. You entered into the beauty of that satisfaction at conversion and have been called to grow in the understanding of it and remembrance of it. When you observe sin in self or others, the pressure is on to forget or get distracted from that true satisfaction. Certainly it is wrong for any person to do evil. But there is no satisfaction from God's view in a person stopping or not doing a specific evil action. The alternative to doing one evil action isn't doing that one thing right, rather it is doing all things right--perfectly right. Learning and remembering this is the spiritual battle. You get upset at sin because you forget that God has a zero tolerance for sin, and you forget that the goodness of God is your satisfaction, the satisfaction of all other saints, and the only hope for satisfaction for all non-Christians. The world preaches a counterfeit satisfaction, but God never honors that pretense. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Surprise of Grace</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is the opposite of grace? Is it some form of unkindness, meanness, or harshness? I suggest that the surprising and simple opposite of grace is law. The world sees grace as some form of niceness, kindness, or a second chance to be a better person. But heaven sees grace as total freedom from law--the obligation to do what is right. Even more surprising is the realization that to live in grace does not mean living free from performance, but rather living in the performance of Christ free from the pressure of personal performance. Living in grace is not living in a vacuum of no performance. That would be like buying a pet fish and laying it on the counter. A person rather puts the fish in a fish bowl full of water. A Christian is designed to swim and thrive in the performance of Christ. The performance of Christ is simultaneously a zero tolerance for sin and a full satisfaction in the goodness of God. Therefore, while you are mindful that you live in the performance of Christ, out of you flows a zero tolerance for sin and full satisfaction in the goodness of God--no matter how much people around fail. Mindfulness is the issue. When your mind is in the right place then your behavior and attitude will be in the right place. Practice setting your mind in the right place--on the performance of Christ in both of its aspects--and realize that your temptation is always to be distracted from that vision, and you might find yourself enjoying other people while they fail--even while they are mistreating you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Goodness includes both zero tolerance for sin and full satisfaction in the goodness of God. If we Christians embraced God's vision we might just be the happiest people on the planet.</b></span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-74735155541247154702016-10-01T17:40:00.001-06:002017-08-18T21:39:00.911-06:00HYPOCRISY IS A BAD CHOICE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Discussion of Hypocrisy Builds Relationships</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hypocrisy is a common and humorous topic of conversation with students who stop by to talk or listen at the free book at USU. Our white board sayings seek to stir conversations and get people to laugh at themselves and think more deeply about life. Hypocrisy is a common criticism expressed to me about religious people or churches. It isn't the biggest complaint. Far and away the most common criticism I hear is judgmentalism. Both are hot topics and both easily and naturally lead into conversation of law and gospel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students are generally very aware that hypocrisy is a bad thing and that it is a big problem in other people. We have an intuitive sense that it is bad, but in not thinking carefully about what causes it, we are rather insensitive to it in ourselves. When is the last time you thought or said something like, "Whoa, that was rather hypocritical of me."? Likely you have thought or said this about someone else, why not about yourself? Truth is truth, isn't it? This is common human experience and a good point for us Christians to identify with others and learn to laugh together at ourselves for our prideful reactions. Is it possible to escape these reactions? Does one even want to escape? The way of escape surprises those I discuss it with.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is Hypocrisy?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What exactly is hypocrisy? It isn't simply doing something wrong. A person can do all sorts of evil and not be a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is not a way of acting but rather a way of thinking. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I think of myself as a failure, hypocrisy isn't in the picture.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> But w</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hen I think that I am succeeding at doing what is good--what ever that means--then I open myself up to the possibility of being a hypocrite. Have I actually done what is good or have I lowered the standard so as to honor my performance and protect my reputation? In 1978 when in college, a Christian shared the gospel clearly with me. He told me that forgiveness was a free gift paid for by the death of Jesus. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I revolted at the idea of forgiveness as a gift.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I, an agnostic, told him in no uncertain terms that a person had to be good to get forgiveness, and "if I wasn't good enough then the line behind me was really long." I had been trusting that if there was a god, then I had succeeded at being good enough to merit his forgiveness. How did I know that I was good enough? My pride kept me from hearing my conscience and made me oblivious to my hypocrisy</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. My self-deception was multifaceted that day. Likely you recognize several aspects of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The word hypocrisy comes from the world of Greek theater and means play acting. This is fitting but ironic since in theater, play actors know that they are pretending to be something they are not, while in real life a hypocrite has fooled himself--and often only himself--into thinking that he is something he is not. We all know that we should be and do what is morally good. A hypocrite thinks he is succeeding when he isn't. The only reason he could possibly think he is succeeding is by deceiving himself--maybe with the help of others--into cheapening the standards of his conscience and of truth. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Practical Conversation</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the last 20 years I have asked thousands of people, "Are you a good person?" Nearly all have said yes and many have expressed being confident of their answer. Such confidence is an open door to conversation. I generally follow up by casually asking </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">how they have come to their conclusion. Nearly always people have calmly said that they simply compared themselves to other people. One woman said that she was good compared to everyone else. At this point I generally dryly ask what would happen if they were to compare themselves to Jesus. Suddenly people stop smiling and sheepishly declare that they would not be good. I have no memory of ever comparing myself to Jesus before that fateful conversation in 1978. When I have asked these people if they had ever previously compared themselves to Jesus, all or nearly all have said that they had never done so. Hmm... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was surprised a week ago when an agnostic, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">former-Mormon,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> student friend stopped by the free book table, read the whiteboard pictured above, and said that in the Mormon Missionary handbook, Preach My Gospel, is a statement that one should always compare oneself to Jesus and not to other people because the latter leads to competition. This seemed odd as I had no memory of a Mormon missionary, an active Mormon, or any other Mormon ever mentioning this except in response to my question. But this week two returned missionaries affirmed what this friend said when I asked about it. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why don't they follow their own handbook or volunteer this information? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lately I have intensified discussion at this point by asking people if they have ever been looked down on by others. All have said they have and then added that such wasn't good and they didn't like it. The conversations really open at this point about hypocrisy as I ask them how it is that they don't like others doing it to them but they freely do it to others. They say that it doesn't bother them to do it to others because it helps them feel good about themselves. They seem surprised by this contradiction and by having not noticed it before. I often ask if they like being</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> hypocritical, suggest that it isn't difficult to escape hypocrisy, and quote my agnostic philosophy student friend who said, "If you judge by perfection it is impossible to be a hypocrite." This simple insight surprises people and they freely admit that by that standard everyone is a failure--we are all equal. I suggest to them that Jesus came to show us what perfect love looks like, that we should always compare ourselves and everyone else to Him, and that doing so will keep us from being prideful, hypocritical, or judgmental. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No one has fought when I have encouraged them to think this way. A few atheists who said that they didn't believe in Jesus, did agree that they should compare themselves to the voice of their own conscience which tells them to always do good. This has achieved the same end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a wonderful lead in to the gospel of our compassionate creator God coming into a broken world marked of pride, hypocrisy, and judgmentalism, to honor goodness and die the death that all people deserve, to provide reconciliation, in order to call all people out of the darkness of self-righteousness under the condemnation of God's goodness and into the light and celebration of the gift of righteousness--a new identity in grace, free to love motivated by a vision of perfect love received, free from the pressure and pollution of obligation.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Freedom From Hypocrisy Heals Community</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To reveal the practical value of judging by perfection I often inject into the above conversation what a North African Muslim student told me, "If all Muslims judged by perfection all wars would stop immediately because all would realize that they all are failures together in the same boat. And this would be true for other people also." The implications of this should be obvious. A community free from competition and pride, free from seeking to find hope in personal performance, free to see perfection as the only good way of life, free to love and bless as much as desired without the pressure of manageable standards--such a community would be beautiful to watch grow and mature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The above agnostic philosophy student, who is from a Mormon background, said to me on another occasion something like, "Mormons think that they are a light on a hill. They seek to keep their standards, preach their standards, and invite others to join them. And they are all a bunch of hypocrites." I agreed and suggested that such was true of most other religious people, too. He smiled in surprise. I then asked him what would happen if a group of religious people thought they were a light on a hill and preached perfection as the only standard. He said that they couldn't possibly be hypocrites, but would have to find another way to live because they couldn't live by that standard. The Christian with me then explained to this friend how grace is that way of life. Christian grace is not about living free from performance. The beautiful surprise is that grace means living in the performance of Christ every second every day--free from the pressure of my own performance.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Choice That Excludes Hypocrisy</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All people live life moment by moment with a mind set either on perfection or some manageable set of performance standards. God calls all people to honor His perfection by resting in Christ's finished work as the necessary and sufficient thing to fulfill all goodness. The first time a person does this is called conversion. Life doesn't end at this point, but actually just begins as the person is now alive from the dead morally (spiritually). God calls every saint to maintain that same mindset every moment every day in interaction with every person--while changing a diaper, watching a sporting event, eating breakfast, changing a tire, singing at church, or helping the poor. It is not a special thing to do in life but a way to thinking while doing all things--one moment at a time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you read the Bible notice how often it calls the reader to completeness, fullness or perfection (ex: Deuteronomy 4:1-10, 6:25, 8:1; Matthew 5:48, 7:12, 22:40; Col. 1:9-12, 3:8, 4:5-6; James 1: 25, 2:10) "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, keeping sober, fix you hope COMPLETELY on the grace brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ...but like the One who called you is holy, be holy in ALL your conduct." -1Peter 1:13,15 This language of completeness is either an exaggeration or a real expectation on God's part. I am persuaded that God means perfection and that it is rationally impossible to obey this by focusing on behavior. Is it really possible for me to notice all aspects of my behavior simultaneously, or to think that I am noticing them honestly? But it is possible and simple to set my mind right now on perfection as the standard. One friend said recently that when the mind is in the right place then the behavior is in the right place. Could it really be this simple: that</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> behavior flows out of mindset? It is important to realize that this contrast is not between wanting to do what is right versus wanting to do what is wrong. The contrast is between thinking that perfection is required versus thinking that some level of imperfect or manageable obedience is satisfactory.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God calls you right now to make the choice that excludes hypocrisy. While you are obeying that call, hypocrisy is excluded from your life. The apostle Peter declares that hypocrisy was excluded in conversion and that a person should keep it excluded while growing as a Christian. "Therefore having put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes crave the pure milk of the word that you may grow in respect to salvation." -1Peter 2:1-2 The apostle calls us to grow in grace by craving the pure (without deceit, unadulterated) milk of the word. I am persuaded that the pure word is adulterated by the addition of manageable standards. Let's heed the call to see ourselves and all others through the eyes of perfect love in the present moment. When we lose focus the call is simply to look again to Him who is perfect love and has freed us to love with all His energy.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Therefore hypocrisy is always the fruit of a bad choice--the choice to mentally dishonor perfect love by cheapening standards to some form of manageability. Since a mind</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> set on perfection (perfect love, perfect law) excludes hypocrisy automatically, how could it be otherwise?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which will you choose?</span></b></div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-62089543127316721492016-08-19T13:32:00.001-06:002020-07-21T18:08:05.692-06:00A LIE ABOUT GRACE: SIN DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4drps" data-offset-key="bv8lg-0-0" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Lie: Grace Means That Sin Doesn't Matter Anymore</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-weight: normal;">Have you ever heard the accusation something like, "So you are telling me that because of grace sin doesn't matter anymore?" I hear this commonly when witnessing in my openly religious culture. What is interesting is that I have heard it many times from true Christians. Why would a Christian say this? I suggest that Satan is real. He continually slanders
God's character, seeking to get people (like me) to swallow his slander. Once I swallow it, I become confused. I then easily and unwittingly speak that confusion about God to others. I suggest that we Christians do this far more than we admit. The above lie is simply the fruit of a much bigger lie. That lie concerns the meaning of the word grace. God is full of grace. My religious culture declares this but then quickly adds two restrictions: (1) but you can't
just do what you want, and (2) it is important to realize that God doesn't require a person to be flawless now. What is meant by these two limitations on grace is that God's grace doesn't actually free a person from the authority of the law [the obligation to keep it], and that God is lenient and the giver of many chances for a person to become a law keeper by personal righteousness. This attitude surrounds me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Leniency is the lowering of standards. It keeps the possibility of success still within reach. Expectations remain manageable and control remains in human hands. Motivation to do good retains an aspect of pressure to perform—the obligation of some form of law. And some kind of judgment still hangs in the air in case of failure—even just the possibility that God will be displeased with you as a person. My jail bird friends never want grace from the
judge; they want leniency. They don't want the judge to be fully honest about their failings and what their failings deserve. They want the judge to cut them some slack, to lessen the seriousness of their wrongs, and minimize their punishment—five months of probation instead of five years in prison. They don't really like probation as it isn't freedom, but they do prefer it to prison. Satan and human religion both preach leniency. They hate true grace and so counterfeit it with leniency which results in manageability. So, what is true grace?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Foundational Truth: Grace Always Honors Perfect Love</span><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">God is love. To declare this doesn't mean that God compromises His standards of flawlessness in order to honor the prideful human desire to find hope in human performance. God is perfect love and "is well pleased for His righteousness sake to exalt the law and make it glorious." (Isaiah 42:21) God thinks in terms of goodness, which includes flawless law and perfect love. He can compromise neither. Earthly judges may compromise, but God cannot. He always thinks and acts in a way that honors the perfection of both law and love. To compromise perfect love is not grace but rather leniency. In the Old Testament this is called idolatry and spiritual prostitution. God is not an idol. He is
not a prostitute. From the beginning people have perverted their understanding of God's goodness and sought to relate to Him as if He were an idol or a spiritual prostitute. They sought to manage their relationship with Him by cheapening standards. Freedom with God comes with seeing perfect love clearly. This includes seeing that both grace and sin are unmanageable and out of our control.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Honesty About Grace</span><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-weight: normal;">Grace always says several things. First, that only perfect love counts with God. Second, that sin is so serious that no human can manage it. Third, that Jesus is the only good sin manager and He managed it fully at the cross. And fourth, that a vision of perfect love is a more than sufficient motivation to good works. I suggest that if you are seeing grace as a
relationship of total freedom from merit because of the work of Christ, then you will also speak these things. Since Jesus declared that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, we can trust that what comes out of any of us flows from the set of our heart in the moment. Sinful words or behavior as well as words of leniency overflow from a heart distracted from true grace.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Grace in Practice: An Example</span><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Let's say that you sin against me and that I notice it. Let's now add to the mix that in the moment you mistreat me I happen to be meditating on grace as explained above. It is also important to assume that in that moment I don't get distracted from grace by the voice of the world (James 1:14, 25). What will be my reaction when my mind is on true grace? I suggest that my response will be quick and multi-faceted. I will notice your specific failure and that you didn't love perfectly. I will notice it with compassion rather than self-protectiveness, being aware that I am also a failure who doesn't love perfectly. I will be at peace realizing that Christ has taken care of your sin fully at the cross. In not having a plank in my eye (Matthew 7:1ff), I will be able to see clearly to help you with the speck in your eye. I will know that the speck is forgetfulness of perfect love (required and given freely by Christ).
Any words that I speak will gently point you back to perfect love revealed in the finished work of Christ. You may embrace those words or resist them. My role is to see you as a brother and not lose focus myself, remembering together grace, with the goal of restoring your vision—as long as it takes. Restoration to a vision of grace (perfect love and flawless law revealed in the finished work of Christ) will bear the fruit of the Spirit and free flowing admissions of failure.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Seeing Past a False Impression of Grace</span><span style="color: #1d2129;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometimes a Christian can give the impression that since grace is true, sin doesn't matter anymore. But this is a false impression. Here is the cause. The world is all about being the sin manager for self and all others. Some people are simply more lenient than others at their scorekeeping and don't appear to be keeping score, but they are. A vision of perfect love
takes the scorecard out of human hands. For some saints it is a huge relief—a real burden lifted—to be free from being the sin manager of self and others. Sometimes their expressions of grace flow from that sense of relief and they want to communicate that sense of relief not realizing that their words can be misunderstood by hearers who don't yet appreciate that grace includes the understanding that nothing but perfect love is acceptable to God. Such a hearer can get the false impression that the person is saying that sin is no big deal, all the while the speaker is actually thinking (1) that sin is such a big deal
that only Christ can handle it, (2) that He handled it completely at the cross and doesn't need our help, (3) that only flawless obedience counts with God, and (4) it is wonderful freedom to not need to pressure self and others to try to stop sinning. The speaker may also be thinking that sin is caused by being distracted from grace. The speaker is feeling such relief at number 4 that that may be all that is mentioned. The speaker has rightly maximized sin, but the hearer may judge wrongly that the speaker is minimizing sin—being lenient. In
drawing this conclusion, the hearer is being lenient himself, because if he had maximized sin by thinking perfect love, he would have realized the first three points and gladly requested clarification rather than jumping to conclusions. We all fumble with words at times. Let's give others the benefit of the doubt and learn to ask clarifying questions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Responsibility to Communicate Grace Clearly</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">Grace is glorious. Grace is powerfully motivational. The adversary is real and actively seeking to confuse and obfuscate the message of perfect love. We Christians need to take our responsibility as God's ambassadors of reconciliation seriously and learn to express the nuances of grace for the benefit of our hearers. They can't hear our thoughts, but only
our words. Communication of grace is a spiritual battle unlike a chemistry lecture. In realizing this, I plan to be alert to seek to always preface my explanations of grace with some form of the following words to reduce potential conflict and the slide into leniency.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #385623;">Grace always declares that sin matters uncompromisingly to God, that He
has a zero tolerance for sin, that only perfect love counts with Him, and
therefore total freedom from the pressure of merit is the only good way to have
a relationship with God. This freedom was provided by the finished work of
Christ. </span><o:p></o:p></span></h4>
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Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-39064328146060491752016-07-18T12:00:00.000-06:002017-08-18T21:44:53.060-06:00SIN NO MORE: THE SURPRISING PROMISE OF MERITED FORGIVENESS<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Context </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Gospel of John opens with a prologue that teases at what John is going to reveal about the ministry of Jesus. That prologue hints at some big surprises, one of which is the declaration in verse 17, "</span><span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">" This reveals a clear contrast between Moses and Christ--Moses was a law giver but Christ a grace giver. If you read </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the Gospel of John closely looking for commands by Jesus, you will notice that only a very few--maybe just three--sound like Moses giving law. But why those three if Jesus is no law giver at all as Martin Luther declared boldly in his commentary on Galatians 2:20? How could there be even one if Jesus is truly not a law giver? Two of those three bothered me <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">for 30+ years as I sought vainly to understand what Jesus meant by His words.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> These two are Jesus' identical words to the man He had earlier healed by the pool of Siloam (John 5) and to the woman caught in adultery (John 8).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those two people were marginalized by their society. The man had lain in his sickness unable to walk for 38 years. The woman had been caught in adultery. They likely hadn't participated much in religious life at the temple. They were clearly not part of the religious establishment which Jesus was in continuous conflict with as portrayed by John. Jesus often criticized that establishment for compromising the perfection of the law. Let's keep that in mind as we untangle the story about the man.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Man at the Pool of Siloam</span></h4>
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As Jesus passed by the Pool of Siloam, he saw the man lying there and asked if he desired to be healed. What an obvious question! Of course the man wanted to be healed. He wanted it so much that all he could do was to pour out to Jesus his frustration about what he saw to be the real problem. His great longing for healing had always been thwarted by a lack of help. No one had ever been available to help him into the pool when the time of healing had arrived. Another person had always gotten the healing before he could grab it. Did Jesus criticize him for his lack of joy at the healing of others? No. Jesus simply pointed him away from his traditional hope of healing in the pool and toward Jesus' own authority to heal. He commanded the man to get up, pick up his mat, and walk. The man was immediately healed and obeyed Jesus fully. The religious leaders saw the man and pointed him to their version of the law, telling him that to carry his mat on the Sabbath was against the law. He replied simply that the man who had healed him had told him both to walk and to carry his mat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But later in that day, Jesus found the man in the temple area, commanded him to pay attention to his physical healing, and gave the Moses-like command, "<b>sin no more</b>, lest something worse happen to you." Why did Jesus command that? In the Greek there is no wiggle room, as I could find no textual variant to explain it away. Since the phrase is in the imperative form and singular tense, it implies that Jesus really did command this one man to sin no more; it wasn't just a suggestion and it wasn't stated to the onlookers. What do we do with that? Check a commentary. Don't be surprised to read that the man's illness was caused by a specific sin, and that Jesus was informing the man that God was very serious about the man stopping that one sin. If the man didn't stop that one sin then God would bring a worse circumstance into his life to get him to take that sin seriously. If the standard of not sinning is perfection in thought, word, and deed, then how could Jesus have really tied the man's freedom from judgment to his perfection on one point of stopping sin? In my Mormon culture such commands are freely and frequently given with the purpose to get the hearer to try harder to do what is right and not sin. Perfection is never the expectation. Trying, not doing, is the standard. Does God really judge by the standard of trying as my religious culture teaches? Also, Jesus and James seem to give little room for performance with God to be isolated into individual topics. "He who keeps the whole law and stumbles in one point is guilty of all." -James 2:10</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Discovering My Biases</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some commentators indicate that Jesus was telling the man that there was something far worse than his serious physical illness had ever been, and that that worse thing was to be cast out by God on judgment day. Certainly it is true that hell is worse than any physical suffering. And certainly it is true that the healed man should attend to that matter. If this view is true how does it connect to the text? It is rather easy to read general truth into any text. It is also easy to look back in time and criticize others for not seeing what we see, not realizing that we all are at least somewhat a product of our culture. Sometimes such criticism is valid, but I suggest that sometimes it prideful. In the last several years I have been realizing more and more how faulty and biased my own reading of the Bible has been as a result of not noticing significant aspects of context or my cultural bias. My mind is riddled with faulty thinking and I wish to remedy that situation as much as possible with honesty, rapidity, and help from all others.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am now in an intense process of discovery seeking to notice and untangle my own false biases. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If Jesus knew exactly what He was talking about--and I suggest that He always knew exactly what He was talking about, was never confused, always chose His words carefully, and that the Spirit and apostles communicated them all clearly--then Jesus was communicating something for the man to understand. What in the context helps us discover Jesus' intended meaning? Probably all readers would agree that this is a true story of Jesus speaking to a real man. That man certainly neither spoke English nor was Chinese in culture. We all would agree with this, and so why do I mention such trivialities? Until recently I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">unwittingly</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> had been reading this story, and likely many others, in a way that gave insufficient value to context and was in some fashion blaming God for not communicating clearly. The difference is that now I realize that my lack of clarity is all my fault and so am scouring context for clues to get past my confusion. In this story my lack of context is revealed by something that bothered me for years. I wondered that since it is undeniable that the man had already sinned in his life before meeting Jesus, and if he obeyed Jesus and never sinned again, he would still have to deal with his past sins. Jesus' words seemed to me to imply that the man's past sins would be overlooked if he stopped sinning. I had zero confidence the man could do what Jesus commanded, but if he had been able to succeed, how could his past sins be overlooked? Do you see my confusion? Do you see what I missed?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Promise Embedded in The Context</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My problem is sometimes a lack of seeing a single point clearly, but more commonly I would guess that now my problem is primarily that I have unwittingly connected the dots in an artificial way, different from the author's intent, and thus am hindered in my understanding. I need to erase my connections and look for the connections that the context makes. Here </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">are some simple points (dots) of context. Notice your own connections. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jesus healed the sick man in Jerusalem. It seems safe to assume that the man was Jewish. This healing took place before the crucifixion and therefore this Jewish man was under the Old Covenant and not under the New Covenant. This means that the man was not living under the covenant of grace but rather under the covenant of law with its promises of blessing based on obedience to law and cursing based on disobedience to the law. How do you think the man was doing in his obedience so far in life? I suggest that one of my big errors was to read the words of Jesus as if they applied equally in all time and were not rooted in the context of Israel under law and in anticipation of the death of the Messiah that would soon free Israel from law by giving Israel a new covenant of grace at Pentecost. This all was still in the future at the time of this healing. Jesus hadn't died yet, and in the Gospel of John Jesus doesn't speak of His death until chapter six (See Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22). If Jesus hadn't yet mentioned his coming death, what was He expecting the man to trust as he sought to stop sinning?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A significant point in my lack of understanding context related to Jesus as the Good Shepherd. A shepherd's job is to watch over the sheep and lead them to fresh pastures. But what is that image meant to tell us about Jesus? Jesus was sent by God to be the Good Shepherd. He said that He was sent exclusively to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). He came to the lost sheep of Israel who were grazing in the field of the Old Covenant. They were well contented with that pasture and its religious system of obedience to law and religious duties as the way to be right with God. The temple worship was elaborate and was the center of that confidence. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He came to His own to win their trust. His desire was that once He had won their trust, He would lead them from the old pasture to a fresh pasture of the New Covenant--leading them from law to grace. When He arrived the crowds thronged to Him as He healed their sick and cast out demons, and as He taught about the goodness of the law in its true honor in perfection. The leaders refused from the beginning to believe in Him, and murderous thoughts took root in their hearts. But the crowds grew and grew. And He even persuaded many of the leaders to join the crowd of His followers, at least secretly. Then one day He surprised everyone and began to speak about both His death at the hands of the leaders and of that death somehow being a source of life for those who followed Him. The beloved teacher suddenly lost His hearing. Peter rebuked Him. The crowds left Him. People still flocked to Him for healing and compassion, but they fell away from believing Him because his new message of His death for sinners was distasteful. Likely they wondered: "Why would He talk like that as the temple was the right way to deal with sin?" Jesus sought to break their confidence in their religious system of righteousness based on law keeping, but they resisted with all their might. So Jesus went alone to the new pasture--though He wasn't really alone for the Father was with Him (John 16:32), leading His lamb to the place of sacrifice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Merited Forgiveness</b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After clearing my head a little in the Good Shepherd image and the related parable of the soils, I was vainly pondering one day the story of the man at the pool, when a question came to mind. Could these images help resolve the meaning of the command to sin no more? I turned to meditation on Jesus seeking to break the Jews' self-righteous pride so as to lead them from the law to grace, and wondered if a connection might be found in the Old Testament to Jesus' words. It wasn't long before the confusing words of Ezekiel 18 came to mind, as they were similar and familiar. That passage had not made sense to me because I thought it basically declared that any unrighteous person who stops sinning would be forgiven for all past sins. Again, this puzzled me. How can a person's past sins be forgiven just because that person stops sinning? Suddenly I realized that it said that an unrighteous Israelite who stopped sinning had the promise of complete forgiveness. This wasn't a promise to everyone, but rather only to Israelites under law. Suddenly it made sense. For six centuries the Israelites had pretended that they were lawkeepers and so when Ezekiel gave this new promise, the Israelites complained and declared that God's way was not right. I suggest that they were thinking like my Mormon culture which rejects the idea of perfect obedience and says that trying is what God should find acceptable. Read the chapter closely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why did Ezekiel give this promise? In Deuteronomy 5:22-29 is the record of the Israelites at Mount Sinai begging Moses to go to up to God and bring down a list of God's demands. They told Moses to give God their promise that they would hear and do all He required. They wanted this arrangement of law so as to not be destroyed by God's judgment. They sought to flee into merited favor to protect themselves from God's judgment. Bad move. Read the history of Israel before Mount Sinai and notice that it seems that Israel had a relationship with God free from law, where their repeated complaints against God and Moses never resulted in criticism, anger, or judgment from God. Only after they begged for law did judgment fall when they complained or disobeyed. Check it out. I was skeptical when I first heard this and checked it out to disprove it, but couldn't. The Old Testament is the record of 1) Israel pretending that they were keeping the law and 2) God sending the prophets to tell them that they weren't. They hated the prophets' message and killed them. They did admit their ancestors were lawbreakers but wouldn't admit their own lawbreaking. Pride blinded them. God had compassion on them and wanted them to realize that only perfect love is good and that they should honor that standard. Ezekiel's promise clarified Moses' words in Deuteronomy 8:1-3 that life could come by law--clarifying that perfect obedience was the key. This revealed that Israel hated perfect love.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Surprise</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For many centuries the leaders of Israel--the false shepherds--had adulterated the law teaching it in various manageable forms. J</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">esus was born under law and grew up to be </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the all-time master teacher of the Mosaic Law.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> He came not to deny the law but to establish the full honor of it as a reflection of God's character. He did this not only by dying the death all sinners deserve, but also by speaking about it in an honorable way--in its wholeness and perfection. The law was designed to drive every Israelite to a vision of ruin and helplessness before God, exemplified in Isaiah's experience in Isaiah 6. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The leaders of Israel--the false shepherds--had stolen God's honor from the people. They became optimistic about their lawkeeping rather than pessimistic with a sense of spiritual ruin. It was Jesus' delight to restore God's honor, to let the perfection of the law do its work in the heart, that He might welcome them into the celebration of God's delight in goodness, truth, righteousness, and perfect love. God called Ezekiel the son of man 91 times and restrained Ezekiel from speaking anything but His words to the people. But the true Son of Man needed no restraint as His heart was full of the pleasure of the Father. He overflowed with compassion toward the lost sheep of Israel with healing and feeding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But His real passion was to win the hearts of the people back to the Father, back to perfect love as a true reflection of God, as perfect love as the only good way to see and live life. And so He spoke to the healed man the promise of Ezekiel that to be righteous before God and not accountable for past sins, an Israelite must stop all sins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What did Jesus expect the man's response to be? If the man took Jesus at His word, he would have had to change his mind, to resist the cultural pressure to manageable standards of law, and embrace that only perfect obedience would please God. Such a thought would have brought him to his knees seeing himself as a spiritual beggar--spiritually ruined--and would have prepared him for Isaiah's experience. I suggest that Jesus spoke with a smile His words--the command of the law--to the healed man, "Go and sin no more lest something worse happen to you." I commonly say similar things with a smile to Mormons. When they catch that I really mean that God requires flawless perfection, they stop smiling and cry out something like, "If you really have to be perfect then you might as well give up." I then smile big and tell them that that is the point--that the door into a right relationship with God is perfect love--either you do it all or Jesus does it all for you and you rest in His finished work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>This is the message that I suggest Jesus meant for the healed Israelite man to get--the surprise of spiritual ruin through the mindset that only perfect obedience counts with God and that God Himself will provide a lamb. Glad welcome with God results from such a realization. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is application in this beautiful story, but we need to read it as if we are looking in a window into a world before Jesus' first mention of His coming death--into the world of Israel under law.</span></div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-65544129052865591722016-07-15T13:21:00.000-06:002018-05-03T16:29:20.050-06:00WHO IS YOUR SIN MANAGER?<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God has a zero tolerance for sin. Every nuance of every violation of perfect love is seen by Him. If He turns a blind eye to it and has no reaction against it then He is not good. What is His reaction? "He passed over all sin to demonstrate His righteousness at the cross." (Romans 3:25f) This applies to Goliath, who mocked God and was killed by David, and to the people of Israel who died by snake bite for complaining against God. This verse reveals that the physical judgments on these people didn't really show how serious God was about sin. And this applies to all your sins and to all the sins of all those who mistreat you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the positive side we can say that God is perfect love and thus loves perfectly. He also requires continuous perfect love of all people, because that is what is good. How do you think I am doing? How are you doing? How are those who rub you the wrong way doing? We try to manager our own and each other's sins by the pressure of correction, criticism, reminders of failure, threats of various kinds, expressed displeasure, and more. Isn't improvement what we long to see? What does God desire to see? Perfect love.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I suggest that seeking to be my own sin manager results in self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and judgmentalism. And do you really appreciate me acting like I am your sin manager? If not, then why do you seek to be the sin manager for others? The way of freedom is not to pretend to not notice sin, but rather to point self and all others to what what God sees: perfect love required and offered as a gift in Christ. Wouldn't it be a relief when you fail, to have a friend to remind you of what Christ did for you on the cross? Then you could freely admit failure without a sense of condemnation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also suggest that the first step in helping others deal honestly with their failures is to admit that what we really want is for them to stop bothering us. A good second step might be a prayer of thankfulness that Jesus at the cross managed all sin and that it is a done deal for that person. Then the third step will naturally follow: to gladly point the other person to the finished work of Christ and the standard of perfect love. It might surprise us how quickly others will admit failure and the need to change in light of gazing upon their identity in perfect love.</span></div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-34088365028517180742016-06-11T15:55:00.001-06:002017-05-25T18:07:34.577-06:00THE KEY TO EVERYTHING by Norman Grub<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Book Recommendation</span></h4>
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<span style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>"Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it."</b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 1.38;">-George Bernard Shaw, atheist British playwright</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The world and the devil seek to persuade us that Christianity is all about activity--being a good person by keeping the rules of life and by enforcing those rules on other people. When we buy that lie we bear ugly fruit, as indicated by the sarcasm of the famous atheist above. But Christianity is the life of God coming down from heaven and manifesting itself in the death and resurrection of Jesus</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 1.38;"> the Messiah. That life then was poured out into this world at Pentecost, filling God's people who had embraced the way of unmerited favor. Once in the way, we Christians can easily get distracted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2Cor 11:3). </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 1.38;">Christianity is simply the life of Christ overflowing from saints (those in Christ) as they fix their vision on Christ, the source of perfect love. This overflow creates community--a beautiful community of the love (righteousness and compassion) of Christ. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 1.38;">The Key to Everything by Norman Grubb, is about this topic and points out hindrances to recognize. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.32px;">We are all born gripped with the conceit of self and need to learn to see past that conceit to Christ our life.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.32px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 1.38;"> I read this short, simple, and practical book twenty years ago to my great blessing and then gave away 100+ copies. In re-reading it recently I found the blessing to be even more invigorating and refreshing than I had remembered it to be the first time. Here is one excerpt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Once you have seen that [Christ in you as your inspiration], you see that He is the illimitable One.<br />Then you relax and say, 'That is what life is: Another living His life in me.'<br />You've got the key to everything.<br />Every problem becomes an opportunity.<br />Every tough spot becomes a chance to enjoy the luxury of seeing Him deliver us out of it.<br />And you welcome such spots." pp. 31-32 in 1999 edition</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do you want to get to the place where this excerpt describes your experience? Your relatives, friends, and co-workers certainly would be blessed if you did. Why not read this book, take some simple steps forward, and bless those around you? It can't hurt anything except your pride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The book retails for $4.99 or can be read online here: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-84122319750381815162016-06-02T17:00:00.000-06:002017-05-25T18:08:14.711-06:00LET'S TALK HONESTLY ABOUT THE LAW<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Law is Good</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The law is good. It is very important to make clear that the moral law written on the conscience is good, and that the culturally specific application given by God to Israel--The Law of Moses--is also good. Jesus declared that all the laws and the prophets hang on one central point:<i> "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way as you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."</i> -Matthew 7:12 Do you agree that it is good to treat others as you would like to be treated?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every Point of the Law is Good</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the above verse Jesus declares that the principle of the Golden Rule applies in absolutely every situation. Do you agree that there is no exception to this rule? This means that God and your conscience have zero tolerance for you ever holding a grudge, ever being impatience with a careless driver, ever being irritated with a fellow Christian who rubs you the wrong way, ever being frustrated with your spouse, children, or parents, and certainly ever thinking about getting revenge. Zero tolerance for sin is good. What is your tolerance level for sin? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The wholeness of the Law is Good</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you think of the law of God, the commands of Jesus, or the voice of your conscience, how do you interpret that information? Do you start with the individual points that you perceive and then slowly expand the scope of your evaluation, or do you see life as a whole and evaluate each point that you notice in light of the whole? In Deuteronomy 4 God told the Israelites that they were not to add to or take away from the commands of God, but were to keep them all. Shortly after in the same speech Moses told the people, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It will be our righteousness if we are careful to observe ALL this commandment before the Lord, just as He commanded us."-Deut. 6:25 We also read in Jesus most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, "Be ye therefore perfect just as your heavenly father is perfect." -Matthew 5:48 And we read the same thing in James, "He who keeps the whole law and breaks one point, is guilty of all." -James 2:10.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">As mentioned above, The Bible says that God has written the moral law on the conscience of all people (Romans 1:19). Do you think that is true? If that is true and if that knowledge is accessible, then we should be able to discuss and evaluate together what is good. Does that intuitive understanding include the principle that goodness requires perfect obedience? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In witnessing to students at USU I have many times shown them a card containing the following question and asked for their response.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>True or false....</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>It is good to love your neighbor 99.99% of the time</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>to abuse your neighbor 0.01% of the time</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students identifying themselves as atheists are generally lightning quick to answer that the statement is false because it is never good to abuse one's neighbor. They often have an edge in their voice that I suspect is a criticism of the hypocrisy they observe in the religious crowd. It is not uncommon for the traditionally religious students to squirm under the pressure of the question, because they don't want to admit that they are not good. It seems clear to me after hundreds of conversations with non-Christians that it is intuitively obvious in the human conscience that it is never good to do wrong and that goodness is a seamless whole.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is Never Good to Dishonor the Wholeness of the Law or Any Point of It</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are you persuaded that God always wants the law to be honored in every point and in its wholeness? Do you think that God desires us to think that way, too? Do you think that God desires us to ever suppress the beauty of the wholeness of the law? I suggest that this is the key to unlocking spiritual blindness and to growing in personal and spiritual maturity. "The Lord is well-pleased for His righteousness sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable."-Isaiah 42:21 The honor of the God's law is God's delight. Is it yours? Do you agree that God always sees every individual thought and action of every person in such a way that the honor the wholeness of the law is in view to Him? Do you think that it is good for us to neglect the honor of the wholeness of the law when we evaluate its individual points? It is possible to view individual points of the law, but in doing so there is great temptation to forget the law's wholeness. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is Never Good to Leave Goodness Undone</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Several years ago I had a conversation with Alex, who said he was Jewish, an atheist, and a philosophy student from Florida. I asked him what he would do if he were walking to class along a small river and noticed a small child floundering in the water and about to drown. He said that he was a lifeguard and champion swimmer and would evaluate the situation quickly and jump in and save the child. I suggested that such would be a good action and that I and the child's parents would honor him. I then suggested to him that this day was going to be unusual for him in that as he continued on to class he would every few minutes notice another child floundering in that small river and about to drown. What would he do? He said that each time he would quickly evaluate and jump in and save the child. I asked him to imagine what would happen if when he got to the tenth child he decided not to save the child--not that he was tired or late for class, but simply didn't want to help that child. He said that such would not be good. I then asked what his friends would do when they found out that he had saved the lives of 9 children that day. Would they honor him as a good person? He was disgusted and said that if his friends knew that he intentionally hadn't helped the tenth child they would be angry and criticize him. He added that even if he had saved 99 children and intentionally let one drown, he couldn't be a good person. Do you agree with Alex? Life is full of good actions that your conscience calls you to do. Your conscience calls you to leave none of them undone. You and I have left many good deeds undone as well as doing much wrong that our conscience warned us against. Let's stop pretending that partial goodness counts with God.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You Are Not the Judge</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How do you respond when you see a fellow Christian fail? How do you respond when that person hurts you? First, is it good for you to sit in the place of judgment for that person? Second, is it good for you to ignore or minimize or pretend away that failure of another Christian? None of these is good and so your only good option is to trust or honor God as the judge. God always maximizes sin and judges by perfect love and commands all people to do the same. Do you hear that call or do you minimize sin and take judgment into your own hands? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prosecution or Defense: Which team Are You On?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you hear the voice of God and your conscience calling you to honor perfect love as the only good way to see life? Since you are not the judge, you simply act for the defense or the prosecution in every situation you find yourself. As a Christian you are part of the defense team lead by Jesus. Satan leads the prosecution and points the finger of condemnation. In the moment that you notice someone fail or hurt you, how do you respond? Do you notice the violator from God's view of perfect love where the only hope is the death of Christ? Or do you dishonor the law and see hope in human performance? When you do the former you gladly receive all the bad treatment others give you because you are seeing Christ and the glory of sin-bearing love. Perfect love excludes all condemnation and gladly bears all things thinking of the blessing of the other. When you do the latter, you stumble over righteousness, get offended, fight back, and speak words of condemnation. You have played into the hands of the Accuser and are speaking and acting like you are on his team. We all have been tricked at times by the voice of the Accuser. Let's be honest and learn to discern these two voices that we might be effective peacemakers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's make it practical. When someone hurts you which voice do you hear? The Accuser cries out, "Look at what he did to you!" The voice of the Spirit cries out, "Look at what Christ did for him and you!" How you respond to mistreatment reveals which voice you are heeding. Of course the mistreatment may be painful. Of course the person shouldn't have hurt you. But the call is for that person to be perfect not just to avoid that one action of mistreatment of you. As a Christian you are not trapped in your circumstances; you have life above this world and thus have the freedom to see your life from above, from heaven. Christ has lifted you up, blessed you royally, freed you from all condemnation, and made you his royal peacemaker. Your identity is as a member of the defense. Practice remembering that and watch what happens. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Conclusion: Resist Dishonesty About Law</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is easy to be dishonest about your conscience and God's law and goodness. The Adversary always calls you to make God's law and love manageable, to lull you to sleep about perfect love. It takes much practice to hear the voice of perfect love in the heat of the moment. But hearing the voice of perfect love is the only honest way. Let's not pretend that there is no spiritual battle. James calls saints to submit to God and resist the devil, and that then the devil would flee. I suggest that submitting to God is simply to honor, see, hear, and perceive perfect love in the moment. When you do the devil will have no room to work in your heart and life. Thank God often for His perfect love and for making perfect love the only good way to live and judge. Speak perfect love to yourself and to others. As you do this you may find yourself becoming more sensitive to the spiritual battle that rages all around us. </span></div>
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<strong>Perfect love or manageable tasks: the one you hear is the one you will speak.</strong></div>
</span></div>
Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-54889940610391580722016-05-30T23:34:00.002-06:002017-10-19T18:22:58.831-06:00WHAT IS THE FRUIT OF BEING A CHRISTIAN?<h4>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notes From Our Recent Seminar on Grace</span></h4>
</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">This is our fourth seminar on grace. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">In February the topic was the flesh and Spirit conflict and
how our understanding of that affects how we perceive what it means to live the
Christian life. The March topic was about how the fear of the Lord fits with
grace. In April the topic was the question: What is grace? Today’s
topic is related to the fruit of grace. But I suggest that the fruit of grace
has two aspects. And today we will look at the first aspect. The second aspect is a big subject on its own. The first aspect is about conversion. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">When someone becomes a Christian something radically changes.
What is it and how is it visible? We Christians look for the fruit that
indicates and gives confidence that someone is a real Christian. Certainly God
wants us to have confidence that we are alive and free in Christ. God also
wants us to be confident about the status of other people. First let’s
summarize the first three seminar topics briefly to refresh our minds and and get ready
for today’s question.</span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Review</span></span></h4>
</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">In the first</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">seminar we looked at the question: what is the flesh. You seemed
to agree with me about the conclusion that the problem of the flesh is really all about
trusting in man’s strength and wisdom and trying to avoid being weak and to
avoid doing bad things. This leads right into the devil’s hands. He wants us to
resist our weaknesses rather than to celebrate them. And he wants us to focus on
our obedience and stumble into self-righteousness. The way of the spirit is 1) to
stay aware of God’s call to always be perfect, 2) to rejoice in our weaknesses,
and 3) to know that in Christ is everything a person needs. We also spoke of
sin as a fruit of trusting in human ability. Maturity we described as a growing
sensitivity to our weaknesses and growing confidence in Christ as all we need.
Maturity also sees this as true for other people.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Our second seminar was about how the fear of the Lord
is actually the door into grace. Three good words together give us a sense of
this fear: reverence, respect, and wonder. These words describe that God is
good but He is not safe. Wonder conveys that He doesn’t fit in our box and is
full of surprises. If we are thinking manageable thoughts about God then fear
is absent. Also if we think we can manage our relationship with Him then we
aren’t fearing Him. Life is precious and can end or be severely detoured at any
moment by trials or critics. Are we content with that? To fear God means to be
at peace realizing and trusting that no matter what comes our way He is our
only hope and He is watching over us in tenderness. He is perfect love,
requires perfect love, and gives it as a gift to all who rest in the finished
work of Christ. When we fear God we have these thoughts not only about
ourselves but about other people too. Dostoevsky put it beautifully when he
wrote, “To love a person means to see him as God intended him to be.” Do you see the door into grace? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our third seminar was the question: What is grace? This
simple question is answered by seeing the opposite of grace. We Christians have a relationship with God of
grace, which means unmerited favor. Simple, right? Our Mormon friends represent
the world. They have a relationship with God that is one of merited favor. Merited
favor means favor that is earned. That is pressure. The place of wisdom is for
us to realize that God doesn’t mix the two. You either have a relationship with
God of pure unmerited favor or pure merited favor. God keeps score perfectly:
either you are totally free from the pressure of having to do good, or you are
under the full pressure to have to do good all the time. The devil hates God
and lies about Him all the time seeking to deceive us to go back to thinking
that we have to do at least a little bit of good to get God’s full favor. Do
you ever feel that pressure? Which is it? Are you under grace—unmerited favor?
Or are you under law—the pressure to merit or earn God’s favor? God wants to
favor everyone: either you merit his favor or Christ merits it for you. Aren’t
you glad to be free from merit?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let’s get started.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is the Fruit of Being a Christian?</span></h4>
</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Have you heard that everyone knows about God but only a
true Christian knows God personally? Likely you have used this in your style of
witnessing to your Mormon friends and relatives who tell you that they are
Christians too. They aren’t really Christians because they don’t really know
God. But they think they do, right?</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is the difference between knowing about God and
knowing God personally?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our question today is really about the difference between
the fruit of just knowing about God and the fruit of knowing God
personally. Raise you hand if you are
confident that you can explain this difference clearly to someone. Raise your hand if you feel that you could
use a little help in understanding this difference more clearly. God has
blessed us to live surrounded by Mormons to help us have to deal honestly with
this issue. I suggest that Christians who don’t have our blessing can pretend
to understand and not be challenged to think more deeply. I will tell my story
about this later today. I lived here 25 years and witnessed to many Mormons
before it became clear to me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let’s assume that the fruit of knowing God personally is
good fruit; and let’s also say that the fruit of just knowing about God is bad
fruit. Raise your hand if this make
sense. If this is true then we need to do two things. 1) We need to figure out
what these two fruits are. 2) We need to seek to become expert fruit
inspectors. This way we can be glad ministers of peace to each other and to the
lost people around us that we care for. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Matthew 7:15-23—The Scary Passage</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">This passage is commonly explained and preached in such a way that
it is threatening to Christians. As I read it aloud notice your responses or your memories from the past concerning it.</span></div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><i>"Beware of false prophets. They come to
you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>By their fruit you will recognize
them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Likewise, every good tree bears good
fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and
a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Every tree that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>So then, by their fruit you will
recognize them.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><i>Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My
Father in heaven.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Many will say to Me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?’<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I
never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’"</i> –Matthew 7:15-23<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Let’s be honest. Have you ever felt threatened by this passage?
Did you feel a little of that just now? At the end of our time together today I
am going to read it again. Then we will evaluate our responses to see if there
is any change. Get ready for a surprise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"> The Mormon View</span></span></h4>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">How does our Mormon
culture understand and teach this passage? I want to reveal this by telling a
true story. About ten years ago an old Christian woman called me and asked me
to go with her to the funeral of her active Mormon friend. As we sat there the
bishop got up and gave a talk. He spoke sternly and threateningly. He reminded
me in appearance and in voice tone of the Marine sargeant in the television
program I used to watch as a kid. Do you remember Gomer Pyle and his sargeant?
That guy was always threatening people and making life miserable for everyone
else. The bishop spoke of how wonderful the old woman had been and how she had
done what was required to be welcomed to live with God forever. Then in his
sargeant voice he pointed at and panned the audience and said that everyone was
going to appear before God some day and that some or many in the audience were
going to be surprised because God was going to send them away for not being
like that woman and doing all that was needed. I suspected that many in the
audience felt threatened. Later the stake president, the bishop's boss, got up
to speak. He was a large friendly man. In his talk he spoke anxiously as he
said that he hoped that when he got there he would have done as much as the old
woman and would not be sent away</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">What is your response to that story? Did you feel feel
the heat of the bishop’s words? Didn’t he sound like he was trying to imitate
Jesus in our passage? Have you ever heard Christians talk like that, especially
about this passage?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">About the same time a Mormon woman about 40 to whom I had
witnessed before came in Oasis. As I engaged her in conversation about sin and
salvation I commented on how her words were similar to what other Mormons had told
me. She corrected me and said that the other Mormons didn’t really know God
personally, but only knew about him. She proceeded to tell me about her good
points and about the bad points of the other Mormons—especially about their pride and judgmentalism. At
the end of that revealing conversation she commented that she was having a
really proud day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">What was the fruit that she was inspecting to make the
distinction between herself and the other Mormons—between knowing God
personally and just knowing about Him? She drew a line somewhere as to how much
good work was sufficient to prove she knew God and the others didn’t. Is that
how we Christians do or should think?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Have you ever had a Mormon tell you that good works or
good behavior are the fruit that God is looking for to show that a person
really knows God?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="red" style="background: rgb(253, 254, 255); line-height: 17.25pt; text-align: left;">
<h4>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What Was Lacking in My Understanding?</span></h4>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">In my first 25
years in Utah, Mormons used to quote this passage to me to prove that their church was
true because of its good fruit. They would explain all the good works of their church and its members and equate good works with good fruit. I would then open the Bible to this passage, show
it to them, and then help them notice that it said that the fruit was perfect. I
would tell them that they and I weren’t perfect and so they were wrong about
what the fruit was. I would tell them that I didn’t know what it was talking about, but it was
obviously not what they were saying because the fruit had to be perfect. That is the
best I could do with this passage until Eli joined me in ministry 8 years ago.
He first noticed what the fruit was and then shared it with me.</span><br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is Perfect About You?</span></h4>
</div>
</h4>
<h4>
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<h4>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">What is it about you that is perfect? If it isn’t your
behavior, then what is it? Where does your behavior come from anyway? Jesus
said that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." We all grew up with evil hearts
and needed a new heart from God. What is the good heart? Is it just behavior,
having totally good behavior? That is impossible or we are all sunk.</span></h4>
</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I suggest that a good heart is all about identity. Raise
you hand if before you were a Christian you thought you had at least one good
point that you used to feel good about yourself? Did you ever think that you
were better than somebody else? I sure did. Any confidence I had about being forgiven
was about that. When the first Christian told me that forgiveness was a free
gift paid for by the blood of Jesus, I opposed those words. Did you ever think
like that back then?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My Story</span></h4>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">I became a Christian as a university student 37 years ago.
One day a Christian named Don knocked on my door, invited me to some event,
and then later witnessed to me. I opposed Don’s words about the free gift but
hung around with him and his friends. He and his friends did Bible study, had prayer meetings,
were active in Church, and put high emphasis on growing in Christ and witnessing.
Over the years I have spoken with many Christians who have struggled with
doubts about their salvation. I have never really doubted my salvation and
wondered why. Don has been a Christian missionary now for 35 years. He told me a few years ago that he had legalistic tendencies when I met
him and then 20 years ago at a conference he heard a speaker talk about
grace as the way to live the Christian life. Don was angered by the message, wondering if he had
wasted his Christian life in the hard work of evangelism and discipleship.
He complained in tears to his wife. She told him to go to his room and pray.
God spoke to him that grace wasn't the absence of good works, but rather was
about grace motivated and grace empowered good works. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">I wondered what Don had thought and taught in his legalistic
days about the fruit to look for to know if someone was a Christian since
legalists often have a serious list of things they look for. So last fall when Don visited Logan I asked him. He said that in his legalistic days he never
struggled with doubts about salvation because the Bible passage he used to
understand if someone was a Christian was:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><em>"If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of
God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning
his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed
in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the
testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever
has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.</em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><em>I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." </em>-1John 5:9-13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Don
said that if a person has the Son then the person has life and is a Christian.
That is known by a person having God's testimony. He said that for him it has always been that simple. He said he never looked at other things like a changed life, but
said a person's life would change in some ways. I meditated on Don's words
and realized that I must have learned from Don and his friends to use that one
simple test for myself and for others to know if a person was a real Christian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you had other tests to know if you were a Christian?
Have you heard preachers give other tests besides this simple one? What if all
those other passages are really different ways of saying this same simple test?
I suggest that they are. Do you have the Son? Do you have the testimony in your
heart that life is in the Son and that having the Son is all you need to have
eternal life? Let’s ask it in a negative way. When is the last time you told
someone something such as Jesus was not enough to have eternal life because
eternal life was not a free gift? I said it before I was a Christian but never once since my conversion. Raise your hand if that is true for you, too. When I ask
Mormons to remember the last time they told someone that full exaltation was a
free gift, they say that they have never even had the thought that it was free. They have an evil
heart that trusts in having some good works in order to have eternal life. A Christian’s testimony is perfectly good and
a Mormon’s testimony is perfectly bad. Your testimony changed when you became a
Christian because your heart changed. A good heart knows that it is weak and
sinful and Jesus is all that is needed to be with God forever. Raise your hand
if you know that.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Jewish Leaders and Sheila</span></h4>
</div>
</h4>
<h4>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">If when you get to heaven there happened to be a gate, and there happened to be an angel at the gate asking each person why entrance should be granted, what would you say? Are you going to talk like those self-righteous Jewish teachers Jesus mentioned and tell about your
good works, or are you going to sound something like Sheila, a simple old woman
who was unsure that she was a Christian.</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Angel with a smile:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> Why should I let you it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Sheila:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> Oh no! I am a sinner. Jesus died for
me. That’s it. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;">Isn't it obvious from her words that Sheila is a Christian?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Raise your hand if you are like Sheila.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fruit is your testimony that you are a helpless sinner and the Son
is all that a person needs to have eternal life. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Agreed? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Scary Passage Again</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Listen and watch your reactions as I read Matthew 7 again.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span class="reftext"><i>"</i></span><i>Beware of false prophets. They come to
you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>By their fruit you will recognize
them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Likewise, every good tree bears good
fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and
a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Every tree that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>So then, by their fruit you will
recognize them.<o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><i>Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My
Father in heaven.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Many will say to Me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?’<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i>Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I
never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’"</i> –Matthew 7:15-23<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you feel threatened or were you glad that Jesus was
enough? </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did you at least notice having less distress?</span></span></div>
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Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-67459932114707503812016-05-26T14:51:00.000-06:002019-05-03T18:04:49.033-06:00LEGALISM: HOW TO DO IT WELL<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Blessing of Life in a Culture of Pure Legalism</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have had the privilege of having significant relationships with Christians from various traditions. Because of our Mormon culture, Christians here are sensitive to the issue of legalism and discuss it often. Mormons specialize in legalism because their religion is all about legalism from beginning to end. They talk much about the importance of doing good things. We agree with them that it is good to do good things. But when we Christians explain how grace is unmerited favor, they object and declare that obedience to commandments is necessary to please God and be accepted by Him. One can't get forgiveness free they tell us because that would make people lazy. They do use the word grace and are doing so more and more, but don't be fooled. If you listen closely and ask questions you will discover that what they mean by grace is usually some form of kind or gentle legalism<span style="background: white; color: #001320; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>another chance to keep the rules. Grace doesn't free you from the rules, but gives you help and more time to keep them. Rules must eventually be kept. So living in this overwhelmingly dominant culture of Mormonism of pure legalism forces us to stay alert. Without alertness here one can easily get sucked into the lies of legalism.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is legalism?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This simple question is not simple to answer. I have thought about it for many years and been dissatisfied with my own study, with my own understanding, and with what I have heard others say or write about it. A few years ago I sought to avoid using the word because, even here, we tend to be sensitive to legalism in other people but not in ourselves. Why is it that when we Christians use the word legalism we are almost always pointing the finger at other people and not at ourselves<span style="background: white; color: #001320; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">—</span>at other denominations and not at our own? Why do I never point the finger at myself and say something like the following? "Wow, I am really having legalistic thoughts today." Do you notice any legalism in others? Some likely notice it in you. When is the last time you noticed it in yourself? Isn't this an interesting dilemma? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Key Word: Manageable</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Just recently a word or thought came to me that may be helpful: manageable. Mormonism is all about making God's expectations manageable. Does God really want us Christians to do that? To think or speak of God's law or commandments in a manageable way is legalism. To think or speak of my (or your) obedience in a manageable way is legalism. Now that seems to have enough clarity so that I can begin to notice legalism in myself and you can notice it in yourself. Am I making the law, commandments, or my obedience manageable? We all have an intuitive sense about this and are somewhat sensitive to it in other people, but need clear thinking to see it in ourselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Manageability is like judgmentalism. Hundreds of Mormons have told me that what they really don't like about other Mormons is that they are so judgmental. In each conversation I affirmed the evil of judgmentalism and then gently asked if it was easy for the person to resist judging judgmental people. Every time the person responded in embarrassment admitting to being just like the people being criticized. It is good to judge if we judge by perfection as God does, otherwise we are judging unrighteously. What authority do we have to do that? Righteous judgment<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>judgment by the standard of perfection<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>reveals that we are all in the same boat together as failures and makes it impossible to look down on another person<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>truly impossible. When we judge by some lowered manageable standards, we have entered the arena of competition where some of us succeed and others fail. Judgmentalism then is unavoidable. You may think highly of yourself that you are able to have manageable standards without being judgmental, but by doing so you are just proving my point that you think that you can succeed where others fail. You are fooling yourself. In the same way, God's law and obedience to God are good. Could it be that legalism is simply the natural result of shrinking either of these in such a way as to make them manageable? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial";">Isaiah's Experience</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Notice the following beautiful verse in a Messianic chapter in the Gospel of Isaiah. I call it the Gospel of Isaiah because it is filled with grace<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>unmerited favor poured out on God's people<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>righteousness as a gift<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>God's delight in His Son and in His people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">"The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness sake; He will exalt the law and make it glorious." -Isaiah 42:21</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Does this verse convey a sense of awe and glory, or of manageability? Exaltation is the opposite of manageability. God can manage the exaltation of the law, where as no flawed human can. Read Isaiah 6:1-7 and notice his experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train<span class="footnote"><sup>a</sup></span> of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span class="block-indent"><em><span class="ln-group">“Holy, holy, holy is the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> of hosts;</span><br /><span class="br-ln-group">the whole earth is full of his glory!”</span></em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> of hosts!”</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Whatever Isaiah saw crushed his pride. He realized and cried out that he was a spiritually ruined man. What he saw was so big that it made him realize that all the people of Israel were spiritually ruined, too. The result was that Isaiah was spiritually healed and transformed. What did he see? I suggest that he saw the perfect righteousness of God and the surprise of unmerited favor that flows from that righteousness. In John 12:38-41, the Apostle John declares that what Isaiah saw in his vision was Isaiah chapter 53<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">—</span>"by his knowledge the righteous servant will make many righteous, for he will bear their iniquities." I have been greatly blessed to notice this connection and meditate much on it. See if such meditation might bless you. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How to do Legalism Well</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would like to give a humorous exhortation of how to do legalism well. If you live in Mormon culture you likely will hear an echo of this culture. That is the point. Manageability is the name of the game in Mormonism. Satan is alive and well and seeking to get us Christians to believe his lie and to think like Mormons, who are expert legalists or managers of God's expectations. They use religious words with unbiblical definitions in an attractive and persuasive way. Thus in the following, most religious words will be used with enticing Mormon definitions: worldliness, godliness, flesh, walking in the Spirit, laziness, obedience, and more. Remember that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and so his advice will be subtle counterfeits of truth. Here is my version of some of his advice to Christians as to how to obey God. See if you can detect the lies in the words and how manageability is ever present. Especially deceitful is the word flesh. Let's learn to laugh at ourselves in our failures so that we might better notice when we have bought into the lie. So here goes. What follows is Satan's advice for how to obey God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Satan says: </b></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first step in obedience to God is to realize that obedience is very important and that it is wrong and sinful to not obey God. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, it is important to realize that there are two serious errors to avoid in seeking to obey God. Just as one can go in the ditches on either the left or right side of the road when driving, so it is possible to be a lazy Christian or a legalist. Laziness is obvious. There are a lot of people who don't want to take seriously living the Christian life well—growing in the lord and living a holy life. This is a big problem, but the other problem can sneak up on a person who is taking obedience seriously. In seeking to avoid laziness it is possible to over correct and end up off the other side of the road in the ditch of legalism. Legalism is about using the law in a wrong way. The law is good but some people get way too pushy with it. That is legalism. So be careful to avoid being lazy, but also avoid being too pushy with the law. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Third, let's clarify and solidify our understanding. Make no mistake: God wants us to do good to our families, fellow saints, and unsaved neighbors. The Good Samaritan was one of Jesus' most popular parables. That Samaritan went out of his way to help a man who likely hated Samaritans. Use this parable as a reminder that no one is too bad for you to help. So be a good Samaritan to the people in your life. As you go through your days visualize others as hurt and in the ditch and in need of some kind of compassion from you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Fourth, you likely already notice that we all sometimes forget to do good and fail. It is important to not condemn yourself for that. Remember that Jesus is everything you need. And as long as you aren't a lazy Christian, you can look at your past and see that you have come a long way. That should be a big comfort. When you fail, thank God for Jesus. Remember that He doesn't expect for you to be perfect in your obedience but only to make progress in becoming a more obedient Christian day by day.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Fifth, keep in mind that the key to winning the spiritual battle is to know your enemy. It may be that the flesh is the greatest enemy in the Christian life. The flesh is your weakness and tendency to sin. So watch out for those in every situation. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Don't let your weaknesses and sins rule you. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Sixth, another enemy to watch out for is worldliness. This is a deceitful trap. Many men get trapped in watching too much sports and some women get trapped in following the latest fashions. Many young people get hooked on cell phones. These are just three obvious examples, but there are many more. Use self-control or you will find yourself getting pulled into sins of various kinds. There are many ways to sin; so be alert for temptation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Seventh, the third thing to watch our for is ungodliness. We can approach this topic from a positive direction. Live a godly life and ungodliness will not be a problem for you. Choose to fill your life with prayer, Bible reading, evangelism, helping the poor, and visiting the shut-ins in your church. These days there are so many children from broken homes. Seek to speak blessing to those people at church because they have it real rough. All these things are good and so when you focus on them you won't have time for ungodly things like greed, selfishness, anger, laziness, and more.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Eighth, remember that you are a new creation in Christ. This means that you have a new nature and thus sin can now really be a thing of the past for you. The Holy Spirit has power. Don't get tricked into thinking that the Spirit isn't strong enough to help you resist sin. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Ninth, remember that you are not a lone-ranger Christian. You are part of God's people. Therefore apply all the above principles to the Christians you know. Remind them of these principles and exhort them to apply them. </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Last, walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. The Spirit always leads you to its fruit: love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, etc. The Spirit never points you to immorality, impurity, envy, idolatry, strife, anger, drunkenness, and such like. The flesh does that. Keep these two lists in mind as you seek to be led by the Spirit. The Spirit will never lead you to sin.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Now you are ready to obey God. The sky is the limit when you have the Spirit to empower you to do God's will.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><i>Legalism is seeing God's expectations</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>—</b></span><b><i>His commandments and our obedience</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>—</b></span><b><i>in some manageable form. God always expects perfection and only Jesus can manage perfect expectations. </i></b></span><b style="font-family: arial;"><i>This applies when thinking of Christians and non-Christians. </i></b><br />
<b style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></b>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7986147967438242472.post-50182637140005952792016-05-23T12:45:00.000-06:002017-05-25T18:11:55.421-06:00DOES THE SINNERS PRAYER ALWAYS WORK?<h4>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Puzzle</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have spoken with many people who have told me that they have prayed the sinner's prayer and it didn't work. Years ago I heard a woman say in a gathering of Christians that she had just prayed the sinner's prayer for the 26th time and was hoping that it was finally going to work. If it didn't work the first 25 times, why would this woman have any confidence that it would ever work for her? In my observations the sinner's prayer doesn't seem to work every time. Why is that? Is it because God doesn't want it to be so predictable? Is it because God doesn't want certain sinners to be saved and so won't hear their prayer? I suggest that the answer is simple, surprisingly simple.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being a Counterfeit Sinner</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Living in Mormon culture has had surprising benefits in understanding my own religion more clearly. It may be that all of the thousands of Mormons I have spoken with about spiritual matters have freely offered, or at least agreed, that they are sinners. Does that surprise you? After many conversations I became suspicious that something was missing. Now when a Mormon admits to being a sinner, I ask for explanation of what is meant by the word sinner. The conversation that follows is often humorous, at least from my vantage point. Here is a sample conversation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: Of course I am a sinner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: May I ask you a few questions to see which kind of sinner you are?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: I thought that there was just one kind of sinner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: There are two kinds of sinners: helpless sinners and sinners with assets. Which kind are you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: I am not sure what you mean. Can you explain?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: Some of Jesus' first words were, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This is the first line from his most famous speech, the Sermon on the Mount, and is found in Matthew 5:3. Have you heard of it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: I don't remember.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: The word poor is actually the word beggar in the original Bible. Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual beggar?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: I still am not sure I catch your meaning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: You have ever seen a beggar?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: What does a beggar have to offer?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: Nothing. He just takes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: So in the spiritual world do you see yourself as a spiritual beggar, or do you have good things that you can offer to God?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: Of course I have something to offer to God.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: Can you give me some examples?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mormon</b>: I can repent. I can offer sincerity and willingness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: So then you are not a spiritual beggar who can only take. You have assets. According to Jesus you don't qualify for the kingdom of heaven. 37 years ago I gave up thinking I had anything good to offer God and realized that I was a spiritual beggar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This conversation usually opens a door to explain the difference between a gift and a reward. All Mormons tell me that they believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. I then ask them what then need to do to connect to what Jesus did for them. They reply with words like: repent, try to keep the commandments. do what is right. At this point I commonly give the testimony of a friend who became a Christian as an active Mormon by reading the Book of Mormon. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Testimony: A Counterfeit Sinner Becomes a Real One</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About 15 years ago this active Mormon was witnessed to by a Christian. And to cover her bases, she prayed the sinner's prayer. But nothing happened. Eight years later while reading the Book of Mormon two versed shocked her and opened her eyes to see that she was spiritually ruined. One was the famous third to the last verse in the book, which contains the following. Notice my bold emphasis of the words of all, and if/then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"and <b>if</b> ye shall deny yourselves of <b>all</b> ungodliness, and love God with <b>all</b> your might, mind, and strength, <b>then</b> is his grace sufficient for you,"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When she read this she suddenly realized that only if she was perfect would she get grace from God to cover her past sins. She knew that such was impossible, gave up all hope in herself, and cried out to God that Jesus died for her and that that was all she had. Immediately she was filled with peace, knew she was forgiven, and began to tell her Mormon friends. They thought she was crazy. Eventually she realized what had happened to her and found some Christians to join. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Sinner's Prayer Always Works</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sinner's prayer always works when prayed by a real sinner. The problem is that most people are counterfeit sinners. They have deceived themselves into thinking and saying that they are sinners when they actually mean that they are good people who sin sometimes. This is what Mormons tell me. Just as honest awareness of perfection crushed the pride of this friend and opened her eyes to her true sinful condition, so too it is what God designed to open the eyes of any spiritually blind person. Let's become experts at kindly and gladly helping others become honestly aware that perfection is the only good way to relate to God. </span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313036207340859628noreply@blogger.com1