What's preventing me? Acts 8:36

I have 2 four year old little girls. My wife and I are trying hard to teach them the importance of obedience and respect. If you have any advice, I'm all ears. All in all, I think we're pretty blessed. They are great girls...and that has a whole lot more to do with just the way God made them than the way we are raising them. I'm just thankful for God's grace, because we sure make a lot of mistakes!

Anyway, back to the point...

They are pretty good girls and most of the time they are good at obeying and being respectful. Of course, we are still using both rewards and punishments as needed to mold their behavior. Those are by far the biggest reasons for their good behavior most of the time. But every once in a while, one or both of them will come up and just ask what they can do to help or they will clean up their toys without being asked just so they can run and tell me to come look. I can't tell you how happy that makes me when that stuff happens!

On a different page, lately, I've been reminded that a lot of teens seem to have a concept of list keeping and guilt in Christianity. In other words, in some minds, the life of a Christian is really about being sure to do the things that need to be done and leaving undone the things that need to be left undone. And when something is left undone that should be done, or something is done that should not be done, a tremendous amount of guilt follows along with a lot of questions about whether or not the offender is still worthy and capable of receiving God's grace and salvation. If I'm honest with myself, I know that I often fall into the same trap of thinking. In fact, I have to believe that teens are not getting these ideas all by themselves. I suspect we adults have helped shape their thoughts based on our own, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Oh what I would give to simply forget all about any doomed-to-fail ideas of list-keeping in Christianity based on rewards and punishments and to have the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch who simply came to a realization of what needed to be done and wanted immediately to do it!

What a different attitude that is from mine so often as I weight the pros and cons of every decision and have to decide if the end justifies the means. How much guilt and worry about salvation could be left behind if we had hearts that understood God's grace well enough to quit beating ourselves up over things that we have not yet learned, and instead simply responded with joy and obedience as we encounter truth every day!? I'm not sure I'm being clear, so let me give an example.

If a Christian is walking in the light, then he has fellowship with God. That is because of grace...which by the way, is a completely free gift. It cannot be earned. But let's say that Christian has a history of telling half-truths. And let's say that they are so good at it and have done it for so many years, that they do not even realize they are doing it. They feel no guilt and no remorse when they commit these lies because they do not even realize they are sinning. But what if something someone says one day...or something they've read in scripture...or some prompting of the Holy Spirit leads them to finally see the error of their ways? That person now has a few choices. They can: 1. Ignore the truth and continue in their deceitful ways. 2. Feel so much shame and guilt over all of the mistakes they are now convicted of that they become paralyzed and fearful for their very soul. 3. Feel proper Godly sorrow for what they have done, thank God for pointing it out to them, and joyfully set about to make amends knowing that God has just helped them to become more like the Savior they are already and still following.

I'm begging you to see that only option 3 will allow us to continue walking in the light in fellowship with God!!

The first choice is willful disobedience and their would no longer remain a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:26). The second choice is actually worldly sorrow and leads to death (2 Cor. 7:10). But the third option is exactly what John describes and expects from followers of Christ (1 John 1:9).

The same scenario could be applied to spiritual disciplines that have not been practiced before, good deeds that have not been done before, relationships that have not been pointed towards God's love before, and any other number of things that we have somehow blown past without noticing until God finally makes us notice.

The point is this...when the Eunuch was aware of what he needed to do, he obeyed...immediately. And he went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:39). I want to live like that. I want to teach teens to live like that from the moment they first obey the gospel until the moment their faith is finally finished as it becomes sight.

Of course, the question the Eunuch asked needs to also be applied in a different way for us if we are not living like that. He asked, "what prevents me from being baptized?" And, of course, the answer was nothing so he commanded the chariot to stop and they went down into the water!

But is there something that prevents you from obeying? If you have not been baptized yet, why not? What's keeping you? Is there some lifestyle that is worth more to you than Christ? Is there a misunderstanding of God's love? Is there a controversy about doctrine because of all the different divisions inside Christianity? The simple truth is that baptism is found all throughout scripture. What could possibly prevent you from wanting it if you have seen God's love through Jesus in the gospels!?

If you have been baptized and are not obeying in some other area...what's keeping you!? What prevents you from obeying? Is it fear? Is it pride? Is it selfishness? Is there anything at all that you want more than to know and to please your Father!? If not, then what prevents you from obeying!?

There is almost nothing in this world that fills my heart with joy more than when my daughters look for ways to please me simply because they love me. Not because I will reward them, because sometimes I don't immediately. Not because they will be punished, because eventually I won't be right in front of them to monitor their behavior. But simply because they love me and want to please me. If that motivation were always their motivation, I wouldn't have to make a single rule in the house other than to treat people with love. Everything else would take care of itself.

Hmm. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? What prevents you from obeying?

The Choice to Forgive- Acts 7:59-60

Compare that prayer for forgiveness to some of the Psalms...take Psalm 109 for instance where David is praying about some of his enemies:

⁶ Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
    and may his prayers condemn him.
⁸ May his days be few;
    may another take his place of leadership.
⁹ May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.
¹⁰ May his children be wandering beggars;
    may they be driven from their ruined homes.
¹¹ May a creditor seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
¹² May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity on his fatherless children.
¹³ May his descendants be cut off,
    their names blotted out from the next generation.
¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
¹⁵ May their sins always remain before the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name from the earth.

I couldn't help but think of the contrast between these two prayers when I read Acts 7:59-60. David and Stephen were both doing the will of God. David had people who were out to get him for the job he was trying to do as king of God's people. Stephen had people who got him for the job he was trying to do as God's ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). David prayed for vengeance. Stephen prayed for forgiveness.

What was the difference between the two men and between their prayers?

I'm not sure I understand that question completely. I know that David was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). His prayer for vengeance is included in the sacred scriptures that God's people have used to draw closer to God and to worship God. Someone pointed to the difference in their roles. David was instructed by God to fight battles against wicked people. He was a man of war. Perhaps that lead to a different type of prayer against someone who was opposing the kingdom of God.

What I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt about Stephen, was that he was a follower of Christ. And that didn't just mean he claimed his name. It meant that, to the best of his ability and with the help of the Spirit of Christ who lived in him, he also claimed Christ's life and attitudes as his own. I wonder if Stephen actually thought about Jesus' prayer on the cross "Father, forgive them for the know not what they do." I wonder if he was simply so connected to Christ that it flowed out of him without thought and without effort.

I think without a shadow of a doubt that the peace that controlled his life and his mouth and his emotions to the point that he was able to pray for God not to hold the sin of his murder against his murderers was that he knew exactly where he was going after the stones had finished their work. He had just been given a vision of heaven and of Jesus at the right hand of God. And before he prayed for God to forgive his murderers, he prayed for God to receive his spirit when the murdering was completed.

I've always been impressed with Stephen's faith and his compassion for his enemies, but I had never caught one of the answers to his prayer. William Barclay quotes the early church father Augustine as saying, "The Church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen."

Wow.

Look again at the picture above. Find Saul in the bottom right-hand corner with the coats underneath him. And thank God that He forgave Saul and changed his name to Paul. Think about the passages that Paul wrote that have comforted and strengthened you. Think about the Christians that were converted by Paul that passed their faith down through the ages until it reached you. And thank him for the courage and the compassion of a Christian named Stephen who believed in God's grace through Christ so much that he offered it even to his murderers...one of whom was Paul.

Look around at the people in your own life. Think about the enemies that you would rather pray for vengeance to come upon them. I'm not sure what the theological implications of Psalm 109 are for a Christian today. Can we pray that same prayer as David did? Would it be right? Would it be wrong? Would it be dishonest not to and to "force" a prayer of forgiveness for my enemy when I would rather pray for revenge? I won't try to answer those questions. I'll just say that I praise and thank God that Stephen chose to pray Christ's prayer for Paul instead of David's prayer for his enemies.

Which will you choose?

"Don't judge me!"- Matthew 7:1-2

original photo by Flickr user Robin Hutton

Oh, the abuse that Matthew 7:1 has taken. I would venture to say that it may be one of the most often quoted...and misapplied verses in the Bible. It typically happens when someone is feeling guilty or feels like they are being made to feel guilty for something they have done. In that situation, it doesn't take long before someone says, "Don't judge me!" Occasionally, they will know the second half of the line and throw it in as well, "lest you too be judged!"

Before we dig into the verse...let me ask a couple of questions so we can start on the same page.

<sup>Is murder wrong?
Is stealing wrong?
Is abuse- physical, sexual, or emotional- wrong?
Is hypocrisy wrong?
Is genocide wrong?

I would venture to say that there are not very many people in the  world who will have a difficult time answering those questions. There are some issues of right and wrong that cut across all cultures, time periods, and social settings. People internally know that some things are just wrong. Even those who would deny the truth of those standards of absolute right and wrong will be very quick to demand retribution when they or their family is wronged in one of those ways. So let's just cut to the chase and make the statement that there are at least some things that are categorically wrong. By doing so, we have just ruled out that making judgments about the rightness or wrongness of an action is not what Jesus is forbidding.

Once we have established that, we don't need to argue about the "gray" areas of morals that people get into so many arguments about. That is a different discussion about where we turn for the standards of right and wrong. In this discussion and in this passage, the question we want to ask is not "which things are we allowed to pass judgements on and which are we not?" The question we must ask is, "what type of judgement at all is Jesus forbidding." And we have already established that He is most certainly not forbidding the judgments of individual actions as right or wrong. Jesus made very explicit judgment statements about actions of people. See Matthew 23 for several examples. "But," someone might say, "that was Jesus. He had the ability to see people's hearts." That's correct. However, Jesus also commanded us to evaluate fruit as either good or bad only verses later in the same chapter he told us not to judge (Matthew 7:15-20). His apostles also passed judgments about the wrongness of different actions. You can see an example of Paul rebuking Peter for being hypocritical and cowardly in Galatians 2.

So what, then, is Jesus forbidding the judgment of?


James Coffman's commentary on Matthew has an excellent explanation of what the word for judge really means in this passage.</sup> 

^{"The word 'judge' in this place is translated from a Greek word, krino, also found in such passages are John 12:48, Acts 17:31, and 2 Timothy 4:1, indicating that the type of judging forbidden in this place is that of presuming to determine salvation, or the lack of it, in others. Not even Christ did this while on earth. 'I came not to judge the world but to save the world' (John 12:47)."}

 The Tyndale commentary has this:

"This passage, however, is concerned with the fault-finding, condemnatory attitude which is too often combined with a blindness to one's own failings."

So how does this play out in real life?

Well, for starters, it does not mean that what we do doesn't matter. That idea would contradict everything Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere. It also doesn't mean that we don't point out wrong when we see it and ignore things that, according to scripture, kill people's souls. (See Matthew 18:15-17; and Acts 8:14-24 for just a few examples.) In fact, we have a duty to call sin, "sin" just as a doctor has a duty to call disease, "disease." If we fail to do it for fear of offending the person who is sick with sin, then we are just as negligent and infinitely more so than a doctor who neglects to inform their patient of a treatable tumor!

However the manner in which we do it  MUST ALWAYS BE IN LOVE AND NOT WITH A "FAULT-FINDING CONDEMNATORY ATTITUDE!"

I would also say based on the meaning of judging that we have already discussed, that while we have a duty to guide people to the truth, at absolutely NO point at all do we have the duty...much less the ability...to say who is and who is not eligible for heaven. We state the truth that we know from scripture- that the only way to the Father is through the Son (John 14:6), that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), that in response to recognition of our sinfulness and Jesus' act of redemption as the Son of God we are called to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), among other doctrines that are clear and easy to understand- and then we leave room for God to judge as He sees fit. It is not my place to say what God will or will not do on judgment day based on whatever hypothetical situation someone brings up. That is a foolish argument to have with someone. It is my place to proclaim from the rooftops that sin is a killer of souls, but God in Christ is a Savior of souls. It is not my place to figure out which groups have enough correct doctrine to get into heaven because they are doing it right. It is my place to study and be as obedient as I can possibly be to what I find in scripture and to help others study and obey the truth as well.

I realize that some might take offense at this article...from either side of the argument. On one side, some might accuse me of still being judgmental because I proclaim that Jesus is the only way and I point to how He and his apostles instructed to get into the Way. On the other hand, some might accuse me of being too liberal and failing to stand for the truth because I am teaching that we do not have the right to proclaim who is and who is not counted among the saved.

I pray that you will hear what I am saying. I'm saying that Jesus calls us to righteousness. He calls us to preach righteousness. He calls us to repentance. He calls us to preach repentance. He calls us to grace. He calls us to preach grace. But He doesn't call us to judge. That is God's job. It makes no difference what I say about the destiny of someone else's soul. God will judge. So why should I say anything at all? Wouldn't I spend my time better by preaching Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) and then leave room for God to open someone's heart to respond to the gospel (Acts 16:14), and for the Holy Spirit to convict someone of sin, and righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11)?

And as if the fact that God is the judge and I am not is not reason enough to make me think twice about pronouncing condemnation upon someone's soul as opposed to pronouncing the way to life and letting them choose, Jesus follows the command not to judge with a pretty good reason to obey.

"For in the same way you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

I will never, to the best of my ability, shirk from preaching and teaching the truth that I find in the scriptures. I will never, to the best of my ability, dismiss as insignificant what God has already called sin. But I will tell you this. The one thing I most certainly do NOT need to hear God say on judgment is that He would be more than willing to forgive me this sin or that based on the grace and sacrifice of Jesus, but unfortunately He is going to use my standards of judgment instead, and those are stricter than His.

How silly to think that Jesus needed to remind us-- horribly imperfect, consistently inconsistent, selfish, and constantly caving to temptation us-- to not use stricter judgment on our brothers and sisters than the Almighty Creator and Judge of the living and the dead uses.

And yet as we think about the lines that have been drawn, the articles that have been written, and the relationships that have been destroyed...how necessary.

May we seek to "speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent." May we rightly judge actions based on God's standards found in scripture. And may we leave the judgment of someone's heart and soul to the only One capable of doing that job justice.

How can I forgive what they did to me!? Matthew 6:14-15

"But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:15

 I have twin 3-yr old daughters. If you squint your eyes a little and use your imagination just a tad, you could almost believe that the two girls in the picture above, are actually them. My girls are absolutely precious to me. Over the past 3 and 1/2 years they have gotten me and most other men they come into contact with wrapped around their fingers. Some of my greatest joys are watching them play together, hearing them laugh, and receiving their hugs and kisses.

Their mom is just as precious to me and more so, because I have learned to love her for almost 11 years now. I started falling in love because she is beautiful. I kept falling in love with her because of her sense of  humor that has always picked me up when I am down. I love her hugs and kisses and her unconditional love for me. More than anything I love her dedication and unwavering commitment to do what is right and her awareness of other other people's feelings.

In short, my greatest blessing on this earth are my wife and two daughters.

Now let's go to a twisted imaginary scenario.

Let's say that for some crazy reason- through negligence, malice, or whatever-...you kill my wife. Assuming a court system with no appeals in place and a very strict sense of justice that says an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is absolute law, you must die to make pardon for your sin of killing my wife.

But let's also say that I love you dearly. You are one of my friends and as much as your actions have cost me pain, I can't stand the thought of losing my relationship with you. Let's say that because of my love for you, I quietly go to the judge and explain my dilemma. The judge, who has a very keen sense of justice, demands that a law has been broken and justice must be served. If he does not carry out capitol punishment, then he will no longer be a just judge. Let's say, I explain that I already know all of that and that is why I brought my one of my daughters along with me. And then I offer my daughters to be executed in your place so that a death will have occurred and justice will have been served. And then, because other are still looking at you funny and unwilling to forgive you for what you've done to me...I bring you into my house to live with me.

I'm guessing that your first feeling on reading that, was a sense of repugnance, and rightly so. The thought of me killing one of my daughters is a horrifying and disgusting thought. And let's get this straight...I am not capable of that much love for you because I have too much love for my daughters. It wouldn't happen in real life. But let's pretend like it did. How much of a sense of debt and gratitude would you feel toward me as the dad who sacrificed his daughter so you could live? Is there anything that I could ask you to do that you would not be willing to do?

Now let's fast forward 10, 20, or 30 years, when my other daughter who lived is all grown up. Let's say that for whatever reason, she has turned out to be a real nightmare. She is selfish, hateful, and mean-spirited. And, for whatever reason, you have been the target of her hatred and ugliness.

If I ask you to forgive her even if she is unwilling to repent and change her behavior toward you...could you? Could you find it in your heart to release her from the hatred and spite that she deserves for her bad behavior for the sake of my daughter that died in your place and for the sake of my love that saved you so many years ago? Could you treat her with respect even when she treats you with disdain simply because you remember how much I gave up for you and I am her father? Could you refrain from telling others about her shortcomings and the way she has abused you, not because of the way you feel toward her, but because I asked you to as her father? Could you love her with your actions and pray for her forgiveness even when your emotions are still raw from her actions?

Because that predetermined decision to forgive based on what has been forgiven you is exactly what God has asked us to do for his children who have wronged us. The only difference is that instead of only knowing his Son for 3 years or for 11 years, God the Father has loved His one and only unique son for all of eternity, and yet He still offered Him in your place. You know I wouldn't kill one of my daughters for you in real life...but God did kill His Son for you.

Can you forgive God's other children who are still in rebellion against their loving Father and are taking it out on you, not based on your feelings toward them, but based on your feeling toward their heavenly Father?

R.T. France speaks about Matthew 6:14-15 in the Tyndale Commentary Series and says, "The point is not so much that forgiveness is a prior condition of being forgiven, but that forgiveness cannot be a one-way process. Like all God's gifts it brings responsibility; it must be passed on. To ask for forgiveness on any other basis is hypocrisy."

Jesus illustrates this principle further in Matthew 18:23-35 with the parable of the unmerciful servant. In the story, the servant was forgiven to tune of an unfathomable amount of money and then he goes out to call a fellow servant to account for a much, much smaller some of money owed to him. I've always heard it told as if the fellow servant only owed him pennies and yet the man wouldn't forgive him, but that's not the case. The amount owed was 100 denarii, or 100 days wages. If you figure a minimum wage of $7/hr and figure a wage worker is working 8-12 hours/day that comes out to be a sum of $5,600-$8,400 in today's language. I don't know about you, but if someone owed me almost a third of a year of wages, I would not feel like it was just pennies! But compare that to the amount the servant had been forgiven by the king, 10,000 talents!! Most scholars say a talent was worth about 6,000 denarii. Using the same math as before, that's somewhere between $33.6 million and $50.4 million! And when you are talking about that kind of money, all of the sudden $8,400 actually does sound like pennies!

So what...

does that mean that I am supposed to forget about what someone has done to me even if they have not asked for repentance? Are we supposed to allow someone to continue to abuse us and others without calling them on the carpet? I recommend you read an excellent article by Jerrie Barber about when it would be a sin to forgive for some practical help on dealing with specifics. But that's about as far as I'll go toward answering those questions. Instead, I'll simply say...how has God forgiven you? Once you grasp that, let it lead you into how you should behave toward others who have wronged you understanding that God who has forgiven you already at the expense of the death of His Son has asked you to forgive His other children who are erring.

I can't imagine anything worse than getting to judgment day thinking I have lived my life for God and am secure in His grace and then hearing Him ask me why I refused to forgive my brother who owed me $8,400...or my parents who abused me...or my spouse who neglected/cheated on me...or my friend who betrayed me...or my church member who gossiped about me...or my coach who was a jerk to me...or my...you fill in the blanks.

How often do we pray for forgiveness? How often do we pray for forgiveness the way Jesus instructed us to..."as we forgive others." May we bring that part of the Lord's prayer back into our hearts and into our actions, and may God forgive us all for the times we have ignored it in the past...even as we forgive others who have ignored us.

Is Jesus really asking us to be doormats? Matthew 5:38-42

 Photo by Flickr User daninofal

"You have heard that it was said, 'eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." 

Matthew 5:38-42

 

 

 

"I think it is perhaps these four statements, more than any others in the Discourse, that cause people to throw up their hands in despair or sink into the pit of grinding legalism. This is because the situations referred to are familiar, and they can only imagine that Jesus is laying down laws about what they have to do regardless of what else may be at issue." - Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy pp. 177-178

I couldn't agree more with that statement. This teaching of Jesus is one of the hardest for me to get out of my head...not that we want to get His teachings out of our heads, just the opposite. But these statements are especially opposed to our American ideals of "personal rights," and our sense of outrage at those who "abuse the system" in order to live off of others when they have the ability to earn their keep. Not only that, but we are confronted with the choice to follow these teachings almost every single day in one way or another.

All sorts of questions present themselves and tempt us to ignore these instructions or to rationalize that Jesus didn't actually mean what He said literally. Are we to be doormats for the abusers in life? Are we to never turn any beggar down, knowing full well that we are enabling instead of helping? Are we to put our own family in harm's way financially or physically in order to follow these instructions?

These questions are all of my struggles. And I don't think I'm alone. In those circumstances we tend to feel guilty if we follow the teaching literally and guilty if we don't. How are we to be faithful to God and to Jesus' teaching and still protect our families?

I find it interesting that almost no commentators interpret Jesus' teaching here literally. To do so would be too dangerous and risky for us. Take, for instance, this comment from the Tyndale commentary of Luke: "Literal application of this verse as a rule of life would be self-defeating: 'there would soon be a class of saintly paupers, owning nothing, and another of prosperous idlers and thieves.'"

Up front, I'd like to say that while I'm not entirely sure where the balance is on this issue, it is my gut feeling that we tend to err on the side of personal safety instead of on the side of Godly obedience which sometimes involves risk taken in faith. That being said, I really appreciate, Dallas Willard's approach when he goes on to say, 

"All is changed when we realize that these are illustrations of what a certain kind of person, the kingdom person, will characteristically do in such situations. They are not laws of "righteous behavior" for those personally imposed upon or injured. They are not laws for the obvious reason that they do not cover the many cases. Additionally, if you read them as laws you will immediately see that we could "obey" them in the wrong spirit. For example, as is often actually said, 'I'll turn the other cheek, but then I'll knock your head off.'"

He also points out that the order of the sermon on the mount is important to remember. Jesus has already dealt with anger and contempt, lustful desires, and honesty. When God is in control of our attitudes and actions in those areas, the prideful and selfish ambitions that demands one's own rights will have already been dealt with and done away with. At that point, the kingdom heart will no longer need to demand personal rights. It will be motivated more for love of God and others than love of self.

Maybe the key is in figuring out what is worth fighting for. We are typically willing to fight back when we are being attacked or when we feel wronged. Maybe when we are confident in God's salvation and in His providence, we will be able to trust that He will fight for us. And perhaps we will also see that God has always called on his people to fight injustices and abuses not for ourselves, but for those who are too weak to do so for themselves. What if we who are living in the Kingdom of God were better known for fighting for the rights of others than fighting for ourselves?

May we each have enough faith in God to start erring on the side of radical obedience, not out of legalism and guilt, but out of trust that God actually knows that what worries us most about helping others and forfeiting personal rights could actually turn into massive blessings for those of us willing to trust His teaching and live these kingdom principles faithfully.

I guess the answer to the question, "Is Jesus really asking us to be doormats?" would be...maybe. It depends on what you mean by a doormat. Are those inside the kingdom of God expected to be able to take abuse and still live joyfully, trust God for vengeance instead of demanding it, and help and love others joyfully even to the point of personal sacrifice? Yes. (Mt. 5:10-12, Rm. 12:17-21, etc.)

But are we to take these instructions and apply a new set of laws that never allows me to say no when I am convinced that giving a handout would do more damage than good? I think the answer to that is no. 

But when it comes down to it, I would much rather have a heart that leans toward being in error on the first statement instead of the second, wouldn't you? After all, its hard to look at Jesus on the cross with arms outstretched praying for God to "forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" without getting the distinct impression that God tends to "err" on the side of love and grace, Himself.

(Please note that err is in quotes above...God does not err. I am speaking in human terms in order to make the point that we as humans will likely come much closer to resembling our Father when we feel like we might be "erring" on the side of grace instead of personal safety as opposed to erring on the side of selfishness and contempt thinly veiled as concern safety and "being wise.")

The hardest teaching of Jesus for brothers! Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Matthew 5:21-22 

I am the middle child of 5 and all of my siblings are about 1.5 years apart...and we are all pretty competitive. Let's just say the quote below from Phillip Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew hit close to home!

"Growing up with an older brother, I fretted this verse. Can two brothers weather the storms of adolescence without relying on words such as "stupid" and "fool"?

We must remember as we look at this verse what we talked about last week...that Jesus introduced this part of the sermon by stating that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees we will not enter the kingdom heaven. I like what Yancey wrote about the six "You have heard that it was said/ but I say to you" statements that Jesus makes in the sermon on the mount. In fact, I like them better than I feel that I can write about them, so most of this post will be his writing. First he points out that,

"Using the Torah as a starting point, Jesus pushed the law in the same direction, further than any Pharisee had dared push it, further than any monk has dared live it....Jesus made the law impossible for anyone to keep, then charged us to keep it."

But then he says,

"For years I had thought of the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint for human behavior that no one could possibly follow. Reading it again, I found that Jesus gave these words not to cumber us, but to tell us what God is like....Why should we love our enemies? Because our clement Father causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good. Why be perfect? Because God is perfect....How could I have missed it? Jesus did not proclaim the Sermon on the Mount so that we would...furrow our brows in despair over our failure to achieve perfection. He gave it to impart to us God's Ideal toward which we should never stop striving, but also to show that none of us will ever reach that Ideal. The Sermon on the Mount forces us to recognize the great distance between God and us, and any attempt to reduce that distance by somehow moderating its demands misses the point altogether.

The worst tragedy would be to turn the Sermon on the Mount into another form of legalism; it should rather put an end to all legalism. Legalism like the Pharisees' will always fail, not because it is too strict but because it is not strict enough. Thunderously, inarguably, the Sermon on the Mount proves that before God we all stand on level ground: murderers and temper throwers.... We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace."

We say we know it...that all sins are equal before God. But we never think twice about losing our temper with our families or with a particularly worrisome, annoying, or selfish person in front of us. And we typically feel justified in our lashing out. Do we not take seriously Jesus' instruction about bursts of anger being liable to the fires of hell? Are we willing to bet our eternal souls that He didn't really mean what He was saying and was simply exaggerating to make a point!? Or do we despair, because try as we might to change our attitudes and control our tongues, the fire keeps fanning into flames that burn our families and neighbors occasionally?

The answer in Christ...is a resounding neither.

We aim for God's "absolute Ideal," as Yancey calls it, with everything that we have...not out of legalism, but out of desire to imitate the love that we have seen and experienced in God. Picture it as a child who looks pitifully cute standing in his daddy's clothes that are way too big for him to fill. But he puts them on anyway because he wants to be like his daddy. And the scrawny little boy trying to fill his daddy's full-grown clothes couldn't possibly make his dad any prouder.

Yes, we aim for the absolute Ideal and when we fail and fall short of it, we glory even more in God's grace as we see through scripture his smile at our desire to "wear his clothes." And that smile causes our desire to be as forgiving and as loving to others as our Father is to us grow even more. And one day...even if it is the day we meet Jesus in the air, we will finally fill out those clothes and they will fit perfectly naturally for the rest of our eternal lives.

BUT WE MUST AIM AND NOT SETTLE FOR BEING "GOOD ENOUGH" AND/OR BETTER THAN THE MURDERERS 

FOR OUR GOD IS PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS!

What are you aiming for? What are you trusting in? What would it look like for you to aim for God's patience, God's "slow to anger" nature, God's love, and God's forgiveness this week?

Is mercy really safe to give? Matthew 5:7

 

 

"Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy."

Matthew 5:7

What happens if you don't stand up to a bully? What happens if you don't stand up for yourself when a family member is treating you unfairly? What happens when someone does something to you and you allow it to pass without comment?

We all know the answer to these questions, don't we? 

The bully keeps bullying and is empowered to bully again. The family member never learns their lesson and continues to act selfishly and unfairly. And the offending person continues to offend. And you suffer even more for it.

We know intuitively that we must stand up to bullies. We must fight for our rights. Oh, how many times have we heard the line in a movie, "I have rights! I'm an American!" We must fend for ourselves or be forced to live "beneath" everyone else who is fending for themselves.

And yet, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, to pray for our enemies, and yes...even to love them instead of loving only our neighbors. 

Now remember, we are looking at the beatitudes in light of them being statements of fact rather than admonitions of how to be. But in other places like the ones sighted above and many, many more all the way through the Bible, we are instructed to be merciful and to show mercy. In fact, one of the main descriptions of God throughout His word is that He is merciful, and we are called to emulate that quality.

In Josh's condensed and paraphrased dictionary, God's mercy is all about his covenant love with His people that compels Him to put up with a whole bunch of junk simply because He is committed to His people. I've often used a description I heard a long time ago that describes grace and mercy as flip sides of the same coin. Grace is getting something we don't deserve (i.e.- forgiveness) and mercy is not getting something we do deserve (i.e.- not getting an eye for an eye, etc.). They are often used interchangeably. And over and over again, we are taught and instructed that when we receive God's mercy, we are compelled to pass it on.

But the problem, is that we all know what happens if we are not careful about passing out too much mercy...

we will get walked all over!

The bullies will keep bullying.

The offenders will keep offending.

The manipulaters will keep manipulating.

And that is why Jesus sets the record straight at the very beginning of his ministry about what happens inside the kingdom, because it is the exact opposite of how we think it happens in the world. Even though people might get walked on in the world, we can be sure that God's kingdom takes precedence. And inside the kingdom of God, those who lavishly throw around mercy, will have mercy lavishly thrown upon them. That's just the way it is.

So the question for us then becomes do I really want to demand that others get what they deserve when they do me wrong in order to ensure my own well-being? Because in the kingdom of God, we are promised to be shown mercy simply because we are in the kingdom of heaven through the blood of Christ. And once we are in the kingdom of heaven and experiencing that mercy...the only thing in the world...and in all of eternity that makes sense is to pass that mercy on to everyone else we can and forget about the temporary consequences that typically make us cautious in our mercy-giving. 

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."