January 20 - “Have you not read....?”

        Matthew 19:4 - “Haven’t you read”, Jesus replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’....”

        This response from Jesus to a question about divorce gives us serious implications about what we actually believe to be true in life. Often, we verbalize statements that are based upon what we grew up hearing and/or learning from various sources, such as our grandparents, school teachers, neighbors, or civic leaders, etc. Sometimes these statements are true; sometimes they are assumed to be true, but are only half-truths, old wives’ tales, or downright falsehoods due to ignorance.

        When Jesus responds to the question on divorce by the Pharisees in Matthew 19, he is assuming that they should already know the answer, because they should know what the sacred writings say. In many cases, however, Jesus has to correct their thinking about these writings and/or enlighten them because their understanding is so narrow, rigid, or otherwise skewed.  In four other places mentioned in the book of Matthew (12:3; 21:42; 22:31; & 21:16), Jesus asks the same question - “Have you not read...?”

        In Matthew 22:29f, Jesus goes a little further when he chides the Sadducees: “You are in error, because you do not know the Scriptures, or the power of God.” That sounds like the consequences of being ignorant of what God has already revealed to man. In those days, usually the only people who had regular access to the sacred writings were the religious leaders of Israel. Making copies of writings was not an easy thing to do; it took precious resources of writing material such as vellum, papyrus, or parchment. Then it took so much time to copy word-for-word a document. This is partially why passing down truth via an oral tradition was so widespread. Copies of writings for an ordinary person was basically a luxury.

        Even though the Chinese started wooden moveable type at the end of the first millenium AD, it wasn’t until 1450 when Johannes Gutenberg introduced metal moveable type, that commercial widespread printing started to become a reality. Now we have moved from paper to digital printing. The whole world basically has the opportunity to read countless books. We Christians have no excuse not to read the Bible, Old and New Testaments, since those writings are so prevalent in society. Let’s look at a few more verses to take us from only a few persons with sacred-writing knowledge to the responsibility of us all.

        In Paul's 2^nd letter to his friend Timothy, he states in 2:15, “Show diligence in presenting yourself to God for approval, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, correctly handling the word of truth”. Paul is here referring to the Old Testament writings. One chapter later in verses 15-17, he reminds Timothy of “....how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for good works.” All these commands and benefits are coming from the Old Testament! How much more revelation about faith in Christ is given in the New Testament writings! Kudos to Timothy's parents and grandparents who instilled the sacred writings in Timothy at such an early age. What a blessing!

        Another beautiful verse about Old Testament events is found in 1 Corinthians 10:11 - “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us....” That sounds like something that we should read for our own benefit. Jesus takes this concept up a notch. He states in John 14:23-24, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me”. We can't obey his teaching unless we know what it is, which is why we need to read his words and remind ourselves of them over and over. The apostle John re-itererates this in his first letter. In 2:3-6, he states, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says 'I know him' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. If anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” If we want to know how Jesus walked, we have to read what is written about him. That is our responsibility.

       There is an old blues song called “Nobody's Fault But Mine”, recorded in 1927 by Blind Willie Johnson and which has been covered by countless artists since. Some of the words are: “I got a Bible in my home...I got a Bible in my home...if I don't read and my soul's lost...it's nobody's fault but mine”.

 November 10 – Dying To Self

        Psalm 101: 8 – "In the morning, I will put to silence all the wicked of the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of Yahweh."

        On the surface, this verse is one of the strangest that I have read in the Psalms. How does this verse relate to me? Let's unpack this last verse of this psalm, as well as the whole psalm itself. This is quite a short psalm, whose theme is personal integrity. Verses 2 and 3 mention carrying one's personal behavior in one's own house in a sound or complete manner. The NIV uses the word "blameless", that nebulous term that almost sounds like "perfect" but could also be related to "reputation", as in the idea of someone not being able to blame you for wrongdoing, due to ignorance of the facts. The root of the Hebrew word means "having reached the end of maturity". The Greek word "teleois" also means the same thing, and is used by Jesus in Matthew 5:48: "Be perfect (Gk: teleois), as your heavenly Father is perfect". The odd thing about this latter verse, however, is that the heavenly Father never needed a process to become completely mature. He has always been sinless, perfectly faithful in all his ways. We humans, however, need a process to become mature, complete, striving to become sinless in behavior and thought.

        Back to Psalm 101. The nation of Israel (meaning every person living in the land AND therefore, under the Mosaic law) was commanded by God to obey every law that he gave to Moses (Deuteronomy 27:1). Therefore, in some sense, morality could be forced upon individuals. There are many societal punishments listed in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy for moral sins. David, as recalled in Acts 13:22, was a man after God's heart. Therefore, it is not surprising to read the words of this Psalm, which is credited to David the King, the supreme leader of the nation. Outward morality was highly pursued to ensure God's blessings on the nation, as described in Deuteronomy 28. This is even commensurate today with some Muslim nations, which use Shariah law in their societies to enforce moral behavior. The actions in verses 7 and 8 could literally be enforced by David in his own household and at the city gates, which would have been shut and locked nightly. Therefore, in the morning, certain immoral fellows could have been blocked from entering the city if so deemed.

        Fast forward now to the new covenant, where we are not under law, nor the curse of the law (Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:10-14). We Christians no longer live in a theocratic, physical nation. We all live among pagans, in many different types of governments. However, all Christians live in the spiritual kingdom of God, serving one King and Master, who still expects obedience to all his moral ways. Therefore, verses 7 and 8 can be construed as personal commands to oneself, seeing that we ourselves are the city with gates(openings). (See Luke 11:34 & 8:18 for references to bodily openings related to light/darkness [good and evil]). We are the dwelling of the Holy Spirit; we are the city of God (1 Corinthians 6:19; Matthew 7:14; Hebrews 12:22). We are the individuals who have to secure one's "city" from the evildoers. Colossians 3:1-10 gives us the clear command that is the spiritual fulfillment of Psalm 101:7, 8: "Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above.....set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God....put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed....because of these, the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed [to maturity] in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

        One thing to note further: John Bunyan understood this concept, when he wrote his book The Holy War: The Battle for Mansoul, in 1682. This is a lesser-known book from the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, but is just as important and relevant as an allegory of spiritual growth.

 

 February 4 – To Wed or Not To Wed

       Matthew 19:10-12 – "The disciples said to him, 'If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.' Jesus replied, 'Not every one can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs, because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have made themselves eunuchs because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.' "

       I just read a short one-page biography of a full-time Christian worker with a well-known American ministry. At the end of the article was a short prayer request for this worker. It read: "Pray for [Lora] that she would never lose her first love, Christ; pray for contentment as a single woman; and pray for wisdom should God's will be for her to marry." Lora is 40 years old and has never been married; she became a Christian in high school. The article gave the impression that Lora has also been working as a full-time Christian worker, personally raising her own financial support, since she graduated from college. That sounds like someone who is confident in her calling!

       However, the final prayer request lacked that same confidence. I believe that request was wonting, not because of confidence itself, but because of a lack of understanding of God's sovereign will versus his allowance of our freedom to make choices in serving him and living for him. Let's look at the last reference in the scripture above regarding eunuchs. This is obviously a term that is rarely mentioned in one's lifetime. Nonetheless, it is simply referring to a male's penis being removed from the body (I don't recommend it). However, the last reference could also be symbolic of the state of renouncing marriage for life, and, therefore, not physical. Regardless of the physicality, Jesus' meaning is that celibacy is a gift(!) for those who can abide by such, not needing a spouse and being content with living alone.

       Paul further elucidates this idea in 1 Corinthians 7, a rather long, but clear, chapter on marriage and celibacy. In verse 7 of that chapter, he also calls celibacy a gift – as well as marriage being a gift! They are both gifts. He also states that those who can accept the gift of celibacy, have the greater gift. But neither person is wrong for accepting whatever gift he takes. God allows us to take whichever gift we want.

       Paul's further instructions, however, start with verse 29 and goes to verse 38. He wants us married folks to be fully devoted to Jesus, and he tells us that earthly marriage can be a hindrance to that devotion. Jesus also clearly tells us that we are to love Yahweh our God with all our hearts, minds, and strength (Matthew 22:37). I am also to love God more than I love my spouse, which is strongly implied in Luke 14:26, Exodus 34:14, and throughout the 7^th chapter of I Corinthians.

       The upshot is that Lora is incorrect to think of marriage as God's will. She is free to accept whatever gift she wants, so long as her devotion to God remains steadfast or even becomes greater. There is no need to be confused about getting married, because either way God is pleased with giving you a gift. He is even more pleased when we love him more than the gift itself.