Escape to Reality » dead religion

Endure Hardship? Or Thresh Mountains?

Paul Ellis — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:29:17 +0000

A few days ago, a house on the Sunshine Coast in Australia was destroyed in a fire that was possibly started by faulty Christmas lights. A family of five were sleeping inside at the time but only the father managed to escape the flames. The neighbours found him in the driveway “burnt from head to toe” and screaming in pain. There is some speculation in the press that his wife might have been able to save herself but she stayed with her children, two of whom were disabled. As a father of three, my heart breaks for that man. When he wakes up in hospital he will learn the awful news that he has just lost his entire family.

I wish I could go to that man in the burn unit and say something to ease his pain but I don’t know what I would say. However, I know what I wouldn’t say:

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? (Heb 12:7, NIV)

I have just read something that has my blood boiling. There is steam coming out of my ears. Here’s a paraphrase:

You should view every hardship in life as God’s loving discipline. God is sovereign and everything that happens to you – whether good or bad – is for your good. Indeed, it is proof of His love for the Lord disciplines those He loves.

Apparently this is meant to be a comfort to people in pain. Maybe you just lost your wife and kids in a house-fire but be comforted! God did it. Why? Because He loves you.

Sheesh. And we wonder why sinners aren’t running into our churches.

Job 2.0

One year ago I wrote that God was not responsible for Job’s loss no matter what Job 1:21 says. I still get emails on a weekly basis that say, “How dare you contradict the Bible. How dare you say that God is not the author of evil.” How can I say it? Because Jesus said it:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (Joh 10:10)

Isn’t it strange that most Christians would hesitate to tell the burned man that his family and home were destroyed by the devil – “you can’t blame Satan for everything” – yet they are quick to point the finger at our loving Father. “God did it.” But why would God kill three little kids in their sleep? Who can say. God is mysterious.

Forgive me for ranting, but this is insane! It is exactly this sort of madness that makes the church look like a bunch of whackos. This kind of thinking dishonors the name of the Lord. Worst of all, it keeps up passive when we should be taking a stand and fighting back. Instead of resisting the devil so that he flees, we submit to the devil and say, “The Lord is disciplining us. Oh we’re so loved!”

And this is why I am writing. There is a time for enduring hardship and there is a time for resisting the devil and you need to know the difference. As usual, Jesus is our role model. He did not consider sickness a hardship to be endured – He resisted it. Neither did He consider demonic oppression a hardship to be endured – He resisted it. At times He even resisted death by raising a little girl and a dead man. He spoke to storms and said we would speak to mountains. Jesus did all these things to show us how the Father responds to the devil’s work. And yes, I have no problem attributing sickness to the devil:

You know… how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. (Act 10:38, NIV)

I said I didn’t know what I would say to the man in the burn unit, but Jesus would know. He is the “God of all comfort who comforts us in all of our troubles” (2 Cor 1:3-4). If I was in a position to visit that man I would trust the Holy Spirit to show me what to say and do. Sadly, accidents are a fact of life and innocent children die as a result. But there’s healing for everything. You want to talk about the mystery of God? Then marvel at how He is able to bring good even out of the most awful of circumstances.

Arise shine!

The bad news of dead religion has turned Christians into commentators on the sidelines of life. If something good happens, we congratulate each other for sowing into kingdom principles. If something bad happens, we say the Lord did it because He loves us. This is a nauseating, useless, and demonic theology. Live this way and you will never display the manifold wisdom of God to rulers and authorities in heavenly realms (Eph 3:10).

I don’t normally write reactive posts like this but I just had to vent. I’m heartbroken for that man in the burn unit and I’m heartbroken over a church that gets its theology from Job’s friends.

I began by paraphrasing some bad writing. I’m going to finish by paraphrasing something that’s pure gold. You can then decide which you will trust in.

See Jesus! See the finished work of the cross! Your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. You may have problems and hardships and yes thick darkness is over the peoples. But the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Those mountains are coming down! You may be a worm, little Jacob, but God Himself will help you. He will make you into a threshing sledge with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. (Is 41:13-14, 60:1-2)

Your One Big Truth and the Wisdom of Puddleglum

Paul Ellis — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:10:37 +0000

What is the most important lesson you have learned in life?

Your answer to this question defines your One Big Truth. Your One Big Truth is the truth you cling to when all is lost. It’s the backbone that helps you stand and the keel that keeps you on course. It’s the spark in your imagination, the drive in your engine, and the peace in your sleep.

Do you have a One Big Truth?

Perhaps you’ve never thought about this before. Then consider Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle. Puddleglum is one of my favorite characters from the Chronicles of Narnia. He is grim, gloomy, and famously pessimistic: “There’s one good thing about being trapped down here – it’ll save funeral expenses.” But he’s a good wiggle in a storm. If you’ve read The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, you will know what I’m talking about.

Puddleglum’s conviction

Near the end of the story, Puddleglum and his friends Jill and Eustace find themselves trapped in the dark world of Underland. Using incense and lies, an evil enchantress tries to convince them that the world they’re looking for does not exist. Narnia is nothing but a make-believe world and Aslan a foolish dream. Jill and Eustace are bewitched but Puddleglum breaks the spell with a bold declaration:

Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up all those things… Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one… That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.

Puddleglum’s One Big Truth was that Aslan and Narnia were more real than the world he could see with his eyes. Acting on his conviction, Puddleglum refuted the witch’s lies, stomped on her fire, and saved the day.

As Puddleglum so brilliantly shows us, your One Big Truth is an undimmable light in a dark world. It’s an unbreakable bridge between where you are and where you are going. If Puddleglum had not been so sure of his One Big Truth, then all would’ve been lost. It is unlikely that he and his friends would have escaped the realm of Underland.

So what is your One Big Truth? What is your central belief? In my travels I have encountered several beliefs that people have adopted as their Big Truths. Here are four:

-   obedience – the most important thing is to obey God no matter what; He demands it
-   attitude – the most important thing is to make a good effort; God knows our hearts
-   sacrifice – the most important thing is give God our best; He has already given us so much
-   fruit – the most important thing is to bear much fruit proving ourselves to be His disciples

I suppose these are fine but they are not my One Big Truth. The difficulty I have with these is that all of them rely on me – my obedience, my attitude, my sacrifice, and my fruit-bearing – and I just don’t have that much faith in me. Like Puddleglum, my faith is in another. My backbone comes from Someone else.

What do you want to pass on to your kids?

Lately I’ve been asking myself, what is the one supreme lesson that I want my kids to learn from me? In other words, what is my One Big Truth? I’ll give you my answer in a minute but before I do, why don’t you pause and ask yourself that question. What is the single greatest insight that you would impart to those who come after you?

Have you got something?

Okay, here’s my One Big Truth: God loves us with an unfailing love. This is simply mind-blowing to me. Every form of love that you and I will experience in this world is failing love – it breaks, it wounds, it disappoints, and eventually it dies. I don’t mean to sound jaded – I’m not – but human love is inherently brittle. We were not designed to live off it.

But God’s love never, ever fails. Not ever! What does that mean? Jeremiah said His is an everlasting love (Jer 31:3). It doesn’t wear out or die. Paul said His love surpasses knowing (Eph 3:19). Your mind simply cannot grasp the extravagant magnitude of His love for you. Paul also said His love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This is the honest-to-God truth. God doesn’t love you with human love. He loves you with an unconditional and unfailing love (1 Cor 13:7). I guarantee you that you’ve never seen its like anywhere else!

God will never make you jump through hoops to earn His love. He won’t love you any more if you succeed and He won’t love you any less if you fail. If you lead millions to Christ or none at all He’ll love you just the same. He loved you into existence and He loved you while you were dead in sin (Rm 5:8). His love for you is unaffected by your obedience, your attitude, your sacrifices and your fruit. He loves you because He is love. But as awesome as God’s love is, it will have no effect on you unless you know it. It is knowing and being convinced about the truth that sets you free.

Knowing the Father’s love

Think of the Prodigal Son. His father loved him the same at the beginning of the story as at the end. His love was without shadow or qualification. But the Prodigal didn’t know his father’s love until he was embraced. I am sure the father wanted to hug his son every day but the son wasn’t interested. In fact, the son wished his father was dead so he could get his hands on the old man’s money. Later he returned home because he thought he could earn favor by serving. Happily, he learned that the Father’s love is not for sale.

It was the same with the older brother. He didn’t know his father’s love. His one big truth was based on his obedience: “All these years I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.” If the younger brother was a rebel, then the older brother was a religious man. The father loved both of his sons but neither knew it.

Jesus once said to the Pharisees, “I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts” (Joh 5:42). Those who preach religious duty and obligation are unacquainted with the unfailing love of God. This is why they portray His love as brittle and conditional – they’re preaching what they know. If you listen to the lies of religion, then you will never know the unfailing and unconditional love of God. Religion cannot give you what religion does not have.

I hope that my kids turn out to be nothing like the Prodigal and his brother. But if they were to stray and end up in the pig pen, or worse, a works-based church(!), the one thing I hope they would remember above all else is that God loves them with an unfailing love. Religion would tell them that God is standing with crossed arms, but Grace declares His arms are always open. Religion says God is angry and maybe hates you, but Grace proclaims He is always in a good mood and His favor is on you. Religion says you need to get yourself sorted out and cleaned up before you can come home, but Grace shouts, “Come as you are!”

I can’t prepare my children for every possible lie and snare that this world might throw at them. Who knows what evil enchantress lies waiting around the corner? But if they know the unfailing love of their heavenly Father – if they know that Almighty God is for them – it won’t matter who comes against them.
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Related posts:
- Is God’s love unconditional?
- Grace and love in the Chronicles of Narnia
- Forsaking your first love: What was the Ephesians’ problem?

John 14:15 – The Commands of Jesus

Paul Ellis — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:07:00 +0000

If God loves us unconditionally, how do we account for those scriptures that link His love with our obedience, like this one:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14:15)

A legalist reads this backwards: “You will keep my commandments if you love me.” In other words, we must prove our love for God by doing what He commands. Commandment-keeping is our duty, a condition we must meet if we are to enjoy His love. But someone who is walking in grace reads it just as Jesus said it. He understands that keeping His commands is a by-product of love. Paul explains this in Romans 8:3-4, but let me give you an everyday example inspired by something I read from Steve McVey.

Here in New Zealand we have a big problem with domestic violence. Consequently, there are many laws governing the responsibilities of fathers. Break any of these laws and you might go to jail or have your kids taken away. It’s a serious business. But to be honest, I couldn’t tell you what these laws are. I’ve never read them. Yet I can confidently declare that I am keeping every one of these laws. How do I know? Because I love my kids. I don’t keep the laws to show the authorities that I love my kids and I don’t relate to my children on the basis of these laws. I relate to them on the basis of love and keeping the laws of the land flows naturally from that love relationship. I know the laws serve a good purpose, but they weren’t written for me. They were written for fathers who don’t love their kids.

Similarly, the laws found in the Bible were not written for those who love Jesus (1 Tim 1:9). Contrary to what the legalist may tell you, keeping the laws to earn what He freely offers is a surefire sign that you don’t know the love of God. A legalist reads the words of Jesus above and sees a threat. Do the commandments or else! But love makes no threats. Jesus is returning for a bride and it won’t be a shotgun wedding.

What are the commands of Jesus?

The next time someone tells you that you must keep the commands of Jesus to prove your love, ask them, “what are the commands of Jesus?” They will probably respond with the greatest commandment which is, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul” (Mt 22:38). This is fine, I guess. But if you insert that command into the phrase above it becomes, “If you love me, you will love me with all your heart, mind and soul,” which is kind of redundant.

If you read John 14:15 in context, you will see that on this occasion Jesus is referring to two specific commands. Here’s the first:

“A new command I give you: Love one another….” (Jn 13:34)

And here’s the second:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me… Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (Jn 14:1,11)

How can we be certain that these are His commandments? Because John – who was there when Jesus spoke these words – says so in one of his letters:

“And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us.” (1 Jn 3:23)

What does it mean to keep His commands?

Lest we dilute His commandments to accommodate our experience, Jesus outlines His expectations of obedience for both. Here’s what He expects from the first:

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (Jn 13:34)

How did Jesus love us? By laying down His life for us (Jn 15:3). That’s a high standard of love! Indeed, there is no greater love. And what are His expectations regarding the second commandment:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…” (Jn 14:12)

Believe in Jesus and you will do the works of Jesus. Put it altogether and Jesus is saying this:

“If you love me, you will love one another as I have loved you and your faith in me will lead to miracles like I have been doing and greater miracles still.”

If you’ve been in any church for at least five years, you will know that Jesus’ first commandment is pretty much humanly impossible to keep, while the second commandment is definitely impossible. So the next time someone tries to lay a heavy burden on you by telling you that you must keep Jesus’ commandments to earn God’s love, just ask them how many people they’ve raised from the dead! When they look puzzled, tell them that Jesus commanded us to believe in Him and He said that those who did would do the same works He did and greater works besides!

Now that we begin to understand what Jesus wasn’t saying – He wasn’t saying that we need to keep His commandments to prove our love – we’re ready to dig deeper into what He was saying. That’s the subject of the next post. You won’t want to miss it. When you see what Jesus was promising His disciples and you, it’s going to blow you away! Maybe you’ve been intimidated by John 14:15 and the other new covenant laws. If so, prepare to be set free. When you get a hold of the words of Jesus you’re going to be so pumped that you’ll want to frame them and hang them on your wall. Stay tuned!
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Related posts:
- Chop off your hand?! Was Jesus serious?
- What makes Jesus sick? (Rev 3:16)
- John 15:6 – Abiding in the vine

How well did I understand grace before I understood grace?

Paul Ellis — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:30:18 +0000

Have you ever seen those Magic Eye 3D pictures that look random at first glance but then reveal a hidden picture? Maybe there’s a group of you looking and someone says, “Wow – look at that! It’s a ship!” Then another person sees it and now they’re both describing the picture to you. But try as you might you just can’t see it. They try to encourage you. “Look – it’s right there. It’s huge!” But still you can’t see it. You’re starting to think there’s no picture at all and they’re all deluded when suddenly, revelation comes and a ship appears! If you’re like me and you’re usually the last person to see these things, you’ll no doubt embarrass yourself at this point by shouting, “I see it!”

That’s how it was for me with grace.

I knew people who looked into the Bible and saw radical grace but I didn’t. Sure, there were pockets of grace but there was a whole lot of other stuff as well. Then one day, revelation came and I saw Grace! He’s right there on every page and in every book! How can you miss Him? He’s huge! I now find myself reading old scriptures with new eyes and saying, “Look! This is speaking of Jesus! This is all about Him – I never saw this before.” Now that I’ve seen Him once I see Him everywhere. I was saved decades ago and I have always loved God with my whole heart. But when I got this revelation of His amazing grace, it was like being born again, again.

A friend recently asked me, “How well did you understand grace before you understood grace?” Here’s my answer: I thought I understood grace perfectly well. For as long as I can remember I’ve considered myself a testimony of His grace. But when Grace Himself came into focus, I was floored. I realized that I had barely understood grace at all. Looking back I can identify nine signs that showed I did not fully grasp the grace of God.

1. I understood that I was saved by grace but not that I was kept by grace

I had received Christ by faith and without doing a thing, but I was not continuing in Him by that same faith (Col 2:6). Although I would never have said it, I had taken out a little works insurance. Faith is a positive response to what God has done, but I liked to initiate things. And so my walk became “do, do, do,” rather than it’s “done, done, done.” There was no rest, only performance anxiety. There was always another meeting to lead, another plank of truth to teach, another stray sheep to gather. I thought this was normal. I could get excited about the idea of being saved and saving others, but I was not drawing from the wells of salvation with joy (Is 12:3). I was constantly stressed and I treated grace as grease for my engine.

2. I felt obliged to serve

Jesus had done everything for me, what would I do for Him? Of course I didn’t use the word “indebted” – that would’ve alerted me to the poverty of my theology – but much of what I did was motivated by a sense of obligation. I thus cheapened the exceeding riches of His grace (Eph 1:7) by trying to pay Him back for His priceless gift. Inevitably this shifted my focus from Him and His work to me and mine. Instead of being impressed by what He had done, I was trying to impress Him with what I was doing.

3. I motivated others using carrots and sticks

Because my own motives were screwed up it was inevitable that I would preach rewards and punishments to others. Do good, get good; do bad, get bad. At the same time as I was preaching against legalism I was putting people under law! My gospel was like an ash-tray – full of “buts”! God loves you but… Jesus died for you but… God’s gifts always came with a price to pay. But grace is free – you either receive it or reject it but the moment you start charging for it, you’ve missed it. There’s only one motive in the kingdom and that is love. The Son of Man didn’t come to threaten us, judge us, or scare us, but to demonstrate love (Rm 5:8). I no longer believe that evangelism means scaring the hell out of people. The good news that the world needs to hear is that God is good and He loves us. The new covenant of grace is the formal expression of His unfailing love for us (Is 54:10).

4. I saw myself as a servant rather than a son

My identity was in the things I did rather than in my Father. I saw myself as working for God (a noble cause!) rather than doing the works of God. I would not have said I was justified by what I did for I knew that grace and works don’t mix (Rms 11:6). Yet I was mixing grace with works like there was no tomorrow! But here’s the strange thing. Even though I preached servanthood more than sonship, whenever there was a crisis I was quick to relate to Him as Papa. It was only when I was strong and healthy that I was seduced by the religious need to do something for God. Happily, there were many crises!

5. I kept asking God to provide things that He’s already provided

I knew enough about grace to approach Him boldly in my hour of need, but I didn’t know that He has already given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). If someone was sick I would ask for healing when I should’ve just healed them (Mt 10:8). I would ask for more faith instead of living by the faith of the Son of God (Ga 2:20). Like the prodigal’s older brother I felt that God would bless me as I did my part. I didn’t realize that I was already blessed, deeply loved, and highly favored. In my ignorance I wasted a whole lot of time doing a whole lot of nothing. I thought I was being active and fruitful but in reality I was passive and faithless. God had already come but there I was face down asking Him to come again.

6. I was more sin-conscious than Christ-conscious

Like many Christians I was afraid of sin (keep it out of the camp!) and I was not known as a friend of sinners. I defined sin as bad works only and I taught that the solution to sin was repentance. I had read that the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Tit 2:12), but I wasn’t quite sure how that worked. So when preaching against sin I used inferior incentives like fear and punishment that led, at best, to temporary, will-powered changes in behavior. I emphasized what people must do (repent!) more that what God has already done (forgiven us!). I kept the focus on us when it should’ve been on Him and my preaching was powerless as a result. If anyone failed to experience victory over sin, I just figured they were unacquainted with God’s transforming grace – even though I had given them none.

7. I always tried to do the right thing

Someone under grace says, “I trust Him from start to finish. He will lead me in the right path” (Ps 23:3). But in subtle ways I preferred rules to relationship. What I craved were clear Biblical guidelines for living. I thought I was choosing good, but then so did Adam. We both had an independent spirit that led us to eat from the wrong tree. I felt particularly good when people came to me for guidance. I thought I was giving them wisdom when really I should just have got out of the way and taught them to lean on Jesus (Jn 10:27).

8. I had a stronger relationship with the written word than with the Living Word

I did not read the scriptures to find Jesus (Lk 24:27) but to learn, what should I do? I read indiscriminately and was often confused by scriptures that seemed to contradict each other. My solution was to go for balance: A little of this, a little of that, for all scripture is profitable. But by failing to filter what I read through the finished work of the cross, I unwittingly poisoned myself. I was mixing the death-dealing words of the law with the life-giving words of grace. Although I was zealous for the Lord, in truth I was lukewarm. I was neither under the stone-cold reality of the law nor walking in the red-hot heat of His unconditional love and grace.

9. I knew I was righteous, but I didn’t feel righteous

When I stumbled I would more readily confess my sins to God than allow the Holy Spirit to remind me of the gift of His righteousness to me (Jn 16:10). I knew I was a new creation (2 Cor 5:17), but in many ways I acted and spoke as if I was merely an improved creation. I thought honesty about my struggles was the key to getting more grace. But I probably would not have struggled so much in the first place if I had just learned to see myself as God sees me – redeemed, righteous, and holy.

I am convinced that grace comes by revelation. If you don’t yet see it this post may sound like the ramblings of a man who is unbalanced. (Thank God I am! I’m done with balance!) If you do see Grace, then right now you will be resonating like a tuning fork. So let me finish with a few words for those of you in the first group. Please be patient with those of us who are leaping for joy. Don’t walk away from the Magic Eye picture scowling, “I can’t see it, there’s nothing there.” Just keep looking! Grace really is standing right there in front of you. And He’s huge!
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Related posts:

10 Myths about the Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Paul Ellis — Sat, 14 May 2011 19:25:27 +0000

Religious people tend to view the Holy Spirit as a kind of Divine Bookkeeper, a recorder of men’s sins. But if Jesus did away with sin once and for by the sacrifice of Himself (He 9:26), what’s left for the Holy Spirit to do? He must be unemployed!

In Part 1, we looked at 10 myths surrounding the Person of the Holy Spirit. In this post we’re going to look at 10 myths regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit…

Myth 1: The Holy Spirit teaches me to keep the commandments
Truth 1: The Holy Spirit guides you into a relationship with Truth Himself (Jn 16:13-14)

What did Jeremiah (31:33) mean when he prophesied that the Spirit would write His laws in our hearts? Was he promoting a relationship with the rules? No. Jesus is the law-keeper who lives within. Think of the Holy Spirit as a match-maker wooing you to Jesus. As we rest in Jesus and let Him live His life through ours (Gal 2:20), we find ourselves keeping the commandments effortlessly. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Rms 8:3-4) More here.

Myth 2: The Holy Spirit is like a Divine Policeman enforcing law and order
Truth 2: The Holy Spirit strengthens, encourages and prospers the church (Acts 9:31)

Since many believers have been brought up on a diet of law and obligation, it is natural to think of the Holy Spirit as a Policeman enforcing God’s commands. But this is confusing covenants. How does the Holy Spirit strengthen and build up the church? Principally by revealing more and more of Jesus (Jn 16:14, Phm 1:6). The Holy Spirit is so good at what He does, that Jesus said that it was for our good that He leave so the Spirit could come (Jn 16:7). Think about that! We’re better off now with the Spirit than we were with Jesus in the flesh.

Myth 3: The Holy Spirit is unpredictable, sort of the solo agent of heaven
Truth 3: The Holy Spirit speaks the words of Jesus and the Father (Mt 10:20, Jn 14:26)

They really are all on the same team.

Myth 4: The Holy Spirit is mysterious and secretive – He’s hard to figure out
Truth 4: The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and revelation (Jn 16:14, Eph 1:17)

The Holy Spirit is in the business of making known to us the mystery of God’s will (Eph 1:9, Dan 2:19, Rom 11:25). Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide us, not into some truth, but into all truth (Jn 16:13). He is not the author of confusion – that would be the devil. Rather, the Holy Spirit is the One who helps us make sense out of all Jesus said and did and everything that is about to happen (Jn 16:13, MSG). He really is the most wonderful Guide. Keep in step with the Spirit and you’ll never put a foot wrong.

Myth 5: The Holy Spirit scares me
Truth 5: The Holy Spirit releases rivers of peace and joy (Rm 14:17)

The Holy Spirit is the most powerful Being in the universe and He is for you (Rm 8:31). Some translations call Him “The Friend” for He truly is the great Friend of sinners (leading them to Jesus) and saints (encouraging and guiding us). He never leaves us for He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Pro 18:24). Jesus said the Spirit would be in us like a river (Jn 7:38). Just as a river needs to flow, so too does the Holy Spirit desire to flow out of you to refresh and bring life to others. One emotion which is consistently linked with the Holy Spirit is joy (Lk 10:21, Acts 13:52, 1 Th 1:6). If there is no joy in your walk, lean on the Holy Spirit. Believe that He is with you and in you to strengthen you with the Lord’s joy. If you are timid in your witness, understand that God has not given you a spirit of intimidation (2 Tim 1:7). His kingdom is characterized by righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Myth 6: The Holy Spirit is in the background somewhere – I’m not sure what He’s up to
Truth 6: The Holy Spirit actively partners with us and empowers us to be bold witnesses (2 Cor 13:14, Acts 1:8)

In Greek the Holy Spirit is described as a paraclete (Jn 16:7). The image is of a soldier who partners with us side-by-side in combat like Jonathan’s armor-bearer (1 Sam 14:7). And what a Powerful Partner He is! He never loses, He bears no scars, and His enemies have already been defeated! If you are saved then you already are acquainted with His work, for you could never have confessed Jesus as Lord without His help (1 Cor 12:3). (Have you ever thanked Him for that?) Many Christians know what it is to walk in the authority of Jesus’ Name, but they do not fully operate in the power of the Spirit. They’re like a cop with a badge but no gun. Jesus gave us authority (Lk 10:19) but said the Spirit would give us power (Acts 1:8). When the Spirit came on Saul in the Old Testament, the Bible says he was turned into another man who was empowered to do “whatever the occasion demands” (1 Sam 10:6-7, NKJV). Similarly, in the new covenant the Spirit turns you into a new creation who is empowered to preach and demonstrate the gospel of the kingdom (1 Co 2:4). This includes healing the sick, driving out demons, and raising the dead, as the occasion demands (Mt 10:8). See Acts 3:11-16 for a picture of what this looks like.

Myth 7: The Holy Spirit leaves me speechless and anxious
Truth 7: The Holy Spirit gives you words to say so you need not worry (Mk 13:11, Lk 12:12)

Do you have an opportunity to speak but you’re stuck for words? Never fear for He is here! The gospel message is conveyed with words and wonders and the Holy Spirit provides them both. Trust Him – He’s really in you and with you! – and ask for His wisdom. He gives generously (Jas 1:5) and His wise words come pre-packaged with boldness (Acts 4:31).

Myth 8: The Holy Spirit is a euphemism for the warm fuzzies I experience in the mood music that follows the preaching
Truth 8: The Holy Spirit reinforces the preaching of the gospel with signs and wonders (Rms 15:19, 1 Th 1:5)

The modern church has diluted the role of the Holy Spirit to accommodate their limited experience of the supernatural. But Jesus promised that “signs will accompany those who believe” (Mk 16:17). What miracles were attributed to the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts? All of them! It’s the book of His acts. Every time the good news is preached, the Holy Spirit is looking to confirm the message with signs following. His ministry is revealed in a Show and Tell gospel. “With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose…” (Acts 4:8, MSG). Cool huh?

Myth 9: The Holy Spirit crushes me with impossible demands – He teaches me how to die daily
Truth 9: The Holy Spirit raises the dead, makes us new, gives life, warns us of dangers, and frees us from the burdens of religion (Rm 8:11, Tit 3:5, Acts 15:28, 20:23)

More covenant confusion! The ministry of the law brings death and condemnation, but the ministry of the Spirit brings life and righteousness (2 Cor 3:6-9). True, He’ll let us come to the end of ourselves so that we might learn to trust Him. But He loves you just the same whether you stay in the boat or dance on the water. He comforts, He doesn’t condemn. Jesus promised life in abundance (Jn 10:10). The Holy Spirit delivers on that promise by replacing fear with courage, weakness with strength, and death with resurrection life (Acts 4:8-13, 2 Co 1:9, 12:10).

Myth 10: The Holy Spirit gives different groups different revelation which is why we have different denominations
Truth 10: The Holy Spirit baptizes us into one body (1 Cor 12:13)

There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all (Eph 4:4-6). We see the distinctions and call them “flavors,” but God sees one body with many members (Rms 12:5). God gives diverse gifts for a common purpose – that we might mature and reach true unity in the faith. Unity will happen when we believe exactly what the Son of God believes and know accurately what He knows concerning us (Eph 4:13, MIRROR). The Holy Spirit produces unity in the body, not division.

10 Myths about the Holy Spirit

Paul Ellis — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:31:29 +0000

One of the biggest signs that a believer does not fully understand what happened at the cross of the Calvary, is that they are scared of the Holy Spirit and His work. They view him as a Convictor and Policeman even though Jesus called Him the Comforter and Counselor. Their perceptions are shaped by old covenant traditions rather than new covenant truths.

Here are 10 myths and 10 truths about the Person of Holy Spirit:

Myth 1: The Holy Spirit keeps a record of my sin.

Truth 1: The Holy Spirit remembers your sin no more (He 10:17).

The Holy Spirit is not forgetful, but love keeps no record of wrongs. At the cross, justice was done and all your sins were forgiven (Col 2:13). To forgive literally means to send away. Your sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12). God has reconciled the world to Himself and is no longer counting men’s sins against them (2 Cor 5:19). If the old covenant was characterized by remembrance of sins (He 10:3), the new is characterized by forgetting them (He 8:12).

Myth 2: The Holy Spirit convicts me of my sin.

Truth 2: The Holy Spirit convicts you of your righteousness (Jn 16:10).

How could He convict you of something that He chooses not to remember? Jesus has done away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb 9:26). Your sins are not the problem. The real question is whether you trust in the grace of God. As an expression of His love and mercy, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of the sin of unbelief in Jesus. But the only thing He “convicts” or rather, convinces, Christians of is their righteousness (Jn 16:8-10).

Myth 3: The Holy Spirit leads me to confess my sin.

Truth 3: The Holy Spirit leads you to confess Jesus is Lord (1 Co 12:3)!

The Holy Spirit will never seek to distract you from Jesus. His ministry will always make you Jesus-conscious rather than self-conscious (Jn 16:14). Specifically, the Holy Spirit will lead you to recognize Jesus as Lord which means everything you have – including your problems and sins – belongs to Him. You don’t have the right to your sins. They are not yours for He bought them with His blood. Still thinking about your sins? Then reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rm 6:11).

Myth 4: The Holy Spirit is watching to see if I slip up and fail to finish.

Truth 4: The Holy Spirit personally guarantees your salvation and inheritance (Eph 1:13-14).

When you were saved you were marked as one of God’s own (2 Cor 1:22) and sealed with the Spirit for the day of redemption (Eph 4:30). The Holy Spirit is not a fault-finder, but a hope-giver (Rm 15:13). His hope is a firm and secure anchor for the soul (He 6:19). What’s your part in this? Trust Him!

Myth 5: The Holy Spirit reveals God’s judgment.

Truth 5: The Holy Spirit reveals God’s love (Rm 5:5).

“God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit…” (Rms 5:5, GNB). “So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 Jn 4:18). If you fear God’s punishment, please allow me to introduce you to the Holy Spirit.

Myth 6: The Holy Spirit inspires us to fear a holy and distant God.

Truth 6: The Holy Spirit helps you to know and draw near to God your Father (Eph 1:17, Gal 4:6).

“For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Father! My Father!’” (Rm 8:15, GNB). Wow! How good is that?!

Myth 7: The Holy Spirit lives somewhere out there, probably behind Alpha Centauri.

Truth 7: The Holy Spirit lives in you (1 Co 6:19; 2 Ti 1:14, Rm 8:11).

Under the old covenant, God lived in the temple. In the new covenant, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Co 6:19). Where does He live? In you! As Ralph Harris says, you are “God’s sacred mobile home.”

Myth 8: The Holy Spirit comes and goes. We need to cry out for Him to come.

Truth 8: The Holy Spirit abides, dwells, stays with you and in you (Jn 14:17, 1 Jn 3:24, Rm 8:11).

In the old covenant the Holy Spirit rested on certain people for certain times. But in the new covenant He abides with us and “makes His home in us” (2 Ti 1:14 AMP). If you have received the Holy Spirit, be comforted, for He’s not going anywhere. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us (He 13:5).

Myth 9: The Holy Spirit plays hard to get.

Truth 9: The Holy Spirit is The Gift, sent by Jesus and freely given by the Father (Jn 16:7, Lk 11:13, Acts 10:45).

According to Galatians 3:14, Jesus redeemed us so that we might receive the blessings promised to Abraham, namely, the promise of the Holy Spirit. Do you believe that Jesus has redeemed you? Then you are eligible to receive the promised Holy Spirit. Who is not eligible to accept Him? The (unsaved) world, “because it neither sees Him or knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you” (Jn 14:17). Look at what Peter said to those who heard the gospel at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit does not limit Himself to a chosen few. Believe in Jesus and you will, you will, you will receive the promised Gift! Believe it!

Myth 10: To receive the Holy Spirit you must fast, pray, attend some classes, get straightened out, act holy…

Truth 10: The Holy Spirit is received by faith (Gal 3:14).

Did you fast and pray to receive Jesus? Didn’t think so. You just received by faith. It’s exactly the same with the Holy Spirit. How do we receive the promise of the Spirit? By faith (Gal 3:14)! “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Lk 11:13). Here Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit is freely given to all who ask. Don’t let anyone tell you that you must do stuff to earn what God freely gives. Jesus already did it all. “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (Jn 16:24)

In this post we looked at 10 myths surrounding the Person of the Holy Spirit. In the next post we’ll look at 10 myths surrounding the work of the Holy Spirit. Stay tuned!

The Test of your Gospel

Paul Ellis — Sat, 07 May 2011 19:54:58 +0000

I once heard a preacher say that “80 to 90% of Christians are unacquainted with the gospel of grace.” I guess this estimate is not far off the mark as evidenced by the large numbers of believers who are still trying to earn what God has freely given them. If you were to ask these people about grace they would declare, “yes, I am saved by grace! I thank God for His grace!” But by their works they testify that God’s grace is not enough. Grace may have got them started, but now it’s up to them to finish. Having begun with the Spirit they are now trying to attain their goal by human effort (Gal 3:3). Instead of working out what it means to be saved, they are working hard to stay saved.

How does this happen? Usually someone tells them that God won’t accept them or bless them or be pleased with them unless they perform for Jesus. Dead religious works are sold with respectable labels like “responsibility,” “good works,” “mission,” “sowing,” and “investing.” I am not against these things! What I am opposed to is the diabolical lie that says God’s favor depends on me doing them.

Do you know that you are saved by grace and kept by grace?

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him.” (Col 2:6)

How did you receive Him? By faith. How should you continue to live in Him? By faith! It’s faith in God’s grace from start to finish. Are you living by the faith of the Son of God? Or have you taken out a little works insurance? As Watchman Nee put it, the choice is between trying and trusting. You can try or you can trust but you can’t do both. Are you a tryer or a truster?

I have proclaimed the true gospel elsewhere. I have also listed some of the common ways the gospel is perverted along with some signs that you might be living under self-imposed law. What I want to give you here is a simple test to help you determine whether the gospel message you’re trusting in is the same gospel that Jesus revealed and Paul preached. It’s a simple test. Just ask yourself the following four questions. If your answers are all yes, then rejoice, for you are living on pure, undiluted grace!

1. Does this gospel cause me to fix my eyes exclusively on Jesus?

Does this message focus on me or does it cause me to fix my eyes on the Author and Finisher of my faith? Does it emphasize what I’m doing (or not doing), or does it emphasize His finished work on the cross? Does it make me introspective and anxious or Christ-conscious and grateful?

A true gospel preacher will always seek to reveal more and more of Jesus. It took me years to realize this. When I began preaching in the 1990s, I used to preach on the kingdom. I loved the kingdom and I still do. But I now realize that my love for the kingdom was really a love for the King. Now I just preach of this Great King who loves me and gave Himself for me. Now I just preach Jesus.

Preachers, do you need a message on healing? Then preach Jesus! Do you need a series on overcoming, giving, wisdom, holiness, faith, warfare, marriage, family life, outreach, helping the poor, deliverance, Leviticus, the Tabernacle, etc? Then preach Jesus!

Whatever your need, your answer is found in Jesus and His finished work. That’s why Paul resolved to know nothing but “Christ and Him crucified” (1 Co 2:2). Any message that doesn’t reveal Jesus will likely be powerless substitute, a flesh-trip, and a wasted opportunity. Jesus is the supreme manifestation of the character and purpose of God. Any message that diminishes Jesus, insults the Spirit of grace. Jesus is peerless and nothing compares to Him. He has become for us wisdom from God and I will boast (preach) of nothing else (1 Co 1:30-31).

2. Does this gospel increase my dependence on Jesus?

Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Sadly, much is being done apart from Jesus and most of it will amount to nothing! Instead of healing the sick, raising the dead and driving out demons – the very things Jesus said His followers would do – we’re doing other stuff. And because we’re so busy doing other stuff we’re worn out and missing opportunities to do the works and greater works of Jesus.

Let me put your mind at rest right now: I guarantee that in your own strength you cannot heal the sick and raise the dead. Don’t even try. But Christ in you can do these and greater things! Do you trust Him? Working out your salvation with fear and trembling describes the adventure of learning to do impossible things with Jesus. Here’s the test: The true gospel will always inspire you to take risks in His Name, but a false gospel promotes activity in your own name.

3. Does this gospel empower me to overcome sin?

There are two ways to deal with sin; (1) preach law or (2) reveal grace. A law-based message will stir up the flesh in a human-powered quest for a change in behavior. This approach is inherently flawed for the purpose of the law is to inflame sin (Rm 7:5). Thus, any “success” with this approach will only lead to the graver sins of pride, self-righteousness, and the truly fatal sin of unbelief in the grace of a good God. Ultimately the law is powerless to deal with sin because it leaves the heart untouched (Col 2:23). Worse, it releases condemnation (which some mistake for conviction) and ministers death, just as it was designed to do (2 Co 3:7,9).

Grace declares that Jesus conquered all sin on the cross (He 9:26). You are not holy because of your behavior but His (1 Co 1:30). A preacher of grace will deal very practically with sin by seeking to reveal your true identity in Christ. You are a new creation with a new nature. Your old sin software has been nailed to the cross and you are no longer sin’s slave (Rm 6:6,20). Appetites are dealt with by recognizing who you are in Christ and reckoning your old self as dead. Again, the focus is on Jesus, not you. Jesus was tempted in every way yet was without sin. As you rest in Him, you will find grace to help you in your time of need (Heb 4:15-16).

The law does not provide useful guidelines for Christian living. We turn rules into idols when we put our faith in them instead of Christ. The Bible is very clear; the law empowers sin (1 Cor 15:56) and only a revelation of God’s grace can teach us to say no to ungodliness (Tit 2:12). Here’s the test: a false gospel will keep you sin-conscious, but the true gospel will make you Christ-conscious. Which describes you? Are you sin-conscious or Christ-conscious?

4. Does this gospel release peace and joy?

The kingdom of heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rm 14:17). If the gospel you’re listening to doesn’t reveal Jesus and the gift of His righteousness, then you will never experience the peace and joy that comes with it. It really is all about Jesus. He took our sin and gave us His righteousness (2 Co 5:21). This is what the gospel reveals – a righteousness from God that is received by faith from first to last (Rm 1:17). When you know that God has made you as righteous as Jesus, you will be empowered to reign in life (Rm 5:17).

This test is actually about righteousness: Are you resting in His or are you trying to impress Him with yours? A false gospel will seek to manufacture righteousness through works and holy living. By prescribing a course of action for you to take, it will instantly fail the above three tests. It will burden you with loads you cannot carry and expectations you cannot live up to. Before you know it, you will be as stressed and joyless as Martha.

Here’s the test. If you stopped doing the things you are doing for Jesus, would you feel guilty? What if you sinned, stopped giving, or skipped church? I’m not encouraging you to do any of these things – sin is stupid. But someone who knows they are clothed with His righteousness will never battle guilt and condemnation. Even when they sin they will sense the Holy Spirit convicting them of their continued righteousness in Christ (Jn 16:10). Conversely, one who’s bought into a false gospel will never know lasting peace. Even when they’ve performed there will always be a sense of “but have I done enough?”

Paul began every one of his letters with the phrase, “Grace and peace to you from God the Father.” It is only a revelation of God’s favor that brings true peace. Know grace, know peace. Worldly peace is temporary, but the peace of God – that sense that everything is coming together for good because you belong to Jesus and His favor rests on you – passes understanding (Php 4:7). It fortifies your heart and mind so that in all circumstances you find yourself overflowing with thankfulness (Col 2:7). No matter how severe your trial, you will be able to find rest – indeed, even joy – in His mighty, loving arms (Php 4:4).

So how did your gospel do? If you honestly answered no to any of these four questions, then I have Good News for you.
___
Related posts:
- Are you religious? Take the test
- Two religions: Works and blood
- Be earnest and repent (Rev 3:19)

What is the Unforgiveable Sin?

Paul Ellis — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:08:39 +0000

I have heard of people who lived their entire lives thinking that they were cursed because they, or their parents, had committed the “unforgiveable sin.” It was partly this conviction that made Søren Kirkegaard the gloomy Dane. If you sincerely believed that you were utterly beyond redemption and without hope, you would be gloomy too.

One of the greatest sources of anxiety among believers is confusion over issues of sin and forgiveness. Tell a confused Christian that there is an unforgiveable sin and it’s like throwing petrol on a fire. So is there an unforgiveable sin and, if so, what is it?

The bottom 10 list

Below is a list of candidate sins that I have gleaned from various commentaries. You may have committed one or all of them, but rest assured that none of them is unforgiveable:

1.   an attitude that calls evil good and good evil
2.   a lack of reverence
3.   being stubborn and unteachable
4.   not loving the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength
5.   willful or intentional sin
6.   unconfessed sin
7.   unrepented sin
8.   harboring unforgiveness in your heart
9.   taking the Lord’s Name in vain
10.   having disrespectful thoughts about the Holy Spirit

Now there is some bad stuff on this list that can really hurt you. For instance, if you harbor unforgiveness you’ll end up bitter and twisted. But it is not helpful to tell a young mother whose husband has just run off with her best friend that she must forgive him or face eternal damnation. You might as well ask her to walk on water! The power to overcome sin – and forgive the unforgiveable – is not found in religious fear-mongering. So, in the hope of breaking a few man-made yokes, let’s review some of these so-called unforgiveable sins.

Unforgiveable sins?

Some people will try and tell you that the unforgiveable sin is a bad attitude or a lack of reverence or it’s being stubborn and unteachable. This is nonsense! Jesus didn’t suffer and die to enter us into a reverence contest. We neither earn points for being quick learners nor get punished for being dimwitted. Attitude is certainly important as it will affect the way you live and whether you reign in life. But a poor attitude won’t disqualify a saint any more than a good attitude will qualify a sinner.

Others say the unforgiveable sin is not loving the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength – it’s putting Sunday football ahead of Jesus. This mindset naturally leads to a system of religious score-keeping. It’s the debits versus the credits. But God is not counting the number of hours we put into church versus the number of hours we spend kicking a football. You don’t qualify for eternal life because you maintain a positive or pious attitude. In fact, Jesus said this sort of religious thinking makes Him nauseous. We don’t love God to stay on His good side. We love Him because He first loved us and saved us and redeemed us and did everything we needed, while we were yet sinners (Rm 5:8).

What about willful sin? That sounds serious. Well if Jesus can’t forgive the sins we’ve done on purpose then no one can be saved. Don’t worry – His best is greater than your worst and His grace is greater than your sin!

I’ve heard plenty of people say that unpardonable sins are those we neither confess nor repent of. (This would include suicide.) They seem to forget that Jesus went around forgiving people who neither repented nor asked for forgiveness. They also forget that He forgave them long before they were born. If you preach, “you must repent to be forgiven,” then you’re preaching dead works. You’re trying to define righteousness in terms of what you do or don’t do. Wrong tree.

Am I saying you don’t need to repent? You must, but from dead works rather than sin (He 6:1). Jesus said, “repent and believe the good news” (Mk 1:15). When you change the way you think and start believing the good news – that His grace and love led Him to die for you before you had done any confessing or turning of your own – it will empower you to overcome sin. We don’t turn from sin to get forgiven; we turn because we are forgiven and His grace enables us.

What about harboring unforgiveness in our hearts? Didn’t Jesus say forgiving others was a precondition for receiving God’s forgiveness (Mt 6:15)? If it is then there’s no such thing as grace. Read your Bible through the lens of the cross. Jesus preached the law of conditional forgiveness to those who lived under the law to silence their self-righteousness and reveal their need for a Savior (Rm 3:19, Gal 3:24). We are not under law but grace (Rm 6:15). We forgive others because He first forgave us (Col 3:13).

What about taking the Lord’s Name in vain? This is one of the 10 Commandments and was a stoning offense under the old covenant:

“Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.” (Lev 24:16)

If you have taken the Lord’s Name in vain, then thank God that we live under a new and better covenant! Thank God for Jesus who has set us free from the curse of the law and and who said:

“Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven…” Mat 12:32a

You may have cursed God, but He has blessed you! I wish I could go back to 19th century Copenhagen, find the gloomy Dane and tell him the good news. “Søren, all your sins were forgiven!”

But what about the rest of that verse…

“…but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” Mat 12:32b

Here Jesus identifies the one and only sin that He says will never be forgiven, namely, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

The unforgiveable sin

This week I heard about someone who was battling condemnation because they had had disrespectful thoughts about the Holy Spirit. They were worried that they had committed the unforgiveable sin. If this has happened to you, don’t panic! First of all, don’t take ownership for every thought that passes through your mind. As the saying goes, you can’t stop the birds flying overhead, but you can stop them building a nest in your hair. Second, and as we will see in the next post, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is something very specific. If you’ve had disrespectful thoughts, that probably means you don’t know the Holy Spirit very well. But you haven’t blasphemed Him. Not even close.

So who is a blasphemer? Religion paints a picture of a blasphemer as someone who is belligerent and foul-mouthed. But a blasphemer may look more like the Pharisees and law-teachers of Jesus’ day. A blasphemer is one whose beliefs prevent him from receiving the grace of God. This includes those who refuse to believe that all the sins of men have been forgiven. Rather than allow the Holy Spirit to convict them of their unbelief, they are preoccupied with maintaining their own religious performance. “How’s my walk? Am I confessing my sins? Am I praying enough, maintaining a positive attitude and behaving such that God will bless me?” These are works that lead to death. Those who do them need to repent.

What is the unforgiveable sin? It is the sin of unbelief in Jesus and His finished work. It is the sin of not receiving the free gift of His grace and righteousness. This sin cannot be forgiven because he who commits it chooses to reject the very thing that would otherwise save him. This rejection may take the form of hard heartedness (“I don’t need Him”) or religious idolatry (“He needs my help”). In either case the grace of God is rendered ineffective simply because it is not received.

If you love Jesus, there’s no need to get hung up over the unforgiveable sin. Although hell will be full of murderers, thieves and adulterers, people do not go to hell for committing murder, stealing or adultery. As terrible as they are, all these sins have been paid for by the precious blood of the Lamb (1 Jn 1:7, Eph 1:7). So have the sins listed at the top of this post. Your choice is this: You can be sin-conscious and gloomy, or you can be Christ-conscious and rejoice!

“Happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven, whose sins are pardoned!
Happy is the person whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!” (Rm 4:7-8)

Chop Off Your Hand?! Was Jesus Serious?

Paul Ellis — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:13:45 +0000

“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Mt 5:29-30)

I doubt there’s a Christian alive who hasn’t been troubled by this verse at some point in their lives. It’s one of those things you read that causes you to do a double-take. What?! Did Jesus really say that? Was He serious? I’d better ask the pastor.

I’ll guess the odds are ten to one you came away thinking that Jesus wasn’t being serious. Afterall, Jesus is the kindest person there is. He healed people. Surely He doesn’t want us to go around maiming ourselves. Then you looked around your church and saw that no one had actually chopped off their hands and so you took comfort in the fact that everyone thought the same way as you did. There’s safety in numbers.

No doubt this is an uncomfortable pair of verses. Maybe you don’t think about them that much. But your interpretation of Jesus’ words is extremely important! So let’s cut to the chase with this question: was Jesus being figurative or literal when He made this statement? If you think He was using a figure of speech, how do you know that He wasn’t speaking metaphorically all of the time? Do you just assume that anytime Jesus said something that was tough to swallow that He was speaking figuratively? Or if you think Jesus was being literal, what are you going to do about it? Have you done what He said or have you ignored Him? Hmm. It seems your choice is presumption or disobedience. This is a tricky one. Let’s look more closely at the arguments for each conclusion.

Was Jesus speaking figuratively?

Jesus loved metaphors, especially when describing the kingdom of heaven. “It’s like a mustard seed” and “it’s like a treasure buried in field” and “it’s like a pearl of great price.” Jesus often used word pictures to convey revelation.

I guess the default view is that Jesus is making another metaphor when He tells us to gouge out our eyes and chop off our hands. “Jesus is using strong words to convey something about the seriousness of sin. He’s not really preaching self-mutilation but self-denial. What He means to say is we must be sensitive to sin and renounce it and run from it and do whatever it takes to avoid it.”

Does this sound familiar to you? It should, for this has been the standard interpretation for most of church history. But there are two fatal flaws with this conclusion. First, it assumes that Jesus was exaggerating and Jesus never exaggerated. Preachers sometimes exaggerate to make a point but Jesus always meant what He said and said what He meant. He is Truth personified. It is inconceivable that He would play with words for the crude purpose of ramming home a lesson. When Jesus spoke in parables He did so to conceal truths, not to stretch them (Mt 13:13). In any case, the passage above is not part of a parable. The context is the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus has just been speaking about anger and lust. His language is plain because the issues are serious. There is nothing metaphorical about His choice of words.

The second flaw with this interpretation is that it suggests we can do stuff to save ourselves from hell. Maybe we don’t have to self-amputate, but we can do things like confess, abstain, renounce and what have you. There’s nothing wrong with these things; the error comes in thinking we can save ourselves by doing them. No doubt it is better to enter eternal life handicapped than for your whole body to go to hell. But it does not follow that you can do things to earn eternal life.

Was Jesus speaking literally?

Most people think Jesus was speaking figuratively because they cannot conceive for a second that He meant what He said. But what if He did? Does it then follow that He actually wants us to chop off our hands? Of course not! We are sanctified by the blood of the Lamb of our severed limbs (Heb 10:29). Self-mutilation does nothing to deal with sin for sin is conceived in the heart not the hand (Mt 5:28). Besides, if you chop one hand off you’re left with another. You can still sin!

So what’s going on here? Why would Jesus tell us to do something He doesn’t really want us to do? He’s doing it so people will realize the absurdity of trying to impress God with their acts of self-righteousness. He’s preaching law on steroids not so that you will try to keep it but so that you will give up pretending you are.

It is hard for some Christians to grasp the idea that Jesus could preach both grace and law without confusing the two, but He did. Jesus is the perfect physician. He knows exactly what medicine you need. If you’re broken and hurting you’ll get grace, but if you’re self-righteous and religious you’ll get law. A self-righteous person is one who thinks he can impress God with his religious performance. The only language he understands is law. He says, “all these commands I have kept from my youth, what else do I lack?” And Jesus responds, “Okay, you asked for it, here it is – receive some more law.”

Why preach the law?

The law is not a standard to live up to, but a mirror that reveals our faults. The law was not given to help you overcome sin, but to help sin overcome you (Rms 7:8-9). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus was preaching to people who thought they would be judged righteous if they kept the law. But instead of being silenced by their inability to do so, they had watered it down making it easier to keep. In Matthew 23 Jesus gives some specific examples of how the Pharisees had diluted the law, but in Matthew 5 He sets about raising the standard of the law to its proper level. In other words, He was polishing the mirror.

Why did Jesus do this? Why did our gracious king spend so much time preaching the law? Because some people will never appreciate the good news until they’ve heard the bad news, which is this:

“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20)

The law is holy, righteous and good, but try to live by it and it will condemn and kill you (2 Cor 3:6,9). The purpose of the law is to bring man to the end of himself and reveal his need for a Savior (Gal 3:24). If you are self-righteous, you will never appreciate Jesus until the law has done its job and plowed the pride out of your smug little heart. I’m a decent person, you say. I’ve never killed or committed adultery. Not good enough, says Jesus. God knows your heart. If you’ve entertained murderous or lustful thoughts you’ve as good as done it. You’re in danger of hell-fire. This is a serious business, says Jesus. If you persist in this pathetic course of self-reliance, you had better be prepared to go the whole way even if that means sacrificing an eye and a hand. (Paul says something similar in Galatians 5:12.)

And knowing there would be some religious wackos out there who might miss the point and actually go to such extremes, Jesus hits them with this:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)

God expects perfection and nothing less. If you’re not perfect, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you’re in serious trouble. Now here’s the good news:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Mt 5:17)

Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the law on your behalf. You are not perfect, but thank God you have a perfect high priest!

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” (Heb 7:25-26)

Why did Jesus make such a big deal about the law in Matthew 5? He did it to prepare our hearts for the good news of God’s grace. Jesus is saying you can either trust your own law-keeping performance or you can trust His. But what you can’t do is dilute the law to some standard lower than perfection and think that impresses God.

Jesus wasn’t foolin’

Jesus was born under the law and fulfilled the law to redeem those under the law so that we might receive the full rights of sons (Gal 4:4-5). Because of what Jesus has done we are no longer under the law but the grace of God (Rms 6:5). The good news is that His righteousness far surpasses the righteousness of the Pharisees and He offers it to you as a free gift (Rm 1:17).

To the answer the question at the top of this post – was Jesus serious? – yes, He was deadly serious! He was so serious that He suffered and died to redeem you from the curse of the law that He himself preached. So the next time someone tells you that Jesus was playing with words, that He didn’t really mean what He said, don’t let them get away with it. Don’t let them water down His words to suit their own religious performance. Jesus was not exaggerating to make a point. Neither was He using fear to motivate us to pursue dead works of religion. He was telling us that God expects nothing short of perfection and that He – Jesus – is the only hope we have.
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Related posts:
- What makes Jesus sick?
- Are you religious? A simple test
- Seven signs that you might be living under law

Are You Religious?

Paul Ellis — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:56:20 +0000

Religion can be defined as man’s attempt to impress God. It is an attitude that says, “I can make something of myself, I can earn God’s favor.” Although it may lead to works that are charitable, this mindset is fatally opposed to grace of God. It causes a man to stand when he should bow and to strut when he should kneel. Worst of all, it causes him to see himself as a co-savior. His motives may be sincere, but he is an idol-worshipper.

Jesus didn’t suffer and die on the cross to make you religious. He died and rose again to give you a new life – His life. Anything that pretends to be a substitute for the thrill of knowing Him – of trusting Him, being with Him, and walking with Him – should be rejected as inferior.

If any of the statements in the test above describes you, then you might be a little bit religious. Here’s why…

Are you preoccupied with doing the right thing?

God is looking for relationship, but a religious person is more concerned with following the rules. Their motto could be, “Just tell me what I must do and I will do it.” Whether you define the “right thing” as the 10 commandments, the words of Jesus, your church traditions, or whatever, to live by a code of conduct is infinitely inferior to the life Christ wants to live through us. It is eating from the wrong tree.

Adam chose independence from God. An independent spirit wants to decide for himself and thus prefers rules to relationship. But someone under grace says, I trust Him from start to finish, He will lead me in the right path (Ps 23:3). Your choice is rules or relationship. You cannot reduce relationship to a set of rules. (Try it with your marriage and see how far that gets you!) Live by rules and you’re setting yourself up for failure, for any kind of law will stimulate sin and lead to death (Rms 7:5). Even when you do the right thing it’ll be the wrong thing because you’re operating in an independent spirit instead of walking by faith (Rms 14:23). But when you choose to abide in Christ – when He is your all in all – you’ll find yourself doing the right thing at the right time every time. If you haven’t heard this before, then take a moment to read the good news.

Do you act as if God is keeping score?

A performance mentality is central to all the religions of the world: Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad. The problem with this is your best is not good enough. If God was keeping score, all of us would fall short. Thus it is natural for a religious person to suffer from performance anxiety. God doesn’t grade on the curve and He’s not obligated to pass a certain percentage of the class. In fact, He expects perfection and nothing less. So either you must deliver a perfect performance or you must put your faith in a perfect representative. Jesus is our perfect High Priest (Heb 7:28). Trust Him!

Contrary to what religion will tell you, we are not justified by what we do but by grace alone (Rms 3:24). His grace and our works do not mix. Indeed, they nullify each other out (Rms 11:6). Grace is God’s part; faith is our part (Eph 2:8). Faith is saying, “thank you Jesus!” Faith doesn’t just get you started; it’s faith from first to last (Rms 1:17).

Are you sin-conscious?

Sin-consciousness is the strongest indicator of a religious mindset. Gifts and sacrifices will do nothing to clear the guilty conscience of a religious person (Heb 9:9). The only remedy is a revelation of the blood of Jesus shed for your forgiveness (Heb 9:14, Mt 26:28). Through His one-time sacrifice for the sins of the world, Jesus has done away with sin (1 Jn 2:2, Heb 9:26). Sin was a problem, but because of Jesus it is no longer a problem. So what is the problem? The problem now is whether you will choose to believe in the all-sufficiency of Christ and His finished work. Religion will keep the focus on you and your unworthiness, but grace focuses on Christ and His worthiness.

Are you motivated by your Christian duty?

Religion cries, “Jesus died for you. What will you do for Him?” I would do anything for Jesus, but if my motivation is a perceived debt, then I’ve missed grace. God didn’t send His Son to fetch an army of servants. Jesus came out of love. A religious person is motivated by their love for Christ, but we are to be motivated by Christ’s love for us. As Paul said, “Christ’s love compels us” (2 Co 4:14). God is not looking for us to impress Him with our love; He wants to impress us with His.

Whether they call it duty or responsibility, a religious person fundamentally believes that he is obligated or indebted to God. They want to work so that they no longer owe God. Indeed, they want God to owe them. They want to be in a position where God will have to bless them because of what they’ve done. This debt-consciousness is opposed to the grace of God for grace comes with no strings attached. There is no quid pro quo in the kingdom. Everything comes by the “exceeding riches of His grace” (Eph 2:7) and is received by faith. Don’t cheapen His grace by thinking you have a duty or responsibility to pay Him back. Your responsibility is to believe that He is good and true! It is not our obligation to serve the Lord, it is our royal privilege. It is not our duty, but our great delight.

Do you live in fear of God’s anger?

Listen to a religious person and you might get the impression that God is a temperamental and abusive Father who sometimes lashes out in fits of righteous wrath. A religious person sees Jesus as a sort of go-between, someone who’ll stand in the gap and take the heat for us. But the truth is that God the Father, Son and Spirit are perfectly united in purpose and character. If you want to know what God the Father is like, look at the Son (Heb 1:3).

Does God get angry with us? Look at the oath He swore in Isaiah 54:9-10 for an answer. He has promised to never be angry with us or punish us. Do you believe that God would flood the earth as He did in the days of Noah? Of course not – He promised He wouldn’t. In Isaiah 54:9-10 God says, “this is like that – if you believe that promise, believe this one too. I will not be angry with you.” At great personal cost God has forged an eternal and unshakeable covenant of peace. We are the beneficiaries of this covenant. Why did He do it? Because He is love and He loves us. When you get a revelation of His love, your fear of punishment will evaporate (1 Jn 4:18). “But didn’t Jesus say He might blot some of us out of the Book of Life?” Nope. God doesn’t use correction fluid. “But what about that verse where He says He will spew some out of His mouth?” True, there is one thing that makes Jesus sick, and that’s religion. The Laodiceans had it in spades. Make sure you don’t.

Do you like doing things for God?

Contrary to what religion has told you, we are not called to work for God but to do the work of God (Jn 6:29). Big difference! Working for God reveals our initiative, but faith is always a response to what God is doing or has done. In the Bible there are “dead works” and “good works.” Dead works are those activities that seem right to us but which lead to death (Pro 16:25). Good works are those which have been prepared by God in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10). Dead works require no faith – if you have the resources you can do them. Good works always reveal the Father and usually involve healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and driving out demons (Mt 10:8). As always, Jesus is our role model. He did nothing on His own initiative yet lived a full and fruitful life in response to the Father (Jn 5:19).

Do you see yourself mainly as a servant of God?

Here is the question that separates the religious from the righteous: Do you see God as your heavenly Father, your Papa? A religious person will hesitate to respond, scandalized by the thought that he can speak of the Almighty in such familiar terms. Then a verse will come to mind and he will say, “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God…” A religious person is content to be nothing more than a servant, and thus they miss the best thing of all.

There are only two kinds of people in the world: sons and orphans. Which are you? The devil’s desire is to have you so confused about your identity that you will relate to God in any way except as a son. A religious person will usually relate to God as a Master, but Jesus came to reveal the Father. Perhaps you left the pig trough with a prepared speech that began, “make me like one of your hired hands” (Lk 15:19). God is not interested that speech! He is not recruiting servants; He wants sons! Like the prodigal, you may see yourself as no more than a servant, but God sees you as a son (Rms 8:15, Gal 4:6). Don’t argue with your Father.
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Related posts:

Seven Signs that You Might Be Living Under Law

Paul Ellis — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:59:22 +0000

This week I finally got to see the movie, The Book of Eli. If you like stories where a lone man has to stand up to the wicked while trying to distribute the word of God in a post-apocalyptic world, then this is the movie for you. Just don’t show it at your youth group! It is extremely violent. Still, it made me think about how people attempt to use God’s word for nefarious purposes.

In the movie Eli carries the last known copy of the Bible. He comes to a town where Carnegie, the local strong man, is looking for a Bible to control people. Eli’s not about to give up the world’s last copy of the KJV to a Pharisee, so conflict ensues. Mid-way through the story, one of Carnegie’s thugs asks why they are being pushed so hard just to get a book. In an explosion of rage, Carnegie reveals his diabolical motive:

“It’s not a book! It’s a weapon. A weapon aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate. It will give us control of them. If we want to rule more than one small town, we have to have it. People will come from all over, they’ll do exactly what I tell ‘em if the words are from the book. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. All we need is that book.”

There’s a world of truth in that statement. The Bible is universally known as “the Good Book” and rightly so. Its words are inspired and it will point you to Jesus. If you read the whole Bible through the lens of the cross, you will find redemption and life. If you read the written word to discover the Living Word, it will set you free.

But when handled incorrectly the Bible is utterly lethal. Buried within lies the law which, the Bible fairly warns, ministers death (2 Cor 3:7). For thousands of years, men like Carnegie have been using the law-bits of the Bible to control and manipulate others. Their goal is to enslave and dominate and their tools are fear and condemnation.

People have been living under self-imposed law ever since Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Jesus died to set us free from the curse of the law, yet some of us keep returning to the forbidden tree for another bite. Paul warned that we become “estranged from Christ” to the degree that we are under law (Gal 5:4). What makes the grace of God ineffectual in our lives? It is getting entangled again in religious notions about what it means to do the right thing.

I’d like to think that if I’d been Adam, the first thing I would’ve built was a fence around that tree. Then I would’ve put warning signs all over that fence. It’s too late for that now, but it’s not too late to put warning signs all around the law. Below is the beginnings of a list of signs that reveal whether you are living under the enslaving yoke of law or walking free in His divine grace. My purpose is posting this list is not to judge you, but to see you standing firm and free in Christ!

Seven signs that you may be under law

1. You’re not 100% sure if you’re 100% forgiven

God doesn’t do forgiveness in installments. All your sins were forgiven at the cross (Col 2:13) when God the Son abolished sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb 9:26). Neither God the Father (Heb 8:12) nor God the Holy Spirit (Heb 10:17) remembers your sin any more. Still not convinced? Then read this.

2. You believe Christians have a duty or responsibility to serve the Lord

Duty and responsibility are synonyms for obligation so this is a mind-set that says we are obliged, or indebted, to God. I’ve heard it said that “Jesus has done so much for you, what will you do for Him?” Indeed, God has given us everything. Ever wondered why? He did it “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7). He is not just rich in grace, but exceedingly rich. You cheapen His grace by thinking you have a duty or responsibility to pay Him back. Your responsibility is to believe that He is good and true! It is not our obligation to serve the Lord, it is our royal privilege. It is not our duty, but our great delight.

3. You suffer from performance anxiety.

Performance anxiety is a rational response to the uncertainty of life under the old covenant. But anxiety has no place in the new. We are to draw water from the wells of salvation with joy (Is 12:3). We walk under law in anxiety and fear, but we walk under grace with joy and thanksgiving! “Happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven, whose sins are pardoned! Happy is the person whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!” (Rms 4:7-8, GNB) God has made us His Sons, and with such a Father we need not be worried about anything (Mt 6:32). He is our Provider who delights to give good gifts to those who ask Him (Mt 7:11). Those who serve under the law are insecure, but sons are secure.

4. You think, “God will bless me as I do my part”

The essence of a life enslaved by law is the mindset that says, “I must do something for God.” The motivation may be to earn salvation or some other blessing. But this mindset is anti-Christ and anti-cross. Contrary to what you may think, we are not justified by what we do but grace alone (Rms 3:24). Grace and works don’t mix (Rms 11:6). (And if you’re thinking of James 2:24, read this.) Grace, peace, and every spiritual blessing have been given to us by God our Father through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3). We are not called to work for God, but to do the work of God. (Click the link to learn more about mixing grace with works.)

Grace is God’s part; faith is our part (Eph 2:8). Faith is a positive response to what God has done. Faith is saying, “thank you Jesus!” Faith is healing the sick and casting out demons, because Jesus made provision for our healing and deliverance at the cross.

5. You think we need more preaching on repentance.

Repentance saves lives, but preaching on repentance doesn’t lead to repentance! A law mind-set emphasizes what people must do (repent!), but grace proclaims what God has already done (everything!). A law mindset uses inferior incentives (fear, judgment) that lead to temporary changes in behavior, but grace (God is good and He loves you!) changes the hardest heart. If you want people to genuinely repent, preach the goodness of God (Rms 2:4).

6. You think you have to overcome life’s trials or Jesus will blot out your name.

It really isn’t about you. Jesus is our overcomer and our victory (Jn 16:33). Everyone who believes Jesus is the Son of God has already overcome the world, because The Overcomer lives in them (1 Jn 5:4-5). Jesus promised the overcomers at Sardis that He would never blot out their name. Ever since then insecure performance-oriented believers have feared He might change His mind and do exactly that. For more on overcoming, read this.

7. You mainly think of following Jesus in terms of giving up things.

Christianity is a divine exchange, our life for his. No doubt you’ve heard people say that following Jesus costs you everything. And it does. You cannot call him Lord without renouncing the right to your own life. But see what you get in exchange! If salvation means nothing more to you than self-denial and personal sacrifice, you’ve missed the whole point. Christ offers us an unfair exchange; our life for His. God favors us with this exchange. We give him our sinful little selves and get everything in return. A law mindset looks at what we give up, but a grace mindset rejoices at what He offers in return! Stop thinking about what you gave up (nothing you could keep) and start enjoying what He has given you (everything!).

Romans 2:13 – Justified by the Law?

Paul Ellis — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:07:03 +0000

“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” (Rms 2:13, NIV)

What?! Anyone acquainted with Paul’s gospel of grace will do a double-take right there! Is Paul really preaching righteousness through the law? There must be something wrong with my translation. Let’s try King Jimmy:

“…the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rms 2:13, KJV)

Really?! At first glance this seems to contradict everything Paul says elsewhere about the law (it condemns, not justifies) and righteousness (it’s a gift and cannot be earned). Has Paul done an about-face and decided grace is no longer enough? If so, he would have to send a letter to the Galatians retracting what he earlier told them:

“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” (Gal 2:16)

“…if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Gal 2:21)

Neither do we need fear that Paul is sending a different message to the Romans, for he goes on to conclude:

“…that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Rms 3:28)

How are we to interpret Romans 2:13?

Again, the key to rightly dividing any scripture is to ask two simple questions: (i) what does this mean in light of the finished work of the cross? and (ii) who is the writer addressing or talking about? It is through the cross – not the law – that God makes provision for our righteousness, and this gift is received by faith from first to last (Rms 1:17). Okay, so who is Paul talking about in Romans 2? Here he is describing two kinds of sinners:

(i) Gentiles – who do not have the law but who, by nature, sometimes do the things in the law
(ii) Jews – who do have the law

To put that in modern terms, we might define the first group as those who think, “I’m basically a good person,” and the second group as those who say, “I try to do the right thing.” Those in group 1 have clear consciences while those in group 2 are busy with religious activity. Paul’s point is that both groups are lost. The issue is not law-keeping at all, but sin…

“For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law.” (Rms 2:12)

It is human nature to compare ourselves with others (“I’m not perfect, but at least I’m better than that guy”), but God shows no partiality (Rms 2:11). Some people sin without the law, others sin under the law, but “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rms 3:23).

Two interpretations for the price of one!

There are two ways to interpret Romans 2:13. The wrong way is, “if you do the law you will be justified.” This is an impossible challenge. Even if by some miracle you were able to keep the whole law from today onwards, how would you account for the sins of your past?

But you don’t have to worry about that because there is no chance you would be able to keep the law anyway. Try and you’re guaranteed to fail. This is because the law has been divinely engineered to stimulate sin (Rms 5:20). If you are a sinner, the law will tell you what not to do and then create a desire to do exactly that! God never gave us the law so that we might know how to behave. He gave it so that we might have knowledge of sin and be silenced by guilt (Rms 3:19-20).

The right way to interpret Paul in Romans 2:13 is, “having the law is not enough, you have to keep it – and none of you can!” It is impossible for imperfect man to deliver a lifetime of perfect performance. Paul is not calling us to attempt the impossible; he’s trying to get us to face reality and admit defeat. There is no hope for those who try to keep the law:

“Therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight…” (Rms 3:20)

Why is failure the inevitable consequence of trying to do the right thing? Because the law is perfect and we’re not! We’re born sinners on account of first Adam. We’re not sinners because we sin; we sin because we’re operating in unprofitable flesh and living in a corrupt and polluted world! The law doesn’t generate sin, it merely reveals that we have a problem bigger than we can solve.

“…the law came, so that the full power of sin could be seen.” (Rms 5:20 CEV)

But thank God for “last Adam”! Jesus, the man from heaven, is not part of Adam’s sinful race. Jesus was the only one who could keep the law and He did so on our behalf. This was the reason He came:

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Mt 5:17)

Jesus is the Doer of the Law

The Jews thought they were on the inside track because they had the law, but they weren’t keeping it. At their best, they were holding to a watered-down, humanistic version of the law. Jesus fixed that by preaching the pristine standard of the law. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus explained that God requires perfection and nothing less:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)

To those under the law, Jesus preached the perfect law to accentuate imperfect humanity’s need for a perfect Savior. This is the exact same message that Paul preached. Like Jesus, Paul esteemed the law saying it was holy, righteous and good (Rms 7:12). But Paul never said we should try and live by it. If you try to earn favor with God by keeping the 10 Commandments, you’ve straight away broken the first one! No, the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ (Gal 2:24). And if you are honest with your law-keeping religion, this is exactly where you will end up.

Jesus lived under the law, preached the law and ultimately fulfilled all the requirements of the law on our behalf.

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Rms 8:3-4)

Jesus never broke the law and He never will. So guess what happens when you put your faith in Christ and allow Him to live through you? Without even trying you will find yourself keeping the law. Before you were born again (of the spirit) you sowed to the flesh and reaped corruption. No matter how hard you tried, you could not consistently live right.Your old man just couldn’t do it. But now you have new life – His life – complete with new desires – His desires. You’re no longer trying to become righteous; you have received Him and His righteousness. As you allow Him to express His life through yours, you will find everything you do is righteous because He is the vine and you are bearing His righteous fruit.

Paul said, “the doers of the law shall be justified” knowing full well that no one – except those who are already justified – can do the law. How can imperfect man attain the perfect standard that God demands? He can’t. But Jesus can and has. He became for us wisdom from God – our righteousness, holiness and redemption. And by His perfect sacrifice this High Priest has made us “perfect forever” (Heb 10:14).

Let him who boasts boast in the Lord!

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How Do We Pervert the Gospel of Christ?

Paul Ellis — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:48:59 +0000

If you were on a sinking ship and had a choice of going into the water holding an anchor or a life preserver, which would you choose? Silly question? Yet this is the same choice we make when we choose which gospel to be believe. Choose a gospel? Isn’t there only one? Many so-called gospels are preached, but there is only one which is divinely empowered to save those who trust in it. All the rest are anchors.

In Part 1 of this study we asked the question, by which gospel are you saved? The answer is the gospel of God’s grace. Contrary to what you may have heard, this is the only gospel message found in the Bible. What does the gospel of God’s grace look like? It looks like Jesus. Jesus is grace personified. To preach the gospel of grace is to preach the exceeding riches of God’s unmerited favor revealed to us through Jesus Christ (Eph 2:7).

The turned-around gospel

Tragically, the gospel of grace is not always preached in its pure form. The result is that sincere believers get confused about their standing before God. In their confusion, they may even abandon God’s grace for inferior alternatives. That’s like swapping the life preserver for an anchor. It’s not a smart move. If you see someone doing that you really ought to speak out, like Paul did with the Galatians:

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal 1:6-7)

What does it mean to “pervert the gospel of Christ”? The Greek word for the verb “pervert” can be translated “turn around.” A perverted gospel is a turned-around gospel. It is a gospel which turns the focus away from Jesus onto something else. If the gospel of grace reveals Christ alone, then a perverted gospel is Christ plus something. It’s the somethings that’ll sink you.

Ten ways to set aside grace

The Bible lists many things that can distract you from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Here are some of them:

1. Human effort (Gal 3:3): think performance-oriented Christianity. “Gotta get busy for Jesus. Gotta work for my salvation. Gotta start producing fruit or he’s going to lop me.” Except that you don’t and he won’t.

2. Traditions (Col 2:8). “That’s just the way we do things around here; if you’re going to be a part of us, you’d better get used to it.” So you’re saying Jesus is the gate into the kingdom, but right behind him is this other gate that you have added.

3. Hollow and deceptive philosophy (Col 2:8), like karma: you do good, you get good. “God won’t judge me, I basically a good person. At least I’m better than that guy.” Indeed, there are good sinners and bad sinners, but they are sinners alike. Your goodness still falls catastrophically short of God’s goodness. What matters is whose righteousness you’re wearing – yours or his?

4. Angel worship (Col 2:18). God told you the name of the angel watching over this church? Cool! Now let’s get back to Jesus.

5. Rules and regulations (Col 2:21-23). Smoking will kill you, but it won’t send you to hell like unbelief does. Working on the Sabbath may wear you out, but Jesus still loves you.

6. Self-denial, abstinence (Col 2:23). God gave us taste buds and appetites to enjoy life! Keep your monkish asceticism away from my chocolate stash!

7. Endless genealogies (1 Ti 1:4). So you think you broke your leg because your grandfather was a mason? But weren’t you adopted into a new family when you believed? Didn’t Christ redeem us from the curse so that we might inherit the blessings of Father Abraham?

8. Myths (1 Ti 1:4). Did Adam have a second wife? Were the Nephilim really angel-spawn? Is this stuff going to be on the test? I think not.

9. Sin consciousness (Heb 10:2,22). God’s grace is greater than your sin. If you are more conscious of your sin than you are of his righteousness, it’s like saying that the payment of Jesus Christ was insufficient. His worth is greater than your unworthiness!

10. The 10 Commandments, a.k.a. the ministry that brought death (2 Cor 3:7). God hid these inside the ark under the blood-stained mercy seat and now you want to hang them on the wall? In the Sunday School?!

What’s wrong with all these things? Very simply, they diminish your life-saving faith in Christ. The more you trust in your own works, for example, the less trust you’ll place in His finished work. Trusting in your works is like filling your life preserver with cast iron.

I call these things anchors because they have no life in them. They can’t save you because they are based on “worldly principles rather than Christ” (Col 2:8). We have died to such things (Col 2:20). They have no value for us. “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal 5:6).
___
Related posts:
- Incomplete deeds: The zombie church of Sardis
- Mixing grace with works
- Seven signs that you might be living under law

Two Religions: Works and Blood

Paul Ellis — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:43:20 +0000

Travel around the world and you would be forgiven for thinking there are thousands of religions and belief-systems. But in reality there are only two religions:

1. religion based on works

2. religion based on the blood of Jesus

People waste years studying different religions trying to figure out which one is best. But when you strip away all the packaging it’s actually a fairly simple choice: it’s either your works or his blood. Still, dealing with simple choices has never been humanity’s strong point. Just look at the history of religion…

The dummies’ guide to religion

From the time of Cain men have been trying to impress God with the fruits of their labor. And from the time of Cain God has been rejecting their offerings:

“The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.” (Gen 4:4-5)

Abel, you will recall, offered the firstborn of his flock while Cain brought a fruit basket. Why was Abel’s offering accepted while Cain’s was rejected?

“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous….” (Heb 11:4 NKJV)

Both Cain and Abel had faith, but Abel’s faith led to a more excellent sacrifice. Malcolm Smith, author of The Lost Secret of the New Covenant, writes that “Biblical faith never initiates an action; it is a responsive act of trust in a word from God” (p.105). What was Abel responding to? He was responding to the sacrificial gift God had given to Adam and Eve in the Garden. No doubt Abel learned from his parents how God had shed the blood of animals to hide their nakedness. By faith, Abel trusted that a blood sacrifice of this nature would make him pleasing to God and it did.

Abel’s faith was a response to what God had done, but Cain’s faith was in the work of his own hands. Abel considered what God had done, but Cain wanted God to look at what he had done. Big mistake. Instead of adopting God’s definition of an acceptable sacrifice, he tried to forge his own religion and was rejected. Cain got angry and went into a sulk. Look carefully at what God said next:

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Gen 4:7)

Cain had worked hard to please God. His offering was paid for by the sweat of his brow and the toil of his hands. It was a costly sacrifice, but it was a useless and unacceptable one nonetheless. God in his mercy pointed Cain back in the right direction, but Cain didn’t repent. Instead he murdered his brother and the rest is history.

Two brothers, two religions

Religion based on human effort was, and continues to be, unacceptable to God. You can toil and serve and bring costly sacrifices every day of your life and it will change your standing before him not one bit. He is a just God and you are a born sinner. You cannot buy your salvation with acts of charity. You cannot bribe your way into the Book of Life with your acts of righteousness. Don’t get angry like Cain, just repent and put your faith in the blood sacrifice given by God.

Of course this does not mean you should go out and slaughter some poor sheep! The blood of animals does nothing to take away our sins (Heb 10:4). Before the cross these things only had value because they pointed ahead to the blood of Jesus. We live after the cross. The Lamb of God has come and his one-time sacrifice was more than enough to account for all the sins of the world (Heb 9:26).

Jesus once said:

“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,” (Jn 6:53).

Do you hunger and thirst for Christ and his righteousness? Or are you satisfied by the fruits of your own labor? Jesus made it plain that religion based on works is unacceptable to God and leads to death. But faith in his blood leads to eternal life and favor with God.

Two preachers

Just as there are only two religions, there are two kinds of preacher; those who say we are qualified by works and those say we are qualified by the blood of Jesus. These two preachers may look the same, but their messages could not be more different. Consider the following 10 contrasts…

The Works-Preacher says, you have to do stuff to stay saved. Make a mistake and you’re lost for eternity.
The Blood-Preacher says, Jesus’ blood has obtained your eternal and complete redemption (Heb 9:12). Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

WP: Don’t touch! Don’t handle! Touch no unclean thing and be holy.
BP: You are sanctified by the blood of the covenant (Heb 10:29), that is, by Jesus’ blood (Lk 22:20). We separate ourselves from unclean things not to become holy but because we are already holy and what fellowship does light have with darkness?

WP: You have to overcome in life’s trials and dress yourself in white clothes, otherwise he will blot out your name.
BP: It’s not about you. Jesus is your victory! Wash your filthy self-righteous clothes in the cleansing blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). Rejoice, because he promised to never blot out your name.

WP: Say your prayers and have a quiet time every day. If you don’t remain in him, he’ll lop you off and throw you into the fire.

BP: Jesus said, “Whoever drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56). Your “remaining” has nothing to do with having a quiet time. God has reconciled you to himself through Christ. Your reconciliation is something he did, not you. When you apprehend who he is and how much he has already blessed you, a healthy appetite will motivate you to discover more of him in his word.

WP: Beware of sin! It desires to be your Master.
BP: We are called to be Christ-conscious, not sin-conscious. His sacrifice did away with sin (Heb 9:26). We have been set free from our sin by his blood (Rev 1:5). Live free from fear and condemnation.

WP: When you sin, you need to confess to get forgiven again.
BP: You were forgiven 2000 years ago (Col 2:13). Jesus said your forgiveness is not based on confession, but his blood (Mt 26:28). His blood is a necessary and sufficient condition for your complete forgiveness (Heb 9 & 10).

WP: When you sin, you need to confess to get clean again.
BP: The blood of Jesus cleanses and keeps on cleansing you (1 Jn 1:7).

WP: Confession is good for clearing a guilty conscience. Ask the Holy Spirit to examine you and point out your shortcomings.
BP: The blood of Christ has cleansed your conscience so that we may be free to serve God (Heb 9:14). Because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice, the Holy Spirit chooses to remember your sins no more (Heb 10:17). He will only ever convict you of your righteousness in Christ (Jn 16:10).

WP: God is holy and lives in unapproachable light. Don’t even think about drawing near.
BP: You who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13).

WP: No one can see the face of God and live. Better stay safe and hang back.
BP: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled by the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-22)

Pastor Cain vs Pastor Abel

Who are you listening to? Where is your faith? Is it in death-dealing works of religion? Or is it in the life-giving blood of Jesus Christ? Are you striving to earn God’s favor or are you resting in the finished work of the cross?

It makes no difference whether you’re Catholic or Protestant, Episcopalian, Baptist or a member of the Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism. If you are standing on the blood of Jesus, then you are completely forgiven, you are acceptable, and God’s favor rests on you!

___

Laodicea, Part 5: Be Earnest and Repent (Rev 3:19)

Paul Ellis — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:22:09 +0000

The Laodiceans were warned by Jesus that they were on the verge of being rejected. Why? Because they were neither hot nor cold. But as we have seen, this is not about being apathetic (see Part 1 of this series). In fact, the Laodiceans were probably as zealous as Pharisees (see Part 2). They were so caught up in their religious performance that they hadn’t noticed that Jesus was not with them. The astonishing thing is that most of the church was probably unsaved (see Part 3). They may have been a church in name but their deeds said otherwise.

The Laodiceans thought they were hot stuff. They thought they lacked nothing. But Jesus said they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” He counseled them to buy refined gold so they could “become rich” (see Part 4).

Are you on fire for God? Why?

The tone of my series may have been somewhat negative, but I am heading to some very positive conclusions. I didn’t write this to make the Laodiceans look bad, but to make Jesus look good!

First of all, the good news for Christians is that we are not in a Mr or Miss Enthusiasm contest. God is not watching you on Sunday morning to see if you’re singing or clapping louder than the person next to you. Jesus is not going to vomit you out if you don’t get up and dance. Carnal zeal gets you nowhere with God.

Genuine enthusiasm comes not from what you have done for God, but from appreciating what God has done on your behalf. And what has he done? He has made you, a born sinner, righteous and acceptable through the blood of Jesus.

“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Pet 2:10)

Contrary to what some have preached, there is no middle, lukewarm ground. You are either “the people” of God or you’re not. You have either “received mercy” or you haven’t.

And if you are a chosen priesthood, and if you have been called out of darkness into his wonderful light, then you won’t help but sing his praises! You’ve been set free! You’ve been brought near! You were blind but now, thanks to God’s amazing grace, you see!

Now that’s good news. That is something to get excited about! When you think about what Jesus has already done, you will want to shout and leap and say “thank you Lord!” Just like Bob Dylan.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet 2:9)

So just in case you missed it, we sing his praises because we are a people belonging to God. We don’t sing his praises to become a people belonging to God.

Back to Laodicea…

I said in an earlier post that nothing will keep a sinner out of the kingdom of God like religion. If the law is good in revealing our need for a Savior, then religion is bad because it gives us a false sense of assurance. (By religion I mean all the good things people do to try and justify themselves before God and men.)

The Laodiceans were very religious. If you took your unsaved friends to their church they’d probably end up worse than when they went in. They’d get busy doing stuff for God thinking that somehow they were making themselves righteous when in fact they were becoming lukewarm and vomitous.

Now it’s very easy for us to dislike religious people. Afterall, they’re fault finders and grace-killers. And don’t forget that it was religious people who put Jesus on the cross!

But what blows me away is that Jesus loves the religious Laodiceans. How do we know? Because he has come looking for them. He has come to warn them and set them free from religion’s heavy yoke.

Jesus Loves the Laodiceans, All the Laodiceans of the World…

I have literally got up and walked out of religious churches, yet here’s Jesus trying to get into one. He’s outside knocking on the door.

Have you ever known anyone who was so smug, so arrogant that they made you sick? Did you feel like spending time with them? Probably not. Yet here’s Jesus, nauseous from the Laodicean’s religiosity, asking if he can come in for dinner. How’s that for an apostolic heart!

These guys no doubt reminded him of the Pharisees. Yet Jesus went to the cross even for Pharisees. I guess that means if we have Jesus’ heart for the lost, we’ll want to reach out even to stuck-up religious types. (If that’s you, hey welcome! Jesus loves you. Hope you like the blog.)

Jesus Speaks our Language

Of the seven churches mentioned in Revelations 1-3, people in five of them were told to repent. But the Laodiceans got the repentance message slightly different from the rest. See if you can spot the difference:

Ephesus: “Repent and do the things you did at first” (Rev 2:5)
Pergamum: “Repent therefore!” (Rev 2:16)
Thyatira: “…unless they repent” (Rev 2:22)
Sardis: “Remember what you have received and heard; obey it and repent” (Rev 3:3)
Laodicea: “Be earnest and repent” (Rev 3:19)

Repentance should always be earnest and sincere, so why would Jesus specifically mention the word “earnest” in connection with the Laodiceans. (Remember, Jesus never wastes words.) In case you haven’t yet seen the irony, let me give it to you in other translations:

“…be zealous therefore, and repent.” (ASV)
“…be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Darby)
“…be zealous therefore, and repent.” (KJV)
“So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent” (AMP)

Do you get it? The Laodiceans were zealous with a carnal zeal. Their religious zeal had got them thinking they were rich and in need of nothing. Then Jesus shows up and says “You want to be zealous? How about zealously repenting!”

Jesus always meets us where we are at. The Ephesians needed to remember what they had done before and do it again. The Sardisians needed to remember what they had heard and hold onto it. The Laodiceans needed to redirect their natural enthusiasm towards the Lord and his righteousness.

If you have been zealous for the Lord with prideful religious zeal, then hear what Jesus says to the Laodiceans: “Be zealous and repent.” Change your mind about religion. Stop trusting in your unfinished performance and start trusting in his finished work. You want to be enthusiastic for God? Great! Be enthusiastic because of who he is and what he is done.

There is nothing a religious person can do that will commend himself to God. But Jesus offers us a divine exchange, his life for ours, his perfect righteousness for our stinking self righteousness. Now that is something to get excited about.

- The Laodiceans (complete series)

- Incomplete deeds: The zombie church of Sardis (Rev 3:1-6)

- Forsaking your first love: What was the Ephesians’ problem (Rev 2:1-7)

Laodicea, Part 4: “Buy” Your Salvation (Rev 3:18)

Paul Ellis — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:09:11 +0000

The letter to the Laodiceans is just 222 words long. In 47 of those words Jesus describes the Laodiceans and lukewarm and self-sufficient. The thing that made them self-sufficient was that they were lukewarm – they were mixing law and grace and ending up with self-righteousness. (See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series for more.)

Just about everyone knows the Laodiceans were lukewarm. But few realize that this had led to them being self-sufficient. Yet Jesus clearly says so:

“You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’…” (Rev 3:17, MSG)

The Laodiceans were a very religious church. They were doing so much for God that they thought they had it made. They thought they were rich but Jesus said they were poor. They thought they didn’t need a thing but Jesus said:

“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Rev 3:18)

Can you buy your salvation?!

Wait a second. Is Jesus saying salvation is something that can be bought? And if the Laodiceans were truly poor, how could they afford to buy anything?

To buy something is to exchange something we already own for something that we value more. Jesus is counseling the Laodiceans to give up what they have in exchange for three things that he offers:

“refined gold” speaks of Christ our perfect and everlasting treasure
“white clothes” speaks of Christ’s righteousness
“salve” speaks of having a revelation of who Christ is and what he has done at the cross

The Laodiceans were busy doing church stuff. They thought they were rich but without Christ you’re poor. They thought they were good, but without his righteousness you’re naked. They thought they could see but unless you’re looking at things from Christ’s point of view you’re as good as blind. The Laodiceans thought they had it made, but Jesus said they had missed the way. Like Martha, they were so distracted with what they were doing that they hadn’t noticed that Jesus wasn’t with them. They needed a revelation that he was on the outside knocking, wanting to come in.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he with Me.” (Rev 3:20)

Religion keeps God outside

To “behold” Jesus is to see him. Jesus is saying, “see me, hear me, open the door to me and I will come in.” What is God’s will for the lost? He wants to come in and have a meal. He wants to have fellowship. Religion says that God is distant and unapproachable, but Grace personified says, “I want to come in and be with you.”

The redeemed life that Jesus offers is free but it’s still up to us to “buy” into it. You might say we “buy” salvation by exchanging our sins for his forgiveness, but the real exchange is Jesus for us. Derek Prince calls this the “divine exchange.” Jesus went to the cross, took our sin and in return he gave us his righteousness. He took our hurts and gave us his healing. He took our rejection and gave us our acceptance. He took our death and gave us his life. I would say that was a good exchange, wouldn’t you?

Christianity is a Divine Exchange, our life for his. No doubt you’ve heard people say that following Jesus costs you everything. And it does. You cannot call him Lord without renouncing the right to your own life.

But see the bigger picture here folks! See what you get in exchange! If salvation means nothing more to you than self-denial and personal sacrifice, you’ve missed the whole point. Without him we are poor, naked and blind. With him we’re truly and eternally rich!

Notice how Jesus encouraged the Laodiceans to “become rich.” When you have Jesus as your treasure, you have the greatest treasure in the universe. When you have Jesus you are truly, literally, and eternally wealthy.

Somehow we have bought into the idea that God is stingy and wants us poor. But the Bible declares we are forgiven in “accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph 1:7), we are strengthened according to his “glorious riches” (Eph 3:16), and we have all needs supplied according to his “glorious riches” (Ph 4:19). This may come as a bit of a shock, but God is not poor. And his kids aren’t poor either. In Christ we have a rich and glorious inheritance (Eph 1:18).

Religion bankrupts but grace enriches

So here’s the deal. Religion says you slave away doing religious things, perhaps earning the praise of men, but ultimately reaping condemnation and death. Grace says:

“Come, all you who are thirsty… and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Is 55:1)

This is not a fair exchange. God favors us with this exchange. We give him our sinful, godless little selves and get everything in return.

“If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?” (Rms 8:32, MSG)

If you succeed at religion you will be tempted to think, “I am rich and I don’t need a thing.” But religion only bankrupts you. The only way to “become rich” is to buy into the riches of God’s grace revealed in Christ Jesus.

At the end of the day there are only two kinds of people in the world; those whose self righteousness leads them to say, “I don’t need a thing,” and those whose spiritual poverty causes them to say, “I need Jesus.”

Which one are you?

You can go to church your entire life and completely miss it with God. You can serve like a Laodicean with all the enthusiasm of a Pharisee and think you have it made. But without Jesus you’ve got nothing.

Christianity is not about doing stuff. Christianity is about an exchanged life; ours for his. See it from his point of view and make Christ your eternal treasure.

- The Laodiceans (complete series)

- Forsaking your first love: What was the Ephesians’ problem (Rev 2:1-7)

- Holding fast in Thyatira: The seductress vs the Savior (Rev 2:18-29)

Laodicea, Part 3: Who’s Wretched and Poor? (Rev 3:17)

Paul Ellis — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:54:31 +0000

The Laodicean church was one of the most messed up churches in the Bible. So I guess it should be no surprise that today it remains one of the most preached about churches. We can learn a lot from other people’s mistakes.

In Revelations 3:14-21, Jesus gives the Laodicean church a stern warning. It was a warning that was intended to save them. In other words, Jesus was showing them the way to freedom, redemption and life. (That sounds good right?) Yet for 2,000 years preachers have used Jesus’ words as a religious rod for beating Christians.

And when Christians allow themselves to be condemned by this sort of thing, it’s like taking someone else’s medicine.

In Part 1 of this series I asked, what made the Laodiceans lukewarm? (Hint: it wasn’t apathy.) In Part 2, I asked, why did the Laodiceans make Jesus nauseous? (Hint: perhaps they reminded him of the people who nailed him to the cross.)

In today’s post I want to look more closely at Jesus’ assessment of the Laodiceans:

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev 3:17)

Self-righteousness says, “I have made it on my own. I don’t need a thing.” This is exactly what the Laodiceans were saying to themselves. But Jesus said the truth was very different. He said they were lost and in danger of rejection.

Jesus never wastes words. He never says anything he doesn’t mean. So when he says the Laodiceans are “wretched and pitiful,” he is saying they are in a bad state. Just so they don’t have any uncertainty about this, he adds that they’re also “poor, blind and naked.”

Who is Jesus talking to?

Now here’s the $64,000 question. Is Jesus talking to sinners or saints? Were the Laodiceans saved or lost when Jesus gave them this message?

I can think of three reasons why we might think the Laodiceans were Christians:

(1)   They’re collectively referred to as a “church.”
(2)   The idea of Jesus vomiting them out of his body makes us think they were at least once part of his body.
(3)   Jesus says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” Discipline is usually reserved for sons while love suggests the body of Christ.

(Have I missed other reasons?)

But here are ten reasons why the Laodiceans were probably not saved:

(1) Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. There are many people in church who don’t know Jesus, who have neither repented nor put their trust in him. The Laodiceans may have called themselves a church, but they were a church in name only. They may have acted godly, but theirs’ was a counterfeit, useless form of godliness.

(2) We vomit up things that are foreign and do not belong to us. We don’t vomit up body parts. To use the vomit argument as evidence of the Laodicean’s membership in the body of Christ is like saying we can vomit up an arm or a foot.

(3) The love of God is not limited to the church. “For God so loved the world that gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). Jesus said “love your enemies” and while we were his enemies he reconciled us to God (Rms 5:10). We might say a sinner is not loved by God. But God is in the business of calling the unlovely and unloved “my loved one” (Rms 9:25), and thank God he did or you wouldn’t be reading this! And while it’s true sons get special attention from their fathers (Heb 12:8), the whole world needs a life-saving rebuke from a loving Savior. Part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world (not Christians) of sin (Jn 16:9). It is perfectly consistent with Jesus’ character and mission to say he loves sinners enough to rebuke them.

(4) Of all the seven churches Jesus addresses in Revelations 1-3, the Laodicean church is the only one where Jesus has nothing positive to say. There is no affirmation, nothing to commend. Even in the churches where there was rampant sin (e.g., Sardis) Jesus could identify a “few who had not soiled their clothes.” But no group of believers is singled out in Laodicea.

(5) Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus refer to Christians as “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Yet these terms are used in many places to describe sinners in general and religious sinners in particular. In Matthew 23 Jesus describes the Pharisees as “blind” five times. It is the lost who are wretched and pitiful, not those who’ve been redeemed and are now kept by Jesus.

(6) The Laodiceans were mixing law and grace just like the Galatians, but unlike the Galatians there is no hint that they ever “began with the Spirit” (Gal 3:3). The Galatians had witnessed a move of God, but by the time Paul wrote to them they were “deserting the one who called you” (Gal 1:6). There is no indication that the Laodiceans are walking away from God. There is no evidence to suggest they had ever received the grace of God.

(7) Even though he had not met them personally, Paul wanted the Laodiceans to read the letter he wrote to the Colossians (Col 2:1, 4:16). For some reason Paul saw a need to warn the Laodiceans against being taken captive through “hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human traditions and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Col 2:8). This hints at Pharisaical tendencies that promote works and independence from God. Paul wanted them to reject this teaching and become wholly dependent on Christ. Evidently they didn’t listen because by the time of John’s vision they were saying “we don’t need a thing.”

(8) Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Those who believe in the Son are not judged” (Jn 3:18, GNB). Other translations use the word “condemned.” In Revelations 3 Jesus is judging the Laodiceans. He is hinting that they are at risk of being condemned and utterly rejected. Condemnation and rejection is what happens to unrepentant sinners. There is “no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” (Rm 8:1), not now, not ever.

(9) Five of the Revelations churches are accused by Jesus of various misdeeds. Four of those churches (Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira and Sardis) are rebuked for bad doctrine which has led to bad deeds. But with the Laodiceans the fault is themselves. Their deeds reveal that they are lukewarm. The other churches are told to “remember,” “repent” and “hold fast” to what they already have. But the Laodiceans have nothing to remember, nothing to hold onto. There is nothing they have that might save them from being rejected by Jesus.

(10) Jesus said he was on the outside knocking and wondering whether anyone would hear his voice and open the door for him to come in (Rev 3:20). Jesus has no fellowship with sinners, just as light doesn’t keep company with darkness. Although some have used this text in reference to Christians, it’s hard to reconcile with Colossians 1:27 where Paul writes that “Christ is in you.” To say Jesus was speaking to Christians is like saying Christ can be inside you and outside you at the same time. No, Jesus is addressing those who have not yet invited him in (i.e., sinners).

A church full of sinners?!

Is it possible that an entire church can be so caught up with their own religious performance that they don’t realize that they have left Jesus standing outside?

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20)

A church is supposed to be an embassy for the kingdom of heaven. It’s supposed to be a place where people come to have an encounter with the living God. The sick get healed, the oppressed get delivered, the blind see, and the prisoners are freed. But in a church that is full of self-righteous religion none of these things can happen because Jesus isn’t there.

Why did Jesus say the Laodiceans were wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked? For the same reason he said the Pharisees were woeful and blind.

“You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” (Mt 23:13)

Who’s wretched and pitiful? It’s the one outside the kingdom. Who’s poor? It is the one who has not received the riches of God’s grace. Who’s blind? It is the one who does not see what Jesus has already done for him. Who’s naked? It is the one who clothes himself with filthy acts of self-righteousness in a doomed attempt to make himself acceptable to a holy and perfection-demanding God.

Religion is bad for you

Nothing will keep you out of the kingdom of heaven like man-made religion. Nothing will keep you from the grace of God like self-righteousness. Sin will kill you but religion will inoculate you against the only cure. It will give you a false sense that all is well, that you are rich and do not need a thing. And that’s why Jesus hates it.

In Part 4, I will look at the only remedy that Jesus offers for the curse of religion.

- The Laodiceans (complete series)

- Incomplete deeds: The zombie church of Sardis (Rev 3:1-6)

- Holding fast in Thyatira: The seductress vs the Savior (Rev 2:18-29)

Laodicea, Part 2: What Makes Jesus Sick? (Rev 3:16)

Paul Ellis — Sat, 15 May 2010 11:30:01 +0000

God never makes us sick but did you know it’s possible for people to make him feel sick? Now there’s a staggering thought. Yet this is exactly the reaction the Laodicean church elicited from Jesus. They were lukewarm and Jesus said their lukewarmness made him nauseous:

“Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16, LITV)

Jesus is literally saying, “you guys make me sick!” It sounds funny, but it’s no laughing matter. The implications of Jesus’ words are thoroughly frightening. What do they mean for the Laodiceans? Let’s ask Matthew Henry:

“They shall be rejected, and finally rejected; for far be it from the holy Jesus to return to that which has been thus rejected.”

This is one of those places in the Bible where we want to sit up and pay close attention, for Jesus is discussing issues of acceptance and rejection. Here we should ask, what were the Laodiceans doing that led to this threat of being rejected by Jesus?

What gets you rejected by Jesus?

In Part 1 of the series I noted that some people define lukewarmness in terms of human zeal and apathy. There are at least three good reasons why apathy cannot be the issue in this case. Still, you may have come across people who think they are “hot” or “on fire” for Jesus because they have judged with Old Testament harshness those parts of the body of Christ that don’t meet their particular standards for hotness. For them it’s a self-fulfilling, self-gratifying theology. They have set for themselves a certain standard which they have met and from which they rain down judgment on others who are not like them. They excel at finding fault and their idea of helping those who struggle is to preach religion. These self-appointed judges and self-styled watchmen make me pewking nauseous.

And maybe they make Jesus nauseous too.

The Message Bible translates Jesus’ words in verse 16 like this: “you make me want to vomit.” Now think about all the people Jesus met when he walked the earth and ask yourself, which group made Jesus sick?

Was it the sinners? No. Jesus was a friend of sinners. Jesus went to the cross for sinners.

Was it those living meekly under the law? No. Jesus came to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law and set such people free. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13).

Was it those who showed faith? No. Jesus marvelled at such people. Faith pleases the Lord.

So who made Jesus sick? Matthew 23 gives us the answer:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” (Mat 23:27)

Religion makes Jesus sick

Nothing nauseated Jesus like religious hypocrites who put law on others which they themselves did not follow. Note that the problem with the Pharisees was not what they were preaching. As we saw in Part 1, the law is good. Hence Jesus said to the Jews, “You must obey them and do everything they tell you” (Mt 23:3). Why is Jesus advocating the law? Because the law strips us of our self-righteousness leaving us silent and condemned before a holy God. The law reveals our need for a Saviour.

But then Jesus adds, “do what they say but don’t do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (Mt 23:3). The Pharisees lived by a double-standard. They were preaching the law to others but were diluting it for themselves. They were mixing it with a little grace of their own. They were lowering the divine standard to an attainable level thus thwarting the purpose for which the law was given. Instead of being silenced and condemned, the Pharisees were outspoken and proud. They were exalting themselves. They thought they were in right standing before God and everyone around them needed to come up to their religious level. This made Jesus furious!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Mat 23:33)

No one would deny that the Pharisees were zealous for God. But theirs’ was a carnal zeal based on the Satanic lie that we can make ourselves righteous. Jesus said they appeared righteous on the outside, but on the inside they were “full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Mt 23:28). Instead of submitting to Christ’s righteousness, they sought to establish their own (Rms 10:3).

Now let’s jump back to Revelations 3.

The traditional view is that the Laodiceans were lazy and half-hearted, but I suspect they were as zealous as Pharisees. They were passionate about their religion. Perhaps they gave a “tenth of all their spices” like the Pharisees did. Perhaps they traveled “over land and sea to win a single convert.” But they did so out of religious pride. Like the Pharisees they exalted themselves saying, “we are rich and do not need a thing” (Rev 3:17). Instead of being silenced by God’s holy law, they had become boastful and independent. And like the Pharisees, they made Jesus sick.

Jesus left the comforts of heaven to endure unimaginable suffering on the cross in order that we might be redeemed from the condemnation of the law. To act as if we could somehow attain that divine and perfect standard in our own strength is to insult a holy God who lives in unapproachable light. And to reject the free gift of his grace and righteousness that makes it possible for us to draw near, is to insult his Son.

Reject Jesus as unnecessary and he will reject you.

We begin to understand, then, why Jesus called the Laodiceans “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” In Part 3 of this series I will begin look at what that means for the rest of us and the remedies that Jesus offers.

- The Laodiceans (complete series)

- Holding fast in Thyatira: The seductress vs the Savior (Rev 2:18-29)

- Forsaking your first love: What was the Ephesians’ problem (Rev 2:1-7)