What is a “Usurp Authority Over her Husband” kind of Woman?

What does a “usurp authority” woman look like? I’m not sure any of us really know, even those who are constantly warning us about the dangers of this somewhat unidentifiable person. We are thrown elusive hints and innuendos about questionable behaviour to look for, as a means to help identify her.

From what we are taught most of the time, she seems to resemble ‘Rosie the Riveter’, flexing her sizable muscles as she throws her weight around and runs roughshod over a husband who can’t rein her in. Taking charge, running the show and generally making a fool of herself while he and a paralyzed congregation stand by, seemingly helpless to stop her.

Let me assure you, there are scores of women in the body of Christ who are absolutely terrified of being labelled a “usurper of authority” over their husbands. They live in fear of the humiliation and shame that accompanies  such a verdict being handed down from their peers. It effects every thing they say and do in the church setting.

{In some circles, of course, any woman who preaches or has a leadership role is labelled as “usurping authority” over her husband. That is not where I want to focus. Those folks are entitled to their opinion but this post is not for them.}

No, I want to address those who have spiritual understanding in this area and know that there is neither male nor female in the Spirit. And consequently there is neither male nor female in the work of the Spirit either. It is as the Holy Spirit wills.

As examples of women who do not usurp authority over their husbands, we are often pointed toward prominent ministers like Joyce Myers.  We are further assured that since she has her husbands blessing, approval and permission to preach and teach, she is operating within the will of God.

This subtly or not so subtly lets the ladies know they will need their husbands permission to pursue a similar course, should the Lord put it on their heart to do so.

I have several questions. The first one is, what do you say to a teenage girl who says “I would rather never get married then to worry about having to get my husbands permission and approval to do the will of God.”

The second one is, what do you say when that same girl asks, “If I have to have my husbands permission to do the will of God, why doesn’t he have to have mine?”

The third one, again I need an answer for the same young girl, “Why do I have to ‘adjust to and support his calling’ but he has to ‘give me permission’ to operate in mine?”

Last but not least, this young girls conclusion. “Something ain’t right about that and I don’t believe it! Nor do I receive it.”

I couldn’t have said it better. Or asked better questions. And quoting a friend, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander!”

Anyone who has done the most general of studies on the subject will know to “usurp authority” simply means “to dominate“. Why do we keep warning women about the evils of dominating her husband in this context? In the context of doing something for the Lord?

And why have I never, in thirty years of church life, heard a sermon on the evils of a husband dominating his wife while “doing ministry”?

We have a hierarchy mindset in the church that is very much like the class system in other nations that we Americans find so horrifying. This ungodly class system is considered “normal” in Christian marriages as well as the church establishment.

To do what God puts in their hearts to do, lay people are taught they need approval from clergy and wives are taught they need approval from husbands. Instead, husbands and wives should be encouraged and taught to seek the will of the Lord as one will for the two of them and submit to that will as one unit.

I believe it is wrong to presume any of us have the right to give another person “permission” to do the will of God. I say that isn’t “normal” Christianity at all.

in which we are linking you up to other bloggers

Below, we are linking you up to some other bloggers that will either challenge your thinking or affirm it. But no matter what, dig, dig, dig. Test what we are saying, test what others are saying. But whatever you do, search out truth on the matter. Step aside centuries old traditions, doctrines, and man made additions and find out for yourself what the Spirit is saying.

1. What are the “offices” of church? Before you go hook, line, sinker with pastors that swear they {have authority} over you, well, you might want to do your homework here at Paul Burleson’s.

2. So you are pretty sure you know all about that ol’ tithing thing.  Maybe you disagree with us here at eatinglocusts on that one, but you might wanta look here at Wade Burelson post where he talks about those veiled and not so veiled threats from the pulpit aimed right us .

3. If you’ve been wondering about all this spiritual “covering” stuff, Cheryl Schatz tells it like we see it. The more we dig in finding support for this “covering” in scripture, the more we are convinced of it’s absolute wrongness.

4. So many times we see it, or  have been the perpetrators ourselves, pastor-idol-worship. You know what I’m talking about, the we-need-this-pastor-more-than-he-needs-to-go-and-save-his-marriage, idol. I personally know of this happening, where the pastor is more important to a church than he is to his own family, perpetrated by the people, no less. They {congregants} “need” him. So excuse me if I get a little heated under the collar on that one and that’s why Jon Zen’s article on a mega-church pastor falling is included. My 2cents on this is: “The congregants turned the preacher man into a Jesus-man, the preacher man accepted the position, and the devil laughed.

5. If you don’t like name-dropping, sniffing out possible wolves by name, and warning the sheep with a big ol’ bullhorn, well then, you won’t wanta read anything at the FBC Jax Watchdogs. No sirree. Stay far, far, far away because you might just learn something that will burst your bubble. But if you do venture over, I guarantee you, you will not be bored. Promise.

Church Leadership, or what leadership is not!

I no longer consider someone to be a “church leader” simply because they hold a title or position, whether it be the position of pastor, deacon, or head of ministry etc… In fact, I believe many “leaders” today are self appointed leaders to self created positions.

I do have some friends that I would call “leaders”. They are humble and love the Lord. When I look at them I can safely say they have what it takes to be an example for other people. They have the capability to inspire and teach. Their character, lifestyles and desire to seek Jesus and His righteousness are good examples to follow, therefore I consider them to be “leaders” in the Kingdom.

Many people in the church world might consider my “leader” friends ineffective and unimpressive. They can’t whip up a big crowd or produce a big budget. My friends don’t have huge followings, in fact some of them could even be labelled as ‘loners’. However, that puts them in good company considering Jesus Himself would be considered ineffective, unimpressive and a loner by today’s church leadership standards. He was considered a failure by the “church” of His day.

But I digress.

Today I would like to write a bit concerning how I came to this conclusion of “leadership” or rather, this conclusion of what leadership is not! A little something personal about myself.  Including why I have developed an automatic reaction that I call the Turtle Routine when a so called “leader” crosses my path in life.

Definition of my Turtle Routine is as follows:
*Pull into my shell and cautiously peep out, thereby preventing my head from getting stomped on and giving no opportunity to have my neck severed.

*Taking some time to assess the situation before I make a move and cross the road just because everyone else does.

*A significant lack of confidence that many “leaders” are what they profess to be.

I have been contemplating recently on some of my personal experiences with some “church leaders” and came up with a rather grim series of events that spans about 30 years of walking with the Lord. I have listed some of them below.

First, I grew up Amish and was “excluded” from that church and it’s leaders when the Lord gave me revelation and I experienced the new birth that included a radical change in my life. In their opinion I was operating in pride and sin because I left the church. They felt I was deceived to believe I could be put right with God by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone.

In all seriousness I must say, I was not without fault in some of my responses during the events I’m sharing in this post. In this particular one, it certainly didn’t make it easier for me when I quite boldly told them I didn’t believe they knew the Lord they professed to serve.

I had to come out.

From there I became a member of another church in that area that was comprised of many ex-Amish. I had that privilege taken away when I insisted on being rebaptised as a believer. I didn’t regard my  baptism in the Amish for the purpose of becoming a church member, as a truly scriptural baptism. The leaders in this church were hesitant because they didn’t want to insult the Amish and insinuate by rebaptism that Amish baptism wasn’t a “sufficient baptism”.

I’m sure having my membership taken away from this church had a lot to do with the fact that after months of stonewalling on their part I gave them an ultimatum. I informed them I hadn’t changed my mind about being rebaptised and if they wouldn’t accommodate me, I would find someone else that would. I was labelled as rebellious. And I did end up having to find someone else to baptise me. So I left.

The third event came after moving to another state where I became a part of an exciting new non-denominational church consisting of many new converts who had come out of dead religion. Coming out of death with grave clothes still hanging on and an unwillingness to part with some of those grave clothes, like inflated egos and power trips.

While attending there I began to receive revelation and spiritual understanding of scripture and to see that God uses women in ministry as well as men and that women are equal to men in His eyes. Furthermore, I was beginning to feel He wanted to use me.

Eventually  I was labeled “a Jezebel” and told I needed to leave or they would be forced to close the doors of the church! I was informed I had such a powerful and negative “Jezebel effect” on the preachers there, that they were essentially paralyzed and unable to preach if I was in the room!  I could have called their bluff and stayed to see if they really would close the doors of their newly remodeled church building. But I didn’t do that. I left.

Again, I’m sure my situation wasn’t helped by the fact that I left some pamphlets in the leader’s mailboxes, presenting argument from scripture that suggested they were the ones that were actually operating in the spirit of Jezebel, not me!

Number four, moving on to a third state where I attended a Prosperity/Faith camp Bible School for a year.

After I had been there for some time I started to receive merciful revelation and understanding of scripture that I thank God for! I came to understand that taking money from the people for “the ministry” and drawing exorbitant salaries from that money to fund very extravagant lifestyles was not pleasing to God.

Through a personal experience He made it abundantly clear to me that He would judge them for their greed and I didn’t want to be a part of that judgement and eventually I left.

By this time I had a little wisdom and I didn’t issue any ultimatums or leave any pamphlets when I left. But I have continued to be vocal about the error I see in the Prosperity/Faith doctrine.

Next, I felt the Lord was leading me back to the state I was born in and where I had started from. I needed a break so I began attending a mainline denominational church where I could sit on the back pew and do the token one hour Sunday morning ritual for a while. That pew got very uncomfortable as I started to learn a little bit of the history there. That along with the constant push from headquarters with their annual vote ‘to accept or not to accept’ homosexuals in the pulpit, made it difficult.

The Free Mason influence was very strong in the church and among its members. But we were assured from the pulpit on a regular basis that God loves, loves, loves everybody and ungodly lifestyles and unscriptural beliefs didn’t seem to be a big deal. In fact, it was all about love, love, love and acceptance. And then more love! And more acceptance.

I couldn’t take it any more and moved on.

The latest and my most recent encounter with “church leadership” came while attending a local non-denominational church that claimed to be ‘Spirit filled’. After attending there for a short time I felt led to encourage the congregation on several occasions to repent of sin.

Soon I started to feel invisible daggers, you know, the ones where you can feel the coldness even though the faces are smiling?

The messages there were about a wonderful ‘new revelation of grace’ that in reality has all the ear marks of the scriptural definition for lawlessness.

In the meantime, I was privately labelled a ‘legalistic law preacher’ by the powers that be. Their diagnosis of my problem was; I did not fully understand freedom nor the grace of God because I was raised in legalism . I keenly felt the cold shoulder of un-fellowship so once again I left.

About six months later the front page of the local newspaper headlines read, “Local Pastor charged with Child Solicitation”.

It was him. He had been involved with an under age girl in the congregation and got caught. And to my indignation and dismay, it had started during the time I was attending that church.

Needless to say, these experiences have opened my eyes concerning “leaders” in the church today!

I am in no way suggesting God doesn’t appoint leaders in the Body of Christ. Scripture is quite clear He does. Nor am I saying that every “leader” in the respective churches or denominations I’ve mentioned in this post are bad people. Many love the Lord and serve Him. But the reality is, too many of the  compromising on exalted pedestals of “leadership” today, bear little resemblance to Jesus Christ.

I was contemplating on all this and it has moved me to rejoice in the faithfulness of God! His faithfulness to bring me out and bring me through and keep me!

He who said “Follow me…” He is my Leader!

the way we still spurn God today

Even though Jesus tore the veil in the Temple by His death and Resurrection, man busily re-erects the veil in various forms. With subtle (and not so subtle) ways, the painstaking process of re-building that broken down temple hasn’t stopped.

I’ve come to realize this about the church. And I’m not referring only to the institutional ones that depend on buildings and 501c’s, but also the homegrown ones too.

It’s a rare commodity to find others who are willing to wean themselves off the old (Testament) priesthood.

Either someone believes they are the priest for you (usually called “pastors” where they rule over you in some fashion) or there is the rest (of the “laymen”) who find it easier and simpler to sit under a priest/pastor (rather than enter in through the torn curtain).

It is one thing to be on the look out for wolves, false doctrines, or plain problem solving (“elder”ing or “bishop”ing); or teaching sound doctrine in a dialogue fashion  (“pastor”ing) vs. a monologue one man show, but it is quite another thing to place yourself (spoken or unspoken) in a superior position above believers. This leads to all kinds of control, whether open control or manipulating it behind the scenes. But rest assured, this ultimately leads to controlling the Holy Spirit’s influence among their ”congregants”.

Because that would be crazy to let believers loose and operate freely by the Spirit, right?

I  mean, what if a “baby” Christian went off on a zinger? What if someone spouted off some cuckoo alien-abducting doctrine? No way Hosea, can they open their mouths!

So leave the talking only to the mature, thank you very much, and keep all the others silent, right?

Except sharing our faith, as Spirit-led, leads to edification not only to the hearer but the speaker as well. So that “baby” Christian gets extra heaping spoonfuls when speaking. And that cuckoo theology isn’t scary when the Holy Spirit counsels each and every one of us about Him.

How much more growth happens when His people are loosed!

Now it is true if I visit a church building, I expect the typical hierarchy of things to be in place. But at least it’s in the open there. Rather I agree with it or not, my relationship with the Lord is not dependent on the pastor or the elders who have been placed over people in that building.

My agreement or disagreement with of a type of church “king” does not mean that I am worthy or un-worthy of attendance. If I go, I go to worship Jesus.

His love is what unites. Not a uniformity requiring we have exactly the same beliefs or the same theology.

But I also see the pendulum swing the other way. Where church-goers are quite content to volunteer for those programs, sit in the pews, go umpteen hours in work for the Lord, and yet not enter their own personal worship or relationship with Him. They throw their money into the coffers called a “tithe” and think this is what it means to be a Christian.

And there’s this false idea that dedication to God looks like this: “Despite the odds and the grumpiness this Sunday morning, we made it to the church service.”

God doesn’t care about how well we attend or how often. What He cares about are hearts, ones personally communing with Him.

Not our hours of work dedicated to Him. No!

He wants us.  Not our pet projects, not our volunteerism, not our service attendance, not our getting to church on time without snapping at one of our kids, not our good behavior, not our latest Christian conference attendance, and not the latest Bible study group we just joined.

He want us. All of who we are.

And we know “all” is a big word. It changes everything because it’s more than some salvation prayer.

But the truth is, many times we love our life more than losing it to Jesus.

I’m reminded of the mountain where God, Himself, called His people to come up and be with Him. And after doing all the things required to do before going up, when it came right down to it, they refused.

  So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.  The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.” Exodus 19 (7-9; 16-18)

The “doing” part did not scare them. Doing this or that part, did not require their life. The less risky part is the act of ”doing”, the life-threatening part begins when it means death. 

Many a Christian is willing to love Jesus so long as He is their one way ticket out of Hell. Or they are willing to bring Him along their life, living it the way they want to live it. Or wrapping Him up into some smart sounding theology full of historical data and scriptural knowledge, all the while devoid of any life by the Holy Spirit.

When it came time to go up the mountain, when it trembled something fierce, when they feared for their very own life, they turned down God’s offer. “No, we will stay right here at the foot of this mountain. We won’t budge one big toe in that scary direction! But we got good ol’ Moses here, he will go for us!” 

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke,they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance  and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”  The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:18-21

In essence, we love our lives more than we love fellowship with You, God.  “Besides, it’s too hard to do it. We prefer Moses (or a pastor) doing that kind of work and he can give us the God stuff down here.”

God was spurned there at the foot of that mountain.

How many times do we still do that today? How many men do we send up to go and get the “word”? How many times have we gone to the Sunday morning thing, then Sunday night thing, then Wednesday night, only to count that as our “work” for the Lord? And how many times have we sat idle without turning one page or entering one prayer or thinking one  thought about Him the rest of the days in between?

How many times are we content to sit in the pew or chair while someone else preaches and we consider that going up the mountain? Is that not just a Moses bringing the word back? Nothing wrong with Moses, but we too are called up the mountain to hear Him speak!

We must also have our own time. We too, need His voice, to enter that thick darkness where fear for our earthly lives may test and try us!

He speaks to us individually if we are willing to listen and willing to die to this flesh thing. Christ not only died on the cross for our sins; but also He was showing us the way we must live, by dying to sin and self.

Despite the foreshadowing here in Exodus 19 & 20 of Moses being a Christ, we still have a New Testament church wanting to send a man, some other man (or woman) besides ourselves, who will speak the things of God instead of entering that terrible and trembling mountain.

Today, the Old Covenant is alive and well in practice. The “priests” enter the “holy of holies” for their congregants. They bring the word back to a people who continue to stand at the foot of the mountain and keep their distance.

And we wonder: where is the maturity? What’s wrong with the congregations? Or what’s awry with the pastors? Why are pastors “burned out” and congregants apathetic?

I believe it’s both the system (a pastor-dependency) and a people quite cozy-n-comfortable at doing their part from afar. Which leads to a vicious cycle of: milkers (pastors) and milk-ees (congregants) and no meat (maturity).

~~tammy

{Guest Post} Are Amercian Christians called to be political

Once again, the younger generation speaks. Paz delves into the political arena with thought provoking and personally convicting words about American election. Not that voting in of itself is wrong, but rather the dogmatic American ideology of the process. I was challenged by her words as I’m sure you will be too.

The American Presidential election is a only a few short weeks away. And each Sunday, ministers all over the country are exhorting their congregates to get out and vote to insert a reason (uphold religious freedom/against abortion/support God’s cause, etc.)

The average evangelical churchgoer is often made to feel they are failing God if they don’t vote.  They are not being “salt and light”, they aren’t “holding back the enemy”, they are failing to “pull America back from the brink”.

Every four years, laboring ministers do their best to whip a heavy, creaking institution up to enough speed for a mighty collision with the political powers.  Kind of like two medieval knights jousting.  The impact, if the church ever built up enough steam they say, would be spectacular.

Many Christians get starry-eyed at the thought of the church becoming a powerful political force in her own right, a Christian “enforcer” of sorts.

So, is this right?  Are Christians required by God, by their mandate to be “salt and light”, to be politically active?

Last week, late Sunday morning, I was sitting in a living room, talking with a small group of people, and the subject happened to turn to America.

One man started talking about how American Christians have the responsibility of saving America.  He believes that God favors America and wants to bless her, but Christians have to step up to the plate.  We have to stand on our covenant, that America is absolutely still a Christian nation, and that President Obama was most certainly wrong to say otherwise!

When I first heard what President Obama said (in 2009 in a Turkish press conference) that “we [Americans] do not consider ourselves a Christian nation,” my spirit quickened and the Holy Spirit brought to mind Caiaphus, the high priest of Jesus’ day. 

 

John 11:47-52 records that Caiaphus prophesied Jesus’ death.  “Now this he did not say on his own; but being high priest that year he prophesied”. It was because of the position he held that the Spirit prophesied through him, not because he was a prophet, or even a godly man. 

 

I believe Obama’s statement was prophetic.  And this isn’t the first time I have felt he has (unknowingly) made prophetic statements over our nation.  Such ability to prophesy has nothing to do with Obama the person; it has everything to do with Obama the President.  Many presidents, kings/queens, and prime ministers throughout history have been led to prophesy simply because of their position.

So, if America does not consider herself a Christian nation, what does that mean for the Christians?  What is our responsibility?

I started out by examining Jesus’ life on earth.  Keep in mind, Jesus lived in a very politically volatile society.  There were the Jewish Temple politicians, the Pharisees and Sadducee s and their government.   There was the monarchy of (evil) Judean kings and their government.   There were the Jewish rebel factions fighting a guerrilla war for their various beliefs.  And over all of this, trying to keep everything from flying apart, was the mighty Roman empire, the Caesar.  There were Roman governors, Roman military, and of course, Roman tax collectors.

Each group had its own political agenda, with plenty of infighting and shaky alliances between them.  The situation was so bad the first thought Jesus’ followers had was, “He has finally come to set things straight! Hallelujah!”  They were confused and disappointed when Jesus told them, “My kingdom is not of this world”.

In fact, in spite of the political situation around him, Jesus never preached politics.  Instead, he stayed focused on his mission – the advancement of the kingdom of God.  The transient kingdoms of this world were not Jesus’ (or any of the Apostles’) focus.

Some argue that Jesus wasn’t politically involved because he couldn’t vote.  By contrast, we should be because we can.

Nothing Jesus did showed him to be a person careful of his public image.  He was an extremely bold and controversial figure in his day.  He could have exhorted people to rise up against the evil government.  Many expected him to.  But he didn’t.  He preached the kingdom of God, the truths of repentance,  righteousness, holiness, and justice.  His message was to the individual heart, not the government.

The problem today is that too many in church are Americans first and Christians second. 

As a nation, Americans are quite egocentric.  I read a good newspaper editorial recently that pointed this out.  For example, if talks break down between two middle-eastern nations, we immediately ascribe it to something our President did or didn’t do.  If a nation experiences social turbulence, we immediately credit American influence at some level.    We tend to see everything that happens on the international stage as developments of decisions we have made, policies we have enacted, stands we have taken, videos we have posted to YouTube.

While America does have world influence, I don’t believe it is any longer as great as many Americans assume.

Now, just wipe that foam off your mouth.  I am not an anti-patriot.  But this idea that we as a nation are so important, so powerful, indispensable to the world and to God, is nothing more than pride.

Just as God is no respecter of persons, I believe He is no respecter of nations.  It is those who fear Him and work righteousness who are accepted by Him.  America does not get some type of “free pass” simply because of her godly origins.  The only nation that could possibly make a Biblical case for any sort of special consideration in God’s eyes would be Israel.

I bring all this up to point out how this egocentricity of American culture has been carried right into the American church pew and made itself at home.

American Christians mistakenly believe that not only are most world events ultimately  developments of this nation’s actions, but also most national events are developments of the church’s actions –  results of something the church is or is not doing right.

Christians pray, they vote, they fight, all to uphold this struggling society on God’s behalf.  They lament when ungodly men and women take office because they blame ungodly laws for corrupting the land.  But I take a different view.  Wicked governments do not make wicked nations, wicked nations make wicked governments. 

It is not about a battle for righteous laws, it is about righteous hearts.  

I thank the Lord for those believers He has called into political office and activity.  I thank Him for all those He has appointed to administer justice and hold back evil for the sake of His name and His people.  But God is not depending on American believers to save the USA any more than he depends on Iraqi or Saudi or Chinese believers to save their respective nations.

And I don’t believe God holds America in some special esteem;  He loves His people.  It doesn’t matter which geographical nation your body lives in; when you were born again you became a citizen of “a holy nation, a peculiar people.”  That is the nation He loves. 

So, back to the original question.  Do Christians have a spiritual obligation to vote?

In this, as in everything, you are to be led by the Holy Spirit.  He may tell you to vote.  At other times He may not.  Seek Him to find out.  Be salt and light as the Lord directs.  And never make the mistake of assuming that just because someone ungodly takes office and a nation suffers judgment that God’s hand is not in it.

God cares about the affairs of men, and He does intervene when called upon; but He is no more interested in establishing a human government on the earth right now than he was in Jesus’ day.  His kingdom is not of this world.  He blesses the nations and individuals who follow His ways and judges those who don’t.  But neither choice affects His sovereignty, or the ultimate success of His purposes, in the slightest.

Regardless of what happens in the American political arena, stay focused on the kingdom you are an eternal citizen of, the kingdom of God.  Work to advance that kingdom.  Everything else is just temporary.

Related articles

• Christian Nation? Really? (shawnwilson.wordpress.com)

monologue-only vs. dialogue, a New Testament look at “preaching”/”teaching”

In my many years of being part of the home based organic church fellowship, one of the areas I’ve struggled with involved the meetings of New Testament believers (and non-believers) in the Synagogues.

From studying on it, I’ve discovered a few things.

One, God never told the Old Testament priests to build synagogues, but to build a Temple. Very specific directions were given and the Temple was built. Synagogues, to my understanding, were designed to read and study scriptures (which in turn developed into a place of worship, of sorts). 

Second, the Pharisees were the ones who ruled the synagogues and added all kinds of human traditions which in turn became “law” (not the law of Moses, but additional “law”s enforced by the Pharisees). Third, Paul was found “preaching” and ”teaching” many times in these places (synagogues) so would that constitute a modern day traditional/institutional church service? 

In understanding scripture, I’ve found it critical in also understanding cultural influences and also examining the original language (or root/origin of words) used in scripture, much to my dismay. I’m not an analytical person, quite the opposite. I like broad and big pictures, not details and small brush strokes. Give me the whole thing in one big swipe, not lots of little things that lead to an end result.

But with God, all things are possible. Bear with me as the big picture comes into focus.

Paul often preached in Synagogues and even one time “preached” so long in a home that someone fell out the window and died.

Getting to the technical side, let’s clear a path here. Don’t let the Greek cause you to glaze over with all it’s definitions (about the time when my mind would get mushy), but instead, I challenge you to look at it in light of what we consider “preaching”  or “pastor-led” in today’s church.

Something will begin to appear that differs from our modern pew (or contemporary chair) sitting of a pulpit congregation.

“And upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread Paul preached unto them ready to depart on the morrow and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together” Acts 20:7,8

Not all versions say he “preached”. Others say he “talked” or such. But regardless, we know it was a long night. What was interesting is that the Greek origin of this “preached” comes from Strong’s #1256, dialegomai. In versions such as NAS or INT the word used is “talking” and “talked” from the similar Greek, dielegeto also spelled dialegeto (another form of Strong’s #1256). This word also happens to be the root of our English word, dialogue. Below, I’ve highlighted some of the areas for emphasis from “preach” or “teach” from its original Greek definition:

• Dialegomai- Strong’s definition: verb, to converse, argue, reason, preach; HELPS Word-Studies: (from 1223 /dia, “through, from one side across to the other,” which intensifies 3004 /lego, “speaking to a conclusion”)- “getting a conclusion across” by exchanging thoughts (logic)—“mingling thought with thought, to ponder”; usually of believers exercising “dialectical reasoning”. This is a process of giving and receiving information with someone to reach deeper understanding—a going back and forth of thoughts and ideas so people can better know the Lord; NAS Exhaustive Concordance: to discuss, to address, to preach, argued, carrying on a discussion, discussed, discussing, reasoned, reasoning, talking; Thayers STRONGS to converse, discourse with one, argue, discuss, dispute, preach unto, reason with

 

In Acts 20:7-8, Paul’s “preach”ing ‘til midnight would’ve been a discussion-type of meeting with dialogue. That doesn’t mean Paul didn’t do a teaching and it was a random free-for-all.

I believe this would be more like Paul sharing revelations, insights, discussions he’d had previously with other Apostles or Jesus Himself, teaching where there was a lack of knowledge, etc as he discipled them about God’s revealed nature through Jesus Christ.  But none the less, it would  have been an open floor for questions, remarks, shared insights from others, discussion, dialogue, and such by those in attendance for the edification of the hearers.

In fact, “according to Paul’s custom, he went to them (in the Synagogues), and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures” Acts 17:2. So this was “Paul’s custom” to “reason” with people, which meant discussion possibly heated ones at that.

Then there are scriptures which have different meanings (from dialegomai) to the “preach” and “teach”  which simply are:

• didasko–STRONGS: to teach, to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them, deliver didactic discourses, to be a teacher. There are 97 occurrences usually as “teach” or “taught”, with 16 of them in Acts (1:1, 4:2, 4:18, 5:21, 5:25, 5:28, 5:42, 11:26, 15:1, 15:36, 18:11, 18:25, 20:20, 21:21, 21:28, 28:31)

 

• kerusso-STRONGS: to proclaim, to herald. Where I’ve seen this used (sometimes as the word “preach”) was in conjunction with evangelizing or presenting the Gospel to unbelievers with 61 occurrences, 8 of them in Acts (9:20, 10:37, 10:42, 15:21, 19:13, 20:25, 28:31); 32 of those occurrences happening in the Gospels

 

• euangelzomenoi-STRONGS: to bring good news. There are 6 occurrences of this in Acts as “preaching” or “proclaiming” depending on the version of Bible you are using (Acts 5:42, 8:4, 11:20, 14:7, 14:15, 15:35)

Bottom line: both kerusso, euangelzomenoi types of “preach” were primarily to unbelievers or those coming to hear the Gospel for conversion (or for repentance as seen in its use in the Gospels). These were declarations of Good News, but there is no mention in definition that these would be in a monologue format.

In fact, even when Jesus spoke there were discussions going on. Sometimes children interrupted Him to sit on His lap or He would direct His attention to what others were saying while He was teaching (for example the Pharisees grumbling against Him). Jesus even specifically addressed some to engage in conversation with them while He was in a crowd. But it was always done for the glory of God to be manifested.

Besides that, Jesus always taught outside in the streets, along lakes, at the outer courts, but never from inside the Holy of Holies of the Old Testament priests.

Now when Paul wrote his letters to the church, he would write to the entire church (without addressing leaders/elders upfront), but entrusted each individual with the message. For example, he never started his letters: “To the elders of Corinthians, read, teach, and preach these instructions to your people” or, ”To the pastors of Galatians, take this letter and advise your people to what I’m saying to you (elders & leaders)..”  

No! He wrote to the church as a whole, encouraging each member to function as the Body with many parts. These operating parts of His Body are a witness to the outpouring of the Spirit on His people. Paul even said, let 2 or 3 speak and “let the others judge” 1 Corinth 14:29, requiring discernment and discussion.

This was to Corinthians! One of the worst abusers of the gifts of the Spirit, so much so that Paul said they looked “out of their mind”.

But Paul did not even tell Corinthians to stop operating in the gifts given by the Spirit and revert to teaching that might resemble a monologue format. Nor have we seen any mention of pastor-led meetings.

Paul also did not discourage dialogue (even though the Corinthians were getting carried away with some of the gifts), nor did he encourage restraint. Instead, he tried to correct the disorder which hindered the edification of the hearers. While also encouraging them to continue in the manifestation of the Spirit evidenced by His outpouring on the gathered believers, for their edification.

Operating as the Body with many parts (whether mature or newly developing in Christ), allows His Spirit to edify us more fully through the many parts, instead of just one or two parts.

Paul even said: “Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.” 1 Corinth 14:12 

That is key. It must be for the edification of the whole church, led by the Holy Spirit as He sees fit in each person. 

When it comes to other believers, baby or mature meeting together, the Spirit teaches them all things for the edification of His Body. Not for miracle sessions to be the focus of the meeting or even the gifts to be the focus, but purely for edification by the Spirit pouring Himself out through others!  

Finally, when it comes to the didasko, dialegomai, dielegeto  “teaching”, “preaching” it would indicate there was discussion, discourse, and dialogue taking place during these “preaching”s and “teaching”s.

My concern when it comes to a predominate monologue fashion of teaching (without much or without any dialogue), is that it creates a dependence on that format (monologue-style teaching). Which in turn, atrophys, stifles and quenches the operation of the Spirit by the Body parts required to sit passively and listen.

More importantly, I do not see scriptural precedence for a monologue format of a small group of gathered believers.

Each has the Holy Spirit and each have been given various talents and gifts for the edification of His Body. So in a traditional, pastor-led monologue service, the Holy Spirit is very limited in operation because He’s only operating through a small number of the Body. That is the staff. The same is true of a small body or group which meets and leans heavily on a monologue-type teaching without room, space, or initiation of dialogue to discuss (or “judge”) the words, psalms, or teachings which arise from the meeting. 

In scripture, I see the Spirit pouring Himself out on all believers for the edification and glorification of Jesus Christ. So whether we meet in small groups, larger ones, or even  more traditional (pastor-led) ones, we must be aware that the Spirit is limited, or not, depending on the allowance of His operation there. Hence, the edification is either small or full and robust depending on the liberty with which we allow Him access in those places.

 

Further Reading:

Church in a Circle: http://www.churchinacircle.com/2012/08/28/the-medium-is-the-message-preaching-in-church-leads-to-preaching-as-outreach/#more-179

Alan Knox’s article: http://www.alanknox.net/2012/07/replay-dialog-during-the-meeting-of-the-church/

 

{Guest Post} testing the spirits–critical; Gifts of the Spirit #3

{There is a younger generation rising up. And with all force of the Holy Spirit they speak boldly. This post is one of those voices crying from the wilderness. To keep from focusing on the writer, this person prefered a new name for the blog. Paz, who is born the first time somewhat reserved; born again as a dedicated temple of an outspoken Holy Spirit. A guest post from Paz}

So, what are the gifts?

First of all, I do not believe Paul’s list to be exhaustive in the sense that the Holy Spirit is confined by it.  I do believe the list broadly covers the various categories of gifts and that within these categories, where people actually minister, there is a wide variety of individual, unique “flavors” expressed by the Holy Spirit.

The expression of a gift through a human being is as unique as everything else about that human being.  Two people may have the same gift, but the nuances of the gift in operation will be different between the two.  All expressions of the gift, however, will be in keeping with the nature of God and the Holy Spirit.

So, the gift list (in a compilation of different scripture translations) is as follows:

• wise counsel/advice (wisdom)
• clear understanding (special knowledge)
• simple trust (great faith)
• power to heal the sick
• power to work miracles
• ability to prophesy (proclaim God’s message to the people)
• ability to discern whether a message or gift is from the Spirit of God or another spirit (distinguishing/discerning between spirits)
• ability to speak in strange tongues or unknown languages
• ability to interpret and explain what is being said in tongues

A perfect church fellowship would have all these gifts operating on equal footing, with equal respect and freedom, among the various members.  Living and fellowshipping in this ideal way  would result in a complete and perfect image of Christ, whose Body we are.

The beauty of God’s design is that each member is necessary.  No one gift is “more important” than another.  I love how The Message translation puts this:

           

            “No matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of.  An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster.  . . -the ’lower’ the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary.  You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. . . If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher.  If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?”   1 Corinthians 12:18-24        

If you see someone “operating in their gift or ministry” and they are proud, arrogant, and walk as if they are more important to the body than you are, it does not take the gift of discernment to realize something is very wrong there.

So far, I know there are at least two general ways to “go wrong,” as it were, in situations and places where the gifts are operating.

In the first case, you can have someone who truly has been anointed by God and gifted by the Holy Spirit in a certain way but the person has gotten slightly “off” in their ministry.  They may be in sin or some error in their life.  This does not mean, however, that the gift originally given to them by the Holy Spirit has been removed.  It has not.   For a time, the person may be able to continue to operate under their anointing and the Lord may continue to minister through them, although possibly in a limited way.

Those with spiritual discernment, especially those with the gift of discernment, will often pick up that something is not quite right and be cautious of the person; they will be lead to take great care and carefully examine everything coming from that person. 

After a time, if the person does not repent, the Lord will withdraw Himself.  The shell of the gift, the natural talents, the charisma, the ability to evoke the same emotional responses that were once real responses to spiritual experiences – all the methods of the gift – may remain, but the lights are out.  The Power is gone. 

To the spiritually undiscerning, everything may look the same.  There may be no change in the natural, the person may continue to operate in their “ministry” without hardly a ripple to indicate any alteration in course.  But in the spirit there is a vast difference.  With their heart hardened by their persistent refusal to listen to the Lord’s correction, this person will abuse whatever traits of the gift that remain and will increasingly veer ever further into error, taking others with them.

In the second case, there are people who operate in a false gift.  It is not given by the Holy Spirit; it is a counterfeit.  There is often, if not always, a wrong spirit attached to such a person and who operates through the false gift.  Contrary to being afraid of believers, this spirit thrives on operating within the church setting, and as high up in a leadership position as it can get itself.  The person is always in considerable pride, although it can be very difficult to perceive because there will often be a front of false humility. 

False humility tends to operate in the opposite of what a person is saying. In other words, for example, they will say, “I do not want to be the leader of this group (of believers) because I’m just another believer like you.”  When in reality, they actually operate within the group by doing the opposite and do most or all of the speaking or teaching. Undiscerning believers, especially young ones, are susceptible to its deception.

Everything about this “gift” or “ministry” will closely mimic the real thing while all the time subtly working against actual Truth.  The wrong spirit will often masquerade as the Holy Spirit, leading the person in error to say such things as, “The Lord told me”, or “The Lord is showing me”, etc.

Again, those with spiritual discernment will be aware that something is “off”, sometimes very much off!  The Holy Spirit is faithful; He does not fail to lead you into all Truth and keep you away from pitfalls and dangers as long as you are willing to be lead.  Take everything before Him.  He is your only Guide.

Stay with Him, even when it becomes uncomfortable, even when there are those around you who are afraid to go where He is leading you.  For He alone is able to keep you and eventually present you faultless before the throne.

{Guest Post} participating with the Spirit–a healthy Body, Gifts of the Spirit #2

{There is a younger generation rising up. And with all force of the Holy Spirit they speak boldly. This post is one of those voices crying from the wilderness. To keep from focusing on the writer, this person prefered a new name for the blog. Paz, who is born the first time somewhat reserved; born again as a dedicated temple of an outspoken Holy Spirit. A guest post from Paz}

We opened up the topic of the gifts of the Spirit by looking at exactly what their purpose is and why we as the Body should walk in them.

In our scripture passage of 1 Corinthians 12 Paul lists some of the different gifts available, and includes some general information about the operation of the gifts.

Paul starts out the gift list by first emphasizing that each person in the Body of Christ is given gifts by the Holy Spirit.  He closes the list by again emphasizing how everyone gets a gift, everyone is expected to participate in the functioning of the Body.

Too many church members read only half of Paul’s verses: “He (Holy Spirit) alone decides” and, the Spirit distributes gifts “as He wishes”. 

They use their half-verses as excuses not only for why it is perfectly OK that they don’t practice any gifts, but even why they really are (probably) more holy than you are, seeing how they have just “submitted” themselves to the Spirit’s will; and surely He knows where to find them if He ever has a gift He wants to give them.

They choose to ignore the very next words after their “half-verses”, where Paul clearly indicates that every individual can expect to receive something.  This makes it their responsibility to seek the Lord on this issue and pursue a direction they may not be comfortable taking. 

If God expects everyone to work in His kingdom, then it is only fair that we can expect Him to be willing to equip everyone.

On the flip side, there are other members who read only the other half of Paul’s verses.  They label everything as a “gift” and service to the Body.  Mowing the church lawn all summer?  It is your gifting.  Cooking for all the gatherings?  Your calling.  Providing childcare during service each week?  Your ministry.

Now, I do not disparage anyone who is working for the kingdom and for the King with a whole heart.  There are many different true callings and works assigned by the Lord,  but we are talking about spiritual gifts here.  And the key thing about spiritual gifts?  They are spiritual!

Spiritual gifts impact the spirit realm, not the natural only. 

And real spiritual gifts only operate where the Spirit is.

It is relatively easy to know whether the Holy Spirit is in a place or not, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” – every  time.  If there seem to be spiritual gifts operating where there is no Holy Spirit you can be sure that at best these gifts are fake replicas of the real thing, and at worse, they are being operated by spirits that are not the Holy One.  This is why we are repeatedly admonished to “check the spirits”.

This open, “freedom atmosphere” that is one mark of the Holy Spirit’s presence and a necessary attribute of a place where gifts can routinely operate, is often a stumbling point for churches. 

It feels too dangerous, too uncertain.  “With only the Holy Spirit in charge”, they ask, “how do we control things?”

While some church leaders worry that such a “non-leading” approach would simply lead to chaos within a group, I would ask them: “Do you have chaos in your own physical body?” 

Do not confuse compromise with unity.  While many church members live only in a state of tenuous compromise with one another, the members of my physical body live in perfect unity.  And my human body is the pattern of the spiritual Body of Christ.

My eye does not fight with my hand over where my hand reaches.  Neither does my eye tell my hand what to do.  And they do not work so smoothly together because they have mastered the art of compromise despite their extreme differences.  They just both do as they are instructed by my head.

This is unity.  That my legs may simply take off walking some day and drag me with them to places I don’t want to go is the least of my worries when I wake up in the morning.  Why?  My legs are in submission to my head, of course!

The only time I would run into trouble is if somehow communication from my head going to my legs were interrupted, say if my spinal cord were severed.  If that happens, my legs immediately become powerless, useless for what they were created to do.

My head directs, coordinates, and orders all activities; it makes all decisions; it guides all actions of the body to benefit, preserve, and care for the body. 

In fact, no member of my body is independent!  My body is one entity made up of many, extremely varied parts.  “For in fact the body is not one member but many.”  No member of my body can survive without the other members.  And no member can function, or even survive, separated from my head.  Does this sound familiar?

If there is a lack of unity in a church, there is a lack of communication between a member or members and the Head (that is Jesus, not lead Pastors).  It is a “vertical” problem (with Jesus), not only (and sometimes not at all) a “lateral” one (with people).

If spiritual gifts (members of the body) are missing entirely, only the Holy Spirit can provide them.  They cannot be “assigned” or drafted into service.  The good news is, the Lord is building up a whole body, full, complete, and equipped for every good work.  So if there are parts missing where you fellowship, He is capable, ready, and willing to provide them.   Maybe through you!

{Guest Post} sick churches are missing their parts; Gifts of the Spirit #1

{There is a younger generation rising up. And with all force of the Holy Spirit they speak boldly. This post is one of those voices crying from the wilderness. To keep from focusing on the writer, this person prefered a new name for the blog. Paz, who is born the first time somewhat reserved; born again as a dedicated temple of an outspoken Holy Spirit. A guest post from Paz.}

For a long time, I did not understand the gifts of the Spirit.   I knew they were mentioned in the Bible, but I had never heard a detailed message about them.  Because the topic of the gifts was never highlighted by any ministers I listened to, I just kind of relegated it to the “minor details” section of Christianity.  There, sure, but not critical to my daily walk.

The Holy Spirit has since corrected me.  He has taught me (and is still teaching me) that His gifts are not only important but essential.  They are not a side issue.  Without the gifts, the Body of Christ (which we are) is not complete.  And where this incompleteness will show up every time is in how the Body operates, in its effectiveness.

The Holy Spirit is our operating power, both personally and corporately.  His “tools” that He gives us, through which His power is expressed, are His gifts.

A church without the operation of the gifts is a church operating without full power – spiritually ineffective.

When writing to the Corinthians the first time, Paul discusses the gifts.  And he discusses the gifts in the context of the corporate Body (in particular, 1 Corinthians 12).  This is the first important thing to remember.  Many things the Holy Spirit provides us with are for our personal walk and relationship with Jesus, but His gifts are given to each one for the Body. 

Paul put it this way, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other,” and “The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all.”

The real thing, a true gift of the Spirit, is always geared toward benefiting the Body of Christ.  While the person operating in it is often blessed too, the gift is not something that directly benefits them.  It is a service they render to the Body as an instrument, a conveyor, of the  Lord’s power in that area. 

The second thing that is important to remember, is that the gifts are given to each person.  The gifts are for the corporate Body, but given to individual believers.

“Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits.  All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!” (v. 7, Today’s English Version).

Paul next provides a list of the different gifts and emphasizes how everyone is given something.  Nobody is just a pew warmer.

There is no part of my body that is just “there” to fill space.  Why is the Lord’s Body any different?

Each of my body parts does the specific job that it was designed to do.  And if the designated part doesn’t do its assigned job, the job doesn’t get done.  If my eyes go blind, can my kidneys or my legs just make up the difference and start seeing?  No!  And again, why would we assume the Lord’s Body is any different?

One reason so many corporate churches are blind, deaf, lame, and suffer a host of other ills is they have sick, squashed, or missing parts.

And this is not the Holy Spirit’s fault.  He is the one responsible for dispensing the gifts and He is faithful.  “It is the the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts.  He alone decides which gift each person should have” (v. 11, NLT).  If gifts are not operating in a corporate body of believers, it is not by the Holy Spirit’s will but by the people’s choices. 

First of all, the Holy Spirit does not give power to unbelievers and sinners, even those who call themselves Christians and attend church.

Second, the gifts of the Holy Spirit work His way, and for His glory.  If you want the gifts you have to be willing to let only Him be in charge, not a man or a committee.

And third,  the church must be willing to allow the operation and manifestation of the gifts.  The Holy Spirit does not override anyone’s will.

But, if you are willing, if you really want to operate in the gifts to further the kingdom of God on this earth, then know that the Holy Spirit desires to give them.  He is eager to express the fullness of the beauty of the Body of Christ.

Chicken and a side of snark

There is alot of love talk everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, downright chicken soap-opera-drama.

I did not know how “hateful” it would be to show support for values by eating chicken.

Seriously. Standing in long lines has been villianized, minimized, and marginalized.

It’s just chicken and supporters of traditional marriage.

Since when is that hate speech?

And, I did not even eat at the food chain in question.

I’ve never seen so many angry folks over chicken. Christians telling other Christians, to stop the hate, bro. Supporting traditional marriage by eating in droves on the same day has become evil somehow. Because, dude, where’s the love?

“ Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20

I understand you may disagree with me but can we call it what is? A disagreement and not hate. Whatever happened to debates? Now days, it’s either love or hate and how you “love” might just mean you ain’t a Christian. Sometimes it feels like we are trying to make ourselves love things, at all cost.

Look, I’ve been the chief of sinners. Homosexual sins are not worse than any of my carousing, foul talking, coarse jesting, smoking n drinking days of yore. I lived away from God and loved my sin for a long season. Never once did I expect Christians to come along side me and say my sin was A-ok. *wink, wink*

Never.

What drew me to the Light was seeing their peace and joy. I was drawn by their convictions and strong believes (when mine waffled to and fro). I was drawn by the way they treated eachother in a mutually submissive marriage of Christian love (Dwayne and Sondra, I’m talking to you).

I never once was drawn by them being like me or liking my lifestyle of partying, bars, skimpy outfits, and my old flirtatious nature.

Christians lived among me and I watched them like an outsider. 

Because I’d been hurt by them.

Burned.

Like charred black kind-of burn.

So arms length it was. Besides, my life was not squeaky “clean” anymore and definitely not Christian.

Yet, I was drawn to whatever they had over time. Imperfections and all. There was something there.

It had a brainwashed look to it, but hey, if it made the world better while I lived on it, then I wanted it.

One day.

You know, that day when I would be ready to quit my debauchery and all. Except that didn’t come. At least not the quitting-on-my-own part. It came after a pit of darkness, the kind pulled down by foolish hands that looked exactly like, mine.

So a Christian’s love to me was not them conforming to my prodigal ideas or standing for my beliefs. And I sure would not have felt hated if they didn’t agree with any of my lifestyle choices. In hindsight, those Christians were Christ-lights of people being who God made them to be, beliefs, differences, and all. 

I respected them for their difference. I just didn’t necessarily want their kind of different. I wanted their peace.

But God draws us with His tenderness and kindness. Not just for mercy and grace, but for repentance.

Can you imagine Paul’s “hate” speech to the Americans, er, Romans:

^“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie {um, can we wrap it up, Paul? ‘Cuz this is getting uncomfortable here}, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things {so far I don’t see homosexuals standing in line against homosexuals or did I miss something?}…  So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath , when his righteous judgment will be revealed. ” Romans 1:24-27; 2:1-5

 I mean, that was Paul. He was kinda rough, right? Essentially, God’s kindness was all about leading us to repentance.

But somehow repentance has been turned into an ugly and shameful word. If we can’t “judge” sin, then by golly, we are running blind and roughshod. How are we to know right from wrong without knowing what sin is? And it’s a good thing, because only then can we know the depths of His goodness. 

But first we must know Truth, all of it.

He woo’s me but not so I stay the same and especially not so I continue loving my sin (and you better believe I loved my sin while it was still fun and Godless!)

But since it’s love we keep talking about, Jesus had other things to say about that too (because love isn’t always a positive, feel good emotion):

“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.” Luke 11:43

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19

“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” Luke 16:14

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12

And “law” was fulfilled on these two commands:

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

In other words, the greatest command is loving Him with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. And the law hangs on those.

You mean like I don’t want my neighbor to run off a cliff like I, myself, wouldn’t want to run off a cliff? Like my prodigal {past} self was showed tender kindness by my Christian neighbors while they did not compromise their beliefs or values to make me feel better, kind of love?

My Christians friends did not lose their saltiness. They in turn, whetted my appetite for something outside of my temporal self.

Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34,35 NIV

In other words, people will know you belong to Christ if you love eachother. I don’t know? Are we talking about Christian brotherly/sisterly love or loving people who are in the world? Because we do not have to love sin too. In fact we are not to love it. And just because someone says it’s sin, does not mean they hate the person.

Love laid down His life. But before He let it hang on a cross, He confronted sin in our lives and the lives of those in His time.

Believing a lie is not loving any more than supporting a lie is helping someone.

That doesn’t mean everyone who tells the truth is doing so from love. Or that being silent is love, either. Or that supporting traditional marriage has smurfed into hate-mongering.

And in the hate vein, comes this:  Christians are full of sinners, do you “hate” them too? Well, since we’re on the subject of Christians (vs. people who aren’t, right?), there is a difference between repentant sin and unrepentant sin.

In fact, there is a love for sin that it can only be out right rebellion to God, Himself.

Look, I’ve been a lot of sinful things. But because of Christ, I am repentative of those things. I know the depths of my darkness, I confess, and I turn from them. That is repentance.

But that does not mean other Christians will automatically treat me good (which is a whole other post altogether). This is why we are to continue loving God because it’s His Love we need flowing through us to do any good with love. Unfortunately we will fail at times. So we go back to Him.  Ask Him to search our heart and remove those obstacles called sin in our own lives.

But I don’t try to be better. I turn to Christ.

“ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 NKJ

God so loved that He gave His Son for us to believe in, to receive salvation.

As much as I want you to like me (and I really, really do, that stinking flesh wants all your praise and glory!), you might hate me anyway. So I can not hang my hat on that. All I can do is love God will all my heart, soul, and mind and love my neighbor as myself. Bring myself before God, humble myself so He can raise Himself up in me. And repent, repent, repent, repent when necessary (and often).

Because “if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing….Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:2,6

And my sin is just as evil as any sin. So I need to be free from it as much as the next person. Yet, does my heart rejoice with truth? Because love does not delight in evil. And there is a list of evil my heart has hung out with:

“Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthian 6:9-11

I was the “some of you”!  I’ve been washed in Jesus through repentance.

And if we can’t speak Truth in love (which very well may go against the world or culture of the day), the least we can do is go back to square one of loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

If nothing else, we have that.

 

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