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"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?'" (Luke 17:15-17)
Genuine "thankfulness" seems to have become a rare commodity indeed, beloved! Even in Jesus' day when He graciously healed ten men of the dreaded disease of leprosy, only one of them showed true gratitude of heart and returned to thank Him after showing himself to the priest according to the dictates of the Mosaic Law. And when he returned and fell on his face in thanksgiving before Him, Jesus rightly posed the question that should be on our hearts today: "Where are the nine?"
This sad but true incident in the life of Jesus reveals to us a number of key truths concerning genuine thankfulness today. The first is that a thankful heart will always recognize that help has come from outside to one who is essentially unworthy. No one in Hebrew society was considered more of an outcast than a "leper." No one afflicted with this horrible and terminal disease was allowed within the walls of a city, much less in any public building. The penalty was often death. Likewise truly grateful hearts today will recognize and freely acknowledge that, as Paul told the Ephesians about their life before Christ: "You were dead in your trespasses and sins" and that "by grace you have been saved through faith" (2:1, 8). Before God you and I are all equally unworthy of a second look from God and completely, like those ten lepers, unable to improve our standing.
But a second wonderful truth that should be obvious in this account, beloved, is that genuine worship can only come from genuine gratitude. Much of what is called "worship" today and what men mistake for worship is actually only structured religious ceremony. No matter how it is contrived or carried out, whether it is "traditional" or "contemporary"/"liturgical" or "charismatic" - it matters not - unless it is prompted by genuine and heartfelt gratitude for God's grace, it is shallow and empty and means nothing at all to God. The cry of "Thanks be to God!" from a single heart touched by His grace and transformed by His power is more of "worship" than the loftiest anthem or the grandest sermon ever delivered.
Finally, a truth that should rivet our attention upon the nature of true redemption is that only the one who is truly grateful gives evidence of having been truly converted. In Jesus' closing words to this one of ten who returned to fall on his face and give thanks, we find His promise that "your faith has made you well" (v. 19). But wait a moment! Were not the ungrateful nine just as healed of leprosy as was this one who returned? What then did Jesus mean? Here the word for being made "well" or "whole" means literally "saved you." Jesus said to the one who came back: "Your faith has saved you." That one man, then, not only went home that day free from the curse of leprosy, beloved, but free from the eternal curse of sin and its condemnation as well.
So to pose Jesus' question once more: "Where are the nine?" Are you one of them? Am I? Not if we truly understand that in and of ourselves we are not worthy of what Jesus did for us in love on the cross. And not if we understand that only hearts that are grateful for what He did for us can in turn give Him the worship that He so richly deserves. And not if we understand, above all else, that only a truly grateful heart will show to our world what a truly saved heart and transformed life is like.
So where are the nine at this Thanksgiving season? Let's hope that all are on their way back to fall again at His feet and to thank Him for His glorious grace!
Ron
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
A New Wind Blowing?
"Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts" (Proverbs 21:2)
Have you heard the latest "buzzword" bouncing around the mainstream media, beloved, and destined to become more familiar to us all in days ahead? That word is "inclusive." By media definition, to be "inclusive" means that we accept everyone's standards and ideals as their own and that, consequently, there are no more set standards for what is right and wrong. The recent votes on legalizing marijuana and gay marriages and euthanasia surely made that point clear!
Every person doing what is right in his own eyes and expecting no accountability for his choices is certainly nothing new. In fact, the people of earth have all been through this cycle before and as far back as the generation in which Noah lived.
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5)
Do you have any idea what society in Noah's day was plagued with, beloved? It was clearly a sense of the need for "inclusiveness"! Everybody is free to do what he wants to do and that is his human right. And what was the result? God judged sinful man for his inclusive attitude and a world-wide flood wiped out everything and everyone except Noah and his family.
So here we are in 2012 being told that we basically as conservatives lost this presidential election because we have not learned how to be "inclusive" enough. In other words, live and let live. Toss out the standards of right and wrong. To your own self be true. What the other guy does is none of your business. Learn to look the other way.
Unfortunately for those who hold to such a misguided philosophy of living, no one has bothered to ask God what He thinks of it. Did you notice what the writer of Proverbs here had to say? He said that "the Lord weighs the hearts." Do you know what that means? It means that when it comes to right and wrong, when it comes to every man setting his own standard for how he lives his life, God is not "inclusive" at all!
So maybe we shouldn't say that there is a "new wind" blowing across this land, but perhaps a "new old wind." It's been thought before. It's been planned before. And it's been done before. And the result has always and will always be the same. God weighs the hearts of those who practice such things. Pray for America, beloved. I don't think she is going to like where her "new wind" is going to take her.
Ron
Have you heard the latest "buzzword" bouncing around the mainstream media, beloved, and destined to become more familiar to us all in days ahead? That word is "inclusive." By media definition, to be "inclusive" means that we accept everyone's standards and ideals as their own and that, consequently, there are no more set standards for what is right and wrong. The recent votes on legalizing marijuana and gay marriages and euthanasia surely made that point clear!
Every person doing what is right in his own eyes and expecting no accountability for his choices is certainly nothing new. In fact, the people of earth have all been through this cycle before and as far back as the generation in which Noah lived.
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5)
Do you have any idea what society in Noah's day was plagued with, beloved? It was clearly a sense of the need for "inclusiveness"! Everybody is free to do what he wants to do and that is his human right. And what was the result? God judged sinful man for his inclusive attitude and a world-wide flood wiped out everything and everyone except Noah and his family.
So here we are in 2012 being told that we basically as conservatives lost this presidential election because we have not learned how to be "inclusive" enough. In other words, live and let live. Toss out the standards of right and wrong. To your own self be true. What the other guy does is none of your business. Learn to look the other way.
Unfortunately for those who hold to such a misguided philosophy of living, no one has bothered to ask God what He thinks of it. Did you notice what the writer of Proverbs here had to say? He said that "the Lord weighs the hearts." Do you know what that means? It means that when it comes to right and wrong, when it comes to every man setting his own standard for how he lives his life, God is not "inclusive" at all!
So maybe we shouldn't say that there is a "new wind" blowing across this land, but perhaps a "new old wind." It's been thought before. It's been planned before. And it's been done before. And the result has always and will always be the same. God weighs the hearts of those who practice such things. Pray for America, beloved. I don't think she is going to like where her "new wind" is going to take her.
Ron
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Is Grace Too Easy?
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)
At a recent gathering of our association of churches for its annual meeting, I had the privilege of hearing the executive director of Operation Inasmuch speak on the issue of the grace of God and how it transforms the lives of whomever it touches. As I sat in that church sanctuary as part of the worshiping congregation, I was struck by the question that you see printed above. Is grace too easy? Now please understand that by "easy" I do not mean grace itself for the grace of God is what it is. What I meany by that question is simply: "Is the response of many to God's grace often too easy?" Consider with me for a moment several reasons why people choose to make a "profession of faith" and to claim to put their trust in Jesus Christ.
First of all, many turn easily to the grace of God because they feel it is expected of them. I was raised in a Christian home by godly parents. I heard and learned the name of Jesus almost as soon as I learned to talk. Not a day passed in our home where there was not a focus upon God's love and His mercy to us in what Jesus did on the cross. As soon as they felt that I could understand the consequences, my loving parents began to share with me the reality of the gospel - that God loved me so much that Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for my sins. As a result of their faithful witness and at the prompting of the Holy Spirit within my heart, at the age of 7 I made a conscious choice during Vacation Bible School to ask Jesus to come into my heart and to save me from my sins. For me it was then and is today a very real and eternal choice. Unfortunately, that is not always true for everyone. Sometimes people will make a public profession of faith because they feel that it is expected of them to do so, that to not do so is somehow to fail in their personal responsibility somewhere.
Secondly, some people will profess their faith in Christ because they feel it will make someone happy. Sometimes during revival services teenagers will respond to the invitation in a group, holding each others' hands and kneeling at the front in prayer. At such times it is possible for such young people to "go along with the crowd" because they want their friends to be happy with them. As a pastor I have personally encountered such decisions more than one time in sharing the gospel. I recall another occasion when some members of one Sunday school class walked the aisle together to honor the memory of a fellow member who had just passed on. A number of them were even baptized as a result.
Thirdly, some people will profess their faith in Christ today because they crave the security of feeling like they belong. Church membership should be and is usually a very "bonding" relationship, beloved, and those who feel isolated in society are often drawn to close-knit church fellowships because it is what they crave.
As we have noted already, then, grace is not too easy. But very often our response to grace may be. Scripture gives us clearly only one reason why we should ever respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the verses leading up to the ones upon which we are focused here, the Apostle Paul made the astounding statement that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (2:1). The only reason that any one of us should respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ is that we realize that we are sinners and that only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can save us. What is the reason for your response to God's grace, beloved?
Ron
At a recent gathering of our association of churches for its annual meeting, I had the privilege of hearing the executive director of Operation Inasmuch speak on the issue of the grace of God and how it transforms the lives of whomever it touches. As I sat in that church sanctuary as part of the worshiping congregation, I was struck by the question that you see printed above. Is grace too easy? Now please understand that by "easy" I do not mean grace itself for the grace of God is what it is. What I meany by that question is simply: "Is the response of many to God's grace often too easy?" Consider with me for a moment several reasons why people choose to make a "profession of faith" and to claim to put their trust in Jesus Christ.
First of all, many turn easily to the grace of God because they feel it is expected of them. I was raised in a Christian home by godly parents. I heard and learned the name of Jesus almost as soon as I learned to talk. Not a day passed in our home where there was not a focus upon God's love and His mercy to us in what Jesus did on the cross. As soon as they felt that I could understand the consequences, my loving parents began to share with me the reality of the gospel - that God loved me so much that Jesus went to the cross to pay the price for my sins. As a result of their faithful witness and at the prompting of the Holy Spirit within my heart, at the age of 7 I made a conscious choice during Vacation Bible School to ask Jesus to come into my heart and to save me from my sins. For me it was then and is today a very real and eternal choice. Unfortunately, that is not always true for everyone. Sometimes people will make a public profession of faith because they feel that it is expected of them to do so, that to not do so is somehow to fail in their personal responsibility somewhere.
Secondly, some people will profess their faith in Christ because they feel it will make someone happy. Sometimes during revival services teenagers will respond to the invitation in a group, holding each others' hands and kneeling at the front in prayer. At such times it is possible for such young people to "go along with the crowd" because they want their friends to be happy with them. As a pastor I have personally encountered such decisions more than one time in sharing the gospel. I recall another occasion when some members of one Sunday school class walked the aisle together to honor the memory of a fellow member who had just passed on. A number of them were even baptized as a result.
Thirdly, some people will profess their faith in Christ today because they crave the security of feeling like they belong. Church membership should be and is usually a very "bonding" relationship, beloved, and those who feel isolated in society are often drawn to close-knit church fellowships because it is what they crave.
As we have noted already, then, grace is not too easy. But very often our response to grace may be. Scripture gives us clearly only one reason why we should ever respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the verses leading up to the ones upon which we are focused here, the Apostle Paul made the astounding statement that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (2:1). The only reason that any one of us should respond to the grace of God in Jesus Christ is that we realize that we are sinners and that only the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can save us. What is the reason for your response to God's grace, beloved?
Ron
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
What Ever Happened to Truth?
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth" (John 17:17)
What ever happened to truth? Now that is a question that has been on my mind a lot lately, beloved, and one that I sincerely believe has been on the minds of many as well! If ever this world has seen a time when"truth" is under attack - genuine all-out assault - then I believe that this is that time. Consider by way of example just what has come under unbelievable attack in this very generation. First of all, the truth of the family as the basis of society is under assault. In answer to a question from the Pharisees concerning the issue of divorce, Jesus responded:
4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6)
One man, one woman, joined together by God in marriage, and one flesh for life. That is truth, beloved, God's truth. Yet it is being set aside casually today as if God had never spoken it at all! Nor is it being dismissed only be certain elements of society from whom we have come to expect such attitudes. It is being set aside officially and publicly by the highest levels of government. We have lived to see the day when the truth established by the Creator has been declared by the created to be irrelevant and non-binding anymore. Is that not, however, what the Apostle Paul warned would happen at the hands of unrighteous men?
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen (Romans 1:25)
When confronted in any venue with the words of Scripture, beloved, those who are so nonchalantly dismissive of divine truth respond with the argument that the Bible is archaic, that it is out of date, that it was written by men. When that happens, we discover yet another front for the current assault, the truth of God Himself as the sole authority for man's living. The thinking of such people is clearly: "If we can just invalidate the Word of God, we can rid ourselves of God Himself." The desire in every such heart is for man to become the standard-setter, the central point around which all of life revolves, the end in view as he seeks his own good and his own glory.
But Jesus Christ Himself made the powerful and irrefutable statement in His prayer here that God's Word is truth! It was God's truth, it is now God's truth, and it will always be God's truth. It can be ignored, avoided, even disobeyed, but it cannot be destroyed. It is the one standard by which God judges all of mankind and it will be the same truth that every man will face when finally he stands before his Creator in eternity.
What ever happened to truth? I am thrilled to assure you, beloved, that nothing at all has happened to truth. It is still here, it is still operative, it is still effective, it is still all-powerful, it is still transformational, and it is still centered solely upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid! Jesus Christ is Lord and the day for the "knee-bowing, tongue-confessing, world-encompassing" acknowledgment of that fact is coming on like a freight train. Maranatha!
Ron
What ever happened to truth? Now that is a question that has been on my mind a lot lately, beloved, and one that I sincerely believe has been on the minds of many as well! If ever this world has seen a time when"truth" is under attack - genuine all-out assault - then I believe that this is that time. Consider by way of example just what has come under unbelievable attack in this very generation. First of all, the truth of the family as the basis of society is under assault. In answer to a question from the Pharisees concerning the issue of divorce, Jesus responded:
4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6)
One man, one woman, joined together by God in marriage, and one flesh for life. That is truth, beloved, God's truth. Yet it is being set aside casually today as if God had never spoken it at all! Nor is it being dismissed only be certain elements of society from whom we have come to expect such attitudes. It is being set aside officially and publicly by the highest levels of government. We have lived to see the day when the truth established by the Creator has been declared by the created to be irrelevant and non-binding anymore. Is that not, however, what the Apostle Paul warned would happen at the hands of unrighteous men?
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen (Romans 1:25)
When confronted in any venue with the words of Scripture, beloved, those who are so nonchalantly dismissive of divine truth respond with the argument that the Bible is archaic, that it is out of date, that it was written by men. When that happens, we discover yet another front for the current assault, the truth of God Himself as the sole authority for man's living. The thinking of such people is clearly: "If we can just invalidate the Word of God, we can rid ourselves of God Himself." The desire in every such heart is for man to become the standard-setter, the central point around which all of life revolves, the end in view as he seeks his own good and his own glory.
But Jesus Christ Himself made the powerful and irrefutable statement in His prayer here that God's Word is truth! It was God's truth, it is now God's truth, and it will always be God's truth. It can be ignored, avoided, even disobeyed, but it cannot be destroyed. It is the one standard by which God judges all of mankind and it will be the same truth that every man will face when finally he stands before his Creator in eternity.
What ever happened to truth? I am thrilled to assure you, beloved, that nothing at all has happened to truth. It is still here, it is still operative, it is still effective, it is still all-powerful, it is still transformational, and it is still centered solely upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, let not your hearts be troubled nor let them be afraid! Jesus Christ is Lord and the day for the "knee-bowing, tongue-confessing, world-encompassing" acknowledgment of that fact is coming on like a freight train. Maranatha!
Ron
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Political or Spiritual?
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)
This particular post has been gnawing at me for quite some time, beloved, and only last night did it actually begin to take shape and become something that I truly believe has come from the Spirit of God. You see, like so many other Americans who are Christians I have been closely following this current presidential campaign - watching all the political commercials (true and false), listening to the myriad of "sound bytes" that assault our ears each and every day, thinking about how much this country that I love could change disastrously if the wrong man wins this election. But then again, who hasn't, right?
Last night as I was getting ready for bed and was thinking back over the day's political bombshells that burst all around us, I began to realize that my focus as a Christian should not be primarily political but rather spiritual. And the words of the Apostle Paul to the saints in the region of Galatia came to mind:
Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh!
My greatest responsibility before God, beloved, is not to vote the right way, but to live the right way! And as I thought further about these words of Paul, I realized that if I will as a Christian but give myself wholly to the right walk, then I will not have to worry about the right vote. Though no one with any sense of perception can deny that this world is in a mess, that reality does not for a single moment alter the one and only solution that the Spirit of God within each one of us would have us to see. Consider with me for a moment, then, the command of God here in Paul's words: "walk by the Spirit."
The word here translated "walk" actually means order one's behavior or conduct oneself in a certain manner. The noun form in the New Testament refers commonly to a person's lifestyle, that which is consistently the same, that which we show to those who are all around us. To "walk by the Spirit," then, is to live your life consistently under the direct control of the Spirit of God. It is to demonstrate a life that is given over completely to what God wants and one that seeks every moment of every day to be pleasing to God even at the cost of what others may say or do. It is to see life through God's eyes, to seek God's glory in every decision, every choice that we make. And that, beloved, includes how we carry out our God-given privilege of electing public officials. We carry out that responsibility according to God's standard and we do so for God's glory and not for our own political advantage.
As we make the decision to so live, what will be the outcome? Consider the remainder of Paul's words: "you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." When we yield to the control of God's Spirit, beloved, we walk the path that God has for us and that of necessity means that we avoid what the selfish person inside us desires. We live for God's purpose and God's glory and not for our own agenda. Suddenly party planks and platforms take on a whole new perspective in our thinking. We examine everything and everyone in light of how they line up with what God says is true and just and right.
So there you have it. Should we be political or should we be spiritual? I am persuaded that if we will but give ourselves completely to walking by the Spirit as Paul here commands, all that is political will fall into place. And when our world begins to see us as Christians really living like we have always been intended to live, imagine what the Spirit of God will be able to do in this world of ours that has so desperately lost its way!
Ron
This particular post has been gnawing at me for quite some time, beloved, and only last night did it actually begin to take shape and become something that I truly believe has come from the Spirit of God. You see, like so many other Americans who are Christians I have been closely following this current presidential campaign - watching all the political commercials (true and false), listening to the myriad of "sound bytes" that assault our ears each and every day, thinking about how much this country that I love could change disastrously if the wrong man wins this election. But then again, who hasn't, right?
Last night as I was getting ready for bed and was thinking back over the day's political bombshells that burst all around us, I began to realize that my focus as a Christian should not be primarily political but rather spiritual. And the words of the Apostle Paul to the saints in the region of Galatia came to mind:
Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh!
My greatest responsibility before God, beloved, is not to vote the right way, but to live the right way! And as I thought further about these words of Paul, I realized that if I will as a Christian but give myself wholly to the right walk, then I will not have to worry about the right vote. Though no one with any sense of perception can deny that this world is in a mess, that reality does not for a single moment alter the one and only solution that the Spirit of God within each one of us would have us to see. Consider with me for a moment, then, the command of God here in Paul's words: "walk by the Spirit."
The word here translated "walk" actually means order one's behavior or conduct oneself in a certain manner. The noun form in the New Testament refers commonly to a person's lifestyle, that which is consistently the same, that which we show to those who are all around us. To "walk by the Spirit," then, is to live your life consistently under the direct control of the Spirit of God. It is to demonstrate a life that is given over completely to what God wants and one that seeks every moment of every day to be pleasing to God even at the cost of what others may say or do. It is to see life through God's eyes, to seek God's glory in every decision, every choice that we make. And that, beloved, includes how we carry out our God-given privilege of electing public officials. We carry out that responsibility according to God's standard and we do so for God's glory and not for our own political advantage.
As we make the decision to so live, what will be the outcome? Consider the remainder of Paul's words: "you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." When we yield to the control of God's Spirit, beloved, we walk the path that God has for us and that of necessity means that we avoid what the selfish person inside us desires. We live for God's purpose and God's glory and not for our own agenda. Suddenly party planks and platforms take on a whole new perspective in our thinking. We examine everything and everyone in light of how they line up with what God says is true and just and right.
So there you have it. Should we be political or should we be spiritual? I am persuaded that if we will but give ourselves completely to walking by the Spirit as Paul here commands, all that is political will fall into place. And when our world begins to see us as Christians really living like we have always been intended to live, imagine what the Spirit of God will be able to do in this world of ours that has so desperately lost its way!
Ron
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