compromise

And Yet, God.

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But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem. – Ezra 9:8-9 ESV

Ezra 9:6-15

Ezra was in mourning over the sorry state of the people of Judah. They had been returned the land by God after 70 years in captivity due to their own sinfulness, and here they were, still living in rebellion against Him. Ezra, having just returned to Judah from the land of Babylon, was appalled and devastated by what he saw. So he took it upon himself to confess the corporate sins of the people to God. Ezra was personally ashamed for their conduct. As a scribe, an expert in the Mosaic law, he was well aware that what they were doing was in direct violation of God’s commands. And he knew that God would not take their disobedience lightly. The most amazing thing to Ezra was that the people were doing all of this in spite of God’s amazing grace and mercy. He had shown them favor. He had taken a remnant of them and arranged for them to return to the land to rebuild the temple and to restore the city of Jerusalem. God had not forsaken them, but had fulfilled His promise to restore them to the land after their 70 years of captivity were complete. They hadn’t deserved it or in any way earned it. Even their time as slaves in Babylon had been marked by continuing rebellion against God. They had regularly worshiped false gods. They had continued to reject and rebel against the one true God. And yet, He had kept His word. He had fulfilled His promise.

Ezra did not take God’s grace lightly. He was shocked that the people who had experienced that grace could so easily snub their noses at God and blatantly live in open rebellion to His commands. Their lives were marked by compromise. Rather than separate themselves from the other nations that had taken up residence in the land during their absence, they gladly coexisted with them, marrying off their sons and daughters to them. Not only that, they compromised their allegiance to God by taking on the false gods of their neighbors, diluting their faith and offending the very One who had rescued them from captivity.

In a very real way, this parallels the experience of so many of us as believers. God has redeemed us from slavery to sin. He has made it possible for us to be restored to a right relationship with Him, and yet we find ourselves comingling with the world around us. Rather than remaining separate and set apart, we determine to blend in and, in the process, end up compromising our convictions. Many of us, having been set free by God, find ourselves enslaved to the world. We seek our self-worth and satisfaction from what the world can offer. We long to be accepted by the world. Rather than stand out for our faith, we prefer to blend in. And slowly, steadily, we begin to make compromises and concessions. We find ourselves rationalizing our behavior and excusing our actions. We refuse to accept Jesus’ warning that we would be hated by the world. Instead of living as strangers and sojourners in this land, recognizing that we are citizens of another kingdom, we choose to get to cozy and comfortable with this world. We gladly adopt their ways and accept their standards as our own. The convictions of the culture around us slowly begin to influence and infect us, and we begin to lose our distinctiveness. Chosen and set apart by God, we find ourselves looking more and more like the world around us. Our distinction as Christians becomes more a label than a lifestyle. That was the problem Ezra encountered when he arrived in Judah. The saints had lost their saltiness. The intensity of their light had diminished and they were close to being overwhelmed by the surrounding darkness.

And yet, God was still showing them favor. He was still extending to them mercy. He had sent back Ezra with the sole task of reestablishing His law in the land. He had allowed them to rebuild the temple. He would eventually send back Nehemiah with another wave of exiles to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem and reoccupy the city. God was not done. And He is not done today. In spite of all we see happening around us and the distinct feeling that the darkness is overwhelming us, God is on His throne. He is still in charge. But He is looking for a remnant of His people who will boldly stand apart from the crowd and speak up for the truth. He is calling His people to come back to Him, to reject the ways of this world and renew their commitment to live lives of holiness. For the believer, compromise is deadly. And the temptation to do so is greater than it has ever been. The world wants to silence our voices, stifle our faith, compromise our convictions, and distract us from our devotion to God. But we must never forget that God has redeemed us from the world. We can live in it and yet not become part of it. We have been called to make a difference, not blend in. We have been saved so that we might tell others of the truth regarding man’s sin and God’s plan of salvation. Some of us have compromised our faith. Others of us have allowed ourselves to succumb to defeat and despair. We live as if all hope is lost and the enemy is winning. But our God reigns. He wins in the end. His victory is assured. We must live like we believe it. All is not lost. But it is time for the called out to stand up and to live out their faith.

Shame On Us.

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O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. – Ezra 9:6-7 ESV

Ezra 9:6-15

In 537 B.C., 50,000 Jews were allowed to return to the land of Judah from after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. It was all made possible by a decree from Cyrus, the Persian king. They were led by Zerubbabel and their task was to rebuild the temple of God. In 487 B.C., at the decree of the Persian king, Artaxerxes, Ezra and some 2,000 other refugees returned to the land with the responsibility to restore proper worship in the temple and to reestablish and enforce God’s laws. Ezra was a scribe, an expert in the law. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they did not find things as they had expected. Ezra received a report informing him of some rather disconcerting news. “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage” (Ezra 9:1-2 NLT).
When Ezra heard this news, he was appalled. The Hebrew word Ezra used to describe his state is shamem. It means “to be stunned, horrified, appalled, and stupified” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The exiled who had returned to the land thanks to a miracle of God and allowed to rebuild the once destroyed temple, had been breaking one of God’s cardinal laws: intermarriage. Not only that, they had been taking up “the detestable practices” of the pagan people who had occupied the land in their absence. Rather than live set apart and holy lives, dedicated to God, they had compromised their convictions and powerfully diluted their influence as the people of God. And their leaders had set the tone for this shocking display. Ezra went into mourning. Then he took the issue before the Lord. Standing before the people, he raised his hands and prayed. “O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you” (NLT). He came before God in a state of utter dismay and embarrassment on behalf of the people of Judah. While he had not participated in their sin, he felt a responsibility for it. He knew that, as a people, they represented God’s children. Their sin was corporate in nature. Rather than living as the chosen, set apart people of God, they had decided to become like the world around them, taking on their sinful practices and bringing shame to the very name of God.
How serious was all of this? Ezra put it in very stark terms, saying, “our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” This was serious business. He knew that God was fully aware of their sin and was not pleased. In fact, this latest transgression against God was a reminder of all the sins the people of Israel had committed over the centuries and that had led to their many defeats and their ultimate fall to the Babylonians. But here they were, even after 70 years of captivity, doing it all again. Ezra couldn’t believe his eyes. He couldn’t gloss over what he had seen and heard. He couldn’t act as if it hadn’t happened or it didn’t matter. Years earlier, when God had prepared to send the people into the land of Canaan for the very first time, He had told commanded them regarding the people living in the land, “You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you” (Deuteronomy 7:3-4 NLT). God had known that the outcome of these marriages would be devastating to the spiritual well being of the Israelites. But they had failed to obey God then, and they were repeating the same mistake again. And the saddest part was that they were unashamed of their actions. It reminds me of a statement made by God before the fall of Jerusalem. Speaking of the religious leaders of Israel, God said, “Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush” (Jeremiah 8:12 ESV). But Ezra was ashamed. He was mortified by the actions of his fellow Jews and he brought his shame before God. 
There comes a time when we must accept the reality of our corporate sin as the people of God. While we may be free from personal guilt, we still bear a responsibility to accept and acknowledge the guilt we share as part of God’s family. We cannot afford to overlook the transgressions committed by fellow believers and believe it has no impact on ourselves. Ezra knew that God’s blessings on the people of Israel would be directly influenced by their behavior. Their sin would bring His displeasure. Ezra knew that and so he too personal responsibility to confess their sins before God. Rather than simply claim his own innocence, Ezra confessed their corporate culpability before God. What good was a rebuilt temple and a restored people if they refused to live their lives set apart to God? Perhaps it’s time that we began to see our corporate sin as the people of God with greater clarity and take personal responsibility before God. Or do we feel no shame? Have we forgotten how to blush at our sin?

The Logical Vs The Impossible.

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And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” – Genesis 17:18 ESV

Back in chapter 15 of Genesis, Abraham had expressed some concern with God regarding His plan to make of him a great nation. As far as Abraham was concerned, God’s plan had a couple of significant flaws: He and his wife, Sarah, were old, and she was barren. So he had suggested Eliezer, his servant, as a possible stand-in for the heir-apparent. But God would have nothing to do with it. That was not His will and He made it quite clear. “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4 ESV). So there would be no substitutes accepted. Then, to drive home His point, God had taken Abraham outside and had him look up at the stars. God then said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5 ESV). Point made. Case closed. And we’re told, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6 ESV). Abraham got the message. He knew that God was going to give him a son, an heir, and from that son would come a great nation. Abraham believed the promise of God and was considered righteous by God for doing so. He expressed faith in God even thought he could not see the outcome of the promise. He had no proof, no evidence, other than a glance into the nighttime sky and a word from God. But that was enough.

Which brings us to today’s passage. Time had passed. Abraham and Sarah had gotten older. Sarah was still barren. Little had changed in their circumstances. Other than the fact that God had made a covenant with Abraham and told him that his offspring would end up living in a foreign country where they would be slaves, but then would return to live in the land 400 years later. In the meantime, Sarah had come up with her great plan to give Abraham a son through her handmaid, Hagar. The result of this less-than-godly plan, which Abraham wholeheartedly endorsed, was the birth of Ishmael. The logic of Sarah and Abraham was sound. God had promised to make of them a great nation. He had said that it would be through a son born to them. So they decided to help God out. By Abraham having a son through Hagar. But once again, this was NOT God’s plan. And God would patiently reconfirm His plan with Abraham. He told him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:4-8 ESV). God went on to reassure Abraham that He was going to give him a son of his own. “And God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her’” (Genesis 17:15-16 ESV). God made Himself perfectly clear. He was going to give Abraham a son through Sarah, not Hagar. He was going to do the impossible. And what was Abraham’s reaction? “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” (Genesis 17:17 ESV). None of it made sense to Abraham. It sounded ridiculous, far-fetched, impossible. Even for God.

It was at this point that Abraham uttered his small, seemingly innocent prayer. “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” It was as if Abraham was saying, “Won’t you reconsider?” He believed God was going to bless him and make of him a great nation. He even believed God would do it through one of his own offspring. He just didn’t believe God could do it through Sarah. But God had made Himself clear. He had said He would bless Sarah. He had said that Sarah would bear a child. And then to make sure Abraham got the point, God said gave Abraham an answer regarding Ishmael. “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac” (Genesis 17:19 ESV). God had a plan and He didn’t need Abraham’s help. He simply needed Abraham to trust Him. Sarah’s barrenness was not a problem for God, it was simply an opportunity for Him to display His power. Rather than trying to convince God to settle for Ishmael, Abraham needed to be praying that God would bless Sarah. Instead of wasting his time trying to get God to accept the logical, Abraham needed to be asking for and expecting the impossible. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17 ESV). Abraham believed God could bless him and make of him a great nation. But he struggled believing that God could do it through an elderly, barren woman. Too often, our prayers are based on human reasoning and bolstered by logic. We limit our expectations of God based on what we can see and understand. But as God would eventually tell Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:14 ESV).

Isaiah 39-40, Revelation 3

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Behold Your God!

Isaiah 39-40, Revelation 3

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. – Isaiah 40:10 ESV

Judgment was coming. While God had spared Judah defeat at the hands of the Assyrians, that did not mean that they had dodged the inevitable punishment of God for theirs sins. They were enjoying an undeserved reprieve, but their sinful state still demanded that a just and holy God deal with them judiciously and rightly. What God wanted from His people was repentance. He desired for them to return to Him in faithfulness and dependence, placing their full trust in Him as their God. He wanted them to reflect their unique position as His chosen people and live their lives in accordance with His commands. But they continued to stubbornly and persistently reject His will for their lives. Even Hezekiah, after having been given an additional 15 years of life by God, makes a cardinal error of giving visiting envoys from the land of Babylon a world-wind tour of his kingdom, showing them all his royal treasures and the extend of his military arsenal. In Hezekiah’s mind, he was simply wooing a possible ally in his ongoing fight against the Assyrians. He was trying to impress them with his wealth and power. But in reality, Hezekiah was guilty of placing his hope and trust in something other than God. He saw the eventual rescue of his nation coming from somewhere else other than God. And even when the prophet Isaiah told him that “the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left” (Isaiah 39:6 ESV), Hezekiah mistakenly took it as good news. He somehow thought that this all meant an alliance with Babylon would bring peace and security to the land of Judah. 

What does this passage reveal about God?

Chapter 39 ends with God’s pronouncement of coming judgment on Judah at the hands of the Babylonians. As almost always seemed to be the case, the people of God never quite fully understood the significance or seriousness of what was about to happen to them. They always seemed to have another trick up their sleeve or another plan that they thought could forestall the inevitable judgment of God. Hezekiah just couldn’t bring himself to believe that God would actually destroy His own people. After all, they were the descendants of Abraham, the chosen people of God. They were the apple of His eye and Jerusalem contained the temple in which God’s presence dwelt. But what Hezekiah failed to understand was the holiness of God. He could not and would not tolerate sin among His people. He could not turn a blind eye to their ongoing rebellion and overlook their persistently unrepentant hearts. Judgment was not only inevitable, but unavoidable. As a righteous and holy judge, God had to pass sentence on the sins of the people. To ignore their sins would have made Him unjust. To fail to condemn and pass judgment on their sins would have been an unrighteous act. But God reveals something incredibly powerful in chapter 40. In His divine wisdom and omniscience, God provides Isaiah with a glimpse into the future. It is as if a huge gap exists between the end of chapter 39 and the opening verses of chapter 40. The judgment of God would come. The city of Jerusalem would fall. The temple of God would be destroyed. The people of Judah would end up in exile in Babylon for 70 years. But then something incredible was going to happen. Just when everything was bleak and hopeless, the shout would be heard: “Behold your God!” Just when the people of God had grown accustomed to their exile and resigned to the idea that they would never again see their homeland, the news would be announced, “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:10-11 ESV). God was going to act. God was going to do something incomparable and inconceivable. He was going to redeem His people once again from captivity and restore them to the land.

What does this passage reveal about man?

The people of Judah did not understand their God. They did not appreciate His power and sovereignty. They took for granted His presence and treated lightly His righteous demands on their lives. God revealed His intimate understanding of them when He rhetorically asked, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’?” (Isaiah 40:27 ESV). Prior to the exile, when they were living in the land of Judah, they acted as if God was oblivious to or indifferent about their behavior. He either didn’t care or couldn’t see what they were doing. Once they found themselves living in exile, they took the defeatist attitude that God didn’t care or was just blind to their predicament. He refused to see anything good that they might be doing. But God reminded them, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV). God was not indifferent to their predicament or incapable of doing something about it. He was the God of the universe. He knows all things. He is all-powerful. He is the source of all strength, all hope, all deliverance, all help, all joy, and all restoration. In spite of the sins of Judah, He would eventually restore them to the land. In spite of the sins of mankind, He will eventually restore His creation to a right relationship with Him. The day is coming when all men will hear the words, “Behold your God!” That does not mean that all men and women will worship Him, but they will acknowledge Him as the God of the universe. There will be no more debate as to His existence or His sovereign reign over everything and everyone.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

In Revelation 2-3, we have the words of Jesus spoken to the seven churches. In these two chapters we see Him both commending and condemning these churches. He acknowledges their faithfulness and perseverance under trial. He praises their endurance and determination to remain true to Him even while facing extreme difficulties. But He also reveals their glaring deficiencies and failures. He points out their compromise, as well as their spiritual arrogance and pride. He exposes their self-sufficiency and tolerance of falsehood in their midst. He accuses them of spiritual apathy and lukewarmness. But repeatedly, He reminds them to stay the course. He encourages them to not give up or give in.

“To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” – Revelation 2:7 ESV

“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” – Revelation 2:11 ESV

“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” – Revelation 2:17 ESV

“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations…” – Revelation 2:26 ESV

“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” – Revelation 3:5 ESV

“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” – Revelation 3:12 ESV

“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” – Revelation 3:21 ESV

While this may all sound like the burden lies on us to make it through to the end, the Scriptures make it clear that our ultimate victory is the Lord’s doing, not our own. Our ability to conquer and come through this life faithful and true is made possible by the indwelling presence of God Himself. Our faithfulness is not of our own making, but is provided by the Spirit of God within us. He empowers and equips us. He gives us strength to obey and the will to remain faithful to the end. So that when all is said and done, and we stand before the Father in heaven, we will hear the words, “Behold your God!” and fully understand the sobering significance of their meaning.

Father, You are incomparable. Your power is immeasurable. Your love for me is unfathomable. I can’t fully grasp who You are and all that You have done for me. Yet You are my God. That is unbelievable. You are with me each and every day of my life. You never leave my side. You never lose sight of me or ever take your hands off of me. You will never leave me nor forsake me. You refuse to abandon me and You will faithfully complete Your plan for me. I WILL conquer. I will survive. I will make it through to the end, in spite of my unfaithfulness, weakness, inconsistencies, lack of love, lukewarmness, compromise and spiritual complacency. It is YOU who are faithful and true. And any good I do in this life is completely up to Your Spirit’s work in my life. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Chronicles 27-28, 2 Timothy 4

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The Consequences of Compromise.

2 Chronicles 27-28, 2 Timothy 4

…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. – 2 Timothy 4:2-4 ESV

When Jotham took over the throne from his father, Uzziah, he was only 25-years old, but he would prove to be a king who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 27:1 ESV). He would become a powerful king, “because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 27:6 ESV). But sadly, he would refuse to enter the Temple of God, perhaps because his father, Uzziah, had been banned from entering it due to his leprosy. And while Jotham appears to have been a good and somewhat godly king, “the people still followed corrupt practices” (2 Chronicles 27:2 ESV). As king, he failed to lead the people well or influence them toward faithfulness to God. He compromised his God-given authority and allowed the sins of the people to go unchecked.

His son, Ahaz, would prove to be an even worse example as king. “He did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord…but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel” (2 Chronicles 27:1-2 ESV). Ahaz took the sin of compromise to a whole new level, making altars to Baal and even burning his own sons as sacrifices to false gods. And even when God brought punishment on Him for his sins, allowing the Syrians, Israelites, Edomites and Philistines to attack and defeat Judah, Ahaz “became yet more faithless to the Lord” (2 Chronicles 28:22 ESV). Rather than turn back to God, he worshiped the gods of the nations who had defeated him, and locked the doors of the Temple of God.

What does this passage reveal about God?

The kings of Judah found themselves constantly surrounded by enemies. There were always threats to the security of their kingdom. Edomites, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Assyrians, and other nations were a constant presence and provided a real-life opportunity for the kings of Judah to either trust God and allow Him to provide protection, or to compromise their convictions and turn to someone or something else for deliverance. God had promised to be there for the people of Judah – if they would remain faithful and worship Him alone. But if they chose to worship other gods, He had vowed to punish them. He had warned the people of Israel that when they entered the Promised Land, they would need to completely eradicate the pagan nations that occupied the land. Otherwise, the people of God would be tempted to compromise their faith by worshiping the gods of their enemies. And that is exactly what happened. When faced with a difficulty, rather than trust God, Ahaz would turn to the Assyrians for help. When defeated by the Syrians, he would worship their gods rather than the one true God, justifying his actions by thinking, “because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me” (2 Chronicles 28:23 ESV). But his actions would prove futile, doing nothing more than provoking God to anger and bringing further judgment on himself. God would not tolerate his compromise. 

What does this passage reveal about man?

Compromise is always a danger for the people of God. We will always find ourselves surrounded and threatened by the enemies of God. That reality should never surprise us. But we need to recognize that our God is greater than our enemies and more powerful than any perceived threat on our existence. Ahaz could have placed his faith in God and allowed Him to provide deliverance in his time of need. He could have trusted God and watched as He miraculously stepped into his circumstances. But it was easier for Ahaz to compromise his convictions and place his faith elsewhere. Paul would warn Timothy that a time was coming when even Christians would compromise their convictions, rejecting sound teaching based on the Word of God, and seeking out teachers who would tell them what they want to hear. These people would go out of their way to find teachers and preachers willing to sell out the Word of God in order to peddle half-truths and outright lies that appealed to the personal passions and sinful desires of the masses. But Paul warned Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete and patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2 ESV). Paul wanted Timothy to stand firm and to fight the good fight, standing strong even while all those around him caved in and compromised their faith out of convenience and self-gratification. Paul wanted Timothy to keep the faith, always remembering that his reward was laid up for him in heaven – a crown of righteousness that would be awarded to him by Christ Himself. But many will fail to remain faithful. Many will give in to the temptation to compromise their faith. But even if we find ourselves standing alone and completely deserted by those who have claimed to be followers of Christ, we must take to heart the words of Paul. “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Compromise is always a real possibility in my life. It is so much easier to give in than it is to stand firm. And my compromises can sometimes be very subtle and self-deceiving. I can find myself listening to the messages of this world and allowing them to make sense when, in reality, they stand diametrically opposed to the Word of God. When faced with difficulties, it is so easy to turn to someone or something else other than God. I can find myself placing my hope, faith, trust and confidence in the things of this world. Like Ahaz, I can convince myself that world’s ways really do work. But when I start trusting the ways of this world, I am no longer trusting God. I am compromising my convictions and placing my hope in the wrong things. I want to fight the good fight. I want to finish the race. And while there will always be the temptation to sell out and blend in to the world around me, I pray that God will give me the strength to stand firm, keeping my eye on the prize: “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 ESV).

Father, help me remain true to You regardless of whatever trials and troubles may come into my life. Don’t allow me to compromise my convictions or place my hope and trust in anything or anyone other than You. I can’t remain faithful without Your help. I need Your Holy Spirit’s strength to stay the course and to remain faithful to the end. Help me keep my eye on the prize and focused on the reward to come. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Samuel 5-6, 1 Corinthians 5

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The Curse of Compromise.

2 Samuel 5-6, 1 Corinthians 5

Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? – 1 Corinthians 5:6 NLT

Sin has a subtle way of creeping into our lives and into the church, and it left untreated, it can spread like a cancer, causing all kinds of damage. But the temptation is always to compromise our convictions and see sin as something far less serious than God does. We tend to justify our own actions and excuse the sinful behavior of others, even though we know they are in direct violation of God’s Word. But we have to realize that God has called us to live lives of holiness – set apart and distinct from the world. We have a different standard for our conduct, and any time we begin to compromise our convictions and tolerate obvious sinful behavior, we leave ourselves open to spiritual discipline and the further spread of sin in our midst.

The story of the life of David is one that is filled with examples of faith and failure. He exhibits for us how to live in obedience to God, seeking His will and following His commands; but he also shows us just how easy it is to walk in the flesh, allowing sin to creep into our lives and bring about devastating consequences.

What does this passage reveal about God?

It is clear that it was God’s will that David be the king of Israel. He had anointed him to be the next king, and He had protected David all those years he spent running from Saul. God had arranged for Saul’s defeat and death in battle. He had orchestrated David’s acceptance as king by the people of Judah and, eventually, his anointing as king by the tribes of Israel. During the early days of David’s kingdom, he regularly sought out God’s will and tried to rule and reign according to God’s direction. As a result, “David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him” (2 Samuel 5:10 ESV). God’s hand was on David. But this did not mean that everything David did was in full compliance with God’s will. David was still a man and like all men, he had a sin nature. He was sometimes prone to doing things his way or, at least, doing things without seeking the direction of God. When David turned to God for help and guidance, things always seemed to turn out well. God answered. God directed. And David prospered.

What does this passage reveal about man?

There are subtle indications that David didn’t always do things the right way – God’s way. His life is marked by seemingly small sins that, on the surface, don’t look that serious, but their impact over the long-haul was huge. We read, “And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David” (2 Samuel 5:13 ESV). God had made it clear that the king “shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away” (Deuteronomy 17:17 ESV). And yet, David did just that. When David attempted to move the Ark of the Covenant from Baale-judah to his new capital of Jerusalem, he didn’t follow God’s directions for how to transport the Ark. Rather than have it carried by Levites, he put it on a cart and had it pulled by oxen. It all sounds innocent enough, but it was in direct violation of God’s law (Exodus 25:14-15). As a result, the oxen stumbled, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark, and God struck him dead. God had warned that anyone who touched the Ark would die (Numbers 4:15), but David compromised and took the easy road, and Uzzah died as a result. David was a man after God’s own heart, but he was also a man with a sin nature. He had the capacity for great faith and subtle sin. As God’s chosen king of Israel, David was expected to live a life of distinctiveness and set-apartness. He was not to be like all the other kings. He was God’s man, leading God’s people. He was not to compromise his convictions or rationalize his behavior. He was not to tolerate sin in his own life or among the people of God. But this would be a constant temptation and struggle for David.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul confronted them about sin in their midst. They were tolerating the presence of a young man who was having a known sexual relationship with his stepmother. And the church was not only well aware of this sin, they were openly tolerating it. They refused to deal with it, and Paul was appalled. He called them out and demanded that this young man be removed from their midst. He was like a cancer in their midst. Rather than mourn this situation in their fellowship, they were arrogantly tolerating it, acting as if nothing was wrong. But Paul knew that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6 ESV). If left unattended, this sin would spread and infect the whole fellowship. Sin always has consequences. And their sin of compromise and toleration was going to have dire consequences for the future health of the church. Which is why Paul so strongly demanded, “Purge the evil person from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:12 ESV). That sounds so harsh and judgmental, but Paul knew that unrepentant sin was a dangerous thing. Sin in the midst of the fellowship of God’s people must be dealt with. Paul makes it clear that we as believers have an obligation to judge one another, refusing to tolerate sin within the fellowship – “…it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning” (1 Corinthians 5:12 NLT). This is always to be done in love, but it is to be done nonetheless. We can’t afford to tolerate sin and compromise our convictions. David did and it cost him dearly. The Corinthians believers did and they risked the further spread of sexual sin in their midst. Compromise is a dangerous threat to the life of any Christian, and yet it is a constant reality. We must encourage one another to live differently and distinctively. We must take sin seriously and treat our calling to holiness with the utmost respect.

Father, compromise comes so easy. The temptation to tolerate sin in my own life is always there and the pressure to look past the sins of others for fear of coming across as judgmental is always a reality. Help me to take sin seriously and to recognize that You have called Your people to live lives of holiness, not compromise. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

1 Samuel 27-28, Romans 16

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The Best Laid Plans….

1 Samuel 27-28, Romans 16

Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” – 1 Samuel 27: ESV

Even the godly, when they find themselves in difficult circumstances, can come up with ungodly plans. And what makes their plans ungodly is that they lack God’s blessing or approval. They may sound wise and appear legitimate, but if any plans we develop are done so apart from God, they will always lead to future trouble. In these two chapters in 1 Samuel, we find both David and Saul coming up with their own solutions to their problems, apart from God. Each found himself in a tough spot and, driven by fear and a sense of panic, developed his own remedy to his predicament. David, while he was a man after God’s own heart, eventually lost heart and wrongly concluded that, “I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul” (1 Samuel 27:1 ESV). Even though God had clearly chosen and ordained him as the next king of Israel, David had finally lost hope. He figured that his ongoing exile and life as a man on the run was going to end in his death at the hand of Saul. So he came up with a solution. He developed a plan. Saul, when faced with the prospect going up against a superior Philistine force, first turned to God for counsel. But when God refused to answer, he sought the help of a necromancer, a witch. He came up with a work-around in order to get the help he desperately needed.

What does this passage reveal about God?

While neither David or Saul were operating out of divine inspiration, God was still in control of the circumstances. Their unwillingness or inability to know God’s will did not diminish in any way the fact that God’s will was going to be done in their lives. While David had lost hope and was convinced that he was going to be a dead man if he didn’t do something quick, God was not in a panic. He knew exactly what was going to happen. He was in complete charge or David’s life and future. Even David’s poor planning could not stop the divine will of God for his life. Saul, unable to hear from God, decided to do the unthinkable. He sought out the services of a witch, a woman who made her living communicating with the dead. Saul desperately wanted to know what to do, so he willingly broke the law of God in order to try and communicate with Samuel, the dead prophet of God. And God let it happen. The witch, much to her own surprise, was able to call up Samuel, and the prophet gave Saul a very clear picture of what was going to happen to he and his sons. God was in control. At no point in the story did He ever lose control. So while both David and Saul felt like God was nowhere to be found, He was there. He was working. He was fully in control of the circumstances.

What does this passage reveal about man?

When we take matters into our own hands, it almost always involves compromise, lying and deceit. Our plans, when developed without God’s input, tend to require us to compromise our convictions or to go against God’s revealed will for our lives. We can find ourselves fraternizing with the enemy. In David’s case, his plan involved living with the Philistines, the enemies of Israel and of God. Rather than warring against the enemies of God, David found himself living with them. He became the personal body guard for the king of the Philistines. Saul fraternized with the enemy of God, Satan himself, by seeking out the services of a witch. The law of God had strictly forbidden such activity. In fact, the passage makes it clear that Saul was to have removed all such individuals from the land. But obviously, he had not done so.

But not only will our plans tend to cause us to fraternize with the enemy and compromise our convictions, they will almost always result in lying and deception. David had to lie to King Achish in order to conceal what he was doing. He had to cover his tracks and hide his real motives. But eventually his actions were exposed. The day came when David’s ruse was uncovered. His original plan to seek refuge among the enemies of God put him in a difficult spot. He was going to have to fight with the Philistines against His own people or have his whole plan unravel before his eyes.  Saul disobeyed the will of God and sought out the services of a witch. In order to do so, he had to come up with a plan that involved deception and lies. He couldn’t just admit that he was seeking out a necromancer. So he disguised himself. He lied. He deceived. But his actions got exposed. And the news he eventually received was as bad as it could have been.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Any plans I make apart from God will always lead to some form of compromise. They will eventually involve deception and require me to lie, either to myself or others. Self-deceit is one of the hallmark characteristics of plans made without God’s help. I can deceive myself into thinking that I am doing the right thing. I can then find myself twisting the facts in order to get others to agree with me and see my plan as wise and godly. But if my plans lack God’s input or blessing, they are ungodly by nature. Paul wrote to the Romans, “For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil” (Romans 16:19 ESV). Paul was commending their reputation for obedience to God. But he reminds them that the real issue was that they be wise as to what is good. He wanted them to know what God’s will was for their lives. He wanted them to obey God by doing what God deemed to be good. He wanted them to be innocent of evil. In other words, he wanted them to refrain from doing what was not in God’s will for them. The evil they were to be innocent of was doing anything contrary to the will of God. When we make plans apart from God, we are doing what is evil. We are compromising our convictions and deceiving ourselves and others into thinking that what we are doing is good. We lie to ourselves and allow the enemy to lie to us. When all is said and done, God wants His will done, not ours. He wants us to seek His wisdom, not lean on our own. And while it is clear that His will always gets accomplished, either with us or without us, He still prefers that we walk in obedience to Him. Our compromises always have consequences. Our deception always leads to discipline at His hands. It is far better to trust Him than to attempt to develop plans apart from Him.

Father, I find it far to easy to come up with my own plans rather than wait for Yours to be fulfilled. Sometimes it seems as if You are silent. So when I don’t hear from You, I act. Other times I don’t even bother to ask You what Your will is in a given circumstance. I just launch out on my own. Then I justify my actions and usually end up having to compromise my convictions. Forgive me. Help me to trust You more. He me to wait on You longer. Your will and Your plans are always better in the long run. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Genesis 19-20, Matthew 10

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Our Multidimensional God.

Genesis 19-20, Matthew 10

So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. – Genesis 19:29 ESV

Too often, we avoid the Old Testament because the image it seems to portray of God is one we find uncomfortable and seemingly at odds with that of the New Testament. God comes across as harsh, judgmental, vengeful and angry in the Old Testament. Yet, from the more familiar stories of the New Testament, we have come to understand Him to be loving, kind, gentle and full or mercy. But the truth is, the God of the Old and New Testaments is one God, and the two testaments simply portray the multidimensionality of His nature. Together they reveal His divine character in all its glory. They also give us a glimpse into God’s ever-changing and evolving relationship with mankind over the centuries. God does not change, but the manner in which He reveals Himself to mankind and the way in which He responds to their sin does change. God has already had to destroy the earth and all its inhabitants, except for Noah and his family – a devastating event He pledged to never repeat again.

What does this passage reveal about God?

But that does mean God was done punishing sin. He remained righteous and holy and, therefore, was obligated by His very nature to deal with the sin of mankind. God cannot simply tolerate sin or turn a blind on to the rebelliousness of mankind. Because He is righteous, He must always do the right thing. For Him to ignore sin would be for Him to cease to be God. So we have in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, an illustration of God’s righteous and completely justified wrath against the sins of man. When Lot separated from Abraham and chose the rich valley of the Jordan for himself, we are told that “Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom” (Genesis 13:12 ESV). By the time we get to chapter 19, we find Lot “sitting in the gate of Sodom” (Genesis 19:1 ESV).

In chapter 18, Abraham was visited by three angels disguised as men. They informed him that God was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, “because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave” (Genesis 18:20 ESV). Abraham, evidently knowing that his nephew and his family had moved into Sodom, intercedes on their behalf and begins to bargain for their salvation. As a result, God agrees to spare the cities if He can find tend righteous people living in them. What we have in the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a vivid reminder of the inevitable state of man without God. Things had become so bad in these two cities that God was unable to find even ten righteous people. But He does spare Lot, his wife and two daughters.

This story is a reminder of God’s well-deserved wrath against sin and His undeserved mercy toward mankind. It exists to teach us that God can and must respond to sin. As a righteous judge, He must judge righteously. But it also reassures us that God can and does show mercy. Peter tells us,  “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into helland committed them to chainsof gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:4-9 ESV).

When we read this stories from the Old Testament, they should reinforce for us the holy nature of God. They should remind us of just how wicked men can be apart from God. But they should also create in us a tremendous amount of gratitude for the grace that God has showered on us who have received His Son as our salvation from judgment. Like Lot, we have been spared. We have been rescued. Like Noah, we have been shown mercy and grace from God. The Old Testament portrays a less-than-flattering portrait of mankind as they continue to reject God and embrace the world. We see revealed a steadily growing stubborn streak, accompanied by an unhealthy self-sufficiency that causes mankind to live as if God does not exist. And the trend continues today. Yet, God also continues to show His mercy and grace to men by rescuing the godly from trials and preserving them from the judgment to come.

What does this passage reveal about man?

From the time Noah and his family stepped out of the ark onto dry ground, men spread throughout the earth, and with them, sin. God’s merciful sparing of a few did not eliminate the presence of sin. So by the time we get to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, things had gotten progressively worse. Once again, God is forced to deal with the sins of mankind. The story of the destruction of these two cities is a reminder to us of just how wicked men can become without God. Left to their own devices, mankind will always degenerate into godlessness of all kinds. Lot, while obviously a worshiper of God just as his uncle had been, had chosen to become part of the world around him. He had moved in and gotten comfortable with the world. And while Peter tells us that Lot was uncomfortable with the sins being committed around him, he was not willing to separate himself from the situation. He chose to remain in Sodom, exposing his family to the constant influence of ungodly people. And while he was there, he had had little influence on the citizens of Sodom. Even his sons-in-laws to be refused to heed his warnings and flee from the judgment to come. Lot was far from salt and light in the city of Sodom.

Lot loved the world. He loved what the world had to offer. Even when given the chance to save his life, Lot begged the angels to let him move to yet another city. He enjoyed all the amenities of city life. In the time he had lived in Sodom, he had grown comfortable and complacent with the world. Yes, he was bothered by the sins around him, but not enough to do anything about it. Such is the picture of far too many of us as Christians today.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples on their first missionary journey, He gave them detailed instructions and told them to be highly selective in terms of the villages they visited and homes they stayed in. Jesus sent them to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In other words, they were to focus their attention on the descendants of Abraham. They were to announce the coming of the Messiah. They were to tell them that the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived. But to those towns where this message was rejected, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, ‘it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town” (Matthew 10:15 ESV). The pagan, Gentile citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah had been destroyed for their godlessness. The Jewish inhabitants of the towns and villages the disciples visited would be guilty of rejecting the very one who was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. The Jews knew the covenant promise made to Abraham by God. They had been expecting a Messiah for generations. But they would reject Him when He came. And their judgment would be far greater than that imposed on the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

I have been given a chance to become part of the family of God through the merciful gift of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been placed into the household of faith and grafted into the family tree of Abraham. And yet, like righteous Lot, I can find myself growing comfortable and complacent in this world, tolerating the wickedness all around me. And while I will be spared ultimate judgment to come because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, I can still suffer the consequences of love affair with the world. Like Abraham, I have been called to live a life set apart from the world. I am a sojourner here, just passing through on my way to someplace far better. I am not to “pitch my tent toward Sodom” and gradually settle into the midst of the wickedness all around me. I must be in the world, but not of it. I must live as salt and light, an agent of change and influence in the midst of the darkness that exists all around me. I must recognize God’s hatred of sin, and appreciate His mercy toward me, a sinner. I am not to allow myself to grow comfortable and complacent with sin, any more than He does. My God is holy, set apart and distinctively different. So should I be.

Father, You are a God of judgment because You have to deal righteously with sin. But You are also a God of love, grace and mercy. In Your love, You came up with a way to deal justly with sin and deal mercifully with sinners. Thank You for sending Your Son as the Savior of the world. Thank You for revealing Your mercy and grace to me. Show me how to live my life in gratitude for Your love by living set apart from the world around me. Help me live in this world but not become part of it. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Timothy 4

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A Final Word of Warning.

2 Timothy 4

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. – 2 Timothy 4:2 NLT

This was all serious business for Paul. He wasn’t mincing words or beating around the bush. The proclamation of the Gospel and the desire to one day present those under his care as mature in Christ drove Paul’s efforts. He lived and worked as if God was watching his every move. Paul answered to a higher authority, namely God Himself, who was relentless in His desire to have His Son’s saving work proclaimed to the world and His Word carefully and accurately taught to the church. So Paul viewed his work with a certain soberness and seriousness, and he attempted to pass that attitude on to his young disciple, Timothy. As he wrapped up his second letter to this young man, he warned him to remember that God was watching. The righteous Judge of the universe was observing his every move and would one day pass judgment on all that he had done. So Paul encourages him to “preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2 NLT). In other words, he was to stay the course, do his job, maintain his focus and not lose sight of his primary responsibility as a shepherd of the flock of Jesus Christ.

These words of warning were necessary because Paul knew the truth about the world in which he and Timothy both lived. Paul was neither a pessimist or a wide-eyed optimist. He was a realist. He knew that mankind, apart from Christ, was on a downward trajectory and that any efforts to spread the Gospel were going to be met with apathy and even antagonism. One of the primary problems Timothy would face would be resistance to the Gospel message – not so much in the form of outright defiance as in the more subtle, but no-less-insidious form of apathy. In every generation, those who attempt to proclaim the truth will be faced with the constant temptation to twist its content in order to make it more sensational, palatable, and successful. The desire for larger audiences and a greater impact has always been the siren call of ministry. The danger comes when, in an effort to attract more people, we begin to alter the truth to make it more appealing. Paul warned Timothy, “a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 4:2-3 NLT).

Packed pews, popular Podcasts and best-selling books are not the litmus tests for successful ministry. The temptation will always exist to judge our effectiveness based on numbers rather than transformed lives. The key for Paul was the faithful proclamation of the Word of God, regardless of whether people wanted to hear it or not. The truth is not always popular. Our job is not to tell people what they want to hear; providing them with false hope and ourselves with a false sense of accomplishment. Timothy was to preach the Word, patiently correcting, rebuking and encouraging. Telling people what they want to hear will never help them get where they need to go.

This entire letter has been filled with admonitions regarding faithfulness. Paul wanted Timothy to remain faithful to his calling, faithful to the Word, faithful to his flock, faithful to Christ and faithful to the end – just as Paul himself had been. “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 5:6-7 NLT). Paul wasn’t bragging. He was simply encouraging Timothy to consider his life as an example of faithful service. Paul didn’t measure his success based on numbers, but on his own determination to remain faithful to his calling. He was willing to leave the results up to God. Because he had proclaimed the Gospel, preached the truth and prepared the people of God by faithfully and accurately teaching them the Word of God – he could face the future with confidence. He could eagerly look forward to the return of Christ and fearlessly face God knowing he had faithfully fulfilled his calling to the best of his ability.

Paul’s life had not been an easy one. It had been filled with trials and difficulties of all kinds. But he was content and confident that he had lived his life well. He knew that God had been a constant part of his life over the years. “But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen” (2 Timothy 4:17-18 NLT). His life had been a joint effort between himself and God. He had faithfully played his part and he knew that God had been beside him every step of the way – even in his darkest moments. But his greatest confidence was that God was going to faithfully take him home. His hope was in the future, not the present. His motivation was eternal, not temporal. His ultimate reward was in heaven, not on earth. As believers, we will not be held accountable for the results of our efforts on behalf of God. God will not measure our effectiveness based on our own human achievements, but on our faithfulness to Him. Faithfulness requires dependence on God. The Old Testament prophets were rarely successful – if we judge their efforts based on numbers of converts or the popularity of their message. But they were successful in God’s eyes, because they were faithful to their calling. They did what they had been called to do. They remained faithful regardless of the circumstances or the apparent failure of their message. Their reward was of a heavenly nature, not an earthly one. They had to remain faithful to their calling and trust God for the outcome. That is one of the hardest things for us to do as believers. We are results-oriented. We are trained to judge success based on visible results. Too often in the church, nickles, noses, and numbers are the criteria we use to measure success. And in our efforts to produce those results we can find ourselves tickling ears, twisting the truth, and compromising our faithfulness. Oh that we might hear and heed the call of Paul today. “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”

Father, may we be a people of faith and faithfulness. It is easy to come to faith in Christ, because it is completely provided for us by Him. We simply have to believe. But to live in faithfulness is difficult. To keep our eyes focused on the future reality of our faith is hard for us to do. We get distracted by the cares of this world and we measure our success by the wrong standards. You have called us to live faithful lives based on a reliance on Your Word and a dependence upon Your power. Don’t let us compromise Your message in an attempt to get better results. Don’t let us rely on our own efforts in the hopes of producing greater success. Keep us faithful to You.  Amen.

Ken Miller Grow Pastor
& Minister to Men kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Timothy 2:15-26

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Ready, Willing and Faithful.

2 Timothy 2:15-26

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. – 2 Timothy 2:21 NLT

As stated earlier, a big part of Paul’s letter to Timothy focused on the topic of faithfulness – God’s faithfulness to man and man’s faithfulness to God. Here Paul reminded Timothy to be a “good worker” – someone who could be depended upon to do the right thing and to do it well. Rather than seek the approval of men, Timothy was to work diligently and faithfully, so that one day he might stand before God and receive His approval, having no cause for shame or regret. That meant that Timothy had to live his life from an eternal perspective, recognizing that his future reward was far more significant than any earthly praise or promotion he might receive.

Paul put a high priority on Timothy’s ability to accurately handle the teaching of the truth of God’s Word. Like a dedicated and diligent worker, he must take painstaking precautions in teaching and defending the truth. He could not afford to give it his own spin or place on it his own perspective. The Word of God was not to be subjective and open to interpretation. God had an intended meaning and purpose behind it, and a faithful worker would take the time to understand what God was saying and teach accordingly. This was essential for Timothy to know because he found himself surrounded by false teachers who were twisting the truth of God and, unwittingly, leading people into ungodliness. Paul mentioned two of these people by name, and clearly articulated their crime: They had been teaching that the resurrection of the dead had already taken place. They had misunderstood the truth regarding the future reality of the bodily resurrection of the dead and spiritualized it to mean that believers were already resurrected with Christ and that all of the blessings that come with salvation were to be experienced in this life. Rather than focus of a future of the resurrection and the reality of heaven, they were teaching that you could have “Your Best Life Now.” It would seem that this was the first incarnation of the prosperity gospel. These two men, through a misunderstanding of the truth of God, were wrongly encouraging believers to see the Gospel as nothing more than a quick fix to all of life’s problems. This kind of talk was worthless and foolish, leading only to godless behavior. But a faithful worker would remain faithful to God’s truth, teaching only what He intended, regardless of what others might want to hear.

Paul quotes from two Old Testament passages in order to assure Timothy that God knows His own. He recognizes His own children and one of the distinguishing characteristics of a child of God is godly, not godless, behavior. If we belong to Him, our lives should reflect that reality. Paul used the metaphor of household vessels to further convey the idea that within the church there are faithful and unfaithful Christians. Paul stated that in a wealthy home there could be found vessels of all kinds, some made of gold and silver, and some made of wood and clay. The more expensive vessels were reserved for special occasions, while the more common vessels were for everyday use. But in either case, purity and cleanliness were prerequisites for usefulness. A dirty gold pitcher was of no more use than a contaminated clay pot. The key to usefulness was cleanliness. “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21 NLT). The specialness of the utensil was not based on the material from which it was made, but on its purity. Those within the church who saw themselves as gold vessels because of their position as teachers, but who falsely proclaimed the word of truth, were actually defiled and unusable by God.

Purity meant everything, so Paul warned Timothy, “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22 NLT). Timothy was to pursue a life of righteousness, faithfulness, love and peace, and surround himself with those who shared the same desire. Paul was not telling Timothy to avoid the false teachers like a plague or read them the riot act, but to “gently instruct those who oppose the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25 NLT). As Timothy pursued a life of godliness and remained faithful to the truth of God, he would be equipped to handle all those, both inside and outside of the church, who stood in the way of the Gospel and its message. Timothy’s faithfulness would equip him to deal with the unfaithful and the faithless in a loving and Christlike way.

Father, if there was ever a time when faithfulness to the truth of Your Word was needed, it is now. There is so much falsehood and subjective information being taught as truth. Even within the church, there are those who misunderstand and misapply Your Word so that it ends up leading Your people astray. The Gospel has been altered to such a degree that it no longer looks like the same message that Paul preached. Call Your people back to the truth of Your Word. May we learn to be faithful to Your truth and not some version of our own. May we be pure vessels, ready for You to use to pour out Your message of hope, love and mercy to the world around us. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org