love others

Bad Fruit.

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For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.– Galatians 5:13-21 ESV

One of the accusations the party of the circumcision leveled against Paul and his message of grace and freedom from the law was that it produced license. They most certainly used the teachings of Paul against him at this point. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20 ESV). And yet, Paul went on to say, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 ESV). Grace was not a license to sin. The freedom it provided from the Mosaic law was not ticket to live as we pleased. It freed us from having to keep the law in order to earn favor with God. The law held us captive to our sin and in bondage to our own weakness to do anything about it. But the salvation offered in Christ set us free. It was William Barclay who wrote, “the Christian is not the man who has become free to sin, but the man, who, by the grace of God, has become free not to sin.”

That is why Paul warned his readers to not use their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Their new-found freedom from having to keep the law did not mean they were free from having to live in keeping with the law. At one point in His ministry, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment of God was. He responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV). Paul used these very words of Jesus to admonish his readers. Loving God meant living according to His holy will. Loving others required loving them selflessly and sacrificially, which is why Paul said, “through love serve one another.”

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul provided an entire chapter on the subject of love. In it he wrote, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, ‘Jump,’ and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love” (1 Corinthians 13:1-7 MSG).

But this kind of love is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. Without His help and our reliance upon His power, we will tend to live in the power of our own sinful flesh. We will become selfish and self-centered. We will tend to gratify the desires of our old nature, which Paul describes with painful accuracy. These fleshly desires are the exact opposite of what the Spirit wants to produce in us. They are counter to the will of God and reflect a love for self more than a love for Him. They most certainly don’t model a love for others. Look at Paul’s list: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, and wild parties. Each of these “works of the flesh” reveal a disdain for God and a dislike for those around us.

The moral, ceremonial and civil sections of the Mosaic law were designed to regulate the lives of the people of Israel regarding their relationships with God and with one another. But as Jesus said, all of the commandments could be summed up by two simple commands: Love God and love others. Loving God meant not loving other gods. Loving others meant not becoming jealous of them, getting angry with them, lusting after them, or taking advantage of them. Notice that his list has more to do with our relationships with one another than our relationship with God. There is a reason for this. The apostle John wrote, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 ESV). The greatest expression of our love for God is to be found in our love for those whom He has made. When we love one another, we are loving God. When we live selflessly and sacrificially, we are exemplifying the very character of God. When our lives are marked by self-control and a focus on the needs of others, we reflect the nature of God. But all of these things are only possible when we live according to the power of God’s indwelling Spirit.

A life continually characterized by the works of the flesh is a life devoid of the Spirit of God. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ have received the Spirit of God. They are no longer slaves to sin, incapable of living righteous lives. They have been given the Holy Spirit and have the power to love God and love others. That’s why Paul told the Romans, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all)” (Romans 8:9 NLT). The presence of the Spirit within us does not guarantee that we will live sinless lives, but it does mean that we don’t have to live sin-dominated lives. Living according to our own sinful flesh will always produce bad fruit. But living according to the Spirit of God produces good fruit that pleases God and blesses others.

 

Faith In Action.

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Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;
what can man do to me?” – Hebrews 13:1-6 ESV

The author ended chapter 12 with an exhortation to “be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” and to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29 ESV). The same God who shook the landscape surrounding Mount Sinai and rattled the knees of the Israelites with His divine presence, is our God and has prepared a kingdom for us. So what should be our response? Proper worship, reverence and awe. And to make it even more practical, in the closing chapter of his letter, the author illustrates what those things look like in everyday life.

Sometimes we are tempted to make our worship of God an external show for others to see. We confuse worship of God with the intensity of our singing, the verbosity of our prayers, the selflessness of our service or the generosity of our giving. But sometimes our love for God is best measured in our love for others. Worship of God that does not include love for others is hypocritical and insincere. So the author moves from grand descriptions of God as a consuming fire to a plea for brotherly love. “Let brotherly love continue” (Hebrews 13:1 ESV). Love for one another is an indispensable and non-negotiable requirement for anyone who claims to worship God. At one point in His earthly ministry, Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, who posed to Him what they believed to be a trick question. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36 ESV). His intent was to entrap Jesus. The question he posed to Jesus was one that the Scribes and Pharisees debated regularly. They had numbered the laws of God and had come up with 613, 248 of which were deemed positive and 365 designated as negative. Then they had divided them two categories, the “heavy” or more important ones and the “light” or the less important ones. They wanted Jesus to tell them which one was the “heaviest.” And Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-38 ESV). Love God AND love others. According to Jesus, those two commands encapsulate the entirety of the rest of the law.

So  it is no wonder that the author of Hebrews told his readers, “Let brotherly love continue.” Then he took it a step further. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2 ESV). This recalls the parable of the good Samaritan that Jesus told in response to another inquiry from a Pharisee. He approached Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25 ESV). Jesus responded with a question of His own, asking the man to tell Him what the law said. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself,” the man replied. Jesus commended him for his answer and told him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (Luke 10:28 ESV). But the man was not satisfied with Jesus’ answer and asked for clarification. “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 22:29 ESV). That’s when Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan. In it, He described what it truly means to show hospitality and kindness to someone who is a stranger and in need. It involves sacrifice. It requires a giving up of your rights and a commitment of your resources. The author of Hebrews echoes the sentiment of Jesus’ parable when writes, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3 ESV). Our love for God is best expressed by our love for others. The apostle John encourages us to compare the love Christ expressed for us with the way in which we love others. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18 ESV).

Love should permeate all of our relationships, including that between a husband and wife. If we love one another, there is no place for adultery or immorality. We will always want what is best for the other person. Self-obsession or self-love is the greatest detriment to loving others. When we love ourselves too much, we are incapable of loving others. We end up putting into our relationships only to see what we can get out of them. They become self-serving rather than selfless. And it’s interesting that, in this context, the author warns against the love of money. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV). The love of money is self-directed. We love money for what it can do for us. And yet, to properly love others, our money may need to be involved. We may need to let go of our resources in order to best express our love. It was James who said, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:15-16 ESV). Talk is cheap. Words cannot fill someone’s stomach or make them warm.

The walk of faith is to be future-focused, recognizing that the ultimate promise of God is our glorification and final redemption. We are to live with the end in mind. But our faith-walk is also to be God-dependent. We are spend our days on this earth with a constant recognition that He is our provider and sustainer. That is why the author reminds us to be content, because God has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV). But not only are we to be future-focused and God-dependent, we are to be other-oriented. We are to live our lives with an outward orientation that puts the needs of others ahead of our own. When we love others, we are loving God. When we lovingly sacrifice for others, it is an act of worship to God. When we give up what we have for the sake of others, we are letting God know that we are dependent upon Him. All that we have comes from Him and is to be used for His glory and the good of others. Our constant attitude is to be, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 ESV).

Misplaced Love.

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Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. – 1 John 2:10 ESV

John has made it perfectly clear that, as children of God who enjoy the love of God, we are expected to share that love with one another. We are to love as we have been loved. When we allow the love of God to flow through us, His love is perfected or completed in us. We become conduits of His love to those around us. Paul tells us, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). Jesus was the expression of God’s love. He made God’s love visible, tangible, touchable and knowable. In the garden on the night He would be betrayed, Jesus prayed to His Father, “I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them” (John 17:26 NLT). Jesus revealed God. That was an act of love. He shared God’s love with those who desperately needed it. And we are to do the same thing. But the problem is, we can easily misplace and misuse our love.

John warned his readers that love for their brothers and sisters was going to have competition. There was going to be the temptation to share their love in the wrong ways and in the wrong places. He wrote, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world” (1 John 2:15-16 NLT). In reality, he warns them, love of the world is not really misplaced love, it is an altogether different kind of love. It isn’t God’s love flowing through us. It is a self-centered, self-absorbed kind of love that uses and abuses. It is a love of self, not a love for others. And it is the greatest danger we face as believers. It is why Jesus prayed, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15 NLT). Jesus knew that we would be under constant attack and face the unrelenting temptation to love this world and the things it has to offer. The enemy wants to keep our focus on ourselves, on our personal pleasures, rights, and needs, all the while feeding our sense of self-importance. While God wants us to learn to die to self, Satan wants to keep us self-obsessed. The three areas John warns us about all have to do with self – “a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions” (1 John 2:16 NLT). In essence, it isn’t really a love of the world as much as it is a love of self. It is all about self-gratification, feeding our sinful desires; self-indulgence, fulfilling our insatiable appetite for more; and self-glorification, making more of ourselves than we do of others, or even God.

When we love the world, we get something in return. It feeds our appetites. It fuels our desire for more. It makes us feel important, significant, and somehow accepted. But as John says, these things “are not from the Father, but are from this world” (1 John 2:16 NLT). This isn’t the love of God flowing through us. This is the love of self sucking anything and everything back into itself like a black hole. That kind of love becomes deadly and destructive. The Dead Sea is a beautiful body of water, but it is a beauty that is deceptive. It is a sea with fresh, clean water flowing in, but no outlet for the water to flow out. So it sits and stagnates, absorbing all the minerals and salts from the surrounding soil, creating a deadly environment where nothing grows. the water is undrinkable and incapable of sustaining life. What an apt illustration of the Christian who allows the life-giving love of God to flow into his life, but never shares it with those around him. His love of self motivates him to keep it to himself, and his desire for self-gratification, self-indulgence and self-glorification causes him to seek from the world a false kind of love that has no outlet and leads to death. We were meant to love. We were intended to share the love we have received with those around us. Jesus told the woman at the well, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 ESV). Springs give life. They are fresh and refreshing to those around them. They restore and renew. They flow out, never becoming stale or stagnant, receiving a never-ending supply from a source that remains hidden from view. That is the life we have been called to live. But when we fall in love with self and allow ourselves to believe that the world loves us because it feeds our basest appetites, we misplace our love and run the risk of becoming life-robbing, rather than life-sustaining.

A New Commandment

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At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:8 ESV

John has made it clear that to claim to know God and to abide in Christ is little more than a lie if it is not accompanied by obedience and a lifestyle that emulates that of Jesus. Those who have truly come to know Christ and, as a result, have come to know the Father, should be experiencing the life-transforming power of His Spirit. John had heard Jesus make the promise, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 ESV). And that was not the only time that John had heard those words from the lips of Jesus. “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46 ESV). John was convinced that Jesus was the light of the world, and he was convinced that “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8 ESV). He had witnessed the penetrating, life-changing power of the light in his own life and had seen it impact those around him. In just a short time, Christianity had spread throughout the known world. The apostles had taken their commission from Christ seriously and spread the good news regarding Jesus Christ to Jew and Gentile alike. Many had converted to Christianity. In doing so, they had come to know Christ as their Savior and sin-substitute. They had accepted His free offer of eternal life by acknowledging their sin and believing that His sacrificial death on the cross had paid the penalty for their guilt. His death had satisfied God and His resurrection had proved that He had been sent from God. The truth of that message had spread, penetrating the darkness of the world, and transforming the lives of those who had once lived in helplessness and hopelessness.

But that light was to continue to spread. It was to further permeate the lives of those who believed in Christ, exposing their sin in order that they might confess it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). As the light expands in the life of the individual, it extends to those around him. The love of God, expressed through the life and death of His Son, is perfect or made complete in the lives of His children. God loved us by sending His Son. Christ loved us by giving His life. And when we love others as we have been loved, we complete the circle. Our love for others is an expression of our love for God. In essence, we are conduit through whom God loves those around us. And when we allow His love to flow through us to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are expressing our love to Him. To refuse to love those whom God has chosen to love through the death of His Son is to question our love for God. Later on in his letter, John writes,  “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 ESV). We can’t see God. We can’t physically express our love to God. But when we love those who He has redeemed with the blood of His Son, we are loving Him. We become conduits of His love. Again, John tells us, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16 ESV). The love of God resides in us. But that love is not to be hoarded. It is to be shared with those around us, especially those who share our faith and are part of the household of God. John gives us the motivation for our love: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 ESV). Because we have experienced the gracious, merciful, undeserved love of God through the gift of His Son, we should love others, as an expression of our love for Him. So in essence, when we love others, we are loving God. That means the other person does not have to be loveable or lovely. They don’t have to be deserving of our love. We are simply sharing the love of God and our love for God with them. “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20 ESV).

When Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 ESV), He was letting us know that the kind of love He was talking about was not of this world. He wasn’t referring to human love, which is almost always marred by selfishness and a deep-rooted what’s-in-it-for-me motivation. What Jesus had in mind was a supernatural, Spirit-empowered kind of love that starts with God and flows through His Son into the lives of those who place their faith in Him. That love, like light, is not to be hidden or hoarded, but shared with those around us. It is to penetrate and permeate the darkness. One of the greatest evidences of the reality of Christ’s saving work is our capacity to love. It proves we are His disciples. And it reveals the love of God to those around us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 ESV).

WLJW

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By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. – 1 John 2:5-6 ESV

A number of years ago there was a fad that passed through the ranks of evangelical Christians. It was based on a book called In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. The subtitle for the book was “What Would Jesus Do?” That simple phrase became the acronym WWJD and was placed on wristbands and other paraphernalia to serve as a reminder for Christians to always consider what would Jesus do in a given situation. In other words, they were to consider living their lives with Him as their model. The section of First John we are currently in – 1 John 2:3-11 – carries a very similar sentiment. Except that John would simply say, Walk Like Jesus Walked. And there would be no question n John’s mind as to what that would look like for each and every believer. For John, one of the key characteristics or proofs of a saving faith was love for you fellow believers. But John did not have in mind some kind of Hallmark card, syrupy, sentimental kind of love. He was referring to the lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of love that Jesus expressed through His life and, ultimately, His death. John had personally heard Jesus say, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV). And this was not some isolated statement. Jesus had made sure His disciples knew the importance of it by repeating it regularly. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14 ESV). Here Jesus gives the clear definition behind what He means when He says, “love one another.” We are to love as He loved us. How did He love us? By sacrificing His life on our behalf. The kind of love Jesus was calling His disciples to exhibit toward one another was to be selfless and sacrificial. Later on in his letter, John writes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 ESV). God showed His love for us by sacrificing His Son. Jesus showed His love for us by giving His life.

John pulls no punches when he tells his readers, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9 ESV). And he follows that up with, “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). But an evidence or proof that we are abiding in Christ and His light is shining in and through our life will be a Christ-like love for others. Jesus said that this kind of love would be proof to the world that we are His disciples. It is meant to be a kind of love that shocks and surprises. In John’s day, it showed up in the form of converted Jews and Gentiles worshiping Christ together. That was shocking to the lost community around them. It was a love that showed up in believing slaves and their Christian master worshiping as brothers in the same fellowship – with no change in their slave-master relationship. Scandalous. Unbelievable. Shocking. It was love expressed through willing sacrifice as believers met the needs of other believers so that no one went without. It was the love of Christ being lived out in daily life. Christians walking like Jesus walked. Doing what Jesus had done. Loving like Jesus loved.

In the same way that an absence of light produces darkness, an absence of love in our lives produces hate. When we fail to love as Jesus loved, it is as if we hate the other individual. To choose not to express love to another brother or sister in Christ is  to hate them. God has loved us. He expressed that love through the gift of His own Son’s life. Jesus has loved us by laying down His life on our behalf. And we are called to love as we have been loved. Sacrificially and selflessly. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11-12 ESV). We are to be conduits of God’s love. When we love one another, the love of God is perfected in and through us. It is completed, come full circle. We have been loved by God and we are expressing that love to others. Walking like Jesus walked. Loving like Jesus loved. Living in the light of God’s love and sharing that love with others.

Exodus 29-30, Mark 12

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The Greatest Commandment.

Exodus 29-30, Mark 12

The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” – Mark 12:32-33 ESV

Once again, God provides Moses and the people of Israel with painstakingly detailed commands regarding the Tabernacle and their interactions with it. He outlines the proper way to consecrate Aaron and his sons so they might properly serve as His priests. For them to come into His presence and offer sacrifices, they had to be purified themselves; washed with water and sprinkled with the blood of a ram that had been sacrificed on their behalf. They were to have the sacrificial blood placed on their ear lobes, thumbs, and big toes – a visual reminder that they were to listen to God, serve on His behalf as mediators for the people, and walk in a way that was honoring to Him. They were to be anointed with oil, representing their empowerment by God’s Spirit for His service. This process was to take place for seven days in a row, and during that time the people were to repeatedly make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. God made it clear that this was all a necessity if they wanted to enjoy His presence in their midst. “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God” (Exodus 29:44-46 ESV).

In chapter 30 we see God’s further instructions regarding the Altar of Incense, the Bronze Basin, and the Anointing Oil and Incense. Over and over again, the word “atonement” is used to signify the need to make reconciliation or to cover the sins of the people. Every Israelite, 20 years old and up, was required to pay a “ransom” for his life in the form of a tax. Everyone had to pay the same amount, regardless of their income level or status in the community. Every step of the way, there were requirements that had to be obeyed if the people wanted to be accepted before God and enjoy His presence among them. Nothing could be overlooked. Nothing was to be ignored. God’s requirements were exacting and non-negotiable. He was holy and He demanded to be treated that way.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God takes His holiness seriously. His requirements might seem a bit over-the-top to us. All the sacrifices, blood, rituals and requirements come across as antiquated and a bit barbaric to our modern senses. But God was attempting to teach His people the sacredness and seriousness of His nature. Every one of these commands was costly to the Israelites, requiring them to give the best of their flocks and even of their finances to atone for their sins. God wanted them to understand that sin was not to be taken lightly. Sin required a payment. Entrance into His presence was not possible as long as sin was present and unpaid for. Holiness was not to be considered cheap or easy. Enjoying the presence and power of God in their lives required some significant sacrifice on their part. Sin always separates man from God. So God had to give them a plan by which they could temporarily atone for or reconcile their sins and be made right with Him. But all along the way, what God wanted was the relationship, not the rituals.

What does this passage reveal about man?

When it comes to things regarding God, we are always prone to miss the point. The Israelites were going to end up focusing on the sacrifices more than the one to whom they were made. They would end up turning all of this into nothing more than a repetitive, ritualistic act that had long since lost its meaning to them. They would end up going through the motions and fulfilling their obligations, but without putting their hearts into it. The real purpose behind all the rules and regulations was to test the obedience of the people. Would they do what God required of them? Would their desire to have Him in their midst be strong enough to motivate their obedience to His demands of them? All throughout the Old Testament, we see that God wanted more than just ritualistic adherence to a set of rules. The prophet Samuel told King Saul, ““What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22 NLT). God spoke through the prophet, Hosea: “For I desire steadfast loveand not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6 ESV). Over in the book of Micah, we are told, “‘With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?‘ He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:6-8 ESV). King David wrote, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17 ESV). In time, the people of God were going to miss the point. God wanted their hearts. Their obedience was to be a byproduct of their desire to be with Him. The sacrifices would be a constant test of their obedience and love for Him.

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, He didn’t hesitate or have to think about it. He immediately responded, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31 ESV). A love for God and others is the basis for all the laws. Jesus would further clarify the significance of these two things by stating, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:40 ESV). Loving God and loving others was to be the heartbeat behind all the other commands. It was to be the motivation behind all the sacrifices. Getting right with God and longing to have a restored relationship with Him was to be the central objective behind all the rules and regulations surrounding the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple. But rules would eventually replace relationship. Laws would overshadow love.

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

God wants my heart. He desires willful, loving obedience, not ritualistic rule-keeping. Like the Israelites, I can misinterpret God’s holy requirements of me and simply view them as inconvenient laws to be kept. But God did all that He did out of love. He wanted His people to live distinctively and differently. He knew that they were prone to sin and struggled with a love for the things of this world. So He lovingly provided ways in which they could set themselves apart. He provided a means by which their sins could be atoned for and forgiven. He lovingly provided a way in which they could remain in His presence and enjoy His ongoing love, provision and power in their lives. I can easily turn reading the Bible into a heartless, ritualistic duty and miss the point that God has lovingly revealed Himself to me through His Word. I must learn to read God’s Word enthusiastically and eagerly because it is is His revelation of Himself to me. I can easily turn prayer into nothing more than an unpleasant requirement that puts a crimp in my day. Or I can see it is an opportunity provided by God that allows me to not only talk to Him, but hear from Him on a regular basis. It should be a delight, not a duty. I should see it as a privilege, not a punishment. God wants my heart. He desires my willful and willing obedience. He wants me to love Him and the greatest expression of my love for Him is how I love those whom He has made. I can’t wrap my hands around God, but I can hug one of His sons or daughters. And “this is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

Father, I want my life to be an expression of love for You. I don’t want to just go through the motions and do my “duty.” I want to live in obedience to You because I love You. Give me an ever-increasing love for others. May my love for You increase as I love those whom You have made. Amen

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

Romans 13:8-14

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The Debt of Love.

Romans 13:8-14

Owe nothing to anyone — except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. – Romans 13:8 NLT

While this verse has been used as a proof text against indebtedness, that was not Paul’s point. He is talking about a Christian’s relationships with fellow believers and, in this case, with those outside the family of God. He has just addressed a believer’s relationship with the civil authorities and now he deals with what is to be the overriding principle that is to control all our relationships: Love. It is the one thing we owe to all men that is never paid in full. We can never love enough. All our other debts should be paid when due and in full. But our indebtedness of love is to be ongoing and completely inexhaustible. Love is the ultimate expression of all the Law of Moses. To not commit adultery requires love. Love for the other person and their spouse. It is difficult, if not impossible, to murder another person if you love them the way Christ loved us. To steal something that belongs to someone else reveals a hatred and disdain for that person, but we are called to love them. Love sacrifices and gives, not takes. Love protects and defends, not hurts. Love is the driving force behind all of the law. Paul reminds us that all of the laws are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does NO wrong to others. So one who loves as God intends, fulfills the law of God.

Paul is simply echoing the words of Jesus. “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34 NLT). Jesus calls us to a life of love, but He also provides us with a clear example of the kind and degree of love He is talking about. We are to love other in the same way He has loved us – sacrificially, selflessly, completely, and never expecting any love in return. Jesus loved us to the point of death. His love for us resulted in His death for us. John recorded similar words from the lips of Jesus. “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13 NLT). Jesus would go on to live out the reality of His own words with His death on the cross. And Paul is calling us to live and love in that same way.

Why? Because the time is late. God’s redemptive plan has an expiration date. He will not delay forever. We have been left on this planet to be the hands and feet of Christ. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). We are to express the love of Christ to all those we meet, especially those who don’t know Him. Paul tells us, “The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living” (Romans 13:12 NLT). Paul lived with a sense of anticipation. He lived with a recognition that the coming of the Lord could be any day. He wanted all believers to live with urgency and not in complacency. The day of our future glorification, when our salvation will be complete, is nearer than we think. And with that thought in mind, we should live differently. We should love selflessly. Spiritual maturity should be our objective. Righteous living should be our obsession. Loving others, especially the lost, should be our passion. Time is running out. There is no time to waste. Spending however many days we have left, fulfilling our own selfish desires, or living like the world around us, would be a waste of time. It would be unloving. Right living and Christ-like loving go hand and hand. If we are to love like Christ, we must live like Christ. He was not distracted by the things of this world. He knew His days on earth were limited. He knew He had come to earth for a specific reason, and nothing would deter Him from accomplishing God’s will for His life. What about us? Why are we here? What does God have for us to do? Jesus answers that question for us. “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other” (John 15:16-17 NLT). He chose us, saved us, and appointed us that we would go and produce lasting fruit – changed lives – our own lives and the lives of others. We are to spread the Gospel and make disciples. We are to call the lost back to a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And it all begins with love. We have to love the lost like Christ did. He came to save the lost. He endured the pain of the cross for the lost. And ultimately, He died for the lost, including you and me. All out of love. And we are to love others in that same way – regardless of how unloving and undeserving they may be.

Father, You have called and commanded us to love others. And that is so hard for so many of us to do. We can find all kinds of reasons to not love others. And as a result, we end up living selfish, self-centered lives that do not reflect who we really are and who it is we serve. Paul’s call to live and love is hard to hear and even harder to obey. But You have given us Your Spirit to make it not only possible, but non-negotiable. There is no excuse for our lack of love. Give us a sense of urgency because time is running out. Your Son is going to return one day and there are still so many who have never experienced the love of Christ. May we be the flesh-and-blood expression of that love as we live out our days on this earth. Amen.

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

1 Corinthians 8

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Loving to Know Vs Knowing to Love.

1 Corinthians 8

But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. – 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 NLT

Our society puts a high priority on knowledge. So did the one in Corinth in Paul’s day. Then, as now, knowledge was held in high regard. Education was important. It was and still thought to be a cure-all for all kinds of problems. It is often believed that education can solve everything from poverty to violence. More knowledge can empty out prisons and prevent wars, cure diseases, eliminate starvation and bring out the best in just about anyone. We blame a lack of knowledge for most of the world’s woes. But knowledge has a way of puffing us up, inflating our egos and causing us to become prideful and arrogant. There is nothing wrong with knowledge, but it is far from the answer to the world’s problems. It can actually become divisive and destructive. Which is exactly what was taking place in the church in Corinth.

Once again, Paul responds to yet another question the congregation had sent him in a letter. This one had to do with meat sacrificed to idols. To most of us, this chapter makes little or no sense. We have no context to which to compare this issue. And unless we do some digging into the historical nature of what was going on, this passage will continue to make no sense and will remain of little help. But Paul took what was a contextual problem, unique to the Corinthians church, and gave it a universal application. He dealt with a specific issue going on in the church in Corinth and provided a timeless lesson for congregations around the world and throughout history. In Corinth, the problem revolved around whether it was permissible for the believers to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. The Corinthian believers, who all, for the most part, had come out of pagan backgrounds, were under the impression that they were perfectly free to eat meat sacrificed to idols. This had been a common practice for them when they were pagans, and they saw no reason to stop now that they had become Christians. They based their conclusion on a “special knowledge” that they had. This knowledge or understanding gave them the freedom to do as they wished, in spite of Paul’s admonitions to cease and desist. Their knowledge was fourfold. They argued that they all knew that idols weren’t real and so eating meat that had been sacrificed to them made no difference. They also “knew” that what we ate or drank didn’t really matter to God. “It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat” (1 Corinthians 8:8 NLT). According to chapter 10, they also seemed to believe that their participation in baptism and the Lord’s Supper gave them some sort of magical protection or freedom to do as they wished. Their God was more powerful than any other potential god. Finally, they had reached the conclusion, that because Paul did not agree with them, he probably wasn’t really qualified to be an apostle in the first place. He was obviously not as knowledgeable as they were.

Paul goes straight to the problem at the very beginning of this section. He tells them “while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church” (1 Corinthians 8:1b NLT). For Paul, this was all about love, not meat sacrificed to idols. This was all about arrogance and pride. It was about self-centeredness and selfishness. These people were going to do what they wanted to do, without any regard to how their actions or attitudes might affect those around them. Paul agreed with them, that there was only one God and only one Lord, Jesus Christ. He conceded that there were no such thing as other gods. They were a figment of man’s fertile and fallen imagination. But Paul also stated that not all believers in Corinth knew this. Many were still operating under the knowledge that while God was the superior God, there were other less significant, but nonetheless, real gods. So when they ate meat sacrificed to these idols, they were, in essence, worshiping these false gods. So while the more “knowledgeable” believers were able to eat the meat sacrificed to idols with a clear conscience, they were confusing the other believers and causing them to stumble. Paul said, “Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so then they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated” (1 Corinthians 8:7 NLT). He goes on to say, “For if others see you – with your ‘superior knowledge’ – eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol?” (1 Corinthians 8:10 NLT).

Then Paul brings this whole matter to a powerful conclusion: “And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ” (1 Corninthians 8:12 NLT). Wow! That’s a strong statement. Just because we know that something is permissible for us, doesn’t mean we have the right to flaunt our rights in the face of others. We can’t allow our knowledge to trump our love for others. We have a God-given responsibility to protect those around us who are less knowledgeable or who might lack in spiritual maturity. Paul is saying that we actually sin against God and that person when what we do causes them to stumble or violate their own conscience. Jesus Himself said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Then He said that there was a second and equally important commandment – to love others in the same way we love ourselves. Our love for God and others is to trump our love of knowledge. We can be right and be totally wrong at the same time. I can know that what I am doing is entirely permissible for me and do it with a clear conscience. But if what I do causes a fellow believer to sin against his own conscience by following my example – I have sinned against Christ. I have forsaken the great commandment. I have chosen to love myself more than my brother or sister in Christ. Paul said “So if what I eat causes another brother to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live – for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13 NLT). Paul will drive this point home later on in his letter in what has come to be known as the great love chapter. “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NLT). Knowledge without love is nothing. It puffs up. It makes us proud. It is destructive. But love never fails.

Father, teach us to love. We love to learn and we can become so proud about what we know, but if we fail to love, we have missed the point. May we learn to live out the Great Commandment and love You and others more and more with each passing day. Amen.

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

Day 28 – Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5

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Lord of the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5

“Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people,not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27-28 NLT

The Pharisees had turned the requirements of God into a set of ridiculously impractical religious rules. They had expanded God’s law, adding an overwhelming list of additional prohibitions that made keeping it burdensome. All the while, they missed the point of the Law altogether. The Law, like the Sabbath, was created to protect man from himself. The original law given by God regarding harvesting on the Sabbath, was to prevent farmers from allowing their greed to allow them to ignore God and, in essence, worship material gain instead. It also protected them from forcing their workers to labor on the Sabbath. The Sabbath itself was designed that man might have rest one day out of the week. The fourth commandment given by God reads: “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy” (Exodus 20:8-11 NLT).

The Sabbath was to be a day of rest, It was a day to be set apart for the Lord. But the Pharisees had turned even the observance of that day into a list of rules to keep. Rather than restful, it had become laborious and cumbersome. For the average Jew, the day was filled with fear and trepidation because you never knew if some simple act you performed was violating some new rule added in by the religious leaders. So it is no surprise that the Pharisees confronted Jesus and His disciples, accusing them of harvesting on the Sabbath just for rubbing a few heads of grain together in order to satisfy their hunger. According to the Pharisees, they were working. But their keeping of their own laws was quite subjective in nature. On another occasion, Jesus had a similar conversation with the Pharisees after he had healed someone on the Sabbath. They were appalled. Jesus simply replies, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:11-12 NLT). In other words, Jesus knows that these very same, self-righteous men would violate their own rules if it involved something of value to them. And that is Jesus’ point in this story. People are more valuable than the religious and ritualistic observance of the Sabbath. And because He is the Son of God, Jesus has authority over the Sabbath. He can do what He chooses to do, and because He is doing the will of His Father, it is NOT in violation of the Sabbath, but in keeping with God’s original intent. Jesus would later say, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29 NLT). Jesus came to bring mankind rest from the weariness of trying to keep the Law. He came to bring rest from the burden of trying live under the overwhelming requirements of religious rule-keeping.

When asked one time what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT). Loving God and loving others trump all other laws. Every other law given by God was based on these two. The Pharisees had missed this point. They loved their rules more than they loved people. They loved their rules more than they loved God! Keeping their rules had become an idol to them. That is how they could look past the miraculous healing of a man on the Sabbath, and only see the violation of their rules. And we can be guilty of the same thing today. We can have our own list of denominational rules or standards. We can have a stack of religious requirements that we put on ourselves and others that are not based on a love of people, but a love of rules. We burden others with our own rules, burdening them down with requirements rather than easing their load with love. We require people to clean up their act, THEN we’ll love and accept them. Jesus loved people as they were. We require people to learn our rules and live by them, then we’ll consider them part of our community. Jesus accepted people as they were. We are to love God and love others just as He did. If any rule, requirement, or religious standard keeps us from doing either, it is not of God. If our rules drive others away from God rather than to Him, they are of our own making, not His. Jesus came to ease burdens, not create them. The same thing should be true of us.

Father, it is easy to fall into the role of the Pharisee. Without even knowing it, I can find myself creating rules and standards that I hold others to, but that are not from You. Those rules can become burdensome and drive others away from You rather than to You. Help me to see this tendency and change it. Show me how to put loving You and others ahead of any rule I may hold sacred. Amen.

Ken Miller

Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Proverbs 28d

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And Justice For All.

“Evil people don’t understand justice, but those who follow the Lord understand completely.” – Proverbs 28:5 NLT

Those four simple words are part of the United State’s pledge of allegiance. As children, many of us recited them each day in the classroom in some bygone era. But what do they mean? What would justice for all look like and does it ever really happen? The verse for today tells us that justice is understood only by those who follow the Lord. Those who are wicked, evil, bad, or simply choose to reject the way of the Lord have no understanding of what justice is. They tend to see it from their own perspective and define it for their own good. But according to the NET Study Bible, the Hebrew word for justice used in this verse (mishpat), refers to the legal rights of people, decisions that are equitable in the community. It has a communal aspect to it. It’s not just about MY rights, but the rights of all. And those who follow the Lord will understand justice from that perspective because God is concerned about justice for all. He is concerned for the rights and welfare of the poor, needy, disenfranchised, neglected, abused, and all those who lack representation and protection. God cares about the alien and foreigner, the widow and the orphan, the slave and the servant, the falsely accused and the unfairly treated. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus simply said, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind,’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT). Love God. Love others. There it is. We are just as obligated to love others as we are to love God, because to fail to express love to those made in the likeness and image of God by the very hand of God is a slap in the face of their creator.

A big part of expressing love to others is through our efforts in assuring that they receive justice. It is making sure that their rights are protected and their status as one of God’s creatures is maintained. Justice is not just an arbitrary requirement placed on man by God. It is part of His very nature, His character. God is just and righteous and always does what is right – every time, all the time. So God expects His people to love justice just as much as He does. He requires them, as His representatives, to make sure that all men receive justice. One way we do this is by ensuring that just and righteous men and women are elected to high offices in our nation. Otherwise, we will experience exactly what Proverbs 28 warns us about. “A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a roaring lion or an attacking bear” (Proverbs 28:15 NLT). “A ruler with no understanding will oppress his people” (Proverbs 28:16 NLT). “When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding” (Proverbs 28:12 NLT).

Justice is an expression of God’s character. Injustice is anti-God. Ignoring the needs, rights, and concerns of others is selfish and, ultimately, sinful. It is ungodly, unrighteous, unloving, un-Christlike, and unacceptable in the life of a believer. To love others as we love ourselves is to do whatever we can to protect them, provide for them, and speak for them when necessary. Injustice is all around us, because sin and Satan thrive on it. Sin and Satan prey on the weak, pitting the strong against them. Our enemy’s objective is to divide and conquer. Rather than community, he strives to create disunity. He breeds selfishness and self-centeredness. He thrives in an atmosphere filled with narcissism and self-gratification. He lulls mankind into a self-centered stupor that becomes insensitive and, eventually, oblivious to the injustice taking place all around us. But God calls for justice. He demands love expressed in actions. He calls us to love others as much as we love Him, as an expression of our love for Him. That’s quite a calling. And it’s one we have ignored for far too long.

Father, as Your followers, we of all people should be screaming for justice. And we should be expressing it through our love and actions. Open our eyes to all the injustice taking place around us. Give us Your heart and the fortitude to enforce Your justice in the world today. Let it begin in our own spheres of influence. Amen.

Ken Miller

Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org