sinners

An Apostolic Smackdown.

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But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” – Galatians 2:11-14 ESV

When Paul had left Jerusalem, he had done so on good terms, having received “the right hand of fellowship” (Galatians 2:9 ESV) from his fellow apostles: Peter, James and John. But when Peter came to Antioch to get a first-hand look at Paul’s ministry, it didn’t take long before a confrontation took place between the two men. Upon his arrival, Peter was interfacing and even eating with the Gentile believers in the church in Antioch. But when a group of believing Jews arrived from Jerusalem who were of the opinion that Gentiles must be circumcised before they were truly Christians, Peter succumbed to peer pressure. Paul accused him of hypocrisy, because he drew back and separated himself from the Gentiles. The Greek word Paul uses carries a powerful punch. It is same word used by Luke when writing of an incident in Ephesus when Paul had been preaching in the synagogue there. He had been doing so for three months and had seen many come to Christ. The Luke records, “But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him” (Acts 19:9 ESV). He separated himself from them because of their unbelief. It seems that Paul is accusing Peter of treating the Gentile Christians as unbelievers because of the pressure he felt from the Judaizers. His behavior had radically changed when the Jews from Jerusalem had arrived in town. And his actions had negatively influence the Jewish Christians in Antioch to follow his lead. Even Barnabas, Paul’s companion in ministry there, had been led astray by Peter’s actions. Suddenly, there was an unhealthy and uncalled for division in the church. And Paul would not tolerate it.

Paul made a very condemning assessment, saying, “their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14 ESV). Their decision to separate themselves from the Gentiles Christians because they had not been circumcised was unwarranted and not in keeping with the message of the gospel. There was no requirement of circumcision tied to the message of the good news. There was no missing “next step” that had to be taken in order for these Gentiles to be fully saved or deemed legitimate Christians. And the idea that there were somehow Jewish Christians and Gentile (incomplete) Christians was in direct opposition to the message of the gospel. Rather than unity, the message of the Judaizers was causing division.

A little later on in this same letter, Paul writes of the unifying nature of the gospel.

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. – Galatians 3:24-29 ESV

Peter’s actions were divisive. Whether he meant to or not, he gave the impression that the Gentile Christians were somehow deficient in their justification before God. His decision to distance himself from them was based on the teachings of men, not the law of Moses. In fact, in the book of Acts, Luke records the encounter between Peter and Cornelius, a Roman Centurion who was “a devout man who feared God” (Acts 10:2 ESV). God had spoken to Peter in a vision and commanded him to go to Cornelius. In his vision, Peter had seen “the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat’” (Acts 10:11-13 ESV). Appalled at the very thought, Peter had refused. But God commanded him a second time to eat, and then said, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Acts 10:15 ESV). When Peter woke up from the vision, he obeyed God and went to see Cornelius and said to him:

“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” – Acts 10:28-29 ESV

It is interesting to note that the unlawfulness to which Peter referred had nothing to do with the law of Moses. According to the Benson Commentary, the term, “anyone of another nation” refers to “A stranger, and an uncircumcised Gentile. This was not made unlawful by the law of God, but by the precepts of their wise men, which they looked upon to be no less obliging. They did not indeed forbid them to converse with Gentiles, in the way of traffic or worldly business, but to eat with them. With such scorn did the Jews look upon the Gentiles” (Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments).

Peter’s aversion to the Gentiles was based on man-made rules and regulations. And it is important to remember that Jesus, a practicing Jew and keeper of the law of Moses, ate with tax collectors and sinners, a practice for which He was derided by the Pharisees. In doing so, He was breaking their laws, not the law of God. And so, when Peter allowed the pressure from the Judaizers to cause him to pull away from the Gentile believers in Antioch, he was violating the very message God had given him in his vision: “I should not call any person common or unclean.”

Peter was wrong and he deserved to be confronted for his behavior. Paul, never one to pull any punches, was more than willing to call his brother on the carpet and demand that he rethink his actions. The gospel was too important. The unity of the church, too vital.

 

The Self-Delusion of Self-Righteousness.

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 He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. – Romans 2:6-11 ESV

In chapter two of Romans, Paul is addressing the Jewish community. In the first chapter he talked about the non-Jew or pagan, who stands before God as without excuse and guilty. They have had God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20 ESV) clearly revealed to them and yet, they had refused to acknowledge Him as God. Instead, they had ended up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator, leading to God turning them over to their own foolish hearts, dishonorable passions, and debased minds. But as far as Paul was concerned, the Jews were no less culpable or free from guilt. In fact, they were so busy pointing their condemning fingers at he pagans, that they failed to see that they were guilty of the same sins they claimed not to commit. As descendants of Abraham and children of God, they considered themselves exempt from judgment. They somehow thought themselves to be immune from God’s wrath. But Paul warned them that, they too, were without excuse. They stood just as much condemned and guilty as the Gentiles who were outside the family of God. The self-righteous efforts of the Jews aimed at a holy God, were going to be no more helpful in the long run than the self-righteous actions of the Gentiles directed at their false gods. Paul accused the Jews of having hard and unrepentant hearts. They refused to admit their guilt and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. So Paul warned them that “you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5 ESV). Not only that, the day was coming when God was going to render to each of them according to his works.

Paul is using the Old Testament Scriptures to indict them. He quotes from two different passages. The first is from Psalm 62:11-12: “and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.” The second is from Proverbs 24:12: “Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?” The Hebrew Scriptures provided a strong understanding of the coming judgment of God. It would be based according to each man’s works. The expectation was righteousness – God’s brand of righteousness, not man’s. The requirement was perfection and nothing less. God had told the Israelites repeatedly, “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. ” (Leviticus 11:44 ESV). Jesus had told the Jews of His day, “unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20 NLT). James put it in even more practical, if not demanding terms: “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” (James 2:10 NLT).

And Paul seems to give only two options for life, and both end in judgment. One is to live satisfying the self and disobeying the truth regarding God and His gospel offer. Those individuals will end up obeying unrighteousness and earning God’s full wrath and fury on the day of judgment. The other option is to life self-righteously, attempting to obey God’s law and earn a right standing with Him through your own efforts. And if you happen to pull it off, your reward on judgment day will be glory, honor, peace and immortality, while everyone else gets tribulation and distress. But is Paul saying we can earn our salvation by doing good deeds? Certainly not. He is showing that those who are sinners will be judged and condemned, but so will those who consider themselves to be righteous because of their own efforts. In the very next chapter Paul will make it clear that “all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin” (Romans 3:9 NLT), and that “No one is righteous – not even one” (Romans 3:10 NLT). A little further on in that same chapter, Paul will introduce the sobering news, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NLT).

So self-righteousness is no better than sinfulness. Attempting to do good things for God puts you in no better position than those who do bad things against God. God shows no partiality. Nobody gets to earn their way into His good graces. There is one way and one way only for men to be made right with God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ. Paul goes on in chapter three to say, “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 NLT). That includes the Jew and the Gentile, the pagan and the pious, the selfish and the self-righteous. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9  NLT).

We can’t earn our salvation. None of us deserve God’s grace and mercy. The Jews were no better off than the Gentiles. They were sinners, condemned and unclean. Paul reminds us that at the foot of the cross, we’ll all equals when it comes to our guiltiness and our need for forgiveness. Which is why he wrote, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). The greatest danger men face is to fall under the delusion of man-made righteousness. We will never be able to achieve our way into God’s presence or earn out way into His good graces. Which is why He sent His Son to live among us, model holiness right in front us, and die on behalf of us. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT). 

Prayer for the Lost.

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Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. – Romans 10:1 ESV

How many people do you know who are lost, who don’t know Jesus as their personal Savior? We all know someone. We are surrounded by an endless number of individuals who have yet to hear of the good news of salvation made possible by the death of Jesus on the cross. They remain ignorant of the free gift of grace available to them. They don’t know how to be restored to a right relationship with God. They live in the world, blind to their own sin, oblivious to their own eternal destiny and hopeless as to how to do anything about their situation. They search for meaning and significance in this world. They seek to find fulfillment in the things this world offers. Some are religious. Some are good people who have good intentions. Others are prideful, arrogant, boastful, self-righteous and satisfied with their lives just like they are. Paul described some of the people in the word as those “who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT). Paul told Timothy that the “last days” would be filled with lost people, who he described in very detailed terms: “For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly” (2 Timothy 3:2-5 NLT).

And sadly, we find ourselves surrounded by people who fit those descriptions. But what do we do about it? Paul would suggest that we pray for them. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul said that he prayed for the Jews living there. He longed to see them come to faith in Christ. They were his fellow brothers and sisters. He was a Jew who had been saved by Christ and he longed for them to have that same experience. That’s the reason Paul made it a habit to head to the synagogue every time he entered a new town on one of his missionary journeys. He made a bee line to the place where he knew he would come into contact with the greatest number of Jews, and he would share the gospel with them. He prayed and he preached. He lifted them up to God and he brought the message of Jesus to them. And in most cases, his efforts resulted in insults, rejection, and on one occasion, stoning.

But he wouldn’t stop sharing. He couldn’t stop praying that they might be saved. He had a love for the lost. He had a passion for the gospel. He couldn’t stand the thought of even one person not having the opportunity to hear about Christ. His heart’s desire was their salvation. And he turned his heart’s desire into prayers to God on their behalf. He wanted to see God save them. He wanted to see them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and accept His free gift of salvation. He knew they were relying on their own righteousness and that it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. They needed Jesus. So he shared Jesus with them. But he also prayed for them. Regularly and fervently.

So do you pray for the lost? Do you care about their spiritual condition? Do you understand that the salvation you have received from God was totally undeserved and that you were once in the same condition as all those around you who live without Christ? Paul reminds us, “Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT). We were lost, but then we heard the good news of Jesus Christ. Someone prayed for us. Someone shared with us. So why wouldn’t we want the same thing for those who have yet to hear? Ask God to give you a burden for the lost. Ask Him to help you to see them as He does. Ask Him to give you a love for them like He has. And pray for them. By name. With persistence and with passion.

When Pride Infects Our Prayers.

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The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” – Luke 18:11-13 ESV

Two men. Two prayers. One conclusion.

Jesus told a parable. He told a lot of parables. But this one had to do with prayer. He used two characters. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. In the culture of Jesus’ day, these two men were on opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum. The Pharisee represented the religious elite, the spiritual superstars or their day. They were considered righteous because they were strict adherents to the Mosaic law. They were meticulous in their rule-keeping, but tended to twist the rules to fit their own agendas. Jesus was unflinching in His assessment of their religiosity. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matthew 23:23 ESV). These men had the average Jew fooled by their outward appearance of piety, but God knew their hearts. In fact, that was the point behind Jesus’ parable. Luke records that Jesus “told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9 ESV). In other words, He was telling this parable directly to the Pharisees themselves.

In His parable, Jesus juxtaposes a Pharisee, a self-righteous, religious rule keeper with someone everyone would consider a selfish, self-centered sinner: the tax collector. These people were despised in Jewish culture because they were considered pawns of the Roman government. They collected taxes on behalf of the Romans, but added fees on top to line their own pockets. They were money-hungry and greedy, taking advantage of their own people in order to make a buck.

So Jesus chose to portray one against the other, and He chose to do it by having them pray. Why? Because their prayers revealed their hearts. What they said to God opened up a window to their souls. Their prayer lives reflected the true condition of their relationship with God. By having them pray, Jesus showed what they thought about themselves and what they thought about God. Prayer has a way of doing that. When we turn our prayer lives into a time to boast about all that we’ve done for God, and expect Him to bless us for being such a blessing to Him, we miss the point. The Pharisee’s prayer was all about him. He bragged about his superior spiritual condition, especially when compared to everyone else. He was arrogant and prideful. He could have used the wisdom of Paul who said, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 ESV). He looked down on others. He pridefully boasted, “I thank you that I am not like other men.” No humility. Just hubris.

But the other man, the tax collector prayed a starkly different prayer. He couldn’t even raise his head to pray. All he could say was, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” He knew who he was. He wasn’t self-deceived and self-righteous. He knew he was a sinner and in need of a merciful God. His prayer reflects a solid understanding of his relationship with God. He was a sinner. God was his only hope for salvation.

Earlier in the book of Luke, there is recorded a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. They were upset that He associated with sinners. He even ate with them. A certain tax collector named Levi held a party in his home and invited his work associates to join him as he hosted Jesus and His disciples. In the room was “a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them” (Luke 5:29 ESV). The Pharisees caught wind of this party and expressed their disgust with Jesus’ poor decision making. They asked Him, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:29 ESV). And Jesus calmly replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32 ESV).

The Pharisees considered themselves righteous. They had no need of a Savior. They would never have admitted that they were sinners. In their minds, they were spiritually “well”. Their pride created a barrier between them and the very one they needed to forgive them of their sins. It seems that this kind of attitude shows up all too well in our private prayer times. Do we come to God in need of His love, grace, mercy and forgiveness? Or do we come expecting Him to somehow repay us for all the good we do for Him? Do we enter His presence in a state of humility and neediness or with pride and an attitude of expectation?

Jesus drew a very simple conclusion from His parable. He said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14 ESV). Prayer requires humility. There is no place for pride in the presence of God. Even as believers, we should never forget that there is nothing we bring to Him, other than the blood of Christ, that provides us with any worth or awards us any favor in His eyes. Like the tax collector, we should come saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Without the blood of Jesus, we would all remain sinners. Our works would still be as filthy rags. Our hope of salvation would be non-existent. We come into His presence only because of what Jesus has done on our behalf.

Our Righteous King.

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Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. – Psalm 145:13-17 ESV

Psalm 145

When a king reigns, he does so over everyone in his kingdom. Even over those who reject him as their king. A good king provides protection for all. He is to enforce the laws of the kingdom over all, regardless of their status or economic standing. As a king, David knew these things well. He realized that his role as king, while accompanied by wonderful benefits, also came with formidable responsibilities. He couldn’t help but compare his own reign with that of God; and when he did, he realized that God’s Kingdom was far greater in scope and size. His responsibilities were far more extensive. David’s kingdom was tiny and insignificant in comparison. And yet, God was faithful in all His words and king in all His works. Everyone looked to Him to provide their food and fulfill their desires, whether they acknowledged Him as King or not. David recognized that it was God who opened His hand and satisfied the desires of every living thing. Speaking of His own heavenly Father, Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45 ESV). God is gracious and merciful to all. His grace is the favor He shows to those who don’t deserve it, which would include ALL mankind. His mercy is the incredible patience He shows to those who deserve His wrath. In spite of the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Roman 3:23 ESV), God has shown mercy. He has patiently put up with the sins of men over the centuries and even sacrificed His own Son in order to provide a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Himself.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. Unlike human kings, God always does what is right. He always keeps His word. He doesn’t lie, deceive, renege on a promise, or act unjustly. We may not always understand His actions, but we can never question His integrity. He is righteous in all His ways. Sometimes is appears otherwise. Based on what we see happening around us, we can easily conclude that God is either indifferent or incapable of doing what needs to be done. It can appear as if the wicked are winning. The psalmist felt that way and cried out, “Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?” (Psalm 94:2-3 ESV). Ethan the Ezrahite wrote, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!” (Psalm 89:46-47 ESV). There are times when it feels like God is either out of control or out of ear shot. It seems as if He is not listening to our pleas for help or seeing the gravity of our situation. But God is a righteous King. He is in complete control of the circumstances – all the time. Yes, it may appear as if the wicked are prospering and the unrighteous are getting all the breaks, but God knows exactly what He is doing. He is not fooled or duped by the ways of men. He knows men’s hearts. He knows that “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10 ESV). No one deserves the benefits of rain or crops. No one has earned God’s favor through their acts of righteousness. The fact that any of us exist at all is a testimony to the enduring patience of God.

Paul makes a compelling argument concerning God’s righteous rule and gracious dealings with mankind. “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:20-24 ESV). Who are we to question God? What right do we have to doubt the actions of the Creator of the universe? The very fact that God allows the wicked to continue to exist is a reminder of His patience and remarkable love. The fact is, God has shown all of us mercy – He has not given us what we so richly deserve – condemnation and eternal separation from Him. Instead, He has graciously allowed some to enjoy the wonders of His grace and the benefits of His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT).

Our King is a righteous, loving, gracious and merciful King. His ways are always just and right. His actions are unquestionably good and His decision are always proper and appropriate. We may not understand what He is doing. We may not even like what He is doing, but we can rest assured that it is always for the best. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

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Job Number One.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” – 2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT

Paul was a man on a mission. Ever since his call by Jesus Christ on the Damascus road, he had been like a man possessed. He had received a commission from the very lips of Jesus Himself and he took it quite seriously. “I am Jesus, the on you are persecuting. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who re set apart by faith in me” (Acts 26:15-18 NLT).

One of the problems Paul faced on a recurring basis was that the people to whom he was called to minister did not always received him or his message well. There were those who doubted his call and so, as a result, they refused to listen to what he had to say. Evidently, Paul was not the flamboyant or charismatic type. He wasn’t impressive in his speech or appearance. But he was sincere in heart and motivated by his love for Christ. He firmly believed the message he had been given by Christ, because he had been personally and radically changed by it himself. So when he wrote that Christ had “died for everyone so that those who receive this new life will no longer live for themselves” (2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT), he meant it and believed it. Paul wasn’t just preaching and teaching, he was sharing the life-saving message of new life through Jesus Christ. Paul was on a mission to reconcile the world to God, to restore a lost and dying generation to a right relationship with their Creator. And there was only one way for that to happen: Through belief in Jesus Christ as their Savior and sin substitute. Paul was calling people back to God, and there was only one path that could lead them there: Jesus Christ.

When you think about it, there is no more worthy cause in life than to lead people back to God by pointing them to Christ. What other endeavor could compare in value or worth? There is no doubt that we must help meet the humanitarian needs of those around us. To feed the hungry, minister to the sick, bring release to the captives and care for widows and orphans are non-negotiable expressions of love for those whom God has made. We are instructed by God to do these things out of love for Him and in order to show our love for others. But if we do all these things, but fail to reconcile those to whom we minister to God, what good had we really done? To relieve someone’s physical or emotional suffering, but fail to introduce them to Christ, the answer to their spiritual suffering, would be cruel and, ultimately, unhelpful. Paul understood well the idea “that God has given us this task of reconciling people to him” (2 Corinthians 5:18b NLT). He knew that people needed to be fed, clothed, cared for and loved on. That’s why he was constantly reminding those to whom he wrote about the collection of funds for the saints who were suffering in Judea because of their faith. But Paul’s real mission was to help free people from the oppression of sin and the penalty of death by pointing them to Christ, the only hope for their condition. When all was said and done, Paul’s mission in life was to help everyone he met be made right with God through Jesus Christ. No amount of human effort can restore or repair the sin-damaged relationship between God and man. Only God can reconcile what sin has destroyed. Only Christ can lead lost men and women back to God. And we have the job of sharing this message of reconciliation and restoration to everyone we meet. To those who are starving from lack of food as well as to those who are satiated and stuffed on the things of this world. Like Paul, we have been commissioned to share the message of reconciliation to the haves and the have-nots, the famished and the full, the helpless and the self-sufficient, the powerless and the powerful. For ALL have sinned and fallen short of God’s righteous standard. ALL are condemned and face eternal separation from God as a result of their sin. But they can be made right with God through Jesus Christ – if only we will do our job and tell them the Good News.

Father, I sometimes lose sight of my real responsibility on this earth. I tend to forget that I have been saved, not to live for myself, but to love others. I have one job and one job only: To share the Good News of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone I meet. I have the message of the hope of the world and I need to share it. I am Your ambassador and I have a responsibility to help others understand how they can be made right with You. Give me a passion to do my job well. Help me take my job seriously and to do it eagerly. Amen.

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

Day 25 – Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32

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The Danger of Self-Righteousness.

Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32

Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” – Luke 5:31 NLT

Jesus never was one to mince words. Especially when it came to His views about the religious leaders of His day. At times, He could be brutally blunt and painfully honest. Not out of meanness, but because He wished to expose the hypocrisy and dangerous precedence they were setting for the people. They represented everything that was wrong with religious and the pursuit of a relationship with God in His day. They were prideful, arrogant, self-centered, and amazingly self-righteous. In other words, they had convinced themselves that their own efforts were their ticket to a right relationship with God. They had earned favor with Him by keeping all the rules. But what they had failed to understand was that God’s standard of measurement was not based on human effort, but the condition of the heart. And theirs were wicked.

You see time after time in the Gospels where these men confronted Jesus about His actions. They condemned Him for His words and railed on Him for His propensity to associate with those whom they considered unworthy, unclean, and unrighteous. They had established themselves as the gold standard and nobody else could measure up. They despised the common people as spiritually and morally worthless. They saw people like Matthew, a tax collector, as no better than a common prostitute. They looked down their noses at those who they considered second-class citizens from a spiritual perspective. When they saw Jesus having dinner with Matthew and his fellow tax collectors, they “complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?'” (Luke 5:30 NLT). In their minds, it made no sense for the “righteous” to associate with the “unrighteous.” Obviously, Jesus was not of their caliber, because He didn’t have the spiritual astuteness to know a sinner when He saw one.

But Jesus’ response to them is simple, yet profound. He calmly says, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinful and need to repent” (Luke 5:31 NLT). In those few words, Jesus paints a vivid picture of their problem. He also clarifies the biggest difference between His view of how to attain righteousness and theirs. Their problem was that they refused to acknowledge their own sin. They saw themselves as already righteous and in no need of a “doctor.” They had no need of a Savior, because they were saving themselves. Theirs was a self-manufactured form of righteousness. As you read the Gospels, you can’t help but notice that the common people, especially those who were social outcast because of their lifestyles, moral choices, or health issues, were the ones who seemed to flock to Jesus. Why? Because they knew their need and understood their helplessness of hopelessness. They knew they were sinners and didn’t know what to do about it. The morally corrupt could no more save themselves than the lame, blind, deaf and dumb could heal themselves. So they flocked to Jesus. And many of them believed in Him. But the Pharisees, mired in their self-righteousness, couldn’t bring themselves to admit their own need. They refused to acknowledge their sin and confess their need for a Savior. And that sense of religious pride and self-righteousness still exists today. Even among Christ-followers. We can easily measure our worth based on our own self-effort. We can convince ourselves that we are somehow pleasing to God because of all that we do for God. We work hard at fixing ourselves through self-effort and behavior modification, failing to realize that our problem is beyond our capacity to remedy. We have a heart condition that can only be healed by Jesus.

The real point of Jesus’ message in this passage is that He came to call those who KNOW they are sinners and who know they NEED to repent. They know they need to change, but they don’t know how. So they turn to Jesus. They abandon self-effort and any attempts at self-righteousness and place their hope in Him. And He does for them what they could never have done for themselves. He supplies them with a righteousness that is not of their own making, but His. He takes their sin and replaces it with His righteousness. But it all begins with an awareness of need, an acknowledgement that you’re sick and need healing.

Father, self-righteousness can creep up so easily in my life. I find myself trying to earn favor with You on a regular basis. I also find it easy to think that I am better than I am based on some self-established standard of conduct. Never let me lose sight of my own susceptibility to sin and my daily need for the Savior. Without Him, my spiritual immune system is an easy target for the sin that so easily infects this world. But thank You that Your Son came to heal the sick like me.  Amen.

Ken Miller

Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org