Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?
Does the punishment fit the crime? As a society we frequently ask that very question about criminal cases in the news. We are appalled at the light sentences given to abusers, pedophiles, drunk drivers, rapists, murderers, and the like. We are aggravated and disgusted when victims are treated like criminals and criminals appear to have more rights than their victims. We sense there is something inherently wrong, unjust, when we see such things. When the sentence doesn’t fit the crime it has a destabilizing effect on society. But I would like to apply this question to an even more important area, eternity. Will God actually sentence people to hell? Does His eternal punishment fit the crime of our sin? Are we guilty of crimes of sin deserving of a sentence of hell?
At present atheism seems to be going through a cycle of popularity in society. But those who do accept the existence of God, (and statistically they still remain in the majority) frequently doubt that God would send anyone to hell. They may accept that God would send those to hell who are guilty of the most heinous crimes, but they don’t see themselves as that bad. In general people feel they will be good enough to get into heaven and avoid hell.
In a 2003 Barna study on people’s opinions about heaven and hell they found the following:
76% believe that Heaven exists, while nearly the same proportion said that there is such a thing as Hell (71%). . . .
Most Americans do not expect to experience Hell first-hand: just one-half of 1% expect to go to Hell upon their death. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) believe they will go to Heaven. One in 20 adults (5%) claim they will come back as another life form, while the same proportion (5%) contend they will simply cease to exist.
Even though most Americans believe in life after death and the existence of the soul, not everyone is clear about their own ultimate destination. One in every four adults (24%) admitted that they have ”no idea” what will happen after they die. Those who felt their eternal future is undefined were most likely to be Hispanics, singles, men, atheists and agnostics, residents of the West, and 18- and 19-year-olds (i.e., young adults who also happen to be the first members of the Mosaic generation to enter adulthood).
Among those who expect to go to Heaven, there were differences in how they anticipate such an end would be attained. Nearly half of those who say they are Heaven bound (43%) believe they will go to Heaven because they have "confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior." Others felt they will get to Heaven because "they have tried to obey the 10 Commandments" (15%) or because "they are basically a good person" (15%). Another 6% believed their entrance to Heaven would be based upon the fact that "God loves all people and will not let them perish." [1]
The majority of people believe in a heaven and a hell. Supposedly 43% accept the gospel, i.e. “confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior” as means of going to heaven. But there is a majority (approximately 57%) of people who are unclear about what determines their destiny. Those who choose to reject the gospel say their eternal destination is based on one of three things: keeping the Law of the Ten Commandments, their basic goodness; or a view of God that disallows a sentence to a place called hell. What does God say about this? What does He tell us in His word?
The first thing we need to consider is what has God revealed about Himself in His word? God is holy and He commands His followers to be holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Peter 1:15-16). God’s revelation of Himself says He has an aversion, a revulsion to sin:
· Habakkuk 1:13a - You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.
God states that sin separates us from Him (Isaiah 59:1-2). The Bible says if we allow sin to reside in our hearts God will not hear our prayers (Psalm 66:18). The Bible says God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). God and sin do not mix.
What is hell? Hell is a place created by God for the devil and demons (Mat. 25:41). It is a real place. The Bible also says the person who sins, “is of the devil” (1 John 3:8; cf. also Eph. 2:1-3). The wicked or sinners will be turned into hell (Psalm 9:17). God will cast the sinner into hell and therefore we ought to revere Him (Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5). Hell is a place of everlasting fire, punishment and torment where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat. 25:41, 46; Rev. 19:20). Though not created by God for people, those who sin will be cast there to join the devil and his demons (Rev. 21:8).
What is sin? God has given us a Book called the Bible which is a manual for life. This Book explains the problem of sin and its solution. This Book explains God has given us laws that explain how we can experience prosperity, blessing, fullness of life (Joshua 1:8; 1 Chron. 22:13). God’s law consists of rules, principles, statutes, and God’s judgments. God’s laws tell us the parameters of what He says right and wrong is. Living within the parameters of His word and law is righteousness. Living righteously (i.e. keeping the law) assures we will experience life as He created us to live it. It will also assure that we don’t harm others. Sin is breaking God’s law in word, deed or thought. John put it this way, “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17a). Sin beaks our relationship with God. Sin causes pain in our relationship with others, including God.
What does sin look like? In Exodus 20 God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. These ten laws of God given to His people serve as the summation of His Law. There were 613 lesser laws given but the Ten Commandments serve as the bedrock of the Law of God. These Ten can be described as:
1. Not having any other God’s except Almighty God.
2. Do not make any images or idols of God or any other gods.
3. Respect God’s name; don’t use it in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath.
5. Honor your parents.
6. Don’t murder anyone.
7. Don’t commit adultery; stay true to your marriage covenant.
8. Don’t steal anything.
9. Don’t lie or bear false witness against anyone.
10. Don’t covet.
Sin is when we break such laws. All sin is against God and His Law (Psalm 51:4). The first four are vertical and directly against God while the last six are horizontal and indirectly against God but directly against other people.
What is the penalty for breaking these laws? The penalty for breaking God’s laws is death. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23a). God says, “Behold. All souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). It’s at this point that some might respond, “Isn’t that harsh? Does the punishment fit the crime? Isn’t God loving?” Yes, God is loving, but God is also holy, just and righteous. God is of purer eyes than to look on wickedness. Breaking or disregarding His law is rooted in pride, rebellion and is wickedness. “Wickedness” as spoken of by prophet Habakkuk means acts of deceit, treachery, faithlessness (Habakkuk 1:13). God will not even look at such things; He will put them out of His presence.
Does the punishment of God fit the crime of sin? Let’s examine this a bit. Let’s pretend we are in a secular worldly court. The judge is just a regular human being in a position of authority. Before him is brought a man who has disrespected, rebelled against and murdered his parents, has murdered numerous other people, has committed adultery on numerous occasions, has stolen repeatedly, has lived the life of deception and is a compulsive liar, and is driven by a lust for more of what he already has enough of. In addition to that this criminal is disrespectful and disobedient toward the judge. He curses the name of the judge and won’t rest and calm down when the judge orders him to. What would you say about such a man? What would a just sentence for him be? He’s a parenticidal, homicidal, sex crazed, thieving, lying, lustful man. If anyone was due the death sentence certainly he would be!
But you say, “That’s not me! I’m not that bad.” The Bible warns us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom. 12:3). The Bible says we should examine and test ourselves to see where we stand with God (2 Cor. 13:5). Let’s do that.
Have you always honored your parents? We may respond that there have been times when we’ve dishonored or rebelled against our parents but not always. Maybe you are in rebellion against your parents now. Maybe you’ve rebelled against them in the past. How much rebellion against your parents can be equated with dishonoring them? Any amount! But what about parenticide? You say, “I haven’t killed my parents. I’m not that bad.” Jesus said that if you’re angry with someone or call them a fool or something equivalent to that it’s as though you’ve killed them in your heart (Mat. 5:21-26). That’s His standard of judgment. Have you ever been angry with your parents? Parenticide!
Ever murdered someone? Here we are not talking about killing of a human being in the line of duty such as with a policeman or military person. Here we are talking about murder. And again, Jesus’ standard equates anger with murder. Ever get angry with someone? Murderer! Probably a mass murderer!
How about adultery? Ever commit adultery. “Oh no, I’ve always been faithful to my spouse” you say. But Jesus’ standard here is higher than mere actions too. He said if we even have a lustful thought about someone we are guilty of committing adultery in our hearts (Mat. 5:27-30). Even have a lustful thought, a fantasy, anything about anyone anytime other than the one you are married to? This includes those who are single. Ever have a lustful thought? Adulterer!
Ever stolen anything, anything, anytime? How much do you have to steal to be considered a thief? Anything, even a paper clip that makes you a thief. How about lying; ever spoken a non-truth? Ever lied about your age, your weight, your income, your past, your present, ever lied at all? Liar! Ever wanted something someone else has? Ever wanted more of what you already have enough of? Ever yearned for something, lusted after it? Coveter!
So far we’re finding we’re not as different from our imaginary criminal as we thought ourselves to be. We’re finding we’re parenticidal, homicidal, sex crazed, thieving, lying, lustful just like that man. We haven’t even considered our relation to a Judge who is God Almighty, All Holy, perfectly just and righteous. Has He always been first and foremost in our lives; our thoughts and actions; our priorities? If not that’s blasphemy. Have we idolized God? Have we defined Him as we see Him or want to see Him rather than how He has revealed Himself to be in truth? Your God is your master passion. If anything takes priority in our lives besides God we’ve broken the second commandment. That’s idolatry. How about the way we have referred to God? Ever used His name as a four letter curse word? Ever referred to Him and used His name in a profane way, even a common or irreverent way? If so that’s taking the Lord’s name in vain; that’s disrespecting the God of glory! How about observing His Sabbath? Some will say, “Oh, that’s just for Jewish people.” But wait, the Sabbath of God is holy and there is a principle here. To rest on the Sabbath is a demonstration of faith and trust in God to provide for you. We rest trusting that God will supply our needs. The Bible says whatever is not done in faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). God has done so much for you, He has been so faithful and true, and will you distrust Him? That’s offensive to God.
So to the charges of parenticidal, homicidal, sex crazed, thieving, lying, and lust we can add the highly offensive to God charges of blasphemy, idolatry, profane use of God’s name and distrust of God to our ledger. Now, do you see a bit more how the death penalty for sin is appropriate? The wages of sin is death. The soul that sins is deserving of death. And death here is not annihilation. The death sentence here is an eternal sentence of existence in a place called hell; a place of darkness, loneliness, regret and torment. That is a just sentence for the sinner.
If you were to stand before God charged with such offenses would He pronounce you guilty or innocent? Does that matter to you? If it doesn’t matter to you I would like to give you further warning. In the gospels Jesus performed countless miracles and taught powerful truth. The religious of His day refused to heed His words or acknowledge His work. There came a point where they could not believe (John 12:35-41). Refusing to respond to God leads to hardening of your heart. The more you refuse to turn to God from your sin the harder your heart becomes and the harder it is for you to do so. Only God knows when a person reaches this point of no return. But why risk getting to that point?
What can we do about our sinful state? The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). The Bible states:
· Acts 17:30-31 - Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
There is a Judgment Day coming. You may have been ignorant of your sin predicament before but you aren’t now. Where do you stand with God?
Let me say first that salvation from sin is not a matter of keeping the laws of God. God’s law exposes our sinfulness and shows us the futility of trying to keep them in our own strength (Rom. 7:7). The law shows us we are sinful (1 Tim. 1:8-11). And the law in pointing out our sin also leads us to the solution for our sin problem, Jesus (Gal. 3:24).
God calls everyone to repent of their sin. To repent means to respond to God, to turn to Him. To repent means to have a change of heart that leads to a change in life action. No one can come to God unless God draws them to Himself (John 6:44). God has been reaching out to you. The Holy Spirit has been convicting you of your sin (John 16:8-11). “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth” (Psalm 25:10). The truth is you are guilty as sin before a Holy God. But God is merciful. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. He has made a way for you to be justly forgiven. He has made a way for you to have your sins wiped away so that it will be just as if you’ve never sinned (e.g. Rom. 5:1). He has made a way for you to replace death with spiritual eternal life. He has done all of this through Jesus Christ.
The Man ordained or anointed and chosen by God to make the way for salvation from sin is Jesus Christ. Jesus went to the cross for you and for me; for sinners. Jesus lived a life of perfect and without sin (1 Pet 1:18-19). He died on the cross, the just for the unjust, to pay our death penalty for us (1 Pet 3:18). “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). That can happen when we put our faith in Him. It isn’t a matter of us doing some good works or religious activity (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Jesus has done the work for us; the work of salvation is compete; “It is finished!” (John 19:30). We need to receive by faith what God has provided for us in Christ.
God who is Holy is also gracious and loving. Humanity has a humanly insurmountable debt of sin. But God has made a divine way for lost humanity to be redeemed from that debt of sin. He has made a way for humanity to be saved from their sin by sending His One and only Son Jesus to die on the cross in our place. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). This work of Jesus has been shown to be valid and completely satisfactory to God by His resurrection from the dead. Therefore this work of Jesus for salvation can be put to our account; we can be forgiven all our sin (past, present, even future sin) when we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior. The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10). The saving transaction is put to our account by faith. It is offered by God freely to us by His grace and appropriated to our account by faith. God’s grace is God’s Redemption at Christ’s Expense. The faith that saves us is Forsaking All (other alternatives) I Trust Him. Salvation is not about something we do, it is all about accepting by faith something Jesus has done for us.
Salvation is freely provided by God but it wasn’t cheap; it cost Christ His life. We justly deserve the death penalty. In His mercy God makes a way so that we can avoid the death sentence we deserve. But God goes beyond that and gives us what we don’t deserve, His precious promises of a personal eternal relationship with Him. Jesus said eternal life was knowing Him and the Father (John 17:3). The Bible says:
· Philippians 4:19 - And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
God promises to meet all our needs.
· 2 Peter 1:3-4 - 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
God promises to change us and make us like Jesus (cf. also Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6). And you know what else? When we accept Jesus as Savior by faith, God forgive our sin, but He also gives us spiritual life by indwelling us with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9-11). When the Holy Spirit indwells us He pours His love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). And this love, lived out in and through us, fulfills God’s law! (Rom. 13:10). Those are incredible truths. Jesus promises us abundant life (John 10:10). The appropriate response to God’s grace is to receive it and love God for it (Jon 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:1-16).
Think of it, justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Does the punishment fit the crime? Is God fair with us? What do you think now? God is incredibly loving and giving. In light of Holy God the more important question is do we deserve God’s grace? The answer is no we do not. But thank God that He gives it to us anyway. Thank God our salvation is contingent on Him and not us. Now, what will you do? I hope you will turn to God in Christ and be saved.
[1] http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/128-americans-describe-their-views-about-life-after-death?q=hell
Monday, January 24, 2011
Blame Me Not
Ye call me Light and see me not;
Ye call me Way and walk not;
Ye call me Life and desire me not;
Ye call me Wise and follow me not;
Ye call me Fair and love me not;
Ye call me Rich and ask me not;
Ye call me Eternal and seek me not;
Ye call me Gracious and trust me not;
Ye call me Noble and serve me not;
Ye call me Mighty and honor me not;
Ye call me Just and fear me not;
If I condemn you BLAME ME not! - Author Unknown
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Walking By Sight and Not By Faith - Part 2
Abraham presents a holy contrast to Lot. Lot walked by sight. Abraham walked by faith in God. The way these two walked made all the difference in the world. We find this contrast in walks most vividly presented in Genesis. In Genesis God blessed both Abraham and Lot. Their flocks were growing. Abraham’s and Lot’s herdsmen began to fight and it became apparent they need to part ways. Abraham man of faith in full surrender to God’s will gave Lot the choice of the land. How did Lot make his choice? It says, “Lot lifted his eyes and saw . . .” (Gen. 13:10). Abraham made his decision by faith. He surrendered his rights as the elder and superior to his nephew Lot and let Lot decide what land he would move to. Lot had no reservations about taking advantage of his uncle’s humble spirited offer. He looked around and walked by sight.
Walking by sight got Lot into a lot of trouble. He found himself in the middle of a conflict and had to be rescued by Abraham (Gen. 14). Walking by sight got Lot closer and closer to the sin city of Sodom and ultimately to within a hair’s breadth of God’s fire and brimstone judgment on the Sodomites (Gen. 19). Abraham, man of faith, on the other hand, trusted God to bring victory in a righteous rescue mission of his nephew even though he was greatly outnumbered (Gen 14:12-16). He met the Melchizedek, the Christophany (Gen. 14:17-24; John 8:56-59). He had a close personal relationship with God. There is no evidence of that in the life of Lot. Abraham was not without flaws. Twice he lied instead of depending on God (Gen. 12; 20). He gave in to the carnal strategy of his wife Sarah which led to a perpetual conflict of peoples (Gen. 16). And yet with both Abraham and Lot when referred to in the New Testament no mention of these lapses are recorded. It is only said that they were righteous. That is a testament to the grace of God.
God commands us to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Our problem is that we too often walk by sight and not by faith. We are preoccupied with the way we look or others look physically. We are obsessed with outward appearance. We are like the actor Ricardo Montalbon who used to say, “When you look good you feel good.” Pharisees were obsessed with outward appearance and Jesus rebuked them (Mat. 23:27, 28). God instructs us to look deeper than outward superficialities, to the heart (1 Sam. 16:7; 2 Cor. 10:7).
When Jesus taught about our connection to the things of this world He said:
Matthew 6:19-24 - 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
There’s a reason why Jesus referred to “the eye” when talking about how we relate to the things of this world. It is through the eye and what we see that we are often tempted to make imbalanced connections or attachments. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” which implies its’ possible to become enslaved to the things of this world. That happens when we are lured into a bondage to things by what we see.
The word “mammon” (μαμμωνᾶς - mammōnas mam-mo-nas´, or μαμωνᾶς mamōnas mam-o-nas´) refers to earthly wealth, riches or property. Jesus personifies Mammon here. Because of that some Christians viewed Mammon as a demon. One commentator states:
That wealth can exercise an overwhelming power over people and enslave them is an insight well-known also among Greeks and Romans as is evident from the much-quoted sentence that love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10; cf. for its variants P. W. van der HORST, The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides [Leiden 1978] 142–143; K. S. FRANK, Habsucht, RAC XIII [1986] 226–247). In some later Christian sources Mamonas is depicted as a demon, ‘wealth’ being personified apparently on the basis of the fact that Luke 16:13 opposes mamonas to God and calls both God and Mammon →kyrioi (see E. PETERSON, Engel- und Personennamen, RhMus NF 75 [1926] 406–69).
It shouldn’t surprise us that a connection would be made between the use of worldly wealth in and enslaving way and demonic activity. Wealth and material goods are easily manipulated by way of seeing them so that they can become alluring to the point of obsession, even addiction. Go shopping on Black Friday or when there is a big sale or a desired valued item is offered in limited quantities and you will see in the eyes of the buyers a narcotic effect. Some commentators have pointed out that there is a god of Mammon, a demonic entity that uses the things of this world and lust for them as a means to lure people away from God.
The words “faith, believe, trust, and genuine belong to the same [word] stem as Mammon.” A choice needs to be made. As Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters . . . You cannot serve God and mammon.” No, we need to follow the instructions of Jesus who introduced these verses with the words, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” We begin our choice by deciding to walk by faith and not by sight. We guard and protect and grow in that choice by seeing with eyes of faith.
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness he did so by showing Jesus “the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Mat. 4:8). Of course Jesus didn’t succumb to the temptation to gain all He saw by bowing down in worship to Satan. He responded with the word of God; “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Mat. 4:10). That’s how we should respond and defend against the lust of the eyes. When you walk by faith you will have a Biblical worldview. You will have a spiritual perspective that goes deeper than what is seen on the surface.
Seeing the world through eyes of faith means we look at the world or have a world view that uses the lens of God’s word. And in His word God tells us a few things that we need to recognize if we are to have the proper perspective in life. What are these points of perspective we need to consider?
First, eyes of faith see the truth because God has removed the blinders. The god of this world uses spiritual blindness to keep people from God (2 Cor. 4:4). God on the other hand, by His grace, love and mercy on the sinner, reaches down and lifts the blinders off so that we can see His offer of a better way of looking at things. The Bible states:
Psalm 146:8 - The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous.
This is God’s prevenient grace. This is the work of the Spirit who convicts the world of their sin (John 16:8-11). The Spirit confronts the blinding idolatry of those who walk by sight and concoct a “God” in their own image as they want or desire “God” to be. The sinner creates a mythological “God” that condones the particular sin they cherish and live in. There is a spiritual blindness, a commonness and worldliness where there should be a desire for holiness before the true Holy God of the Bible. The Devil and his demons can only blind people to the truth (John 10:21). Jesus on the other hand opens the eyes of the blind (John 9).
Scripture states:
Proverbs 22:12 - The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless.
In other words, if we want to know what reality is really all about, we need to see things with the eyes of the LORD; from God’s perspective.
Second, eyes of faith see that God’s eyes are on us. The Bible says the following in this regard:
2 Chronicles 16:9a - For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. . . . (cf. also Psalm 33:18; 34:15; Proverbs 5:21; 15:3)
God is watching us. He watches and knows what we set our eyes on and how we see life. That’s important to Him. He is looking to bless those whose hearts are loyal to Him, who serve Him and not unrighteous mammon.
Third, eyes of faith see that what we look at impacts our lives. The Bible states:
Proverbs 17:24 - Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Proverbs 27:20 - Hell and Destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
These inspired words tell us that it is foolish to focus on the things of this world. A fool is someone who fails to factor God into their life equation (Psalm 14:1). But focusing on the world is also not good because the person who focuses on the world is “never satisfied.” The end of eyeing the world as the end all of life is emptiness.
Fourth, eyes of faith see that we must one day give an account to God who sees all. The Bible states:
Hebrews 4:13 - And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
God not only sees us, but one day will call all to give an account of who they decided to serve. Those who chose to serve what they see and walk by mere worldly sight will be separated from those who chose to walk by faith in Jesus. The former will spend eternity in hell watching tormenting visions. The later will go on see things that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Fifth, eyes of faith take into account how they are seen by others. With this eye opening information from the Lord and His word concerning the way we see things it’s important we also take into account how we are seen by others. If what is seen is so important, then who we present ourselves and are seen by others can influence people toward God or away from God. We should be considerate of what we watch or look at with others. We are living epistles (2 Cor. 3:3). Jesus is the embodiment of the Word. Similarly, we should be God’s word lived out in life. We should present ourselves in a way that people who see us see Jesus. This includes the way we talk, the way we live, the way we work, and even the way we look.
The bottom line is that we are God’s ambassadors; we represent Him (2 Cor. 5:20). We are called to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). We need to ask ourselves when people see me do they see the world or do they see Jesus?
Sixth, eyes of faith look to Jesus. We need to see things from God’s perspective. We need to have a holy perspective on life. In the Old Testament it states:
Psalm 123:2 - Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. (cf. also Psalm 145:15)
We need to look to the Lord for direction. We need to look to God to see how He might want us to serve Him. He provides what we really need in life and in eternity. This is brought into more acute focus in the New Testament when it states:
Hebrews 12:1-2 - Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
It states, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Eyes of faith are a work of Jesus in us. He went to the cross to pay the debt of our sin so that when God removed the blinders we would have the most beautiful vision imaginable, a Savior Jesus Christ who made a way for us to be forgiven our sins, enter into an eternal personal saving relationship with God. That’s the perspective, the view, the glorious sight we need to focus and fix our eyes on.
From the early stages of the serpent’s influence to the final stages of his full blown dragonhood, Satan uses sight to steer us away from the Lord and His best for us. The apostle Paul was inspired to say that while people grope in darkness like the blind for meaning that the answer is not far from us (Acts 17:27). God has looked down on our groping in blindness and offered us a holy loving sight to behold, Jesus. Are you walking by sight and not by faith? When people see you, do they see Jesus? Receive God’s offer. Receive your sight from God. Shake off those things that entangle and twist your sight, and look to the Author and Finisher of your faith. Look to Jesus.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Walking By Sight and Not By Faith - Part 1
When the serpent in Eden tempted Eve he did so to a great extent by sight. He got Eve to question God’s word and God’s motives by saying, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5 - emphasis added). Then it says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she tool of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6 – emphasis added).
Television can be a wonderful tool used for the glory of God. But it can also be used for evil influences. This article isn’t a TV bashing piece. I admit that personally, I watch TV, a lot of TV. I get a lot of information from TV and from watching and reading material from the Internet off of a computer screen. But something that I find interesting is how TV, something we see and watch can have such a mesmerizing effect on people. Some people lock in to a program and a bomb cold go off and they still wouldn’t be diverted from their trance like focus on the screen. Studies indicate that watching TV is linked to a negative effect on health.
For decades, research and studies have demonstrated that heavy television-viewing may lead to serious health consequences. Now the American medical community, which has long-voiced its concerns about the nation's epidemic of violence, TV addiction and the passive, sedentary nature of TV-watching, is taking a more activist stance, demonstrated by its endorsement of National TV-Turnoff Week.
The average child will watch 8,000 murders on TV before finishing elementary school. By age eighteen, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. At a meeting in Nashville, TN last July, Dr. John Nelson of the American Medical Association (an endorser of National TV-Turnoff Week) said that if 2,888 out of 3,000 studies show that TV violence is a casual factor in real-life mayhem, "it's a public health problem." The American Psychiatric Association addressed this problem in its endorsement of National TV-Turnoff Week, stating, "We have had a long-standing concern with the impact of television on behavior, especially among children."
Millions of Americans are so hooked on television that they fit the criteria for substance abuse as defined in the official psychiatric manual, according to Rutgers University psychologist and TV-Free America board member Robert Kubey. Heavy TV viewers exhibit five dependency symptoms--two more than necessary to arrive at a clinical diagnosis of substance abuse. These include: 1) using TV as a sedative; 2) indiscriminate viewing; 3) feeling loss of control while viewing; 4) feeling angry with oneself for watching too much; 5) inability to stop watching; and 6) feeling miserable when kept from watching.
Violence and addiction are not the only TV-related health problems. A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey released in October 1995 found 4.7 million children between the ages of 6-17 (11% of this age group) to be severely overweight, more than twice the rate during the 1960's. The main culprits: inactivity (these same children average more than 22 hours of television-viewing a week) and a high-calorie diet. A 1991 study showed that there were an average of 200 junk food ads in four hours of children's Saturday morning cartoons.
According to William H. Deitz, pediatrician and prominent obesity expert at Tufts University School of Medicine, "The easiest way to reduce inactivity is to turn off the TV set. Almost anything else uses more energy than watching TV."
Children are not the only Americans suffering from weight problems; one-third of American adults are overweight. According to an American Journal of Public Health study, an adult who watches three hours of TV a day is far more likely to be obese than an adult who watches less than one hour.
Sometimes the problem is not too much weight; it's too little. Seventy-five percent of American women believe they are too fat, an image problem that often leads to bulimia or anorexia. Sound strange? Not when one takes into account that female models and actresses are twenty-three percent thinner than the average woman and thinner than ninety-five percent of the female population.
People are literally addicted to what they see, in this case, “hooked on television.” It’s apparent that we are being seriously affected for the worse by the things we are watching or seeing on TV. This evidence indicates there is a cause and effect relationship between the things we see and our mental and physical health. When you remove for instance, the Ten Commandments or things pertaining to God from our schools and public arena and replace them with a proliferation of images of immorality, substance abuse, violence and murder and a host of other dark sinful things, is there any real surprise that we have an ever increasing amount of immorality, substance abuse, violence and murder and sinfulness in society? But there is an even more serious effect to consider.
When Babylon is destroyed in the book of Revelation it states, “and they cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning” (Rev. 18:18). When they saw the symbol of worldly wealthy lusts go up in smoke they wept. The apostle John said:
• 1 John 2:15-17 - 15 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. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
In these verses John refers to the “lust of the eyes” and he says it is “not of the Father but is of the world.” The word “lust” (ἐπιθυμία - ĕpithumia, ep-ee-thoo-mee´-ah) speaks of a longing, craving, strong desire or passionate lust. We might even go so far as to see this as a kind of addiction. There is a perverse passionate longing that can characterize the way we look at things. And connecting such lustful looking to the things of this world is not a good thing.
John gives the reason for not buying in to what one sees in this world saying, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” This world is not going to satisfy. It is temporary. The wisest man to ever live, Solomon, looked at the things of this world separate from God (i.e. “under the sun”) and assessed it as “vanity” or a vapor. He said focusing on this world is like “grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:26). There is a better way. Solomon came to the conclusion that we need God (Eccl. 12:13-14).
As Christians we need to watch what we watch. It’s possible for Christians to be caught up in the lusts of what is around us to see. Satan is going to put stuff out there to tempt and draw us away from the Lord and His best for us. There’s a good example by contrast found in the Old Testament in this regard.
In Peter’s second epistle he speaks of “righteous Lot” and how he was saved by God from judgment and “the filthy conduct of the wicked” (2 Pet. 2:7). Peter states parenthetically, “(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented His righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)” (2 Pet. 2:8). Lot was righteous according to God’s word. But when we look at the Old Testament account of Lot we see that he walked by sight. That got him in a lot of trouble. Fortunately for him, “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations . . .’ 92 Pet. 2:9a). Apparently Lot believed in God and, like his uncle Abraham, was accounted righteous because of his trust in God (cf. Gen. 15:6). In the second part of this series we will look further at the contrast between Lot and Abraham as well as discover the way of those who live with eyes of faith.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Resolutions or Regeneration?
Every year on New Years Eve people make New Year’s Resolutions promising to change themselves for the better. But New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure. If people want to change they don’t need resolutions, they need regeneration.
How Successful are New year’s Resolutions?
How successful are New year’s resolutions? Statistics in a study from the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2002 showed the following:
• 40 to 45% of American adult make one or more resolutions each year.
• Among the top new years resolutions are resolutions about weight loss, exercise, and stopping to smoke. Also popular are resolutions dealing with better money management / debt reduction.
• The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%
Another study at the end of 2005 estimated that 97% of New year’s Resolutions do not work. In this study entitled New Years Resolutions: Why Don’t They Work ? Michael York of the Michael York Learning Center, theorizes the reason why resolutions don’t work is because people expect to fail and that they don’t know how to properly set goals in order to keep their resolutions. But I would say that the reason people don’t expect to keep their resolutions is because they have learned from experience that they can’t keep their resolutions and no amount of proper goal setting is going to change that.
So what’s the answer; how can we change for the better? The answer is that we need regeneration not resolutions.
Why Resolutions Can’t Work
The reason why a resolution can’t work is because it depends on me, myself and I; it depends on my own “strength.” The Bible refers to this self-centered dependence upon self as the flesh. Paul was inspired to speak of the predicament of the flesh when in Romans he writes:
• Romans 7:18-24 - 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Do you see the futility of relying on your own strength to try to do good things? The New Living Translation (more of a paraphrase) of the Bible renders this portion of scripture in the following way:
• 18 I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. 19 When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. 20 But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. 21 It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?
These words express the futility, frustrations and ultimate failure of attempts at self-reformation and that is exactly what a New year’s resolution is. The reason such attempts at change are doomed to failure is because they depend on an inadequate power source, the sinful self. Read what the Bible says about our self, the me, myself and I of who we are:
• Genesis 6:5 - 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
• Job 14:4 - Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!
• Job 15:14-16 - “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?15 If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight,16 How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water!
• Psalm 5:9 - For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.
• Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
• Isaiah 64:6 - But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
• Jeremiah 17:9 - “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
• Mark 7:21-23 - 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
• Ephesians 2:1-3 - And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
These verses are ample evidence that anything that depends on this flesh is doomed to fail to reach its goal. If that is the case, then how can a person change successfully?
Regeneration the Way to True Transformation
Sometimes we can have what we believe are the best of intentions, but they are the wrong intentions. Our motives are not always what they ought to be. We may want to change, but if our motive is only to please our self, then we are only compounding our problem and off the mark. What we need is an entirely new way of looking at things and an entirely new way of doing things. What we need is REGENERATION.
Okay, you might be thinking, how do I get this regeneration? If you want to change for the better you have to realize the following.
First, realize your real problem is sin. Sin is the destructive cancer like thing within you that is keeping you from successfully changing for the better. The Bible says:
• Romans 3:10, 23 - 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; . . . 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Sin keeps us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and it is God alone who can work true change in us. Sin keep our focus on sinful self where we will wallow in defeat and despair.
Second, realize only spiritual birth or spiritual life can make a true lasting eternal change in you. It is the gospel that is the power of God to save us from sin (Romans 1:16). Just as we are physically born, we must be spiritual born again if we are ever to be changed from our present state of futility and out of focus sin life. Before we are spiritually born again we don’t even understand our true need (1 Corinthians 2:14). We need to be born again, we need to be spiritual born of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 5). Another word for this spiritual enlivening experience is regeneration and refers to it in the following way:
• Titus 3:3-7 - 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
As you can see this is not something we can work in ourselves, which leads us to the next realization.
Third, realize regeneration is a work of God offered by His grace through faith in His only Son Jesus. The Bible says that salvation is a work of in that He convicts us of our sin and our need of salvation (John 16:8-11). It is God who draws us out of our sin to Himself (John 6:44). And God draws us to Himself by dealing with our sin through faith in Jesus (John 6:29). Here is the beauty of how God resolves our sinful predicament. He has sent Jesus to pay for our sinful debt (because we are unable to pay that debt off on our own). And He has done away with our sin as we put our faith in Jesus and His work (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is why at the end of Paul’s passage in Romans 7 he is inspired to proclaim:
• Romans 7:24-25a - 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
It is a glorious thing to turn over the reigns of your life to God. We’ve been slipping and falling and totally off track. We need to get into God’s car and let Him do the driving, which leads us to our final realization.
Fourth, realize you need to repent or turn humbly to God from your sinful self ways and rely fully on God’s gracious provision and strength. We can’t work our way out of the mire of our sin (Psalm 69). It is only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ that this regeneration can occur (Ephesians 2:4-9). If we turn from our self efforts and self interests to God then we can expect times of refreshing from the Lord (Acts 2:38-39).
It has been said:
Our lives are fields that primarily contain weeds. We cannot produce strawberries. We can mow the weeds, but that effort alone will never produce acceptable fruit. If we really want that fruit we will have to go deeper. We must plow up the whole field and start again with new plants.
We can’t change by resolution. We need the regenerative work of God to change.
But I’ve Done that and I’m Still Failing and Faltering
Sometimes those who have experienced regeneration continue to have difficulties in their lives; why is that? Those who have received God’s gracious gospel provision in Christ need to realize a few things too.
First, realize transformation is only begun at regeneration and is a life long process. The Bible refers to Christians as “being sanctified” (Hebrews 2:11; 10:14). Change is a process that God works in us over time as we live a life of surrender to Him (Romans 12:1-2). Regeneration is when the Holy Spirit comes to indwell a person (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20). It is the Holy Spirit that helps us to overcome our weaknesses (Romans 8:26). The work of the Spirit in us is to transform us into the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29). This is God’s purpose for us and should be our goal and target in life.
Second, realize the problem is that many who have been regenerated continue to live to please self rather than to please God. There are what are called carnal Christians who live to please themselves rather than to please God. The Christian who lives to please self will only find discord and disruption in their lives much the same as before they were regenerated (1 Corinthians 3:1-4; James 4:1-6). To overcome this problem the Christian must turn their focus on God and seek to please Him by faith (Hebrews 11:6). Paul explains this well when he is inspired to write:
• Romans 8:1-9 - There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
When we are regenerated through faith in Christ we are called by God to walk no longer after the things of the flesh or to walk in the power of the flesh, but we are called to live in the Spirit (8:1). It is this life in the Spirit that can set us free from our futile fleshly lives (8:2). God does away with the destructive and depressing affects of sin in a person through faith in Christ (8:3-4). This new life of spiritual regeneration is an entirely new way of life and an entirely new way of looking at life (8:5). If we continue to have a fleshly mindset after regeneration we will continue to experience its destructive and depressing ways (8:6). It will hinder our relationship with God (8:7) and prevent us from pleasing God (8:8). In fact that is exactly the issue; in our flesh we seek to please self; in the Spirit we seek to please God. The truth is when we seek to please ourselves no one will be happy. But when we seek to please God everyone benefits. Without the Spirit in your life, you don’t even belong to God (8:9), which leads us to our final realization for the believer.
Third, realize victory comes through abiding in Christ. The closer we come to Jesus the more power we will have over sin in our lives. We are to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). In other words, get as close to Jesus as possible, as close as your very clothes, and you will have more and more power over the flesh. Drawing close to Jesus is the way of escape from many a problem issue in the life of the Christian (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus put it this way:
• John 15:4-5, 7-8 - 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. . . 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
We need to “abide” or stick close to Jesus. When we get away from Jesus we shrivel up spiritually like a piece of fruit plucked from a tree. If we stay connected to Jesus, we will grow and become fruitful in Him.
How do we do this? How do we abide in Jesus?
The key is in the words “My disciples.” A disciple is a learner who studies the words of Jesus (verse 7 i.e. the Bible) and surrenders to the Spirit to apply those words to their lives (John 8:31-32, 34-36). Disciples also “ask” (verse 7) or pray because prayer is a declaration of dependence on God and a means of relating verbally with God in Christ. A disciple lastly does all they do to bring glory to God which is the culmination of spiritual fruitfulness (verse 8). The more we seek to bring glory to God the further away from self we move. The further away from self we move and the closer we come to God, the more power to live victoriously in life we will experience.
In his book The Power of the Spirit, William Law, writing in the early 1700s, makes the following statement about the church living in the flesh rather than the Spirit:
A letter learned zeal has but one nature wherever it is, and can only do that for Christians which it did for Jews. As in ancient times it brought forth scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, and crucifiers of Christ; as it afterwards brought forth heresies, schisms, popes, papal decrees, images, and anathemas; so in Protestant churches it will do the same things, only under different names. The empty idolatry of Rome will show itself even without crucifixes and indulgences. Images of wood and clay will only be exchanged for images of doctrines. Grace, works, imputed sin, imputed righteousness, and election will all have their worshipping advocates, dividing the body of Christ in their very zeal to defend their own good opinions about Scripture doctrines. And so great will be the blindness thus generated that every kind of gossip, slander, and hatred will be pursued by brother against brother, all of it done in the name of Him who prayed that we might be one. . . . Our divine Master compares the religion of the learned Pharisees to ‘whited sepulchers, outwardly beautiful, but inwardly full of dead men’s bones.’ How was it that a religion so serious in its restraints, so beautiful in its outward form and practices, and commanding such reverence from all that beheld it, was yet charged by Truth itself with being ‘inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity’? It was only for this one reasons: because it was a religion of self. Wherever self has power and keeps up its own interests, even in teaching or defending sound Scripture doctrines, there is that very same Pharisee still alive whom Christ with so much severity of language constantly condemned. The reason for such heavy condemnation is that self is the root and sum total of all sin. Every sin that can be named is centered in it. Self is nothing else but the creature broken off from God: the power of Satan living and working in us the sad continuance of that first turning from God, which was the whole fall of our first parents. (Emphasis added.)
Unfortunately what William Law wrote 300 years ago was not heeded by much of the church and today we have a church that is more carnal and centered on its sarx, than it is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We cannot afford to allow our flesh to rule us; we need the Spirit to overcome it and empower us to do all that God has wonderfully laid out for us to do. If you are a Christian and have slipped back into the futility of a life lived for self and in the weakness of self, surrender to God anew and He will empower you to victorious Christian living. That would be a great way to start a new year.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Highly Favored
Ephesians 1:6 - 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
When we look at the Bible account of the incarnation of Jesus we see that Mary was referred to by the angel Gabriel as “highly favored.” The words “highly favored” (χαριτόω - charitŏō, khar-ee-tŏ´-o) come from a single Greek term and mean to give grace, to bestow favor, “ to endue with special honor; make accepted, be highly favored.” God looked down on Mary and bestowed special honor on her by showing she was acceptable to Him for a very special task.
Some people have taken this “highly favored” reference to Mary and exalted her to a position of adoration and even worship. But the Bible tells us to worship God alone:
• Exodus 34:14- 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
• Matthew 4:10 - 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
• Revelation 19:10 - 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
• Revelation 22:9 - 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
It’s important we have a correct understanding of what it means to be highly favored. And there is a blessing for us in this understanding.
When we look at Mary, the words spoken to her by others, and the words of response she herself gave to her “highly favored” status, it gives us insight into this status. What did being “highly favored” by God mean for Mary?
1. It meant she was “blessed” – Luke 1:28b
2. It meant she was troubled by her encounter with God’s messenger – Luke 1:29
3. It meant she was afraid – Luke 1:30a
4. It meant she had found favor with God – Luke 1:30b
5. It meant being called to fulfill God’s purpose – Luke 1:31
6. It meant connection with a King (Jesus) – Luke 1:32-33
7. It meant not understanding – Luke 1:34a
8. It meant being challenged culturally – Luke 1:34b
9. It meant being empowered by the Holy Spirit – Luke 1:35
10. It meant full surrender and trusting God for the impossible – Luke 1:36-38
Later in what is called Mary’s Magnificat we see more of Mary’s response to her “highly favored” status when she says:
• Luke 1:46-55 - 46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
In these beautiful words we see Mary’s response to her “highly favored” status was to Magnify, rejoice and worship the LORD – Luke 1:46:
1. Because God was her Savior – Luke 1:47
2. Because God regarded her even though she was lowly - Luke 1:48a
3. Because God’s other generations to call her blessed – Luke 1:48b
4. Because God had done great things for her – Luke 1:49a
5. Because God’s name and His works are holy (unique; special) – Luke 1:49b
6. Because God is merciful – Luke 1:50
7. Because God supports the humble and defies the proud – Luke 1:51-52
8. Because God fills the hungry and empties the rich – Luke 1:53
9. Because God is faithful to fulfill His prophetic word – Luke 1:54-55
Mary’s response was to worship God, not draw others to worship her. We can learn a lot from Mary’s humble surrender to God and humble worship of God.
But where is the blessing in all of this for us? What does this matter to us? Mary’s response to her “highly favored” status matters to us and is a blessing to us because God uses the same word in regard to us; His followers.
In the opening verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he is inspired to write:
• Ephesians 1:6 - to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
The phrase “made us accepted” is a translation of the same Greek term (χαριτόω - charitŏō, khar-ee-tŏ´-o) used with Mary in Luke 1:28. Mary is “highly favored,” but so are we! Therefore we should understand God has given us the honor, grace and favor, the privilege to serve Him. That’s incredible! But what does that mean to us?
When we look at the context of Ephesians 1:6 it should cause us to burst into our own Magnificat as we consider the grace and favor God has bestowed on us. Look at what God has done for us:
• Ephesians 1:3-14 - 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
A summary review of these verses reveal some of the particulars of God’s highly favored status bestowed on us:
1. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ – 1:3
2. We are chosen in Christ to be holy in His love – 1:4
3. We are predestined to adoption as His sons by Jesus Christ – 1:5
4. We are accepted in Jesus our Beloved – 1:6
5. We are redeemed from sin through His blood – 1:7a
6. We are forgiven our sins in Christ – 1:7b
7. We are products of His wisdom and prudence – 1:8
8. We are enlightened about His will, good pleasure and purpose for us – 1:9
9. We are included in God’s plans of bringing all together in Christ – 1:10
10. We are receivers in Jesus of a rich inheritance – Ephesians 1:11
11. We are worshipers who get to bring praise to God’s glory in Christ – 1:12
12. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit who gives us assurance that all of this is real and will be fully realized in the culmination of God’s plans – 1:13-14.
What a glorious thing it is to be highly favored by God! Like Mary we should humbly bow in full surrender to the Lord. We should surrender for God to use us as He sees fit. And then we should worship and praise Him for the honor and privilege of what He has called us to do in life. You are highly favored by God! He has made you accepted in Christ! Rejoice! Worship Him! Serve Him! Enjoy!