Author: Tim Hayes

Guilty Before God

Guilt is the fact of having committed a breach of conduct, an offense or crime, which may produce a wide variety of feelings.

If the offense involves a righteous law and one regrets breaking it, guilt may bring a feeling of deserving blame for moral failure, remorse for making an immoral choice. We also call this feeling, guilt.

If a severe punishment is imposed for an offense, guilt may bring dread or even terror. If we expect willful moral failure to draw disdain and rejection from others, we call it shame.

If the offender feels the violated statute is unjust or inappropriate, or if they disdain moral obligations altogether, they may be defiant in their guilt, resolutely committed to violating the establishment. (Re 16:10-11)

If the offender feels they’re not guilty due to a flawed judicial process, they may feel frustrated, resentful, angry or bitter.

If the punishment is trivial and the offender isn’t inconvenienced, they may not feel much of anything.

Eventually, every human being will be found guilty before God (Ro 3:19); what we each feel in that Day may be unique, but it won’t change the fact of our guilt: we will all be found guilty because we all are guilty.

What should we feel when we’re found guilty before God?

Well, since God’s judicial process is perfect (Is 9:7), His law is just (Ro 7:12), and since violating it is evidence of moral failure (Ps 119:118), we should admit we’re deserving of blame — because we are (Pr 20:9); God would not find us guilty otherwise. (Ro 3:4)

This is the first step in drawing near to God: submit to His right to rule over us (Ps 81:15), and agree with His assessment of us. (Ro 3:10) To do otherwise is to lie to ourselves and to God, and also to call God Himself a liar. (1Jn 1:10)

We should also regret that we’re guilty, not simply that we’ve been found guilty; we should feel genuinely sorry we’ve been disobedient to God, acknowledge we’re at His mercy (Lk 18:13), and look to Him to deliver us from our own sinful nature. (Ro 7:24-25) Ultimately, there is no excuse for moral failure (Ro 1:20); we should never disobey Him willfully, but be committed to obeying Him as well as we can.

As concerning the penalty for sin, for the consequences God will impose for our guilt, it’s sort of a “pay Me now or pay Me later” kind of proposal (Ga 6:7); one way or another, there will be consequences for our behavior. (Re 2:23b)

If we’re willing to own up to our sin and confess it, submit to Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, acknowledging the immense penalty He is willing to pay on our behalf, offering Himself up for our sins (Ga 1:4) to redeem us from all iniquity (Tit 2:14), and flee to Him from the wrath to come (Lk 3:7), trusting Him as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1Jn 2:2), we can receive forgiveness of sins and be delivered from the eternal punishment we justly deserve. (Co 1:14)

From this place of submission to God, we’re left to recon with the guilt for sins we can’t stop, even as we try our best; in this we should expect God’s mercy in judgment; He is infinitely merciful toward those who fear Him. (Ps 103:11) He will discipline us to bring us into holiness (He 12:10), and judge us for our sins in this world as He sees fit (1Pe 4:17); His judgment of His people will be severe in this life for all lapses into willful sin. (He 10:26-31) Yet there is no fear of eternal condemnation in this kind of judgement: even if it is severe, it is for our good to deliver us from the bondage of our sin. (He 12:11)

The alternative is to continue to live our lives our own way, defiantly refusing to submit to the Lordship of Christ (Ro 2:4-5), and suffer the eternal consequences. (Mt 7:26-27) This should produce fear and dread (Is 33:14), even if only in the subconscious, to move the thoughtful soul to repentance. (Pr 16:6) For those who will not turn, eternal terror shall be their destiny. (Re 20:11)

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The Israel of God

Who or what is Israel, according to Scripture? Well, depending on context it can mean different things.

Most commonly, it’s a reference to the Jewish people (Ro 9:31-33), the descendants of Abraham through Jacob, who’s name was changed to Israel. (Ge 32:28) These are God’s chosen people from an earthly perspective. (De 7:6)

But there are times when God uses the term to refer to the elect (1Pe 1:1-2), those whom He has chosen from eternity past to be His eternal, heavenly people. (1Pe 2:9-10) For example, when Paul says, “they are not all Israel which are of Israel” (Ro 9:6), he evidently means just because someone is a descendent of Abraham doesn’t imply they’re a child of God. (7-8) In other words, one definition for Israel is the children of God. (Ga 6:16)

So, when we read, “all Israel shall be saved” (Ro 11:26), we shouldn’t understand that every Jew will go to Heaven, but that all of God’s eternally chosen people will. God counts believing non-Jews as His own (Ga 3:28), belonging to Israel (Ep 2:14), members His earthly chosen people (1Co 10:1), and applies the same principles to us all. In other words, earthly, physical Israel is a type of God’s elect, and what He’s written about His interactions with them is for all His people in every age. (11)

So, as we consider God’s dealings with Israel in the Old Testament (5), we should take note and recognize God is showing us how He treats His chosen people. (6-10) God doesn’t have two different standards for or ways of interacting with His people. (He 10:28-30) God has written the Old Testament for our learning and comfort (Ro 15:4); its principles are meant for us now, today. (1Co 9:9-10)

In other words, anything God has written which we’re able to observe and obey today is written to teach us how to walk with God. (Ps 119:105) As we hear the Word, we ought to be doers of it. (Ja 1:22-25)

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Christ Our Life

Losing a loved one, a friend, a job, or our health can be destabilizing, even a slight change in our routine can be challenging. What does it take to disorient us and send us into a tailspin? When our world begins to collapse do we become fearful, lost? Do we lose our faith in God? in Life itself?

To the degree we draw our sense of well-being from this world, the more losing it will cripple us. Trying to draw life from non-life-giving sources is a dead end.

The truth is, even now we don’t have any of these temporal things we think we have; our possessions, relationships, health, occupation, our whole world is passing away. (1Jn 2:17) We came into this world with nothing, and we won’t take any of it with us when we leave. (1Ti 6:7) What we have the moment after we die is all we really have now.

This is troubling if we’re looking for life and love like most everyone else, minding earthly things (Php 3:18-19), defining life in the context of earthly experience … building houses on the sand. (Mt 7:26-27)

When Christ becomes our Life (Co 3:4) our sense of well-being is grounded in Him; our foundation doesn’t collapse when our temporal world falls apart because we’ve built our house on the Rock. (Mt 7:24-25) Our life down here is a vapor (Ja 4:14); our treasure isn’t here, it’s in Him. (Mt 6:19-21)

In this world we will have tribulation, and that’s OK. (Jn 16:33) We who are already dead in Christ, our life is hid with Him in God (Co 3:1), and we will live with Him. (2Ti 2:11) Our lives are living sacrifices for Him to do with as He pleases. (Ro 12:1) To live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Php 1:21)

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One of These Least

Theologians claim to be able to divide Torah into parts which apply differently to different groups of people: [1] Moral laws for all Mankind (e.g. Le 19:18), [2] Civil laws only for Jews (e.g. De 20:1-4), and [3] Ceremonial laws for priests. (e.g. De 18:6-8) This is commonly used to teach that only Moral laws are relevant today.

The problem is this hermeneutic is not found in Scripture; while certain laws are explicitly directed toward specific groups, Scripture never limits the relevance of Torah on any other grounds.

Clearly, if a command is directed toward a group to which we don’t belong, we cannot break it because the command is not to us. However, if we disregard a command which we’re able to obey then we’re actually breaking it, unless we can show from Scripture we’re exempt.

Though Torah was given to Israelites on Mount Sinai thousands of years ago, Christ Himself says whosoever (Jew or Gentile, man or woman, adult or child) disregards one of these least commands will be counted least in His kingdom. (Mt 5:19a) Kingdom greatness is reflected by respecting even the most insignificant laws of Torah. (19b) This aligns with Torah itself. (Ps 119:4-6)

So, Christ is effectively teaching us we should all be keeping every law in Torah which we’re able to keep: any law not specifically addressed to someone else.

And since Christ’s nature within us delights in Torah (Ro 7:22) as a reflection of Jehovah’s majesty, holiness and character, one of the primary ways He’s revealed Himself, the godly aren’t looking for loopholes; we’re looking for every opportunity to honor God’s Way as well as we can.

So, as we’re working through passages which appear to teach otherwise (and there are a few) think of Torah wholistically (Ja 2:10-11), don’t pick out one of these least commandments; consider whether Paul could be saying we don’t need to love God with all our heart (De 6:4-5) or our neighbors as ourselves. (Le 19:18) On these two hang all the rest (Mt 22:40): we can’t separate them.

As we expose our cognitive bias to the light of Torah and square ourselves with the fact that every single one of God’s Laws is precious and good (Ro 7:12), we invariably find better ways to understand each text and reconcile it will all of Scripture.

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Make a Battlement

When we build a new house, God says to make a battlement for the roof so we’ll not be guilty of manslaughter if someone falls from the rooftop and dies. (De 22:8) This certainly makes sense in the context in which it was first given, where houses were generally constructed with a flat roof which was used as a living space; in such cases providing a barrier around the edge to keep people from harm is consistent with charity.

Yet how do we respond to such a law for steep rooftops, upon which only trained professionals are ever allowed? Do we violate this law because we think we understand its context and spirit, presuming it’s not applicable or obsolete in our case? or do we build completely useless barriers around rooftops which serve to protect no one?

If sin is the transgression or violation of the law (1Jn 3:4), in either the letter or the spirit, it seems we should not ignore the law, or violate it at any level for any reason. Yet it also seems inappropriate to build useless fences around our rooftops – making us appear foolish to the world and positioning Torah itself as ridiculous and burdensome. Neither approach seems reasonable.

If we look at the text carefully, it says to build a parapet, or a barrier or wall for our roof; the barrier need not be above or even upon the roof, just for the roof. To serve the intended function this battlement must be between the edge of the rooftop and those occupying our residence to prevent anyone from ever accidentally falling off.

For houses with steeply pitched roofs the exterior wall of the home itself serves as this battlement or barrier: when there is no rooftop access from within the home, if one must go to considerable trouble to climb up and over the exterior wall to access the roof, it seems this law in Torah is being respected both in spirit and in letter, in truth at every level.

However, for any home which provides convenient access to the rooftop, surrounding the accessible portion of the roof with a sturdy, waist-high fence to prevent anyone from accidental injury is clearly the Law of Love. (Ro 13:10)

This principle shows us we should make reasonable efforts to promote the safety and well-being of others at all times, taking steps to prevent accidental injury of any kind.

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They Are Remitted

As Jesus equips His disciples for ministry, He gives them authority to both remit and retain sins, implying God Himself will align with their choices. (Jn 20:23)

Some take this to mean the Twelve Apostles could decide whom God would forgive and whom He wouldn’t, effectively determining who would enter Heaven and who would go to Hell. Some evidently leverage this to teach the Roman Catholic Church controls our eternal destiny, contradicting what God Himself says about salvation: we’re saved by believing on Christ. (Jn 3:16) This relationship is between each individual person and God (18); Church leaders have nothing to do with it.

Others take it to mean the Twelve Apostles were simply messengers of the Gospel, showing people how to be forgiven, declaring forgiveness when people believed on Christ. (1Th 1:4-5) Yet the wording doesn’t permit this: it says the Apostles themselves could either remit or retain the sins of individuals as they saw fit. It’s not the same thing at all.

Neither of the above interpretations does full justice to the context, and it isn’t easy to find any other intelligible take on it. Even so, there must be a better way. (Mt 7:7)

Note carefully that this authority to remit and retain sins is the very first working principle Christ teaches the Twelve after giving them the Holy Spirit. (Jn 20:22) In filling them with the Spirit, Christ is forming them into an assembly of born again, spirit-filled brothers in what we might consider to be the first local church. This authority is evidently central to their ministry in this context, not necessarily given to each of the apostles as individuals, or even merely because they are His apostles. This authority to remit or retain sins may be vested in them simply because they are now spiritual brothers within the same local body of believers.

In such a context, they are in fact now responsible to discern what kinds and levels of sins to patiently bear with (remit, or let go of) (Ga 6:1-3) within the local assembly, and what degrees of sin to call out, judge and discipline (retain, or hold on to). (1Co 5:11-13)

Paul, an Apostle himself, reinforces this concept of brotherly authority in the context of church discipline (Ro 16:17); the brothers are to decide when someone is committed to sin and exclude them from fellowship (1Co 5:6-7), treating them as though they are unbelievers. (Mt 18:17)

Further, those whom the brothers forgive and receive back into fellowship after having disciplined them, Paul also forgives, indicating God’s alignment with them. (2Co 2:10-11)

The brothers have this spiritual authority to facilitate unity and purity within the local body; they’re responsible to manage this in all of the complexities and challenges they face together. They are effectively vested with the keys of God’s kingdom (Mt 16:19), manifested in the local church, deciding who is welcome and who isn’t. And as they seek the truth and align in the Spirit, God Himself works in and through them to glorify Himself (1Co 5:4-5), backing them up as needed. (Mt 18:18)

This kind of spiritual authority is, as we have noted, evidently not such that any sinful mortal may decide whether another soul is ultimately eternally forgiven before God, but God’s way of managing corporate purity and health within a local body of believers. (Ro 15:14)

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Whom Have I In Heaven?

How important would going to Heaven be if there were no Hell?

Suppose God were to offer us all our own version of Paradise, whatever we wanted, where we may do as we please any time we wish, enjoying lovers, friends and family at will, living in eternal happiness and pleasure away from God.

And suppose Heaven is only God, just each of us alone with Jehovah God forever, beholding and worshipping and serving Him. Nothing and no one else even on the radar.

If it were indeed so, who then would strive to enter God’s kingdom? (Lk 13:24) Would it be more evident who’s seeking God Himself, to know Him and walk with Him? (Jn 17:3)

When we think of Heaven, is God distant and far off, the way we perceive Him now? Are we OK with that? primarily interested in being reunited with loved ones? (Mt 10:37) Or in freedom from pain and suffering? (38)

Meanwhile, are we consumed with earthly cares? (Mk 4:18-19) Only turning to God when we’re in need? (Jn 6:26)

Many of us, by the way we’re living, appear to be like Adam and Eve after the Fall: seeking Paradise without God. (Ge 3:8)

If the earthly-minded are bound for eternal destruction (Php 3:18-19), how much more those who would focus Heaven itself on themselves?

Those pursuing their own benefit will forfeit it (Jn 12:25) and miss the ultimate Treasure. (Mt 13:44)

Can a soul who isn’t longing for God Himself be fit for the kingdom? (He 12:14) Can one who doesn’t value God above all rightly claim to know Him? (Mt 13:45-46)

Is God Himself enough for us? (Ps 72:26) Is Jehovah God our eternal portion? (Ps 119:57) If not, we don’t yet know Him as we should. (Php 3:8)

Asking God to search our hearts (Ps 139:23-24) helps us understand ourselves, to know who we are and where we are with God. (2Co 13:5) We can lie to ourselves about our love for God all day long, but He won’t fall for it. (1Co 16:22)

If we love God supremely, with a new heart created by Him and for Him (2Co 5:17), being with Him eternally is the Paradise we long for (Ps 27:4), and nothing less is acceptable. (Ps 73:25)

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All Such Rejoicing

James, the Lord’s brother (Ga 1:19), identifies a certain kind of rejoicing as evil (Ja 1:16): boasting in our own plans as though they’re God’s is missing the mark. Yet God isn’t making up a new standard here: He’s not embellishing or extending His moral Law; it’s always been this way.

Since all sin is a violation of Torah, and any violation of Torah is sin (1Jn 3:4), this evil rejoicing must be rooted in some deviation from Torah. What law of Torah is violated by evil rejoicing?

Such rejoicing might be rooted in pride, in thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought (Ro 12:3), but then we must find some law forbidding pride, which is yet another challenge.

Perhaps loving our neighbors as ourselves (Le 19:18b) precludes pride, but even if we’re able to do so, could we not still rejoice in our boastings?

The evil in this boasting noted by James isn’t necessarily related to confidence in one’s abilities (1Co 7:7), but in failing to acknowledge our ultimate dependence on God. (Ja 4:15) How can we presume the power to succeed in our schemes if we can’t even keep our hearts beating or our brains from shutting down? (Lk 12:16-20) It’s like making a promise or a vow we can’t necessarily keep; there are limits to our personal capability and power, and we should always make promises with these limitations in mind.

It is a violation of Torah to make a vow to Jehovah and then not keep it. (De 23:21-23). When making promises or vows to God (or others) we should conform our speech to reality, acknowledging both our internal inclinations, weaknesses and disposition as well as our external limitations and dependencies.

This being true, it naturally follows we ought to employ the same humility and caution both in the context of planning and also in evaluating the likelihood of our success. (Pr 27:1)

Further, this implies God will not generally reveal how our plans are going to turn out (1Ti 3:14-15); He does do this at times (1Sa 30:8), but it is the exception rather than the rule. (Pr 16:9)

Torah doesn’t forbid appropriate confidence in our abilities, given us by God (2Co 11:6); it does encourage us to glory only in Him (Ps 62:7) and what He’s done for us. (Ga 6:14)

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Even As He Is Pure

There’s an instinct within believers to purify ourselves, even as Christ Himself is pure (1Jn 3:3), to rid ourselves of all lies and misconceptions (Ps 119:29), to heal our wounds and insecurities, to root out all our evil tendencies (Ps 139:23-24), and live worthy of our calling and salvation. (Ep 4:1) This is our sanctification, and though we have the instinct to pursue it, we may not understand the process, how God sanctifies us; this can delay our progress and frustrate us.

The key principle at work in our sanctification is this: all sin springs from believing a lie, and we’re set free (sanctified) by knowing the truth. (Jn 8:32)

It sounds simple enough, but our lies are generally interconnected, layered into us over many years and strategically woven together within our souls through wounds and a myriad of social modeling, training and coercion. These lies build upon and reinforce one another, blinding us to the truth we so desperately need. It is so complex and multi-faceted that getting free really does take an act of God. (2Ti 2:24-26)

Thankfully, God is indeed in the business of sanctifying us (Jn 17:17); He doesn’t leave us alone in this process, yet He doesn’t do it all by Himself either – He expects us to understand how He sanctifies us, submit ourselves to His process and cooperate with Him in working out our own salvation/sanctification. (Php 2:12)

Since we get free by believing the truth (2Th 2:13), the next step in any sanctification journey is always to uncover another lie and renew our minds to believe the truth in the context of that lie. But how do we most efficiently go about this?

We must first find the next lie, identify and isolate it. This isn’t as easy as it might seem. Like diagnosing any ailment or disease, the process can be highly individual and nuanced: many similar symptoms have very different root causes and cures, and every individual is unique.

Further, like solving a Rubik’s Cube, there is often a required sequence in which we must approach a wholistic cure; when certain basic things aren’t working properly it doesn’t help to merely address the symptoms: when we do we just go round in circles, ending up back where we started. We must find the correct root causes, those within in our vast web and network of lies which are relatively unprotected and exposed, less grounded in the underlying substructure of our minds, and address them in a viable sequence. This takes the leading of the Spirit (Ps 23:3), searching all our inward parts (Pr 20:27), knowing how to set us free. (1Co 1:30)

To do this efficiently, in constant communion with the Spirit, we prayerfully take heed (or pay attention) to what’s going on inside of us in light of God’s perfect standard of holiness. (Ps 119:9) We’re to be constantly aware of how our thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions are aligned with God’s Law: Torah, His definition of righteousness. (72)

In parallel, we’re also to be constantly thinking about and meditating on God’s Law (97), so we’re continually exposing ourselves to and contemplating His righteousness in all its glory and wonder (18), constantly evaluating how we ourselves align with it. (59)

Whenever we sense a recurring disconnect between our behavior and God’s Way, we ask God to expose the underlying root-cause lie (105), help us understand and believe the truth (27), and then enable us to walk in it. (35)

To overcome, we should meditate upon and pray through scriptures which specifically address this lie (2Ti 3:16-17), asking God for grace to help us believe the truth with our whole heart, way down in our subconscious mind. We may need to enlist the prayers of spiritual community (Ja 5:16), and invite them to point out more relevant Scripture to cut to the chase and expose our issues. (He 4:12)

We know we are free when our behavior changes and stabilizes in holiness, as we consistently follow the way of truth in this particular area under a variety of trials and circumstances.

Our sanctification is a never-ending journey (Php 3:13-14) guided and attended by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13) in the context of spiritual community. We cannot do this all on our own, and we are not alone. (He 13:5)

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Let the Dead

One of the more surprising, and perhaps more easily misunderstood sayings of Jesus comes as He calls one to follow Him, who then asks for permission to first go and bury his father. Yeshua responds, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:59-60) Unlike other encounters in the immediate context, this does at first appear to be a direct command to abandon what is generally considered a legitimate family duty.

The command presumes of some capable members of the man’s family a spiritual deadness: they are unregenerate, dead to spiritual things, the way we all start out. (Ep 2:1) Yeshua is evidently saying worldly concerns are best relegated to the worldlings who care about them.

The key word is evidently Let, from the Greek Ἄφες (Aphes), to allow, permit, leave alone or forgive. The idea isn’t that we’re neglecting personal responsibility, such as a true parental obligation (De 27:16), but rather that we prefer to defer temporal affairs into the care of those who are capable and have a vested interest when this is appropriate. In worldly matters, we manage our affairs so as to let others spend their time and energy managing the detail as they like, giving ourselves more resources to focus on heavenly things.

It seems very likely, in the case of this particular disciple, that he wants to manage the arrangements of his father’s funeral because he cares too much about them; his priorities are misaligned so he is unwilling to defer to others. He has a calling on his life that is suffering because of this inordinate concern, and Christ is evidently telling him to let go; all his fussing isn’t actually going to benefit his father, his family prefers to handle it themselves and can do so adequately enough.

Another key to this context is the idea of first: setting proper priorities and boundaries in our lives. This gifted disciple wants to temporarily delay a kingdom duty to manage a temporal concern. (Lk 9:59) Yet how easy it is for days to turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. It ought not to be so in kingdom matters.

It is a mistake to suppose a delay is necessary, and therefore excusable, when it is a true duty. This is often simply an excuse to neglect our spiritual responsibility because we aren’t fully committed to it, and in that case one delay invariably leads to another. If we know we ought to be doing something and we have a kingdom-first mindset (Mt 6:33), there’s a way to get it done, if we’re simply willing to do it. If there isn’t, we ought not be doing it.

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