Author: Tim Hayes

Through the Fall we’ve become like God: we “know good and evil.” (Ge 3:22a) Since God doesn’t do evil, this can’t simply mean we know what it’s like to do good and evil, and since God sees this as a bad thing (Ge 3:24) it can’t mean we’ve experienced good and evil in others. It must mean that we, as if we’re God, presume the right to define good and evil for ourselves, that we claim to know what good and evil are apart from Him, that we know better than He does.

We’re constantly making moral judgments based on how we feel, without consulting God, just making it up as we go. And we instinctively respond to the moral evaluations of other mortals as if they’re divine. This is so natural we seldom even notice we’re doing it; it’s born into our nature, as natural as breathing, and it’s why we’re so wicked. Most all the evil and suffering in our world is from us doing what’s right in our own eyes.

Moral definitions are God’s business and He’s revealed them in His Law. Breaking His Law is His definition of evil (1Jn 3:4); any other definition is profound arrogance and presumption — it’s essentially climbing up into God’s throne and pushing Him off. There really isn’t a more offensive thing we can possibly do to Him; it’s Satan’s way.

We should make it our top priority to study God’s Laws and ask Him to conform our hearts and minds to His standards and ways, hiding them in our heart so that we don’t sin against Him. (Ps 119:11)  Let’s worship in truth and walk in the light, unintimidated when others make up their own moral laws. When we find ourselves making instinctive moral judgments, or reacting to those of others, let’s get in the habit of checking with God and dismissing the rest.

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Jehovah often chooses to accomplish His will through weak, foolish, broken vessels (1Co 1:27); He generally hides out here, in weakness, and goes largely unnoticed. Sometimes it frustrates me, but I’m starting to see wisdom and beauty in it.

Would I prefer a more obvious God, promptly punishing evil and rewarding good, constantly working miracles, leaving no doubt about His existence or nature? But this isn’t typically His way; He chooses subtlety, doing the amazing under cover of loss. (2Co 13:4)

If God never let His enemies feel like they were getting away with anything, would they ever act like enemies? What would we know about Him, others or ourselves?

Satan flaunts his power (2Th 2:9) because he’s weak by comparison; YHWH will destroy him by breathing on him … through His nose (Job 4:9); His very brightness destroys His foes. (2Th 2:8) In accomplishing His will from the shadows He seems all the more glorious to me.

God calls us to be strong (1Co 16:13); we shouldn’t deliberately choose weekness as a manner of life (Pr 24:5), but we should indeed rejoice when He ordains weakness for us (2Co 12:10), for here is where His strength is perfected (2Co 12:9), in those who’re weak in themselves, helpless, vulnerable through no fault of their own. (Ps 8:2)

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The mystery of the gospel: it promises effortless eternal safety, calling us to rest in Messiah knowing God will never charge anyone in Him with sin (Ro 4:6-8), yet it identifies all who willfully persist in breaking God’s Law as enemies (Ro 8:6-7) outside of His kingdom. (1Co 6:9-10) How can this be?

At the core of the gospel is a supernatural surgery — a heart transplant: YHWH replacing a dead, stony heart with one from another dimension that’s inclined to love and obey Him (Ez 36:26), and writing His laws into a renewed mind. (He 8:10) God is transforming sinners into God-ward, obedient saints (Ep 2:10), intermingling divine life with organic life. This is infinity engaging with and energizing the finite, each converted soul a unique incarnation of omnipotence, a spiritual conception and birth (Jn 3:6-7), a new kind of creation (2Co 5:17); it’s both a resurrection and an ascension into Heaven (Ep 2:4-6); it’s Christ in us, our hope of eternal glory. (Col 1:27)

We acquire this life by earnestly seeking it (Mt 7:7), pursuing YHWH until He gives us faith, supernatural confidence in His Son, and we enter into His rest. (He 4:11) It’s a work that God both initiates and completes in us (Php 1:6), imputing perfect righteousness to us (Ro 4:22-5) and grounding us in assurance of eternal life (1Jn 5:13); it’s a state that cannot be forfeited or lost.

Those who claim eternal life apart from a posture of submission and obedience to God are liars (1Jn 2:4); those who depend in any fashion on their obedience to deserve or keep this life have never tasted its transforming power (Ga 3:10), or grasped the basics of their own depravity. (Je 17:9) Those who doubt their eternal safety (1Th 1:4-5), the fearful and unbelieving (Re 21:8) … are alienated from the life of God. (Ep 4:18) The redeemed worship God in Spirit and in truth, rejoice Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in their own goodness. (Php 3:3)

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What’s the difference between Islam and Christianity when it comes to violence and intolerance? Jehovah calls us to hate sin, not to indifference. (Pr 8:13) Both the Qur’an and the Bible impose capital punishment on many of the same things. (De 13:5)

Yet when Christians become radical, following the Bible more earnestly, they become more loving, kind, just and pure. (Mt 5:44-45) So what’s the difference? Why aren’t we fighting Christian terrorists?

Most Christians argue that the violent Biblical texts, being in the Old Testament, are obsolete, but Christ explicitly rejects this view. (Mt 5:17-19) The key is that YHWH only permits lawful government to punish those who violate His laws (Ro 13:4); Allah lets us act in isolation, doing anything we like to enforce his laws ourselves.

This basic difference leads Christians to love their enemies and seek their welfare (Ro 12:19-21) while praying for and encouraging governmental authorities to reflect God’s righteousness (1Ti 2:1-2), and leads Muslims to persecute and destroy those who do not agree with them, while thinking they are pleasing Allah. (Jn 16:2) The one system leads to societal health and harmony; the other to chaos.

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Worship should be as natural as breathing; God commands us to be constantly talking and singing His Word into our minds and hearts. (Ep 5:19) This is one way we’re to take the sword of the Spirit, joyfully percolating in worship and praise (Ja 5:13), teaching and admonishing ourselves and others through inspired lyrics. (Co 3:16)

What’s important in our singing is the truth we’re driving into our minds, not how good we feel. The words we’re engaging with are much more important than the music itself. If we drop the tune, do the words themselves still move us deeply toward God, cleansing and feeding us?

Much of our worship today has a catchy up-beat melody but it’s shallow,  evoking emotion that’s not rooted in truth; it’s   imbalanced and warped. This isn’t worship; it feels good but it doesn’t edify our spirits, heal us, and free us in God.

God tells us what kind of lyrics we’re to be singing: Psalms, perfectly balanced, packed with God-oriented truth. They don’t deceive us and warp our focus; they point us continually to God’s magnificence and the beauty of His Way.

Like a bird that can’t help but sing, let’s be continually filled with inspired worship, tuning our hearts daily to sing His praise.

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God describes spiritual strength in terms of endurance and tenacity; thriving under extreme difficulties with all confidence and joy. (Col 1:11)

The more we align with God, the more we’re equipped to live according to our design: to enjoy Him as He is for Who He is, regardless of our circumstances. In fact, the more trying our lives become, the more opportunity we have to glorify Him, enjoying Him in the perfect gift of every moment, finding all our satisfaction and contentment in Him.

Trials then become treasures (Ro 5:3-5), precious opportunities to show God and others how delightful and amazing He is to us (1Pe 1:7), and also to further strengthen us, perfecting us such that we fall behind in no other virtue. (Ja 1:2-4)

In keeping our eyes on the Eternal One, our light affliction works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2Co 4:17); we walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Col 1:10)

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Imagine … you have a beautiful, glittering sword, perfectly balanced and incredibly sharp. Etched into the blade are elaborate depictions of how it’s used in battle.

You’re fascinated by all the cool stuff you can do with it … pound nails with the handle … in a pinch it even makes a cool screwdriver. It’s great for hacking down weeds and digging holes, cutting hair, peeling apples and chopping up food. It makes a great baseball bat and golf club, and it looks awesome hanging over the hearth! When you’re bored you can reflect sunlight off the shaft or even lay it down and spin it like a top. The applications seem endless!

But when the enemy comes around and starts clubbing you down, beating you up and smashing your stuff, your sword hasn’t been much help. Butting him with the handle doesn’t work too well … the thing seems pretty useless in a fight.

Wait!! Those etchings on the blade …

God says, “take … the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ep 6:17) What does He mean? What does God actually tell us to do with His word? (De 6:6) How do people in the Bible use the Bible? (Ps 119:11)

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