Category: General

When Yehovah gives the Decalogue on Mount Sinai, descending from Heaven to speak with Man in Person, the children of Israel immediately retreat and ask Moses to speak on God’s behalf; they don’t want to interact directly with God Himself. Their reason? God might accidentally kill them. (Ex 20:18-19)

Aren’t they accusing the Creator of being reckless, of not knowing what He’s doing, of not caring? Isn’t this our depravity on full display? God is choosing Israel as His special treasure (Ex 19:5) and has just delivered them from slavery in spectacular fashion (Ex 19:4) … and now He isn’t able to speak to people without killing them? Really?

God could as easily smash the earth between His thumb and forefinger (Is 40:15); if God wanted to take them out, stepping back from the mount and asking Moses to step in isn’t going to help. What are they thinking?

This isn’t just a problem with Israel, we’re all like this at heart. Man’s instinctive reaction to holiness is aversion (Ro 8:7); instead of seeking God we run and hide. (Ro 3:11) Our iniquity is relentless, irrational, inexcusable; bleeding forth and seeping out at every turn, defying, hiding, accusing, attacking and blaming divinity without shame or concern. Men not only defy Omnipotence, knowing they deserve death, they take pleasure in others joining in. (Ro 1:32)

It’s a mystery, certainly, how and why the human heart is so evil. (2Th 2:7) Resisting, dishonoring, or defying an infinitely powerful, omnipresent, holy Being is simply insane; it can never be rational. It does, however, serve a purpose: to reveal God’s justice, wrath and power. (Ro 9:22) He only allows what will eventually glorify Himself. (Ps 76:10)

God is restraining Man’s wickedness for now (2Th 2:7), so we don’t yet know its full extent. (Jer 17:9) One day we’ll see it unchained; men will defy God, blaspheming Him to His face rather than turning from their wickedness. (Re 16:11) We’ll see them prefer eternal Hell itself to loving God and ending His suffering.

Truth is we’re all utterly depraved when left to ourselves (Ps 53:2-3); we’ve nothing to boast in; apart from God’s restraining grace we’d all be defying Him. (1Co 1:29-31) Let’s not be surprised at sin, but hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. (1Ti 3:9) In humility, let’s fear the living God, esteeming others better than ourselves, giving thanks for all things (Ep 5:20) and remembering that God works all things after the counsel of His own will (Ep 1:11), for our good and for His glory. (Ro 8:28)

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The foundation of the church is a Person: Jesus Christ (1Co 3:11); building on any other ground produces other things: religious organizations and social clubs, but not the church.

To ensure Christ is the foundation we must think carefully about why we’re meeting; the reasons we assemble comprise this foundation; our motives spawn all our activity and will be God’s focus in judgment. (1Co 3:13) If we don’t engage for the right reason we might defile Christ’s church, and that’s a dangerous thing to do. (1Co 3:17)

So, are we coming to hear uplifting sermons? Or to worship God and enjoy His presence? Or to invite others to hear the gospel? These are all good things, but they aren’t the foundation of the church. We can do these things for Christ, and we can enjoy and seek Him in them, but this isn’t the same as having Jesus Christ Himself as the foundation, the very reason we are coming together. There’s something even more important at the core of the church. (He 10:24-25)

To be a church, believers must be meeting for Jesus Christ, about Jesus Christ: He must be the reason we’re coming together, to bring the indwelling Christ to each other (Col 1:27), to share Him with each other so we can help each other in our walk with Him. (1Co 14:26) We must be coming to see and hear Him in each other (Php 1:21), and to help each other draw closer to Him (Php 2:4), focusing on getting to know Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (1Co 2:2)

To edify one another like this we must be walking in the light with Him, in fellowship with Him, rejoicing in Him, enjoying and obeying Him as a manner of life.

In such community there can be no place in our lives for willful sin (1Jn 3:6), and we should be in close enough community that hiding our sin isn’t an option.

In Christ’s church we cannot delegate this responsibility to  edify one another to a few leaders, and sit by passively, expecting them to teach us and bring Christ to us; we each carry this responsibility. (1Th 5:11)

Jesus Christ was the foundation of the very first church, when The Twelve were following Jesus, listening to Him, watching him, beholding Him, studying Him, imitating Him. (1Jn 1:1-3) Jesus Christ was all they had in common; they were pursuing Him; He was their reason for being together. For the church of Jesus Christ, no other reason is acceptable.

Why we come to church affects the leadership style, the order of service, the programs, the budget and all the activity. If in our coming Jesus Christ isn’t building believers into a living network through us, creating a temple He indwells (1Co 3:16), then we’re building on the sand. When the storms come, and they will, nothing will be left. (Mt 7:26-27)

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When we think someone’s wrong it’s tempting to engage others in deciding they deserve to be punished. It’s a claim to know the heart and motive, the background and circumstances of another’s choices.

But God says we’re not to speak evil of each other, for this is speaking evil of the Law and judging the Law (Ja 4:11); it’s putting ourselves above the Law, usurping the place of the Lawgiver. (Ja 4:12)

It’s one thing to identify an act as sinful, contrary to God’s Law (1Jn 3:4), but declaring someone to be evil, that they’re willfully alienating themselves from God and at enmity with Him, is another matter. This is actually deciding the Law itself is contrary to God, since it tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Le 19:18), which we aren’t as we engage in condemnation.

If we shouldn’t speak so about others, we shouldn’t be thinking this way either. Rather, in humility, we should be giving them the benefit of the doubt, esteeming others better than ourselves. (Php 2:3)

Only God can judge the heart; we must leave this work to Him. (Ps 119:84) He doesn’t need our help. God  is just, and perfectly so; He’ll do just fine, all by Himself.

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When God says Christ is the end of the Law, (Ro 10:4) He doesn’t mean the Law is obsolete. (Ro 3:31) The Greek is telos, meaning purpose, or the point aimed at as a limit. He means the goal of the Law, its objective, is Christ; Torah is our gateway to freedom (Ps 119:133) and divine fellowship. (Jn 14:21)

In other words, the goal of Torah is love out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and genuine faith. (1Ti 1:5) Keeping God’s law to achieve any other end, for any other purpose, is pointless (1Ti 1:6-7); it’s only good for us if we use it as God intended. (1Ti 1:8)

• So, keeping Torah is NOT about:
  1. Salvation: I’m justified fully and only by the blood of Christ; nothing else. (1Pe 1:18-19)
  2. Earning acceptance: I know I can’t be accepted by God any more than I already am. (Ep 1:6)
  3. Being self-righteous: Studying Torah exposes my sinful nature (Ro 8:7) and reinforces my utter dependence on God for graceto obey Him. (Ro 7:18)

• Keeping Torah IS about:
  1. The New Covenant: When God saved me He began writing Torah into my mind and heart. (He 8:10)  As He does this, I can’t help but delight in His Law (Ro 7:22), and obey as much of it as I can. (Ps 119:32)
  2. Love and fellowship: As I come to love Torah more and meditate on it, I begin to obey it more and to love God more (Jn 14:21), to love others more (2Jn 1:6), and to walk in the light in deeper, sweeter fellowship with God. (1Jn 1:6-7)
  3. Freedom: As I obey Torah I discover why God calls it “the law of freedom” (Ja 1:25): the Spirit uses Torah to identify sin (1Jn 3:4) and deliver me from its bondage. (Ps 119:45)

So, while keeping God’s law doesn’t justify me, it does provide evidence that I’m justified, and that I love him.

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Authority is “the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.” In certain contexts, God gives people the right to act as His representatives, to define moral duty for others. It’s His way of ordering society. Being under authority is spiritually powerful. (Mt 8:9-10)

God gives rulers authority to create and enforce laws to promote our common welfare (1Pe 2:13-14); He gives husbands authority to decide what’s best for their wives and families (Ep 5:22-24), and mothers authority to stand with their husbands in governing their children. (Col 3:20)

Each role derives its authority from God (Jn 19:11) and represents Him, so resisting authority is rebellion against God (Ro 13:1-2), unless the authority is directly contradicting God’s law, in which case we submit to God as the ultimate authority. (Ac 5:29)

Religious leaders may claim a type of spiritual authority, presuming the right to control and manipulate others, but God doesn’t delegate this kind of power to individuals or organizations; He requires all of us to be spiritually accountable only to Himself. (1Co 11:3) Brothers in godly community comprise the only valid spiritual authority on Earth today, and may at times convey the will of God (Ac 9:30), yet they have no right to enforce their will. (Mt 23:8) Their ability to influence, especially as older men, comes as we recognize their godly example and holy character (1Pe 5:1-3), which encourages the younger to heed their counsel. (He 13:17)

God tells us to give thanks for and also to pray for all those in authority. (1Ti_2:1-2) Even if we don’t like what they’re doing, we must submit to them and remember they’re His servants (Ro 13:5-6), not speaking evil of them. (Ac 23:5) Being under authority is intrinsic to being aligned with God.

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Shame is guilt coupled with a sense of legitimate contempt and rejection; it’s feeling despised and rejected (Is 53:3) due to inexcusable moral failure. Shame claims to be separating us from respect, love and acceptance, making us feel exposed, vulnerable and defenseless. It’s extremely powerful, crushing soul and spirit; many prefer death to enduring their shame. Perhaps it’s why hateful rampages often end in suicide.

Those who accused and mocked Yeshua on the cross understood this force, trying to heap shame upon His agony (Ps 22:7-8), but He endured by despising the shame. (He 12:2) He looked beyond the lies and found safety in the eternal faithfulness and justice of His Father.

When we’re walking in the light we enjoy fellowship with God (1Jn 1:7), knowing we’re accepted in the beloved (Ep 1:6) and rejoicing in Him, so there’s no need to feel ashamed when we’re judged by men (Ps 119:80); by faith we can receive accusation as a growth opportunity.

But for those who aren’t walking with God, shame and everlasting contempt is their destiny (Da 12:2), an eternal, constant reality, a second death from which there will be no end, no escape.

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When we can’t see clearly and feel bewildered and uncertain, we can pray like the Twelve: “The apostles said unto the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.'” (Lk 17:5) What a great first step in growing our faith: ask God for more! But how will we know He’s answering? What are we asking for?

Faith is knowing what God will do, based on His nature and promises. (He 11:6)

So after asking for faith, seek to know God better. (Mt 7:7) Watch Him, study Him like the apostles did. (1Jn 1:1-2) Every day they followed Him, thought about what He was doing, trying to understand, and they invite us to do the same. (1Jn 1:3)

Study God until we’re seeing His mercy everywhere (Ps 119:64) and it’s filling us with hope (Ps 147:11), until His judgments comfort us. (Ps 119:52) Ask Him to make us understand the way of His precepts so we can talk of His wondrous works (Ps 119:27) and delight ourselves in His commands. (Ps 119:47)

As we walk in the light we have fellowship with God (1Jn 1:6-7); as we behold His beauty (Ps 27:4) He transforms into His likeness (2Co 3:18), revealing Himself from faith to faith. (Ro 1:17) At first, we look through a glass darkly, but in time it will be face to face (1Co 13:12); the more we behold Him, the clearer He becomes, until we’re like Him, seeing Him as He is. (1Jn 3:2)

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How do we build up ourselves in our faith (Jud 1:20), cleansing our lives of sin and increasing in holiness? By taking heed to our ways according to God’s Word. (Ps 119:9)

This means being present in our own lives, aware of what we’re thinking and feeling, paying attention to what we’re doing and why we’re dong it, and then comparing this with God’s Law and continually adjusting our behavior to align more and more with God’s standard. (Ps 119:59)

In order to do this effectively we need to be intimately familiar with God’s ways: we should be hiding God’s Word in our heart (Ps 119:11) and meditating on His laws all the time. (Ps 119:97)

But Christians are commonly taught that we grow by praying, studying the Bible and getting involved in church. While these things are necessary for spiritual growth, they aren’t sufficient: it’s possible to do them without moving closer to God and coming to the knowledge of the truth. (2Ti 3:7) Maybe it’s time we tried God’s way!

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If all I ever find in life is God, is He enough? Have I chosen Him as my portion? (Ps 119:57) Is He my lot in life? And am I content with Him? (Heb 13:5)

Do I need anything more than to behold the beauty of the living God? To know Him (Php 3:10), walking in light, in fellowship with Him? (1Jn 1:7) Do I need more approval than His? (Mt 25:21) Do I need more significance than having a name which only God and I will ever know? (Re 2:17) Do I need to be loved any more, by anyone else, when He loves me so? (1Jn 3:1)

To have everything else and not God, what of it? (Mt 16:26) To know all else but Him, who cares? (Je 9:24) To be accepted by all but God, so what? (Jn 5:44)

To have the infinite, timeless, omnipotent God is to have all that’s worth having. (Mt 13:45-46) To love this world is to miss Him (1Jn 2:15-17) … to miss everything. (Ps 73:25)

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“Worry is the practice of the unfaithfulness of God.” The saying intrigues and challenges me; it helps me understand the nature of unhealthy fear. (Lk_12:32)

Hope is faith resting peacefully in God’s goodness (Ps 125:1); anxiety is doubt accusing God of unfaithfulness before the fact (Php 4:6); it’s expecting to look back on life displeased with God’s care for us. (1Pe 5:7) It’s attacking God’s character (1Jn 5:10b), and so it’s sin. (Rev 21:8)

Instinctive fear of physical danger is good, God’s gift to help us escape when we’re threatened. Concern, caring for others, desiring the best for them in difficulty, is love moving us to good. (2Co 7:12) But living in worry, anxiety, dread … this is not of God (2Ti 1:7); it’s bondage on a spectrum of distrust in God’s faithfulness. Yeshua never felt any of these things. (Ps 23:4)

When we become aware of anxiety we should repent, asking God to increase our faith (Lk_17:5) and help us trust that He is good. (Na 1:7) The fact that He’s always with us (He 13:5-6) means everything He allows in our lives is for a good reason, and ultimately for our good. (Ro 8:28)

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