Dying to Self- That we Might Live

Many people think the Bible contains contradictions, but it really doesn’t. The Bible is full of what are called paradoxes. A paradox is a statement or proposition which on the face of it seems self-contradictory, absurd, or at variance with common sense; though, on investigation or when explained, it is proven to be well-founded. One of the paradox's we find in scripture is in Luke 17:33; “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it”. This is an apparent contradiction; However, when we investigate further as to the scripture’s teaching, we find this verse truly makes sense. In John 12:25, we read, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” In other words, if we love the life we have on this earth and our goals and ambitions are all centered here, we will have our best life now- but we will not enjoy life for all of eternity- we most certainly will lose our life. If, however, our greatest ambition on this earth is to glorify God and store up treasure in heaven, then we will work toward that end by striving to be obedient to God’s word. Rather than working toward accumulating and enjoying earthly comforts and pleasures in this present life, our desire will be to become more and more like Christ and to point others to Him, and in so doing- store up our treasure in heaven, “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. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

In thinking on the necessity of losing our life in order to gain it, we can go to Mark 8:35, where we read that, “..whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.” In other words, we must be willing to give our all for the sake of the Kingdom. Jesus said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servants be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12: 26). If we truly follow after Christ, His steps lead us to a cross. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”. If we are not willing to daily take up our cross, we are not ready to lose our life for Christ’s sake; we are not willing to deny ourselves any earthly comfort or pleasure, if need be, for the sake of the gospel. If we truly love Him, we will desire to give our all for Him- in the way that He gave his all for us, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you,” (John 15:12-14).

We are clearly told that we are not promised an easy life on this earth as Jesus’ followers, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Even though we won’t likely have to suffer as many or severe hardships as Paul did, ( see 2 Corinthians 11:24-26), if we are in Christ, we still will suffer for the sake of the gospel, and in so doing, we must endure our trials as Paul did, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

For Christ’s sake, we must be willing to work wholeheartedly, serving our Lord, in obedience to His word, knowing there is an inheritance that awaits us, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24). What a privilege and honor to serve the One who (on our behalf), “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Positive Results through Seeking God

    I recall a past experience of having a dear friend point out something to me that she seemed sure I would be offended at and then she ended our correspondence with the following words, “still love me”? After reassuring her that I did not take offense and also of my love for her, I got thinking on how that interaction could have ended vastly different. However, because my desire is to love God with all my heart and others as myself, and this friend has expressed this same desire in any contact I have had with her, I could view the comments she made as coming from the good intentions of her heart and not take offense. I got thinking on how we can only expect good results from such situations if both parties are desirous of seeking God with all their heart and loving others as themselves. However, if one or the other or both are not seeking God diligently, we cannot expect admonishments, even when given with good intent, to be met with a positive result. The following account from scripture is a good illustration of this. 

    In 2 Chronicles 14, we can read of Asa, who started out as a good king, and who sought the LORD for help throughout most of his reign. It was evident he was relying on the LORD when Zerah, the Ethiopian came out against them with his vast army, and Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you” (2 Chron.14:9-11). God honored Asa for his trust in Him, and, “So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled” (vs. 12). In 2 Chronicles 15 we can read where Azariah admonishes Asa and the people saying, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2). After Asa heard these words, he “took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land...” We can then read of how the people “swore an oath to the LORD.... and they “rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around”(vss. 14-15)... and there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. The king and the people experienced peace as long as both were seeking God “with their whole desire”. However, peace did not prevail throughout the entire period of Asa's reign unfortunately, because the king turned from seeking God with all his heart the last few years of his life.

     Scripture tells us that in the 36^th year of Asa's reign, he failed to seek God with all his heart and a seer named Hanani came to confront him on this, telling him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:7-9).

     Had Asa been seeking God with all his heart at this time, he should have been convicted by Hanani's words and repented, but instead, “Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time” (vs. 10). Asa's reactions to Hanani's words were definitely not above reproach. Unfortunately, there will be times that we also cannot expect to have positive reactions from others if we are in a position of confronting them with wrong behavior, or even gently admonishing them in some matter. The only way we can expect others to react in a positive manner to admonishment, is if both parties are on the same page spiritually- seeking God with all their heart and desiring to show their love for Him and to others...by living lives that are above reproach. If we react in a way that is contrary to scripture's teaching, we are displaying pride within our heart. However, “..what does the LORD require of (us) but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with (our) God” (Micah 6:8). If we find ourselves reacting in pride to others admonishment- we need to repent.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - or to Wander!

I have been thinking on the importance of consistently spending time in God’s presence through prayer and the study of His word. We have probably all heard the familiar saying, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’ While it is possible for absence to make the heart grow fonder,’ it is more likely that as time passes, it will make the heart to ‘wander’ (but for the grace of God). Even worse than wandering, absence can make the heart grow hardened.

In pursuing an earthly relationship, we get to know another better through conversing together or writing back and forth. God reveals all we need to know about Him through the Holy Scriptures. If we would desire a right relationship with Him, we must do so through His word and seeking Him in prayer. No relationship can be one sided. Second Chronicles 15:2 tells us that “If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

We must understand that seeking God is active, while forsaking Him is inactive. Neglecting to study God’s word and spend time in prayer is all it takes to forsake God. Only those who truly love Him will be motivated to pursue a right relationship with Him. If we do not actively seek Him, then we evidently do not truly love Him. Proverbs 8:17 reads, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

A good example of one who started out living faithfully is found in the story of Joash, “And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2 Chronicles 24:2). Jehoiada was a man who feared God and helped steer the king in following the LORD, “And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord's people” (2 Chronicles 23:16). However, after Jehoiada’s death Joash allowed himself to be influenced by ungodly companions, “Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols”(2 Chronicles 24:17). Hence the importance of keeping company with those who would encourage us in the ways of the Lord.

The consequences of failure to seek God diligently are dire indeed, “And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs” (2 Chronicles 24: 18). May we not be guilty of refusing to pay heed to the warnings God sends our way as Joash was after Jehoiada’s death,“Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention” (2 Chronicles 24:18-19). Hebrews 3:15 tells us, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

If we neglect to spend time in God’s word, drawing near to Him, and allow others to influence us in a negative way, our first love for God will grow cold. It is imperative that we not let anything or anyone stand in the way of our relationship with God, which should be first and foremost above all others, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

God is faithful, He will do as he has promised. James 4:7-8 tells us to “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” May we be motivated to draw near to God daily, seeking Him in prayer and through the study of His word.

To Resist or to Reconcile

I've been thinking about the importance of reconciliation lately. In thinking on this I wondered how often reconciliation is made impossible due to the discomfort we experience at the thought of confronting someone we have an issue with- or someone we feel may have a problem with us. Unfortunately, too many times we may resist making the effort to try and reconcile with the offending person. It is imperative that the one who feels they have been wronged confront the one they believe has wronged them. To confront one with the desire to reconcile does not mean reconciliation will always take place, but not to confront one with the desire for reconciliation means it will definitely not take place. The hope should always be for reconciliation- regardless of whether or not that hope is realized, we must be obedient to scripture.

If reconciliation is sought- I wonder how many times out of ten the one wronged would come to realize that things were not what they perceived them to be? Perhaps there were assumptions made that proved to be unfounded or perhaps the offended person had been listening to gossip or slander of the person they felt had wronged them. Sometimes we may take offense at something we have heard about an individual without them even saying or doing anything to personally cause us pain; and because we take offense- we end up distancing ourselves from them. We must determine that if we find ourselves in such a position – to go to the 'offender' and clear the air so that reconciliation can take place. If we are unwilling to do this- there can be no reconciling. As uncomfortable as it may be, we must be willing to confront those who offend us - “if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (Matthew 18:15): “.. if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). 

 God wants more than anything- our obedience, and if we are unwilling to reconcile with those who have offended against us- then we are being disobedient to the clear teaching of scripture, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments” (1 John 5:2).. “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation..” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Bitter or Forgiving

A pastor in a sermon I listened to recently made the following observation; If we are not a forgiving person, we are a bitter and angry person. I thought about that, and realized it was probably true. If we have experienced the forgiveness of Christ within our own hearts, we will have no problem forgiving others, because of the love and gratitude we feel due to having our own sins forgiven. If we have not experienced Christ’s forgiveness, however, we will have a hard time forgiving others, and in lieu of this, anger and bitterness will inevitably build up in our hearts. The importance of forgiveness is a clear teaching of scripture, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6: 14).

If we are truly regenerate, it will be our desire to imitate Christ. Christ prayed even for those who brought him much pain and even death, “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,..” (Luke 23: 33-34). If Christ could forgive those who tortured and put him to death, how much more willing should we be to forgive the offenses of others against us? This does not mean that we will never feel angry, but that we should not hold onto that anger. The temptation to become angry will come, but we must overcome it, “…. do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27).

There is a devastating effect of remaining unforgiven and a devastating effect of retaining an unforgiving spirit. It is true, as one pastor said, “You can say you are sorry until you are blue in the face, but if the person is unprepared to say, “I forgive you,” there will be no reconciliation, no restoration..” Broken relationships are a hard and sad thing to bear.

Someone once said, “Forgiveness is as indispensable to the life and health of the soul as food is for the body.” Matthew 6:12 reads as follows, “forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.” If we are of an angry and bitter spirit, we should seriously question whether or not there is a relationship within our circle of family or friends that needs to be restored. Perhaps we need to either extend forgiveness to someone- or ask it of others. Let us not be like the unforgiving servant in the parable of Matthew 18, where he is forgiven an astronomical debt, but is unwilling to forgive his fellow servant a paltry amount in comparison, “Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18: 32-35).

As those who profess to know Christ and follow after Him, we must keep in mind the following verses from Ephesians 4: 31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Failing to Hold One Another Accountable- is NOT Loving

We all suffer the consequences to our sin, regardless of who we are. If we are regenerate, we can be assured that we will not have to pay the penalty for our sins (for all of eternity), because Christ already paid the price and they are covered by his blood. This does not mean, however, that we should not be held accountable for our sins. Galatians 6:1-3 reads as follow, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” 

TO FAIL TO HOLD ONE ANOTHER ACCOUNTABLE FOR SIN IS NOT LOVING, and it is also not scriptural. In Matthew 18:15 we are told, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” We can be assured that the greater transgression we commit, the harsher the consequences we will have to suffer, effecting others along with us. In lieu of this, only those who care about us most will hold us accountable for our sins. Proverbs 27:5-6 reads as follows, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”

I believe reconciliation with one who has offended us (or who we have offended) is only possible when both parties are obedient to scripture’s teaching. For those whose desire is to glorify God in all that we do, it will be our wish to be at peace with all those we are in contact with, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18). Rather than feeling obligated to set someone straight, it will be our desire to act in their best interests, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).

If we are members of the Body of Christ, we should be displaying the fruit of the Spirit within our lives, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). If we, (or others who profess to know and follow Christ,) are displaying the opposite of this kind of fruit, we should be held accountable for this, and steered to the scriptures. 2 Corinthians 13:5 gives us the following admonishment, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

To neglect to address sin in a brother or sister’s life is not being kind. Psalm 141:5 reads as follows, “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” It is also humbling to remember that we are to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:20-21). (That submission being only when others are pointing us to obedience to God’s teaching.)

Matthew 7:12 tells us, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets”, and Galatians 5:14 reads,“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14). Love for God and love for others is the fulfilling of the Law, so we know that Matthew is speaking only in the context of doing good to others by pointing them to obedience to scripture’s teaching. If we, or a fellow member of the Body is (noticeably) stumbling in our walk, our love for one another (and for God) should motivate us to ‘gently’ admonish the offender, in the hopes that he/she will make things right with God (and us, if need be). :)

A Half Truth is No Better than a Lie

I have been thinking on the importance of telling the whole truth of the gospel message. Not just many churches, but it seems as if many professing Christians today only want to preach the love of God.. God loves you, God loves everyone, and they just preach love, love, love... It is true that God is a God of love. In fact, He is love personified, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). God’s love is so great that He sent his only Son to die on a cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who truly believe in Him, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God did this while we were yet in our sin, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:5-6). It is essential that people know the whole truth of the gospel message.

While it is true, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3: 17), and “Whoever believes in him is not condemned”, people also must understand that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:18-21).

People need to know that God is not only a God of love, He is a God of wrath as well, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). Only those whose sins are covered by the blood of Christ can take any comfort in the following verse, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5: 9).

Without being taught and understanding the whole truth of the gospel message, why would anyone believe they are in need of a Savior? Why should they ever come to realize their need to flee to Christ? To take refuge in Him? Many people are being led astray because they are not hearing the full gospel message. The Bible tells us that we are to “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). Too many people are being steered through the gate that makes the way easy and leads to their destruction, because they want to believe it is an easy path that leads to life, but if this is their belief, they are being deceived, and likely by people who are themselves deceived.

Too many people seem to have this idea that it is not loving to speak the whole truth of the gospel. Others only want to hear about love and we want them to feel good and not be offended, so we tell them only what they want to hear. That is NOT love,“and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14). To heal wounds lightly can be likened to handing a person a bandaid after they have had their arm severed off, NOT at all helpful. To fail to warn others of the danger to come, is NOT being loving.

To show love is to speak the whole truth of the gospel message. While it is true that, “.. he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5), it is also true that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

May the following verses that Paul spoke, found in Hebrews be true of us also, “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:9-12).

It is essential to speak the whole truth of the gospel message, others’ eternal destinies are at stake!