Struggling with Pain

1 Peter 1:6-7

    In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

                I am a classic pain avoider. I do not like the pain of conflict, so I will avoid it if possible. I do not like physical pain, so I will do what it takes to alleviate it. I do not like emotional pain, so I will tend to stuff it.

                Somewhere along the line we got the idea that if we were faithful in following Christ, all this pain would go away. It has not. We thought that life should become easier and we would have smooth sailing. That has not been our experience. In fact, if we are honest, at times the pain and struggles of life have intensified. Why would a loving God allow us to go through these episodes of pain? The answer is found in 1 Peter 1:6-7. God uses pain in our life to refine our faith.

                Paul David Tripp, in his book, Lost in the Middle, talks about our struggle with the painful experiences of life. He makes the point that we want the “grace of release” instead of the “grace of refinement.” Peter assures us that we have been redeemed by the grace of God in Christ and that all of our past has been taken care of. We have been promised an eternal inheritance that is secure and can never be taken away from us. In the in-between time, we must go through God’s refining process. The theological term for that is sanctification.

                Peter puts it into terms that we can all understand; the refining of pure gold. When raw gold is mined, it is combined with impurities, called dross. In order to remove these impurities, the gold ore must be melted. Once the ore has been melted, the impurities can be separated out, leaving pure gold. When we come to faith in Christ, we are like that gold ore. We have been mined out of a fallen world, but we carry with us the impurities of the world. God uses painful situations to melt us so that He can remove the impurities from our lives. This is a life-long process that will not be complete until we stand in His presence in eternity.

                Anyone who has ever participated in a sport, or tried to master a skill, knows that the pathway to proficiency leads through pain. For the athlete, it is the physical pain of training their body to perform at its highest level. For the musician, it is the pain of hours of practice in order to master technique and perform well. Nothing of real value that we pursue in life comes without the price of some form of pain.

                There are several passages of scripture that can add perspective to the pain we experience as followers of Christ. First, in Hebrews 12, we are told to endure hardship as spiritual discipline. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? (Hebrews 12:7) Like a loving father, God is disciplining us for our good. He is shaping and molding our lives so that we can become all that He desires for us. So  in verse 11 we are told, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

                James picks up on the same theme of dealing with pain and suffering in our lives. He gives us further insight into God’s purpose for allowing these things to occur. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4) Notice that James stresses both the process and the outcome. If we want to attain spiritual maturity, then we will need to follow the path of struggle and pain. As a runner, I fully understand this. I set my eyes on running a half-marathon. In order to accomplish that goal, I had to endure hours of ever increasingly long runs, until I was able to reach my goal. The joy comes from knowing that all of our struggle is moving us closer to our desired goal.

                When we begin to see the painful experiences in our life as positive instruments in God’s hands, instead of punishment, then we can not only persevere, we can thrive. As Paul David Tripp states it, we need to embrace God’s “uncomfortable grace.”When we do this, then the words of Romans 8:28 actually become real to us.

Romans 8:28

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

   

The Pitfall of Progress

                The ancient world saw history as a never ending cycle, without any true rhyme or reason. There are major philosophies today that continue this way of thinking with the idea of endless reincarnation.  Christianity broke away from the main stream of thinking to claim that history is under God’s control and that it is purposefully heading in a specific direction toward a specific end. Western society grabbed a hold of this idea of progress, but left God out of the picture. The overwhelming view for many people today is that progress is our ultimate goal. The questions remains, progress toward what?

                C.S. Lewis summarized the current approach to progress as “chronological snobbery.” It is the idea that anything in the past is irrelevant and that only what is new and modern is of value. We live in a technological world that is driven by progress, without any understanding of where that progress will lead us. Progress, for the most part, is amoral, but it opens the possibility for both great good and great evil. For example, genetic testing has been developed to the point that we can now tell much about a baby before the child is born. Yet this information places before us a moral dilemma. What do we do with this technology and this information?

                One of the outcomes of a utopian view of progress is the promise that science and technology will solve all of humanity’s problems. But reality tells us a different story. Every advance in science and technology brings with it both a positive result and a negative result. For as many people as see only the positive side of the equation, an equal number see only the negative side. We see this clearly in the number of recent movies that project, not a perfect world in the future, but a brutal, decaying world.

                Christianity addresses both sides of this pitfall of progress. First, Christianity is honest about the fallen nature of our world. Because of the introduction of sin into God’s perfect world, both humanity and nature itself have been twisted. We must constantly fight against the forces of death and decay. We cannot escape this battle or assume that we have won it. Paul tells us that the death and decay that we see all around us is a byproduct of sin. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Romans 8:20-21)

                As long as we leave God out of the picture, the trajectory of human history will be toward evil. For all of the rhetoric about human progress and the basic goodness of humanity, the evidence points in the opposite direction. The Bible summarizes the bent of humanity in Genesis 6:5. The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

                But Christianity does not leave us to wallow in a pessimistic view of our world. Instead, it holds out real hope that can be found in Christ. Jesus came into a fallen, corrupt world to redeem it and restore it. He came to rescue us from our bondage to sin and death.  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,  who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Galatians 1:3-4) He came to restore us to God’s original design. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

                All of history is moving toward the eventual restoration of all of God’s creation. This world, which is captive to death and decay, will be set free and renewed by God. All the old remnants of sin will be swept away and be replaced by God’s perfect world.

    But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

    Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:10-13)

                Our world is not a never ending cycle of meaningless activities. Our world is also not on a linear path toward some man-made utopia or dystopia. Our world is on a well designed course to an ultimate end that is safely and securely in the hands of God. For those of us who have put our faith in Christ Jesus, we can look forward with great anticipation and hope. No matter what happens in our world, God is in control and the ultimate victory is in His hands.  

1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,  who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

   

Retooling Our Dreams

Proverbs 19:21

    Many are the plans in a man's heart,

        but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

                There is a classic movie that we used to watch every Christmas season called “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The main character in the movie is George Bailey, who lives in a small town called Bedford Falls. George was a man with big dreams. He wanted to be an architect and build bridges and buildings all over the world. He wanted to travel and be free to explore this amazing world. At the beginning of the movie, it seems like George’s dream is on track, then the wheels fell off. Because of a series of unforeseen circumstances, totally out of George’s control, George finds himself stuck in little, confining Bedford Falls. George finally comes to the conclusion that his life had been wasted and that it would be better if he had never lived. God sends an angel to intervene and to show George what the world would have been like, if he had not been there. In the end, George comes to realize that his life had not been wasted, but that it had been rich and productive.

                There have been times when I have felt like George Bailey. Coming out of seminary, I had dreams about the path my life would take. In a nutshell, I expected to move through a series of successful pastorates, each one being a little better than the one before. At the right time, I expected to move into the arena of denominational leadership. Along with this, I expected to be given the opportunity to teach other pastors in a formal setting. I had observed this scenario lived out by others, and so I felt that it was in my grasp as well. But God had different plans for my life.

                None of the pieces of my dream have fallen into place. In fact, most of the pieces have fallen by the wayside. Instead of having a series of exciting pastorates in different places, I have served in the same church for 30 years. Instead of being tapped for a key denominational role, I have watched as others have taken those spots. Instead of stepping boldly into the world of academia, I have been politely informed that I don’t qualify. I have often felt like George Bailey, stuck in Bedford Falls.

                Paul David Tripp, in his book, Locked in the Middle, talks about how we are wired to dream, but that our dreams have been hijacked by sin. God created us with the capacity to dream so that we could experience the intangible glory of God and the wonders of a world unseen. In a perfect world, our dreams would all be God-centered and amazing. But because of sin, our dreams tend to be me-centered and unfulfilling. Even when the things we dream about become reality, we are rarely satisfied. That is because we are looking for satisfaction and fulfillment is something other than our relationship with God. It is not that our dreams are bad or evil, they just fall short of God’s design and plan for us. As Tripp says, it is not that our dreams are too big, it is that they are too small.

                One of the things that I have discovered is that God’s dreams for us are far more amazing and fulfilling than our dreams for ourselves. Coming out of high school, I dreamed of being a missionary in Haiti and working as a Lab. Tech. in a back room, safely hidden away from people. Instead, God placed me in Mankato, Minnesota and made me a part-time missionary to Ukraine and a full-time missionary to International Students. I dreamed of having a series of moderately long pastorates of maybe 10 years apiece. Instead, God has given me a 30 year run that has blessed by family with stability and allowed me to invest deeply into one community and one church.

                In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, God sends a message to the people of Israel living in exile in Babylon. They believed that all of their dreams had been shattered and that God had abandoned them. But in reality, God had so much more in store for them.  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) When our dreams begin to crumble, we can feel like we have been sent into exile, but God assures us that he is not done with us. His plans are bigger than our dreams. If we will actively turn toward Him, instead of away from Him, He will give us the amazing experience of hope and a future that is far more fulfilling than our crumbled dreams.

                When I begin to sink into my “George Bailey” routine, I need to be reminded that God is not done with me yet. Although I don’t know what the future holds for me, I can be confident that God has a plan for my life that will bring Him glory and me joy.

Philippians 1:6

    …being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

   

Can There Be Social Justice Without God?

(My thoughts on social justice have been prompted by my reading in Tim Keller's book, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism.)

                Social justice is the hot topic these days. Many prominent people are lining up to raise the banner of social justice. They are quick to vilify anyone who disagrees with their stand. Obviously, anyone who does not approach social justice in the same way that they do is unintelligent, uninformed, and unworthy of consideration.

                Social justice and morality go hand in hand. Yet, in reality they are often at odds with one another in the real world. Most people today have a self-authorizing view of morality. Because our secular world refuses to acknowledge any ultimate authority outside of ourselves, then morality becomes very individualistic and fluid. Yet, many secular people are quick to assert moral outrage over what they deem as injustice. This is a very arrogant and near-sighted view, because it declares that Western values and morals are superior to every other culture, and they have an obligation to fall in line with us.

                We need to be very clear that social justice is at the heart of our Christian faith. Throughout both the Old and the New Testaments, we are commanded to stand up for the poor, the orphan, the widow, the outcast, etc. It was Christianity that introduced the idea that every individual has value and worth, regardless of their social status or ethnic heritage.

                As God instructed the people of Israel how they were to live, He included instructions about the alien, the orphan, and the widow.  "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. Exodus 22:21-23

                Jesus stressed the importance of social justice in Matthew 25. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Matthew 25:35-36

                This raises two issues that separate the social justice that the Bible talks about and the social justice our secular world talks about. The first issue is our motivation for seeking social justice. The secular world has many very moral people. But as Luc Ferry, a French philosopher and proponent of secular humanism, points out, secular humanists are motivated by “a feeling of satisfaction and superiority when we contemplate… illiberal societies.” Social justice makes people feel good. It gives them a feeling of power, as they seek to change the world for the better. Nietzsche has contended that social justice activism in modern society is largely powered by hatred and contempt for others.

                Christians are motivated by agape love. Agape love is founded in humility not arrogance. It seeks to serve others, because of the love and grace we have received from God. Christians are motivated by the Great Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This view does not say that we are superior to others, but that we are just like them. We value others because God values them.

                The other stumbling block in the social justice debate is obligation. As I already stated, a person does not have to believe in God to be moral. Yet, the question remains, why should a person be moral. If there are no absolute standards that are outside of ourselves, why should I care? Again Nietzsche points out that if all our moral beliefs are really just the product of evolutionary biology, then while some things may feel wrong, they aren’t actually wrong.

                Christians embrace social justice because there are absolute moral standards, established by God, that govern our world. Just like natural laws, moral laws exist outside of us as humans. We do not get to decide right and wrong for ourselves. In fact, without an absolute standard, there is not right and wrong. Therefore social justice becomes a personal choice that can be accepted are rejected without consequence.

                On the surface, there can be a façade of morality and social justice in our world. But without God, there is no solid foundation upon which to build. Other, non-western cultures, that do not hold the same standards of social justice as we do in the West, have just as much right to their view as we do. In reality, the very foundation for what people think of as social justice came from God a long time ago, and has been passed down, in one form or another, from generation to generation.

Exodus 20:2-17

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

"You shall have no other gods before me.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

"You shall not murder.

"You shall not commit adultery.

 "You shall not steal.

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

    

Unmasking Our Idols

                When I think about idols, my mind goes to several random places. The first place it goes is back to the Old Testament. The pagan people of those times were idol collectors. They had community idols and private idols. Idols were like good luck charms that people accumulated to give them a better chance at having a happy, productive life. I read in my devotions this morning about Jacob and his sons. Even though Jacob had several very real, very personal encounters with God, his household still had idols. So in Genesis 35:2, Jacob had to instruct his household to get rid of their foreign gods (idols) that they had accumulated so that they could go before God in worship.

                The second place my mind goes, when I think of idols, is to modern, non-Western cultures. There are a number of cultures today that still worship idols. They do not all do this in the same way, but they do it. Some build ornate temples into which they place gold covered statues. Others carve the images of multiple gods on the walls of their temples. Still others are more primitive and set up small, carved wooden idols. These may be masterfully made or crude, but they serve the same purpose. There are many places that you can go to buy idols, and many tourists buy them as souvenirs of an exotic culture. They bring them home and place them in a prominent place in their office or living room.

                The third place that my mind goes, when I think of idols, is to the idols themselves. Most idols take on some kind of human form, although they may have unusual features. Some idols take on animal form or supernatural, bazaar forms. Physical idols can be small or large, simple or extravagant, wood or stone, plain or covered with gold. Most idols are portable, although some are enormous and permanently enshrined. The thing about idols is that they are very tangible in a physical sense.

                These images of idols all serve to do one thing for me, they blind me to the idols that intrude on my life. As long as I see idols as from ancient cultures that no longer exist, or as from far away cultures that are not my normal experience, or as portable, tangible objects that are easily identifiable, then I am blind to the idols that inhabit my personal world.

                Paul David Tripp, in his book, Lost in the Middle, masterfully points out that the idols most of us have to deal with are more subtle and less recognizable to us. Our eyes have become blind to the tangible, temporal things we have allowed to take the place of God. Anything we trust in to give us ultimate happiness, fulfillment, and a sense of purpose will become an idol for us. For example, in America, we have made youth, physical fitness, and pleasure into idols, just to mention a few.

                God has given to us many good things, which He wants us to enjoy and find pleasure in. But when we allow these good things to divert our attention from the Giver, then they have become an idol. I am a runner. I enjoy running. Running gives me a certain sense of “aliveness.” I have been unable to run for over a year, due to an injury. I have felt a profound sense of loss and have experienced a longing to get back to running. As I read Paul Tripp’s book, I began to wonder if I have made running an idol.

                Jesus addressed the subtle way that the tangible things of this world can blind us to God and become idols in our life. He addressed this in the context of worry. Worry, anxiety, and frustration are often signs that we have made something into an idol. We sense that our idols are failing to deliver what we had hoped that they would. Look at how Jesus unmasked these often hidden idols in our lives.

    "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

    "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

                There are a couple of observations to be made from what Jesus tells us. First, the things that we often strive after, and which can become idols for us, are not bad in themselves. They are a part of God’s loving provision for us. The problem comes when we give too much importance to these things.

                Second, God knows exactly what we need and is more than capable of supplying it. God is not stingy, miserly, or reluctant. God created us and the world into which He placed us. He designed a fine tuned system that would both sustain us and would delight us. He is the source of all that we desire and need. He has provided these things for our pleasure.

                Third, in order to avoid making these things into idols, we need to keep our focus on God. All the good things of this world are intended to be sign posts that point us to the Author, the Artist, the Creator. If we will intentionally, consciously keep God on the throne of our lives, then we will not be tempted to make other things into idols.

                One of Satan’s tactics for tripping us up is to blind us to our own idols. As long as we trivialize idols, or see them as distant from us, we will never recognize them in our own lives. We all need to take a personal inventory and get rid of the idols we discover hidden in our spiritual closets.

   

Engaging Absolute Negative Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23-24

"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

                I was seated in a tour bus listening to our guide expound on the wonders of the city of Kiev. As we passed a government building, which represented the Communist regime, our guide broke from her script and began to verbalize her own feelings. “I was so tired of hearing about the masses. Everything was for the masses, but there was nothing for me. The individual did not count. The individual was expendable.”

                One of the hallmarks of Western society is individual freedom. Our Constitution declares that it is every person’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This concept of individual freedom (and responsibility) comes right out of Christianity. It is Christianity that declared the value of each person; that each person has value and dignity, and has both the right and the responsibility to determine the course of their life.

                Christianity established the idea of personal freedom and choice as opposed to culturally or tribally defined commitments. This is based on the Protestant theology of the priesthood of all believers. This concept of freedom to pursue a meaningful life has morphed into a free for all. In late-modern thinking, the concept of freedom means that we are free from all limits. We are free from any absolute standard and from all boundaries. Today, anything goes, and no one has the right to say otherwise. It is obvious in how the concept of freedom of religion has been twisted into freedom from religion.

                Tim Keller, in his book Preaching, highlights some basic flaws in what he calls Absolute Negative Freedom.  First, it erodes community and fragments society. We see this happening in America today. Instead of being a unified nation, we are becoming a collection of subgroups that often are at odds with one another. In order for there it be genuine community some choices must be restricted and individual responsibility must be assumed.

                Another flaw in the Absolute Negative Freedom concept is what is called the harm principle. I am free to do whatever I choose as long as I am not harming another person. The problem with this is that there is not absolute standard for what is harm and what is not. Without an absolute standard that sets clear boundaries, we are each left to define what harm is for ourselves.

                A third flaw in this theory is that it makes meaning and purpose in life superficial and hollow. If there are no absolute standards of right and wrong, then there is no real value to anything that we do. It doesn’t matter if we treat others well (whatever that means) or cruelly (who is to say what is cruel?). Without God in the picture, our lives become meaningless.

                The Bible tells us that faith in Christ brings us genuine freedom. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.( John 8:36) This freedom that we have in Christ has two important dimensions. We have been set free from our bondage to sin. Sin is no longer our master, telling us how we should live. But we are also set free to pursue righteousness. With our new freedom comes responsibility. We are free to choose how we will live, but we are also responsible for how we live. We were created to live in harmony with God. Through Christ, that relationship can be restored and lived out. But it means placing ourselves under God’s authority and living according to His absolute standards.

                Paul addressed the concept of Absolute Negative Freedom in his letter to the Galatians. Some in that church was saying that because of the grace of God, which covers all of our sins, it doesn’t matter how we live our lives. We are free to indulge every passion, because grace abounds. Paul made it clear that this is a gross misunderstanding of grace and of the freedom we have in Christ. He openly challenges that idea that we are free from any limits. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13

                Peter picked up on the same theme. He called people to embrace the freedom that they had been given in Christ, but to use it for God’s glory and not their own passions. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16

                Life without limits may seem like ultimate freedom, but it is really chaos. For example, what if everyone decided that they were free from all the rules of driving? They were free to drive on whichever side of the road they chose, at whatever speed they chose, without regard for others. There would be mass carnage. Freedom without boundaries is not only dangerous, it is deadly.

                As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. In Christ we have been set free from our bondage to sin, but we have also been set free to follow Christ and to live our lives in service for him. It is only as we live under His authority that we can experience true freedom.

DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Proverbs 16:25

    There is a way that seems right to a man,

        but in the end it leads to death.

                There is a common misconception in our society today that it really doesn’t matter what a person believes. This assertion is couched in the rhetoric of tolerance. We are constantly being told that all philosophies, life-styles, and theologies are equal. We are expected to openly embrace other people’s views without asserting our own. This may make for a good sound bite, but it doesn’t work in the real world.

                We are experiencing the Achilles heal of the tolerance movement today. It seems that tolerance works only in one way. It is only applied when we are talking about “liberal and progressive” ideas. If a person’s beliefs are traditional and conservative, then they are intolerant. Whether we agree with our new President or not, he has mobilized an up-to-this-point silent segment of our society who have been afraid to speak up. Yet when they express their views in public, they are labeled as bigoted and intolerant.

                I speak of this only to raise the question, does it really matter what we believe? When it comes to the area of faith, the answer we are given is no. All faith traditions lead in the same direction, so it doesn’t really matter what you believe. When it comes to the area of morality, we receive the same answer, with a twist. We are told that our morality is a private affair; that we have to accept all expressions of sexuality as valid and equal, and that we have no right to label anything as right or wrong. Ultimately the message that is being loudly trumpeted in our society today is that is really doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you don’t impose it on others.

                The Bible gives us a very different answer to the question, does what we believe really matter? The Bible is clear that what we believe, truly believe in the depth of our being, shapes who we are and where we are headed. All of us have superficial beliefs that don’t translate into real life expression. But our core beliefs really do make a difference.

                Many people believe that they can live their lives without God in the picture. They have chosen to be their own god and make up their own rules. They believe that they are truly masters of their own souls. But Solomon sheds a very different light on that idea.  There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 16:25

                Many people believe that all spiritual paths lead to God; that all religions are the same, so it doesn’t matter which one you follow. But a close examination of the major religions of the world reveal quickly that all religions are not headed in the same direction. They do not agree upon what the end goal is. They do not agree on how a person gets to the end goal. All religions, except Christianity, are dependent upon what the individual can do to earn their spot in the desired end.

                Christianity stands apart from all the rest. Attaining the ultimate end, eternal life with God in heaven, is not attained by human effort, but by what Jesus did for us on the cross. We cannot earn our salvation, we can only receive it by faith in Christ. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

                Jesus made it crystal clear that there is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Him.    Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) How could Jesus make that claim? Because He is God incarnate. He is the one who created this world in the first place and established the rules for living. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3) He is the only one who has the right to set the agenda for all of humanity.

                Does it really matter what we believe? Yes! Our very lives depend upon it. We have the freedom to choose whatever path we want to take, but our choice really does matter. Jesus warns us to choose wisely. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

                A day is coming when every individual will have to give an account of their life. It will not matter how sincere we were in our beliefs, if we have chosen to place the ladder of our faith against the wrong wall, we will discover a dark end. As followers of Christ, we cannot afford to be careless about what we believe. As Paul told Timothy, our very souls are at stake. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.