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Faith

Eternal Life: Bible’s Specifics About Salvation May Surprise You.

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Scripture says a great deal about salvation and describes in detail the requirements for sharing eternity with God. And while the Bible illuminates a clear path to eternal life, over time the church has distilled the Gospel message to a dangerous degree. Specifics have been oversimplified (and mangled) to such an extent that many churchgoers now embrace a neutered version of what Scripture teaches. While the church’s motivation may have been (mostly) pure – to attract more people to the Lord and bolster church attendance – the results likely have produced an unprecedented spiritual disaster. So severe is this distortion of foundational, biblical doctrine it risks jeopardizing the eternal destination of many would-be believers.

To fully grasp the issue we need look no further than the most recognized verse in all of Scripture, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness are on full display in those twenty-five words, proclaiming salvation for all who believe. Sounds simple doesn’t it? On the surface, there doesn’t appear any room for ambiguity.

Of course, the crux of this truth hinges on the word ‘believe.’ How we define and interpret that word is critical to our understanding of the Gospel and the prerequisite to ‘everlasting life.’ Many churches teach that ‘belief’ is evidenced by a public profession of faith in Christ, by verbalizing one’s trust in Him, or by reciting some version of a sinner’s prayer. Representing a broad compendium of denominations, traditions, and doctrine, these churches share the view that salvation occurs the moment one orally articulates his or her acceptance of Jesus as Savior, irrespective of whether any life transformation occurs or any evidence of faith is subsequently manifested.

Scripture, however, adopts a decidedly different view on what it means to believe. The apostle Paul articulates a succinct but substantive definition in his letter to the Roman church. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:9-10, NKJV, emphasis mine).

Paul declares that the faith that leads to salvation involves two distinct components: professing Jesus as Lord with your mouth and believing with your heart that He is the risen Savior. Belief limited to an intellectual assent of Jesus’ lordship is insufficient. Authentic belief always flows from the heart.

This may sound like a distinction without a difference. What does it matter, some may wonder. Head or heart, it’s all the same isn’t it? The answer, of course, is that they are not at all the same. The distinction is absolutely critical; one yields a transformed life while the other produces only outward change (if any at all) and a religious veneer. The former leads to eternal life, the latter to utter destruction and ruin.

God’s Word highlights this distinction over and over again, from Genesis to Revelation. The Pharisees embodied the attitude of those who verbally proclaim faith in God but do not believe with their heart. Jesus called them hypocrites, noting “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8-9, NKJV).

Steeped in religion, they commanded respect within the Jewish community. They said all the rights things and appeared to behave in a manner consistent with God’s commands. But they possessed an inauthentic faith, and Jesus quickly rebuked them for the spiritual frauds they were. He informed them that their faith was futile because it was manifested in words without a surrendering of the heart.

On the day of reckoning, Christ will engage fraudulent Christians in a similar manner. These are churchgoers who, like the Pharisees, say the right things and appear religious but have never abandoned themselves fully to Jesus. Despite their claims to the contrary, they don’t possess a genuine faith because they’ve never submitted to Jesus as Lord. The totality of their faith is limited to religious acts and Christian-esque language. In short, they excel at playing church.

This may strike some as judgmental on my part, suggesting that some churchgoers have an inauthentic faith. But the view is not mine, it is Jesus’. He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23, NKJV).

Like the Pharisees two thousand years ago, Jesus sees beneath the façade of faux-Christians and exposes them as religious charlatans. They have no place in God’s kingdom because they choose to follow a false gospel – one limited to verbal professions and religious antics but never rooted in the heart.

So what does faith look like when it flows from the heart? What evidence can we expect to uncover if we follow the advice of the apostle Paul, who challenged us to, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5, NKJV). The short answer is: our lives will look a lot like what we see in Jesus’ followers as captured in the New Testament: flawed men and women who love God, desire His presence, and share the Good News of Jesus with others.

But if that response is too vague and not particularly enlightening, let’s consider a few specific points to help us determine if our faith parallels that of the disciples or that of the Pharisees. Again, these are just a few indicators of authentic faith, according to Scripture. There are others, to be sure, but these will help facilitate some healthy internal reflection.

1] Your treasure reflects the things of God. Jesus informed His followers, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Genuine faith that springs from the heart stores up treasure in heaven by pursuing God’s will, advancing His agenda, embracing His priorities, and submitting to His leadership. It influences how we invest our time, direct our resources, and spend our income.

It is insufficient to simply say we treasure the things of God; the evidence ought to support our claim. This verse, then, represents a critical truth. It asserts that the one true love radiating from our heart is easily identified, because our heart and our treasure are domiciled together. Ask yourself what you treasure in life: the temporal things of this world or the eternal things of God’s Kingdom. What does the evidence show?

2] Authentic faith bears spiritual fruit. Jesus declared, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (John 15:5, NKJV). The form of that fruit will vary widely by individual and may include leading others to faith in Christ, discipling new believers, sowing a seed of faith in unbelievers, watering that seed, or restoring one who has fallen away from faith. Notice that Jesus indicates His disciples will not only bear fruit for His kingdom, they will bear ‘much’ fruit. Is your life marked by production of much spiritual fruit? If not, what does the above verse suggest about your relationship with Christ?

3] Believers obey Jesus’ commands. Those who possess real faith observe God’s commandments and they are not burdensome or a source of resentment. Jesus proclaimed, “If you love Me, keep My commandments… He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (John 14:15, 21, 23, NKJV). Do you desire to keep God’s commands? Is your obedience limited to those commands that don’t inconvenience you or disrupt your lifestyle? Do you pursue Jesus’ words with joy in your heart or begrudgingly, out of a sense of obligation? While we will never perfectly follow all God’s commands, our heart ought to yearn for victory over every area of sin in our lives. Moreover, we ought to observe sure and steady progress over time in becoming more like Christ in our obedience (the process of sanctification).

4] Genuine faith produces good works. While it is true we cannot earn salvation with good works, it is equally true that the absence of good works reveals the absence of genuine faith. In his epistle, James tells us, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead … For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:17, 26, NKJV). The apostle Paul echoes this perspective in his epistle to the church in Ephesus, “For by grace we have been saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV).

Do you see the relationship between grace, salvation, and works? God’s grace alone saves us, but if we are indeed saved then we pursue the good works God prepared for us from the foundation of the world. Though the substance of those works will vary by believer (just as the spiritual fruit did above), they will adhere broadly to the principles outlined in the parable of the Good Samaritan and in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (see Luke 10:25-37, and Matthew 25:31-46). Are you pursuing works of mercy, generosity, compassion, sacrifice, and love that help others and bring God glory?

5] A surrendered life manifests true faith. This is no mere throwaway concept but is foundational to authentic Christianity. Jesus communicated this truth on numerous occasions during His ministry and its essence is grounded in substance not superficiality.

He does not call us to express a willingness to surrender our lives or merely claim to do so. Rather, He calls us to actually and substantively yield our lives fully to Him – every nook and cranny, every thought, every dream, every act, every decision. The breadth of Jesus’ expectation in this regard perturbs many churchgoers and flat-out offends others. But Jesus does not make this demand optional for His followers.

He informs us, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it produces much fruit. For whoever loves his life will lose it, but he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24-25). Jesus’ metaphor is clear. We must set aside our own interests, desires, and dreams, and embrace His instead. Absent an abdication of our rights we cannot begin to fulfill the plans He has for us. Without surrender there is no salvation.

The above verses and biblical truths hardly scratch the surface of what Jesus taught about salvation and discipleship. But hopefully they rebuff the misperception that eternal life awaits those who merely verbalize faith in Christ in a single moment of time, no matter how insincere that commitment becomes. Hopefully the passages illustrate Jesus’ expectations for those who claim Him as Lord and profess their fidelity to Him. Hopefully they reveal that authentic belief flows from the heart and necessarily transforms the life of anyone who professes such faith.

Let me conclude with two critical points. First, the above elements are not requirements for salvation. In another words, God does not demand we bear spiritual fruit, keep His commands, or perform good works to secure salvation. Rather, those behaviors reveal the presence of authentic faith in our hearts, not just on our lips or in our minds. So although they do not precede salvation, they absolutely do proceed from salvation.

Second, don’t assume your salvation is sure and your faith real without looking at the evidence. What is at stake is far too important to trust to casual conjecture. Your heart may try to convince you that ‘you’re good with God’ and dismiss as poppycock the notion that any evidence will be made manifest in the life of a genuine believer. Resist that argument. Scripture makes clear that there will be overwhelming evidence of a transformed life in every believer. Remember, the Bible tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV). It is better to trust what Jesus taught and what Scripture communicates than to trust our own deceptive heart on the issue of faith and eternal life.

No topic is of more importance. I hope the evidence in your life supports your claim that Jesus is Lord. If it does not, or you have never surrendered your life to Him, take a moment to do so now. Admit you are a sinner and ask for His mercy and forgiveness. Ask Him to wash away your sin and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Let Him know of your desire to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Place your entire life in His control to be used for His purposes. Inform Him of your desire to begin a lifelong relationship with Him and begin to develop that relationship by spending time with Him in prayer and studying His word. Finally, ask Him to direct you to a local church you can attend regularly and get baptized as soon as possible.

May God bless your decision and commitment to Him.

Faith

Unconditional Faith.

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One of the most powerful examples of faith found in the Bible involves three young men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Many of you will recall they were exiled Jews living in Babylon, along with their friend, Daniel. Over time they had distinguished themselves as leaders and were entrusted with administrative powers to manage the king’s affairs.

Eventually, the king issued an edict demanding everyone worship a statue of gold, a violation of the Lord’s command that people worship Him alone. Anyone defying the decree would face immediate death by being thrown into a fiery furnace. The declaration forced these young men to make a critical decision. Where would their loyalty lie: with God or with the king; with their faith or with their careers? Would they compromise their faith by trying to have it both ways: loving the Lord in private while publicly obeying the king’s decree?

Once the order was made public, colleagues immediately leveled accusations against the three young men. The rabble-rousers informed the king that this trio of Jewish exiles refused to obey his proclamation. Furious, the king demanded their instant obedience, taunting them with this rhetorical question: “Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15, NKJV).

The young men responded, “O king, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand” (vs. 16-17). What a bold witness. The men not only refused to obey the king, they used the encounter to testify of God and His omnipotence. Instead of destroying their faith, the king’s threat fueled it.

The three men then declared, “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (vs. 18, emphasis added). With those words the Jewish exiles removed any doubt about their commitment to God. They knew He could rescue them from the fiery furnace and the painful death that would result.

But if, for whatever reason, He chose not to, they would refrain from denying Him or serving a false god. Their faith was not predicated on God blessing them, making life easy, or protecting them in the face of danger. They trusted Him implicitly, even if doing so yielded intense pain and a brutal death. They understood that God worked in ways that did not always make sense to them and therefore would obey Him no matter the cost. What a powerful testimony.

Job possessed a similar perspective and evidenced a comparable commitment to God. His faith was not predicated on having his desires met or his agenda fulfilled. It did not ebb and flow with the tide of God’s blessings. Instead, it remained steadfast in the face of whatever circumstances he confronted, including a series of relentless and brutal attacks by Satan that left all ten of his children dead, destroyed his wealth, and weakened his health.

Yet in response to that collection of tragic events, Job didn’t shake his fist to the sky and curse God. Nor did he renounce his faith in the Lord. Instead, Scripture tells us “he fell to the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:20, NKJV). What a remarkable reaction. Despite being unaware of what had precipitated the catastrophes or why God would allow them, Job instinctively placed his trust in the Lord and praised Him. He knew that out of the ash heap of overwhelming pain and tragedy God would raise up something good.

Not surprisingly, Job’s response pleased God, who subsequently described him as “a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil and still holds fast to his integrity (Job 2:3). Though obviously grieved and devastated by the news of the calamities, Job resisted the temptation to blame God. Instead, he found solace in his Creator and worshiped Him in the midst of his tears.

That response, however, shocked and angered his wife, who remarked contemptuously: “Do you still hold to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9, NKJV). Her statement captures the predominant view of faith in our secular society: unless faith yields immediate and lasting temporal benefits, what’s the point. Sadly, that perspective infects many churchgoers today as well. As long as the sun shines on their lives, they remain loyal to God. But the moment tragedy strikes, their faith weakens or collapses altogether.

Job provided the perfect rebuke to such faith, telling his wife: “You speak as foolish people do. Should we accept good from God but not adversity as well?” (Job 2:10). Later Job would proclaim, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15, NKJV). Job did not withhold his own life from God nor condition his obedience on understanding God’s purpose. He assented to follow, worship, and praise God irrespective of his circumstances or the condition of his life.

Do you possess a similar commitment to God? Is your faith as steadfast in the midst of painful trials and difficult circumstances as was the faith of Job? Are you willing to obey God, no matter the cost, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego? Confronted with a comparable choice between life and death, would you choose the Lord or your life? As our world grows increasingly hostile to God, a modern version of the scenario confronted by that trio of Jewish exiles seems more and more possible in our generation. Are you prepared to stand firm for God? I pray you are.

Faith

The Call of Christ.

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In reading the gospel accounts of Christ’s life and ministry, have you ever noticed how often Jesus declares that those who follow Him will face challenges, trials, and difficulty? He succinctly summarized this truth during His sermon on the mount, proclaiming: “Difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14, NKJV). It is interesting to note that Jesus links the difficulty of discipleship with the scarcity of those who find salvation. Since most people reject the former (discipleship), they never truly embrace the latter (salvation).

Of course, Jesus is not suggesting works play a role in our salvation – that is entirely a product of God’s grace and mercy. What He is saying, and makes clear over and over again throughout His ministry, is that anyone who genuinely embraces Him as Lord and Savior will necessarily follow Him as a disciple. You cannot have salvation in the absence of discipleship. To confess Him as Savior is to pursue Him as Lord.

The manifestation of that pursuit, however, will be as diverse as the entire body of believers. Nevertheless, despite that variation, some commonalities exist in every model of discipleship. A few are revealed in three brief encounters Jesus had with a trio of would-be disciples. Luke describes it like this:

“As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ He said to another person, ‘Come, follow me.’ The man agreed, but said, ‘Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach the Kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Anyone who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:57-62, NLT).

We learn several important insights about discipleship in these encounters. First, it requires sacrifice. We must put to death our own agenda and replace it with God’s. This is an unpopular view with many Christians because it inconveniences us and disrupts the lifestyle we want to live. We would prefer Jesus simply adopt our agenda as His and pepper His blessing on our plans.

But Jesus leaves no room for ambiguity as to what He expects of those who want eternal life. We are to lay our lives down for Him just as He laid down His life for us. As He told His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25, NKJV).

The linkage between discipleship and denying ourselves could not be clearer. We must die (to self) before we can live (for Him). Sadly, this is one of the most ignored truths in many churches today. It is also one of the most resisted truths by those who profess Jesus as Lord, because our sin nature refuses to abdicate its place on the throne of our heart. It readily allows us to proclaim with our mouths that Jesus is Lord as long as that proclamation does not translate into our abdicating full control of our plans, decisions, and lives to Him. But once our faith in Jesus begins to inconvenience, discomfort, or disrupt our lives, our flesh (sin-nature) adopts a posture of virulent resistance, knowing its very survival is at stake. It will inform us how unreasonable, extreme, and ridiculous it is to follow Jesus when such obedience infringes on our desires and dreams.

That’s why Jesus’ encounter with the three would-be disciples is so instructive. It demonstrates in no uncertain terms that following Jesus often requires we live in a manner that flies in the face of social convention. Society places expectations on people, as does the church, and too often we allow those standards to dictate the degree to which we follow and obey Jesus. But in the passage above Jesus makes clear that obeying Him sometimes require we ignore the demands of society (and even the church). When facing such situations we must remain faithful to God and not the voices around us.

Additionally, there will be instances when family and friends make demands of us that seem sensible but contravene the timing, decision, or action God has communicated to us. In Luke’s passage above the third would-be disciple wanted to say goodbye to his family before following Christ. Jesus’ response seems severe. We wonder, ‘why can’t the young man take a day or two to bid his family farewell before embarking on his journey with Christ?’ It makes no sense, we tell ourselves. Surely Jesus does not intend for us to make similar choices in our lives. Surely faith does not require such irrational acts of obedience.

And yet, it does. Jesus interaction with each of the three potential disciples makes clear that the call of Christ supplants the desires of the flesh, however reasonable. Discipleship requires we prioritize obedience to Jesus above the seemingly sensible requests of friends and family. Though the path Christ calls us to pursue will vary by individual, each path will involve an element of sacrifice and denial of self. When the Lord leads us down one fraught with difficulty and inconvenience, we must resist the temptation to yield to moderation, social convention, worldly logic, and the demands of loves ones. It is the least we can do for the Savior who sacrificed so much for us.

Faith

Jesus’ Model for Making Decisions.

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I wonder how many readers are wrestling with a difficult decision in their lives. You want to obey God but are unable to discern His will. Perhaps the Bible offers little specific guidance on how to move forward. On the surface, all alternatives appear acceptable to God, yet you suspect He prefers one choice. But which one? How can you determine with confidence the path forward?

Let’s look at Jesus’ life to understand His approach to decision-making, and in the process glean several important lessons and insights.

One of the most important decisions Jesus made was His selection of the twelve apostles; those men who would serve as future leaders of the church and in whom Jesus would invest Himself over the course of His ministry. Did Jesus simply trust His instincts in making this critical decision? If not, what pattern did He give us?

Scripture tells us that before making His decision Jesus “went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Him; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13, NKJV).

Jesus devoted significant time alone in prayer with God, making known His request and listening for direction. Similarly, our decision-making process should always begin with prayer as a foundation. We may not spend all night in prayer seeking God’s direction but we should certainly invest considerable time soliciting His guidance when confronting any decision of consequence.

We would also do well to exercise caution in placing too much trust in the advice of others. Though soliciting godly counsel is often valuable – Solomon tells us, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14, NKJV) – we must remain mindful of the fact that others do not always share God’s perspective, no matter how spiritually mature they are.

Recall Peter’s response when Jesus revealed that He would suffer many things before being rejected and killed. Scripture tells us, “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him” (Mark 8:32, NKJV). Jesus’ teaching made no sense to Peter because he was processing the message from a temporal perspective, not God’s eternal one. Peter was certain God’s plan did not involve a tortured and brutal death for His mentor, especially at so young an age. Had Jesus followed His outspoken disciple’s counsel He would have avoided a violent demise, but humanity would have forever remained separated from God with no hope for reconciliation.

Take a moment to digest the significant insight this encounter produced: God often leads us to actions and decisions that appear foolhardy to the world and may confound believers and church leaders as well. Learning from this, we must not assume other Christians always know God’s direction for us, irrespective of their spiritual depth. God’s path for us is just as likely to contradict the consensus of those around us as it is to align with it.

By extension, we also ought to avoid assuming God’s plan always fits nicely with our own desires. Recall Jesus’ prayer the night before His crucifixion. “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will but Thy will be done” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus made known His desire to go down a different path, but also proclaimed His willingness to follow God regardless of the consequences. He refused to prioritize personal aspiration above obedience. We must adopt a similar mindset as we navigate choices throughout life. Inform God of our longings but always subject them to whatever plan He lays out for us.

Another important component of biblically sound decision-making involves actually acting on whatever direction God gives us. That can be challenging when His revealed path involves financial risk or jeopardizes our freedom, safety or life. In such situations it is critical we enlist the help of others, to hold us accountable and intercede with God on our behalf – asking Him to give us strength and boldness to move forward as directed.

An excellent example of this is found in the book of Esther. Following her decision to intercede with the king on behalf of the Jewish people, an act that had the potential to cost her her life, she makes the following appeal to her uncle, “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16, NKJV).

Esther knew what God wanted her to do. But she also understood that obedience carried the risk of an early grave. So she asked the local Jewish community to fast and pray for her – that she would follow God’s plan, that her life would be spared, and that God would honor her obedience by saving the Jewish people. Don’t hesitate to ask other believers to bathe you in prayer and fast on your behalf the next time you find yourself struggling to travel down the path God has revealed to you.

Finally, as you contemplate current and future decisions, consider taking the path that draws you closer to God and demonstrates His love, mercy, and truth to others. In doing so, it’s possible your decision will not just have an immediate impact on you; it might just have an eternal impact on others.

Faith

Finding Peace in a Chaotic World.

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Have you ever faced an overwhelming situation? Confronted a series of events that had you ready to throw in the figurative towel? Have circumstances ever left you discouraged, downcast or on the cusp of despair? Perhaps failing health or a toxic work environment? Maybe you are dealing with a painful family situation or a difficult financial condition that yields little hope for the future.

Do circumstances similar to these generate unmanageable levels of stress and anxiety? Do they rob you of a restful night’s sleep or produce an unsettled spirit? Would you prefer to experience peace in these situations instead?

If so, consider this invaluable counsel from the apostle Paul: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).

Paul knew a thing or two about difficult circumstances, having suffered beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, attacks, false accusations, and all manner of peril (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 for a thorough account of his trials). And each of these ordeals resulted from his commitment to Jesus. In fact, his decision to embrace Christ led to his loss of status, wealth, influence, and power. His words, then, are not spoken in a vacuum void of personal experience with trials and pain. While you may face an entirely different set of circumstances, find comfort in Paul’s words – spoken from a place of first-hand knowledge.

He begins by encouraging us to “be anxious for nothing.” In other words, stop worrying. Refuse to allow personal circumstances to produce angst or fear. How was Paul able to maintain this outlook in the face of relentless difficulty and suffering? The key, he tells us, is perspective.

He explains: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NKJV).

Paul identifies several truths we need to remember. First, our trials are momentary. Even lifelong troubles are fleeting when viewed through the lens of eternity with God. Allow the promise of everlasting life with Christ to sustain you through whatever circumstances the world throws at you.

Second, remember that difficult situations serve a specific purpose: they mold us into the person God wants us to be and validate the authenticity of our faith. The apostle Peter informs us, “Though now, for a little while, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7, NKJV). Paul weighs in on the topic with this wisdom: “We also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces endurance; and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4, NKJV).

Third, Paul reminds us to focus on the eternal, not the temporal. The things we see now will soon be gone but the unseen things will last forever. When we re-orient our perspective around the eternal, we are better able to bear the challenges that confront us in this world.

Returning to Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, he counsels believers to go before the Lord and make known their requests. Although God already knows our needs and circumstances, our prayers demonstrate faith and trust in Him. In addition, they should spring forth from a grateful heart that recognizes previous blessings He has bestowed on us, including mercy, forgiveness and salvation. Go to God in confidence that He hears your supplications and knows your situation.

Paul concludes with a promise that should encourage every believer: “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Paul refers to God’s peace as the guardian of our hearts and minds. And it is a peace so extraordinary that it exceeds our ability to comprehend it – a peace vastly superior to any peace offered by the world.

Recognize that what makes the peace of God so incomprehensible and superior is its manifestation in the midst of our difficult circumstances. God gives His peace in the throes of our pain, suffering, and challenges – unlike the world’s peace, which exists only under favorable conditions. So while the world’s peace simply reflects peaceful circumstances, the peace of God reflects The Almighty Himself.

Jesus emphasizes this point with His disciples. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27, NKJV). What a comforting promise. Jesus offers us permanent peace through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, not a tempestuous peace that ebbs and flows with circumstances.

As difficult situations arise in life, meditate on these lessons from God’s Word. Do not let your heart be anxious. Instead, cast your concerns on the Lord and praise Him with thanksgiving. Remind yourself that the challenges of this world are momentary while the blessings of God last for eternity. Remember that the Lord knows your situation and will use it to grow your faith, build your character, and shape you into His unique creation. Finally, rejoice that the peace of God transcends circumstance and flourishes in the midst of life’s most challenging trials.

I hope these truths encourage you today.

Faith

Understanding the Bible: You Needn’t Be a Scholar to Comprehend God’s Truth.

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Many people in the world today want to understand the Bible but feel entirely unqualified to unlock its truths. They believe only pastors or those with a seminary degree possess the requisite qualifications to fully understand God’s Word and the truths it contains. As a result, they spend little time reading and studying Scripture. Instead, they embrace as truth whatever message they hear on Sunday, at a Bible study, or on Christian radio. Perhaps some readers share that perspective.

If that’s you, I’ve got great news. Irrespective of your educational background, lack of training, or absence of credentials, you can understand the Bible without having to rely on others to tell you what a particular passage means, what insight God wants you to glean, or how to apply a specific verse to your life. How is that possible?

First, we need to understand that God reveals His truth through His Spirit. At the end of His ministry Jesus told the disciples, “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13, NKJV). Paul reinforces that truth in his epistle to the church at Corinth, saying: “God has revealed [His mysteries] to us through His Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:10, NKJV).

Scripture leaves no ambiguity on this point. It is the Holy Spirit that guides our understanding of the Bible and equips us with the wisdom to discern the mysteries of God. God’s truths are not manifested to the carnal man, no matter how much study he dedicates to them, because they are fathomed under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Paul declares, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NKJV).

Jesus reinforces this point when he chastises those who refuse to repent despite hearing His teaching and observing His miracles. “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25, NKJV). Men and women with considerable intellectual heft failed to understand God’s simple truths but young children comprehended them with no difficulty.

This disparity confounds the world but makes perfect sense when filtered through Christ’s words. Jesus tells us that God reveals His truths and mysteries to whom He will and withholds them from whom He will. In this instance, God revealed them to young children and withheld them from those the world considered brilliant.

So do we sit back and do nothing to learn more about God and Scripture? Absolutely not. To ensure God opens the eyes of our heart to His Word, we must surrender our lives to Christ. Only then will the Holy Spirit come upon us and reveal God’s thoughts and truths. One of the reasons so few professors, scientists, and intellectuals understand God’s Word in any substantive way is that they refuse to embrace Christ and submit to Him as Lord. Pride prevents them from committing their lives to Him and accepting the simplicity of the Gospel; as a result God withholds spiritual understanding from them.

Additionally, we should read the Bible on a regular basis. That is critically important. Jesus told His disciples, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given – and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken from them” (Mark 4:24-25, NLT). The same principle applies to reading God’s Word. The more we read, the more understanding God gives us. And as we understand more, we will want to read more, and God will reveal more. And a virtuous cycle begins.

In contrast, if we rarely read the Bible or study its content, then God will remove from our hearts and minds what little understanding we have. Either we are building on our foundation of biblical knowledge or it is being dismantled. The status quo never remains.

As you head into this weekend, reflect on whether you are establishing a sound foundation in the wisdom, knowledge, and insight of God’s Word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If not, commit to reading your Bible on a regular basis and build it into your schedule so it becomes a habit. If you live in a part of the world where you do not have access to a church or Christian teaching, rejoice that God reveals Himself and His ways to those who read and study His Word, the Bible. You need only ask His Spirit to open your eyes and your heart to the truth.

Faith

The Most Dangerous Sin in America.

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If asked to name the sin most likely to provoke God’s judgment on the nation, churchgoers might point to Hollywood’s debauchery, Wall Street’s greed, Washington’s escalating antagonism to religious freedom, Planned Parenthood’s abortion mills, or society’s swelling sexual depravity. While such behaviors certainly reflect a decline in our nation’s moral fabric and are an affront to God, they are limited in scope, practiced by segments of the country but not an overwhelming majority of the nation.

To pinpoint the most dangerous sin in America, the one most responsible for sending our country down a moral slope so steep and so severe we may never recover, we must identify one practiced across most of society, both inside and outside the church, that directly challenges God’s sovereignty, and that is difficult for the sinner to recognize. That sin is idolatry and it grips the hearts, minds, and souls of more Americans than probably any other sin.

Anyone doubting the danger of idolatry need look no further than the Old Testament. Time and again the nation of Israel turned its back on God to chase false gods and worship foreign idols. And in every instance their decision resulted in separation from God and, eventually, His punishment. What Israel failed to understand was the severity of its idolatry. It both angered and grieved God.

The First Commandment clearly communicates God’s expectation that He alone deserves our worship, praise, and adoration: “You shall have no other gods besides Me” (Deuteronomy 5:7, NKJV). God demands we recognize His preeminence and we have no other gods in our lives.

Too often we assume this simply means we have no gods in the form of a graven image. We likely make that association because the Second Commandment specifically proscribes bowing down and serving such images. But we need to understand that idolatry is not limited to kneeling before graven images, praising inanimate objects, and verbalizing allegiance to deities of stone and wood. Idolatry occurs whenever we love something more than God, pursue it with more passion than we pursue God, and make it a greater priority in our lives than Him.

The fourteenth chapter of Ezekiel provides insight into God’s view of idolatry. While Ezekiel is visiting with some of Israel’s leaders God tells him, “These leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin.” (vs. 3, NLT). We learn two critical truths from this exchange. First, idolatry is first and foremost a condition of the heart. That’s what makes it so difficult to identify. Second, idolatry represents the embrace of things that lead us to sin and which separates us from God.

God makes that connection clearer a couple verses later when He informs Ezekiel that He will punish anyone in Israel “who separates himself from Me and sets up idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity” (vs. 7, NKJV). Idolatry drives people away from God. Whenever we allow something to nestle into our hearts and usurp God’s rightful place there, we commit idolatry.

Merriam-Webster defines idolatry as “the immoderate attachment or devotion to something.” We demonstrate idolatry, then, whenever we pursue something with unbridled fervor and display excessive loyalty toward it. In other words, idolatry exists whenever we allow anything except God to consume our lives.

Looking through that lens makes it easier to recognize the presence of idolatry in our lives. We need only ask ourselves what activities, priorities, and passions do we chase with more zeal than we pursue God? An honest assessment might reveal the existence of one or more idols in our lives, and may include one of the following:

  • Entertainment: Our culture is saturated with myriad forms of entertainment including television, movies, video games, sports, concerts, gambling, and online diversions to name a few. And an ever-increasing number of us devote every spare moment indulging an insatiable appetite for our favorite form of entertainment.
  • Thrills/Experiences: Perhaps at no time in history has mankind valued thrills and experiences as much as we do today. We want to travel to the most exotic locations, participate in the most extreme sports, partake in death-defying activities, and enjoy memorable experiences on a regular basis. And many of us prioritize these pursuits and excursions above everything else in life, including God.
  • Careers: Achieving the pinnacle of success in corporate America these days often requires working twelve-to-fourteen hour days, going into the office on weekends, being available to your boss around-the-clock, and a resolute commitment to helping the company exceed expectations. Not surprisingly, this demands a level of devotion that often leaves little time or energy for anything else, forcing God to the sideline.
  • Self/Pride: Society has made the celebration of self a virtue. We have placed celebrity on a pedestal, honoring those with the creativity and hustle to make themselves the center of attention. Modesty and humility are the currency of chumps. If you want to be popular in the world then you must constantly promote yourself on social media and among your friends. Sadly, it is a vice that thrives inside the church as well.
  • Material Things: It is difficult to overstate the degree to which we have become a materialistic culture. We want more stuff, better stuff, newer stuff, and we want it faster than ever – witness Amazon’s new one-hour delivery program (so you don’t have to suffer the interminable one or two day wait with conventional delivery). And when our homes, garages, and attics are filled to the full, we simply get a bigger house, a second house, or rent a storage unit. And the more we buy and own, the more our souls are bought and owned.

I could go on but you get the picture. These are the things that often win our devotion, enthusiasm, and allegiance. And while in moderation none of these pursuits is sinful, they become idols when they consume our lives and force God to the periphery. When they dominate our resources, time, and energy, these innocent interests evolve into gods. And while the secular world may shrug at this assessment, or even embrace it proudly, those in the church resist, knowing it is an abomination to the Lord. We insist that Jesus alone gets our worship and devotion.

But the evidence reveals how specious that assertion is for many of us. And the evidence is overwhelming. By almost any reasonable metric – time, energy, enthusiasm, focus, and resources – God often takes a backseat to one or more of the idols listed above. For many of us He isn’t even the second or third priority. Irrespective of what we claim to believe, God doesn’t always sit on the throne of our heart. It is the gods above that often occupy that place of prominence.

So what do most of us do when made aware of this lethal sin? We compound our iniquity by justifying our behavior. We sprinkle Jesus over our idols and claim to pursue them for His glory, insisting He has placed in our hearts the desire to chase them. Many of us go to great lengths to demonstrate the virtue of these idols and tell ourselves that God created us to enjoy them to the full.

All the while Satan smiles with smug satisfaction that we have bought into his lie. He rejoices when we bow down to his idols and do so with more fervor than he ever imagined. It is His greatest deceit that so much of the church is consumed with idolatry yet remains convinced such behavior doesn’t exist.

It is time we adopt a different approach. Instead of asking whether there is anything wrong with the things that consume our resources, demand our time, and secure our devotion, we ought to ask whether there is anything right with them? Are they good for our spiritual development? Do they make us into the men and women God wants us to be? Do they honor Christ and draw us into a more intimate relationship with Him? Those are the more appropriate questions we need to ask.

So how do we rid ourselves of idolatry? First, we need to examine our lives carefully for the presence of false gods and idols. Next, we need to get real, recognize that their existence represents sin, and repent. No more justifying our excessive devotion to and zealous pursuit of anything but God. That only perpetuates the problem. Instead, we must seek forgiveness and ask God to give us a growing desire for Him. Finally, we should begin directing more and more of our time, energy, attention, and resources toward Him.

And if we don’t? He will eventually remove those idols from our lives – not because He hates us but because He loves us. He knows that the best thing for us is having a healthy, mature, and vibrant relationship with Him, not a life filled with passion for the things of the world. Because, after all, idolatry is the most dangerous sin.

Culture, Faith

How to Make 2016 Your Best Year Ever.

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As 2015 disappears over the horizon and yields to the dawning of 2016, many of us are looking into the future, taking inventory of our lives, and identifying areas for self-improvement. Others are creating resolutions that challenge them to implement long overdue changes in exercise regimens, career paths, relationships, diets, and daily routines. Some will even subject their lives to a complete overhaul as they embark on a new venture or decide the time is right to finally pursue a dream they’ve tabled for years. And a few will focus on ridding themselves of some vice or bad habit they embraced long ago, such as smoking or drinking soda.

And while such efforts are all well and good, and may lead to more happiness, healthier lifestyles, and greater satisfaction with life, if you really want to optimize 2016 you ought to consider less traditional changes as well. Here are five things you can do to make 2016 your best year ever.

1] Put God First. This may seem obvious (and require no change) since most Christians insist God is already first in their lives. But take a moment to examine your life for evidence that supports that claim. Does your daily schedule reflect His preeminence or does it expose your assertion as mere hyperbole? If we are honest with ourselves, many of us will have to admit we spend too little time alone with God. We are simply too busy to dedicate substantive amounts of time developing a real and vibrant relationship with Him.

Is that you? If so, maybe 2016 is the year you decide to get serious about aligning your schedule with your contention that God is first in your life. And there is no better way to do that than to carve out regular time with Him each day. Start with fifteen minutes. As that becomes a habit, gradually increase the time until you’re spending thirty minutes alone with God on a daily basis. Use half the time to read (and study) the Bible and the other half to communicate with God in prayer. Share what’s on your heart, ask Him to share what’s on His, and take a few minutes to worship Him.

Don’t allow the distractions of the world to interfere with this time or cause you to skip days. While it may at first feel more like an obligation than a privilege, you will eventually grow to love your time with God and may even find yourself looking to add more and more to it.

2] Serve Others. Identify one opportunity to serve a group in your community on a regular basis, perhaps as often as once a week but no less than once a month. The range of possibilities are broad and include: helping displaced refugees settle into the area, volunteering at an agency that assists victims of domestic violence or human trafficking, serving with the Special Olympics, investing a few hours visiting the elderly at a retirement home, or making meals at a food bank.

Don’t wait for February to arrive before exploring your options. Take time right now to identify a couple opportunities and then reach out to the appropriate agency to learn how you can volunteer. Few things will bring you as much genuine satisfaction in 2016 as serving those less fortunate or undergoing a traumatic experience.

3] Take a Mission Trip. Invest a few days or a couple weeks and go outside your comfort zone to share God’s love with others in another country or a different culture. Opportunities abound and vary from working with kids, to helping with micro-loan programs, to providing basic home repairs, to evangelism. If your local church doesn’t offer a trip that’s a good fit for you, look around. Many churches send out mission teams and you don’t always need to be a member to participate. You may find the ideal opportunity at a neighboring church you’ve never attended.

And remember to go with a loving and humble attitude, which will go a long way in building bridges and creating friendships. Seek to learn and listen more than you teach and speak. And if you go to a different culture (especially to a developing country), prepare to be stretched, challenged, and even convicted – in your faith, your priorities, and your lifestyle. Watch how they worship, the emphasis they place on their relationship with God, and the generosity they extend to strangers despite their meager resources. Most of all prepare to be transformed. You will not come back the same person. I guarantee it!!

4] Eliminate Ongoing Sin. Though we strive to be like Christ and desire to attain perfection, we will never be fully free of sin until God calls us home. In fact, no matter how mature our faith there likely exists some sin that plagues us on an ongoing basis. Perhaps you cannot resist gossiping about others, or boasting about yourself, or consuming pornography, or casting aspersions on others.

What sin have you ignored or allowed to flourish for too long because you didn’t want to make the effort to eradicate it. Commit to making 2016 the year you put it to death. Inform God of your desire to be free from this sin and ask Him to empower you – through the Holy Spirit – to defeat it. Let your friends and family know of your commitment and solicit their help. Ask them to hold you accountable and point out instances when you slip (e.g. when you gossip, boast, or cast an aspersion).

It may help to identify a godly attribute that can replace the sin. For example, instead of casting aspersions, you edify others. Instead of staring at porn, you study Scripture. Rather than brag or gossip, you learn to listen or share the Good News. You won’t win the battle overnight but if you remain diligent to uproot the sin, you will experience victory over time.

5] Love Others. Have you noticed the world seems increasingly dangerous, with escalating levels of anger, hate, and bitterness? At the same time it appears to be growing more callous and cruel, filling people with despair, gloom, and hopelessness. And with these emotions comes an alarming acceleration of destructive and corrosive behaviors that threaten to crush civil society. Jesus once remarked that there would come such a time as this when, “The love of many will grow cold.” I can’t help but wonder if we have reached that time.

Has your love grown cold? Do you find it easier to fire an unkind word when someone mistreats you? Do you allow anger to dictate your behavior when offended? Has a spirit of bitterness or anger taken root in your heart? If so, 2016 may be the time to reignite your love for others, and not just friends and family. Everyone. Strangers. Enemies. The helpless. The hopeless. Those that spite you, ignore you, and disrespect you. Everyone. And extend to them the same unconditional love that God extends to you.

After all, love is the only real antidote to the rising tide of charged and treacherous emotions embroiling the globe. And while love may not immediately overcome the effects and actions of those harboring such sentiments, it will certainly begin reversing the tide. And it will help make 2016 your best year ever.

Faith

How to Really Put Christ Back in Christmas

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The weeks leading up to Christmas often witness a flurry of activity as believers prepare for the holiday by pursuing a variety of pre-Christmas traditions: shopping for gifts, putting up Christmas trees, and installing a pageantry of lights, nativity scenes, and plastic displays of Santa, reindeer, and snowmen. Many adjust the radio dial to a station that plays Christmas music while others look forward to various Christmas specials that materialize on network television this time of year. Some people even continue the tradition of caroling neighbors and communities, singing songs of joy and glad tidings.

Another tradition in recent years involves Christians vocalizing their hope that retailers, communities, and the public use the term ‘Merry Christmas’ instead of ‘Happy Holidays’ in greetings and advertising, and refer to office, school, and community gatherings as Christmas parties instead of holiday parties. These efforts are neatly summarized by the popular phrase: ‘put Christ back in Christmas.’ While well intentioned, such endeavors often do more harm than good and risk reinforcing a common misperception about the Christian faith.

Candidly, I’d rather only Christians greet me with ‘Merry Christmas.’ That would make it easier to identify individuals who have never encountered Jesus personally and are unfamiliar with His sacrifice for our sins. How many opportunities would we have to share the good news of Christ’s redemptive love if we allowed the use of ‘Happy Holidays’ to signal a person’s possible need for Jesus?

We should also remember that authentic Christianity exists in the heart -in those who surrender their lives to Jesus and are transformed by the Holy Spirit. They become new creations in Christ the moment they embrace Him as Lord with their whole heart, soul, and mind – not just with words. So when we insist others use ‘Christmas’ instead of ‘holiday’ to describe the season, we risk reducing the essence of Christmas to a few words instead of transformed lives.

Christmas is not about saying ‘Merry Christmas’ when greeting someone or when advertising in the Sunday paper. It is about the birth of a Savior and God’s effort to reconcile sinful mankind with Himself. Sadly, I think some in the church have forgotten that. As a remedy, we ought to read anew the biblical account of Jesus’ birth (found in the second chapters of Matthew and Luke) where we find five important insights about what Christmas really means. If we’re serious about “putting Christ back in Christmas”, we should spend more time applying those lessons in our own lives than trying to get society to say ‘Merry Christmas.’ Here’s a brief breakdown of all five.

1] Worship Jesus. More than anything else, Christmas is about worshipping our Savior, Jesus Christ. The wise men provided the ideal model for us to follow. They sought out Jesus and, upon finding Him, “fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:11, NKJV). They didn’t allow their social status or economic resources to dictate a more casual encounter with Jesus. They didn’t treat Him as a peer, a future leader, or the small child that He was. Instead, they worshipped Him as King of the Jews and the Blessed Redeemer. Anyone serious about putting Christ back in Christmas should adopt a similar approach. Find somewhere private you can go this Christmas and worship the Living God, and then build it into your daily routine.

2] Rejoice With Great Joy. As they approached Bethlehem, the wise men noticed the star they were following “stood over where the young Child was.” Aware of how near Jesus was, “they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matthew 2:10, NKJV). Similarly, the shepherds who visited Jesus shortly after His birth returned home “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20, NKJV). They couldn’t contain their exhilaration at having encountered God in the flesh.

Can you imagine that scene? A group of shepherds traveling a dusty road on their way home, singing praise and lifting shouts of joy to God. Does the presence of Jesus in your life produce a similar response? Are you filled to overflowing with joy and excitement over your relationship with Christ? I hope so. If not, ask Him to stir in your heart the same unbridled enthusiasm for Him that the wise men and shepherds displayed.

3] Give God Your Treasures. Unlike our modern tradition of exchanging gifts with friends and family, the Bible reveals a much different model. We are told that after worshiping Jesus, the wise men “opened their treasures” and “presented gifts to Him” (Matthew 2:11). They did not exchange gifts with one another nor did they look to get anything from Jesus in return. They simply presented their treasures to Jesus unconditionally. And lest we think these wise men offered gifts of little consequence, let’s recall that gold was the first of three treasures mentioned by Matthew in his account.

What treasures do you possess? Those who claim to want Christ back in Christmas ought to be the first ones offering God their treasures – and not the leftovers but the first fruits. Instead of exchanging gifts with loved ones who will return the favor, why not agree to spend your Christmas budget on God: funding a missionary; supporting the distribution of Bibles to unreached people groups; providing food, blankets, and clean water to the destitute; or covering the cost of housing for persecuted Christians displaced from their homes across Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East.

4] Proclaim Jesus to Others. If we really believe that ‘Jesus is the Reason for the Season’ – as so many yard signs, bumper stickers, and t-shirts suggest – then we ought to be sharing the powerful, transformative story of Jesus with as many people as possible: friends, neighbors, colleagues, and even strangers. We need look no further than the shepherds for an example. After an angel informed them, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (vs. 10), they traveled to Bethlehem “with great haste” to see the Messiah with their own eyes.

And what did they do after they encountered Jesus? Scripture tells us, “when they had seen Him, they made known the saying which was told them concerning the Christ” (Luke 2:17, NKJV). They couldn’t keep to themselves the wonderful news they had heard and experienced. They had to tell others, despite the fact they were shepherds and not great orators or theology students. We ought to do the same.

5] Encountering Jesus Requires Sacrifice. While we know very little about the wise men, Scripture does tell us they traveled from the East, presumably from a great distance since they did not arrive until Jesus was a young child. It is likely their journey took months, perhaps more than a year. Similarly, the shepherds left behind their livelihood (the defenseless sheep they tended to) while they journeyed to Bethlehem to see Jesus. It was not convenient for either group nor was it without cost or risk. But both groups deemed an encounter with the Savior worth it.

No doubt there will be activities, demands, and events in your life this season that will distract you from the true meaning of Christmas if you allow them. Left unchecked, they will consume all of your time and before you know it Christmas will be gone and you’ll have missed out on many opportunities to worship Jesus, sing joyful praises to Him, share His story with others, and give your treasures to Him.

Resist the temptation to let those other things dominate your schedule this December. Instead, prioritize your relationship with Jesus and remember that He really is “the reason for the season.” There is no better way to “put Christ back in Christmas” than to put Jesus first in your life!

Faith

A Most Misinterpreted Bible Passage.

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Throughout His ministry Jesus often used metaphors and parables to convey eternal truths. This was especially true when discussing topics His disciples would not fully understand until after His death (e.g. His reference to raising the Temple three days after it was destroyed). More often than not, though, He spoke in plain terms, particularly when sharing a truth His listeners might easily misinterpret.

One Bible passage, however, consistently confuses most Christians despite Jesus’ clear and unambiguous language. Even church leaders often fail to grasp the simple idea communicated and instead teach an interpretation that, at best, weakens Jesus’ message and, at worst, undermines it altogether. It is the passage immediately following Jesus’ dialogue with a rich young ruler about eternal life.

In that discourse Jesus directs the young man to the law in his quest for eternity and reminds him of six commands in particular. The young man assures Jesus he has kept the commandments, at which point Jesus tells him to go, sell his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. Upon hearing this, Scripture tells us, the man “went away grieved, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22, NKJV). His response to Jesus revealed that his love for the world exceeded his love for God.

As the man walks away, Jesus turns to His disciples and says something remarkable: “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23, NKJV). It is such a surprising statement that Scripture says, “The disciples were astonished at His words.”

I suspect many of us are astonished by His words as well and share the disciples’ view that Jesus can’t possibly mean what He said. We tell ourselves that His plain words must have a subtler, more nuanced meaning than what appears on the surface. Sensing the disciples’ incredulity (and ours), Jesus reiterates His point.

“Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24b-25, NKJV).

It is these verses (and the corresponding passages in Luke 18 and Matthew 19) that many misinterpret and which often lead to an unbiblical perspective on wealth and worldly possessions. The trouble begins when we go to great lengths to explain why Jesus’ plain words are not what they appear. Instead of focusing on what He is saying and gleaning insights from those words, we concentrate on what He is not saying:

1] Jesus is not saying it’s wrong to be rich.

2] Jesus is not telling us to sell our possessions to follow Him.

3] Jesus is not issuing a specific warning to the rich.

The problem with directing our attention to what is not being said is that it tends to undermine what Jesus did say. We turn Jesus’ powerful warning about the dangers of accumulating wealth and possessions into a toothless remark with plenty of caveats. We need not examine our lives through the lens of Jesus’ admonition because He does not mean what He says.

Even worse, many pastors adopt a similar approach when preaching from this text. But by ignoring Jesus’ penetrating counsel to the rich young ruler and instead preaching on what Jesus did not say, pastors proclaim their congregations free from the sin that plagued the young man. Parishioners need not examine their hearts for the presence of an idolatrous relationship with riches or the practice of poor stewardship. By focusing on what was not said, preachers reinforce the misperception many Christians have that the pursuit of wealth and accumulation of possessions align nicely with the call of Christ.

Another common misinterpretation insists that Jesus’ advice is not directed at the wealthy, per se, but instead represents a broader commentary for everyone. This view suggests that Jesus’ was articulating three big ideas:

1] Don’t allow anything in this world to become your god.

2] Don’t place your trust in material riches.

3] Nothing is impossible for God.

While all three of these points are biblically sound, they miss the most crucial point: that it is difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. In fact, that point is so critical Jesus mentioned it twice. He knew people would assume they had misheard Him or that He had misspoken. So to remove any ambiguity, He repeated Himself. And then, to prevent any misunderstanding of what ‘difficult’ means, He equated a rich man entering heaven with a camel walking through the eye of a needle.

Jesus directs His message squarely at those who possess the things of this world and almost certainly targets most of us living in this country. The difficulty lies not in the path required of the wealthy (for salvation is a gift of God, not of works) but rather in the fact that this world so easily distracts us from worshipping, loving, and serving God. And when we are entrenched in the things of this world they quickly supplant Jesus as the object of our worship, love, and service. Of course, even the poor can make material things a god and they, too, must exercise caution to avoid committing spiritual idolatry, but the danger is especially acute for those with financial means.

I wonder how many of us unknowingly mirror the rich young ruler. Like him, how many of us are confident in our eternal destination? He assumed (wrongly) that he had kept the law and therefore would spend eternity with God. How many of us (wrongly?) assume we have genuinely embraced Jesus as Lord and committed our lives to Him? How many of us, like the rich young ruler, have deceived ourselves so thoroughly that we are completely unaware of our spiritual blind spots?

In contrast with his spiritual self-assessment, the rich young ruler was far removed from God. Instead of being a spiritual giant, he was spiritually dead. His condition evidenced by his violation of the most important commandment, the one that forms a foundation for all others: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, NKJV).

With one challenge Jesus revealed the dramatic disconnect between the rich young ruler’s perception of his spiritual condition and reality. With one challenge Jesus exposed the truth that he didn’t love the Lord at all despite his assertion to the contrary. With one challenge Jesus showed that someone could embrace a false god and not know it. I wonder how many of us would walk away and refuse to give our possessions to the poor if Christ presented us with the same challenge?

While it is true that all things are possible with God, that we ought not place our trust in riches, and we should never idolize anything in this world, none of those represent the underlying truth Jesus was communicating. This passage is first and foremost a warning about how wealth, possessions, and the lures of this world can quickly and easily corrupt our hearts and replace Jesus as Lord of our lives.

It is a message particularly pertinent for our nation, both within and without the church. It is a message courageous pastors must deliver to their congregations without diluting Jesus’ clear and unambiguous message. It is a message we must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us. And it is a message that, when embraced, will produce an outpouring of repentance, a reexamination of resource allocation, a significant shift in stewardship, and a revitalized relationship with God.