The difficulty in being 'dead'!

If I’m dead, why am I still tempted, tested and enjoy the trivial? Can I share with you this doctrine and, for me, the dilemma associated with the Christian life?

The New Testament repeatedly informs its readers about the momentous event at Calvary. Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6 declares that Christ embraced me (and you) when He was crucified. He died! We did too, in Him! But my problem was first written up by Paul. Romans 7:15-24. We know how he felt when he wrote ‘I do what I don’t want to do and don’t do what I should, and what I hate, I do!’

Why is it so?

The doctrinal implications about my death must be understood first of all from God’s vantage point. Following on from grasping the wonder that talks about we are faced with the moral expression of it in our life and living. As if that was all there was to it we then discover a ‘monster’ in our human nature.

How God views me – you - after a faith commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We, who were unclean, dead in sin and enemies are now alive to Him, cleansed, forgiven, justified.  We are no longer in the kingdom of Darkness but in the Kingdom of His Son¹! We are seated with Him in the Heavenly places². That which prevented us from having a relationship with God and barred us from Heaven eternally has been crucified, removed, buried! Romans 6:6 defined it as ‘the old man.’  God sees me and you as His - now. Trouble for me hovers around the fact that I have to work out in daily life what God has wrought in me. Easy, if we were in Heaven. Difficult as we who are ‘dead’ are still operating in World dominated by the Kingdom of darkness. We are confronted by doubts about our death, how to please God and controlling our very active memories and the twisted tastes of our soul.

What then am I, or you, to do when people claim to have a better way to be dead?

There has always been some who claimed to really be alive to Christ was to become a Jew first. That meant keeping the Mosaic Law as well as believing on Jesus. This was actually refuted by the man who claimed he had kept the law rigorously. Then he discovered the Mosaic couldn’t save him. That was Paul. Read Philippians 3 for his testimony.

This brilliant man didn’t say Jesus had killed the Law. No! It was still operating with its curse on failure and powerless to forgive after condemnation. In Romans 7:4 this upholder of salvation as supremely and solely by faith in Christ wrote believers are dead to the Law. We live in a new realm. The mandate for our life and living is to set our affections on Christ and to unleash His righteousness through our obedience to Him and His will. The Church council in Acts 15 did not require Gentile believers to place themselves under the yoke of the Law of Moses. Why? Because it could only tell us the wages of sin is death but it couldn’t give us life. In our commitment to Christ we have paid the penalty of sin which came when Adam transgressed God’s word. The Law of Moses defined some of the specific areas in which all ‘crash and burn’.

I, being a Gentile, was never under the Law. However, I was bound by my pagan and philosophical traditions with their avenues of escaping judgement. I still am surrounded by them but being redeemed from them I am dead to their influence. As I read the New Testament letters I gain an understanding of those traditions that no longer should dictate to me my views about God and my relationship with Him. I must realise that I’m dead to old and profane wives fables and pseudo-science³.

There is a majestic passage in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57. It speaks of our victory over the most dreaded time to come. Faith in Christ makes us share in His death and resurrection. We have new life and new dwelling arrangements. Unfortunately, for those who reject the grace of Christ Jesus and shun joining Him in His cross and resurrection they experience a death to which we have died. In Revelation 2:11 and 20:6 the promise is given to believers that we have no part in what is called ‘The second death.’ In Revelation 20:14 the destiny of those not dead to sin and their ‘old man’ and therefore alive in Christ are delivered into that realm. The ‘Second Death’ is no fun park but a place of gnashing teeth and tears of regret.

References.

 ¹Colossians 1:13. ²Ephesians 1:3.  ³1 Timothy 6:20.

Next week: Poem of the month.

 

©Ray Hawkins 28^th January 2018.

Tha case of Devious Saints.

The local church was meant to be a place of worship, fellowship, discipleship and stewardship of God given gifts. Unfortunately, as in the case of the Corinthian and Galatian churches, it becomes a battleground. The problem isn’t the Devil, although he will encourage the conflict. The turmoil is fought out when God’s redeemed people allow their Ego, prejudices and views seek to dominate, not serve.

Almost every letter in the New Testament points to or hints at how some of the saints behave in a very unsaintly manner. Read Galatians and be warned. Acts 15 was the 1^st and most important church council. There it was agreed that Gentiles didn’t have to be circumcised and live under Jewish culture and the Mosaic Law. This didn’t prevent well-meaning but legalistic saints from infiltrating the churches.

These people were sowers of discord and division by smooth talking and insidious undermining of the congregation’s faith and doctrine. They expected believers from other cultures to adopt their Jewish culture to become fully Christian. This was contrary to the Church Council’s decree. Because their tactics were devious they acted similar to the sneaky, creepy approach of the false prophets. Paul unmasked them and called them for what they were, carnal men causing dissension and division. If they had stood on the street corner and heralded their views that would have been acceptable. Open debate allows for good discussion. Ulterior motives are brewed and promoted in the dark corners of the soul.

The Corinthian church had its individuals endeavouring to manipulate and coerce their ways onto the congregation. When Christ isn’t the focus of a person’s affection, devotion and worship some other factor dominates. This can lead, as it did in Corinth, to chaos and loss of integrity and testimony. Were they trying to siphon off some from the church so as to form their own? That still happens. Romans 16:17-18 says mark such people and avoid them.

In one of the churches with whom I ministered a similar tension and conflict was developing. Some of the church members, who were also my friends, had been attracted to a particular view of worship and doctrine. They were intent upon getting others to accept it in an underhand and insidious manner. I talked with them about their approach. I said they could stand outside on the street and raise the ‘flag’ of their doctrine but don’t use the Devil’s methods to do what you consider are God’s words and ways. They accepted that. We remained friends. My sadness was that for those involved some marriages fell apart and loss of faith developed.

The warning of 1 Corinthians 3:17 is still operational. ‘If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy (Greek word means ‘defile’)…’ Such sneaky, creepy saints may seem to prosper and capture an audience but they are frowned upon by the Lord. By the power of their soul their work will be impressive, but it will not be blessed. Such divisive persons may be saved but they will be losers of Christ’s blessing around His judgement.

2 Corinthians 4:2 is a short and simple principle for leadership and worship in the local congregation.’[We] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God’.

Jesus impresses me with His openness and honesty. Deceit was not in mouth. Deception and infiltration were not his strategies. His words to inquirers included the cost of walking with Him. The local church is most at risk when God’s people try and do the Lord’s work in a sneaky, creepy way. The Saviour calls us to walk as He walked – in the Light. He was transparent in His dealings. So should be His people.

Next week. What are Christian ‘dead’ to?

 

 

Where Marriage was created.

The sexual debate has gone full circle from Caesar's time to now. When the Church began its entrance into Gentile territory it faced a sexual minefield. Rome's attitude to sexual relations was in stark contrast to that upheld by the Judeo-Christian faith. How did the Christian faith take on the challenge? 

By paying a high price in its commitment to the Scriptures Jesus believed in. By an understanding that marriage had links to the Creation of Adam and Eve. Believers showed a better way in their marital relationship and its impact upon the children. I don't read of Christians holding protest marches but rather being vilified for their stance and power of debate. The cross triumphed over the sword and the arena by the faithful witness even unto death.

Why would people once happy with a free and easy, unrestrained sexual taste remove themselves from that scene? Why would they be willing to be scorned by those once considered friends? Because the came to understand that marriage was more than sex and having legitimate heirs. Behind it was a spiritual dimension that only the Creator would explain much later. This reason undergirding marriage has for many Christians and church goers been neglected, or worse still, debunked.

Genesis tells us that the Lord created Adam first and from his side made Eve. How ridiculous! We all know it is the woman which gives birth. Why would the Creator stretch our credibility with Adam producing Eve? This isn't only recorded in Genesis 2:21-25 but by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:13. It is only the Scriptures that tells of the reason and it is twofold. One is that when a husband and wife come together in the sexual act they become one flesh. This is why the Bible is so strident against promiscuity. It is also the same reason as to why same sex relationships will never be valid  in the Lord God's sight. 

The other reason is that Eve being formed from out of the side of Adam pointed to Christ and the cross. Jesus is the redeemer. He is also the One (and the only One) from whom the Church could come. The significance of the spear into His side is for forgiveness, yes, but more so for the creation, birth, forming of the Church. That is why the Church is likened to a bride. It takes us back to the Creative act of God in Genesis. Therefore when a person was converted and realised the call upon his or her life a new mindset based upon the Bible developed.

Within this new realm grew a desire to honour the Lord and Saviour. To do that required making a commitment to live a life pleasing to Him. There are many verses in the New Testament explaining the difficulties but determination in living such a life. Too many disciples of Christ have too little understanding of the lifestyle required as pleasing unto their Lord.

Let us stand our ground as to why the Christian concept of marriage is best for our society. we don't have to be rude, crude or derogatory towards other views. However we may need to develop a mindset which will endure various forms of opposition. The best answer is in many ways is being muffled by relationship breakdowns of church goers. What is needed by non-Christians to see is a fulfilled, interesting, growing and enjoyable marriage between a man and a woman who seek to honour Jesus. Let it be your!

Ray Hawkins 13.8.2017
The devotional 'From Eden with Love is about Marriage. It is available from Christian bookshops and as an ebook.

You can get it from me, the author, also.

I want to break free

Port Arthur, Tasmania, convict era prison complex.

The music group Queen had a very popular song “I want to break free.” It expresses what many desire and few attain. To break free, as some have found, can cause more frustration, uncertainty and tears than their previous state. According to Jesus, to be free demands a special realm, a deliberate commitment and constant attention. He said that Truth will set you free! He claimed to be that realm when saying “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” in John 14:6. Therefore, it’s only in a committed faith relationship to and with Jesus that a person begins to understand what freedom is.

Why then the need for giving your faith relationship with Jesus constant attention? Because there are moral and spiritual forces opposed to Christ Jesus and His lifestyle for His followers. It is also necessary because something within our human nature has a sneaky way of abusing the grace of God and spoiling freedom’s realm. The wonder of our Lord’s mercy to us is the risk He takes for us to learn to live, learn and love in Freedom’s domain. By the ministry of the Holy Spirit we are led into a deeper and refining relationship with the Saviour. In walking in Truth according to His word we discover things about ourselves which needs forgiving, cleansing, refining, restoring, undertaking and achieving.

If only each of us was given the leisure and the peace to come to grips with all of the above. Each area is challenged by people and events, some good, some not good at all, meaning we need to know the Truth, apply the Truth, be guarded by the Truth. For this to be an ongoing reality requires the individual to take seriously Jesus’ direction as to where Truth resides. “Your word is Truth” Jesus declared in His prayer to God the Father (John 17:17). It is God’s Word which informs us of our need and points us to where that need is answered. However, we are required to correctly apply the Truth and not to dilute it or add our ‘ingredients and prejudices’ to it. Within the letters of the New Testament the writers, Paul, John, Peter, Jude, confront the ‘merchants of prejudice, poison and perversity.’

In the next couple of weeks we will endeavour to check out those who seek to rob a man or woman of his and her freedom in Christ. Some are well meaning. Some have evil intent. Some are simply naïve or ignorant of God word, grace and patience. Just briefly for today I would like to point out those who, in Paul’s words, want to put you back into bondage (Galatians 2:4). What he was furious about was the insidious way in which those who believed all should live under the Mosaic Law led people into error. They were trying to make Gentile believers in Christ surrender their freedom and to take upon themselves the yoke of the Law. That wasn’t merely the 10 Commandments but included the ceremonies, the judgements and statutes set out in Leviticus, Exodus and Deuteronomy.

The Law isn’t dead. But when we commit our lives to Christ Jesus we share in His death.

According to Romans 7:4 -7 we are dead to the Law and delivered from it. Does that mean we can do what we please? Hardly! For we have placed ourselves under the authority of Christ and receive His power to know and do His will. Another important passage has to deal with Christ as our High Priest. Those who place themselves under the bondage of the Law unconsciously (I believe) place themselves under the Aaronic Priesthood. In Hebrews 7:12 when Christ is our High Priest we experience a change of the Law. It is the realm of Grace and Truth, a much more liberating and at the same time very demanding realm. For in it we must ever be vigilant and assessing our inner and outer life under the searchlight of the Truth! Peter sums up the challenge in 2 Peter 3:18. We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus. The Law may have led us to Christ (Galatians 4) but having done its work we enter a new realm of knowing Christ as the Truth and thereby being set free!

More next week.

©Ray Hawkins March 26^th2017.