Righteousness, self control and the judgment to come

Posted on December 31, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Perhaps it is true that the church has been out of balance in the preaching of “hellfire and judgment” to an unhealthy degree. There may still be some churches that struggle with this but I think that more have swung the pendulum the other way and do not talk about Hell at all. They do this because talk of judgment and damnation are not attractive to those who might be visiting or only nominally attend. They prefer to emphasize the love of God.

I have not read the book Love Wins, by Rob Bell. But from the reactions to the book, I gather that Mr. Bell has softened the teaching on Hell to the point where many have accused Mr. Bell of being a universalist, one who believes that all people go to Heaven.

The problem with avoiding or negating teaching about Hell and punishment is that we then become negligent in our duty as Christians to make disciples. Right discipleship is to be based on truth and should include all the truth of Scripture. So while we need to use wisdom in how we present the reality of Hell and judgment, we cannot negate or avoid the clear teaching of Scripture on the subject.

The Apostle Paul does not seem to have been reluctant to mention the idea of judgment. When he was presenting the case for Christ before Felix, Paul spoke about “righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come.” (Acts 24:25) Paul was clear that there is a consequence to not accepting the provision of Jesus Christ to deal with our sin.

The author of Hebrews writes:

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:26–31, NASB)

The reality of judgment should motivate us to be more open about what we believe. It should be a motivation for the spread of the Gospel. Walk into any public place in America and stop and realize that many (perhaps a majority) of those who are around you are likely to face that judgment if someone does not intervene in their lives. This should be a sobering realization and should spur us to action.

As Paul reminds us in Romans 10:17, “faith comes by hearing.” But for someone to hear, it is necessary for someone like you and I to speak the words of Christ.

May we resolve to be bolder in our witness for Jesus Christ in 2013?

There are consequences if we do not. If what the Bible teaches about our final destiny is true, Jesus Christ is not a nice-to-have, like a bigger television. Jesus Christ is a need-to-have like air, water and food.

It’s not about do’s and don’ts

Posted on December 21, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22, NASB)

The negative command is to flee youthful lusts, but Paul goes on to give a positive one. Youthful lusts are to be replaced by the pursuit of righteousness, faith, love and peace. The negative command cannot be successfully accomplished unless the positive one is employed.

Too often we think of the Christian life in terms of the things we will not do. When this mindset is operational it is easy to become upset at the world all around us who is doing those very things. It is too easy to decry the degradation in the surrounding culture and long for the good old days where such behavior was not tolerated.

Instead of focusing on the negative, Paul gives us something to pursue. Rather than suppressing passions, Paul gives a worthy object for our passions.

Righteousness

When I see the word righteousness, I think of right standing before God. The beginning of this process is when we acknowledge our unrighteousness and accept God’s provision of Jesus as the means of our inheriting righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). At the moment we accept God’s provision, we are declared righteous.

There is also an ongoing component to righteousness. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 that we have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Elsewhere, Paul uses the analogy of clothing when he tells us to “put off” the old self (Eph. 4:22, Col. 2:11, Col 3:9). The follow-up is to put on the new man and live in obedience to God.

It took a long time for me to understand that this is more than adherence to a list of do’s and don’ts. To really pursue righteousness is to cultivate a deeper relationship with God through the reading of Scripture, prayer and fellowship with other believers. As I deepen in my relationship with God, it becomes less and less about external behavior and more and more about what motivates me and where my desires will lead. Righteousness is all about letting God be in control.

Faith

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that we enter into a relationship with God through faith. Yet that faith can and should grow. On multiple occasions, Jesus challenged his followers because of their “little faith.” The implication is that Jesus’ follower should move beyond the little faith stage to a robust, mature faith.

I am challenged by those who seem to be gifted with great faith. Seeing those, I realize that I have so much room to grow in my own faith.

Love

Jesus told us that the two great commands are to love God and to love our neighbor. I cannot claim to be proficient at either of these and have much room for growth. I suspect that none of us can claim to have fulfilled either command to perfection. To pursue love, selfless love, is a worthy occupation.

Peace

In human terms we think of peace as the absence of conflict. Yet this is not true peace. As Jesus points out in the Sermon on the Mount, hate is the root of murder and to hate is to commit murder without actually killing my adversary.

True peace is not only what happens on the outside. True peace must take place in our thoughts and emotions. Paul gives us indication of how true peace starts in Romans 5:1, it starts with “having been justified by faith.” This faith brings peace with God which can then begin to produce peace with ourselves and with others.

Conclusion

The Christian life should be so much more than following a list of do’s and don’ts. It should be so much more than a set of passionless rituals. A real walk with God should engage our mind and emotions in a pursuit of the things of God.

Heavenly minded or no good at all

Posted on December 12, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

I have heard it said that a person could be so Heavenly minded that he is of no Earthly good. Perhaps it is only me, but I find that I am in greater danger of becoming so Earthly minded that I am no good at all.

I do not how it could be possible to be too Heavenly minded. Paul tells us to “Set [our] mind[s] on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2). The verb is a present tense command. It carries the idea of continually thinking or considering the things above. It is an ongoing day by day, minute by minute activity.

I suppose the point of the platitude is that some might be so wrapped up in Bible study and “spiritual” activity that they miss opportunities to be of practical help to those around them.

But if we look to Jesus to show us what being Heavenly minded should look like, we see a very different picture. While it is true that Jesus spent hours in prayer with his Father, it must also be noted that he spent more hours in meeting the intellectual, spiritual and physical needs of those who came to him.

Another approach to this question is to examine what Jesus taught. Jesus boiled all of the law into two commands to love. First is love for God; second is love for the people around us. The degree to which I am fulfilling the second command is an indication as to how well I am doing the first. Love of God will result in love for man. Why is this the case? Because God loved us enough to send Jesus, the same Jesus who met the needs of the people around him.

To flip this around, to love our neighbor by meeting his physical needs without addressing his great spiritual one is a shallow and unsatisfactory love. If the greatest need of humanity is to be in relationship with God (as the Bible teaches us), it would be impossible to fully love my neighbor without loving God first.

It is only by being truly Heavenly minded that I can begin to be of real use to those around me. As Jesus reminds us, “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

No money in the revenge business

Posted on December 3, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 5 Comments

One of my all time favorite movies is The Princess Bride, which is listed as an adventure comedy.

One of the sub plots in the movie concerns Inigo Montoya who has spent his life in pursuit of revenge on the man who killed his father. When questioned about his occupation, Inigo mentions that he has to work for Vizzini because there is “not a lot of money in the revenge business.”

These are wise words and we would do well to hear them.

As with Inigo, the pursuit of revenge or the holding of a grudge takes a lot of time and energy that could be channeled into activities that provide a higher return.

In New Testament Greek, the word that is translated forgive in English also carries the idea of letting go or sending away. I think of this process as one of giving up being offended and allowing the issue to be between God and the one I am forgiving. In other words, to forgive means that the offense is no longer something that I think about. The offense is released into the hands of God.

I certainly do not want to make the process sound easy or clean. To understand the depth of the hurt resulting from the offense is sometimes very difficult but this does not diminish the importance of pursuing the goal of forgiveness.

Some offenses are easy to forgive. The rude checker at the grocery store or the driver who cuts you off in traffic are examples that come to mind. These types of offenses are not personal in that the checker or the driver is not targeting a particular person. When the checker is rude to me, he has likely been rude to the customers before and after me. I am not the target. This makes is easier to let go.

It is the personal offenses that are not so easily forgiven. When it gets to offenses committed by loved ones, parents or authority figures, the letting go may be a more difficult process. Deep wounds are difficult to heal and a friend or counselor may be a necessary part of the process of forgiveness. But, though difficult, the process is important.

Jesus tells us how important this process is when he teaches us to pray, “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) He follows this prayer up with the interesting statement,

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:14-15)

The point is that when we understand how much we’ve been forgiven, that understanding should motivate us to forgive others.

It strikes me that if forgiveness is a letting go, then it takes a measure of trust in God to let it go. If I am confident that God loves me and is in control, I can then be confident that the offense against me will not derail God’s good plan for me.

My experience shows me that this is easier to understand than to do. The concept is not difficult but the process is. I should also point out that there is a large difference between forgiveness and trust. There are people whom I have forgiven for their offenses against me that I do not trust. Forgiveness is granted but trust is earned.