Introduction to Christianity

4 Things We Added to the Bible

2026-04-15T06:15:00.001-05:00

I'm a nerd. Always have been, always will be. After college my nerdiness shifted some of its focus from science and science fiction to the scriptures. Yep, you can nerd out on the Bible. I haven't learned any esoteric secrets, but lately I've come to realize that a lot of what's rattling around in my head isn't exactly common knowledge, either, so we're going to start a series we'll call Bible 101. Some of the facts I'll share may only be interesting; others may have apologetic value or help us interpret the scriptures. Let's dive in by looking at things in our Bible that aren't actually in the inspired text.

Chapters
There's a more complicated history, but the chapter divisions we use now were developed in the 1200s by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury. A tradition says he was reading as he rode on a mule, and whenever the mule stopped, he would mark a chapter division. And some of them feel that random, such as when the seventh day of the creation account gets bumped to chapter 2.

Chapter numbers allow us to say "Psalm 23" instead of "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" to refer to that psalm. But the downside is we tend to think of them as hard breaks in thought when they usually are not. We often start reading one chapter without thinking about what came before. John 14 flows out of John 13. Romans 8 is a response to Romans 7. We rarely read Romans through in one sitting, much less John, so my practice has become, wherever I left my bookmark, I back up and read the last paragraph before proceeding. This helps maintain a sense of the logical flow of the text.

Verses
If we added chapters, it should be no surprise we added verse numbers. The history is complicated, but the version we currently use was made in the 1500s, and the Geneva Bible was the first English Bible to print them.

Like chapter numbers, verse numbers are so very useful. And they create the misconception that verses can stand alone. We pull favorite quotes out of books all the time, but we know they exist in a context. Somehow we lose that with Bible verses very easily. "Judge not lest you be judged" is the opening sentence in Jesus' instructions on the topic, not the whole thought. Even when we read the Bible, we can easily focus on one sentence, one "verse", and let it trip us up instead of letting the paragraph tell us what it means like we would in literally any other book. Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason likes to say, "There are no verses in the Bible." The numbers are useful for referring to a particular passage, but don't let them trick you into thinking they are standalone ideas.

Section headings
By now this is probably obvious, and if you've got two different translations, you've already seen that different versions will have different section headings. These are added to modern Bibles by editors trying to help us to recognize pericopes (that is, thought blocks) and to find things when we're skimming, looking for "that more than conquerors passage".

Different editorial teams will break the text into different blocks and give them different headings. And you can change them. As I study books, I develop my own outlines and label the sections as something that helps me remember what the passage teaches.

For example, the ESV labels Titus 1:8-16 "Qualifications for Elders". But that stretch goes into more than just elders. I wrote "Leaders to Rebuke False Teachers". Titus 2 is labeled "Teach Sound Doctrine". I wrote "Teach Lives that Adorn the Gospel". Are my sections headings better than theirs? They remind me of what I learned, and that's all they need to do.

Quotation marks
Actually, there is no punctuation at all in the Greek or Hebrew manuscripts; what we have is the product of decisions by translators. But the quotation marks really raise some issues.

If I could go back in time, I would teach the apostles about quotation marks. As it is, we cannot be 100% sure whether they're quoting or paraphrasing. When they quote the Old Testament and it doesn't match anything we have, is it because they were working from a different textual tradition or because they were paraphrasing? Some have suggested they didn't really see a difference between a quotation and a paraphrase.

In 1Corinthians 7:1, was Paul quoting the Corinthians or making a statement? The NASB reads:

Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

The ESV reads:

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

Which is it? We cannot be sure. There are several places in Paul's letters where it'd be really, really useful to know whether he was quoting what they'd written to him. Translators just have to use their best judgment.

This even affects the words of Jesus. In John, it can be hard to tell whether it's Jesus or the narrator speaking. Did Jesus utter the words of John 3:16? Translators go both ways on the issue.

Some questions we have about the scriptures simply cannot be answered. And that's OK. It'd be nice if 1Cor 7 was a little clearer, and we'd like to know if Jesus said those words, but God's message to us in his word is clear enough for us to understand what we absolutely need to understand. A few niggling questions around the edges don't change that.

Part of Bible 101

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Standing Out From The Crowd

2022-12-28T06:46:00.001-06:00

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10).

It can be rough standing out from the crowd. Don’t expect to be popular if you follow Jesus’ teachings.

As we finish up the Christian Behavior series, we need to look at how the world will react to people who actually follow Jesus. It’s not uncommon to hear that people only dislike Christians when they get preachy about sexual morality. That’s not actually true, though. People speak highly of Jesus' ethical teachings until someone actually starts following them. Then they can get grumpy real quick.

They’re happy for you to be honest — until they want you to lie. They think it’s great that you love your enemy unless they have the same enemy. They’re glad you don’t steal until you’re the only person not fudging your expense account. When everyone else is gossiping and telling coarse jokes, they want you to take part. When you don’t go along, some will feel judged. You didn’t say a word. You didn’t raise an eyebrow. It’s their own conscience that’s judging them. But they’ll blame you. When they feel judged, they’ll turn on the perceived source of their discomfort.

Jesus predicted this. That’s why he said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:11-12). There will always be people who persecute those who stand for righteousness, even when that stand is done silently. Just be sure they’re persecuting you because of righteousness or because of Jesus. As the saying goes, the gospel is offensive enough, we don’t need to add to the offense. If they hate you because you’re being a jerk, quit being a jerk. If they hate you because you’re following Jesus, “rejoice and be glad.”

The Lord also said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). People were happy to hear Jesus tell odd stories. They were thrilled when he fed them. They got unhappy when he called them to take up their crosses and follow him. They got angry when he taught a righteousness that goes more than skin deep. The way they reacted to him is the way they’ll react to his followers. As Paul said, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2Tim 3:12).

This doesn’t mean it will be constant. It doesn’t mean you’ll suffer your entire life. It does mean you should expect it and not be surprised or discouraged when it happens.

Christianity isn’t a suicide pact. If you can get out of bad situations, do so. But sometimes you can’t. When that happens:

“Rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1Pet 4:13-16, 19).

Fear God more than men and continue to do good, for God will remember those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.

Don’t be discouraged. The Christian life is not usually non-stop persecution. But sometimes you will suffer for doing good. This has been true from the beginning. And from the beginning Christians have found that Jesus is worth it all.

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Don't Pick and Choose

2022-12-14T06:30:00.001-06:00

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matt 7:24-25).

We really don’t like rules. The day our first parents broke the one rule they were given something crept into our DNA that makes us chafe against any limitations. Nothing makes us want to touch something more than a sign that says “don’t touch.”

We’ve spent the last several months looking at a lot of rules, things Jesus said to do or not do. Human nature is to go along with the ones that suit us and ignore the ones that seem too hard or too limiting. Jesus warns us not to do that.

There is another command of Jesus we should look at:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20).

We are to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded us. Picking and choosing is not an option.

If we don’t follow all the commands of Jesus, we’re not disciples of Jesus. If we decide which of his commands we’re going to obey, we’re not following Jesus; we’re following ourselves. We’re trying to be our own master, our own god. That’s just what the serpent promised Eve. It’s still a temptation today.

Following Jesus means following Jesus. We believe he has both the authority and the wisdom to tell us what to do, and we submit ourselves to him, even when we don’t want to. At least we try. We’ll never get it perfectly right on this side of eternity. However, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9).

Why should we do what Jesus commands? Besides all the reasons to obey in principle, Jesus gives us a very practical reason: When the storms come, the “house built on the rock” will stand. “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matt 7:26-27).

The storms will come. The life founded on the rock will withstand them. The person who picks and chooses, like the person who ignores Jesus entirely, will not.

But we want better than that. We don’t merely want to survive — we want to thrive. We want to know Jesus and to be like him. We want the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and, one day, to be welcomed with “well done”. So follow Jesus, all that he commands.

When you learn a language, you don't just learn the nouns or just the verbs or just words that begin with vowels. The goal is mastery; you want to learn it all. When you follow Christ, the goal is mastery — to be like the Master.

So come on, let's follow Jesus.

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Keep Watch

2022-11-30T05:57:00.001-06:00

“Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt 24:42).

The King is coming! One day the sky will split open and the Lord will appear. We “do not know the day or the hour” (Matt 25:13), but he’s coming, and it will be good for the servant whose Master finds him doing his job when he returns (Matt 24:46).

It’s tempting to wonder if he’s really coming. It’s been such a long time. This was a problem in the first century, so it’s not surprising for it to appear now.

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ...

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. ... (2Pet 3:3-10)

God’s “soon” isn’t necessarily our “soon”, but he fulfills his promises.

For perspective, we should look to the past. After the last Old Testament prophet, people wondered when God was going to do something for 400 years before Jesus came. From God’s promise to David until the arrival of his Son was 1000 years. The fulfillment of the promise to Abraham of a Seed in whom all the nations would be blessed took nearly 2000 years.

So if we’ve been waiting 2000 years, we’re in good company. We’ve waited a long time, but that doesn’t mean that God won’t fulfill his promises.

One day “the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God'' (1Thes 4:16). One day “the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” (2Pet 3:10).

So “what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” (2Pet 3:11-12).

I think that’s really what “keep watch” means. Yes, signs have been given, but more than looking for signs the Lord wants us to live like he’s coming back at any time. CS Lewis wrote, “The doctrine of the second coming has failed ... if it does not make us realize that at every moment of every year of our lives Donne’s question ‘What if this present were the world’s last night?’ is equally relevant.”¹

“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions” (Luke 12:42-43).

When Jesus returns, he will reward faithfulness, so keep watch — live like he’s coming back soon.

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.²

1 CS Lewis, “The World’s Last Night”
2 Horatio Spafford, "It Is Well With My Soul"

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Be On Your Guard

2022-11-16T06:00:00.002-06:00

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matt 7:15).

The enemy is among us. The Bible has a lot to say about false teachers. It’s a major topic in 2 Peter, Jude, Galatians, and the Pastorals, but it comes up in almost every New Testament book. Jesus called them “wolves in sheep’s clothing;” Paul called them “savage wolves” who would try to draw away disciples (Acts 20:29-30). Jude called them “shepherds who feed only themselves” (v12).

This isn’t just advice or a warning, it’s a command. Jesus tells us to be vigilant because these people are destructive. They tell people what they want to hear (2Tim 4:3-4). They may create legalistic rules (1Tim 4:1-5) leading to self-righteousness, or they may tell people there are no rules, that they can live however they want (Jude 1:4). Perhaps they’ll get us distracted by godless myths or foolish arguments (2Tim 2:23). Whatever they’re doing, they’re not building up the church. They’re misleading believers for their own profit (2Pet 2:3).

How do we detect these people? Jesus said to look at their lives (Matt 7:16). Yes, “don’t judge self-righteously”, but look at their lives. Pastors are supposed to be examples of living the Christian life well: “above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money” (1Tim 3:2-3). A pastor who’s got a wife and a girlfriend, a hot temper, or seems intent on getting rich should be immediately suspect.

That doesn’t mean everyone who sins is a false teacher. Because we all sin, there is no pastor who doesn’t sin, but there is a difference between saints struggling against the flesh and sinners wallowing in it.

Another thing to look for is the gospel they preach. Paul said, “even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Gal 1:8). There is one gospel. Anyone trying to “improve” on that gospel is a false teacher.

That doesn’t mean people who attempt to contextualize the gospel. It is necessary to explain the gospel in ways that make sense to different cultures. We’re talking about people who add or subtract from the gospel of Jesus. In the NT era, some were teaching you couldn’t be saved without being circumcised; others said you could be saved without turning away from your old sins. Both were false gospels.

And that reveals the problem with false teachers: The concern isn’t doctrinal purity for purity’s sake; false teachers lead people into sin and away from Christ. They preach a false gospel and a false Christ. They lead people into hell.

That’s the distinction between a “false teacher” and a teacher you think makes doctrinal errors. It’s easy to exaggerate the difference between the various Christian denominations. We really do all agree about the fundamentals. But the differences are real: Baptists think Lutherans are wrong about several things, and Lutherans think Baptists are wrong about those things. However, they are not disagreeing about the gospel.

Paul said, “The time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2Tim 4:3). We are in such a time. Be on your guard. Don’t be deceived. Protect the lost from those who would preach a false gospel.

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Ask Audaciously

2022-11-02T06:06:00.000-05:00

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7).

Do you trust God? How can we say we trust him to save us from our sins if we don’t trust everything else he says? But when he says, “Ask and it will be given to you,” that’s so hard to believe.

Is it hard to believe he’s able to give us what we ask for? Surely not. If he can create a universe, surely he can meet our little needs. So do we doubt his willingness? I think so. We have to trust that our heavenly Father wants to give us good things.

Paul said, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32), so we should be willing to act on what Jesus said. How do we do that?

First, we need to trust God’s good intentions. Jesus said:

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:9-11).

Our loving Father is not going to give us things that will hurt us. He wants us to have good things. God is not the wicked genie who grants wishes in ways that will harm us. Nor is he obliged to grant exactly what we ask for if that will harm us. He wants what is best for us.

Second, we should be audacious. Luke connects the above passage with another story:

“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need” (Luke 11:5-8).

I really enjoy the phrase “shameless audacity.” Ask boldly. Ask for what someone with better manners wouldn’t ask for. Ask like a child who has no concept of money, like a teenager asking for a Tesla. Reach for the stars because God is able, and he is willing.

However, he’s not always quick. So we must also be persistent:

“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice’” (Luke 18:1-5).

Jesus said if this unjust judge will finally answer a plea out of his own interests, we can trust our just God to do better (v6-8). Do your best to wear God out asking. Do you want healing? Don’t give up. Do you want to see someone saved? Don’t stop asking. Have a material need? Keep pestering God like a kid in the cereal aisle.

But God will not give you the wrong thing, and he won’t give you the right thing for the wrong reason.

“You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (Jam 4:2-3).

Despite what some teach, there is no magic formula that will force God to give you what you want, but God does intend to give you good things. Trust him, be bold, and be persistent. Wear ... him ... out.

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Don’t Judge Self-Righteously

2022-10-12T06:32:00.001-05:00

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matt 7:1-2).

Meet this era’s favorite Bible verse. Of course, they misunderstand and misuse it.

“Do not judge” is the only command in the Bible they believe to be absolute. Do not judge, no ifs ands or buts. Jesus does say that, but he says it in context, and we have to consider everything he says on the matter.

“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This is the real meat of what Jesus says. You will be judged by your own standards. Do you hate liars? You’d better not lie. Do you look down on adulterers? You’d better be squeaky clean, even in your thoughts (cf, Matt 5:28). Do you judge the intolerant? Then you must be the most tolerant person on earth.

Paul picks this idea up in Romans. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (2:1).

Like so much of the Sermon on the Mount, this passage shows us just how deep our wickedness goes. All men stand condemned before God because we do not even live up to our own standards, much less his. The only safe thing to do is to never judge. But no one does that; everyone judges.

So never, ever judge? Jesus doesn’t say that.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ... You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt 7:3-5).

You will be judged by the standards you use, so clean your act up before you point out your brother’s sin. Don’t tell me my house is dirty when yours is a mess. Don’t tell me my kids are undisciplined while yours are running amok. Deal with your own sin, then point out mine.

But you can and should point out mine:

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” (Matt 18:15-17).

There is a time to deal with sinners. Once you’ve cleaned your house (meaning no unconfessed, unrepented sin), you should help me clean mine. Point out my sin. If I don’t listen, get someone else involved, even the whole church. If I am still unrepentant? Do not associate with me. Paul gives us an example of this in 1Cor 5. This tough love is meant to bring me to repentance (2Cor 7:8-9).

If you love me, you’ll call out my sin. We have to help people deal with the things that separate them from God. This isn’t cruel; it’s life-giving. Saved sinners still need to repent — and to be reminded that there is forgiveness with Christ Jesus.

Now incline me to repent!
Let me now my fall lament!
Now my foul revolt deplore!
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

There for me the Savior stands,
shows His wounds and spreads His hands:
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps, but loves me still!¹

1 “Depth of Mercy” by Charles Wesley

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Don’t Worry, Be Thankful

2022-09-28T06:08:00.001-05:00

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life” (Matt 6:25-27).

Worry is a choice. We don’t think of it that way, of course. To us, worry is just what happens when you’ve got a lot on your mind, but the scriptures insist that worry is a choice that we’re making.

When Jesus talks about food and clothes, he’s not talking about modern, prosperous Americans who wonder if they can afford to eat out or want a new pair of designer jeans. He’s talking to people who wonder where their next meal will come from and only have one threadbare garment. He says to them, trust God to meet your material needs. If he expects that of them, he certainly does of us.

Jesus’ first point is that God takes care of his creatures: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ... And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these” (v26, 28-29). If God takes care of birds and flowers, how much more will he care for the creatures he made in his own image?

Jesus’ second point is the utter futility of worry: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (v27). What is accomplished by worrying? Gray hair and ulcers! Oh, and telling God you don’t trust him.

What should we do instead of worry? “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (v33). How do we do that? By doing everything he’s taught before this — shine your light so that God is glorified, practice real righteousness, love your enemy, and do your acts of piety for God’s approval rather than man’s. Do these things and trust God to take care of the more mundane things.

That’s what Jesus wants us to do, but will that necessarily keep us from worrying? No, worry will still be a temptation. So what do we do when we’re tempted to worry? Paul gives us an excellent action plan:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6).

Take your requests to God "with thanksgiving." That last part is the key. Don’t just pray for what you need but take the time to thank God for all the ways he’s already provided, for all he’s already done. Go all the way back, and think of everything that has worked out far better than it could have. Think of all of those little providences where you saw God provide. Maybe there were needs people met before they had any reason to know you had them. Perhaps coincidences that solved your problems. Take the advice of the old hymn:¹

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Go back and scour your life for signs of God’s provision; if you look, you will find them. Then thank him for them. If you’ve never done this before, be prepared to weep. Then, full of the memory of just how thoroughly God has taken care of you, ask him for whatever you need today. Then trust him to do what is best in wisdom.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).

1 “Count Your Blessings” by Johnson Oatman, Jr.

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Store Up Treasures

2022-09-14T06:07:00.001-05:00

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:19-21).

It’s OK to want to be rich, but there’s more than one kind of riches.

According to Jesus, there is wealth that will pass away and wealth that will last. He advises us to store up wealth that will last. But what kind of wealth lasts?

In the past, wealth might just be stored food. If you could store up enough grain to last a lifetime, you were set — unless something got into your grain and ruined it. Or you could have gold or silver — as long as no one broke in and stole it. Today people are less likely to keep massive granaries, preferring to invest so that your money makes more money. Until the stock market crashes or that company you sunk your savings into turns out to be nothing but a shell game. So some people just hide their cash in their backyard, which seems like a safe bet until runaway inflation hits and a loaf of bread costs a million dollars (or Deutsch marks).

Stored goods can be ruined, gold can be stolen, markets can crash, and money can be devalued. What kind of treasure lasts forever?

Remember our rule of thumb. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). Looking after widows and orphans in their distress sounds a lot like what Jesus described:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (Matt 25:34-36).

Jesus wants us to use the money we have to do good. “Money, wealth, and possessions have at least three primary purposes in Scripture: (1) to give appropriate care for one’s own family and prevent them from becoming a burden to others (1 Thess. 4:11–12; 2 Thess. 3:6–15; 1 Tim. 5:8); (2) to help those who are in need, especially the family of faith (Prov. 19:17; Acts 11:27–30; Rom. 15:25–27; 2 Cor 8:1–15; Gal. 6:7–10; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:3–7); and (3) to encourage and support God’s work in spreading the gospel of the kingdom both at home and around the world (1 Cor. 9:3–14; Phil. 4:14–19; 1 Tim. 5:17–18).”¹

It’s interesting that Jesus says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). He’s not telling us to put our money where our heart is. He says our heart follows our treasure. The more you give to God’s people and God’s work, the more your heart will be in heaven.

Is it wrong to save money? Is it a sin to save for retirement? No. The scriptures say it is good to lay up for future needs and for your children’s children (Prov 13:22). But you may never get to spend that money. None of us knows how long we will live, but we all know there is a life to come after retirement. So be sure to save for your post-retirement.

As the old saying goes, you can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.

1 Wilkins, Michael, NIV Application Commentary: Matthew

Image: a 10 million German mark bank note from 1923

Forgive the Unforgivable

2022-08-31T06:11:00.001-05:00

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12).

I no longer remember what we were talking about, but more than 15 years later, I still remember my response: “Some things you just can’t forgive.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were wrong and wished I could unsay them. Not only were those words not true, they encouraged someone else’s worst impulses.

Here’s the unvarnished truth: Those things you think you can’t forgive? Jesus wants you to forgive them. He demands it. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt 6:14-15).

Jesus told a parable (Matt 18:21-35) about a man who owed his king, in our terms, millions of dollars. Unable to pay what he owed, he begged for mercy, and his king forgave his entire debt. Then he encountered a man who owed him a few thousand dollars. He refused to show him the kind of mercy he himself was shown. Upon learning of this his king was enraged and demanded that he be punished to the fullest extent possible. And Jesus warned that we should expect the same.

Jesus says it’s millions versus thousands. Think about that. The people who’ve ill-treated you, the ones who’ve lied about you, stolen from you, maybe physically harmed you — Jesus says you owe God more than that. We’ve committed treason. We’ve spit in God’s face. And we continue to sin. We’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit; we are now capable of not sinning, but we still do it, and now we drag him along with us. We’ve done so much more against God than anyone has done against us. We have so much to be forgiven. He’s willing to forgive us if we’re willing to forgive them.

Rather than getting bogged down into weighty theological questions, let’s focus on the meat of the matter: Jesus’ people must be people who forgive.

There are lots of horrible things we can do to each other. Forgiving people doesn’t make any of that not wrong. It just means you, personally, aren’t going to hold it against them anymore. It doesn’t mean God won’t deal with them — he will. It means you’re going to leave it to him.

Is it hard to forgive some things? Absolutely. People can malign you, cheat you, steal from you, hurt you, even kill you. And you can forgive them. Jesus did.

After being lied about, mocked, falsely accused of a crime, and beaten, while he was in the process of being murdered, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).

What Jesus did, he expects us to do. We are told to “forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col 3:13), but more than that, Jesus says, forgive if you want to be forgiven (Matt 6:12).

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Do(n’t) Do Your Good Deeds Before Others

2022-08-17T06:15:00.001-05:00

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matt 6:1).

Some call this a contradiction. Matt 5:16 says to “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds.” This verse says not to. What’s going on?

Things are clearer when you read the whole passage. They always cut 5:16 off early. Jesus said to let them see your good deeds “and glorify your Father in heaven.” In chapter 6, Jesus is talking about doing things “to be honored by others” (6:2). It’s a matter of the heart.

It also helps to look at what is described in these two sections of the Sermon.

When Jesus tells us to let our light shine, he’s talking about being people who aren’t hateful, who don’t take revenge, who are faithful to our spouses, keep our word, and love our enemies.

When Jesus warns us about doing things “to be seen by them”, he talks about giving to the poor, praying in public, and making sure everyone knows you’re fasting. The first list is about real, heart righteousness. The second list is of those “religious acts” that can be done for show if you’re not careful.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do ... But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret” (6:2-4).

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (6:5-6).

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face” (6:16-17).

Jesus wants us to give, pray, and — heaven help us — fast. But he wants us to do it out of love for God and our neighbor, not for the attention and acclaim.

So when you give, give secretly if at all possible. And if not, make sure that down in your heart you’re not doing it to be noticed. Sometimes we have to pray out loud, but don’t do it so everyone will admire your prayers or piety. And when you fast, don’t make a big deal about it; no one else needs to know.

When you do these things for show, the attention of men is all you get. When you do these things for God, you get the attention of God.

Do you want your reward from God or men?

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Turn the Other Cheek, and Other Painful Instructions

2022-08-03T06:20:00.000-05:00

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt 5:38-39).

I don’t know if I can adequately communicate just how much I wish this passage wasn’t in the Bible.

The Law of Moses contained instructions for how to run Israel’s legal system. One of those rules was to take “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” when someone was injured (as opposed to head for eye and arm for tooth). People had apparently taken that as an individual instruction, using this command as justification for personal revenge. Jesus’ people are not to take personal revenge. More than that, they are to cooperate when people try to abuse them.

“If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
This has often been taken as an instruction for pacifism, but today most commentators seem to agree that Jesus was talking about a blow that is a personal insult. We aren’t being told to let people assault us (the scriptures do allow self-defense, eg, Ex 22:2-3), but we are expected to absorb an insult, even to offer them the other cheek — as if to say, “Do it again if you like.”

“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (v40).
This is from the legal system, an abusive lawsuit. The Jews weren’t supposed to keep a poor man’s cloak, but here someone is trying to take the very shirt off his back, so Jesus says to not only let him have it but give him that cloak, too.

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (v41).
This is basically government oppression. Someone is put to forced labor. Jesus says to volunteer for more. "Thank you, sir, may I have another!"

Turn the other cheek, give them your cloak, and go the extra mile. Don’t take revenge. Let them get away with it. Even go above and beyond to help them out.

The apostles continue with this line of thinking. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom 12:19). “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1Pet 3:9).

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (v42).
Then Jesus adds this. “Just give them the money.” Ouch. St. Augustine pointed out that this says to give to those who ask, not necessarily give them what they ask for, but still, this is asking a lot. Jesus was telling poor people to be generous even if the person asking was not in real need. (Though there seems to be an exception for those you know are simply lazy, cf, 2Thes 3:10).

Basically, let people abuse you. Let them take advantage of you. Let them wrong you. All of this offends my modern American sensibilities. I have rights! And Jesus just does. not. care.

Why? Because it’s not about me. All of this comes under being salt and light:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:13-16).

I'm tempted to think cracked pepper may be a better metaphor than salt for this command; you get the aroma and flavor only after you've abused the peppercorn. Let people abuse you because it’s not about you. Shine your light so they can see your Father in heaven. As NT Wright put it, “The Sermon on the Mount isn’t just about how to behave. It’s about discovering the living God in the loving, and dying, Jesus, and learning to reflect that love ourselves into the world that needs it so badly.”

Jesus is our example. He could be servant to all because he was secure in who he was and whose he was. He didn’t have anything to prove; his Father would take care of vindicating him. He was just focused on saving the lost.

So what about you? Are you secure enough to turn the other cheek?

Image via Pixabay

Nothing but the Truth

2022-07-20T06:01:00.000-05:00

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all ... Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matt 5:33, 37).

Truth is a precious commodity. In a world filled with “my truth”, alternative facts, and things that are “true from a certain point of view”, Jesus wants us to be people of Truth.

At first glance, Jesus’ command about oaths is a little puzzling. What’s wrong with making an oath and not breaking it? Jesus’ objection to oaths becomes clearer in another passage:

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ ... You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath’” (Matt 23:16-18).

The Pharisees had created an elaborate system that allowed people to weasel out of oaths. It let people get out of vows they’d made to the Lord, but it also made it hard to identify who was bound by an oath given to other people. You can almost imagine them flipping through their notes, trying to figure out if an oath was binding enough or if they should demand something stronger. People like this are not trustworthy.

One is reminded of the scene in The Princess Bride:

INIGO: I could give you my word as a Spaniard.
THE MAN IN BLACK: No good. I've known too many Spaniards.

The same could be said of the Jews of that time.

Jesus’ people are supposed to be different. They don’t make oaths because honesty does not require oaths. Every word out of our mouths is supposed to be utterly trustworthy.

I’m reminded of another scene, this time in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called “A Matter of Honor”:

KARGAN: Although we are on a peaceful mission, we are ready to go into battle instantly. I know I can count on every Klingon warrior in this crew to serve and die in that battle. So I ask you again, Commander Riker. Where are your loyalties?
RIKER: I have been assigned to serve this ship and to obey your orders. And I will do exactly that.
KARGAN: Will you take an oath to that effect?
RIKER: I just did.

The truth does not require elaborate rituals, oaths, or pinky promises. In a world full of weasel words, half-truths, and statistics, Jesus demands that we be people of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

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Lust is Poison

2022-06-29T06:21:00.001-05:00

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:27-28).

God takes sexual immorality very seriously, and it often starts with lust.

People do not just wake up and decide to sin. They respond to a temptation, which is then met with another temptation. And another. Where sexual immorality is concerned, that first temptation is often lust.

The problem is not seeing an attractive person and appreciating their good looks. It’s the second look. Looking back to take it in some more. You’re saying, “I’d like me some of that.” And that’s the seed of sexual immorality. From there it’s just one more compromise, then another compromise, and you’ve done something you can’t undo.

It’s after this statement that Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away” (Matt 27:29). Don’t mess around. Cut out whatever has to be cut out to get away from this sin.

Sexual immorality appears to be a special problem. The scriptures normally tell us to “resist the devil” (James 4:7, 1Pet 5:9), but about sexual immorality, it says, “flee.”

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body” (1Cor 6:18). Do not sin against your body. Don’t even get close to it. We like to see how close to the line we can get without stepping over. Then it’s easy to stumble and step over.

The problem is our society loves it some lust. Oh, it loves sexual immorality, too, but things designed to provoke lust are just everywhere. You can’t turn on the television, you can’t load up a web page. Even the ads on Christian sites are frequently wholly inappropriate, and the ads you can see on other sites would have been unmentionable in previous generations.

Leave the house, and the clothes that people wear are far more revealing than they need to be. And that’s without going to the gym.

So what do we do? “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.” Wherever possible, cut out sources of lust. You may need to cancel some magazines. Not just the traditional “smutty” magazines; we’re talking about things like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition or Maxim. Or whatever the women’s equivalent may be.

Wait, how many people still read magazines? But we’ve got TV and streaming services. And our phones and computers. Ad blockers and parental controls can let us filter what we see. We can make choices about what shows and sites we look at.

But then we have to leave the house. How do we manage? The scriptures frequently talk about the need for “self-control” (eg, Gal 5:22-23, 2Pet 1:5-8). This is a habit we have to get into. Rather than getting snared when you see something provocative, you can choose not to. And this, I find, is easier when you go into situations where this is likely with your eyes open.

Don’t be surprised; plan for it. “I’m about to walk into the gym/mall/school, I’m probably going to see something. This is how I’m going to respond.” And then do it. This, too, is “gouging out your eye” — refusing to let it lead you into sin. Easier said than done? Yeah. Doable? Yeah.

This can be applied to websites, too. It only takes a moment of strength to hit “reload”, and hopefully that ad will go away. Or maybe you’ll have to come back to that site later. If not, steel yourself to do what you were there to do and ignore the ad. Because if you feed that monster, it grows stronger. But if you can starve it, it will get weaker.

We live in a world designed to provoke lust in us. But lust is poison. Respond appropriately.

Image via Pixabay

The Danger of Anger

2022-06-15T06:31:00.003-05:00

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matt 5:21-22a).

Your anger is a fire, and you are the first person you burn.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about real righteousness. He doesn’t want us to be superficially good yet dirty inside. He called those people “whitewashed tombs” (Matt 23:27). No, our righteousness should go all the way down to the core.

And he starts with anger. You know not to commit murder. But anger is the first step down that path. As NT Wright put it in Matthew for Everyone, “the point of the commandment against murder was not that you should stop short of killing someone, but that you should never get near even the thought that you wish they were dead.”

At first glance, Jesus seems to say that all anger is wrong, but that can’t be true because we know Jesus experienced anger (eg, Matt 21:12), so there is righteous anger. The question is why you’re angry and what you do about it. “In your anger do not sin” (Eph 4:26a). Do not let your anger make you do things you shouldn’t.

Such as insulting people. Jesus continued his instructions: “Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matt 5:22). Do not let anger bring ugliness up from your heart and out your mouth. Some people truly are fools or white washed tombs, but usually anger leads us to say things that are not even true and are definitely meaner than necessary. “In your anger, do not sin.”

Paul adds: “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph 4:26b-27). Don’t leave your anger to fester. Deal with it. Make peace with the one you are angry with. And make peace with the one who is angry with you.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” (Matt 5:23-24).

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:26).

We’re supposed to be people marked by love, and love is not easily angered (1Cor 13:5). “Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:20), so “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Eph 4:31).

Instead, be slow to anger and quick to forgive. Like God.

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Love and Truth

2022-05-25T06:34:00.001-05:00

“Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’” (Mark 10:21).

What if we truly loved everyone we meet? How would that change how we interact with people?

Let’s review the story we call “The Rich Young Ruler”. A young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminds of the more man-focused commandments: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother” (Mark 10:19).

He replies, “All these I have kept since I was a boy” (v20).

Mark’s account includes this interesting comment: “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (v21).

So Jesus tells him he needs to sell everything he has and give it away. At this, the man left, proving that he loved his wealth more than God, violating the first commandment. As Jesus taught on another occasion, “You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matt 6:24).

Jesus looked at him and saw his pride and idolatry. And loved him. That love didn’t make him overlook the man’s sin; love made him address it. So he told him how to get past it and join Jesus. Jesus’ instructions might seem harsh, but he was doing it out of love. He wanted this young man to come to him. But the man needed to face the truth to do it.

What if love was the basis of our every encounter with people? What if we looked at every person we met and intentionally saw a person made in the image of God, a soul for whom Christ died, and a lost sheep the Shepherd greatly desires to find?

Apologists have a reputation, deservedly, of being abrasive and argumentative. What if they went into every exchange looking first and foremost for the way to show love to this person?

Culture warriors have a reputation for becoming angry and forgetting Christlike behavior. What if they went into every conversation seeing the other people involved primarily as someone who needs to see Jesus in them?

Doing this does not mean we don’t acknowledge their sin and their need for Christ. Quite the opposite. In his powerful little book The Grace and Truth Paradox, Randy Alcorn points out that Jesus models a life of grace and truth for us. Both are necessary. Neither will do the job alone.

If we minimize grace, the world sees no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show the world Jesus, we must offer unabridged grace and truth, emphasizing both, apologizing for neither. ...

Truth without grace crushes people and ceases to be truth. Grace without truth deceives people and ceases to be grace.

Whether you see yourself as an apologist or an evangelist or simply as a Christ-follower who’s trying to honor Jesus, we can learn to go into every encounter and love the other person. We can love the kid who bags our groceries. We can love the guy who makes our sandwich. We can love the woman at work who talks about us behind our back. We can love the boss who seemingly lives to make our lives difficult.

Easier said than done? Absolutely. Achievable? Yes. It’ll require a new habit of thought and a lot of prayer — prayer at home, at the grocery store, and at work. But this is the life Jesus modeled for us and the life to which he calls us. Let us learn to see people through Jesus' eyes.

Image: Heinrich Hofmann, "Christ and the Rich Young Ruler" 1889

The Law of Love: Love Your Enemy

2022-05-18T06:25:00.000-05:00

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).

This may be the Lord’s hardest command. “Do not commit adultery” comes naturally to a lot of people, but loving your enemy? That is completely unnatural.

Who’s my enemy? Whoever I don’t want to do good to. Whoever I don’t like. Whoever I feel is trying to harm me, ruin me, or mistreat me. Your enemy is the one trying to damage your reputation. Your enemy is the person who’s always asking for a very reasonable inch so they can take a mile.

What do I do with these people? “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well” (Matt 5:39).

That’s not how the world treats their enemies. Our world says, "If you disagree with me, you must be ruined." That is not the way of the cross. Christ’s followers do not slander their enemies, vandalize their homes or businesses, or try to destroy their livelihood. Rather than acting out of anger, we’re supposed to treat them as if they were friends:

“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it” (Ex 23:4-5).

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink” (Prov 25:21).

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Rom 12:14).

Why should you do this? Do it “that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:45-48).

We follow the one who, while hanging on the cross, said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1Pet 2:23).

The way Jesus died is the way we’re called to live.

Image via Pixabay

The Law of Love: Love Your Brother

2022-05-11T06:10:00.000-05:00

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

Christ’s people are to show each other a special kind of love. You’re supposed to do for other people whatever you’d want someone to do for you. You’re also expected to do for your brothers and sisters in Christ what you’d never dream of asking anyone to do for you.

Our model is the kind of sacrificial and humble love demonstrated by Christ Jesus

“Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!” (Phil 2:6-8)

That’s a high standard, but that’s the life to which we are called. What does that look like in practice? It is what some call the New Testament’s “one anothers”. For example:

Wash one another’s feet. (John 13:14)
Honor one another above yourselves. (Rom 12:10)
Serve one another in love. (Gal 5:13)
Carry each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2)
Be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Eph 4:2)
Be kind and compassionate to one another. (Eph 4:32)
Forgive each other. (Eph 4:32)
Bear with each other. (Col 3:13)
Spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Heb 10:24)
Encourage one another. (Heb 10:25)
Pray for each other. (James 5:16)
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1Pet 4:9)

It’s the high calling of humility where you “value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Phil 2:4). This attitude pleases God who “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

When we live like this, we not only honor Christ, we proclaim Christ to the world. As Jesus prayed to his Father, “Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23).

In giving us this command, Christ Jesus did not ask us to do anything he hasn’t already done himself. When we live this out, we honor him, we build each other up, and we show to the world around us that the gospel is true.

The Law of Love: Love Your Neighbor

2022-04-27T06:18:00.001-05:00

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:31).

Second only to the responsibility to love God with all you are is the command to love your neighbor. However, again, “love” is a weasel word in our society. So what does it mean to love someone? Jesus helped us out with some statements that will make it clearer.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 7:12).

We’ve labeled this the Golden Rule. It’s simple: Knowing nothing about that person, if you were the one in that situation, what would you want people to do for you? Many societies have a version of this, but it’s typically the negative, eg, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to another.” The negative is easy: If you don’t want to be set on fire, don’t set people on fire.

The positive requires you to do for burning people what you would want someone to do for you — namely, extinguish the flames. The positive is less easy. When you see someone who is hurting, someone who is hungry, someone who is cold, you are to give what you would like to receive were you in their place.

The apostles take this command seriously.

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1John 3:17).

Jesus emphasized this more when he quoted Hosea: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Matt 9:13). Mercy is the religious practice that God most desires.

So is that love — giving to people? No, that’s not all that is required. Paul summed it up for us nicely:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1Cor 13:4-7).

We like to hear that love is kind, and that means it’s generous. We like that love doesn’t do a lot of things — it doesn’t envy or boast or keep a record of wrongs. Our society needs to hear some things it doesn’t like: Love does not delight in evil. Love protects. Love cares about right and wrong. That means it cares about sin and the gospel because Jesus cares about them and said, “if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matt 18:6).

Love your neighbor as yourself. And in the process, love God. Love them with a godly love, a love that wants God's best for them.

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10 Commandments for Loving God

2022-04-06T06:22:00.001-05:00

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3).

Loving God is more than feelings; it’s what you do. It’s obeying him, choosing to honor him in how you live. The Decalogue, though often divided into “vertical” and “horizontal” rules (meaning, those pertaining to sins against God and those against other humans), can be viewed from the perspective of how each is a sin against God.

The first few are pretty obvious. You shall have no other gods because that suggests that the Living God is on par with the idols (or possibly demons, cf, 1Cor 10:20) which is an insult. God doesn’t share what’s his. If we love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we’ll have nothing left for another god — be it Ba’al or a modern god like money, success, or social acceptability.

You shall not make an image doesn’t just repeat “no other gods” but mainly forbids trying to “tame” God by misrepresenting him as less than he is. YHWH is not a calf. He is also not a grandfatherly figure who simply wants everyone to be happy. Thou shalt not replace God with a more manageable caricature of himself.

You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain because treating his name as common is like treating himself as common. Using his name like a curse word is treating him like a joke. Using his name in a false oath is like making him party to your lie.

Remember the Sabbath may not apply to us anymore, but the idea is still valid. God told them to take a day to rest from their work and focus on him. Failing to do so is not only failing to prioritize him, it’s also a failure to trust him. It says, “I don’t trust you to bless the work of the other six days enough for me to make it.” As well as “I value whatever I can produce on that seventh day more than I value you” and “you’re not worthy of a day of devotion.”

After that they’re less obvious, but we can still see how they’re ultimately about God.

Honor your father and your mother because they are the agents God used to give you life and to provide for you. They are also in authority over you. “There is no authority except that which God has established” (Rom 13:1), which includes your parents. Obeying your parents teaches you to obey God. Disobeying your parents teaches you to disobey God. Failing to honor your parents fails to respect that which God has established over you, which dishonors God.

You shall not murder because only God has the authority of life and death. To take his authority upon yourself is presumption. And man is made in the image of God (Gen 9:6); murder disrespects that image.

You shall not commit adultery because “what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Matt 19:6). God not only established marriage, he established this marriage, and violating that disrespects his design.

You shall not bear false witness is like the third commandment. Lying is bad; God hates dishonesty. But this command is really about perjury; perjury is worse. Any perjury corrupts justice, and God is a God of justice. Injustice offends him. Perjury in the name of God to pervert justice disrespects his name in the process of being unjust.

You shall not steal or covet because everything you have and everything your neighbor has is given by God. You do not have a right to what God has given other people, and to take or even desire what they have is to say that God has not given you what he ought, that he has done you wrong.

To sin against people is also to sin against God. Loving God requires not sinning against your neighbor. This is a high standard, and it requires hard work, but we do not do it alone. God has a plan to conform us “to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29). He will accomplish this plan. But we can make it easier on ourselves by putting our best efforts into it.

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The Law of Love: Love God

2022-03-30T07:19:00.000-05:00

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” That’s a good question. Is there one commandment we must obey above all else? Jesus said yes and gave the answer above.

What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Some will try to break it down into what each part signifies, but it boils down to this: Love God with everything you are and do. Love him with your thoughts, your emotions, your actions, and your intentions. Give him all of you; hold nothing back.

All you have to do is make every waking moment about him. Love him with your feelings and with your choices. As you go through the day, do what you do with a desire to honor him. Always choose to obey. Always choose what represents him well.

It’s incredibly simple. And incredibly difficult. None of us can do this consistently.

Martin Luther, the great reformer, realized that if this is the greatest commandment, then the greatest sin is to fail to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So we all commit the greatest sin countless times every single day we’re alive.

A holy and just God cannot wink at our sin. To do so would be to compromise his own holiness. This knowledge nearly led Luther to despair. Fortunately for us, it ultimately led him to the scriptures which led him to the cross.

We cannot love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But Jesus did. And then he paid for our failure in his own blood. Now “righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22). God’s grace covers our sins.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid” (Rom 6:1-2)! We cannot look at this as permission to fail in our duty to love God. It should be impetus to work harder. The God who created the universe created you knowing that he would have to rescue you from your failure to obey him, and he created you anyway. How should we respond to that kind of love?

In Christ, God not only forgives our failures, but he empowers our obedience. His indwelling Spirit will work with and through us to make us more like Jesus. “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed ... continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil 2:12-13).

A Rule of Thumb

2022-03-16T06:30:00.001-05:00

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

Too many rules are hard to follow. We like our rules kept simple. It’s easier to remember them which makes it easier to follow them — we hope. Stay 3 seconds behind the car in front of you. A serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Put some Windex on it.

We like our moral rules the same way. We always have. Jesus was asked what the most important rule was, and we know what he said — we call it the Great Commandment. People like to simplify that down to “love God, love people.” That sounds great. Except “love” is a weasel word in our society, and people don’t understand what “love God” really means.

Another popular summary for moral behavior is “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). I love that one. The only problem is “justice” doesn’t mean what a lot of people think it means.

So I offer this as a rule of thumb for this era: “Look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep yourself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

When in doubt, look out for the weakest among us. That’s a pretty safe rule. It doesn’t imply that we have to approve of their lifestyle choices. It can be done personally and corporately. If you see someone who is weak, who is in need, who is oppressed, help them.

And along the way, keep yourself from being polluted by the world. God doesn’t just want us to be charitable. He doesn’t just want us to take care of our neighbor. He wants us to love him by living holy lives. This is the element our society loses in “love God, love people”.

This shouldn’t surprise us. We love people who give lots of money to charity. But not when it’s money they embezzled. There is no amount of good you can do that will undo the bad you do. You love God and walk humbly with him in large part by keeping yourself unstained by the world.

Of course, the scriptures have a lot to say about what it means to do right by people and what pollutants we should be keeping ourselves from. We’ll be fleshing out the details. But in a sense, everything is going to be commentary on this one rule of thumb:

Look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep yourself from being polluted by the world.

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Show No Mercy

2022-03-09T06:20:00.000-06:00

“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matt 5:29).

Christians are supposed to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. To other people. Not to ourselves. We should show ourselves no mercy.

Radical surgery is required to remove the sin from our lives. Jesus, with a bit of hyperbole, tells us that if our eye or hand or foot makes us sin, we should get rid of it because “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Paul, in similar manner, talks about beating his body to discipline it and make it his slave “so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1Cor 9:27).

It’s been called the mortification (that is, killing) of the flesh, from Romans 8:13. That is exactly what we want to do to our sinful flesh — kill it. Choke it, bludgeon it, starve it to death. Just kill it. By any means necessary.

How do we do that? By taking Jesus’ metaphor of plucking out an eye and cutting off a hand seriously. Not literally — seriously.

The easiest example is porn. These days it comes to people via the internet. So you limit your access, as radically as necessary, even if it means switching to a “dumb phone”.

Adultery requires stopping. Cold turkey. And sometimes that means changing jobs or even cities to get away from that person. (I’ve seen it done.)

Other sins are harder. How do you kill your tendency to gossip? You might have to cut your favorite gossip partner out of your life. How do you kill greed? Some have gone as far as taking a vow of poverty. What about covetousness? Well, how do you feed it? If it’s car magazines or HGTV, then stop putting those things before your eyes. If it’s going to the mall, stop. Whatever your sin, be as brutal as necessary to cut it out of your life.

This is hard. This is painful. That’s why it’s called killing the flesh. But Jesus expects and deserves that we will leave behind the sins he saved us from.

Remember that we do not do this under our own power. It is “by the Spirit” that we put to death the sinful flesh (Rom 8:13). We have to decide to do it, but we have to lean on him for the power and the grace to actually accomplish it.

And never think you’re alone in this. Every believer has to do this. They may not be killing the same sin as you, but they’re killing something. This has been part of the walk of faith for 2,000 years. When you struggle with this, you’re in good company.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb 12:1-3).

Recommended reading: The Process

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Still Saved by Grace

2022-02-23T06:11:00.000-06:00

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:8-10).

Whenever we start talking about the need to obey, people start wondering whether we’re exchanging grace for works. God forbid! We are saved by grace, and no one will be able to boast that they did anything to merit salvation. But we were saved for good works. We were called to a godly life.

Some people don’t let that concern them. That should concern them. Faith that saves produces good works. The apostles took this quite seriously.

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1John 2:3-6).

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:12-13).

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ... So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do...” (Eph 4:1, 17).

Faith produces works. Grace transforms. A life given to Jesus is a life lived like Jesus for Jesus. We do it not to earn God’s favor but to show our gratitude for God’s grace. And we do it because the Jesus who died for us expects us to live for him.

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Why We Obey

2022-02-10T06:08:00.000-06:00

“May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (1Thes 3:13).

Why is it important to live a godly life? Here are a few reasons.

God said so: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1Pet 1:15-16) and “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). He commands that we be imitators of his holiness. He has set us apart for himself; he expects that we will come out and be separate, to cease to live like the people around us.

To make the gospel attractive: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16). So many people have closed their ears to the gospel because of the behavior of alleged Christians. May that never be said of us. Instead, let us live in a way that will “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10).

Out of love for Jesus: “If you love me, keep my commands. .... Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me” (John 14:15, 21). It’s been said that obedience is God’s love language, and that’s probably true, but Jesus says more than that. Obedience isn’t just how you love him; it is the sign that you love Jesus. Don’t tell him that you love him; show him.

As a response to God’s mercy: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Rom 12:1). The only sensible response to what God has done for us is to give ourselves to him, body and soul. And he wants the whole person. A sacrifice was the dedication of an entire animal to God. He wants us to be living sacrifices; he wants all of us, but he wants our life, not our death. This is real worship. If we do not do this, God isn’t interested in anything else. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1Sam 15:22).

We associate worship with music. And God calls for and deserves that:

I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, LORD, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life ... (Psalm 101:1-2)

But the worship God most desires is obedience given in response to who he is and what he has done. Telling the truth when it would be easier to lie, helping someone when it would be easier to pretend you didn't see — this is the worship God desires.

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