A backslider is someone who knows God and seeks after God but subsequently turns away from Him. To backslide is to revert back to a life of sin, immorality and wrong doings. The word "backsliding" is used in the Old Testament Scripture to describe Israel's turning away from the Lord. There is no mention of backsliding in the New Testament Scripture, but that does not mean that there are no backsliding Christians. The Scripture uses other terms like "falling away" or "walking in darkness" to describe backsliding.
It is intersting to study the nature and consequences of Israel's backsliding and God's remedy so that we can learn from it and apply the same remedy to the Church and to individual Christians.
Old Testament Backsliding
Backsliding Israel - According to Jeremiah and Ezekiel
The first mention of backsliding in the Old Testament is in the Book of Jeremiah:
The Lord spoke through Jeremiah when Israel has forsaken the Lord, "Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you" (Jer. 2:19, NIV).
Later on the Lord said he would heal Israel's unfaithfulness and backsliding. And Israel promised to return to the Lord:
"Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding. Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God" (Jer. 3:22, NIV).
Backsliding is sin
"Although our sins testify against us, O Lord, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you" (Jer. 14:7, NIV, emphasis added).
Notice that Israel knowingly and willfully sinned against God. It seems they could not help their backsliding and wanted the Lord to "do something" to heal their backsliding.
Backsliding is rejecting God
"You have rejected me," declares the Lord. "You keep on backsliding" (Jer. 15:6, NIV, emphasis added).
Backsliding is defiling oneself with idols
"They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 37:23, NIV, emphasis added).
Backsliding Israel - According to Isaiah
Isaiah Chapter 59 contains a terrible list of the sins of God's backsliding people. I believe this Chapter is written to backsliders, to people who know God but subsequently turn from Him, to people who are religious but in rebellion against God. What amazes me is that these backsliders acknowledged and confessed their own sinful condition and yet repentance was not found! They would not turn from their wicked ways!
"For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them" (Isaiah 59:12, NKJV).
Read Isaiah 59:13 - 15 you'll find it contains a list of Israel's sins and transgressions:
1. Lack of justice and righteousness.
2. They rejected the truth and inequity was found in their hearts.
3. Those who were righteous, who departed from their evil ways became the prey of the backsliders. They wanted everyone to join in their backsliding. Those who refused to follow them were persecuted.
God's remedy for backsliding Israel
"He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him" (Isaiah 59:16, emphasis added).
Notice that the fearful list of transgression and the failure of God's people came to its climax with the statement, "There was no intercessor" - just one intercessor, Just someone to "come between" as a mediator.
The sin of His people was so great that He needs someone who is qualified to save the nation from the calamities which their sins deserved. Since He could not find a qualified human mediator (intercessor) for Israel "His own arm brought salvation for Him" - He became the Mediator Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ!
New Testament Backsliding
It is interesting to note that believers are already provided with the Intercessor, Jesus Christ, "the High Priest of our confession" (Hebrews 3:1) who always live to make intercession for them. So, what is God's remedy for Christians who backslide?
We must study the nature of Christian's backsliding after they have received "the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4) before we can answer the above question.
There are two stages of backsliding - backsliding as a "state" and apostasy:
Backsliding - as a "state" in the Christian walk
Backsliding involves the change of the believer's state but not his standing before God. The former is variable and depends upon his daily walk with God and many other factors of his spiritual life. Standing, by contrast, refers to the believer's position "in Christ", which is grounded in the unchangeable and perfect work of Christ for the believer. Faith in Christ secures his standing:
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12).
The "state" describes the changing and imperfect condition of the believer's soul from moment to moment as affected by backsliding on one hand or spiritual progress on the other. For example, if in a period of time, a believer fails to walk in the light he is in danger of backsliding:
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
This means the believer sins against God by walking in darkness instead of walking in the light. This causes him to break off fellowship with other believers. The remedy for this backsliding condition is confession:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Backsliding as a state of the Christian walk rarely leads to death and we who are in the light must pray for those who had committed sin that does not lead to death:
"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death" (1 John 5:16).
Other symptoms of backsliding and signs of falling away from the Christian faith are those described by Paul in his epistles to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:1 - 5 and 2 Tim. 3:1 - 5).
James said, "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19, 20).
The implication is that the intercessor has the ability to deliver a backsliding believer from the error of his way through prayer. This is consistent to God's remedy for backsliding Israel - the need of an intercessor.
Apostasy
Apostasy is more than falling away from the Christian faith. Apostasy is the determined, willful rejection of Christ, His teachings and commands. Not every act of apostasy is beyond restoration and not every sin of apostasy is "leading to death" (1 John 5:16).
Apostasy not leading to death
Here are some examples of apostasy not leading to death:
1. Hymenaeus and Alexander who rejected their faith and good conscience. They are said to have "suffered shipwreck" of their faith (1 Tim. 1:19, 20).
2. Those who are "the enemies of the cross of Christ":
"Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things" (Phil. 3:19).
3. Those who are "in opposition":
"In humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having heen taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Tim. 2:25, 26).
Apostasy leading to death
The writer of Hebrews said, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26, 27).
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:4 - 6, emphasis added).
The above describes the type of sin that John said:
"There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about it" (1 John 5:16).
Before a Christian could be guilty of committing the sin unto death, all five conditions mentioned in this Scripture would have to apply to him:
1. He is enlightened about the truth of God's Word which means he is not in darkness.
2. He has tasted the heavenly gift. Jesus is the Heavenly Gift. That means he is not a new believer and he knows Christ in a certain extent.
3. He is a partaker of the Holy Spirit. He has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit at one time.
4. He has tasted the good Word of God. He is not a "baby" Christian. He is mature enough to take the solid meat of God's Word.
5. He has tasted the power of the age (or world) to come. He has the gifts of the Spirit operating in his life and ministry.
I believe very few Christians could qualify to be guilty of committing the unpardonable sin - sin leading to death (1 John 5:16).
The only example I can think of is "the antichrist", "the man of sin" or "the son of perdition" that Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The antichrist is not only someone who is "against Christ" but also someone who claims to be Christ and takes the place of Christ. He is a "false Christ" or a "counterfeit Christ". He must have been a genuine Christian believer before he turns away from Him, for otherwise he does not know how to imitate Christ convincingly!
Why the unpardonable sin leads to death?
The truth is he who rejects Christ rejects the Intercessor.
Paul said, "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:34, emphasis added).
When Christ the Intercessor is rejected all other intercessors are likewise rejected. Note that Christians are able to intercede for others according to the will of God because Christ is our Intercessor.
This is the reason why John said, "There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about this" (1 John 5:16).
In other words, it is futile to intercede for someone who has committed sin that leads to death because this sinner has already rejected all intercessors!
When there is no Intercessor or when the Intercessor is rejected there is no healing and restoration for the backsliders and apostates! - An important spiritual law.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
The Evil Work of Witchcraft
I am talking about witchcraft of a different kind. The kind that works in the individual life and in the Church. The kind that Paul talks about in his epistle to the Churches of Galatia:
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus was clearly portrayed among you as crucified" (Galatians 3:1, NKJV, emphasis added)?
The Galatians have been bewitched by an evil force working in the Church to obscure what Jesus Christ has done on the Cross. The work of witchcraft caused the Galatians to turn away from the true Gospel to a different gospel (Gal. 1:7).
One of Satan's tactics is to obscure what happened on the Cross. Satan does not want the Church to know he has been completely defeated by what Christ has done on the Cross. The evil force that obscured the work of the Cross is called in the Bible, witchcraft.
I believe the contemporary Church, in a certain extent, is in the condition stated by Paul in Galatians 3:1. Christians might not pursue an obvious form of "different" gospel, but once the Church loses sight of what was accomplished on the cross, the Church no longer able to administer Jesus' victory over Satan! The Church then becomes weak, blinded, religious, complacent, worldly and an easy target for wrong doctrines.
The Work of witchcraft in the Church and in the Lives of Believers
Witchcraft is an illegitimate power that supports and illegitimate authority. The power behind witchcraft is a supplanter or a usurper. So, God's ordained authority is set aside by man's rebellion and another authority is set in its place. This authority is maintained by the supernatural power of witchcraft.
Witchcraft does its work in the soul realm of Christian (Please refer to my earlier messages concerning Spirit, Soul and Body). As a result the following things can happen:
1. The Spiritual is supplanted by the Carnal
Isaac (speaks of the spiritual) was supplanted by Ishmael (speaks of the carnal). When carnality takes the place of spirituality in the Church, every decision made by the carnal mind is by voting and consensus independent from the leading of the Holy Spirit. Instead of excercising discernment the Chruch does what seems good or right to men.
Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).
In other words, those who are not led by the Spirit of God mignt not be the sons of God. All sons of God must depend on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
2. Revelation is supplanted by Theology
Revelation is spiritual but theology is soulish. Revelation comes from the Holy Spirit, but theology comes from human intellect through reasoning.
3. Discipleship is supplanted by Education
Education teaches people's mind, but discipleship trains people's character. Just to educate the mind of a person without training his character is to promote disasters - lawlessness.
Paul said, "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).
If you just get people into a religious atmosphere and educate their carnal mind independent of God, what you are educating are enemies of God. The finished products are educated enemies of God. Major seminaries and Bible schools are educating the carnal mind of Christians by carnal minded professors and lecturers.
4. Discernment is supplanted by Psychology
Much of the teachings in the Church is based on books written by Christian psychologies or psychologists with Christian background. Some of these materials are good but spiritual discernment is needed to ensure such materials are food for the spiritual mind and not the carnal mind which must be starved to death. We must let the spiritual overcomes the carnal.
Paul said, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6).
Psychology is the study of the human mind (part of the human soul). It does not understand the human spirit. The Bible is the only book that feeds the human spirit.
5. Supernatural Power is supplanted by Eloquence
Paul said, "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:4, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, the power of God must not be supplanted by wisdom of men.
6. Headship of Man is supplanted by Women in the Home and in the Church
Paul gave the principle of Headship in the Church and in the Christian home in 1 Corinthians:
"The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3).
The Divine Order is : "God, Christ, man and woman" and NOT "God, Christ, woman and man"!
(Please read my earlier posting: "Divine Authority and Headship" - 1st March 2005)
Paul reminded Timothy of the above principle, "And I do not permit a woman to teach (in the Church) or to have authority over a man, ..." (1 Tim. 2:12, NKJV, emphasis added).
It is impossible to appoint a woman to pastor a Local Church without disobeying the divine principle of Headship!
Many Christian homes have also violated this divine principle. Here is a classic example:
I know a Christian home where the wife is the head of all things. She makes all decisions in all areas concerning the needs of the family - in managing family budget, spending in eating out, paying of bills, children's education needs, holiday plan and plan for buying a new car or shifting to a new house etc. Her hasband receives pocket money from her. She checks his wallet regularly and she'll take back any unspent money! He enjoys no privacy at all.
This family is living in total disobedience to what Paul said to the Christians in Ephesus:
"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord, for the husband is head of wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything (Eph. 5:22 - 24, emphasis added).
The above is not a complete list, but the examples are sufficient to show the power of witchcraft at work in the Church of Jesus Christ and in the Christian homes!
Manipulation is a form of Witchcraft
Manipulation is a form of witchcraft in disguise. The root of manipulation and all other forms of witchcraft is rebellion.
Samuel told Saul why the Lord has rejected him as king:
"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).
Not only is rebellion as sinful as witchcraft but both are related forms of apostasy. Rebellion being denial of God's authority, and witchcraft is the recognition of another supernatural power distinct from God.
When you manipulate someone you cause that person to do the things you want that person to do. In other words, you influent that person to do your will. Manipulation is a form of witchcraft because it uses human wisdom and authority (independent from God) to change a person or a situation.
Manipulation is not the will of God. God Himself never manipulates us, and He never authorizes us to manipulate other people either. Whenever we resort to manipulation, we have passed from the realm of the spiritual to that of the soulish. We are operating in a form of wisdom that is not from above (James 3:15).
Manipulations in the Christian Family
1. Parents manipulate children
You might have heard a mother said to her child, "If you want mommy to love you, go and water the plants".
The mother was exploiting affection - letting her child to believe that her mother's love for her depends on her good behavior. The fact is children need not earn the love of parents.
2. Children manipulate parents
Every child is born with a rebellious nature. No one needs to learn how to be a rebel. As an example, a child knows when no visitors are around her mother would not allow her to do certain things. So, the child waits until her grandmother comes for a visit. Then she would do the things she likes to do knowing that her mother would not refuse her in front of a visitor.
Another form of manipulation is by crying and throwing of tantrum to seek attention. By not checking the children's manipulative behavior is to starting them on a bad course through life. When they become adults they become a terror to their families.
3. A wife manipulates her husband and vice versa
Withholding sexual relation or offering sexual relation in exhange for a favor. This is forbidden by Scripture:
Paul said, "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does" (1 Cor. 7:3, 4).
Manipulations in the Church
1. Appealing for money
One common technique used by the preacher of the "prosperity gospel" is motivated by guilt and fear - make people offer money out of the sense of fear and guilt.
(Please read my earlier posting - "Can a Christian commit the unpardonable sin?" - 14th March 2005)
A preacher came to a local Church said, "The Lord told me, some of you businessmen failed in your business last year because you did not tithe properly to this Church. Now, make sure you do not make the same mistake again this year or worse things might come upon you!"
2. Manipulation through fear and threat
A pastor was heard saying to a Church member, "Now hear this, if you leave this Church you'll never prosper".
This pastor has unknowingly invoked a curse on the Church member who was thinking of leaving the Church.
3. Manipulation through the demand of unquestioned loyalty
The same pastor said, "I'm your pastor, you have to obey me. If you don't obey me you're disobeying God"!
This is a lie - The pastor makes himself equal to God.
4. Manipulation through prayer
It is foolish to assume that prayer is always acceptable and its effects are always good. The Bible says otherwise - we can sin against God with our careless praryer.
Solomon warned us, "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination" (Proverbs 28:9, emphasis added).
The phrase "hearing the law" does not merely mean "hearing and obeying Moses Law".
This also means "the law and the will of God". The will of God is revealed by the Holy Spirit, our divine Helper. What Proverbs 28:9 says is:
"Unless our prayer is led by the Holy Spirit it would not be acceptable to God". Apart from the Holy Spirit we are incapable of praying in a way that will please God and accomplish His purpose.
Paul explained this divine principle clearly in Romans 8:26, 27.
Here is a classic example. Irene (not her real name), the only Christian girl in her family, wants to marry her Christian boyfriend Michael (not his real name). But her non-Christian father would not allow her. So, Michael went to see his pastor and requests the Church to pray that Irene's father would change his mind. If prayer is made according to the wishes of Michael, this is a perfect example of manipulation. First of all the Church does not know Michael's integrity. Secondly, no one knows, except Michael and Irene, the reasons why Irene's father objected the marriage. Irene's father is in a far better position to know more than the Church concerning his own daughter's plan for the future.
The right thing to do is to get someone from the Church to share the Gospel to Irene's father and pray for his salvation. And then the pastor can start to counsel the whole family including Irene and Michael. Whatever the outcome, let God's will be done.
Paul's Remedy
Just to understand what Jesus has done on the cross for us is not good enough. We must learn how to appropriate the work of the cross in us - This is Paul's remedy for those who are deceived by witchcraft:
"Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father" (Galatians 1:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, it is God's will and purpose to deliver his people from the "present evil age". The Amplified Bible says, "present world order" and the King James says, "evil world".
The present world order is an order that is in rebellion against God. But, the Church is a group of people called out from the world (1 Peter 2:9,10). The Church is in the world but not of the world.
Jesus said, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:19, emphasis added).
Notice the word "world" occurs five times in the above verse. Jesus has taken us, the Church out of the world, we have no reason to get back into the world again. Or even worse, let the world gets into the Church. Therefore, we must not be complacent if the world does not hate us. If the world is more than half inside the Church there is no reason for the world to hate its own!
I strongly believe God is going to take His true Church (the Bride of Christ) Home just like He took His Son, Jesus Christ Home - by way of the Cross with persecutions, trials, sufferings and tribulations!
Are we ready for it?
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus was clearly portrayed among you as crucified" (Galatians 3:1, NKJV, emphasis added)?
The Galatians have been bewitched by an evil force working in the Church to obscure what Jesus Christ has done on the Cross. The work of witchcraft caused the Galatians to turn away from the true Gospel to a different gospel (Gal. 1:7).
One of Satan's tactics is to obscure what happened on the Cross. Satan does not want the Church to know he has been completely defeated by what Christ has done on the Cross. The evil force that obscured the work of the Cross is called in the Bible, witchcraft.
I believe the contemporary Church, in a certain extent, is in the condition stated by Paul in Galatians 3:1. Christians might not pursue an obvious form of "different" gospel, but once the Church loses sight of what was accomplished on the cross, the Church no longer able to administer Jesus' victory over Satan! The Church then becomes weak, blinded, religious, complacent, worldly and an easy target for wrong doctrines.
The Work of witchcraft in the Church and in the Lives of Believers
Witchcraft is an illegitimate power that supports and illegitimate authority. The power behind witchcraft is a supplanter or a usurper. So, God's ordained authority is set aside by man's rebellion and another authority is set in its place. This authority is maintained by the supernatural power of witchcraft.
Witchcraft does its work in the soul realm of Christian (Please refer to my earlier messages concerning Spirit, Soul and Body). As a result the following things can happen:
1. The Spiritual is supplanted by the Carnal
Isaac (speaks of the spiritual) was supplanted by Ishmael (speaks of the carnal). When carnality takes the place of spirituality in the Church, every decision made by the carnal mind is by voting and consensus independent from the leading of the Holy Spirit. Instead of excercising discernment the Chruch does what seems good or right to men.
Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:14).
In other words, those who are not led by the Spirit of God mignt not be the sons of God. All sons of God must depend on the leading of the Holy Spirit.
2. Revelation is supplanted by Theology
Revelation is spiritual but theology is soulish. Revelation comes from the Holy Spirit, but theology comes from human intellect through reasoning.
3. Discipleship is supplanted by Education
Education teaches people's mind, but discipleship trains people's character. Just to educate the mind of a person without training his character is to promote disasters - lawlessness.
Paul said, "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).
If you just get people into a religious atmosphere and educate their carnal mind independent of God, what you are educating are enemies of God. The finished products are educated enemies of God. Major seminaries and Bible schools are educating the carnal mind of Christians by carnal minded professors and lecturers.
4. Discernment is supplanted by Psychology
Much of the teachings in the Church is based on books written by Christian psychologies or psychologists with Christian background. Some of these materials are good but spiritual discernment is needed to ensure such materials are food for the spiritual mind and not the carnal mind which must be starved to death. We must let the spiritual overcomes the carnal.
Paul said, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6).
Psychology is the study of the human mind (part of the human soul). It does not understand the human spirit. The Bible is the only book that feeds the human spirit.
5. Supernatural Power is supplanted by Eloquence
Paul said, "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:4, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, the power of God must not be supplanted by wisdom of men.
6. Headship of Man is supplanted by Women in the Home and in the Church
Paul gave the principle of Headship in the Church and in the Christian home in 1 Corinthians:
"The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3).
The Divine Order is : "God, Christ, man and woman" and NOT "God, Christ, woman and man"!
(Please read my earlier posting: "Divine Authority and Headship" - 1st March 2005)
Paul reminded Timothy of the above principle, "And I do not permit a woman to teach (in the Church) or to have authority over a man, ..." (1 Tim. 2:12, NKJV, emphasis added).
It is impossible to appoint a woman to pastor a Local Church without disobeying the divine principle of Headship!
Many Christian homes have also violated this divine principle. Here is a classic example:
I know a Christian home where the wife is the head of all things. She makes all decisions in all areas concerning the needs of the family - in managing family budget, spending in eating out, paying of bills, children's education needs, holiday plan and plan for buying a new car or shifting to a new house etc. Her hasband receives pocket money from her. She checks his wallet regularly and she'll take back any unspent money! He enjoys no privacy at all.
This family is living in total disobedience to what Paul said to the Christians in Ephesus:
"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord, for the husband is head of wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything (Eph. 5:22 - 24, emphasis added).
The above is not a complete list, but the examples are sufficient to show the power of witchcraft at work in the Church of Jesus Christ and in the Christian homes!
Manipulation is a form of Witchcraft
Manipulation is a form of witchcraft in disguise. The root of manipulation and all other forms of witchcraft is rebellion.
Samuel told Saul why the Lord has rejected him as king:
"Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).
Not only is rebellion as sinful as witchcraft but both are related forms of apostasy. Rebellion being denial of God's authority, and witchcraft is the recognition of another supernatural power distinct from God.
When you manipulate someone you cause that person to do the things you want that person to do. In other words, you influent that person to do your will. Manipulation is a form of witchcraft because it uses human wisdom and authority (independent from God) to change a person or a situation.
Manipulation is not the will of God. God Himself never manipulates us, and He never authorizes us to manipulate other people either. Whenever we resort to manipulation, we have passed from the realm of the spiritual to that of the soulish. We are operating in a form of wisdom that is not from above (James 3:15).
Manipulations in the Christian Family
1. Parents manipulate children
You might have heard a mother said to her child, "If you want mommy to love you, go and water the plants".
The mother was exploiting affection - letting her child to believe that her mother's love for her depends on her good behavior. The fact is children need not earn the love of parents.
2. Children manipulate parents
Every child is born with a rebellious nature. No one needs to learn how to be a rebel. As an example, a child knows when no visitors are around her mother would not allow her to do certain things. So, the child waits until her grandmother comes for a visit. Then she would do the things she likes to do knowing that her mother would not refuse her in front of a visitor.
Another form of manipulation is by crying and throwing of tantrum to seek attention. By not checking the children's manipulative behavior is to starting them on a bad course through life. When they become adults they become a terror to their families.
3. A wife manipulates her husband and vice versa
Withholding sexual relation or offering sexual relation in exhange for a favor. This is forbidden by Scripture:
Paul said, "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does" (1 Cor. 7:3, 4).
Manipulations in the Church
1. Appealing for money
One common technique used by the preacher of the "prosperity gospel" is motivated by guilt and fear - make people offer money out of the sense of fear and guilt.
(Please read my earlier posting - "Can a Christian commit the unpardonable sin?" - 14th March 2005)
A preacher came to a local Church said, "The Lord told me, some of you businessmen failed in your business last year because you did not tithe properly to this Church. Now, make sure you do not make the same mistake again this year or worse things might come upon you!"
2. Manipulation through fear and threat
A pastor was heard saying to a Church member, "Now hear this, if you leave this Church you'll never prosper".
This pastor has unknowingly invoked a curse on the Church member who was thinking of leaving the Church.
3. Manipulation through the demand of unquestioned loyalty
The same pastor said, "I'm your pastor, you have to obey me. If you don't obey me you're disobeying God"!
This is a lie - The pastor makes himself equal to God.
4. Manipulation through prayer
It is foolish to assume that prayer is always acceptable and its effects are always good. The Bible says otherwise - we can sin against God with our careless praryer.
Solomon warned us, "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination" (Proverbs 28:9, emphasis added).
The phrase "hearing the law" does not merely mean "hearing and obeying Moses Law".
This also means "the law and the will of God". The will of God is revealed by the Holy Spirit, our divine Helper. What Proverbs 28:9 says is:
"Unless our prayer is led by the Holy Spirit it would not be acceptable to God". Apart from the Holy Spirit we are incapable of praying in a way that will please God and accomplish His purpose.
Paul explained this divine principle clearly in Romans 8:26, 27.
Here is a classic example. Irene (not her real name), the only Christian girl in her family, wants to marry her Christian boyfriend Michael (not his real name). But her non-Christian father would not allow her. So, Michael went to see his pastor and requests the Church to pray that Irene's father would change his mind. If prayer is made according to the wishes of Michael, this is a perfect example of manipulation. First of all the Church does not know Michael's integrity. Secondly, no one knows, except Michael and Irene, the reasons why Irene's father objected the marriage. Irene's father is in a far better position to know more than the Church concerning his own daughter's plan for the future.
The right thing to do is to get someone from the Church to share the Gospel to Irene's father and pray for his salvation. And then the pastor can start to counsel the whole family including Irene and Michael. Whatever the outcome, let God's will be done.
Paul's Remedy
Just to understand what Jesus has done on the cross for us is not good enough. We must learn how to appropriate the work of the cross in us - This is Paul's remedy for those who are deceived by witchcraft:
"Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father" (Galatians 1:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, it is God's will and purpose to deliver his people from the "present evil age". The Amplified Bible says, "present world order" and the King James says, "evil world".
The present world order is an order that is in rebellion against God. But, the Church is a group of people called out from the world (1 Peter 2:9,10). The Church is in the world but not of the world.
Jesus said, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:19, emphasis added).
Notice the word "world" occurs five times in the above verse. Jesus has taken us, the Church out of the world, we have no reason to get back into the world again. Or even worse, let the world gets into the Church. Therefore, we must not be complacent if the world does not hate us. If the world is more than half inside the Church there is no reason for the world to hate its own!
I strongly believe God is going to take His true Church (the Bride of Christ) Home just like He took His Son, Jesus Christ Home - by way of the Cross with persecutions, trials, sufferings and tribulations!
Are we ready for it?
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Seek First the Kingdom of God
While delivering the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told His disciples not to worry about their needs of material things - food, drink and clothing. These are the things the Gentiles seek after. Jesus' disciples are to place God's Kingdom first and to live with faith that God will provide all their needs.
Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, God will supply all your needs including those things that Gentiles seek after. But, you must, above all else, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Notice that there is a condition attached here - any Christian who fails to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteouness, God might not supply all his needs!
The first thing Jesus commanded us to do is to seek. To seek something requires effort. It involves diligent search and persistent work. We do not sit back and wait for God to drop it in our laps.
Every Christian knows that we are all saved by grace through faith and not by work (Eph. 2:8). But we start to work toward a goal in our Christian living after we are saved. This goal is two-fold - To seek the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness. These are the priorities of the Christian life.
Seeking the Kingdom of God
Christians need to understand that only believers have the desire and ability to seek the Kingdom of God. An unbeliever will never seek the true God, (please refer to my ealier posting "Who seeks God?" - 25th Feb. 2005) let alone His Kingdom. Being a descendant of Adam he is a fugitive from God since the Fall. The natural inclination of the un-regenerated man is to run from God and to hide from Him. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The natural man seeks after the benefits (happiness, peace, freedom from guilt etc.) of God and not God Himself. The natural man's sin is just this - He wants the benefits of God without God Himself. He does not know that when he has God, he also has all the benefits of God.
Jonathan Edwards was right when he said, "Seeking after God is the main business of the Christian life". The seeking of God begins at conversion and it is a lifelong pursuit. If you are not in the enterprise of seeking God and His Kingdom then you are barren and not doing the right business for God!
Do you know the last question the disciples asked Jesus before His Ascension? Well, it was, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus' last words with a command was, ".... you shall be witnesses to Me ...." (Acts 1:8). Common sense tells us that the last words of any dying person are the most important. More so in the case of our Lord!
We seek the Kingdom of God by bearing witness to the Kingdom. All Christians are commanded to seek to show the world what the Kingdom of God looks like. This means every Christian is called at least to do personal evangelism work if he is not called to the Mission field. If he does this he helps God to build His Kingdom on earth.
To seek God's Kingdom is to fulfill the last command (the most important) of Christ as well as the petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". In other words, the Kingdom comes on earth where God's will is done on earth. Jesus links the coming of the Kingdom with doing the will of God.
Seeking the Righteousness of God
Why do Christians have to seek the righteousness of God? The Scripture clearly says that all believers have already received the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus:
"God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21, NIV, emphasis added).
The righteousness of God is imputed to the believer when he accepts Christ as his Lord and savior by faith. Christ becomes our righteousness when we are born again (1 Cor. 1:30). In other words, God sees our righteousness through our faith in Jesus Christ. That means, no faith no righteousness! Our righteousness entirely depends on our faith in Jesus.
The righteousness of God that Christians are expected to seek is actually the fruit of righteousness. A fruit, like the fruit of the Spirit, takes time to grow. We take time to seek and to grow in righteousness in our Christian walk - a walk that is commonly called the process of sanctification (Please refer to my earlier posting, "Christians Do Sin" - 10th Oct 2005).
Seen in this light, righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God. To be righteous is to do everything that God calls us to do. The demands of true righteousness are so great that no Christian is able to claim that he achieves it perfectly. It involves following the whole counsel of God.
Examples of Righteousness that we seek after
Here are just some examples that come to my mind. You'll probably know more.
1. Righteousness according to Jesus:
"And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise" (Luke 6:31).
This is what many Christians call the Golden Rule. Many Sunday school children have no problem in reciting it. But, rules are rules and to make it work in our daily living needs some self control or self discipline.
For example, no body likes petty criticism. No body enjoys the company of judgmental people. Our response to petty criticism is often to retaliate in kind, instead of in kindness. This is where the Golden Rule touches life. Here is where Jesus spoke of not returning evil for evil, but to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
2. Righteousness according to Micah
Micah the prophet said, "He (God) has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8, emphasis added).
There are three things that God demands from His children - Justice, mercy (or kindness) and humility.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6 or 1 Peter 5:5). The "kindness" Micah spoke of comes from the Hebrew word for "loyal love". It is the kind of love (agape) God has for His children. It is the kind of love that last and endures in all circumstances. God loves us even when we fail. We need to show the same kind of love for our own children. My children need not earn my love. They can fail me, frustrate me, disappoint me or even anger me, but their failures do not disqualify them from my love.
Our attitude towards kindness and mercy is what makes it possible for us to keep moving on in spite of our sin. Notice that "kindness" is part of the fruit of the Spirit and it takes time to grow.
3. Righteousness according to James
"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).
In James' days the orphan and the widow were almost helpless in society. But now we have government programs to aid orphans and widows financially. Nevertheless, they are lonely and helpless people and they need the outreach of Christian love. We also need to obey the Golden Rule and have compassion and reach out to the forgotten and downtrodden.
The Importance of Righteous Acts
1. Samuel said to all Israel, "Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: ...." (1 Samuel 12:7, emphasis added).
God's people should love the Lord because He loved them first. Similarly God's people should do righteous acts because He did righteous acts to them first.
2. An angel spoke to John concerning the Bride of Christ and the Marriage of the Lamb:
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean an bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:7, 8, emphasis added).
In other words, not all saints (Christians) are qualified to be the Bride of Christ. Only Christians who are clothed with "fine linen" which represents "righteous acts" are called to be the Bride of Christ!
The Righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees
Jesus said, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20).
One of the conditions for entering the Kingdom of heaven is to have our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
At first glance it would appear that the weakest Christians should have no problem in surpassing Pharisees in righteousness because all Christians have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. Surely the righteousness of Christ exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees!
But, we are talking about the fruit of righteousness. What Jesus meant was that the fruit of our righteousness must exeed the pretense of righteousness displayed by the scribes and Pharisees. On the surface the Pharisees achieved a high level of righteousness. But, their reighteousness was external; just an outward show. Their righteousness fools a lot of people, but tragically, it fooled the Pharisees themselves!
It is interesting to see how we Christians measure up with the righteousness of the Pharisees:
1. The Pharisees were Evangelistic
They would cross land and sea just to win one soul (matt. 23:15). They were evengelists. But Jesus marked them as evangelists of hell because they would make the convert just like themselves.
In general Christians are not like them. But we must heed Jesus' warning that even though we are in the evangelistic and missionary business, the mere fact that we are involved in such work is no guarantee that we have exceeded the righteousness of the Pharisees. We must have the right motive, and our burden for souls must be genuine.
2. The Pharisees were Tithers
We are told that the Pharisees would not fail to pay their tithes (Matt. 23:23). But Jesus rebuked them for their outward show of hypocrisy. They fell into the trap of majoring in minors. Their priorities were reversed. They exalted minor matters to a high level in order to obscure their failure to be faithful in more important matters.
Christians are not called to tithe in the New Testament Church (Please refer to my earlier posting, "Biblical Giving" - 2nd. March 2005). God's people in the Old Testament were under the Law of tithing; but Christians are under the grace of giving. We are expected to practice free-will offering and other forms of free-will giving - even exceeding tithing. Some Christians use tithing as a guide in their giving. This is OK provided they don't practice the Law of Tithing.
If we fail to give cheerfully but grudgingly (2 Cor. 9:7) and our giving must not just an outward show. If we are found hypocritical in our giving we fail to heed Jesus' advice, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1). Then we are no more righteous than the Pharisees!
3. The Pharisees were Men of Prayer and Fasting
Jesus gave an account of the Pharisees' pattern of prayer in Luke 18:10 - 14. They enjoyed making a public display of their piety. They assumed a reverent posture and offered eloquent self-righteous prayer like:
"God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give thithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:11, 12, emphasis added).
yes, the Pharisees were self-righteous. They heaped up vain repetitions, but they at least went through the motion of prayer and also fasted. Some of us have prayer lives that are so barren that we neglect even the motions of prayer. Some of us do pray and even attend the Church prayer meetings. But, some of our prayers are meerly to "arm-twist" or to manipulate God to grant us His favor. Haven't we forgotten to let God's will be done in any situation or circumstances? Is our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees in the area of prayer and fastings?
4. The Pharisees read the Bible
Jesus rebuked the Jews (Pharisees among them) by saying, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life" (John 5:39).
The Pharisees were learned in theology. They could recite verses of the Old Testament Scriptures. But, they missed the life-changing power of the Word of God (John 5:38).
At least the Pharisees read the Bible and were diligent in searching the Scriptures. Many Christians seldom read the Bible let alone study the Bible. Even if we do read, some of us read it with a purpose - to prepare to preach a sermon or to share a thought or two in a cell-group meeting. How to be doers of His Word if we fail to hear the Word? Is our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees in the area of Bible study?
I think Christians need to beware not only of the leaven of the Pharisees, but also to beware of judging the Pharisees too harshly - if they fail to judge themselves first!
Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33, NKJV, emphasis added).
In other words, God will supply all your needs including those things that Gentiles seek after. But, you must, above all else, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Notice that there is a condition attached here - any Christian who fails to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteouness, God might not supply all his needs!
The first thing Jesus commanded us to do is to seek. To seek something requires effort. It involves diligent search and persistent work. We do not sit back and wait for God to drop it in our laps.
Every Christian knows that we are all saved by grace through faith and not by work (Eph. 2:8). But we start to work toward a goal in our Christian living after we are saved. This goal is two-fold - To seek the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness. These are the priorities of the Christian life.
Seeking the Kingdom of God
Christians need to understand that only believers have the desire and ability to seek the Kingdom of God. An unbeliever will never seek the true God, (please refer to my ealier posting "Who seeks God?" - 25th Feb. 2005) let alone His Kingdom. Being a descendant of Adam he is a fugitive from God since the Fall. The natural inclination of the un-regenerated man is to run from God and to hide from Him. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The natural man seeks after the benefits (happiness, peace, freedom from guilt etc.) of God and not God Himself. The natural man's sin is just this - He wants the benefits of God without God Himself. He does not know that when he has God, he also has all the benefits of God.
Jonathan Edwards was right when he said, "Seeking after God is the main business of the Christian life". The seeking of God begins at conversion and it is a lifelong pursuit. If you are not in the enterprise of seeking God and His Kingdom then you are barren and not doing the right business for God!
Do you know the last question the disciples asked Jesus before His Ascension? Well, it was, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus' last words with a command was, ".... you shall be witnesses to Me ...." (Acts 1:8). Common sense tells us that the last words of any dying person are the most important. More so in the case of our Lord!
We seek the Kingdom of God by bearing witness to the Kingdom. All Christians are commanded to seek to show the world what the Kingdom of God looks like. This means every Christian is called at least to do personal evangelism work if he is not called to the Mission field. If he does this he helps God to build His Kingdom on earth.
To seek God's Kingdom is to fulfill the last command (the most important) of Christ as well as the petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". In other words, the Kingdom comes on earth where God's will is done on earth. Jesus links the coming of the Kingdom with doing the will of God.
Seeking the Righteousness of God
Why do Christians have to seek the righteousness of God? The Scripture clearly says that all believers have already received the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus:
"God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21, NIV, emphasis added).
The righteousness of God is imputed to the believer when he accepts Christ as his Lord and savior by faith. Christ becomes our righteousness when we are born again (1 Cor. 1:30). In other words, God sees our righteousness through our faith in Jesus Christ. That means, no faith no righteousness! Our righteousness entirely depends on our faith in Jesus.
The righteousness of God that Christians are expected to seek is actually the fruit of righteousness. A fruit, like the fruit of the Spirit, takes time to grow. We take time to seek and to grow in righteousness in our Christian walk - a walk that is commonly called the process of sanctification (Please refer to my earlier posting, "Christians Do Sin" - 10th Oct 2005).
Seen in this light, righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God. To be righteous is to do everything that God calls us to do. The demands of true righteousness are so great that no Christian is able to claim that he achieves it perfectly. It involves following the whole counsel of God.
Examples of Righteousness that we seek after
Here are just some examples that come to my mind. You'll probably know more.
1. Righteousness according to Jesus:
"And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise" (Luke 6:31).
This is what many Christians call the Golden Rule. Many Sunday school children have no problem in reciting it. But, rules are rules and to make it work in our daily living needs some self control or self discipline.
For example, no body likes petty criticism. No body enjoys the company of judgmental people. Our response to petty criticism is often to retaliate in kind, instead of in kindness. This is where the Golden Rule touches life. Here is where Jesus spoke of not returning evil for evil, but to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
2. Righteousness according to Micah
Micah the prophet said, "He (God) has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8, emphasis added).
There are three things that God demands from His children - Justice, mercy (or kindness) and humility.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6 or 1 Peter 5:5). The "kindness" Micah spoke of comes from the Hebrew word for "loyal love". It is the kind of love (agape) God has for His children. It is the kind of love that last and endures in all circumstances. God loves us even when we fail. We need to show the same kind of love for our own children. My children need not earn my love. They can fail me, frustrate me, disappoint me or even anger me, but their failures do not disqualify them from my love.
Our attitude towards kindness and mercy is what makes it possible for us to keep moving on in spite of our sin. Notice that "kindness" is part of the fruit of the Spirit and it takes time to grow.
3. Righteousness according to James
"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).
In James' days the orphan and the widow were almost helpless in society. But now we have government programs to aid orphans and widows financially. Nevertheless, they are lonely and helpless people and they need the outreach of Christian love. We also need to obey the Golden Rule and have compassion and reach out to the forgotten and downtrodden.
The Importance of Righteous Acts
1. Samuel said to all Israel, "Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: ...." (1 Samuel 12:7, emphasis added).
God's people should love the Lord because He loved them first. Similarly God's people should do righteous acts because He did righteous acts to them first.
2. An angel spoke to John concerning the Bride of Christ and the Marriage of the Lamb:
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean an bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:7, 8, emphasis added).
In other words, not all saints (Christians) are qualified to be the Bride of Christ. Only Christians who are clothed with "fine linen" which represents "righteous acts" are called to be the Bride of Christ!
The Righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees
Jesus said, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20).
One of the conditions for entering the Kingdom of heaven is to have our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
At first glance it would appear that the weakest Christians should have no problem in surpassing Pharisees in righteousness because all Christians have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. Surely the righteousness of Christ exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees!
But, we are talking about the fruit of righteousness. What Jesus meant was that the fruit of our righteousness must exeed the pretense of righteousness displayed by the scribes and Pharisees. On the surface the Pharisees achieved a high level of righteousness. But, their reighteousness was external; just an outward show. Their righteousness fools a lot of people, but tragically, it fooled the Pharisees themselves!
It is interesting to see how we Christians measure up with the righteousness of the Pharisees:
1. The Pharisees were Evangelistic
They would cross land and sea just to win one soul (matt. 23:15). They were evengelists. But Jesus marked them as evangelists of hell because they would make the convert just like themselves.
In general Christians are not like them. But we must heed Jesus' warning that even though we are in the evangelistic and missionary business, the mere fact that we are involved in such work is no guarantee that we have exceeded the righteousness of the Pharisees. We must have the right motive, and our burden for souls must be genuine.
2. The Pharisees were Tithers
We are told that the Pharisees would not fail to pay their tithes (Matt. 23:23). But Jesus rebuked them for their outward show of hypocrisy. They fell into the trap of majoring in minors. Their priorities were reversed. They exalted minor matters to a high level in order to obscure their failure to be faithful in more important matters.
Christians are not called to tithe in the New Testament Church (Please refer to my earlier posting, "Biblical Giving" - 2nd. March 2005). God's people in the Old Testament were under the Law of tithing; but Christians are under the grace of giving. We are expected to practice free-will offering and other forms of free-will giving - even exceeding tithing. Some Christians use tithing as a guide in their giving. This is OK provided they don't practice the Law of Tithing.
If we fail to give cheerfully but grudgingly (2 Cor. 9:7) and our giving must not just an outward show. If we are found hypocritical in our giving we fail to heed Jesus' advice, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1). Then we are no more righteous than the Pharisees!
3. The Pharisees were Men of Prayer and Fasting
Jesus gave an account of the Pharisees' pattern of prayer in Luke 18:10 - 14. They enjoyed making a public display of their piety. They assumed a reverent posture and offered eloquent self-righteous prayer like:
"God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give thithes of all that I possess" (Luke 18:11, 12, emphasis added).
yes, the Pharisees were self-righteous. They heaped up vain repetitions, but they at least went through the motion of prayer and also fasted. Some of us have prayer lives that are so barren that we neglect even the motions of prayer. Some of us do pray and even attend the Church prayer meetings. But, some of our prayers are meerly to "arm-twist" or to manipulate God to grant us His favor. Haven't we forgotten to let God's will be done in any situation or circumstances? Is our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees in the area of prayer and fastings?
4. The Pharisees read the Bible
Jesus rebuked the Jews (Pharisees among them) by saying, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life" (John 5:39).
The Pharisees were learned in theology. They could recite verses of the Old Testament Scriptures. But, they missed the life-changing power of the Word of God (John 5:38).
At least the Pharisees read the Bible and were diligent in searching the Scriptures. Many Christians seldom read the Bible let alone study the Bible. Even if we do read, some of us read it with a purpose - to prepare to preach a sermon or to share a thought or two in a cell-group meeting. How to be doers of His Word if we fail to hear the Word? Is our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees in the area of Bible study?
I think Christians need to beware not only of the leaven of the Pharisees, but also to beware of judging the Pharisees too harshly - if they fail to judge themselves first!
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Jesus and Barabbas
Everything concerning Barabbas was in direct contrast to everything concerning Jesus. It was like darkness to light, evil to good and wickedness to righteousness. "Barabbas" comes from an Aramaic name "Bar'abba" which literally means "son of the father(abba)" - a contrast to Jesus Christ, the true Son of the Father. Jesus is perfectly righteous and sinless; but Barabbas was a rebel and a murderer (Mark 15:7, NKJV), a robber (John 18:40) and a notorious prisoner (Matt. 27:16).
At a place called Golgotha (Hebrew) or Calvary (Latin) three wooden crosses were prepared, one taller than the other two for the crucifixion of three robbers. The tall one was made for Barabbas who was the most notorious rebel. It was waiting for him. But God in His sovereign will allowed Jesus, His only begotten Son, through unbelievable circumstances, to take the place of Barabbas. He was crucified together with two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left (Mark 15:27).
In God's eyes, Jesus took your place and my place because we were all Barabbases! I was born a Barabbas and I was a rebel and a notorious criminal. Everything we know about Barabbas is an absolute correct description of me! I was a "prisoner" of sin by birth. I was the person for whom the cross was made! But, in the last moment an unexpected switch took place - I was set free when Jesus took my place on the tall cross!
Jesus Himself said, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 6:36).
Crucifixion of the Old Man
Everyone of us has inherited from Adam, the old Adamic nature called the old man, the fleshly nature or the body of sin. Therefore every one of us, has inside us, by nature a rebel, a Barabbas. When we are born again by the Spirit of God, only our spirit is born again (please refer to my earlier postings concerning Spirit, Soul and Body and "Christians do Sin"). In many cases little is done to the old man. The rebel in us is hidden in the realm of our soul and body. It takes time for our born again spirit to take full control of our soul and body. Therefore, in the meantime, this old man is left hidden under religion, under a form of godliness (2 Tim. 3:4) or a form of "Christian" label. In a way many of us are still "Barabases" at large! Before we were born again we were rebels; but now we are Christian rebels - rebels just the same!
According to Roman Chapter Six the remedy for a rebel is execution. The good news is that the execution has taken place more than 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross and our old man was crucified with Him. This is a historical fact that becuase of what Jesus had done, every born again Christian should no longer need to live like a rebel. Satan would remind us that we were still rebel. His purpose is to deceive us and to make us feel guilty. But we must, in God, pull down the strongholds of Satan and "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
How God sees Rebellion
The entire Chapter One of Isaiah describes God's indictment of the sins of Israel.
God said, "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me" (Isaiah 1:2, NIV).
God spoke through Isaiah and gave a vivid picture of Jesus hung on the cross because of our rebellion:
"Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness - only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil (Isaiah 1:5, 6, NIV).
In other words, the entire suffering of Jesus as a substitute for the suffering that we deserved, was the result of our rebellion!
The Root Problem of Rebellion
In the days of Moses God spoke to Moses regarding Israel's rebellion (Deu. 31:14 - 29).
Moses said, "For I know your rebellion and your stiff nect. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death" (Deu. 31:27)?
The root problem of Israel, in the midst of all its religion and the observation of the Law, was rebellion. Similarly, the root problem of the contemporary Church in the midst of all its religion, ritual, tradition, politics and management structure is also rebellion.
In my opinion, all human problems can be depicted by tree parts of a tree - branches, trunk and roots. People in general are preoccupied with the branches. The truth is, if you are hoping to remove a problematic tree by just cutting off a few branches, you have not really changed things very much. It is the trunk that carries the brances and the roots that feed the trunk.
The Church, in general, is grappling most of the time with branches. It does not normally get below the level and deal with the trunk, much less the roots. We must dig down to the root problem, and the root problem is rebellion.
John the Baptist, who prepared the message of Jesus (the Gospel) said, "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt. 3:10, NKJV, emphasis added).
A rebellous "tree" cannot bear good fruit.
The message of the Gospel which is the "power of God to salvation" (Romans 1:16) is radical - it deals with the root. But, most contemporary presentations of the Gospel do not go deep enough. They do not deal with the sin of rebellion against God. They do not confront the sin of rebellion without compromise because of the fear of losing Church members. It would not be a surprise to discover how many Church elders, leaders and members all around us have never made a true submission to God.
In my opinion, any Christian who fails to make a true submission to God disqualifies himself to pray the Lord's Prayer:
Jesus said, "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9, 10, emphasis added).
No one is able to say "Your will be done on earth" unless he is prepared without reservation to submit to God's will in all areas of his life. Otherwise, he would be a hypocrite! No one is able to claim submission to God's will and rebellious against God at the same time.
Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's Prophecy
The fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah of how Jesus hung on the cross and bore the punishment of the rebel is found in Isaiah 53:6:
"We all, like sheep, have gone estray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (emphasis added).
The rebel in us causes each of us to turn to his own way - to be independent from God.
Isaiah painted a vivid picture of the Suffering Servant in Chapter 53 which many Bible scholars called the Atonement Chapter:
It is interesting to list out the divine exchanges that took place at the Cross of Calvary:
1. All the evil due to our rebellion came upon Jesus so that all the good due to His perfect obedience might be offered to us.
2. He was punished that we might be forgiven.
3. He was wounded that we might be healed.
4. He took our sin that we might have His righteousness.
5. He died our death that we might share His Life.
6. He was made a curse that we might receive the blessings of God.
7. He endured our poverty that we might share His abundance.
8. He bore our shame that we might have His glory.
9. He endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance.
Notice that in whatever way you look at it the divine exchange is total. That's why Jesus cried out "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Not only He bore our rebellion but He also bore all the evil consequences of our rebellion so that we might enter into all the blessings of His perfect obedience.
One word is all we need to describe what Jesus has offered us - GRACE. We can't earn; we can't claim it and we do not deserve it. There is only one way to receive it and that is by FAITH. We might not understand it but we just have to believe it.
When Isaiah presented the picture of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53, he began with a warning of unbelief - "Who has believed our report?" (Isaiah 53:1)
The great barrier to receive the benefits of Christ's atonement is unbelief:
The writer of Hebrews said an unbelieving heart is an evil heart:
"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ...." (Hebrews 3:12, emphasis added).
In other words, unbelief is evil and it causes God's people to rebel against Him; it causes them to walk independent from Him.
Rest and Peace
God spoke through Isaiah, "I created the fruit of the lips; peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near, and I will heal him. But the wicked (the rebellious) are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose water cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked" (Isaiah 57:19 -21, NKJV, emphasis added).
In Old Testament language, "Him who is near" speaks of Israel. "Him who is far off" speakes of the Gentiles. In other words God is offering peace and healings to all people - Israel and the Gentiles. But, some can never receive peace and healing because they will never lay down their arms of rebellion!
Here is the divine Key to recieve God's offering of peace and healing - OBEDIENCE.
Hebrew 3:7 - 11 and Psalms 95:7 -11 give God's condition for God's people to enter God's rest. The condition is two-fold - To seek God and be obedient to Him.
In my opinion, the most important thing in human life is rest and peace - not money, wealth and abundant of material possession! But as long as we retain an attitude of rebellion, we cannot rest. We are then, like the "Troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt" (Isaiah 57:20).
May the New Year 2006 be a year of rest and peace for all God's people! Amen!
At a place called Golgotha (Hebrew) or Calvary (Latin) three wooden crosses were prepared, one taller than the other two for the crucifixion of three robbers. The tall one was made for Barabbas who was the most notorious rebel. It was waiting for him. But God in His sovereign will allowed Jesus, His only begotten Son, through unbelievable circumstances, to take the place of Barabbas. He was crucified together with two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left (Mark 15:27).
In God's eyes, Jesus took your place and my place because we were all Barabbases! I was born a Barabbas and I was a rebel and a notorious criminal. Everything we know about Barabbas is an absolute correct description of me! I was a "prisoner" of sin by birth. I was the person for whom the cross was made! But, in the last moment an unexpected switch took place - I was set free when Jesus took my place on the tall cross!
Jesus Himself said, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 6:36).
Crucifixion of the Old Man
Everyone of us has inherited from Adam, the old Adamic nature called the old man, the fleshly nature or the body of sin. Therefore every one of us, has inside us, by nature a rebel, a Barabbas. When we are born again by the Spirit of God, only our spirit is born again (please refer to my earlier postings concerning Spirit, Soul and Body and "Christians do Sin"). In many cases little is done to the old man. The rebel in us is hidden in the realm of our soul and body. It takes time for our born again spirit to take full control of our soul and body. Therefore, in the meantime, this old man is left hidden under religion, under a form of godliness (2 Tim. 3:4) or a form of "Christian" label. In a way many of us are still "Barabases" at large! Before we were born again we were rebels; but now we are Christian rebels - rebels just the same!
According to Roman Chapter Six the remedy for a rebel is execution. The good news is that the execution has taken place more than 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross and our old man was crucified with Him. This is a historical fact that becuase of what Jesus had done, every born again Christian should no longer need to live like a rebel. Satan would remind us that we were still rebel. His purpose is to deceive us and to make us feel guilty. But we must, in God, pull down the strongholds of Satan and "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
How God sees Rebellion
The entire Chapter One of Isaiah describes God's indictment of the sins of Israel.
God said, "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me" (Isaiah 1:2, NIV).
God spoke through Isaiah and gave a vivid picture of Jesus hung on the cross because of our rebellion:
"Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness - only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil (Isaiah 1:5, 6, NIV).
In other words, the entire suffering of Jesus as a substitute for the suffering that we deserved, was the result of our rebellion!
The Root Problem of Rebellion
In the days of Moses God spoke to Moses regarding Israel's rebellion (Deu. 31:14 - 29).
Moses said, "For I know your rebellion and your stiff nect. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death" (Deu. 31:27)?
The root problem of Israel, in the midst of all its religion and the observation of the Law, was rebellion. Similarly, the root problem of the contemporary Church in the midst of all its religion, ritual, tradition, politics and management structure is also rebellion.
In my opinion, all human problems can be depicted by tree parts of a tree - branches, trunk and roots. People in general are preoccupied with the branches. The truth is, if you are hoping to remove a problematic tree by just cutting off a few branches, you have not really changed things very much. It is the trunk that carries the brances and the roots that feed the trunk.
The Church, in general, is grappling most of the time with branches. It does not normally get below the level and deal with the trunk, much less the roots. We must dig down to the root problem, and the root problem is rebellion.
John the Baptist, who prepared the message of Jesus (the Gospel) said, "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt. 3:10, NKJV, emphasis added).
A rebellous "tree" cannot bear good fruit.
The message of the Gospel which is the "power of God to salvation" (Romans 1:16) is radical - it deals with the root. But, most contemporary presentations of the Gospel do not go deep enough. They do not deal with the sin of rebellion against God. They do not confront the sin of rebellion without compromise because of the fear of losing Church members. It would not be a surprise to discover how many Church elders, leaders and members all around us have never made a true submission to God.
In my opinion, any Christian who fails to make a true submission to God disqualifies himself to pray the Lord's Prayer:
Jesus said, "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9, 10, emphasis added).
No one is able to say "Your will be done on earth" unless he is prepared without reservation to submit to God's will in all areas of his life. Otherwise, he would be a hypocrite! No one is able to claim submission to God's will and rebellious against God at the same time.
Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's Prophecy
The fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah of how Jesus hung on the cross and bore the punishment of the rebel is found in Isaiah 53:6:
"We all, like sheep, have gone estray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (emphasis added).
The rebel in us causes each of us to turn to his own way - to be independent from God.
Isaiah painted a vivid picture of the Suffering Servant in Chapter 53 which many Bible scholars called the Atonement Chapter:
It is interesting to list out the divine exchanges that took place at the Cross of Calvary:
1. All the evil due to our rebellion came upon Jesus so that all the good due to His perfect obedience might be offered to us.
2. He was punished that we might be forgiven.
3. He was wounded that we might be healed.
4. He took our sin that we might have His righteousness.
5. He died our death that we might share His Life.
6. He was made a curse that we might receive the blessings of God.
7. He endured our poverty that we might share His abundance.
8. He bore our shame that we might have His glory.
9. He endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance.
Notice that in whatever way you look at it the divine exchange is total. That's why Jesus cried out "It is finished!" (John 19:30). Not only He bore our rebellion but He also bore all the evil consequences of our rebellion so that we might enter into all the blessings of His perfect obedience.
One word is all we need to describe what Jesus has offered us - GRACE. We can't earn; we can't claim it and we do not deserve it. There is only one way to receive it and that is by FAITH. We might not understand it but we just have to believe it.
When Isaiah presented the picture of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53, he began with a warning of unbelief - "Who has believed our report?" (Isaiah 53:1)
The great barrier to receive the benefits of Christ's atonement is unbelief:
The writer of Hebrews said an unbelieving heart is an evil heart:
"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ...." (Hebrews 3:12, emphasis added).
In other words, unbelief is evil and it causes God's people to rebel against Him; it causes them to walk independent from Him.
Rest and Peace
God spoke through Isaiah, "I created the fruit of the lips; peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near, and I will heal him. But the wicked (the rebellious) are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose water cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked" (Isaiah 57:19 -21, NKJV, emphasis added).
In Old Testament language, "Him who is near" speaks of Israel. "Him who is far off" speakes of the Gentiles. In other words God is offering peace and healings to all people - Israel and the Gentiles. But, some can never receive peace and healing because they will never lay down their arms of rebellion!
Here is the divine Key to recieve God's offering of peace and healing - OBEDIENCE.
Hebrew 3:7 - 11 and Psalms 95:7 -11 give God's condition for God's people to enter God's rest. The condition is two-fold - To seek God and be obedient to Him.
In my opinion, the most important thing in human life is rest and peace - not money, wealth and abundant of material possession! But as long as we retain an attitude of rebellion, we cannot rest. We are then, like the "Troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt" (Isaiah 57:20).
May the New Year 2006 be a year of rest and peace for all God's people! Amen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)