More thoughts on righteousness

A few months ago, I wrote this post about David's righteousness.  I have since been thinking about Job.  It says in the beginning of the book of Job that Job was righteous in God's sight.  Prior to what the Lord showed me in the previous post about righteousness, I would have expected that this meant Job was perfect, that he never sinned and he never struggled, but I've been starting to wonder if that is really what it means.

Here is an interesting verse in regards to our righteous acts:

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6

So, if we're all unclean and the righteous acts that come from our flesh are of no worth, what does it mean that Job was righteous?  And when Job's friends came and assumed that Job's trials were a result of sin, how was it that Job was able to stand on the fact that he was righteous? 

Clearly there is a different kind of righteousness that does not come from our flesh, that is not a result of our works at all.  This righteousness is appropriated to us by faith.  And the Lord would form faith in us to the point that even when others or the devil accuses us of sin, we can confidently claim the righteousness that we have been given through faith in Jesus Christ.  As we put our faith in God and in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Lord will bear the fruit of righteous living in us.  Which may not look a thing like we think it should or like others think it should, so we must continue to put our faith in the Lord even when we are accused of being sinful or wrong (while also being open to correction and conviction).

Do not be worried about your life

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth.  For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:24-25

Our Lord gives us a command here.  He says, "Do not be worried about your life."  He also gives us insight into why we ought not worry.  When we worry, we are no longer serving God but wealth (or whatever else we put our hope in to alleviate our worry).  Let's take Jesus' example of worrying about having enough food or drink or clothing.  When we worry about these things, we start to believe, whether consciously or not, that "if I just had enough money to pay for food or whatever, I would be okay."  Then what is our hope in?  Not in God's loving provision for His children.

Jesus does not promise us a perfect life where we never have to worry because there is more than enough food and drink and clothing, instead He exhorts us not to worry.  There will be temptations to worry.  We will have times when we are tempted to worry that God will not come through, that there will not be enough food or enough money to pay the mortgage or whatever.  But we are to know who God is, that He cares about us more than the birds and the lilies.  We are to walk by faith and not by sight. 

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

So, we seek God's kingdom, His rule and reign in our hearts and on the earth, and His righteousness, and we trust that God will take care of our needs.  We must always put our hope in God.  Because in the end, what is going to matter?  When this world passes away, what is going to be left?  Jesus and His kingdom.  And His bride who has made herself ready by learning to trust Him in impossible circumstances and always seeking His interests.

You are not your own

I listened to the beginning of a sermon by a popular Christian author and preacher the other day. He posed a question, “What if someone said they would give you 1,440 dollars per day for the rest of your life? The only condition was that you had to spend 20 dollars on him every day. Would you do it?” He answers, “Of course you would. It's no big deal, you just go buy him a shirt or whatever. Some days you'll even be feeling generous and spend 30 or 40 dollars on him.” He likens this to our life. God gives us 1,440 minutes every day, so we can spend 20 minutes per day on him.

I take serious issue with this mindset. It makes me feel like, “Wow, I must be doing pretty good if I spend 30-45 minutes with the Lord every morning. I'm being generous.” Also, he is asserting that once you spend the 20 minutes on the Lord (I didn't listen to the rest, but I'm guessing he wanted you to read your Bible during this time) the rest of your time is yours.

Jesus told a somewhat similar and yet quite different parable:

In Matthew 25:24-30, Jesus tells of how the kingdom of God is like a man who entrusted his possessions to three of his slaves. He did not say, “Here is five talents, make sure you spend one on me.” He entrusted them with his money with the understanding that they would use it, all of it, for their master's benefit.

Brothers and sisters, we must be very cautious when we separate “sacred” and “secular” things, when we say this is God's time and this is my time, when we say this is God's money and this is my money. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. You belong to God and therefore ALL your money is His and ALL your time is His.

In our Christian culture, it is okay to be half-way. It is okay to stay away from the bad sins, go to church on Sunday, and give ten percent of your paycheck in a collection plate. But this was not the gospel Jesus preached. He preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. This gospel is one of the rule and reign of God coming into a people's lives in a real way.

Something I have seen in my life and the lives of those I am in close fellowship with is that as we walk with God, He will start to put His finger on each thing in our lives that is not in line with Him, and often these things seem insignificant and unrelated to the things of the Lord. Just a few examples from my life are emotional eating, watching too much television, and neglecting to serve my roommates through doing dishes. Seeking first the kingdom of God is suddenly not so lofty and cool-sounding. It's all about God having His way in every little part of our lives. We cannot allow ourselves to be half-way Christians. We must submit to His authority. We must obey His word. And let's face it, the New Testament is exceedingly practical. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. There is some serious death to self needed to follow that command. Praise Jesus that He made a way, and He has given us His Holy Spirit. We are to be living sacrifices, our whole entire lives, not just twenty minutes a day. 

Battling the Philistines

First of all, this is an excellent sermon by Paul Washer on prayer.  I would like to share some thoughts on one point he brings out, but you should listen to the whole thing, it's good.

Brother Paul talks about "Philistines" in our lives that aren't going to get out unless we fight them in prayer.  So, I started thinking about David's encounter with one such Philistine.

Goliath's challenge to the army of Israel is this: "Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.  If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us." (1 Samuel 17:8-9)

I looked at the maps in the back of my Bible and the one of the 12 tribes of Israel has no country of Philistia, but the next map, of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah does have a country of Philistia.  Which means that piece of property occupied by the Philistines was a part of the promised land. 

Let's think back to when the Israelites first laid eyes on the the land that was promised to their forefathers, a land they had been told about, a land they had dreamed about, a land said to be flowing with milk and honey.  What did they see?  "A land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size... and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (Numbers 13:32-33). 

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, in that I know the Lord has brought me out of Egypt.  He has delivered me from slavery.  He has rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).  And yet, as the Israelites, I see things in the promised land, in the Christian life that make me feel like a grasshopper, unable to do anything but wait to be squished. 

So, if we fast-forward to David's time, the Israelites are now in the promised land, but still there are giants in the land, taunting God's people.  

As I see it, I have two choices.  I can be like the Israelites, walking by sight, and I can refuse to enter in.  Or, I can be like David, walking by faith, and I can, by the Holy Spirit, face these giants head on.  The Israelites (they didn't change much in the hundreds of years from entering the promised land to the time of David) again were terrified.  When David, scrawny little shepherd boy David, comes on the scene, no one will answer Goliath's challenge.  I understand that.  I feel like sometimes if I just ignore the sin or the struggle in my life it is easier than facing it head on.  Cowering in fear seems like a much safer option.

How did David kill Goliath?  By his superior strength?  By his extensive training?  By believing in himself?  Certainly not.  He was victorious because he knew who God was.  And so, I choose to face the giants, the Philistines, in my Christian life in prayer by faith in God.

I hesitate to share this because I actually have no idea what I'm doing, but I know practical examples are always helpful.  We don't want to just understand abstract concepts.  We want to live them.  So, keeping in mind that there is no formula and I have no idea what I'm doing, here is my real life example.  One of the Philistines in my life is insecurity.  The other day, I grabbed my Bible and knelt down on the floor in my bedroom.  I started by asking the Lord to be my strength, asking Him to take away insecurity in my life.  Then I began to speak to insecurity, battling its lies with truth.  I opened my Bible to Romans 8 and spoke each poignant truth out loud, personalizing it to me.  "There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  I am in Christ Jesus and there is no condemnation for me... I have been set free by the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus... I am no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit because the Spirit of God does indeed dwell in me... I have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but the spirit of adoption.  I am God's child, and I cry out to Him."  And so on all the way through to: "Nothing, nothing, nothing can separate me from God's love." 

Principle:  Always put God's word above your feelings.  Believe and amazing things will happen.  Your small stone will sink into the head of the giant... and he will fall.

A Divided House

I have spoken in previous posts about the church, but in some ways I have held back for fear of offending people.  Here is the light that the Lord has given me on this subject.  I certainly do not claim to be perfect or to have seen all there is to see.

First of all, I believe that the church is made up of all born again believers.  I believe and know that there are many, many precious believers that love Jesus very much that go to institutional churches. But I believe that this is not God's highest for these believers.

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."  Ephesians 2:19-22

"You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5

"If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." Mark 3:25

So, if we take the position that God's church is made up of every born again believer, which I believe we must, what is the state of the holy temple our God wants as a dwelling place for Himself?  Think of being a stone in a building.  There are none more important than the others.  Certainly you are built closer to certain stones and your relationship with them will be different, but you are still inextricably united with every stone in the building.

The way a brother described it a few weeks ago was that it is as if there has been an explosion.  There are living stones scattered all over our town and there are little clumps here and there, but there is no building because we are not together.  Jesus prayed that we would be one as He and the Father are one (John 17).

Brothers and sisters, the institutional church system we have been born into breeds division.  It says if you disagree with me, we'll just split and it's no problem because you can just go across the street where they agree with you.    Then God has a divided house.  And a house divided against itself cannot stand.  

God wants a house to dwell in.  He wants to be the Father of a family.  He wants a royal priesthood.  He wants a body to express Himself.  He wants a pure and spotless bride for His Son.  He wants a united church against which the gates of hell will not prevail.

I would assert that none of the desires of God's heart will be truly fulfilled within the system of the institutional church.  Do not hear me saying the Lord doesn't use the institutional church because in His mercy He certainly has used it throughout the years.  But I believe that the Lord is now calling His people out.  

He is calling us out, unto what?  That's the question...  We've never seen it.  We see glimpses of it in scripture.  Brothers and sisters living life together, meeting in each others' homes day by day, praying, being of one mind.  The church coming together and one has a teaching, one has a revelation, some speak in tongues, some interpret, some prophesy, some share a psalm.  Healings, workings of miracles.  Elders, deacons.  These are all to be part of it.  But we must ask the Lord to build His church.  Unless He builds the house the laborers labor in vain.  Let us be willing to be living stones, fitted together, built together with rest of the saints to be a dwelling for our God. 

Thoughts on righteousness

“...Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.” Psalm 7:8

“The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me, for I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me.” Psalm 18:20-22

“Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” Psalm 26:1

I have always read statements like this that David makes in the Psalms and thought, “I will never be there. I mess up all the time. I am nowhere near righteous.” I really kind of thought, other than having an affair and getting the woman's husband killed, that David must have been perfect. After all, he was a man's after God's own heart, so he must have been darn near perfect, right?

I've had a new thought about this lately, though. What if, like me, David had a flesh to deal with? What if he had struggles and bad attitudes and sometimes believed lies? What if, when he was writing these statements, he wasn't walking by sight, but by faith? What if David looked forward to the sacrifice of the coming Messiah, and believed that God made him righteous?

“Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your lovingkindness remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.” Psalm 25:6-9

“For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.” Psalm 26:3

David was not perfect. But he knew God. He knew of God's compassion and lovingkindness. He knew it and He believed God. And guess what? Just like Abraham, he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

So, if David wasn't perfect, and he made such statements as “the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,” what am I to say and believe about myself? What are you to believe about yourself? When we say, “I will never be good enough to be considered righteous,” what are we saying about God? What are we saying about the blood of Christ? That it wasn't quite enough? I'll confess, I have often thought, “Okay, I know God sees me as righteous before Him because of Jesus' sacrifice and because I am covered in the blood, but I know better. God can think I'm righteous, but I see myself and it's just not true.” God is not wearing some kind of rose-colored glasses. The way God sees me is true.

We, as born-again sons and daughters of God, must choose to believe God. We must choose to agree with Him in all things. Let's believe that God can do the impossible (and already has!). He has made us righteous.

“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Romans 4:5-8

I believe that in David's life there was a great working out of righteousness. When we choose to grab hold of the truth that we are already seen as righteous in God's eyes, He is then able to bear the fruit of righteous living through us. I want it to be the other way around. I'll believe I'm righteous once I see it in my life. But that's not the way it works, is it? We walk by faith and not by sight.

Cain's offering

I realized anew this week how much I need to read scripture, not for legalistic reasons or because it will make God happy with me or make me a better person, but because when I neglect it, I am easily deceived into believing lies about God, myself, and others.  So, I decided to start at the beginning.  I got a little bit stuck on Genesis 4, the story of Cain and Abel.

"So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.  Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions, and the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.  So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.  Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.' " Genesis 4:3-7

I don't fully understand this, but something I'm seeing is that Cain either didn't know or didn't care what the Lord wanted.  God required a blood sacrifice for sin.  Abel knew this.  It seems to me that if Cain did not know why his offering was not accepted, he could have just asked.  And if he did know, he clearly didn't care.  He seems to have no regard for what God is after, what He wants. 

I am asking the Lord to show me what He wants so I don't keep on making offerings that are of no account to God.   I want to be after what He's after.  I want to give Him what He wants, not just give what I want to give. 

Church

Here's a question worth pondering: What is church? What was Jesus talking about when He said He would build His church (Matthew 16:18)? And what was He talking about when He said that the gates of hell will not prevail against it?

Here's a little piece of the answer to that question:

Paul, speaking of the Father putting all things in subjection to Jesus, said, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). Read that a couple of times. Is that really there? You may need to grab your Bible to make sure I didn't take it out of context or use a wacky translation. When I was first made aware of that verse, my world started to change. All things in subjection under Christ's feet. Yay, praise the Lord. He is head over all things to the church. Yeah, that sounds good too (the walking out of it is a little more difficult, but it sounds good all the same). The church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Wait a minute. It's easy to skim over the whole body thing, we've heard it a hundred times, “we are the body of Christ.” But it puts it in a little different light when you realize that the church, His body, is the FULLNESS of Him. Whoa.

What is a body? “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). There is an idea here of inseparable connectedness. Think about your physical body. What would happen if the parts of your body were only connected once a week? What if your left hand had a fight with your right hand and decided to leave? What if your left foot had a serious disease and the rest of the body did nothing about it? The Holy Spirit gave Paul this comparison between the church and a body for a reason. Let us take it seriously.

Think also about the relationship between your head and your body. Your body carries out the thoughts and desires of your head. Your head thinks, “I want to drink a glass of water,” so your feet walk to the cabinet, your arm raises up to the cabinet, your hand grabs the glass, and so on. There is no room for independent thinking in your body. Your feet don't come up with good ideas and go carry those out. The body is unified and has one purpose: to carry out the thought of the Head.

So, the church is a called out people, called to be a body, Christ's body, the fullness of Him. Let us take this before the Lord and ask Him what it looks like for us to be His body, to be the fullness of Him here on this earth, to carry out His thought.