David the Legalist

Legalist

Are you a Legalist?

The word “ legalist ” is not a Bible word but is widely used in the religious world. It is not used in a complimentary way. The most common use of it is in a Bible discussion where someone is urging another person to obey God. When confronted with a Bible passage which precisely shows the will of God, some try to dismiss the force of God’s commandments by calling obedience “ legalism, ” and calling those who teach obedience “ legalists. ”  In the mind of many, a “ legalist ” cannot be spiritual because “legalism” keeps one from being godly before God.

Perhaps the best way to show that urging others to listen to the Lord and then obey Him does not destroy spirituality is to look at the only man in the Bible whom God described as “a man after My own heart.” What was it that made David such a spiritual man? What was his attitude toward “ legalism? ”

The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. It has 176 verses in it. Those who minimize obedience should take time to look carefully at this psalm. David extols the importance of the Bible nearly 200 times in this one psalm. He did not look at the Bible as a book of godly suggestions from God. He speaks of the word of God (38 times), the law of God (25 times), statutes (22 times), testimonies (22), precepts (21), commandments (23), and judgments (22). Those who use the term “ legalist ” never view the Bible this way. Now if a man “after God’s own heart” looked at the Bible as commands, precepts and statues, what does this say about the heart of those who call this attitude “ legalism? ”

Look deeper into this psalm and the attitude toward the commandments of God. He respected all of God’s commands (verse 6). He prayed that he would not wander from them (10) and that God would not hide His commandments from him (19). He saw God as One who rebuked proud men who erred from His commands (32). God’s commandments were to be diligently followed, for this enlarged David’s heart (32).

He also delighted in the commandments for he loved them (35, 47). He meditated on them as he lifted up holy hands (48), and he made haste and did not delay to keep the commandments of God (60). He believed in the commandments and saw them as the way God taught Him good judgment and knowledge (66). He sought to learn them (73). These commands were trustworthy and faithful and made him wiser than the wicked (86, 98). He sought to keep them (115), for he longed for them (131). They were truth (151) and righteousness (176), and the keeping of them brought the hope of salvation (166).­­­­­­

God help us all to be “ legalists ” like David!

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Critics and Criticism

criticism

A Little Criticism?

Let me ask…have you seen any critics in the church? I mean, every church as them. That is, every congregation has a person or people who simply cannot be pleased no matter what you do. They just have something negative to say. And, when you are criticized, what did you do about it? Did you react? Did you blow up? Did you scream? Did you utter curse words in your mind? Did you just stay silent and drive your anger inward and make yourself emotionally and physically sick? Did you become embarrassed or defensive? Or, did you listen and learn from the critic?

Well, criticism never feels good. And, sometimes we have it coming to us and sometimes we do not. But, know that you are not alone when you face a critic. Take Nehemiah for instance, perhaps one of the greatest leaders of all times, was on a mission from God. And yet, he faced chronic critics: Sanballat and Tobiah. They very well could have derailed Nehemiah’s God-given mission. But, they didn’t. They failed and here’s why…

In Neh. 4:1-9, it tells the story like this: ““Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?” Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building–if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!” Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before you, for they have demoralized the builders. So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.”

Did you notice what happened? Did you see the response Nehemiah had for his critics? Notice, that he prepared for them (vs. 9). Nehemiah knew that if you want to make a difference for God, you will be criticized, even though what you’re doing is noble. Oh, how often we forget that we live in a sinful world and that mankind is often filled with the influence of Satan and it is he that can use criticism to derail us. And in reality, the greater impact we have for God, the more we are criticized. And so, as I have learned from a wise saint, you cannot please everybody because if you do, you will be miserable.

We also learn from vs. 9 that Nehemiah took the time to pause and pray before his critics. Instead of going by a worldly standard of attacking, getting defensive, getting even and showing just how illogical man can be, Nehemiah kneels before God in prayer (vs. 4). Make no mistake, when we are attacked, criticism sure does hurt, but he did not even the score. Instead, Nehemiah asked God to bring the judgment upon them. And so, we learn that prayer can really take the sting out of criticism because it gives us an opportunity to pause and reflect and to think instead of reacting irrationally and sinfully. It’s what Jesus said in Matt. 5:44, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That’s tough, but by looking at Nehemiah, it can be done and it must be done if we want to be pleasing to God.

Now, chronic criticism not only makes us feel bad, but remember that there is an unhealthy way to respond to it. Therefore, when criticized, what do we do? Do we ask ourselves, “Is this even a valid complaint?” Do we ask, “Should I just ignore it like water down a duck’s back?” “Should I confront the critic?” Or, “What did I learn?” I mean, we should not just ignore all criticisms because some people are really trying to help you but they just do not have tack when they speak. And so, there is much we can learn from some critics and even be like a coach for us to grow. Does this sound strange? Well, consider Psa. 141:5, “Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they reprove me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it…” And so, we have to see things in light of the spiritual and attitude in which it was given. I mean, was it designed to hurt you or help you? Unfortunately, some people see just the smallest criticisms as so detrimental to their health that they flee and cry “Unfair!” and cause greater problems by taking things wrong. I mean, many people today are just overly sensitive about everything just like some are tougher than beef jerkey. So, listen to the voice of the critic is he there to help or hinder?

Next, we learn from Nehemiah that after prayer, he did not use his prayer as an excuse to do nothing. Many will pray and then sit and wait in their sackcloth and ashes waiting for someone to do something. Well for Nehemiah, he did something. He went forward with God’s plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And so we learn, when we are criticized, don’t let it immobilize you. Do something about it. You may need to separate yourself from that critic. You may need to boldly tell the critic to stop criticizing. You may need to listen and learn from your critic because he/she is trying to bring you closer to God.

The last thing we learn from Nehemiah is to protect ourselves where we are at our weaknesses. Thinking of Nehemiah, in response to his critics, he posted guards at the wall’s most vulnerable places and we learn that sometimes criticism reveals where we’re are weakest and most vulnerable. And so, when such criticism reveals those weaknesses, we may need to take some extra steps to deal with those sensitive places. We can talk to a counselor or a safe friend, not to backbite, but to self-evaluate self. We can study the Scriptures to see what God Word says about what you have been accused of. But ultimately and I cannot emphasize this enough, we must look to Christ who provided the perfect pattern for responding to our critics. Peter wrote, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Pet. 2:23).

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Scrooge, Paul, and Change

From Point A to Point B

Change is not something with which I am comfortable. I like my daily routine. I can go for years having the same cereal and be happy. I can watch the same movies and never tire of them. I like to visit the same places every day or week at the same times and locations. The gym, the news, checking my mail and email, sports websites, Church, study times, these all have a given time slot in my life and I am happy.

change

Please! No Change!

Everything fits in its own little box and I don’t want them to ever change. It takes a lot to cause me to desire a change in my physical environment. I don’t believe I am too unlike many people.

Whatever routine we fall into in our lives, it will be interpreted by others around us. When I study, I tend to lock the world out around me. My wife can talk to me, but my brain is not engaged with what she is trying to convey. At one point she may have interpreted that as, “He is mad at me or he isn’t interested in me”. She now knows that I am in my thought box and oblivious to the world around me. Such interpretations are also common in the world outside of us. Some folks I have known march into the gym, go through their exercise routine, leave the gym, and never say a word to others. The look on their face seems to say “I am not interested in anyone around me.” Having taken the time to introduce myself, I have found that they were interested in others around themselves. However, they just cruised through their day and didn’t really think about such interaction before. It took an effort on someone else’s part to break the bubble and bring about change. My interpretation of their actions was mistaken. Of course, some of those folks with whom I tried to interact, really didn’t want to talk to me, they weren’t friendly, nor did they desire me to bother them again. The point is we all put off signals and other folks will take note.

Consider the Following:

Marley was dead: to begin with… There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate…

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dogdays; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often “came down” handsomely, and Scrooge never did.

Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, “My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?” No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, “No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!”

We know this literature from “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge put off some pretty good signals. “Darkness [was] cheap, and Scrooge liked it.” There was no failure to interpret what type of character Scrooge was at all. Yet, he changed:

He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.

Now Consider a man named Saul:

Act 7:58-8:3 – Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. … And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Act 9:1-2 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Gal 1:13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.

Like the fictional character Ebenezer Scrooge, no one had to guess what signals Paul was giving off in his life. The interpretation was pretty easy to decipher. However, Paul was not a fictional character. He was real. He was dangerous. He was committed to a course of action which guided his life and people avoided him. Still, as difficult as it may seem, Paul changed. Reflect on words from later in his life:

Tit 1:1-3 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

2Ti 4:7-8 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day;

Both of the men we have examined underwent a great metamorphosis from point A to Point B. This great change is perhaps why they stand out as prominent characters in our minds. But why are we examining these men today? First we want to examine change in the life of an individual. Second, we want to examine the interpretation of our lives by others.

As mentioned previously, I believe most of us do not like change. However, as Christians, our lives have been subject to change and transformation. We have had to leave and battle worldly desire and comforts of varying levels of attachment. We have had to change strong convictions and humble ourselves to the truth which God has presented. In some ways, we have traveled from Point A to Point B. In others, we are still in the middle of that journey. Where do we want to end up?

Mat 22:37-40 And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.

John 14:15 – If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.
Yes! We want to end up in a situation which is the definition of love. In other words, We want to be the image of our heavenly Father. For mankind, this means change. It means behavior which is representative of His commands.

2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.

2Co 5:17 Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.

So where are we at in this examination and where are we going? It is evident man must change from his desires to what God desires. The journey is a life long commitment to change. Aargh! Yes change haters, it is so. However, the change is to a much greater and grander place and we are charged not to go alone. This engages the interpretation aspect of our discussion.

We are on a road of change, but in moving others, some kicking and screaming, we must be aware that they have been interpreting our lives. This is true in the world and it is true of our Christian brothers and sisters. Here is what they should have been seeing:

1Th 5:14 And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all.

2Ti 2:4-6 And the Lord’s servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will.

Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Now some would like to go down a road of discussion about man not knowing the hearts of others. They would cover their tracks by saying the path of a man’s life is paved by good intentions, however, it is written:

Pro 20:11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.

Again, what is the point I am driving at? Lost Influence! We are called to change ourselves to an image of the heavenly Father. Folks inside and outside of the church are actively considering the manifestations of our individual lives. If we call ourselves Christian and do not represent the Biblical definition of such, they are going to take that into consideration when determining if they are going to change their own lives. We already know men are not disposed to change. What are we doing to encourage them to change?

We can tell people we have changed our lives. We can even engage those changes in our lives. How many people do you think really will believe us initially if ever? Consider Scrooge again:

“Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.”

This fictional character did not convince everyone his change was genuine. Some thought the change was almost comical. Many Christians are faced with this same dilemma. They are laughed at, teased, ridiculed, then ignored. In Scrooges case, the critical element of influence is not examined, in as much as knowing those who never heeded him. For a Christian, it is sad when we lose the opportunity to influence anyone for good.
From the account of Saul, we read the words of Ananias who was instructed by God to visit and convert Saul:

Act 9:13-14 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name.

Saul’s actions had been interpreted by Ananias. Ananias was not crazy about making a personal visit to Saul. Saul’s actions have spoken louder than any words or anticipated change. This conversion most certainly was not met by Christians immediately coming out of the woodwork to meet “Saul the Changed”.

Jesus who was perfect and sinless did not have a 100% success rate in converting the Jews or the rest of the world to Christianity. He had miracles to demonstrate the truth he preached. Still, rejection and the cross were the physical reward for his labor. When an individual decides to change and take others with him, there are going to be trials. When a Church decides to change and take others with them, there may indeed be a crucifixion! There will certainly be those who will not follow in the hange or believe it will be a lasting one.

There are going to be those in and outside of the church who are not going to believe it. Outside of the church, they will scoff at a one time attempt when as a member of the community for decades you have never approached them. Inside the Church, some will want the status quo. They will not want to change their routine. They will not be able to find the time. They will even silently or openly say, “I told you so”, when a visitation program doesn’t yield immediate results. Remember, our job is to plant and water. That is to provide the example of change and the message of hope. God will provide the growth. Demonstrate love. Fight the Good fight. Take your visitation programs from point A to point B in the mode of Scrooge and Saul. Transform yourselves into the image of God and change the interpretation of those clinging to the world one soul at a time.

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The Lord is My Shepherd

Psalm 23

Psalm 23:1 

Shepherd

The Lord is My Shepherd.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
23:2  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
23:3  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
23:4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
23:5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most quoted passages in all of Scripture.  It’s message is endearing, poetic, and soothing to the soul.  In it one catches a glimpse of the tender soul of David who had once watched over his father’s sheep.  This psalm reflects the relationship that David had with the Lord:

The Lord is my SHEPHERD: a shepherd is (lit.) one who guards / tends sheep; (fig.) one who cares for, guides or teaches.

The LORD is my shepherd:  Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” (Jn. 10:11-15); the “Great Shepherd” (Heb. 13:20); the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Pet. 5:4).

The Lord is MY shepherd: this is a possessive term implying ownership – as in “…my Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28)

Whoever obeys the gospel becomes a Christian and is, therefore, a lamb of the Lord’s pasture.  Only then can we say, “the Lord is my shepherd”.

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The Cowardice of Postmodernism

postmodernism

Postmodernism

The prevailing worldview of the day among those who lead our society is clearly secular humanism. They view man as the greatest result of billions of years of evolution and random chance and all knowledge is based in what man can reason in his own mind or observe scientifically. This is what leads to a breakdown of Western culture in areas like sexual immorality, belief in God, treatment of our fellow man, and other similar moral issues. However, not everyone buys into secular humanism completely. No, what the secular humanists need (and what they have developed) is an army of people defending them from questioning. These people are the postmodernists.

Postmodern thought is based in three key principles:

  1. A commitment to relativism (all truth is relative to the individual)
  2. An opposition to rationalism (we can’t know anything)
  3. The promotion of culturally created realities (experience trumps fact)

Basically, postmodernism is the belief that truth is up to each individual. It is this worldview that has spawned the tolerance movement. You don’t have to be homosexual to defend homosexuality; you just have to buy into the idea that if two people feel like they love each other, that’s all the moral justification they need (so long as those two people aren’t an adult and a child according to most postmodernists, but that inconsistency is beside the point). You don’t have to be an atheist to stand with them, you just need to see why it’s important that Christians don’t spread their “hate” on other people. You see, it’s postmodernism that is doing the most damage among young people in the church. They might still cling to their faith, but they’re not going to do anything about it because, after all, it’s just their own personal truth.

Aside from the fact that there is no explanation for the existence of confirmed absolute truths, the biggest problem with postmodernism is that it is cowardly. It refuses to answer questions by pretending they don’t matter, even though their assertions demand that those questions be asked. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about.

Postmodernists say, “It doesn’t matter if you believe in a god or not, it’s about what makes you feel a spiritual connection.” This simple side-step of the greatest question man will ever face is one that millions of people in America buy into. Some people believe in God and that makes them feel good, but others don’t so the two groups shouldn’t be confrontational about it, they say. Unfortunately, they’re forgetting one fact: it can’t be both ways. There is no possible way that an all-powerful Creator exists because one person believes He does and doesn’t exist because the next guy doesn’t believe in Him. So, the first question they’re dodging is simply, “Is there a God?”

Second, postmodernists like to point out that Christians Muslims, Judaists, and adherents of various Eastern religions all have different gods, so there’s no point in being dogmatic about doctrine. Sure, the Muslim and the Christian have opposing worldviews, but both believe in some kind of god so that should be enough, right? Wrong (as you might have guessed). It’s entirely possible (theoretically speaking) that every religion is wrong and not worthy of our debate and dogmatism. Therefore, it’s possible for every religion to be equally invalid. What’s not possible in any sense is for every religion to be equally valid. Only one can be true. Postmodernists don’t care about this, they only care about maintaining non-confrontation between confrontational beliefs. They refuse to answer this question: “If there is a God, has He spoken to us in any specific form, or can we interpret His will in our own ways?”

Finally, postmodernists would have you believe that morals are subject to cultural or even regional interpretation and that there are no set morals. This is why you hear people fighting against homosexuality with the argument “It’s 2014, we have to learn to accept this now.” If something is morally acceptable, the date on the calendar should have nothing to do with whether or not we approve of it. Sadly, they even use the same argument for racism. “There’s no place for that in this day and age.” There’s never been any place for discrimination based on skin color… unless you’re a postmodernist. It’s this view of morality that leads them to defending homosexuality on the grounds of arguments like “love is love” and “who are we to say it’s wrong for two people to marry each other?” Abortion is accepted because “Even though I would never do it, it’s her body and her choice to make.” What postmodernists refuse to answer about morality is this: “If morals come from individual interpretation, who are we to say that any action is morally wrong?”

When you peel away all of the self-assurance of postmodernism and get down to the core, what the worldview really says is that what you believe doesn’t matter. That’s where the secular humanists come back into the picture. They use postmodernists to defend every immoral thing they do by making them recite the old “Who are we to say…” line, but at the same time they use them to only tolerate allowable opinion. “You want to believe in God? Fine, but you’re scientifically backward. You want to believe in the Bible? Ok, but don’t ever bring up the parts that actually teach that we need to change.” Postmodernism was born out of contradiction and logical impossibilities, but the postmodernists developed by modern education and the godless culture around us refuse to see that.

In their efforts to position themselves as more loving, tolerant, accepting, and even as smarter than those around them, postmodernists have only made themselves a pawn in the game for secular humanists, and that’s exactly how the morality of our country and the Western world are being brought down. It’s time we as the church challenge them and make them answer these questions. Jesus never backed down from asking the hard questions people needed to hear in order to see the inconsistencies in their lives. It’s time we remind people that there is truth, you can know it, and no matter how hard you try you can’t ignore it. We live in a Romans 1 world of immorality, and so we would do well to keep the reminder of Romans 1:16 ever before us: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation…”

 

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