In the Midst

As I was recently contemplating a familiar account to most of us in Genesis 2, I found an extremely interesting point with regards to the creation. When God created the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve, he placed both the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil “in the midst of the garden” (Genesis 2:9; 3:3). Thus, while they certainly had access to the tree of life, they had equal access to that which God commanded, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). If I were Adam and Eve, I would have preferred that God placed that tree with forbidden fruit out of the way. For the sake of temptation, would it not have been easier if the tree were possibly off in the shadows, or in a corner that would be difficult to access? No, God placed the tree “in the midst of the garden,” which shows that it was just as accessible as all the other trees.

This fact reinforces an important truth—the opportunity to face temptation is all around us! Sin is accessible! Our Catholic and Buddhist friends have the mistaken idea that we can hole ourselves up in monasteries, convents or other such things to escape the pressures of temptation. Yet, such is not the case! No matter where we are, temptation can be in our midst. If Jesus could face temptation while in a wilderness (cf. Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13), then I know that temptation is “in the midst.” Thus, we are to pray as Jesus taught, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). The good news is not that we are able to escape the presence of temptation, but that once tempted, we are able to overcome. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Yet, notice with me something else. Moses instructed the Israelites prior to his passing and their conquest of Canaan that the cities of refuge, which God mercifully allowed the Israelites to have, were to be “in the midst of thy land” (Deuteronomy 19:2). As Moses would go on to describe, they would have six various cities scattered throughout the land for the innocent offender to flee in case of accidental death, whereby they would obtain mercy. Upon identification of these cities (Joshua 20:7-9) on a Bible map, one can see that these cities were indeed placed “in the midst” of the land of Palestine. A fuller understanding of these with the new covenant shows that they were a type or shadow of the church of our Lord. Thus, the offer God makes to you and me concerning mercy that we desperately need reveals the principle that by such being “in the midst,” his offer of mercy is equally accessible to everyone!

In what many have called “The Psalm of the Cross” due to the nature of its Messianic prophecies, David beautifully stated, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee” (Psalm 22:22). In his classic work, “The Treasury of David,” Charles Spurgeon commented on this latter expression, “Not in a little household gathering merely does our Lord resolve to proclaim his Father’s love, but in the great assemblies of his saints, and in the general assembly and church of the firstborn. This the Lord Jesus is always doing by his representatives, who are the heralds of salvation, and labor to praise God…Jesus himself leads the song, and is both presenter and preacher in his church” (Volume I, pp. 373-74). Of course, the Hebrew writer quotes this passage and shows the presence of our Lord Jesus in the assembly, and encourages the discouraged by showing that he is not ashamed to refer to us as brethren (Hebrews 2:11-12; cf. John 20:17; Romans 8:14-17). Thus, could it not be that the expression, “in the midst of the church,” among other things, correlates with his open acknowledgement and lack of shame in those of us who are blessed to be Christians?

Finally, we note that God will make it possible for the proclamation of his great name to be “in the midst” of the whole world. For example, God revealed to Moses, “And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go” (Exodus 3:20). Indeed, as we see the plagues unfold through the account, we learn that God was using these plagues as a form of judgment against the polytheistic gods of the Egyptians (Exodus 12:12). Nevertheless, the events surrounding these plagues of judgment became so well known, that God utilized these for the purpose of revealing himself, not just to Egypt, but to the whole world! “…to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth” (Exodus 8:22).

For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth [Exodus 9:14-16].

Thus, as we even see in the example of Rahab in Joshua 2:10, the news of such events did travel far and wide. God will be sure that he is known “in the midst” of the world, which he accomplishes today through his evangelists (cf. Matthew 28:18-20).

We surely can glean some powerful thoughts from just three little words—“in the midst.”

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How to Handle Biblical Discussions

Several weeks ago, I immensely enjoyed sitting in a Sunday morning class that Kevin Cauley taught. Within the overall framework of the theme of “Denominational Doctrines,” his topic that day was on “Denominational Doctrines about Denominationalism.” As such, he covered such common ones as, “Belief in Jesus alone is sufficient to have fellowship with other denominations,” “Attend the church of your choice,” “We are all going to the same place, but on different paths” and such like. As he was covering this fundamental and edifying material, I thought of a few important things that may help us whenever we handle Biblical discussions with others.

First, the presentation of truth will silence those who practice falsely. As such, we must always remember that the power is not in any innate ability of the arguer, but in the presentation of truth itself. Paul declared, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Jesus stated to those Jews who believed on him, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32), to which he later clarified in prayer to his Father, “…thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Remember that as effective as the apostle Paul was, even he conceded, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God…And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (I Corinthians 2:1, 4). Thus, truth itself will conquer all who follow error. The power is in the message of truth and not necessarily in the messenger. Whenever Jesus spoke truth, he always silenced his critics (cf. Matthew 22:46).

Second, not everyone will accept the truth. We set ourselves up for discouragement and failure if we think that everyone will accept the truth. Sometimes, I believe our zeal may get carried away into thinking that if we do not convert everyone, we have failed. Such is simply not the case. As perfect as Jesus himself was, even he did not convert everyone: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to becomes the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:11-12). Just as many of the Jewish leaders of his day would simply not let go of their preconceived religious ideas and traditions (cf. Matthew 15:1-9), many of those steeped in denominationalism simply will not uproot themselves from similar circumstances, even upon presentation of the simple truth. Our job/purpose is not to convert everyone, but to share the good news of the gospel with everyone (cf. Mark 16:15)—those who gladly receive it will convert, and those who refuse will refuse. Indeed, the promise of the Bible will sadly be true: “…for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:13).

Finally, let us remember as we conduct Biblical discussions with non-Christians that our focus is to address the heart and not simply to win an argument. Sometimes brethren seem self-satisfied to have made an argument for the sake of the argument rather than the proper pursuit—reaching the heart of a non-believer. The Pharisees toiled tirelessly at making arguments with Jesus, much less among themselves. The lawyers loved to debate about which was the greatest commandment within the Law of Moses (cf. Matthew 22:36). Yet, Jesus was not simply trying to prove a point with his teachings—he was trying to reach the hearts of his hearers, and it saddened him deeply whenever his hearers would not respond appropriately (cf. Mark 10:21). Members listened to a sermon that a wise preacher preached and responded, “Preacher, you sure hit my toes today,” to which the wise preacher stated, “I was not aiming for your toes—I was aiming for your heart!”

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“As His Custom Was…”

The simple definition of a habit is “an action which is repeated often until it is the natural behavior in one’s life.” There are those habits which are good, those which are neutral and those which hinder us in our development. Think of the power of habitually doing that which is right, almost without thinking, because we have trained ourselves to always do that which is right. Take time to look at one of the habits of Jesus’ life.

His custom was always to worship God. After His baptism and His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus began His public life. He returned to the town where He had been raised. “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day . . .” (Luke 4:16). Did you notice those words in the text, “as His custom was”? It was the Sabbath day, the day the Jews gathered for worship. Where was He? Had you been around Him you would have immediately known where to find him. It was the Sabbath—Jesus was at the place He always was on that day.

His custom to worship began early in His life. This custom to worship began even before He had an awareness of where He was. It began when, as an infant, His mom and dad, on the day appointed by God, brought Him to the temple. Luke describes that day, “And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law . . .” (Luke 2:27). Think about the importance of this statement. From infancy His parents lived to obey God, and Jesus was reared in a home where it was customary to serve and worship Him. Parents, if your child has to ask, “Are we going to worship or Bible classes,” you are sinning against your child!

His custom to worship continued into His adolescent years. “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast” (Luke 2:42). Years later when the God-appointed feast day arrived, where would you expect to find Jesus? You know the answer. This verse gives insight into why He was there. It was His habit, His custom—in infancy, in adolescence and in adulthood. His custom was always to worship and serve God.

Some in the first century had another custom. God commanded the early church, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some . . .” (Heb. 10:25). The saints of the early church assembled to worship, to learn, to sit at the feet of Jesus. Jesus was there (Matt. 18:20), but some had a habit of not assembling!

Two customs about worship—which one is yours?

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Golf, Adultery, and Buddhism

I am confident that everyone is aware of the revelation of the adulterous life of one of America’s best known golfers. We probably should not be overly surprised about his sin, for this is just a continuation of the wave of immorality sweeping our land. Our governors, senators, representatives and presidents have lost their way, and it seems there is a daily revelation theft, sexual perversion, lying and corruption.

The interesting aspect about this revelation is that this sports hero believes his sinful actions can be overcome by a deeper devotion to the Buddhism he embraced from his youth. While Buddhism apparently is the fourth largest religion in the world, most are unaware of its origin and teachings.

It began more than 25 centuries ago in Nepal when Siddhartha Gautama developed his philosophy and began teaching it to others. He was the “Buddha,” the enlightened one. The religion is best viewed as a non-theistic one, with emphasis not on any supreme being but on self development. One teacher of Buddhism explains it by saying, “We shouldn’t rely on the power of an external, even if ‘divine,’ source for salvation or redemption.” One’s life is made better by personal experience and not beliefs or dogmas.

Those who know the Bible do not have to know every aspect of this religion to understand that it is foolish. Salvation does not come from within but from above. God said, “The way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23). There is no philosopher, modern or ancient, who knows how to direct his own steps. If he cannot direct his own steps, he cannot give directions to another. Did not Jesus say, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch” (Luke 6:39).

The victory that overcomes the world, and the sin in it, is our faith (1 John 5:4). Since this faith comes only from the Bible (Rom. 10:17), there is no true victory without the help of the only true God.

Then there are all of those statues of the Buddhas throughout the world, which have become objects of devotion to the followers of this religion.  Imagine praying to a tree or large rock and thinking help will come by such devotion. Such images are best understood by reading Psalm 115. “They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear. . . They have had hands, but they do not handle.”

Now contrast this with our living God with living eyes, ears, and hands to help us overcome sin! Think about it. Which avenue leads to forgiveness, righteousness and salvation?

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He Loves Us Individually

As I reflect about our worship together this past Sunday, I cannot forget when we paraphrased John 3:16 and quoted it together. “For God so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son . . .” Think about this and rejoice that He loves each of us, individually,  so much that He would have given His Son even if we were the only one who followed Him!

It is at this personal level that Christianity takes on new meaning. He loves the world, but He loves each of us—individually. What He does for the world, He does for each of us—individually. What He promises the world, He promises to each of us—individually. He would not change His plan if you were the only Christian. With that in mind, read the following verses I have paraphrased and put your name in the  places where the you find the blanks .

“But God demonstrates His own love toward _______ in that while ________ was still a sinner, Christ died for _______. Much more then, having been justified by His blood, _______ shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when _______ was an enemy ________ was reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, ________ shall be saved by His life.”

“Take eat; this is My body which is broken for _______; do this in remembrance of Me” . . . Then He took the cup . . .    saying,  “Drink from it, _______, for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for ______ for the remission of sins”  . . . “For as often as ________ eats this bread and drinks this cup ________ proclaims My death till I come.” How can anyone be absent from the Lord’s table or find it a “dead time” in worship when eating with the Lord is made personal!

“For the eyes of the Lord are over _______ and His ears are open to ______’s prayers.” How can anyone read this and not stay focused during times of prayer! How can you mediate on these words and not pray more?

“Let not _________’s heart be troubled  . . . If I go and prepare a place for ________, I will come again and receive _______ to Myself; that where I am there ________ may be also.” Read these words, make them personal. While God is concerned about all the world, He is concerned about you! The righteous will hear His words about coming and entering into the joys of the Lord. But it is not just the righteous who will hear His words—it is you!

Take time today to think about God and His concern and involvement in the world. More importantly, take time to think of His concern and involvement in your life—individually!

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