A Thanksgiving Reflection on Idolatry

BURN THE OTHER HALF!

This is a brief reflection on Isaiah 44:9-20. 

In my prescribed reading for the day I came to this passage about the folly of idolatry and I thought it very appropriate to reflect upon this idea as we approach Thanksgiving.

For what shall we give thanks?

I would imagine that we all intend to be thankful to God for his bountiful provision in our lives and that we rejoice in the salvation that he has given us by his lavish grace.  We receive his mercies anew each day as we wake and we have breath and life and faith.  He is the giver of every good gift according to James 1:17.  We receive an income, we enjoy relationships with those we love, we have convenience in transportation and technology, we can express our intimate love with our spouse (sorry Joshua!), we might have children that bless us in a myriad of ways, and the list of his good gifts go on and on.

But what do we do with the gift and what do we actually value?

The random and unnamed idolator in this passage from Isaiah receives the blessing and provision of God in the form of rain, trees, growth of a particular tree that he desires, fire that warms him and cooks his food to sustain him.  And do you see what his response to this is?  If you have not done so yet, stop here and read the passage.

The fool has attached himself to the gift rather than the giver.  The fool has burned half of the tree and then worships the other half as a god.  This may sound like some random bible story but is this not what we do?  Do I not have a heart that is inclined to receive from God and receive from God and my response is to love the thing he is giving me more than him?  Do I not construct and idol from the abundance of God's provision and serve it rather than serving God?

Do I do this with my work?  Do I do this with everything on the list of things I say I want to give thanks for on this special day of Thanksgiving?

Resolve to burn the other half

Heavenly Father, giver of all good gifts in my life, keeper of my soul and my King- Give me a heart that loves you above every gift you could ever give and a mind that focuses on you and surrenders to you in all things.  Grant me the grace to recognize that you alone are my God and that your provision is meant to bring me to you and not to drive me from you.  Let me be faithful to burn the other half of the log and to share what you have given me with others and to offer up to you sacrifice and love offerings.  Let me not gather up but let me be poured out and help me to receive with true thanksgiving every day and let me seek you first every day.  Let me set down the gift and run to your arms O God with all joy and peace in believing that you are the giver of all good gifts and the keeper of my soul.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Fix My Heart O God, and Then My Situation.

A brief reflection on Psalm 86- a prayer of David.

A number of lessons can be seen in this Psalm regarding how to pray and how to make a case before our creator when we are troubled and needy.  I will cut to the chase on the main observation I took from this psalm...

Read the psalm with this consideration: David's life is in danger.  Ruthless men who do not fear the Lord are after him.  Yet, what is his prayer?  Does David open with a plea for deliverance from his circumstances?  Nope.

Notice that David comes to God acknowledging his need and his poverty in spirit.  He is confessing his weak and troubled heart.  He is first asking that God "gladden" his soul.  He asks God to teach him before he asks God to deliver him from the enemy.  He confesses that his heart is not united in fear of God but that he must be divided in some way and valuing something else...like security and safety and comfort maybe.

David's plea to God if for his heart to be made right and to be joyful and reliant on God.  Then in verse 12 we see that David, in the course of his worship and adoration of God and his pleading for is heart, receives an answer.  God lifts his spirit and David rejoices and thanks God and only then does he move on to ask for deliverance from his circumstances.  Only then does he lay out the troubles he is facing.

Let us be like King David, a man after God's own heart, and let us hunger for God when we are in trouble.  Let us seek to connect with our King and to have a right heart before him when we face difficulty.  Let us come to him seeking to know him and to be known by him before we ask for deliverance from a situation.  The situation will look entirely different when we are right with our God.

Teach us this O Lord and be praised in our hearts and minds-

Soli Deo Gloria!

Find the Knowledge of God!

A Reflection on Proverbs 2

This proverb gives clear instruction on how to find the knowledge of God.  Proverb 1:7 tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...

“7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7, ESV)

Proverbs 2 tells us how to understand the fear of the Lord and therefore find the knowledge of God...

“1 My son, if you ... 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1a, 5, ESV)

So this is amazing- Fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and we suffer always from a difficulty understanding this fear of the Lord.  Well, here is the solution!  He gives us directions regarding how to understand this fear that will result in knowledge.  I also suggest that knowledge of God is different than knowledge about God.

Let's look at it in the raw and then we can put it in a simpler list of bullets...

“1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1–5, ESV)

So ponder the words above and see if you agree with this list of instructions...

1. Read the Word of God (the bible) [verse 1a]
2. Memorize (or at least remember in some fashion) the Word of God [verse 1b]
1. Especially his precepts (commands or instructions)
3. Listen carefully to what it says (make careful observation) [verse 2a]
4. Desire to understand it (heart level thing here and a huge key) [verse 2b]
5. Ask God to teach you the meaning [verse 3a]
1. Do this with persistence [verse 3b]
6. Do steps 1-4 regularly and aggressively like you are on a treasure hunt (or like you need this to pay rent and to feed your family) [verse 4]
7. Now enjoy the payoff and you will understand! [verse 5]

Go back to the passage and consider the list above and decide for yourself if you see this same thing.  I can attest that reading the bible is one thing...but studying the bible is another.  Let us make a daily habit of studying the Word of God and seeking to find the knowledge of God.

Fearing the Lord and knowing God (I see this as the difference in knowledge about something and knowledge of someone) is the prize in this process.  We can come into deeper relationship and know God's heart and we can daily have a qualitatively different experience with Him.

Now read the rest of the chapter and see what this knowledge of God leads to.  Verses 6-8 alone read like this...

   “6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” (Proverbs 2:6–8, ESV)

Let us consider how we spend our time and make this list of instructions a part of our every day life.  Let us seek first the kingdom of God and entrust him with meeting our needs!

“31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31–33, ESV)

Will you join me in daily surrender of your time to chase after this treasure of knowing your creator and the redeemer of your soul?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Grace Reigns 4

A continuing study of Romans 5:20-21

See the original post for all the questions we are looking at regarding this passage.

   “20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, ESV)

1.  Why (or how) does sin reign in and grace reigns through?

Looking at how sin reigned in death we see that death was produced in us by sin and this is in our nature by birth.  Nothing must enter in...nothing new is introduced for it was the sin already in us that killed us.

   “8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” (Romans 7:8–13, ESV)

So sin was already in me (in Adam) and it came to life and killed me (Adam).  Since the fall sin has been a part of my nature and reigned through the death that it produced.  My deadness kept me slave to this sin.

   “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV)  

Now the righteousness that grace reigns through is not a righteousness of my own.  The righteousness of God is His and only comes to me by His Son and my union with Him.  So the righteousness by which grace reigns is not something naturally in me like the death that sin brought to Adam and handed down to me.  There is no righteousness handed down to me.  The free gift of grace is not like the trespass- it does not give me an inheritance but instead I must receive the righteousness of God for myself by his grace.

   “16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:16–17, ESV)  

My sin is part of the many and when I receive the abundant grace of God- note that this is more than the common grace to all man whereby he shows mercy and love to all, but now he speaks of abundant grace that actually frees me from death- then I will see that grace will reign in me through the righteousness of Christ.  It is this foreign righteousness that I do not earn or add to that causes the grace of God to reign in my life.  By this righteousness that is counted to me thanks to the faith that has been awakened in me I find new life and new ability to be free from the sin and death that once was my identity.  Now I am a new creation and I now know that there is more to me than meets the eye.  I can see the battle within and I can rejoice that I am freed to begin the fight!

   “22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 4:22–24, ESV)

“2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2, ESV)

   “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

So sin reigned in death because I was born dead and it is part of me, but grace reigns through righteousness because this is a foreign righteousness that resides within me and is counted to me.  Since I am a new creation, however, my true identity is the one that is subject to Christ and I can now starve that old dog of the flesh in freedom!  The bible also tells me that I have become the righteousness of God just as Jesus became sin so there is a powerful and precious bond between Him who resides within me and my soul.


2.  What does the reigning of sin in death tell us about the reigning of grace through righteousness?

Looking at how sin reigned in death we see that sin constantly flowed from within me due to the deadness in me.  Similarly grace works in my life through the righteousness (of Christ) that is in me.  Sin reigned due to this deadness, but I now have life because of the righteousness of Christ in me...

   “10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10–11, ESV)

So the righteousness of God is life and it is the opposite of the death that ruled in me before I was born again.  Now God works out of me an entirely new life of love that comes from his work within me by His Spirit.  So now just as I was yielding to the death in me before, now I can yield to the life in me and the grace of God reigns in power.  Remember grace is a free gift, not earned.  Grace is also the power of God given to us to accomplish what we cannot otherwise do.

   “19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” (Romans 6:19, ESV)

Conclusions:
Far from needing to grasp at righteousness I need to rest in the power of reigning grace that God has put in my by the righteousness of His Son.  Far from needing to white knuckle myself into better behavior I need to ask God to keep heaping his grace upon me and I need to yield to this new life that is in me.  I can see the power of God at work in me life if I will choose, in freedom, to set my mind on the Spirit that is now living in me.  This grace is not license to sin, far from it, but it is freedom to love like I could not love before.  "Grace" that causes me to sin because of the perception of forgiveness is nothing but slavery to deception and death in me.  See Chapter 6 of Romans for this.

Thank God that he give us the righteousness of Christ and that we have freedom to live by grace and not according to the old nature of sin and death!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Grace Reigns! 3

A Continuing Study of Romans 5:20-21

See the original post for all the questions we will look at in this study...

“20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, ESV)  

Today we look at the manner that sin reigned in death in order to understand the comparison that Paul is wanting us to see.  There must be something in this reigning that teaches us about the way grace reigns through righteousness.  Grace abounded over the increasing sin to accomplish this "reigning" so let's understand the reigning and then look at the "abounding" to accomplish it later.

So the question...

1. How was sin reigning in death?

Some scripture to help us see the manner in which sin was reigning in death...

“12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” (Romans 5:12–14, ESV)   

“8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” (Romans 7:8–11, ESV) 

“19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” (Romans 7:19–23, ESV)

“5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” (Romans 7:5, ESV)

The passages in Romans above give us the picture that sin existed first and it brought death by the power of the law's condemnation.  Then this spiritual death spread to all of us because we are untied with Adam by birth into the human race.  We did not start with spiritual life and freedom like Adam did and our sin is only our own since we are not the head of humanity.  This is how our sinning is different than Adam's.  Adam fell but we just continue in the fallen state.  We have been in bondage to a will that is bent on sin since we were in the womb.  We all walk in our choices and are responsible for them but we suffer from the way sin works in us automatically and drives our choices.  Notice how Paul makes the point that now when he sins it is not him (his heart and his true desire) that sins, but it is this old nature that still resides within him battling against his mind.  We once served sin unwittingly as our master due to this death that was in our soul.  Our actions showed the fruit of this abiding death that was the source of our sin.  So some categories to understand how this sin reigns in death-

• Sin was responsible for the death
• Death guarantees the continued sinning
• The disobedience comes as a fruit of death (automatic- not requiring my effort)
• Sin battles against me through this death in my body

So then, what does this teach me about the reigning of grace through righteousness and why "through" instead of "in"?  

This will be for next time..

1. What doe this mean in relation to grace reigning through righteousness?
2. Why does sin reign in and grace reigns through?

Soli Deo Gloria!

God Isn't Hiring Dish Washers

Reflection on Matthew 23:25-26

A quick break from Romans thanks to some thoughts from today's daily reading.  In declaring the seven woes of the pharisees, Jesus makes a wonderful reference to the new covenant and our true and only hope of righteousness...

   “25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:25–26, ESV)

We discussed Thursday that our only hope before God is the righteousness of Christ, not our own.  Even our faith is not the substance of righteousness but merely the access to it by union with Christ.  Here we see the pharisees have not yet learned this and they rely on their own righteousness.

Jesus makes clear in John chapter 6 what is required for of us and it is not that we clean up our behavior and make ourselves worthy of God's favor...

“54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:54, ESV)

This is the cup and the plate we must partake in.   We need Christ and we need his cleansing blood to justify us before God.  We need not only his broken body that took our guilt and shame but his risen and glorified body whereby he offers to save us by his life and delivers newness of life to our souls that we might walk and live as those brought from death to life!

“9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:9–10, ESV)

“4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, ESV)

So I take from Jesus' teaching here in Matthew 23:25-26 that he refers to the body or the person of the pharisee as the cup and plate.  We can only see cleansing of our hearts by the work of God, not our own work.  We cannot simply white knuckle it and clean up our life while not surrendering to Jesus and not embracing Him in person.  Religion and rules do nothing for us except possibly impress others. Jesus is the substance and the need of our hearts.

Let us eat and drink to our fill and let us be cleansed by the only righteousness that is true.  Let God grant us the righteousness of the Son by our union with him.  Let us abide in Jesus and be transformed by his power and not try to do it ourselves.  The end of self improvement is death...God is not hiring dishwashers.  Remember that the only wages we can earn with God is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We either worship God with our hunger and thirst or we dishonor him with it.  For what do we thirst?  Let us put down the dishtowel and pick up our bible with bended knee.  The only way we can get clean dishes is by dining heartily!  We must come and seek the wine to be poured into our dirty cup and the bread to be broken upon our filthy dish.  Let us dine upon Christ for true righteousness because the Christian life is not a struggle for holiness but a daily fight for joy in Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Grace Reigns! 1 & 2

A Study of Romans 5:20-21

See the original post for all the questions that we will look at regarding this passage...

“20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, ESV)

Today I looked at the first two questions.

1. In what way does the law "increase the trespass"?

Looking at Romans chapter 7 it appears that the law increases the trespass in a few ways.  First, it makes us know what sin is.  It shows us that we have the capacity to sin and it can even arouse in us greater desire to chase it in rebellion.  Second it makes sin clearly wrong and evil.  When sin is made known to be in opposition to the living God of all creation we know that it is not something minor but it is a gigantic problem and it is infinitely evil.  Thirdly it empowered the enemy with a weapon of condemnation and a point of departure to tempt us with.  The law brought a conscious ability to break the law and this was exploited by Satan.

“5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.” (Romans 7:5, ESV) 

“8 ... For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” (Romans 7:8b–11, ESV)   

“13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” (Romans 7:13, ESV)

2. What kind of "increase" of sin is this?

So this increase in sin is not ultimately something coming at me from the outside but it is sin within me being realized and activated.  External influences, such as the law, play a role in the increase but sin was a powerless capacity lying in wait within Adam even before the law was delivered.  

This passage in Romans 5 shows that Israel's sin existed before the law was given by Moses and points out how our sin is different than Adam's.  Adam had the choice to not sin because he was spiritually alive and good.  Adam was also a representative of all mankind and his sin was granted to us by inheritance.  Today we are born without an ability to not sin (you bust be born again) since death reigns over all.  So the law that Moses delivered pointed to something that was already there and really brought condemnation and warning.  Our sin has power over us even when we don't recognize it as sin!

   “12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” (Romans 5:12–14, ESV)

Yes this seems like a downer message about sin and its reign in our lives but there is great benefit here.  Paul is establishing one side of a comparison that will blow us away in the rest of the study.  Even so, we can honestly reflect on the sinfulness of sin and own up to the fact that it is in us and that we are responsible for it.  We need confession and repentance.  Praise God for his grace that we will see reigns in us who are in Christ Jesus!  A starting point of acknowledging our need is a good place.  The Lord looks upon those and takes residence with those who are humble and contrite and who tremble at his Word (cf. Isaiah 66:1-2).

Soli Deo Gloria! 

Grace Reigns!

A Study of Romans 5:20-21

Paul closes the fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans with this statement about grace...

“20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, ESV)

Chapter five was about life in Christ and how we have peace with God through faith in this Christ.  Remember that the letter originally was not broken into chapters but the translators did this to help us.  Paul seems to conclude this topic, or maybe transition into the next topic (chapter six), with a comparison of sin and grace.

Let's look at this passage and give it some study in order to really get something from it rather than just say, "Hmmm, interesting".  I have come up with some questions of my own here that I plan to answer over the next week or so and I will post my references and answers as I work toward a conclusion on the whole passage.

I may not answer these questions in order and I may not come up with definitive answers to each one either.  Anyhow, let's dig in and chew this passage for the insight and meaning that it holds for us.   Post your thoughts and comments as you study this if you like- may we be encouraged by one another's faith!

Questions-

• In what way does the law "increase the trespass"?
• What kind of "increase" of sin is this?
• How is it that grace reigns?
• What is the relationship between grace and righteousness?
• Which kind of righteousness does he speak of (active or passive)?
• In what manner does grace (through righteousness) lead to eternal life?
• What is the role of "Through Jesus Christ" in this reigning?
• How does the comparison to how sin reigns in death impact this reigning of grace?
• Why does sin reign "in" something but grace reigns "through" something?
• Why does sin simply have an end point (death) and grace has something (righteousness) between it and eternal life?
• What is the main point or principle or doctrine or takeaway from this passage?

Soli Deo Gloria! 

Where is My Mind?

A reflection on Romans 8:5-6

Paul showed us that we have a war raging and its all abouit where we put our mind.  Here he explains that we must put our minds on the things of the Spirit if we hope to survive the battle.

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. " (Romans 8:5-6, ESV)

So my first concern each day cannot be what the day holds or what is on my calendar or what problems I have to solve or who I need to speak to or see...my first concern each day needs to be setting my mind on Jesus.  My first concern each day needs to be renewing my mind in the Word of God and engaging in the battle.

There is no survival apart from this...

Soli Deo Gloria!

Do We See?

A reflection on Romans 7:14-25

Paul draws an amazing picture of the christian experience in this passage.  We have two natures.  The law of sin in our body constantly wages war against the law of God in our minds.  Do we see it?  

   “14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:14–25, ESV)

Paul sees it and the new creature who has spiritual life sees it.  The war rages every day!  Do we see it or are we failing to renew our minds and failing to see it?  It is definitely there so if are not aware of it, the enemy is winning.  Even as christians we can still be captive to this law if we do not renew our minds and set our minds on the Spirit rather than on the flesh.  We need this active renewal every day because there is no rest to the war that our sin nature wages against our new man.  We must engage in this battle if we hope to walk this life in a transformed and Spirit empowered manner.  Indeed we must if we are to confirm our election and remain faithful until the end.  If we are in Christ we will indeed walk according to the Spirit.  Paul will expound on this in Chapter 8.  

We must die and be freed from our captivity to the law of sin and death in order to now experience this battle of life.  This life is a fight for faith whereby we must renew our minds daily and maintain awareness of the evil lying close at hand in our members.  We cannot be complacent and think that we can just cruise along.  If we are complacent and are cruising along then the flesh is winning and we are deceived.  We need transformation and this only comes from renewal of the mind so that it is set on Christ and not on the world.  Paul concludes the chapter simply stating that we serve the law of God with our minds but the law of sin with our flesh.  If we fail to engage our mind for Christ then our flesh will default us into captivity to the law of sin.  This is a lead into the need to set our minds on the Spirit and not on the flesh.  To set our minds on things above and not on the things of the world.  We can walk victorious if we do so.  If we do not then we will serve sin still.

Our reading and meditation on the Word of God is not to check a box but to know the heart of God and to survive the battle!  We must wage war with a rock solid hope in the victory already won by Christ.

   “56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:56–58, ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Whom do We Serve?

We are Enslaved to Whom we Obey-

   “15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:15–18, ESV)

Jesus told the pharisees that they were enslaved to sin simply because they were sinners

“34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34, ESV)

Jonathan Edwards, in a Sermon from 1720 says the natural man serves a tyrannical master...

"The service of sin is a most tyrannical service; men therein lose their reason and understanding. Sin makes all his servants labor till they are blind and mad, till they are not able to see whereabouts they are, and then leads [them] away towards their own destruction."

But we are free men and have the power to walk in newness of life, having been set free from sin!  We now serve a gracious master.  Let us then remind ourselves...even preach to ourselves daily...that sin has no dominion over us and we need not present our members to sin, but rather, we can present our heart and soul to God and He will bring about obedience by the blood of His Son and the in-working of His Spirit for the sake of His glory!

“4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, ESV)

“13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:13–14, ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Do We Worship in Spirit and Truth?

A Reflection on David's Effort to Bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem-

Observe the worshipful celebration that surrounds this procession but let us always consider our hearts and ensure that we worship God in Spirit and Truth...

“3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. 5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.” (2 Samuel 6:3–6, ESV) 

So here we see the happy occasion of the Ark being brought to the City of David (Jerusalem) as David has recently taken the City for the Israelites under his newly established throne over all of Israel.  Notice, however, that there is a problem.  Compare their actions against God's specific direction regarding how to handle the holy things of the tabernacle and the movement of the Ark of the Covenant...

“15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.” (Numbers 4:15, ESV)

“13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.” (Exodus 25:13–15, ESV)

 “8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder.” (Numbers 7:8–9, ESV)

David and his men were ignoring God's law and they were perhaps more in celebration of their conquest and their own efforts, not realizing fully that God was greater than the blessings and more to be honored than His gifts and completely responsible for their strength?  Their eyes were not on the Lord as evidenced by this neglect of God's plain direction.  Do we tend to do the same?  Do we sometimes ignore God and His direction?  Do we act with motives more about ourselves that "doing all things to the glory of God"?  Do our actions tell of our heart?  Are we sometimes deceived?  Do we sometimes receive God's blessing only to value the blessing more than God?

Next we see the outcome of their misplaced effort that did not honor God and was not revering the truth of His Word...

“6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:6–7, ESV)

Let us learn to obey God and to seek to honor Him not by our own ideas but by the truth of His Word.  See how David's response to this chastisement by God is probably like our own can be...

“8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.” (2 Samuel 6:8–11, ESV)

So David interprets God's judgement against Uzzah as a breaking out from God's normal patient and merciful temperament with His people. Perhaps David considers Uzzah's action as righteous? Perhaps David thinks it better we break God's law than allow the Ark to be "defiled" by falling to the ground? In a sermon I recently heard by R.C. Sproul, R.C. suggests that Uzzah errantly assumed that his hand was less defiling than the dirt of the ground. He notes that dirt does not sin but honors God perfectly always in doing precisely what it was created to do. Uzzah did what the Apostle Paul condemns in Romans...

“8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.” (Romans 3:8, ESV)

Does God owe us mercy?  Do we have a posture of entitlement before God?  David sinned here and he was angry at God for reminding him that we are to hallow His name.   David needed time and space from his error for God to bring repentance and restoration.  Do we sometimes get mad at God and do we fear Him only after we are disciplined in some manner?  Only after we suffer a consequence to our sin?  Is this what it takes?  Perhaps we should fear Him naturally and live joyfully under His authority and carry the ark on our shoulders in the first place.

David got there after a few months and then he tried again with a new repentant, God-exalting attitude and he worshiped now in Spirit and in truth.  He offered worship to God on God's terms and he did not presume to make up his own rules.  David was quite over the conquest of his hand and surely gave God David humbled himself before the Lord and this fear of God is the beginning of wisdom...

   “12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” (2 Samuel 6:12–15, ESV)

David writes Psalm 68 sometime following this and we see his heart giving glory to God for all power and strength...

“35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!” (Psalm 68:35, ESV)

Let us check our heart and be certain that we are not feeling an entitlement to God's mercy.  Let us seek to live under His authority by submitting to it.  Let us search out His direction rather than making up our own ideas of what it is to follow Jesus.  Let us not do evil thinking that good will come of it.  Let us not dishonor God in how we live but let us always walk in surrendered obedience to His good will and let us be like the dirt- that we would fulfill our purpose as image bearers always.

Soli Deo Gloria!