2 Peter 1:1

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (NRSV).

Do I think that my faith is precious? That word just jumped out at me on the page when I read it. Did you know that the English word precious comes from the Latin word that means price. And that’s what our faith is: it was paid with a price, with the blood of our Savior. I think that sometimes, in the midst of the frenetic pace of our lives, we tend to take our salvation for granted. It’s been a part of us so long that we forget that there was a time when we didn’t have the hope of heaven.

What’s important to you? We cherish, protect, and spend time with the people (and the things) that are important to us. For all our protestations, where we put our efforts, our time, our energy is where we esteem and value. Think about it. We really do make time and effort for that which compels us. And it is that which compels us that is most important.

I also think about precious in the sense of protection. Now, I think as a society that we don’t protect nearly as much as we used to. So much of what is around us is throw-away and we are so wealthy. If something breaks, is lost or even stolen, we will simply get another. There are few things that are precious enough to keep, to value, to protect. Even our relationships are this way. In fact, it’s sad that in 2000, the Barna Group found that divorces among Christians was higher than divorces among non-Christians. Now, perhaps that’s because many nonChristians simply don’t marry, but the fact remains, that Christians should understand what is precious (e.g. family) and protect that. And we don’t. And if we don’t protect what we can see—what is around us—then it is likely that we also won’t protect that which we can’t see, our salvation, our faith.

I think that the New Testament Christians did not see salvation as a one-time event (as we often do), but rather as a lifelong experience to be lived out, to be practiced, to be cherished and protected. The author of Hebrews writes:

“For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. . . . But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.” (10:36, 39 NRSV).

Hebrews 2:1, 3a (NRSV): “Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. . . . how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

If salvation was a one-time gift—given and done—then why would we need endurance? Notice that the writer says, “that when you have done the will of God.” It’s a future event, a conclusion of a life lived well and according to the tenets of scripture, a life that has protected and cherished a precious faith. It is possible to drift away from this faith, to neglect it? I think that, above all else, this might be why Peter wrote that faith was precious. It is a gift, but a gift not to be treated lightly. It is a gift that cost the life of the Son of God. Perhaps we need to think about that more often and to treat this gift in the manner that it should be treated.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Romans 15:1-2, 5-7

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. . . . Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” (NKJV).

I want people around me to be spiritually strong, particularly if they are in authority over me and even more particularly if they claim to be Christians. The fact is, God doesn’t place people in authority based on their spiritual maturity, but based simply upon His plan. And it’s my duty, my responsibility, to live not to please myself. (No one said this life would be easy.)

I like the NRSV translation of verse 1: “We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Not to put up with the FAILINGS. Well, those who are spiritually weak certainly having failings. I think it’s likely that many around me see as spiritually weak, as someone with a lot of failings. Personally, I like the idea of a hierarchy where those “above” me are spiritually stronger than I am, but I think that whole concept appeals to the lusts in my life. It’s much harder to submit to a superior who isn’t superior, someone who is over me but is less spiritually mature than I am. Submission takes on a whole new meaning when I’m working for someone who claims to be a Christian but who obviously doesn’t live like a Christian.

“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” I like pleasing myself. Life is much easier when things are going the way I think they should be going. It’s so hard to keep my mouth shut and submit. Much easier to blow forward like a tempest. (Often a tempest in a teapot, I’m thinking.)

“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.” Edification, to build up, to improve the moral stance. What’s interesting about the Bible is that while the idea of tough love is taught, much more we see our obligation to submit.

1 Peter 2:11-17 (NKJV): “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

It’s interesting that the apostle Peter puts two concepts right next to each other, as if one flows from the other. Put aside fleshly lusts and submit to authority. I see that in my life. There is a desire to control, to be seen as right, to war against what someone over me says or does or demands. And Peter calls that a fleshly lust . . . as he should. He knew from personal experience. There was probably no apostle as determine to plot the course of the Master’s life as Peter. And again and again, the Lord Jesus, often with a soft word, stopped Peter in his tracks. By the time Peter wrote this epistle, he understand the importance of submitting, of letting go.

Paul goes on, in Romans 13, to tell us to be “likeminded toward one another.” The NRSV translates it “to live in harmony with one another.” Again, how are we in harmony? Certainly not by demanding (or expecting) that others come into agreement with us, but rather when we submit to others. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3 NKJV). If we look at the Philippians verse, we see two concepts in opposition to each other: (1) doing things through selfish ambition or conceit, or (2) esteeming others better than ourselves.” The Greek word translated “better” also means “superior.” In other words, contrary to American culture, we Christians should consider ourselves as inferior to others and to consider them superior. When we do that, we put their issues, their desires, their ambitions before ours.

What’s wonderful about all this is that this kind of life brings glory to God. “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). Christ received us by loving us while we were still sinners and in rebellion to Him (Romans 5:8). Can we love each other with that kind of love? Can we love while they are yet sinners? By doing so, we glorify God as He lives His love through us to them.

Sometimes the higher path takes us on the seemingly lower road of submission to those who don’t deserve either our respect or our love.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 22:28

“Do not remove the ancient landmark that your ancestors set up.” NRSV

Matthew Henry: “We are here taught not to invade another man's right, though we can find ways of doing it ever so secretly and plausibly, clandestinely and by fraud, without any open force. Let not property in general be entrenched upon, by robbing men of their liberties and privileges, or of any just ways of maintaining them. Let not the property of particular persons be encroached upon. The land-marks, or meer-stones, are standing witnesses to every man's right; let not those be removed quite away, for thence come wars, and fightings, and endless disputes; let them not be removed so as to take from thy neighbour's lot to thy own, for that is downright robbing him and entailing the fraud upon posterity.”

There are many different kinds of boundaries in life. Physical boundaries, such as those which border property; social boundaries, such as those outlined by manner and courtesy; relationship boundaries, such as those in families; spiritual boundaries, such as those outlined in scripture. It is often the human tendency to test or even stretch boundaries. Think about our kids. As they were growing up, didn’t they (sometimes? often?) test the boundaries we set, seeing if they really couldn’t do this or that?

As adults, we also stretch boundaries, but I think we excuse that stretching for different reasons. We are busy or tired or stressed and so we stretch a boundary, excusing it with “I’ll only do it this once.” I’m in Virginia right now attending summer classes at Liberty University. Liberty is a staunch evangelical school and the vast majority (over 90% of the students) claim to be Christians. Add to that the fact that two thirds of the students attend the online school and are older adults (like me). Given all that, you would think that academic honesty would be the least of this institution’s worries. And yet, here (as in many colleges), there is a growing problem with plagiarism. Plagiarism is a kind of boundary stretching. It is taking someone else’s work and claiming it for yourself. Plain and simple, it’s stealing.

Now, having been here and met my fellow students, I can tell you that none of them would intentionally simply take another’s work for their own. But with overstressed, overburdened, overcommitted lives, I can see one or two (or more) taking work from another and justifying it by saying they now have more time for their kids or their spouses or their jobs. In other words, a “good” is supposed to justify the evil, the sin.

I had another friend, married with children, who collected “boyfriends” like some people collect stamps. She was an out and out flirt and told me that she wanted these men to like her and long after her. Because it never went past the early flirting stage (no physical intimacy), she justified it as good, clean fun. And yet, she was stretching (and overstepping) relationship boundaries, both in the relationship that she owed her husband and in the proper relationship she should have had with these other men, some of whom were married.

I find myself wanting to stretch boundaries. There are so many things that don’t please the Lord, but if I can justify it or only do it “this once,” the sin just doesn’t seem so bad. I can overeat if it’s “comfort food” and I’m in a stressful situation. I can gossip if the other person is just as willing to participate. I can curse if I’m really angry and the situation is untenable. Boundary stretching. Justification for choosing to sin. The apostle Paul writes, in Romans 6:

“What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (NRSV).

God established ancient barriers of behavior. On one side of the barrier is righteous living; on the other side is sin. We are commanded not to move the barriers, a commandment not given capriciously, but given in love to protect us from the ravages of evil. When we stay within the boundaries, we harm no one and we protect ourselves. It’s the least we can do for a Father Who gave us His all to save us from our sins.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 22:26-27

“Do not be one of those who give pledges, who become surety for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?”

God is just as concerned (perhaps more so) about why we do something than about what we do. Behavior which appears righteous on the outside may be sinful if done for the wrong reasons. Paul wrote an interesting description to Timothy:

2 Tim. 3:1-5 NRSV: “You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!”

Now if you read up to the last part of this passage, you would think that Paul was giving his rather “typical” description of the unsaved. But then notice that last phrase: “holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power.” The power of God isn’t about changing our circumstances (as we would like to think) nearly as much as it is about changing our character. And it’s obvious from this passage that there are those whose lives appear to be Christian, who have an outward form of godliness. These are those of us who do things for the wrong reasons.

The Lord Jesus taught us this: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers'” (Matthew 7:21-23 NRSV).

While it’s really painful for me to see these two passages together, it is another reminder that why I do something is as important as what I do. Do I do it to truly love sacrificially or do I do it to get attention, to get affection? Do I do something to honor God or do I do it to gain the praise of others? The passage in 2 Timothy begins with “people will be lovers of themselves.” It’s interesting that our churches have come to teach that we must love ourselves. I looked in many versions and the phrase was translated either “people will be lovers of themselves” or “people will be self-centered.”

Years ago, Jim Odens of PAGE Ministries came to our church to talk about theocentric Bible studies. The term “theocentric” means God-centered, for something to be centered around God and His character. When we are self-centered, we are concerned first and foremost about ourselves, our concerns, our future, our agenda. The Greek word is philautos. Strong’s translates it as “fond of self, selfish, lover of self.” The New Testament Greek Lexicon translates it as “too intent on one’s interest.” (The problem I have with that definition is that it’s so easy for us to excuse our behavior saying that we are not “too” intent, when, in fact, if we even say that, we likely are.)

What does all this have to do with the proverb? Well, it says not to cosign for someone else. There are several reasons for this including the fact that we aren’t supposed to get into debt in the first place. And if we’re not supposed to get into debt, then we shouldn’t help someone else get into debt either. But, more than that, we often cosign for others because we want to appear important, powerful, benevolent. We do it to inflate our appearance to that person, perhaps even to have them beholding to us. The fact is, in Luke 6:34-35, the Lord Jesus tells us to lend without hope of being paid back. If someone is in need, rather than helping them become more in debt, how much better would it be if we simply gave to them out of our stores? Then we are not cosigners and they are not in debt!

Lament. 3:40-41(NRSV) says: “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to God in heaven.” Lifting our hearts (what we think) and our hands (what we do) to the Lord by testing and examining our ways and returning to Him by purifying our motives. I think that would be a good thing today.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

2 Timothy 4:2-5

“Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.” NRSV

Somewhere in the last 50 years, the Church in America embraced a practice called “relationship evangelism.” The point of this practice is biblical: to love people, allow them to see Christ in us, and then share the gospel. Somewhere, pieces of that got lost. First, we lost the “share the gospel” part and were just satisfied with loving people and allowing them to see Christ in us. Then, it became too much of a burden to live Christly, so we just loved people. And finally, we stopped loving altogether.

Penn Jillette, of Penn and Teller (a comedian/magic team), recently posted a video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM). In it, he talked about a man who came to watch the show and then bought tickets for a second night simply to wait in line after the show to give him a New Testament. This man didn’t wait to try to establish a relationship, but rather went up to a stranger on that stranger’s own turf, knowing there was the possibility he could be ridiculed or even evicted, to witness to this entertainer.

“Whether the time is favorable or unfavorable.” Paul knew that there would be times that people would not want to hear the gospel, where the message would be rejected, where there would be taunting and even cursing at the one who was proclaiming it. It’s interesting that the word translated “proclaim” here means: preach, proclaim, publish. Potentially that covers everything: preaching in the church, proclaiming in the streets, publishing by text. And while the letter to Timothy is addressed to a young preacher, the Holy Spirit includes no qualifiers. It would seem that this passage is addressed to us all.

In the last verse notice “endure suffering.” (I know that’s the phrase we don’t like to see.) Paul doesn’t qualify that phrase (“If you suffer, endure it.”). He knows that Timothy will suffer. The Holy Spirit knows that we will suffer. We are in a world entrenched with sin. We will suffer simply because of that. If we are witnessing, we will suffer as people deride and reject the message. Paul encourages us to endure through the suffering. Don’t stop, but endure. It’s interesting the progression: be sober. Endure suffering. Evangelize. Carry out the ministry fully. As if enduring suffering sets the ground for evangelizing. (I’m not saying it does, but it’s an interesting thought.)

But that gets to the meat of this passage: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” I think that we need to be extremely mindful of this passage because there is a strong tendency in America to lean toward teachers who satisfy our lust and toward churches where we can get lost (and hide our sins). In a 2005 article on megachurches, I read:

"These churches can do a ton of things that smaller churches can't," said Nancy Ammerman, professor of the sociology of religion at the Boston University School of Theology. "They have the resources to produce a professional-quality production every weekend, with music (often specially composed for the occasion and backed by a professional ensemble) and video and lighting and computer graphics and a preacher who knows how to work a crowd.” (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20051126/megachurches-attract-crowds-link-individuals/index.html)

Now, I’m not bagging on megachurches, but if you attend one, you need to ask yourself why. In fact, we should be asking ourselves why we attend wherever we are. Do we attend because the activities are fun and we really like the music and the preacher? Or do we attend because we come away convicted and repenting? Are we in a place where the Holy Spirit convicts over and over again? Or are we attending a place where we are simply confirmed in our lifestyle? While I think there is a place for comforting the hurting, we need to realize that we like our comfort . . . a lot! And there is comfort in conviction! There is comfort in repenting! And as a people we like need a lot more repentance than comfort.

What kind of preaching attracts me? I have to be honest and say that depends on where I am in my spiritual life. If I am closely walking with the Lord, then I want a preacher who will preach the Word with boldness, where the Holy Spirit convicts where I have strayed away from the Way. If I am away from the Lord, then I like a good encouraging message because it allows me to continue in my wandering. Those convicting messages, well, sometimes they hit too close to home. And then I have to get to the point where I realize that I’m looking for a message to tickle my ears, that I’m not following sound doctrine.

Can we even discern between sound and unsound doctrine? That’s one thing that scares me. I think that many of our “good” preachers have attended schools and seminaries where sound doctrine isn’t emphasized. Instead, they’re taught about business management and evangelism techniques and how to script an interesting sermon. Many young pastors I’ve met have never read Tozer or Redpath (or even Schaeffer). It scares me that, as Christians, we are becoming more and more illiterate. Are we comfortable in that? (I think there is a modicum of comfortableness in ignorance.)

I’m not sure where all of this leads. I know that, as a believer, I have a strong desire to learn sound doctrine, to not give into the lusts of my life that can turn me away from the truth of the Word. And this passage challenges me to step out even more. I need to learn how to become more deliberate in my witnessing. And I need to make sure that I am living godly so that the Spirit can work through me at any moment.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 22:24-25

Proverbs 22:24-25

“Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads, or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”

A number of years ago, I had the privilege to hear Jim Odens (of PAGE Ministries) talk about evangelism. He told us about a couple who wanted to evangelize several of their neighbors. The problem was that the neighbors all worked many hours and the only time available (when they were all together) for fellowship was from ten to midnight on Friday nights when they all went bowling. (They all belonged to the same bowling league). So this couple, who had small children, hired a baby sitter and went bowling. Oh, not because they liked to bowl. But because they wanted an opportunity to evangelize.

Pastor Odens went on to explain that this couple had absolutely no assumption that these neighbors would ever become “friends” (in the sense that one depends upon a friend). Instead, this couple went to “be” friends, to demonstrate God’s love without the expectation of getting anything in return. In fact, they purposely chose not to depend upon these neighbors for anything (including acceptance or even simple courtesy).

There is a real truth in this that I need to understand. I shouldn’t embrace everyone as a friend. A friend is more than an acquaintance, and regardless of how much I know about someone, I can choose whether or not I trust this person, whether or not I have expectations of accepting anything from them (including loyalty, trust, kindness, etc.). But I can be a friend without expecting friendship in return. I can be a friend while still protecting myself from their influence. And I think that might be the sense of this proverb.

The word translated “friend” has many meanings including a sense of shepherding a flock of sheep. There is an intimacy, a dependency, in the word. In Psalms, we can see friend in the sense of “a bosom friend,” “a friend and a brother,” “my familiar friend,” “intimate friend.” The Hebrew words used here and in Proverbs are the same root. There seems to be the sense of an intimacy, a trust that is in a friend.

We should definitely be in a relationship that gives without taking back in order to witness. But we should trust our hearts only to those who are trustworthy. Why is that? Because, unless we have a guard around our heart, we will become like those with whom we associate. Haven’t you found that to be true? I have. If the people around me are sarcastic, I tend more toward sarcasm. If they are complainers, I will complain and grouse. If they are angry, I tend to take up the cause. This proverb tells us not to be friends with those who are angry or we will become like them. Anger is destructive and the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot be angry and kind or gentle or forgiving. And we need to be aware of those around us make us feel and act and talk, so that we are more like Jesus than anything else.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.