Tag Christianity

Fruitful Religion

Todd R Leave a comment

Before Jesus began His public ministry, John the Baptist announced Jesus’ coming and prepared people for His message.  This, of course, generated opposition, and when the Pharisees and Sadducees came out to confront John, he told them to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance…Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.  Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”[1]

Since Pharisees and Sadducees were often hypocrites, this is usually interpreted as John telling them to practice good works that flow from an inner righteousness, instead of keeping up a merely external appearance of following God.  I agree this is a correct interpretation, but I also think there is more than that to the fruit that John spoke of.

Paul wrote in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Could this also be part of the fruit John wanted his opposition to produce?

Perhaps John was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that their religion didn’t produce “love, joy, peace”, and the other characteristics listed by Paul.  Jesus pointed out the lack of love in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that the religious leaders of His time would rather leave a man dying on the side of the road than break what they saw as legal obligations.  But did the Pharisees and others also lack joy and peace?  Since they strived to obey God’s law perfectly (but only on the outside) they likely felt constant pressure to live up to God’s perfect standards, instead of peace with their Maker.  Their relationships with others, who they saw as inferior to them, were distant and cold at best.  “Against these things there is no law,” yet the Pharisees and Sadducees failed to practice them.  They not only felt no joy or peace, but they also robbed others of their joy and peace by making them feel unworthy of God’s love.  They showed no kindness or patience to others.  They were not faithful to God by being gentle with people who were not like them.  They did not “bear fruit in keeping with repentance,” as John the Baptist said.

It’s easy to judge the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, since Jesus clearly exposed their inadequacies.  However, it’s a difficult challenge to ask ourselves: does our religion bear this fruit for us?  Does our practice of Christianity result in not only loving actions toward our neighbors, but also “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” for ourselves?

Do we experience joy and peace in our relationship with God, or do we feel grief that we can’t live up to His expectations and do we still feel like God is disappointed in us?  Do we practice kindness and patience with others?  Are we gentle with those enslaved by the brokenness that rules this world?  Do we submit ourselves to the control of our God, who tells us to love Him and love our neighbor no matter what?

Fortunately for us, our salvation does not depend on our faithfulness, but on His faithfulness.  As 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  We can never come to God too late or too often to ask for forgiveness and restoration.  His love for His people is steadfast and His faithfulness is without end or limit.  He is always willing to bring us back to the path that yields fruit for the Kingdom.  Jesus on the cross purchased for us a way to bear fruit!

Therefore, pray that we can all “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”  Fruit that brings us joy and peace, and that brings Him glory.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

[1] Matthew 5:8, 10

Cleaning the Conscience

Todd R 1 Comment

A great thing about Psalms is that they are written general enough to be used by different people in different ways.  Psalm 19 makes a great prayer for anyone and is one of my favorite Psalms.  In it, David writes about how creation proclaims the glory of God in ways that everyone everywhere can see and understand.  This is what we’d call “general revelation.”  Next David writes about the law of God, how it is “perfect,” “pure,” “true,” and several other things.  This law also glorifies God, in what we’d call “special revelation,” or things revealed about God mostly through His word.

Then, after a brief interlude, the Psalm ends with verse 14, which says:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
            be acceptable in your sight,
            O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

What a closing to a prayer!

The Lord, as “my rock and my redeemer,” rules nature (the literal rocks, etc.) and His Word redeems His people.  How can our “words” and “meditation” be acceptable to such a God?  The answer is first, because He loves us enough to redeem us, and second, because He is transforming us into people who are like Him.  In fact, the “interlude” I referred to before (verses 12 and 13) are David’s prayer that God would keep him from sin and make him acceptable in God’s sight.  Those verses say:

“Who can discern his errors?
            Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
            let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
            and innocent of great transgression.

David first points out that we can’t find any errors in God, either in what’s revealed by nature or in His law, but on the other hand God knows all of our faults.  David knows better than to ask God to show him all of his flaws – that may be overwhelming – but instead David asks for a clear conscience.  To get there, David needs a solution for both his “presumptuous sins” – the outward actions that he’s probably aware of – and his “hidden faults” – the inner attitudes and sins that he may not be aware of.  To be declared innocent and blameless by God requires being forgiven for sins that we don’t even know about!

Photo by Nicole Queiroz on Unsplash

Which brings us back to the final verse:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
            be acceptable in your sight,
            O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

In my reading of this, “the words of my mouth” correspond to the “presumptuous sins,” the sinful outer actions taken in defiance of God, and “the meditation of my heart” corresponds to David’s (and our) “hidden faults.” These sins may be secret to everyone but God but we may feel guilty about them anyway.  When praying this prayer, David knows only God can cleanse him (or anyone) beyond just skin deep, and beyond skin deep is what we really need to deal with because Jesus told us “every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”[1]  Only by healing the inside can we heal the outside.  David asks for relief from guilt so he can live acceptably in both public and private ways, before both men and before God.

We all need routine cleaning of our inner self on a regular basis.  A redirection of our conscience toward right and wrong as defined by God.  If you feel in need of this, try praying Psalm 19 today.

[1] Matthew 7:17

Letting God Be Your Vision

Todd R 1 Comment
Photo by Jenna Day on Unsplash

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” – Ecclesiastes 5:1

When recently reading Ecclesiastes I was initially put off by the seeming harshness of this verse. What sort of sacrifice to God is foolish, or even evil? What is this verse of the Bible I believe in telling me to do, or not to do, and how does it point to Christ?

Then I was reminded of Micah 6:6-8:
“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

When Jesus said “it is finished” on the cross, He was saying His sacrifice is enough and it is all we need. We don’t go to church to negotiate with or bargain with God. We cannot impress God. We can offer nothing He does not already have and has not already provided. This is good news!

We only offer ourselves in worship. We “draw near to listen”, to know Him, and to follow Him. Take a listen to one of my favorite hymns today and just be available for whatever He has in store for you. He is enough for you, and for the world.

The World is Watching

Todd R 1 Comment

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the young church in first-century Philippi, he wrote: “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”[1]

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

When Paul wrote this, the gospels of Mark and John probably weren’t written yet, and the other two may not have been broadly available.  New Christians couldn’t easily read about Christ, so Paul recommends learning about Him through His other followers.  What can people learn about Christ from us on our blogs, social media, and elsewhere?

“Out of a hundred people, one will read the Bible, and the other ninety-nine will read the Christian.” – Dwight L. Moody

[1] Philippians 3:17

God Equips Those He Calls

Todd R Leave a comment

When Jeremiah was called to serve as a prophet in the Old Testament, God told him he was literally made for it in Jeremiah 1:5 –

“‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
            and before you were born I consecrated you;
            I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”

However, Jeremiah’s response was not an enthusiastic one.  Jeremiah 1:6-8 records this exchange:

“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’  But the LORD said to me,
            ‘Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
            for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
            and whatever I command you, you shall speak.’”

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

Even though God had just said “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” Jeremiah objects that he was too young and did not have the natural ability required for the job.  Maybe he doubted anyone would listen to him, so God must have the wrong guy.  God doesn’t disagree that Jeremiah was young (he already knew that), but knows that God’s ability is what matters, not Jeremiah’s.  God knew that someday you and I would be reading Jeremiah’s words regardless of his own youth or ability.  God never picks the wrong person for the job.

But if “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”[1] why does the Scripture tell us that one of its own authors doubted and questioned God Himself?

The answer of course, is “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”  We should learn not only from Jeremiah’s prophecies to the people of his time, but also from His experience with God.  In hindsight, we think that because Jeremiah is a book of the Bible, of course he was able to do the work God gave him, but in the moment of his call, Jeremiah had no idea.  So, when we think our ability is not enough for the job at hand, we should remember Jeremiah’s youth and remember that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called,” as the saying goes.  Jeremiah learned this from his own experience, and we may learn from it as well because the Bible records it.

Also, God shows us Jeremiah’s flaws to comfort us when we feel inadequate, not only in ability but also in faith.  Even if we know that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called,” we don’t always act on that knowledge.  Jeremiah doubts not only his call, but there are other examples, including when he questions why he should buy a field the Babylonians were about to seize.[2]  Doubt is not something that only some Christians feel – we are not alone in our weakness.  Even the Bible’s own authors had doubt because they could not see as God sees.

God is patient when we are honest with Him about our doubts, but He is also honest with us when He says we were literally made to serve Him.  No Christian is inadequate for the work God gives them, for in His power He accomplishes what He wants. He has no doubts and is faithful in providing everything we need.

Sometimes God sends us before we think we are ready, so we can learn to put our confidence in the right place like Paul, who wrote: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

[1] 2 Timothy 3:16
[2] The story is in Jeremiah 32, which I covered in an earlier post, here.