The Pastor’s Pen

Israel’s Pharisees developed the most elaborate works-based system imaginable. With over 600 laws requiring strict observance, they had finely tuned the machinery of self-righteousness for looking right on the outside while being wrong on the inside. As always, self-righteousness first blinded them to their own error, sin, and hypocrisy. While being pleased with their outward achievements of religious format and displays of piety, they were completely uninterested in heart sins and how their sin negatively impacted others.

Self-righteousness always self-vindicates, quickly justifying sin with blind determination. The ‘self’ person energetically pushes ahead to promote the virtues of ‘self,’ with the words ‘I, me, my, mine, and myself’ being the common giveaways in its speech. Whenever self comes first it blinds the mind and heart to its ‘self’ pursuit of establishing ‘self’ in a parallel position with God. This form of idolatry is happy to acknowledge God by focusing on detail which gives the appearance of devotion to God, but in so doing, the heart fortifies itself as an idolatrous sanctuary of self.

The Pharisee’s self-control was used for the appearance of obeying rules and regulations. The importance of right appearances driven by pride consumed them. In their lust for recognition, they moved their religious acts into public places to “do all their deeds to be seen by others…” (Matthew 23:5). The more they chased after religious law, the more blinded they became to God’s righteousness which was to be lived by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

Pharisees provide us with many lessons on the ways in which ‘self’ hides the inner nightmare of sin, going to great lengths in appearing to be good, happy, and God focused. Religious formality often ranks high in the priorities of ‘self,’ giving much attention to observing the details required by religious format and liturgy.

Matthew 23 records Jesus’ final blistering condemnation of Israel’s false spiritual leaders, who had a strict set of rules for the people to obey, but for themselves, “they preach, but do not practice” (Matthew 23:3). Self-righteousness will always exempt you from submissive obedience to Jesus as Lord, always providing an excuse for disobedience. The Pharisees were not only happy living this lie themselves, but they actively deceived others into living the same lie.

Among the many corrections given by Jesus in this sermon, were 7 damning woes, which we shall briefly consider over the next few weeks.
Woe 1 – Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”
The scribes and Pharisees boasted a fancy and unique way for people to earn entrance into God’s kingdom. But the ugly reality was that they were shutting themselves out of God’s kingdom by their self-righteous works. They effectively removed the truth of Old Testament scriptures from people so that they could not identify any other way to live for God. By design, the deception would increasingly take people further from seeking truth to seeking self-righteousness as the only way of earning entrance into God’s kingdom.

In Colossians 3:1-3, Paul calls us to guard against, and proactively do the opposite of such self-righteousness, “if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” The life of faith begins with Jesus Christ as Lord, not self, and not religious format, but Christ alone.

To be continued…

As God is not confused, we can expect that the revelation of Himself will not cause confusion either. As we faithfully walk with Him, He increasingly grows spiritual certainty and confidence in Him, which hatches assurance of eternal security in Christ.

God tells us in Numbers 23:19, that He is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Great news people, God knows His own mind perfectly!

The apostle John writes to remove confusion, to clarify uncertainty, and to remove doubt. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13). John is categorical concerning the power of Scripture and the Holy Spirit to rebirth sinners into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3, 23). These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ replaces doubt, surrender replaces indifference to God, and trust replaces fear.

Psalm 19:7-9 catalogues the absolute sufficiency and certainty of God’s written Word as the Lord reveals Himself through Scripture.
⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
   the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
⁸ the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
   the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
   the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

The Lord has provided the most comprehensive provisions in His Word. Jesus declared God’s word is truth (John 17:17), as such, God’s Word provides knowable absolutes which meet our needs and gives assurance for eternity. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). God increasingly unleashes His power within us as we obediently believe His truth. Behavioural knowledge is the path to discovering God’s glory and excellence in our thinking and living (Romans 12:2).

When we withhold our obedience to the truth of God, we interfere with the growing and controlling work of God the Spirit. Biblical truth must be obeyed if we want to receive the blessings. Solomon highlighted this in Proverbs 16:20, whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. John reinforces this in 1 John 2:3, by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Knowing God’s truth opens the possibility to increased obedience, which delivers assurance. 1 John 3:18-19 explains this, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him.

In 1887, John H. Sammis wrote a hymn with the refrain that says it well:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

God’s ingenious design for Christian living is explained perfectly in the Bible and well proven by millions of believers over thousands of years. Knowledge of God is essential. Applied knowledge of God through obedience is essential. Conviction from knowledge expressing itself through repentance is essential. The result is wonderfully inescapable, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). There is no room for confusion in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The world empowers people to be always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). People often step into confusion, using it as an excuse to separate from others and justify indecision and indifference to God.

Yet, for God, confusion creates for us an opportunity to look for and latch onto conclusive truth which is precisely what God offers through His Son. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Humanity is therefore without excuse (Rom 2:1). Jesus Christ offers mankind order with knowable and definitive truth through a relationship with Him. God became a man in order that man may know God.

This is why Satan puts so much effort into hatching confusion and division amongst Christians. Spiritual anarchy is an effective weapon against God’s people, and it begins with a little confusion. God’s enemy quickly tells the confused person that their state of indecision is their truth. “This is your journey; you must walk it alone” is one of Satan’s most foul lies. Isolated thinking always leads you away from fellowship with God’s people, away from the Bible, away from prayer, away from the gospel of Jesus Christ, away from unity in the Church, and away from the pursuit of Christlikeness. What a rotten deal!

No matter how confusion manifests itself, it always works to remove clear thoughts and understanding. When people were of one language and they proudly decided to build the tower of Babel, the Lord responded with, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech (Genesis 11:7). The confusion resulting from not being able to understand each other resulted in the tower project getting abandoned and everyone separated.

Many years later, when the Lord defended Israel against the Philistines, He simply removed the Philistines clarity when they needed it the most – battle time. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion (1 Samuel 14:20). The Philistines were certain this battle would exterminate Israel, yet it turned out to be their own defeat as they killed themselves in their own confusion of thought and mistaken identity.

When we speak of God and His Word, we never see confusion, for God is not a God of confusion but of peace… (1 Corinthians 14:33). The apostle Paul, instructing the Corinthians on orderly worship, centred their thoughts on the character of God, which was to determine the character of their worship. Two of God’s character qualities stood out to Paul; first, was the absence of confusion, and second, was the presence of peace. When it comes to our understanding of God, these two qualities are inseparable. I call them the “clarity twins” because where one is present, the other is also. Where God’s truth is clear you will find peace. Likewise, where you have peace from God, you will find the absence of confusion about God.

Similarly, Paul requested the Colossian believers to pray that God would open up opportunities through his imprisonment to proclaim the gospel. What’s more, says Paul, pray that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak (Colossians 4:4). That gospel message is not at all confusing, as Paul explained to the Corinthians, Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

God is not confused, and neither should we be!   To be continued…

Rejection: I doubt anyone enjoys it. Instinctive to humanity is the need for healthy relationships, and we all know that means acceptance of others. Being created in the image of God, the significance of relational acceptance and rejection has been passed on to us by our creator. This is not a weakness in human design, but an emphasis on the strength gained from mutually supportive relationships. It should go without saying, that acceptance in Christian relationships starts with acceptance of God.

Sadly, sin initiated and continues the painful reality of rejection which began with Adam and Eve rejecting God in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6). As with everything Satan does, it’s the opposite of God’s way, and results in ugly, deformative effects in our lives. Next, Cain rejected God’s value of human life by murdering His brother Abel (Genesis 4:1-8). So, down through the ages, we continually see the effects of man’s rejection of God. With the ultimate rejection of God’s Son, when humanity crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. As Peter announced in Acts 2:23, this Jesus… you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

When Israel rejected God, they rejected God’s truth, exchanging God’s knowledge for another source of knowledge, which always led them away from God. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge… (Hosea 4:6a). As with Israel, mankind is always the first to initiate rejection of God, with people throughout the ages rejecting the Word of God. Just as the consequences for Israel’s rejection of God’s truth was that the Lord rejected them from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children (Hosea 4:6a). The consequences for Israel were severe and far reaching.

From jungle tribes to inner city dwellers, man’s need to accept God is both challenged and rejected by the world. Sin proudly announces independence from God. Sinful humanity then declares God to be irrelevant, which then leads to the denial of God’s existence. This is how far sin has carried the world.

While some people are quick to complain that God has rejected them due to life’s unmet expectations, they stubbornly refuse to abandon their rejection of God by replacing it with surrender. However, all is not lost. For those who turn from rejecting God, their prayer sounds something like the Psalmist’s prayer in Psalm 130:2-4, …Pay attention to my plea for mercy! ³ If you, O LORD, were to keep track of sins, O Lord, who could stand before you? ⁴ But you are willing to forgive, so that you might be honoured. This person understands the hopelessness of self-sufficiency and calls out for God’s mercy, knowing that God’s forgiveness is both available and dependable. This person understands that mercy is first and foremost for God’s honour and not just for our blessing.

Rejection is just plain ugly! Whether it’s Man’s rejection of God, or God’s response with rejection of rebellious man. But the beauty of God’s mercy against the backdrop of rejection is nothing short of spectacular. Mercy is available to every rejector, and within mercy is forgiveness for repentant rejectors. Jesus Christ was crucified for every rejector’s sin, and on the third day he rose from the dead, ⁴⁷ that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations (Luke 24:46-47). This is the amazing Gospel of God, that faith in Jesus death and resurrection for your sin brings endless forgiveness and acceptance from God. Every rejector needs to hear God’s good news for them, and it’s our pleasure to tell them.

There is a worldly misunderstanding that says biblical truth about Jesus Christ is boring and can never bring you the satisfaction in life you desire. Well, over the 53 years of my Christian life, I have never once found Jesus Christ to be boring. Plus, I have never been dissatisfied with the Lord Jesus or His Word, the Bible. I can assure you, that this is NOT because of anything special on my part. On the contrary, it is purely because Christ is not capable of being boring, or, dissatisfying to anyone who has truly surrendered in faith to Him.

When Jesus began His lengthy sermon on the mount, His 4^th sentence went like this; “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). A sinner who is genuine in faith, comes to the Saviour desperate for spiritual fulfilment. Exasperated by the world’s deceitful methods which do nothing more than create a bottomless pit of dissatisfaction, they turn to Christ as their only hope. And there by faith, Jesus is still saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

Speaking to a group of Jewish believers in John 8:31-32, Jesus said, “if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Christian living discovers incredible liberty when we spend time getting to know God’s Word and apply ourselves to living its truths. Growing out of our time in God’s Word flows new desires to be put into action. And it is Jesus’ grown actions which authenticate our testimony of belief in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

The apostle John made the connection between God’s love and our obedience, “whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:5). This is Christian reality, despite times of failure, it is the love of Christ which compels us to persevere in obedience (2Co 5:14). Our love is simply a response, “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It’s a wonderful thing to know that your creator God loves you with an undying love, with a jealous love that simply will not let you go. Such a love relationship rests us secure and satisfied.

I leave you with a Levitical exhortation to worship from Nehemiah 9:5-6, 17…
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
⁶ “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
¹⁷ …you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…

This is our God, and in Him there is full satisfaction!