Self-Imposed Slavery - 9.23.10 0820

In the days of the Old Testament and in the lives of those without Christ, life was governed by rules, rituals and regulations. There were foods you could not eat or touch. There were drinks you could not have, and holy days that had to be observed. People were unclean and untouchable, ostracized from society. Those were the days of the Law. And we are fighting not to return to them.

One of the innumerable benefits of the death and resurrection of our Lord is that we were set free from that life. Not only from the slavery the Law had put us under, but from the slavery of earning other people's respect and admiration by following the Law. The Pharisees were lifted above other people for their continued observance of both the written and the oral Law. In turn, Pharisees would look down on those who had not the will nor the means to follow it themselves. Knowledge became power, and abstinence from certain foods and drinks became righteousness. Christ set us free from that! And yet there are groups and churches that would have us return to that life of burden.

Paul consistently wrote church after church warning them of submitting themselves back to a life lived by a law. We are to live by the Spirit instead. To the Corinthians he warned against the eating of certain foods, but by telling them to be discerning of the situation rather than placing on themselves a law of abstinence from food offered to idols. To the Galatians, he warned about slipping back into the practice of circumcision to attain God's favor and righteousness, admonishing instead the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, and following God with inner motivations as opposed to outter laws placed by other people on you. To the Colossians, his words were much less specific and much more encompassing, telling them not to let any person judge them simply by what they eat, drink, or observe - "things that are destined to perish with use."

There is a time and place for human rules and laws. If you struggle with alcohol abuse and have a hard time with self-control, abstain! Don't tempt yourself with a drink saying you'll have "just one" when you know a fifth or sixth will follow. But don't look down on others because they don't have the same problem and don't impose your abstinence on them, dressing it as if it is a mandate from God for everyone. At the same time, the rest of us shouldn't drink around those we know have a problem. Help your brother or sister by not drinking around them, encouraging them in their battle against an addiction.

In the same way, if deep down you do not feel right about killing animals for food, abstain! There are plenty of meat-free diets that can keep you healthy, but if someone else does not have the same conviction don't impose your abstinence on them. And for the other side, don't balk or scoff at people who are moved with such compassion for the rest of God's creation. Love is driving them to such abstinence and it should be respected by not eating meat around them and enjoying the meal they prepare for you.

The list can go on (smoking, Christmas and Easter and Halloween observance, Sunday as the holiest day of the week, etc.), but the point is the same for each. There is freedom in Christ from man-made laws to attain more righteousness. That freedom is not to be abused and the Spirit is to be discerned in any given situation. Nothing is evil in and of itself, but brothers and sisters should be respected for their convictions. There is a law, but it is the law of love. For God, for others. Above that, there is no greater law.

Remember that Christ died to set us free from man-made laws that make you "holy." He made you into a new creation that is already holy through your faith in him. God will direct you on what you should abstain from and where self-control may be more appropriate, because they can be two separate things. I cannot find or recall one passage in the New Testament that says abstinence on food, alcohol, or days in the year is mandated for all believers, but there are copious passages saying self-control (possibly, moderation?), discernment and respect are to be practiced. In fact, self-control is named as one of the obvious fruits of the Spirit. Can the same be said for abstinence from food or drink? No, and in fact Paul specifically condemns such actions, saying they have the "appearance of wisdom," but are lacking in value in restraining indulgence. If you lead a ministry and require followers of Christ to follow such things to be more "holy," then I can unhesitatingly say you are wrong. Your heart may be in the right place, but do not force a calling you might have on others. Allow God to govern the flock, and allow him to use you to encourage it.

Fruits are Natural - 8.12.09 1400

Reading Galatians today was interesting. Paul spent so much time stressing to them that living by the Law made no sense to the Christ follower because that was what Christ rescued you from. Living by a ridged set of standards that didn't flex was what screwed us up in the first place. But in the same book he went from saying don't live by a pre-made right/wrong list to here's your new right/wrong list, the Christian standard.

What?

That was confusing.

Wouldn't the Christian standard be the same thing as another Law? That was something Stephen said when I brought it up to him. I thought it was an excellent way to phrase it because that is how it is viewed. It took me some time to figure out what Paul was trying to say, but I think good discussion with my wife and Stephen helped flesh it out. I think he was talking about motivation.

When talking about the Law in the first half of the epistle, the image was why are you living like that? Is that going to cause your acceptance before God? What is Christ for then? Doing something because you feel you have to shouldn't be the reason. The last part of Galatians spelled out a believer's lifestyle in a different way. They were called "fruits," i.e. what do you do. What deeds naturally come from you as a believer.

The motivation now becomes letting the Spirit in you act and do what's right, not forcing yourself to do the right thing. That is what shows the nature you have. And Paul says those fruits are obvious! Meaning you know what they are, you don't need to be taught to do good, have joy, use self-control, etc. And just as obvious are the bad fruits! Doing good is natural now because you are a new creation! The sinful nature is dead, live as a slave to Christ. And when you don't do good it's not because you have regained your sinful nature (I don't think anyway...more research required), but because you didn't listen to your new nature born of Christ. Working out your salvation, as Paul says, I think just means getting used to being a new creation.

And one of my favorite illustrations of all time is just as useful for this as for so many things. The circle with the dot in the middle. God is the dot. The circle is the line you don't want to cross. You should always be trying to get closer to the dot, not the line.

If your focus is on the line (how far can I go before i piss God off or before I'm not doing what's right), then you are either living by the Law ("I'm in the circle here and out of the circle here") or you're not living in the Spirit or you haven't accepted the gift, because you're trying to earn it by eying the line and staying inside. Instead, keep your eye on the dot/God/Christ and realize that:

when you accept the gift, the line is erased.

You can't cross back over unless you tell God that you just don't want any part of this line-less world of his and would rather live in a world where you can be better than someone else and be rewarded right now for playing the game of life right with your "good deeds." Because that is life without a relationship with God. Trying to impress others and getting your value from them rather than him. The fruits of those "good deeds" are also obvious.

Heavenly Rewards - 8.12.09 1305

I was looking up all the references the New Testament makes on "rewards" and "treasures" based on a discussion Stephen and I had this morning, which was based off a concept Brennan had said in his book. Are you given rewards in heaven based on your good deeds on earth? Will some have mansions and others have shacks, some big, bejeweled crowns and others small piddly ones?

It just struck me as odd that the whole point seemed to be you can't earn salvation you just accept it because no one is better than someone else, but in heaven there would be a sort of caste system of who got more honor than someone else. And what would the nature of the rewards be? Treasures, gold, honor, more of God's attention and love than someone else? I don't think anyone really believes that you'll have a nicer dwelling or more spending money, but when Christ talks about building and storing treasures in heaven, what is he getting at?

I'm not thinking it has anything to do with levels of salvation for sure! What, more salvation than that guy or being more accepted than that guy? That's salvation based on deeds & works. And it doesn't make sense, to be "more accepted." So, what do the scriptures mean talking about treasures and rewards?

As far as I can tell from each verse talking about believers and rewards, it's talking about one of two things. The obvious one would be treasure singular, i.e. the ultimate treasure of salvation. And not by earning it, but by living the life of gratitude for the gift of salvation you received. Like the fruits thing, knowing what side someone is on by their fruits. Or receiving the treasure, as in you're supposed to sell everything to buy the land the treasure is buried in - complete devotion and commitment. Also, as in when you live as you should, you're showing the treasure you already have.

The other times the message isn't building/storing treasures like every feeding the poor good act gives you one more shilling in your heavenly pile, but the focus of the passages is more why are you feeding the poor? Where is the motivation coming from? Where is the treasure of your heart? The focus is on, are you trying to please God or man.

I don't think "pleasing God" is the same as "earning rewards." Where it says "treasures" it's talking about the source of motivation. Pleasing God with your life is expected of you. It is how you show gratitude for your salvation. And it's not something forced. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you let the Spirit move you (live by the Spirit). If you understood what the cost was and what the sacrifice was to allow the gift to be possible, you naturally show devotion to God through your acts. In other words, you might say that your fruits show the type of tree that you are.

All this seems to mean that heaven is a community of equals. No, not equal with God, but equal with each other. Mother Teresa won't get all the front row seats to the angelic choirs in heaven, and I'm positive she wasn't motivated by that thought either. She was acting in gratitude, trying to show God how much she appreciated the sacrifice. By our standards, she should be rewarded, because we're used to a rewards based system of living. But is that how God sees it? Based on the New Testament writings, I'm not sure he does. I think he'll be more pleased with someone who shows gratitude like that, but there's also a sense of that's what you're suppose to be doing. Mother Teresa did what she was expected to do.

Am I?