Don't All Paths Lead to The Same Place ?

****Spoiler Alert****

The answer in short is, "No", all paths do not lead to the same place.

More to follow!

Why Would I Want to Be a Hypocrite?

Luke 6:41-42, ESV

41  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

Many people who have encountered both Christianity and Christians have walked away from that experience with a sour taste in their mouths. And that is completely understandable given how Christians (and those who wish to be) approach salvation and sanctification.

Let me explain. As Christians, we are exhorted through scripture to become like Jesus, the only perfect sinless person to ever exist.  And speaking for myself, I can pursue that with zeal by identifying areas of sin in my life and trying to, 'pull it out by the roots.'  There are a number of issues with me attempting to become holy by my own might. Not the least of which is, I'll never make it. For the same reason that I couldn't before I became a Christian, I can’t earn my salvation or even force my sanctification here on earth. I was born in sin and already failed to meet God's perfect standard. Even if somehow God would say, only going forward you must be sinless to obtain salvation I cannot be rid of my old sinful nature so I will still fail, no matter how hard I may try. 

Another problem with that approach is that it leads to a profound sense of legalism which is really a reliance on righteousness based on works. Which completely misses the point of the Gospel. After all, if works-based righteousness were sufficient to obtain salvation, the Israelites of old should have had a corner on the path to heaven. With 622 commandments to guide their every waking moment, their daily lives should have been like a Bob Ross paint-by-the-numbers way to reach salvation in 622 easy steps. Clearly, that didn't work, or Jesus’ long-foretold coming would have been unnecessary.

So we Christians try hard to eliminate sin by focusing on sin management or we think that we can earn our salvation if we somehow live a good enough life. Or, we think we can obtain God’s favor if we just ‘make it to the next level’ of sin control by sanctifying ourselves a wee bit more.

The result is an obsessive focus on sin. And not just in our own lives but in the people we encounter around us. Some of the sin identification is legit and is valid. An example could be for someone who has a weakness for strong drink, it might make sense to avoid parties where booze might flow a little too freely and become a snare.

Or if gossip has been a problem, they might have to avoid certain people who incessantly gossip lest they fall back into that pattern of behavior.  It is far too common that exposing ourselves to that which we are weakest against is likely to result in further sin;

While that may be a valid use of sin identification used to screen out undesirable circumstances, it often leads to ‘scope creep.’ So instead of identifying circumstances and discerning the spiritual risks, Christians can stray into judging people in those circumstances. And when a non-believer is judged by a Christian that way, the result is predictably negative.

If that has happened to you, may I offer some thoughts.

A.For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

• Being a Christian doesn’t change the fact that we all failed (sinned.)
• We all need a messiah to save us.

B. God works through people society rejected or experienced significant spiritual failure:

• Moses murdered a man
• David committed adultery and murdered a man
• Lot drank too much (which led to incest.)
• Abraham lied to save his own skin
• Jacob was a thief
• Rahab was a prostitute
• Solomon fell into sin through multiple wives
• Jonah hated Ninevites in general
• The angels announced Jesus’ birth to shepherds (not the high priest)
• Matthew was a tax collector (considered a traitor to Israel)
• Saul / Paul murdered early Christians
• Peter disowned Jesus
• All the apostles ran away from Jesus

And the list can continue on and on. The point is God used each of these people to do great works to further his kingdom on earth.  We all have failed and spiritually judging others is never a Christians job. In fact, scripture explicitly warns us not to do that.

Luke 6:37-38, ESV 37   "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”

So realize that if you were condemned by a Christian, they are not fulfilling Jesus’ message & commands to us. Know that God doesn’t call you to be like others. He calls you to join His family through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And if you choose to become a Christian – just know that you have a right standing with God. And further on in life as you exert yourself to become more like Him, you will miss the mark. Acknowledge the failure, turn from it (repent), and ask for forgiveness. God is generous to forgive and will not turn away an honest repentance.  And the amazing thing about sin is that even when we sin, the moment we recognize that we are sinning – we are no longer hypocrites. And we have all been (or will be) blindsided by the discovery of sin in our lives that we didn’t know we had. And in the very act of identifying sin in our lives, confessing, and repenting of it renders us hypocrites no longer. At least until we sin again, and the process of identifying sin in our lives, confessing it, and repenting of it occurs again. So this tells us there is a pattern of life the Christian should rightly expect. We are called to lie for Christ. Inevitably, we discover a sin in our lives. At that point, if we continue in that sin, we earn the title of hypocrite (from the Greek - taken to mean dissembler, pretender, or actor.) But the moment we repent and confess, the title no longer applies and the cycle begins anew. So every Christian at some point between the moment of sin and the repentance wears the title of hypocrite.  But, there are no shortcuts to earthly sanctification. We place of our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit will indwell within us, and it is the Holy Spirit who helps reveal to us our sin and changes our nature to become more Christlike. 

So if this process must occur for our sanctification while on earth, then I suppose we have to be hypocrites for a little while in order to progressively become more Christ-like.

If that be true, then yes, call me a hypocrite.  For each time I sin, I'll confess to all who will listen that Jesus my Savior has already paid for that sin and I will repent of it.  For there is no other way to fulfill God's commands to us about how to live. 

What about you friend? If being labeled a 'hypocrite' is all that stands between you and an eternity in heaven, what are you waiting for?

Acts 2:38-39, (NIV)

38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call."

It's Been a Long Time… Does Jesus Still Want Me?

It's Been a Long Time… Does Jesus Still Want Me?

Friends, we recently went through two very difficult years. We lost my nephew under tragic circumstances. Both my wife and I lost our fathers. Her father died after a painful three-year medical ordeal. During that time we dealt with COVID and the disruptions that it caused in our careers.

I will confess to you, that during that time, we were not able to attend church in person so much. I can also say that my personal faith walk was challenged and I did not always read my Bible or pray as faithfully as I should have – every day. In fact, I'd say there were times, I went multiple days without reading or praying. In hindsight, it's embarrassing. I know that we are all born into a world at war, spiritually speaking. We have to prepare to meet the threat each and every day by putting on our spiritual armor as told in Ephesians 6.  As a former soldier, I understand the importance of not entering the battlefield unprepared without the appropriate armaments, defensive tools, and gear.   If the physical battlefield determines our fate on this earth, then a spiritual battlefield has implications for both this life and where we spend eternity. My embarrassment stems mostly from failing to do what I should have done, despite knowing better, in a far more important conflict.

I also noticed that sometimes my embarrassment over my sin prompted me to avoid returning to reading and praying. And isn't that true when we sin in other areas too?  When we lie, swear, fail to keep a commitment, or some other sin that we knowingly commit… don't we feel embarrassed? I can certainly attest to that feeling of shame.  But let's examine God's Word to us about this. In the apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome (Romans) we find in Romans 8:1, " There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."   For those who are Christians, there is no condemnation from God. We are still his children. And most importantly, we are still saved. God has known all along everything we would think, say, or do long before Jesus went to the cross to pay for our sins. And knowing that, Jesus went anyway. He knew our sins and he went anyway. Stop and let that sink in. There's no new sin we commit that Jesus would be surprised by. There's no sin we commit that Jesus checks against his ledger to see if that sin was paid for on the cross. The simple explanation is that Jesus' death on the cross means he took all of mankind's punishment for all sins for all time upon himself and paid that penalty for all time. There are no further messiahs to come to sort of catch up on the sin penalty payments. No topping off of the well of forgiveness.

Jesus. Paid. It. All.   We cannot out-sin the depths of Jesus' forgiveness.

To be sure, that does not give us a license to go on sinning. Paul also explains in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? " (ESV)

We will not be fully and finally sanctified until we rise again with perfected bodies and minds, purged of all sin. So in the meantime, we still have to contend with our sin and pride. Our pride would like to puff us up, tell us we are perfect, and have us usurp God's place on the throne. It's that same pride that prevents us from admitting our sins and returning to God. After all, if our pride tells us we are God & perfect – how could we have committed a sin? We must confess our sins and in doing so, that helps put to death our pride that compels us to sin. And in doing so, God welcomes us with open arms.

Let's consider two amazing examples of the power of forgiveness in the Bible.

In Psalm 51, we find a song of confession, praise, and worship from David written after he committed adultery and murder.  David was considered to be a man after God's own heart. And we find that while David did experience the consequences of his sins, God's love did not depart from him or negate God's promises to him. See what David wrote in Psalm 51:17 (ESV),

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Did you catch that, God doesn't despise or condemn us when we repent and confess our sins?

Another example told by Jesus himself details how a son sinned against God and his father but was welcomed back into the family when he repented and returned. Read the words from Jesus himself as told in Luke 15:11-32.

 Notice the father ran to the young man to embrace and protect him. The father did not require the prodigal son to clean up, give to charity, or anything else as a prerequisite before extending his love and forgiveness. The prodigal son changed his heart and repentance (to turn around) was what the father was looking for.

So in closing, do not be discouraged when you sin. Do not even allow yourself to become discouraged if you find you have sinned but part of you wants to keep on sinning. That is your sinful nature and pride exerting itself.  Pray for a renewed spirit, just as David did when he wrote in Psalm 51:12 (ESV)

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

If you have already committed yourself to Christ, come back. If you haven't; confess, repent, and welcome back into God's love. Most importantly, come back. God is patiently waiting for you to heed the call.

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

I recently encountered a situation that made me reconsider how I see the gospel can be spread and how the love, mercy & grace of God can be reflected by us humans. The situation was the death of my 27-year-old nephew.  In his early high school years, he demonstrated a quick and keen mind. He loved to debate and was a fierce competitor in both mental & physical challenges. Sadly, mental illness struck him in his late high school years and drastically changed his life. It took many years and difficult trials, but he got the help he needed. While the illness forever changed him in many ways, he was able to live on his own to make his own way.

During one of his difficult bouts with mental illness, he professed his faith in Jesus Christ and that salvation altered his trajectory both in this life and the life to come.  I’m not going to lie to you and say that everything was instantly made well for him. In fact, it took several years for his situation to stabilize after his profession of faith.

But once his life trajectory changed, he began to move forward in a powerful way.  We learned from his pastor that he attended church regularly and developed his faith to the point where he was able to help others with their spiritual and earthly difficulties. In fact, the pastor overheard one conversation where our nephew offered spiritual guidance to another man at the church. The pastor’s observation was that our nephew’s guidance was theologically spot on and that had the pastor himself been participating in the conversation, there was little more he could have added. What a powerful observation about a man many people would have written off as a victim of mental illness who had nothing to offer society. 

Our nephew also volunteered at the food pantry where he literally acted as the hands and feet to minister to those in need. He arranged for a shopping cart to be given to the pantry so food could be carried from the pantry to the cars of people who were unable to walk in. He made frequent use of the cart and whether it was at the food pantry window or at the car, he used it as an opportunity to show Jesus’ love and speak of Jesus in scripture. 

I hope these few anecdotal stories about a remarkable young man may get you to pause and think about God’s grace of salvation. If you are already a Christian, consider how we view those who don’t look like us, talk like us, act like us, or think like us. If they are a human being, they have an immortal soul. Jesus Christ himself came to die for them and us on a lonely cross on the hill of Golgotha outside Jerusalem.  Jesus shed his life’s blood to save them and us... If Jesus came to die for them, who are we to say they have no value?  Mental illness or otherwise, they are image bearers of God and God paid the price for each of us, to redeem us from our sins, no matter our circumstances, and be reunited with him.

Also consider how much of Jesus’ love a young man with mental illness was able to share, in spite of the obstacles his mental illness presented him. If that young man was able to accomplish that much with the additional burdens he carried, what then is our excuse? We who have no mental illness, if we fail to share the gospel and show Christ’s love, grace, truth, and mercy to others?

If you are not a Christian, may I offer you these thoughts?  Our nephew struggled mightily and did not always succeed. There were failures that set him back or even required starting again from scratch.  By the standards of this earthly life, he may not have been seen as a success. By heavenly standards, he overcame the obstacles in his path to succeed. I can say with confidence that our nephew was a Christian and because of his salvation, he will be in heaven. He may not have gotten everything right in this life. In fact, there were some important things in this life he got flat out wrong. But, when it comes down to it, he got the answer right to the most important question. He answered the question correctly that matters the most. It’s the question that if you get it right, everything else will pale in comparison. It’s the question, that if you get wrong, nothing else matters. The question can be found in Matthew 16;13 where Jesus stands with his disciples and asks the question, “but who do you say I am?”  Your answer to this question will determine your trajectory in this life and more importantly, in eternity.

Two thousand years ago, Peter got it right. He answered, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Today, just as then, the question and answer will overshadow everything else in your life.

Questions like: Who did you marry, where did you live, how big was your 401(k), what country club did you belong to, what social justice movement you supported, whether you stood or kneeled for the national anthem, what college you attended, or what union local you belonged to will fade into inconsequential details if you get the one most important question wrong.

So, what is your personal answer to that question? Stop and consider. Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? If so congratulations, no matter what other questions you get right or wrong, your salvation is assured.

If you aren’t sure about the answer but want to be, know that it’s very simple.  Paul writes in Romans 10:9,” if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with all your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.”

It’s that simple folks. Get the one question right, and you get an A. Get the one question wrong, and no matter how many other earthly questions you get right, you still receive an F.  Your theology doesn’t have to be perfect. One day when we’re in heaven, God will take care of all our questions about him.

So, who is Jesus to you?