His Own

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Pete

The people of God are referred to in many ways in the Scriptures. We are saints, and we are His disciples. We are sheep, and we comprise His body. We are family, and we are also His bride. And this morning, reading in Philippians, I’m reminded we are also “His own.”

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own.    (Philippians 3:12 ESV)

Paul did what He did, not to merit favor but in response to grace. He did not consider himself as having arrived, but instead pressed on to achieve the prize. He ran the race not that men might look at him and praise him, but because he looked to Christ and sought Christ’s glory alone. And He did this, because Christ Jesus had made Paul His own.

Other translations say that Paul was “laid hold of” by Christ. I like the sound of the old King James where it’s translated that Paul followed hard after Christ so “that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”

Apprehended by Christ Jesus. Seized upon by the promised Messiah. Taken possession of by the King of heaven. That’s the state of every believer before ever having a thought of taking hold of Him.

The people of God are His own. That’s just who we are. Not that we deserved it, or earned it, or could ever, on our own, claim it as ours. But it’s just who we are because of what God has determined and because of what Christ has done.

We have been bought with a price, and we are not our own (1Cor 6:19). He gave Himself to redeem us and “to purify for Himself a people for His own possession” (Titus 2:14). He sought us when we were lost. He loved us when we were at war with Him. He gave all when we had nothing to give in return. And all that He might seize us to Himself. All that He might apprehend us to be a people for His sole possession. All that we might be called His own.

His own. No boasting in wearing the banner, for He claimed me long before I knew Him. No self-righteousness in taking the title, for I am only His because of the righteousness credited to my account on His behalf. No sitting back thinking that now that I am His I have somehow reached the finish line, but instead, like Paul, pressing on toward the prize that I might, through the Spirit indwelling me, make it my own. Counting all things loss and leaving all things behind for the “surpassing worth of knowing” Him who has made me His own.

His own. That’s me. Such are the people of God. O blessed thought.

By grace alone . . . for His glory alone

Posted in Philippians | Tagged | Leave a comment

We Are The Circumcision

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Pete

Paul calls them dogs. He labels them evil doers. You’ll know them, he says, because they are those who mutilate the flesh. And to the believers at Philippi he says, “Look out for them.” They won’t come with snarling teeth or wearing a black cape. They won’t call it mutilation but initiation. Do this and you’re in. Do that and you’ll be worthy. Do the other thing and God will then accept you. And then, they say, you can count yourself among the circumcision. You’ll be those who have shown in the flesh what real devotion to God entails. But Paul says, beware of the them. In fact, says the apostle, we are the circumcision.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh . . .     (Philippians 3:2-3 ESV)

In the dark corner, clothed in their own best efforts, are those who claim that righteousness before God is on the basis of, well, righteousness before God — circumcision being one such act. In that corner there’s a ladder to climb, a list to keep, acts to be demonstrated in order to merit the banner of God’s people.

In the light corner, wearing a robe provided by Another, are those whose righteousness is by faith in the finished work of the cross. Those who know they can’t climb high enough, nor keep His commands well enough, nor demonstrate consistently enough anything which merits God having to let them into the kingdom.

Instead their only claim is that they worship solely by the Spirit of God . . . they glory only in the Son of God . . . and they put no confidence in their flesh which, unless it is regenerated by an act of grace, is wired to rebel in the face of God. And such are the circumcision.

The flesh cut off not at the hands of men but by the redeeming work of Christ. Worship no longer defined as external acts of piety, but now experienced as an internally sourced, Spirit ignited, response to heaven’s abounding favor. Boasting no longer in what I think I can do, but solely in what I know Christ Jesus has done.

More than just something being cut away, which is all the law was able to do, the true circumcision brings with it freedom, abundant life, and overflowing joy. No longer a sign of the flesh it is the evidence of the Spirit. Worship is no longer manufactured by trying to go through the motions, but instead exudes from the pours of those have known the sweet fellowship of abiding in the Vine. No longer worried about what we’ve done, no longer focused on building our spiritual resume, instead we glory in what Christ has done and the spiritual legacy He is building in His bride.

No confidence in the flesh. No confidence that I could have ever plucked myself out of the miry pit of sin. No confidence that I can now get my act together, and keep it together, in order to be a “good Christian.” No confidence that, because I lived a pious life, Jesus will one day find me a room in His house. No confidence in the flesh.

Instead, all confidence is in the Lamb of God, come to take away the sin of the world. All confidence is in the power of Jesus to save and to save to the full. All confidence is in the love of God shed abroad through the Spirit in the hearts of all who believe the good news of God’s wondrous salvation. All confidence is in His sure return to take His people to be with Himself. That’s our confidence. That’s our circumcision.

All because of grace. All for His glory.

Posted in Philippians | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Current Truth

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Pete

It wasn’t that they deserved it. Nor that they were going to get their act together and, perhaps, some day deserve it. But it was because of another . . . and the promise made to him . . . that favor was shown to a wayward people. That’s just how my God does things. And this morning, in an ancient record, I encountered a blessed reminder of a current truth.

Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has He cast them from His presence until now.    (2Kings 13:22-23 ESV)

Even at the northern kingdom’s best — after Jehu had ridded the land of all of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s descendants and cohorts, and had completely destroyed all vestiges of Baal worship (2Kings 10) — they were still unable to rise above the burden of sin fastened to them by their first king, Jeroboam. Even though king Jehu “wiped out Baal from Israel,” he did not turn aside from the sins woven into the fabric of the northern kingdom when it was formed — “that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan” (10:28-29). As such, the king continued to personify the character of the nation and “was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart” (10:31).

But the LORD was gracious to them. The great God, whose name they attached to cows fashioned of gold by man’s hand, had compassion on them. The Creator, from whom they had turned away to worship elements of His creation, turned toward them. And all because He had made a promise to Abraham . . . and to his son, Isaac . . . and to his son, Jacob. And though His holy nature would demand that the nation would reap of the seeds of sin they had sown . . . though the correction required to rid a rebellious nation of it’s rebellious nature would be severe . . . He would not destroy, nor would He cast them from His presence.

And while it’s an ancient story concerning an ancient people, the God of that time and place is the same God of this time and place. And I’m moved to worship by this current truth — that God graciously, compassionately, intentionally, and persistently turns His face toward His people, even when they stray, because of a promise made to Another.

He has promised a bride to His Son. A betrothed comprised of sinners saved by grace. Those once held captive by the god of this age, set free from Baal worship through the finished work of the cross. Those once dead in trespasses and sins awakened to new life by the power that raised Christ from the dead. Those once lost and without any eternal identity, found and made into “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (1Peter 2:9). Saved through promise . . . sanctified through promise . . . one day to be presented before her Bridegroom “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27) through promise.

And along the way, we have an enemy who seeks to trip us up. We battle an old nature which tempts us to serve our flesh as god. We wrestle with forces from another world who would talk us captive into darkness. And when we trip up . . . when serve the flesh . . . when we play with darkness, because of God’s promise to Another, He looks upon us with grace . . . calling us back to Himself through His Spirit. He deals with us according to divine compassion, because He knows our frame and the battle that wages within and without. And He turns toward us, drawing our faces back toward His . . . He loves us, that we might love Him . . . He fans the fire that we might burn for Him.

Thank God for this current truth.

All because of grace . . . all for God’s glory.

Posted in 2Kings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Where Are the Tears?

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Pete

Ok . . . so this makes me really uncomfortable. The Word of God can do that to you. Honestly, I prefer things jumping off the page that I think I understand . . . or think I have a handle on and are reflected in my walk. That’s the “living and active” dynamic of the word of God that I like (Heb. 4:12). It’s kind of easier when the Word actively affirms the truth you are already following. But then you come across something in God’s word that reminds you of the rest of that dynamic . . . the part that is like a sharp two-edged sword which pierces “to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Ouch! That can hurt. But that’s kind of where I am this morning as I ask myself the question, “Where are the tears?”

My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep Your law.
 (Psalm 119:136 ESV)

That our world is increasingly hell-bent on being hell-bound seems evident. Wrong is more and more being declared to be right. That which was once the God of heaven’s to define has now become the purview of the courts of men. That which has been, since creation, recognized as unnatural is now being redefined as natural. That which was once God’s to create is now being surgically recreated by man. And this on top of the increasing idolatry of self. This on top of the darkness which is declared to be “progress” in our society. All because the heart of unregenerate man “is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick,” to a depth beyond anyone’s grasp to fully know it (Jer. 17:9).

And the response of a “hopelessly dark and deceitful” (MSG) heart towards the word of God is to reject it. And that, so says this line in the song I’m reading this morning, should so move me that my eyes shed streams of tears.

While I might be amazed at the arrogance and folly of men to declare themselves to be the arbiter of that which is God’s alone to determine . . . while I might be frustrated at the moral blindness enveloping our culture . . . while I might rise up indignant at the slander of my God’s name . . . while I might hate the sin, while loving the sinner . . . how often do I shed tears because people do not keep His law?

Shed tears because the word of God is despised. Shed tears because the name of the God of the word is blasphemed. Shed tears because the good news is drowned out by the nightly news. Shed tears out of compassion and concern for those whose minds have been blinded by the god of this age (2Cor. 4:4).

Streams of tears flowing because men and women refuse to submit to their Creator. Rivers gushing because those captive to sin have yet to see, or have out-and-out rejected, the rescue and redemption offered them through God’s love declared by sending His Son to bear the guilt and penalty for our transgression.

Where are the tears? The sorrow for the sins of others?

Would that I had more the heart of Christ who, as He drew near to Jerusalem, wept over it (Luke 19:41). That I was more like Paul, knowing “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” for his “kinsmen according to the flesh” — even willing to exchange himself for their souls if he could (Rom. 9:2-3).

Where are the tears? There should be more tears.

So work in my heart, sanctifying Spirit. That I might know more the compassion of Christ . . . for the glory of God.

Posted in Psalms | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Windows in Heaven

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Pete

The situation was desperate. Samaria had been besieged by the king of Syria (2Kings 6:24). Nobody gets out of the city. Nobody gets in. More importantly, nothing gets in. Not food . . . not water . . . nor anything else necessary for sustaining life. What’s more, the siege had occurred during a time of famine in the land (6:25) so the situation inside the walls went from bad to worse really fast — so much so that mothers were engaging in cannibalistic practices with their children (6:28-29). Dark, dark times. Hopeless times. But it’s in such times, that we’re reminded there are windows in heaven.

But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the LORD, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the LORD Himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”    (2Kings 7:1-2a ESV)

Twenty-four hours. That’s all it would take, prophecies Elisha. Twenty-four hours for the siege to be lifted and for the supply of food to so outweigh the demand that buying in bulk would only cost shekels. And the king’s captain says, “Really? Impossible! Even if the LORD Himself should make windows in heaven, how could it be?”

Cue the windows. Draw the curtains. Throw open the shutters. Open wide . . . and watch the glory of God come down!

Bottom line is the LORD spooks the marauding Syrian army. They hear sounds in the night and, thinking them to be mercenary armies somehow hired by Israel, they flee leaving everything behind. Literally . . . everything is left behind. Horses, donkeys, and tents filled with enough food, clothing, and silver and gold, so that an army could outwait a city (7:6-8). And it’s there for the taking. More than anyone could have imagined. Easier to get than anyone could have thought but twenty-four hours earlier. All the result of windows in heaven.

Incredible story. Unbelievable. Abundance available to everyone who had been in captivity. Nothing they needed to do but leave the safety of the city walls and venture out into the abandoned camp and reap of the spoils. How could this be? Windows in heaven.

Sounds like another incredible story. A story of those besieged by sin. Held captive by the lust of their flesh and the darkness of their world. Though unaware of their desperate plight, people trapped and without any means to free themselves . . . even feeding on themselves, and on others, in order to satisfy a soul hunger that can only be satisfied by windows in heaven.

“I am the bread of life. . . . This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” ~ Jesus    (John 6:48-51 ESV)

The windows of heaven opened . . . the King of Heaven come down . . . that people might be freed from the siege of sin . . . and that they might drink of living water in abundance . . . and feed on the food of eternal life without measure. All without cost to the captive . . . accessible to all who believe, and, by faith, leave the death-sentence of their “safe city” and wander out to see the LORD’s provision. Provision not found in tents filled with food and money, but found in a blood stained cross . . . found in an empty tomb . . . found in a risen, ascended and living Savior. Heaven’s best given for sinners such as I. All because there are windows in heaven.

O’ what wondrous grace! O’ what a wonderful Savior!

To God be all the glory for windows in heaven!

Posted in 2Kings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Let Down the Nets

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Pete

It came out of nowhere. One moment Jesus is teaching the crowd, the next he’s talking to the fisherman. With one breath Jesus is revealing the coming of the kingdom of God, with the next he says, “Go fishing.” And what grabs me this morning is Peter’s response to Jesus’ out-of-left-field request.

You know Peter . . . the impetuous one. The guy who still, after 2,000 years, is known for his tendency to pull the trigger before he aims the gun. The guy we often roll our eyes at because so often he acted first and thought later. But this morning, as I read in Luke, this one born Simon Bar-Jonah shines. Not because he moved slower. Not because he thought it out first. But because when Jesus said, “Do it!” He did it. He let down the nets.

And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:4-5 ESV)

“At Your word I will let down the nets.” Bam!!! That’s what we’re talking about. Jesus said do it, and Peter did it.

Didn’t make much sense to the experienced fisherman. Fishing was done at night . . . not during the day. And they had just been out all night . . . nothing, nada, zilch, big goose egg to show for their labors. But Jesus said, “Put out into the deep” and so Peter put out.

It’s not because Peter expected to land the big one, but because He was learning what it meant to follow the Master. It wasn’t because he thought it was a particularly good idea to fish, but was starting to learn that it was always a very good idea to have faith. And so when Jesus said,”Fish,” Peter fished.

They had toiled all night and took nothing. They had already given it their best shot and come up empty. They had executed “plan A” and all they had to show for it were wet nets. They had been up all night and were tired. And it’s then that Jesus says, “Try again.”

Your best plans, your best efforts have come up short, says the Master, but it’s My work. “Put out into the deep” one more time and behold the power of My word.

And behold they did. So many fish filled the nets that they were breaking. So many fish that Peter had to call for help. So many fish that they not only filled Peter’s boat but another boat as well. So many fish that Peter was compelled to fall before the feet of Jesus and saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Peter exercised a bit of “blind faith,” and was given eyes to see the holiness of God. The greater catch that day wasn’t the net full of fish, but the heart-full awareness of the glory of Christ. And all because Jesus spoke and Peter listened. All because Jesus asked and Peter complied. All because Peter heard the Word speak the word and that was enough for Him to obey the Word.

Oh for such Peter-like impetuosity. To know when to calculate less and believe more. To respond in faith . . . just because Jesus says, “Let down your nets.”

By His grace, for His glory.

Posted in Luke | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Double Down

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Pete

I guess I could blame it on . . . ‘er, I mean attribute it to the Holy Spirit. Or, perhaps I just need to concede my mind can work in strange ways. But this morning, reading in Psalm 119, a verse I’m noodling on has me thinking about the need to “double down.” Now “double down” isn’t found in my ESV translation . . . not found in any translation . . . not even found in the Message. It’s a term that comes out of the gambling world . . . a risky strategy where someone doubles their bet in blackjack based on the strength of the cards they’ve been dealt.

Now I’m not thinking gambling . . . I’m not even thinking high risk . . . but what I am thinking is about leaning in, or doubling down, when things get tough. And the hand we’re holding? Well, it’s the word of God.

I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word! . . . The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from Your precepts.
 (Psalm 119:107, 110 ESV)

This theme of the role of word of God in times of affliction has been popping up regularly over the past several mornings as I’ve been reading Psalm 119. And the message I’ve been picking up is that when times get tough, that’s not the time to loosen our grip on God-breathed revelation. In fact, in times of affliction . . . in times of trial . . . in times of enemy attack, that’s the time to lean in . . . to read more ardently . . . to pray over more fervently . . . to follow more determinedly. When the going get’s tough, that’s the time to double down.

Even though princes sit plotting against me, Your servant will meditate on Your statutes. . . . My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to Your word! . . . The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from Your law. . . . It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes. . . . If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.   (Psalm 119:23, 25, 51, 71, 92 ESV)

Why is it that the Word often drops off the radar when we find ourselves up to our eyeballs trying to deal with life? The heat gets turned up and we fail to draw upon living water? Things get confusing and we go to leaning to our own understanding rather than desperately seeking the mind of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures given to make that mind known. We find ourselves treading water in the deep end and, rather than cling to the Word of life, we panic and flail about trying to keep our heads above water when in fact He wants His strength to be known in our weakness?

Rather than allowing trials to squeeze out our time in the Word of God before the God of the Word, we need to hold on tighter. Asking more diligently, knowing He will answer . . . seeking more purposefully, believing His way will be found . . . knocking on the door more ardently, trusting that He who owns the keys of the kingdom will open the way of escape and make clear the way of resolution.

In times of trouble, we need to double down with the word of God.

Double down by His grace . . . double down for His glory.

And that’s no gamble.

Posted in Psalms | Tagged | Leave a comment

Love Incorruptible

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Pete

At first, it came across as a pretty tall order. One of those “challenging encouragements” that is thrown out with the intent of getting believers to step up to the plate and just do it. Raising the bar . . . setting the standard. But quite frankly, just as easily as inspiring someone to “go for the gold,” it can just as easily cause someone’s shoulders to bow under the weight of another exhortation beyond our ability to attain.

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Ephesians 4:23-24 ESV)

I read verse 24, Paul’s final words to the Ephesians and, at first, thought, “Really. Paul’s wishing grace upon all who love Jesus with an incorruptible love? Who can claim that?” Other translations say who love Jesus “in sincerity” (NKJV) or ” with an undying love” (NIV). The NLT translates it giving a different sense, that the incorruptibility is with God’s grace and not about our love. While that’s true and while I like that better, given that it doesn’t align with the sense given by the ESV, NASB, NIV, or NKJV, I think I have to wrestle a bit with what the verse seems to be saying.

So what does it mean to “love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible?”

Literally the word has the idea of “unending existence.” That which is beyond corruption, that which is immortal in nature.

And chewing on that for a bit, maybe the love we’re talking about is less about a love we’re able to manufacture and maintain and ensure that it’s a sincere, incorruptible, non-decaying love, but more a reflection on the nature of the love which God, in His grace, has “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

We love because He first loved us (1John 4:19). We know Him because He first knew us. We sought Him because He first sought us. We pursue Him because He first pursued us. We’ll love him eternally, into immortality, because God has seeded within our hearts His eternal, immortal love. We might falter, but we won’t fail. We might get distracted, but we won’t be disqualified. We can love with a love incorruptible because God is love and He has taken up residence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.

So, I’m thinking it’s less about an exhortation to step it up, and more a reminder of the riches of grace that is ours through Him who “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). And in so doing, has empowered us to love Him to the end . . . the end of eternity . . . with a love incorruptible.

All because of grace . . . all for His glory.

Posted in Ephesians | Tagged | Leave a comment

Limping Along

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Pete

It really wasn’t about wicked king Ahab or his prophets of Baal. Nor was it about a showdown on Mt. Carmel. It wasn’t even about fire from heaven. As I’m reading 1Kings 18 this morning, I’m reminded it was about God’s people. God had determined to show Himself powerful . . . God had determined to show Himself preeminent . . . for the sake of a people who were limping along.

And [Elijah] answered (Ahab), “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your fathers house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebels table.” So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
 (1Kings 18:18-21 ESV)

Oh the lengths to which God would go to call back the hearts of a people who were “limping between two different options.” Like a kid going down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot on the road, never really in balance. Like a lame man who, while seeming to make progress, is always encumbered by an inability to walk properly. In fact, the people’s attempt to walk both sides of the fence was pictured in the futility of the actions of the prophets of Baal who were also stumbling about as “they limped around the altar that they had made” (18:26).

The futility of the prophets of Baal before their sacrifice was a reflection of those who tried to have “the best” of both worlds. Though Baal was a god who could claim a place in the hearts of people, just as the God of Israel could, Baal was a god without voice, one incapable of answering (18:26). No matter how much they cried aloud . . . no matter how much they cut themselves and offered their own blood for this poor excuse of a god . . . no matter how much they raved and limped along . . . “there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention” (18:29).

Stupid to sacrifice to such a god . . . dumb to waste a good bull . . . crazy to offer your blood to some composition of earthly materials. But that was one “opinion.” That’s one world to put a foot in so that you don’t risk missing out just in case the god does answer. But as long as there’s a foot in that world . . . it will always result in nothing more than limping along.

How much do we, as God’s people today, limp along in similar fashion? When we look at how we set our priorities and invest our time, what does it say about the “gods” that we are looking to, in addition to the God of heaven, in order to find happiness, fulfillment, or satisfaction. What sacrifices are we offering? What kind of crazy dance are we performing? How much blood are we pouring out in the futile attempt to hear some voice that validates our lives and makes us feel good. If the people of Israel teach us anything it’s that, at the very best, to try and follow the God of creation as well as the creations we make gods, it’s nothing more than just limping along.

Instead, what about wholeheartedly seeking and following the God who sacrificed for us? . . . the God who called out to us? . . . the God who shed His blood for us? . . . the God who made Himself known from heaven for us? That’s solid ground . . . when it’s not about how much we sacrifice and dance around, but all about a God who, motivated by eternal love and because of overflowing grace, showed Himself from heaven . . . not in some blaze of fire, but through the cross of Calvary.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.    (Galatians 5:1 ESV)

No more “two opinions” . . . “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God” (18:39).

No more limping along . . . by the grace of God . . . for the glory of God.

Posted in 1Kings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Making God Angry

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Pete

In a conversation with a friend earlier this week, he reminded me that we tend to classify sin. All sin is bad, sure. But some sin, based on the response of many, is REALLY bad . . . way worse . . . the only thing to be focused on. And in doing so, he pointed out, we tend to minimize the nature of other sin . . . our sin. You know, that sin which we’ve become more comfortable with . . . that sin which we can talk about without it turning our stomach. But as I’m reading in 1Kings this morning, it occurs to me that perhaps we should be focusing first on another sin. One sin that I wonder if, after pride, isn’t at the root of all other sin.

It’s the sin of Jeroboam. The sin that was adopted by king after king in Israel. The sin that would lead to other sin. The sin that ultimately would lead to the northern kingdom’s downfall. The sin of idolatry.

And if there’s nothing else you learn about this sin in Kings, it’s that it makes God angry.

Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.   (1Kings 16:25-26 ESV)

Jeroboam, chosen by God, graced by God, and lifted up by God to be king of Israel’s northern ten tribes, chose to replace God. As a means to secure his own rule in Israel, Jeroboam built two golden calves so that people would not have to travel to Jerusalem to worship and perhaps have their hearts drawn again to the southern kingdom. And so he sets one in Bethel, the other in Dan, and declares these to be the gods who had really delivered them from Egypt (12:25-30). And this became “the sin of Jeroboam.” The sin which king after king followed in and, often “improved” upon. And, repeatedly, I’ve been reading that it provoked the LORD to anger.

King after king . . . generation after generation . . . more and more common place as time passes. But God never gets over it.

As I’ve said before, if repetition in Scripture is God’s way of saying something in “bold print” . . . if it’s His way of emphasizing a truth . . . then, as I read in 1Kings, God is yelling, “Idolatry makes me angry!”

Provoking God to anger. To trouble His spirit. To vex His very nature. To stir up righteous indignation that can only be followed by holy and justified wrath. Such is the nature of replacing God with an idol. Such is the outcome of looking to something of our own making as the source of deliverance and happiness. Not to be minimized. Not to be forgotten as we point the finger at those sins which are popular to call out. Idolatry makes God angry. Period.

To be sure, the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin . . . even the sin of idolatry. But we must apply the blood. “If we confess our sins,” John says, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). But there is no cleansing apart from confessing.

And if the kings of Israel tell us anything, it’s that idolatry is truly a slippery slope. That when we start to worship other things, there is no stopping what we will add to our worship list and what we will do in order to serve those other gods which are no gods at all. And though we might grow more and more comfortable with it, Kings also reminds me that God does not. Again and again, I read in Kings that they provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.

I’m guessing that’s why something else I read in Ephesians is resonating right now . . .

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. . . . For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
(Ephesians 5:3, 5 ESV emphasis added)

That God’s people would beware of idolatry. That we would see it as the sin which leads to all other sin. That we would first deal with the plank in our own eye before dealing with the spec in another’s . . . and, to be sure, we should be showing others the way of rescue from their sin. That God would reveal to us our other gods that we might leave them at the foot of the cross. Looking to the Son only for our deliverance . . . bowing to the Father only with our worship . . . drinking deep of the Spirit only as our sufficiency.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in 1Kings | Tagged , | Leave a comment