The Arrogance of Imperfection - Matthew 5:48

 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. - Matthew 5:48

    The world flounders in a quagmire of mediocrity. Yet somehow we have learned to celebrate our inadequacies and grovel in our moral and ethical shortcomings. So much so that we even flippantly respond with a phrase that has become far too universal - “Nobody’s perfect.”
    We reckon ourselves imperfect and reckon true, but despite what many believe - there is no ticket to Paradise within the worldly fetters of imperfection. Our imperfections are the manifestation of our fallen nature, a highway to hell.
    For many, imperfection has become “the noble goal,” the high standard, the benchmark to achieve. It is our raison d’être. We seek the comfort zone of imperfection. We rest in the tranquility of baseness like pigs resting in the mire. It seems, in fact, that there are times when we cannot wait to display and show off our flaws and blemishes. We don’t have to defend ourselves. We merely shrug our shoulders and repeat - “Nobody’s perfect.” We are forever hearing this mantra of the spiritually dead. Nobody is perfect.
    While it is true that none of us are perfect it doesn’t mean that we should brag and boast of our deficiency. We should not revel in it. But we do so because of the deeper underlying problem of our fallen nature. We know we cannot work our way into heaven and we recognize our inability so we arrogantly put forth the erroneous supposition that God will grade us all on a curve. Scripture is very clear: that will not happen because God calls us with a divine command - “Be holy, for I am holy.” - 1 Peter 1:16.
    Can we ever aspire to the perfection and holiness that our heavenly Father demands of us? Of course not. But because we are mere humans our pride demands that we boast of something. If not our holiness then we will boast in our baseness. God wants us to humble ourselves, not proudly boast.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9.
    We are fallen human beings but the last thing we should be doing is celebrating our imperfections. If nothing else they should force us to our knees in resolute and remorseful repentance, not celebration. This is the key to our salvation! “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9. We must always remember Christ’s first words to us in Mark 1:15 - “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Repent and believe! This is the solution to our imperfection, not arrogantly boasting of it.
    Does God not love a humble heart?  “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise.” - Psalm51:17.  Let our inborn imperfections move us not to arrogance but to constant reflection and repentance.

Tribulation Faith - Exodus 16:2-3

Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
- Exodus 16:2-3

    The Israelites enslaved in Egypt never knew anything but subjection to their task masters and Pharaoh. For 430 years they had been in Egypt, with the largest part spent in slavery. And freedom suddenly dropped on any people leaves them in fear and trepidation. They simply didn’t know how to handle this new found freedom. At least, they reasoned, we had our bellies filled while we were slaves. But in reality who were the Israelites really grousing at?
    Obviously, their faith in God was the weakest of all faiths. When blessings were plentiful they were pious and thankful for the providence of God. Yet once the slightest discomfort or doubt came into play they complained. “Then they said to Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.’” - Exodus 14:11-12.
    The reality of the situation was that it wasn’t Moses whom they were complaining about - “Also Moses said, ‘This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.’” - Exodus 16:8.
    Aren’t we also familiar with this kind of rebellion? Are not our most enthusiastic praises reserved for when God is most gracious to us? Are we not commanded to praise (rejoice in, pray to, and give thanks to) God  even in tribulation? “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. The very crown we have been promised comes to us through our tests - “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” - James 1:12. “Temptation” in this Greek rendering (pĕriasmŏs) means “adversity.”
    Adversity, trials, tests, all of these the Israelites experienced once freed from the yoke of Egyptian slavery. They were freed to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years, a test in itself!  Oddly enough only two of the original “chosen people” (Joshua and Caleb) ever actually entered the Promised Land. Even Moses was refused entry. Our sojourn here is not unlike that of the Israelites. We too are seeking the Promised Land. Will our faith transcend the tribulation we will surely face in this wilderness?
    Let us always remember the promise of God that we will indeed enter the rest of Jesus Christ if we will just persevere in tribulation faith.

The Long Road - Hebrews 6:15

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  - Hebrew 6:15

    It’s not always the quickest way. It’s not always the easiest way. It may have its share of twists and turns. Sometimes we don’t even wind up where we planned to go but whether we follow the will of God or not  He will surely take us where He wants us to go. And where He sends us, we will certainly go.
    “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.” - Jonah 3:1-3. We all know the story of Jonah and how God first put His command in the prophet’s heart. We also know that Jonah tried to resist the Lord’s command and wound up in the belly of a fish. So much for the easy way of achieving God’s will for us. Jonah had no intention of going to Nineveh - but he wound up there just as God said he would.
    The Bible itself tells the often trying tale of the wait for a Savior. The journey was  long and arduous from Genesis 3:15 and the Protoevangelium - “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” - Genesis 3:15, to the birth of our Lord and Savior, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” - Matthew 1:18. A long journey indeed but the will of God will never be derailed, usurped, or supplanted.
    God never tells us His way will be easy or the journey, pleasant - “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” - Luke 9:23. And we are told how to persevere - “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13.
    Even Abraham, following God’s command was not guided directly to the land God had set before him. Nor were the people of Israel, wandering for forty years in the desert. But we know that God will see us in the place He has portioned for us because He has promised it to us as indicated in our title verse. And we have this assurance - “ . . .  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ . . . .” - Philippians 1:6
    May we always have faith that the road, though long, will bring to our place at the foot of the cross and Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Election - Hebrews 9:28

 “ . . . so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” - Hebrews 9:28

    This simple verse is so packed with soteriological doctrine that it is hard to break it all down in a few paragraphs. But try, I will.
    Our heavenly Savior, Jesus Christ, was offered once - once, to bear the sins of those of us who eagerly await salvation. And not the sins of all humanity, but the sins of those who eagerly await His coming for salvation!
    One would think that this verse alone would compel the Arminians to accept the Calvinist proposition of “Limited Atonement.” With only a sentence break between “the sins of many” and “To those who eagerly wait . . .” one would be hard-pressed to ignore the obvious implication. Clearly the use, as a noun, of the limiting adjective “many” is further qualified by the phrase, “to those who eagerly wait for Him. . . .” The verse doesn’t say that Christ was offered to bear the sins of everyone. It doesn’t even suggest it and the sentence which follows explicitly declares that He will return a second time “to those who eagerly wait for Him . . . .” If this verse alone doesn’t firmly establish the Doctrine of Election none do! But there are more. Scripture addresses the doctrine of “election” in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Mark 13:27, “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (see John, Chapter 17 in its entirety), and Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
    Any clear reading of Scripture emphatically indicates that not everyone’s sins have been atoned for by the sacrificial death of Jesus, but only those whom His Father has “given” Him - “the elect.”
     “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. . . . I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” -  John 17:6,9. And I’ll bet you came in here thinking this was going to be all about politics.
    May our reading of God’s word always be seen in the clarity with which it was given to its divinely inspired authors by the Holy Spirit.

Global Warming? - Genesis 8:22

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and nights Shall not cease.”- Genesis 8:22

    I don’t believe that a believer could find a verse in Scripture that more pointedly denies the existence of what many today refer to as, “Global Warming.” While I understand the secularist position, it is the Christian’s belief in such a fallacious theory that should be of concern to us. To believe what secularist say would be to cast significant doubt on the very word of God.
    “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”  - Isaiah 55:11. God’s word does not return to Him void. Ever! But does this let mankind off the hook for his contribution to the destruction of the environment? Emphatically, the answer to this question is - NO!
     “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” - Genesis 2:15. Since the dawn of time, man’s place in the world has been in a custodial role. He was commanded by God to tend and KEEP the world. We were charged with subduing the earth and having dominion over every creature. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Genesis 1:28.
    Our mission on earth, regarding the sustaining and keeping of the planet, was (and still is) to be good stewards of everything God has given us here. And while it may not be a doctrine vitally related to our salvation, it is still a command from God. “Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.’” - Numbers 35:34.
    We must continue to remember what our Heavenly Father has said to us with regards to  being faithful in the small things - “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” - Matthew 25:21.
    God wants us to take care of His planet, His air, His water, and His creatures that inhabit it with us. Let us all be good and faithful stewards to the glory and joy of God.

Suicide And The Fallen Man - Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. - Romans 8:1

    “911" -When we think about that fateful day a myriad of images spiral forth from that emotional moment few of us want to revisit. There is one iconic photograph, however, that for me at least, still illustrates the darkness of that day: the Falling Man. Conjecture, conjecture, conjecture. Was he “blown” out of a window on the upper floors of the WTC? Was he pushed? Did he jump? It is this last question that has been the subject of more conjecture than any other.
    As Christians, we find the concept of suicide almost too grievous to consider. Self-murder, we call it. A direct violation of the 6th Commandment - “You shall not murder.”
- Exodus 20:13. And for many professing Christians such a sin bars one from heaven for eternity. But Holy Scripture tells us that there is only one ‘unforgivable sin’ -  “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.” - Matthew 12:31. Every sin will be forgiven . . . even suicide, provided that the individual was truly saved at the time of his or her death. More conjecture.
    Why would someone who was truly saved even consider such a dire act as suicide?  First of all, suicide is not something that a healthy mind contemplates. Remember that it is the condition of the heart that sets the bar for what is a sin and what is not a sin. We have all read or heard of the selfless act of a soldier throwing himself upon an explosive device to save his brothers and sister in arms. That is not an act of suicide; that’s an act of heroism.
    We can’t emphasize enough the effect of mental illness has on a typical act of suicide. It has been suggested that no less than 90% of those who’ve taken their own lives were suffering from some form of mental illness or substance abuse at the time of their deaths. While the list of risk factors contributing to suicide is exhaustive some of the more common links involve severe depression, previous physical or sexual trauma, anxiety, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury (TBI), feelings of hopelessness, or extreme psychological pain. The bottom line is that for a vast majority of suicide victims, mental illness is at the root of the act. It wasn’t necessarily about a sinful heart. It was about a sick brain. A mentally healthy individual does not want to take his or her own life. In such cases the heart is the last place to look for “the reason.”
    With all this in mind we must consider the state of the suicide’s state of grace at the time of their death. If one isn’t saved before the time of their death it won’t matter if they commit suicide, are murdered, drown, die in plane crash, of natural causes, or in their sleep. Their eternity has already been decided - “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” - John 8:24.
    But there is still good news.  “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” - Hebrews 10:14. Christ has saved believers with His own holy blood. “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’” - Romans 10:8-9. The salvation of believers is secure. Were it not, then Christ’s blood was wasted. If even one pernicious act could separate us from God’s grace then we would be more powerful than God! We would have effectively halted the will of God!
    A man cannot earn his salvation. It is by the grace of God that we are saved. If we cannot earn our salvation then once we have been truly blessed with it . . . we can never lose it!
    One cannot know what enters the mind of a person who is contemplating suicide except for a note and even then we can’t know the gravity of their angst or the true nature of their sickness. Believers are no more immune to depression than unbelievers. We are all ‘fallen men’ and we all suffer from the maladies that fallen men suffer from. But with true believing faith in Christ we can be assured that even a believer’s suicide cannot circumvent what God has determined from before the foundation of the earth. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” - John 6:37-39. May we continue in prayer and supplication for all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Orlando 6/5/16 - Luke 13:4-5

“Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:4-5

    We have recently witnessed yet another terrorist attack upon our nation. The scores of dead lying in the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando had no idea when they arrived on that fateful evening that they would depart from this earth in the bloody carnage of another brutal and senseless act of Islamic terrorism.
    Immediately following the incident, outrage foamed and infused the news and social media. Among the reasons many cited for the mass murders were homophobia (a term which would be laughable if it wasn’t used in all seriousness); “hatred,” (what an odd observation, as though crimes of violence are fueled by anything but greed or hatred); and the usual suspect - lack of a coherent gun control policy.
    To be fair I must also mention the rabid diatribes released from the ‘far Christian right,’ to wit, false teachers like Pat Robertson and The Westboro Baptist Church and it’s cult-like followers. Yes, yes, we all know and understand the Biblical condemnation of homosexuality. The scriptures are clear on the prohibitions against same-sex relationships. No argument there! However, there is a deeper, more meaningful mandate from Jesus Christ - unless we all repent, we will likewise perish!
    We should all take a step back, look within ourselves, and remember the words of Jesus - “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’” John 8:7. We must remember that sin, all sin, regardless of its predilection, is a transgression against God’s holy will. Disrespect of parents and authority, hatred, murder, lying, cheating, stealing, adultery (and every other sexual sin) are all transgressions! They are all sins. So were the sinners in the nightclub worse sinners than all others? Of course not! “ . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” - Romans 3:23. All of us!
    Did God deliberately ordain the early Sunday morning massacre? God ordains everything that comes to pass. Did He seek to make an example of the homosexuals present at that time? No more than he sought to punish ordinary citizens and military personnel on September 11, 2001.
    What happened in Orlando, Florida on Sunday morning, June 5th, 2016 was a human tragedy, both in terms of its commission and in terms of its result. We cannot limit the murderous intent of the perpetrator to the homosexual community. This was, before any other consideration, an attack on humanity in general, and an attack on Americans, specifically. The murderer could just as easily have targeted a large metropolitan marathon run, a business gathering, a military base, an elementary school, a heavily populated government building, or a skyscraper. He could have used guns, bombs, poisonous gas, or a nuclear device. And this is what we need to focus on, rather than the sins of the victims, if we are ever to curtail the madness of the murderers among us! A “hate crime?” Of course it was hate crime, in so far as there is no such thing as a love crime, and we can only combat such crimes with vigilance and prayer. God has not singled out a particular group of sinners to punish for their wickedness. He has simply given us over to our sinful desires, and one of them is murder. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;  being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,  undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful . . . .” - Romans 1:29-31.
    Just as Christ said that the sinners who died under the collapse of the tower of Siloam were no greater sinners than anyone else, we must also remember that the tragedy which befell those on Sunday past was not a greater tragedy than those which preceded it. It doesn’t matter who the victims were; it matters only that they were victims. Suggesting that their sexual orientation made their victimization greater than that of others also suggests that their lives held more value than that of other victims. Promoting such a position would be to make a mistake similar to the harsh rhetoric of the Black Lives Matters movement. Because all men are created in God’s image, all lives matter . . . period! A violent crime against one of us is a crime against all of us regardless of our social, cultural, religious, ethnic, racial, national, or political backgrounds. Such violence committed against a human being is particularly abominable to God because we are made in His image!
    “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Matthew 22:37-39.
    May we pray in this horrific time of man’s inhumanity to man that we would turn our hearts to God and away from sin which always and everywhere leads to death.