A 1942 CLASSIC: UP TO DATE AND PROPHETIC

[A Saturday Feature of the First Road Blog]

Because C. S. Lewis’ classic, The Screwtape Letters, deals with the universal temptations of mankind, it is always current even though its historic setting is mid-world-war-two England. Sometimes it is even hauntingly prophetic. A long time has passed since I last picked it up, and I sincerely regret the delay. Now I am seriously considering putting it on my job list as a regular read every year or two that I have left.

The book is a fun read once its layout is understood; but it can be difficult until that happens. What makes it tricky for some is that it is written in from the enemy's mind, not about the enemy's mind. A veteran devil instructs an apprentice devil on strategy for derailing a young man who has slipped through the student’s clutches and become a part of the Enemy camp – that is, the family of God. Do you see my point? The landscape changes. Whereas a moment ago I used the word "Enemy" to speak of Satan; now, in the narrative of the book, "Enemy" refers to God. Language Christians would use of their enemy, these characters use of the Christian God and his troops.  

What makes it difficult for others is that it is uncomfortably true to life. Any person who has come to faith in Christ will recognize tactics which have distracted them. But it also has the potential of clenched teeth for those who are without Christ and don’t want to be bothered with the idea they may be some kind of Satanic trophy for a future specimen jar. 

Of special interest to me was the fun Lewis had in tripping the devils up by leading them to bumble into the very moral categories they despised. It’s amusing to hear the older devil complain about disloyalty when the younger one thinks he senses heresy and turns him in to the hellish thought police.

In the process of underscoring the importance of a correct doctrinal position regarding sin and temptation, I highly recommend this book to help visualize what temptation looks like and how it ensnares in sin. I also highly recommend its warnings against Satan’s methodology of using good in order that evil may come.

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A YOUNG MAN'S STRUGGLE WITH THE SOVEREIGN COMMANDMENTS

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[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

We mortals are marvelously generous to ourselves when it comes to assessing how well we keep God's commandments. Jesus had an encounter which demonstrated this.

A young man wanted to do some good thing in order to possess eternal life. Jesus brought up the commandments. The man asked for specifics. When Jesus referred to the love-your-neighbor side of the Sovereign Commandments, the man claimed he had those covered.

Here we must understand an important feature of the encounter. The man had called Jesus “Good Master.” Jesus challenged that. Some want to say he did this so the man would not mistake him as being God. In fact, Jesus intended exactly the opposite. He did not challenge the man’s naiveté. Rather, he let him take the love-your-neighbor commands off the table. Then he said, “You lack one thing?”

That one thing was a complete devotion to… (watch this) …to Jesus himself. Far from denying his deity, Jesus camped on it. If God is good, then the young man should love him with all his heart. And that love should be expressed in giving that whole heart to Jesus himself. “Sell what you have, give to the poor, wait for heavenly treasure, and… FOLLOW ME.”

No, salvation does not entail selling all and becoming a monk. What Jesus did looks like this:

“You call me good.”

“You do realize that only God is good, right?”

“How are you coming in the second part of the Sovereign Commands?”

“Ok, now, since only God is good, and you called me good, show me the devotion called for in the first of the Sovereign Commands.”

Bingo! The man got the message both as to who Jesus claimed to be and the fact he loved something more than him. Rather than confession, a plea for mercy and forgiveness, and the opportunity to hear Jesus tell him more, he walked away sorrowing but unrepentant.

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THE SOVEREIGN COMMANDS AND THE NEED OF A SAVIOR

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

I think it is worthwhile to think about the relationship of what I call the Sovereign Commands to some of the more familiar texts we use to help people see their need of Christ as their sin-bearer. 

First:  The bottom-line issue is sin (Romans 3:23).

Second: The look of sin is not a matter of being only human. It has to do with choosing our own way (Isaiah 53:6). Ever since Eden this includes wanting the option of doing evil if it serves our purposes. (Genesis 3:5; Romans 1:18-21)

Third: Choosing our own way, results in breaking God’s Law. (1 John 3:4). As such it is not simply about being not perfect, or making some mistakes here and there. It is disloyalty to our Creator. It throws the Sovereign Commands aside. We do not love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and that fact almost always results in misusing someone else. 

Fourth: This explains why violating one command in the Law puts us under the curse of having violated the whole Law (James 1:20).  Such disloyalty is treason, and treason is a capital offence which calls for the death penalty (Romans 6:23).

I would suggest we consider that we may not need to find some way to get a person to admit to some particular sins to prove their sinfulness. We may not need to spend a lot of time defending the gospel against objections of unfairness at the mistaken notion that "just one sin," like stealing, makes a person worthy of death. We might be able to go right to the heart of the matter? The Sovereign Commands expose the reality that we sin because we are sinners...we do not come close to loving him somewhat, to say nothing of with all our heart. We are in fact ungrateful, demanding, and easily offended in our relationship with him. 

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Treason in Reverse, An Unwanted Expectation and a Foolish Delusion

While pride is the principle issue separating the heart of man from God's offer of mercy, there are others. For example, to seek mercy from one against whom we have committed treason is a kind of reverse treason. Like the boy who joins a street gang, accepts their rites-of-passage and then changes his mind. In seeking mercy from God we abandon Satan's illegitimate offer to be part of a gang of gods. Thus, having given our allegiance and performed our rites-of-passage to the world, the flesh and the devil, to trust Christ makes us traitors to the false kingdom which claims our souls. Bunyan described this masterfully in The Holy War.

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Still another reason lies in a logical but unwanted expectation. That is, the tension between being a mercy receiver and becoming a mercy giver. This tension is manifest in movements which pride themselves on merciless rioting, pillaging and killing. Less headline-grabbing are the dark stories of years of vengeful silence against a former loved-one. Deep (and often not so deep) in the human heart is a lust to treat others without mercy. The matter was so serious it called for a very pointed parable about a man who received forgiveness for a debt he could never pay but refused to show mercy to someone for a lesser debt to him.  

Then there is the self-delusion that the need for mercy can be replaced by a promise to do better. This relates to the pride issue (as do all, I suppose) but with a twist. I often wonder what would have happened had the people of Israel, at Sinai, fallen to their knees and begged for mercy when they heard the absolute demands of holiness, obedience and justice against sins. God gave them opportunities, but they responded with naïve promises that they had it all sorted out and could handle the assignment. 

We would do well to take inventory of the full-blown or seditious remnants of mercilessness in our hearts which betray the presence of a deadly resistance to God's mercy. 

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The Forgotten Path of the Mercy Seeker

The contrast between a desire for relief and the desire for mercy is described by Bunyan in Pilgrim’s departure from the City of Destruction after having been pointed, by a man named Evangelist, to a narrow gate of hope.

Pilgrim’s excitement captures the attention of a man named Pliable who is impressed with the prospect of a Celestial City; and the two of them do quite well until they must wade through the slough of despond. Here the sorrow of the sin-smitten heart stands in stark contrast to the pliable soul which would rather be rid of the sorrow than confront the sin.

“Is this the happiness you told me about,” Pliable scolds…. “If I can get out with my life, you shall posses the brave country without me.” Whereupon, he sloshes to the shoreline of present comfort, leaving Pilgrim to slog forward. But the slogging is not without something good. A man called “Help” meets him and encourages him, perhaps with the kind of encouragement he himself received on his own journey.

In this scene Bunyan unfolds the Biblical pattern of the heart-cry for mercy which brought the publican to the back of the synagogue and a host of others to the feet of Jesus. In so doing he exposes our unbiblical consumerism as we sell the gospel to a pliable intellect rather than a burdened heart and tell people they have received mercy when, in terms of experience, they may just have begun to seek it. Little wonder then that many settle into a carnal christianity, and others abandon the faith with self-righteous bitterness. We have a responsibility to know this path and how to help young believers and Spirit-driven seekers when they struggle through the mire of remembered guilt before our holy God.  

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The "Acceptable Sins"

Categories of absolute self-denial are, basically, three. We mentioned two: Israeli- specific prohibitions (pork chops, etc.), and universal prohibitions (whom to worship and with whom to engage in sexual activity).

The third category builds on the second and has to do with what C. S. Lewis called the “acceptable” sins. Here freedomists stumble badly in that they make the same mistake as legalists. While legalists tighten the screws with new rules, freedomists bring in the dumpster and throw out everything except "judge not." At the same time both practice the “acceptable” sins without blushing.

What are these “acceptable” sins? Here are two listings of actions and attitudes which are discernible and subject to rebuke, correction and instruction in righteousness. In Romans the list describes why these things are embedded in our sin nature. In Colossians we are told that these things are to be “put off" rather than practiced freely or even in moderation. That second list alone would reduce a significant amount of legalist and freedomist content on Facebook.

These are issues of worship. They are the heartbeat of the prayer, “My Kingdom Come, My Will Be Done.” They have to do with someone crossing the border of my cosmic domain without bowing to my presence and will. They are the subjects of three questions which have been forwarded to expose the idols of our hearts.

Am I willing to sin to get it?

Am I willing to sin to keep it?

Am I willing to sin if I lose it or can’t have it?

Does grace give the freedom to excuse these in my life? No. Grace implants a, “God forbid,” in the heart. An awe of God’s love which declares war on such embedded orientations en route to the complete change to be enjoyed inChrist’s presence.

The sixth in the Withered Grape series: an examination of self control and its place in twenty-first century Christian circles.

Previous articles in this series.

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It's Not About Pork Chops or Orientation

There are three additional issues to be addressed regarding things which are absolutely on the self-denial agenda. First is the matter of pork chops.

I smile when someone defends sexual immorality with a variation of the humbug that, “Pork chops are forbidden in the Old Testament. Check it out.” My smile fades when I look around and see heads nod as though they just heard something profound. They have, in fact, just swallowed snake oil.

Let’s "check it out."

God told Noah, “Every moving animal that is alive shall be good for you.” This dietary freedom remained in place until God gave his prohibitions to the people of Israel - and only to the people of Israel. On the other hand the narrative demonstrates that sexual immorality was abominable long before Israel left Egypt. When the era of the church began, God announced to the Apostle Peter the lifting of the pork chop restrictions. The Gentiles were going to be received into the church without being saddled with Israel's dietary code; but there was no such “cleansing” of sexual immorality.

The second issue regarding absolute self-denial involves the popular word “orientation.” It has come to mean, “God made me this way, therefore I am not only to be accepted but celebrated." The old word for this was “temptation.” It meant a lust embedded in my sin nature. When one repents and trusts Christ, that embedded orientation / temptation becomes a core issue of self-denial and a life-long battle ground of faith. 

“Orientation” as a way of saying, “that’s who I am,” is not a one-issue tag. It can apply also to stealing, bullying, killing and other embedded traits. When one trusts Christ, alleged “orientation” is not an excuse to abandon the battle against those things which God says should have no part in our practiced life-style. 

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• The "Acceptable Sins"

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Freedomism

Self control has to do with the right use of knowledge and our impact on the conscience of others. It is a problem to be confronted by both legalists and freedomists. The legalist must recognize his error of loading the conscience with matters from which the Scripture sets it free. This gets a lot of exposure recently. For the most part I want to address the error of freedomism. That is, lowering the truth of our freedom in Christ to a calling to eat, drink and be merry, and, at the same time, raising it to a worldview which defines the Gospel. From where I sit, freedomism, not legalism, is the unaddressed elephant in the room of twenty-first century, Western Christianity. That is why I suggest the word freedomism.

The term, “Legalism,” enjoys a widespread popularity in the English language. It is in the working vocabulary of both Christian and pagan culture. However, the terms “antinomianism,” and “libertarianism,” and others of that ilk are not readily in the living imagery of the culture. Therefore, I suggest the word freedomism. It pulls us out of the foggy realm of Latin and Greek and gives the man on the street a worldview term with which he can identify.

The seriousness of freedomism has weighed on my thinking as I have remembered a friend’s remark several years back. In a predictably off-handed way I said “good bye” by saying, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.” His equally off-handed reply was, “Well, that doesn’t close many doors.”

Honestly, I hope that is not true of me. The reason is, between the errors of legalism and freedomism is the biblical mandate for ... are you ready for this?

Self-denial.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself 

and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

The third in the Withered Grape series: an examination of self control and its place in twenty-first century Christian circles.

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The Withered Grape

While attacks on the deity of Christ are significant, they are usually obvious and predictable. Because of that they should not be allowed to overshadow a more serious peril.  

Jesus explained that the agenda of the Holy Spirit in the world was to bring conviction concerning sin, righteousness and judgment. When Paul appeared before the Roman Governor, Felix, he spoke of righteousness, self control and judgment to come. The subject matter is similar with the exception of the reference to sin in the first statement and self-control in the second. Jesus’ use of “sin” has to do with the big picture of man’s rebellion. Paul’s use of self-control has to do with how sin manifests itself.

Although both remarks dealt with the unsaved world, the New Testament is clear that they have a bearing on the one whose convicted heart has brought him to faith in Christ. Such a person ought to have a Spirit-driven character of self-control – a “God-forbid” response to sin or sin-friendly issues in life.

Not surprisingly self control is itemized as a grape on the cluster of spiritual fruit. As such, it seems to have withered recently, and if it has withered there are reasons.  

Unlike the frontal attacks on the deity of Christ, the withering of self-control within the community of faith has created a fifth-column culture of self-indulgent carnal security.  

In almost any circles where you find yourself you will hear strident resentment of legalisms of the past and celebrations of liberties in the present. On the other hand, rarely (if ever) will you hear personal commitments to bring anything under control, to set aside something liked or to engage in something difficult for the sake of the cause of Christ. It is as though the warning against using our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh to gain a foothold in our lives has become an anachronism. 

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Did You Ever Hear Someone Talking About You?

From the street the woman could have heard the chatter inside, but the pounding of her heart might have drowned it out as she passed a couple staff servants. As one of the new drudges, they would not have questioned her arrival. Probably she concealed the perfume box she carried. If she thought of filling one of the empty basins at the door and grabbing a towel, the thought would have vanished when she peered into the dining room.

There he was! It had to be him. The reality of his nearness was so great she cried. Maybe not quietly.

All eyes turned as she lurched across the room. The mortified host draws in a breath and closes his eyes.

"Note to self: fire that woman tomorrow." 

If some of Jesus disciples were there they would have been puzzled, too; but they were used to being puzzled by now.

By the time the host opened his eyes, the woman had cast off any semblance of propriety. Crouching at Jesus' feet, she let her tears fall on them and wrapped her hair around them. Worse than that! She kissed them and doused them with that expensive perfume.

The host, a master at recovery, collected his wits and smirked. The pretender had just made a fatal mistake. What self-respecting Messiah would tolerate such vulgar behavior from the likes of…her?

She must have heard Jesus talking – talking about one person forgiven much and another forgiven little. Did she see any connection between it and her? Did the words, “This woman…” startle her? Did she feel lightheaded when Jesus explained that her actions were a response to forgiveness already given? Did she discover him looking at her – smiling? Did she swoon? 

Would such a scene cause as much, or maybe more wonder than any miracle?

These thoughts are drawn from Luke 7:36-50

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Sham Is Sham Wherever You Am

If this repentant woman of the street culture hoped to find encouragement in the employment of a religious leader, she would have quickly discovered her mistake. It would not have taken long to realize the same sham existed in his world of religious movers and shakers as in her old culture

She would also have realized that the word “forgiveness” was not a part of the working vocabulary of this man of the Book. She was a sinner, and she was a drudge. There were no invitations for change. She was there to be used. Of course, not in the same way she had been used, but used nevertheless – and scorned in the process. When you have no options, you do what you have to do.

I imagine her, with weary steps, passing the homeowner on her way to dump some wash water. She may have overheard a snatch of plans with the superior servants who knew how to work the system.

A guest would be coming. Apparently it would not be someone especially important. After all, the chief foot washer and his cadre had been given that evening off.

“Just because he lets the ignorant crowd call him Messiah doesn’t mean he gets royal treatment from me,” the man might have growled to his nodding personnel  With a wink, he may have added, “A full stomach and a few glasses of wine should be sufficient for this fly-by-night hero to blow his cover.”

If it unfolded that way, the woman would not have heard the obligatory snickers of the servants. In fact, she may not have heard anything. Only one word would ring in her ears.

Messiah. 

How does one act normal when they realize the person of their dreams is coming to the hood?

Hopefully she had a good grip on the wash basin.

These thoughts are drawn from Luke 7:36-50

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Making the Break with Culture and Orientation

This woman.

She was part of a “professional” culture of women. “Sinners” they were called, even by their clientele.  Significantly, she saw herself the same way. More importantly, her sin and her culture had become burdensome.

This would have made her a misfit, especially if she talked about it. The last thing movers-and-shakers of any sin culture want is a disenchanted talker. They can be pretty unpleasant to those who want out.

I think she met someone who had met Jesus. Perhaps it was another disenchanted woman.  We know, by the time we meet her, she already knew about him.

Like a crush-smitten schoolgirl, she may have dreamed of meeting a for-real, authentically good man. I can imagine her fantasizing about it and struggling to clean up her life, just in case? However, that would have led to despair. Her conscience, to say nothing of her friends, would assure her that the likes of him would not be impressed with the likes of her.

She must have asked questions. Somehow she learned Jesus was not about being impressed. He was about change through forgiveness received by faith?

WHOA! This man who does not endorse sin can FORGIVE sin!? 

My sin!?

With this prospect, she sold the farm.

It would be Jesus or nothing. 

Perhaps she was enough of a theologian to guess he would know…somehow…that she had put the well being of her soul in his care.

Forgiven! The hope would give her courage to break with her culture and do battle with her embedded orientations. She could do that ... for him.

It would not be easy. Along with the scorn of her companions in sin, there was the matter of marketable skills. The only possibility may have been a religious leader in the neighborhood who may have put out an ad for a servant.

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There Was This Woman

When several people with the same circumstances or orientations converge a culture emerges.  

Cultures of sin can be ugly. On one end are the movers and shakers. They thrive on the culture and know how to make it profitable in terms of money and power. On the other end are the moved and shaken. To survive they must know how to work the system. Most either enjoy it or endure it for what they get out of it; but, in sane moments, some become uncomfortable.

This modus operandi is important if we are to learn to look to Jesus. We can become so enamored with his miracles that we fail to watch how he walked among the sin cultures of that day. It is here, as his followers, we should be most informed...and amazed. 

Throughout his mentoring ministry Jesus warned his disciples against such culturification among themselves. They were to be a culture of Truth, not special interests. The apostles carried that warning forward. Since then, however, churches which have sprung up through the centuries have not been especially exemplary in following the pattern. Rather, church history became a record of sin cultures - movers-and-shakers adjusting Truth to control the moved and shaken for their own wicked purposes. 

Throughout the gospels, Jesus’ disciples, and others, puzzled over his response to members of the cultures through which he passed. He who is holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners did not identify with those cultures or wink at their sin; but he did know how to pass through them in search of lost ones he would rescue. He gave little credence to the masses; but conscience stricken individuals were on his radar.

With this in mind, I turn from the wonder of miracles to this more important marvel of Jesus' character and ministry.

  

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God Led Me to Buy a Ford

One of our most frustrating experiences, when it comes to being led by God, is missing the point. We want to focus on circumstances. Which car do we buy? We fail to notice that Abraham's servant was led circumstantially because he followed God in terms of obedience - I, being in the way, God led me.

In the New Testament the statements "led by the Spirit" (Romans 8:14) and "led of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:18) occur in a context which emphasizes a change from sin to virtue. This separation was highlighted by Jesus Himself in Luke 4, where he was "led by the Spirit" into the wilderness to confront the devil's treachery. It is not difficult to make the connection. As the Spirit led Jesus to demonstrate His sinless credentials to be our Savior, so He leads us to confront and separate from sins in our lives for which Jesus died. When that is understood we come out of the fog with regard to two important truths.

One: SIN STILL EXISTS. The Holy Spirit does not lead us to a happy co-existence with wrongdoing in our lives. The verses around Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:18 leave no uncertainty to the identity of moral, ethical and relational sin issues. To suggest that Old Testament prohibitions against pork chops are the same as prohibitions against sexual immorality and the like is to stumble badly.

Two: sin affects our ability to make right choices. Being led by the Spirit has to do with allowing Him to confront our sinful disorientations which cloud our judgment. As we follow His leadership He will reorient us onto right  paths. It will not be easy, any more than Jesus' confrontation was easy. Nevertheless, we will make progress and He will finish the work when we see Jesus.

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