Marked for the Master

“I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the Lord, that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen” (Jeremiah 13:11b ESV).

The last few words of that verse are convicting. Because they didn’t listen, the Israelites were exiled from the Promised Land for many years. Though they were still God’s people, they were not bringing Him praise and glory through their actions, words, and worship. Interestingly, the New Testament authors use similar phrasing regarding who we are as Christians:

“[Christ] gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

We belong to God and we bear His name. We are meant to represent Him through purity, good works, proclaiming His Word, and glorifying Him. We are to walk in His light so that we may stand out from this dark world. But are we doing any better than Judah and Israel were back in Jeremiah’s time? Do we show ourselves to be “set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:20)?

Living in the Bible belt, I know a lot of nice, moral people, but the number of people who are clearly living for the glory of God is a lot lower. People can mistakenly assume that someone who is kind and decent must be Christian. We may also believe that someone who attends church functions on a regular basis is therefore a Christian, but that may not be true either. The ESV Bible titles Romans 12:9-21 “Marks of the True Christian,” but even in that list of instructions there is little that could not be imitated by non-Christians. Consider the following verses (emphasis added):

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:14-15).

 “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).

“But whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked” (1 John 2:5-6).

Charles Spurgeon wrote in Following Christ:

“If we add to our churches by becoming worldly or by taking in people who have never been born again, or if we add to our churches by accommodating the life of the Christian to the life of the people of the world, our increase is nothing at all” (ch. 7).

I fear that there are many people sitting in church pews or listed on church rolls who have no idea what it really means to be a Christian. They may call themselves Christians, but they do not truly bear the name of Christ by living for His glory and praise. They have no desire for holiness or for the kingdom of God, but think that being a nice person is all the witness they need to give.

Let’s make sure we truly belong to Him.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? –unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Original image copyright free from pixabay.com modified. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Letters from Mugwort

I’m currently rereading C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters so thought I might add to the tradition of “advice from a devil.”

Dear Milquetoast,

As you are beginning your career and have been assigned your first patient, stick to the basics of what you’ve learned in Training College. There are a few principles to undergird your work, and these can often be inculcated through simple thoughts:

“I’m spiritual but not religious.” As the patient looks at the hypocrisy of Christians around him, he’ll begin to feel superior to them and believe he can do better on his own than in any kind of faith community. If he does happen go to a church, be sure to remind him of the flaws of those standing next to him. They don’t even have to be big issues—something as simple as singing off-key or wearing a stained shirt may be enough to distract him from the meeting. It doesn’t take much to discourage most people from attending church services on a regular basis. Also, don’t forget to suggest to him that the church is a place to go to and nothing more. Certainly don’t let him get too cozy with Christians who actually follow the Enemy. Small groups can be either helpful or harmful. It depends on who participates and what they do, so be careful there.

“The Bible is full of errors.” We don’t mind if a man reads the Bible occasionally, but we don’t want him to make a habit of it. It’s best if he reads it through a lens of scientific and philosophical criticism, and not with any desire to learn or apply the words of our Enemy. Provide him with biased reference materials so he doesn’t accidentally find any truth or accuracy in what he reads.

“My thoughts and prayers are with you.” While it is true (as Cousin Screwtape said) that we don’t particularly want our patients to pray, it is not always bad to allow them to pray provided their prayers are thoroughly vague and meaningless. Phrases like “be with them” or “bless them” are usually safe. It makes the patient feel righteous for “interceding” while giving no real benefit to the subject of his prayers.

“Forgive and forget.” This is one of those twisted ideas that Christians love to misapply, believing it to be the instruction of our Enemy. It is an excellent tool for heaping shame and guilt on those who have been hurt by someone else, when they find it hard to let go of the pain. The more you can get your patient to focus on his distressing feelings, the less likely he is to remember that forgiveness is a choice, not an emotion. It’s always helpful to stir up bad memories just when he starts to feel any charity toward the person who hurt him.

“God helps those who help themselves.” I’m not sure who first used this phrase, but a lot of people have tossed it around as being our Enemy’s words. The beauty of it is that it puts all the burden on the person to guide his own life, and he will make decisions based on what is best for himself, with no risk of him consulting our Enemy for direction. Throw in the occasional “blessing” to reinforce his choices, like receiving a promotion at work, and he will gladly keep himself at the center of his life. (A similar phrase, “God blesses those who serve him,” can similarly be warped to turn the patient toward self-righteousness.)

With careful application of these phrases and diligent watch over your man’s choices, you will soon be granted more patients to work with and more souls will add to your account. I expect great things from you.

Your mentor and cousin,

Mugwort

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Undeceived

Thinking about Jesus’ life and ministry, it is tempting to berate the Jews and Gentiles who only followed Him because He provided a free meal or healed the sick. But I wonder if our motives are much better sometimes. We seek Him for peace, for physical or emotional healing, for provision for our basic needs, but salvation is far down on our list, if it makes the list at all. Just consider the people and things that populate our prayer lists.

Warren Wiersbe writes, “They wanted immediate relief from their troubles at no cost to themselves. Life was difficult, and they were excited to find somebody who could so easily meet their needs... Like many people today, they had a ‘commercial attitude’ toward Jesus and wanted Him to meet their personal needs, but they didn’t want Him to deal with their sins and change their hearts!” (Jesus in the Present Tense, 33).

I suspect there are many within the church who fall into the same category. They want to feel better, experience community with people similar to themselves, and raise their children in a good, moral atmosphere, but not to be convicted of their sins and asked to turn full control of their lives over to God. Wiersbe goes on to say, “When it comes to making a decision about Jesus Christ, we have three choices: (1) believe in Him and be saved, as did eleven of the apostles; (2) reject Him but pretend to be saved, as did Judas; or (3) reject Him openly and walk away, as did the multitude. In His parable about the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43), Jesus made it clear that there are counterfeit Christians like Judas mixed in with the authentic children of God, but at the end of the age they will be exposed and condemned” (44).

It is unclear from the Gospels whether the other disciples knew Judas was an impostor. John reflects back to point out Judas’s motives early in Jesus’ ministry, but it seems that only Jesus knew the truth: “For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him” (John 6:64 ESV). If the disciples were in the dark Christians, and even pastors, today may be just as deceived about the true condition of any person’s heart. While there may be indicators, only God truly knows the heart (Psalm 44:21, Proverbs 24:12). I would suggest that some individuals don’t even know their own motives, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

At the same time, it is likely that those who fear or doubt their salvation are more likely true believers than those who have no doubts. C.S. Lewis writes to a correspondent, “The moment one asks oneself ‘Do I believe?’ all belief seems to go. I think this is because one is trying to turn round and look at something which is there to be used and work from—trying to take out one’s eyes instead of keeping them in the right place and seeing with them... you know better than I how very unreliable introspection is. I should be much more alarmed about your progress if you wrote claiming to be overflowing with Faith, Hope and Charity” (Yours, Jack, p. 144-145). One who makes such claims, along with those who are completely unconcerned with the state of their faith, are in far more danger than those who have doubts and fears.

Hebrews 6:11-12 says, “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The NIV puts it, “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.” It’s not that the good works mentioned in verse 10 are themselves the assurance, but that they are an indicator of where our hope truly lies.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12b-13). John Piper says of this passage, “God it the decisive worker here. He wills and he works for his good pleasure. But believing this does not make Christians passive. It makes them hopeful and energetic and courageous” (Future Grace, p. 291).

Jesus is the “founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13), the One who draws people to Himself (John 6:44), and the One who will never lose one of His sheep (John 10:28-29). If that is the case, then believers can have faith and hope in Him and can rest in His care. Those who “fall away” are those who were never really His children to begin with. They may have put up a good front and deceived many, perhaps even themselves, but at some level they never trusted in Jesus as both Savior and Lord. They may have expected His salvation, but they never let Him be Lord of their lives.

“...nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known... Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:26, 31-32).