Already But Not Yet

In a recent sermon on Hebrews 7, it was pointed out that we often go through life with a vague sense of guilt. This can be true even of those who are confident of their salvation. There have been times when I’ve found myself praying “Lord, forgive me,” but then realize that I am not aware of any sin for which I need forgiveness. I could interpret that one of two ways. Either the Holy Spirit is prompting me to search myself for some hidden sin (and I’m sure I’d find something eventually), or the enemy is prodding me with guilt and shame in order to keep me from being effective for the kingdom. Most of the time it’s the latter, and it clearly takes discernment to distinguish which it is (Hebrews 5:14).

A verse came to mind recently when the enemy was attempting to sidetrack me with old sin: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV). Paul makes it plain (using the aorist indicative) that these things have been accomplished and are not something awaiting future fulfillment. The author of Hebrews makes a similar statement, but puts it in the tense of a completed action with continuing effects (perfect middle participle): “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10, 14).

Such statements are hard to wrap our brains around when we’re aware of our own sinfulness. How can something be categorically true and yet false in our daily experience? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I believe it hinges upon the fact that God is outside of time (though proponents of “openness theology” would disagree). He can look at the entirety of human history as we might look at a printed timeline. In His view, Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to cover all our sins past and present, so our sanctification has been purchased once and for all. But we can’t see the end from the beginning. What we see is the daily struggle to resist temptation and to glorify God.

John Piper says of Hebrews 10:14, “This verse means that you can stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now but… that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness” (http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/perfected-for-all-time-by-a-single-offering).

On one hand, it can be discouraging to know that we’ve not yet arrived and the struggles persist. But on the other hand, we should find great encouragement in knowing that God sees us as we will be for eternity—perfected in Christ Jesus. He doesn’t get tired of our frequent falls and pleas for grace. I imagine it’s a bit like a parent who says, “I can put up with the terrible twos (or teens) because I know that it won’t last, and something better is coming.” But it’s even better than that because God has perfect knowledge of what is coming, and one day there will be no more disappointment for any of His children.

In the meantime, we can keep on pressing on, claiming the forgiveness that is ours in Christ. And when the enemy tries to trip us up and drag us down into despair, we can ignore him because we know the truth and the truth has set us free.

“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 3:11).

Getting Through

The following is drawn from the Family Camp studies on the life of Joseph based on Max Lucado’s book You’ll Get Through This. Max says:

You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime, don’t be foolish or naïve. But don’t despair either. With God’s help, you will get through this.”

The difficulty is that we don’t know how long “through” is going to last—days, months, years, or a lifetime. It is that uncertainty that is the hardest to bear. As someone said, if I know this will be over next month, then I know I can endure it. If I don’t know when (or if) this will end, I imagine the worst and feel unable to keep pressing on.

In the life of Joseph, he had no idea how long he would spend in the pit, in Potiphar’s house, in prison, or in the palace. The pit didn’t last long, but being sold into slavery was a different kind of pit. And prison could have been a much shorter stay if Potiphar had gotten the truth out of his wife, or if the cupbearer had remembered his promise. But through it all, Joseph remained faithful to God.

We don’t know if Joseph had access to any kind of Scripture, and his family wouldn’t be praying for him if they thought he was dead. So most of his life it seems he was alone with his memories of the stories his father had likely told him about Noah, Abraham, and others, and he had his own prayers and the dreams God had given him. So he endured by faith until God brought him through the other side.

Unlike Joseph, we do have a couple avenues to find strength to endure and to trust in God: Scripture and community. We have to decide to believe that the promises of the Word are true, even if they don’t seem true at this moment: God is in control; God is good; God is working all things for my good and His glory; God knows and understands exactly how we feel. By faith we take Him at His word and cling to what we know. And in order to do that, we need the loving support and the graceful reminders provided by the Body of Christ. We need to be reminded of the truth in preaching and teaching. We need the encouragement and love of true fellowship. We need to know that others have been through the same difficulties and have survived with their faith intact. Community can provide more specifically in the forms of prayer, comfort, and material needs as well.

I don’t know that I would have the endurance of Joseph. Thankfully I haven’t had the same kinds of trials, though that doesn’t really matter. God has His own way of turning evil into good for His own purposes. And He’s given us His Word and His people to carry us through.

“Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

When I Fall

Desiring God recently shared a good word on their blog. Author Paul Maxwell writes:

“The next time you’re tempted to say ‘I hate myself’ because of the lingering sin in your life, take a deep breath, regroup, read Psalm 139, and get back in the game. ‘The righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity’ (Proverbs 24:16). The righteous fall. Falling is not the defining issue. The wicked listen to the accuser (Revelation 12:10) and don’t get back up. The righteous get back up.” (See http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/autocorrect-and-indwelling-sin for the full article.)

That reminded me of some other Scriptures such as Luke 22:31-32: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (ESV). Jesus didn’t pray that Simon Peter would not betray Him, but only that his faith would not fail. Assuming that Jesus’ prayers are always answered, it’s interesting that faith doesn’t keep Peter from falling, but it does keep him from being permanently lost to the enemy. And Jesus is praying the same thing for each of us: “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, see also Romans 8:34).

Another encouraging Scripture comes from Micah 7:8: “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” It’s not “if I fall,” but “when I fall.” There’s little doubt that I will fall again, and again, and again… But by faith I will get back up and keep moving forward.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Psalm 37:23-24: “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when He delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” I can just see the Father holding tightly to the toddler’s hand as she stumbles along the way.

Our enemy would have us believe that every fall is terminal and we are unredeemable. The discouragement and doubt that set in only trip us up even more. We need frequent reminders that God’s love is stronger than any sin, and He has made provision for every one of our failures through Jesus’ death on the cross. We also need to remember that although perfection is a worthy goal, only Jesus attained that goal while on earth. No matter how far we progress in this life, we’ll still be far from perfect.

I keep going back to a statement made by Brennan Manning on multiple occasions, “God expects more failure of me than I expect of myself.” We seem to think that one day soon we’ll get it all together and won’t succumb to temptation anymore. But God, in His infinite knowledge, already knows how weak we are and how many times we’ll fail to obey. The Apostle John sent out this reminder: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). Other translations say “your sins have been forgiven.” The act of forgiveness has been completed, nothing more is required. Therefore we are free to get back up and try again.

With all that in mind, here’s my loose paraphrase of Micah 7:8:

“When I fall, I will get back up. I won’t believe the enemy’s lies that I am hopeless and helpless. I will accept God’s forgiveness and by faith I will get up and move on.”

Image © Dawn Rutan. All rights reserved.

Imago Dei

The image of God. It’s a phrase we may hear quite often in the church, but I’m not sure how well we understand it. There are a few Scriptures that can help.

Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)- “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

The image of God is therefore not gender specific—both men and women are made in His image. And the primary role of all mankind is to have dominion over creation, just as God exercised dominion in creating the world. The image of God is also not isolated or singular. God Himself is in community, and He created us for community. “It is not good for man to be alone.”

Colossians 1:15- “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

Hebrews 1:3- “[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power...”

In Jesus Christ we see the most perfect example of God’s image. While the image of God may be obscured to varying degrees in mankind, Jesus reflects the Father perfectly. I would contend that Jesus was therefore more fully human than any of us.

Romans 8:29-30- “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”

Being conformed to the image of Jesus is a process of recovering the full image of God.

2 Corinthians 3:18- “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

The image of God is one of glory, but that glory is not always evident in mankind. Only those who are chosen by God for redemption will eventually experience that full glory.

I’ve wrestled with these concepts for a few reasons. While it is clear that all mankind is made in the image of God, and therefore all people have inherent value, it is also clear that we live in a fallen world. So how do we reconcile these truths? Everything from genes to the environment has somehow been affected by sin and corruption. Paul says that the whole creation awaits freedom from corruption and futility (Romans 8). Every person is guilty of sin and struggles with various types of temptations. Our sin nature is obviously not part of the image of God. At the same time, the vast majority of people are unhappy with their physical bodies in some way, so we have the rise of diets, exercise, medications, and surgery to fix whatever is wrong (both real and imagined defects). So the homo sapiens body can’t be the sole indicator of the image of God, although the fact that Jesus came as a man suggests that that is part of the image. Even mental capacity can’t be a conclusive sign if we agree that every person is made in God’s image. (The Nazis certainly tried to put limits on who qualified to be called human.) And although mankind was made for community, relationships are often difficult, and some people are more successful at living in community than others. Sin has impacted our ability to relate to one another as we should.

The conclusion I come to is that even though we were all made in God’s image, that image will not be fully revealed until the end of time. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, becoming more Christlike, we are also growing in the image of God. As we are conformed to His image, we begin to develop more of the Fruit of the Spirit, which are characteristic of the image of God. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Right now we are poor mirrors for reflecting God’s image—only Jesus was a perfect reflection. But one day our transformation will be complete and we will see God and see ourselves as God already sees us.

I see the implications for today as threefold: 1) We should learn to be more content with who we are right now—physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. We are all in process and we need to give ourselves a little grace. 2) We should pursue our relationship with God, learning more about who He is and who He has called us to be. He is the One who can transform us and conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. 3) We should look forward with hopeful anticipation of the Day of the Lord, when all will be made right and we will see everything as it is meant to be.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God... But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:11-13).

Open Hands

C.S. Lewis writes about his wife: “Joy tells me that once, years ago, she was haunted one morning by a feeling that God wanted something of her, a persistent pressure like the nag of a neglected duty. And till mid-morning she kept on wondering what it was. But the moment she stopped worrying, the answer came through as plain as a spoken voice. It was ‘I don’t want you to do anything. I want to give you something’: and immediately her heart was full of peace and delight. St. Augustine says ‘God gives where He finds empty hands.’” (Yours, Jack, p. 309).

I remember being told a long time ago that we need to approach God with open hands—open to let go of whatever we may be grasping, and open to receive whatever God may want to give. I can think of many times when I’ve come before God with my hands clenched. Sometimes I’ve wanted Him to fix a particular problem, so I come like a child who won’t uncover his wound for fear that the treatment will be painful. Sometimes I’ve come with clenched fists to argue my case for why I am right and He is wrong. Sometimes I have breezed through, wanting Him to bless the plans that I have made, but not waiting to see whether He might have other plans.

It’s a bit dangerous and it takes faith to come with open hands when you don’t know exactly what God may want to give to you or take from you. Often our refusal to open our hands is an indicator that we don’t trust God, and we don’t believe in His goodness, grace, and mercy. If His character is like that of an angry father or a merciless judge, we have no reason to make ourselves vulnerable before Him or to let go of whatever we think we own. But if He is a loving Father who gives good gifts to His children, we are free to release what we have in expectation of something better (Matthew 7:11).

John 15:2 says “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes” (ESV). Even though we may be bearing fruit, God may remove something good in order for us to bear better fruit and more fruit. I don’t think anyone particularly enjoys the experience of being pruned, but hopefully when we look back we can see that it was for our benefit and God’s glory. Even Jesus had to remove His physical presence from the disciples so that they could then receive the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). I’m sure they couldn’t imagine how losing that relationship would result in something better.

Hebrews 4:9-10 tells us “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.” More than once recently God has reminded me, “Just rest, I’ve got this. Relax.” Our busyness and concerns are probably the hardest things to relinquish to God’s control. What if it doesn’t get done? What if I don’t have the answer? What if I look bad? What if...? But God says rest. Can I trust Him to provide for this need and to give me the answers? Can I be assured that He will find a way to glorify Himself in my weakness? Can I really relax and let Him take charge?

Scripture is full of reminders about God’s faithfulness, care, provision, protection, and power. The real question is whether I believe that it’s true at the core of my being. And if it is, that belief needs to inform my choices and actions every day, not just when I find I’m at the end of my rope.

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Retreat Reading

So what does a Christian geek read while on vacation? Here are the five books I completed this week, in no particular order:

C.S. Lewis, Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C.S. Lewis

http://www.amazon.com/Yours-Jack-C-S-Lewis-ebook/dp/B002BXH5XO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405708374&sr=8-1&keywords=Yours+Jack

A collection of letters from Lewis in response to correspondence he had received from numerous sources. While one could read The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, by Walter Hooper, this shorter collection is sufficient for both inspiration and getting to know Jack better. I wish this book had been available when I took a class on C.S. Lewis in graduate school. In reading many of the letters, I found myself wishing that I could have corresponded with such a gracious author myself. One particularly amusing quote from the book: “He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart.”

Alister McGrath, C.S. Lewis: A Life

http://www.amazon.com/C-S-Lewis-Eccentric-Reluctant/dp/1414339356/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1405709157

McGrath seems to cover all the important details of Lewis’s life, and he doesn’t sugarcoat it. He brings out new information that has only been discovered in the past few years. However, I think a good editor could have shortened the book significantly. (A whole chapter on 1929 vs. 1930 conversion date could have been several pages shorter.) On the whole, it is well worth reading.

Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

http://www.amazon.com/Altar-World-Barbara-Brown-Taylor/dp/0061370460/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

I picked this book up because it was recommended on one of the Christianity Today websites. The book has some good recommendations on practical ways to experience God in everyday life. I would caution, however, that it is not written strictly from or for a Christian point of view. Many illustrations are given from other religions. The author is an Episcopal priest and professor of world religions.

N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus: A new vision of who he was, what he did, and why he matters.

http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Jesus-Vision-What-Matters/dp/0062084399/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1405709498&sr=1-1

I picked up this one because I’ve heard good things about N.T. Wright’s books. This book provides valuable historical background to the time of Christ and illuminates why His teaching was so radical. However, it is pretty heavy both theologically and historically, and I was easily distracted from reading it. It was one of the shorter books, but took me longest to get through.

Warren Wiersbe, Jesus in the Present Tense: The I AM Statements of Christ.

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Present-Tense-Statements-Christ/dp/0781404878/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1405709896&sr=1-1

This is a refreshing look at who Jesus claimed to be and what that means for us who believe in Him. Jesus isn’t just a historical figure whose teachings we follow, but He is present with us and in us today as the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Door, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and Life, the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the True Vine. I don’t recall reading Wiersbe in the past, but I will look for some others to read in the future.

That was enough to keep me busy for about four days when I wasn't otherwise occupied with writing, walking and a little shopping!

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).