Getting Even Pt 3 (Going the Extra Mile)

⁴¹ If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 

Matthew 5:41 (NIV)

The issue addressed here is one of compelled service. For more than 600 years dating back to the Persians the idea of compulsory service has been reality of life for many people throughout the Middle east of the time.  We have no specific knowledge of the forms in which this was practiced in Roman Palestine, but since Persian times impressing people and animals without notice for temporary service to the authorities had been customary and legal; the practice has been well documented. The Persians were the first to create a kind of Pony Express in which the mail-carrying rider simply “borrowed” horses along the way.

The hostility that the 1^st Century Jews had for their Roman masters made this even more distasteful. Whenever a Roman official or soldier could ask (compel) anyone within the Empire to carry a burden a mile, that person had to do it regardless of who he was or what the circumstances were. Almost all Jews had been subject to this, and they hated the very mention of it. It is suggested that this compulsory service was the reason behind Simon of Cyrene being forced to carry Jesus cross to Golgotha.

 This recommendation to generously and ungrudgingly comply with this law would have the power to turn an exaction into genuine public service, that was generously given to a representative of the government who has ‘need’ of it. Compulsory and often unpaid or poorly paid public service has not been uncommon in America. Think the draft that has plagued us as far back as the mid 1800’s. The Israelis require a couple of years of compulsory armed service and the Swiss do something similar. With tax season quickly coming upon us a case could be made for taxes being a form of compulsory service.

Does this mean that Jesus is endorsing the practice of impressments? No. In a situation in which changing the rules is not a possibility, the proposed response will have the capacity of turning the nature of the transaction from one in which both parties felt worse about each other after the encounter to one in which positive human interaction might become possible.

So how should we react when forced to serve our country? Well if we can’t affect a change via the polling booth we need to comply with good grace.

It has been suggested that this choice to rejoice even in the midst of discomfort, displeasure and duress was effective in the Gospel sweeping across the Roman Empire and ultimately bringing about the Christianizing of the Empire.

Learning to go the extra mile and liking it!

Pastor Val

Getting Even Pt 2 (Coals of Fire)

In my last blog I discussed living like Jesus who resisted the temptation to retaliate against his enemies. We specifically looked at His teaching from Matthew 5:38-ff.

In this blog I want to continue looking at this passage from Jesus most famous of sermons the “Sermon on the Mount.”

⁴⁰ And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Matthew 5:40 (NIV)

 In this teaching it is easy to conclude several things. One there is a case against the defendant. Two, since the suit is seeking the person’s tunic we can assume the defendant presumably poor. Obviously if the defendant had more possessions the plaintiff would ask for something more substantial. Three notice that the suit does not ask for the defendant’s cloak. This is his outer garment. You see the plaintiff is literally seeking the “shirt off the back” of the defendant.

At first glance this looks a bit odd to a twenty-first century person living in the west. It isn’t until we understand that a person’s cloak was the most important piece of clothing a person owned. It doubled as a coat or a means to carry grain or heavy objects by day and a blanket or even pillow by night.

One has to admit that the taking of the very clothes of of a debtor’s back is rather callous at the least and perhaps against the law.

²⁵ "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.
²⁶ If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset,
²⁷ because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Exodus 22:25-27 (NIV)

While this seems so unfair and unreasonable to us, we only have to look at some of the laws and judgments handed down in this country to see how possible this scenario is. The stripping naked of this poor person graphically reveals the destruction of human dignity, in which the plaintiff is engaged in. Notice that Jesus taught that the plaintiff’s demands are not to be resisted, instead He teaches us to exceed their unjust demands. In the process the plaintiffs are unmasked for what they are. The end result is to heap coals of fire on their head.

²⁰ On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
Romans 12:20 (NIV)

Still learning to give it all away

Pastor Val

Getting Even!

Have you ever been cut off by someone on the road and you want a little payback so you ride their bumper or race to get in front of them so you can return the favor?

Your friend stabs you in the back and you wait in the tall grass until you can repay the favor.

Or your coworker or boss has you spend a ton of extra time on your own (weekends and evenings) doing a project only to have them take all of the credit, glory and more than a few attaboys form those higher up!

Life seems to be full of events that just beg for payback!

Have you ever considered God’s position on paybacks?

In the Old Testament the concept of “an eye for a eye” seems harsh in today’s culture but actually it was designed to stop the escalating of retaliations like a head for a eye. Reflecting over some of the famous feuds in fiction as the Montagues and Capulets of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet or history like the Hatfields and the McCoys of the southern hills of the United States points to how long lasting feuds and their consequences can be.

Hammurabi was one of the first rulers to codify the limiting of retribution as well as some 281 other laws. Some have suggested that the Old Testament writers used this code to help them codify the laws of the Old Testament while others claim that the oral traditions of the Jewish law existed prior to Hammurabi. Regardless of which side you fancy the truth still remains that the law existed to limit the scope of reprisals.

So when the Law teaches us an eye for an eye it is talking about proportionate reprisals. Unfortunately today we still tend to often go for the nuclear response for a minor infraction. We have morphed the proportionate reprisals into a principle of aggressive protection of one’s own interests!

So Jesus comes along and says:

 ³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
³⁹ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
⁴⁰ And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
⁴¹ If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Matthew 5:38-42 (NIV)

The words “I tell you…” creates a whole new way of looking at getting even. He starts with our being struck on the right cheek that is most likely is caused by a right-handed person backhanding. This is not about a beat down but rather a personal insult! How do you and I respond being insulted? Usually we retaliate but Jesus suggests that we continue to be vulnerable and allow God to stand up for us.

¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Romans 12:19 (NIV)

Jesus himself modeled this for us while he was here

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
1 Peter 2:23 (NIV)

So we are encouraged to imitate Christ and not to seek retribution.

A pretty BIG challenge - especially for me! How about you??

I hope to continue this theme in the next blog or two

Learning to understand suffering

Pastor Val

Confession

 

I admit that I am fascinated by church ads for pastors. Often I read them and end up amazed at the variety of different doctrinal belief systems fond in different denominations or even individual churches.

One church was adamant that to be saved a person DID NOT have to confess totally ignoring just a few verses like Matt 10:32; Luke 12:8; Acts 19:18; Romans 10:9; Romans 14:11; Phil 2:11; 2 Tim 2:19; James 5:16; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 4:15.

I admit that I have a hard time with this church and their misunderstanding and misapplication of Scripture to come to this conclusion.

Recently I was teaching a men’s Bible study and the subject of confessing sins after we are saved. I used 1 John 1:9 to explain how even after we have made a profession of faith and become a follower of Christ that from time to time after sinning we needed to reconnect with God the Father. That seemed to satisfy the guys at the study at least for the moment.

After our Christmas break the question came back up because one of the men had been poling a number of pastors. At least one was of the opinion that since Christ died for all of our sins past, present and future that we never had to confess again.

I was asked about it again and I gave a good answer at the time but I thought I would flesh out my answer in this blog.

I guess we need to start with: “What does the word “confess” mean in the original language?” It simply means to “say the same thing.” In other words we agree with God’s assessment that our actions and attitudes were wrong and we are agreeing with His assessment of our situation. This means we admit that we were in rebellion with God and His commands and we need to not only admit our wrong doing but we also must change our direction (this is the meaning of repentance).

The book First John was written to believers who were already followers of Christ. It to these believers that John says:

1 John 1:8-9 (NIV)
⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Now could this be referring to our original confession? I don’t think so because the author goes on to say

1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)
¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

The fact that this is written in the present tense to believers means that believers do sin after they have come to know Christ. Our conclusion to these passages has to mean that 1 John 1:9 is referring to the present.

Additionally, James 5:13-16 tells us to confess our sins to the other believers as a way of holding each other accountable. First Corinthians chapter eleven tells us to examine ourselves so that we can correct our lives so that we will not be judged or undergo correction from the Lord.

Jesus also speaks to the need to our responsibility asking for forgiveness as we forgive others. (See the Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6:9-13) We are taught that our relationship with God and His forgiveness of our sins is predicated upon our forgiveness of others.

Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

In the Gospel of John after the Last Supper Jesus take a basin and a towel and washes the disciples feet. When He comes to Peter after explaining why He is doing this Peter asks for Jesus to give him a complete sponge bath. Jesus tells him

John 13:10a (NIV)
¹⁰ Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean."

In the 1^st century because people walked over dusty trails and streets a person needed to wash their feet upon entering a home. Think of the way many people want you to rinse your feet off prior to getting into their pool to keep extra dirt out of the pool. The implication of this teaching is that while we are cleansed from the sin of the world occasionally we need to rinse off our feet from the pollution of the world.

Trying to keeping my feet clean,

Pastor Val

How Shall a King Come?

We are in the time of Advent in the church calendar. Advent is when we look expectantly to the coming of the Lord. Since his first coming believers have been expecting his return. During this season we long to experience Christ in a new way in our lives. One of the ways we can experience Christ’s presence is by helping and caring for the vulnerable.

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says I was in need and you took care of me and the people said when have we seen you in need and he says when you have helped just one of these you have helped me.

⁴⁵ "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Matthew 25:45 (NIV)

 Who are the “these” in Matthew 25:31-46? Who are the hungry and the thirsty (think homeless and kids), the stranger (think immigrant or alien) and those without clothes (think homeless) the sick (think shut-ins, hospital patients, or nursing homes), or prisoners? These are the vulnerable the ones we are called to care for. In the Old Testament they were referred to as immigrants, poor, widows and orphans.

⁹ "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
Zechariah 7:9-10 (NIV)

This Zechariah is one of many passages (Psalm 146:7-9, Deuteronomy 10:17-19; 27:19, Proverbs 31:8, Jeremiah 22:3; 22:16) that give us specific instructions of how to show our love for others. These instructions include care for the needy, the poor, immigrants, orphans and the widows.

To be more specific Micah speaks to this

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 (NIV)

The Hebrew word we translate mercy is hesedh and means God’s unconditional grace and compassion. (BTW grace means God giving to us that which we don’t deserve as compared to mercy, which is when God withholds from us what we do deserve.) The Hebrew word for justly or justice is mishpat and means to treat people equitably. 

I guess you could think of it this way mishpat is the attitude behind the action. It means more than punishing wrongdoers it means giving people their rights. It really is worship in it’s second emphasis (loving others as much as you love yourself). Scripture deals with four categories of vulnerable or needy people: poor, immigrants, widows and orphans. Today I would includes the elderly in this mix. Since women tend to outlive men this would include widows and so many of today’s elderly would be considered poor, hence my inclusion of them in this list.

⁹ "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
Zechariah 7:9-10 (NIV)

Tim Keller in his book Generous Justice speaks of two forms of justice found in the Old Testament. The first is mishpat or “rectifying justice.” The second is tzadeqah, which refers to our day-to-day relationships with all that we come in contact with in family and society as a whole. This form of justice is referred to as “primary justice.”

It would seem that if each of us practiced tzadeqah or primary justice there would be no need for rectifying justice.

¹² because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
¹³ The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness (tzadeqah) as my clothing; justice (mishpat) was my robe and my turban.
¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
¹⁷ I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
Job 29:12-17 (NIV)

See also Job 31:13-28

In scripture, gifts to the poor are called “acts of righteousness”

¹ "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
² "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Matthew 6:1-2 (NIV)

So I guess we could postulate that not being a generous giver would not be miserly or stingy but rather unrighteous and as such sin!

Reading Ezekiel 18:5, 7-8a seems to teach the same thing. By not living openhandedly with the material possessions that have been entrusted into our care we are living unjustly and in reality robbers of God’s possessions.

¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.
¹⁹ And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:18-19 (NIV)

⁶ "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58:6-7 (NIV)

The Isaiah passage is one of my favorite in understanding that fasting which is considered one of the ways that we worship God includes more than simply depriving ourselves of sustenance. It means action!

So during this season of Advent when we are longing for Christ to visit us let’s not forget that perhaps Christ is already visiting us in the form of those in need. How are we doing with caring for Him?

Excuse me while I go serve some of my fellow men in need. Who knows maybe if I look real close I’ll see the face of Christ shining through them

Have a great Advent season

Pastor Val

Loyal Opposition

Yesterday I learned that a person who had caused me no small amount of grief at a previous ministry was experiencing the same grief from some of his former cronies. My initial reaction was vindication and a certain amount of glee to see someone get what they so richly deserved… yeah I know I’m human!

My second thought was “Wait this person is a believer and I shouldn’t be rejoicing over his suffering I should be praying for him.”

For most of our country’s history, members of the opposing party in congress were referred to as members of the loyal opposition. When new congressional members came into office and referred to the opposition as the enemy they were gently corrected by elder congressmen that the members of other party were the opposition not the enemy. Just because someone didn’t agree with you didn’t mean that they were not trying to do the right thing or make him or her an enemy.

That trend seems to have changed in recent years. Congressmen from all parties routinely cast the opposition as villains out to destroy democracy, kill babies or older people, or in the very least the USA. Unfortunately this tendency has leached over into the church, where political agendas have often taken over the driver seat. And we no longer give the opposition the benefit of the doubt about their agenda. They are the enemy!

We have come to believe that if they aren’t with us then they are the enemy and must be destroyed (or at the very least driven out of the church). Now let me be the first to say that the Bible seems to indicate that in addition to those who follow Christ and those who don’t, there is another way of classifying people. Scripture teaches us that there wise, foolish, and evil (or wicked) people. These three classifications are clearly seen in numerous passages found in the book of Proverbs. Here are just a few:

Wisdom comes from God A wise man is a righteous man.

Proverbs 1:5 (NIV)
⁵ let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--

Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)
⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 2:6 (NIV)
⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 4:6 (NIV)
⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.

Proverbs 9:9 (NIV)
⁹ Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.

Foolish people won’t listen to reason

Proverbs 1:22 (NIV)
²² "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

Proverbs 10:8 (NIV)
⁸ The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

Proverbs 12:15 (NIV)
¹⁵ The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 14:9 (NIV)
⁹ Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.

Proverbs 14:16 (NIV)
¹⁶ A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

Proverbs 23:9 (NIV)
⁹ Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words. 

Evil is the absence of righteousness and bent on doing harm

Proverbs 2:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

Proverbs 4:16 (NIV)
¹⁶ For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.

Proverbs 6:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ who plots evil with deceit in his heart-- he always stirs up dissension.

Proverbs 10:29 (NIV)
²⁹ The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

Proverbs 16:6 (NIV)
⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.

So when a man sees the error of his way and goes about making amends that man is wise. When his former friends attack him for doing the right thing they have to fall into one of the remaining two categories. I’ll let God decide which category they belong in.

As for those who try to follow Christ and his way God says to rejoice when we suffer for doing right! (Matthew 5:10; 1 Peter 2:10 & 3:17)

In the mean time, I’m praying for this man and rejoicing that he is a wise person!

Still learning wisdom

Pastor Val

My thanks to Media Dagger for their brilliant cartoon!

http://mediadagger.com/?attachment_id=1452

Serving an Awesome God

This is my second trip to India and hopefully it won't be my last!

There is much that those of us in the USA can learn from this land. People value things differently here. The materialism that we battle in America is not an issue in a land of poverty. I was watching an Indian political talk show in the airport last Saturday and they were discussing the economic plight of this country. One of the hosts stated that out of the 88 poorest countries of the world India ranked 67th. Only 11 other countries were in worse economic shape than India and this is a country that competes with China of having the largest population in the world.

Like last time being here helps me realize what is and is not important.

I had the privilege to teach the MTS classes this past week. We studied Nehemiah and how he applied Biblical leadership to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, helped bring about spiritual renewal for his country and dealt with economic inequity all wile facing down major political opposition both from within and from without.

It was so exciting to watch their faces as we took the lessons of Nehemiah and applied them to their current spiritual, political, and economic situation. As the light came on in their eyes they seemed to begin to understand how they could address issues both in and out of their pulpit.

We had had about 30 students (20 men and 10 women who were studying the Bible together. An additional unexpected experience were more then 10 pastors who attended these sessions. Some had traveled over 150 k to attend. The icing on the cake was the fact that two of these pastors had been students of mine last year. It was exciting to see how God had been blessing their ministry!

We finished the study of Nehemiah and they asked me to continue to teach. I had been asking God what I should do if I finished early and he had laid on my heart to teach Galatians.

It had been over a year since I had taught this great book but at the prompting of the Lord I launched into the study.

I'm always amazed at how God orchestrates things like this. I was teaching on some of the different Gospels that the Galatians were chasing after. I mentioned the concept of "Dualism" and how it emphasized spiritual things and downplayed the physical. This launched us into a hot topic that the local pastors were currently dealing with. It seems that a local pastor had taken a second wife, now having two wives at the same time. When this pastor was challenged he told his critics that he preaching a spiritual Gospel and didn't have to worry about the physical since it wasn't important.

We were able to discuss this and look at the Scriptures and determine what God had to say about this very relevant subject.

I know I shouldn't be taken by surprise when decided to show up like this and orchestrate events and people so that there are these God Moments, but I still am excited to witness them much less be allowed to participate in them.

Who is like our God?

Serving an awesome God!

Pastor Val