Blog Archives - SHOUT FOR JOY

Living with a heavenly perspective

12/31/2016

At the posting of this blog it will be just a few short hours until a brand new year begins. We’ve all gone through the experience again and again (95 times for me!). January 1 marks a new period of time, the old is gone and the new stretches out before us as yet unmarred by mistakes. Hopefully it reminds us all that as believers we are to live in a new and different way. In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul writes of our heavenly citizenship and how it changes our outlook on the way we view life. While we have nothing to do with the passing of time – that’s entirely in His hands – we are very much involved in changing our lifestyle in view of the fleeting nature of time.
       The two groups that Paul compares are those who belong to this world and those whose citizenship is in heaven. The god of the first is their “bodily desires” (TEV). Their wanton exercise of a supposed “freedom” that has no boundaries allows them to live as they please. The God of the other group is “the Lord Jesus Christ” who redirects one’s concerns to the life that lies beyond time. The question is, “To which one have you turned over the control of your life?”
       In a world without absolutes you can do what you please. One’s time on earth consists of an extended sequence of episodes driven by earthly desires, concentrated on the here and now, and involving no shame. That sounds good until you come to the end and realize that “destruction “ will be your eternal home. The other option is to have heaven as your home. While you are still here, you wait with eager expectation for the return of your Savior who will transform your present body into one that is like his glorious body. I see the two as a sort of “concerned father / rich uncle” story. The rich uncle would gain your affection by giving you stuff right now – whatever your old nature might crave. The responsible father, however, withholds certain things because he knows they will work against your best interest down the road. One lives in a fantasy land, the other in reality. Since wisdom is the awareness of unintended consequences, the father is wise and the uncle is a fool. In either case you will become like the one you to whom you give your life.
       It is interesting how certain truths have a way of staying in one’s mind. I remember a SS class some 60 years ago when the teacher, my friend Dave Hubbard, taught that the only “restrictions” God places on the believer are those that, if pursued, would bring heartache and sorrow. God’s “laws” are for our benefit. They are gracious warnings designed to show us the better way.
       The new year has come; let’s allow God to make it a genuinely NĖW year.

How to never sin again

12/27/2016

       In the race of life Paul, runs directly toward the finish line. He knows why he is here and where he is going. In Philippians 3.14 he identifies that goal line as ”the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The metaphor pictures life as a foot race in which the winner is called up to the judge’s stand to receive a trophy. In the race of life the winner is called up to heaven for a heavenly reward.
       Against this background Paul encourages the believers at Philippi to adopt a winner’s attitude in their own race of life. He is saying that this intense desire to live for a goal that is yet future is what it means to be a mature Christian. And then in the middle of v.15 he adds the highly significant point, “and if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you” (NIV). This means that if, in your Christian walk, you are diverted somehow from the right goal, God will call it to your attention.
       This basic truth has relevance for every part of life. During my years of teaching in a Christian college I remember that a major question for so many students was what was the will of God for their life. What profession has God in mind for me? Has He chosen this girl, or that girl, to be my wife? I used to tell students that Philippians 3:15 guarantees that the committed Christian can not make a mistake in those decisions because, as the text says – “God will make this clear to you” (TEV). What a great privilege for life! If you have adopted a Christian world-view you simply can’t go wrong. He won’t let you.
       So one of great benefits of a mature Christian life is that you never need to question whether something could be out of God’s will for you because if it is, he’ll warn you about it ahead of time. Looking back I have to confess the mistakes I did make were not accidental but because I intentionally did/said what He said I shouldn’t. It’s wonderful to have a friend who will always warn you in every situation whether a proposed act is right or wrong. All we have to do is pay attention and follow his warning. This allows you to consider anything you want to because if it is against his will he has promised to tell you. If you are surrendered to God you never have to sin again!

Where are you going?

12/23/2016

       The old saying remains true that if you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there. All too many people seem to wander through life unaware of any specific goal other than to keep moving. I know, that sounds a bit skeptical until one takes a careful look at their own life and where they intend it end up.
       In Philippians 3 Paul states his goal as “to know Christ.” Theologically he is already “in Christ” but he wants to move ahead to win the prize, and that is “God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above” (TEV). To sharpen the image just as bit, picture Paul in a race, straining with all his might to get to the finish line first and hear the judge call him up to receive the coveted prize. The race began with “forgetting all that lay behind.” He wasn’t talking about all those things that his Jewish counterparts thought would give a person an advantage in the race (listed in vv. 4-6), but all that he had accomplished up to that point. Others may count on what they had done, but Paul forgets all that and continues to direct his energies toward the goal.
       Assuming Paul was correct in pressing on toward his goal with such intensity, would it be a good idea for us to ask ourselves once again, Where do I want to end up – and I don’t mean “heaven” or “hell” – but at what stage of Christian growth. Would a certain level of mild carnality be okay, or should there be a higher goal? I once read of a man who, having nothing else to do, sat down at his typewriter, wrote his own obituary, and then to spent the rest of his life trying to measure up to it. Not a bad idea.
       We shouldn’t leave this verse feeling that WE have to accomplish something of great significance to win the race, be cause HE is the one who takes us on to victory. Our job is to let him run. Turing over the controls is a hard thing to do for the amateur driver who still dreams of earning first place at Indianapolis. Equally hard for us to step aside and let Him take us to spiritual maturity. Part of effective running is to accept the face that we can’t win without help. I’m not suggesting that we sit out the race but that we turn to Him for strength and direction.

Righteousness can't be earned

12/20/2016

         Paul has just cited all the advantages that would be his should he wish to argue with the legalists on how to achieve righteousness. He tells the opposition that all those things that as a Rabbi he used to esteem so highly, he now considers to be of no value compared with knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8-10). The passage is theologically rich and we cannot do it justice in the limited space of this column. However, let’s look at the high points.
         Paul says that the advantages he has just cited are no more than “garbage” in comparison with the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (v. 8). Being a properly circumcised Jew, a zealous Pharisee, etc., is a “lot of crap” (KJV has “dung”) when compared to personal companionship with Christ. These are strong words, especially in a Jewish setting, for the apostle who by God’s grace emerged from the strictures of legalism into the freedom of faith.
         Having set aside all that once mattered, Paul now proclaims a new and distinctly different kind of righteousness. It is not one that he somehow earned by fulfilling the obligations of law. That old kind of “righteousness” based on the value of personal accomplishment. It allowed him to be proud of how good he was because it was something that he had done on his own. But the new righteousness cannot be earned; it is something that God gives to those who accept it by faith. At first this may sound like a rather cheap form of righteousness. One could say, “I didn’t do a anything but accept it; it’s that easy.” However, there is a hidden cost. Accepting righteousness by faith carries the obligation that people be willing to give up something that by nature they prize so highly, and that is their proud evaluation of themselves. It’s called pride. But proud people simply don’t make it on that basis. Salvation by faith requires that you admit your own inability to do it on your own.
         For Paul, knowing Christ wasn’t limited to knowing something about him. It was being in a relationship in which he would experience the power that brought Christ back to life, the sufferings that go with loyalty to him, and death to all personal ambition (v. 10). For Christ to be Lord and master requires complete disassociation from the idea that what you do makes a difference and undivided loyalty to the one who asks you simply to believe. To know Christ is for the stout hearted who admit their helplessness and turn to him confessing, as the lyricist put it, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.”

What does it mean to "know" Christ?

12/15/2016

In Philippians 3:8-11 we come to a section of Paul’s letter that contains his most concise statement of justification by faith and the most passionate expression of his deepest longings. Entire books have been written on this paragraph and the truths of the passage are so profoundly moving that what follows is simply my response to what the apostle is saying, not a studied attempt explain it all.
         In verse 8 Paul speaks of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” and in verse 10 explains what he means by “knowing Christ.” Knowing Christ, and knowing about him, are two different things. The first is highly personal and the second is merely informative. I know that we live about 70 miles from Mt. Baker, but were I to drive up today with snow softly falling I would “know” the mountain in a different sense. The surpassing worth of “knowing Christ” in this second way comes from the highly personal nature of the existential encounter. In simpler terms, you really know a person when you go through especially important experiences together. We see it in the bonding that takes place on the battlefield. “Unprotected you carried me to the helicopter in spite of enemy fire; I now know, in quite a different sense, who you are.”
         Verses 8-11 form a single sentence in the Greek text so, without pause, Paul lets us know what he means by “knowing Christ.” It is “to experience the mighty power that raised him (i.e, Christ) from the dead” (NLT). Paul longs to “know” this power, not for some sort of thrill, but because it was all part of Christ’s experience in which, having gone through suffering that led to death, he was raised back to life. Paul’s desire is complete identification with his Lord and Savior. If it is true, as Zen teaches, that to put something into words is to diminish it, Paul faces the difficulty of doing justice to his deepest desire. Today we might simply say that we want to be totally involved in a relationship with the risen Christ that is absolutely complete. No more I and You; just the two of us. But it’s true, is it not, words can’t express what the heart wants to say?
         What we can hope for is that Paul’s deep desire to know Christ in such a complete way will move followers of the same Lord to join with him in a relationship that not only satisfies the cravings of one’s soul but expresses itself actively in a life that reaches out with Christ to those who need to hear.

Who were the real "dogs"?

12/11/2016

One noticeable thing about Paul is that he spoke his mind clearly and forcibly. There were some religionists in Philippi whose view of salvation was having a negative affect on the church (3:2-3). Paul labels them as “dogs” (a Jewish reference to Gentiles who lived apart from religious ceremony and there fore were unclean), “evildoers”(a general term for those outside the faith), and “mutilators of the flesh” (an obvious reference to those who placed strong emphasis on the outward ceremony of removing the foreskin). Up in Jerusalem there were some who professed faith in Christ but kept a tight hold on the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision. Apparently some of these Judaizers had moved out through the land and were insisting that apart from circumcision, the “faith” of Gentile believers was insufficient. Such a denial of the sufficiency of faith alone was not only incorrect, but destructive to the growing church of Christ as well. Paul is saying that they are the ones, not the Philippian believers, who are the “dogs” that ravage the garbage dumps for ceremonially unclean food; they are “evil doers” whose life-style opposed all that God requires, and, to put it bluntly, they are “mutilators of the flesh” who take pride in slashing the body unaware of what the ancient practice intended.
These people might identify themselves as the “circumcision party” but true circumcision was something quite distinct. Authentic circumcision is to worship God in spirit, take great pride in the work of Christ Jesus and put no confidence in unregenerate human nature (v. 3). So clear is the difference between salvation as an act of God received by faith alone and the end product of human diligence, that to confuse the two is sheer heresy.
I think that if you were to stand on a street counter in your hometown and ask the first one hundred people how to go to heaven you would find that the large percentage would say something like, “Live a good life,” or, “Do the best you can.” To what extent you would get the same answer in local churches (including evangelical) I am not sure but I suspect that it wouldn’t be much different. It is so hard for us to acknowledge that we have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation except to accept it. That sort of confession removes anything we could brag about. It’s because we’re part of a fallen human race that we insist on having something to be proud of. And that is why the “circumcision party” that Paul writes about kept clinging to what was their last hope for pride.
As Augustus Toplady expressed it in the hymn, Rock of Ages, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” Salvation is a gift, not an achievement. That’s why you can do nothing about it except to believe it. Anything else comes from pride. Undoubtedly, that is why Paul had to present the point in such unmistakably clear language.

Joy, the result of a right relationship

12/7/2016

“So, my dear friends, rejoice in your relationship to the Lord” (Philippians 3:1)

         The first word of 3:1 is usually translated “finally,” but since the letter is only half finished it is better to understand it as a transition to a new thought rather than a concluding statement. The important thing is that it calls for a joyful heart. It is interesting that of the 14 times the word “rejoice” is used in Paul’s writings, 7 of them are found in Philippians. It is truly the Epistle of Joy. Since by profession I was a New Testament exegete I find it hard to resist the temptation to head down into grammatical details, but since Christmas is now approaching I want to discuss the role of rejoicing in the Christian’s life.
         Someone mentioned that Christianity is the only religion that sings. There is something distinctly different about our faith in that it turns people from the darker side of life toward the joy of living. As you well know, the gospel account is called the Good News. It is a wonderful story of the coming of God’s son, Jesus, to live among us, die on a cross as a ransom for our sin, and rise from the dead as a victor over death to take those who believe in him to heaven forever. Now that kind of news is good news. It provides forgiveness, companionship and bright hope for the future. When Paul writes to his friends back in Philippi he tells them to rejoice, and how could any forgiven sinner fail to praise God for all he has done and will do?
         Why then is it that joy is not the predominate note in most churches around the world? Doesn’t rejoicing make sense in view of the renewed relationship made possible by his great sacrifice? Granted, life has its difficulties but that can’t stifle the joy that God implants in the heart. Even in deep sorrow there can be joy as in times of joy there can be tears (i.e., the wedding). When we come to realize more completely our riches in Christ joy will become such a powerful force that it simply cannot be restrained.
         When it comes to joyful living there is nothing that we have to do to make it happen. Our responsibility is to let it happen. Joy is an energizing force within that floods our entire life as we allow it. The key to a life of joy is an ever-growing awareness of exactly who we are in Him, of our privilege of proclaiming the best news ever, and of the hope of an eternity of joy with Him. Experience proves that it’s a lot more fun to rejoice in Christ than to claim you know him but never tell your face about it.

Here's what Christian "charm" looks like.

12/3/2016

All we know of Epaphroditus comes from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. His name means something like “charming” or “fascinating” and was common in the Greek world, being derived from Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. In chapter 2 we have the story of this man’s selfless contribution to the work of the gospel. The outline runs as follows: When the church at Philippi learned that Paul had been thrown in jail in another city, they decided that one of them should go and serve his needs. Prison in those days was a horrible experience and whatever a “convict” needed had to be supplied by family and friends. Epaphroditus was the one chosen for this task. After arriving, he worked so hard that he became seriously ill; in fact, he “almost died” (v. 30). What added to his distress was that he soon learned that the people back home in Philippi had found out about his condition and that was just too much. His physical problem, plus the emotional distress of learning how the people back home had heard about his condition, was just too much. The combination took him to death’s door (vv. 30 and 27).
What can we say about the character of a man like this? That he was totally committed to the work of the gospel is clear. Paul calls him “my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier.” Think for a moment what each of these terms suggests. A “brother” in Christ is one who has been brought so close in the pursuit of a common goal that they have become “family” in the fullest sense of the term. The bonds of love and loyalty bind the congregation together so that no one is left outside. Not only was Epaphroditus a brother, but he was a “co-worker” as well. Working together at the same task, they were encouraged by one another’s diligence. They were “in it together” and the result, good or bad, was theirs in common. As in work, so in war – they were “fellow-soldiers” in the battle for truth. Paul’s three-fold description tells the whole story.
The thing about Epaphroditus that impresses me the most is his deep concern for the friends back home who had learned about his illness. Here is a tenderness of soul rarely seen. To become deathly ill in a strange city is problem enough. But to learn that others with whom you have such a close relationship are saddened by your plight takes it to a new level. Epaphroditus was a shining example of a basic principle of early Christianity, that the needs and concerns of the other are now yours. We know that Jesus taught that the way to find life is to give it away, but we rarely see it put it into practice. Epaphroditus did, and we honor him for his Christ-like self-forgetfulness.