Why do Christians sin?

Most people when they answer this question they say something to the affect of we are still living in a fallen world and we will not be without sin until we are in Heaven. While this is true, I think there is more to this question and its answer. I believe that while we would still sin the amount of sin that we would see within the church would be less if we all had a proper fear of God.

God Himself tells us this in Jeremiah 32:40 when He says that He will place the fear of Himself in the hearts of His people so that they will not turn away from Him. A healthy fear of God is one of the keys to living a life that is pleasing to Him. This fear is meant to serve as a motivator for not doing those things which make God sad or angry. It should be one of those things that prevents us from willful disobedience. To have this fear we need to have a deeper grasp of exactly who God is and who we are in comparison to that.

God is in absolute control of everything and He is absolutely perfect. He is our creator and our master. In His infinite wisdom He created us and then allowed us to have free will. Why He did this is up fro debate but the fact remains that He did/does allow free will today. This free will has lead many people to believe that they are some how above God or that God does even exist and that humanity is at the top of all of things created. Yet it is clear that there are many things beyond our control such as the weather, the earth's rotation and the tides. We are not masters of all that is around despite our attempts to be so. We will never fully be masters of all things and there will always be some "chance" in this world. We are under God and his authority.

As a part of being under His authority we become subject to His rules and standards for morality and choices. His standard is that of perfection since He Himself is perfect and His original creation was also perfect. We are obviously not perfect and thus we fail to meet His standard and as a result we are to be subject to His penalties. The Bible clearly lays out in both the New and Old Testaments how these penalties are to be enforced. It shows us that there are both eternal and current punishments for those of us who fall short of God perfection. It also clearly shows us that God has the right under the system of perfection He has created to destroy as because of our sins. His infinite amount of mercy and love for His creation allows us to continue living. He withholds His wrath because of His great love for us. For those of us who are Christians and have accept the incredible sacrifice of Jesus have a permanent and unshakable exemption from the eternal punishment of death (spiritual death, Hell). This does not mean we are exempt from the consequences of our sin while here on earth. When we sin there are consequences. These consequences carry from person to person and issue to issue but they are nonetheless still there.

I believe that if we had a better understanding of how bad those consequences could be then we would be far less likely to commit many of the sins we commit.

What do you think?

Standing for what is right

Jeremiah was a man who struggled with depression and a woe is me complex. He was a man who got frustrated and I would say even angry with God. I would suspect there were times when he felt used and abandoned. He was also an honest man when it came to dealing with these feelings. He told God what was on his heart and mind. I believe this is one of the things that made him such a great man of God. He was willing to be totally honest with God and express who he felt about their relationship and in particular those things that bothered Jeremiah the most.

Jeremiah was also a great man of God because He was willing (most of the time) to do what God wanted him to do and to do when God wanted him to do it. He was willing to lay down his life for the calling God had placed upon. He was willing to sacrifice prestige and honor (man made honor) just so he could follow the commands of the one true God. This wonderful character trait is exemplified in Jeremiah 26. In verses 7-24 we see how and why the life of Jeremiah was being threatened. We also see in these verses how he was willing to lay down his life rather than back away from the truths God had commanded him to share.

You and I may never be in that kind of life threatening situation (though you never know for sure) but we will find ourselves in similar situations where God wants us to speak truth that will not be pleasant for the hearer. If God calls us to share those kinds of convicting or unpleasant words then we must share no matter what the consequences may be. If God is behind what we are saying then it must be said.

Have you ever found yourself in those kinds of situations? Did you speak the truth God wanted you to share? Or did you hide behind your fear?

I know have not always shared the truth God laid on my heart. It is something that God and I are working on. It is something where I am recognizing a growing need within myself to abandoned fears and move forward into His peace and protection.

The Holy of Holies

Do you desire to be in the holy of holies? Do you simply long to be in His presence? Does every thing within you seek to simply rest in Him?

This is where I am today. I long to be in the presence of my God. I long to just sit with Him. I long to be silent in His presence and all His glory and power to fill me. I long to be away from the noise and clutter of this world. I want to take my rest in Him so that He will send me out full of His mercy and grace.

Verse of the Week

I have a great verse for you to meditate on this week. It is Jeremiah 23:29. The NASB translates it this way.

""Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?"

As you go through your week take some to meditate and think about this verse and what it can/should mean to you and your life.

Never Ceasing To Yield

Jeremiah 17:7-8 tells us that those who trust in the Lord will not only be blessed but that they will never ceasing yielding fruit. As we look at that verse in light of the New Testament we can see how it is our trust in the Lord that will allow us to continue to be an agent of change in a world that is desperate for change. This tells us that those things that happen around us have no bearing on our ability to bear fruit, so long as we keep our trust in the Lord. Furthermore, this means that nobody is beyond being useful. There is no sin, no mistakes, no anything that can exclude us from being useful in God's eyes.

I believe there is forgiveness or all things. There is a grace that extends beyond our understanding. We must keep in mind that God's call on someone's life supercedes any of our arbitrary molds or ideas about who can and can not serve God. As I read the Scriptures what I see is a God who does hold us accountable for the choices we make but He is also a God who fully restores us. Peter denied Christ 3 times yet it was Peter upon whom Christ built His church. Jonah ran from God and yet He used him to change the hearts of an entire city. So today I encourage you to simply place your trust in the Lord and allow Him to make you useful and fruitful today.

The Qualifications for Deacons, Elders, and Pastors-1 Timothy 3-Part 4

It has been some time since I have been able to dedicate the energy and time necessary to really dig into the word on the subject of church leadership qualifications. For those of you who were reading the series I do apologize for this. I am hopeful that today will be the beginning of a renewed effort to bring more of this series out.

I am starting to see that the pastor of the local church is really to be seen as the lead elder. There are some who would argue that no elder is to be above another. I would disagree with this concept in that in the Old Testament we see head priests and other leaders. We see people whom God placed in charge of others and I think in many ways the same is true within the church. That being said I want us to consider what it means to be old enough to be an elder.

The question is based on the fact that the Greek word Presbuteros basically means an older person. Yet we do get a specific age to use to define who is older and who is not. Is 30 old enough? Is 20? Is 40? Is more about age in the faith? Could it vary greatly from church to church based on its local area and congregational composition? Does this age requirement apply to pastors? Should it?

I think we are going to be hard pressed to find an exact answer to the age question. I tend to think of it more in terms of experience. From my perspective an 80 year old man who has been a believer for 1-2 years is not as well suited for this level of church leadership as 25 year old who has been a growing believer since say age 10.

I also do think that the age issue is relevant to the preaching pastor. We tend to think that the pastor of the church is the ultimately leader in the church. I am not so sure this has to be the case. I think in some ways it can be true but it does not have to be. I think it is clear from the leadership of Paul that one can be a preacher and not be an elder. Paul was a full time preacher and church leader. He was not however an elder at any single church. Peter on the other hand does refer to himself as a fellow elder (1 Peter 5:1) and he was also a full time preacher. In a modern sense what this means is that one could have a lead elder and a preaching pastor and they could be two different people. It also means that they could be one and the same. In either case, I believe that the ultimate responsibility (human) for shepherding the flock lays within the realm of the elders (1 Peter 5:1-2). In the case where the preacher is not an elder (for whatever reason) then the elders are responsible for doctrinal oversight.

Some of you are reading this are wondering where that leaves Deacons in all of this. I hope to dive more in that question with a later post but lets just say that I see Deacons as your ministry leaders. They are the ones who lead the way when it comes to providing service and ministry both within the church and outside the church. Their role is rather distinct from that of an elder and as such I think they should be two separate bodies within a church.

So what do you think? Should there be two distinct groups of elders and deacons? What about the age issue? What the pastor not being an elder? Does the pastor need to be an elder? What does your experience and reading/study of Scripture tell you about all of this?

Rejecting Pleas for Mercy

If you have ever been in charge of little people then you have probably experienced the following situation...

You come up with a special prize, snack, dinner or soemthing for them to do. You tell them they have a surprise coming if they will act right. They do not act right. You tell them they are not going to act right. They burst into tears and basically beg to change your mind. Part of you wants to give them another chance, even though you gave them bunches of chances before taking it away. You also know that if you go back on your word then it will be less likely they will take your "threats" seriously the next time. You heart is pulling you in one direction but your mind is pulling you in another.

Have you ever been in that place? If so how did you handle it? Did you still give them the special treat? Have you sometimes given the treat but not others? I know I have done both. There are some times I have been too much of a sap and pushover and gave in to them. Other times I have been able to stand my ground. I think we see a similar situation played out in Jeremiah 14.

What we see in this chapter is a severe drought. The people are shown to be crying out for help and acknowledging their sins. They also acknowledge God and His power to control the rain. Yet the drought continues. God's response to them is that there is a price that must be paid for their sins. I can only begin to imagine what it was like for God. On the one hand He loves His chosen people and desires to bless them yet there are consequences that must enacted for their sins.

In the end it seems to me that there is this interesting balance between mercy, grace and punishment. Only God fully understand how it all works out but we must trust that it will because He is the one in control of it all.

One Step at a Time

Before reading this post you need to go and read Jeremiah 13. I have some links to help you out with this.

NIV
NAS

Now that you have done that...
Can you imagine what Jeremiah was thinking as God was telling him to but the linen. God was only telling him one step at a time. I can just imagine Jeremiah trying to figure out why God was asking him to do these things. There is even a part of me that can see him saying to himself, "this seems kinda of strange but if God says to do it then I guess I will" (of course he would have said it in Hebrew).

Have you ever been in that kind of place? Have you ever been going down a path that seems strange and odd yet you know that God has orchestrated each step and has guided you through it all. As I look at this story I realize two things. First, God does not always give us the whole picture. There are times when He simply tells us the next step without telling us the end goal. He just wants us to follow Him no matter what. This is what Jeremiah did. He did not know exactly what God was doing but he still followed the voice of God. Second, Jeremiah had some incredible faith to keep following that path. I think I would have had a hard time continuing in the same manner that Jeremiah did. I want to be able to see the finish line. In this case that was not the best plan. God knew that it would be better for Jeremiah to do it this way.

If you are in one of those places where You have been following God and hearing His voice and yet many of the steps He has taken you through do not make sense, then take courage. I believe in the end the dots will all connect for you just like they did for Jeremiah. Keep listening to God voice and He will take care of everything.

Why I like Jeremiah

The book of Jeremiah is my favorite book in the Bible. I think the main reason for this is how easily it is for me to connect and relate to Jeremiah. He comes across as someone who experience great triumph, great sorrow and even a crisis of faith. Through all of this though God never leaves Him and uses Him to preach His truth.

I cannot imagine what it was like for Him to hear from God about the destruction of the people around Him. He understood why (the people had forsaken God, 9:13) but I am sure he had friends whom he believed would die. Beyond those friends though I think He felt a sense of shame because how his family was acting and what they were doing. It must have been a great struggle for him. On the other hand, He was faithful to God and He trusted in God's sovereignty. He trusted in the fact that what God was doing was right, no matter what it seemed like to him. He did have to like it or even agree with it.

The same is true for us today. We may not always like or even agree with what God is doing in our lives and the lives of others but in the end we must accept His providence. In this acceptance though we can not allow ourselves to somehow become bitter. We must always remember that God does things that will be for the good of those who trust in Him. We may not always see the good that comes from something but that does not mean that it is not there. There are a lot of things in this world that we do not see and we believe they are there, mostly because someone with authority has told us that they are there. The same is true here. God has said that there are good reasons and so they must be there even though you and I do not see them.

Downfall

Have you ever watched a person, church or denomination as it is in the midst of a downfall?

I know I have and it is one of the most painful and heart wrenching things to watch. I remember when I was in Seminary and the Episcopal Church was reeling from the decision to allow an openly gay bishop. The consequences of that decision have been far reaching and devastating for many good and faithful people. Fro me though the most difficult part was that I knew that along the journey that led them to that decision they were given many opportunities by God to turn back to Him. Since that time I have seen similar patterns in churches and people. I see them walking down a path towards destruction and I see God constantly giving them reasons and opportunities to turn back to Him. When we are able to see those opportunities being ignored then we begin to better understand how God would be justified in allowing His people to fall into disgrace. This same basic pattern in s descibed for us in Jeremiah 8.

In this chapter we see how all hope will be lost in the people of Judah. This hope though was lost because they refused to return to Him (verse 5). I think the fact that we see the idea of refusal is important because I believe it implies opportunities to accept. In other words you cannot refuse something if it is never offered. In this case, God's people could never have rejected the opportunity to repent if it was never given to them.

So are in a place where you feel as though hope is lost? Is you church in a place where hope has been lost? If so I think you would be wise to go before God and earnestly seek His forgiveness. Ask Him to show you the opportunities missed and do so with heart that desires to learn from those mistakes. Nevertheless always remember that we should seek God's forgiveness for missing those opportunities and to accept the peace that He grants when we truly seek Him in repentence.

Evidence of Death

Have you ever thought about the signs of a dead or dying church? Have you ever wondered if your church was dead or at the very least starting to get rather sick?

If you are like most of us then at some point you have at least considered these questions. Today I would like to offer one idea that may help you answer those questions. Today's thought comes from Jeremiah 7:34.

In this passage God essentially says that He will be removing all of the joy and excitement from Judah and Jerusalem. He will make the land lay in ruin. I think as we look at church we can use this as a sort of barometer of a church's health. Simply put, if we look around us and we do not see people who are excited to be in church or doing ministry then there is a problem. And to be sure I am not talking about the kind of fake happiness that many people express during Sunday AM greeting time. I am talking about a deep sense of joy and excitement. It is when you look at people and that have that look in the eyes and that sound in their voice that says there is nothing I would rather be doing than this right here. Do you see this in your church? If not why not?

I think the same can be true of our personal lives. Do you have that level of joy in what you do? Do you have it when it comes to church? Do you have about spending time with God? If not, why not?