Monthly Archives: March 2013

They Took the Key

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THEY TOOK THE KEY

“‘You’re hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key to knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won’t go in yourself, and won’t let anyone else in either.’

“As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything He said, plotting how they could trap Him in something from His own mouth.” Luke 11:52-54 (The Message).

Who were the religion scholars and Pharisees? They were the religious boffins – the theological students and professors of their day who dissected the Torah and reassembled it according to what was acceptable to them.

We have them today, the men and women who take the Word of God apart and pass judgment on its authenticity, accuracy and validity, judging by the standards they set up. They write books about their findings and, if they have a big enough name, their books often carry more weight than the Bible itself. So-and-so said this or so-and-so said that.

But Jesus wasn’t interested in who said what about the Torah. He was more concerned about what it said to them and how they responded to it. Knowledge has no value unless it impacts our lives for the better. The Pharisees and religion scholars were good examples of the futility of scholarship for its own sake.

Their ‘learning’ actually shut God’s word up to the common people. Their interpretations and applications were so complicated that ordinary people did not have the capacity to enter the simple way of life God was offering them. The boffins themselves were no example of real piety. Their lives and learning were pure sham, all for show.

So, what does this mean for us? Two things. Firstly, no ‘learning’ is of value if it complicates the simplicity of God’s way. The study of God’s Word must result in changed lives, otherwise we may as well spend our time dissecting ‘Winnie the Pooh’ for all the value it has for us.

Secondly, God’s Word must always be the measure for what people teach and write about it. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11 (NIV).

This altercation Jesus had with the Pharisees also exposed the disposition of their hearts. They were more concerned about being right than about being righteous. Because Jesus spoke truth, and they knew it, their driving passion was to silence Him. Jesus said emphatically that those who are on the side of the truth would come to Him and He was right. By their very behaviour, these religious frauds revealed whose side they were on. They sided with the deceiver because of their hardened hearts.

Every time we hear the truth we either embrace or silence it. When we kill the truth in our hearts, we kill Jesus and stand in danger of the same judgment Jesus poured out on them.

The Truth Hurts

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THE TRUTH HURTS!

“One of the religion scholars spoke up, ‘Teacher, do you realise that in saying these things you’re insulting us?’

“He said, ‘Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You’re hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never ever lifting a finger to help them.'” Luke 11:45, 46 (The Message).

Why is it so difficult for people to recognise what religion does to them? Religion is one of the most powerful deceiving spirits, together with mammon – the spirit that drives the lust for money – that operates on the earth.

God created man to live in union with Himself. God is free. Nothing drives Him. Nothing enslaves Him. Freedom is His great passion for us, but not the ‘freedom’ that the devil entices us into, the freedom to do as we please, because that freedom is the worst kind of slavery. It is slavery to our own selfish passions which clash with the selfish passions of others and cause the kind of chaos that governs the world today.

Real freedom is to do life God’s way so that we are not driven by the painful emotions that come from the cruel ways we treat ourselves and others. These religious leaders were a case in point. Why did they react to Jesus’ accusations? They were guilty and they knew it.

God created us to make choices but He also gave us a conscience which reacts to bad choices. Because we refuse to believe what God says, we keep making the wrong choices, serving ourselves instead of serving God and others. There is nothing that will make our feelings of guilt and shame go away when we have rejected God’s way and chosen our own, except God’s forgiveness.

These so-called spiritual leaders piled rules on their followers to have power over them. When we are insecure because of our own guilt, we like to control other people because it gives us a feeling of power. ‘Control freaks’, as we like to call them, are actually emotionally insecure people.

Emotional pain robs us of our true identity. Because of childhood experiences such as abandonment or rejection, which we turn inward and interpret as the result of our worthlessness, we feel inferior to everyone else and have to make up for it by using our ‘power’ to push other people around.

In this case it was done in the name of ‘religion’ which Jesus hated because it enslaved the ordinary people to fear, fear that breaking the rules will bring God’s wrath on us. This is a devilish lie to discredit God. He has already punished Jesus for every wrong choice we have ever made. He has taken away our guilt and opened the way for us to be reconciled to Him. He has no desire or need to punish us. He invites us to be His sons and daughters. Paul put it this way, “God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” 2 Corinthians 5:19a (NIV).

He has done away with the notion that any kind of rule-keeping appeases Him. He knows we can never be perfect on our own. He did it all for us so that we can be free from guilt to live in fellowship with Him.

The Sign of Jonah

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THE SIGN OF JONAH
“As the crowd swelled, He took a fresh tack: ‘The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody’s looking for proof but you’re looking for the wrong kind. All you’re looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But the only proof you’re going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age'” Luke 11:29, 30 (The Message).

It seems that human nature has never changed. Jesus had issues with the people of His day because they had a lust for entertainment. To many of them, He was nothing but a great entertainer. They followed Him in droves to watch what He could do and to get what He could give but, when it came to the tough decision to identify with Him and take the flak for being a follower, they opted out because the price was too high.

Their excuse was that they wanted ‘proof’ but, no matter how much proof He gave them, they were always demanding more. What did they mean by ‘proof’? Proof of what? Jesus offered them one sign, which He called ‘the sign of Jonah.’ What was the sign of Jonah? Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a fish because of his reluctance to offer Nineveh God’s mercy. God was merciful to him. He sent him to Nineveh a second time to warn them of His coming judgment because of their wickedness. Why did God want to warn them? Why not just dump judgment on them? Was it not because God was merciful? He wanted to give them an opportunity to repent.

And they did.

Jesus spent three days and nights in a grave because of God’s mercy to all mankind. He rose from the grave as a witness that He is who He said He is, the Son of God and that God is merciful to all who believe in Him. Because of Jesus’ suffering and death, God can offer mercy and forgiveness to every person who responds to His offer and receives Jesus as Lord. Faith in Jesus involves active participation in His life, following, imitating and obeying Him as Lord.

But nothing has changed. Whether it is secular or spiritual, people generally love to be spectators; sport, TV, pop festivals, no matter what form it takes, we sit on a seat somewhere, in front of the TV, in a sports stadium or a concert hall or even a pew in church and watch. Christian TV is big business. TV channels are mushrooming. Which are the most popular and lucrative – those that offer the most entertainment and the biggest rewards for ‘sowing into their ministry’?

Jesus’ solution is simple but radical. ‘Whoever does not take up his cross daily and follow me, cannot be my disciple.’ The Jonah-sign demands an active response of trust and obedience, getting up off the seat and following Jesus, right to the death of the self-life and into a life of self-giving for the sake of others.

The Folly of Greed

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THE FOLLY OF GREED

“Then (Jesus) told them this story: ‘The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself. ‘What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ Then he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, and I’ll say to myself, ‘Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’
“
Just then God showed up and said, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods, who gets it?'” Luke 12:16-20 (The Message).

Jesus told this story to illustrate what happens to a man who hoards his wealth instead of sharing it. He exposed three misunderstandings that are common in our world today. The first is that we got our money and possessions by our own efforts. The man in the story assumed that it was his clever farming methods that produced a bumper crop. How do we know this? There is no hint of gratitude to God for his harvest. He took his good fortune for granted with no reference to God.

Secondly, he assumed that it was all his and that he could do what he pleased with it. There was no thought of asking God what He wanted done with it. He was a typical example of what was known in Hebrew thought as someone who had ‘the evil eye’. He was the centre of his world and his priority in everything. He was completely self- absorbed and God-unaware.

Thirdly, he thought he had a long time to enjoy his wealth. He forgot how transient and uncertain life is. Because he was so self-confident and self-sufficient, God interrupted his life and cut it off with the question, ‘Now who will get your stuff?’ We have no control over our lifespan.

We see this attitude everywhere. Page through a glossy magazine. It is full of glamour and success with no reference to God. From where does wealth, beauty, gifts and talents come? It would seem that somehow celebrities think they are responsible. They ‘farm’ their accomplishments, turn it into gold and build bigger barns to store it for their personal enjoyment. Oh yes, some may even share some of their wealth but even that is often tainted because God never features in any of it. However, this attitude is to be expected in people who have not yet become aware of God’s place in their lives.

The sad thing is that believers often have the same attitude. We may not be celebrities and we may not be harvesting bumper ‘crops’ from our self-made success, but the underlying ideas are still the same. ‘My money is mine and I can do what I like with it.’ Like the manna that was hoarded overnight, it will spoil. This does not mean that God is stingy and does not want His children to be wealthy. God is generous beyond understanding. He delights to bless His people with material benefits. Poverty is never a reflection of who God is.

To understand God’s purpose in blessing us with material things, we have to acknowledge two fundamentals: That everything belongs to God, which means that what we have, is on loan to us; and that we are stewards, not owners, of our possessions.

Two more misunderstandings need to be cleared up: That saving for our future is wrong and that God will provide for us in the future if we spend all our money now.

God is much smarter than that! He gave us an economic system in the Old Testament which answers all these questions and takes care of all these issues. Regardless of whether it was Old Testament teaching or not, it is God’s wisdom which worked for His people then and will work for us now. He didn’t change the rules just because we are under grace. Scattered throughout God’s Word are the principles of generosity which reflect God’s character and break the cycle of greed in us if we put them into practice.

Stupid Pharisees!

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STUPID PHARISEES

“When He had finished this talk, a Pharisee asked Him to dinner. He entered the house and sat down at the table. The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn’t wash up before dinner. But the Master said to him, ‘I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so that they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. Stupid Pharisees! Didn’t the One who made the outside also make the inside? Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor, then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands,'” Luke 11:37-41 (The Message).

Every religion has a standard of right and wrong. The religion of the Pharisees was no different. Although they believed that they were worshipping and serving the God of Israel, there had been a slow and subtle change in their understanding of who He was and what He wanted.

From the earliest time of their history, God had revealed to them the nature of His righteousness – doing what is right because of who He is. He is ‘gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and full of love and faithfulness’ – Exodus 34:6. His laws reflected His nature. He expected them to treat each other the way He treated them.

Because of their refusal to obey His laws, over time they were punished again and again for their idolatry and injustice by war and exile. They came to believe that God was only pleased when they obeyed the many petty and trivial laws that were formulated to ‘protect’ His Law. The heart of their religion became legalistic and God was reduced to the level of ‘rule-keeping’ as the standard of righteousness.

Jesus came to reveal the heart of the Father and hence He clashed with religious leaders because, like all religions, its devotees were ruled by fear. ‘Break the rules and you fall foul of the god whom you are supposed to be appeasing by keeping them.’

Does it really matter to God whether we wash our hands before meals? For hygienic reasons, yes, but it makes no difference to the state of our hearts. What is it that really exposes what is in our hearts? Strangely enough, according to Jesus, it’s what we do with our money. Since money is the power that drives the world, who owns our money and our attitude to it reveals what is really in our hearts.

Jesus insisted that we cannot serve two masters. It is either God or money that is in the control centre of our lives. The love of money drives our selfish and greedy attitude to other people. If money is our master, we will go to whatever lengths necessary to get it even at the cost of lives. If Jesus is our Master, money will be one of the currencies we use to make other people’s lives better.

Isn’t rule-keeping often a cover-up for wickedness in our hearts? Just like the Pharisee, we meticulously observe rules and rituals to appear ‘righteous’ but inside the ‘cup’ is the filth of greed we cannot hide from God. How do we break its power? Jesus said, ‘Be a giver, and you’ll become generous, like your heavenly Father.’ Generosity will not save us, but it will go a long way to setting us free from the ‘evil eye’ that rules the world.