To Bad People Everywhere

Are you on the straight and narrow?

What does that mean? One person said she didn’t know because of possible self-delusion. A good friend once said that he probably didn’t sin in a given day.

Jesus did say, “Narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” That resonated with the Jewish population, those who knew God had chosen them. But then, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus made it clear another mechanism is at work.

Many Christians think they are pretty good people. They look at someone across the room and say, “I’m glad I’m not like other people who are not on the straight and narrow.”

The truth is clear. It’s hard to stay on that straight and narrow. If our thoughts projected like a video to the world, most of us would be so embarrassed. Let’s just agree, it’s impossible to stay on the narrow road of right and wrong.

Only one person has not strayed from that straight and narrow. We don’t get the minute details of his life, but we get enough to see that he did NOT make a single misstep. Not one error is mentioned. Some say he got angry once, and hit people and broke things. No one at the time thought “SIN” when he showed his violent side. Something about his anger seemed idealistic, controlled, and the right thing to do.

No one can stay on the straight and narrow except for “The One.” In fact, he said his name is “The Way.”

Thankfully, all of our trying to stay on the straight and narrow really doesn’t mean a thing. The One who did it right, did one more thing. He delivered us from that kind of straight and narrow. He rescued us. He liberated us from the curse of that impossible journey.

By dying on the cross, a well-planned, predicted event, God demonstrated true justice. The straight and narrow isn’t about morality or ethical behavior or how many sins we commit or if we give to the poor. It’s shifting from dependence on my ability to stay on the straight and narrow to faith in The One who did it.

Rom. 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

Francis Fenelon explains:

When we rely not on extraordinary lights, but God alone in pure faith, receiving the consolations that are given, but never resting in any, nor judging; but always obeying; sensible we may be easily deceived; acting with simplicity and a good intention, then are we in the way furthest from delusion. (From  Extracts from the Writings of Francis Fenelon, p. 87)

Few people depend wholly on the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Many people obsess on their own moral failures or take pride in their lack thereof! The narrow way isn’t about doing right or wrong. That’s an impossibility. This is why so many who try to do great things for God will say, “Lord, Lord. we did this and that for you.” They never knew the simplicity of trust, the miracle of God’s justice in what the Apostle Paul calls, “his justice at the present time.”

Rom. 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—  26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

The question, then, is: do you have faith that you are on that impossible straight and narrow or do you have faith that Jesus did it for you? God wants us to think His way, the narrow way of faith in His gift and justice, and enjoy a relationship with Him today! Can you? Will you give up trying and give in to a new relationship with God by faith?

God-stuff Without Jesus?

In Romans 1, Paul surprisingly states that all people can know God. He doesn’t mention knowing God because of Jesus, the gospel, missionaries, or the church.  Is he advocating a universal acceptance by God of all people? Do people really need Jesus or Christians to know God?

Roman god: Saturn

Rom. 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 

In Romans 2:15, Paul believes that the human conscience is more evidence pointing to people’s knowledge about God stuff without Jesus, the gospel, missionaries, or the church.

He says,

…since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.

Finally, Paul states that those who disobey God know inherently that their disobedience brings death. Nobody needs to explain a word.

1:32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. 

Paul is saying that people think about God all the time.God leaves his “fingerprints” everywhere. God has his “fingerprints” in creation (“his eternal power and divine nature”). People live by rules; societies have unwritten rules of behavior; and governments codify morals and ethics. How do people know these rules? Paul says: God’s universal law is stamped on our brains and soul. Even the punishment code is evidence of God. How? God is life. He is the opposite of these actions that bring death (decay, chaos, and damage included).

Atheists are constantly worrying about God. They write about how God couldn’t be this or that. Yet, an atheist seems to know more about what God can or cannot be than most Christians! Deep down within an atheist feels the need to secretly see God’s fingerprints, but by trumping those secrets they can hold power over those who do. He/she trumps the God thoughts by denying any personal confirmation. A smug interior grin spreads out to feel like he/she is not duped by the simplistic ploys of naive Christians and life can go on in his/her own chosen path.

What can be known about God is plain to people, Paul writes. The Romans got a lot right about God. They believed in the gods of order, beauty, power, and control. Yet, the way they lived their lives they promoted the god of self and personal glory. Every culture, tribe, or society gets some things right about God. His fingerprints are everywhere. His right and wrong thinking is stamped into our souls and minds. I think Paul is right when he says that people suppress the knowledge of God  by their ungodliness and unrighteousness.

[The NIV translates the second word, "wickedness." The Greek word is athikia, or unrighteousness, which means "off the path behavior" or "injustice to others". How hard it is to admit that one is wrong, on the wrong path, or selfishly smug? Thus, God has placed at least three witnesses in human existence to point to the need for suppression of the God-stuff seen or felt.]

Compare this LA TIMES article (click here) which says over and over that “religion” was stamped in our DNA by evolution. How many times does it repeat the mantra, “evolution created, wanted, or selected?” I hear Paul’s words ringing in the background…

Romans 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 

What do you think?

Did Jesus Walk On Water

You’ve heard the joke about the disciples asking each other how Jesus walked on water? Peter jumps out of the boat and says, “You have to know where the rocks are!”

The answer to, “Did Jesus walk on water?” may not be a burning question for you, but for many this question ranks as far up in the list of troubling texts as “Where did Cain get his wife?” and “What ever happened to the dinosaurs?”

Here is the text in John. Matthew and Mark also include this story, with Matthew elaborating on it with the most details, including Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the water to Jesus, too.

John 6:19

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.

The details of the story show interconnecting threads and themes easily missed by us. First, in Jewish thinking the waters contained evil creatures, demons, even Satan. Jonah was cast into the sea to appease the gods who lived there. The Book of Revelation has evil creatures (frogs) coming out of the sea.

Second, the Lake of Galilee was prone to unexpected, violent storms. The disciples knew their lives were in danger from the storm.

Third, this story happened in the dark. If you have been on a lake in the dark with no lights to guide your rowing or motoring, that is, no fixed reference point with which to steer, then fear and anxiety about navigation away from nautical danger will clutch your imagination.

Fourth, why would the gospel writers show the disciples whimpering in fear? Weren’t these men the pillars of the new Way and interpreters of The Faith? Matthew tells us they thought Jesus was a ghost, that is, one of the sea creatures coming to get them in the dark. These miserable men have no courage in this story! Even Peter, who sinks after only a few steps into the clutches of the demons below, should have more glory and honor to impress people with his credentials, not his failure!

Fifthly, the focus of each gospel is Jesus not the disciples. His ability to walk on water is a demonstration of his other nature, or his god-ness. Yet, the story is matter of fact about his ability to walk on water. The bulk of the story is about the storm, the disciples, and their need for faith in Jesus. The writers off-handedly mention in a casual sentence that Jesus was walking on the water much like they would mention he was walking in the park! Clearly, the story is one of many that present the contrast between human’s fear and the need for faith in Christ.

And this ability of Jesus is only used once. Jesus never walks on water again. He is not a supernatural surfer. Most of his impressive miracles he only does once. The theme of the gospels is not a glorified Jesus but our need to think like him with complete faith in the power and wisdom of God. The other Messiah’s, Caesars, and even the apocryphal gospels written one and two centuries later, are filled with mesmerizing accounts of supernatural largesse, even one story of Jesus’ diaper hanging on a clothes line and healing a lame boy as he walked by! If anything, the writers downplay Jesus walking on the water by writing so little about his ability!

Finally, are we so biased in our haughty, modern intellectualism and scientific rationalism to think that the first century was filled with magic believing ignorants? Weren’t people skeptics about the stories, the authors, too? Wouldn’t other eyewitnesses try hard through various forms of persuasion to reject the fairy tale quality of this story, just as we would do if one of our children came up and told us about walking on the water?

The first century produced scholars, philosophers, and scientists such as Seneca the younger and Plutarch. Socrates and Plato were debated still in that day. The Romans produced laws we still follow today. Yet, highly educated people believed and no evidence exists for doubting the eyewitness account of this story. Why? It fits a greater pattern in theme of the life of Christ. He’s got a connection with the divine, which the cross and resurrection reveal, as Son of Man/Son of God. After the resurrection, and the subsequent forty days of teaching (another subject about the Road to Emmaus story), Jesus could be seen for who he truly is: The son of God who left his home in heaven to die for the sins of all humanity so that those who put their faith in him do not need to fear Death or God ever again.

Endless Swimming

1 Timothy 1:8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

What keeps our three kids swimming endless laps for hours a day? Have you ever tried swimming for three or four hours?

What makes our girls (HS Senior and College Sophomore) get up at 4:30 a.m. to swim and lift weights for two hours, and then come back for another three hours in the afternoon? I don’t ever have to tell them to get out of bed!

Every few months there is a monster swim meet.

The swimmers live for meets. The meets GAUGE their effort in swimming endless laps. The meets keep them swimming. They get faster. They beat personal times and school records. They keep on swimming endless laps. The ribbons do NOT keep the swimmers coming back to the pool after a meet. Much more is needed than a silky ribbon with writing on it.

Now, here’s the question: What keeps Christians swimming “endless laps”? I mean, what keeps a Christian wanting to get up early and meet with God, or go to church every Sunday? What motivates the endless laps of giving generously or serving others? Why would anyone plod through the difficulties of being part of a Christian community?

What is the GAUGE that Christians use to let them know they are doing the right thing, getting “faster” or honing their skills? In swimming terms, where are the MEETS? I know there are rewards, and Paul tells us to run like someone running for the prize, but the endless laps can get tiring and maddening.

Sunday morning worship is not the guage. Sunday attendance is an illusion. On Sunday morning only a handful of “swimmers” are “in the water.”

How does church leadership know if their “swimmers” are getting “faster”? We simply cannot take attendance as a good indicator! We all know horror stories of people who have attended Sunday morning and Wednesday night services, but cannot “swim.” One pastor I know had become a Christian only after he had finished seminary and had started his first pastorate!

Around these parts, fall “Revivals” act like gauges. Some churches have annual “Leadership Conferences.” Summer Vacation Bible Schools act like a gauge for many churches.

I think that Jesus was very clear about what gauge to use. He sent his disciples out while he could oversee their efforts. He told them he was sending them just like the Father had sent him. He commissioned them right before ascending into heaven. He sent his Spirit at Pentecost to empower them to do what he did.

A swim meet measures the advancement of a swimmer by placing him/her in a situation that “tests” their ability. Jesus devised “tests” for his disciples. He asked them questions, sent them out and brought them into awkward and painful situations with him like the cleansing of the temple and going into Samaria to find the “woman at the well.” In the early church, the disciples continued these “tests” by sending out missionaries, taking younger Christians with them on church planting trips and going into awkward situations like Greek temples and crowded marketplaces to talk to people.

Jesus upset comfort zones to “test” people’s faith. The gauge is simple: how much is there a WANT TO go into the discomfort zones? Churches will lose members this way, but it is Jesus way. Endless meetings aren’t a gauge most of the time. Our discomfort zones will test what we know, feel and believe. They prove if our “relationship with God” is real or a placebo. They test our spiritual muscles to see if we have swum or standing on the sidelines.

How have you entered a “discomfort zone” recently to test your faith?