Romans 2:28-29 Tender Hearted

Romans 2:28-29  For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.  But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (NASB)

Have you ever wondered about the label, “Tender hearted?”  I don’t know the actual origin of the phrase and at this point I have no interest in looking it up but I do think it fits particular people or moments in life.  I also think folks can build up layers of “Protection” for various reasons and wind up callused.  That callus though protective can also become a barrier to relationships; it can be a problem.

In the book of Romans Paul goes to great length to explain our Christian faith.  Many great men of faith have made it their lifetime endeavor to study and write on just this great book from our Bible.  It is deep and chewy and rich in helping us to understand the depraved state from which we come and the great gift of grace by the shed blood of Jesus which saves us.  If you grasp and believe what Paul presents in Romans your faith is on a solid foundation.

One of the themes presented early on is that there is no partiality in God between Jew or Greek.  That is, Jews and the rest of us.  He illustrates this with the picture of circumcision which of course was the ritual performed on every young Jewish boy prescribed in the Law setting them apart.  This ritual has its origin alongside the origin of the covenant God made with Abraham as a sign of that binding agreement.  We see it used throughout scripture including as the people of Israel wander through the wilderness.  Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised but those born in the wilderness were not.  Because of disobedience, the former generation were not allowed to enter the Promised Land and the sign of circumcision sorted the generations.  Before entering, Joshua was commanded to then circumcise this generation about to enter – Ouch!  There would have been up to 80 year old men (40 years x 2) uncircumcised that had to endure this ritual.

Back to Romans

Paul continues making this argument that the distinction between Jew and Greek is now gone.  And one of the chief symbols, circumcision of the flesh, is not what we should be considering.  Indeed, it is the circumcision of one’s heart that matters.

The verse makes the argument, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly” – what?  I thought this covenant and ritual was all about Abraham’s children.  Yes, it is – but it is Abraham’s offspring by faith that are counted.  That is the point here.  “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly” – by faith having that same connection Abraham did.  That is the covenant relationship.  The symbol of that covenant was circumcision so Paul makes the comparison, “Nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh” and continues, “And circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter”.

Whoa!  Those are fightin’ words Paul!  Do you mean the prescribed circumcision that generation upon generation of Jewish people have followed is of no value?  Yep!  That’s right.  As a symbol of the covenant God made with Abraham – circumcision of the flesh is of absolutely no value!  NONE!  That is exactly what Paul is saying.  By contrast what is of value is the true circumcision which cannot be seen as faith cannot be seen – it is a circumcision of one’s heart.

Paul indicates this heart work is that of the Holy Spirit, “by the Spirit, not by the letter”.  That is instructive too, this heart work is not something a man with a sharp instrument does one to another.  This is in fact delicate work the Holy Spirit, God Himself accomplishes in the life of men. 

So was Paul coming up with a new idea?  Not at all.  Read this portion of God’s promise  … "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.  “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live”. Deuteronomy 30:5-6 (NASB)

Did you get that?  Old Testament promise of God!  He will “Circumcise your heart” and so that you are able, “To love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”

So, what does all this mean?  It means simply this.  Circumcision of the heart is the work of God that brings His covenant about in a person’s life through faith in Jesus Christ.  When His work on your heart brings about the necessary tenderness such that you may respond by faith, the circumcision is complete.  Only then are you enabled to “Love the LORD your God with all your heart.”  AMEN!

1 Timothy 4:6-8 Training for Today and Eternity

1 Timothy 4:6-8 “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.  Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” ESV

Some of you following my travels on Facebook are aware that I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time in North Carolina of late.  It’s not just about the barbeque although that I must tell you has been one of the highlights.  The actual reason for my lengthy stay and multiple trips to the east has been for training.  Yes, it is training affiliated with my work and as training goes this has been some of the better time spent over the course of my career under its banner.

You too have had your share of “Training” I’m sure whether it be in the work environment or under the direction of an athletic coach at an earlier age.  Training of course is all about building us up.  It is about taking who we are going in and with proper affect – having some marked improvement when we come out the other side.  In my case, I have earned a nice “Diploma” to display on my office wall as a testament to my successful improvement in the various areas of endeavor.

But what does Scripture have to tell us about “Training?”  Is it there?  Having read the opening passage I’m sure you are aware that it is in fact addressed in Paul’s letter to his protégé Timothy.  In the course of this short section Paul actually gives value to two types of training but a much higher value to one.  Paul says, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus”.  What things?  For that we have to look back to the previous section (1Timothy 4:1-5)when Paul talks about certain deceivers that will try to trick believers into uncalled for restrictions around marriage and diet.  Paul is talking to Timothy about correcting that false teaching when he says, “If you put these things before the brothers …”

Paul goes on to declare how it is that Timothy is able to do this, “Being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”  Because Timothy was trained in the “Words of the faith” which today we would call Scripture, he was enabled to refute the false teaching.  Someone once taught how experts detect counterfeit currency to a group of students on a tour was not by learning every kind of counterfeit.  Rather the method is to learn the real thing so intimately that anything else is obviously NOT real.  That is the principle Paul is referring to here as well.  He is saying that Timothy’s expertise with the “Words of the faith” is such that he is able to detect and adequately challenge the false teaching.

Now Paul goes on and he indicates that there are other kinds of training that may take place too.  In this case, he refers to physical training or specifically“Bodily training”.  While Paul says this kind of training “is of some value” he goes on to say, “Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

So I suppose this all comes down to perspective.  These past weeks during my class I was happy to see several in my class of 24 clearly proclaim their Christian faith as a part of church leadership, musicians in worship and various other aspects in appropriate ways.  I too shared the importance of my faith in my life in an appropriate way.  The message Paul has for Timothy and by extension to me and my fellow Christians in Class 57 is that as valuable as this training might be, it is “Being trained in the words of the faith” and to“Train yourself for godliness” that are of higher importance. 

The reason given is clear – These latter things have value beyond our employment and even this whole life on earth.  These latter things are, “Of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”   The good news for my believing friends in class 57 is that Biblical principals really are consistent with much of the secular training we were given.   AMEN!

Luke 8:4-8 Sown for Maturity

Luke 8:4-8  When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:  "The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.    "Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.   "Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.  "Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (NASB)

Maturity, or perhaps the antithesis of it, Immaturity is the prompt for today’s BLOG.  Perhaps you wouldn’t think of the parable of the sower when you think of maturity but it is there plain as day.  As Christians, Scripture challenges us to a life of Spiritual growth.  Doctrinally this is referred to as sanctification.  Simply put, sanctification is the process of growing up into Christ likeness.  In the modern sense it is living out that WWJD bracelet for real in your life.  When you have done that perfectly, (not that you can) you are fully sanctified.

The Easton Bible dictionary defines it this way:  Sanctification, “Involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration.  In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Rom_6:13; 2Co_4:6; Col_3:10; 1Jo_4:7; 1Co_6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1Co_6:11; 2Th_2:13)”.

So how does maturity or sanctification come to life in this parable?  Most often we look at this parable and analyze, what is the seed, who is the sower etc. etc.  By the time we’re all done with that, there is little time to look at the seed that took root and grew in the “Good soil”.  What happened?  Or better said, what is supposed to happen?

Before we get ahead of ourselves, this parable speaks of the Gospel message being shared and received by some.  By the power of the Holy Spirit that message comes to live in the new believer and takes root in this fertile soil prepared from eternity past to hear and receive the Word of God.  That is the, “Other seed (that) fell into the good soil”.  But my friends the message does not stop there.  The parable of the sower does not stop with germination and a sprout popping out of the ground.  In fact, Other seed did that.  “Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away.”  So that is not to be the fate of seed falling on the fertile soil.  That is not to be the fate of Christians.

"Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great."

Christians are to grow up through a process of sanctification into Christ likeness.  No, not all at once but steady progress over a life time is the design.  Paul rebuked some long time Christians who failed to grow up.  Here’s what he had to say.  ”For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil”. Hebrews 5:12-14  (NASB)

So how do I do this Dale?

That is the beauty of the Christian experience.  If you will just surrender and admit you don’t get it but open the Word and pray to the Holy Spirit to teach you.  He will!  That is the work of the Holy Spirit, to teach.  Pray when you are under the teaching of trained Bible teachers that you will “Get it”.  But you have to take some responsibility.  If you fail to attend services or studies, if you choose not to open the Word, If you choose not to pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you, how do you expect this to happen?

The Lord wants you to grow up spiritually, His word says so.  He will help you do it.  AMEN!

2 Corinthians 11:8-15 Pure Motives

2 Corinthians 11:8-15 “I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.  As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.  Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!  But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds”. (NASB)

As a leader, credibility is of paramount importance.  If one loses credibility, who will follow?  This is the underlying issue for Paul as he writes to the Corinthians in this his second letter we have in Scripture.  Paul knows that the message that he has for these people cannot be compromised by their questions about him personally.  At this stage in his relationship with the church at Corinth it is especially important and he goes to the trouble of telling us why.

He starts in a rather peculiar way saying, “I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you”.  So is Paul saying he was the early incarnation of Robin Hood?  No, he is using the dramatic “Robbed” to make the point that he was being supported by “Other churches” in order that he might “Support You”, the church at Corinth.  Paul in this sense was a missionary sent by these supporting churches to minister to the new church at Corinth.  Paul goes on to remind them that while he was there with them, “I was not a burden to anyone”.  In fact, when other believers from the Macedonia area came they, “Fully supplied my need” according to Paul.  The result was that, “Everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so”.

Why was this important?

Paul wanted to make it clear to those in Corinth when he was there ministering to them that he was not there for any reason other than that.  He had no personal gain or even the meeting of his immediate needs in mind while he was there.  The importance of this position for Paul was twofold.  First, by not taking any support much less profit from the church in Corinth Paul did establish his own credibility as one there to serve them.  No strings attached.  Second, Paul knew that others with less pure motives were in circulation and may well cross his path.  Paul wanted to be able to make the clear distinction between his motivation and theirs.

Paul is able to ask the rhetorical question about his motives, “Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!”  And Paul goes on to say that his activity will continue driving to that second purpose of drawing the distinction between his motives and others.  He says, “What I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting”.  Then he cuts to the chase, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ”.

Wow!

And he’s not done.  Paul goes on to identify their motivation or motivator, “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”.  Satan is behind the actions of these false prophets who present a counterfeit gospel.  So Paul says as Satan goes so go his followers, “Therefore it is not surprising if his (Satan’s) servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness”.  Before moving on we do need to see the victory statement Paul makes in completing this section.  He reminds us that their, “End will be according to their deeds”.

But what is the point of all of this for us?  Well, as leaders in the church we need to emulate Paul as best we can especially when developing new disciples.  Our motives must be pure and they must be transparently so to those with whom we seek to have credibility.  In Paul’s case his discussion centers on financial support or the meeting of his physical needs.  He took the measure of taking that out of the equation to gain credibility with the Corinthians.  For us, there may be other steps of integrity we need to take to transparently reveal our true motivation.

The second message here is for those attempting to discern the motivations of their would be leaders.  Whether this is at the time a church is being sought or when a decision to support a ministry is being made.  What is the motivation of those who are ministering or intending to lead?  One of the requirements of eldership is to be, “Not fond of sordid gain” (Titus 1:7).  If a leader is in it to line his own pockets – WATCH OUT!

So Paul helps us to understand how to be leaders with integrity and as disciples of Christ one way to discern true motives.  Whichever position you are in leader or disciple remember both his model and his warning.  AMEN!

Romans 8:1 No Condemnation

Romans 8:1  “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)

Referred to as “The greatest verse in the Bible” by some, the truth revealed here is certainly central to the Gospel and essential to the Christian faith.  What a verse! 

Of course it isn’t fair to just jump right in to Romans 8 without pointing to the “Therefore”.  That single word at the beginning of the verse points to all that has gone before.  It has been a road pointing to the desperate need for a savior of all men.  Not just the gentiles but also the Jews, God’s chosen people.  Romans has pointed to man's ability to know God exists through His creation yet points to man’s rejection of the Creator.  Romans shows the way of knowing Christ as Savior and the redemption offered through Grace rather than works.  Leading up to Romans 8 we are presented with the struggle even Paul faces living out his salvation under Grace but in this sin stained body wrestling daily with the battle of spirit and flesh.

Only then comes the great news and assurance of Romans 8.  “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.  So the verse is for those of us walking this earth and for those that have passed on “In Christ” only.  To be clear this is not a universal get out of jail card for the human race.  This assurance is limited. 

For those, “In Christ” the assurance is, “Now”.  Isn’t it significant to know that the assurance of Romans 8 is not something to wait for or hope for but is, “Now”?  I think so.  And what is “Now”?  “No condemnation” is what is “Now”.  So currently, in this present time, as we walk through this life troubled by the battle of spirit and flesh just referenced in Romans 7 we have this assurance of Romans 8.  There is no condemnation now.  I don’t have to wait for someone to remove my sin at some ceremony later.  Because of Christ Jesus my sin results in no condemnation right now.  That is a wonderful message to me.

Now there are plenty of warnings in earlier chapters of Romans about intentionally liberating Grace by sinning all to more.  Paul tells us this is absolutely wrong and misses the point.  The point is we will continue to sin because we are damaged goods.  We have a sin nature handed down from our father Adam.  Try and we might, we will continue to sin from time to time.  When we do, those sins are covered immediately by Grace through the work of Christ Jesus and we find ourselves in this state of “No condemnation”.  

Applied to our lives there should be great comfort in knowing we walk in Grace free from the burden of our sins.  We do not have to carry the guilt of our sins before the Lord.  When the Father looks at us he sees the Son; guiltless.  So we don't need to be kicking ourselves, that is what Satan wants.  He wins when we do that.  Hold your head up high and go do something for Jesus.

In closing, if this isn’t the greatest verse in the Bible, it certainly gives rise to explanation of the greatest gift, Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN!

Philippians 3:7-9 Superiority of Christ

Philippians 3:7-9  “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”, (NASB)

I haven’t gotten deep with you theologically in a while now but today this passage just sort of grabbed me.  I couldn’t shake it so we’re just going to dive in and see where we go.

This passage comes from Paul’s letter to the Philippians and in Chapter 3 he gets to this bit of comparison in which he recaps all of his life.  He puts all of his accomplishments on the line.  Now we should remember that Paul is no derelict back alley bottle in a brown paper bag drunk living day to day begging his way through life contributing nothing.  No, this is Paul, the well educated Roman citizen and high ranking Pharisee scholar of scholars among the elite of the Jewish community who was called by Jesus himself to become His own disciple and accomplish incredible work for Christ among the gentiles.  Those high points don’t begin to describe the stellar life of service and accomplishment we can attribute to Paul yet he writes something much different here.

Paul says, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ”.  What?  And he says something parallel in verse 8, “…and count them but rubbish…”.  Well, I’m not being fair giving you only a taste and picking and choosing here but the point being made by Paul is that all the things he’s accomplished in his life are trash.  Okay – let’s also remind ourselves that above all the things I started my list with, Paul wrote under the influence of the Holy Spirit, most of the New Testament!  Hardly Trash I’d say.  You’d also say that Paul would agree, the New Testament, The Word of God isn’t trash.  So, what then is he talking about?  He is simply stating that in comparison to Christ in his life, all his deeds are rubbish.

Let’s put this in numerical terms, which by the way will illustrate the point effectively but will still not adequately reflect the true scale.  If Paul’s good works were equivalent to my personal net worth it would compare as being in Christ does to the national debt.  There is no comparison – they can’t be compared on the same scale.  That’s Paul’s point – in comparison to Christ, you might as well count all his good works and everything he’s done of value as loss.  There’s that much of a superiority to be found in Christ.

Now don’t miss the final and most important thought.  For all of Paul’s good works which we have discussed, significant good works we must agree, in spite of him characterizing them as rubbish they were indeed good works.  They earned him nothing towards his position in Christ.  His position in Christ as he points out came by faith; “Not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

That’s how it is for us.  We are called into a relationship with Christ to which nothing can compare.  It is superior to anything we can own or accomplish and it is nothing that we can earn.  The relationship we are called to in Christ is by grace through faith alone.  It’s value is without comparison.  AMEN!