Jesus Clothed His People In (His) Righteousness

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Clothed His People in (His) Righteousness

“He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.”

                                                                        Isaiah 61:10

God takes no pleasure in, is not impressed with, our raiment.  So who are we to take a quick glance, or a lingering gaze, in the mirror, and take satisfaction in how we are dressed?  Tie straight.  Shiny shoes.  The most flattering style.  The hottest designer label.  Damn, we look good!  Or do we?

When I was a boy most people who went to church still made kind of a big deal out of putting on one’s “Sunday Best.”  It was only years later when I realized that God wasn’t pleased with, much less fooled by, our “put-ons.”  While many folks, myself sometimes included, now dress in a much more casual manner on Sunday mornings than would have been acceptable when I was growing up, I am pretty sure many of us still have that approving moment or two in front of the mirror before we head out to worship at least somewhat pleased/proud/satisfied with ourselves.

But you know what?  I don’t believe God is any more pleased with or impressed by our raiment these days than he was 50, or even 2,000 years ago.  Why?  Well, unlike us, God doesn’t look on the outside.  We get all excited over attractive packaging, but God looks deeper.  It’s the content, not the cover, that matters to God.  And, um, sorry, but there are way too many of us whose Christianity isn’t much more than a nice looking cover inside of which hides, well, stuff we’d prefer no one gets a good look at.

Here’s the thing, no matter how dazzling the outside, true colors will eventually, and always, show out.  And, in truth, they show much more than we seem to realize.  Think about it.  Christ’s disciples were mightily impressed when they beheld the Jerusalem temple.  But the Lord cautioned them that it wasn’t anything more than a condemned building soon to be torn down, and those who frequented it were like so many freshly painted mausoleums (Matthew 24:1-2; 23:27).

What do others see when they look at us, look at our churches?  Sure, we may have a tall steeple and priceless stained glass.  And we might be dressed up in comparatively formal attire or the latest from L.L. Bean.  How could anyone not want to come and join us, isn’t it obvious that we are, as they used to say, the “in” crowd?  But God isn’t the only one who can see past the wrapper.  Sure, people can be taken in by attractive appearances.  But reality sooner or later, and usually sooner, reveals itself over and above appearances.

The truth is, many of the people now unchurched were not always so.  Most people have a reason they don’t attend worship Sunday morning.  Lots of them might well accept an invitation to visit a friend’s church.  But, this is painful to say, when the formerly churched come back for a visit after a long absence, they quickly remember why it was that they stopped coming, and the one visit is more than enough to reaffirm that there are better things to do, better places to be, than sitting in a pew with us on Sundays.  Ouch!

Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t check out the image in the mirror, not just Sundays, but every day.  But we have to have the determination, the courage even, to look deeply at, not just the wardrobe, but the person staring back at us.  How is his/her mind clothed?  What sort of attire adorns the heart of the person in the mirror.  Is he/she dressed merely for worldly success, or dressed for kingdom service?

You see, even better than Joseph’s amazing Technicolor dreamcoat, the Father has a garment for each of his sons and daughters to put on daily.  The cut and style are exactly the same as the very character of Christ.  The fabric is an unbeatable combination of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, which come together to make for an ever-present forgiving perspective towards our brothers and sisters.  And, completing this out-of-this-world-because-it’s-of-the-Kingdom ensemble, is the most breathtakingly beautiful and transformingly captivating “accessory” of all time because it is eternal—LOVE (see Colossians 3:12-14).

The truth is, if we only think to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18) every day, we’re very likely going out the door less than half dressed.  Forget about “Sunday Best,” God would have us put on Christ every day!  I tell you, the world wouldn’t see bunch of “new Georgey girls” (and guys) in the latest from Carnaby Street, but the daughters and sons of the Father, the brothers and sisters of the Son, the Body of Christ, the very family of God,  and they would want to be a part of it!

I am not pasturing at this time, but if I was, I believe I would get a full body length mirror to set up at the entrance to the church.  The mirror would be framed with “Compassion,” “Kindness,” “Humility,” “Meekness,” “Patience,” “Forgiveness,” and “Love.”  And everyone who passed the mirror would be reminded to put-off any and all facades of self-righteousness, and be clothed from the inside with the righteousness of the risen and glorified One, even Jesus Christ,

Christ IS All!

Jesus Bore Our Sins Away

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Bore Our Sins Away

“He bore the sins of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors”

                                                                        Isaiah 53:12

Yep, no doubt about it, Jesus compassionately ministered to people’s infirmities, pains, and suffering.  He even offered it as evidence to the disciples of John the Baptist when they came to inquire on behalf of their master, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3):

            “Go and tell John…the blind receive their sight and the lame walk,

            lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,

            and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Matthew 11:4-5)

BUT, make no mistake, Christ came to deal with our sins, to bear them away “as far as east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).  And the Lord’s ceaseless intercession is on behalf of transgressors (that is, sinners), not folks with problems in need of therapy.  If therapy was all that we need, there would have been no cross, only a physician’s exam table and an analyst’s couch. 

The problem is, there are a lot of people proclaiming what amounts to a “therapeutic gospel.”  There are preachers all too willing to talk about the symptomatic suffering (be it physical, mental, emotional, maybe even spiritual) we all experience, and offer us relief by way of affirmation and encouragement.  But there are fewer and fewer pulpits where the matter of sin is openly put before the people, and our utter wretchedness and wickedness exposed.   At best, people may come away with their hearts strengthened for a time, but what we really need is a heart transplant!  That’s not therapy, that’s radical spiritual surgery.  What we need is not help “fixing” what’s wrong with us, or “repair” of what’s broken; we need to die! Die to sin.

The only place where this radical surgery can take place is the cross, and only those who come confessing their sins and abjectly repenting of them can hope for and count on the forgiveness purchased by the blood of Christ.  The best therapists can offer is a “makeover,” a clean up,  an aspirin or a band-aid.  What we need is not cosmetic improvement and symptomatic relief, but rather to become wholly new creations as our root problem (Sin) is admitted and surrendered to the Lord.

Pain-relieving therapy may help us when we complain of headaches.  But if the headaches are caused by a tumor which, if undiagnosed and untreated will kill us, how much does the therapy really help us?  In like manner, the Gospel of Jesus Christ refuses to stop at addressing our symptoms, our complaints, but pours divine light upon the deep and deadly reality of sin.  Jesus while he relieves our pain, did not come to be a pain-reliever, but the one who alone could bear away that which causes all pain and suffering—the sins of the world.  Jesus is not “Curer” and Lord, but Savior and Lord!

Christ IS All!

Jesus Pioneered And Perfected Hope-Filled Faith

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Pioneered And Perfected Hope-Filled Faith

Which Is The Only Path To REAL And Lasting Life

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,”

                                                                        Hebrews 12:1-2

“Life could be a dream,” so the song says (“Sh-Boom” by the Crew-cuts c.1954).  I would guess there are no few people who have wished, during hard times, that their life was a dream which they could wake up from.  A good many others spend considerable time dreaming of what they’d like or hope their life to be.  Believers do not have to live in, or wish for, a dream world because faith is about assured hope (Hebrews 11:1), as opposed to wishing-on-a-star/one-in-a-gazillion lottery ticket hope.

Do you think that Jesus ran his race, enduring the cross and despising the shame, based on a dream or a wish?  He ran by faith, faith built on hope, assured hope in the steadfast love and promises of his Father.  These promises, set before the Lord, produced a joy that fueled his faith so that he could endure the hostility of the world.  The same faith, the faith which Jesus founded and perfected, enables us to run and complete the marathon race of life, sustained every step of the way by hope, certain hope, assured hope, hope built on a promise rather than a dream or wish.

Here’s the thing, people today are starved for reality.  Why do you think so-called “Reality Television” is so popular?  The irony is, everyone of these “reality” shows is staged!  Cameras don’t just happen to be there to capture what’s going on spontaneously.  And there’s a whole lot of editing going on after the filming is finished.  But the truth is life, REAL life, is only to be found in and through Jesus.  Dreaming and wishing leads nowhere;  believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring us “to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” to “receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:22, 28).  That’s a hope we can be sure of!

Christ IS All!

Jim

Marion, NC

PS 37.4

Jesus Made A Selfless Choice To Grow And Love

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Made A Selfless Choice To Grow And Love

“You did not choose me, but I chose you…”

                                                                        John 15:16

While the context of the quote from John 15 is the Lord’s address to the eleven remaining apostles (Judas by that time had absented himself in order to go and “do quickly” what the Lord knew his betrayer was going to do.) regarding their calling and appointment to “go and bear fruit,” I believe it is quite legitimate to expand Christ’s declaration to describe the manner by which all who will be saved come to the knowledge and love of Jesus as Savior and Lord—It’s His choice.  And we can hardly begin to grasp just how costly a choice it was.

The choice was, is, all about love.  And love, agape love, always involves choosing to let go, to sacrifice, to give up something of the self  for the sake of the beloved.  Any selfish choice in the name of love, isn’t love at all, and in truth arrests, rather than contributes to the growth of, the self.   Jesus, in choosing us, made a selfless choice, determining to go all the way for us, to so abandon himself, to deny himself completely for our salvation.  In choosing us, in choosing you, in choosing me, the Lord consciously and unreservedly chose the cross.

In return, Jesus asks each of us who would follow him to deny our selves, to lose ourselves in him, to go all the way for him, and to take up our own cross. (Matthew 10:38-39).  It  is choice, you see, to take up or not take up, our cross.  And Jesus would not have anyone fail to understand how costly it is to follow him.  To follow Jesus we must be prepared to set aside even the closest of our relationships, with mother and father, husband or wife, son or daughter, should they come between us and the Lord.  The Lord would even have us choose to sacrifice the one we love most, our self to follow him.  Only faith in Jesus, only trusting that he has, and will, take care of us, permits us to let go of others, of our self.  In the end, it is the selfless choice which permits the self to grow, to love.  That’s what Jesus did, and that’s what he calls all who follow him to do—grow and love.

Jim

Marion, NC

PS 37.4

Jesus Supplied The Light Of Life

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Supplied The Light Of Life

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.”

                                                                        John 8:12

There are many ways the world may be separated into two groups.  The wise or the foolish.  The rich or the poor.  The strong or the weak.  The good or the, …wait a minute!  There are no good (Mark 10:18).  Well, you get the idea.  Today, if I may, I would like to argue that there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who see and those who are blind; those who have the light of life and those who are in utter darkness.  Jesus is THE Light.  And those in darkness, those without Jesus, will surely perish.  Without vision, without seeing, without light there is no life, only the certainty of death.

I don’t think I will ever forget the time I was plunged into stygian darkness.  It was about 36 years ago on a tour of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.  After warning us that the light was about to be extinguished, and reassuring us that it would only be for a few moments, the National Park Ranger transferred us all back in time, if you will, to eternity past, to what it was like before God said, “Let their be light!”  We were awash in darkness.  It was as if we were suspended in the midst of the void of Genesis 1:2.  Only the pounding of my heart assured me I was still alive.  Thankfully, the Ranger was as good as his word, and light quickly flooded the cavern and we were able to make our way to the exit.  The world, without Jesus, well it would be kind of like being in Mammoth Cave with no light and no exit.  Just darkness, and inevitable death.

And Jesus was quite clear about it, there is either life and light in and through him, or its Mammoth Cave now and forever.  It’s kind of funny, in a tragic way, how those who are blind (I am speaking of spiritual blindness, not physical), who have never known anything but darkness, believe they see (John 9:40-41); there is but woe for those who call darkness light (Isaiah 5:20).

We are not talking shade here.  No degrees of grayness.  There is light and life, or there is utter darkness, complete blindness, death.  This does not sit well with the majority of the world, which has always been caught up in the celebration of darkness as light, evil as good, bitter as sweet.  Proclaim the light and you’ll find no few hands eager and willing to cast you out (John 9:34).  And the truth is, it is painful to be pulled suddenly from darkness into light.  Yet, the pain is but momentary, light and life are eternal.

The challenge faced by the Church, by every member of the Body of Christ, is not to add to the sting, the offense if you will, of the light, but to let the light of Jesus alone shine forth.  Christ, his light and his life, must increase and we must decrease.  The good news is, even a little light shatters the darkness, while no amount of darkness can ever overcome the Light.  This is why we can sing with great confidence and hope, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!”   Jesus has supplied us with light and life, and has charged all who follow him to be, in turn, the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).  It turns out that the temple of God, that would be us, fellow believers (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) is a lighthouse.  There is no other hope for those who are blind and in darkness.  Shine!

 

Jim

Marion, NC

PS 37.4

Jesus Submitted To The Father's (Moral) Will

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Submitted To The Father’s Will

“Yet not what I will, but what you (Father) will.”

                                                                        Mark 14:36

Moral authority, where does it lie?  In whose hands does the determination of good and evil, right and wrong, rest?  Can morality be arrived at by the agreement of good people as to just what is good and what is evil?   Might morality be the product of a plebiscite? Could a public referendum be relied upon to establish any moral standard?  And, if a ballot, if public opinion, can declare moral positions, is morality any more substantial than a sand dune, subject to constant sifting and shifting day by day, likely to undergo radical and repeated change, or, if winds and tides of society move strongly enough, even be altogether abolished by the next election?

Personally, I do not understand how anyone who claims to read, know, and believe the Bible, can consider any moral authority other than God.  Look to any other moral authority than God, and know that you are immediately moving to assert your will over His.  Yet no few Christians individually, and no few churches, and even denominations, corporately, give tacit or explicit moral authority to man.  What’s up with that?  I know that a lot of people, Christians not the least, give themselves and our culture credit for being far better informed than our ancestors, of being so much wiser, wiser even than God himself as they update His moral code to accommodate their mores.  Funny how we, who are so much better informed and wiser, can’t answer with our many college degrees questions that a hundred years ago were part of an exam to pass the Sixth Grade!  Funny how the understanding of morality has “advanced” over the years:

Moral: "Conformed to the divine law..." (From the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster.) "The word moral is applicable to actions that are good or evil, virtuous or vicious, and has reference to the law of God AS THE STANDARD by which their character is to be determined."

Morals: “Refers to generally accepted customs of conduct and right living in a society, and to the individual’s practice in relation to these.” From the 1984 Random House Collegiate Dictionary.)

Between 1828 and 1984 God, who alone is good, has been removed entirely from the discussion of morality, while we, though not even one of us is good (See Mark 10:18), have given ourselves all authority for determining what is “right” and what is “wrong!”  This is completely contrary to what Jesus had to say on the matter of morality, which he submitted to the Father’s will alone.

Morality is not subject to a vote, nor is it mutable. Change morality (And change it we have, and continue to do), and, regardless of how slight, or justified, we believe the change, we have moved from morality to immorality. Move far enough and we will arrive at the state of amorality, where "everyone does what is right in their own eyes," and anything goes.  We are already moving rapidly in this direction and are picking up speed continually.  I do not see any institution turning things around, not government, not schools, not even the Church today, much of which is a party to the deconstruction of morality.  Other than the Holy Spirit, convicting one heart at a time, and turning one life at a time to the Father, who, again, alone is good, I expect we will fall further into the moral abyss.

Jim

Marion, NC

PS 37.4

Jesus Talked Tough About Sin

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Talked Tough About Sin

“And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.”

                                                                        Matthew 18:8

What could Jesus have been thinking, encouraging people to practice self-mutilation to deal with sin?  Nowadays popular opinion would have us deal with sin by administering a slap on the wrist at most; follow the instruction of the Lord and there wouldn’t be many wrists to slap!  I hope we can all see that Jesus was making a point, a strong point, about just how serious sin is.  In particular, Jesus wanted his followers not to have any misunderstanding about the consequences of sin.  Unless one finds the idea of swimming in flames appealing, sin should be avoided at all costs, even if it means losing a hand or foot or an eye (Matthew 18:9).  And, yes, it would have sounded just as extreme and shocking to the audience that was listening to Jesus as it does to us.  Maybe that’s why there’s so little attention given to sin in a lot of churches.

You know, it's tough to talk about sin nowadays, isn't it? Most simply dismiss "sin" as an outmoded and unnecessary artifact of a long-irrelevant puritanical Calvinism (Though they would be hard pressed to put it into those words). Others, who might be willing to admit the subject of "sin" into conversation, will likely have a defective understanding of "sin" as actions, thoughts, and words of varying magnitude that fall somewhere along a sliding scale of things that are "bad" or "wrong."

But, make no mistake, sin is nothing less than outright rebellion against the God and Creator of all things. Sin is absolutely, pernicious, that is deadly. Sin is constituted of offenses against God which cannot be satisfied by any payment, penalty, or sentence other than death.

Saying, "I'm sorry" doesn't get it done. Saying, "But I'm REALLY sorry" won't cut it. Even if we had access to all the wealth in the world and offered to pay it as a fine for our sin, it wouldn't begin to approach satisfying the demands of justice. And, were we to submit to being incarcerated for eternity as punishment for sin, "Life, plus forever..." that would be far too short a time to pay our "debt."

Sin is alienation from our Maker. It is corporate and individual brokenness that accounts for all the misery and suffering in the world. And there is one, and only one, remedy for sin. One and only one way to end the rebellion and restore us, and creation to loving relationship with God (and one another). The remedy is the Cross of Christ. And we can only be saved from the inevitable consequences of sin by coming to the Cross, confessing our sin, and our utter hopelessness apart from the grace and mercy of the Father, in and through the Son, imparted to us by faith by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and receiving Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

The world will offer us endless alternatives. For example, I just learned that the "Jedi Church" (Faith based on nothing more than a screenplay!), is the 7th largest in England, and growing rapidly elsewhere. But not one of these alternatives leads anywhere but to death. People ARE looking for answers, and, as I said, the world has no shortage of them, just pick the one that appeals to you, is easiest to accommodate to your life. But what we all really need is to embrace, not merely answers, but THE Truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." -John 14:6

Got questions: "Why are we here?" "Why is the world so messed up?" "Is there any way to fix things?" "What does the future hold?" I'd love to explore them with you.

(BTW-Just in case you don’t know, Jesus has another answer to the problem of sin in our lives besides removing offending parts of our body.  I’d be happy to talk about that with you too!)

Jim

Marion, NC

PS 37.4