Smoke in My Nose

It has come to my attention that one of my favorite verses that communicates the sinfulness of man in the flesh even when we are doing good works is actually a weakened version of the ultimate truth. Context matters, y'all. 

The verse I refer to is Isaiah 64:6, which reads, 

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Now I'm sure that you guys have read me use this (or heard someone else use this) to indicate that even the good works we do are like filthy rags in the eyes of God. Of course, no one likes to touch filthy rags, so the Lord won't touch sin.

Now, there is nothing wrong with this interpretation; God's view of sin is being touched on in these words, but the two-chapter context is super important.

Isaiah is asking the Lord in chapter 64 how long He will continue to torment the Israelites. In so doing, he acknowledges the sin of the Israelites, explaining that even the good things they do are as filthy rags.

But when the Lord answers that He will not keep silent and MUST torment the Jews because of their sin, he explains that this is because their sin is actually a little worse than an uncomfortable dirty rag. Indeed, their sin is like smoke in His nose. Yup. In Isaiah 65:2-5, the Lord says,

"I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day."

That kinda explains a little bit better why God cannot tolerate sin, and almost makes you wonder why He tolerated sin for so long in the first place, but alas, that is what He did for the Israelites in delaying the captivity, and what He does for us today as He gives a time for redemption.

All while dealing with the smoke in His nose that is our sinfulness.

Priorities Revealed in Decision-Making

When we find ourselves in life, there are many given choices that we would have to make every day. And whether we are purposeful about those decisions or just kinda make them, we are ultimately revealing our true priorities in the way that we interact with this thing we call life.

So, what does that mean when we choose to sin in our lives. None of us would consciously create a plan that involved a terrible terrible sin once a week because (I hope) not one of us is that mixed up in their priorities for that to so openly and honestly reject God.

But since our subconscious decisions reveal a lot about our heart and our priorities, what does it mean when we rather make an effort to sin.

Simply, it reveals that we delight more in that sin at that moment than in  pleasing God. We have decided that our personal pleasure is more important than obedience to God.

Obviously, I don't want to depress you all too much here; there at least is the point where we are specifically trying our best to serve the Lord, but we all will still have moments of weakness, where we sin. We are after all, only human.

But we must realize what that sin actually shows about us within that point of time, and know that there is no such thing as an "accidental" sin. And since every sin reflects an attitude in our hearts of putting something other than God as more valuable in our lives. I think that there indeed can be nothing to be said about "little" sins either.

It's Probably your Fault

Oh, right, I forgot, I shouldn't upset readers by saying that something in their life could have been avoided. People aren't fond of being told they did something wrong. Oh, well, I'm not writing this blog to please or entertain people, so...

In my relationship with the Lord, it would seem that there has been a rough patch once again. Times are tough and the relationship doesn't seem to be growing at all. And I at once just want to know why. Why? Why? Why?

But my first reaction wasn't to look to myself. Though I did not explicitly start blaming God, by refusing to look to myself for responsibility, I implicitly said that it was the fault of the Lord that all seemed to be dead. Perhaps my feeling was just that God is not obligated to give me anything, even a solid relationship with Him, and so maybe right now, He simply isn't.

Though technically true, that God is not obligated to give His children anything, my sentiment ignores the fact that God will always want to give us an opportunity to see Him greater. Indeed, He created us so that we could enjoy Him forever.

This is a similar situation to what the Israelites found themselves in prior to the captivity. They felt their relationship with the Lord become strained. They were sacrificing and fasting, and the Lord just didn't seem to be paying any attention. It is here that Isaiah reminds them (and me yesterday morning),

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness."

Or put more bluntly, God's merciful and willing to save you or hear your cries at any time. His ears do not become heavy ever so that he cannot hear. Instead if you are separated from God, it is your fault because of your iniquities.

That is exactly what I needed to hear. We as Christians are perfectly equipped to grow in our knowledge and intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. So when we fail to grow in that relationship, it is not because of failing on God's part, but because of our own individual sinful failure. It will always be our fault.





(Note that suffering and trials are not what is being discussed here. Not all suffering and trials are the fault of man's individual sinfulness. Enjoying God does not equate with peaceful, non-hazardous conditions; instead it equates with peace and joy in Christ in the midst of dangerous and depressing circumstances.)

The Elephant in this Blog

A topic was touched on last week that I personally have avoided actually doing a full analysis on for far too long. Fear has kept it from ever surfacing. Fear of lost respect, fear of consequences, fear of...I don't even know what.

I have refused to broach the subject of homosexuality in any meaningful way. In fact, I daresay that last Monday's post was the first mention of it whatsoever. But today, I will meaningfully discuss the homosexual issue.

Homosexuality is indeed a sin. It is forbidden throughout the Old and New Testaments. It was clear from the Old Testament Law that those participating in homosexual acts was not allowed in the congregation of the Israelites. But perhaps, the clearest picture of the wrongfulness of homosexuality is seen in Romans 1, where Paul describes it as part of the punishment God put upon man in turning them over to their own devices.

I'd like to park here for a moment because this punishment needs some explaining. As I've mentioned before, God can and does punish people by giving them exactly what they want. When for instance, the Israelites grew tired of Manna in the wilderness, He gave them the meat they asked for, indeed so much of it that they grew sick and weary.

What is happening in Romans 1 is God is punishing man for neglecting His obvious presence in the world in that he "gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves." The first part of these lusts is described as man lusting after man, and woman after woman.

So, homosexuality is wrong, but there is an important point to be made that homosexuality is only the first item on the list of lusts that the Lord has turned man over to. Homosexuality is definitely no worse than any other form of adultery and I think that we as the church should probably just treat it that way.

Homosexuality also causes the same standing before God as my sins of lying, anger, pride, and others put me in prior to Christ's redeeming grace. Let us remember that we Christians are no better than any participating in homosexual acts.

Now what does that say for the way we should live our lives and interact with this world. Honestly, I recommend that you bring that question to someone who has more life experience than this little college Freshman. But what I can tell you is a little case study about how Jesus handled a similar situation. The passage is John 8:1-11, and in it our Lord Christ provides grace to the adulterous woman, but then doesn't giver her a pass on her sin, but instead admonishes her to "Go and sin no more." So as I leave you today, take a look,

"Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee. She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."

One should Probably Obey Most Unjust Laws

How should a Christian respond to laws that are unjust? Is the mere fact that the law is unjust make it permissible for a Christian to break that law?

It is of course commonly known from Acts 5:29 (among other places, such as the book of Daniel) that government laws that would cause Christians to violate the law of God, should be ignored and disobeyed by Christians. 

But what if there's a law that is unjust but does nothing to cause a Christian to sin? Is it still permissible for the Christian to refuse to obey said law? 

Um... Well... I don't see any biblical support for such an exclusion. What we do see is several places where Christians are commanded to obey the government. Here is a sampling: 

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."  ~Romans 13:1-7

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."   ~I Peter 2:13-17

"I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment."  ~Ecclesiastes 8:2-5

Against the backdrop of these verses, it seems hard to argue that we should "resist the ordinance of God" by disobeying a law just because we find it to be unjust. Perhaps this makes us a tad uncomfortable, but I doubt this is the first command in the Bible that makes you feel a tad bit uncomfortable.

It would seem to me that we should obey the governing authorities in everything as long as doing so would not force US to be unjust in our dealings, or to otherwise sin against the commandment of God.

Stoned for Picking up Sticks?

Numbers 15:32-36 declares,

"And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses."

 That's a little bit of a tough pill to swallow. Why exactly did this man deserve death because he decided to gather stones on the Sabbath? After all, it seems like such a small infraction of the law, so why the harsh punishment?

Perhaps, verses 30-31 provides us our best answer.

"But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him."

Because he hath despised the word of the Lord and hath broken His commandment....  It would seem that the real reason that this man was stoned wasn't for picking up sticks but because his attitude was troublesome.

He treated the word of the Lord as if it didn't matter, and thus had no difficulty breaking that commandment. If we're truly honest with ourselves, we would note that the idea that this (or any other sin) is just a small infraction of the commands of God is indicative of the same attitude. Apparently, some things the Lord says don't matter as much as other things that we see have a clearer effect upon the world at large.

So here's a reminder for you - there are no such things as little sins. They are all pretty monstrous.

Warring Influences

The very beginning of the book of Proverbs starts as most would expect. There is a discussion of wisdom and how one may attain unto it. Proverbs 1:7 clearly explains, 

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction"

At this point, Solomon begins constructing a discussion of how "his son" should heed the instruction of "thy father." There is at this point shown that good influences are placed before our lives to aid us in avoiding the enticement of sin.

Later, we see a stronger look at positive influence when wisdom begins to cry out in verses 20-33. Here wisdom begs to be understood, begs to be known, and begs to have a chance to save others from the foolishness and simplicity of the world.

In between these two positive influences though, Solomon pens in verses 10-19 a very different type of influence. Here we read,

"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof."

The placement of this selection makes a great case for the idea that Solomon is trying to get us to understand that wisdom is helpful in avoiding the enticements of sin and the negative influence of those participating in the activity of sin.

After all, if you are in a chapter that both begins and ends by talking about the positive influences of wisdom, why would you decide to take a detour through the negative influences of the world, unless you were trying to show a contrast between the two?

That's what I see Solomon doing here. Further, I see Him placing it rather obviously before us that we will be met with both positive and negative influences throughout our days and as such, if we want to avoid sin, or if we want to actually attain unto any sort of wisdom, we must be able to discern which is the good influence and follow it.

We must do as Solomon declares in verse 5-9, and later in verses 23 and 33,

"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck....

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you....But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."

Helplessness: Internal Causes can Still be Taken to God

It is a truth universally acknowledged that one will find himself within his life in a position of sheer helplessness. No one can really doubt intellectually whether they will be in that spot. Of course practically, we tend to doubt that fact all the time as we try our hardest to ensure that we do everything ourselves. We know we could just rely upon God, but we don't tend to do so.

But today we will discuss not the fact that we should do this, but that we still can when the state of sheer helplessness we find ourselves in is purely our own fault. That is the situation that the Psalmist David finds himself in in Psalm 69. 

Little is known about the sin David refers to in this chapter, but I'm sure speculation abounds. I personally don't much enjoy speculation on things peripheral to the text such as this, so I will refrain from saying that the most logical assumption is that David is admitting his own helplessness due to a general sinful nature, rather than one particular sin. 

The point is, David was in a kind of helpless situation due to both external and internal circumstances, yet his response could have been and indeed was to bring it to God. For instance, in verses 5-16, we read, 

"O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies."

Accepting that he was filthy, he seemed to be first concerned with ensuring only he was affected by it. "Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake." He didn't want to see others suffer because of his sin.

However, the main thrust of what I see here is that he asked the Lord to look down upon him according to the Lord's lovingkindness and mercy. He asked the Lord to help him with the external and internal causes of his helplessness. And you know what? I find it encouraging to know that our internal causes of helplessness and our sin do not have to keep us from relying upon God as long as we confess it.

The History of Humanity

God is awesome. We heard as much last week. We have probably had it also grounded in our very face that the Lord who sits on the throne is one who is just simply awesome in the ways that He interacts with man.

Yet today I again want to share with you a simple, yet very very true history lesson. So here goes nothing.

Once there was nothing in existence, save one being, whom we call God. He decided for some reason that despite His extreme lack of obligation or need for such a thing, to create a world. It was an ideal world, and He put his creatures like man into it.

Now let's just make one thing clear - from a purely logical standpoint, a Deist God just makes sense. After all, a God who is so great that He can literally just speak things into existence is probably too transcendent to even care about His creation. I see no reason why He shouldn't just create the world, and leave us all to our own devices.

But in the ideal world that God placed Adam and Eve, He didn't just leave them alone, but specifically made sure that they had whatever they needed to survive. He even went so far as to allow them an opportunity to have a relationship with Him.

And Adam and Eve took that great blessing that was given to them, and they defiled it, breaking the one commandment that God had given to them to keep.

At this point, God's actions also don't seem to make sense from a logical perspective (logic is so very human after all). He could have easily destroyed the earth right then and right there and start afresh (or not restart at all). But He didn't. He decided to give Adam and Eve a lighter punishment of simply banishment from the ideal world that they were living in.

At this point, a deistic God really starts to make sense. Why should God still be concerned about these people who denied the blessings He gave them in exchange for some fruit? Nonetheless, the Lord goes to great lengths to keep man in a relationship with Him, albeit a broken one.

Eventually selecting the Israelites as His people, He looks after and guides them, confronting their enemies, and giving them a way to worship Him as He deserves. As He continually blesses them, they continually defile those blessings. And yet He still continues to bless them.

Indeed He blesses them through their sin until the point that in the very last book of the Old Testament, He proclaims,

"I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts."  

These are all the blessings God has bestowed on man prior to His actually coming to earth, and taking on the punishment for our sins, so that we can truly have a restored fellowship with Him.

Pretty amazing blessings, right? Well, how exactly are you responding to this blessing? Are you defiling it like humanity has done throughout history, or are you doing your best to serve the Lord in all the ways He deserves?

The Effect of Sin upon Emotions

From one young king in the last few years of Judah's freedom to the other young king of Judah, that is where we are heading in relation to this blog as we go from last week's post about Joash to this week's post on Josiah.

Josiah was 8 years old when he began to reign. Unlike Joash, he didn't have one single counsellor that he relied upon solely for his life and decisionmaking. Still he successfully served the Lord from the outset of his reign. The Bible even goes so far as to say that he "declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left."

It all starts at the age of 16. This is when the Bible explains that Josiah truly began to seek the Lord and comes closer to Him. After he has developed a personal relationship with the Lord, Josiah turned his attention to the sin of the people. At the age of 20, he went around Judah to crumble all the idols and altars for worship of false gods into dust.

Finally, at age 26 with a pretty stellar resume of service to the Lord already established, he ordered that the Lord's house be cleaned up and brought to a state of usefulness once more. In the process, the Law of God is found.

When Josiah heard the words of the Law, he had a most emotional response. Let's listen in on II Chronicles 34:18-21,

"Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying, Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book."

Even with the awe-inspiring works that Josiah had done in his life, when he read the book of the Law and realized that he and the people were simply falling short of the standard God had put in their lives, he rent his clothes in anger. His sin and the sin of the people put a heavy burden on his heart, that he couldn't just ignore.

So how does our sin weigh on us? Do we examine our sin as if it's no big deal because God has already forgiven it? Do we claim that because of all the other good we have done our sin in x area is meaningless? I certainly hope not!

Josiah had done much for the Lord through his young years. But that didn't change his reaction when he learned some of his actions were actually sinful. Despite all the good Josiah had done, he looked down on himself and was angry at his own sin. That also should be our response.

We can't just treat sin as if it's no big deal. When we do, it is allowed to grow and fester. Our sin needs to bring us to our knees to confess and ask the Lord to forgive.

Self-Evaluations do not Help You Serve the Lord

This post today was too generic for me to consider to be written before now, but it is not my place to say that there isn't somebody who needs this generic reminder - a reminder that I could use today I'm sure as well.

We as Christians go through our particular lives and try to evaluate our own behavior. Seeing as how we desire to greatly be used by God, and hope for our efforts to be pleasing to the Lord (I can hope anyway), we take time from our days to consider whether our actions have pleased the Lord. 

This is all well and good, but we must be careful in this process. You see, it is easy for us to change our motivations or to deceive ourselves into believing that we are serving the Lord more than we actually are. 

On two different occasions in the book of Proverbs, the Lord proclaims this truth, 

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes." ~Proverbs 12:15

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes." ~Proverbs 21:2

The Lord explains that men have a tendency to find their ways to be the moral and proper way. The book of Ecclesiastes explains this further in chapter 5, verse 1,

"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil." 

I think we have thus far done much to understand that we don't like to admit even to ourselves that we may have erred, and that we instead tend to make ourselves think that our lives are more holy than they actually are. Now this means that our times of evaluation can be wasted and we may not necessarily expose our faults so that we can (through the Holy Spirit) conquer them.

Know that you aren't perfect, so if when you do an evaluation, you find no flaw in yourself, you have probably done something wrong. But how do you prevent that from happening?

The real thing I find here in those two verses from Proverbs aforementioned is that we should not rely solely upon our own evaluation, but entrust the help of others. Find some brutally honest friends, and ask them to tell you what they think of how you acted. I know, it's a scary thought to have to confide in someone else about your personal life, but it can be so worthwhile in the end.

And then of course, consult the One person who truly understands you and your motivations and who knows whether you are actually pleasing Him in your actions or not. He will reveal to you what you are truly seeking, and help you to seek the right thing.

So don't rely on your own self-evaluations. They are too easy for you to manipulate without you even knowing it. Instead seek some outside sources, like your friends, and of course the Lord. As our two verses in Proverbs say,

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise." ~Proverbs 12:15

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts." ~Proverbs 21:2

Reverence in Prayer

This post is a little less formal than usual. It also will not be me sharing something I have specifically seen or learned in my Bible reading in a manner easily applicable to the reader's life. Instead, I would like to simply share my admiration for Ezra's prayer in Ezra 9.

Here's the background: Ezra has just arrived at Jerusalem and is learning of the plight of the Jews that were rebuilding the wall. But he finds that the people (and the leaders especially) have sinned against the Lord. He is devastated that the Israelites have done this, and rents his clothes in the tradition of his fathers (I'm glad we no longer have that tradition).

Listen to his words, recorded for us in Ezra 9:6-15, 

"O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this."

A few random thoughts:
1.  "Oh my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee." Ezra felt so guilty about sin that he didn't commit that he couldn't quite bear to bring himself into the presence of God to ask forgiveness on behalf of the children of Israel.

2. Furthermore, Ezra has completely taken upon himself the sin of the children of Israel at Jerusalem, even though he was a 5 months journey away from the city when it happened!

3. "And now for a little space grace." Ezra realizes that the Jews have been punished for their sins. Instead of focusing upon that, he decided to spend his time focusing on the fact that God has allowed the Israelites a slight reprieve from that suffering to build His temple.

4. "Thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve." Ezra acknowledges that even the punishment that the Lord has given to them (namely, the captivity) was far less than what they deserved. The Israelites had time and time again neglected the commandment of their Lord, so to be peaceably taken captive and even given high positions in the conquering kingdom wasn't too bad at all. Or at least that's what Ezra's attitude is. Not sure I would say the same in his position.

5. Finally, Ezra acknowledges that the Israelites can't stare at a God who has given them so much unwarranted grace and continue to sin and displease Him. "Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?" One is reminded of Romans 6:1-2,

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

On a somewhat related note, "Astonied" is a much snazzier way of saying astonished.

'Light' Afflictions: Compared to What?

2 Corinthians 4 is an intriguing chapter of Scripture. In it, Paul expresses that if we have the proper focus on eternity that we will have little difficulty battling through our struggles in this temporal world. It culminates in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18,

"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

As I read this verse, I can't help but hear distressed Christians all over the world scream, "What are you talking about, Paul? You have no right to belittle my struggles! You don't know what I'm going through."

We hear this from those Christians who have been diagnosed with cancer, those who are being tortured and martyred for their beliefs, those whose loved ones have just died.

Hey, no one ever said the Christian life would be easy. Sure, these days we will occasionally hear a Pastor proclaim  that Jesus is the solution to all your life problems, but sadly, those pastors are drastically mistaken. Jesus did not come down to this Earth to solve our temporal problems, but our eternal ones.

Today is Good Friday. It is the day that we celebrate what Jesus did for us on the cross. As previously mentioned on this blog, Jesus underwent complete torture before and during the crucifixion to the point where his entire body was screaming in pain.

But this physical torture is nothing at all compared to what Jesus truly went through on the cross. The words he screamed in Matthew 27:46 highlight torture much different and much more painful.

"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

These words can be confusing at first. Why would Jesus feel forsaken by God the Father on the cross? There is a simple reason for it.

Jesus came into this world to be a substitute for our sins. Because the Lord's holiness requires punishment to be exacted somewhere, He was to face the penalty for our sins, so that His sacrifice would change the eternal destination of all those who would accept it as their own.

We all know this, of course, but sometimes in our analysis, we forget that the punishment for sin wouldn't have been paid by a physical death on the cross. The punishment for the sin of this world is separation from the Lord. That's why Jesus feels - no, is - forsaken by God the Father in this verse. R.C. Sproul explains,

"Jesus didn't just feel forsaken on the cross; he was totally forsaken by God while he hung on the cross because that's exactly what the penalty for sin is. As the apostle Paul elaborates, sin cuts us off from the presence and benefits of God. Christ screamed, 'Why have I been forsaken?' It wasn't just a question; it was a cry of agony."  

Complete separation from the presence of the Lord would cause some agony indeed! Ultimately, we all know that Jesus was raised from the dead 3 days later, and is now on the right hand of the Father.

But for us, the separation would have been for all eternity. Eternity separated from the power and presence of God, from whom all good gifts come.

Well, that makes cancer, persecution, and our other afflictions seem pretty light indeed.

Doctrines of the Christian Faith Addendum

I expressed within this series how one can receive eternal life. I made it a point to stress that this is by faith and not by works. We must simply accept by faith what Jesus has done, but nothing we can do will ever grant us salvation.

However, I did not discuss some alternative viewpoints or the negligent impacts that this can provide if used in the incorrect context. It would be wise for me to at least briefly discuss some of those here.

The Proper Place of Baptism

Baptism is not a part of Salvation. Sure, there are metaphors about baptism and eternal life, but this is talking about a baptism of the spirit and not a baptism of water. Observe John 1:32-33,

"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."

So what is the purpose of the baptism by water that John did (and we emulate today)? It is a step of obedience, a symbol of the change that God has worked within you, and a commitment to obey the Lord in what He wished you to do.

As an extension, without a relationship with the Lord (salvation), you have no reason to commit to obey Him in everything, or show what change He has wrought within you (because He hasn't yet); thus, baptism comes after Salvation.

Those who believe in infant's baptism either are caught up in Catholic tradition, believe that baptism is a part of salvation, or view it as a commitment to raise their children in a godly manner. The latter I can understand, but I don't see much scripture to support it. 

Faith Without Works is Dead

I have made the point often in this series, that salvation is a gift and not of works. This may may lead some to question, so why try to live a good life after one becomes saved?

It is true that nothing we can do can establish a relationship with the Lord. Thus, we need faith and calling upon the Lord to establish a relationship to salvation.

However, just as you wouldn't expect a relationship with a person you meet on the street to last very long if efforts were not made to strengthen the relationship; if you desire to strengthen your relationship with the Lord, you would need to put in more effort.

Thus, faith without works leads to a "dead" relationship, in that although it will always be there, it will not develop into anything meaningful. Good for securing your eternity; not good for peace and comfort in your temporal life.

Additionally, in Romans 6, Paul explains simply,

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

Doctrines of The Christian Faith 7: Day of Reflection: The Nature of the Image of God

Today is the seventh post of the Christian Doctrines series, and that means it is time to conclude our series by looking at what we have accomplished and rest, just as the Lord did after his 6 days of creation. Although these works can never even be a fourth as good as that which the Lord created, the model will continually be echoed throughout these series for as long as I write them.

So what have we accomplished in this series? Honestly, not as much as I wanted. A lot of the posts were either too simple or made too many points to be coherent. I even left out a few points because I discovered as I wrote the sixth post, I had left too much for it. As such, next week, an "Addendum" will be posted that will detail these few points in detail.

Nevertheless, I was still able to express the most important event in all of history bit-by-bit throughout this series - the story of man's sinfulness, God's holiness and mercy, and the sacrificial atonement for our sins. Today, I will tell this story once more, in a different way than I originally shared it. Today, we discuss the nature of the image of God.

Man Created In God's Image

In Genesis 1:26-27, we learn, 

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Here we see the first time man is mentioned in the Bible. The Lord says that we should make man in our image. (Remember that the Lord is three persons in the outer "crust," but one all the same.) But what exactly is the "Image of God?"

In Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem defines the image of God as,

"The nature of man such that he is like God and represents God."

Although Grudem correctly identifies that the image of God transcends beyond any one attribute, I would like to highlight in this post the specific part of the image of God that refers to moral purity. Thus, throughout the rest of this post, I will be using the image of God synonymously with perfection or holiness.

Sin had to "enter into the world" through Adam because when Adam was first created he was as God, without sin.

Let us remember that God is so holy he cannot fellowship with those unholy. A substitutionary sacrifice was needed to allow sinful Israelites to commune with the Father. (I say to you today, one is still needed, but I am getting ahead of myself.) As Habakkuk 1:13 states,

"Thou are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." 

This makes man's fall from the image of God all the more troublesome as it also means falling from God's presence.

Man's Fall from God's Image

Prior to the fall, when man was still fully in the image of God, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, where God walked with them. Here, the Lord talked with Adam and Eve and told them they may eat of every tree of the field, except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

We all know what happens next. The Serpent comes, and Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit. With sin now in man's nature, he has distorted the initial image of God. He no longer can claim perfection. In fact, no man would ever be able to again. Romans 5:12 explains, 

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

We are now all corrupt vessels. We now all, as Romans 3:23 proclaims, "Fall short of the glory of God."

But the impact as mentioned above is greater than that. Eating of the fruit makes them unholy, and God's holiness prevents him from fellowshipping with anything unholy. This sin could forever separate Adam from God's presence. But the Lord is merciful. He provided a way for Adam and his descendants to atone for their sin by continually sacrificing perfect lambs without blemish.

The atonement was always temporary though until a different Lamb took the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Jesus' Gift Allows Restoration of the Image

The image of God in shambles! But have no fear, the Lord will establish a permanent way of restoring fellowship with his creation. 

It all happened when the Lord supernaturally was born on this earth to a virgin. There was nothing special about this girl, except that which was in her was of the Holy Ghost. A man, who was "Tempted like as we are, yet without sin." This man was Jesus Christ. 

Jesus was God, and thus had the entire image of God. He was without blemish and was prepared to be the perfect sacrifice for the world. And he did sacrifice; He died on the cross and took away the sins of the world. As I Peter 2:24 tells us, 

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

This action is enough to restore the image of God to man, but it doesn't just go to everyone. The lambs of the Old Testament had to be brought in by the person who wished to atone for his sin. It couldn't atone for his neighbour's sin, or his family's sin, but for his alone.

While Jesus' death is sufficient to take away all the sin of the world, one must accept it as payment. One must ask for this sacrifice be applied to their sin and for them to be forgiven. Then the image of God is restored, and we can fellowship with God eternally. As Romans 8:29 states,

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." 

Continue to Doctrines Addendum 

Purposed in His Heart

In Daniel, we hear that Daniel would not eat of the sinful meat because he had purposed in his heart not to sin. Many great sermons have been presented on this subject. What I would like to look at is something the Lord showed me just a few minutes ago about the practical application of this principle.

If we are to avoid temptation, we need to be aware and be prepared to stand against it. What I found today is that it is beneficial to add extra barriers of separation between us and the temptation we keep falling to.

To make myself more clear, when you keep succumbing to the same temptation, specifically working to add another step to get to that sin, and another opportunity for the Holy Spirit to convict you that it is wrong to do so is an excellent way to intentionally set out to avoid sin.

To illustrate with a rather personal example, I have struggled for years with the temptation of taking candy and other sugary goods that do not belong to me. My sister currently has all the goods left out in her room. Recently, I have started to apply this principle I am discussing here by closing her bedroom door after she leaves for work, thus, adding another step to reach that which is tempting me. I'll keep you posted on how well this works in the comment section below.

(I do certainly hope that now is not the time my sister decides to start reading my blog; that would be shabby.)

If you really want to purpose in your heart to do the right thing, wouldn't that mean putting precautions in place that would aid in so doing? Adding extra steps to a recurring temptation is a great way of practically putting in action the purpose within our hearts not to sin.

Doctrines of the Christian Faith 3: Nature of Man

People do some of the strangest things when it comes down to it. However, when I refer to the nature of mankind here today, I am not about to go into deep and weird psychology. No, rather I would like to take a simple history lesson and expound upon the ramifications of it.

After the Lord demonstrated his magnificent sovereignty by speaking the world into existence, He put man and woman, Adam and Eve, into a beautiful garden. The garden is known as the Garden of Eden. The Lord gave simply one rule: 

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."

This death that is referred to is not a typical death. Rather it referred to a more permanent type of death, one of eternal separation from God. Most are familiar with the events that would transpire.

The Serpent came along to tempt Eve. He assured her that should she eat of the fruit, she shall not surely die. Here the Serpent uses a bit of equivocation. When he discusses death here, he is referring to the more physical death we are used to, and referring to a more limited timeframe. The devil as we know him today, is here using half-truths to manipulate the facts and make it seem compelling for Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit. This information is peripheral to my blog post, but you can have it, no charge. One in our society today looks out for direct falsehoods, but how hard is it to catch when someone twists truths in small ways? There is a reason the devil decides to use this technique here.

But back to Adam and Eve. As we know, they falter and eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. They are then pushed from the garden, forced to work to gain food, and are faced with both physical and spiritual death. But that is just the beginning. Their sin is passed down to all generations of this earth, making us all born with a sinful nature. As Romans 5:12 states,

"Wherefore as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 

Now you may say that it's not fair for me to be punished for someone else's actions; after all, look at all the good I have done. In answer, I would like to provide a short analogy I heard from one of the youth workers at my church.

Imagine a water hose. When you turn on the water, water flows through that water hose. If you put clean water through a dirty water hose, the water is not going to come out clean. Rather all the impurities and filth of the hose are going to pass into the water.

Similarly, in our everyday life, the good works we do are contaminated because they have to pass through us, our dirty water hose. From Adam down, the seed of being a dirty water hose was passed down, and it contaminates all our good works. This is one reason why Isaiah 64:6 proclaims,

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Anything good we do could never be good enough for God. Whatever we may do, we have to admit that we have broken at least the Ten Commandments, and must need Christ to avoid the eternal death that was brought on by Adam's curse.

To conclude with a bit of hope this morning, I would like to show you Romans 6:23,

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  

Continue to Doctrines 4: Nature of Christ

Why Reading the Bible Makes Me More Libertarian

Last week, a friend of mine posted an article on Facebook entitled, "10 Reasons Why Reading the Bible Makes Us More Progressive." To be frank, I was infuriated upon reading this article at its misuse of scripture to provide a rationale for a political viewpoint. I thought it worthwhile to respond to this article here.

The author begins by explaining how he became a Christian progressive because he decided to accept the whole Bible. I personally believe that if you are reading the Bible to determine your political viewpoints, you're probably doing something wrong. Nevertheless, I would like to go point by point to show the logical inconsistencies and Bible verses taken out of context within this article.

1. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize I don't have it all together."
Our friendly author goes on to explain here that when he realizes how little he knows, and how sinful he truly is, he is a lot less likely to pass judgment onto others. This interpretation of scripture he gives here is worthy. We shouldn't condemn people because they have sin in their lives. That's God's job and place. But this has nothing to do with government or the left-right spectrum. Apparently, he is assuming here that to live on the right of the spectrum is to pass judgment on anything and everything, but that is an absurd and offensive assumption. Judging other people has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

2. "The more I read my Bible, the more I develop humility."
This point is really just a reiteration of his first point, so I will reiterate my earlier response. Yes, we as Christians need to be humble and not view others' sins as worse than our own. The great apostle Paul did himself say the he was the chief of sinners, showing us an excellent example in humility, but this has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

3. "The more I read my Bible, the more I discover that justice for the poor and oppressed is at the heart of it."
Here our author again makes a spiritual point I can definitely agree with. He concludes this point by saying, "God wants us to care for, serve, and love these people." That's exactly it right there. God wants US to care for, serve, and love these people, but quite frankly our responsibility to care for the people has nothing to do with the government, and by extension, has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

4. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize “redistribution of wealth” wasn’t Obama’s idea– it was God’s."
Now we're getting into some more interesting material. The author insists that the Israelites had a system of redistribution of wealth through institutions such as the year of Jubilee, restrictions on gleaning your garden and other similar things. Although the Israelites were clearly told to care for the poor, it was a cultural decision not a governmental one. Each individual had a responsibility to help the poor, just as we each have a responsibility to help the poor today. No conservatives or libertarians have any problems with private redistribution of wealth as is being discussed here. No, we have a problem with government mandated redistribution, which is not discussed within these cultural norms. Indeed, these cultural norms and the responsibility to help the poor have nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

5. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize that the early Christians actually practiced this re-distribution of wealth." 
Here our author opines,

"They rejected individual ownership, gave their wealth to leadership who in turn, redistributed it according to need... While this still seems too radical for me, it moves me in a right to left trajectory as I read it."

The fact that he refuses to accept this idea fully while accusing conservatives of ignoring parts of the Bible is interesting, to say the least.

I can only assume that he is getting this idea of rejecting property from Acts 4-5. Indeed it is stated in Acts 4 that several members of the church did sell their possessions and give the money to the Apostles to redistribute. However, there is no indication that this was common among all churches, or if this was just a custom at Antioch. It is also unclear whether the Apostles asked for the money from selling properties in the first place. In response, a Christian progressive loves to point out that Ananias and Sapphira were punished for keeping back some of the money they received from selling their property, but examining what the Apostles actually told them about their misdeeds, we see an entirely different story. In Acts 5:3-4, the Bible proclaims,

"But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."

Not only does this passage show that the Lord was punishing them for their lying, not their refusal to fully participate in redistribution, but it also demonstrates that the Apostles in the early church did not "Reject individual ownership." It says that while it remained, and after is was sold, it was in "Thine own power."

Of course, I haven't even mentioned that even if this notion is true (as we have seen, it's not), we would be dealing with private redistribution of wealth, which no conservative or libertarian have any qualms with. Thus, his entire thesis on this point has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

6. "The more I read my Bible the more I realize Jesus taught we need to pay our taxes."
Finally, something the Bible actually says about government! Our friendly author would like to point out that it was the government's job and our private job to administer charity. To prove this, he cites another example where Jesus tells someone to sells their goods and give it to the poor, and also that Jesus tells us to pay our taxes. The former I have no qualms with as it is private redistribution. The latter however is guilty of the non sequitur fallacy. Non sequitur is Latin for "It does not follow." In this case, just because we must pay taxes to the federal government, it does not follow that we must support use of that taxation as government charity. Indeed, I can't think of a way in which those two can be linked together meaningfully. Thus, the fact that the Bible tells us to pay taxes has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

7. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize that God wants us to be people who are quick to show mercy."
He here once again assumes with no basis that progressivism is the ONLY system centered on the belief of radical mercy. This is another offensive and baseless assumption. Essentially, how merciful you are, and whether you support radical mercy in political areas has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

8. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize that God cares how we treat immigrants."
I agree wholeheartedly with everything he said (and even implies) here. I personally believe that our immigration standards should be much less restrictive. Is this a progressive belief? I guess this author thinks so, but I always thought of it as a libertarian belief. Oh well, I suppose even a broken clock (progressives) can be right twice! Regardless, your beliefs about immigration are hardly the most important thing in determining whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

9. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize that God will hold us accountable for how we care for the environment."
We are now back to the issue of what God expects from people, and not what God expects from the government. I agree that as Christians we are called to be good stewards of the earth, but as this has nothing to do with government, it has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.

10. "The more I read my Bible, the more I realize that God isn’t judging us by whether or not we get all of our doctrine right– he’s judging us by whether or not we get the “love one another” part right."
Our author would like to point out the following,

"The more I read the Bible the more I realize that God is less concerned with us all sharing the same doctrine but is heavily concerned with whether or not we love each other. In fact, Jesus said this would be the calling card of his followers, and how others would realize we’re actually following Jesus– that we love one another. The more I read my Bible, the more I want to defer my position or preference and instead side with what is in the best interest of others– because that’s the loving thing to do."

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. Christians should be concerned with loving one another, and should side in all things with what is in the best interest of others. However, I disagree with the once again offensive assumption here that those who do not subscribe to progressivism clearly don't have the best interest of others in mind. I am a libertarian because I believe that libertarianism best upholds the principle of "loving one another." That principle itself however has nothing to do with whether you are progressive, conservative, or libertarian.


I have spent a lot of time responding to this article without pointing out why reading the Bible makes me more Libertarian. Going off my "Less is more" philosophy of life, which in this case, details that having fewer, well-developed points is preferable to a laundry list of poorly developed points, I have summarized below three reasons why the Bible supports the beliefs of Libertarianism

1. The more I read my Bible, the more I realize the Lord respects private property. 
We have already seen from the passage in Acts 5 that the Lord allowed Ananias and the other members of the church at Antioch to decide whether to sell their possessions or not for use in the apostles' "redistribution" scheme.

I also believe that several Jewish customs in the Old Testament, such as interest-free loans, were established to better allow the Jewish people to buy and sell land. Contrary to some beliefs, the Jewish people definitely had an idea and custom of private property. How else could Judas' thirty pieces of silver be used to buy a field if there was no custom of private property in the first place? How could Boaz own a field of wheat if ownership was not respected? How could David be keeping his father's sheep if all possessions were in common? Indeed Exodus 22 establishes the punishment of retribution for those guilty of theft of private property.

But I believe the better source of proof for the Lord's respect for private property comes from the verse I use in the title of this blog, 2 Timothy 2:6

"The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits." 

This verse is using the capitalist principle of wages and private ownership of the means of production to prove a greater point about how if you wish to reap the benefits of God's work, you must be willing to partake in the labour of it. Although we should always remember the metaphorical meaning of these words (every Friday's post expresses some truth about them), the literal meaning of the verse is still true and supports private property and the basis of all libertarian thought.

If I need to prove my point further, look to the ten commandments. As Messianic Jew Pastor Ted R. Weiland writes,

"Property is inherent to both the Fourth and Eighth Commandments. The Fourth Commandment’s stipulation concerning six days of labor provides a means of acquiring property, and the Eighth Commandment is predicated upon the right of ownership... Property implies ownership, and ownership entitles the owner to do with his property whatever he wishes, provided it does not violate the rights of others (Mathew 20:15) ... The Fourth and particularly the Eighth Commandment stand in stark contrast to the First Plank of the Communist Manifesto: “Abolition of private property and the application of all rent to public purpose.” 

So the Lord clearly value private property, and in our dealings with others including government, we must do so as well. This is the primary reason I am a libertarian.

2. The more I read my Bible, the more I realize the Lord does not like to coerce people into certain actions or beliefs. 
Jesus had power at many different times to just force the people to his beliefs. Although he would rebuke them, and sometimes use force, he never used his supernatural powers or any type of governmental force to coerce someone into protecting him or believing what he said.

Throughout the entirety of the Bible, the Israelites are not once told to use force to convince someone of their views. Immigrants are given the choice of changing to the Israelites' religion, but they are never coerced into doing so.

Indeed the only time we see someone using force to coerce someone into a belief system is when the Jewish elders try to coerce people into not believing the words of Jesus and his apostles, or when they try to prevent the apostles from sharing the gospel.

Why is this? Why do we only have negative notions of people being coerced into actions and beliefs they may not desire? Quite frankly, I don't think a positive notion of such things could exist. If we are to love one another, shouldn't that start by letting each person live his own life without threat of government coercion? This means everything from being able to retain one's property and not forced to give it to whatever the government considers "charity" to any lifestyle choices that are being made. (Not to mention that the Bible clearly shows the fallibility and corruptibility of man. Why should we trust men to use their power over other men in a way that glorifies God?) We can disagree with the decisions of others, and we can  and should speak out against them, but it is not very loving for us to use the government to force people to act by our (or even the Lord's) standard of right and wrong. At its core, that is libertarianism - protecting individual rights from the coercion of government because that's how you love one another when discussing governmental rules.

3. The more I read my Bible, the more I realize the Lord holds each individual accountable for his own actions. 
The Bible proclaims in Romans 14:12, 

"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

When I read my Bible, I learn that the Lord is not concerned with keeping governments moral, nor is he concerned with keeping the church moral. No, what the Lord is concerned with, is whether each individual is moral and living a life of obedience to him. When he gives his commands, he is not normally (ever?) directing them at institutions like government, but is almost always directing them at the individual. This tells me that the Lord believes as libertarians do, in individual responsibility. Responsibility that is skirted when we consider it the government's job, not ours to care for the poor and other things. As we analyzed last week, Davy Crockett's summary of Horatio  Bunce's words in Not Yours to Give gives voice to how government can be used to skirt individual responsibility,

"There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life. The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington , no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what was not yours to give."

Government charity is praised because it allows those individuals to avoid the responsibility to engage and help out the poor themselves. This same principle is true for principles of environmental stewardship, education of children, and most other systems progressives believe to be an essential part of government.

It's not the government's job to do these things. History tells us that government makes the problem worse.  The Bible never tells us that the government needs to act and obey him. The Lord is not concerned with obedience from the government (I do believe he would rather the government just step out of the way), but with obedience from his people.

That is why when I read the Bible, I look for my own spiritual guidance, and not for support for my political views.

Is Laziness a Sin?

Recently, I have been pondering the question found in my title. Is is wrong for us to be lazy?

The Bible does warn against being lazy. In Proverbs 6:6-11, we are told to,

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."

We are here cautioned against the negative consequences of laziness, but I can hear several voices at once, saying, just because it's bad practice doesn't necessarily mean we're commanded not to do it. Thus, our laziness doesn't necessarily count as a sin.

My nature is one to make similar arguments at every turn myself (immediately discounting them of course), so I was still a little skeptical of whether laziness itself should be considered a sin - an unwise practice most definitely, but was it a sin?

As I kept reflecting upon this, God showed me that I was looking at it all wrong. At its core, laziness shows a failure to commit to a cause. It highlights an attitude of selfishness, saying that my effort and time is more important than whatever task we are supposed to be doing.

When we work to serve the Lord, we best not be doing it lazily. We best not be wanting to put our time and effort above the Lord's will. We best not be trying to get away with the bare minimum.

Yet in Colossians 3:22-24, we hear,

"Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."

Well, that's a commandment to do everything like we would do for the Lord, all heartily. I guess laziness is a sin after all.