"God is Broken"

"God must be broken," someone once told me.  "What kind of God would allow so much suffering in this world?"

I nodded in agreement.  "A broken God," I answered.

As of now, COVID-19 has claimed at least 164,391 lives worldwide, not to mention the "collateral damage" of the disease.  Some of the peripheral pain caused by this strain of Coronavirus is:

• Mental health crises brought on by isolation, financial hardship
• Increased suicide rate
• Massive unemployment
• Rise in domestic violence
• Educational plans put on hold or destroyed
• Decrease in access to public health services, leading to exacerbated health situations, even death

You could probably add your own story of hardship to the list above.  In times like these, many people express feelings of doubt.  They ask, "Can a good God be all-powerful?  Can an all-powerful God be good?"  I'm going to let theologians who are more qualified than myself answer this question--I'm sure you'll Google the answer.  Instead, I want to answer my friend who said, "God must be broken."

Yes, indeed--God is broken.  

God's heart is broken by the brokenness of this world.  God weeps with those who weep.   When you go through sorrow or fear or heartbreak or disappointment, God feels that pain right along with you.  God never intended it to be this way--but God does want to heal your hurt.

God's body was broken by the brokenness of this world.  When Jesus died on the cross, it was because this cruel world couldn't abide someone so loving, so gracious, so wise, and so healing to continue to draw breath.  Yes, it's true that "hurt people hurt people," and the hurting world put Jesus on the cross.  Because of this, God knows first hand the suffering and pain caused by the brokenness of the world.  

God's mind was even broken by the brokenness of the world.  The state of creation is so fallen, so fractured, so failed that in an instant it broke the mind of God.  On the cross, Jesus felt so ripped apart that he spoke the unthinkable: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Divine Jesus felt torn from the Trinity, like the curtian of the Temple that was shredded from top to bottom.

Yes, God is broken--and yet, God lives.

It takes a broken God to know the suffering of a shattered world.  But it takes a risen God to declare triumph over the pain.  That's what Easter was all about--Jesus announcing that even though the pain is real, there is hope and remaking.  And it's good news that even though Jesus is risen, he still bears the scars.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas missed the event.  In his doubt, he told them that they'd fallen to mass hysteria.  He wouldn't believe it, he said, until he saw and touched Jesus' scars.  Then, a week later, Jesus appeared again.  This time, Thomas was there.  Trembling as Jesus let him touch the places where the nails and spear had been, Thomas declared, "My Lord, and my God!"  

Even though Jesus was resurrected, he still kept the scars.  This was so he could show broken Thomas that he was broken, too.  Rather than asking Thomas to exercise some great faith, Jesus met his friend right where was--in his pain and doubt and shattered spirit.  Jesus said, "You know--I'm broken, too.  Here, touch my brokenness, and let's be broken together for a while."  Then, this sharing of pain brought relief, from which sprouted faith.

I wonder--during this time of COVID-19, has your faith been shaken or shattered?  Have you suffered hardship, loss, grief, or dispair?  Have you thought that God must be broken?  Well--you're right.  God was broken, and is broken still.  But in that brokenness, God knows your pain.  God shares your pain--but offers you promise.  The resurrection is real.  Just like Jesus' broken body was remade, you can be put back together as well.  Jesus doesn't ask that much of you--he meets you right where you are.  Even if you're not ready to say, "My Lord and my God," Jesus simply says, "Look--touch--see.  This is my body, broken for you."

"“Betrayed and Denied: The Aftermath of Charlottesville”

            As I watched the footage from Charlottesville, my heart broke and I felt betrayed and denied.  Betrayed by a city that at one time was ranked the number one place to live in the US.  Betrayed because the man Charlottesville chose as their vice-mayor was a man who between 2009 and 2014 tweeted numerous racist, sexist, and gay slurs, and also lewd comments about female genitalia[i].  (But I guess those kinds of tweets are popular these days—Republican and Democrat.)  Betrayed by a city that I love, that permitted protests like those on August 12 to happen, without providing enough police presence to keep the violence from taking place.  Watching the footage, I said to myself, “My kids and I played in that park.  We ate ice cream cones there at the Downtown Mall,” where a white-supremacist car smashed into a crowd of counter-protesters, injuring 19 and killing one.  To see such violence in a place of such peace makes me say as Caesar did, “Et tu, Charlottesville?”

            This all took place in the city of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Yes, Jefferson’s town allowed this—denying the very truths written by its founding father.  In the shadow of Monticello, people who deny that all people are created equal assaulted and slew others who stood in protest against the notion that some are better than others.  Yes—I feel stabbed in the back.  All Virginians should feel stabbed in the back that in what’s probably the most educated, forward-thinking town in our Commonwealth, such a thing could take place.

           

            Perhaps you have been betrayed like this as well—stabbed in the back, not with literal knives but with words and deeds of people who profess to love you.  John 13:18-38 tells the story of two disciples who stab Jesus in the back, before He is ever pierced by nails.  In these verses, Jesus predicts that Judas will betray Him, and that Peter will deny Him.  Understanding these two characters will help us come to terms with the people whose emotional daggers pierce our own hearts.

           

            Many people vilify the character of Judas, double-damning him both for the sin of betraying Christ, and for the unforgivable sin (according to Catholic tradition) of suicide.  In retribution for their crimes, Dante’s Inferno has the trio of Caesars assassins Brutus and Cassius, along with Judas eternally devoured by the devil in the lowest level of hell. 

            In contrast, recent scholarship has been asking whether Judas might have gotten a bum rap.  Certainly, saying “it was all part of God’s plan” does not excuse Judas, but at the same time, Jesus chose him as a disciple with complete foreknowledge of what he would do.  There seems to be an intimate friendship between Judas and Jesus.  In the fourth century Gospel of Judas (which we recognize as non-canonical), the Lord asks Judas to perform this difficult task of betrayal.  While I personally don’t believe this to be fact, it is evidence that a certain community within the fourth century believed that Judas had been wrongfully blamed.  Alternately, many scholars regard Judas as a patriot who did not intend to betray Jesus, but merely wanted to force the Messiah to reveal Himself and save the nation.  However we understand Judas, we must recognize that the narrative reports that he hanged himself, indicating his remorse.

                Though Judas’ suicide is probably the worst thing he can do to express his repentance, it does indicate the severity of his contrition.  Perhaps he can’t imagine how to face the disciples, or maybe he can’t bear to live with himself after what he’s done.  Judas becomes his own judge, jury, and executioner, and creates a permanent solution to a temporary problem.  How different would the story have been if he had only, like Peter, only gone away, “weeping bitterly (Matthew 26:74; Luke 22:62)”?  Peter similarly regrets his denial of Jesus, but he takes no rash action like Judas, and so gets to witness the resurrection three days later.  How much better if Judas had likewise waited—he would no doubt have been restored even as Peter was.  In John 21:15-17, Jesus forgives and restores Peter three times—once for each time the disciple denied Him.  Surely the Master who taught us to forgive our enemies would have done the same with Judas! 

            So here are these two characters, Peter and Jesus.  We like to exonerate one and damn the other.  We like to declare who the “good guys” and the “bad guys” are in any story.  Because, by doing so, we make ourselves superior and able to judge both.  But sandwiched in between these two narratives of Jesus predicting Judas’ betrayal, and Jesus forecasting Peter’s denial, we find Jesus’ words of hope for both situations.  In John 13:34-35, Jesus says, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  Jesus reminds them to love unconditionally, even as He loves without reservation.  Though Peter denied Him, Jesus restored.  And He would have restored Judas, too, had that disciple not taken his own life.  Because “God does not play favorites (Romans 2:11).”  And neither should we.  So we should love Peter—but we should love Judas, too.

Keep in mind that if someone has betrayed, denied, and stabbed you in the back, that doesn’t mean you need to remain in a vulnerable position of trust—but it does mean you should get yourself to a safe place, and from that position of safety, learn to forgive.  Loving and forgiving your enemies doesn’t mean you become their victim over and over.  It simply means you choose to trust God for your healing, and that you also trust God to deal with that person instead of you.  So whether that person is an abusive spouse, malicious co-worker, or vocal bigot, the love of Jesus should overflow from Christians onto others who are hard to love.

            So often, we choose to give Peter grace for his sin, yet condemn Judas for his crime.  God, on the other hand, is not as fickle or capricious as we are.  God loves us absolutely, and calls us to do the same.  Have you been betrayed by one you love?  Denied by one who is close to you?  Have you ever received bigoted and hateful language from people who don’t even know you?  Have you been tempted to return wound for wound, hatred for hatred?  Instead, do as Jesus did—love without condition.  Receive the Judas kiss—and even give love in return.  Love—and forgive—as Jesus does, for your love will prove to the world that you are His disciples.

            When the torch smoke clears from Charlottesville, it will be self-evident who acted with hatred in their hearts, asserting that some people are better than others—and who gathered to insist on equality for all.  It will also be proven who violated the law, and who did not.  But let’s be careful that we don’t do what we do so often, and that we don’t label some human beings as evil and others as righteous.  The same Jesus died for them all, and the same Jesus calls us to love our enemies as well as our friends.  Jesus gives a new command to every Christian who follows Him.  “Love each other.”  Now let’s see if we can do just that.

           

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[i]Higgins,Anna and Dodson, Tim.  “Homophobic, sexist, anti-white language abundant in Charlottesville vice mayor's tweetsThe Cavalier Daily.:” November 28, 2016.   http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2016/11/wes-bellamy-charlottesville-twitter.  August 12, 2017.

Suarez, Chris.  “Tweets from Charlottesville councilman cause some to call for his removal. “  Richmond Times-Dispatch.  November 28, 2016.  http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/tweets-from-charlottesville-councilman-cause-some-to-call-for-his/article_9e478187-2938-5603-9186-a05ac15e6c6a.html.  August 12.

"It's a Wonderful Life!"

Perhaps one of my favorite Christmas movies is the 1946 classic by Frank Capra, It’s a Wonderful Life. The IMDB website describes the story of George Bailey, who:

has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George's modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George's Uncle Billy loses the business's $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy. When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George, with the promise of earning his wings. He shows George what things would have been like if he had never been born. In a nightmarish vision in which the Potter-controlled town is sunk in sex and sin, those George loves are either dead, ruined, or miserable. He realizes that he has touched many people in a positive way and that his life has truly been a wonderful one.[i]

Maybe you’ve had moments like George Bailey, who wished he’d never been born. Maybe, like George, you feel so overwhelmed by the cumulative circumstances of life that all you can see is pain. The irony of Frank Capra’s movie is that this pivotal point of George’s life takes place at Christmas. While everybody else is celebrating, George’s life is falling apart. While everyone else seems so full of Christmas cheer, George is thinking of jumping off a bridge. Perhaps this holiday season you’re having a George Bailey moment, and you just wish that things had turned out differently. But I wonder—what about some of the most significant moments of history—what if they had turned out differently? Where might we be today?

Take, for example, the D-Day invasion of Normandy. So much devastation—so much pain! Nobody would say that they are glad that such a day happened, yet look at the result of that day. The tide was turned on Normandy beach, and that day marked the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, resulting in the saving of far more lives than were lost. But, you know, the Allied forces never would have won at Normandy if the US. hadn’t been part of that invasion. And the US. wouldn’t have been in Normandy if it hadn’t been for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which resulted in the US declaring war on Japan and then the Axis powers declaring war on the US. So sometimes the most difficult things that we go through as individuals, or even as nations, end up resulting in something good. That doesn’t mean that those things are good, in and of themselves. Obviously, suffering is painful by definition. And personally, I don’t believe that God causes suffering in our lives just to bring about good things. But often we can see, like George Bailey, that despite the suffering, it really is a wonderful life. And maybe if the painful things hadn’t happened, some of the good things couldn’t happen, either.

In the Christmas story that we find in Matthew 1:18-24, we might ask, what if Mary had not become pregnant by the Holy Spirit before she was married? What if Joseph had refused to marry her? In Luke 2:1-7, we might wonder what might have happened on a larger scale—if, for example, Augustus had not been Caesar or if Quirinius had not been governor of Syria. What if there had been no edict from Caesar that a census should be taken of the whole Roman world? Then Joseph wouldn’t have traveled to his ancestral home of Bethlehem, and the birth of Jesus wouldn’t have been in that place. These events caused hardship for the Holy Family, but also for the entire population of the Roman empire. Yet hardship brought so many blessings. And without these difficulties, so many godsends might not have come about. The events leading up to Jesus’ birth fulfilled prophecy, substantiating the Christian claim that Jesus is the Christ. The sufferings that we go through in life are, by definition, painful. Yet when we find ourselves wishing that things were different it’s because we can’t see the either the big picture of how many of our past tragedies shape our current blessings, or how our current suffering may produce something good later on.

Romans 8:28 ESV says that “…we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” George Bailey didn’t understand that. He didn’t understand that the painful things of life produce good in the lives of others. He lost hearing in one ear in icy water, saving his brother Harry. But if George had never been born, Harry would have died—along with every man on the transport ship that Harry would later save in the war. If he hadn’t been there to save Harry, Harry wouldn’t have been there to save them. Joseph probably had plenty of George Bailey moments along the way as he lived out the Christmas story. Perhaps it would have been good if he’d had a guardian angel like Clarence who could say, “Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?” Perhaps you need to hear the same thing—that your life touches the lives of everyone around you, and that without you, there’d be an awful hole. This is why Jesus came—to save you and give your life meaning—to let you know that it really is a wonderful life (John 10:10). Merry Christmas!

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[i] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/plotsummary.  November 30, 2016.

"All Things New"

 “All Things New”

Easter Sunday – Bethel Baptist Church, Scottsburg VA

Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23

Recently, I read a couple of articles in Baptist press about the American fascination with vampires and zombies (and I’ll add ghosts to the list).  All you have to do is turn on the TV or show up at any random movie theater and you’ll find these stories in abundance.  The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Atlanta last year offered a breakout session, led by professor Curtis Freeman, on the church’s relationship with this genre of entertainment.[i]  The popularity of zombies and vampires in our culture is an indication that despite our abandonment of traditional religion, we’re still interested in issues like the afterlife and the decline of civilization.

Everybody loves a good horror story.  There’s something about them that makes our lives—no matter how dismal— seem not so bad.  Every year, Jesus and His followers would celebrate a horror story called Passover.  Yes, it was about the glorious rescue of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.  But it was also about plagues and pestilence and a destroying angel brining death to the firstborn.  They had to remember the dark things in order to celebrate God bringing them through it. 

On one particular Passover, the disciples not only remembered a horror story—they lived one.  Jesus had predicted it, but nobody had believed it.  But the impossible had happened.  The religious leaders that the disciples had trusted up to a few years ago had arrested the Master, charged Him with blasphemy, and turned Him over to the Romans for a further charge of treason.  Jesus had been brutally tortured and crucified.  The sky had turned black, and there had been an earthquake at His passing.   ^“The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many (Mt 27:52-53[ii]).”  Jesus was buried, leaving the disciples with nothing but fear and regret.  Fear that the Romans would come after them next.  Regret because though they had sworn to stick by Jesus, nearly all of them had failed Him.

Even though it was Judas who had betrayed the Lord, the disciples had to be asking themselves, “Why didn’t we see this coming?”  Judas, of course, had added to the horror story by his own suicide, so great was his remorse for the terrible thing that he had done.  Both Jesus and Judas had been their friends.  So, as often follows suicides, the disciples had to be asking themselves that classic question, “How could we have prevented this?  Is Judas’ death on our heads, just as Jesus’ death is?”

Regret gnawed at them with sharp teeth.  They had told Jesus that they would go to their deaths for Him, yet when things began to fall apart, they had failed.  Peter, James, and John had fallen asleep during Jesus’ most desperate hour in Gethsemane.  Judas concealed enmity with a kiss.  Three times Peter denied even knowing Jesus.  Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea failed at defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin.   The disciples all scattered—only John followed Jesus to Golgotha to stand at the foot of the cross.  In a day, all the horror stories they had ever heard became real.  Guilt and shame ate at them—then something worse happened.  Jesus rose from the grave.

Yes, I said that this was even worse.  From our perspective, we think of the empty tomb as a magnificent thing—but the disciples didn’t share our perspective.  Peter and John had found the grave opened and Jesus’ body gone.  Had somebody stolen the body?  Their women had told them that they’d seen the risen Lord—but that was impossible, wasn’t it?  Of course, Jesus was Master of the impossible.  But if He had come back, what would He do to those who had betrayed Him, abandoned Him, denied Him, failed Him?

So, Luke 24:36-37  says, “While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’  But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.”  You have to remember—Christians have been taught about the resurrection for two thousand years.  But they didn’t know what this thing was that stood before them.  The dead don’t just come up out of their graves and walk around.  But they’d heard horror stories before—tales of ghosts coming back to haunt people who had hurt them in life.  This is why they were frightened when they thought they were seeing a spirit.  Jesus was back—and what would He do to them now? 

This is why the Lord’s first words to them were so important: “Peace be to you.”  He saw them shaking in their shoes.  He knew they were wondering what kind of retribution a spectre might bring against those who had failed Him.  So He said, “Peace.”  “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts (Luke 24:38)?”  Jesus reassured them that He had not returned like some undead creature from the crypt.  Neither was a ghostly apparition or figment of their imaginations, the product of indigestion, “more gravy than grave,” as Scrooge once said.  No—Jesus was alive.  Fully alive.  So alive that He could show them His scars, invite them to touch Him, and sit down to eat with them.  Jesus was alive, and He was real.  Everything was okay.

Perhaps like the disciples, you feel like you have betrayed, abandoned, or failed the Lord.  You too have lived out a real-life horror story that is more scary than you’d like to tell.  To you, God has become more a phantom to be feared than a Lord to be loved or a Brother to embrace.  Today, God speaks the same words to you that He did to His disciples after the resurrection.  “Peace be to you.”  He knows that you’re troubled, and that doubts arise in your heart—but He loves you anyway, and wants to give you His peace.

John chapter 20 records the very same appearance of Jesus after the resurrection, but He adds some more detail.  Still, in the midst of their fear, Jesus shows up and gives them His peace.  But He then sends them on a mission of peace.  “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you (verse 21).”  Peace is to become their new lifestyle, their new purpose, their new profession.  He gives you the same commission.  Jesus doesn’t want you to be at peace.  He wants you to bring peace to others.

But you can’t do this on your own.  God isn’t fooled.  He knows that you are troubled, and that doubts arise within your heart.  So He gives you the same gift He gave the disciples.  His Holy Spirit gives you access to God’s supernatural peace, then equips and enables you to share it.  But it doesn’t stop there.

In John 20:23, Jesus tells the disciples that if they’re going to receive His peace, and go on a mission of peace that’s empowered by the Holy Spirit, they must start by first extending His peace within their own body.  After all that had happened, they had a lot of forgiving to do.  They had to extend God’s forgiveness to one another, and receive it for themselves.  Only by moving past the past could they move forward.  Jesus tells you the same thing—you’ve got to start within, forgiving others and receiving God’s forgiveness yourself.  Otherwise, you’ll just keep reliving the same old horror story over and over again.  Only when you do this can the resurrection make any sense in your life.  Steven Cole tells the following story:

A little boy visiting his grandparents and given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma's back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead. The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch that day, Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you, Johnny?" And she whispered to him, "Remember the duck!" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing., Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it." Again she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the duck. "I know, Johnny," she said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."[iii]

Jesus died a horrible death, proving that humanity is capable of the worst of sins and atrocities.  But then His resurrection proves that God’s glory eclipses even the worst sin.  He speaks peace and mission and blessing and forgiveness, because He wants to end our horror story and give it a good ending.  The problem is that every time we relive our sins, we let Sally make a slave of us again.  Each time we choose to live in the past, holding onto fear and unforgiveness, we let the devil win. 

Jesus rose so that we could rise above these things.  He defeated death so we could live in victory.  For this reason, our horror story becomes the Good News: Christ is risen (Christ is risen, indeed)!

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[i] “Session explores churches and zombies in post-Christian age.” Jeff Brumley.  June 30, 2014.

http://baptistnews.com/culture/social-issues/item/28882-session-explores-churches-and-zombies-in-post-christian-age.  April 4, 2015.  See also: “Many Americans find meaning in vampire, zombie tales, Baylor prof says.”  Jeff Brumley.  March 16, 2015.

http://baptistnews.com/culture/media-and-arts/item/29902-many-americans-finding-spiritual-meaning-in-vampire-and-zombie-tales-baylor-prof-says.  April 2, 2015.

[ii] All scriptures taken from the NASB.

[iii] http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/guilt.htm. March 30, 2015.

Jesus and His Enemies

Today is day four of our fourteenth week reading the Bible together.  Our scriptures today are:  Judges 1-3; Luke 20; Psalm 16.

Jesus and the Sadducees

In Luke 20, Jesus shows the religious leaders for what they really are.  They have tried to trap him and malign him for so long that he "takes off the gloves," so to speak.  Verse 45 says that his criticism of these hypocrites wasn't a private remark that he made when he was aside with the disciples.  Rather...

⁴⁵...in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁷ who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation (ESV).”

What caused Jesus to respond like this?  Just take a look at the beginning of the chapter.  In verses 1-20, they questioned Jesus' authority.  Imagine a bunch of religious people who think they know how to tie their shoes, challenging the authority of the Creator who binds the universe together!  There are plenty of people who have no respect for divinely appointed authority.  This is bad enough--but imagine the audacity they had to challenge one who could raise people from the dead and cast out demons with a single word!

Then, in verses 19-26, they tried to trap him into committing political suicide. But Jesus wouldn't play their game.  Instead of answering their questions, he answered questions with questions.  He responded in ways that stumped his opponents.  Verse 26 of The Message puts it this way:  "Try as they might, they couldn’t trap him into saying anything incriminating. His answer caught them off guard and left them speechless."

In verses 27-40, they retaliated by asking him questions that they thought would cause him to commit theological suicide.  If they couldn't get him for treason, they'd get him on blasphemy charges.  But again, Jesus outwitted them.  Honestly, they didn't even believe the premise that was behind their own question, and Jesus called them on it.  

Finally, in verses 41-44 (MSG), Jesus stumped them on purpose, just to shut them up.  He gave them a riddle that they couldn't answer, saying:

Then he put a question to them: “How is it that they say that the Messiah is David’s son? In the Book of Psalms, David clearly says,

God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
    until I put your enemies under your feet.”

“David here designates the Messiah as ‘my Master’—so how can the Messiah also be his ‘son’?”

The long and the short of it is this:  When Jesus' enemies attacked Him, He wouldn't play their games.  Do you have enemies harassing you?  The truth is, you don't have to spend much time worrying about them.  Instead, focus on those people who are blessing your life.  Psalm 16:3 (ESV) says:

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

    in whom is all my delight.

Thank God for these people.  Be joyful because of them.  Know that because of your relationship with God and with faithful people, you can say...

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being^[e] rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure (Ps 16:9 ESV).

Sunday Night's Bible Study on Spiritual Warfare - Session 1, January 15

Introduction

St. George and the Dragon

Since the 1980s, spiritual warfare has been a topic of great conversation among evangelical Christians.  Fiction books depicting epic battles between angels and demons have fueled the imaginations of many believers.  Handbooks for spiritual warfare detail methods of identifying demon possession, breaking satanic strongholds, casting demons out of our homes and souls, and guarding against spiritual attacks.  While many of these books contain some elements of truth, they often sensationalize spiritual warfare to the extent that many Christians have begun to seek it out as something exciting.  

When we realize the similarities between physical and spiritual warfare, we see the dangers of sending novice believers into battle, under the pretense of “claiming their authority in Jesus.”  Just as physical warfare is not for the young or weak or untrained, so spiritual warfare is not for those who are unprepared for battle.  Entering the fray without proper spiritual maturity, strength, or training would be spiritual suicide.  So the purpose of this study is to prepare the believer for the spiritual conflicts that every Christian must at some point face.

            In 1988, evangelist Jimmy Swaggart suffered the humiliation of a ministry spoiled by his involvement with an exotic dancer.  His denomination, the Assemblies of God, mandated that he leave ministry for a time, but he resign his pulpit.  His reason: the devil made him do it.  The only catch was that while comedian Flip Wilson had been attempting humor when he said it, Swaggart really meant it.  Citing demon possession as the culprit, he took no personal responsibility for his actions.  Instead, he reported that his friend and fellow televangelist Oral Roberts had cast demons out of him during a phone call.  Because he’d been delivered from this oppression, he was now fit for ministry.  So Swaggart continued on, business as usual, ignoring the ecclesial authority of his denomination.  

While I make no judgment as to the reality or fiction of Swaggart’s demons, I will say that evangelical Christianity gained a renewed perspective on demonic possession.  Many believers began to see demons hiding in every shadow, ready to pounce with their temptations and attack with their treachery at any moment.  Instead of taking personal responsibility for their sin, they felt justified in blaming Satan and his devils for their misdeeds.  They ignored James 1:14-15, which says, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  Certainly the devil can and does tempt believers to sin, but we often do a very good job on our own, thank you very much.  We make his job easy, so that all he has to do is provide the catalyst for temptation, letting our own depraved souls do the rest.

Christians do need to take spiritual warfare seriously, but I fear that all too often we misunderstand what it means.  While demon possession and witchcraft certainly are realities, the truth is that most believers don’t come into overt contact with them very often.  Certainly angels and demons still do battle in the heavenly realms, even as they have done since Lucifer’s rebellion.  Yet our theater of war is more often the spiritual battle that wages in our own souls, rather than in celestial regions.  Most believers face spiritual conflict in the day to day decisions they make in life, and on their knees in prayer, rather than in some exorcist’s office.  

This inner warfare of the soul is the subject of our study.  While we will make reference to the many New Testament and Old Testament scriptures pertaining to spiritual warfare, we will focus primarily on the book of Psalms.  No book delves deeper into the inner person than the book of Psalms.  For this reason, Psalms has been a favorite book of spiritually-minded Christians for generations and indeed, since the dawn of our faith.

Psalm 1

            Most Christians don’t set out to sin—they just stumble into it.  Sin creeps up on you where you least expect it.  It begins with something as simple as walking in the wrong direction.  Imagine the alcoholic who decides to go for a walk.  The road forks to the right and to the left.  The road to the right leads to his church, where nearby live many of his new Christian friends and mentors.  The road to the left leads to the downtown district where he used to frequent bars and liquor stores.  He stands at the crossroads, deciding which way to walk.  He doesn’t say, “I think I’ll go and have a drink.”  He simply decides to walk down the road to the left and see what there is to see.  He’s walking in the counsel of the ungodly.

            The left-hand road leads to the streets where he finds his old drinking buddies on the corner.  They see him, and invite him to stop for just a bit.  He doesn’t say, “I think I’ll have a drink with them,” but he does decide to stop for a chat.  He goes from walking in the counsel of the ungodly to standing in the path of sinners.  It’s a subtle degeneration—one that he doesn’t even perceive.  But just watch the trouble it causes!

            “Why don’t you come in and take a load off your tired feet?” one of his old friends says to him.  He doesn’t intend to do anything but have a seat for a while, but before you know it he’s gone from standing in the path of sinners, to sitting in the seat of scoffers.  From walking, to standing, to sitting—and now he’s got a glass in his hand.  That glass that he never set out to find, has now found him.  It’s not because he decided to misbehave from the beginning, but because he just wasn’t careful about the little decisions he made along the way.

            Psalm 1:1 pronounces a blessing on the person who does not follow that kind of path.  Instead, verse two suggests a better obsession than the sin that so easily entangles:  “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”  When you set your mind on the things of God, His word that lives in your heart will help you decide, when you stand at the crossroads. 

 

Psalm 48

Psalm 48 is a meaningless psalm to most believers, when we interpret it literally to be about Mount Zion.  However, it is a deeply profound psalm if we understand that the heart of the believer is the temple of God.  Then, this psalm is no longer about a holy city and now is about a holy heart.

Have you ever driven through a city, or part of a city, that was falling down and in disrepair?  Likely the city did not have enough resources to maintain itself the way it once did.  Perhaps it had fallen along way from its past glory.  Maybe the city officials didn’t take enough time to maintain it properly.  It is the duty of every Christian to “¹² Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, ¹³ consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.”  

            This means that the Christian should “walk circumspectly in the world (Ephesians 5:15).”  It also means we should take an introspective look at the heart’s condition.  Though Israel had a king, he could not always focus on local matters—so cities had the equivalent of a mayor.  God is the King of the believer’s life, but He leaves the believer to be the mayor of his own heart, able to examine his own condition, shore up any defenses, and take stock of spiritual and emotional provisions.  Verses 12-13 show that when the mayor of a city takes proper care to maintain its walls, towers, bulwarks, and citadels, he assures that another generation will survive to lean of God’s goodness.

            God’s desire is that your heart “be beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth…the very center of the world and the city of the great King (v. 2).”  This doesn’t mean that God wants believers to be proud and boastful, arrogant and egotistical.  It means that when the believer finds his center, when God becomes his center as the Temple was in the center of Jerusalem, then God will in turn make the believer the one to whom the world turns to find its center.

            “God is in her citadels.  He is known to be her sure refuge (v. 3).” Jerusalem wasn’t great because the Jebusites had made it so; it was great because the king chose to make it his stronghold.  So too the Christian who achieves greatness can take no credit for what he has achieved.  It was the King of kings, making His home in the believer’s heart,  that made the Christian great.  

            Vv. 4-8 show the result of a city that is strong in the Lord, inside and out:  “⁴ For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together. ⁵ They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. ⁶ Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, ⁷ As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind.  ⁸ As we have heard,  So we have seen  In the city of the LORD of hosts,  In the city of our God: God will establish it forever.”  

            As the Temple is at the heart of Jerusalem, a God is at the heart of ever believer, v. 8 is at the heart of this psalm:  “We have waited in silence on Your lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of your temple.”  It could appropriately be rephrased, “We have grounded ourselves at the Holy of Holies and prayed, waiting on Your lovingkindness.

            This is the core.  This is the center.  This is the heart: to wait on God in silence, to “be still, and know that [He] is God (Ps 46:10).”

            What is the result of a centered soul resting in God, waiting on God?  V. 9 says, “Your praise, like Your name, reaches to the world’s end.”  The believer becomes a beacon of praise, spiritually broadcasting God’s Name to the ends of the earth.  Through meditation, through emptying himself of anything but God, the believer becomes a conduit of divine love, that extends to the world’s dark corners.

"Because of My Enemies"

 Spirit & Truth # 241

“Because of My Enemies”

By Rev. Greg Smith

            Ten years ago this past Sunday, our nation was attacked.  Thousands were killed in a brutal suicide mission.  Individual families had their lives changed, with loved ones ripped away in their prime and without warning.  America was changed on that day.  Suddenly, secure living was a myth.  People flocked to churches, at least for a while.  They cried out to God for healing, and struggled with their ability to forgive.

            Country singers responded with the heartcry of America.  Toby Keith sang:

Hey Uncle Sam
Put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shakin' her fist
And the eagle will fly
Man, it's gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringin' her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue

Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
And you'll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
'Cause we'll put a boot in you’re a--
It's the American way[i]

            It has been ten years now, and this past Sunday many of us attended prayer vigils and remembrance services to honor those who have fallen.  If they were well-done, they honored the victims, but they also honored the lives of civilian casualties that have taken place in wars since September 11.  If they were done very well, then they even remembered the human lives that were lost to the tragedy of religiously guided suicide on that day.  September 11 of this year has caused me to ask the question, “How do we respond to our enemies?”

You see, initial anger at an injustice in your life is understandable.  No matter who your enemy is, both personal and national, your immediate response is usually anger.  Then there’s the lengthy grief process of those who have experienced loss.  But ultimately, there must be healing.

King David was had a lot of deadly enemies—some of them were even in his own family.  His prayer in Psalm 5:8 was, “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies.”  If we’re honest with ourselves, we behave pretty well when things are going nicely.  But when our enemies come against us, they try our patience and cause us to explode in anger.  David’s psalm admits that it’s our enemies that tempt us toward an unrighteous response.  He prays that God will lead us in righteousness, specifically because these people make it so difficult to respond in the right way.

It’s reported the Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, never bore a grudge.  When a friend wanted to remind her of an offense someone had done to her, the friend said, “Don’t you remember?”  Clara could only respond, “No.  I distinctly remember forgetting that.”  That’s the kind of Christian that Jesus calls each of His followers to be.

How do you respond to your enemies?  Jesus taught us to forgive them, love them, and pray for them.  Maybe you’re not quite there yet, but Psalm 8:5 gives us the first step.  Walk in righteousness, because of your enemies.

---

[i] Song:  “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American).”

"Lord, Is It I?"

Spirit & Truth # 223

“Lord, Is It I?”

                                                                                            

By Rev. Greg Smith

            Sometimes the questions we ask in life become more important than the statements we make.  We want to be definitive; we want to show others how sure we are, but too often when we try to prove we have the answers, we don’t allow ourselves to ask the hard questions.  The life of Judas is full of mysteries that may never be unraveled.  Yet even as it lacks answers, it leads us to one of the ultimate questions of life. 

            One question that surrounds Judas is that of his last name.  Many good scholars suggest that “Iscariot” means “Man of Kerioth,” a town that once existed but is now lost to archaeologists.  Others posit that the name comes from a group that went by the Latin moniker “Sicarii,” or “Dagger-men.”  These assassins were Jewish zealots who loved to slip into a crowd and slip a knife between the ribs of Roman officials.  Could Jesus have called such a man as a disciple?  Well, He did call another disciple named Simon the Zealot, and He did call Matthew the tax collector.  Paul the Apostle had blood on his hands, as did Moses, so why not Judas?

            Another question we have regarding Judas is that of his motivation.  Some say that he was spurred on by political motivations—that he wanted to force Jesus into a situation where He would have to become a military Messiah.  Others cite his greed as a motivation, quoting John 12:6, which says, “he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”  Still others remember Luke 22:3, “And Satan entered into Judas.”  Maybe all of these motivated Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.  We may never know.

            Many wonder where is today.  Some say he was doomed to hell because of his betrayal.  Others say that his remorse, his returning of the blood money, and his subsequent suicide are all indications of repentance.  For that reason, they say, he may be in heaven.  This is countered by some, whose doctrine states that all who commit suicide go to hell.  We won’t know the answer to this question until we reach our final destination.

With all of these good questions, though, there is only one that is essential for us.  It is the question asked by all the disciples when Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him.  Matthew 26:22 (KJV) says, “And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?”  This is the central question of every follower of Christ.  Lord, when have I betrayed you?  When have I denied you?  When have I run away?  Every time we sin, we are guilty of betraying our Lord.  As Lent concludes and we look forward to the season of Easter, let us take our sin seriously.  Instead of pointing a finger at Judas, let’s point the finger at ourselves.  “Lord, is it I?” we ask.  Perhaps that’s the most important question of all.

Garbage in, Garbage Out

Spirit & Truth # 150
“Garbage In, Garbage Out”

By Rev. Greg Smith

September 18 saw tragedy in Farmville, when four people were brutally murdered. 16 year-old Emma Niederbrock; her Longwood professor mother Debra Kelly, 53; her 50 year-old father Mark Niederbrock, who was a Presbyterian pastor; and her 18 year-old friend Melanie Wells of Inwood, West Virginia were butchered in Kelly’s home. The alleged killer is Emma’s boyfriend, Richard McCroskey, of Castro Valley, California. McCroskey also went by the rapper name of Syko Sam when he performed his horrorcore music.

If you’re like me, you may never have heard of horrorcore before reading about Syko Sam. Back in the 1980s when I was a teenager, Ozzy Ozbourne put on a gruesome show, but most of it was hype. Today, a new style of music makes Ozzy look like the Telletubbies.

Horrorcore is a sub-genre of hip hop music that is basically a slasher film put to music. Its themes focus on murder, Satanism, cannibalism, suicide, rape, and murder. Imagine if every day were Halloween, and you can begin to get into the mindset of horrorcore. The difference is that unlike a once-a-year holiday, or an occasionally watched violent movie (which can be detrimental enough to mental and spiritual health), music is something that fills most people’s lives. We listen at work, at home, in the car, almost everywhere we go. Music is all-pervasive, and can alter a person’s mood faster than a psychotropic drug.


The list of serial killers and mass murderers who were influenced by violent music is long. From Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker who slaughtered 25 people in the 1980s, to Richard Paul White’s butchery earlier in this decade, many murderers attribute their brutal killings to the influence of groups like AC/DC, Metallica, and more.

Strange, you never hear a serial killer saying he was led to murder by Mozart or Casting Crowns.

The truth is, our mothers were right when they said, “Garbage in, garbage out.” The things we put into our minds, good or bad, have a way of working themselves into our lives. That’s why the apostle Paul says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8 NIV).”

Of course, music is not the only contributor to the mindset of killers like these. Many, like “Son of Sam” David Berkowitz, (see his website here to see how he has now become a Christian) also cite the occult as an influence . Blogger Paul Calcagno, an actor who now regrets making a video by the horrorcore rapper “Sicktanik tha Soulless,” knew McCroskey, and alleges that the murderer’s actions were influenced by the Son of Sam killings, and occultic involvement. A fascination with evil, obsession with death, and attraction to violence lead to acts which fulfill dark fantasies.

Perhaps you or your children may never be led to such depths by violent music and movies. But why pollute your mind with things that clearly aren’t of God? If God has called believers to be holy, why not make our entertainment holy as well?

Do People Who Die By Suicide Go to Hell?

A friend of mine emailed me with a question about suicide. A lot of people have asked me the same question, and I put so much into the answer that I thought I'd share it with you.
My friend said:

I know the Catholic faith teaches that suicide is the "unforgiveable sin", and I think the protestant belief may be the same. What/where are the scripture teachings on this?

My co-worker and I were talking and she says that she "believes in a kind God", and cannot accept that He would banish someone's soul to Hell. In a way, I also believe in a "kind God", but bottom line, I don't really know how I feel concerning suicide, and am looking for some help in figuring it out..



Here's my response:

I'm sorry for the loss of (name omitted) . I'm sure his wife and the rest of their family is going through a very difficult time. I'm also sure that you're giving as much support to them as you can.

You're right--the Catholic church teaches that suicide is a 1-way ticket to Hell. This is based on their doctrine that you have to confess your sins to a priest, and receive absolution from the priest. Since you are dead, you can't confess--so off to Hell you go. This is an unbiblical doctrine, because the Bible tells us over and over again that nobody goes to Heaven or Hell because of what they do--they go either to Heaven or Hell because of what they believe or don't believe, because of Who they know, or Who they don't know as their Lord. There will be a lot of good people in Hell, who have never received Jesus as their Savior. There will also be tons of sinners in Heaven, who are saved not because of anything they did to deserve it, but only because of God's grace, which they received in Jesus Christ.

A lot of people become so depressed that they want to die. Here are just a few of the "greats" from the Bible who wanted to die:

• Moses - Numbers 11:15 - "If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."

• Elijah - 1 Kings 19:4 - "He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, LORD,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.'"

• Jonah - Jonah 4:8 - "When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, 'It would be better for me to die than to live.'"

• Paul (who actually seemed to be contemplating which choice to make) - Philippians 1:20-26 - "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me."

What made these people choose to live? Somehow, they found hope. But I believe it's possible to be a Christian, and still reach the point where you can't see any hope. This may be due to a chemical process in the brain, as in depression. It may be due to seemingly hopeless circumstances, a perceived lack of support, or any number of things. I believe that when a person chooses suicide, they have left behind rational thought, and are no longer "themselves." How can God judge a person for what they did, when they were in a state of detatched, irrational thought, and it was not truly "themselves" who did it?

The story of Judas sheds some light on this. Both Luke 22:3 and John 13:27 say that Satan entered Judas. We like to condemn him for what he did, but are we really just in our condemnation? Would God be just, in condeming a person for what they did not themselves do? In John 6:70, Jesus, referring to Judas, says "One of you is a devil!" Was Judas actually a fallen angel? No--but he was certainly under the influence of the devil. Judas did not choose for himself, when he betrayed Jesus.

We see his remorse in Matthew 27:3-10 when Judas returns the money, and ends his life. Is he still demon-possessed when he dies by suicide? Or does he just feel so much remorse because of what he did, while he was demon-possessed? Hard to say. Some say that Judas was damned, because Jesus says he was "doomed to destruction" in John 17:12. Could Jesus not have been talking about his physical destruction (suicide) rather than a spiritual destruction (Hell)?

Some people will use 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 to say that everyone who dies by suicide goes to Hell. It says, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." That sounds pretty clear, doesn't it? It does, until you realize that the body that Paul is talking about, in the entire chapter, is the church itself. What he's saying is that anybody who brings destruction to the church will be destroyed.

Hebrews 7:27 says, "Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself."

"Once for all." This means that when Jesus died, He entered timelessness, sacrificing Himself not only for the sins of people in the past, before the crucifixion, but also for the sins of people who would live in the future, after Him. Jesus didn't just die for the sins you've already committed--He died for the sins you haven't yet thought of. This means that even unconfessed sin is covered. We confess our sin to God, not so that we can be forgiven for each individual sin as we confess it, but so that we can realize the seriousness of our sin, express regret, and seek a change. Unconfessed sin doesn't damn a Christian. Jesus died once for all time, once for all sins, once for all people who would receive Him as their Lord.

John 3:16 gives us the assurrance that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." The real question is not whether a person has confessed his sins to a priest, but whether he believes in Jesus, and receives eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Our works neither condemn us nor save us. We are either saved by faith, or condemned because of our lack of faith.

Of course, I do realize the danger in this notion that you don't go to Hell for suicide. Some may take this as a license to end their life. This would be a horrible thing! Suicide robs God of the ability to use you in His Kingdom on earth. Suicide insults God, telling Him that you don't trust Him to work things out in your life. Suicide grieves our Lord, who came to rescue us from the grip of Satan. Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

In the Philippians 1 passage above, it is obvious which is the better choice: to remain in life, to let God continue to use you. Jeremiah 30:19 is clear: "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." Jeremiah 29:11 assures us: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Dear friend, if you are reading this article because you or a loved one is considering suicide as an option, then please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline in the US - 1-800-273-TALK (8255).  In Canada, please call 833-456-4566.