A Greater Hope than Bernie

“I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side...”

- Treebeard, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Politics often seem like the most volitile of subjects, especially in the social media age. Everyone has an opinion, and far too often, if you disagree with the opinion, you're wrong, stupid, and ignorant. As Jesus-followers, I've seen more disparity within the church this round of elections than I have ever seen. The trend seems to be more and more younger believers side with the loud cries of liberal agendas, while older, conservative stalwarts look down upon them. This is a broad brushstroke, it's certainly not descriptive of the entire scene. But where there used to be dialogue and debate, it's become hatred and mockery.

What's worse, is that Jesus' name has been invoked to justify both the platform and the attitude of shaming.

It's at this point in time that the Treebeard quote at the top is very appropriate. A lot of folks have made statements about how Jesus wouldn't stand for this or that, and then quote a bible verse to justify it, and then go on their merry way. While I think it's wise that we discern all viewpoints (political and otherwise) from the scriptures, I think we often use our experience to interpret God's Word, rather than letting God's Word interpret our experience. And our experience, while valuable, is not authoritative, nor is it prescriptive.

A great example is when the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question about taxes.

“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.” (Matthew 22:15-22)

The Pharisees, and the Jews in general, hated being under Roman rule. The Herodians, however, were put into power by the Roman Empire to have authority in Israel. Jesus is put into a difficult predicament. Which side will he be loyal too? What side is the right side? To choose one would seem like turning his back on His people, the other would likely land him in trouble with Rome! What does he do? He chooses a different path. He says that taxes must be paid, and that they must give to God what is God's.

In other words, the Pharisees are looking for Jesus to either dishonor the state or dishonor their faith, and Jesus says you can honor God by honoring the state! And they leave perplexed.

This is a helpful reminder when we come to public square issues, especially as the presidential primaries approach.

For me, it's easy to be sucked into the thinking that the conservative platform is 100% right. And while the scriptues do support some conservative stances, it's very important to distinguish that Jesus is not a conservative republican. He's not a tea party guy. He's not a moderate. Jesus is Jesus, He is who we must conform too.

On the other hand, we also see support for different social justice causes in the scriptures. James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” There is some biblical credence to some liberal ideas. But Jesus is not a liberal. He's not a socialist. And He cares far more for people than to just let people do what they want to do. He calls us to conform to His image.

And this brings us to the most important point.

Whether you have loved Obama or hated him, a new president does not bring eternal hope. A new president will make mistakes. A new president must work with a flawed system... because it's human. And while, as believers, it's important to talk about public policy and what it should be in light of the scriptures, the mission that Jesus has given us is not to have a Christian country in this life. It's to usher in a kingdom fit for eternity. Our hope must be Jesus, the Jesus found in His Word.

Humbled by a "Small" Sin

“Oh gosh!” I yelled, frustrated that the former defending champions of college football were struggling with the lowly Hoosiers of Indiana University. It was supposed to be a cakewalk, the Buckeyes were close to three touchdown favorites, and I'm not sure Indiana has come close to beating them in my lifetime. In fact, a running joke between Ohio State fans (and probably fans of any decent Big Ten team) is if one of your stars are struggling during the season, the Indiana game is when they get back on track.

Apparently, MY Buckeyes didn't get the memo. They trailed in the second half. And it was when our quarterback threw a pick in the endzone when I releashed my two word tirade.

And now, everytime we watch football, my two year old says “Oh gosh,” because he thinks that's what you're supposed to say during a football game.

While I'm thankful I said something that could be repeated without blushing, everytime he utters those words I realize the potential damage. “... no human can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” (James 3:8-9) My son, who sees me pray to God, give thanks to God, and worship God with my mouth, saw its opposite ability, to sin. To give in to anger. Over something as trivial as a football game.

It's humbling to say the least.

I know what some of you are thinking.

“Zack, you're not that bad.”

“Zack, everyone gets a little peeved.”

“At least you didn't say the F-word.”

But here's what Jesus says, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

The outburst signals the evil within. The evil of discontentment. The evil of unrighteous anger. The evil of hating God. And it influenced my two-year old to think that all football games should be accompanied by said outburst.

In hindsight, it's a bit comedic, something out of a sitcom. But everytime my son says it, a twinge of guilt rushes through my veins. It reminds me that I messed up. It reminds me that I'm still a sinner.  Thankfully, it also reminds me of my need for Jesus.  Thank God that Jesus died... even for what we typically deem as “nothing major.”

Jesus died for cosmic treason. He also died for my anger and my negative influence. And he can redeem it. He can redeem it by letting me explain to my children that their Daddy is also a sinner in need of grace. And that God can transform me even further to desire the eternal joy of His Kingdom more than the fading kingdom of being a fan of a football team.

Reconsidering Advent: Baby Jesus is God

"Silent night, Holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant, tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace."

Nativity sets are out.  Bright lights decorate our homes and streets.  Advent wreathes are lit.  Christmas music is playing, carolers are singing, shoppers are stressing... And for those of us who are church-goers, it's easy to fall into the old pattern.  We need the nativity up, we need to celebrate the coming of Jesus, a time of waiting.  And in some ways, the tradition, the pomp and circumstance, help us remember the coming of baby Jesus.  

We remember that the Jewish people waited for a messiah for centuries.  We remember the promise in Isaiah, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."  (Isaiah 7:14).  And that this promise is literally birthed in the person of Jesus.  We rejoice.  We stand in wonder during the season.  We rediscover the magic and hope as we sing the lyrics that consider the tender infant that God sent into the world.  But how easy is it to stop there?  If baby Jesus is just a promised child that came from a virgin, then we sing lyrics of this 'holy infant, tender and mild,' we easily become jaded.  We go through the motions.  We set up the tree, put the presents under the tree, place the nativity as the tradition we worship, rather than the reminder of what God accomplished.  

The virgin birth was a miracle in itself.  God gets the glory if He truly caused a virgin to have a a baby.  But that's not the most important part of the promise.  Immanuel means "God with us."  So here's a baby, and God claims that He himself is this baby.  God is the one who is the 'holy infant'.  God is the one who is 'meek and mild'.  The same God who is all powerful!  The same God who created us out of the dust (Genesis 1)!  The same God whose face Moses couldn't look at without perishing (Exodus 33:18)!  This God placed himself as a human infant!  

Consider the implications!  God the Son could be everywhere, now if he wanted to get somewhere, he had to be carried.  God the Son could command the stars, now He had to depend on his parents to teach him to speak.  God the Son had the perfect Father in God the Father, now He had to depend on sinful parents.  God the Son resided in the glory of perfect heaven, now he resided on the broken earth.  He lived among lepers, the blind, the corrupt, and the godless.  Within the first two years of his human life, a human king felt threatened by this baby's presence to the point that Jesus had to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:1-17).  Why would Jesus place himself in this position?  Why would He leave the comfort of His eternal home?  Why would He surround himself with both the lowest of society, as well as those who were his enemies?  Because the promise was to come and reconcile the lowest, the corrupt, the enemies back to Himself.  And only He could do it.  

God gave up everything to love those who hated Him.  It transforms how we think of the season.  It transforms how we consider how we love and who we love, because if we truly believe that baby Jesus is the God who saves, and He saved us, the lowest of the low, then how can we not respond in kind?

We choose to love even when it hurts.  We choose to love even if a person seems unlovable.  We choose to love when it costs much.  We do it because Jesus gave up EVERYTHING to win you and me.

So who is that one person you can't stand at work?  What if you bought them a nice gift, wrote them a card to share what you appreciate them, or take them out for a cup of coffee?

Who is the family member you cringe at when you see them?  What if you not only said hi, but actually spent quality time either on the phone or went and visited them?  

Have you considered the "low" people that you can serve during the season?  Can you visit assisted living places, soup kitchens, or the homeless and give not just of your money, but your time?  

Have you considered the needs of the world's afflicted?  There are physical needs for the less fortunate, and spiritual needs for those who have yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.  Consider helping in the relief effort of Ting Ministries and the Independent Church in India, as a leper community struggles with recent flooding, or contribute to a current effort to raise $2016 by the end of the year to train missionaries to bring the Gospel to the unreached.  (Check out this video!)

If baby Jesus is God, then we must respond by not only remembering that God gave up His power, status, and reputation for our sake, but by doing likewise.  We are His people, and we should look more and more like Him.  It's part of the promise of His salvation.  

"Silent night, Holy night

Shepherds quake, at the sight

Glories stream from heaven above

Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah

Christ the Savior is born,

Christ the Savior is born."  

Judge not... until you've judged yourself rightly

“Don't judge me.” They are the three words that reverberate through our minds when someone brings up something we don't want them to touch. It might be a bad habit. A worldview. A preference. Whatever it is, whenever it gets brought up as a point of why we aren't good, moral, or “acceptable” to God (aka, called a sinner), these three words easily can roll off our tongues. And we feel justified.

Why?

“The bible says don't judge!”

But does it? Does the bible actually say not to judge another person?

If you look at Matthew 7:1-6, you see Jesus in the middle of a sermon to the masses. He is speaking to a crowd filled with all sorts of people, and He is constantly helping them come to the reality that God's standard is perfection, and they cannot meet it. He explicitly states this earlier in chapter 5, when he says “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.” (v. 48) And Jesus states this after he expounds upon the law in a way that makes us realize there is no way we could keep it! Consider what Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment...” (vs. 21-22a)

“You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (vs. 27-28)

This standard of perfection is STAGGERING! And this is just a glimpse into God's standard.

Why does Jesus do this? He's trying to help the crowd realize their need for a savior. He's driving them to see the reality of their sin, their innate separation from God, so they could see their need for an ultimate, perfect rescuer. It's why Jesus says in 5:18 that He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He knew that His people needed a perfect sacrifice to satisfy God's perfect justice.

This humbles the religious, because they can't please God by how many prayers they offer up, how many services they attend, and how many good deeds they can offer.

It also humbles the irreligious, because it exposes an argument that we can be moral and upright without God.

It shows both pathways lead nowhere but down. You can get to whatever you consider “enlightenment” if you're perfect. The problem is, none of us are. And that's the requirement we need to judge.

Jesus, later in his sermon, finally talks about judgment from person to person. He states “Judge not, that you not be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (7:1-2) I know what you're thinking:

“See! The bible does say don't judge, otherwise God will judge you! It doesn't matter what else was said before, you can't judge me!”

Slow down. Yes, Jesus says don't judge, otherwise God will judge us. But let's look a little further:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” (7:3-5)

This is an absurd picture that Jesus uses. “Do you notice the LOG in your own eye?” These words are ones we quickly gloss over, but consider the absurdity. Picture yourself walking around wacking people in the head with the protruding LOG in your eye, telling people about the little speck in theirs. First, you'd leave a path of destruction, or at least countless concussions. Second, people would look at you with little credibility, because you by far have the bigger obstruction! A log, or a speck. Which is more noticable? And yet you haven't addressed the LOG, only someone with an itsy-bitsy speck!

This is a hilarious and provocative image. And notice what Jesus says to do with that log. “...take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” He doesn't say “don't judge.” He says address yourself first, and then address your brother. This is profound. This is why it's important to look at the context of the whole sermon, because the judgment Jesus is calling for is not condemnation, but rather one of discernment and rebuke. He's trying to help people know how to address sin in their lives so they would become undeceived, repent, and believe in Christ. He's calling people to judge one another, but only after they have humbled themselves and seen their own need for a savior, for restoration, for change.

This leaves some help for application:

We need to lead in humility → If we see someone struggling, we must first humble ourselves. Humility helps us to see things from God's point of view. It helps us filter our thoughts through the lens of scripture, rather than the lens of our pre-determined, sin-stained thoughts and motives. Where it could feel like someone is deliberately disrespecting me, I need to humble myself, ask what the sin actually is, and then address the sin, laying aside my pride and insecurity beforehand.

We need to welcome correction and rebuke → I hate being corrected. But the whole framework of the sermon on the mount is for people to see that they don't measure up, repent from sin, and trust in the finished work of the cross. If that's the case, then I need others to see my specks and help me remove them, because this passage implies that you and I are blind to them.

We need to be wary of when we default to “don't judge.” → v. 6 states “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” Jesus “judges” those who don't want to listen, and he says, “Don't waste your time. Don't waste your words. They aren't worth talking to.” The point isn't that we should alienate and ostracize; I think many of us fall into this category from time to time. But, what Jesus is saying is that there is a condition that is extra dangerous. If we refuse correction and rebuke, but we claim Christ, it could be an indicator that you actually don't understand the gospel. And that is why the judgment of believers is vitally important. It helps us know whether we are on the track towards eternal life, or eternal damnation. 

May we help one another in pointing out each others 'specks', so that we might experience greater joy in the savior who was perfect for our sake.  

In His Grace,

Zack 

Jesus Displays God's Glory

When people talk about Jesus, we often think of His love. And why shouldn't we? Even the most skeptical of men would note that, if Jesus was a real person (He is), He was the most kind, sacrificial, tolerant person in the course of human history. Or at least one of them. The cross is a great example, and should be an example to us all about how to love.

However, we miss something profound when we look at Jesus ONLY in this light. Ephesians 1 helps us with this, because we see it's through Christ that God worked to reconcile us to Himself, but to what end? vs. 3, 6, 12, and 14 all have a repeated theme.

v. 3 → Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed here is an adjective, it is describing God's character. The word blessed means “Worthy of Adoration or Praise.”

vs. 5-6 → … He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace...

vs. 11-12 → In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory.

vs. 13-14 → In Him you also... were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His Glory.

Look at what Paul is saying here. Followers of Christ are adopted as sons into God's family, they gain an eternal inheritance, and they are sealed with the Holy Spirit, all through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. But notice what they ultimately should result in:

Those things all result in the praise of God!

These blessings and guarantees are great (and there are more of them within this beautiful letter), but Paul is ultimately not pointing out God's love in this letter. Instead, he points out the glory of God in His character, as well as how He demonstrated His glory through Christ.

This is important as we consider Jesus. We often just describe Him (and God) with the word “love.” While this is true, it would be limiting to all of who God is. And the point of the gospel isn't to just point out God's love, it's to see God's glory and to praise Him for it. This includes His love, His wisdom, His power, His might, His beauty, His justice, His faithfulness, and ultimately, His God-ness. And we see all of these displayed through the cross.

Consider, for a moment, God's power through Christ. If I died like that for the sins of the world, it would be seen as a somewhat heroic, yet pointless and confusing, sacrifice. Why? Because I don't have the power or perfection to do it. However, Jesus has the power and perfection to die for sinners. It shows God's glory that He is a worthy sacrifice.

This is why Paul can say that through Christ, our pathway to God and heaven is guaranteed. It's not just because God loves us (although He does), it's because He's God, and He proved Himself to be God in the cross by defeating death once and for all. In doing so, He's elevated. Paul writes later in Ephesians 1: “according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:19b-21) Jesus is worthy of praise, and is placed far above rule and authority, as He should be. Our salvation, among other benefits, is for us to praise God! This is why our salvation is rock solid if we are in Christ. Our salvation is not primarily for us, but for God to bring glory to Himself. If God goes back on His Word, then it goes against God's holy character, against His power, against His faithfulness, against His perfect justice. We can rest assured that salvation is guaranteed, because God's glory is at stake. And Jesus displayed that glory, proving His love for us by dying for sinners, and then defeating death so that we might be reconciled to God through Him.