I grew up in a private Christian school that had a major influence in the way my peers and I believe and perceive life. Often we had several chapel services and Bible classes that dealt a lot with relationships with the opposite sex and sexual purity. My school was very conservative in their approach, meaning that they believed dating at a young age is ridiculous and it is best to save even a first kiss until marriage. I'm not necessarily condemning this approach, but I think what was subtly taught and understood among the students there was that if we remained sexually pure and even saved their first kiss until marriage, we should not only expect, but deserve a partner who also held the same standards morally.
This could not be further from the truth.
Did we really not understand how self-righteous and prideful that statement really sounds? Who are we to say that we deserve anything, much less a spouse that has somehow known and adhered to the exact same standards we chose for ourselves? It's as if we really believe that we are more pure than others because we were able to refrain from doing certain things that they weren't! This is a gross misunderstanding of two things: the devastating effect of sin and the glorious effect of the cross.
James 2:10-11 says this in regards to sin: "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law." The whole point of this passage is that it doesn't matter what sins we did and did not do, but that we sinned in the first place, and as a result, we are all wicked and vile and completely unworthy of any good thing, especially a spouse who held the same moral standards as us. To put things into perspective, sure, I personally have never had sex before. But my sins of lust are just as disgusting and vile as if I really had. Furthermore, my sins of pride, lying, deceit, and any other number of sins are just as horrific as sex before marriage in God's eyes. Until we realize the wickedness of our own sin, it will be easy for us to believe that we deserve a spouse who followed our preset expectations.
Secondly, this idea that we can have a certain moral expectation of our spouse totally undermines the purpose of the cross. Romans 5:18-21 says "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." We should be eternally grateful that the cross of Christ makes all of us righteous. No believer is declared to be more or less righteous than the other; Jesus' sacrifice has the same everlasting benefits for every single person who believes in Him. Sin had made us all equal in our wickedness in the eyes of God, but the cross is the great equalizer that puts us all on the same plane of righteousness before Him.
So let's humble ourselves before the Lord and before our brothers and sisters in Christ and stop playing the pharisee by pretending to be righteous in our own merit. It's time to stop hurting our Christian family by throwing people out the window simply because they have "had a past" or have made a mistake earlier on in their life. And when we learn to bestow love and grace the way Jesus did for us, boy, will our marriages be so sweet.
Feel free to comment or contact me with suggestions, critiques, criticisms, disagreements, or requests for future posts. Thank you, and God bless.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Steve Jobs and the Glory of God
I had some excellent conversation with old friends and new acquaintances over coffee this evening. We discussed topics ranging from football teams to music interests and even the philosophy of truth. Perhaps the most interesting discussion of the evening occurred when a close friend of mine posed to us a serious question: "How is it that a person who simply accepts Jesus as Savior but does nothing in his life to make an impact on society gets to go to Heaven, while a man like Steve Jobs, who had worked tirelessly until his death to change the world through innovation and creativity suffer eternally simply because he didn't accept Jesus?"
Naturally, we look at an instance like that and cry out at the injustice and unfairness of such a statement. It just doesn't seem right. But are we really having a proper understanding of what is fair and just in God's eyes? Or are we judging what is fair and just through the scope of a culturally influenced world-view?
The Bible is clear on the totality of human's failure to uphold God's expectations. Romans 3:10-12 says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Paul continues in verse 23- "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Ephesians 2:1-3 says this, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath." Every single person, regardless of how much they have or haven't done, has horribly fallen short of the expectations God has given them. It is impossible for someone to outweigh their mishaps with good deeds, because God demands perfection; anything aside from perfection is disgustingly vile in His sight, and by nature He must punish the sin.
In reality, the only "fair" thing for God to do is punish every. single. person. No one deserves any grace whatsoever. In fact, no one even deserves a second of life on earth for the terribly dishonoring, sinful lives we have. If we get fair, we get hell. Forever. What an unnerving and unsettling thought.
Yet, 1 John 1:9 says that "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Wait. What? How can God be just to forgive our sins? How is that fair? How is that right? Look no further than the cross.
"For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus Christ, in the ultimate act of love, literally took on and bore all of our sins as His own and bore the full punishment from God on the cross. All of our sins, past, present and future, were thrown on to Jesus at that moment, such that it "pleased the Lord to crush Him." (Isaiah 53:10, NASB). God was able to perfectly appease His desire to punish sin and still show forgiveness, grace, mercy and love to us- even though we have done absolutely nothing to deserve it.
Looking back at our question now, we can see that the man who chose to live his life quietly to himself is a terrible sinner. He has dishonored and disgraced God in an innumerable number of ways, and deserves not one iota of grace, even if it be temporal. The same is true of the man, in this case Steve Jobs, who chose to live his life in pursuit of leaving an impact in the world. Thus, there is only one true difference in the eyes of God: one's sins has already been paid for. This truth should evoke several responses from us as a Christian body:
1. We should be humble. "You don't see anyone complaining about the unfair God who saved their soul." -Matt Chandler. Let's walk in humility and stop acting like we deserve any bit of grace or reward in life because we've done something.
2. We should be thankful. This point could NOT be stressed enough. Praise the Lord for His mercy, without which we would have no hope. Every moment we breath is a grace from God, be thankful that you even have that, much less the sweetest gift of all- salvation.
3. We should be earnest.That is, earnest in our desire and our pursuit for others to experience the joy in Christ that we do. Agreeing to disagree is ultimately saying that either we don't care enough about someone experiencing true eternal happiness in God like we do, or we don't have strong enough convictions in what we believe.
I want to close with a reminder that I am definitely not condemning people who have a desire to make a major impact in society today. In fact, I encourage and support it. My only request is that they consider the words of 1 Corinthians 10:31 as they pursue their dreams- "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Naturally, we look at an instance like that and cry out at the injustice and unfairness of such a statement. It just doesn't seem right. But are we really having a proper understanding of what is fair and just in God's eyes? Or are we judging what is fair and just through the scope of a culturally influenced world-view?
The Bible is clear on the totality of human's failure to uphold God's expectations. Romans 3:10-12 says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Paul continues in verse 23- "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Ephesians 2:1-3 says this, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath." Every single person, regardless of how much they have or haven't done, has horribly fallen short of the expectations God has given them. It is impossible for someone to outweigh their mishaps with good deeds, because God demands perfection; anything aside from perfection is disgustingly vile in His sight, and by nature He must punish the sin.
In reality, the only "fair" thing for God to do is punish every. single. person. No one deserves any grace whatsoever. In fact, no one even deserves a second of life on earth for the terribly dishonoring, sinful lives we have. If we get fair, we get hell. Forever. What an unnerving and unsettling thought.
Yet, 1 John 1:9 says that "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Wait. What? How can God be just to forgive our sins? How is that fair? How is that right? Look no further than the cross.
"For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus Christ, in the ultimate act of love, literally took on and bore all of our sins as His own and bore the full punishment from God on the cross. All of our sins, past, present and future, were thrown on to Jesus at that moment, such that it "pleased the Lord to crush Him." (Isaiah 53:10, NASB). God was able to perfectly appease His desire to punish sin and still show forgiveness, grace, mercy and love to us- even though we have done absolutely nothing to deserve it.
Looking back at our question now, we can see that the man who chose to live his life quietly to himself is a terrible sinner. He has dishonored and disgraced God in an innumerable number of ways, and deserves not one iota of grace, even if it be temporal. The same is true of the man, in this case Steve Jobs, who chose to live his life in pursuit of leaving an impact in the world. Thus, there is only one true difference in the eyes of God: one's sins has already been paid for. This truth should evoke several responses from us as a Christian body:
1. We should be humble. "You don't see anyone complaining about the unfair God who saved their soul." -Matt Chandler. Let's walk in humility and stop acting like we deserve any bit of grace or reward in life because we've done something.
2. We should be thankful. This point could NOT be stressed enough. Praise the Lord for His mercy, without which we would have no hope. Every moment we breath is a grace from God, be thankful that you even have that, much less the sweetest gift of all- salvation.
3. We should be earnest.That is, earnest in our desire and our pursuit for others to experience the joy in Christ that we do. Agreeing to disagree is ultimately saying that either we don't care enough about someone experiencing true eternal happiness in God like we do, or we don't have strong enough convictions in what we believe.
I want to close with a reminder that I am definitely not condemning people who have a desire to make a major impact in society today. In fact, I encourage and support it. My only request is that they consider the words of 1 Corinthians 10:31 as they pursue their dreams- "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
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