New Thoughts (3/8/02-3/10/02)
For whatever reason, the words of 2Co 13:10 have really struck me. (2Co 13:10 - I write these concerns while absent so that I need not be severe when with you. What I say is in accord with the authority the Lord has given me. It is to build you up, and not to tear you down.) What a word for the teachers and pastors among us! What a reminder of purpose! At the same time, it speaks to me as a parent. I cannot refuse to discipline, but when I do, it should be done to build up, not to tear down. I know that for me it's all too easy to slip into sarcasm and acerbic wit in such situations, but that cannot build up. Here is a reminder not to slip.
I find also in that verse a safeguard for those of us that sit under a teaching. What is the attitude displayed by the teacher? What is he doing? It's not a question of whether his words sting, for stinging words may be necessary to turn us around. But what is the impact? That which comes of the authority of God is aimed to build us up. It is aimed to do more than drive us to despair. It seeks to lead us to repentance, to turn us around and get us back on the right road. Where the message brings the hurt without the healing, be careful.
Here, Paul is delivering such a message as might seem to tear down, to bring only hopelessness. He has spoken long on the fallen nature of man, on the rejection of the Jewish nation. Now, he brings the antidote. He tells the Jews that for them to return their unbelief must be eliminated. This may remain impossible on the surface, but God can do it where we cannot. We, the Gentiles are a visible sign of this hope for the Jews. We had absolutely no inclination toward God, yet He was able to bring believing faith into us. He is able also to bring life to the dry bones of Israel, to shake them free of the dust of unbelief and restore them.
What a wonder, to be found in God's kingdom! What a difference from who I was to who I am. It is good for us all, I think, to remember what we once were. It keeps us humble. (Eph 2:12 - Remember that you were once separated from Christ, excluded from Israel, and strangers to the covenant, having no hope, and knowing no God in this world.) There was indeed a time when I knew no God, when what little I knew of Christianity only kept me away from it. How am I to explain the change? It is not as though I simply determined one day that I would become one of these people I had no use for. No, He chose. He made the change in me, opening my eyes to recognize what I should have seen all along; that His hand shaped the world, His hand shaped me, His hand had kept me safe through events that should have been my end. From all on earth, as Amos 3:2 says, He chose me. It is for that reason that He punishes my sins.
Does that seem cruel, or odd? It shouldn't. As a parent, who am I more likely to punish, my own child, or the child of a stranger? I would expect my answer is not different from that of most. My own child will be the most likely to know my discipline. Why? For the very reason that I love her more. I care more for her, and am more responsible for her. This is the same view God has towards us. He is our Father, and He cares very deeply for our welfare. When He sees us walking in harmful paths, He cannot be silent, but must come to our aid. We don't want it. We want to walk away and do our own thing, but His love cannot abide that we destroy ourselves, so He does what He must.
There is also that matter of justice. God cannot allow sin to go unpunished, especially in those He claims as His own. Eph 1:4 gives us an idea as to the purpose of His choosing. He chose us to be holy. Holiness and sin are incapable of co-existence. Where holiness is, sin must depart. This was the goal of the Law, but that goal was an impossibility for our flesh. God has made the way. In His mercy, He has provided the means of our holiness, but the means remains with Him. In faith, we partake of the means of holiness. In His gracious favor, He declares those in faith to be holy in His sight.
Listen, our salvation does not depend on our works. We can no more save ourselves now, than any man ever could before. It is beyond us. Yet, our works are required. He has given us the faith to call on Him. I know this. I have felt that change that came in spite of myself. I have discovered belief suddenly welling up in my heart, when I still felt no particular reason to believe. I have seen in myself the undeniable power of God to change. I know exactly how much of it was my own doing. None of it. Yet, if I refuse to continue in that belief, if I deny His hand in what I have become, how can I expect that He should continue to do what he has done thus far?
We indeed have a part in the work of God that is our life. Our part is to continue in believing dependence on Him. Our part is to remember always that the tree supports the branches. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. It is impossible to overemphasize these facts. It is in His hands whether we see the end of this day, whether we are here to share lunch with our family. It is His grace and His grace alone that carries us through each successive moment. It is His grace alone that I am able to type out these thoughts this morning, that I will, if it be His will, provide worship before Him at men's breakfast in an hour or so. It is by His will that I recognize my need for Him.
Two seemingly contradictory messages are given to us here. On the one hand, we can be totally assured of the covenant promises. We can know the certainty of salvation. On the other hand, we are shown the danger of pride most clearly. Pride is, at essence, a failure to depend on God, a return to works as the basis of salvation rather than the reaction to salvation. The covenant did not fail in Israel's case, it will not fail in ours. Where there was the appearance of failure in their case was in fact a failed understanding of the covenant terms. Israel thought to save itself by works, but God was looking for faith. Israel came to pride itself on its ability to conform to the Law, rather than taking pride in the God who wrote the Law.
The danger remains for us. If the claim we lay to salvation is not made on the true basis of faith in Christ, if it's been no more than an exercise in repeating words, then we remain at peril. If we think that having been saved, we can now sit back and relax, that we can now do as we will without risk, then we have not known salvation. Effort is involved. We simply have to recognize that our efforts will not save us, but stand rather as proof of salvation already accomplished. Our efforts cannot help but flow from a true salvation. These twin messages - of our absolute dependence upon God's actions for our well-being, and the absolute necessity of our own actions following upon His work of salvation - need to be taught together. The combined message is the whole counsel of Scripture, not the one half or the other.
But, a word of encouragement to any reader who might recognize their own danger in this study. To anybody who thought themselves saved by a half-hearted prayer, the door of return to God remains open. To anybody who thought themselves good enough, who thought their actions in this life would show them to be deserving of eternal life, the door of return to God remains open. To any who have been attempting to walk with God, but on their own terms, the door of return to Him remains open. There is time yet to walk back through that door and seek Him as He is, and as He has required. He has declared the way of return. He has declared that there is only one way that will be acceptable to Him. Time remains to follow His way, and know the security of salvation, but none knows how much time. Come, repent and be healed. The risk is too great for you to continue hoping only in yourself, trusting only in yourself. That hope and trust will betray you at the critical moment. Put your trust in the Rock. Anchor your hope at the throne of Christ, where nothing can sever the line.
