Two Kinds of Wisdom

Posted by Chris on August 31, 2008 under Sermons

Do you remember Highlights magazine? I remember reading it as a child in the dentist’s or doctor’s waiting room. Perfect material for passing the time with puzzles and picture stories. Some of the features in Highlights have been standard. One of those is “Goofus and Gallant,” a comic strip that shows two boys and how each boy would respond to the same situation. Goofus always chooses to behave rudely or irresponsibly, while Gallant always responds with kindness and generosity.

Goofus bosses his friends around. Gallant asks his friends what they want to do next.
Goofus takes the last apple. Gallant shares his orange.

Goofus is always more interesting – admittedly it is fun watching what blunder he is going to commit, but Gallant is the guy you can really count on.
I always wondered if Goofus and Gallant lived in the same town. Did they know each other? Did they go to the same school? Maybe they were even friends.

Goofus is jealous because Gallant received an award for perfect attendance. Gallant changes the subject.
Goofus tries to make Gallant feel guilty for studying and making high grades. Gallant offers to help him study.
Goofus refuses to study and speaks harshly to Gallant. Gallant later forgives Goofus – for the 100th time.

It’s hard to imagine that they had much of a friendship. We can all guess who was carrying the friendship. I’m sure even Gallant could have had a hard time maintaining the friendship. It might have been very tempting for him to look down on Goofus or get stressed trying to rescue Goofus or make excuses for him. It would be difficult for these two to remain friends if one of them doesn’t change.

The ancient definition of friends is people having the same outlook, the same view of reality, the same mind, and above all to share. (And by now we know that Goofus doesn’t share much of anything except for germs.) Long before Goofus and Gallant, James described contrasting views of reality …

Two Kinds of Wisdom – Two Kinds of Friendship

James describes two perspectives; one is called the wisdom from below. It is a way of behavior and thought ordered by the logic of rivalry, competition, resentment, self-preservation, unrestrained desire and hatred. It is the seed of murder and war.

Opposite of this is the way of life that James’ calls the wisdom from above. It is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. It is actually a rather simple view of the world and less complicated because there is no burden of worrying about others – what they think, what they may do. Those with the wisdom from above are friends of God and they share an outlook and perspective with God. They share God’s values. They begin to see the world as God does. Worth does not come from what we have or what we can control or how much respect we can earn. Worth comes from God. He has sown the seed of his spirit in us and we are the soil that yields God’s good and abundant gifts to be shared with all.

But the wisdom from below is friendship with the world. The world isn’t a good friend. Loyalty to the worldly way of seeing things leads to envy, resentment, anger, selfishness. The turmoil and evil that follow are a corruption and contagion that hurts us and hurts others.

Goofus and Gallant are sort of cute for kids. We can excuse Goofus for taking the last cookie. It’s sort of cute when he stomps in the mud. He’s just a kid. But what happens when Goofus grows up and he lives out his basic philosophy in more sophisticated and complicated situations …

Goofus is stressed and unhappy because of his work environment, so he vents his anger at his family.
Goofus has had too much to drink at the game, but he drives home anyway and is involved in a three car accident.
Goofus uses his influence to give a job to a family member and it costs another person a promotion.
Goofus persuades his bookkeepers to lie about company profits so that his shareholders will be pleased, but when his schemes are revealed, employees lose their retirement savings.
Goofus finds a way to save money in his business by dumping waste product in the river, hundreds of people downriver develop cancer.

Goofus, especially at the adult level, is typical of the wisdom from below. James describes it as envy and selfish ambition. And where you have envy and selfish ambition you will also have disorder and every evil practice. The wisdom from below is a cynical and uninspiring wisdom. No wonder it leads to chaos.

The wisdom from below erodes our better nature. Because it is so common, it can be worth a joke at first, like the “Demotivators” series that takes a jab at pretentious, generic inspirational slogans …

Achievment: You can do anything you set your mind to when you have vision, determination and an endless supply of expendable labor.
Arrogance: The best leaders inspire by example. When that’s not an option, brute intimidation works pretty well too.

It’s funny because it’s true, but is this really the world we want to live in? Is that how we want to relate to others, to the world, and to God?
If the wisdom from below is corrosive and corrupting, then the wisdom from above is fruitful. It yields a harvest of righteousness.

• The wisdom from above is seen in a couple in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. A couple who lost their home is asked if they need anything. They bring the relief worker bags of food and diapers and simply say, “You could find someone who needs this worse than we do.”
• The wisdom from above is seen in foster parents who decide to adopt a severely abused boy whose mother is also a foster child. They have no promise of anything except trials and difficulties, but they wonder who else will care for the child if not them?
• The wisdom from above is seen in a teacher who respects her students so much that they learn character as well as curriculum,
• The wisdom from above is seen in a person who is a perfect bone marrow match for a perfect stranger and yet he donates the gift of life and makes a friend.

When we see true examples of humble people living out good deeds, then we are inspired to believe that the wisdom from above can truly be lived out in our world below.

Friend of God vs. Friend of the World

Now right here is where we have to pay attention, because one or the other of the wisdoms is at work in us. The wisdom from below is saying “Well, that could never be me. I’m just not that kind of person.” We might think that the wisdom from above is gallantry – and we just aren’t sure if gallantry is possible. And the weeds of envy, resentment, cynicism choke out the fruit that God is ready to harvest in you.

But the wisdom from above is more than gallantry. It is humility – humility before God that expresses itself in good deeds. We turn to God and let him purify our hearts. I want you to hear the truth and the good news. It is coming from above and from one who created the world, but is greater than the world; one who is greater that our hearts that sometime condemn us. God is calling us to be different and act differently if he didn’t think we could? Think about that. (Read 4:7-10)
Purify your heart. Ask for the Wisdom from Above. God will give it to you – free! He wants you to be His friend.

Transitions

Posted by David on August 28, 2008 under Bulletin Articles

“Water Tank Hill” no longer has a water tank. The road that contained “Dead Man’s Curve” no longer exists. Subdivisions are now where pastures were. Fences that sectioned off places are gone. The place where Dad bought many of our family cars is no longer a car dealership. The high school of my graduation no longer exists. Joyce’s high school building is now being “gutted” to become another facility. The whole area was economically depressed when I grew up-now it is a resort and retirement area.

Things change. Have not things always changed in all centuries? Can you not hear elderly people saying as they looked at an area centuries ago, “I remember when …”

Perhaps it is not so much that “things change,” but that we change. We attended a reunion last weekend. I tried to match my memories of 50 years ago with the white-haired people I saw who did not fit the physical descriptions I recalled. As I looked, I wondered, “What do they see as they look at me?” Maybe the “changed things” are merely mileposts that verify that we passed this way once some time ago.

Transitions occur slowly in most instances. So do we transition slowly, slowly enough that we deceive ourselves. I look in the mirror every day, and I do not see that many changes. I see the image, and my mind says, “You have not changed that much!” (My mind lies to me about some things!) I can pretend I have not “changed that much” until I see things that have changed dramatically-only then am I forced to admit, “You have changed a lot, too!”

If we are honest with ourselves, we hunger deeply for something that does not change. The older you get, the more wonderful the desire is to know someone, to be somewhere that never changes. When you are young, change represents adventuresome opportunities. However, that also will change. As you get older, change represents frustrations. I appreciate the kids helping me with electronic gadgets, but the electronic gadgets themselves frustrate me just by existing.

Jesus Christ is the changeless one. The changeless One invites us to be part of an existence that knows no change and will never need to change. We will be suitable for that existence, and it will be suitable for us. In it there is stability and no frustration. Now that is a place worth seeing-and staying!

What Is Your Vocation?

Posted by Chris on August 24, 2008 under Sermons

[Audio begins with remarks by college student John Carson.]

We encourage our young people to go to college and study so that they might be prepared for their vocation. We tend to think of a vocation as a career or a job. That’s the typical understanding of the word today.

But this word has deeply spiritual roots. It comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call.” A vocation is a calling.

• LFC students: They will earn their degrees in physics, business, medicine – but they have a calling to ministry in Christ’s name …
• We see young men and women who would certainly be great people regardless, but they have accepted the call to do something exceptional. A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for …

A servant of Christ is exceptional calling. It is a worthy vocation. We are all called to set sail and be servants of Christ.

We are inspired by our college students and our missionaries, but if we take the message of James and the teaching of Christ seriously, then we are all called to be hearers and doers of the word. Their circumstances are different, but our calling is the same – to live and die for Christ, to practice pure religion, to be hearers and doers of the word.

Unfortunately, there is a bland imitation wisdom that tells us that the kingdom of heaven is a “gated community” within which Christians can feel unthreatened and keep out the undesirables. This false wisdom keeps us in a Christian bubble – a safe harbor from which we never set sail.

If we all led quiet, ordinary lives that kept us out of trouble and safe, we would very likely be content with one another. One can be considered a good Christian if he or she knows something about Christ, goes to church, has been baptized and takes communion every Lord’s day.
But that’s a very minimal Christianity that doesn’t pay attention to one’s vocation.

Jim Wilson brought a need before us on behalf of our Ethiopian brothers and sisters. John Carson has brought Jesus’ words to our attention – the one who takes these words and puts them into practice is like a wise person who builds a house on solid ground.
I also want to place before us a word from Jesus from that same sermon – “Unless your righteousness surpasses the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”

There it is. Jesus is calling all of us to be exceptional disciples. Jesus is calling all of us to be ministers, agents of the kingdom rule right here and now. He is calling us out of the safe harbor and Christian bubble.

What is our vocation? James understood it like this — James 2:14-17

Running From or Running Toward

Posted by David on August 21, 2008 under Bulletin Articles

At times the conditions produced by our situations have a sobering, chilling effect on us. Like the believers at Pentecost (Acts 2:37), we realize we made horrible mistakes, we wish to flee our circumstances, but we have no idea of what to do. Or, like the young man above, we know what we have done, we know what we deserve, and we have no idea of the reception we should anticipate. In fear, we look for answers, or we decide to redirect our lives by heading in the correct direction.

Fearfully fleeing from the consequences of bad choices is a legitimate reason for redirecting our lives toward God. We can get ourselves into some horrible messes by doing what we consider to be wise. I have yet to meet an older person who does not shake his head in disbelief at the stupid things he did as a younger person! Is it not amazing to consider the stupid things we did then that we were convinced were wonderful things to do? Often we thought acts of rebellion against God were a good idea! When we realized what we did, it was gut-wrenching to realize how stupid we were!

At some point the Christian must stop running from hell in fear and start running toward God in appreciation. The epistles (written to individual Christians and congregations) contain many charges based on “this is what you were, this is who you are, and this is what God has done for you.” Consider Ephesians 2:1-10.

At some point the person must understand what God of Himself achieved in Jesus’ willing death and trusting resurrection. At some point the words forgiveness, sanctification, redemption, and righteousness in Christ through the working of God must become more than mere words. Consider amazing scriptures such as Romans 3:21-30, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, and 1 Peter 2:21-25.

When we begin to grasp the magnitude of God’s love for us, we begin running toward God which involves much more than running away from hell. We flee from hell by “not doing.” We run toward God by “being.” Running from hell over a long period of time typically results in a void. Running to God over a long period of time typically results in a fullness, a meaning, a joy, and a peace that places faith in God’s goodness, not the goodness of self. Are you running away from hell or toward God?

Back-To-School Blessing

Posted by Chris on August 17, 2008 under Sermons

THERE IS NO WRITTEN SERMON TEXT FOR THIS EVENT

Anxiety: The Soul of Worry

Posted by David on August 14, 2008 under Bulletin Articles

Anxiety is a strange human emotion. It focuses on the future-negatively. “What are we going to do when or if …?” The implication: “We will have no options.” How often have you had no options? Or, the dreaded feeling: “We will be boxed in with no choices.” How many times have you been “boxed in” and had “no choices”?

Anxiety is a strange emotion because it is self-induced. Who says there will be a “when” or an “if”? “I” do. Who says there will be “no options”? “I” do. Who says that “I” will be “boxed in” and have “no choices”? “I” do.

May I paraphrase Jesus’ statements in words we would use? “Is not existence about more than physical needs? Does not the reality of death limit physical needs? Godless people place 100% of their trust in the physical. They worry about the physical. Godly people understand the real dimension to life that is not physical. They see the folly of seeking only the physical. No matter what you do or decide, you will not eliminate tomorrow’s trouble. Focus your life on realities death cannot touch. It is only by taking care of now that you will be in a position to take care of tomorrow.”

Consider a myth and a couple of questions. Myth: there exists a lifestyle in which there are no anxieties. The person who wastes life on chasing that myth only succeeds in inflicting wounds on self. Questions: Who has avoided difficulty by wringing one’s hands in the panic of anxiety? What is the use of believing God exists if you are going to live like a godless person?

Trusting God involves the way a person looks at life. Perhaps that ranks in the top five ways that Christians fail our world. Christians cannot trust God while living like godless people. When people who are not Christians observe people who are Christians (1) floundering in the same problems (2) by dealing with them in the same ways and attitudes as people who do not trust God, they ask, “What is the use of being a Christian?”

Perhaps the greatest gift you can give to a world out of touch with God is Jesus’ way of looking at life. The “Jesus look” includes understanding that death is not the end of life. The physical is a bridge, not a destination. God is honored by seeing past the physical.

Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Anger

Posted by Chris on August 10, 2008 under Sermons

Self-Control and Speech

Learning how to say just enough, but not too much is standard for interviews …

Throughout the ages, philosophers and moralists have offered advice on controlling one’s speech. They encourage us to be silent and speak briefly. Silence is safer. It avoids misspeaking.

According to James, controlling our speech is more than a matter of self-control. We are meant to be the result of God’s word implanted in us. His word of truth gives birth to a new creation. (1:18-21) So, when it comes to the way we use words, there is more at stake than our reputation.

James says that the tongue (by which he means the power of human speech) is set on fire by hell. He means that this incredible gift of speech is corrupted by the power of evil. If you want to find the frontline of the battle of good and evil it is often in our words …

• We are caught up in a tension between the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below.
• We are either friends of God or friends of the world.

Our speech (and this is especially true of the teacher) hovers in the space between that tension. The way we speak and act is a part of what God is doing to change the world. So James raises the bar and calls us to “perfection.”

• But at the same time James reminds us how hard it is to be perfect.
• James is cautioning us to think twice about accepting the responsibility of being a leader or teacher because of this difficulty in speaking perfectly.
• We don’t have to interpret this neurotically as if some sort of absolute perfection is called for and one can never say anything at all. We need not interpret this hyper-literally as if we can never say something erroneous – even if we don’t know it.
• We live in a day and age when every single word is placed under a social microscope. Words and phrases are parsed and twisted to elicit meanings that the speaker never intended. James is not calling for perfection from the cynical lens of society.
• Rather, James is calling us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (1:19). He has already stated this and 3:1-12 is an elaboration on that.

Perfection is Maturity

It is not too much to ask that we should keep our speech perfect from the sort of words and language that are borne out of immaturity, anxiety, and anger.

Boasting, slander, gossip, grumbling are types of speech that are not only rude, but they place us under God’s judgment.

• Judgment of God – We are to speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. 2:12 This is the law of love (2:8) that James has already mentioned. It is rooted in the command to love your neighbor as yourself.

Consistency and Character – Love God, Love One Another

When a righteous Israelite spoke God’s name, he or she would say “Yahweh, blessed be his name.” To speak the name of God is something very holy and heavy. How audacious that we should speak his name. When we speak it, we bless it.

• With the same power and function of speech, one can utter stinging, burning words of condemnation and scorn toward others. It isn’t just that these word are unkind, rude, and hurtful (which they are), but there is a problem on a much larger scale – humans are created in God’s image. It makes no sense that we would bless the name of God and then curse anyone who bears the likeness and spirit of God. That is an inconsistency.

If the source of imperfect, harmful speech is not foolish patter or pontificating, then it is typically anger …

Anger seems to accomplish much. An angry employer drives his employees to greater productivity. An angry husband and father keeps his wife and children in submission and “runs a tight ship.” An angry wife and mother gets her way as the rest of the family does not dare to risk her ire. An angry church leader can bully the congregation, so that no dissension appears within the flock, and a happy uniformity of belief and opinion prevails.

Anger is epidemic. It’s too easy to play the “I’m offended” card. An angry person can intimidate others so that everyone else is cautious of that person’s sensitivities.

Edwin Friedman — “Beware the insensitivities of the sensitive!”

Anger does not work God’s righteousness … A wrathful person stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression. (Proverbs 29:22)

It’s not too much to ask that we show some judgment with the words we use. After all, if we don’t … God will!

But if no one can tame the tongue, what’s the alternative? Are we just supposed to keep our mouths shut and smile and speak nice? Hardly.

No one can tame the tongue – but God can. We can ask for the wisdom that comes from above. We can receive the implanted word that saves us. And it saves our speech.

In the coming weeks we will see that James speaks of a way that Friends of God employ the power of speech in ways that do not harm and tear down, but instead can use words and deeds to bless others, to confess sin, to pray for others, and to sing encouragement.

A portion of the sermon above is taken from the article “Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger: A Plea to the Commissioners to the 71st General Assembly” by James S. Gidley which was printed in New Horizons and can be found here: http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/NH04/06b.html

The Power of Choices

Posted by David on August 7, 2008 under Bulletin Articles

Some choices are understood to be critical and contain significance that is obvious. Other choices are routine and happen almost habitually. Some choices are extremely serious. They demand time and thought. Other choices are “no brainers.” They are made as almost a reflex response to the immediate situation.

Choices are peculiar things. All of them set in motion events that touch lives and produce events beyond our imaginations.

Years ago in another state I knew a teen extremely close to his parents. Whenever possible, the three were together. When he did anything, one or both parents were present. One day, he and a couple of friends agreed to haul some hay to help someone out-a harmless, small, good choice. As they returned, he decided to ride in the bed of the truck-a harmless, small choice. He decided to get atop the cab and put his hands on the wind shield-no harm intended. His friend touched the brakes-no harm intended. The boy on the cab fell and lost his life. Wonder how many lives were affected for many years to come because of that series of choices which intended no harm?

I have not kept a record of funerals I have been a part of for over 50 years. Some involved people who lived long, full lives. Some involved tragedies that were unexpected. Often I heard grieving people say, “If only I had done this,” or, “If only that had happened!” Typically, one small difference, one small choice made differently, would have altered (at least temporarily) the situation in powerful ways.

It is not just the sorrow in death, but also the living of life. Most of us can look at a number of events in our lives that would have impacted the direction of our lives and the lives of others tremendously if only our decision had been made differently.

Few things say as much about who we are and what our values are as do our choices. It is amazing how a single, innocent, insignificant choice can forever determine someone’s opinion of what we are, or alter the direction of our life, or impact someone else in ways we never intended, or change lives that were not involved in our choice. When we realize the impact of a poorly or thoughtlessly made choice, often our only recourse is a declaration of sorrow. However, regardless of our genuine sorrow, our sorrow does not alter the sequence of events we set in motion by a poor or thoughtless choice.

Thank You, God, for Your forgiveness! Give us the patience and the wisdom to make better choices. Help us be responsible when we recognize the hurt of our choices.

Faith and Works

Posted by Chris on August 3, 2008 under Sermons

Miss America question – Why is it that Miss America contestants are asked, “If named Miss America, what would you do to promote world peace?”

• The interview question portion of the contest seems sort of empty and contrived.
• It’s not that the contestants give empty answers, sometimes they answer the questions quite well, but what is Miss America really going to do about it? That’s the problem. I don’t recall the title of Miss America having any real authority. We never see Miss America brokering peace in the Middle East or enacting legislation to lower gas prices. We know that Miss America cannot really do much, but we want to hear a good answer.
• Then again, I suppose the public and the Miss America organization decided that actions do speak louder than words. So, beginning in 1989 Miss America contestants were required to choose and issue of relevance to society and set out to make a difference in that area.

We have a lot of old sayings that send this message:
Actions speak louder than words.
If you talk the talk, then walk the walk.
Practice what you preach.
The first century version of this is: Faith Without Works is Dead.

What James is Not Saying:

1. He is not saying that we earn our salvation through works.
   1. We cannot do anything that places a claim on God. James 2:24 has been the focus of controversy for many hundreds of years now. It seems to contradict what Paul says in Romans 3:24
   2. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
   3. The confusion is centered on the word justification. Paul and James use the term differently. They both use it differently than we do. We tend to think of justification as legal ruling. Justification is the process through which something “Gets us off the hook.” And the debate for at least the last 500 years has been over that can happen through anything we can do.
   4. Terms and concepts that Paul and James wouldn’t have concerned themselves with have added a lot of baggage to this term. But maybe there’s another way for us to understand “justification.” Take it out of the legal world and move it into the world of typesetting. One makes the text line up on the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. Justify in this sense means that someone or something lines the text up to a norm.
   5. Maybe this gets us closer to the biblical meaning, even though typesetting is completely foreign to James and Paul. God, in his grace, is lining us up. He is moving us from unrighteousness to righteousness. It’s a process; it is change; it is training. He’s making us holy.
2. James is not saying that words and faith are unimportant. He covers the follow up to the concern that faith is just empty talk. He can hear someone who’s really task-oriented saying, “Alright, you take care of the faith stuff and I will handle the deeds!”
   1. But that sort of unenlightened and uninformed work is just as empty and meaningless as faith without deeds.
   2. We can suffer not only from idleness, but also unreflective work. Such work will tend to focus on ourselves and our own talents rather than God and the power of his Spirit.
   3. James is making the case that faith and deeds go together.

What James is Saying:

1. James is saying that faith must be embodied. That sounds a lot like Jesus who taught us that our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus was the word of God made flesh. Probably no one knew that as well as James.
   1. So the illustration about failing to meet the physical needs of a brother or sister.
   2. We are body and spirit and being a friend of God is faith and deeds.
2. James is saying that faith means risk. Abraham and Rahab. They took a chance, they risked. Why? Because they believed in God’s word. They had faith.
3. James is saying that faith and deeds are always working together.
   1. A friend of God not only believes what God believes, but does as God would do.
   2. This goes back to the lesson of hearing and doing the word. We have to put it into action.
   3. We must be careful that we do not get caught up in any false dualism that forces an emphasis on faith and teaching to the exclusion of action OR an emphasis on action to the exclusion of prayer, reflection, teaching and faith.

A. J. Jacobs – The Year of Living Biblically

• Jacobs sets out to live the instruction of the Bible as literally as possible. Nothing is left out. Along the way he finds that this task begins to affect his thinking and his actions in more than just the obvious externals (like growing a beard and wearing fringes). One of the people who quizzes Jacobs about his project is his free-spirited, hippie neighbor Nancy. Nancy lives alone with her dog Memphis and she is working on a book about Jimi Hendrix.
• On Day 372 of his project, Jacobs learns that his neighbor Nancy has died. Jacobs feels regret. Maybe he and his wife should have invited her to dinner. Maybe he could have helped her get her book published. He could have bought her a gift to repay her for the ones she bought his son. So many good thoughts and good intentions, but no action.
• His last chance to redeem himself was to find her dog, Memphis, and good home. After some work and campaigning with friends, Memphis found a good family in the suburbs. He moved from the apartment to a house with a yard and a porch. Jacobs felt like he had done something that Nancy would have liked, but he flashed back to a question that Nancy had asked him months ago: Did he help because the Bible told him to, or because he really wanted to?
• What Jacobs discovered was that in time and as faith matures, the line between pretending to be better and actually beginning to be a better person fades away. What the Bible says and what he wants to do merge.

We can ask so many questions about faith against works, maybe we just need to start letting them work together as God always intended.
I commend this congregation. May God help us to 1) know what we believe and trust in God’s grace for salvation, and 2) live out that salvation and show it at work in us through the things we do. I see it.

CURE, Hope Chest, Car Care, Girls Making an Impact – see, we even have a name for some of it at West-Ark. But then there are all the many and varied ways that you are showing your faith in your deeds: visiting others in the hospital, providing for the needs of those who cannot supply them, fellowship that overcomes loneliness, taking meals to new parents, young people mowing the lawn of widows, sending a card. That’s not just busy work – that’s faith.

Do you have faith? Put it into action.
Are you active in good works? Great, but is your faith in the work or in the One who equipped you and prepared the work for you?

All Blessings Have a Price

Posted by David on July 31, 2008 under Bulletin Articles

Before Paul was a Christian, he knew Jesus was not the Messiah (Christ). He was so certain he was correct in his conclusion, he arrested his own Jewish people, knowing their arrest could lead to death (see Acts 8:1-3 and 9:1, 2). After the events of Acts 9:3-9, Paul knew the exact opposite-he knew Jesus was the Christ.

When the disciple, Ananias, was hesitant to deliver the Lord’s message to Paul, the Lord told Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15, 16).

No one valued more the gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ than did Paul. The Lord’s mercy and forgiveness overwhelmed him! He once wrote of himself, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:12-16). In Paul’s estimation, he had been the greatest sinner alive. He received mercy because (a) he acted in ignorance of who Jesus actually was, and (b) he could be used as proof that if God could forgive him, forgiveness could be extended to anyone.

Paul clearly understood that he was not in a saved relationship with God because he, Paul, was wonderful and talented. Paul was in a saved relationship with God because God is wonderful. The fact that God is wonderful is seen in what God did in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The fact that Jesus was Lord was seen in his total surrender to the Father to achieve the Father’s purposes. Paul was more than willing to serve as God and His Christ’s example of the power of divine mercy and grace in forgiveness. Paul was deeply appreciative of the forgiveness he received; he was more than willing to demonstrate God can save anyone.

2 Corinthians 11:24-33 and 12:1-10 declare some of the prices Paul paid for the blessing he found in Jesus Christ. Do not look at Paul’s sufferings as retribution from God. Look at them as the prices he paid to confront evil. Do not complain when your blessings cost you. Instead, focus on the value of your blessings. Never forget, evil confronts godliness.