Month: June 2021

On the Road with Jesus: Living in the Kingdom (Pt. 1)

Posted on by VoiceShepherd

We’re continuing our journey with Jesus and His disciples in Luke’s gospel. Today, we’re going to look at the first half of Luke 6:17-49. There we read:

Then [Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place. And a large number of his disciples had gathered along with a vast multitude from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured. The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already. Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away. Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

— Luke 6:17-36

In this long passage, we see Jesus talking about what might seem to be many different topics. However, there is one consistent theme that binds them together.

Living in the Kingdom

After Jesus appointed the apostles (Luke 6:12-16), he came and ministered to the multitudes. The sermon that follows closely parallels that of Matthew 5-7. However, it’s clearly different for two reasons. First, Jesus is said to have on a “plain” (or level place, as the ESV says), where as in Matthew, ther sermon is given on the side of a mountain. Second, the content, while similar, is not identical has has a few different emphasis. Both accounts, though, focus on the same theme, life in the Kingdom. (By the way, for Matthew’s account, the Sermon on the Mount, you can read the blogs in the “Growing in Christ” series.)

What’s the first thing that Jesus does here? Preach? No. Verses 17-19 tell us that Jesus ministered to the people in practical ways. Those with diseases were cured, the demon-oppressed were set free. His ministry was so strong that Luke says, “And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.” Before He began to teach them about the Kingdom, he focused on physical needs. We see this over and over in the gospels, Jesus using physical needs as a doorway to talk about spiritual needs.

Then we have the contrast between the people in verses 20-23 and those in verse 24-26. Where one group is “blessed,” for the other Jesus pronounces “woe!” This is certainly at odds with how the world sees things. The poor, the hungry, those who weep and mourn, and those who are hated and cursed by people because of the Son of Man are blessed. Why? Because rewards await them. Those rewards are eternal and cannot be taken from them.

On the other hand, Jesus says, “Woe!” to those who are rich, those who are full now, those who know not the experience of weeping and mourning, and those who who are spoken well of by all people (by the world). Why “woe”? Because what they experienced in this life is all they will receive. Why is that? It’s not that being “satisfied” is a sin. Rather, Jesus is again talking about earthly things to demonstrate spiritual realities. Those who are rich, who do not know hunger, who have not experienced weeping, and whom are always well-spoken of by the world are in a place where they believe they don’t need God. This is a common theme through Luke’s gospel. Remember, Jesus came to for the sick, not those who claim to be healthy.

What’s the implied lesson here? We who follow Chirst are to have a different attitude–former attitude, not the latter. We are to be different than the world. The next verses (27-36) give us another example of how that should look. Notice first that Jesus talks about two groups in this passage. He distinguishes them as “sinners” and “you who hear” (meaning those who are His disciples). There’s an implication to this that we won’t dive into right now, but it is this: Those who are in God’s kingdom are not known as sinners; they have a different identity.

Let’s look at the contrasts between these two groups. First, Jesus gives the commands to His disciples:

  • Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you
  • Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
  • Do not retaliate against one who strikes you or seizes your possessions; instead offer the other cheek.
  • Give to all who ask of you, not expecting it back. Treat others as you wish to be treated.

Then He contrasts that commands with how “sinners” relate to people.

  • Even sinners love those who love them back.
  • Even sinners do good to those who do good to them.
  • Even sinners lend to others, expecting to get back what they lent.

Jesus finishes here by repeating his command earlier, and adding that for those who do, “Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (verses 35–36). There are at least two lessons here.

First, Jesus tell us the character of the Father. He is kind. But He is not only kind to those who are righteous and grateful, but also to the ungrateful and evil. This kindness is likened to mercy. Mercy, in Jesus’ language is always active kindness.

Second, because God is our Father, we are to be of the same mindset. We are to be merciful. Not only because He is merciful toward us, but because He is merciful. We have been and are being transformed to His moral image. Thus, Jesus is telling us to walk according to who we are.

The disciple of Jesus, then, is to rise above, going the extra mile (to borrow that old saying). And why are we to do that? Not simply because “the Bible says so,” but because of our identity. (Remember the implication from earlier?) We are no longer sinners. We have been redeemed, and now we can, should, and desire to love God and love others, even beyond the world’s definition of “love.”

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On the Road with Jesus: Food, Healing, and the Sabbath

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We’ve seen so far that Jesus was not what the people of Israel expected in a Messiah. He talked about being sent to the Gentiles after all! Now, we’re going to see that Jesus wasn’t quite the “observant Jew” that the Pharisees thought He should be.

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. (Luke 6:1-11)

Before we begin, we should clarify something. In saying Jesus wasn’t the observant Jew that the religious people thought He should be, we don’t mean that He didn’t keep God’s standards for Israel. In fact, Jesus claimed to always do what pleases the Father (John 8:29). It’s just that He wasn’t keeping the Law according to the traditions and rules of the Pharisees. As we’ll see on this journey, Jesus redefined (or defined properly) what real obedience looks like.

Food, Healing, and the Sabbath

There are two different scenes in our passage, but they revolve around a single subject: the Sabbath. In the first scene, verses 1-5, Jesus and His disciples are outside on the Sabbath plucking the heads of grain in a grain field, and “rubbing the heads in their hands.” Now, a little background. The Law of Moses permitted this. We see this in Deuteronomy 23:25:

If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.

So, Jesus and His disciples were doing what was permitted in the Law. What’s the problem then? The problem is the Pharisees considered “rubbing the heads between their hands” to be work, which was not to be done on the Sabbath. But, that was added to the law much later. Jesus calls such things “traditions.” He gives two responses to the Pharisees: One about the law and the other about the Lawgiver. First, He appeals to the story of David, found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. There we read this:

Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

We need to notice two things in this story. First, it was not a Sabbath. Second, David did something that was not lawful (under the Law of Moses). What is Jesus’ point in reminding the Pharisees of the story? By citing this instance, He implicitly approves of the action of David eating the bread. Infringement of the rule to meet a genuine human need received no condemnation. So, His point is that ceremonial rites have to give way to higher moral concerns (in this case human need).

After giving that analogy, Jesus then turns to Himself. He simply says, “The Son of Man” (His favorite term for Himself) is lord of the Sabbath.” What does this mean? As one with the Father, Jesus is the only one who can truly define what was intended by the law. And He often did re-interpret the Law, moving it away from the traditions of the religious leaders.

The second scene, in verses 6-11, takes place in a synagogue on a different Sabbath. Luke tells us that Jesus was teaching and that there was “a man there whose right hand was withered.” After the previous confrontation over the Sabbath, the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to find reason to discredit and accuse Him. So, we know right from the beginning their motives weren’t pure.

Notice that Jesus “knew their thoughts,” meaning the desire of the Pharisees and scribes to accuse Him. So, what does He do? He calls the man with the withered hand up front. He intends to meet the challenge head-on. Notice also the question Jesus asks of the religious leaders:

Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?

This is really a rhetorical question, the obvious answer, one would think, is “to do good; to save life.” But, the leaders have no intention of engaging in that discussion, so they remain silent. (Mark’s account, in Mark 3:1-6, tells us that Jesus “looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”) Jesus then simply tells the man, “Stretch out your hand.” There’s no suggestion that Jesus touched the man, only that He gave the man a command.

Stretch out your hand.

What happened when the man obeyed? His hand was fully restored, just like the other one. Before we get to the reaction of the Pharisees, let’s think about the implications of what just happened. Jesus gave the man a command. He didn’t say, “If you’ll just exercise your faith, your hand will be healed.” No. He gave the man a command. Stretch out your hand. What can we learn from this?

When we obey the command of Jesus, our faith is evident and we see His purpose in our lives.

The Jewish leaders’ reactions had nothing to do with faith. Luke tells us “they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” Mark is even more emphatic. He writes, “The Pharisees immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” Now, one thing we need to know is that the Pharisees did not like the Herodians. They were rivals, in fact. But they hated Jesus so much that they consulted with their political and religious rivals to get rid of Him.

The leaders considered healing on the Sabbath to be work, in violation of the Law of Moses. Again, Jesus teaches us that the Law was not meant to be a burden to man. Rules are never to be enforced to the exclusion of human need. Remember His question to the Pharisees?

Is it lawful . . . to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?

Same question, except for removing the words “on the Sabbath.” When Jesus asked that question to the Pharisees, the implication of the question is this: Not only are we to do good and save life, but to fail to do so is unlawful. And if that is true on the Sabbath, then it’s true on every other day as well.

We are to do good to others, helping preserve life and not destroy it. The law of Christ is always focused on the needs of people over rules and regulations.

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On the Road with Jesus: They Knew Him When

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Starting today, we are embarking on a journey with Jesus. We’ll look at some of the scenes from Luke’s gospel, highlighting times that Jesus is said to be travelling. We’re going to start with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, after His baptism and temptation.

They Knew Him When

And Jesus returned [from being tempted in the wilderness] in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away. (Luke 4:14-30)

This isn’t the way many would have imagined their Messiah to begin His ministry. Instead of going immediately to Israel’s leaders and announcing His kingdom, He embarks on a mission of teaching and helping. Notice the first thing He does after returning from the wilderness is enter the synagogues to teach. And when He does this, He proclaims His mission:

  • To proclaim good news to the poor
  • To proclaim liberty to the captives
  • To proclaim recovering of sight to the blind
  • To set at liberty those who are oppressed
  • To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

Jesus is saying, “The time has come. This is the time of the Lord’s favor. It’s time to set the children of God free.” Notice that all of those things have to do with freedom and liberty. And He began to do just that. He set people free from all sorts of oppression–blindness, deafness, mute, epilepsy, leprosy, demon oppression, and more. He just didn’t do what everyone in Israel wanted done: to kick the Romans out.

This is why we see the leaders and the people reject Jesus. They were really rejecting His portrait of what Messiah was and would do. They forgot that their own writings told of a Messiah who would do the very works that Jesus did. This is also a clue as to why their attitude changed toward Him. They were “marveling” at the gracious words coming out of His mouth, but then when He brought up the subject of Elijah and Elisha being sent to Gentiles instead of Israel, they were “filled with wrath” and tried to throw Him off the cliff!

Two things happened here. First, they saw Jesus as someone they knew. He was, after all, preaching in His hometown of Nazareth. He rightly pointed out that “no prophet is accepted in his own town.” They said among themselves, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Translation? “We know this guy!! He’s just an ordinary carpenter. Who does He think He is?” Second, the Jews clung so tightly to their status of “God’s people,” that they had forgotten that they were supposed to be a light to the nations. Now, not only were they blind, not being that light, they hated anyone who would show God’s light to the Gentiles.

What is the lesson here? There are at least three. First, God wants people of all the nations to be given this message of freedom and liberty. As the Jews were called to be a light to the nations, so we are called to be the light and engage with those who are different from us. We might be tempted to see ourselves the same way the Jews saw themselves, as God’s people and hunker down in that identity. But God calls us to be the light to the nations.

Second, when we are called by God and embrace His priorities, often the strongest opposition comes from within our circle of people who know us. Our family, friends, or church can often be where we see that resistance the most. This is why Jesus made it clear that we must place Him above all over earthly relationships. Being on mission with Jesus will cost us, but He is worth it.

Third, we still live in the “year” of the Lord’s favor. Jesus stopped His reading before the next part of Isaiah 61, which continues: “the day of vengeance of our God.” And as we see time and time throughout the Gospels, His first response to those in bondage to sin and oppression is compassion. He reserved His judgment for those who thought they were well. And what did that compassion look like? We see great examples of the heart of compassion in Luke 10:25-37 and Luke 15:11-24.

We are walking with Jesus, who has great compassion for us, showing us the heart of the Father. Likewise, we can show compassion for those around us.

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Pressing Forward, Not Shrinking Back (Pt. 3)

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But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:32-39)

In this post, the last in our 3-part series on Hebrews 10:19-39, we’re going to look at the last part of our passage and learn about holding on to our confidence when times get touch. Previously, we’ve talk about the need to press forward in love, moving toward God and man. We’ve also talked about what happens when we fail to do that–when we “go on deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth.” Now we will apply those lessons.

Confident Baby Steps and Maturity

Let’s begin by looking at the first two verses in this passage. It starts out with “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened . . . ” This suggests first that the author is referring to when his audience was first converted to Christ, and second that the author was present during that time (or at least had knowledge of them during that time). What were those early days like? The author reminds his audience, “You endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

Have you ever noticed that new believers often start off that way? A great zeal for the Lord. “We’ll do anything, bear anything, for the Lord!” And, as new believers, we seem to have such great faith. We see our prayers answered. Things seem so easy and natural.

Then…. life hits. The flesh reasserts itself to remind us that we haven’t arrived yet. We grow weary. Things suddenly become harder. That’s where the believers are in this passage. Why do we often start off like that, so well-intentioned and full of faith? I believe it’s because God is helping us learn to trust Him in the easy times. When building endurance and strength, and athlete doesn’t start with the hardest things possible. He or she works up to that. It’s the same with our spiritual muscles. During those early years of faith, we learn that God is good and He is trustworthy.

This is why the author of Hebrews wants his readers to “recall the former days.” He wants them to remember how God gave them great faith and they were able to overcome so many things. Now, they are being tempted to return to keeping the law. Why? Because it’s easier to try to follow the rules than it is to walk by faith. And if they were to return to law-keeping they would be “throwing away [their] confidence” (v. 35). The confidence they had as young believers would be for nothing. Everything they had endured to this point would be for nothing. But holding onto their confidence in God has “great reward,” the author reminds them. Indeed the One who is coming (Christ) will come. And when He comes He will give them their reward.

So, we start out in life–both physically and spiritually–taking baby steps. We learn to do the easy things so that we can lean into the hard things. In order to mature, we have to lean into the harder things, and we can do so based on the confidence we gained earlier. Not confidence in ourselves, but in the One who is faithful and is coming with our eternal reward.

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Pressing Forward, Not Shrinking Back (Pt. 2)

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For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)

In the last post, we began looking at Hebrews 10:19-39. We said that now, because of God’s great love for us and the work of Christ on the cross, we can approach God with confidence and others in love and encouragement. In fact, we are told to press forward, moving toward God and others. In this post, we’re going to talk about the danger of shrinking back. This passage, Hebrews 10:26-31, has caused much debate in the church through misunderstandings of what it does and does not teach.

The Danger of Shrinking Back

The first statement of this passage may at first seem like an abrupt change of subject to the modern reader. We might be tempted to ask, “Who said anything about continuing to deliberately sin?” But, the author of Hebrews is making a contrast. He is contrasting the exhortations in the previous section (vv. 22-25) with “continuing to sin deliberately.” So, to state it simply,

Drawing near to God, holding fast to our faith, and encouraging each other
is in direct contrast to
Continuing to deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth

There is an important implication here that we need to think about. Based on these passages, we can say that those exhortations in vv. 22-25 (drawing near to God, holding fast to our faith, and encouraging/loving one another) are natural and expected behaviors for Christians. This is a section, like many of the more practical parts of Paul’s letters, that say, “This is what a Christian, one who has been washed by Christ’s blood, looks like.” If there is never any movement in those directions by a professed believer, then there is a problem.

Now, let’s look at that first statement fully. The author of Hebrews writes, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (emphasis added). We need to be careful in understanding this sentence. First, notice what the author does not say. The author does not say there will not be forgiveness, but instead that there is no more sacrifice for sin. Why is this? Because Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all sin. And it’s because of Christ’s sacrifice that the believer is changed and empowered to grow in Christ.

Basically, the author of Hebrews is saying, “God has done all He can. He has provided everything we need to change and live in relationship and fellowship with Him and others.” Peter echoes this thought when he writes,

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. (2 Peter 1:3–4)

And Paul further adds,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14)

God has given us His grace for the specific purpose of training us in righteousness and to help us avoid unrighteousness. He has given us all we need, not the least of which is His very presence. Thus, anyone who continues to willfully live in sin after receiving His grace is spurning both the grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ. What does the author say about such an attitude? There is no more sacrifice for sins. It’s as if the offernder is saying, “That’s not enough God,” but God has done everything possible.

This is why the author writes that the only thing left is “a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Now, we need to avoid a couple of extremes here. One extreme would say, “You lost your salvation [or were never a believer at all].” The other extreme would say, “It doesn’t matter, all sins are covered by grace.” Both are contrary to the sense of the text. Notice that verse 30 says, “The Lord will judge His people.” Here, as with all the NT letters, the writer is communicating to those who at least profess the name of Christ. He sees His audience as God’s people.

To reinforce this, look at verse 29, which contains these words:”. . . . the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified” (emphasis added). Notice that the writer speaks of this one of having been sanctified by Christ’s blood. He is one of God’s people. Thus, God does judge His people. He does discipline us, to train us in righteousness (we’ll talk about that in the next post). This is why both of those extremes are in error.

Now, let’s talk about why this judgment is merited. The author of Hebrews makes an argument from the lesser to the greater. He reminds the people that those who rebelled against the law of Moses were executed without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses (v. 28). Then he asks, “How much worse punishment will be deserved “the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?” (v. 29) The one who continues to sin deliberately, shrinking back from what God has called him to, has (as we said above) essentially told God, “What you did was not enough, and I reject it.”

How to Live Without Shrinking Back

The problem with teaching about or reading passages such as this is that it’s too easy to focus on the judgment and fear. It, no doubt, is a warning against abusing the grace we have received from God. At the same time, as we commit our hearts to positively and actively following Christ, we need not fear that jdugment. Discipline? Yes. God disciplines all of us, to train us. Discipline is not always punishment, though.

The thing is, we have to remember that God describes Himself as patient (Exodus 34:6), and the writers of both the Old and New Testaments agree. 2 Peter 3:9 tell us that God is patient toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all reach repentance. Psalm 103:14 tells us that God remembers our frame, He nows that we are but dust. My translation of that is, “He knows He has to pick up our slack.” But He knows our hearts also. He knows who is His, and He knows the desire of our hearts. As our hearts are turned toward Him, He will grant our desires to obey and follow Him. We will press forward and not shrink back.

Go to Part 1

Go to Part 3

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Pressing Forward, Not Shrinking Back (Pt. 1)

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Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:19–39)

This is the first in a three-part series looking at Hebrews 10:19-39. In many ways this is a follow-up and conclusion to the last several posts on the New Covenant and its implication (see “A Better Word than Abel“, 5/13/21, for the start of this series). Now, the author of Hebrews is going to turn practical. Here, he gives some practical directions based on what he has said before. We can break this passage into three parts:

  • Drawing Near to God and Others (vv. 19-25)
  • The Danger of Shrinking Back (vv. 26-31)
  • Confident Baby Steps and Maturity (vv. 32-39)

Drawing Near to God and Others

Notice that the passage begins with “therefore.” This links back to what has previously been said. Since context is important to understanding any passage of Scripture, we’ll briefly mention that the author of Hebrews has gone to great lengths to show the superiority of the New Covenant and of Jesus. In fact, his two statements beginning with “since” (vv. 19, 21) are really a summary of what he has argued up to this point. He tells us:

Since we have confidence to enter the holy place.

The author starts out by reminding us that we have “confidence” to enter the holy place. First, what does it mean to be able to enter “the holy place”? Simply put, it means that we now have direct access to God. Previously the author of Hebrews had said, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). We can now approach the very throne of grace. In the Old Testament this was represented by the ark of the covenant. The top of the ark was covered with gold, with golden cherubim on either side. It was referred to as the mercy seat. The ark was in the innermost part of the Tabernacle and Temple, the most holy place (the holy of holies), which was separated from all the rest by a thick curtain. No one was allowed to enter behind the curtain except the High Priest, and then he could only enter once a year.

Now, however, not only can we enter the holy place and approach God’s throne, but we can do so in confidence. On what is our confidence founded? We don’t enter by our own works, but “by the blood of Jesus.” He has opened the curtain, giving us a fresh and living way, “through His flesh,” that is, His death and resurrection. And what does this confidence do? It helps us “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We can ask God, our heavenly Father, for help, without fearing judgment or condemnation. In fact, He delights to help us.

Since we have a great high priest over the house of God.

Recall that Jesus is called the Great High Priest, and He is a far better priest than Aaron (see “Jesus, the Highest Priest“). While he can empathize with the temptations and sufferings of His people (as could Aaron), He did not submit to the temptations but lived .a perfectly sinless life. So what advantage is this for us? We have an Advocate, who can say (at the same time) “I’ve been there” (empathizing with us) and “you can do it through My grace” (a statement of encouragement).

Let Us Draw Near and Love

Since we have such a new confidence and new access to God, the author says, we should act in that confidence.

Let us draw near

This is an echo of the verse we already mentioned, Heb. 4:16, which encourages us to “come confidently (some translations say boldly) before the throne of grace.” We are invited to draw near to God, to His very throne. In the Old Testament, God was always at a distance. When He gave the law to Israel at Mount Sinai, there were barriers around the base of the mountain to prevent the people and animals from even touching the mountain. Only Moses was allowed to go up.

Now, though, those barriers have been removed. We can approach God as our heavenly Father. In fact, He desires us to draw near. He delights in us drawing near. He invites us to draw near (James 4:8). We can approach Him in confidence knowing that He, because of His great love, saved us so that we might come near. We can approach Him in confidence knowing that He’s a good father, who has a good plan for us.

We are to draw near “in full assurance of faith” or “with a full measure of faith.” How do experince tha? The author tells us: having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. When we have things weighing on our conscience, it hinders both our faith in and our fellowship with the Lord. Not from His side, mind you, but from ours. We tend to want to repeat Adam and Eve’s behavior. They tried to hide from God, and we tend to draw away also.

But we have the promise of cleansing and forgiveness. John tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, emphasis added). Not only are we forgiven, but we are cleansed. We can experience a clean conscience, and thus we can again draw near to the Father.

Let us hold fast

Not only are we told to draw near, but because we can now approach the throne of our Father, we are told to “hold fast.” We are told to hold fast to “the confession of our faith without wavering.” To me, this gives the since of holding on with everything we’ve got, holding on for dear life. When we hold to our confession of faith, we are holding on to Him.

Why can we hold fast to our faith? Because “He who promised is faithful.” Our Father has promised to forgive our sins, transform us into His image, use us to impact the world, and ultimately take us to be with Him forever. And He has shown Himself faithful over the centuries. He keeps His word. That is one of the most fundamental characteristics of God: faithfulness. Because He has promised, we have a solid rock to cling to.

Let us consider

As we move toward God and hold fast to Him, we are also to move toward others, specifically our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to consider how we can stir one another up to love and good works. This isn’t a Christian “pep rally,” though, to simply stir up emotions (as is often common in the modern church). Rather, it’s giving spiritual encouragement, appealing to the desires of the Spiritual Heart (the new heart), with practical ideas.

This encouragement, the author of Hebrews tells us, comes mainly in the corporate setting of the assembly. He contrasts stirring up one another to love and good works with neglecting to meet together. Can we encourage each other outside that setting? Of course, and we should! But there is something deeply strengthening about encouraging one another in the midst of the church assembly. To me, this suggests that the way we “do” church needs to change, allowing for more people to actively participate in such encouragement.

And we are to give this encouragement all the more, the author says, as we see the Day approaching? What Day is he talking about? The Day of the Lord, when He returns in victory and judgment. Often as we run a race, the end part of the race is harder and harder, and we are more tempted to quit. This is why we need more encouragement the closer we get to that Day.

In our next post we’ll talk about the danger that we face in shrinking back from these encouragements and from the faith.

Let us draw near, hold fast, and encourage one another in confidence and faith in the Risen Christ.

Go to Part 2

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How Then Shall We Live? (Pt. 5)

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In this post, our final post in this series, we are continuing our discussion of spiritual transformation and growth. Specifically, we are going to look at the real keys to our role in transformation. In the last post, we mentioned a passage that talks about these keys.

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2, NET)

This passage marks a shift in Paul’s teaching in Romans. up until this passage, he had been teaching more theology–what to believe. Now he shifts to the working out of that theology. (“If this is true, then this is how you should live.”) Notice that he starts with “therefore.” A well-worn axiom of Bible study says, “When you see a ‘therefore,’ ask ‘What’s the ‘therefore’ there for?” Essentially, Paul is saying, “Because of the great mercy of God that He has shown to us, we should live this way.” He starts off with two ideas in this passage: total devotion and transformation.

Total Devotion: A Living Sacrifice

The first thing Paul exhorts (or encourages) us to do is to present ourselves as a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, a sacrifice was seen as something totally devoted to God. In the same way, the sacrifice of Christ showed His total devotion to the Father’s will. There’s a difference, however, between the sacrificies of the Old Testament and the giving of ourselves wholly to God. The Old Testament sacrifices were killed before being placed on the altar. We, on the other hand, are are told to present ourselves as living sacrifices. In fact, Paul says our sacifice should be “alive, holy, and pleasing to God.”

Even though we aren’t killed, part of us is killed, namely the flesh. As we offer ourselves to God on a daily basis, we live out and enforces the truth of Rom. 6:5-11, particularly the death of the old man. Being a living sacrifice, then, is also living out the truth of Rom. 6:12-14, where presenting oneself to God as an instrument of righteousness leads to transformation and the truth that the we are not under law but under grace.

The real problem with living sacrifices, as is often quipped, is that they tend to try to get off the altar. Likewise our flesh will resist such devotion, and the world and devil will give us reasons not offer ourselves to God in that way. When I was first saved, my first summer after college, my mother would often say “Don’t get too religious on us.” This was before she was saved, and thank the Lord she is with Christ now. But, she didn’t understand the spiritual truth of Romans. This sort of offering must be done daily. It is not a once-for-all sacrifice like Christ’s was for us.

Remember also that sacrifices of old had to be spotless and without blemish. Unfortunately, that is not true of any human. It is only because of Christ that we are holy and righteous. But, Paul does tell us that we have been thoroughly washed and justified by the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:9-11). That is, as you’ll recall, one of the promises of the New Covenant–cleansing and forgiveness. We stand in God’s sight as righteous–not becasue of anything we have done or will do, but solely because of Christ’s work. Because we are cleansed, though, and are continually being cleansed as we walk with Christ, we can present ourselves as that sacrifice to God, being wholly devoted to Him.

Transformation: Renewing the Mind

The second thng Paul tell us to do has two parts–a negative and positive command. The negative command is “do not be conformed to this world.” In the Greek, the word is syschēmatizō, meaning “to conform to, to assimiliate into.” It’s translated as a passive verb (something done to me) rather than active (I do something) because that’s the sense of the Greek. We might paraphrase this as, “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.”

Conformity to the world is most often passive. We adopt thought patterns, beliefs, images, and attitudes from what we ingest–and often without even tinking about it. Unfortunately, the Sinful Heart (which we had before trusting Christ) has already throughly programmed us in the world’s ways. So, it doesn’t take much.

Renewing the mind, then, means replacing those old ways of thinking with God’s ways of thinkings. As we learn, meditate on, and put in the practice God’s Word, our mind is progressively renewed. Thinking in a biblical worldview becomes more natural to us. And as such, our behavior begins to change–not because “I should [or should not] do this,” because it’s natural to me now.

What’s the difference between “conformed” and “transformed”? Besides being mostly passive, conformed has an idea of adopting a system of thought and belief (the Greek word is where we get “system” and “systemitize”) without changing basic nature. The word translated transformed, however, is the Greek word metamorphoō, from which we get metamorphsis. To be transformed is to be changed into something new, something that did exist before. This is the idea Paul has when he writes, “If any man or woman be in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Unfortunately, many Christians practice a form of spiritual growth that seeks to confrom them to Christ’s attitude and behavior rather than transforming them into His image. Changing our external behaviors isn’t enough. Seeking to sin less is a good thing, but it’s not enough. We must be transformed. And that happens as we change the way we are thinking. The Bible has another word for that.

Repentance.

Renewing the mind and being transformed equates to living in a state of repentance before God and others. We change how we think. We come into alignment with God’s word in our beliefs, images, and thoughts, then our attitudes and actions follow. As we do this, we are progressively transformed into the image of Christ. We are changed.

We are new creations in Christ.

We have the hope of being changed. The Holy Spirit was given to us for that very hope and to help us along the journey. No matter where you are or have been on your spirititual journey, there is hope for you to change. No matter what sins you struggle with, whether they be open sin or the deep hidden sin that few see, Christ offers, forgiveness, grace, healing, and change.

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How Then Shall We Live? (Pt. 4)

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In our last post, continuing our discussion of how we are to live in light of the New Covenant, we said that we are to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in transforming us into Christ’s image. To do that, we are to walk according to the Spirit, not according to the Spirit. We then fleshed out what that means:

To walk according to the Spirit is to set the mind on the things of the Spirit, not the things of the flesh.

That thought led to our next question.

#5: How are we to know which desires are of the flesh and which are of the Spirit?

That’s a good question, and sometimes a tricky one. The flesh can be very deceptive, making us think that what we “want” is God’s desire, when it’s really the flesh. Likewise, we sometimes think that something might be of the flesh when it’s actually a Spirit-led desire. When dealing with this question, there are some things to keep in mind.

The First and Greatest Commandment

The fundamental thing that we need to ask is, Are we walking in love? Jesus clearly told us what our first responsibility is:

[Jesus said to the lawyer], “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37–40)

So, our first commandment is to love God, and the second is to love our neighbor. What does this mean? It means that in all we do we are to move toward God in loving obedience and service and move toward people in loving and self-giving service. Any desire that moves us away from these goals is contrary to God’s word and should be rejected. (See my post “Toward Christ: A Model for Biblical Change” for more on this topic.) Desires that tend to move us away from these goals are often focused on self-protection, and a refusal to be vulnerable before God and others.

Fixing the Mind

The next thing we want to think about when we consider how to discern Spirit-led desires and fleshly desires is what we are thinking about. What we saturate our mind with often comes out in our desires. Thus, we are told,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

As we’ve talked about previously, our entire being was thoroughly programmed by the Sinful Heart. Thus, renewing of the mind represents unlearning those old thought patterns and attitudes that keep us from living in dependence on God and moving toward others in loving sacrificial service. This is really a key passage in understanding our role in transformation, so we’ll look at it closely in the next post.

Here are some other questions to ask about thoughts, attitudes, and actions when considering whether they are of the Spirit or the flesh. (For more in-depth discussion of these questions, see my post “Legalism, License, or Liberty?“.)

Is it prohibited in the New Testament? Some examples are found in Rom. 1:28-32; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9-11.

Is it prohibited to all in the Old Testament? Notice the question includes “all.” Some examples are eating meat with blood in it (Gen. 9:4) and murder (Gen. 9:5-6).

Is it beneficial, helpful, or profitable? “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful (1 Cor. 6:12a). Specifically will it help me carry out God’s purposes for my life? Is there an advantage in it?

Is it an activity or thought that controls me? “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything (1 Cor. 6:12b). Notice the idea here is not about something that could control me, but something that actually does.

Will it cause a stumbling block in another’s life? Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 teach that we should be willing to lay down anything that may hinder another’s spiritual growth. This is not simple “offense,” but rather causing another to stumble into sin.

Does it match the characteristics we should be thinking about? Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil. 4:8) This is really one of the best examples of what believers should be focusing their minds on. Because all of these things lead to Jesus.

Is it in accordance with biblical wisdom? Is it wise? Both the Old and New Testament encourage us to seek biblical wisdom. We were created with minds to make wise, reasonable, and sound judgments. The books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes have much to say about wisdom (and great examples of practical wisdom). James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we need only ask for it from our Father who gives it generously (James 1:5).

Speaking of asking the Father, we should always ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. As He instructs us and we obey our ability to discern His will will become better and better.

In our next post, we’ll look closely at the passage we mentioned above. We’ll talk about the two keys in our role in the process of transformation.

Continue to Part 5 in the series >>>

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How Then Shall We Live? (Pt. 3)

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In our last post we talked a little about what it means to be holy and to grow in Christ. We said that holiness is a work of God with which we cooperate in His transforming us into the image of Christ (His image). It is primarily focused on the inner thoughts and attitudes, and is then expressed in outwardly loving behavior. All of that prompts our next question.

#4: What is the believer’s role and responsibility in the process of sanctification (growing in holiness)?

If holiness and sanctification is a work of God that He applies to us, then what is our role in this process (if any)? Do we have a role to play? The short answer to that question is “Yes!” There are numerous positive commands in the New Testament that tell us to be active and not passive in our growth. Some examples include:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1–3)

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

These are just some of the commands in Paul’s letters, and there are more-both in the Gospels and in the other letters. We do have a role to play The question is, “What is our role?” The answer can be summed up in something we said in our last post when talking holiness.

Growing in holiness means cooperating with the Holy Spirit in the process of being progressively transformed into God’s image, to reclaim that which has been distorted in us.

Notice the emphasized words, “cooperating with the Holy Spirit.” That is our role. As we cooperate with Him, He transforms us into the image of Christ. Now, I don’t know about you, but I tend to be a practical person. If you’re the same way, then your next question is likely, “What does that look like? How do I do that?” We’ll find some answers in this passage:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:1–11)

Notice there are two competing ways to “walk” in this passage. The believer (the one “in Christ Jesus,” v. 1) can choose to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. Now, before we talk about the difference between those terms, we need to be clear on what it means to be “in Christ,” because only those in Christ can walk according to the Spirit.

The phrase “in Christ” is one of Paul’s favorite phrases, appearing some 70 times in the New Testament. It is the state in which the believer is placed upon trusting Christ as his Savior. It is a state of union, so that what happened to Christ can be said to have happened to His people (death, burial and resurrection), of which baptism is a symbol. This is why Paul makes his argument that the believer is dead to sin (Rom. 6) and to the law (Rom. 7). When Christ was raised, we were also raised to a new life. His righteousness is given to us.

By contrast, anyone who is not “in Chirst” is “in Adam.” The contrast is seen in passages like Rom. 5:12-21 and 1 Cor. 15:22. Those who are in Adam die. Those who are in Christ are made alive together with Him. To move from being “in Adam” to “in Christ” is to be born again when one repents and trusts Christ for salvation.

So, for those in Christ, what does it mean to walk according to the Spirit? Paul gives us his definition in verse 5 of this passage. He writes, “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Since the believer has the new heart (the Spiritual Heart), he or she now has new desires that are prompted by the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, since the flesh remains, there are also the fleshly thoughts and desires. To walk according to the Spirit, Paul says, is to set our mind on the thoughts and desires of the Spirit. We are to identify, nourish, and live out the Spirit-led desires. As we do that, the Spirit begins to transform us to the image of Christ.

In fact, to set our minds on the things of the Spirit, Paul says, “is life and peace.” If we want to experience God’s peace, then that is the door. We meditate on God, His character, and His ways and seek to live our lives accordingly. As we do that we will experience His peace–the peace that surpasses all understanding (John 14:27; 16:33; Phil. 4:7). This peace can be had even in the hardest and darkest of times.

“But,” one may ask, “how do I know which desires are of the flesh and which are of the Spirit?” It’s a great question, and we’ll look at that in our next post.

Continue to Part 4 in the series >>>

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How Then Shall We Live? (Pt. 2)

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In the last post, we began to talk about the implications of the New Covenant, that “better” covenant that we are part of as followers of Christ. We’ll continue our discussion in this post. The primary thing we need to remember here is this truth:

Under the New Covenant, there is no sin that we cannot be freed from. Change and growth is possible.

There are some who largely discount the New Covenant, practically speaking. This is a dangerous view for a few reasons. First, it denies that God keeps His promises. As we said in previous posts, God does what He says He will do. He keeps His Word. Second, if such views were true, then we are no better off than the people of Israel were. Yet, that is neither the witness of the New Testament nor the experience of millions over the centuries. So, then, how do we live in light of the New Covenant? We’ll continue with our questions.

#3: What does it mean to be holy, to grow in holiness?

This is a deep subject. Entire books have been written on the subject (not to mention the Bible itself). So, we really won’t go very deep here. Some people look at holiness in terms of my outward life–the old standard of, “I don’t smoke, drink, cuss, or chew, or go with girls who do.” Holiness in these sense means being clean on the outside. We avoid activities (and people) that may tempt us to engage in “sinful activities.” Certainly there are activities that are contrary to Scripture and should be regarded as sinful and avoided by the believer.

Holiness, however, is more than the outward appearance of righteousness. Look at a few things that Jesus said:

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. . . . And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:10-20)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.(Matthew 23:23-28)

As we look at these passages, an important truth sticks out. The Pharisees and scribes appeared to do the right things. They prayed, they fasted, they gave, they tithed. Yet, Jesus clearly says that’s not enough. Why is that not enough? Because their hearts weren’t right. Firstly, they were doing those things with impure motives. They wanted the public recognition. They wanted an earthly reward for their “devotion.” Those things, though, are to be done to God’s glory and honor alone. Because of their heart attitude, Jesus said they were hypocrites–outwardly religious and righteous but inside “full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:28). Lawlessness and hypocrisy combine to make one self-righteous, and that is the exact opposite of righteousness. Thus we can say this about holiness:

Holiness is primarily inward. As the inner attitudes are changed, so the person grows in holiness that is expressed outwardly.

There is another aspect of holiness that we need to look at here. It goes back to our identity at creation. Recall what God said about mankind when He created Adam:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

Fundamentally, then, humans are created in God’s image. The Fall and sin have distorted that image in us, however. Contrary to schools of thought that insist the image is completely lost, we still retain God’s image. It is shrouded often by the flesh and our sin, but it’s still there. So, the second thing we can say about holiness is this:

Growing in holiness means cooperating with the Holy Spirit in the process of being progressively transformed into God’s image, to reclaim that which has been distorted in us.

There is one final aspect of holiness that we need to touch on before moving forward. It’s often taught in churches that we are to be sanctified and the actions we take are what makes us holy, or to put it another way, the more we obey the holier we become. That is not the case, however. Here is what the Lord told Israel:

Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy. (Leviticus 20:8, NLT, emphasis added)

What does the Lord say to Israel? He is the one who makes them holy. And He says the same to us. This is another truth that deserves special attention.

Holiness and transformation is a work of God, not man. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves holy.

We need to ponder that statement. It prompts another question about our role and responsibility in transformation. We’ll take a look at that in our next post.

Continue to Part 3 in the series >>>

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