Fight The Good Fight (2 Timothy 4:5-8)

5 But you must stay focused, self-controlled and be alert at all times. Tolerate suffering[1]. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called.6 For I am already being poured out, and the last drops of this drink offering are all that remain; it’s almost time for me to leave[2]. 

 7 I have fought the good[3] fight, I have stayed on course and finished the race, and through it all, I have kept the faith.[4] 8 I look forward to what’s in store for me: a crown of righteousness that the Lord—the always right and just judge—will give me that day (but it is not only for me, but for all those who have loved/have longed for His appearing). (2 Timothy 4:5-8)

 Paul must have had a sense this day was coming. He had written years earlier:

“But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.” (Philippians 2:17)

“Even if” has become “am already.” Paul sees his blood as the libation which had already started being poured on the sacrificial offering.[5] Libations were one of the final acts of a sacrifice, with the worshiper pouring (usually) wine on the altar after the burnt offering was mostly consumed. Paul was under a death sentence; it appears the cruelty had already begin. Paul’s blood is about to finish off his life of sacrifice, a spiritual commitment that had now become a physical reality.  And then here comes his classic ‘legacy’ statement:

“I have fought the good fight, I have stayed on course and finished the race, and through it all, I have kept the faith.”

“I have fought the good fight”

This likely alludes to Grecian games: Literally, “I have wrestled that good wrestling.”  "I have played out the honourable game" showed up in another commentary. This has two layers of meaning: I have struggled hard, with determination and commitment (that’s good – speaks to character and integrity) in an honorable cause (that’s good – speaks to nobility of the person or the cause for which we fight.).

Key point: not every struggle is noble. Paul often quoted the Greek poets. There is a passage from Euripides with the exact expression Paul uses that shows how “the good fight” was used among the Greeks to express the honorable nature of the fight. In this case, Euripides refers to a wife laying down her life for her husband when both his parents had refused to do it. 

"Thou [the parents] wouldst not, neither darest thou to die for thy son… thou wouldst have fought a good fight hadst thou died for thy son."[6]

Sometimes, we get bloodied for terrible causes. From the perspective of the Bible, bravery, courage, and the willingness to take the blows of battle are not enough. 

• We don’t have to look further than 9/11 to see this is true. I suppose the terrorists were brave: they were willing to give their lives for a cause. They were faithful to the end. But none of us in this room would look at what they did and say, “Well done.” Why? Because the cause, the mission, was evil.  

• This is why we don’t applaud KKK members who stuck with it to the end of their lives, because they stuck with something horrific. Between 1882 and 1959[7] – around 75 years – there were almost 5,000 lynchings.[8] If you were dedicated to a movement that fueled that, your dedication counts against you, not for you.

• Let’s be honest: we make this distinction when we see protestors/rioters who get tear gassed or arrested. If we think the cause is noble, they are heroes. If we think their cause is not, we think they are criminals and maybe even terrorists who got what was coming to them. 

• It’s why Just War Theory demands just ends, just means, and a just cause.

• Sometimes we get bloodied in church over difference that should never have reached that level. When I grew up, I knew churches that split over coverings, Bible versions, and End Times theology. Now we are often deeply divided over elections and COVID responses. They rise up and threaten to overwhelm our fellowship and unity, when the ‘good’’ fight is the task of testifying to the Good news of God’s grace. (More on that in a minute).

 Sincere and radical commitment is not enough. The cause matters. And the cause is what Paul calls ‘the course.’

“I have finished the course.”

This is a reference to the Games (which Paul does a lot). The course is what a runner has marked out.  Paul's life was that course;[9]  he explains “his course” in Acts 20:24.

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

We can get distracted by asking the question, “What am I supposed to do with my life?” because we often mean, what vocation am I supposed to do, or how do I use my gifts and talents? These are important questions. However, they aren’t the most important question. We already know what God wants us to do with our life in the most important sense: testify to the good news of God’s grace. Paul has the same course we all do. This can happen anywhere, in any situation, with any set of skills. Land on this. Find stability and meaning and purpose on this. Then, ask the other questions. They are worthwhile, but they are not ultimate. Don’t confuse them. 

Notice what Paul doesn’t say. He doesn’t brag about how awesome he has been. There’s no, “And I crushed it, dominating everything thrown at me.” No, in fact, Paul was pretty clear in his writing that he saw himself as the chief of sinners. In his first letter to Timothy, he noted: 

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 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; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 

 15 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. 16 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. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1.12-17)

There is no bragging here about merits of self-help or pulling himself up by his spiritual bootstraps. In fact, Paul says, God used Paul to demonstrate God’s perfect patience. Paul was the kind of guy who apparently had a tendency to draw out frustration and impatience from even God. In other places, he publicly acknowledges the war within.  

15 Listen, I can’t explain my actions. Here’s why: I am not able to do the things I want; and at the same time, I do the things I despise. 16 If I am doing the things I have already decided not to do, I am agreeing with the law regarding what is good. 17 But now I am no longer the one acting—I’ve lost control—sin has taken up residence in me and is wreaking havoc.  

18 I know that in me, that is, in my fallen human nature, there is nothing good. I can will myself to do something good, but that does not help me carry it out. 19 I can determine that I am going to do good, but I don’t do it; instead, I end up living out the evil that I decided not to do. 20 If I end up doing the exact thing I pledged not to do, I am no longer doing it because sin has taken up residence in me. 

21 Here’s an important principle I’ve discovered: regardless of my desire to do the right thing, it is clear that evil is never far away. 22 For deep down I am in happy agreement with God’s law; 23 but the rest of me does not concur. I see a very different principle at work in my bodily members, and it is at war with my mind; I have become a prisoner in this war to the rule of sin in my body.  

24 I am absolutely miserable! Is there anyone who can free me from this body where sin and death reign so supremely? 25 I am thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!

 This is a guy who is well aware of who he is apart from Christ, and well aware that he is still a work in progress while ‘in Christ,’ and therefore aware of just how glorious that makes Jesus. “Fighting the good fight” has nothing to do with our goodness and everything to do with the cause for which we are fighting, and strength God gives us – in His grace – to press on to the end. 

 “I have kept the faith.” 

This is the good cause that makes the fight good. “Keeping the faith” could mean that Paul has kept the body of doctrine safe from distortion and heresy.[10] It could mean Paul has remained personally faithful in his commitment to God. Either one seems possible considering how Paul talks about both of those things in other places. The Pulpit Commentary puts them both together nicely. 

“Through his long eventful course, in spite of all difficulties, conflicts, dangers, and temptations, he had kept the faith of Jesus Christ committed to him, inviolable, unadulterated, whole, and complete. He had not shrunk from confessing it when death stared him in the face; he had not corrupted it to meet the views of Jews or Gentiles; with courage and resolution and perseverance he had kept it to the end.” (Pulpit Commentary)

 It sounds like ‘keeping the faith’ is a combination of preserving orthodoxy (right belief) while committing to orthopraxy (right actions). 
 

If I may offer an encouragement to those of you who are struggling right now either just through life or with your faith. Notice Paul says nothing about how he feels or felt. He didn’t think his faith was going to make his life easy – just read the lists of what all he went through, and remember how many letters were written from Roman jails. In the midst of all these things, Paul stood on two things: he knew what was true, and he knew what to do. He clung to orthodoxy, and he lived orthopraxy. And in the end, he says: “I have fought the noble fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith.”

I look forward to what’s in store for me: a crown of righteousness[11]… 

This is likely another Games reference. In the Games, the winner gets the crown. One historical record from the Greeks notes: 

“‘Pytheas, broad-shouldered son of Lampo, won the crown of the double-contest (wrestling and boxing) at the Nemean games.”[12]

 But note Paul said this crown is for “for all those who have loved/have longed for His appearing.” We won’t get the crown because of how broad-shouldered we are. This race isn’t about finishing ahead of other people. It’s about finishing by the grace and through the power of God. There is a reward for those who finish the race because we have a broad-shouldered savior who conquered death, hell and the grave so that we even have a race to run. 

We even get a hint of what keeps Paul (and by extension, us) focused: “have loved/have longed for his appearance.[13] “Have loved” seems to refer to his first epiphany of Jesus; “have longed” to his second.[14] I don’t know how to explain this word in this context, so I am going to recruit HELPS Word studies.  

• agapáō –for the believer, preferring to "live through Christ" (1 John 4:9,10), i.e. embracing God's will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power.  

• With the believer, agapáō ("to love") means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). 

So, those who have loved the appearance of Christ have embraced God's will (choosing His choices and preferring His preferences) and been obedient with the help of God’s power and direction. I suspect this is what leads to the longing for his return. If we embrace and obey, we “taste and see that the Lord is good.” And when we get a taste of that, we long to see the One from whom that blessing has come.

QUESTIONS FOR PRAYER AND REFLECTION

What does it look like for you to focus your primary effort on “fighting the good fight” rather than getting distracted by all kinds of secondary fights that, while perhaps good in their own way, are not the good fight? Are there areas in which your priorities have been compromised? What does it look like to realign your life?

In what ways has it been challenging to “stay the course” in your life (testifying to the good news of God’s grace with your words and actions)? What does repentance – turning around - look like in this area?

In what areas do you need to pray for the Holy Spirit to help you “keep the faith”(studying to preserve the truth of God’s revealed word and committing to a life in the path of righteousness)?

 Do you love/long for the appearance of Christ? Have you embraced God's will - choosing His choices and preferring His preferences? Are there areas of your life you need to surrender more fully so that the Holy Spirit will align your preferences and choices with the heart and mind of God? 

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[1] Things of “a malicious disposition." (HELPS Word Studies)

[2] There are multiple images here having to do with loosing what is tied: raising a ship’s anchor;  an army striking tents and marching. (Meyer’s NT Commentary)

[3] Kalos – beautiful or noble. He isn’t saying he did a good job; he’s saying that for which he fought is good and noble.

[4] Does “the faith” that Paul has kept mean the body of doctrine, as elsewhere (2 Tim. 1:12, 14; see also Eph. 4:5), or does it refer to Paul’s personal faith? Either is possible. It is interesting to note that “to keep the faith” was a fixed expression in extrabiblical literature for those who remained faithful to God. It is not inconceivable that Paul used a common expression but with the added meaning that is so important in the Pastorals. (NIV Application Commentary)

[5] For libations or ‘drink offerings’ accompanying Old Testament sacrifices, see  Exodus 29:40-41; Leviticus 23:13, 18, 37; andNumbers 15:4-10, 24; 28:7-10). 

[6]  Found this example thanks to Adam Clarke.

[7] The last year the Tuskegee Institute published a report. 

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States#Statistics

[9] Pulpit Commentary

[10] See 2 Timothy 1:12, 14; Ephesians 4:5),

[11] ‘Righteousness’ then is the ‘race’ of the Christian life. So in 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22, ‘follow after righteousness,’ and in ch. 2 Timothy 3:16, ‘the discipline which is in righteousness. (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

[12] Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

[13] “The Apostle specifies here exactly the persons for whom “the crown” was reserved—those who in this life have indeed longed for the appearance of the Lord... . None here could in very truth desire “His appearing,” save His own, who love Him and struggle to live His life.” Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

[14] “As in 2 Timothy 4:1, of the second coming; to which all the six occurrences of the substantive in N.T. refer. The verb in Luke 1:79 and Titus 2:11; Titus 3:4 refers to the first Epiphany. Some have interpreted appearing as Christ's first coming into the world, as 2 Timothy 1:10; but the other sense is according to the analogy of 1 Corinthians 2:9; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 9:28.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

Itching Ears (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

And now I bring you this charge before God and Jesus the Anointed, the one destined to judge the living and the dead, at His glorious appearance and His kingdom: 2 go out and preach[1] the word! Go in season and out of season - whether it’s an opportune time or not! Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience and instruction needed to fulfill your calling 3 because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. 

Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from the real truth you have to offer because they prefer the sound of fables and myths. 5 But you must stay focused and be alert at all times. 

Tolerate suffering. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

* * * * *

WHAT DO PEOPLE WITH ITCHING EARS WANT TO HEAR? 

They want to hear what they want hear. They want messages from God that will affirm their own desires and approve their choice of lifestyles, not challenge what they love and how they live. Those with itching ears prefer lies that make them feel good to truths that make them uncomfortable. God, then, becomes a God that exists to further our self-interests, not His Kingdom.

I’m going to use a story from the Old Testament to illustrate how this works. It’s likely a story that Timothy would have known (remember Karl’s sermon last week about the Old Testament?), and would have connected to this idea of ‘itching ears.’  

1 Kings 22:1 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel had said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?” 4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?” 

Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.” 6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.” 

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?” 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied. 9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.” 

10 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.11 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron hornsand he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’” 12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.” 

13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.” 15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?” “Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.” 

16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 7 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’” 18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?” 

19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. 

“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ 23 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.” 24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked. 25 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.” 

26 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’” 28 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” 

“Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad? Put him in prison.” People with itching ears will oppose truthful messages and truthful messengers because it doesn’t suit their own desires. This is not a new problem, even among the people of God.

 Scripture warns over and over about false prophets and false teachers who draw crowds by proclaiming what their hearers wanted to hear (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11; Ezekiel 13:10,16; Micah 3:5).  The audiences begin to think that because it sounds good and makes them feel good it must be true. Sometimes things that sound good and feel good are indeed true, but they aren’t true because they made us feel that way. They will be true based on something that is not based on feelings.  If someone said, “Anthony, you are a fashion icon in Northern Michigan whose beard is the envy of all men,” that might make me feel good, but it’s not true. 

So what are we drawn to if we are not drawn to truth? What Paul calls ‘fables and myths’ – what other eras might call ‘stuff and nonsense.’ 

"Those who reject the truth are abandoned by the just judgment of God to credit the most degrading nonsense." (biblehub.com) 

“In periods of unsettled faith, skepticism, and mere curious speculation in matters of religion, teachers of all kinds swarm like the flies in Egypt. The demand creates the supply. The hearers invite and shape their own preachers. If the people desire a calf to worship, a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.”  (Vincent’s Word Studies)

 When the Bible talks about prophets, there is a lot of overlap with what  it says about teachers and preachers. In the Bible, over 87% of the time the words of the prophets are more like teaching or peaching than they are prediction.[2] They are usually forthtelling, not foretelling. 

That’s probably why the warning about false teachers and prophets overlap quite a bit. They involve two key things: a) false lifestyle (we talked about that in 2 Timothy 3) and b) false teaching (which just keeps coming up again and again).[3] It is a sobering thing when the people give weight to false prophets and teachers – those who say they speak for God but do not.  It’s a terrible thing when it happens because “the people desire a calf to worship, and a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.”

Paul told the early church not to despise genuine prophecies any more then they should despise genuine teaching.[4] Both are gifts for our good and God’s glory.

But, he gave them standards to protect that gift: If a prophet claims to speak for God, and either what they forthtell (proclaim) does not align with revealed Scripture, or what they foretell (predict) does not come true, they are not speaking for God, and the words they have given will be corrosive to our spiritual health even if they feel good. 

If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. (Deuteronomy 18:22)

The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn’t send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds. (Jeremiah 14:14)

Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?... “ 

 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations... 10 because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace,… so I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against… those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.”’ 

17 “Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them 18 and say… ‘You have profaned me among my people [and] by lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live. 

20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will set free the people that you ensnare…and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power...  I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 13)

 Before Christmas we spent some time talking about the importance of identifying true vs. false teachers because the health of our souls is on the line. I cannot stress enough how important it is to separate true vs. false prophets, whether they are claiming to foretell or forthtell.

It doesn’t matter how much what they have to say pleases us. If they are demonstrably false -  that is, if what they claim to say on behalf of God does not align with Scripture or does not come true - they are saying things that are false. I am not saying they intend to. They may the most sincere people on the planet. But if what they is demonstrably wrong, they what they have said is demonstrably false. 

2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

 If they were carried along by the Holy Spirit in that moment, what they had to say would have aligned with Scripture and/or come to pass. If those criteria are not met, what they had to say came from their will, not God’s.

I know Christians have vigorous debate about whether or not our gifts as ‘works in progress’ just like we are. No matter where you land, I think everyone agrees on this: 

If someone says that God has placed divinely inspired words in their mouth in such a way that they are quoting prophetically in that moment as a direct mouthpiece for something God has to say, the bar is really, really high, because God does not speak untruth. 

At minimum, please, please do not give your spiritual formation over to someone who has a history of prophecying falsely. The health of your soul depends on it. [5]

* * * * *

So how do we avoid the trap of growing our own pair of itching ears? By allowing the written Word of God's eternal, authoritative truth to reprove,[6] warn,[7] and encourage us.[8]   

“The truth strips them of their vices, sacrifices their idols, darts its lightnings against their easily besetting sins, and absolutely requires a conformity to a crucified Christ; therefore they turn their ears away from it.” (Adam Clarke)

You know what’s better than itching ears? Humble and open ears. God’s Word is sufficient to do two very important things: undo us (that’s ‘reproving’ and ‘warning’) and rebuild us (that’s the ‘encouragement’). Please, let the word of God unsettle you. Let the truth of God expose the thoughts and intents of your heart. Let the revelation of God unmask hypocrisy and shatter idolatry.

And then let it rebuild you with truth, and grace, and holiness, and love. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This, I think, is the big question: How do we organize and focus our lives so that we don’t get caught in the trap of ‘hearing what we want to hear’ instead of hearing truth?

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[1] Preach—literally, "proclaim as a herald." The term for the discourses in the synagogue was daraschoth; the corresponding Greek term (implying dialectial style, dialogue, and discussion, Ac 17:2, 18; 18:4, 19) is applied in Acts to discourses in the Christian Church. Justin Martyr [Apology, 2], describes the order of public worship, "On Sunday all meet and the writings of the apostles and prophets are read; then the president delivers a discourse; after this all stand up and pray; then there is offered bread and wine and water; the president likewise prays and gives thanks, and the people solemnly assent, saying, Amen." The bishops and presbyters had the right and duty to preach, but they sometimes called on deacons, and even laymen, to preach. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 6.19]; in this the Church imitated the synagogue (Lu 4:17-22; Ac 13:15, 16). (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)

[2] Shane Wood, in his notes on Revelation

[3] 2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.”

Deuteronomy 13:1-5  “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.”

[4] 1 Thessalonians 5:20 

[5] 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Matthew 24:24  “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

[6] “Expose, reprove and convince.” (biblehub.com’s lexicon)

[7] “A warning to prevent something from going wrong.” (biblehub.com’s lexicon)

[8] “Comfort and encourage ‘up close and personal.’ (biblehub.com’s lexicon)

The Old Testament: Building Foundations (2 Timothy 3:15-17)

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Here’s where the fun begins. What scriptures is he talking about here? The Gospels? Revelation? We can look at the prior verse to get an idea.

15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

There’s a case to be made that early books of the NT were already being considered scripture; however, the only scripture available at the birth of Timothy is the Old Testament.

Why The Old Testament?

The OT gets a bad rap. It’s in the name “old”. It makes it sound like it’s out of date. However, I’m a huge fan of the OT. For one I love history, and the OT is filled with it. I’m that annoying guy who when people say, “This is the worst thing any American politician has ever done!” points out something like, “Aaron Burr was tried for treason for trying to start his own nation while the VP.”

It has all the action. Paul has his letters, but the OT has Samson slaying Philistines, The Flood, The Plagues. People being turned to salt. If the New Testament is Interstellar, then the OT is End Game. But most importantly the OT is foundation that Christianity is built on!

The Gospel

Let’s talk about one of the most foundational things in all of Christianity: the Gospel. If I were to ask the average person, “What is the Gospel?” I would probably get one of a couple answers like, “John 3:16,” or “the good news.” Let’s look at Paul’s description of the Gospel:

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Twice Paul mentions the scriptures. Jesus died and rose again for our sins and was raised again according the scriptures. The Gospel is sowed all throughout the OT let’s look at perhaps the 1st example

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Take a look what God is saying to the serpent. He’s telling the serpent that woman will have offspring and that offspring is going to crush the serpent’s head. Let’s look at one more out of Isaiah 53:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

I would argue that there’s not a better description of Jesus than this.

Now, about sins… How do even know what sins are? In general, we would look at them as breaking a commandment. Again, those are from the OT.

The Old Testament Answers Some Big Questions

Do you ever wonder why God just doesn’t declare himself from the mountain tops? Why not make some grand gesture and remove all doubt? The OT has the answer.

• After the plagues in Egypt and the crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites sing a song of praise. Yet 3 days later, the people are complaining about the lack of water. 11 days later they complain about a lack of food. 3 months later they make a new God who they claim brought them out of Egypt It seems that having wonders and miracles is enough to get a pig headed people across a dessert, but not enough to build the kind of faith God wants.

• Job deals with the big question of why do bad things happen to good people

• Ecclesiastes deals with leaning on wisdom

• Song of Songs deals with love or women with goats teeth, that one I’m not completely clear on.

In Conclusion

Normally I would close with something for you think about. I’m a big fan of “how is it with you?”

This time I don’t have a big call. Rather, I would like it if you were to give the OT another try.

Open it up, maybe read Exodus as family. I think if you give a try with Jesus in mind, you might be surprised at the nuggets you will find

PRAYER TIME

The Old Testament also speaks of repentance, which is our theme this month. Let’s spend some time in prayer before we close with a few songs.

Psalm 32

1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Take a moment to thank God for his faithful forgiveness. If you can name the sin, even better.

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Take a moment to acknowledge and uncover your sin, and pray for the faithful forgiveness of Christ. Be as specific as possible.

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

Take a moment to pray that God helps you to kneel before the cross willingly and not stubbornly, remembering that you alone offer the true song of deliverance.

10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Thank God for his unfailing love: you are righteous only because He has the power to declare repentant sinners righteous. He has the power to take the fallen wicked heart and turn it into an upright heart. Rejoice at not only the forgiveness of God, but on the life, hope and joy on the other side of repentance.

Repentance: Planning Not To Sin

OPENING PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

Where the life changing truth of the salvation offered through Jesus Christ is either not known or not embraced, may we, your ambassadors, go into the highways, byways with the bold, truthful, grace-saturated message that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the brokenness in the world and the evil in our hearts. May your Holy Spirit prepare the soil in those who hear, and may your Holy Spirit enable us to be faithfully present in a dark world with the light of holiness, truth and love.

Where lies and deception flourish, bring the light of truth that we can shine into the darkness of deception.

Where fear lurks, bring hope that we can spread to the despairing and hopeless.

Where hatred festers, bring loving peacemakers – like ourselves, dedicated to the hard and messy work of dragging real peace from deep conflict.

Where revenge motivates, bring forgiveness and reconciliation that is genuinely demonstrated and taught by your people.

Where injustice rages, let justice roll down through our words and actions.

Where cruelty simmers, bring gentleness and mercy from the lips and by the hands of your children.

Where chaos erupts, bring calm and order that begins in our hearts and permeates our cities.

Where lawlessness lives, bring accountability and lawfulness that begins with us.

Where evil abounds, may goodness much more abound, and may our heart, soul, mind and strength display it.

Where hard and cold hearts motivate, bring grace that first saved us, and continues to be extended to us, the most unworthy of all.

And where we have failed to bring heaven to earth in these ways – and we have – oh, merciful God, forgive us, and give us another chance.

______________________________________

To recap last week:

1. Repentance involves submission. We have to recognize that, if we choose to surrender our lives to Christ, there is a sense in which choices have been made for us. In moments of temptations, I think, “This isn’t my choice to make. It’s already been made for me. God established the path of righteousness, and when I surrendered my life to Him, my steps were ordered in that path. The choice has been made.” Question #1: What choices are you wrestling with that have already been made for you?

2. Repentance involves action. Repentance literally means we “turn around” and to the other direction. I believe God gives us the strength and the grace to repent; I also believe that we can experience the act of turning very differently. Question #2: What change of direction will follow your repentance? Depending where you see yourself in the analogy, what has God strengthened you to do right now?

3. Repentance involves humility. This means not just acknowledging your sin to God, but to others who were hurt by your sin without equivocation or defensiveness.so that peace can follow. Question #3: To whom do you need to go and make peace through humble confession and repentance?

This week, point #4: Repentance Involves Planning Not To Sin.

You've heard the saying "those who fail to plan, plan to fail." Never was this more true than with Christian character formation and discipleship. When it comes to sins of various sorts, it is a necessary and good beginning to "not plan on sinning." In other words, not positioning myself, my heart, my attitude in such a way that I am ready and eager to sin. I'm not planning to "rent that movie, pick at my spouse, sow discord, etc."

However, this is what I will call a ‘negative’ approach to righteousness. It's defensive, as it were, telling me what I won’t do. I am not "planning" to sin. Real discipleship - hence, real repentance - requires that we add the positive counterbalance by shifting the terms around. Instead of merely "not planning to sin," I need to "plan--not--to--sin."

See what I just did there? I still need to plan. I need to plan and position my heart, my attitude, my circumstances in such a way that I am filled with light because of what I view, read, listen to, dwell on, say, etc. This plan puts me in places and around people that will tend to effectively crowd out the temptation to sin. What kind of movie will I rent? How might I bless my spouse? How will I sow seeds of unity, etc." It is taking the offensive, rather than the defensive. Instead of hoping to hold the ground I have, I take new ground and am transformed in the process. Consider the following

▪ "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcibly seized, and aggressive men seize it aggressively." (Matt 11:12) (Matt 11:12) What in the Heaven does this mean? Well, there are differences of opinion, but this could very well be a picture of Jesus' apprentices taking positive action to get the Hell out of themselves and the Heaven in. Picture a bunch of sheep bursting through the opening of their pen in the morning when the shepherd lets them out after being penned up all night. They ‘thunder’ out into the world. They don’t stay penned up in a defensive structure.

▪ "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt 16:18) Imagine the gates of Hell having been erected inside your own soul. Their purpose is to keep your soul "separated" from the Kingdom of the Heavens. What God has done through Jesus is batter down those gates and invite us to participate in building new ones: gates that now protect the holy kingdom that has been set up in our hearts. One of our primary battering weapons is repentance.

▪ "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." (Matt: 12:43-45) What is your plan for putting something new in place of the bit of Hell that just got removed from you? Repentance isn't just ceasing some sinful action. It is turning and going the other direction. Repentance isn't negative and defensive, it is positively offensive against the Gates of Hell. For example, if we struggle with lustful thoughts, we need to put new thoughts in our head, or the lustful ones will simply move back into that empty space. If we struggle with saying harsh words, we need to practice saying kind words. If we struggle with spending money selfishly, we need to make a practice of spending money sacrificially. If we like to fill our time with anxiety -producing news, we need to replace it with peace-inducing material.

In the same way that Jesus improves on the Silver Rule "Do not do to others what you would not have done to yourselves" (a negative, defensive maneuver) and gives us the Golden Rule (Do to others what you would have them do to you), we are to go on the offensive (Do); we are not to remain on the defensive (Do Not). We Christians are already known predominantly for what we are against.

We talk a lot about getting as many people as possible into Heaven. This is indeed the end result of the Great Commission. However, I think it’s helpful to remember that the means to this end is to diligently evangelize to get Heaven into as many people as possible--starting with ourselves. This is literally why Jesus came--to get the Hell out of humanity by putting Heaven into us. This is what God’s grace through Jesus does on the other side of repentance; this is the aim of discipleship; it has got to be the primary goal of our Church fellowship.

Question #4: With regard to repentance, in what specific way can you ‘plan not to sin’ by going on the offensive and ‘taking new ground’ with the help of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God?

How To Repent

For our opening prayer this morning, let’s jump right into it. We are talking about repentance; let’s repent. Bob Kauflin reprinted a prayer of confession offered at the Worship God Conference 14 years ago. It still works just fine today.[1]

Holy and righteous God, we confess that like Isaiah, we are a people of unclean lips. But it is not only unclean lips we possess. We are people with unclean hands and unclean hearts. We have broken your law times without number, and are guilty of pride, unbelief, self-centeredness and idolatry. Affect our hearts with the severity of our sin and the glory of your righteousness as we now acknowledge our sins in your holy presence.

We have had other gods before you.

We have worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator.
We have sought satisfaction in this world’s pleasures rather than in You.
We have loved to praise our own glory more than yours.

We have taken your name in vain.

We have prayed religious prayers to impress others.
We have uttered your name countless times without reverence or love.
We have listened to others use your name in vain without grieving.

We have murdered in our hearts.

We have often destroyed our neighbor with our tongues.

We have been quick to uncharitably judge others.
We have considered revenge when we were sinned against. 

We have committed adultery with our eyes.

We have loved temptation rather than fighting it.
We have lusted after unlawful and immoral pleasures.
We have justified our lusts by using the world as our standard.

We have stolen what is not ours and coveted what belongs to others.

Our lives overflow with discontent, ungratefulness, and envy.
We have complained in the midst of Your abundant provision.
We have sought to exalt ourselves through owning more.

We have lied to you and to others.

We have told distorted truths, half-truths, and untruths.
We have despised the truth to make ourselves look better.
Even in our confession, we look for ways to hide our guilt.

O God, we have sinned against your mercy times without number. We are ashamed to lift up our faces before you, for our iniquities have gone over our heads. If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? How shall we answer you? We lay our hands on our mouths. We have no answer to your righteous wrath and just judgment.

We have no answer. But God Himself has mercifully provided one for us. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Is. 53:6)

_______________________________________________________________

Repentance involves submission. We have to recognize that, if we choose to surrender our lives to Christ, there is a sense in which choices have been made for us. 

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

“Does any man here think it would be a pleasure to be his own? Let me assure him that there is no ruler so tyrannical as self. He that is his own master, has a fool and a tyrant to be his lord. No man ever yet governed himself after the will of the flesh but what he by degrees found the yoke heavy and the burden crushing. Self is a fierce dictator, a terrible oppressor; imperious lusts are cruel slavedrivers…Now, if it be true that we are not our own, and I hope it is true to many here present, then the inference from it is, "I have no right to injure myself in any way. My body is not my own, I have no right then, as a Christian man, to do anything with it that would defile it….if we are not our own, but "are bought with a price," we have no right to exercise any capricious government of ourselves. A man who is his own may say, "I shall go whither I will, and do what I will;" but if I am not my own but belong to God who has bought me, then I must submit to his government; his will must be my will, and his directions must be my law.” – Charles Spurgeon[2]

In moments of temptations, I find that it is easier for me to fall when I ask myself, “What should I choose?”  I’m like the apostle Paul; there is a war within, and it’s too easy to go with what I want rather than what God wants. That’s rebellion. But I find that I respond very differently when I think, “This isn’t my choice to make. It’s already been made for me. God established the path of righteousness, and when I surrendered my life to Him, my steps were ordered in that path. The choice has been made.” 

Question #1: What choices are you wrestling with that have already been made for you? What decision has already been made?

Repentance involves action. When we sin, we reject the holy plan God has for our lives and choose an unholy plan. Repentance literally means we “turn around” and to the other direction.  

“Repent [μετανοέω – change your mind] therefore, and be converted [ἐπιστρέφω – change your actions], that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19) 

“I peach that they should repent [μετανοέω – change your mind] and turn [ἐπιστρέφω – change your actions] to God, and do works that demonstrate their repentance.” (Acts 26:20)[3]

 God gives us the strength and the grace to repent, because when he calls us to do something, He equips us to do that thing. 

Question #2: What change of mind and action will follow your repentance? How will you think and act differently on the other side of repentance?

Repentance involves honest humility. This means not just acknowledging your sin to God, but to others who were hurt by your sin so that peace can follow. 

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

Sobering note: God doesn’t want your worship if it comes from an unrepentant heart.

Important note: repentance to others is meant to make peace where there has been hurt and strife. I talked to someone who had been lusting after another person in the church (this person didn’t know), and he wondered if he should go confess his sin to her. My answer? No. She doesn’t need to know. Telling her would probably do the opposite of bring peace and reconciliation. But generally speaking, when we know people have felt the harm from our sin, we need to acknowledge it to their face without equivocation or defensiveness. 

I saw a model repentance this past week. It was written by someone who worked for RZIM, and it was written to acknowledge that the writer, a guy by the name of Carson, had deeply wronged the victims. I’m not going to read the entire letter (it’s long and very detailed about the scandal), but I do want to highlight the repentance parts. 

Dear Brad and Lori Anne,

I wanted to write in an effort to acknowledge my shameful complicity in honoring Ravi, dishonoring you, and protecting myself. For my failure to seek the truth, show you proper respect, and advocate for justice, I contritely ask for you to consider forgiving me.

Such egregious wrong deserves a fuller accounting. This letter is my effort to explain where I failed in my obligations to God, to you, and to many others…. 

In dependence upon God’s grace, I now seek to repair the damage I have caused. First, I want to wholeheartedly apologize to you and your allies for the pain and heartache I have caused for over three years. I understand this has been far harder than I will ever know or understand. I am so sorry.

Second, I am personally contacting my friends and partners in ministry to make amends. I am telling them the truth, confessing my failings, and inviting them to join me in a righteous response to this grievous situation. I hope and pray that many more will join me in fostering a culture that is increasingly vigilant to expose abusers and earnestly committed to protecting everyone else, who would otherwise be vulnerable to predation. I will also be making a public statement in the near future. 

Third, I believe RZIM must change its name, repent, and seek a restorative response to the harm you and others have experienced. I am advocating that an organization with credibility in the survivor community be hired to do a thorough assessment of the organization and its complicity. I believe their proposals for reform will need to be implemented. Apart from the board and senior leadership demonstrating a serious and wholehearted attempt to change course, I intend to resign. 

If, in an abundance of mercy, you would be willing to give me counsel on any other measures that I might take to demonstrate my most sincere repentance and commitment to change, I would be most grateful.

sincerely yours,

Carson Weitnauer

 That is a great example of “repent [μετανοέω – change your mind] therefore, and be converted [ἐπιστρέφω – change your actions].”

Question #3: To whom do you need to go and make peace through humble confession and repentance? What will an honest, non-defensive apology look like?

RECOMMENDED PRAYERS FOR THE WEEK 

“Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.”  (Episcopal Book of Common Prayer) 

“Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose face is hidden from us by our sins, and whose mercy we forget in the blindness of our hearts: cleanse us from all our offenses, and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires, that with reverent and humble hearts we may draw near to you, confessing our faults, confiding in your grace, and finding in you our refuge and strength; through Jesus Christ your Son.”  (Book of Common Worship, Louisville: Westminster/John Know Press, 1993) 

“Almighty Father; we enter your presence confessing the things we try to conceal from you and the things we try to conceal from others. We confess the heartbreak, worry, and sorrow we have caused, that make it difficult for others to forgive us, the times we have made it easy for others to do wrong, the harm we have done that makes it hard for us to forgive ourselves. Lord have mercy and forgive us through Christ. Amen.”  (Paul E. Engle, Baker’s Worship Handbook, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998) 

“Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.”  (From the PCUSA Book of Common Worship Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993; p. 88) 

“Almighty and merciful God, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare those who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to the world in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O merciful God, for his sake, that we may live a holy, just, and humble life for the glory of your holy name. Amen.” Anonymous

“Almighty God, you love us, but we do not love you fully. You call, but we do not always listen. We often walk away from neighbors in need, wrapped in our own concerns. We often condone evil, hatred, warfare, and greed. God of grace, help us to admit our sin, so that as you move toward us in mercy, we may repent, turn to you, and receive forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.”  Anonymous

“Merciful God, you pardon all who truly repent and turn to you. We humbly confess our sins and ask your mercy. We have not loved you with a pure heart, nor have we loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have not done justice, loved kindness, or walked humbly with you, our God. Have mercy on us, O God, in your loving-kindness. In your great compassion, cleanse us from our sin. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Do not cast us from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and sustain us with your bountiful Spirit. Amen.

Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our sinfulness, our shortcomings, and our offenses against you. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love. Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we are ashamed and sorry for all we have done to displease you. Forgive our sins, and help us to live in your light, and walk in your ways, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.”  Anonymous

In August of 1662 around 2,000 ministers left the national church of England for the sake of conscience. Two pastors, Edmund Calamy (d. 1666) and Thomas Watson (d. 1686),  prayed prayers of confession and repentance the final Sunday of their parish ministry in the English state church.[4]  “We have heard much of God, Christ, and heaven with our ears, but there is little of God, Christ, and heaven in our hearts…. Thou hast shown mercy to us, but the better thou hast been to us, the worse we have been to thee.  Thou hast loaded us with thy mercies, and we have wearied thee with our sins… By our spiritual leprosy we infect our holy things …We confess we are untuned and unstrung for every holy action; we are never out of tune to sin but always out of tune to pray.  We give the world our main affections and our strong desires…there is not that reverence, nor that devotion, nor that activeness of faith that there should be.… Oh, humble us for our unkindness, and for Christ’s sake blot out our transgressions; they are more than we can number, but not more than [thou canst] pardon.”

ENDNOTES

[1] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/public-prayer-of-confession/

[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1004.cfm

[3] https://lectionary.blog/2020/07/24/turn-and-repent/

[4] https://reformedreader.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/prayers-of-repentanceconfession/

The Day After Christmas: The Story Of The Christmas Dragon (Revelation 12: 1-6, 13-17)

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars[1] on her head.  She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon[2] with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns[3] on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.  

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[4] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days[5]… 

The dragon pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle,[6] so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time,[7] out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.  

 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.[8] Then the dragon was enraged at the woman[9] and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. (Revelation 12: 1-6, 13-17)

Did you know that was a Christmas story? Here’s what part of it looks like in Matthew’s Gospel.

When [the Wise Men] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”  (Matthew 2: 13-18)

What happens after Christmas? “The dragon will wage war against those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” I think John intended his audience to understand Rome/Herod/Caesar as the dragon. It would make sense considering how biblical writers used the image of Babylon.

• Babylon, the actual city, become an image of all great cities and empires whose love of pleasure, indulgence, and excess wreaks havoc among God’s people. In Revelation, she is represented as a prostitute seducing the people of God.

• Rome, the actual city, represents the power empires used to undermine and attack God’s people. 

 We can be attacked by both; we can fall in love with both. Revelation’s ‘prostitute’ (Babylon’s pleasure) and ‘dragon’ (Rome’s power) have made war with us for 2,000 years.

I think John was reminding God’s people that what the old map-makers wrote was right: “Here there be dragons.” Except now it’s everywhere. Isn’t Revelation the first version of Huxley’s Brave New World (Babylon) and Orwell’s 1984 (Rome)? In the United States, I think we get to battle both: the spiritual war we face in a culture infatuated by both pleasure and power.[10] But that’s another sermon….  

* * * * *

We've already talked about life in between the two Advents, the birth of Christ in the return of Christ. We've already talked about how while Advent begins in the darkness it ends in the light. We have the hope of Jesus behind us and in front of us. There is a stabilization in our lives because of this. The Advent focus on peace, hope, love, and joy all depend on the reality of the life, death, resurrection and future return of Jesus.

That foundation is in place.

But we see how life unfolds between the two advents right away in scripture. After Jesus is born, Mary and Joseph have to flee with him to a foreign land, a land that represented a history of bondage and slavery to the people of Israel. They live separated from family and perhaps livelihood for months, perhaps years. In the area from which they fled, Herod promptly slaughtered children.[11]

The dragon was unleashed. Just like that, the darkness begins to push in to the light. As John made clear in his apocalypse, that war would continue. Indeed, it has, in great and small ways. The dragon hates the light of truth, love, goodness, hope, joy, peace…. When life feels ‘kingdom good,’ expect pushback. Expect war. It’s after Advent begins and the gymnatorium gets decorated and peace on earth starts for feel tangible after a hard year that a fire forces us to pivot yet again in a year with an exhausting number of pivots. 

It's often after great moments of God's revelatory light that the darkness pushes in hard.[12]

I’ve not been persecuted in any meaningful sense of the world, so I don’t want to compare my experience with that of the persecuted church around the world. When I talk about the dragon in my life, I’m talking of the ways in which spiritual/emotional/relational darkness presses in to spiritual light. I don't know if you've experienced this in your life, but I've often found moments of great depression after times of great satisfaction.  

• I go teach in Costa Rica, and it's a profound experience, and I come home and I wrestle with physical and emotional health.  

•  It's the sermon that feels really good followed by a Monday of doubt and anxiety and second-guessing. 

•  It's the fantastic vacation with my wife, and two weeks later feeling like there is a relational chasm between us. 

•  It's feeling really good about my fathering one day, and then having the wheels come off the next.

• It's thinking one day how much I love the people in my life and the next day having my heart torn out by one of them. 

• It's having a much better financial year at church than I would have anticipated because of Covid, only to realize we have to cut budget for next year because we lost momentum in the latter half of the year.  

• It’s going from a moment where I think, “I am finally grounding my identity in Christ” to days of thinking, “Dear God, I am such a screw-up.” 

• Sheila and I both had bad experiences with dreams this past week. We went to sleep after a meaninful evening at home, and woke up from inexplicable chaos in a way that darkens and disorders our day. I told Sheila, “I think the dragon is making war.”

This is the pattern.[13]

But how does it end? With the resurrection and life. How will history end? With the return of the king to make a New Heaven and New Earth. What happens when my life ends? Joy unspeakable and full of glory.

So we know the beginning, we know the middle, and we know the end of the story. We're just in the middle right now. The light shines, the dark pushes in, the light shines, the dark pushes in. This is life between the advents.

This, too, is an apocalypse of sorts, an unveiling that the Bible makes clear to us and that is confirmed throughout our life. We think of the apocalypse as something earth-shattering and perhaps catastrophic, but in some ways it's the ongoing pattern of our life. Truth is constantly being unveiled to us by the grace of God. We see through a glass darkly on this side of heaven (1 Corinthians 123:12), so there is a constant need for an unveiling.

·      It's when we finally understand that obscure passage of scripture. 

·      It's when we finally see how a biblical truth applies to our life in a life-changing way. 

·      It's when we begin to actually understand the power of repentance, and grace, and justice, and mercy.

·      It's when the biblical interplay of both grace and works clicks. 

·      it's when we see the flow of our life in the reality of God's plan. 

·      It's when one our Christian brothers or sisters speaks truth into our life that opens our eyes. 

·      It's when we see ourselves as God sees us. 

·      It's when we learn how to lift up our heads (Psalm 27:6; 3:3; Luke 21:28)

·      It's when we understand how God in his mercy and power could take people like us and tell us to arise and reflect his light  (Isaiah 60:1) in a way that will bring glory to him. 

These, too, are unveilings. We participate in an ongoing apocalypse. So one of the questions I have between the two advents of God is this: “How do these dark valleys work in our favor? How does God take the war leveled by the dragon and use it for our good and God’s glory?” 

Apocalyptic literature in scripture was always literature of Hope. How does my life participate in that kind of story?

Think back to what we've read the last two weeks from the prophets in the Old Testament. What was the key to living in the light? It was repentance. 

Those who walked in darkness had often walked in the darkness of their own making. In fact, the Bible has far less to say about the attacks from the dragons “out there” than the ones that have burrowed into our hearts. We tend to think of dragons like Smaug in The Hobbit: huge, overwhelming, flying over out towns or churches and just breathing fire, and so we pick up weapons and fight the dragon that came from over there, on that mountain. Let’s go take that mountain! That feels like a noble quest, right? It fits with the image in Revelation nicely.

To be sure, the dragon will make war against the saints in a very public way, no doubt. There are Smaugs that fly over our spiritual Laketowns. The church for 2,000 can give testimony to persecution and martyrdom. In those situations, we are told to be strong. The story ends in glory for the people of God, even if we wade there through blood.

But that’s only part of the story. God’s people in the Old Testament didn't get taken into exile in Babylon and bondage in Rome because Babylon and Rome were overwhelmingly strong. Israel had Yahweh. If Yahweh was for them, who could take them? 

God’s people ended up there because they trashed their covenant with God and reaped the consequences of what they sowed – consequences God had made clear. And if Old Covenant physical realities are meant to teach us truths about New Covenant spiritual realities – and I think they are – I find myself with this conclusion: Our greatest threats as Christians and as a Church are not out there. Diablo- the devil, the dragon - is in here too, ever since Eden. “The call is coming from inside the house!” 

There is no person, politician, law, educational system, Hollywood star, or organization that can make us give in to Babylon or Rome. There is no dragon that can force our hand or batter down our spiritual doors. The gates of hell cannot prevail against a holy church. But… we can embrace temptation.  

They may not be able to force my hand, but I can choose to lie in Babylon’s bed or sit on Rome’s throne. They can’t storm the gates of heaven, but I can begin to worship their power and influence and pleasure. The most thoroughly conquered people are not those who are too weak to plot resistance; it’s those who see no reason to resist.[14]

If you read through the Old Testament prophets, they don't pull any punches. God's people gave in, and they did not see their sin. They did not see the darkness as darkness, and they embraced it. 

“Arise, shine – absorb the light and shine in the darkness.” A crucial step to staying in the light of salvation in the Glorious kingdom of God is to repent. Since we started with a passage from Revelation, let’s look at where John goes with this. 

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven. (Revelation 18:4-5) 

God told his people through the Prophet Jeremiah that if they humbled themselves and sought the face of God, their nation would experience the blessings that God told them were in store for them if they were true and loyal to God. If they didn't (as Jeremiah warned so vividly), it wasn't going to end well for their nation at all. They were always going to be God’s covenant people, but their experience of that covenant, their experience of life, was going to be radically different based on the posture of their hearts. 

Their flourishing in the Kingdom God had planned for them had almost nothing to do with what the nations around them did. It had everything to do with how seriously they took the covenant. And if Old Testament physical realities teach us something about New Testament spiritual realities, our flourishing as Christian individuals and as a church will have almost nothing to do with what our Empire does to us or for us. It will have everything to do with how seriously we take our covenant. 

This, I think, is the way in which we experience life more abundant, the fullness of the richness of God’s redemption of the world in our lives. And that can’t help but make us the kind of salt and light in the world that God intends.

We want revival in ourselves and in our nation; we want holiness in ourselves and in our nation; we want a rejection of sin and a love of justice and mercy in ourselves and in our nation. We want the light of Christ and his gospel to push back the darkness of sin. Where does this start? In the church (1 Peter 4:17). Revival begins here.[15]

Cultures cannot become more holy if the church does not become more holy; churches cannot become more holy if we fail to repent of our sinful contribution to the brokenness of the world and beg first for forgiveness from God and those we have wronged, and then for God’s wisdom, love and strength to walk in righteousness.[16]

We are going to take time for repentance this morning. I’m going to pull from the list of sins that were undermining Timothy’s church because it’s fresh in our memory.[17] You don’t have to limit yourself to this, but if you follow these categories as far as the Holy Spirit takes them in reference to your life, I think you might be surprised how much territory this will cover. 

Areas of Repentance

1.  proud/boastful  “Boasting to anyone who is foolish enough to take him seriously! This kind of person claims many things he can't really do, so he must always keep moving on to new, naive listeners.”  (HELPS Word Studies).  Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you humility. God gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5) “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”  (James 3:13) “Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” (Proverbs 16:19) 

2.  arrogant/haughty  “Literally, ‘hyper shiny’. These are they who contemptuously look down on others beneath them, either in social position or wealth (the boasters), or perhaps in natural gifts (the proud).” (Ellicott’s Commentary)  Pray for Holy Spirit to help you “honor everyone” (1 Peter 2:17) “above yourselves” (Romans 12:10). “God has put the body [the church] together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:24-25) “Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) 

3.  abusive “Revilers/railers/blasphemers. Reverses spiritual and moral realities” by calling evil good, and good evil. (HELPS Word Studies) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you gentleness and truth. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)  “Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity. For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith. (Colossians 4:6)

4.  Treacherous; Traitors.—Or, betrayers… of their Christian brethren. It does not mean traitors to their king or country, but generally betrayers of the persons who trust in them, and of the cause of the trust committed to them; perhaps specially… of their brethren in times of persecution. (Pulpit Commentary) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you loyalty. “Never let loyalty (steadfast love) and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3) “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) “Be devoted to one another in love.” (Romans 12:10)

5.  Reckless - Better rendered “headstrong” in words, or thoughts, or actions. Rash. "Headstrong" rather denotes obstinacy which will not be influenced by wise advice… the person who acts from impulse, without considering consequences, or weighing principles. (Pulpit Commentary) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you prudence and self-control. “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32) “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28) “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.” (Proverbs 14:8)

6.   Self-important - Highminded.— blinded by or inflated by  pride. (See 1Timothy 3:6.) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you humble self-awareness. "Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." (Lamentations 3:40) "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-24)  “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:3)

7. Rebellious against parents [authority] ’Unwilling to be persuaded (by God), which shows itself in outward disobedience (outward spiritual rebellion).” (HELPS Word Studies)  Pray for the Holy Spirit to help us honor our parents/spiritual authorities. Pray for the ability to “add wealth” or “give weight” (biblical imagery) to godly voices in your life.  Paul planted and Apollos watered (1 Corinthians 3:6-7); we all need holy planters and waterers in our lives. Hebrews 5:12 says, "you need someone to teach you." Pray for those that ‘have weight’ in your life; they are in desperate need wisdom, grace and truth.

 8.   Ungrateful – “properly, without God's grace (favor) which results in unthankfulness (literally, "ungrace-full"). (HELPS Word Studies) Pray for the ability to respond to God’s grace by “presenting our bodies (lives) as a living sacrifice” as a “reasonable act of service” (Romans 12:1). Pray for the Holy Spirit to enable you to pass this grace on to others.

9.   Unholy - “A lack of reverence for what should be hallowed.” (HELPS WORD STUDIES) Pray for Holy Spirit to help you treat with reverence, or set apart as holy, all that should be hallowed. What are those things? God, clearly, and people (who are all image bearers (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-2); followers of Jesus are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3 and 6). Now ask yourself, “Am I treating everything in God’s created world with appropriate  honor, with appropriate care and reverence?

10.  Without restraint  - “Incontinent.—Having no control over the passions or urges – emotions, words, appetites of all kinds.” (HELPS WORD STUDIES) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you temperance and restraint, especially when it comes to moral and relational issues. Between the Holy Spirit, the guidelines of God’s Word, and the company of God’s people, there is no temptation to sin that we cannot bear (1 Corinthians 10:13)

11.   Savage (bestial) - Fierce.—Inhuman, savage, or merciless, harsh, cruel. They are both soft and hard, incontinently indulging themselves and inhuman to others, when they should be hardened to self-indulgence and soft toward others.” (Pulpit Commentary) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to be hospitable (merciful), or “soft toward others.” God is described as “abounding in mercy.”  Jesus told people to learn what it means that God desires mercy more than sacrifices (Matthew 9:13).  Blessed are the meek and the peacemakers (Matthew 5). Greater love has no one more than laying down your life (John 15:13). Serve others sacrificially. Turn away wrath with a soft answer (Proverbs 15:1). Overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). If someone strikes you or takes your cloak, don’t seek revenge (Luke 6:29). ‘Shame’ them with kindness (Romans 12:20). Give food and water to your enemy, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22)

12.  Haters of anything good - “Despisers of those that are good; that is, hostile to every good thought and work and person.”  (HELPS Word Studies) Pray for the ability to be lovers of good (good thoughts, actions and persons), the things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Philippians 4:8). Pray for the ability to not only dwell on them, but to celebrate them everywhere we see them.

 13.  “Uncaring, coldhearted; without natural affection.” “Careless and regardless of the welfare of those connected with them by ties of blood, like spouses, parents and children. Plato says, ‘A child loves his parents, and is loved by them;’ and so, according to St. Paul's judgment in 1 Timothy 5:8, were "worse than infidels."  (Pulpit Commentary) Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to love your spouses, parents, children and extended family. This may be a hard prayer. Remember: you are praying for a miracle, as supernatural gift from God. Also, pray for the wisdom to know what genuine love looks like in your situation. This may be a good one to pray in a small group of people who can offer wisdom. 

14.  Slanderers/false-accusers - the word is diabolos. People who a) have no regard for truth and b) like quarrels. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth (John 16:13), beginning with Scripture and extending into the rest of the world (Proverbs 23:23). Pray for the ability to know which ‘hills to die on,’ and which ones to give ground. Pray for the abilit to listen before you speak, and long for peace rather than thrive on conflict. 

15.  Despisers of covenant - Those unwilling to embrace bonds of treaty or covenant….one who will make no truce or treaty with his enemy.”  (Pulpit  Commentary)  Pray for the longing to enter into biblically covenanted relationships (spouses (Genesis 2), friends (1 Samuel 20), family (see #13), church (Hebrews 10). Pray for the strength and grace to endure. Pray for wisdom to know how to be faithfully present in the covenants in your life. 

THREE QUESTIONS

In what ares of your life do you need to repent?

To whom, besides God, do you need to repent?

What does it look like for you to move forward in a lifestyle of repentance?

_________________________________________________________________________________

[1] “The woman is commonly thought to represent Israel. The imagery is similar to the sun, moon, and 12 stars that bowed down to Joseph in his dream (Genesis 37:9–11). In Revelation 12:2 we see Isaiah’s prediction (Isaiah 66:7–8) of a woman (Israel) bringing forth a man child fulfilled.” (Halley’s Bible Handbook Notes). The 12 stars are the faithful remnent from the Tribes of Israel. “The prophets portrayed righteous Israel as the mother of the restored future remnant of Israel (Isa 26:18 – 19; 54:1; 66:7 – 10; Mic 4:9 – 10; 5:3), and also as the mother of the leader who embodied Israel’s restoration (Isa 9:6; cf. Mic 5:2 – 3).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)  In this case, the mother of Jesus, Mary, arises from ‘mother’ Israel. 

[2] The dragon is commonly understood as the Roman empire.

[3] These symbols represents great power.

[4] This is Jesus, the Messiah. See Isaiah 7:14 and Psalm 2:7–9.

[5] “1,260 days. The time of spiritual protection corresponds to the time of persecution (see Revelation 11:2; and 13:5). (NIV Study Bible Notes)

[6] Exodus 19:4

[7] See Daniel 12:7. This is also 1,260 days. 

[8] Jesus is delivering them from bondage, just like Moses. Thus the borrowing of image from the Exodus. “A flood of water could represent any sufferings (Ps 32:6; Jer 47:2), including unjust opposition (Ps 18:3 – 4; 69:1 – 4,14 – 15; 124:2 – 5); serpents’ mouths represent slander in Ps 140:1 – 5. But God would be with his people through the waters (Isa 43:2).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[9] “The victory that God has previously accomplished over Leviathan is the pattern for the woman’s triumph over the dragon.”  See Isaiah 51:9-10; Psalm 74:14; Job 41. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary)

[10] “If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place. It will be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for pleasure, the clenched fist or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Hefner.” – Malcolm Muggeridge

[11] “Advent is the right time for the asking of hard questions. Advent comes to a climax, not only on Christmas Day but also in the massacre of the innocents by Herod. The church has historically observed the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 27, a remarkable conjuncture that remembers a massacre of infants in the same season that we rejoice in the birth of Christ. The great theme of Advent is hope, but it is not tolerable to speak of hope unless we are willing to look squarely at the overwhelming presence of evil in our world.”  Fleming Rutledge

[12] It’s a pattern found in Scripture. 

·       After God calls light into the world in Genesis 1, in Genesis 3 the darkness moves in with serpents and sin. 

·       After God Saves Noah and his family, Noah falls into sin almost immediately. 

·       Joseph gets miraculously insightful dreams from God, and it turns him into an arrogant, boastful jerk. 

·       Moses meets God on the mountain, and yet his sin keeps him from entering the Promised Land. 

·       Israel gets the promised land and then ends up in Exile when it all falls apart.

·       Mary gives birth to the Messiah, but will eventually lose her husband and watch her son be crucified.

·       Paul’s account of what his life was like after a personal apocalypse of the Risen savior is characterized by persecution.

[13] It doesn't surprise God. He entered into a world in which he experienced life in this pattern. He was revealed in the light of God's glory, only to go to a wilderness to endure temptation. (Matthew 3-4) He entered Jerusalem to adoring crowds who would eventually kill him. (Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19).He surrounded himself with 12 disciples, only to have one of them betray him. (Luke 22)

[14] Me. I just put it like a quote so I could read it word-for-word J

·       [15] Isaiah 30:15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”

·       Psalm 139:23: “Search me o God and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me, and Lead Me into life.” 

·       Acts 20:20-21 "I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus."

·       1 John 1: 8 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 

·       2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 

·       Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” 

·       Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

·       Matthew 3:8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

·       Romans 2:4  “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

·       1 John 1:8-9  “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

·       Revelation 2:5  “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

·       Proverbs 28:13  “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

·       Acts 26:20  “[They] declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”

[16] What about Ninevah? Jonah told Ninevah that there was one particular thing God was going to judge them for: violence. They paid attention. There is every reason to believe the rest of life in Ninevah remained as pagan as ever. They did not become holy. What about Constantine’s embrace of Christianity for Rome? That, too, did not bring about holiness. It doesn’t appear much changed in daily Roman life except that Christians weren’t persecuted. And because Christians (understandably) were quite pleased not to be killed, they eventually began to support the nationalistic agenda of Roman to stay on Rome’s good side. And that, friends, is called syncretism.

[17] We went through in our 2 Timothy series in the three “Roots and Fruits” sermons.

Advent Ends In The Light (Isaiah 60:1-2)

ADVENT THEME: JOY

The candle we light for Joy is also known as the Shepherd Candle, because of the joy given to the shepherds by the angels (Luke 2:8-20).  When Jesus was born, it was announced as “good tidings that brings great joy.” Jesus was a gift of God incarnate that brought joy into the world; Paul would later write that joy is also a gift from God’s Spirit into us. Because of this, we can say that we are “full of sorrow, and yet rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).  

Jesus once said, “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22) So if you were to ask me how to find joy, I would say that joy is given by God the Father through the Holy Spirit, but joy is found in the person and presence of Jesus. See Jesus. And that’s what we are going to do today.

* * * * * 

Advent Ends In The Light

December 20, 2020

I discovered chickens cannot see in the dark when I heard one of my bantams squawking loudly from the shed. When I went out, it was fine. It just couldn’t find its buddies, who were about 5 feet away in a part of the shed that was very dark. So now, during the day, I turn on a light. Happy chickens. My chickens need light so that the darkness does not paralyze and terrify them. Simple thing, chickens. Stay with me. I’m establishing patterns J

As a kid, I longed for light in the darkness. I was terrified of the night. I took a running leap into bed; I quivered under the covers. But turn on a night light or leave a door open so some light could get in, I was good. I needed light so that all the imagined fears that could take place in the darkness were dispelled by the light. 

When you have endured a week of gloomy winter, nothing beats a sunny day. I don’t care how cold it is. The whole world feels better. I’ve been known to roll my window down on sunny days when the temp is in the 20s. You start showering again, and think, “Maybe I should start exercising and not eat pancakes every day as a snack.” 

“Light to dark” is an image we know. It’s a pattern ingrained in so many things in the world. No wonder it’s a pattern we see in the Bible constantly, starting in Genesis 1, almost as if God masterminded the whole thing. J

·      The initial command “Let there be light!” was a hint: This God does not settle for darkness.When darkness settles on the deep, the Spirit of God moves.  

·      It was “while shepherds watched their flocks by night” that the glory of the Lord shone around them. This God will not be announced without dispelling some darkness.

·      When the Wise Men from the east needed a sign– the east, the land “East of Eden” (another motif from Genesis for those far from the presence of God)  - they were given a light in a dark sky to guide them to the Light of the World, “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.” (John 1:9)  This God will make a way for those who live in darkness. 

 Any advent or arrival in which God is involved may begin in darkness, but it ends in light. 

I am fascinated this year by how the Bible establishes the darkness into which Jesus arrived before introducing the light of his apocalypse (“unveiling”). I think it’s probably the case that our appreciation of the light correlates with how profound the darkness was into which it was introduced. Let’s see why God’s people longed for the light before the first Advent of Jesus, and then we will look at our own lives. 

Isaiah 58: A Timeless Oracle For The People Of God

Eternal One: Tell My people about their wrongdoing…hold nothing back: [my people] have failed to do what is right…They pretend to want to learn what I teach, as if they are indeed a [people] good and true, as if they hadn’t really turned their backs on My directives. They even ask Me, as though they care, about what I want them to be and do, as if they really want Me in their lives. 

People: Why didn’t You notice how diligently we fasted before You? We humbled ourselves with pious practices and You paid no attention. 

Eternal One: I have to tell you, on those fasting days, all you were really seeking was your own pleasure; besides, you were busy defrauding people and abusing your workers… Is a true fast simply some religious exercise for making a person feel miserable and woeful? Is it about how you bow your head (like a bent reed), how you dress (in sackcloth), and where you sit (in a bed of ashes)? Is this what you call a fast, a day the Eternal One finds good and proper?

This isn’t looking good at all. If I can summarize: “Hey, God! How are we doing down here? Check out our fasting!?”[1]  God: “It’s disgusting. It sickens me.” Okay…. However, Isaiah has what looks like good news: a solution!  

No, what I want in a fast is this: to liberate those tied down and held back by injustice, to lighten the load of those heavily burdened, to free the oppressed and shatter every type of oppression. A fast for Me involves sharing your food with people who have none, giving those who are homeless a space in your home, giving clothes to those who need them, and not neglecting your own family.

Excellent. There is a plan. There are action steps. And now, here comes some light!

Then, oh then, your light will break out like the warm, golden rays of a rising sun; in an instant, you will be healed. Your rightness will precede and protect you; the glory of the Eternal will follow and defend you. Then when you do call out, “My God, Where are You?” The Eternal One will answer, “I am here, I am here.” 

If you remove the yoke of oppression from the downtrodden among you, stop accusing others, and do away with mean and inflammatory speech, if you make sure that the hungry and oppressed have all that they need, then your light will shine in the darkness, and even your bleakest moments will be bright as a clear day...

That sound really good! But, uh, notice the “if”. If you do these things, your righteousness will be amazing. Let’s keep reading. 

Isaiah 59

Your persistent wrongdoing has come between you and your God; since you constantly reject and push God away He had to turn aside and ignore your cries... Their thoughts are bent toward injustice; destruction and trouble line the roads of their lives.8 They never travel the path of peace; no justice is found where they have been. They set a course down crooked roads; no one who follows their lead has a chance of knowing peace.

Well, I think that’s pretty clear. It didn’t happen. It looks like they can’t light up the world with their own righteousness. In hindsight, that’s obvious, but don’t we wrestle with that same sense of capability?  How many times do we think we can clean up our lives and this world on our own? 

·      “If you can control your attitude with the customers and get here on time, your job will be safe.” 

·      “Oh, yeah. I got this.”

·      ”If you can curb your addictions, your marriage will survive and maybe even flourish.”

·      “You got it.”

·      “If you can just bounce your eyes, that porn problem will go away.”

·      “Done.”

·      “If you figure out your identity in Christ, that depression, shame negative self-talk, anxiety, loneliness will go away.”

·      “Commencing self-help.” 

 “If…” It’s such a loaded word. “If you can do that, all will be well.” Isn’t this a lesson every Christian has to learn? If our righteous effort is what it takes to fix us, we are in trouble. The people of Israel figured it out. 

People: That’s why we can’t make things right; good and true can’t gain any ground on us. We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around. We are left to stumble along, grabbing at whatever seems solid, like the blind finding their way down a strange and threatening street.  In broad daylight—when we should have sight—we stumble and fall as in the dark. We are already like the dead among those brimming with health. We growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope that maybe, just maybe, it will all turn out right; But it doesn’t. We look for liberation, but it’s too far away.  

So far, it sounds a bit like complaining: “Do you see what you’ve given us to work with? This world is a hard and terrible place, and “we are left to stumble alone.”  But then there is a very important turn….  

For our wrongdoing runs too deep before You. Our sins stack up against us—sure evidence of our guilt. For our offenses are always with us; they are insidious and lasting, as You know. Our guilt says it all. We know it, too. We took You for nothing, and did just the opposite of Your commands. We broke our promises to You, ignored and rejected You.

We hatched up schemes to oppress others and rebel, to twist the truth for our gain while presenting it as honest-to-God fact. When justice calls, we turn it away. Righteousness knows to keep its distance, for truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty is not allowed to enter.  There is no truth-telling anymore, and anyone who tries to do right finds he is the next target.

Now, Isaiah steps out of the dialogue and makes an observation about how God responds to what started as a complaint and ends as a confession. I think this is key. What starts as self-justification – “God, listen, have you seen the kind of world you’ve given us?” turns into repentance: “Our sins stack up against us…we are the problem in the world.” 

It’s the only “if/then” scenario that has power. “If my people humble themselves and repent.” It’s not us fixing our brokenness. It’s us submitting to God’s work. back to Isaiah.

It’s true. The Eternal One saw it all and was understandably perturbed at the absence of justice. God looked long and hard, but there wasn’t a single person who tried to put a stop to the injustice and lies. So God took action. His own strong arm reached out and brought salvation. His own righteousness—good and pure—sustained Him.  But God’s equipment was that of no ordinary warrior: He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate, and put on the helmet of salvation. Wrapped in vengeance for clothing and passion as a cloak, God prepared for war.

Finally, God determined they must get what they’ve earned: fury to those who oppose Him, vengeance against those who are against Him. To the ends of the known world, God will go to render justice.  This is how people from east to west will come to respect the name and honor the glory of the Eternal. For He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal’s winds. The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again, to rescue those of Jacob’s holy line who turn their backs on wrongdoing. This is what the Eternal One declares.

Okay, that’s good news and bad news. The good news is that God is going to bring justice. The bad news is that His own people have been the problem. But…the good news is that He is going to rescue those who turn back to him – and He is going to orchestrate this.[2]

Eternal One:  This is My covenant promise to them: My Spirit, which rests on and moves in you, and My words, which I have placed within you, will continue to be spoken among you and move you to action. And not only you, but so it will be for your children and their children too.[3] And so on through the generations for all time.

And now we move into a classic paragraph that is often cited during Advent. 

Isaiah 60
Arise, shine (“be in the light”; “become light”), for your light[4] has broken through! The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you.  See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.

 It’s reminiscent of the end of Malachi: “ But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.” (Malachi 4:2) 

* * * * * * * * * *

“When the prophet says that’ that light is come,‘ he… sees in vision the Messiah… as pouring the light of salvation on a darkened church and world.”  (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Whole Bible) 

“In the midst of that distressing condition, Jehovah will arise upon Zion in the person of His Son; in Christ, the glory of God will be revealed.”  (Coffmana’s Commentary On The Bible)

Oh! This is fantastic news! God Himself will be the light in the darkness. 

It’s not just God moving into the world, but God moving into our hearts. Advent is more than an ‘unveiling’ in world history; it’s an arrival in our hearts. It’s personal. This is a story about light dispelling darkness, and that while that has profound implications for world history, it also has profound implications for your history. We are all coming out of darkness; we have all contributed the sinful brokenness of the world. Our wrongdoing runs deep too. But…..

Arise, shine, your light has broken through. The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you. 2 See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth; people all over are cloaked in darkness. But God will rise and shine on you; the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.

This is the joy of the first Advent. That healing and hope is available to all of us. 

 * * * * * * * * * *

 But there is another part to it.

“…the church of God is… called upon to arise… [and] to shine forth in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty…and to diffuse this light to others…” John Gill’s Exposition On The Whole Bible) 

That summons ("Arise, shine!”) is the inevitable result of the dawning of the light. When God is felt to be near [people] in penitence, love, and prayer, [they are]… bound to reflect the glory which has risen in their heart; to bear witness of the light which has pierced and transformed their soul… The glory of the Lord manifests itself in life… It is because the ‘glory of the Lord has risen upon [them],’ that Christians are able to reflect the light which has entered their souls.” E. L. Hull, Sermons

After God was unveiled to the world in the incarnate Jesus, and unveiled in the hearts of those who repent and embrace him as Lord and King, God’s people are unveiled to the world. It’s not because we are amazing. Nothing changed in terms of our ability to light up the world with our righteousness. What changed was our identity. We are now children of God, temples for the Holy Spirit. I love how Thomas Coke, English clergyman, first bishop of the Methodist Church, phrased it: 

“Shew thy native beauty; suffer thyself to be so strongly illuminated by the glory of the Lord, that thou mayest be a light to others." [5]

I have this image of all the solar powered lights I have in my yard. They soak up the light during the day, so they can shine at night. And they don’t shine because they powered themselves up. They shine because the sun filled them with light. 

Do you see this? There is a third apocalypse, a third unveiling taking place between the birth of Jesus and His return. 

It’s his church.

Jesus is revealed through His church. “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and…..glorify your Father in heaven.”

So I am sobered and inspired this Advent season to think about how, between the first apocalypse in a manger that ushered in this present age, and a second that will wrap it up as Jesus is revealed as the Returning King, God plan was to have His Holy Spirit-filled followers be an apocalypse, an unveiling, that absorbs and points back to the light from the first one while shining and like illuminating signposts that point toward the second one. 

We have the light of joy because true joy entered the world through the birth of the incarnate Savior. We ambassadors, filled by God’s Spirit and nourished by God’s Word, soak up this joyful light until it lights the darkness with our words, our attitudes, our actions, our lives.  And we never stop telling everyone that He who has come will come again, and for those whom His light has filled, there will be joy unspeakable, and full of glory. 

Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let every heart prepare Him room. 

THREE THINGS FOR PONDERING OR DISCUSSING

1. If seeing the darkness for what it is makes the light more glorious, take some time to reminisce on 2020 (and perhaps further back) and mourn the darkness. See it for what it is. Feel it. Don’t look away.

2. Now….what does Jesus offer? What is the hope in front of us? How do the first and second advents shine into the darkness? What is holding us back from ‘arising, and shining’?

3. Pray. There are times that seeing the light feels soooo elusive. “We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around.” If you are in a group, share stories of God’s faithfulness in your lives, times when the light that seemed so elusive did indeed break through.

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[1] Malachi highlights how much God disliked their sacrifices (Malachi 3).

[2] As Malachi 3: 6; 16-18. “Return to me, and I will return to you….  Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.  And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

[3] Malachi says something very similar in the final verses of the Old Testament. God will eventually turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the children to their parents.

[4] “I am the Light Of The World.” – Jesus, as recorded in John 8:12

[5] 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Advent Begins In The Darkness

ADVENT THEME: HOPE

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:2-7

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.”

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Advent begins in darkness.

Hope is probably the key underlying theme in Advent – advent, after all, points toward the “arrival” of something or someone. But hope is pale if it is not seen as an offering in the face of evil forces that assail the world during what Paul calls “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). 

In this sense, Advent is apocalyptic – a  “revealing” or “unveiling.” Unfortunately, apocalypse has become primarily associated with a terrible end to all things, but that’s not necessarily what the biblical writers meant when they used the word. Revelation, for example, is not an apocalypse simply because of what it says about the unfolding of terrible things in world history. It does unveil that, to be sure, but it’s an apocalypse primarily because of what it reveals or unveils about Jesus. In other words, an apocalypse may unveil terrible things, but it can also unveil wonderful things. In the Bible, apocalyptic literature like Revelation and Daniel does both. So, Advent is about an apocalyptic time. 

The prophets in the Old Testament had ‘unveiled’ two things: why God was angry at His people, and what He was going to do about it. 

The Israelites were God’s people; God had promised them great things. But they had a track record of remarkable disobedience, and they ended up living in exile in Babylonian. Read Jeremiah’s Lamentations - or any of the Old Testament prophets, really. They unveiled the people’s continuing unfaithfulness to God and their covenant with God. 

There’s a gap of hundreds of years between the Old and New Testament where the Jewish people believed God was silent.  There seemed to be no hope. It would have been easy to believe they had been abandoned by God: maybe he just wasn’t powerful enough to defeat the other gods; maybe He didn’t even exist; maybe he was angry beyond the breaking point. This must have been a time when their faith was tested in ways that are hard to understand.  Or…maybe we do. It’s not as if followers of Jesus have stopped struggling with feelings of despair, abandonment, disillusionment, or loss of hope.

But Jewish prophecy wasn’t simply about predicting something and then waiting for the fulfillment. It was often about pattern: showing how God has worked and is working so that the people will know how God will work. There was a constant uncovering of the eyes, constant apocalyptic glimpses of what is to come.[1]

The prophets made clear that their exile, and the silence of God for the centuries between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT, was the reaping of what they had sown. God had told them what to expect if they were unfaithful. Now they know He’s serious. 

But the prophets also helped them dream of a new world, a new way of life in faithful covenant, a time when a messiah sent by the God who had not abandoned them would rescue them from their exile. God was faithful with all His promises, after all, not just the grim ones. He had promised that they were His people and that He would be faithful - that, too, was unveiled. 

Isaiah has pleaded, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.” (Isaiah 64:1) And on the cross, there was indeed a rending – not just of the skin of the Savior, but of the curtain in the temple, decorated with stars to represent the heavens, the curtain the separated sinful, unwashed, morally impure humanity from the Holy of Holies. 

The Messiah had come. Those who live in great darkness will see a great light. (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16) The hope of an age to come in which they lived in the light of God’s blessing shone with increasing urgency.

“Advent is a season of being caught between the way things are and the way they will be. Or, perhaps better said, between the way things seem to be and the way things really are. In other words, Advent is a season during which we long for apocalypse. But as the preacher of Hebrews reminds us, “Faith is the reality of what we hope for, and the evidence of what we can’t see.” Advent is a season of faith. We light candles and trust that, as God has come before, so will God come again. We trust that no matter how dark the night, dawn is coming. We choose to hope. We choose to believe.”[2]

It turns out that the apocalypse is about a hope found in something beyond human history, something that is bigger than our personal or national cycles of optimism and despair. It is found in an incarnate God, one who arrives in the person of Christ (that’s the first advent), and one will return (that’s the second one).[3] During Advent season, we find hope in two arrivals: the one that changed history with a new covenant for His people, and the one that will wrap it up and make all things new.[4]

But we are in the middle of those two arrivals. And in that middle, it’s messy. And between the two bright lights of advent hope there are a lot of things that cast shadows. There are a lot of things that feel like exile, that feel hopeless, that cause us to question God’s goodness, or power, or existence. Advent season reminds us that we are asked to do something important: 

“Stand a watch…as the ever-encroaching darkness draws near, and to ultimately give witness to the victory of light over night. And then to stand in its glorious beams and see all things be made new.[5]

Advent is about light emerging from darkness.[6] Advent is about the apocalypse, the unveiling of the truth about the world – which involves both an honest look at the grim circumstances of a groaning world, but also the truth about the glorious Savior who has come to redeem and save. 

“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” This is as Advent a proclamation as I can imagine. We live in the ‘is’, between the remembrance of Christ’s death and the expectation of his coming again at the end of all things. This means we live in the fact of his risen-ness…We cannot always clearly see Christ, but knowing that Christ is risen means we can stand up and welcome Christ in the crisis. Death no longer has dominion over him. Death has no dominion over us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus—not the past, not the present, not the future. We wait for the end of all these things, but we look for Christ now, risen and gathering us for the end.[7]

 We live in the ‘is’, between the remembrance of Christ’s death and the expectation of his coming again at the end of all things. 

I want to linger here this morning. 

I was reading an article this week written by a Catholic who was acknowledging the terrible cost of the ‘apocalypse’ in the Catholic Church over the past few years, particularly the scandal of sexual abuse. He was noting the discouragement, disillusionment and anger in Catholics who were leaving the church. There was something about how he summarized it that has lingered with me.  

“Some people can only handle as much as they believe they can handle, and it is no easy thing to stand where we are and watch darkness grow where the light is fading. It is unsettling, disorienting. Despite the risk of injury, we want to run, get away from the dark, because we can’t bear to stay within it. 

But that is what Advent is asking us to do: to stay. To stand a watch in the [twilight] as the ever-encroaching darkness draws near, and to ultimately give witness to the victory of light over night. And then to stand in its glorious beams and see all things be made new. 

And so this is what I want to say to my friends who have left, or who are struggling; those who are halfway out the doors, or think they soon will be: My dear sisters and brothers, Hold on! Hold fast, and don’t run at the revelation! Don’t try to run through the fearsome darkness! 

Stay for Advent and stand the watch with me, with your family, with all of us... Be willing, for now, to keep company with Christ, so deeply wounded by his own Bride. Consent, for now, to share in the hard times before us (they will yet get harder, the darkness will grow deeper, still) and help us to hold, to hold fast! 

Because the light is coming; the darkness will never overcome it. Remember that Isra-el means “struggle with God.” We are all little Isra-els right now, wrestling, wrestling within his house and seeking our Jerusalem, our Abode of Peace. Hold on! Hold fast! 

Because an Advent promise has been made to us, and God is ever-faithful, so we may trust in it: Your light will come Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty. This is for all of us. It is for you, and for me. It’s for every little Isra-el struggling. Your light will come. Just hold fast.”[8]

What “is” going on your life right now?

Is politics overwhelming you? Does every election now feel like an apocalypse in the Hollywood way, an unveiling of the disastrous end of all things? Do it feel like America or the church as we know it is being upended, or that the future will hold only pain? We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come. 

Is COVID scaring you, or frustrating you? Do the last 9 months make you question the wisdom of men and the godliness and faith of your fellow Christians? Does this feel like an apocalypse, an unveiling of the true state of the world and the church that brings you despair? Is it hard to see a way forward that involves peace and hope? We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Did you lose a loved one this year through death, or through abandonment, or through relational distance that feels like a death? Do you wonder if this grief and emptiness will ever end? We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Is your mental and emotional health on the line? If studies and private conversation are indication, a lot of us are struggling this year with depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Especially as winter moves in, things can feel bleak and lifeless. We wonder when we feel alive again. We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Is your family in crisis? Maybe spending more time at home has not been a blessing. Maybe politics and Covid have pushed you apart.  Maybe this apocalyptic year has simply unveiled cracks in family foundations that had been easy to cover up. We wonder if what has been broken can possibly be repaired. We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

Has being part of this church been hard? Have you been frustrated with your church family here this past year? Me too. Have you felt like people around you just weren’t getting it!?!?! Me too. Do you wonder what 2021 holds for CLG?  Me too. We live in the reality of Christ’s risen-ness, which means we can stand up, rejoice and worship Jesus in the midst of any crisis. An Advent promise has been made to us; God is faithful, so we may trust in it. Our light which rose as a Savior from the darkness of death and will come again in a glorious unveiling of the return of the King. This is the hope revealed in the Advent that was and is to come.

I want to close with a famous Christmas song written as a result of the Civil War. It captures this in-between time, the reality of waiting in a life that is hard for a hope that is sure. 

I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY[9]

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

Then from each black, accursed mouth,
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn the households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !

And in despair I bowed my head ; 
"There is no peace on earth," I said ; 
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men !"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 
"God is not dead ; nor doth he sleep !
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men !"

THREE QUESTIONS

1. What kind of apocalypses have you experienced in your life? That is, times when God ‘unveils’ himself to you and changed your life?

2. In what areas of your life do you long for an apocalypse? “Oh, that God would rend the heavens and come down.” (Hint: might be good subject matter that guides how you pray for each other if you are doing this in a small group).

3. How might this change our lives if we genuinely fixed our eyes on the Two Advents instead of the darkness and shadows in which we live?

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[1] “Advent, the Apocalypse: A Constant Uncovering Of The Eyes.” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim/2016/12/advent-the-apocalypse-a-constant-uncovering-of-the-eyes/

[2] “Anna And The Apocalypse And Advent.” https://www.reelworldtheology.com/anna-and-the-apocalypse-and-advent/

[3] “Why Apocalypse Is Essential To Advent.” https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/december-web-only/advent-apocalypse-fleming-rutledge-essential-to-this-season.html

[4] “Advent Apocalypse.” https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/3388/advent-apocalypse

[5] “AMIDST OUR APOCALYPSE, ADVENT ASKS US TO STAY.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/amidst-our-apocalypse-advent-asks-us-to-stay/5962/

[6] This darkness to light motif is thick in Scripture. We see the glorious beams that shine on new things over and over.

·       Creation. “Let their be light” and there is light that shines in the darkness.

·       It’s in a plague of darkness in Egypt, God shows his freeing power.

·       On a dark and stormy mountain, God reveals his covenant commandments to His people through Moses.

·       Jesus’ birth was at night, in the shadow of the Herod’s palace, yet the light of the star and the glory of the angels first pointed the way then illuminated it.  

·       There’s a fascinating story in Mark 5 where a demon-possessed man – bound in spiritual darkness – is the source of an unveiling:  “The demon recognizes his superior; in a Gospel that famously keeps the “messianic secret,” this is the first entity to identify exactly who Jesus is: “What do you want with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God?”[6]

·       The Resurrection happens at night, and is revealed in the morning.

·       The disciples are fishing before dawn, and the Resurrected Jesus appears in the morning. 

[7] “Advent Apocalypse.” https://www.mnys.org/from-pastors-desk/advent-apocalypse/

[8] “Amidst Our Apocalypse, Advent Asks Us To Stay.” https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/amidst-our-apocalypse-advent-asks-us-to-stay/5962/

[9] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written while nursing his son back to health after a grievous injury in the Civil War. 

Roots And Fruits (Part 3): 2 Timothy 3:1-8

Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10) 

 "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!" (Romans 5:8).

Our advent focus to day is love. A key way God has shown is love and care to the world is by establishing covenants with humanity, covenants which culminated in Jesus. As we look at the heart of the toxic dysfunction in Timothy’s church, we will see Paul focus a spotlight on the heart of the problem: the mockery and rejection of covenant. [1]

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 We live in a consumer culture. We basically say, “If you please me, I will reward you.” If my garbage doesn’t get picked up, I’m getting a new collector.  If another phone company is cheaper and better, I’m switching.  It's just business. It’s entirely conditional.  If I don't like the product, I move on. A consumer culture is a throw-away culture. 

This is not necessarily bad, but it becomes bad when we begin to treat people from a consumer perspective. We can say to our friends, family or spouses: “If you please me, I will reward you. I’ll be good only if you provide something good.” It’s a CONSUMER approach to relationships.  It’s entirely conditional. If people don’t give us what we want, we dump them and move on. A consumer culture is a throw-away culture. This leads to disaster. 

·      If you think you are being consumed you will never be free to openly admit failures and flaws. 

·      If you think you are being consumed, you will feel a desperate need to impress.

·      If you are the consumer, no one will ever fill you sufficiently, and you will move from person to person like a relational vampire. 

The gods of the ANE were CONSUMER gods. Even the pagan creation stories said that the gods created humanity to feed and take care of them. If Zeus tired of them sufficiently, he would dump them and move on. Even worse, they weren’t entirely sure what pleased the gods, so there was the tremendous insecurity, which lead to desperate working to please as many gods in as many ways as possible so that they would be rewarded.

The Hebrew God did not relate to humanity as a consumer God. Yahweh was a covenant God.[2] A COVENANT relationship was more than a casual decision. It was meant to bind people together in a way that could not be separated.  This was not a CONSUMER relationship based on feelings and started or stopped on a whim. Two people recognized that they wanted to fasten their lives together. “Two parties make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal.”[3] 

 There was not guesswork, no fear of whims and “Did I make them happy?”  A covenant brought the stabilization of commitment. A COVENANT says: “I will be faithful.”[4]   

 The closest equivalent we have today of a covenant between equals is what we think marriageought to be (though it could apply to close friends and family members as well). 

A marriage covenant is not just a casual relationship that forms or continues on a whim: it involves two parties with a desire to have their lives closely bound together, so there is relationship. But it is also sealed with an oath. It put backbone in the commitment, otherwise the agreement was worthless.  

·      It’s not less loving because it binds with a vow; it’s more loving.  

·      It's not less binding because it’s approached with emotion and love; it’s more binding. 

Marriage will fail with consumers; it will thrive with covenanters. So a COVENANT relationship of this kind is very different from a CONSUMER relationship.  

With that in mind, we get to the last three items in Paul’s list of bad fruit coming from bad roots as found in 2 Timothy 3:1-8. It’s the center of the list; we are getting to the heart of things. In, fact, I’m shifting the tree image here. 

 On my left is the Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil, the tree where the first covenant God made with mankind was broken. On my right is Cross, the Tree of Life, where the forgiveness for these sins occurred when the final Covenant was established by Jesus. I bring this image up because when Paul gets to the heart of the bad roots and fruits, it has to do with covenant-breaking. If we are going to contrast it properly, we must look at covenant-keeping, and that is found perfectly in Jesus and on the cross. 

 The first in the final triad Paul offers is those who are “ uncaring, coldhearted; without natural affection.” 

“Careless and regardless of the welfare of those connected with them by ties of blood, like spouses, parents and children. Plato says, ‘A child loves his parents, and is loved by them;’ and so, according to St. Paul's judgment in 1 Timothy 5:8, were "worse than infidels." – Pulpit Commentary

 Those who by nature they should be most closely tied are the ones from whom they have no natural affection. Remember, they are in the church, so they knew the following:

·      With spouses, they have made a covenant. 

·      With their parents, they owe the honor. 

·      With their kids, they owe them loving care. 

But they just don’t have this. They don’t care about the storge (“natural affection”) they ought to have for their own flesh and blood. I think this works as both an observation about the ripple effect of sin and a concern about how we choose to respond to it. 

The observation: Perhaps they have were raised in the kind of family that tended to sever all feelings of natural affection. They didn't ask for that, and yet that is the ring that has been given to them. #LOTR. Okay. They were sinned against, and they bear the scars. That’s just a terrible thing in and of itself. If you struggle with natural affection, you might be reaping the sin someone else sowed in your life.

 Now the concern: What have they done with that? I see at least four responses.

·      Option #1: They address it. This is the best case scenario. They are now in the church. They claim to be followers of God. Have they brought this part of their life to Christ and His church for healing, forgiveness against the perpetrators, and maybe even (hopefully) restoration? Because Jesus can do that kind of miraculous stuff. 

·      Option #2: They don’t address it head on, but at least they are motivated by it to do something good. “Well, that didn’t go well, but it’s water under the burned bridge. Nothing to do about it now. We will just live our separate lives, but I will not pass on that legacy to my family.” It’s not ideal –ideally they are finding peace and restoration with those who wounded them -  but at least they made a conscious decision to try to make life better for their family than the life they were given. 

·      Option #3: They ignore it. “It was fine. It was fine.”  Dude, you guys scream at each other and somebody gets punched every time more than 5 of you are in a room. “That’s just what families do.”  No, it’s not. “Oh, relax.” And then by ignoring it, they fall right back into patterns they were given, and the sins of the fathers will be passed on for generations.

·      Option #4: Worst case scenario is that they embrace it. They see the dysfunction and in some sense thrive in it. Maybe conflict is an adrenaline rush. Maybe shame feels like home. Maybe secretly despising others feels good after a while. Maybe they’ve learned that manipulation and bullying and cold-heartedness is power, and they love power.

The second thing Paul mentions is slanderers/false-accusers; the word is diabolos. Commentaries will tell you it’s people who a) have no regard for truth and b) like quarrels. In other words, they love to stir the pot not for any noble reason like the pursuit of truth, but for one of the most ignoble ones: they just love the conflict, and they’ve discovered that you can get conflict rolling pretty quickly with meanness and lies. 

This one sent a shiver down my back when I read it: diablos. The devil is among you. He’s not only “out there” in a dark, cold world, crouching by our doors and seeking to devour us. He’s right here. The devil is subtle. People in the church – remember, this is people in the church - who have no regard for the truth…. 

·      aren’t interested in seeing God as God actually is. They want a tame lion, a God of their making and choosing. 

·      don’t want to know what the Bible actually says. They want to know what they can get the Bible to say. 

·      don’t want to hear your side of the story. They don’t want to get to know you to better understand you. 

·      don’t want to see the Big Picture, or walk in another person’s shoes. 

They just aren’t interested in truth or peace. No wonder they like quarrels. Keep in mind this isn’t disagreements in pursuit of truth. They aren’t interested in truth. They pick quarrels to show off, or get their way, or embarrass or manipulate you, or get attention, or undermine a group.   

Finally, we get to the core around which those two things were tightly wrapped. These are what I will call covenant mockers. They are…

“’without libation.’ Aspondos is an adjective which is the negation of spondē, a libation-sacrifice used for making treaties and covenants.” – HELPS Word Studies 

Those unwilling to embrace bonds of treaty or covenant….one who will make no truce or treaty with his enemy.” – Pulpit  Commentary.  

They are despisers of covenant: not making them if they can help it, and breaking them if they find themselves in them.

·      They don’t want the responsibility of responsibility. 

·      They don’t want to owe anything to anyone. 

·      No boundaries, nor restraints, no obligations. 

·      No forgiveness; no obedience; no loyalty; no being a team player or being part of something bigger than themselves. 

·      No “I’ve got your back” or “we’re in this together. 

It’s the summary of everything we’ve read so far.  It’s the ultimate narcissist, the one who thinks the world revolves around them, who believes others exist to be used or consumed for our happiness, who will sacrifice everyone around them but never themselves. 

“Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers. Or, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, another triad which starts from another breach of the same fifth commandment, the rending of the family ties of love, and advances to a breach of the sixth commandment in a refusal to make peace, and further of the ninth commandment in… attacks and slanders. The threefold contrary spirit is in the same Sermon on the Mount, Luke 6:27, ‘love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you.’ – Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges

Back to the arrival of covenant-making and covenant-keeping God, where Jesus models in his death what he taught in his life: “‘love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you.’

God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15; he said that He would bless the world through the descendants of Abraham. Abraham just needed to be obedient. God used a standard form of suzerain covenant-making.[5]  Abraham killed some animals, cut them in pieces, and arranged them to walk through.  While they were waiting, great darkness fell.  God passed through (as a fiery pillar) – but never made Abraham do the same.

By passing through the slaughtered animal, God was saying that if He didn’t bless Abraham and honor the covenant and indeed bless the world, God would have to pay the penalty. That alone would be unusual, but that wasn’t the most incredible point. God was saying that if Abraham didn’t keep the covenant, God would pay the penalty for Abraham. 

Which God did in the person of Jesus Christ. On the cross, a great darkness descends once again, and Jesus fulfilled the conditions of the covenant by paying the penalty of the covenant-breaking done by Abraham and his covenant descendants. We commemorate this every time we partake in communion – His body broken, His blood spilled. The covenant must be honored. Someone must pay for breaking the agreement.

Because of his death and resurrection, even flawed covenant keepers are seen by God as flawless covenant keepers. 

“Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming the curse so the blessing of Abraham could come to us all by Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 3:13) 

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  1 John 4:10

We celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas. That was step one in the covenant Jesus offered. Why did Jesus come? “Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Born to die. It’s an odd tension in Christmas. “Joy to the world; the Lord has come”…to die, to give His life so that others may live, to fulfill the covenant established with Abraham (Romans 15:8-9; Galatians 3).

In this season of Advent that celebrates His birth, we also celebrate the fulfillment of His purpose: His death, the power of which was confirmed by His resurrection.

"Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

THREE QUESTIONS

1.  How have you seen consumer culture impact you either in your habits or your relationships? How would embracing covenant culture change the way you live?

2. How are you doing with the “natural affection” for family? What makes it hard? What does it look like to move away from #4 and toward #1 in the list of responses? How can your group pray for you in this area?

3. ‘Diablos’ is a sobering word. Based on the description in these notes, what is the opposite? What are some practical ways in which living out the opposite could impact our families, friendships, church and culture?

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[1] In the Old Testament, it’s captured by the word hesed. Hesed is variously translated "steadfast love," "loving kindness," "mercy or mercies," "goodness." In several passages it is a term used to describe the character of Yahweh. For example, when Moses was summoned to Mt. Sinai the second time to receive the tablets of the covenant, the Lord passed before him and proclaimed,"Jahweh, Jahweh,a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and fourth generations" (Exodus 34:6-7).

[2]  Find a podcast/sermon called “A Covenant Relationship” by Tim Keller.

[3] So much good stuff on this from The Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/blog/covenants-the-backbone-bible/

[4] David and Jonathan’s covenant of friendship in 1 Samuel 18 is a good example. 

1)    Exchanged coats (care)

2)    Exchanged weapon belts (protection)

3)    Sacrificed an animals (importance)

4)    Mingled blood (connection)

5)    Mingled names (reputation)

6)    Shared bread (hospitality)

7)    Planted a tree (visible reminder)

[5] Interestingly, there were only two stipulations for Abraham: leave his home/the gods of his fathers and follow God, and be obedient to the voice of God (Genesis 22). On the other hand, there were at least 14 very specific promises that God puts on himself (http://www.lifeinmessiah.org/resources/articles/gods-covenant-with-abraham)

Roots and Fruits: 2 Timothy 3 (Part 2)

ADVENT: PEACE 

“...the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace (eirene) to those on whom his favor rests.’” (Luke 2:10-14). 

·      “peace, peace of mind… the health (welfare) of an individual.”  - Strong’s Concordance

·      eirḗnē –wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God's gift of wholeness).  - HELPS Word-studies

 _______________________________________________________________________ 

Roots and Fruits (Part 2)

 We are going to start in the book of Romans. 

 “ …to condemn the sin that was ruling in the flesh, God sent His own Son, bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sin offering. 4 Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the movement of the Spirit in our lives. 

5 If you live your life animated by the flesh—namely, your fallen, corrupt nature—then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit—namely, God’s indwelling presence—then your focus is on the work of the Spirit. 6 A mind focused on the flesh is doomed to death, but a mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace (eirene)…. 

The power of sin and death has been eclipsed by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit breathes life into our mortal, sin-infested bodies… You live in the Spirit, assuming, of course, that the Spirit of God lives inside of you…. If the Anointed One lives within you, even though the body is as good as dead because of the effects of sin, the Spirit is infusing you with life now that you are right with God. 

 11 If the Spirit of the One who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives inside of you, then you can be sure that He who raised Him will cast the light of life into your mortal bodies through the life-giving power of the Spirit residing in you. (Romans 8:3-11, excerpted)

 “A mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace.” Why? Because the peace won by Jesus between unholy us and a holy God is perfect peace, a reality that goes much deeper than our feelings of peacefulness. 

We then live in that peace  - we “work out” our salvation into every corner of our lives (Philippians 2:12), like a baker kneading dough so that the yeast gets everywhere – as we walk in the path that the Spirit of God leads us. Fortunately, God’s Word clarifies that path for us.

We’ve been studying Paul’s second letter to Timothy. In it, he presents a pretty grim picture of what it looks like when people walk in the path of the flesh (which leads to chaos), and we are moving by implication to what it looks like to walk in the Spirit (which leads to peace).[1]

In the previous sermon we looked at 6 traits on the outermost bookends of this section. Today we are moving in a step to look at 6 more traits closer to the center. If I had to summarize all six, I would say they paint a picture of people who rebel against any kind of authority, restraint, or expectation that comes from outside themselves. Our contrast will be what it looks like to live by honoring the God-given authorities and boundaries in our lives.

1. rebels against parents 

This was a deeply serious offense in all ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures (see Deuteronomy 21:20 – 21).[2] While this was clearly about parents, for the Israelites, it was often broadened to mean those in authority in every aspect, specifically spiritual authority (I’m leaning toward this purpose here because another category is those who have no love for their family). How they responded to God-ordained spiritual authority had implications for they responded to God’s authority. HELPS Word studies puts it this way:

’Unwilling to be persuaded (by God), which shows itself in outward disobedience (outward spiritual rebellion).” – HELPS Word Studies

We often think of the foundation of spiritual authority in our lives as ourselves. “It’s just me and Jesus. Everybody else move away and let me figure out how to read this passage of Scripture, or apply it to my life.” That concept would have been unthinkable to the ancient Israelites and dare I say to the early church. There are spiritual authorities God has placed in the world, and God intends them to have weight in our lives. 

Now, are they flawed? You bet. Are we following mindlessly? That’s a cult, so no. But there is the Bible; there are the creeds; there is the weight of tradition; there is denominational or local church authority. In the Jewish culture in the NT, parents were also responsible for being sure the Law and the Prophets were taught to their kids. 

At the end of the day, we must own our spiritual decisions, but those decisions must be informed by the spiritual ‘weight’ God has ordained in the structure of spiritual authority. None of us think we are the ones who say, “Did God really say?” That’s what serpents whisper. But too often, our version is, “Eh, does anybody else really get to have a say in how I understand God, and His Word, and His world?” Because the answer is yes, they do. This has always been the case in biblical history.

So the opposite is the honoring parents/spiritual authority.

Meanings for honor in Scripture include the imagery of  “adding wealth” or “giving weight.” This is such a tricky topic, because no human being other than Jesus deserves the full weight of anyone’s trust. We could probably do a series on what honoring spiritual authority looks like, but I’m going to try to summarize it: God intends for us to be formed by the weight of the God-ordained spiritual authorities in our lives.

Are you familiar with 3-D presses? They take blobs of material and make something functional of them. Those blobs of material don’t form themselves. They achieve their form because something forms them. 

Unless we have been raised by wolves, we are inescapably spiritually formed by some sort of spiritual 3-D press. 

·      Paul told the Corinthians that he planted and Apollos watered (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). I would assume that means we all need planters and waterers in our lives. 

·      In fact, Hebrews 5:12 says, "you need someone to teach you". 

·      God created the offices and gives the gifts of teacher or elder or pastor to teach and shepherd. 

·      Leaders are expected to guide/protect/rebuke, which implies that people are to listen for their benefit and because God said to.

We go through a spiritual press. Sometimes it’s not of our choosing; sometimes it is. When you come to this church or any other church, when you fill yourself with a teacher online, when you join a small group, you are submitting yourself to the pressing process. Something will be formed on the other side. 

This is God’s plan. Embrace it with wisdom and proper discernment.

Choose your spiritual formation wisely, and then let it do its work. 

* * * * * 

2. ungrateful

ungrateful/ungraceful – “properly, without God's grace (favor) which results in unthankfulness (literally, "ungraceful"). – HELPS Word Studies

 In a culture that expected those who were given gifts to repay these gifts with honor, those who were ungrateful were really looked down upon.[3]

To the original writers and readers of Scripture, while gifts (such as grace) could not be earned, they must be responded to. The giver does not function as if there are relational strings attached; however, the receiver does. The recipient of a gift was in the debt of the one who gave them a gift. And the bigger the gift, the bigger the response owed.[4] So if someone gave their life for you….  This is sometimes referred to as Life Debt, a trope that shows up in a LOT of stories, like 3:10 to Yuma.[5]

The grateful respond to a gift with a gift in some fashion. The Roman writer Seneca used an image of throwing a ball. You need a thrower (the giver) and a catcher (the receiver) who then throws and the other catches, etc. The goal is to keep the ball in the air.  Paul seems very comfortable building on this virtuous reciprocal obligation[6] in a gift economy between people. In the NT church, the koinania relationship was one of giving and receiving. It’s a rhythm of life designed to foster relationship based on giving and responding with gratitude, then giving and responding with gratitude... (Philippians 2:30, 4:15; Romans 15:27; 1 Corinthians 9:11). To be clear:

·      If I wait until someone has earned a gift from me, that’s too late. It’s a gift, not a payment for services rendered.  

·      If I give something back to prove I was worthy of a gift in the first place, I have missed the point and insulted the grace of the giver. 

·      If I give something bigger back to show the other gift up, or to coerce an even bigger gift, then I’m a jerk, and the relationship is going to be in trouble. 

The basic idea is this: gratefulness is not just a feeling, it’s an act. It’s how relationship is built. You give me a compliment about my beard, an act of grace to be sure; I compliment you next Sunday on your taste in Michigan football teams, which is also an act of grace. The point is that I remember the gift you have given and I look forward to reciprocating in some fashion.  You were kind; I will be kind. You ‘saw’ me; I will ‘see’ you. It’s how relationships work. This ‘gift economy’ is meant to be the transactional relational language of the church. 

* * * * *

3. unholy

“A lack of reverence for what should be hallowed.” – HELPS WORD STUDIES

 There are verses that warn us not to give that which is holy to the dogs, or the pigs (Matthew 7:6), images in that culture of filth and degradation. So, what ought to be hallowed treated with reverence, or set apart as holy?

·      God, clearly. 

·      People (who are all image bearers (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-2); followers of Jesus are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3 and 6)

I think those two are obvious. But….what should be “set apart” in the lives of believers committed to holiness? What should be viewed or appreciated or used in such a way that it God, people and all of God’s created world are honored and treated with appropriate care and reverence? Everything.[7]

* * * * *

4. without restraint 

“Incontinent.—Having no control over the passions or urges – emotions, words, appetites of all kinds.” (HELPS WORD STUDIES)

 This image is literally that of one who cannot control the kind of bodily functions that expel waste. If you have experienced this, you know it’s embarrassing and frustrating. How odd that we live in a world that often glorifies moral incontinence, the uncontrolled unleashing of passions and urges. It’s the desire to live like a moral animal, a slave to instincts and hungers and lusts (but now I’m ahead of myself). 

The opposite is temperate or restrained. It’s a blessing to be able to restrain when and how our body expels waste. Is it not also a blessing to be able to restrain the potential of our lives to expel moral waste? Sometimes, when it comes to physical incontinence, we can genuinely say, “I couldn’t help myself.” Christian brothers and sisters, with the exception of the kind of damage to our bodies that deeply harms our body’s God-given restrainers (like a TBI or significant developmental disorders) we cannot say “I can’t help myself” when it comes to the words that come out of our mouths, or the attitude we unleash, or any urge to follow our immoral instincts, hungers or lust. We have the Holy Spirit. One of the fruits is self-control. God helps us in those moments we cannot help ourselves. 

When we say, “I shouldn’t have said that or posted that or looked at that, but I just couldn’t help myself,” we are liars. We have a form of godliness but are denying its power. Between the Holy Spirit, the guidelines of God’s Word, and the company of God’s people, there is no temptation to sin that we cannot bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). That is good news, indeed.  God has equipped us to live in a community where were are tempered by the power of God to the glory of God.

* * * * *

5. savage (bestial)

Fierce.—Inhuman, savage, or merciless, harsh, cruel. They are both soft and hard, incontinently indulging themselves and inhuman to others,[8] when they should be hardened to self-indulgence and soft toward others.” (Pulpit Commentary)[9]

This is actually a thread that runs throughout the Bible: will we be molded into the image of beasts, or of God? Will we find more affinity with animals or people? The opposite is hospitable (merciful), or “soft toward others.” 

I know. We live in a culture where “soft” implies “weak” and nobody wants to be weak. Don’t tread on me!

·      Yet God is describes as “abounding in mercy.”[10]

·      Jesus told people to learn what it means that God desires mercy more than sacrifices (Matthew 9:13). 

·      I read blessed are the meek and the peacemakers (Matthew 5). Greater love has no one more than laying down your life (John 15:13). Serve others sacrificially.[11] Turn away wrath with a soft answer (Proverbs 15:1). 

·      Overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). If someone strikes you or takes your cloak, don’t seek revenge (Luke 6:29). Shame them with kindness (Romans 12:20). Give food and water to your enemy, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22)

 May God give us the strength to be weak in the eyes of the world so that the strength of God is highlighted and His mercy is made manifestly clear in His merciful people. 

* * * * *

6. haters of anything good[12]

“Despisers of those that are good; that is, hostile to every good thought and work and person.” – HELPS Word Studies

 This is a terrible summary of what we have covered so far. The opposite, of course, is lovers of Good (good thoughts, actions and persons), the beautiful opposite. The things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Philippians 4:8), we not only dwell on them, we celebrate them everywhere we see them. 

* * * * *

So, back to peace.  

 “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:18). That’s first of all God to us, then us to others, and God has shown us how to do and empowered us to do it. “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19). That’s the goal as we live together in church. 

THREE QUESTIONS

1. What does it look like for you to “work out your salvation” into every corner of your life? (By the way, that’s a way of understanding that passage the a preacher I respect recently introduced to me. It has different implication than ‘figure out and own your faith for yourself when you get saved,” which is how I’ve often understood it.)

2. What would it look like if we in the church really embraced the idea of “gift economy’ as a foundation of relationships? How might church life change, and how might it stay the same?

3. Biblically speaking, what characterizes solid spiritual ‘parents’? What does it look like to ‘give them weight’ in our lives without putting them on a pedestal or moving toward cult-like mindless obedience?

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[1] 2 Timothy 3:1 And know this: in the last days, times will be hard. 2 You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, 3 uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. 4 Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. 5 Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They have the outward form and look of godliness, but by their lives they deny God’ power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these. Keep them away from your people. 

[2] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

[3] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

[4] To whom much is given, much is required. There is a reason why “presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice” is a “reasonable act of service” (Romans 12:1). But since this passage is about life together with those around us, let’s focus there. 

[5] https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IOweYouMyLife. It’s why Friday serves Robinson Crusoe, it’s all over Harry Potter, it’s in the Chronicles of Narnia and the Silmarillion, Star Wars, Mulan, Toy Story 2….

[6] There is a fascinating chapter called “Strings Attached: Paul and Seneca On The Modern Myth Of The Pure Gift,” by David Briones, in a fascinating book called Paul And The Giants Of Philosophy (IVP Academic). In it, Briones unpacks the idea of the ‘gift economy’ in the ancient world that flourished with virtuous reciprocal obligation and other-oriented self-interest, both of which show up in Paul’s writings and would have been fundamental in the early church’s understanding of how to respond to the grace received from God and others.

[7] “Disobedient to parents… with ‘unthankful, unholy,’ makes another triad: breakers of the fifth commandment (father and mother) go on to be breakers of the tenth (don’t covet); and thus throwing aside the second table go on to throw aside also the first…  The word for ‘unthankful’ occurs elsewhere only Luke 6:35 in the Sermon on the Mount. For ‘unholy’ see notes on 1 Timothy 1:9. – Cambridge Bible For School And Colleges

[8] Jameison-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

[9] “Fierce (from ferns, wild, savage); ἀνήμεροι; only here in the New Testament, and not found in the LXX., but frequent in the Greek tragedians and others, of persons, countries, plants, etc.; e.g., "Beware of the Chalubes, for they are savage (ἀνήμεροι), and cannot be approached by strangers" (AEschylus, 'Prom. Vinct.,' 734, edit. Scholef.). It corresponds with ἀνελεήμονες, unmerciful (Romans 1:31).”

[10] https://www.openbible.info/topics/gods_mercy

[11] https://counselingoneanother.com/2016/06/17/the-joy-of-sacrificial-service/

[12] “Incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good;  vicious or uncontrollable, unapproachable, unkindly to all good, a… triad, in which the characters of the libertine, the churl, the worldling are painted. The three words occur nowhere else in N.T. But the exact opposites are found together in Titus 1:8, ‘temperate, a lover of hospitality, a lover of good.’ – Cambridge Bible For Schools And Commentaries