Tag Archives: judging

Christians Known By Love, But Defined by Truth

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)

An internet meme asserts that Jesus said Christians will be known by their love, not by their doctrine. Even pastoral sermons can fall into this trap. Yes, trap.

The problem with this meme is two fold. One, it presents a false dichotomy, pitting love and truth against each other. The scriptures on Christian love are a vital part of sound doctrine. You don’t have sound doctrine if you don’t have sincere Christian love. Secondly, the idea that you can have true Christian love without sound doctrine is a lie based on cherry picking scriptures, taking them out of their context as our verse of the day does. Verses 22-23 read:

2Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love,  love one another earnestly from a pure heart,  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

So after asserting we are to be holy (verse 15) and we are told the sincere love we are to be known by is a product (fruit) of being purified of sin through obedience to the truth. Christian love comes from a pure heart, of being born again through the imperishable seed of the Word. It is in that context we are reminded that, though our lives in the corrupt sinful fallen bodies of the present are like grass and fading, the word of the Lord remains forever.

Further this, according to Peter, is the very gospel itself, the good news that the apostles preached and that authentic Christianity still preaches to this day. Not love above truth at any cost, as some false teachers espouse, but rather love born of truth and eternal life itself from being born again of the truth, by faith, through God’s grace at work in us, not of our own efforts, lest any boast.

Christ our Lord said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” not “I am the Love.” Yes, we are known by our love, but we are defined by the truth. Our love binds us to Christ and one another, and it is certain that we don’t even know what love is until we stand at the foot of his cross where God’s love sent his son to die for traitors. But it is the truth that sets us free from the bondage of sin, which is what divides us and creates bitterness, anger, malice, confusion, selfishness, and all manner of unloving behavior. It is equally crucial to have true doctrine and sincere love for God and one another. Truth and Love are conjoined twins. Damage to the one inevitably impacts the other.

The most grave damage from divorcing love from truth is that, to be consistent, one must claim the Apostles who wrote the bulk of the New Testament, and preached “love one another,” were themselves judgmental hate mongers. In the pages of scripture, the apostles thrash Christian sects whose doctrine differs with their own, denouncing the adherents as heretics and the leaders as false teachers leading people astray from God. Paul encourages us to imitate him, even, and makes no exception for his combative defense of sound doctrine.

Per the world’s definition of love, we must conclude the apostles were wrong to judge the very salvation of those who disagreed with their doctrines. Instead of fighting with these “false teachers” and their followers, they should have done as we do and embraced them as saved fellow Christians who loved Christ as much as they did and simply had different views on scripture than the apostles.

Students of history will be aware the Church has long disobeyed the apostles’ doctrine and murdered each other over disputable matters. The definition of love in reaction to this evil, however, shows its own demonic origins by subtly standing in judgment against the very bible those taken captive by this lie claim their love and faith are based on. It is double-minded inconsistency to embrace the authority of the apostles to write scripture on one side of the mouth and on the other stand in judgment against those God appoints today as defenders of the faith and promoters of the spread of the apostles’ soul-saving doctrine.

Lord, give us wisdom to know your truth and discern the error that tugs on our ears and sounds so good. Give us a desire to grow in holiness and sound doctrine as well as the love and grace and forgiveness that spring up from maturing in the truth. Prick our hearts with conviction when we detach the flower of love from the vine of truth, for blooms detached from their roots quickly die and fade away, and branches that do not flower and bear fruit will be cut off and burned. Either way, keep us safe and growing in you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Gospel, Post-Modernism, Sin and Holiness

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The Birthday Post Not About Me. :)

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28)

Paul and his ministry partners declared publicly, in speech and in writing, the praises and glory of the name of Jesus Christ, but the word proclaim also can mean to show by giving an outward indication of something. In this day and age, the silent witness of how we live our lives is often as important, if not more, than the words we speak. I pray none of us are afraid to speak the name of Jesus in public, but I pray also that it is not necessary for any of us to confess or tell anyone in words what our faith is and where we stand. I pray that would be plain by our conduct.

Paul and his ministry partners also warned and taught the flock, all those God gave to them, why? “Warn” is not a positive word today. It makes us thing of judgment, it makes us think of unforgiving attitudes, holier than thou, and condemnation. We assume this means warning someone they need to shape up or else they’re headed to hell, and we assume the person is willing us to go there.

The dictionary definition of warn is give advanced notice of danger or evil, and to give counsel, to offer admonishing advice–and admonish can mean gentle or friendly and earnest. This warning is the words of a loving friend encouraging you to take care of yourself and stay safe, spiritually speaking, not a harsh critic tearing you down, often in order to feel better about themselves. Further, the stated ministry goal is present us mature in Christ–to encourage spiritual growth, to lift you up, “actualize yourself” by becoming all that Christ made you to be, per the instructions of scripture.

Lord, we thank you for this day that you have made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. We thank you for those you have brought into our lives to minister to us, whether they are official clergy or not. We pray you would give them the wisdom and the gentleness and the compassion they need to admonish us and encourage us to be more like you in a loving manner. Strengthen us also, Lord, to know when you are calling us to minister with words of warning, and to do so in like loving fashion. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

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Claiming the Victor’s Crown? First, Get in the Game!

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)

Some view the bible as a random list of dos and don’ts we’re expected to obey for no other reason than, “God says so.” Others agree, but feel the blood washes the dos and the don’s away rather than our guilt for breaking them, and view the bible today as being a warm fuzzy book full of hope and promises of salvation, healing, protection from harm and our enemies, and promises if we have enough faith, we’ll be given every desire of our heart.

Eventually, these latter “Arm Chair Christians” encounter the harsh reality of trials and the pain of reaping the fruits of sowing to the flesh. So they declare the promise in faith. To their shock, it’s not there to claim. At that point, these simple folk sometimes wisely re-read their bibles seeking where they went wrong, and God sheds light on the fact the promise hinged on their obedience. The danger they face at that moment is the temptation to go overboard and become legalists, obeying from fear rather than from trust and love. It can be addicting when living by God’s principles changed their lives for the better, maybe even saved it in the earthly. Runners face the hazard of losing sight of the grace that enables us to run. We must guard against this, or we’ll be disqualified.

Other Arm Chair Christians keep ignoring the bible’s wisdom on how to live, faithfully claiming the victory, and wondering why they don’t have it. Christians in the race try to gently point out to these folk that their sin is causing their woes and they need to repent of it to get the victory. The unwise ones accuse the runner of judging and may arrogantly compare themselves to saints who waited for decades or until eternity to receive.

Still others may well be in the race as a mere recreation, but when the race inevitably becomes difficult, they can become so disheartened, they give up altogether and become atheists or agnostics.

God’s word isn’t an authoritarian list of random do’s and don’ts that have no rhyme or reason besides “I said so.” Nor is it a list of warm fuzzy promises from a cosmic Santa Claus who doesn’t even keep a list of who’s been naughty anymore.

The bible makes promises, good promises, it is full of hope. But following Jesus is not without life’s struggles and hardships. Battling the flesh and the enemy’s attempts to derail us can make life even more difficult for Christians. If we don’t seek understanding in the bible’s pages for how God designed us to function and seek to grow in grace and wisdom, if we remain foolish and sow to the sinful flesh, we’ll reap pain, death, sorrow, broken relationships, and fractured lives.

God does all the work in us–at least that lasts. He saves us by grace, through faith, not by works. None of us can boast. We’ve all sinned and fallen short and anyone who claims otherwise is either a liar or naive.

But if we want the victory, and the victor’s crown, we need to be willing to actually allow God’s grace to transform us from sinners into saints. His promises were made to his saints, those who love and trust him and are spiritually descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If you want the promise you’re claiming, stop sitting on the sidelines, waving, “Go saints!” in one hand and “Sinner saved by grace!” in the other and get in the game and run the race.

Posted in God's promises, Grace, Legalism, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

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The Measure of a Man

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

This gem comes to us when God sends Samuel to anoint a son of Jesse to be king instead of Saul and doesn’t tell Samuel right away which one. Samuel sees the good, kingly looks and height of the eldest, and thinks this must be the one God has chosen to be king.

We do this today. Since the advent of television, presidential candidates have a much stronger chance of success if they look like  the sort  Hollywood would choose to play the president.  The president’s race thankfully no longer matters to the people, but when it comes to the presidency, in the voting booth where no one is looking, Americans, at least, still vote for a tall, dark, and attractive gentleman born to wealthy parents over a short fat guy with an everyman face and a blue collar background or a female presidential candidate of any sort.

God doesn’t measure us the way people do. When selecting where to fit us in the body and what vocation to call us to, God doesn’t judge our candidacy by our looks, how tall we are,  and by implication by other things important to men: how smart we are, how many degrees we have from the right schools, who our families are, how rich, how talented, or even how much we’ve messed up.

No, in the Kingdom of Heaven, God selects us for duty based solely on the condition of hearts, who we are on the inside when no one is looking, and more than that even, he looks ahead and sees who we can become if we answer his call and turn our hearts towards him. When Samuel looked at David that day, he saw a scrawny weak shepherd boy, the youngest son not likely to achieve greatness.

When God looked at the same youngest son shepherd boy that day, God already saw the man after his own heart who would slay the giant and turn down the chance to assassinate Saul even when Saul was jealously trying to kill him.

Lord, give us your eyes. Help us to see people as you see them. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Prayer and Devotions

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God-Esteem and the Pride of Humility

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“ 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)

“Don’t think too highly of yourself. The bible says so. ” We’ve probably heard that on someone’s lips at some point. It’s true, to an extent. Pride is a sin and humility is a virtue.  But that’s not the whole picture here.  For starters,  we can find ourselves guilty of  thinking very highly of ourselves for thinking very lowly of ourselves.

We can say “don’t think too highly of yourself” to someone who actually is giving us a measured, calm, thoughtful, honest and fair evaluation of their abilities, per the meaning sober. Often times, the person saying it is, probably unconsciously, taking the person “thinking too highly of themselves” down a peg in order to better position themselves. In other words, often, the accusers are themselves in their hearts guilty of their own charge against the accused.

Abusers and folks with low self-esteem miss that it is perfectly scriptural to make a prejudice-free, discerning evaluation of one’s abilities, as this is what “sober judgment” means.  It does not mean “beat yourself up, be down on yourself, and allow others to brow beat you.”

Rather it means tell the honest truth about yourself without embellishment and without thinking your skills, knowledge, and abilities make you better than others, incapable of error, and especially not deserving of special privileges.  In addition, we are also reminded to do our evaluation of ourselves through the eyes of faith, by implication, to see ourselves as God does. Lord knows we have faults and failings, but he also sees what he is making us and who we are in him.

Thus this scripture is absolutely no excuse for being more negative and critical about ourselves and thinking more lowly of ourselves than we ought to think, compared to what God Almighty has said about us, either.

Lord, grant us discernment to fairly evaluate ourselves. Open our eyes to see ourselves as you see us. Deliver us from any pride and overly lofty opinion, but also from any negative evaluation where we are being harsher on ourselves than you. Grant us enough humility to accept by faith the grace and forgiveness and righteousness you give give us. Deliver us from the fear that keeps us from making an unprejudiced, thoughtful evaluation of ourselves as we are commanded in the scriptures. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in abuse, Bible and Theology, Faith, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

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To People Please or Not To . . .

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” (Romans 15:2)

Yikes! Whatever happened to you can’t please everyone? Okay, lay some context on me, please:

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written,”The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” (Romans 15:1-3)

Ah, there, Paul is continuing his discourse from Romans 14 on the varying convictions in the Body and saying we should be sensitive to the weaker consciences some of our brothers and sisters have, that we shouldn’t criticize them for having stricter standards than us, but tolerate them rather than insisting on pleasing ourselves.

I don’t know if this means to let our church service be dictated by the person who complains a style of music offends them. I doubt this means if one person in our family becomes a vegetarian, or if one person at the church supper is a vegan, that we all have to eat that way to please them. I doubt this means if one brother or sister is an alcoholic, the rest of us can’t drink up in front of them. After all, it’s not our fault if they give in and crack one open  .  .  .

Oh wait. That last one is exactly what Paul means. We are not to lay a stumbling block before our brother and sister. If we know they are weak, if we know they can’t handle something, we should refrain from our liberty, and not serve that drink, not wear that garment that shows off skin and/or the contours of our body, not play that violent, gory video game/movie around them, or do anything else that will cause our brother and sister to do something that will violate their conscience and sin before God–even if our own is perfectly clear and we think their conviction silly.

But let’s not let someone confuse us who is offended at us who isn’t sincerely tempted to violate their own conscious and stumble and fall. Is the hymn lover seriously tempted to sing along to a chorus–do they seriously even think it is a sin to? Likewise, is the vegan or vegetarian really so weak they’ll eat the main dish that does have meat in it rather than the meatless main dish that was provided them? Do they really think it would be a sin if they did? (If the answer is yes to both questions, then don’t serve the meat! LOL.)

Of course, if it is your conviction being a people pleaser is what this passage means, let me build you up by encouraging you to, by all means, live according to that belief, if that is what you sincerely, truly believe God has called you to do. I fear you’ll burn out and have to reconsider whether that call really came from God, but who am I to judge another man’s servant?

Lord, grant us wisdom to discern what requests are truly to the benefit and spiritual good of our neighbor, lest in pleasing them, we hurt them and you. Increase our love, so that we would be sick to our stomachs at the mere thought of selfishly waving before a believer what will cause them to sin, deliberately tempting them to disobey what they feel you have told them. Since many can be too embarrassed to speak up, grant us sensitivity, to recognize what is a stumbling block to one another, so we might not in our liberty cause others to sin. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Legalism, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

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Seek Godliness that won’t deny its Power

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16)

We have a “therefore” so we need to first put this in context:

  • Pray when you’re suffering
  • Sing praise when you’re cheerful.
  • If you’re sick, ask your church leadership to pray over you and anoint you with oil in the name of the Lord.
  • Even if God says no to healing you here, your prayer of faith will save you because of the hope of the resurrection and because your sins are forgiven and you’re spiritually whole.
  • Because of it will bring great spiritual and possibly physical healing, then confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.

James adds next a sermon illustration from the old testament of his famous prayers of a righteous man being powerful and effective: Elijah was a mortal, fallen human being like us, but in the grace of an old testament saint, his prayers even instigated and ended a three year drought. The implication then is the power available to only a few select individuals in Elijah’s day is available in Christ to be poured out on all who believe and trust in him.

My title plays off a good cross reference to  this: “For people will be . . .having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Tim 3:2,5)  However, we have to be careful. We should seek in our own walk to have faith with power, but we must be careful not to push others into the dangerous waters of the Timothy passage  by behaving like Job’s friends and using these verses like a club. It was also James who told us the tongue is a fire–lets be careful our usage of words is cleansing, not destructive.

Lord, grant us faith that can start and end droughts, if it be your will! Grant us faith that can heal the wounded of body, heart, and soul. But grant us also hearts that follow after yours and seek your way. Enable us also to be humble, not boast and rude, but rather patient, kind, and respectful to all people, wherever they might be in relation to you. I pray we would be people others would feel safe confessing their sins to, that we would practice and be known for gently restoring our brother. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Faith, Prayer and Devotions

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