How do you love?

Interesting question, isn't it? First off, you may be thinking,"How does he mean? HOW do you love? How do YOU love? or How do you LOVE?" Well... to be honest, that's not important. Which ever way you spin the question, my point is the same.

I often struggle with talking about love in a Biblical, 'agape' sense. I'm willing to bet many of you all know what I mean. Most times when you talk about how a Christian should love God and love people, the hearers tend to nod their head in a "yea, yea, we know" sort of way. I do this all the time. I KNOW I'm supposed to live a life of true, Godly, agape love, but how successful am I in carrying that out? If you're like me, you don't really love like you should. Of course, I (try to) love my wife, brother, parents, extended family, friends, etc. with 100% effort, but even then I come up short. How then can we begin to live a life of love to the world around us, and particularly those in our lives that are not easy to love?

2 Peter 1:5-7 says, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowlege; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love."

To fully understand what Peter is saying here, we have to examine the context of this passage. First, verse 5 begins with, "For this very reason..." - which refers to verses 3-4 which says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason..."

**It is only because we have been made alive in Christ by his grace through faith that we can live a life of godliness! In redeeming us He has given us all the tools and abilities and desires needed to live a life that glorifies Him!

"For this reason" -- that God has SAVED US as given us NEW LIFE-- we should dedicate our lives to glorify HIM by adding to our faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

The second aspect of the context of 2 Peter 1:5-7 is the verse immediately following, which says, "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

**We dedicate ourselves to grow in these godly attributes because they are the means by which God uses us to advance His Kingdom!

Let's focus once again on the issue of love. So far we have discussed two major factors as to why love is an integral aspect of the Christian life: 1- God has graciously redeemed us and given us new life equipped with the tools, ability, and desires needed to live a that glorifies Him. 2- These godly attributes (including love) are the means by which God uses us to advance His Kingdom. The Question now is, "How does my life reflect these biblical truths?" Am I actively growing in my faith? Am I living a life of love?

Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest exhorts believers on this same topic. I'll leave you with his challenging words:

Love is an indefinite thing to most of us; we don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the loftiest preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that this sovereign preference be for Himself (see Luke 14:26 ). Initially, when "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" ( Romans 5:5 ), it is easy to put Jesus first. But then we must practice the things mentioned in 2 Peter 1 to see them worked out in our lives.

The first thing God does is forcibly remove any insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, ". . . love one another as I have loved you" ( John 15:12 ). He is saying, "I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you." This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated.

"The Lord . . . is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish . . ." ( 2 Peter 3:9 ). I should look within and remember how wonderfully He has dealt with me. The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through Me? Neither natural love nor God’s divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.

By His Wounds

In the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26), just hours before his trial and crucifixion, Jesus takes aside Peter, James, and John and says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Jesus then goes off by himself to pray and cries out, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” A second time, Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Jesus prays the same prayer a third time, in such anguish his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22). Soon after, Judas arrives with a mob sent by the Jewish high priest to take Jesus away.

The events that follow are almost certainly well-known to anyone reading this right now, so I won’t retell the story here. However, on this Good Friday, I feel lead to express my personal convictions on the core, foundational reason why we celebrate this event on Good Friday.

Matthew 26:38-39 is one of the most emotionally charged passages in the Bible. I don’t see how anyone could read it and imagine Jesus’ situation and not be affected spiritually and emotionally. Think about it: here we have JESUS - the Son of God, the eternal Word, The Anointed One, Messiah, King of Kings – and He’s sorrowful, grieved, burdened, anxious, anguished, and perhaps even terrified about “the cup” he was about to drink!

Most people read this passage and just assume Jesus is referring to his coming physical torture, mockery, and execution. I’m sure Jesus was indeed burdened with his coming crucifixion, but there is much more to his anguish than mere physical harm. There are historical accounts of hundreds- if not thousands- of Christians throughout history that have been persecuted, tortured, and executed for their faith. Many accounts say that the authorities were shocked at how joyful and peaceful these martyrs were leading up to their deaths. They would sing hymns and praises together just seconds before their execution. How then can we possibly claim that the Author and Perfecter of our faith, the Champion of grace Himself was this sorrowful and burdened about impending physical harm?

There is one critical question here that must be answered:

What was in the cup?

I believe it would be categorically false to claim that the physical torture and crucifixion were not at all in the “cup” that Jesus asked the Father to take from Him. I also believe, however, that there is so much more that so many Christians overlook or just miss completely. The Cup that Jesus drank was not full of merely physical, emotional, or mental pain. It was primarily spiritual.

So what was in the cup?

The Wrath of God.

Isaiah 53:10 says (NASB), “The Lord was pleased to crush Him (Jesus), putting him to grief.”

The word “pleased” here cannot be overlooked. The Hebrew word “caphets” distinctly means a subjective act with which one is very pleased and delighted. God unleashed His eternal wrath on His own son, and was pleased to do so! How can this be?

A lot of people are taught that when God saves us, he removes our sin and guilt and “forgets them forever!” God does not forget about our sins. He does not simply “remove it from his mind.” Yes, our sin and guilt are removed from us, but they are not forgotten. God does not simply choose to ignore them.

In Gethsemane, Jesus was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He was not anguished because of mere physical harm; the spiritual wrath of God was about to be unleashed upon Him. For the first time in all eternity, God the Father was removing his connection from the Son. The Son, by himself, was to face the all-consuming, eternally powerful wrath of God.

The reason for this was that Jesus was not simply “showing his followers how to give up their lives for love or a good cause” as some today claim. Not in the least. Jesus - who was pure and completely sinless, unstained from sin and guilt and thoroughly holy - was about to carry the full weight of human sin and guilt from the past, present, and future.

- 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

- Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”

This is what the saying “Jesus died for our sins” truly means. When we receive Christ in faith, our sins are not forgotten or ignored. Our guilt and punishment are transferred to Christ. The atonement has already been completed by Christ physically and spiritually through the Cross. Justification and Righteousness are imputed to us once we are born again through faith in Christ.

Isaiah 53:5-6 says:

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

God would not be holy and righteous if he ignored our sin. God does not leave any guilt unpunished. We can either face the wrath of God ourselves, or we can have our punishment transferred to Christ through faith in Him. Jesus became sin for us, and by dying on the Cross and raising back to life on the third day, cancelled the power of sin and guilt for anyone who would ever put their faith in Him!

As we celebrate this Good Friday and the coming day of resurrection please remember that the work of Christ on the Cross was not merely a physical suffering but a deep spiritual punishment of the wrath of God because of our own sin and guilt. Because he suffered, we never will!

“Jesus drained the cup of God’s wrath- as the perfect sacrifice // Jesus drained his blood on our behalf- to resurrect us into LIFE!”

Lost in Translation

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about different Bible translations, and they asked me:
Why don’t they just make a Bible translation word-for-word from the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts? Wouldn’t that be the most beneficial way to study the Scriptures?

Think about the myriad of modern English translations out there today: NIV, KJV, NLT, ESV, NASB, HCSB, etc. You could spend days sifting through each translation analyzing the differences. In order to make better sense of the Bible section at your favorite book store, a few questions need to be answered:

-Why so many translations? Why not just a literal “word-for-word” translation?
-What are the differences between translations? Which one is the best?

The first issue we need to discuss why there are so many English translations in the first place. Back to my friend’s original question: Why not just a literal word-for-word translation that everyone can use?

To put it simply, an absolutely literal translation is not feasible. Granted, one could transliterate each Hebrew and Greek word directly into English in the same structure and order, but such a translation would be completely unintelligible. There are three main reasons for this:

1) Syntax: The Grammar and sentence structure of biblical Hebrew and Greek is drastically different from English.

2) Vocabulary: Words in biblical Greek and Hebrew (especially Hebrew) carry a wide range of meanings in modern English. For example, the Hebrew word ruah can be translated into English as spirit, breath, or wind.


3) Context: Cultural language factors such as idioms and other figures of speech carry different meanings than what the biblical language literally says. For example, if someone 2,000 years into the future were to literally render the modern idiom “between a rock and a hard place”, they would be thinking about somebody in a physical location between a solid mass of earthy minerals and sediments and another place solid to the touch. Obviously a literal meaning of that phrase would not produce a proper meaning. This also applies to the biblical languages.

The inability to read, understand, or extract proper meaning from an absolutely literal word-for-word translation necessitates a translation rendered into the modern language of a given audience. In other words, the translation needs to conform to the every-day language of the audience.

The reason there are so many different English translations today is because of two different translation philosophies:

1) The Formal translation style seeks to make the English translation as close to the original languages as possible. The priority of Formal translations is the original form and structure of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. This is an attempt for the most “word-for-word” translation possible.

2)The Dynamic style seeks to make the English translation as close to the modern language as possible. The priority of Dynamic translations is keeping the true meaning of the biblical text through a highly modernized language style.

Here is a little continuum which places some of the more popular English translations on a scale according to translation style:

Formal-------------------------Dynamic
NASB---ESV---NIV---NLT---The Message

As you can see, the New American Standard Bible (NASB) is basically the closest to a literal translation as you can get, while The Message is certainly to the other extreme, with the NIV directly in between.

Which translation is the best?

There really is no concrete answer to this question (sorry!). Depending on your situation, different translations can be most beneficial. The NIV has become the most popular translation in churches because it as close to the original form and structure as possible while still being easily readable in modern English.

The NASB can be difficult to read at times, but is certainly beneficial for in-depth study and hard-core exegesis. The New Living Translation, on the other hand, does not prioritize the wording and structure of the original texts, but is very easily readable and is very useful for personal devotions and reading through some Old Testament passages. The Message is useful in certain contexts, but is more of a paraphrase than an actual translation, so I wouldn’t recommend using it for any Bible study, church service, or much personal devotional time.

I’ll leave you with a few examples of the translational differences between the English bibles discussed above.

Colossians 2:13-14:

NASB
13) When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14) having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

NIV
13) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14) having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

NLT
13) You were dead because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
14) He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Apples & Oranges

“Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (John 3:3-7, ESV).

The phrase “born again” has unfortunately turned into a political identifier in the United States since the “Moral Majority” and other religio-political forces have stampeded onto the scene. Setting that aside for the moment (better yet: forever) let us explore the genuine meaning of the phrase that Jesus proposed to Nicodemus in John 3.

As we continue to hang, swing, and climb (pun intended) on the “true vine” example from John 15, we come to the issue of exactly how a dead branch from the poisonous vine of sin becomes separated from the poisonous vine and becomes unified or “grafted” into the True Vine of righteousness and eternal life in Christ.

To make this as clear as possible, I’ll briefly try to use two common earthly symbols to illustrate this truth: apples and oranges. For the sake of this discussion, “oranges” will refer to the dead branches of the sinful vine, and “apples” will refer to the living, fruitful branches in Christ Jesus. In theological terms oranges = the lost, unregenerate, etc. Apples = those regenerated and redeemed by God’s grace through faith in Christ.

Using this analogy in light of John 15, oranges must become apples unless or they will be discarded to burn and wither away. Since only the apples truly thrive, the oranges desperately need to become apples. However, since the orange is held and nourished by an orange branch connected to the orange vine, that presents a major problem. In order for the orange to become an apple, the orange must realize three things:

1) Its immediate and eternal peril as an orange

2) The eternal life of an apple simply because it’s an apple

3) Its immediate and desperate need to change from an orange to an apple

These three “realizations” seem simple enough for the orange to grasp. However, the orange’s peril rests in the simple fact that the orange is an orange. The orange’s own “orangeness” is the reason for its disastrous fate. In John 3:6 Jesus says, “That which gives birth to flesh is flesh.” In terms of this example, that means the orange can only become more of an orange. Anything the orange does- because all it has is “orangeness”- only makes it more of an orange. In the same way, those dead in their flesh can only do fleshly things. This means that by our own power, we possess no capability to realize the three truths listed above. Even if we did, we would have no power to act on them. Just as an orange cannot sprout an apple, the flesh cannot give birth to Spirit.

Jesus says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” And because this is so, Jesus says, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” Our issue as dead branches or “oranges” connected to the poisonous vine of sin is that of complete spiritual death. We don’t need to simply turn over a new leaf or change our way of thinking. In our flesh we have the capacity to change habits and to adopt new systems of rules and regulations. This gains us nothing- we are still of the flesh. We don’t need anything born of the flesh.

We need a spiritual RESURRECTION. We need to be BORN AGAIN.

Only by God’s grace through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit are we able to recognize our desperate need to be united with Christ. Only then can we respond in faith, which leads to our justification. This is the only way in which an orange can be thoroughly and absolutely transformed into an apple that bears righteous fruit for an eternity.

Living to share and spread the Gospel is not about changing people’s minds. It’s not about devising clever schemes to play on people’s emotions to push them to say a pre-scripted “sinners prayer of salvation.” Salvation comes by a spiritual rebirth and a transformed heart through genuine faith born from the Holy Spirit working through us as we diligently present this Good News to a world full of dead branches.

Dead Branches

My last post, “Bear,” illustrates how Christians need to bear God’s fruit (not produce it ourselves) by remaining steadfastly connected to Christ (the ‘true vine’) by the power of the Spirit. If you recall (read the post if you don’t), one part of the John 15 passage that stuck out to me was when Jesus said, “…apart from me you can do nothing.” After spending some time in Scripture this past week, I feel that in order for Christians (and non-believers) to more fully understand what it means to be “in Christ”, as a branch to the True Vine, we must first humble ourselves to the reality of why a connection to Christ is necessary in the first place.

Your first reaction to all of this may very well be: okay, enough theology already, why don’t we just go out and serve! In the end all that matters is what we actually DO for God!

Rest assured, I fully understand the perils of getting so caught up in “theology” that one fails to actually live out their life as a disciple/messenger/servant of Christ. But I must first bring you back to what Jesus says in John 15: Apart from me you can do nothing. I fully believe that the only actions of faith worth anything are those naturally produced by God through our connection to the True Vine. Therefore, the Scriptural truths regarding this connection to Christ is essential to effectively live out a God-glorifying life.

The reason we can do nothing apart from Christ- and the reason our union with him is absolutely essential- is the sinful nature of mankind. However, we must realize that sin is not merely an action that does not glorify God. Sin is a state of being; a condition of the heart and mind.

Romans 8:7-8 (NLT) says, “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”

In other words, every single person on this earth is a branch connected to the poisonous vine of sin. Not only do we bear the poisonous fruits of sin (see Romans 1:18-32), we ourselves are helplessly connected to the vine with no means (or desire) to break free. In this state, we are spiritually DEAD. Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

This is certainly a pessimistic view of the world (mankind). However, it accurately reflects Jesus’ own teaching, that apart from connection with HIM as the true vine, we are dead in our trespasses and sins, completely unable to please God. Apart from Him, we can do nothing but wither away.

Those connected to Christ “are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction” (Psalm 1).

How then, is this union with Christ obtained? Lord willing, I will attempt to discuss that issue later. However, I think John chapter 3 would be an excellent start!

Bear

I haven’t posted anything for quite some time. Part of the reason was finishing school, but that excuse became void after my graduation in May. The truth is, I simply haven’t felt lead to write anything.

Current events in my personal life have also played a factor in my writing drought. I’m working full-time, getting ready for my upcoming wedding (just under two months!), and trying to find ministry/job opportunities for the future while preparing to start seminary. Until recently, all of these things would have been my exhaustive list of explanations for my lack of blogging enthusiasm. In fact, now that I think about it I haven’t been very enthusiastic about much of anything Spiritually-related lately. Thankfully, through John chapter 15, God has once again opened my eyes to see His truth.

I have found the cause of my recent lack of passion for “ministry stuff” to simply be my lack of connection to Christ in my daily life.

In John 15:1, 4-5 Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser… Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

That last phrase sticks out to me: Apart from me you can do nothing.

In its immediate context, “nothing” refers to “quality spiritual fruit.” Producing fruit is something Christians learn and talk about all the time, but I think we’re missing something. Notice, Jesus does not tell us that we should be producing fruit. Some translations may use the word “produce” but the literal meaning is to bear fruit- not produce.

The difference in bear and produce is highlighted in verse 4: …as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

A branch bears fruit- which means it merely holds it. The vine, connected to the roots, actually produces the fruit. Just like a coat rack does not “produce” the coats it holds, a branch does not produce fruit. Obviously, a branch can only bear healthy fruit (or any fruit at all for that matter) if it is properly connected to the vine.

When we as Christians think that “producing” fruit on our own is God’s desire for our lives, we dry up and crack like a branch separated from the vine. The only way we live our lives in a God-glorifying way is to abide Christ so that through the Holy Spirit we may bear the fruit that God produces. The Greek word for “abide” here is meno, which implies steadfast dwelling and enduring. Any and all fruitful actions in our lives will merely be an overflow of God’s Spirit filling us up from the inside out (John 4:14).

My previous post attempts to briefly highlight the supremacy of Christ in the universe and “reality” as we know it (and the infinite ways we cannot know it). As Paul in Colossians 1 declares, Christ is above and beyond all things as God incarnate. As Christians, we are called to an intimate relationship with Him, through which He chooses to work through us for His glory.

The need for us to constantly abide in Him cannot possibly be overstated.
Apart from Him we can do nothing.

Spiritual Cogitation V -- Existence

There’s nothing greater than Christ. The entire Bible (old testament, gospels, and epistles) points to Christ. Each and every truth in the Bible is founded upon and held together by Christ. Therefore, any scripture study is a study of the Good News of redemption through Christ in one way or another. Recently going through John’s Gospel, I’ve realized there are many events and discussions documented in the gospels that are intimately connected with many other areas of Scripture.

These passages have sparked my interest and imagination in the earthly and spiritual aspects of Christ like never before. I’d like to share some of these passages with you and illustrate how God has used them to bring me closer to Him.

First, I want to talk about the spiritual aspect of Christ. Too often we experience “Jesusanity” and not “Christianity”. In other words, we sometimes humanize Jesus too much. Yes, he was fully human- but he was also fully God. Now I’d like to share what that actually means.

Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus (circa 500 b.c.) was one of the first to establish the term “logos” as the center of the universe. Heraclitus described the “logos” in several ways:

1) Orders all things in existence

2) In and throughout everything- it makes up the entire universe

3) Natural laws, society, morality, lifestyles, etc. should be based on the logos

4) All can comprehend and acknowledge its existence

5) Logos develops character / character determines human actions and behavior

The apostle John certainly had this idea of “logos” when he wrote the beginning of his gospel 500 years later. When John uses the term “Word”, the actual translation in the original Greek is “logos”; so I’m substituting the word “Logos” where your translation will say “Word”:

“In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” – John 1:1-4

John’s target audience (Greeks) would have had a full understanding of what was meant by the term “Logos.” Therefore John establishes that he is referring to the very thing that existed before, brought about, and holds together everything we experience as “reality”.

In fact, in saying this “Logos” was with God and was God, he also establishes the connection with the Hebrew idea of “YHWH” (“Yahweh”), which found in Exodus chapter 3 is God’s “name”. Hebrew names all have meanings, so for God’s “name” to be YHWH means God’s deepest characteristic is simply that “He Exists Eternally” or in the first person form: “I AM that I AM” or “I Will Be Who I Will Be” or “I AM” (that’s as far as our finite minds can comprehend).

What can be established here is that the Logos (Word) is infinitely above, beyond, and superior to the universe. Understanding this makes John 1:14 extremely profound- especially to his Greek audience:

“And the Logos became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The infinitely supreme foundation and “glue” to the universe actually became a part of that universe! This is further illustrated by Paul in Colossians 1:15-17: “… all things were created by Him and for Him… He is before all things and in Him all things are held together.”

THIS is Christ Jesus! The eternally existing “I AM” wrapped in human flesh. Therefore, when we study the person and work of Christ, along with all other scripture that points to Him, we are looking at the most ultimate being in existence and beyond.