Going Through The Motions

 “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).

Some are confused by what God is saying here.  “But I thought God was the One who commanded sacrifices and burnt offerings from those who lived under the Old Covenant.  Now He wants something else instead?  Are the sacrifices no longer required?”  What is going on here anyway?

God’s people had fallen into a ritualism in their worship.  They were going through the motions of sacrifice but in many other areas of their lives they were living in rebellion to God.  In the earlier chapters of Hosea, God has repeatedly called them to account for these sins.  You see, honoring the true God involves much more than just going through the motions of sacrifice.  It involves a willingness to be loyal to Him in all aspects of life.

This was the problem that became the straw that broke the camel’s back for the reign of King Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-26).  Several other prophets of the Lord addressed this very same issue (Amos 5:21-24; Isaiah 1:12-17; Micah 6:6-8).  Jesus quoted from Hosea 6:6 at least twice as he confronted His critics who were famous for being scrupulous over certain aspects of the Law but unconcerned about what were “weightier” matters (Matthew 9:14; 12:7; 23:23).

The temptation to settle for a mechanistic, ritual-dependent, “check-the-right boxes” religion remains yet today.  But God is after our hearts.  Are we called by God to sing, pray, study, and give?  Sure.  But we can do all of those things and still remain distant from God in our hearts (Matthew 15.8-9).  Loyalty to God encompasses things beyond worship.  Knowledge of God involves more than keeping a list.  Ignoring God for six days of the week but going through the motions on Sunday misses the point.

God loves you!

Mike

Where Is The First Place You Turn?

            I periodically receive sale notices via email from the company that produces my Bible software program.  A recent one contained offers concerning several different “study Bibles.”  A study Bible is a particular version of the Scriptures along with explanatory commentary notes and insight from human authors.  The following sales blurb was included in the description of one of these texts: “This comprehensive and reliable reference work should be the first place Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, missionaries, and pastors turn to for biblical insight.”

            I shook my head as I read the words.  I know these sales people would say, when asked, that the Bible is the most important part of their product, but that isn’t what they are being paid to promote.  It’s the human notes that makes their “study Bible” different from others.  It’s the Bible AND their added notes and commentary that makes it a must-have resource, at least according to their advertising.

            I have nothing against study Bibles or any other works that offer help in understanding, like commentaries, dictionaries, or word studies.  I have several examples of each and use them in my own study.  They can be helpful in a lot of different ways.  But one must be careful to keep them in their proper place.  The danger is that one can be more impressed with someone’s interpretation of the Bible than what the Bible actually says.  They can become a crutch that we lean on rather than doing the hard work of studying the text for ourselves.

            The Bible itself should be the first place we turn for biblical insight, not some other book or set of notes.  Only the Scriptures are “...inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), not the words of those commenting on the Scriptures.  As long as we keep that in mind, we will be able to avoid trouble.  And be wary of any sales literature that suggests otherwise.

 

God loves you!

Mike

Wisdom Shouts In The Street

            The Old Testament book of Proverbs is a collection of writings designed to encourage wisdom among its readers (1:1-7).  The opening illustration pictures a parent cautioning a son to remember the instruction he has been given when he is tempted to follow the sinful enticements that will inevitably come his way (1:8-19).  The world can be a dangerous place -- especially for those who lack wisdom.  If you are, or have been, the parent of children who were at the age of venturing out on their own, perhaps you can relate to these kinds of concerns.

           Starting with verse 20 of the first chapter, the writer personifies wisdom as a woman crying out in warning to those foolish enough to ignore her (1:20-25).  Several other unflattering terms are used to describe those who pay no attention to wisdom: naive ones, simple-minded, scoffers.  Every effort is made to reach out to them, but it was no use.  Wisdom is offered but it was refused, no one paid attention to it, it was neglected and unwanted.

           God forces His wisdom on no one.  But be aware that there are consequences that come with rejecting it.  Rejecting wisdom will inevitably lead to being mocked by the very thing that would have been so valuable to you (1:26-27).  Rejecting wisdom can cut you off from help at a later point (1:28-29).  Rejecting wisdom means that we will receive our just desserts from the foolish path we have chosen (1:30-31).  Rejecting wisdom will bring about our ultimate destruction (1:32).

           Proverbs 1 ends with a note of hope.  In contrast to those who reject wisdom, there is hope for those who receive it.  “But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil” (1:33).  It’s tough enough to survive in our world without rejecting the help God offers through His wisdom.  None of us are wise enough to make it on our own.  We need all the help we can get.

God loves you!

Mike

The Danger of Blessings

            “Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).

            The book of Deuteronomy records words of exhortation and warning from Moses to the people of God as they prepare to finally enter the land of promise.  It had been an arduous journey from Egypt to the border of Canaan.  A trip that normally would have only taken perhaps a few weeks had lasted 40 years due to the rebellion and disobedience of the Israelites.  All of the adult males, from age 20 and up, who had left Egypt had died, except for Joshua and Caleb.  Hunger, thirst, fiery serpents, challenges to leadership, grumbling -- and yet, with God’s help, they had finally made it.  After all of the dangers of the wilderness, a land flowing with milk and honey looked pretty good.

            But as the text above affirms, there was also a danger associated with blessings.  Moses warned the people that the “good times'' can be as dangerous as the “bad times.”  At least the struggles in the wilderness clearly reminded the Israelites of their need for God’s help.  Times of prosperity do exactly the opposite.  “Good times” can cause us to think we can get along without God -- forget Him if you will.  Sadly, that is just what happened with the people of God.  They drifted into idolatry, forgetting the God who delivered them through the “bad times.”

            Thank God for His blessings, but be careful not to let the blessings lead you away from Him.  It’s happened before -- it can happen again.

 

God loves you!

Mike

Loving God AND His Children

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him” (1 John 5:1).

            It’s easy for a believer to love God.  How could we not love the One who has demonstrated His love for us in so many wonderful ways?  He loved us when we were dead in our sins and provided a way for us to be forgiven (Ephesians 2:1-7; Romans 5:6-11).  He has provided every spiritual blessing we could ever need or imagine by virtue of our connection to Christ (Ephesians 1:3).  He has qualified us to share in the glorious inheritance prepared for His children (Colossians 1:12).  He seeks our highest good in everything (Romans 8:28).

            But for many of us, it’s often a much more difficult thing to love all the children of the God we love.  Sure, some of our Christian siblings are easy to love.  Usually it's the ones who share our beliefs, interests, temperament, etc..  But others are not so loveable.  For one reason or another, they make the task of loving them harder.  Perhaps they have offended us in some way.  Maybe they have challenged our traditional ways of understanding Scripture or practicing our faith.  They are just different enough to make us uncomfortable.

            But if I am reading the words of the beloved apostle correctly, the matter is not optional.  If I claim to love the Father, I must also love His children.  A chapter earlier, John emphasizes the same thing with stronger words:  “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).  Remember, when we love each other (even when we are unloveable), we become a powerful witness to the world around us” (John 13:35; 17:20-21).

 

God loves you!

Mike

If Saved, Barely Saved?

I grew up in a religious tradition that strongly opposed the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.”  This is the false idea espoused by many religious groups that once you are saved, nothing can happen that will ever jeopardize that salvation.  My own study of the Bible has only confirmed what I was taught earlier in life.  While “once saved, always saved” has a comforting ring to it, it contradicts much of what is said in the Scriptures regarding salvation.  Numerous verses in the New Testament affirm the possibility of falling away from the faith (cf. Luke 8:13; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:12; 6:4-6).  Why all the encouragements and warnings to endure in the faith if it was impossible to do otherwise (cf. Matthew 10:22; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:10)?

            But the strong effort to push back against the idea of “once saved, always saved” has resulted, in some cases, in an equally unbiblical idea: “if saved, barely saved.”  Showing that salvation can be lost has caused some otherwise faithful believers to doubt their own security as a follower of Christ.  “With all of my failings, how could God ever love and save me?”  “I haven’t done enough.”  “I’m not good enough.”  The sense is that any slip-up negates our standing with God.  And yet, the Bible also clearly teaches that the faithful disciple can be sure of their salvation (cf. 1 John 5:13; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:38-39).

            “If saved, barely saved” is just as unbiblical as “once saved, always saved.”  The truth is found in between the two competing ideas.  If our faith remains in God, even in the midst of our stumbling and failing, we are eternally secure.  But if we surrender or renounce our faith, then we willingly put ourselves out of the range of God’s security.  God has given us the choice to accept or reject him.  Our eternal security is tied to which road we choose to travel.  And each road offers the opportunity to change course.

 

God loves you!

Mike

M.A.D.

            Last spring, Kendra and I visited the Titan Missile Museum near Tucson, Arizona.   It was a fascinating tour and I recommend it if you are in the area.  The Titan nuclear missiles were developed as a deterrent in the Cold War with the Soviet Union in the middle to late decades of the 20th century.  Both sides amassed nuclear devices capable of reaching each other’s country in an effort to keep each other from launching a preemptive strike.  The ideology became known by an acronym: M.A.D..  The letters stood for Mutually Assured Destruction.  The idea was aggressively destructive but simple: “If you launch your nuclear missiles, I’ll launch mine and we will both be annihilated.”  There would be no winners in this kind of war -- only losers.

            As the tour guide talked about M.A.D., I thought about some verses in the Bible (I know….it's weird; but preachers do this sort of thing.  It’s a blessing and a curse….).  The apostle Paul devotes the first four chapters in his letter to the Galatian churches to warning them about being pulled back into the bondage of adherence to certain parts of the Old Law for salvation.  Christ has set us free from that kind of bondage.  But in chapter five, he addresses an opposite but equally dangerous problem -- the abuse of the freedom we have in Christ.  Listen again to what he says:  “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:13-15).

            When believers choose to live in ways that result in biting and devouring fellow Christians, the result is mutually assured destruction.  As Paul says, we will be “...consumed by one another.”  A local church can become a nuclear wasteland.  No winners -- only losers.

 

God loves you!

Mike