Pride is blindness, and only Jesus can break that.

Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
You may not hear it in the places you travel, but I have heard it so many times I actually find myself finishing people’s sentences for them. They don’t believe in Christianity because of the Crusades, something a pastor once did, the behavior of the television evangelist, or the behavior of some denomination. They have examples of abuse by Christians, past, present, and future, that exclude them from having to question their own life and allow them to discount Jesus and every positive example of a believer. Make a list and put in the left column those things Christians have done wrong and in the right column the contributions of believers. From talking on the phone, to turning on the lights, to getting vaccinations, to women’s and children’s rights, to everyday great inventions that have become commonplace, to getting an education, the world is indebted to Christians. The unbelieving world stands on the back of the believer, reaps the benefit of believers, and makes their complaint against the believer. I just can’t think of all the scientific contributions of Hindus or Atheists. The argument against Christ because of the behavior of a few is flawed, if not ridiculous. Horses have killed people, so will I never own a horse? Electricity has killed people; do I not want electricity in my house? Cars kill people; should I never own a car? Doctors have immoral procedures; I will never go to a doctor. People kill people; I will never listen to another person. The Crusades took place; I will never listen to a Christian. It is really absurd. Why write such an article? It is just polemic preaching telling you what you already believe. Just to make a simple point. The issue is not the Crusades; the issue is pride, and no argument will break pride. Pride is blindness, and only Jesus can break that. Before you ever speak to a proud person, it is pre-determined that you will lose. The only reason for speaking is the revelation of the heart and a coming judgment.

His faith will be the faith out of which I live.

Often I read with amazement the stories of the great men of faith: Abraham and the sacrifice of his son, Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, and Noah and the building of the ark. How could these men stand? How did they have the faith that could be counted to them as righteousness? To even think of building an ark when there had never been a flood boggles the mind. I must admit that after close examination, I just don’t have that kind of faith. Because of the recognition of my lack of faith, Galatians 2:20 means so much to me. I like Darby’s translation that gets closer to the meaning of the original, “20I am crucified with Christ, and no longer live, I,_ but Christ lives in me; but [in] that I now live in flesh, I live by faith, the [faith] of the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness [is] by law, then Christ has died for nothing.” What a blessing to know that I can live out of His faith. His faith is even superior to that of Abraham, Moses, and Noah. Again, the lesser truth will give way to the greater truth. He is the greater truth. If I move in my recognition that I am in Him and He is in me, His faith will be the faith out of which I live. He is the Vine, I am a branch; if that is true, then the faith of the Vine must flow into the branch, thus allowing me to live out of His faith. It is refreshing that I don’t have to generate faith, and I can simply live out of His. Amen!

“And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” Acts 8:1

It is said that in the U.S. there are over 50,000 new laws passed every year. That includes, local, state, and federal. This doesn’t include all the covenants that are passed. Why so many laws? First, the government would like a law to replace the conscience of man. The government believes in abortion. How can there be abortion without the hardening of the heart? (However, I have met many where the intellectual argument for abortion could not override their heart. For those, there has been forgiveness, restoration, and a moving on in Him.) Kill conscience in one area and it is likely to die in another.

The second reason for the multiplication of laws will be revealed in the future. Persecution for the Christian is coming to America. It would seem impossible since Christianity is the foundation for the constitution, laws, and the fact that there is freedom of religion. Christians won’t be put in jail for their Christianity. That would be too overt. Christians will be put in jail for some other vague law that will have been broken. It was the joke in the former Soviet Union, “We will put you in prison and find the law you broke later.” However, when it happens, it will be no joke.

“He again fixes a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.’” Heb 4:7

Man, for certain, possesses the present and in a measure the future. Man does not possess the past, ever! If we choose to live in the past, we choose darkness, and we exclude God. God will not move to the past with us.

Therefore, every time we venture into the past we venture there alone. In fact God calls us, always, to move from the past. To dwell in the past is to find yourself dwelling in a place where there is no hope. The Jews were in the world without a hope. That is, they were trusting on the things of the past, the law, the security of ritual and formula, neglecting what God was presenting to them in the present–Jesus.

Doesn’t it make sense that God wants to be the God of the NOW? We speak of a personal relationship. How can a relationship be personal if it is not a present relationship. To move into the past is to move away from God, and it is sin. Many today are counseled to relive the past, to mourn over it, work through it, and even warned that if they do not their life will remain in constant turmoil.

Here is my question. If the past created my problems why would I want to go back and live there again? In my office I spend up to one hour looking at the past. The lone reason, being, to understand it so we will never go back to it. Living in the past will always thwart growth. Start acting like a five year old and see how much those around enjoy you.

We are called from the past into the present. In the past you had wonderful successes and terrible failures, times of victory and times of defeat, times of great joy and unbelievable depression. Fine, now what? Today, hear his voice! The issue is today.

God says do something today and don’t live out of the past. “AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.” Heb 3:15 You provoked Him in the past, true, but I refuse to discuss that. I want to discuss today. Yesterday is no excuse for today! Many use it as such. “I can’t love today because of emotional hurt yesterday,” “I can’t give today because of all my rejection yesterday; I need to take”, and “You wouldn’t expect that from me today if you only knew about yesterday.” As the plumber once said to the distraught lady, “Sorry, that just won’t flush”! It just doesn’t flush that past behavior and experience are keeping you away from a God who lives in the present.

Personal Freedom!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:23)

The other day I was noticing the similarities between cigarette smoking and philosophy. When one is addicted to smoking, his ten preceding smokes didn’t seem to relieve the need for the eleventh, nor did the eleventh replace the need for the twentieth. The tenth cigarette did seem to give an immediate pleasure, but left the participant immaculately unchanged in satiating his craving for the eleventh.

Having never been addicted to cigarettes, I understand that it is an esoteric experience that from a distance looks odd.

Philosophy is like that tenth cigarette. For a moment it sets one on a throne and allows him to look down on others and give opinions, but it leaves the participant unchanged and merely waiting for another observation to make. There is a sick, morbid satisfaction that comes from analyzing the flaws in others’ ideologies and the shortcomings in others’ logic. It feeds pride and somehow justifies lazy living. That one will do nothing to help fix the problem; instead he will move on to what he considers another inferior human reasoning, maintaining his lofty position.

Philosophy is an addiction just like smoking! In both cases the participants die through not doing anything with what they know.

What does this passage mean to you? Many are beating themselves up over their sin, so much so that I assume they live under the Law. It is obvious that they believe they are justified by behavior. Abraham understood the secret: without faith, the Law cannot be birthed.

Without first believing in God, Abraham would never have received the commands of God. I wouldn’t listen to any of the commands of the Hindu gods simply because I don’t believe they exist. Law without faith gives birth to sin. For example, if I believe in the love of God, knowing full well that all He tells me is for my good, I will easily and readily keep the command to bless those who curse me. It is simple. However, if I don’t believe in the love of God, I will read the command to bless those who curse, realize that I don’t do that, and not believing that it is for my good, I will find a way around the command. “I don’t have to love them, for they have gone too far.” The Law that was to bless me (if birthed in faith, in the love of God) now becomes the thing by which I am condemned; the Law, without faith, will always give birth to sin.

It is easy to see how Abraham was walking in the greater way of faith; even without the Law he was justified. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Sweeter words were never spoken. I determined long ago to spend my time in the love of God and not in the Law. As I have discovered the love of God, the command has been found to be easy. In fact, I refuse to listen to the Law unless it is in the context of faith in Him and His love.

The Law is good if birthed in faith, and moving deeply into the faith of Jesus brings a higher life than living in the Law, for faith in Jesus will lead to an expression of exactly Jesus. Amazing! Without the Law, sin is dead (Rm. 7:8). Sin counts on man’s boastful pride attempting to keep the Law without faith. This accounts for so much immorality in legalistic churches, where the emphasis is on performance and little or nothing is said of faith. A dating couple comes to the office, they have been sleeping together, and they are under great condemnation. Is the solution to have them stop? If they stop because of the command without believing in the Love of God that gave the command, they will continue to struggle and “slip up.” If they see the Love of God in the command and believe in Him who gives the command, the struggle will cease.

If a child is told that by working he will obtain a bicycle, and the child believes the parent, the work will be a great joy. But what if the child does not believe the parent? Will the work be done grudgingly or with joy? And working grudgingly is sin. If the child were never given the promise, the child wouldn’t be working grudgingly, and there would be no sin. In the end, that child would be better if he had never heard the promise. The problem is simple: the Law was given to men of faith, and men of unbelief have attempted to keep it–which they cannot do, for Law is birthed in faith—and the result is sin and condemnation. Now, Romans 7 becomes quite clear; the battle described is not the battle of the old man against the new man, nor a battle that exists before conversion or after conversion. It is describing an absolute battle between faith and Law, a battle that includes the unbeliever (going to hell) and the unbelieving believer (going to heaven.)

Security only comes in faith

At any time, either the unbeliever or the unbelieving believer can perceive, with the mind, the Law of God and want to keep it, for they know that it is good. Yet, because of lack of belief in God, the entire being cannot keep the Law, the person is divided, and the end result is sin and condemnation. Don’t think that the way out is recommitment, harder work, rededication, vows, knowledge, or strength; the way out is faith in Jesus. “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” The Gentiles have pursued the promise by faith and gotten it, but the Jews sought by Law and lost it. “For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Where do you begin in your struggle? Stop fighting the Law and start confessing Jesus with your mouth each day. Before you go to sleep, do not let your thoughts end at the Law you have not kept. Instead, let your thoughts end at Jesus, in whom you believe. This brings us to the final “hiccup!”

Security only comes in faith. Regardless of whether you are a Calvinist or an Armenian, to attempt to find security in works will only bring about insecurity. These two camps become one under the Law. Read Romans 7 and think of it differently. Paul is talking about living in the Law and how impossible it is to live so. The Law reveals what I didn’t know was sin, and then it doesn’t give me the power to obey. After the knowledge, I find myself doing the very thing I don’t want to do. This passage applies to all that live by the Law.