Hypocrisy and Blasphemy

Hypocrisy and Blasphemy

          Hypocrisy is pretending to be something that you’re not or to believe something you don’t really believe. Hypocrisy is a sin, but not every sin is hypocrisy. Any Christian worth his salt will tell you that he is a sinner saved by the grace of God. He has not earned his new standing with God. It was given to him by God as a gift. He is not worthy of it, nor does he pretend to be worthy. He has found a treasure and sets out to tell other sinners what he has found. The carnal minds he encounters don’t see it that way. They see his effort to share as boasting.  

Sooner or later that Christians will stumble at sin. When he does sin, he may be rightly called many things, but hypocrite is not one of them. He wants to be holy in word and deed; he’s trying to be holy; however he is not pretending to be holy. He is weak trying to become strong and sometimes failing at it. When a Christian sins; no one feels worse about it than he does. He repents; he takes his case to God in hopes of forgiveness.

Hypocrites do not repent. They blow off their sins or shift the blame to something or someone else while pretending they have done no wrong. To hear hypocrites tell it, they are incapable of doing wrong. They are certainly incapable of admitting it. You don’t have to go to church to be a hypocrite and you cannot avoid hypocrites by avoiding church. Hypocrisy is the sin of this present age where image is king.

Hypocrisy is a sin, but it can be forgiven. There is a sin without forgiveness. “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” There is forgiveness if you insult the Father or the Son, but do not insult the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God as a defenseless dove inhabits the children of God. Defame a Christian if you will, but do not slander the Spirit within him. Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is not something one can do by accident. He stays in the back ground; moving through men; inhabiting their praise for God. He attacks no one and offers no defense of His own person. It is for this reason that insult of the Spirit carries such a harsh penalty.

Sinners List

          Man’s imperfection has convinced him that morality exists in multiple shades of gray. God does not share this view. He does not weigh good and evil against one another on a balance because He is not looking for balance. As far as God is concerned good and evil are mutually exclusive all the way down to the thoughts and intents of the heart. There are no “little white lies” with God. A good deed done for an evil end is still sin. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” With God there “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” For all the scenic splendor and color of His creation, God’s moral universe is black and white. Therefore, sin is more than a collection of behaviors.

          Nevertheless, because we are a stiff necked people, God has made a few lists available. You will find these lists contain as many attitudes as actions. These lists are not exhaustive, but should give you the general idea of what constitutes sin. All these lists are from the New Testament.

          “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

          “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

          “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

          “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

          “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” It is compassion, not hatred that warns men away from sin. There is no degree of sin; sin is sin and the end of sin is death. Likewise, the love and grace of God that brings forgiveness has no degrees. God gave all to save all and the gift of God is eternal life.        

Cursed

Far as the Curse is Found

          The Bible tells us all we need to know for a right relationship with God. It does not tell us all there is to know or even all we’d like to know. For instance, I’d like to know how long Adam lived in the Garden before getting the boot. How long did it take him to go from fellowship with God to rebellion against God? The Bible doesn’t say. It only tells us it happened and that as a result death was unleashed on the entire world. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men…”

          I often hear people say, “If God exists, why is there war, murder, disease?” The list goes on ad nauseum. On this subject the Bible is clear; death, war, famine and pestilence are in the world only because sin is here. Though death takes many forms, but it has only one cause---sin. Besides Adam’s spiritual demise, the immediate effect of the curse was a physical death inflicted to cover Man’s nakedness. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Now, I’ll admit God could have made skin coats out of nothing and it’s possible that He did so. It’s possible, but not likely; “without shedding of blood is no remission.” Sin leads to bloodshed and death. Atoning, if only symbolically, for Adam’s sin cost an animal his life. We’ve been paying ever since.

          James outlines the progression of yielding to temptation. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This is exactly what happened in the Garden. We will come to a list of sins soon and when we do it will sound like a list of the world’s woes. Man has always been his own worst enemy. Man was made for fellowship with God and sin separates us from Him. That’s why separation from God is the true death. God doesn’t send people to hell, they choose to go there to be away from God; it’s a choice they have made all through their life.

          Here’s the thing many people either forget or do not understand. Christians are forgiven their sinful nature by the death of a substitute. They are reborn into eternal life free from Adam’s death. They have God’s fellowship through this physical existence. They are not free from the effects of the curse. They are tempted and enticed; they battle lusts; they get sin; they succeed and they fail at the trials of life. Bad things happen to good people. The opposite is also true; good things happen to bad people. This is the result of the general existence of sin in the world and not necessarily the effect of personal behavior.

          Job is a case in point. God, as He will sometimes do, prospered Job for being a good man. The disasters that befell him, while prompted by the devil, were things that happened in everyday life of that time. Thieves, rustlers, tornados, and painful disease can, and do, happen to faithful Christians just because sin is in the world. Sometimes rather than shield us from trouble, God chooses to walk through trouble with us. Job’s comforters were right to attribute calamity to sin; they were wrong to assign that sin to Job.

          Of course, this is not always the case. There are times when Christians are guilty of sin. This does not make them less Christian any more than a sinner’s good works make him a Christian. However and here some will argue with me, the Christian who sins must seek forgiveness for this sin.

          This would be a good place to talk about a doctrine known as eternal security. This doctrine says that once a person is saved from sin by Christ; he can never lose his salvation. The Christian is “eternally secure” in Christ. It is fair to say that not all Christians accept this idea. The other extreme are those who look at Christianity more as a type of parole. Sin is a violation of parole and an automatic return to condemnation. There are strong arguments on both sides. Then, there are those live in the real world.

          When a Christian sins, the Holy Ghost confronts him with his sin. This happens in a multitude of ways from the still, small voice of conscious to a prophetic announcement from the housetop or a shouted sermon. This is a certainty. The ball is then in the believer’s court. He ideal solution is that, confronted with his faults, the believer repents and seeks God’s forgiveness. If he does, he is forgiven, restored, and rescheduled to face that temptation again. This is God’s version of taking us to the woodshed.

          Should the believer resist or ignore the Holy Ghost’s repeated warnings, a type of callus or hardening of the believer’s heart takes place. The sin will then return like plague on that person’s life until God gets the believer’s attention. God does not give up; however, He does not take captives either. If a believer wishes to be free of God, his further rejection of God and returning to sin will win his release. God will let the prodigal go his own way and wallow with the pigs. He will also forever await his return. 

          Sin is woven through the entire fabric of our cursed existence. Without divine intervention the end of sin never varies—it means death; separation from God for eternity.

         

Translation

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

            Generally when Christians think of human translation, two famous cases come to mind: Enoch and Elijah. The Scripture says Enoch walked with God “and was not found, because God had translated him.” Elijah met God at a spot near the Jordan River where God had arranged for a chariot of fire to pick him up.

            But there is a very personal side to translation for every believer. So sure is our new birth that we are spiritually transported into the Kingdom of God. Literally, we are in the world but not of the world. At first that seems a curious thing to do. Why not include a physical translation like Enoch and Elijah?

            I honestly don’t think we are as ready for that as we’d like to believe. That’s why we are given this try-it-before-you-buy-it offer we call life. Mark Twain raised an interesting point about this very thing. He wondered how Christians, who have trouble with an hour of praising and worshipping God on Sunday, are going to do with an eternity of it.

            I suppose when God knows we’re really ready for that eternity, we are welcomed in. My guess is that Enoch and Elijah didn’t need a whole lifetime to get ready. 

Alchemy of Marriage

The Alchemy of Marriage

          For centuries men have tried all sorts of ways to turn base metals, like lead, into gold or other precious metals. The price of gold these days is evidence of how miserably we have failed. We have been slightly more successful at the magical formula that turns two people into one. This doesn’t always work. Those critics of marriage that say it takes more than a license from the state are correct. It is only a piece of paper. It certainly takes more than words spoken over us while we are holding hands in church. It takes more than desire and more than love. So, what does it take to turn two people into one? I’m glad you asked. 

          First, marriage is a process. I’m enough of a romantic to believe in love at first sight, but we’re not talking about love, at least not in the romantic sense, we’re talking about marriage. Two become one in much the same way a blacksmith joins two pieces of metal. The two of you are thrown into the fire where you take a lot of hammer blows that reshape you. Afterwards, you’re plunged into cold reality and tested to see if the joining process took. If you’re still together, well, you’re off to a good start.

          For the bond to hold, each person must surrender a part of themselves. The pieces you surrender will determine the fate of the union. Beware, evil has little substance; it rushes into a vacuum. You do not have to turn on darkness; only turn out the light. If you give away a part of yourself, you must replace it with something of value. Do not give away that which cannot be replaced.

If you love fishing and cannot imagine giving it up or replacing it with something you love---don’t. On the surface that sounds selfish, but failure to fill that void with an equal love leads to resentment; not contentment. It would be ideal to marry a woman who loves to fish---ideal, but not necessary. Rather marry someone who, as part of their gift, will give you time for your pursuits which they do not share. My wife has surrendered many hours to the Three Stooges. However, they are hours that come back during Dancing with the Stars or Good Morning America.

Freely give the best, most treasured part of yourself without reservation. Misers are lonely, frustrated people. Those who resent giving become cold, venomous and bitter. Give that which you would gladly receive and it will come back to you in time. God and wives love a cheerful giver. This is a two-edged sword. Each must give to the other the freedom to be complete. You cannot whittle away at the person you love in an effort to remake them. Each of the two must be complete in themself to make one whole. You will experience good and bad. It will not be perfect, but it can be very good and that’s the best you can do when dealing with people.

Freedom granted to be oneself is not a license to be selfish. The true measure of love and strength is the degree to which you forsake your freedom in order to bless another person. Nowhere is this truer than in marriage. A good marriage takes a lot of work, but I’ve heard it said that a man, who loves what he does, never works a day in his life. 

Content to Sit

          Elijah ran off into the wilderness and plopped down under the juniper tree to “wallow in the mullygrubs.” Well, that’s how I heard it. I think the modern version goes something like: Elijah allowed a negative mind set to keep him from realizing he was a child of God and proclaiming the victory he was entitled to receive. Modernists are busy folks. They are always in a hurry to rush on to the next blessing. They view being discouraged or down-hearted as wasted time. However, you heard it; Elijah usually doesn’t come across as a champion of faith.

I’m not sure what Elijah’s detractors wanted him do. As we seen, he didn’t have directions from God. In such a case, sitting a spell should not be frowned upon. Elijah’s mistake was not in running and hiding. That strategy worked before and there was no reason to doubt it would work again. Elijah’s mistake was in his failure to be content in hiding. God had everything under control. Elijah was safe; Ahab and Jezebel weren’t going anywhere; he could afford to wait for a word from God. Instead, Elijah chose to complain that this whole episode with Ahab did not turn out as he expected. In all fairness to Elijah, being a prophet is hard work and he wasn’t the only one ever to voice complaint at relaying God’s message. I’ve felt Elijah’s pain; you may have as well. The lesson we all need to learn is to let the peace of God replace our complaints while we wait for God to turn things around.

Contentment is the outward sign of a heart filled with the faith-born peace of God. Paul told the church at Philippi, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Contentment is a delicate balance. It holds equal measures of prayer and thanksgiving; joy and sadness; weakness and strength, in such a way that we are not lost in either.

Elijah’s lifeline is not rock steady. It is filled with ups and downs; just like real life. We can be up and down and still be content. God is leading us over mountains and through valleys. Contentment means being happy that He is leading and unconcerned with the gradient of the road. Elijah saw himself as being run out of town. He might have just as easily seen himself, like the Marines at Chosin, not as retreating, but advancing in another direction. Contentment focuses on what God is doing rather than our feelings about what’s happening.

When we are focused on God, our goal is to please Him. Pleasing God is the only course that ends with contentment. Elijah clearly did not please himself. He didn’t please the masses and, forget about the king and queen; he just made them mad. If your sole purpose is to please someone other than God, you are going to be unhappy. God doesn’t please His people all the time. You will not be more successful at it than Him. The good news is that God is easier to please than people.

Elijah’s complain was akin to saying, “I did everything you asked and look how it turned out. I hope you’re satisfied.” It may help to know pleasing God is not the same as satisfying God. I’m not playing with semantics. To satisfy God is the live up to the measure: “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” It’s a tall order. Paul said he had not attained it. God will not be satisfied with you until you are as holy as He is in every way. On the other hand, God is pleased with every act of obedience no matter how small. We have no indication that God was anything but pleased with Elijah’s performance on Mt. Carmel. Was He satisfied that Elijah was completely holy—no, not by a long way.

 Knowing he had pleased God might have made Elijah a happier man. He might have enjoyed sitting under a tree and basking in God’s favor.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he gave God the chance to tell him. To look at me now, you wouldn’t know I swam competitively in school. The 200m freestyle was one of my races. I swan it at every meet and did well. However, I was never satisfied with a single race. There was always something I felt I could have done better. I could have got off the block sooner; I could have gone out faster; I could have made tighter turns; there was always something to improve. Despite the needed improvements, I am pleased with my swimming career. The same can be said for my Christian experience. I’m not satisfied; I can do better. I’m content with that knowing God is pleased when I try my best.

Supernatural

Supernatural

          A woman approached me while I was signing copies of my book Hatchlings. She scanned the cover and saw it contained fourteen tales of the supernatural.

          “I don’t believe in witches.” She said and walked away.

          What stuck with me is the popular assumption that the supernatural is evil; the exclusive realm of witches, warlocks, ghosts and demons. I admit those characters do creep into my stories on a regular basis. People are all too eager to accept that evil spirits and various monsters possess the ability to break through to our world from the supernatural. We’re not as ready to accept the idea of supernatural good or its ability to cross the same boundary. It’s like the notion that a person who talks to God is a saint while a person who claims God talks back is a whack job. Have you ever wondered why a person who believes in and feels the presence of ghosts and spirits is a sensitive and open minded while a person who believes in and feels the Holy Ghost is a religious nut? If so, you’re not alone.

          The supernatural, by definition, includes all that is above and beyond the natural world. For good or evil, this includes the entire spirit world. To which Jesus said: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

           Christian worship is a meant to be a supernatural experience the object of which is to touch and be touched by God. To accomplish worship someone must reach across the boundary between the natural and the supernatural; the terrestrial and the celestial. In old time Pentecostal terms, for worship to happen there has to be a “move of the spirit.” Those who are born of God have the Spirit of God. Moreover, they have the living, spirit discerned, Word of God to guide them into a celestial kingdom. Christ’s soldiers need not be limited to being all they can be. Through Christ they can be more than the sum of natural abilities; they can be supernatural. All it takes is vision.

          Jesus is called Immanuel. He is God with us; not for thirty-some years, but forever “…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Christ’s statement was no theoretical catch phase; it is spiritual reality. He is as alive and present with His disciples as He was when He spoke those words. It is a case of believing is seeing.

          “People who believe in ghosts see evidence of their existence everywhere,” said a researcher from a leading university.

He went on to say that no matter how much looking he did at the same evidence---he couldn’t see it. He didn’t believe any evidence existed because there was no such thing. It’s likely that if evidence of the supernatural slapped him in the face, he wouldn’t see it. He would insist there was a natural explanation.

The same attitude applies to belief in God. Believers see Him everywhere and doing all manner of things. Others don’t understand all the fuss; the Red Sea was ankle deep; Lazarus was catatonic or in a coma; when Jesus shared the loaves and fishes, so did all His hearers. Belief rules sight for Christian and non-Christian alike. The difference is that Christians suppress their beliefs and vision to get along with detractors while worldly wise men insist on their vision and criticize detractors as blind, bigoted and hateful. Christians need not convince the world of the reality of the supernatural. They only need to convince themselves of the literal truth in what they say.   

Every Christian must keep his eyes open to the source of his salvation. Salvation is the product of the grace of God. A Christian may serve God for a hundred years, but that he is saved by grace will never change. Christian works are necessary to a healthy life and will glorify God. Good works testify to the reality of faith, but they will never save a soul. Christians work because they are saved; they are not saved because they do works. This milepost is the single most important sight on the Christian’s journey.

Moses was a mighty man of God. Nevertheless, the Bible says he was a meek man. This meekness came from forty years on the backside of the desert learning that he didn’t deserve all God had given him. In one moment of extreme frustration Moses let slip a claim to ownership in his deeds. That moment cost him dearly; losing sight of God’s grace always does. Spiritual vision is necessary to spiritual life. Where there is no vision the people perish. A godly vision encompasses the point of origin. God sees the end from the beginning and so should His people.