Living By Faith

"The righteous will live by faith." says Habakkuk 2:4

and Romans 1:17

and Galatians 3:11

and Hebrews 10:38.

God used a short comment in Sunday's sermon from Steve Mozingo, one of our church's beloved teaching elders, to spark a whole train of thought for me.  The whole message was good (you can find Steve's sermons on sermonaudio.com), but it was one particular comment that ignited an especially revolutionary idea for me.

Faith is no spectator sport

The text was Acts 11, and speaking of verses 19-24, Steve commented that this record—of how these Christians were preaching, how God’s hand was with them, how considerable numbers were brought to the Lord—was not preserved just so we could say, “Now, that’s a really great story.”  We need to understand that we are meant to be participants in this, too.  “Get in the game!” he said.  

And that is the part I can't stop thinking about.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we tend to think, as we read the Biblical record, “Wow, that was really amazing how those people obeyed and trusted God.  And, wow, how God worked in their  situation!”  But then, too much of the time, even though we wouldn’t actually articulate it, we live as though we think, “ . . . but that wouldn’t happen in my world, and it would never happen to me.”

This could be you

When we read about the people in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith, do we actually dare to think that God might use us like He used them?  I don’t mean in a prideful kind of way, but in a way that sees God for as big as He really is—and in a way that realizes that those "heroes" of the faith were just as ordinary as we are.  That’s the point James makes about Elijah in James 5:17, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours . . .”  There was nothing extraordinary about those people; the God they chose to trust was the extraordinary one.

Have you ever even dared to think that God might use you to be the means of deliverance for people, as he used Moses?  Have you ever thought that, like Abel (Hebrews 11:4), your faith might still speak to inspire others years and years and years after you’re gone?  Have you ever dared to think that your obedience and faith might be catalogued with those in Hebrews 11?  Why should it not be?  The record of their faith wasn’t put there to set them apart or on a pedestal, but instead to give us an example of what is possible if we are willing to remember that He is coming, and to not shrink back, but to lay aside encumbrances and sin—and then RUN with our eyes on Jesus—believing God!  (Hebrews 10:36-39 and 12:1-3)  The call of Hebrews 12 is not that we should bow in awe before those who've gone before us, but that we join them in faith in their God, who is also our God! 

To dare to think these things is not to be prideful, but is a recognition that this life and our impact isn’t about us or our abilities.  It’s only about who God is!  We simply trust Him, obey, and be willing to be used by Him.

We were made for this

The life of faith is what we were made for.  God never meant for us to read the accounts of those who lived lives of faith simply for our entertainment.  We aren’t meant only to be observers of other people's faith.  Right in the midst of the list of faith-filled examples is a riveting statement that applies to every one of us.  

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him,

and he who comes to God must believe that is He,

and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Hebrews 11:6

If we can't picture ourselves with those in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith, if a vibrant life of faith seems an unattainable impossibility, could it be that we don’t know our God well enough?

Oh, I want to know and trust Him more!

Two Foundations and One Outrageous Scam

About thirty years ago, I created and posted a sign on the outside of my college dorm room door.  On it was a quote from an unknown author:

Two Foundations for human enlightenment:

1) There is a God.

2) You are not Him.

The two Foundations were indeed relevant to our campus culture, particularly Foundation One, as the prevailing philosophy on campus was that the earth and everything on it came into being by random chance, and that no God had anything to do with it.  At that time, Foundation Two seemed almost so obviously true, in a literal sense, that it generated virtually no argument.  The "no God" folks that I knew weren't going so far as to claim divinity, simply that they were their own authority, responsible to no higher being.  So Foundation Two applied figuratively to our campus culture, but literally not so much.

From NO GOD to I'M GOD

Today, however, in a bizarre about-face, the philosophy rapidly rising in popularity in our culture is not one of "no God," but one of "everyone is God."  Today, to say, "You are not Him," is to contradict one of the most popular streams of thought.

Practically everywhere you turn, somebody's reading--or selling--a book about everyone and everything being divine.  Divine power in the rocks, in the trees, in spiders, in everyone.  TV hosts and magazine writers, too, are talking about "descending into themselves" (By the way, I find "descending"--meaning going down to an inferior or shameful level--to be an uncannily accurate description) to find their "true divine selves."  You can attend seminars that will teach you how to harness the ultimate source of goodness that supposedly already exists in everyone.

Incidentally, our family is currently in need of an internet domain name, and so far, almost every domain name we've come up with has already been claimed--and not just claimed, but claimed by someone disseminating the "you're divine; everything is one; everything is divine" message in one form or another.  It's everywhere.  Why?

An Open Door And A Scam

People are looking for solutions.  They are not happy with the way things are.  They know in their heart of hearts that they are not what they should be.  They long to be better--better friends, better employees, better spouses, better parents.  They are dissatisfied.  They are disillusioned with material success, and longing for a simpler, more satisfying life.  They want real joy.

The terrible tragedy of our day is that people are being told that the answer to their longing is inside themselves, when in reality, it is not.  That's exploitation.  That's dastardly unscrupulous.  That's a scam, plain and simple.  And it's not right.  People are being offered a sham solution to their deepest needs and being milked for a myth.  The real Enemy of the human soul knows people are empty and hurting and is offering them a lie.

Reality Check

The deeper we dig into ourselves, the more mess we find.  If we are willing to be honest, we don't find innate goodness, like some are telling us.  No, we find a frustrated self who, even in moments of wanting to do good, finds it impossible to perpetually sustain good intentions, let alone good behavior.  The solution to the human dilemma is not in uncovering some hidden divine self, but in acknowledging our real, hopelessly flawed, desperately wicked self and being transformed by the renewing power of the God who is entirely independent from us.  It's what the Bible calls being born again, and, incidentally, it's free.  You can't buy it or earn it, but God will transform you if you ask Him to.  It's what I wrote about in The Relentless Heart.

It's not a bad thing to admit that the human condition is hopeless on its own; it's actually an incredibly freeing relief to openly acknowledge what we already know from experience to be true.  The solution, then, is in having the corrupt nature we're born with cleansed by the resurrected Jesus Christ.  Then He works in us to remake us from the inside out.

Only the power of God can make us what we were meant to be, but we'll never find that power by looking inside our own selves.  Jesus Christ was the only true God, and He came to earth in a human body in order to literally give His life to make our permanent cleansing and forgiveness possible.  He proved He was God by coming back to life, and He is real and alive and willing to transform anyone who will ask and believe what He said. 

An Invitation To Real Life

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."  (Recorded in John 10:10, 11)

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."

--Jesus (recorded in John 15:11)

Don't settle for a sham of a life, when a real, joyful life is available from Jesus.

Things have come full circle...
When I recently found my original sign with the Two Foundations (I have no idea why I still had it around after 30 years), our daughter, who was packing for college, wanted to take it with her.  

Denial Is Delusion--Take 2

(One of my most dear and trusted readers suggested that this post, in its original form, needed a bit more context.  I believe she is right.  And so I offer the following version with more context  to better communicate what's on my heart.)

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life."  

--Jesus of Nazareth, God come in the flesh  

recorded in John 14:6

   In today's postmodern world of relative truth, a strategy has emerged for dealing with uncomfortable ideas.  People just simply choose not to believe something and feel confident that they have sufficiently invalidated the idea by doing so.  They choose to deny whatever they don't like or whatever makes them uncomfortable.  If they view truth as relative (so nothing is absolute), they are able to let themselves off the hook when an idea has implications they don't wish to face.

   But denial is only a delusion.  It changes nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  If my house is on fire, no amount of denial will put the fire out and restore my burnt possessions.

    Delusion-- (from the Apple Dictionary) an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument.

   Denial is often accompanied by a companion strategy that is equally delusional.  Denial's companion strategy is that of concocting one's own "truth."  Simply create a belief system that appeals to your personal whims and live by it.  However, no amount of dreaming will put money in the bank to cover my checks when my account is empty.  No merchant will accept my concocted delusion as payment. 

   The problem is that neither of these strategies acknowledges reality.  Yet this is the kind of world we live in.

  We are now down to two weeks before our first daughter leaves for college.  For nineteen years, we have seen God prepare her to stand unashamed and to speak boldly and winsomely for God's truth.  In today's world where, increasingly, the environment in our culture, and even in the Church at large, has been one of watering down at the least, if not outright denial of, truth, our young people must be apprised of the kinds of strategies they may face, be assured that Truth is unchanging, and be prepared to defend their beliefs and challenge the delusions.

"Beloved, while I was making every effort 
to write you about our common salvation, 
I felt the necessity to write to you appealing 
that you contend earnestly for the faith 
which was once for all delivered to the saints.  

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, 
those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, 
ungodly persons who turn the grace of God into licentiousness 
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
Jude 1:3-4

~ Remember, friends ~ 

Denial of reality doesn't change reality;

it only delays one's apprehension of reality.

Eventually, the elaborate delusion always crumbles,

and one is right back to simple reality.

"But false teachers also arose among the people,

just as there will also be false teachers among you, 
who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, 
even denying the Master who bought them, 
bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

And many will follow their sensuality, 
and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
and in their greed the will exploit you with false words; 
their judgement from long ago is not idle, 
and their destruction is not asleep."
II Peter 2:1-3
(excerpt from a letter from one of Jesus' original followers)


~ Take Heart, my friends ~
Denial of the truth will never change its substance.
Truth is a constant.
For no matter how hard denial tries to undo,
Unbelief does not make truth untrue.

So don't be ashamed to hold fast to truth; be neither ruffled nor dismayed when someone denies it.  Instead, pray that Truth will shatter that someone's delusions before it's too late.