“Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requrements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.”
- Romans 2:25-27 (NIV)

Hypocrisy is probably one of the greatest destroyers of a testimony before men. It undermines our credibility, and damages relationships and trust. As men and women under the lordship of Jesus Christ, we need to scrutinize our lives, and make sure there isn’t a hint of contradiction. This is not only to prevent our lives from being a stumbling block to those seeking life and truth, but also to obey God’s commands to be holy.

People have often used the phrase “walk the talk” to describe the consistent life of one who is not hypocritical. While life actions does usually come after the gaining of knowledge through Scripture and the like, that phrase makes the assumption that what is said is according to Scripture. Often that isn’t the case, since an inconsistent lifestyle will often produce false doctrine. I once heard it said that “a man’s morality dictates his philosophy.” Christianity supercedes this idea, because the standard of God’s holiness has been set down in Scripture. So as Christ molds and shapes us to become perfect, since we are new creations, what we say and what we do begin to match up. If this process is received out of a heart of love and obedience, hopefully there won’t be a time when what is said is Scriptural, and what is done is not, or the other way around.

This isn’t to say that Christians never sin. On the contrary, as Paul continues to write in Romans, the remnant of the old self, the “flesh,” continues to have sinful desires. But remember that this flesh is no longer us; 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that those in Christ are new creations – meaning that we aren’t held captive by sin. So while Christians may still sin, there isn’t hypocrisy if we recognize our failures, and then confess and repent from it. I believe that Christians should be the most teachable, most correctable people in the world, because of the idea that man is inherently sinful. There is no distinction in degree of fallenness, and so we need to humbly accept correction and rebuke. Even when non-Christians point out our inconsistencies, we should be quick to repent. Of course, personal study in the Word should be a priority, since what people say might not line up with what Scripture teaches.

Regardless of the form of rebuke and correction, I think that being humble and quick to repent of sin strengthens our testimony, because we acknowledge that we are also obedient to God’s commands. Though we are no longer under the law (in that the law does not save us), we still obey the law, because it is of God. So let us be set apart in our actions, as well as in our speech, so that the light of Christ may shine boldly to those around us!

Singleminded, wholehearted
One thing I ask
Singleminded, wholehearted
One thing I ask

That I may gaze upon Your beauty, oh Lord
That I may seek Your holy face
That I may know You in an intimate way
And follow after You all of my days,
Follow after You all of my days.

All of life comes down to just one thing,
And that’s to know You, oh Jesus, and make You known

- One Thing, by Charlie Hall

I’ve been reading through 2 Corinthians a lot these past few days, just trying to figure out a theme that can be ascribed to the whole of the book. It’s been really tough – Paul addresses a whole lot of different issues in the book, things from the sufferings the church endured to giving generously. But out of the whole book, the theme of knowing God and reflecting His glory to others seems to resonate the most with the things God’s been showing me recently.

Like the song above, we sing about how we want to know God and to make Him known throughout the world. However, it’s really simple, as I’ve seen personally, to present the idea of making God known as the primary reason for existence. While we Christians are all called to make disciples and to be “Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20), the message we bring to people is not to recruit for some large organization. One thing I remembered from Urbana (yes, cherish the little insight you’ll get from me about Urbana) was that ultimately, we are part of the harvest as well. The harvest doesn’t mean all of those “poor, lost souls in Central Asia” or some other “unreached people group in the 10-40 window.” The harvest, as Christ looked at Jerusalem in Matthew 9:36-38, includes all of us. We were all lost in our sin, at one point in our lives. We need to always remember that the message of reconciliation and forgiveness and repentance has everything to do with us as well.

But I’m getting off the subject, slightly. I was saying that while we are instructed to be witnesses of what we have experienced, seen, and heard, there is no purpose to our “ministry” if we are not constantly focused heavenward. Our primary purpose, as part of God’s great creation, is to glorify Him. As Christians, we glorify Him by our continual submission of our wills to Him. We worship Him unceasingly in our lives, as each day brings us closer to Him. There are several practical ways to glorify Him in action, but most importantly, our hearts/attitudes must be correct for our worship to glorify God. And it is by our desire to bring glory to our Creator that we overflow love, peace, joy, etc. to the people around us. Paul writes that we are the “aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). And so yes, we should have a desire to boldy proclaim Christ. Yes, we should be wrestling in prayer for our unbelieving friends. Yes, we should pray for opportunities to share life with the people around us. But ultimately, this all needs to come out of our focus on God. John Piper said it this way: “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Let us return to the person of our worship, and from there have the overflow of compassion for the lost.

One Thing
Words and Music by Charlie Hall
© 1999 worshiptogether.com Songs\Six Steps Music

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
- Galatians 5:6 (NIV)

Our lives as Christians is wrapped up in our relationship with God. I know I’ve said it many times before, but it’s the essence of what we believe and what we do with our lives. Fundamentally, the history of mankind is based on these historical events: 1) God created man sinless 2) Man sinned and was therefore alienated from God 3) God gave man the law to show the perfect standard that man always fails to attain 4) God promises a redeemer who will set us free from sin 5) Jesus Christ is born 6) Jesus Christ preaches and disciples people, teaching the things of the kingdom of God 7) Jesus Christ is betrayed, placed on a mock trial, and crucified until dead 8) Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared to many people 9) Now if we place our trust in He who has risen from the dead, we too can attain this resurrection, in both spirit and in what happens after we die.

Paul emphasizes the need to live by faith, rather than the law. While this is something taught to most Christians, it’s difficult to picture this practically. The author of Hebrews, in chapter 11, provides ample examples of the “Giants of the faith,” and the things they did in their lives to live by faith. Many, if not all of them, did amazing things, but what’s most amazing about all of these people is that their backgrounds weren’t that much different than ours. All they did was trust God’s sovereignty and obey what He commanded.

It’s really easy (in my opinion) to get trapped into a legalistic Christian life. We get all caught up in the Spiritual Disciplines, and being accountable, and having structured Bible studies and activities. But when it comes to our daily life, the life that the non-Christians around us see, we don’t know how to act or what to do. Worse yet, our lives look like a whole bunch of do’s and don’ts, and filled with “churchy” activities. It’s unattractive to non-Christians, and there’s no reason why any Christian can hope to make an impact in people’s lives in this manner. I don’t want to trash Bible studies or “discipleship training” types of activities – they play a very important role in our growth and maturity. But, they shouldn’t be the essence of our relationship with God. Doing these things will not deepen our relationship with God; only spending time with Him will do that, and no amount of discipline can let us do that. Imagine if dating our girlfriend/boyfriend were simply an exercise in discipline. We’d have regularly scheduled meetings every day for a certain amount of time, where we’d talk about specific topics. Time spent enjoying each other’s company is highly regulated, because we’re all so busy and it’s so hard to do things together. And on the frequent days when we don’t feel like spending time with her/him, we still get together and do stuff, because we’re trying to build “discipline” in our lives. We hope that by sticking with this disciplined lifestyle, we’ll get to know our girlfriend/boyfriend, and like her/him more and more.

Doesn’t that seem ridiculous? That’s what happens when discipline takes the place of relationship with God. Don’t get me wrong, though. I wholeheartedly advocate the implementation of discipline in our lives. But, it shouldn’t be considered our gateway to the abundant Christian life. It is our walk by faith and the love from God that enables us to joyfully go about our lives.

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)

Natural light is a really neat thing. It allows us to see, and the more light available to us, the more confident we are in the steps we take. One of my old substitute teachers from high school once thought of light as the absence of dark. If this were true, the universe is teeming with holes of “non-dark.” One tiny spark of light is enough to cast illumination in a dark room. So the analogy of light shining out of darkness illustrates the role of God’s Spirit in our lives, and how it affects the world. God gives us “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,” which is then reflected into our daily lives, and how we interact with people.

The next part of chapter 4 goes on to talk about the adversity that comes from knowing Christ. I want to extend an application of this next passage, but not to take Scripture out of context, nor to induce a “martyr complex.” I see God using our times of adversity, whether it’s because of persecution, personal struggles, or troubles of daily life, and being a beacon to those who do not have the hope of Christ in their lives. When people see us struggling with our homework, or frantically studying for tests, yet have a peace and hope that everything will turn out exactly as God deigns, it encourages them and maybe gives them a longing for the same.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

As it has been hashed out before, the Christian life is one full of death. We die every day to our own lives, to our selfishness, our sin, our old way of doing things. However, this death is not one of permanence. We are then reborn, or “born again” as new creations in Christ. This life that is now in us is what motivates us to do good – to love others, think for others, etc. This life is the source of our joy. This life brings us purpose and fulfillment to us. The world is a pale and dim shadow compared to the vibrant view of eternity awaiting for the believer.

Now, the only way to gain this life is by believing into Jesus Christ, a somewhat difficult task. I don’t mean difficult as in intellectually challenging, as though Christianity was illogically based, but it is extremely difficult for someone to admit that they cannot achieve everything on their own, and that they need to depend on someone superior to them. I don’t know about anyone else, but I often have a difficult time acquiescing to those who purport to be better than me. I’m sure everyone knows the type – the cocky, arrogant, “I’m better than you and I know it” type of person that just oozes with condescension. To be honest, those types of people make me angry and defensive, and in a battle of pride we try to duel to win each other’s respect. Now, if I find it difficult to get along with someone like that (I’m not even going to go into what would happen if I were to become this person’s disciple), I think that admitting to a supreme God would be totally difficult. Therefore, while God’s gift is freely offered to everyone, and anyone who believes and has a relationship with Christ is saved, it’s totally understandable that the majority of the world has refused to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The simplicity of the message prevents so many people from accepting it – Paul says that it’s a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). It confounds the religious, and frustrates the intellectual, because when it comes right down to it, people would rather think that they have to achieve great things than to admit that they are totally helpless.

But I’m getting off the subject. What’s super cool about the very above passage is that the death Christians die to themselves is what leads to that holiness that Christians are becoming. And while everyone goes through troubles in life, Christians seem to have a knack for being more joyful and peaceful about what’s going on in their lives. That’s a major difference between someone who has hope for eternity and someone who doesn’t. The focus of Christians is on God, on the eternal, and from that the old, selfish nature dies and the God-loving, joyful, new self begins to live. And from that, faith becomes real to life, and not simply a philosophy. For Christianity is not a list of beliefs akin to “wishful thinking,” but the offer of an eternal life which is grounded in reality.

In conclusion (I always wanted to do that because it was banned in school), life is and totally needs to be grounded in faith. Without faith, there is no life. And without life, umm, well, it’s not good. Okay, so I lost my train of thought. But, it’s important to see that because of the glory of the life of Jesus Christ, we as Christians do not lose heart. I hope that that glory shines in my life every day.