Daniel N. Lee

Last Sunday night at our evening worship service, the sermon from Proverbs ended with a passage that has really stuck with me. The reason it stood out is because it’s one of those verses that is so counter-cultural it borders of blasphemous (against society, not God). It’s something you would never hear on a TV show or during commercials. It won’t be on billboards. It’s so outrageous that it’s best left well within the recesses of that dusty old Bible on the shelf next to Chicken Soup for the Soul. In fact it’s so radical that I dare say if all of God’s people would put this verse into action, the entire US economy would be flipped on its head.

Give me neither poverty nor riches,
   but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
   and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
   and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8-9)

Utter madness. Hogwash. Apparently Agur son of Jakeh has forgotten that America was founded on Christian principles, chief among which is capitalism. If everyone were simply content with their “daily bread,” then there would be no need for credit cards, department stores, or layaway. This is a Christian nation, Mr. Agur. Don’t you go spreading your “contentment” filth all over the place. Especially this time of year. We are even celebrating Thankfulness and the Life/Birth of Christ in the only good and proper way- buying more stuff.


Certainly Jesus himself would have something to say about that. Jesus wants us to be happy, and I won’t be happy unless I get more stuff, duh! I bet Jesus never bought into this “daily bread” mumbo jumbo.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:9-11)

Yeah but….those are only two passages. You can’t form a whole argument around two verses!

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

Well, okay. But… 

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3)

Alright, four verses, big deal.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)

What, are you anit-American or something?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Why do you hate your country?

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:14-16)

Now you’re just showing off.

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)

I don’t even know…

However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today… If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need… There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. (Deuteronomy 15:4-5, 7-8, 11)

I guess God just doesn’t understand the way economy works. There has to be a growing gap between the rich and the poor. If the rich don’t get richer, who’s going to provide for the poor? If we just share everything and give stuff away then we aren’t being good stewards of our money. If the poor and the rich are treated as equals, then there wouldn’t be any incentive to get rich in the first place!


God’s economy is just not practical. It would never work in the real world. Now excuse me, I have to look through the ads for all the Thanksgiving Thursday sales. That’s the American thing to do. Now be a good citizen and forget all this gratitude, contentment, and relying-on-God nonsense. There are some great sales on big TVs…

Evangelism.

That is one of the scariest words in the Christian dictionary. Evangelism is kind of like diet and exercise. We know we should be doing it. We have every intention of doing it more. But it’s just so hard to find the motivation and the time.

But it doesn’t have to be that daunting of a task. Telling others about Jesus should be as natural as telling people about that new restaurant that opened up down the street. Being a witness for Christ shouldn’t be any more difficult than telling about that AWESOME trip you took during Spring Break.

Shouldn’t be, but it is. I think it’s because we have stopped relying on and listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Witnessing the resurrection wasn’t enough to really turn the disciples around. Even 50 days after the resurrection the disciples are still in hiding, keeping to themselves. They don’t break out and begin winning the world for Jesus until they receive the Holy Spirit.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Jesus knew the disciples couldn’t do it on their own, and he never expected them to. He knew it would take a greater power than the human will in order to spread his kingdom. We talk about “willpower” but the human will is not very powerful. No, it was going to take a divine wind to fill the sails of this ship called The Way.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)

But if you are still skeptical about your ability or calling to be Christ’s witness, here are five ways you can allow the Spirit to do great things through you.

1: GET IN TUNE WITH THE SPIRIT

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

As Christians, we each receive the same gift, the Holy Spirit himself, upon our baptism (Acts 2:38). Unfortunately many of us fail to recognize the work of the Spirit for what it is. Events and circumstances are chalked up to “luck” or “coincidence.” We have “chance” encounters. What we don’t realize is that the Holy Spirit works best behind the scenes. He doesn’t want any of the glory or recognition for himself, but he doesn’t want to be ignored either.

Once we are more in tune with the Spirit, we will begin to view every encounter as a divine appointment. Every person is a soul. Every stranger is a potential brother or sister. If we don’t keep in step with the Spirit, he may just leave us in his dust.

2: LOVE

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15)

Jesus said that he himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the embodiment of love. No one ever loved like Christ loved, and no one ever revealed the Truth like Christ did. As Christ’s followers, we must be speaking the truth in love. Truth without love leads to pride and arrogance. Love without truth leads to shallowness and superficiality.

When speaking the truths of Christ to a skeptic, atheist, nonbeliever, etc., love must be overflowing with every word and action. It’s like the old saying goes, “They won’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care.” When we share the good news, it’s because we genuinely care for and love that person, so much so that we will try whatever we can to introduce them to Jesus Christ.

3: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.” (Acts 17:22)

This is also one of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” But it is so true when we are trying to be witnesses for Christ. We must meet people where they are. It helps to realize that everyone is religious. No, they may not “go to church,” but for some people the bar is their church – or the concert hall or the sports stadium or the movie theater. Everybody has a god. Everybody worships something/someone. Everybody has some sort of belief about how the world works, what is right and wrong, and what happens when we die.

Our goal should be to understand where people are and go meet them there. Affirm what is good. As they get to know Christ they will begin to correct what is not so good. And, above all, pay attention to the questions they are asking. Everyone asks questions. But is the church providing answers to questions that aren’t being asked?

4: WALK THE WALK

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)

Christians have been pegged by the world of nonbelievers as judgmental, hypocritical, homophobic, unloving, uncaring, and out of touch with society. Ouch. You see, the world knows something of the gospel that we Christians seem to forget: If you claim to follow Christ, you can’t keep hiding behind the mask of “I’m not perfect, just forgiven.” Christ has called us to a new life, a better life, a holy life. If Christ is Lord, start acting like it!

The unbelieving world is excellent at seeing through our masks, our Sunday garb, and our blatant hypocrisy. If Paul had to beat his body into submission so that he would avoid these traps, then how much more so should we be on our guard. How we live matters. Period. Our actions can either provide evidence to our testimony or they can discredit it altogether.

5: REMEMBER YOUR JOB

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

I think one of the biggest reasons people don’t talk to others about Jesus is because they think they don’t know enough. They are afraid of getting things wrong or actually leading people away from the Truth. But we must remember that converted hearts, transformed lives, and salvation for souls is NOT OUR JOB. That’s God’s business. He’s better at it. He has more experience. Let him do his job. Our job is to plant the seeds. Let God give the growth.

This would be like a witness in court thinking that it is completely up to here to win the case for the defendant. But it’s not up to the witness – it’s up to the attorney and the judge. Don’t go jumping into roles that are above your pay grade. We may be God’s co-workers, but he is still the boss.

John chapter 3 tell two stories about two men. One is Nicodemus – a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, the Rabbi of Israel, living in Jerusalem. The other one is John the Baptist – a charismatic prophet living in the wilderness.

I wish I were more like John the Baptist. But I am Nicodemus.

Nicodemus knew the Scriptures. He would have them memorized, beginning to end. Genesis through Malachi, always on the tip of his tongue and the front of his mind. Nicodemus had it all figured out. He knew what God wanted, how God wanted it, when God wanted it. He ate right, prayed right, worshiped right, and lived right. He knew the system. He worked the system. He loved the system.

John the Baptist didn’t simply know God’s word, he knew God. He knew what a relationship with God was all about and that God couldn’t be manipulated into owing us anything for our good behavior. John came to let God out of the box.

Nicodemus had a curiosity about Jesus. But he was about as curious of Jesus as I would be about a new store that opened up in the mall. He came to Jesus at night, when no one would be watching, just to check things out. Immediately, he defaulted into his old rabbinical suck-up mode, trying to flatter Jesus while making himself look better.

John the Baptist wasn’t just curious about Jesus, he was consumed by him. John was teaching people nonstop that Jesus of Nazareth was the Lamb of God, sent from heaven, who has come to take away the sins of the world. John was attempting to work himself out of a job. If he pointed enough people to Jesus, eventually John would have no more followers.

Nicodemus knew all the ins and outs of Scripture, but he didn’t know what it all meant. When Jesus challenged him to go to a deeper level of faith and understanding, Nicodemus responded with wit and sarcasm. When his system began to break apart, he fell back on his old defense mechanisms to soften the blow. But the damage was already done. Jesus had completely upended Nicodemus’ whole world. His precious “system” was laid bare. The true light had revealed it for what it was – empty, shallow, and deserving of death.

John the Baptist simply and humbly said, “Jesus must increase and I must decrease.” Did you catch that “must?” In other words, there was no other way it could ever work out. This is what must happen. It’s not that John was resigning his post because he couldn’t compete with Jesus. It’s that John always knew his was a “losing” position. Everything John had worked for up to this point he gladly and willingly surrendered to the cause and message of Jesus the Messiah.

Nicodemus scurried back into the darkness like a cockroach escaping the light.

John the Baptist remained in the limelight, proclaiming the kingdom of God and the Messiah, until it cost him his head.

I think the church is full of people like Nicodemus, and I’m one of them. We are curious about Jesus so we will show up on Sundays, while it’s still socially acceptable. Then we scurry off back to our homes and out of the light. We are content to simply be admirers and respecters of Jesus but nothing more. We can’t afford to have Jesus completely flip our world upside down. No, we would much rather remain curious about Jesus than consumed by him.

We think our flattery, our admiration, and even our worship of Jesus is enough to get us “in.” We do all the right things in the right ways at the right times with the right people. We’ve followed the “5 Steps of Salvation” and we participate in the “5 Acts of Worship.” We have a system, and our God fits very nicely into our system. We’ve got it all figured out.

We memorize and teach our kids John 3:16 because it fits nicely and neatly into our system. Yet we completely skip over 3:8, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Now what are we supposed to do with that, Jesus? That doesn’t fit our system. You mean the Spirit moves people to live and to go and to preach and to work wherever and whenever He chooses? But Jesus, you must realize that everything must be done “decently and in order.” That’s just crazy talk, Jesus.

Or what about 3:14-15, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Whoa, now Jesus. Rein it in a little bit. It can’t be that simple. I mean, sure, all the people had to do in Moses’ day was look up at the metal snake-on-a-stick and they were saved. But we can’t have just anybody walking in our church doors on Sunday claiming that they are already saved. We have to have some sort of litmus test, something we can control, something we can monitor so that we can decide and know for sure who is in and who is out. How else are we going to know who can and who can’t serve on the Lord’s Supper table or say a closing prayer?

You’ve got to think inside the system, Jesus.

Your answer is “No?” You’re telling me, Jesus, that it doesn’t “work that way?” Well, that’s okay I guess. We can just do church without you.

…and Nicodemus scurries back out into the night.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Okay, there are WAY more than two kinds of people, but I’m only going to focus on two kinds right now. In order to explain the two kinds of people, I am going to turn to the 1980s cult classic Better Off Dead and the popular SciFi/Fantasy book series A Game of Thrones.

THE FIRST TYPE
In Better Off Dead, starring a young John Cusack, there is a scene where Cusack’s character, Lane, is practicing to make the ski team. He and his buddy, Charles, head to the top of a very difficult ski course full of trees, jumps, twists, and turns. Charles is pessimistic and warns Lane, “Dying when you’re not really sick is really sick, you know. Really!”

THE SECOND TYPE
In the George R.R. Martin series, A Song of Ice and Fire (AKA Game of Thrones) there is a religious order in the sea region of the Iron Islands. This religion is centered on whom they call “The Drowned God.” The priest and his closest followers are known as “drowned men.” They practice a form of extreme baptism where the priest will hold the other guy under the water until he literally drowns. Once the guy stops struggling and floats lifeless on the waves, the priest then drags him to land and revives him. After this ritual the priest declares, “What is dead can never die, but rises harder and stronger.”


TO DIE OR NOT TO DIE
So which type of person are you? The kind that lives their life trying to avoid all risk, all danger, all possibility of death until one day you simply get too old to keep on living? Or are you the kind of person who stares death in the face, laughs at danger, and gets off on taking risks?

I would guess that most of us are somewhere in the middle. That’s why we have roller coasters. They give us the thrill of risk and danger but with the safety of harnesses, seat belts, and those constricting metal bars.

But what kind of life does Jesus call us to?

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Paul in his letter to Colossae is right in line with the words and warnings of Jesus:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

When you make the decision to follow Christ, you are forfeiting your life. You die. You lose your life. And by doing so, you are raised again to a new life, a better, fuller, eternal life.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

WORTH DYING FOR
What in your life is worth dying for? My wife, my kids…that’s about it. My iPad isn’t worth my life. My car, my house, my job – not worth it. But I would gladly give up my life to save my family.

What about your faith? Here’s where some toes are going to be stepped on. If you faith consists of nothing more than showing up to church on Sundays, then that is not a faith worth dying for! If someone told me that I had to either stop going to a certain building on Sundays or else I would be violently executed, guess what – I’m sleeping in.

That’s why the stories of Christian martyrs shake us up so much. They DIED for the things we take for granted. They were MURDERED, not because they went to church but because they confessed Jesus as Lord. If you asked them what it means to follow Jesus, their answer would have very little to do with “going to church.” Following Jesus means dying to yourself, marking yourself for death, and taking seriously the call to “take up your cross” EVERY – SINGLE – DAY.

DISCIPLESHIP vs. THE AMERICAN DREAM
I think the church is guilty of “baptizing” and spiritualizing the American Dream. We teach our kids to do well in school, participate in sports, land a part time job, and score well on their ACT/SAT so that they can get a scholarship to the college of their dreams. While in college parents push their kids to major in something “practical” so they can get a high paying job straight after graduation. Work a while, save up money, get married, buy a house, two cars, a boat, and a dog. Have kids and teach them to repeat the cycle.

I have NEVER heard a Christian parent ENCOURAGE their child(ren) to become ministers or missionaries. If they come up with that idea on their own, the parents might relent but will still demand that they minor or double major in some other field to fall back on. Because God forbid that our children should face hardships and struggles for the sake of spreading the gospel, right? Oh the bitter irony.

We take our kids to Sunday school and teach them the names of the disciples (to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”). But we just kind of stop there. These 12 (really 14) men were chosen by Jesus to a specific task – make more disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). In other words, the Twelve were sent out to teach people how to live like they lived AND how to die like they died.

Only one out of 14 died of old age.

Jesus called them one by one:
Peter – crucified upside down
Andrew – crucified on an X-shaped cross
James – beheaded with a sword by Herod Agrippa; the first disciple to be martyred (Acts 12:1-3)
and John – died of old age in Ephesus BUT had multiple attempts on his life including one instance where, tradition says, he was thrown into a large vat of boiling oil but was saved by an angel from God (sounds like the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego)
Next came Philip – scourged, thrown in prison, and crucified
Thomas, too – run through with spears
Matthew – Killed with a halberd (a long, pointed battle ax)
and Bartholomew – flayed alive and then crucified
James, the one they called “the less” – beaten, stoned, and bludgeoned with clubs
Simon – crucified along with Thaddeus
also Thaddeus – crucified along with Simon
the twelfth apostle Judas made, Jesus was by him betrayed – hanged himself after turning Jesus in to the authorities
Yes, Jesus called them
Yes, Jesus called them
Yes, Jesus called them
And they all followed him


There were also Matthias and Paul who were added to the number of disciples.
Matthias – stoned and then beheaded
Paul – beheaded with a sword in Rome

Let’s take Paul’s example. We like Paul. We teach our kids about his missionary journeys, his miracles, his teachings, and so on. And when he says things like, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ,” we teach our kids to be good people, because Paul and Jesus were good people. But we don’t EVER encourage our kids to follow Paul’s example when it actually comes to spreading the kingdom. Paul didn’t play it safe. He had no Plan B. He dove head first into the very situations from which we try to protect our kids.

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin,and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:23-29)

Yep, that sounds like the Western Christians American Dream in a nutshell, right?

THE WORLD IS NOT WORTHY
One of my fears is that the church is churning out children and teenagers worthy of this world. We are producing “good citizens,” star athletes, and math wizzes all under a “Christian” label. And the world is just waiting, drooling, stomach growling in anticipation for our students to leave our youth “programs” so it can sink its teeth into their juicy, fattened, sheltered souls.

Parents, you ARE NOT doing your child any favors by raising them this way!

I have two young boys – a three year old and a nearly two month old. It is my prayer that when all is said and done, they will grow up to be people of whom it can be said, “The world is not worthy of them.”

But that involves risk and danger.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging,and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. (Hebrews 11:32-38)

Lord God, please shape me and my family into the kind of people of whom the world is not worthy. Let us not be content to live comfortably under the guise of American Christianity, but teach us what it means to truly be your disciples. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death reunites us.

Amen

Have you ever really paid attention to the people and places that Jesus considered important during his ministry? Have you really noticed the kind of folks Jesus felt most comfortable with, the ones he called his family, the men and women he spent most of his time with? Has it occurred to you the places Jesus felt most welcomed, most received? The places Jesus could be himself? The places he called home?

We get a glaring contrast in John 2 between two places, two groups of people, and Jesus’ reaction to both. One is the Temple, the seat of all Jewish religion, the hub of worship, the house of prayer, the epicenter of God’s presence on earth. The other is a wedding party in a Podunk town where there is *gasp* wine, merriment, and celebration.

We would think Jesus, you know – the Son of God, would feel more at home in…the Temple. But we would be wrong. Check out the brilliant comparison and contrast between these two locales in John 2.

Jesus is God on earth. John 1 says that the Word became flesh and “tabernacled” among us, or pitched his tent alongside us. Jesus is the embodiment of everything the Temple was supposed to be. When Jesus went to the Temple in Jerusalem, it should have been like returning home. It was anything but.

How would you like it if you went away for a while, say on vacation, and when you got back your neighbors had decided to use your garage and driveway to host their yard sale? Jesus got to the Temple and saw all the buying, selling, and trading that was happening right at the main entrance to his house!

That’s why I think Jesus always felt most at home in small towns with the few genuinely faithful people he could find. He never stayed the night in Jerusalem – always Bethany. He spent the majority of his ministry in and around Galilee, not Judea/Jerusalem. His home was with the people, not with the political and religious powers. He would rather be at a wedding feast any day than put up with the man-made religious institutions of his day.

Today there is no physical Temple. There hasn’t been for close to 2000 years. But Jesus feels right at home with the people, his people, the church. The church is his bride, he is the bridegroom. The church is the Temple in which his Spirit resides. The wedding feast is being prepared as we speak – and I doubt they will run out of wine this time. So while temples and cathedrals may stand magnificent yet empty, Jesus has always been and is still right at home with each of us.

We have a serious epidemic on our hands. STDs are spreading like wildfire. Fewer and fewer people are making the choice to keep themselves pure and untainted. That means more and more people will be suffering life-long consequences, issues that will haunt them and plague them until they die.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Jim Rohn, famed entrepreneur and motivational speaker, said it this way, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I (mostly) agree with that sentiment. I’ve known people who were one way when I first met them, but after a few years of hanging out with certain “other” people, that person was completely different.

When “good kids” get to hanging out with the “wrong crowd,” you can see the heartache it causes their parents, especially the mother. And then when something really bad happens, (for instance, they wind up in handcuffs), their parents will make the excuse: “They just started hanging around the wrong crowd.” What the parents might not realize is that by hanging out with the wrong people, their child became the wrong kind of person.

I’ve seen some really good kids have their lives completely ruined because of the friends they chose.

But that’s an extreme case that won’t happen to most of us good church folk, right?

A CHURCH FULL OF STDS
Wrong.

I’m not saying that going to church will cause you to hold up a liquor store at gun point. But just think about the attitudes and mindsets that religious people are prone to “catch” from other religious people.

• Apathy
• Legalism
• Judgmentalism
• Hypocrisy
• Holier-than-thou
• Pessimism
• Fear-mongering
• Cynicism
• Fatalism
• Escapism
• Superficiality

It’s a sad reality that we even have to ask about this question.

The teenager who submitted this question isn’t wondering about someone who has never heard about God. The question is about turning BACK to God once someone has turned AWAY from God. The not-so-hypothetical person was once a believer, was once a follower of Christ, may have been baptized and called himself a Christian. Now he has turned his back on all of this as if God is some ex-girlfriend he’s trying to “get over.”

I don’t know if this teenager had someone specific in mind, but I know I’ve seen the story unfold time and time again. And I wonder if these people will ever find their way back into the fold. Some will; many, sadly, will not.

But is it ever too late for them? Can someone wander TOO far away to ever return to salvation?

WHO’S YOUR MASTER?
If we start in the beginning, we see the first humans being cut off from the intimate relationship they once shared with their Creator. They turned their backs on God so they had to face the consequence of separation. The ancient idea of death is separation. Sin causes separation from God and, therefore, death.

In Genesis 4 we see an interesting view from God himself about the way sin works in our lives. Cain and Able offered sacrifices to God. Able’s was accepted, Cain’s was not. This infuriated Cain. God, sensing Cain’s disturbance, comes down to have a one-on-one with Cain. This is what God has to tell Cain in the midst of his inner turmoil:

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

Sin desires to enslave us. Sin’s desire is to have power over us, to become our master. But we must rule over it. If we allow sin to become our master, as did Cain, we will quickly find our lives in a downward spiral toward chaos and heartache until it feels as if we are being devoured by it.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith… (1 Peter 5:8-9)

The first step in the journey away from God nearly always begins with dethroning God and crowning sin/Satan as our new Lord and Master. Humanity as a whole has been doing this from the beginning, and individuals are constantly attempting to overthrow God’s supposed “tyranny” in favor of a more lenient master. Little do we know that we have the whole system backwards!

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:11-14)

POINT OF NO RETURN
If people do allow sin to become their master, can they ever reach the point of no return?

Scripture has some scary things to say about this very issue. Some branches of Christianity preach what is typically referred to as a “once saved, always saved” message. They believe that once you come to belief in Christ then there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation. The unfortunate thing is that Scripture does not seem to support that idea.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:30-32)

So we already see, from the mouth of Jesus, that there are some people who reach the point of no return. I’ve known some people who began their journey of faith as Christians but now they openly speak evil of Jesus, God, the Spirit, and his church. There’s really no coming back from that.

The book of Hebrews speaks very candidly about the possibility (and reality) of turning away from the gospel, and it’s not a pretty picture.

Scary:

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:12-13)

Scarier:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebrews 6:4-8)

Scariest:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)

The speaker in Hebrews is trying to warn his audience of the seriousness with which God views rebellion. It’s one thing to have never known God. It’s a whole different matter to have known God, to be a part of his family, to share in the gospel, and then turn and spit in the face of the crucified Savior.

God does not take that lightly.

IS THERE HOPE?
Yes.

While these warnings may be stern and the judgments harsh, one thing we learn from Scripture is that God is nothing if not merciful. In the story of “The Prodigal Son” (Luke 15) the younger brother essentially tells his father, “I wish you were dead.” He packs up his belongings and turns his back on his family. After blowing everything he had, the son came crawling back to his father. The father does the unexpected and receives him back into full sonship and throws a party for him.

Solomon puts it this way: “Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!” (Ecclesiastes 9:4)

And check out Paul’s reminder to the Christians in Corinth:

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

If you are still sucking oxygen, there is still hope. As the song “To God Be the Glory” says, “The vilest offender who truly believes / will surely from Jesus a pardon receive.”

WE’RE IN IT TOGETHER
I think most Christians, however, (myself included) see someone walk away from the faith and just stand at the window waving good-bye. We hope to see them again. We even pray that they will come back to faith. But we don’t make an effort to do anything about it.

Remember, Hebrews 3 tells us to encourage each other so that we don’t drift away. And James gives us this instruction:

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)

It takes a group effort to keep the group together. We can’t sit idly by and watch the body of Christ disintegrate into chaos. We’re in this together!

One thing we’ve learned over the years is “Just Say No” doesn’t really work. Everyone knows the harmful effects of illegal drugs. We know the dangers of over-consumption of alcohol. We know how damaging cigarette smoke can be on our bodies. And yet we just can’t say “No.”

Paul knew that “Just Say No” was a lousy way to prevent sinful activities.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2:20-23, emphasis added)

Zero-tolerance policies and “Just Say No,” in Paul’s words, “lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”  We cannot will temptation away. That’s why diets don’t often work. If we could, through sheer will power, say “No” to that pizza or chocolate ice cream, then we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic on our hands. And if people could just say “No” to drugs and alcohol abuse, then we wouldn’t need the DEA or random police check points on New Year’s Eve. It simply doesn’t work that way.

WHY? WHY NOT?
What we need is a reason to say “No.” And we lack that in America. Our nation, and indeed our world, is in moral chaos. It has been since the beginning. There is no universal right or wrong. There is no one set of principles guiding the human race, save for the principle of self-gratification. We are impulsive, impatient, and we celebrate letting go of our inhibitions. When immediate self-pleasure becomes the driving principle in our lives (from fast food to video games to sex), then there is no reason to say “No” to illegal drugs. The damage comes later but the pleasure comes NOW.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:13-18, emphasis added)

We are set free from the law because of Christ, yet that does not give us license to do whatever we want. And Paul gives a WHY: because you live by the Spirit. The flesh and Spirit are in constant struggle against one another. Even Jesus knew this struggle full well. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Paul goes on in Galatians to describe the “works of the flesh.” Notice how many of these can be (and often are) associated with our drug culture and alcohol abuse.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21, NLT)

How many families have been ripped apart because of an alcoholic’s outbursts of anger? How many relationships have been ruined because of a drug addict’s hostility, quarreling, and selfishness? How many women have been forever damaged because they were taken advantage of at a “wild party”?

IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP
This does not sound like the kind of life I want. Secrecy, jealousy, dissension, fighting. I don’t want any part in that. In fact, I don’t want any part with any person or company that promotes this kind of lifestyle. You will never see a Budweiser commercial featuring an abusive husband. You will never see a lung cancer patient in a Camel add. You will never see the real story from the people pushing these products.

And maybe we don’t want to.

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity,because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:11-16)

IT’S MY BODY. OR IS IT?
One argument for the use of drugs/alcohol/whatever is the “It’s my body, my business” argument. I mean, I’m not hurting anyone else in the process, right? It’s just a little harmless fun, isn’t it?

Maybe we can shed a little light on that one, too.

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35)

He’s talking specifically about alcohol in this section, but many of the symptoms and behaviors are fitting with drug use, too. He’s essentially warning that this lifestyle will destroy your body and your mind. Not only that, but these kind of things aren’t happening in the privacy of the subject’s own home. He’s in a place where people will take advantage of him and use him as a punching bag because he is under the influence.

But hey, it’s your body. Do whatever you want, right?

Wrong:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Even if you can manage to use and abuse drugs and alcohol without physically or emotionally harming another human being, you cannot do so without damaging the image of God in which you were made. Destroying our bodies for the thrill of it does nothing to glorify God. Getting high distorts God’s image inside you. What’s more, there is nothing loving, selfless, humble, or worshipful in doing these things.

THE GOOD NEWS
But there is hope. There is always hope as long as you still draw breath. God can cleanse you. God can restore his image in you. He can help you overcome your addictions and your temptations. He can restore your relationships. He can make all things new.

But you’ve got to learn the reason to say no, and the reason is Christ.

On Wednesday nights I am leading our teens through the Gospel of John. We just started it a few weeks ago and are still in chapter 1. It seems like every time I read through the gospels something new jumps out at me. It’s all been there for 2000 years, but I notice something new every time.

This time through John’s gospel I have noticed how often the words “witness” and “testimony” are used. John the Apostle writes to tell us about the things he has seen (1:14). John the Baptist was sent by God as a witness to testify concerning God’s Chosen One (1:34).

The normal context in which a witness testifies is in court. A witness cannot tell more than they know, but that’s okay. All that is required is that they simply share what they do know. It doesn’t really matter if they know all the thoughts and motives behind the event about which they are testifying. All that matters is what they saw and experienced. Eye witness testimony paired with physical evidence is usually enough to convince a jury that an event occurred as described.

Later in John’s gospel, a blind man healed by Jesus is being questioned as a witness. He tells them, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see” (John 9:25).

Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Philip the evangelist had a Spirit-led encounter with the Queen’s Treasurer who was traveling back to Ethiopia. The treasurer was reading from Isaiah. “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35).

What do you know? It’s enough to be a witness.