Why pray?

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

“Why should I pray if God already knows, and if He will only do His will if I pray contrary to His will?”

There are three simple answers to these two objections to prayer:

First, the leading reason to pray is because God’s Word teaches and even commands us to pray (Luke 18:1). If there were no other reason than this would this not be enough!?

Second, prayer is not a way to change God’s will. It is a way to change our wills to be like His will. Yes, God only does what is right (His perfect will in a given situation). Therefore, it is on us to discern God’s will before asking. We do this by knowing the vast amount of His will that He has already revealed. It is in the Bible! As we know God’s will, as revealed in the Bible, we are to pray according to His will—knowing that He hears and will answer (1 John 5:14-15).

When we are not sure of His will, we should pray according what we think is God’s will, confessing that we are not sure, and praying, ”Thy will be done!” (Matthew 6:10, 26:39).

Third, God does not need our prayers. He needs nothing from us! But by calling us to pray and by answering our prayers (that are according to His will), He graciously affords us the opportunity, the privilege, and the honor to be included in the accomplishment of His perfect will.

Yes God knows everything. We inform Him of nothing no matter how we pray. But by praying we obey His command, we conform our wills to His, and we get to play a role in the accomplishment of His will. So, let us pray!

Examples of vain repetitious prayers

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

All prayer is not the same! This is evident since Jesus commands His disciples not to pray certain kinds of so-called “prayers.” Why did He say this? Because certain kinds of prayer are illegitimate, and in fact, not prayers at all.

As we pointed out, this is not a prohibition against praying the same (legitimate) prayers repeatedly until they are answered. Rather, is it a prohibition against chanting mindless repetitions. This is why it is dangerous to repeatedly “pray” rote prayers, since in time we are prone to disengage our minds and think we have prayed when we have merely chanted.

This is true, for instance, of Tibetan monks spinning “prayer wheels” imagining that each rotation of the wheel represents another prayer, when it is in fact a meaningless religious ritual. (Click Here to see pictures of such wheels.)

Another example is praying a series of “Our Fathers” (the Lord’s Prayer”), or “Hail Marys” (a passage of scripture that is not a prayer!) to secure forgiveness of sins. To add to the mindlessness of these practices, these so-called prayers are made more mindless by counting a string of “holy beads” while supposedly praying. These practices are blasphemous because they declare that the blood of Christ is not sufficient for forgiveness!

I do not give these examples to put down the people who do engage in such practices—most of them do not know any better. The practices are wrong, but the people who engage in them need the Lord! So pray for them!

The value of praying repetitious prayers--Huh?

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

I trust that the title of this post caught your eye. Praying repetitious prayers is not a problem. They are frequently good and fruitful. It is VAIN repetitious prayers that Jesus warned against! Let’s consider a do and a don’t.

First the don’t. Jesus clearly said don’t pray vain repetitious prayers—the kind heathens (non believers) use. The problem is not repetitious prayers, it is the VAIN repetitious prayers that are the problem. It is when prayers are chanted repetitiously with little or no thought that these so-called prayers are meaningless.

Now for the do. Praying for the same thing every day is not wrong. For example, when do we stop praying for the salvation of spiritually lost loved ones? Not until they are either converted or have died. It is not only not wrong to pray repetitiously for such things, it is right and to be commended.

God does not answer our prayers because we badger Him into it with our many prayers. But as we pray ceaselessly for such things, we remind ourselves that if those for whom we pray will be saved, it will be because only God could do it—and, we got to play a small role by praying.

So let us not mindlessly repeat prayers as though out many words will bring about an answer, but let us not give up on thoughtfully praying over and over again for things that matter.

Applicational thoughts: Can you think of other matters about which we ought to pray, ceaselessly, without giving up? Are there any prayers that you need to rethink because you may be repeating them thoughtlessly and vainly like mantras?

Read Ryle's "A Call to Prayer"

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

I am trusting that you read this blog for spiritual enrichment. That being so, last Friday when commenting on Jesus’ words, “when you pray,” I encouraged you to read a wonderful essay by J.C. Ryle on the essential nature of prayer.

I am including that link again today, so in case you have not yet read it—or at least begun to read it—you can do so today. It is only about ten pages, but it is powerful.

Click Here to read J.C .Ryle’s “A Call to Prayer.” You can read it online or print it.

More on prayer tomorrow…

https://www.jcryle.info/2016/02/a-call-to-prayer-sermon.html

Prayer: Essential

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

We begin with a reminder of where we are in our thoughts on The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is telling His disciples about living in the Kingdom of God. He is talking more specifically about the role of the Law in the lives of His disciples. His emphasis is on the spirit of the Law, which has higher standards than does the letter of the Law. He contrasted the spirit and the letter in Matthew 5 considering several specific laws. Now in chapter 6, Jesus contrasts the spirit and the letter in three activities: (1) Charitable acts; (2) Prayer; (3) Fasting. Today we begin focusing on His words about prayer.

First, as was the case when He spoke about charitable acts, Jesus begins with the word, when, rather than the word, if. Why? Because it is expected that citizens of God’s kingdom pray. It is a given. Is prayer a given in your life? I do not ask if you are mighty in prayer. Many believers struggle with prayer: e.g., consistency, knowing how, and what to pray for. That we struggle testifies that though prayer is sometimes difficult, we do at least attempt to pray. The best treatment of the subject of how essential is prayer is by J.C. Ryle. It is called “A Call to Prayer.” Here is a link to this gracious and penetrating meditation on prayer. Click Here to read it. You can also print it if you’d like. It is only 9 pages long. I highly recommend it!

I’ll cut this post short in hopes that you will read it this weekend! I’ll forego a post on Monday except to give you a little more time to read Ryle.

More on prayer beginning next week…

"The Chosen" (Pt. 3)

But Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us." Ezra 4:3

God’s people were sent primarily by God and then by the king of Persia to rebuild the ruined temple in Jerusalem. Once they were there, enemies of God (Ezra 4:1-2) offered to “help” with the project. The Jewish leaders rightly refused their help.

When it comes to building Christ’s Church, He is the Master Builder and He only uses His people, not the help of the unbelieving world who are “enemies” of God (John 2:15, James 4:4).

What has this to do with “The Chosen”? Only this: if this is supposed to glorify God (and one would think that a work about Jesus would be for His glory!), it ought to be done exclusively by God’s people. “The Chosen” is a work by some who may be Christians, and by those who are not. Forget all the crew members, the primary cast member (who portrays Jesus) is a Roman Catholic. If he believes Roman Catholic doctrine, he believes that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is not enough, but that “believers” must add to Christ’s work on the cross with good works of their own. These added works are not merely to be performed in this life, but continue in purgatory after physical death before one can enter Heaven. That is not biblical Christianity.

The actor who portrays Jesus even went to Rome to receive the Pope’s blessing on his portrayal of Jesus—and on a bag full of rosaries. Click Here to see a video of this encounter with the Pope.

Beyond the actor, the creator, director and co-writer of “The Chosen,” an alleged Protestant, also went with the lead actor to meet the Pope. He is the other person in the video clip linked above.

Please do not respond to these three blog posts with, “But I like it!” or by saying, “I don’t see what the big deal is!” What we like is not the point. And if I do not see what is the big deal, that doesn’t mean it is not a big deal, it only means that I do not see it.

Let us be discerning about entertainment masquerading as the Bible that has many more reasons to not watch, than to watch.

"The Chosen" (Pt. 2)

“…whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9

Having given two biblical reasons I believe “The Chosen” and all other such projects are not a good choice, let me now explain why, in practical terms, these kinds of fictionalized “Bible stories” (particularly but not exclusively about Jesus) are dangerous.

They dangerously confuse and mislead viewers regarding the truth.

All non-believers, and sadly most believers, are sufficiently unfamiliar with what the Bible actually says in order to know, when watching Bible films, what is biblical and what is not. The disastrous result is that many viewers (probably most) end up believing that something depicted in the film is in the Bible, when it is not!

When Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ ” came out in 2004, I did not want to see it. Because my thinking was not as developed twenty years ago as it is now, I caved to pressure from Christian family and friends and went to see the movie. I have not watched it again. There was a particular scene that moved me more than any other. To this day when I think of that film, that scene is the most memorable. It is not from the Bible. It is not even hinted at in the Bible. It was pure fiction. It was not even primarily about Jesus. It was about Mary.

I had a post graduate degree in Church History and another in Theology at the time, so I knew it was not biblical. How many others—who did not know the scriptures as I was fortunate enough to know them—would be gripped by the fictional aspects of the drama and think it was biblical?

Far more often than not, when I ask believers how they are doing in their walk with the Lord, the first answer is, “I’m not reading the Word as much as I ought,” or something to that effect. What I have never heard any Christians say is, “I’m not watching TV or movies as much as I ought.” Why is that? Forgive my bluntness, but I think it is because most tend to be lazy regarding Bible reading while loving entertainment. May I suggest that there are at least some who mistakenly rationalize that watching movies and/or shows like “The Chosen,” in some way makes up for a lack of Bible reading? And that in spite of the fact that much, if not most, of such programming is not only fiction, but fiction that many mistakenly assumes to be scriptural?

A footnote on this is an equally important warning that the vast majority of children’s Bible story books condition our children to confuse, and therefore accept, fiction as scripture. This is why, if I had it to do over, I would have read more straight Bible and less Bible story books to my children.

In my next (and final) post on this subject, I’ll write about the sources of projects like “The Chosen.”

Why I have chosen not to watch the TV series "The Chosen"

I realize that this Special Edition of my blog may bother some. Some may liken me to a Grinch telling children that there is no Santa Claus. But I feel compelled as biblical shepherd to speak up about the TV Series “The Chosen”—more specifically, why I not only choose not to watch it, but encourage all Christians not to watch it. I will present several reasons divided into two groups of reasons.

Group Number One: The clear teaching of the Bible (two reasons)

(1) The second Commandment forbids making images of God.

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me…” Exodus 20:4-5

I know some disagree with the interpretation and application I believe is best and safest. To those who insist (as I once did) that making images of Jesus is not making an image of God because Jesus was a man, may I remind you that Jesus is the one and only God-man? While the deity and humanity of Jesus are distinct, they cannot and must not be separated. Images of Jesus are images of God.

Images are not limited to statues or even pictures. Motion pictures are images, that move. TV shows and movies create and present images of the God-man that are infinitely below who He is. They are human interpretations of who Jesus is, and therefore they cannot be accurate. Being inaccurate they are misleading at best, and at worst, blasphemous.

Why does God prohibit images of Himself? Two reasons; (a) We tend to think what we see is Him—and even if we do not formally worship the image, it plants a false picture of God in our minds. (b) God communicates Himself through words, not pictures. Remember Peter’s words about Jesus in 1 Peter 1:8, Jesus Christ “whom having not seen, we love.” If the Bible tells us to love Jesus whom we have not seen, why do we insist in seeing Him?

(2) The Bible warns us not to add to or subtract from the Bible.

You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:18-19

I recently saw a video in which actor, Kirk Cameron (a Christian actor, not a theologian) was defending and affirming “The Chosen” precisely because even though it adds to the Bible, it is good. Please Click Here to watch this 48 second video clip.

The Bible says not to add to the Bible, yet in this unbiblical statement we are told that adding to what the Bible says “enhances” the Bible. Since when does the Bible, which is the very words of God, need to be enhanced? Please think about this!

I will expound on the profound danger of adding to the Bible especially in story books and films, next time.

Rewarded for giving?

"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” Matthew 6:1-4

The passage ends with Jesus speaking about being rewarded for giving. Is there a reward for giving? Yes, and no.

First, the Yes. There is a reward for giving, but let us understand that God rewards believers not so much for giving, per se, but for being generous. Giving out of one’s abundance requires little or no generosity (Luke 21:4) Remember that God looks not merely on outward deeds but on inward attitudes of the heart.

Second, the No. A popular false teaching promulgated by the prosperity cults teaches people to give in order to get. This is completely unbiblical and therefore false. It is superstitious and self-serving. And it does not work. God is never obligated to give us anything. He gives because of His grace, not because we give some money so we can receive more money.

Give because you have already received so much (everything) from God. Give to bless other people, preferably in ways that they will not know who gave what they have received. And do not give in hopes of receiving wealth in return.

Giving correctly

"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” Matthew 6:1-4

Being charitable is a mark of true spiritual discipleship. Being charitable for the sake of feeling good about one’s charity is a blemish not only on one’s generosity, but also on one’s spirituality.

Some well-intentioned, but misguided folks even say that they like to help others because of the good feeling they experience as a result. Having good feelings about generosity is not bad. It is only bad when those feelings are the motive for one’s generosity. Jesus points an accusing finger at the religionists of His day, but they were, and are, by no means the only guilty parties in this regard!

Akin to this error is giving so that others will see and praise the giver for being generous. It is not bad to be seen doing good if the goal is that people will praise God (Matthew 5:16). But when the goal is to receive recognition, though the gift may well help the one to whom it was given, there will be no spiritual reward afforded to the giver.

Do not miss, however, Jesus’ promise that those who: (a) give and (b) give with no thought of applause from people, will receive a reward from God.

Not allowing one’s right hand to know what the left hand is doing is a figure of speech warning us to give charitably, secretly, without thought of the cheers of those around us.

As a footnote, giving money is not the only means of giving. Those who give of their time to help others, and even give their ears to kindly listen to other people troubles are likewise “doing charitable deeds.”

Let us all pause for a moment of self-examination: Are we people who give generously? Do we give without thought of personal promotion, but merely for the sake of assisting others and for the glory of God? Are we motivated to give because the Lord has given so generously to us? Let us genuinely seek to grow in this all-important aspect of discipleship.

Do I do these things?

"Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matthew 6:1

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. Matthew 6:5

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. Matthew 6:16

As we enter chapter 6 of Matthew’s recounting of the Sermon on the Mount, let’s consider the big picture of the first eighteen verses. In this section Jesus continues to reveal more of the deeper spirituality of His disciples and citizens of His kingdom. Three disciplines of the faith are discussed: charitable giving, praying, and fasting.

In each case Jesus said “When you give… pray… fast…” That He said, When, not If, reveals that these are not special activities to be observed by only some of His followers, but by all of His followers. These are not the only actions undertaken by Christ’s disciples, but are three essential disciplines.

That said, before diving deeper into what Jesus said about these three, how are you and I doing with just these three? Are all three even on the radar? Are all three regular disciplines or only sporadically undertaken? The statistics of how many professing believers give in a biblical manner say only around 13% tithe.(1) When it comes to prayer, how often do we give regular time to prayer, privately, with our families, and corporately in prayer meetings at church? For how many of us is fasting (and not merely from eating) a spiritual discipline?

Before asking “How do I do these things?”, let’s start first with “Do I do these things?”

(1) While a majority of evangelicals say tithing — giving 10% of one's income to the church — is a biblical commandment, only an estimated 13% engage in the practice, while half give away less than 1% of their income annually, a new study shows. Christian Post

On being perfect

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48

I believe that when it comes to the gospel, by far and away, the toughest pill to swallow is that everyone desperately needs a Savior. Without knowing and being jarred by the reality that without Christ, every human being is born spiritually dead and is headed for certain eternal condemnation—why should anyone give Jesus Christ a second thought?

A crucial component of being dead in sin is the delusion of our own basic goodness. All but those who are insane realize that they are not perfect.  The problem lies with the fatal error that our less-than-perfectness doesn’t matter!  Well-meaning Christians, in an attempt to get people to “accept the Lord,” present the Savior as the remedy for any one of a number of lesser problems from which we suffer.  Jesus will give your life purpose. Jesus will help you overcome additions.  Jesus will be your friend.  Jesus will fix your relational, social, and/or financial problems. Etc., etc., etc.

While becoming a Christian will impact all of those things, Jesus came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21)!  He is the one and only remedy for the horrifying fact that no one is perfect, and the end result of being less than perfect—as God in Heaven is perfect—is eternal condemnation.

That said, I sincerely fear for those who have “accepted” the Band-Aid Jesus to heals their boo-boos, without any concern regarding sin, death, and Hell!

I am also convinced that the key to understanding our own sinfulness lies solely in understanding God’s holiness—and that final judgment is based on how we stack up against the perfections of God Almighty.

Interestingly, no one can convince others either of God’s holiness or of their sin as the reason to surrender their lives to Jesus for forgiveness.  We must try, being as loving, persuasive, and passionate as we can be, but only the Holy Spirit can raise the spiritually dead to life.  That is why we must also pray—that the Holy Spirit will do what only He can do to swallow this most difficult gospel pill.

The good news of the Gospel is that once a person is born again by the Spirit of God, and forgiven of his or her sins, God graciously declares His people holy and righteous as Christ is holy and righteous—or perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.

Loving neighbors (Pt. 3)

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Matthew 5:43-47

We are to love our neighbors and our enemies. Does that about cover it? Not quite. Scripture also reveals a third general category of people we are to love: the brethren—that is, our brothers and sisters in Christ. No fewer than thirteen times in the five short chapters of 1 John, are we reminded about the special relationship we have with, and are to maintain with, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Here are a few points worth pondering on this subject.

Believers have two families: our earthly families and our spiritual families. Our earthly families include biological relatives, in-laws, and sometimes people who are special to us, though they are neither biological, nor in-laws. We understand our love for these dear ones.

In addition, once we are born again, we are adopted into the family of God in which we are brothers and sisters with all who are in Christ. This family can be understood by two circles. (1) All believers everywhere are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This circle is so large that we obviously do not even know the vast majority—though we will in Heaven. (2) Ideally, all believers should also belong to a smaller community of believers in a local church. This smaller circle is important so that we can love and serve brothers and sisters in tangible ways. (This kind of practical, day to day love is nigh unto impossible with the universal Church because it is so big!)

It has been said that “family are people we love who, if we were not family, we might not even like!” That is sometimes true with biological family. It is definitely true of our family in the Christ! How wonderful it is to love the brethren regardless of what we do not have in common. Why? Because we have the most important, and eternal common bond: Our love for Christ in whom we are one family.

Loving neighbors (Pt. 2)

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Matthew 5:43-47

Jesus raises the bar of the spirit of the Law once again—and He raises it HIGH! Instead of merely loving our neighbors (and by default, hating our enemies), He tells us we are to love our enemies! Talk about counter-intuitive!

Jesus goes on to question just how loving it is to love those who love us. Even thieves (tax-collectors) and religious hypocrites do as much. If we would love as God loves (v.48), we must also love those who are our enemies.

Romans 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

It is important to make a point of the fact that loving does not mean we agree with, endorse, or even or like what our enemies do. God loves us but He hates our sin. Likewise, contrary to modern delusions, disagreeing with what someone (and even hating ones destructive actions), does not mean we hate the people who do such things. For instance, we are not Islamiphobes for opposing Islamic terrorism. Neither are we homophobes or transphobes for agreeing with God that their actions are sinfully destructive. But we are to love these people. It is not a love of affirmation but of compassion. We must pray that God would grant sinners hearts of repentance (regardless of their sin).

And note from Jesus’ words about the fact that God gives both the sun and the rain even to those who hate Him. This encourages us to love in practical every-day ways.

We must give the lost the gospel, but we must also demonstrate God’s love toward them.

Next time: Brothers, neighbors, and enemies.

Loving neighbors (Pt. 1)

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Matthew 5:43-47

This passage is the last of Jesus’ illustrations intended to show the contrast between the letter and the spirit of the Law. We are familiar with the phrase, “Save the best for last.” Jesus was doing just that in this passage, because (according to Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39), loving God and loving our neighbors are the first and second in the order of greatest commandments.

In this post I want to use Jesus’ words in (v.43) to point out the serious danger in adding to the Word of God. The bald fact is the words “and hate your enemy,” are not in the Law! Remember, Jesus said "You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' They had heard this misrepresentation of God Law, but they had not heard it from God’s Law. Why? God’s Law does not say that!

How many of us believe the Bible says this or that, when the Bible says no such thing! This is why we need to know the Bible, not what people say the Bible says. The Bible—not what preachers, podcasts, or our devotional books say.

This is why we need not only to memorize scripture, but it is why memorizing scripture with word-perfect accuracy is so vitally important. It is dangerous to not know what the Bible says, but even more dangerous to know what the Bible says—inaccurately!

Justice (& generosity) (Pt. 4)

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. Matthew 5:38-42

Let’s talk about what the attitude of grace Jesus was talking about looks like. In a word: Generosity. The last three sentences of the passage are about generosity (as opposed to stinginess!).

While Jesus doesn’t want us to be duped by dishonest people seeking to con us out of our possessions, He wants us to be generous with those who are in need. Sometimes such generosity will cost us our Dignity (turning the other cheek); Comfortability (giving up our coat); Liberty (going the extra mile); or our Property (lending/giving to those in need).

Has not Jesus laid all these aside to save us? Let us follow His supreme example.

Justice (Pt. 3)

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. Matthew 5:38-42

Having considered justice, vengeance, and restitution, what about turning the other cheek?

First, in context, “turning the other cheek” is related to the subject of justice. Jesus’ words about turning the other cheek emphasizes our attitudes when wronged. One commentator wrote that we should “be willing to suffer loss yourself rather than cause another to suffer.” This was repeated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11.

Second, the attitude of turning the other cheek applies to how individuals relate to each other, not to civil laws regarding society’s God-given responsibility to punish evildoers (Romans 13:1-4). Personal vigilantism, however, is resolutely disallowed.

Third, Jesus is not disallowing an individual from protecting oneself, and/or others, from violent assaults. Though not using the words “self-defense,” Exodus 22 makes allowances for defending one’s property (and person). While one is not to go beyond defending one’s property (and person), there is even an exemption from guilt if one kills an intruder at night while defending one’s property (and person).

Again, we must not read Jesus’ illustrative words of application to the principle of justice, adding more letters of the law. What we must do is understand the heart attitude Jesus was calling disciples to be marked by.

Justice (Pt. 2)

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. Matthew 5:38-42

Last time we considered the difference between justice and vengeance (or retribution). We said it is not right to seek damages that amount to more than the actual loss that was suffered.

But wait! God’s law does require that restitution be paid to the one who suffered a loss in addition to the actual loss. Is this a contradiction? It is not a contradiction. What is the difference between restitution and vengeance (or retribution)?

Vengeance (retribution) is a way for the party that was wronged to wrong the other party in return. This is disallowed by God because vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19), not to us.

Biblical Restitution is not wrong for at least three reasons: (1) God commands it in several places in the Law (e.g., Exodus 12-22, Leviticus 6, and others). (2) It is written into the Law with prescribed limitations disallowing a person to seek exorbitant sums for relatively minor losses under the auspices of so-called “pain and suffering.” (3) It penalizes the wrong-doer to drive home the point that “crime does not pay.”

I read and recommend a great article entitled 5 Principles of Biblical Restitution. I’ve include the five points below and encourage you to read the entire article (it is not long) by Clicking Here.

1. Offenses requiring restitution are not only horizontal but vertical.

2. Offenses requiring restitution are direct and measurable.

3. Restitution cannot replace repentance.

4. Restitution assumes personal property exists.

5. Restitution doesn’t replace atonement.

Justice (Pt.1)

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. Matthew 5:38-42

The next legal letter of the law v. the spirit of the law that Jesus tackles is the difference between justice v. vengeance. Simply restated, Jesus warned that the letter of the law that says, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH,' must not be misunderstood as “make sure you get even—and possibly beyond even.” Instead, it is to be understood as a limit beyond which we may never go.

Human nature desires justice. Why? Because we are created in the image of God who is perfectly righteous. Fallen human nature desires more than justice. We often want more than to justly get even. We vengefully want revenge. You hit me once, I want to hit you back twice. You steal a dollar from me, I want five dollars in return. God’s law about an eye for an eye allows justice, but not revenge.

What do you think about a case when a person slips on a wet floor in a restaurant, and sues for a million dollars to compensate for “pain and suffering? More important that what you or I may think, what does God think?

The law did make provision for restitution with interest. We’ll consider that next time.

To swear or not to swear?

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew, chapter five, is largely about understanding the spirit of God’s law, rather than merely the letter of it. I pray we all understand by now that Jesus did not come to abolish the law (5:17-20). In fact, the spirit of the law makes the law stricter than does the letter.

Having compared the spirit and letter of the law regarding anger, lust, and divorce, Jesus turned to the subject of oaths. The word swearing in this passage does not refer to the use of profanity, but of oaths. What had been said, both in God’s Word and “to those of old,” is simple: (a) Do not swear an oath falsely, and (b) Fulfill the oaths you take. Simple, and presumably obvious.

Jesus raised the bar by saying, “do not take oaths at all.” Just say what you mean, mean what you say, and do as you said you would do. It is a shame, really, that we can say all sorts of things, with or without the least intention of honoring what we have said. Then, when we want someone to really believe us, we swear that we are telling the truth. Wouldn’t everyone be better off if our word was so reliable that there was no need to swear oaths? In other words: “Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'”

Jesus also addressed the fact that we commonly add all manner of provisions to our oaths. Jesus reminded His disciples of some of the silly variations in their day (v.34-36). In our day people say things like: “I swear on my mother’s grave,” and other absurd wordplays. This foolishness not only means we really mean it, but that we really, really mean it! Again how much better if we merely did as we say we would do?

One wise man said, “The more words a man uses to convince us that he is telling the truth, the more suspicious we should be that he is not.”

Does this mean that it is wrong, for example, to swear to tell the truth in court, or to make vows when entering into a marriage covenant? No, it does not. It is understood that in such particularly weighty and official circumstances, oaths are appropriate. Such oaths are a reminder to all parties involved that the unvarnished truth is expected and that there are consequences for defaulting on such oaths.

I particularly like Solomon’s word in Ecclesiastes regarding oaths:

Ecclesiastes 5:2-5 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool's voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed-- 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.