Tag: Sanctification

Transformation In The Kingdom

(c)iStockphoto.com/cathykeifer

Transformation is one of the hallmarks of the kingdom of God. Jesus redeems us and then begins to sanctify us, transforming us into His image.  Also, Jesus became man, busting up into history to plant the kingdom seeds that would ultimately change the world. He now sits at the right hand of God the Father waiting for us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to transform the world into the place He intended it to be. In short, Jesus changes us so we can change the world.

One of the great transformation stories in the New Testament is that of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  They must have been an interesting pair. Their nickname was Sons of Thunder. I suspect this was because they were zealous, aggressive, ambitious and competitive.  Once, when a Samaritan village refused to accept Jesus, James and John asked Jesus if He wanted them to call down fire from heaven and destroy the village. (Luke 9:54). Another time, they asked Jesus (through their mother) if, in Jesus’ kingdom, they could sit on his right and left. (Matthew 20:20-23).

Yet later, after Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, and after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they apparently underwent a change. They were still zealous and aggressive. They both risked martyrdom because they refused to stop preaching the Gospel. But there is evidence they had acquired a profound humility.

Church historian Eusebius, writing in the early 300’s A.D. notes that after Jesus’ resurrection, when it came time to pick a leader of the church in Jerusalem, rather than advocate for themselves, James and John recommended James “the Just”, the brother of Jesus, be appointed. In other words, in just a few short years, the brothers who asked to sit on Jesus’ right and left in His kingdom had become so humble they refused to even suggest they be appointed as leader of the local church. It’s change like that, multiplied across peoples and generations that adds up to a changed world. GS

How You Respond To Adversity Matters

The first century Stoic writer, Seneca, made this comment about Christians:  “In the midst of the flame and the rack, I have seen men not only not groan, that is little; not only not complain, that is little; not only not answer back, that is too little; but I have seen them smile, and smile with a good heart.” Seneca was not a Christian, but he was watching Christians and he noticed a difference.

There is something to be said for style in enduring adversity.  I blogged on this point some time ago in relation to the martyrdom of Polycarp. The Apostle Peter said trials give the Christian the opportunity for demonstrating the “proof of your faith.” (I Peter 1:6-7).  The quote from Seneca above shows that that proof is not just for the believer but also for non-Christians who are watching.

Next time you are going through a tough time, remember that others are watching you. You are an ambassador for the kingdom of God and it’s King, Jesus.  What proof will you give them of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you? GS

Pee-Wee Herman Speaks Truth

“You don’t want to get messed up with a guy like me.  I’m a loner, Dottie, a rebel.”  These are the words of Pee-wee Herman, spoken in his Oscar-worthy performance in the classic drama, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. The line is funny because it drips with irony and is delivered dead-pan by the innocent man-child in the gray suit and bow tie.  Though not intended as such, the line is also Truth.

We (Pee-wee included) are all rebels, and it starts from the day we are born.  We come out of the womb crying, not out of empathy for our mother and the pain she just endured in giving birth but because we want our needs to be met.

This continues for years until we learn to mask our self-centerdness with superficial social skills.  Though we try not to show it, we still believe we are the center of the universe. We believe, like Donald Miller who wrote in Blue Like Jazz, “Life was a story about me because I was in every scene.  In fact, I was the only one in every scene.”

Our selfishness is rebellion toward God because it puts us and our desires before Him.  And we are all guilty.  We are all rebels, including Pee-wee.

Fortunately, we don’t have to stay that way.  Jesus said, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” (John 12:25).  By dying to ourselves and surrendering to Jesus we take ourselves off the throne of our lives and put Jesus there, where He belongs.  We denounce our rebellion and come into agreement with Jesus regarding His identity and lordship.  We cease from being enemies of the kingdom of God and pledge our loyalty to King Jesus. It is only then, in response to Pee-wee’s famous rebel declaration, that we can say to him, “I know you are but what am I?” GS

Righteousness & Competence

In the United States we’ve had some seemingly good Christian men who were not good Presidents, and we’ve had some seemingly bad men who were very good Presidents. Having just finished reading several books on the Byzantine Empire I think it would be easy to prove the same point there, as it would be in the market place, the arts, athletics and just about any other field.

Some of you reading this post may be thinking, “Yeah, so what? What does one have to do with the other?” Others of you understand why this perplexes me as a Christian.

If righteousness is the act of being and acting rightly, i.e in accordance with Truth, then it seems that should translate into success or excellence for Christians in their earthly endeavors. The reality is that a different common denominator is found in those who tend to succeed in earthly endeavors–competence. It seems that competence trumps righteousness.

In fact, I think one can confidently say that all other things being equal, competence is probably the best indicator of whether one will be successful in life.  And yet competence is not righteousness.  Or is it?

We think of righteousness as being limited to morality, i.e. acting right morally. But why should it be so limited? Why shouldn’t righteousness extend to areas of our lives other than ethics? To put it another way, maybe everything is moral. And if everything is moral, then competence is righteousness.

I don’t mean to suggest being excellent at what you do is your pass to heaven. I do mean to suggest that competence is part of righteousness in the same way that temperance, discretion, kindness and selflessness are constituent elements of righteousness.

In the Parable of Talents, Jesus commended the competence of those servants who took their master’s money and turned it into more money.  He did more than commend, He called the servant who failed with his masters money–who was incompetent–“wicked.” (Matthew 25:14-30).  If I am correct, it shouldn’t surprise us then that Jesus’ followers said of Him, “Behold, He does all things well.” (Mark 7:37).

I don’t know, it’s just a thought, but it makes sense to me. GS

Confessions Of A Former Legalist

I used to be pretty legalistic, a sort of modern-day Pharisee; I probably still am in some ways and don’t realize it, but I’m doing better now.

The Apostle Paul warned the Colossians about being legalistic.  He asked them why, if they were Christians, did they submit themselves to such religious laws as “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (Col. 2:21).  Paul told the Colossians such rules have “the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion” but are of “no value against fleshly indulgence.  (Col. 2:23).  In other words, they look to others like a form of religion but they are spiritually useless.

When I was in law school, it dawned on me that some of the religious rules Christians keep really have nothing to do with true holiness.  They were matters of conscience, nothing more. (They do give religious people a way to monitor the supposed religiosity of others). As Paul said, they are “self-made” and don’t make one more like Jesus, which is the ultimate goal.

My wake-up call came when another law student, who was not a Christian, told me he figured I was a Christian because I didn’t drink.  Ugh!  The weird thing was my abstinence from alcohol was one of the things that made me feel confident I was a Christian.  It was a self-made rule I picked up somewhere, nothing more.

I decided from that day on I wanted to be recognized as a Christian because I was Christ-like, not because I kept arbitrary religious rules that had nothing to do with true holiness.  After all, is that the message Christians want to send to the unchurched, that being a Jesus-follower means keeping a bunch of self-made rules?  If the kingdom of God does not consist in eating and drinking (Rom. 14:17), neither does it consist in not eating and drinking.

That’s my confession.  Hope it helps you on your journey. GS