Freedom Through Law

Tuesday Night Truth (T.N.T.) starts up tonight at Campus Life (7:00 - 8:30 pm). Throughout this fall we will be exploring the truth about God's law and the freedom we can experience through it.

Some might say, "'Freedom' and 'Law' don't go together! 'Freedom' means I get to do what I want and rules just get in the way of that." I'm not going to say that following God's law is always easy (actually, it's rarely easy), but let me ask this question: which is better, life with rules or life without rules?

But before anyone says, "I would much rather live without any rules holding me back," stop and think for a moment. If there are no rules, who is to say what is right and what is wrong? For instance, who's to say that it's wrong for someone to take something that's yours? Who is going to stop someone else from beating you up (or worse) just because they don't like you?

How much fun would it be to live in fear of what someone else might do to you? Yeah, you will be able to do whatever you want . . . as long as someone bigger and stronger doesn't come along and do whatever he wants to you.

That's why we don't live in anarchy. We make rules and laws and assign people to enforce them so we can sleep at night knowing that there is some sense of justice in the society.

I would also add that God doesn't really stop people from doing what they want. Obviously, if God immediately punished everyone who broke one of His commandments, none of us would probably be around anymore. God may give us laws, but we always have a choice about whether we'll follow them or not. So if you want to go and do your own thing, you have that option . . . but there will be consequences.

Just like parents give their kids rules to guide them, God's law is meant to guide us away from things that can hurt us. However, the guide can always be ignored. Parents tell their kids not to eat too much junk food, but they do it anyway and get a stomach ache. Some continue to do it their whole lives and have heart attacks or other health problems. Or parents may say not to play in the street, but kids do it anyway and get hit by cars.In the same way, God tells us not to lie. But people do it anyway and wonder why nobody trusts them. He tells us not to covet or steal. But people do it anyway and wonder why they always want more. He tells us not to have sex outside of marriage. But people do it anyway and wonder why they have dysfunctional families.

As C. S. Lewis puts it, "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right then, have it your way.'" While "bad" things still happen to "good" people, there are all kinds of problems that can be avoided in life by simply following God's commands.

If you look closely at God's laws, you'll see that He's simply telling us the best possible way to live while protecting us from a life that we really don't want. If you don't believe me, let me ask you another question: how are things working out for you doing things your way?

Ask, Seek, Knock

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

Do you want answers? Do you want the Truth? Well, perhaps you can't handle the truth. You say you want to be closer to God, to know Him better, but how much effort do you put into seeking Him?

I believe that God could simply grant us wisdom and knowledge and make us understand how much He loves us and what He wants for our lives. But I also think that the reason He doesn't do that is because He wants us to seek Him out. So the real question is: How hard are you willing to look to find God?

Most people don't look very hard at all and then complain that God doesn't reveal Himself anymore. The problem is we've gotten lazy. I know people who complain about the effort it takes to get up and walk to the other side of a room. How are they going to put forward the effort to read their Bibles, pray, and seek after God day after day?

If you have experienced frustration in your spiritual life, don't lose hope. Matthew 7:7-8 tells us that those who continue to ask, seek, and knock will eventually be rewarded. If it seems like you're not growing even when you read your Bible and pray every day, it might be a test of your desire. God may be waiting to see how badly you want Him in your life.

Those who give up reading their Bibles after a week don't get much out of it. God reveals Himself to those who REALLY try to find Him. How hard are you trying?
If you would rather be lazy and just slide through life, God won't stop you. But you will never find Him that way. However, if you take the time seek God and get to know Him, you will never regret it. Nothing else could be a better use of your time.

God is waiting for you to find Him. He WANTS you to find Him. But how hard will you look?

Attitude Problem

I've never really considered myself to be someone with a "bad attitude." I try to cooperate with people and usually avoid causing problems with others. Even when I have to do something I don't enjoy, I stay pretty upbeat and positive. My wife tells me that I'm one of the most patient people she knows. But despite all this, I have a major attitude problem . . . it's one we all share.

While being cooperative and easygoing might help me in my relationships with other people, God's standard is much higher. As soon as we think we are "good enough" in some way, that is the time to watch out. Get into God's Word to see what He really asks of us.

Philippians 2:3-4 tells us, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Sure, I get along with other people, but do I consider them better than myself? Even when I am nice and polite to someone, I might be thinking in the back of my mind, "I'm smarter than this person," or "My manners are better than his/hers," or "This person isn't as humble as I am," or "I'm right, he/she is wrong."
And when do I NOT act out of selfish ambition?! Sure, I can be kind to others and I can work hard at my job, but when I'm on my own time, my choices almost always reflect my own interests. I choose to do things that will bring ME joy: I watch TV shows that I like, I play sports because I enjoy it, I read a book because I find it interesting. One could even argue that I am nice to others because it's easier for me to deal with people if I can get them to like me. And almost everyone who works hard at their job hopes to get at least some kind of reward or recognition for it (never mind that it's how they earn money).

This is the problem with reading the Bible . . . it tells us to do things that seem impossible. How am I supposed to do nothing out of selfish ambition? Every time we make a choice we choose what will be best for us. Even our decision to follow Jesus is made because we would rather go to heaven than hell. We would rather have God's love and truth than the corruption and lies of this world.

And how do I consider someone better than me if I know I'm smarter, faster, stronger, etc.? Sure, I think some people are better than I am: like police officers, firemen, soldiers, and other courageous people I could mention. But then again, I bet most of them curse, smoke, and/or drink and I don't do any of that so maybe . . . Oops, there I go again.

Perhaps if we read a little further in Philippians we can understand this problem better. Verses 5-8 say this:

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

The world says that as long as you're not bothering others, then what you choose to do is your own business. But that is not what God says. It's not enough to just live and let live. It's not enough for me to be nice to other people; I need to look out for their interests! It's not enough for me to make sure I don't do "bad" things; I need to make sure I act out of humility 24/7 and that my actions glorify God.

This takes a huge attitude adjustment! "Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus." He was God come in the form of a man; He was definitely better than everyone else. But He became a servant, which means His purpose was not to enjoy Himself. His purpose was to serve (and ultimately die for) others.Here is our attitude problem: we think our purpose is to be entertained. We go through life trying to have fun. If it's fun, if it's funny or entertaining, then it's good. But this is not the attitude God wants us to have because this is not our purpose. Our purpose to serve God and others! The sooner we get that through our minds, the sooner we will be able to live the way the Bible tells us.

The next time you are bored, don't think, "How can I have more fun?" Instead, remember that your purpose is to serve and find a way to serve someone. Do a chore that you weren't told to do. Make something for someone else, perhaps a meal. Help someone with their homework. Agree to do something with your family cheerfully even when you'd rather do something else. There are a million ways you can serve; if you try to find them, you will.

If you find yourself asking, "What's in it for me?" that's the old attitude talking. If you truly consider others better than yourself, then what you want isn't as important as what they want. Remember, your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus. He never said, "I'm God, I don't have to serve these people! They don't even appreciate what I do!" This adjustment is hard, but if you ask God to help you, He will.

In the end the choice is yours, though. Will you let go of your pride and accept your purpose to serve others no matter what? I'll tell you a little secret: there's a reward for your service when this life is over.

How to be Saved

Maybe you've heard about Jesus and Christianity, but no one has ever really explained to you how to become a Christian and be saved from your sin. Perhaps you think you are a Christian, but if anyone ever asked you what that means you would get tongue-tied. Either way, I would encourage you to keep reading.

First of all, I want to make it clear that there are no magic words or secret formulas to be saved and go to heaven. Becoming a Christian is a matter of the heart; saying words you don't mean is useless. That being said, many people do use a method called the Romans Road to Salvation as a way to explain the process of salvation to others. It's not the only way to explain how to become a Christian, but it is helpful, clear, and fairly simple.The book of Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament (the second part of the Bible). Paul, the author of this book, talks a lot about sin, salvation, and living a new life as Christians. While the Romans Road focuses on key verses, I would suggest reading the entire book to gain the full meaning.The first stop on the Romans Road is in chapter three, where Paul reminds us that we are all sinners and separated from God. Part of being saved is repenting from sin and asking God for forgiveness. This means you will have to admit to God you have done wrong and can't fix it.

Romans 3:10-12 – “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’”

And in Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”Paul is saying that we as humans are not good by nature. We have all done wrong in our lives and we have separated ourselves from God who is perfectly good and the only source of life. Therefore, our sin leads to death.

Romans 6:23a – “For the wages of sin is death;"
Even though God is a loving God, He is also just and can't simply let us off the hook for sinning. He may be all-powerful, but He is also perfect and holy and will not break His own rules. There are consequences for our sin and God must punish all sin. However, the rest of Romans 6:23 has good news for us.

Romans 6:23b – "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Where does this gift of eternal life come from? This is the second stop on the Romans Road. We must understand how God made a way for us to be with Him. He had to punish our sin, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take it on Himself. The penalty for sin is death, so Jesus died for our sin so that we would not have to.

Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Now our lives on earth will still come to an end. But when we die, we can either have life in heaven with God or we will spend eternity apart from Him in hell, which is the worst form of death: existence apart from God who is the source of all life, hope, goodness, love, etc.

The third step is to accept the gift that God offers us. Even though Jesus died for everyone's sin, we can still choose to reject Him. He will only save those who want to be saved. So if you are not willing to admit you need His help, you will not be saved. Please, don't slap away the hand that God has offered to pull you to safety.Romans 10:9-10 tells us “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

And Romans 10:13 says, “for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

All you have to do is believe in your heart that 1.) Jesus was who He said He was: the Son of God and 2.) that His sacrifice paid for your sin. If you believe that His death on the cross and resurrection is what saves you from sin rather than your own good works, then call out to Jesus to save you and He will. Put your faith in His ability to save you rather than your own.

Once you have done this, your new life has already begun. Now comes step four: assurance of salvation.

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

These verses tell us that we don't have to worry about what will happen to us. Even though we have sinned, if we have put our faith in Christ we are now justified and God will not condemn us. And nothing anyone does or says, no matter what happens in this life, you can be sure that you will go to be with God forever when this life is over.

Furthermore, you no longer have to live a life of sin like the rest of the world. Those who do not understand what God has done for them still live according to their own sinful desires and try everything they can to find happiness. But once we have received God's forgiveness and the assurance of our salvation. Thus, step five is to live a life of obedience and holiness. Even though we usually do not like people telling us how to live, God will only tell us to do what is best for us. Obeying God will always work out well for you in the end.
Romans 6:20-22 – “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

No matter who you are, where you are, where you come from, or what you have done you can always be saved. There is nowhere you can go where God cannot reach you. Don't even think that there is any sin you could have committed that He cannot forgive. Your sin is not stronger than His grace; do not insult His ability to save.

Do not underestimate the power of Jesus, but do not overestimate your own ability either. Do not assume that everything will work out for you if you have not put your life in His hands. Nothing you do will impress God and He will not make exceptions. One way or another, your sin will be punished. Do you want to pay for it or will you let Jesus handle it for you?

The Contagious Christian

How does a fire spread? What makes the flame pass from one thing to the next? The simple answer: heat. If you get something hot enough, it will usually burst into flame. Once the fire is started, it will spread to virtually anything it touches.

Christianity is like a fire. As long as the Gospel of Jesus Christ touches unbelievers, it will continue to spread throughout the world. The fire started in Israel with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and it spread as His disciples took His story all over the world, telling everyone who would listen. This process has continued for 2000 years and it's still burning and spreading today.

So how can you spread the Gospel like a wildfire? Well, first of all, you need to be hot enough. How do you get hot? You need to be in the fire. The Bible describes God as a consuming fire (Exod. 24:17; Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29). He burns bright and hot; He shows us the truth and consumes our impurities. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. If we do not stay close to God, any flame we have will go out.

As Jesus tells us in John 15:4, "Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." You cannot effectively share the truth, love, and power of Jesus Christ if you do not remain in Him. You don't have what it takes by yourself; His flame needs to be in you and it needs to be fed every day. So the first step to being a contagious Christian is to have a saving faith in Jesus Christ that is actively growing every day.

Secondly, once you have that flame burning within you, you need to take it to others. This may sound simple, but it means that you have to get close enough for those around you to see the light and feel the heat inside you. Just because you sit next to someone every day in school does not mean that you are "close." In order to be close to someone, you have to know each other on a personal level. Usually this means being friends.Yes, I am implying that you become friends with people who are not Christians. Otherwise, they likely won't see the depth of your faith in God. If you keep people at a distance, the flame that God has sparked in you will not pass to them. You may be wondering, "Won't non-Christians have a bad influence on me?" It's certainly possible, but if you remain in Jesus, He will keep your paths straight and the evil in the world will not lead you astray.

As the song says, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine." If we are going to let our lights shine, we have to make sure they stay lit. We need to stay connected to God. And if we are going to pass our light on to others, we need to hold it close them. The world may not like our light, our flame may singe and burn, but they need it to be saved. Don't keep your light from them.

The Fight of Your Life

“[F]aith will fight anything that gets between it and Christ. The distinguishing mark of saving faith is not perfection. The mark of faith is not that I never sin . . . The mark of faith is that I fight. I fight anything that dims my sight of Jesus as my glorious Savior. I fight anything that diminishes the fullness of the lordship of Jesus in my life. I fight anything that threatens to replace Jesus as the supreme Treasure of my life. Anything that stands between me and receiving Jesus faith fights – not with fists or knives or guns or bombs, but with the truth of Christ.” - John Piper

Do you have a survivor's instinct? If you are like a lot of people, you probably don't know because you have never been tested. For the most part, we lead pretty safe lives. Some of us might live a little more dangerously than others, but we typically don't go through our days fearing for our lives.

Perhaps you wrestled or boxed or you have been in a fight with a bully. But consider trying to fight off something or someone that has every intention of killing you? If you have never faced something like that, it's difficult to imagine because we aren't used to our lives being threatened in this country.
Maybe you've been rock climbing and you know what it's like to hang off a cliff 40+ feet in the air. But what if you had no rope or harness? It's no longer just a sport, it's a do-or-die situation.

As long as there are rules, safety measures, referees, etc., it's just a challenge. But once your life is put on the line everything changes . . . you are in a fight to the death. There are no rules; there are no style points; there is no second place; there is no such thing as fighting fair or fighting dirty. Adrenaline and panic set in as you go into survival mode. Your Fight-or-Flight response is preparing you fight harder, run faster, or hold tighter than you ever thought you could . . . because if you don't, you're dead.

What if you didn't realize the danger? What if your Fight-or-Flight mechanism never got a chance to kick in? That's where the phrase, "Like a lamb to the slaughter," comes from. Everyday, your faith, your spiritual life, is threatened and you probably don't even know it!
If God is the air that your faith needs to breathe, then Satan is the assassin holding you under water to drown you. He will do anything he can to keep you cut off from your life support. As long as Satan can keep you separated from God, you are not a threat to him because your faith will be dead.

If you don't fight, if you don't resist, your faith will shrivel up and die. Are you going to just lie there and let Satan suffocate you? Or are you going to kick, bite, scratch, and scream out to God for help? I encourage you today to choose to fight! Fight against temptation, laziness, deception, and anything else that separates you from the love and grace of God. Read His Word everyday so that you will be equipped with His truth and pray for God's Holy Spirit to empower you to do what is right. And never give up! Never stop fighting!

Read, Pray, Grow!

Whether you call it Quiet Time or Daily Devotions, I'm sure many of you have heard about the importance of praying and reading your Bible everyday. Most Christians know that these two things are really important for growing in their faith and in their relationship with God. But if we know these things are such a big deal, why do so many of us find it difficult to pray and read our Bibles each day?

Usually we say we are too busy, but that has to be the lamest excuse in the world! I know because I have hidden behind it myself. The truth is that we all make time for what is important to us. Of course there are days when school or work gets so out of hand that we hardly have time to eat or sleep, but those are usually rare and can be prevented if we manage our time well. On an average day, we all have time to crack open a Bible and read a few verses. We also have time to talk to a God who is always with us. All you have to do is start talking wherever you are!

These are two very simple things! And that might be part of the problem. They're so simple that we don't believe it actually makes a difference whether we do them or not. I can relate to that. Perhaps you've tried to read a chapter of the Bible each day and yet you continue to struggle with the same sins over and over. Maybe you've prayed for God to heal someone and he or she never got better. But we need to understand that reading our Bibles and praying to God are not supposed to be the means to get what we want.

God has given us His Word so that we can know who He is and do what He has called us to do. Like James says, we shouldn't just read the word; we should also do what it says (James 1:22). And it's not like we have to read for an hour every day. Some times reading just a few verses is plenty of instruction for one day. But don't stop there! Read a few more the next day, and the day after that, etc. You don't have to master the whole Bible in a month or a year! Obeying the Lord is a lifetime commitment; it's ok to take things one step at a time.

The same thing is true for when you pray. Jesus told us not to worry about using a lot of words when we talk to God; (Matthew 6:7) we certainly aren't going to impress Him with any fancy words. Yes, He is the all-powerful God who created the universe and He deserves the utmost respect. But He is also your friend who loves you and wants to hear from you. Talk to Him throughout the day. Tell Him what you are worried about and ask Him for help; tell Him what you are happy about and thank Him for the many ways He has blessed you. As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "pray continually." That doesn't mean you have to stay on your knees all day with your hands folded and your eyes tightly shut. But know that God is always with you, wherever you go, and you can talk to Him throughout the day.

So I challenge you to make Scripture and Prayer part of your daily lifestyle. It won't work you just try it out for a little while. You need to make a commitment and actually live this way for the rest of your life. That kind of change isn't easy. But if you stick with it and continually ask God to work in you, I guarantee He will change your life in ways you never thought possible.

You can start now! Just pick a book of the Bible (like Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, Matthew, John, Romans, etc.) and read the first few verses. Don't do it to check it off your to-do list. Find out how God wants you to live and do it! And start making a habit of talking to God throughout the day. He can be your closest friend if you let Him.