Epistle for September 10, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Romans 13:8-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul articulates the same royal law of love (James 2:8) taught by Jesus and later by his brother James.  Jesus declares that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in the commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Here, Paul focuses exclusively on the horizontal expression of the law of love that deals with human relationships.  Interestingly, he argues that the Christian should be free of any sense of indebtedness except the debt of love:

 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This is part of a larger discussion of Christian responsibility.  Paul insists that the grace-filled life of the Christian means true liberty from legalism — but in contrast, he does acknowledge that freedom must be exercised responsibly.  In relation to governing authorities, paying taxes, honor and respect to those in authority, Paul says this:

Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake (Romans 13:5).

Thus the Christian, though free, is still to live as a responsible and conscientious citizen of the city or nation in which he or she may find themselves.

Paul’s next discussion of the law of love in relation to the Mosaic law is interesting.  We are reminded that he has presented a very nuanced view of the Mosaic law throughout the theological portion of Romans, arguing that the law is holy and just and good but also arguing that the law itself has no power to save us, nor can anyone except Jesus perfectly fulfill the law.

But the Christian who has been saved by grace through faith, and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is also empowered to love.  And all of the Mosaic law, including the Ten Commandments are fulfilled in the law of love:

 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

It is important to note that this law regarding love of neighbor is an Old Testament law from Leviticus 19:18. Paul has never repudiated the law and the prophets, only their false interpretations.  Note also that the four commandments Paul specifically cites from the Decalogue relate to our horizontal relationships with other human beings.

And there is an urgency to his exhortations about how Christians are to live.  His view of time is eschatological.  One doesn’t know when time will end, so it is imperative to live well:

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, and the day is near.

Paul is not engaging in any apocalyptical speculation so rampant today.  He is simply stating the obvious — that every day one is closer to the end of the age. And that day is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is a call to wakefulness and awareness, because, as Jesus teaches:

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes… Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:42,44).

In light of this awareness, that the day is near, Paul exhorts us:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

His imagery contrasts night and day, with darkness suggesting behavior that is associated with night-time revels (drunkenness and sexual debauchery) as well as interpersonal conflict (strife and jealousy).  And light becomes a palpable thing — the armor of light that we are to put on clothes us with protection.  Indeed, he extends the metaphor, that we are to put on Christ ­— like the light, Christ is to envelop us.

And Paul reminds us of a metaphor that prevails throughout Scripture — we are to walk properly, as in the day.  The imagery of walking with God, and walking in God’s ways, is scattered throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.  And it is readily apparent that walking is far easier in the light than in darkness!  We are to:

 walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7).

We also see the contrast of flesh and spirit, and are reminded of Paul’s earlier declaration:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

Making provision for the flesh and its lusts leads to death; the Spirit leads to life and peace.

APPLY:  

The law of love is at the heart of Christian ethical teaching.  The New Testament appropriation of this principle insists that it sums up all the law and the prophets.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jesus or Paul or James are negating the Old Testament law, but that love is the foundation for obedience to the law.

Do we go to church out of duty, or because we love God? Do we tithe because it is a rule, or because it is a measured means of expressing our love? Do we visit the sick or feed the hungry because we were told to do so, or because we care?  The answer is pretty clear — we do these things, and obey the principles of the law not because they are legalisms, but because they offer guidance in loving God and neighbor.

Augustine of Hippo once said:

Once for all, then, a short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will… let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good (Augustine’s Homily 7 on 1 John 4:4-12).

There is an irrefutable logic here:

• If you love, you won’t commit adultery, which damages entire families, not just the two people involved.
• If you love, you won’t murder — the ultimate unloving act.
• If you love, you won’t steal — depriving someone else of the right to their own property is a selfish, unloving thing to do.
• If you love, you won’t covet — covetousness is the inner root of dissatisfaction that leads to envy and jealousy and lust and disharmony with others and ourselves.

It is impossible to think of an instance when love fails to fulfill the proper regard between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and within our own mind and soul.

The Apostle John sums it up this way:

We love him, because he (God) first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we love, we become most like God.

RESPOND: 

Many years ago when I was in college I had a roommate who had been recently saved.  He was zealous in his church attendance and in his witnessing to others.  But I remember one time having a conversation with him about the love commandments of Jesus, and the commandments of love that permeate all the Scriptures.

He seemed completely puzzled.  This conversation was at least ten years prior to Tina Turner’s troubling song, “What’s love got to do with it?”  But that seemed to be his attitude — what’s love got to do with being a Christian?

I was every bit as puzzled by his attitude as he was by mine.  Christianity without love is like walking in the total darkness of night.  Christianity without love is like living in the world of Fight Club instead of a loving family.  Christianity without love makes religion into a set of rules instead of a Spirit-led walk with God guided by the principle of love.

When we forget to love as God has loved us, we forget that we too have been those unlovely and unlovable selfish broken creatures for whom Christ died:

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Our Lord, your command to love is inspiring, but impossible without your love living and working in and through us.  May we walk in your light and bring others into your light as well. Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"Romans 13:12" by ~Pawsitive~Candie_N is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for August 28, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The writer of Hebrews is coming to the conclusion of his sermon/letter. The letter of Hebrews compares and contrasts the sacrificial system of the Old Testament with its consummation in the high priestly sacrifice of Christ. In today’s Lectionary reading, he makes practical exhortations about how Christians are to live together.

First and foremost is the foundation of all Christian ethics, consistent with the teaching of Jesus, Paul, James, John and Jude:

Let mutual love continue.

All other ethical and moral teachings in the New Testament flow from love.

Appropriately, they are encouraged to offer hospitality to strangers as an expression of generous love.  However, there is a little extra incentive offered in this case:

for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

There are solid Biblical grounds for this claim.  Abraham offered a feast to three strangers by the oaks of Mamre who turned out to be angels — and who gave Abraham and Sarah the astounding news that they would be parents even at their well-advanced age (Genesis 18:1-5).  Lot, Abraham’s nephew, welcomes two of these same angels into his home in Sodom, fearful for their safety in that wicked town.  In turn, the angels protected Lot and his family from the wicked Sodomites (Genesis 19:1-22).

Hebrews next encourages them to remember those who are in prison and tortured.  Jesus emphasizes ministry to those who are in prison (Matthew 25:36-39), and Hebrews stressed this earlier in Hebrews 10:34:

For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.

However, there is some nuance here.  While Jesus and the writer of Hebrews might encourage ministry to prisoners in general, there is also an awareness that the Christian community itself was liable to frequent incarceration for their faith.  The apostles and their followers were frequently arrested, tortured, and even executed simply because they were Christians.

This is consistent with the warning of Jesus:

But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name (Luke 21:12).

No doubt, part of the mutual love that Hebrews has in mind is ministry to their Christian brothers and sisters who have been imprisoned and tortured:

But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated (Hebrew 10:32-33).

They are exhorted to remember those in prison and who are tortured as though they themselves are experiencing the same suffering — vicariously empathizing with them through their prayers and ministry.

Hebrews moves on to family life and sexual morality:    

 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

The Christian ethic doesn’t denigrate healthy sexuality, but celebrates the gift of sexuality in the context of marriage.  The marriage bed is to be honored — but what is it that defiles it?  The clearest answer is the following clause:

for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

These are serious offenses, which God will judge.  Adultery, obviously, is the violation of the marriage covenant by infidelity.  But fornication, from the Greek porneia, literally relates to sex with a prostitute — but as the etymology of the word pornography suggests — it also covers behavior that dishonors the marriage bed by any kind of sexual immorality.

As with other Old Testament and New Testament writers, Hebrews cautions against greed, urging that they:

 be content with what you have…

We hear echoes of 1 Timothy 6:6:

…there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.

And Hebrews provides a rationale for this attitude of non-materialism — they are able to rely on God to supply all their needs:

 for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Hebrews then returns to the corporate sphere of church life:

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

The leaders are to be respected not only because they preach the Gospel, but because of their lifestyle that should be emulated.  Later in this chapter, Hebrews will reinforce this teaching:

 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you (Hebrews 13:17).

Hebrews then adds this clincher about the ultimate leader of the Christian community:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The consistency of Jesus as Savior and Lord is foundational in the Christian faith.  Jesus describes himself in this way:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).

And Hebrews returns to one of the themes of his sermon — as high priest, Jesus leads the people of God into proper intercession and worship:

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Confession of the name of Christ is a primary requirement for inclusion in the church. Today’s Lectionary reading also ends on an exhortation that equates good works together with true worship:

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

APPLY:  

The deep truths that we are taught about the great doctrines of the faith are extremely important.  They are the foundation of our understanding of the Trinity, the nature of Christ as fully God and fully human, salvation, and even the destiny of all created things.

However, how we are to live this Christian life into which we are baptized and which we live by faith is also vitally important.

Hebrews summarizes just some of those practical aspects of Christian life:

• Love is to be our royal law in the community of faith.
• Christians are to offer hospitality to strangers, with no strings attached concerning their ideology, religion, or race.
• We are to have compassion for those in prison, and minister to them.
• We are to honor marriage and maintain sexual purity.
• We are not to love money, but learn the secret of contentment with what we have, trusting in God to take care of us.
• We are to honor our pastors and heed their teaching.
• Conversely, pastors are to live exemplary lives of faith.
• We are to openly confess our faith in Christ, and make sure that our worship is in harmony with our works of mercy.

All of this is grounded first in the love of God revealed for us in Christ Jesus that continues in our lives as we respond to him in love.

RESPOND: 

I am particularly haunted by the phrase:

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

[Note from Celeste: Tom originally wrote this post August 28, 2016, so the following statistics are from then. You can click on the links at the end of this “Respond” section to get current numbers.]

I am haunted by how easy my Christian witness and life are in comparison to those in countries where the freedom of conscience is not tolerated.  According to Open Doors (a global ministry devoted to the persecuted church), 322 Christians a month are killed for their faith.  214 Christian churches or properties are destroyed.  There are 772 acts of violence and exploitation committed against Christians.  Christians in more than 60 nations face persecution from their governments, or as religious minorities by their neighbors.

I pray for these persecuted Christians, because I’m aware that not everyone enjoys the kind of religious liberty that I do.  Hebrews actually urges me to identify with their suffering, as though suffering with them.

I wonder.  How would I stand up to the kind of pressure and discrimination and even violence that so many Christians experience around the world?

Early in 2015 Christian bishops, priests and faithful Christians in beleaguered Mosul, Iraq, sought refuge from the violence and threats of the Islamic State. They pleaded with the world: “Don’t forget us.”

They spoke for persecuted Christians around the world.

For more information on the persecuted church, check out these sites:

Click here for Open Doors USA

Click here for Persecuted Church

Click here for The Voice of the Martyrs

Our Lord, studying the great doctrines of the faith in Scripture is extremely important to me — but I also know that I must hide your word in my heart, and live what I believe.  Help me to live the life of faith — a life of love, hospitality, compassion, and fidelity in marriage.  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"religious freedom" by Imagens Cristas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 6, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Romans 13:8-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul articulates the same royal law of love (James 2:8) taught by Jesus and later by his brother James.  Jesus declares that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in the commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Here, Paul focuses exclusively on the horizontal expression of the law of love that deals with human relationships.  Interestingly, he argues that the Christian should be free of any sense of indebtedness except the debt of love:

 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This is part of a larger discussion of Christian responsibility.  Paul insists that the grace-filled life of the Christian means true liberty from legalism — but in contrast, he does acknowledge that freedom must be exercised responsibly.  In relation to governing authorities, paying taxes, honor and respect to those in authority, Paul says this:

Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake (Romans 13:5).

Thus the Christian, though free, is still to live as a responsible and conscientious citizen of the city or nation in which he or she may find themselves.

Paul’s next discussion of the law of love in relation to the Mosaic law is interesting.  We are reminded that he has presented a very nuanced view of the Mosaic law throughout the theological portion of Romans, arguing that the law is holy and just and good but also arguing that the law itself has no power to save us, nor can anyone except Jesus perfectly fulfill the law.

But the Christian who has been saved by grace through faith, and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is also empowered to love.  And all of the  Mosaic law, including the Ten Commandments are fulfilled in the law of love:

 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

It is important to note that this law regarding love of neighbor is an Old Testament law from Leviticus 19:18.  Paul has never repudiated the law and the prophets, only their false interpretations.  Note also that the four commandments Paul specifically cites from the Decalogue relate to our horizontal relationships with other human beings.

And there is an urgency to his exhortations about how Christians are to live.  His view of time is eschatological.  One doesn’t know when time will end, so it is imperative to live well:

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, and the day is near.

Paul is not engaging in any apocalyptical speculation so rampant today.  He is simply stating the obvious — that every day one is closer to the end of the age. And that day is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is a call to wakefulness and awareness, because, as Jesus teaches:

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes…. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:42,44).

In light of this awareness, that the day is near, Paul exhorts us:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

His imagery contrasts night and day, with darkness suggesting behavior that is associated with night-time revels (drunkeness and sexual debauchery) as well as interpersonal conflict (strife and jealousy).  And light becomes a palpable thing — the armor of light that we are to put on clothes us with protection.  Indeed, he extends the metaphor, that we are to put on Christ ­— like the light, Christ is to envelop us.

And Paul reminds us of a metaphor that prevails throughout Scripture  — we are to walk properly, as in the day.  The imagery of walking with God, and walking in God’s ways, is scattered throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.  And it is readily apparent that walking is far easier in the light than in darkness!  We are to:

 walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7).

We also see the contrast of flesh and spirit, and are reminded of Paul’s earlier declaration:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

Making provision for the flesh and its lusts leads to death; the Spirit leads to life and peace.

APPLY:  

The law of love is at the heart of Christian ethical teaching.  The New Testament appropriation of this principle insists that it sums up all the law and the prophets.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jesus or Paul or James are negating the Old Testament law, but that love is the foundation for obedience to the law.

Do we go to church out of duty, or because we love God? Do we tithe because it is a rule, or because it is a measured means of expressing our love? Do we visit the sick or feed the hungry because we were told to do so, or because we care?  The answer is pretty clear — we do these things, and obey the principles of the law not because they are legalisms, but because they offer guidance in loving God and neighbor.

Augustine of Hippo once said:

Once for all, then, a short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will….let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good (Augustine’s Homily 7 on 1 John 4:4-12).

There is an irrefutable logic here:

• If you love, you won’t commit adultery, which damages entire families, not just the two people involved.
• If you love, you won’t murder — the ultimate unloving act.
• If you love, you won’t steal — depriving someone else of the right to their own property is a selfish, unloving thing to do.
• If you love, you won’t covet — covetousness is the inner root of dissatisfaction that leads to envy and jealousy and lust and disharmony with others and ourselves.

It is impossible to think of an instance when love fails to fulfill the proper regard between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and within our own mind and soul.

The Apostle John sums it up this way:

We love him, because he (God) first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we love, we become most like God.

RESPOND: 

Many years ago when I was  in college I had a roommate who had been recently saved.  He was zealous in his church attendance and in his witnessing to others.  But I remember one time having a conversation with him about the love commandments of Jesus, and the commandments of love that permeate all the Scriptures.

He seemed completely puzzled.  This conversation was at least ten years prior to Tina Turner’s troubling song, “What’s love got to do with it?”  But that seemed to be his attitude — what’s love got to do with being a Christian?

I was every bit as puzzled by his attitude as he was by mine.  Christianity without love is like walking in the total darkness of night.  Christianity without love is like living in the world of Fight Club instead of a loving family.  Christianity without love makes religion into a set of rules instead of a Spirit-led walk with God guided by the principle of love.

When we forget to love as God has loved us, we forget that we too have been those unlovely and unlovable selfish broken creatures for whom Christ died:

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Our Lord, your command to love is inspiring, but impossible without your love living and working in and through us.  May we walk in your light and bring others into your light as well. Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"'Put on the Armor of Light' ~ Romans 13:12" by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 1, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The writer of Hebrews is coming to the conclusion of his sermon/letter. The letter of Hebrews compares and contrasts the sacrificial system of the Old Testament with its consummation in the high priestly sacrifice of Christ. In today’s Lectionary reading, he makes practical exhortations about how Christians are to live together.

First and foremost is the foundation of all Christian ethics, consistent with the teaching of Jesus, Paul, James, John and Jude:

Let mutual love continue.

All other ethical and moral teachings in the New Testament flow from love.

Appropriately, they are encouraged to offer hospitality to strangers as an expression of generous love.  However, there is a little extra incentive offered in this case:

for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

There are solid Biblical grounds for this claim.  Abraham offered a feast to three strangers by the oaks of Mamre who turned out to be angels — and who gave Abraham and Sarah the astounding news that they would be parents even at their well-advanced age (Genesis 18:1-5).  Lot, Abraham’s nephew, welcomes two of these same angels into his home in Sodom, fearful for their safety in that wicked town.  In turn, the angels protected Lot and his family from the wicked Sodomites (Genesis 19:1-22).

Hebrews next encourages them to remember those who are in prison and tortured.  Jesus emphasizes ministry to those who are in prison (Matthew 25:36-39), and Hebrews stressed this earlier in Hebrews 10:34:

For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.

However, there is some nuance here.  While Jesus and the writer of Hebrews might encourage ministry to prisoners in general, there is also an awareness that the Christian community itself was liable to frequent incarceration for their faith.  The apostles and their followers were frequently arrested, tortured, and even executed simply because they were Christians.

This is consistent with the warning of Jesus:

But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name (Luke 21:12).

No doubt, part of the mutual love  that Hebrews has in mind is ministry to their Christian brothers and sisters who have been imprisoned and tortured:

But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated (Hebrew 10:32-33).

They are exhorted to remember those in prison and who are tortured as though they themselves are experiencing the same suffering — vicariously empathizing with them through their prayers and ministry.

Hebrews moves on to family life and sexual morality:    

 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

The Christian ethic doesn’t denigrate healthy sexuality, but celebrates the gift of sexuality in the context of marriage.  The marriage bed is to be honored — but what is it that defiles it?  The clearest answer is the following clause:

for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

These are serious offenses, which God will judge.  Adultery, obviously,  is the violation of the marriage covenant by infidelity.  But fornication, from the Greek porneia, literally relates to sex with a prostitute — but as the etymology of the word  pornography suggests — it also covers behavior that dishonors the marriage bed by any kind of sexual immorality.

As with other Old Testament and New Testament  writers, Hebrews cautions against greed, urging that they

 be content with what you have…

We hear echoes of 1 Timothy 6:6:

….there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.

And Hebrews provides a rationale for this attitude of non-materialism — they are able to rely on God to supply all their needs:

 for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Hebrews then returns to the corporate sphere of church life:

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

The leaders are to be respected not only because they preach the Gospel, but because of their lifestyle that should be emulated.  Later in this chapter, Hebrews will reinforce this teaching:

 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you (Hebrews 13:17).

Hebrews then adds this clincher about the ultimate leader of the Christian community:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The consistency of Jesus as Savior and Lord is foundational in the Christian faith.  Jesus describes himself in this way:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).

And Hebrews returns to one of the themes of his sermon — as high priest, Jesus leads the people of God into proper intercession and worship:

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Confession of the name of Christ is a primary requirement for inclusion in the church. Today’s Lectionary reading also ends on an exhortation that equates good works together with true worship:

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

APPLY:  

The deep truths that we are taught about the great doctrines of the faith are extremely important.  They are the foundation of our understanding of the Trinity, the nature of Christ as fully God and fully human, salvation, and even the destiny of all created things.

However, how we are to live this Christian life into which we are baptized and which we live by faith is also vitally important.

Hebrews summarizes just some of those practical aspects of Christian life — that love is to be our royal law in the community of faith; Christians are to offer hospitality to strangers, with no strings attached concerning their ideology, religion, or race; we are to have compassion for those in prison, and minister to them; we are to honor marriage and maintain sexual purity; we are not to love money, but learn the secret of contentment with what we have, trusting in God to take care of us; we are to honor our pastors and heed their teaching; conversely, pastors are to live exemplary lives of faith; and we are to openly confess our faith in Christ, and make sure that our worship is in harmony with our works of mercy.

All of this is grounded first in the love of God revealed for us in Christ Jesus that continues in our lives as we respond to him in love.

RESPOND: 

I am particularly haunted by the phrase:

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

I am haunted by how easy my Christian witness and life are in comparison to those in countries where the freedom of conscience is not tolerated.  According to Open Doors (a global ministry devoted to the persecuted church), 322 Christians a month are killed for their faith.  214 Christian churches or properties are destroyed.  There are 772 acts of violence and exploitation committed against Christians.  Christians in more than 60 nations face persecution from their governments, or as religious minorities by their neighbors.

I pray for these persecuted Christians, because I’m aware that not everyone enjoys the kind of religious liberty that I do.  Hebrews actually urges me to identify with their suffering, as though suffering with them.

I wonder.  How would I stand up to the kind of pressure and discrimination and even violence that so many Christians experience around the world?

Early in 2015 Christian bishops, priests and faithful Christians in beleaguered Mosul, Iraq, sought refuge from the violence and threats of the Islamic State. They pleaded with the world: “Don’t forget us.”

They spoke for persecuted Christians around the world.

For more information on the persecuted church, check out these sites:

Click here for Open Doors USA

Click here for Persecuted Church

Click here for The Voice of the Martyrs

Our Lord, studying the great doctrines of the faith in Scripture is extremely important to me — but I also know that I must hide your word in my heart, and live what I believe.  Help me to live the life of faith — a life of love, hospitality, compassion, and fidelity in marriage.  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"persecuted church" by Imagens Cristas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for September 10, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Romans 13:8-14

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul articulates the same royal law of love (James 2:8) taught by Jesus and later by his brother James.  Jesus declares that all the law and the prophets are fulfilled in the commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

Here, Paul focuses exclusively on the horizontal expression of the law of love that deals with human relationships.  Interestingly, he argues that the Christian should be free of any sense of indebtedness except the debt of love:

 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

This is part of a larger discussion of Christian responsibility.  Paul insists that the grace-filled life of the Christian means true liberty from legalism — but in contrast, he does acknowledge that freedom must be exercised responsibly.  In relation to governing authorities, paying taxes, honor and respect to those in authority, Paul says this:

Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake (Romans 13:5).

Thus the Christian, though free, is still to live as a responsible and conscientious citizen of the city or nation in which he or she may find themselves.

Paul’s next discussion of the law of love in relation to the Mosaic law is interesting.  We are reminded that he has presented a very nuanced view of the Mosaic law throughout the theological portion of Romans, arguing that the law is holy and just and good but also arguing that the law itself has no power to save us, nor can anyone except Jesus perfectly fulfill the law.

But the Christian who has been saved by grace through faith, and filled with the Spirit of Christ, is also empowered to love.  And all of the  Mosaic law, including the Ten Commandments are fulfilled in the law of love:

 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

It is important to note that this law regarding love of neighbor is an Old Testament law from Leviticus 19:18.  Paul has never repudiated the law and the prophets, only their false interpretations.  Note also that the four commandments Paul specifically cites from the Decalogue relate to our horizontal relationships with other human beings.

And there is an urgency to his exhortations about how Christians are to live.  His view of time is eschatological.  One doesn’t know when time will end, so it is imperative to live well:

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.  The night is far gone, and the day is near.

Paul is not engaging in any apocalyptical speculation so rampant today.  He is simply stating the obvious — that every day one is closer to the end of the age. And that day is nearer today than it was yesterday. This is a call to wakefulness and awareness, because, as Jesus teaches:

Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes…. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:42,44).

In light of this awareness, that the day is near, Paul exhorts us:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

His imagery contrasts night and day, with darkness suggesting behavior that is associated with night-time revels (drunkeness and sexual debauchery) as well as interpersonal conflict (strife and jealousy).  And light becomes a palpable thing — the armor of light that we are to put on clothes us with protection.  Indeed, he extends the metaphor, that we are to put on Christ ­— like the light, Christ is to envelop us.

And Paul reminds us of a metaphor that prevails throughout Scripture  — we are to walk properly, as in the day.  The imagery of walking with God, and walking in God’s ways, is scattered throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.  And it is readily apparent that walking is far easier in the light than in darkness!  We are to:

 walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7).

We also see the contrast of flesh and spirit, and are reminded of Paul’s earlier declaration:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6).

Making provision for the flesh and its lusts leads to death; the Spirit leads to life and peace.

APPLY:  

The law of love is at the heart of Christian ethical teaching.  The New Testament appropriation of this principle insists that it sums up all the law and the prophets.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jesus or Paul or James are negating the Old Testament law, but that love is the foundation for obedience to the law.

Do we go to church out of duty, or because we love God? Do we tithe because it is a rule, or because it is a measured means of expressing our love? Do we visit the sick or feed the hungry because we were told to do so, or because we care?  The answer is pretty clear — we do these things, and obey the principles of the law not because they are legalisms, but because they offer guidance in loving God and neighbor.

Augustine of Hippo once said:

Once for all, then, a short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will….let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good (Augustine’s Homily 7 on 1 John 4:4-12).

There is an irrefutable logic here:

• If you love, you won’t commit adultery, which damages entire families, not just the two people involved.
• If you love, you won’t murder — the ultimate unloving act.
• If you love, you won’t steal — depriving someone else of the right to their own property is a selfish, unloving thing to do.
• If you love, you won’t covet — covetousness is the inner root of dissatisfaction that leads to envy and jealousy and lust and disharmony with others and ourselves.

It is impossible to think of an instance when love fails to fulfill the proper regard between God and ourselves, between ourselves and others, and within our own mind and soul.

The Apostle John sums it up this way:

We love him, because he (God) first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we love, we become most like God.

RESPOND: 

Many years ago when I was  in college I had a roommate who had been recently saved.  He was zealous in his church attendance and in his witnessing to others.  But I remember one time having a conversation with him about the love commandments of Jesus, and the commandments of love that permeate all the Scriptures.

He seemed completely puzzled.  This conversation was at least ten years prior to Tina Turner’s troubling song, “What’s love got to do with it?”  But that seemed to be his attitude — what’s love got to do with being a Christian?

I was every bit as puzzled by his attitude as he was by mine.  Christianity without love is like walking in the total darkness of night.  Christianity without love is like living in the world of Fight Club instead of a loving family.  Christianity without love makes religion into a set of rules instead of a Spirit-led walk with God guided by the principle of love.

When we forget to love as God has loved us, we forget that we too have been those unlovely and unlovable selfish broken creatures for whom Christ died:

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Our Lord, your command to love is inspiring, but impossible without your love living and working in and through us.  May we walk in your light and bring others into your light as well. Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"'Put on the Armor of Light' ~ Romans 13:12" by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for August 28, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The writer of Hebrews is coming to the conclusion of his sermon/letter. The letter of Hebrews compares and contrasts the sacrificial system of the Old Testament with its consummation in the high priestly sacrifice of Christ. In today’s Lectionary reading, he makes practical exhortations about how Christians are to live together.

First and foremost is the foundation of all Christian ethics, consistent with the teaching of Jesus, Paul, James, John and Jude:

Let mutual love continue.

All other ethical and moral teachings in the New Testament flow from love.

Appropriately, they are encouraged to offer hospitality to strangers as an expression of generous love.  However, there is a little extra incentive offered in this case:

for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

There are solid Biblical grounds for this claim.  Abraham offered a feast to three strangers by the oaks of Mamre who turned out to be angels — and who gave Abraham and Sarah the astounding news that they would be parents even at their well-advanced age (Genesis 18:1-5).  Lot, Abraham’s nephew, welcomes two of these same angels into his home in Sodom, fearful for their safety in that wicked town.  In turn, the angels protected Lot and his family from the wicked Sodomites (Genesis 19:1-22).

Hebrews next encourages them to remember those who are in prison and tortured.  Jesus emphasizes ministry to those who are in prison (Matthew 25:36-39), and Hebrews stressed this earlier in Hebrews 10:34:

For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.

However, there is some nuance here.  While Jesus and the writer of Hebrews might encourage ministry to prisoners in general, there is also an awareness that the Christian community itself was liable to frequent incarceration for their faith.  The apostles and their followers were frequently arrested, tortured, and even executed simply because they were Christians.

This is consistent with the warning of Jesus:

But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name (Luke 21:12).

No doubt, part of the mutual love  that Hebrews has in mind is ministry to their Christian brothers and sisters who have been imprisoned and tortured:

But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated (Hebrew 10:32-33).

They are exhorted to remember those in prison and who are tortured as though they themselves are experiencing the same suffering — vicariously empathizing with them through their prayers and ministry.

Hebrews moves on to family life and sexual morality:    

 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

The Christian ethic doesn’t denigrate healthy sexuality, but celebrates the gift of sexuality in the context of marriage.  The marriage bed is to be honored — but what is it that defiles it?  The clearest answer is the following clause:

for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

These are serious offenses, which God will judge.  Adultery, obviously,  is the violation of the marriage covenant by infidelity.  But fornication, from the Greek porneia, literally relates to sex with a prostitute — but as the etymology of the word  pornography suggests — it also covers behavior that dishonors the marriage bed by any kind of sexual immorality.

As with other Old Testament and New Testament  writers, Hebrews cautions against greed, urging that they

 be content with what you have…

We hear echoes of 1 Timothy 6:6:

….there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.

And Hebrews provides a rationale for this attitude of non-materialism — they are able to rely on God to supply all their needs:

 for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Hebrews then returns to the corporate sphere of church life:

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

The leaders are to be respected not only because they preach the Gospel, but because of their lifestyle that should be emulated.  Later in this chapter, Hebrews will reinforce this teaching:

 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you (Hebrews 13:17).

Hebrews then adds this clincher about the ultimate leader of the Christian community:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The consistency of Jesus as Savior and Lord is foundational in the Christian faith.  Jesus describes himself in this way:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).

And Hebrews returns to one of the themes of his sermon — as high priest, Jesus leads the people of God into proper intercession and worship:

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Confession of the name of Christ is a primary requirement for inclusion in the church. Today’s Lectionary reading also ends on an exhortation that equates good works together with true worship:

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

APPLY:  

The deep truths that we are taught about the great doctrines of the faith are extremely important.  They are the foundation of our understanding of the Trinity, the nature of Christ as fully God and fully human, salvation, and even the destiny of all created things.

However, how we are to live this Christian life into which we are baptized and which we live by faith is also vitally important.

Hebrews summarizes just some of those practical aspects of Christian life — that love is to be our royal law in the community of faith; Christians are to offer hospitality to strangers, with no strings attached concerning their ideology, religion, or race; we are to have compassion for those in prison, and minister to them; we are to honor marriage and maintain sexual purity; we are not to love money, but learn the secret of contentment with what we have, trusting in God to take care of us; we are to honor our pastors and heed their teaching; conversely, pastors are to live exemplary lives of faith; and we are to openly confess our faith in Christ, and make sure that our worship is in harmony with our works of mercy.

All of this is grounded first in the love of God revealed for us in Christ Jesus that continues in our lives as we respond to him in love.

RESPOND: 

I am particularly haunted by the phrase:

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

I am haunted by how easy my Christian witness and life are in comparison to those in countries where the freedom of conscience is not tolerated.  According to Open Doors (a global ministry devoted to the persecuted church), 322 Christians a month are killed for their faith.  214 Christian churches or properties are destroyed.  There are 772 acts of violence and exploitation committed against Christians.  Christians in more than 60 nations face persecution from their governments, or as religious minorities by their neighbors.

I pray for these persecuted Christians, because I’m aware that not everyone enjoys the kind of religious liberty that I do.  Hebrews actually urges me to identify with their suffering, as though suffering with them.

I wonder.  How would I stand up to the kind of pressure and discrimination and even violence that so many Christians experience around the world?

Early in 2015 Christian bishops, priests and faithful Christians in beleaguered Mosul, Iraq, soughtrefuge from the violence and threats of the Islamic State. They pleaded with the world: “Don’t forget us.”

They spoke for persecuted Christians around the world.

For more information on the persecuted church, check out these sites:

Click here for Open Doors USA

Click here for Persecuted Church

Click here for The Voice of the Martyrs

Our Lord, studying the great doctrines of the faith in Scripture is extremely important to me — but I also know that I must hide your word in my heart, and live what I believe.  Help me to live the life of faith — a life of love, hospitality, compassion, and fidelity in marriage.  Amen.

 PHOTOS:
"persecuted church" by Imagens Cristas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.