Dissension

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours our lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NIV)

Let’s look at these things the Lord hates again.

• Arrogance is number one on the list. God is concerned about high self-esteem: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…” (Romans 12:3 NIV).

• Lying is numbers two and six. “A lying tongue” is speaking of a habitual liar.

• “A false witness” is perjury; it’s lying under oath.

• Murder of innocent people is number three. This murder is a special kind of murder. It includes abortion (innocent blood).

• Premeditated evil is number four.

• Immediate, unpremeditated evil is number five.

• Sowing discord among brothers is number seven.

Although these are all very common today, it is to the last I would like to draw your attention. Stirring up dissension may be unintentional or it may be the result of gossip. It is the cause of church splits, family fights and unhappy communities. It is communication made up of lies, half-truths, and innuendoes and is communicated about people instead of to the people.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.184)

God's Justice and Faithfulness (1 John)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NIV)

There are two parts in this promise. They are 1) “He will forgive us our sins” and 2) He will “purify us from all unrighteousness.” The forgiven sins are the ones just confessed. This “all unrighteousness” is different from the sins we confessed. It is everything else that is unrighteous in us. He will purify us from all of this.

Let’s look back at verse seven.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7 NIV)

Notice the last phrase and its parallel in verse 9. Let’s put them together. Verse 7: “purifies us from all sin,” verse 9: “purifies us from all unrighteousness.” “Purifies” is a verb that has a continuous meaning: “keeps on purifying.”

There are conditions that are given for this complete and continual purifying. Verse 7: “If we walk in the light as He is in the light…” Verse 9: “If we confess our sins.”

Meeting these conditions results in putting into effect in our lives the character and work of God. Verse 7: “and the blood of Jesus, his Son.” Verse 9: “He is faithful and just.” The real cause of this wonderful forgiveness is God, who He is and what He did. The conditions for us to meet are secondary to the real cause: the justice and faithfulness of God and the blood of Jesus.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.210)

The Cultured and the Ignorant

I have a duty to both the Greek and the Barbarian, to both the cultured and the ignorant. And so, for my part, I am ready to tell the Good News to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God which brings Salvation to everyone who believes in Christ, to the Jew first, but also to the Greek. For in it there is a revelation of the Divine Righteousness resulting from faith and leading on to faith; as Scripture says—“Through faith the righteous man shall find Life.” (Romans 1:14-17 20th Century NT)

We may not think in terms of Greeks and Barbarians, but you can think in terms of the cultured and the ignorant, the wise and the foolish. Although our six mission stations are in university towns where the culture is relatively high, our emphasis is to both the cultured and the ignorant. Our stores are places of love and understanding. As such, they draw people who need to be loved. This includes people who are slow in learning, people who can’t read or don’t read, and people who are very well read.

It may surprise you that many university students do not read. They have had (all of their lives) televisions, stereo systems, and computers. Recently I was talking with a married woman with grown children. She, herself, is a first-year law student with a very high grade point average. She had never heard of Pilgrim’s Progress or of its author, John Bunyan. I gave her a copy.

We need to love people, all kinds, and teach them to read, motivate them to read, read to them, and provide books for them to read.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.84, 85)

Break up Fallow Ground

There is something that is wise, if not necessary, before sowing the seed of the Word of God.

This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3 NIV)

The Lord was not speaking about farming. He was speaking to the spiritual need in Israel. His illustration was apt. Farmers do not sow in unplowed ground. They do not sow in thorns and weeds. The land is plowed and harrowed. It is broken up so that the seed gets underground in soft, prepared soil.

Jesus gave an illustration of a farmer who sowed his seed at random (Mark 4:1-20). Some of it fell on the path, some in rocky soil, some among thorns. And some of the seed fell on good, broken ground, with no rocks and no weeds. When the seed was planted on good ground, it brought a harvest of 30, 60, and 100 times the investment. None of the others brought forth fruit at all. Jesus’ teaching is on the receptivity of the heart to the Word of God.

The command given to Israel through Jeremiah not to sow on unbroken ground or among thorns was because of the futility of it. It would be a fruitless effort. Jesus also explained to His disciples that the Word of God was the seed, and the soil represented the hearts of the people.

We are to sow in prepared ground, and we are to prepare the ground. How do we prepare people to receive the Word of God? It is not done by sowing the Word on hardened hearts. First, we prepare the ground by loving people. We are surrounded by people most of the time. All of these people make up the ground to be planted. It may be easier to scatter the seed on this ground indiscriminately than it is to soften the ground first. But if we are hoping for fruit, it is necessary to soften the ground.

Our expression of love cannot depend on the loveliness of the people we are supposed to love. It must depend upon the source of love—God the Father—and our relationship to Him. Are we prepared to love the unlovely? If so, we will find ourselves sowing the wonderful Word of Live into prepared hearts. This does not mean that there will be an automatic, quick response. A long period of loving and understanding may be necessary. On the other hand, it may be only a matter of minutes between the time you express love in warmth and understanding to a person and the time you have a prepared heart in which to sow the Word. It doesn’t matter whether it is long or short, but it is a prerequisite to any harvest. It is not an option.

Second, we are to pray for the people. Paul wrote,

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1, 3, 4 NIV)

Pray for the person whom God desires to be saved.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.48-50)

Ignorance

There is a wonderful sentence in The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. “He was giving forth his views upon the political situation of Europe generally with the self-satisfied assurance born of complete ignorance and true British insular prejudice.”

This describes a fictional character, but the sentence ties three things together that are true outside of fiction. They are “ignorance,” “prejudice” and “self-satisfied assurance.”

“Prejudice” is a negative pre-judgment based on no information, false information or misinformation. In other words “prejudice” describes a poor practice.

The following is a corollary to the above.

“Tolerance” is a positive pre-judgment also based on no information, false information, or misinformation. In other words, tolerance is not a good practice. Yet we think “tolerance” is good and “intolerance” or “prejudice” is bad.

If we are informed, then our judgment is based on true information. It is not a judgment of tolerance or prejudice. It is a just judgment. The judgment may be against murderers, rapists, demon activity, idolatry, animism and other false religion.

We may choose to remain ignorant and tolerant or ignorant and prejudiced.

There is not much difference between the two. They are both based on ignorance.

Get informed before making a judgment.

Unbelief

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. (John 3:18 NIV)

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36 NIV)

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12 NIV)

Unbelief is a great sin. It applies to

1. Those who have heard the gospel and not believed,
2. Those who have not heard the gospel, and
3. Those who heard, believed and in a believing state do not believe God.

The latter applies to many real Christians. It is possible to understand unbelief in those who have not heard (even though is it still inexcusable—see Romans 1:20) because it is the gospel that causes belief. It is very difficult to understand unbelief in believers. For example:

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (2 Peter 1:9 NIV)

They do not remember how they were saved.

Another explanation (but that is all it is) may be that they are not reading their Bible; consequently, the world is their major source for beliefs. It is a bad source.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.208-209)

The Full Armor

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV)

The first three chapters of Ephesians tell us of the riches we have in Christ. It would be difficult to meditate too much on these riches. Then we come to two-and-a-half “obedience” chapters. Now we have teaching on war, real war, and deadly war. Notice that verses 10 and 13 both say “Put on the full…” The emphasis is on the wholeness, the completeness of the armor, “so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” He, the devil, is not stronger than the armor of God, but he is wily enough to hit us where there is no armor.

When I get defeated, it is not because the devil is stronger but because I am uncovered, or it is because I think the enemy is flesh and blood (some person) instead of the real enemy.


(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.215)