The New Bereans

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

There are fundamentally only two types of active Christians; Bible Notchers and Walkers.  By “Active Christians” I mean those who do more than just warm pews; those who read the Bible (not Your Best Life Now ), pray, and are involved in some type of ministry.

I’m not entirely  sure Bible Notchers is the best term, but for now it will suffice, it is something of an allusion to hunters who put a notch in their belt each time they kill something.  I’m talking about someone who does things for God, of which they are quite proud.  They will often keep careful track of how long they pray, how many times they’ve read the Bible, how many church services they attend, etc:  Then they find subtle ways to let others know what their up to.  When they receive the desired applause for their efforts they humbly say, “It’s not me, it’s Jesus”.  I have spent the majority of my Christian life in and out of this group.

The group I call “Walkers” are a breed altogether, fewer in number but greater in power.  These don’t spend their time boasting, or counting up their good works.  Do they do good things?  Yes!  But their motive for doing them is not to gather attention and praise, their motive is to glorify Christ, and demonstrate their motive through action.  Have they stopped counting their good deeds in order to look even more spiritual still?  No!  They have stopped counting because it does not matter to them.  Their relationship to Christ is not one of Boyscout to Troop Leader, doing good deeds in order to receive merit badges:  Their relationship to Christ is one of Saved to Savior, they have grasped something of the enormity of his suffering, sacrifice, and death, and this knowledge motivates them to lay down their lives in love.  For them taking up the cross and following Christ is not an obligation, it is their greatest pleasure and highest honor.  To them the pleasures of this world have become empty and unsatisfying.  They do not walk in holiness to avoid punishment, they take pleasure in it.  For them counting the number of times they’ve read their Bible is as ridiculous as counting the number of times they’ve kissed their spouse, or taken out the trash.  I would never go to a friend and tell them, “Yeah I’m a pretty good husband.  I kissed my wife twelve times yesterday, and said I love you fourteen times.”  If we don’t boast to others about our marriages this way, why would we tell others about these elements in our walk with God?  Maybe it’s because we’re not really doing it for him at all?

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16

. . . Who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”  Romans 9:20

Why does modern man consider himself in a position to judge God?  Let me explain what I mean…when I attempt to dialogue with unbelievers, they will often point to something about the Christian Faith, that seems unfair or illogical to them (such as God sending anyone other than Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and George W. Bush to hell) and then they will say something to the effect of . . . Aha!   This does not make sense, therefore God doesn’t exist, and you are a fool!  They suppose that because something seems unfair or illogical to them, it cannot be true.  This is a giant leap indeed, very little in the world is fair, or logical.  Some men grow tall, others stay short, is that fair?  Some women are born beautiful; others are not, is this fair?  Some children in Africa, born to mothers with AIDS become orphans shortly after birth, others are born to rich Americans, and are doted upon and spoiled from birth, is this fair?  No!  None of these things are fair, but they are all true.  Fairness and truth have no necessary relationship.  In other words just because it isn’t fair doesn’t mean it isn’t so.

There are many things modern science has no explanation for, last I checked there is still no reasonable explanation for how bumblebees take flight.  The wings are too small to create enough thrust to get off the ground, yet it flies nonetheless.  In an atom the nucleus is composed of tightly packed positively charged protons squeezed together with some neutrons, while negative electrons spin around it.  The electrons are not attracted to the protons, and the protons do not repel each other.  Why does the atom appear to violate understood scientific law?  Could it be obeying some sort of higher law that we have yet to discover?  Science’s lack of explanation for these phenomena does not mean they do not occur, it only means the explanation is beyond us.  If we cannot explain these mysteries on earth, how can we presume ourselves qualified to judge God?  How can we with finite brains, containing limited knowledge confidently declare God nonexistent, or the Bible untrue?

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  -Job 38:4

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said this unto thee, ye must be born again.   – John 3:5-7

He only gets one chapter of scripture dedicated to him.  His exploits were scandalous, but only to those with an eye to discern.  He certainly lived in the shadow of others, yet he earns a judgment from on high rarely witnessed.  As a matter of fact, the judgment he receives is almost entirely unique.

His name was Belshazzar.  His great sin…a party.  However, this festive occasion was unlike anything ever witnessed on earth.  In a cosmic effort to not just keep up with the Joneses, but rather flatten any chance of their future competition.  Belshazzar breaks out the furniture stolen from the temple in Jerusalem prior to the Jewish captivity in Babylon.  Those in attendance drank wine from the temple vessels and carelessly caroused; slaking their lusts with the items that Hebrews calls, “Shadow(s) of heavenly things.₁”

What could be so wrong?  Does not God want his blessings on display for the world to see?  Would you not marvel, walking into the great dining hall and seeing the altar of sacrifice, with its blood tipped horns?  Would you not think that maybe the King would find a degree of purification by washing his hands in the laver?  What about the menorah?  Its light would add a great degree of needed direction to a dark kingdom!

Unfortunately, for poor Belshazzar, things are about to get serious.  With a great need for a new pair of pants and with his knees knocking, his party face turns a pale retched sickly color as he witnesses one of the single most unique events in the entire Bible.  A hand, disconnected from any other apparatus, begins to write on the wall.  After a series of events, our man Daniel tells Belshazzar what just happened.  God had decided that He was done with Belshazzar, as a matter of fact, He was done with Babylon.  He had been weighed, measured, and found WANTING…to top it all off the kingdom was going to be divided.  As to be expected, Belshazzar was slain that very night.  I guess he probably really didn’t want to know what that mean old hand had to say after all did he?

Before our eyes glaze over with the repetition of a popular passage of scripture, I think it is worth noting that, to the untrained eye, Belshazzar had all the accoutrements and trappings of religion in his possession.  They were on display for everyone to see.  To the modern “Christian,” I think this concept could fly past blind eyes.  How happy we can be if we externally display our religion like a peacock, just to find that it is all feather and fluff.  We can have all the right things to say, and can have all our pet doctrines, a license plate that says “Sav3d,” or a bumper sticker warning of the rapture.  You may even be the happiest person in the world and tell everyone you know that it was Jesus that made you so, and if they would just accept Jesus they could be happy too.  Happy just…like…you.

I would define the trappings of Christianity as the fruits of the Spirit, if I could do so with absolute reverence.  However, the strange thing about the fruits of the Spirit, “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith,” is that they can be imitated.  Not a single one of these fruits are exclusive to Christianity.  I know some people are shouting at me right now…wondering how I could possibly suggest such a thing.  You may even be reaching up to delete Newbereans.com from your bookmark list.  Please just bear with me a moment longer.

The problem with Belshazzar’s usage of the temple vessels was that they were used from a wrong motivation and most assuredly in the wrong context, and not according to the divine “pattern ₂” God had established, not to mention they were used in a sinful fashion.  The Bible calls believers the temple of the Holy Spirit in 1st Corinthians 3:16.  In order for the fruits of the Spirit to work according to the dictates of the Spirit, that fruit has to be budding in a Temple.  Just like the furniture was only meant to be used in the ancient Temple.  This process has to be done according to Gods pre-ordained pattern.  In order to be the temple of the Spirit you first have to be born again.  You must become a new creation in Christ, all the old things must pass and you must be made new.  Without this authentic step through the narrow gate, all the “trappings” will quickly fade; your leaves will whither away if you were not really born again.  This process is spiritual and must be so according to Gods pattern. If this progression of new birth is circumvented, the most terrifying truth is that we can actually pretend to be Christians our entire lives and all that will await us is the same sentiment afforded to Belshazzar. Weighed…measured…wanting.  How is this possible?  Because in the king’s court there was no blood, there was no sacrifice there was no priest, worst of all there was no kabod, and without any of these, there is certainly no atonement.

The furniture has to be in the Temple, under the blood, and washed clean by spirit and water, then and only then will the fruits of the spirit be nourished in a proper fashion.  The only way you can be not weighed, measured and found wanting is to be in Christ.  Marvel not that this has been said unto thee.

1.Hebrews 8:5

2. Hebrews 9:21-23

At my first defense no one stood with me . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me;    -II Timothy 4:16-17

There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

At the time of trial we all want to have friends around us, to back us up, to support us.  No one wishes to be alone in their darkest hour.  Yet this is where the great apostle found himself, in the olive press utterly alone; well almost. . . When all the men fled, someone did stand with Paul, someone who understood what it was to be totally alone, someone whose disciples forsook him and fled, and someone whose own father turned his back on him in his darkest hour.  When all others fled, Christ stood with Paul.  What a comfort!  When it seems the whole world has turned against you, who else would you want by your side?  An angel? A mere man?  Or the sovereign Lord of the universe?

The author of Hebrews tells us that the Father put all things in subjection under Christ’s feet.1 When I’m in over my head, who better to have on my side, than he who is above all things.  Christ himself said I will never leave you nor forsake you.2  I remember years ago leaving my home town and taking a job as a truck driver.  I was amazed when I discovered that thousands of miles from friends, family, and fellowship; God was still there.  In fact, many of my most precious moments with God, have been in the midst of crushing trials, when I was completely alone with Him.  No darkness can overcome His light.  This is one of the reasons we can rejoice in trials, they bring an intimacy into our walk with God that can be achieved by no other means.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39

1. Hebrews 2:8

2. Hebrews 13:5

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things and by him all things consist.  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

-Colossians 1:16-18

If we do not apply this understanding to our theology, our foundation will always be slightly askew.  If the house is just crooked enough to be perceived, we may wonder why it is so displeasing to the eye.  Or we may marvel at how ramshackle it is.  For without a high view of God, there is not a glimmer of hope that our lives can manifest His true glory.   It is a familiar temptation for me to jump to the physical implications of this passage and miss the yawning chasm of deep soaking truth.  We and every other bit of matter, right down to the up-quark and charm-quark are made by Him, and for Him.   This means that we are here for His pleasure and His alone.  We may find deep satisfaction in giving our souls over to His Lordship; however we must never forget that His glory is the ultimate purpose for each breath escaping our lips.

This means we must look at every intrusion of God into history, and recognize that every grace and judgment he presents to Eve’s children, are for the purpose of Him getting the glory He deserves.   The death and resurrection of Christ, while for your salvation, and redemption, is under the umbrella of Gods ultimate purpose of glorifying His name.   This is so that He, the Son of God, will receive the every last concentrated ounce of preeminence.

The Messiah was God come in the flesh to be seen by human kind.  The Messiah was man subjected completely to God.  The two coalesced into one as they were on display for the world to see.  If God was one cord, the Man was another, and the manifestation of the combination was a third cord, then how surely that three-fold cord cannot be broken.  When the Messiah prayed, “Father, glorify thy name,” earth and its denizens hung from the very heights of heaven, and the three fold cord grew taut with all the weight and tension of the universe in between the two.  Then, through the thick of it all, the voice of the Father ripped the heavens asunder with more power than all the dynamite that has ever been ignited.  “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  I imagine that heaven here erupted with all the elegant thunder of Cherub praise, the elders would not be able to prevent the chorus of worship exploding within their breast; the Seraph’s wings would cover weeping eyes in complete deference.   The three-fold cord was not broken, it was sure and it was strong and it was decided to be sufficient for the glorification of the Father.

Would be to God that we as those who take the name of Jesus, hopefully not in vain, upon ourselves, could get an inkling of understanding about this divine communique.   Within this conversation is a galactic nuclear powerhouse of sin-wrecking, blood pumping, cross-bearing, gate of Hades crushing, impermeable truth.

Cast your spiritual pride to the four winds.  Crush, by the power of the Spirit, any doubt that Christ is incapable of accomplishing His sanctification in your life.  Do not think, even for a moment that Christ’s work was inadequate for your deliverance from besetting sin.  If none of these things are being accomplished in your life as a Christian than you may need to take another look at Calvary.  If the Messiah cannot deliver you from your addiction then he died in vain.  For within these few words exchanged between the Elohim of creation, we find that Gods purpose in you is His glory, your part is to simply yield, bend, and decrease that He might increase.

All the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. -Luke 13:17

People do not really change all that much.  We love to see good or glorious things done; we are enamored with the miraculous, or even by good humanitarian deeds.  But many are only interested in what God can do for them.  In other words, he is a means to their end; not the end of their means. In 1961 President Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”  Many preachers before me have alluded to the fact that few people apply JFK’s powerful quote to their Walk with God.  We tend to think that all of the acts of God in history, are solely for our benefit.  Concerning our flawed man centered theology, I like how Paris Reidhead says it, “This philosophical postulate that the end of all being is the happiness of man, has been sort of covered over with evangelical terms and Biblical doctrine until God reigns in heaven for the happiness of man, Jesus Christ was incarnate for the happiness of man, all the angels exist . . . for the happiness of man.1″  We have abandoned the historical gospel and replaced it with a humanistic one.  The Bible never teaches that man is so great he deserves God’s blessings; the whole concept of grace describes how an undeserving people were saved by a loving God.  A deserved grace would be no grace at all!

Now back to my primary subject…is God our end, or our means?  When we pray, are we only asking him for what we want; or are we asking for him to have what he wants?  In our devotional time are we reading “Your Best Life Now;” or are we ravenously devouring the scriptures, seeking after this God who purchased us at so great a price? Are we also discovering how we can use our lives to honor and glorify him?  Is our attitude thy will be done, or my will be done, thy kingdom come or my kingdom come?  And please don’t be flippant; our answers to these questions could not be more important.  The legacy we leave behind will be one of glorifying God, or one of pleasing ourselves.

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.  Romans 11:36

For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.  Colossians 1:16

1. Paris Reidhead, Ten Shekels and a Shirt

It is phenomenal how God can use tragedy to bring forth fruit that brings life.  Pastor Carter Conlon managed to see the courage of the firefighters on 9/11 as an example we should follow. This is truly an inspirational exhortation, please consider it prayerfully.

. . . Ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  II Corinthians 6:18-7:1

Often times when I share with other believers how blessed I have been through not only reading the Bible, but also trying to do what it says, I get a response something like this:  “You need to be careful.  That sounds legalistic, we’re not under the law, we’re under grace!”  I have had this same conversation over and over again with many different people.  It seems to me that the greatest critics of literally following Christ when it comes to holiness…are other Christians.  They call it legalism when you try to obey the commandments of Christ.  I’ve even heard that following his commandments somehow dishonors him, by implying that we are trying to add to his finished work on the cross.  Legalism is not a term occurring in the scriptures but it has become commonplace in Christian vernacular.  Originally it spoke of someone trying to earn their salvation, rather than accepting it as a free gift.  I’ve never met anyone trying to do this, I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but I’ve never encountered it personally.  The term is now, however, commonly misappropriated.

I know that we are not under the law but under grace; I know that we are saved by grace, through faith; it is the gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.  These things are self evident.  I have been trying to figure out why their objections are so troubling; it has taken me a while but I finally put my finger on it.  Why would Christians imagine the only motive to clean up their lives should be to avoid hell?  As if avoiding hell, is the only valid motive for spiritual action.  In our own lives, we do all kinds of things, for all sorts of motives other than avoiding hell.  Do I love my wife to avoid hell?  Do I eat Ice cream to avoid hell?  Do I go camping to avoid hell?   I do all these things because I want to do them.  I do all these things because I enjoy them.  I also genuinely enjoy following after Christ literally.  The Westminster Catechism states that, Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.₁ Without doubt I enjoy glorifying him by living a holy life.

I understand why the world doesn’t want holiness, but I cannot understand why some Christians do not want it.  The elders in Revelation tell us that, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.₂ Paul tells us that all things were created by him, and for him.₃ Is pleasing and glorifying God an insufficient motive for us?  How can anyone who has been given so much by Christ find no pleasure in living a life that pleases him?  To look at it another way, why shouldn’t Christians live a sanctified life?  When Paul raises the question, Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound,₄ how does he answer himself? God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?₅ The apostle doesn’t seem to think a sinful life glorifies God, and neither do I.  Moreover I can truly say that attempting to live a sanctified life has brought me far more satisfaction than avoiding it ever did.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Romans 6:22

1. Westminster Shorter Catechism

2. Revelation 4:11

3. Colossians 1:16

4. Romans 6:1

5. Romans 6:2

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

-Galatians 5:6

I have one question; please consider it for a few moments before you proceed in reading this post.  What exactly does it mean to, “Walk in the Spirit?”

At one point in my walk I would have given some sort of amorphous response like, well…uh, I guess that means I should listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do in my heart.  Unfortunately through this method, I found that the decisions I made were often poor decisions; I frequently made really bad ones as a matter of fact.  I played some strange form of spiritual roulette which proved to lead nowhere fast.

The Bible tells us that our hearts are deceitfully wicked; and our consciences can be seared.  If our conscience were enough to guide us, then what would be the point of Jesus suffering the wrath of his Almighty Father?  Our inner conscience is only capable of moving us so far; that being said, how in the world would anyone ever be able to differentiate between a lackluster conscience, and some sort of inner voice leading us in our walks? Not that the Holy Spirit cannot or does not direct our steps, His primary job, however, is conviction of sin and righteousness.

The answer is astonishingly simple; the Spirit guiding us in our walks is synonymous with convicting the world of sin, and righteousness, not just to guide us in all sorts of extra biblical manifestations, or fantastic directions.  How can we expect the Spirit to guide us in our decisions about work, ministry, or life in general, while we are living a life that is fulfilling our fleshly lusts?  Are we seeking first His kingdom, or are we seeking first our kingdom?  And by seeking first his kingdom, I don’t mean spending two minutes in the morning choking down a pop-tart while reading a proverb.

Am I just redefining this to fit my theology?  No, read the next verse, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other and ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”  The act of walking in the Spirit is in opposition to me, to my way, to self as well as opposition to the burdens of law.  If you read Romans chapter eight you will find that this is a requirement of Christianity.  There is no gray area when Paul says, “So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.  Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

So, if you have a compulsion to do something exemplifying the life of Christ, this is God, proving his capability of transforming you into a new creation, thus showing what it means to walk in the Spirit.  Walking in the Spirit is living a life that conforms to Christ’s character: not Luke Skywalker using The Force by following his feelings.  Remember, the contrast to walking in the Spirit, is fulfilling fleshly lusts.

Addendum: I am not trying to negate the Spirit leading us in a supernatural fashion; I am saying that it is not the primary function of walking in the Spirit.

Dedicated to R.C. Sproul who mentioned this concept in the following quotation. . .

- “Perhaps what is even more alarming is that even within churches and organizations that still profess a high view of Scripture, there is an alarming ignorance of the content of Scripture.  For many, being “led by the Spirit,” means being led by some inner light or impulse rather than by the Spirit’s testimony to the written Word of God.  Edwards says, ‘And accordingly we see it common in enthusiasts who oppose Christ that they depreciate this written rule and set up the light within their souls or some other rule above it.’”  The Spirit of Revival: Discerning the Wisdom of Jonathan Edwards by R.C. Sproul and Archie Parrish

This video and the perspective of Leonard Ravenhill is one of the most influential things ever in my life.  Truely he was a man whom I could follow as he followed Christ.

Oh, that there would be more preachers like this man…they would be a terror upon idolitrous territory.  Oh that we would heed this message.  For the gospel is truely a bloody one, it is one of sacrifice…Pauls authority in the church were the marks he bore for his Lord…

What have we done?  Truely we need to repent, turn to God and ask Him to make us the ecclesia…the called out ones.