Degrees of Punishment and Reward

There is a question that lingers in the back of most Christians’ minds when they think about judgment. Those who know their Bible well know with certainty that anyone who has put their faith in Christ can count on His atoning work on the cross to pay the penalty for their sin – all of them past, present, and future. After all, all our sins were future at the cross, so it shouldn’t be difficult to imagine all of them forgiven. It shouldn’t be.

But the question still nags: am I going to have to give an account – pay in some way – for my shortcomings? The answer is yes and no. As I wrote in “Living in the Light of Eternity” and many other places, our entrance into Heaven is guaranteed by Christ’s sacrifice; nothing more needs to be done. However, if we are truly on the Heaven-bound train, our behavior does matter. Listen to Jesus’ words on the subject: “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more."

Some scholars deny that Jesus is talking about the judgment of believers here, but the context seems to be about believers – those who knew the “master’s” will versus those who didn’t. They were all “slaves” of the master; the only difference is some knew his will and some did not. This fits with the idea Jesus expressed when He said, “But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment! For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.” The “worthless” words Jesus referred to are words that serve no heavenly purpose. These are not necessarily evil in themselves; they just do nothing to advance the cause of Christ.

Paul said something similar to the Romans: “each of us will give an account concerning himself.” The context in Romans was about judging others. This echoes Jesus’ criticism about ignoring the log in your own eye while judging another for the speck in his eye. That remark by Jesus was made during the Sermon on the Mount which is presumably about how to live as kingdom citizens – as God’s people. He prefaced that statement by saying, “by what measure you measure out, it will be measured out to you.” Even kingdom citizens will face a type of judgment.

Paul warned the Corinthians that their fleshly behavior – non-spiritual behavior – would have consequences on the day of judgment. He likened unspiritual works to wood, hay, and stubble which would be burned up at the judgment, whereas works motivated by the Spirit would be like gold, silver and precious stones surviving the fires of judgment to be presented to the Lord. He does confirm that the unspiritual works don’t exclude believers from an eternity with God, but He suggests that those guilty of the same will enter Heaven smelling like their coattails were burned.

I am inching out on a limb here, but I think there may be a hint of the idea of a final judgment of believers in the book of Revelation. John records that everyone who makes it to the new Jerusalem will have their tears wiped away because mourning, wailing, and pain will have passed away. Those who believe the arrival in the New Jerusalem is a metaphor for Heaven might ask why there would be tears to be wiped away. I have heard it suggested that the tears are a result of believers’ discovery of all that they might have done for the Master but didn’t. Some have also said they are tears of joy – joy that comes from finally understanding what grace really means: I made it in spite of all I have done or didn’t do.

That is speculation, but the idea that Jesus’ call involves a measure of obedience is not. “If you love me,” He said, “Keep my commandments.” Or again, from the Sermon on the Mount: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?’ And then I will say to them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

For those who never place their faith in Jesus, the consequence of their final judgment will be worse than the worst you can imagine. Degrees of worst-ness are irrelevant. For believers, the blessedness of spending eternity in God’s presence cannot be imagined. As Paul said, “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’”

Even if there are degrees of reward comparable to the degrees of punishment as Scripture seems to imply, I am with David when he said, “a day in thy courts is better than a thousand [elsewhere].” The bottom line is that I am not working for a reward; I am working to please my Lord. Because I love Him above all else, I obey His commands. If there is a reward for doing that, I think I will be among the crowd pictured in Revelation and throw them at my Savior’s feet to honor Him who saved me. It never was about me anyway.

Related Posts: Necessary Obedience; Blessings of Obedience; Do What You Can Do

Little Becomes Much

The record of the feeding of the five thousand has several interesting lessons hidden in it. On the surface this may simply be a lesson highlighting Jesus’ compassion for hungry people and His willingness to perform a miracle to feed them. Although Jesus often told the beneficiaries of His miracles not to share, this may have been one time when He wanted to make a declaration. Beyond that, many people have expressed curiosity about the meaning of the leftover baskets of food. It would seem to be more than coincidence that there were twelve baskets left over on one occasion and seven on another; these are two often repeated numbers that have biblical significance, but what they mean here is uncertain.

The fact that this is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded by all four gospel writers leads me to think it must be of special significance. (Mathew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; John 6) The lesson that struck me when I last read it was how much Jesus could make of a little. All four evangelists record that there were five loaves of bread and two fishes. This would have been enough for a small family – perhaps just the boy and his parents. I’m reminded of the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared. Apparently, this young lad’s family was the only one to think they might get hungry. Maybe they were so interested in what the popular rabbi had to say that they didn’t want to miss anything while they went to dinner.

Someone has asked an interesting question: what if the boy’s parents had refused to give up their meager meal? They didn’t. They may have been among those who had already put their faith in the man from Nazareth. It is conceivable that they had witnessed His first miracle – water into wine – at the wedding in Cana which was only a few miles down the road. For whatever reason, they were willing to put their provisions in the Master’s hands. Just like the steward and the wedding, they were amazed at what happened when Jesus took over.

It's like the song “Ordinary People” says: “Little becomes much as you place it in the Master’s hand.” The twelve Jesus called especially had given Him everything they had, although it wasn’t much since most were just common laborers. Regardless of their net worth, they gave Jesus their very lives to follow Him for the three short years of His earthly ministry. When the Master called the fishermen, He promised to make them fishers of men. I doubt they fully understood what that meant at the time, but I am convinced that Jesus wasn’t choosing them for their talents as fishermen or their entrepreneurial skills.

From our vantage point centuries down the trail, we know they were chosen for who they were, not what they could bring to the table. Just consider Peter, James, and John, Jesus’ inner circle. Peter denied knowing Jesus on the night of His betrayal but came back strong as a leader in the Jerusalem church. James was also a leader in Jerusalem, and he became the first martyr for Christ. John outlived all his peers as far as we know and survived being boiled in oil and exile to go on to write the Book of Revelation, one of the most significant books of the New Testament.

It may sound trite, but I would say we are not chosen by Christ because we are great, but we are great because we are chosen. I am writing this in my seventy-third year of life, most of which was spent in some kind of Christian ministry vocationally or otherwise. I will admit with a touch of disappointment that I have not achieved the “greatness” I might have longed for in my youth. Nothing I have done will put me in the “Who’s Who” of Christians in my generation. I have come to terms with that. I’ll wager the little guy who surrendered his lunch to Jesus had no idea he would be remembered to the end of the age. He just did what little he could do at the moment, and Jesus made the moment great.

I love the song Ray Boltz sang many years ago called “Thank You.” The lyrics recall how he put money in a collection plate or taught Sunday School with no idea how his actions affected others. Then, when Ray gets to Heaven, a long line of people come up to him thanking him for what little he gave. There it is. I may never know which of my dollars in the plate brought someone to Christ. I may never know which of my hundreds of high school students were encouraged by my witness. I may never know how many of the thousands of readers of this blog have been inspired to make significant contributions to the cause of Christ. Maybe I’ll be standing next to Ray one day amazed at what has happened. But even if I don’t get that confirmation, I will keep giving what little I have knowing that little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s hand. I hope to meet the little guy who shared his lunch too.

Related posts: Living in the Light of Eternity; For God’s Sake; What’s the Deal With Ninev
eh?; Who Needs God?

Teach Us to Pray

When you read the Gospels, you get the impression that Jesus spent a fair amount of time in solitary prayer. This shouldn’t be surprising when you consider that for eternity past, He was one with His Father and doubtless in constant communication. The Son’s time on earth was a radical departure from His accustomed relationship. No wonder He felt the need to spend many hours in prayer. Apparently, His disciples noticed His prayer habits, and they may have felt their prayer life fell short of His. So, they asked the Master to teach them to pray.

What we have come to know as the Lord’s Prayer is Jesus’ response to His disciples’ question. This well-known model as Matthew records it has five different types of prayer; four are obvious: praise, provision, forgiveness, and deliverance. The fifth prayer category is more subtle. I might call it evangelistic: “Thy kingdom come.” This request is both a confession of alignment with God’s purpose and a determination to see His sovereign authority become known throughout the world.

The usual repetition of the King James “hallowed be thy name” disguises the true meaning of the phrase. “Hallowed” is the translation of the Greek word for “holy” made into a verb. “Holify Thy name” doesn’t quite work, and “hallowed” is antiquated. The original intention was to proclaim God’s holiness – His separateness from all things worldly. According to John, it’s what the heavenly beings around God’s throne say continually: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” It’s the purest form of praise.

We all understand the prayer for provision: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus made it clear that if we are trying to cooperate with God’s purpose in our lives – first seek His kingdom – all our worldly needs will be provided. This prayer properly understood is less a request than a statement of gratitude for the way God fulfills our needs. I grew up getting a little taste of that at every meal; we always gave thanks before we ate. That was an acknowledgement of where the provision came from.

The prayer for forgiveness is also easy for most of us to relate to. Very few people of sound mind and slight biblical knowledge would say they have no need of forgiveness. We all sin, and if we are honest, we know it. In his first epistle, John reminds us of that, and he comforts us with the promise that through confession our sins are forgiven. The human part of me must be constantly reminded that when Jesus paid for my sins on the cross, He was in my past paying for all my sins past, present, and future. That is not a license to sin. As Paul told the Romans, if we have been baptized into Christ’s death, we have died to sin, no longer to be ruled by it.

What I am calling the prayer for deliverance may be more expansive than it first appears to be. Certainly, we would ask that God keep us from sinning, especially immediately after asking for forgiveness. It is grammatically possible, as some translations render Matthew 6:13 to say, “Deliver us from the evil one.” That’s like asking God to protect us from our common enemy, Satan. And, deliver us might imply that we are asking for deliverance for our brothers and sisters in Christ – or even beyond them to the whole world.

Now we come to the fifth, less obvious category of prayer. It is drawn from the section of Matthew’s record saying, “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” As I wrote in “Bringing the Kingdom,” “It is our responsibility as believers, as God’s chosen representatives in Christ to bring the kingdom of Heaven to Earth. Where we see unbelief, we must share faith. Where we see brokenness, we must bring healing. Where we see sin, we must call it sin. Where we see injustice, we must advocate for justice.”

In this week’s message our associate pastor at Valley Christian Church encouraged us pray this kind of prayer. He noted how Paul prayed that the Thessalonians love would increase and that they would be “established blameless in holiness.” It is right to pray for the health and welfare of the people on our prayer lists, but if we are praying with eternity in mind (the theme of our sermon series on Thessalonians) we must consider the long view – the eternal view.

Several years ago, I wrote a Sunday School curriculum on prayer that I later published as a book, A Life of Prayer. In it I recommended the acrostic ACTS-I as a reminder to pray all kinds of prayer. It stands for adoration/acclamation, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and intercession. I also included another type I called warfare prayer which takes account of the fact that we are engaged in a cosmic battle with evil every day. Practicing these types of prayer regularly brings a maturity and wholeness to a life of prayer that surpasses saying “grace” at mealtime and “now I lay me down to sleep…” at bedtime.

If we truly believe we have a relationship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus His Son, conversations across the spectrum of possibilities should be normal. If you begin thinking about prayer in this way, I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit will help you grow into a more fulfilling relationship with God. That is our goal: “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” An important part of that image is our Savior in a solitary place on His knees talking to His Father. See Him? Follow Him.

 

Taking the Bible Literally Part 3

 I know I am beating a potentially dead horse, but the subject is so critical to proper understanding of the Scriptures, that I am hitting it again. Many serious, blood-bought, born again, students of the Bible say we must interpret the Word literally. I said it before (see Related Posts), and I will say it again: you cannot always take the individual words in the Bible in a literal sense. The genre, context and plain logic often dictate otherwise. Keep in mind that to say “not literal” does not mean “not true.”

For example, I once heard a preacher say, “All means all, and that’s all all means.” I came across an “all” in my reading this morning that clearly does not mean all in the literal sense. Mark 1:5 says, “And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” First, it is highly unlikely that every single person living in Judea and Jerusalem found their way to the Jordan where John was preaching. Second, it is even more unlikely that they were all repenting and being baptized. We know for a fact that John saw through the motives of some of them and called them the offspring of vipers.

So, in that instance for sure, “all” does not mean all. Another example of a phrase not meant to be taken literally occurs when Jesus shows up in Capernaum and Mark records, “And the whole city had gathered at the door.” One source estimates the population of the city in the time of Jesus was 1,000 people, so it is unlikely that a crowd of that size could be “at the door.” Even if we imagine all 1,000 people, “the whole city,” came to see Jesus, they would probably fit in the general neighborhood, but not “at the door.” Not literally.

Some of my readers are bound to be asking at this point why I belabor this subject. Here is why: throughout the centuries, people have taken a literal interpretation of Scripture to deplorable lengths. During the dark years of the Inquisition, the church persecuted cosmologists who believed the earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around as the Bible literally says. It is estimated that between 3,000 - 5,000 people were martyred during the three-century reign of the Inquisition. Many of the heresies they were charged with stemmed from a disagreement over Bible interpretation.

The Crusades are another example of misguided zeal drawn from a mistaken literal interpretation. The desire to free the “Holy Land” from the Muslim conquerors was based on the belief that Jerusalem was still uniquely important to God. During the Old Testament dispensation, Jerusalem was special to God; it was His dwelling place on earth. That distinction ended when the Messiah died on the cross and the veil of the temple was torn. Removing the curtain from God’s holy place symbolized the movement of God from one temple of stone to many hearts of flesh. Soon after, Herod’s temple and the entire city of Jerusalem were destroyed in an act of judgment by God which the prophets had foretold for centuries.

The Bible clearly states that believers are citizens of a New Jerusalem, a heavenly city that supersedes the earthly city. (Hebrews 12:22; Galatians 4:26) Ever since the initiation of the church, the earthly Jerusalem has lost its “holy” status. Admittedly, it has great historical significance, and people may feel especially close to God traveling through the land where most Bible history took place. But ever since God passed judgment on faithless Israel in 70 A.D., Jerusalem became a city like any other populated by saints and sinners.

The Zionist sentiment that fueled the Crusades lives even in our century. It percolated to the surface of Christian thinking in the nineteenth century. Many Christians in that time believed it was important to find a homeland for the Jews who had been dispersed throughout the world. Zionism, the longing to see physical Israel restored, is still preached by some devotees. John Hagee, for example, would have us believe that support for the nation of Israel is one of the church’s most pressing tasks today. He makes the common mistake of appropriating to the church the promises of literal, physical blessings made to Abraham and his descendants.

The New Testament defense for Zionism is largely based on a disputed passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Near the close of his impassioned plea for the salvation of his people, the Jews, he makes the statement, “All Israel will be saved.” Zionists believe Paul meant physical, ethnic Israel. To make that case, they must disregard Paul’s extended argument throughout his letters that God’s people are the people of faith, not the descendants of Abraham. As he told the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek [in Christ].” Ethnic Jews must come to God today the same way everyone else does: through faith in Jesus the Messiah.

It is ironic that Christian Zionists who twist their theology like a pretzel to justify building a new temple in Jerusalem overlook some very clear literal statements that quash their entire argument. Jesus foretold the destruction of the temple. Matthew says that Jesus told his listeners that their generation would not die before the end He predicted came to pass. In the book of Revelation, Jesus told John that when He came in judgment on Jerusalem, those who pierced Him would see Him coming. His coming, according to Jesus Himself was near. The future things John was to write were, “About to [ready to] take place.” The message of Revelation is about the judgment of Jerusalem – physical, literal Jerusalem. God had been warning them about it for hundreds of years.

If we take all those passages literally, there is little support for the expectation of a new temple being built in Jerusalem at the end of the age. If we understand Paul to say that the true Israel is the church, his claim that “all Israel will be saved” makes perfect sense. All those who trust in the Israel of God (Jesus the Messiah) will be saved. Take the Bible literally where it makes sense to do so and embrace the symbolism God intended where that is His clear intent. Genre, context, and plain logic are the guides to proper biblical interpretation. To do otherwise always leads to error.

Related Posts: Take the Bible Literally?; Taking the Bible Literally Part 2;  Understanding the Bible as Literature;

Slow Learners

Sometimes even sensitive, intelligent people have trouble learning some lessons. Take me for instance. I have a natural tendency to be critical. I suspect that it comes from being raised in a home where arguing the finest distinctions of every little thing was a normal behavior. My wife, Karen, on the other hand, was brought up in a home where argument was virtually nonexistent. This contrast in our characters causes Karen to become irritated when I make a critical comment. I don’t want to irritate my wife, so you would think I would stop being critical (at least around her).

But I can’t seem to help myself. I correct the grammar of everyone. I point out inconsistencies in the television shows we watch. I point out the illogical behavior of people we deal with. I frequently disagree out loud with the policies of politicians especially during campaign season. All of these and more irritate my dear wife. I am a slow learner.

I find a lot of company when I read my Bible. It seems that the whole nation of Israel was slow to learn one of the most vital lessons in life. Whom do you trust (and obey)? After roughly eight hundred years of the Law and the prophets, God’s chosen people were still missing the point of being God’s chosen people. I am referring to the situation recorded in the book of Malachi. The prophet spoke to Israel after they had returned from seventy years of exile in Babylon which was their punishment for continual disobedience and idol worship. The seventy-year sentence was not enough to correct their behavior; they were still learning the lesson (or not learning).

We read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that illegitimate temple practices were ongoing and people, even the priests, were intermarrying with foreigners. When Ezra discovered the books of the Law and read them to the people, they were outwardly repentant. They swore that they would obey. Yet, when Nehemiah wrote the last of his record, they were still stuck in their old wayward behaviors. That’s what Malachi was chastising them for. Through the prophet, God colorfully described His displeasure with His people. Then He went silent for four hundred years.

There were times in what we call the intertestamental period (between Old and New Testaments) when the people made an effort to do the right thing. The story of the Maccabees is about a time when some of them were zealous for God. The well-known celebration of Hanukkah is in remembrance of the Maccabean restoration. Near the end of the silent years, we know there were people who were waiting for their Messiah. The Gospels record the names of several people who were looking for Him. Zechariah and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s parents were ready. Mary, though shocked at being chosen gave her pledge of obedience. Simeon and Anna were awaiting His appearance. Doubtless there were others who felt the time for their deliverance had come.

When He finally did come, He was not well-received. The Gospel of John records that although He came to His own things (He was their creator.), His own people didn’t recognize Him. The religious leaders of the day almost unanimously rejected Jesus’ claim to be the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. He rebuked their unbelief by telling them that although they searched the Scriptures where His coming was foretold, they missed Him. Their failure to recognize Messiah reached its zenith when the religious leaders incited the crowd at Jesus’ (mock) trial to shout, “Crucify Him!” In the first gospel sermon, the Apostle Peter lays the blame for crucifying Christ directly at their feet.

It is worth noting that Peter also said that Jesus was “delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God.” In other words, God used their rebellion to fulfill His long-standing plan to redeem His people through the sacrifice of His Son. That fact does not excuse their unbelief; it merely proves that God will get done what God wants to get done. He can use the disobedience and failures of people to accomplish His sovereign will. Read the Bible closely and you will find that He does that quite regularly.

That doesn’t excuse disobedience in us either, though God will use our faults at times to bring about His perfect plan for us. I wrote some time ago that working all things together for the good isn’t an escape clause from the bad. The good Paul refers to in Romans eight is God’s good plan; everything we go through works toward the accomplishment of the will of God. What could be better (more good) than being a part of what God is doing? Almost every character we read about in Scripture went through tough times. Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David and the Apostles all had their struggles. Yet, God never failed to bring His good will to pass.

The lesson we need to learn, the lesson that often has me in that slow learner class is that God never fails. If I can trust Him, I can trust that even my learning difficulty will not deter Him. That doesn’t mean I can wallow in my ignorance or disobedience. It means that I can push through my failures knowing that the outcome is already written in God’s book for me. God seems to be an infinitely patient special education teacher for slow learners. I suspect that applies to all of us at one time or another. You?

Related posts: Who’s Your Daddy; Why Wait?; Lies We Have Been Told