Hebrews 12:4-12
This passage strikes me as funny and profound. The author has just listed an inspiring group of people who lived by faith and endured incredible hardships and received incredible blessing because of their conviction that God would keep his promise. Then the author encouraged the readers to run their race with perseverance. Now, the author's encouragement? The hardship you are facing is God's discipline and God only disciplines those he loves, therefore, be encouraged because God loves you and you are his children. The key words in the passage are discipline, love and children.
The author also offers some perspective: while the trials the readers are facing are extreme and very real, they have not yet died for their faith. Others have suffered much more and persevered through it. So, the readers should continue to persevere.
Both of these are great reminders. First, that God loves me but his love is not the passive love that just lets me do whatever I want. As my Father, he will discipline me for his glory and for my ultimate joy. I must learn to see the hardships that I face as an act of love on God's part. Second, the hardships I face are absolutely nothing compared to the hardships others face. The hardships I face are not even directly related to my faith but are just part of regular life: getting cut off in traffic, running late, not having things go as smoothly as I want. I don't think I've ever been persecuted for my faith. Sometimes my faith could be seen to have inconvenienced me in that it would have been easier in the immediate to make an immoral choice. But I have never been thrown in jail, beat up, had my property taken or felt threatened because of my faith. Because of this, I think I have a responsibility to do what the readers of Hebrews did: stand side by side with those who are being publicly exposed to ridicule, insult and persecution.
Showing posts with label discipline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discipline. Show all posts
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Danger of Unbelief
Hebrews 3:16-19
The author asks a series of questions about the historical incident that prevented the Jewish adults from entering the promised rest. Basically he is making the point that it is the very people that Moses led out of captivity that have been denied entrance into God's rest. They had seen the redemptive work of God in the Exodus but still their hearts tended towards unbelief. The author is stressing that unbelief leads to disobedience. The logical flow, according to the author is: unbelief leads to disobedience leads to discipline. In this case, the discipline is death and an inability to enter God's promised rest.
All of this relates back to the quote the author uses: "if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." The warning is that a hardened heart leads to disobedience and disobedience leads to punishment. It is an exhortation to continue in obedience to the voice of God and to make sure that my heart is soft toward him and his direction. The author is hinting that there is a promised rest for all of those who continue to obey God. The Sabbath and the Promised Land are mere shadows that point to the final Sabbath rest available to those who obey.
The author asks a series of questions about the historical incident that prevented the Jewish adults from entering the promised rest. Basically he is making the point that it is the very people that Moses led out of captivity that have been denied entrance into God's rest. They had seen the redemptive work of God in the Exodus but still their hearts tended towards unbelief. The author is stressing that unbelief leads to disobedience. The logical flow, according to the author is: unbelief leads to disobedience leads to discipline. In this case, the discipline is death and an inability to enter God's promised rest.
All of this relates back to the quote the author uses: "if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." The warning is that a hardened heart leads to disobedience and disobedience leads to punishment. It is an exhortation to continue in obedience to the voice of God and to make sure that my heart is soft toward him and his direction. The author is hinting that there is a promised rest for all of those who continue to obey God. The Sabbath and the Promised Land are mere shadows that point to the final Sabbath rest available to those who obey.
Monday, May 4, 2009
corrupt heart = corrupt actions
Matthew 15:10-20
The key words in this passage are: mouth, defile, plant, blind. This section is the continuation of the dispute that started by the Pharisees asking Jesus why his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. This had nothing to do with hygiene and everything to do with religious ritual. In fact, the extremely pious would wash their hands after each course of the meal. Jesus' main point is that it is not eating with unclean hands that defiles a person but what comes out through words or actions is an indication of the corruption that is in a person's heart.
So lately I've noticed that I've been swearing a lot - mostly in private and mostly under my breath but it's been coming out. Now I know that I should do some behaviour modification in that I should stop swearing. Jesus would agree that I should stop swearing but I think he would point to something deeper than the words coming out of my mouth. This passage tells me that the words coming out of my mouth are an indication of the condition of my heart. So, I need to ask myself, what is going on inside of me that would cause the increase in swearing? In the meantime, I need to exercise some discipline and gain control of my tongue but I also need to realize that my tongue speaks from the overflow of my heart.
The point, I think, is that none of us can change our own hearts. Jesus is making it clear that observing religious ritual is not enough. It doesn't deal with the heart issue. Self-discipline is very good but it is not enough because it doesn't deal with the heart issue. The question that the disciples should be asking Jesus at this point is: if we can't change our heart by observing the religious rituals or by self-discipline, how can we change our hearts? Jesus' reply would probably be something like: "You can't. That's why I am here because only God (Father, Son and Spirit) can change your heart." Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O, take and seal it...
The key words in this passage are: mouth, defile, plant, blind. This section is the continuation of the dispute that started by the Pharisees asking Jesus why his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. This had nothing to do with hygiene and everything to do with religious ritual. In fact, the extremely pious would wash their hands after each course of the meal. Jesus' main point is that it is not eating with unclean hands that defiles a person but what comes out through words or actions is an indication of the corruption that is in a person's heart.
So lately I've noticed that I've been swearing a lot - mostly in private and mostly under my breath but it's been coming out. Now I know that I should do some behaviour modification in that I should stop swearing. Jesus would agree that I should stop swearing but I think he would point to something deeper than the words coming out of my mouth. This passage tells me that the words coming out of my mouth are an indication of the condition of my heart. So, I need to ask myself, what is going on inside of me that would cause the increase in swearing? In the meantime, I need to exercise some discipline and gain control of my tongue but I also need to realize that my tongue speaks from the overflow of my heart.
The point, I think, is that none of us can change our own hearts. Jesus is making it clear that observing religious ritual is not enough. It doesn't deal with the heart issue. Self-discipline is very good but it is not enough because it doesn't deal with the heart issue. The question that the disciples should be asking Jesus at this point is: if we can't change our heart by observing the religious rituals or by self-discipline, how can we change our hearts? Jesus' reply would probably be something like: "You can't. That's why I am here because only God (Father, Son and Spirit) can change your heart." Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O, take and seal it...
Friday, January 26, 2007
Shipwrecks and Harsh Lessons
1 Timothy 1
Paul uses some pretty vivid language at the end of this chapter. I am still stuck on v. 19: "Holding on to the faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith."
Shipwreck... I guess Paul would know what he was talking about since he was shipwrecked at least once himself. He would know the utter chaos, immense danger and extreme panic that would accompany a ship floundering at sea or unexpectedly running aground and breaking up on some rocks. This is how Paul sees people who are giving up the faith and a good conscience. These act like the ballast and rudder to keep the journey of our life under control and on course. (I still like the NLT take on this verse: "Cling..." - goes very nicely with the shipwreck imagery).
I've read this chapter everyday for about a week now and just glided (is that the past tense of "glide" or should it be "glid") over the phrase "whom I have handed over to Satan...". Wow! That's pretty extreme! I think what Paul means is that they have been excluded from the community of disciples. In 1 Corinthians 5 handing over to Satan is synonymous with being excluded from fellowship.
Paul was serious about church discipline - for the protection of the fellowship and for the good of the person being disciplined. In this case, they were handed over to be taught not to blaspheme, indicating that they would be welcomed back when they had learned their lesson. In 1 Corinthians 5, the incestuous man was handed over to deal with his sin, indicating that he would be welcomed back upon repentance and restoration.
I need to value the role of community and the church more highly. If being handed over to Satan means being removed from fellowship then I must never voluntarily remove myself from fellowship and must be very careful that my actions, teaching and life promote the development of community and not destroy it. The fellowship of the disciples of Christ acts as a protection against the work of Satan. It must be valued very highly!
Paul uses some pretty vivid language at the end of this chapter. I am still stuck on v. 19: "Holding on to the faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith."
Shipwreck... I guess Paul would know what he was talking about since he was shipwrecked at least once himself. He would know the utter chaos, immense danger and extreme panic that would accompany a ship floundering at sea or unexpectedly running aground and breaking up on some rocks. This is how Paul sees people who are giving up the faith and a good conscience. These act like the ballast and rudder to keep the journey of our life under control and on course. (I still like the NLT take on this verse: "Cling..." - goes very nicely with the shipwreck imagery).
I've read this chapter everyday for about a week now and just glided (is that the past tense of "glide" or should it be "glid") over the phrase "whom I have handed over to Satan...". Wow! That's pretty extreme! I think what Paul means is that they have been excluded from the community of disciples. In 1 Corinthians 5 handing over to Satan is synonymous with being excluded from fellowship.
Paul was serious about church discipline - for the protection of the fellowship and for the good of the person being disciplined. In this case, they were handed over to be taught not to blaspheme, indicating that they would be welcomed back when they had learned their lesson. In 1 Corinthians 5, the incestuous man was handed over to deal with his sin, indicating that he would be welcomed back upon repentance and restoration.
I need to value the role of community and the church more highly. If being handed over to Satan means being removed from fellowship then I must never voluntarily remove myself from fellowship and must be very careful that my actions, teaching and life promote the development of community and not destroy it. The fellowship of the disciples of Christ acts as a protection against the work of Satan. It must be valued very highly!
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