Marie Antoinette, wife of king Louis XVI of France,
remarked as starving peasants were rioting during the French Revolution, ÒLet
them eat cake!Ó While such words are not politically correct, even in MarieÕs
time, that attitude still underlies much of the difference between rich and
poor, the haves and the have nots, the developed world and the third world.
America has always been known as a land that fosters
religious freedom. From her earliest days of the first colonists, many have
come to this country to worship God in the way they had chosen, some chose not
to worship God at all. From the cult of Mormonism to the straight laced
Puritans, many have sought to establish the Promised Land, or the Millennial
Kingdom, or other Divine government, within the confines of our abundant
landscape. More than any other place on this earth, God has answered these
prayers, hard work, and diligence.
Moses, as his life was ending, on the east side of the
Jordan, was recapping what the Lord had done for the children of Israel, during
the forty years in the wilderness and before. In the midst of this in the
latter part of the Book of Deuteronomy at Chapter 31:26-29 he states:
"Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of
the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; for I know
your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you,
you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death?
Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak
these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against
them. For I know that after my
death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have
commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do
evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your
hands."
No where in the Biblical record do we find any mention of
the American state, so any inference or application of Old Testament natural
Israel to America, is not warranted by exposition. However, there is a valid
distinction that can be drawn between natural Israel and the natural church.
Over time much of the church has become as Moses said it straight. In this
passage we find the indicative, rule of law, but with a somewhat different
twist. It is not stated in do a no, no and you will get a time out, but you
will sin and it will be on your own head. In a way this is an Old Testament
representation of the power of total depravity. Perhaps a more politically
correct statement in todayÕs Evangelical church is ÒGod doesnÕt have any
grandchildren.Ó
Since talking about my dad some weeks ago, IÕve reflected
more upon the tension between his law and grace. With him transgression of the
law was not an option, so it made no sense to try to make any individual power
statements, for they would have been met with overwhelming consequences. Again
this is an illustration of not only GodÕs power, but also His authority. We
need the book of the law as well as the covenant of grace, to maintain our
proper perspective on a journey through this wilderness desert. But over time
without the direct revelation of both aspects of God in the individual life,
rule and exhortation, indicative and imperative, law and gospel get all mixed
up. It is part of the Second law of thermodynamics, but this time applied to
the things of the Spirit and the nature of godly abundant life, or the lack
thereof.
While we are on that subject, let us look at some oneness
doctrines, either specified or inferred. There are those who believe in Jesus
only. There are those who move with the spirit as if the Holy Spirit moved
outside and significantly beyond the scope of scripture. And then there are
those who have the word, and the doctrine, but do little to show the gifts of
the spirit in their lives. Few churches have a balanced view of the entire
Trinity. But before we wander too far into entropy, let us look at the cake of
the evangel. While these preceding comments may add flavoring to the batter,
the evangel cake promoted by modern Evangelicalism many times has as much place
in real reality as MarieÕs statement.
We believe we have our cake and eat it too, but we wonder
why much of the church is obese spiritually (see I donÕt even have enough guts
to link this with natural plumpness) suffering from a sugar high, when our
programs in many cases seem to be destined to not build strong mature
Christians, but those content to drink, not milk as some epistles warn, but
drink pop and eat cake. When is the last time you heard or preached a sermon
with the word sacrifice as part of an exhortation. Personal strain beyond self
indulgence is no longer part of American or our religious culture. ÒPraise the
Lord for His sacrifice, but God I have enough trouble just getting to church on
time. Actually, I donÕt mind being late for church, we call it calvary time, I
just donÕt want to be late for the rapture.Ó
Is it really that hard to see the disconnect here?
Truthfully no one will look for the disconnect until something or someone tells
us we are disconnected. My computer has a little screen that pops up when
something goes wrong trying to connect to the internet and says essentially,
ÒWe have a failure to communicate.Ó It wonÕt go away and I canÕt do anything
else until I actually close that stupid little window! How can anyone truly
think they are a disciple of Jesus Christ when they donÕt live a life of
discipline? Just how cheap can we make grace to appease our slothfulness?
ÒNow Jerry, the love of God is not that way, GodÕs grace
covers a multitude of sins.Ó
Not so, GodÕs grace covering our sins, is an Old
Testament precept or an exhortation with consequence. It takes a blood
sacrifice of a bull, or a goat, or a lamb, or a dove, and you know those animal
rights activists, they might burn our church. In the New Testament GodÕs grace removes our sins, if we are
faithful to confess them. But we never repent, because we are a good person bound
for heaven and all people are basically good. It follows that all people go to
heaven. We are now in worse condition than those in Israel, for we alter the
word of God to say there is no hell, and all paths lead to God. But GodÕs grace
shown to us is a consequence of ChristÕs righteousness and that imputation to
the body of Christ, to those who believe by faith in their justification
through Him.
Now the cool thing about the Bible is that if we apply
ourselves to itÕs study and itÕs wisdom and itÕs precepts, it is a book that we
will never outgrow in this life. There is a lot of meat and potatoes, beans and
rice, even vegetables and milk. But if we spend our time only noticing the
sweet and desert passages, we shall never grow into Christian maturity.
Moses tells us as he was about to die, that God is going
to give us what we deserve. Well not quite! He gives us what we ask for. In a
land spoiled with ease and abundance, sugar coated everything, we ask for a
sweet life, all without space for God and that is what we receive, along with
the consequence for those actions. Then we run, from here to there, busy, busy,
busy. ÒGod knows, IÕm too busy to
read my Bible daily, IÕm way too busy to do anything except consume more stuff,
eat more cake, how can I ever show up to church on time.Ó
I recall somewhere in my youth or childhood, I was doing
something good, at church. It was an old time church with a bell and a narthex.
I was there talking with a friend who was one of the ushers. Promptly after the
bell was rung, the service started. A few minutes later, a young couple showed
up, working on calvary time. My usher friend walked over and politely told
them. ÒOur worship service has already started and it is designed to be one
continuous expression of our love for God and our reverent gratitude for the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because of that unity I can not seat you for this
service, you will have to come back next week.
It has been years now since I remembered this episode,
but for the life of me, I canÕt remember where it took place, perhaps it was
only a dream. Which brings me back to my dad. As a teenager I never had any
specified time that I had to be home on Saturday night. Much to the amazement
of all my friends. But it was really quite a simple concept. The law was: Come
in when you want, only you will be up in time for us to get to church on time
Sunday morning, and you will not complain about being tired, or not wanting to
go. Simply the power of the law of pop, exhorted me to behave like a mature young
man, when most of my friends were still trying to see what they could get away
with. I canÕt help but to believe, from what I read in the Bible, my dad and my
Heavenly Father, really are not that much different.
I tell people when they begin to work for me, that I am
going to be either the easiest boss they ever worked for, or the hardest, it is
all up to them. It is their choice. Most amaze me, and perhaps even more themselves.
A number I have had to slow down. To those who couldnÕt work, or were unwilling
to learn to work in that type of environment, we play baseball. After strike
three, your out. For some of the potential baseball players, I also like the
term, ÒI will be all over you like white on rice!Ó I suppose all this comes
from my dad and my military training.
Since ÒMystery of loveÓ on July 25th with Kris ReppÕs
report from the front lines in Guatemala, the Lord has been having me deal with
the need for more natural discipline in the church. The children of God, need
rules, more law in their lives,
but not in the form of legalism. Legalism is just some bitter frosting on a
tasteless cake. Way too many people today will strike out, and strike out
quickly, and those who understand their problem, too few flower into all that
God has for them. There is a need for tension here, but not balance. This is
perhaps the most difficult problem facing Pastors and church leaders today.
This is why we would like to go to the Little Dalles and develop a training
facility for those opportunities. To have a situation, where you may get cold,
or hungry, or tired, but you are not going to jeopardize your life, or more
importantly, the lives of others. Please continue to intercede for this great
God-given opportunity.