GOD IS LOVE

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:8-10)

[NOTE: I lost my original notes. This recreation does not have the many footnotes I usually have. I apologize for all the quotes without a source of attribution.]

When Scripture says God is love, it is not offering a mere description—it is giving us a definition of God’s very nature. God does not have love the way we have attributes. God is love. I increasingly lean toward the idea that every attribute we ascribe to God is an attribute of His love. God’s love is:

·  omnipotent

·  all-knowing

·  holy

·  just

·  merciful

·  gracious

These are not competing qualities such that we would have to say, “God is love -but God is also Justice!” as if somehow God stopped loving when God acted justly. There is no expressions of whom God is or what God does that is not a reflection of divine love.

Right away in Scripture, we learn that a key aspect of  God’s love – and the attributes of it - is that it endures. It’s in some of the most ancient confessions of Israel. I’ve introduced you before to The God Creed in Exodus 34:6–7. When God reveals Himself to Moses, He also tells Moses what He is like.

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

This is Scripture’s own summary of who God is. We see versions of it scattered throughout the Old Testament.

Psalm 103:8 - “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

Psalm 138:8 - “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.”

Lamentations 3:22–23 - “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

Notice what is absent in these texts. There is no expiration date. No asterisk. No sneaky clause that says, “Well, unless you fail Me one too many times!!!” God’s love is not presented as fragile, or easily revoked, or dependent on our consistency. It is presented as durable, stubborn, even relentless.

There are many images the Old Testament gives us to create a picture in our minds of what this loving God is like. These are two that stood out to me this week.

God’s Love Looks Like a Shepherd (Psalm 23)

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.

You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full. Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life. (NET)

So what does this shepherd do?

· The shepherd provides

· The shepherd leads

· The shepherd restores

· The shepherd protects 

· The shepherd pursues

There is nothing that chases away the shepherd’s presence. And notice how the psalm ends—not with the sheep clinging to God, but with God’s goodness and faithfulness pursuing the sheep. This reminds of something Paul wrote:

“I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

This next image is going to sound like a stark contrast, but it’s not. It is still an expression of love.

God’s Love Looks Like a Crucible

Proverbs 17:3 - “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.”

Zechariah 13:9 - “And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested, they will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is My God.’”

Malachi 3:3 - “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.”

 Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest provides a beautiful illustration.

“The picture here is of an ancient goldsmith who puts his crude gold ore in a crucible, subjects it to intense heat, and thus liquefies the mass. The impurities rise to the surface and are skimmed off. When the metalworker is able to see the reflection of his face clearly mirrored in the surface of the liquid, he takes it off the fire, for he knows that the contents are pure gold…. This, above all, God the Father desires to see. Christlikeness is God’s ideal for His child.”

God does not refine in order to discard. He refines because He intends to keep. The fire is not a sign of rejection—it is a sign of commitment. He who has begun a good work in us will be faithful to continue it. (Philippians 1:6)

Fast forward to the incarnation, in which the ultimate expression of God’s love has a human face. What God’s people had previously only confessed in word is now revealed as a person: the Word become flesh. This Incarnation of God, Jesus, is what we celebrate at Christmas. And as far as a revelation of God goes, this one could not be better.

· Colossians 1:15, 19 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation… in him all the

fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

·  Colossians 2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

· John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”

So we can expect to see in the life of Jesus the full expression of God’s love. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. If you want to know what God’s love looks like in action, look at Jesus. Now we don’t just hear words and envision images about the Shepherd and the Crucible and all the other things, we see them in action.

Let’s take three main events in Jesus’ life, as well as the final vision in John’s Revelation, to see what God’s love is like as expressed through the life, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus.

God’s Love Is Like a Manger

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Titus 3:4–7 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

I like this summary from Thomas Watson:

“See here [in the Incarnation]… the infinite love of God the Father; that when we had lost ourselves by sin, God, in the riches of his grace, sent forth his Son… to redeem us. And behold the infinite love of Christ, in that he was willing thus to condescend [and] did not disdain to take our flesh. Oh, the love of Christ!”

In Bethlehem, the first statement God makes about Himself in Christ is not aloofness, but proximity. Not distance, but nearness. In the Incarnation, God leads by displaying that God’s love shows up in vulnerability, humility, empathy, and genuine relationship.

 God’s Love Looks Like a Cross

Romans 5:8 “But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

1 John 4:9-10 “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

A scholar named William Barclay wrote,

“The coming of Christ and the death of Christ, is the proof of God’s love. Sometimes the thing is stated as if on the one side there was a gentle, loving Christ, on the other an angry and vengeful God; and as if Christ did something which changed God’s attitude to [people]. Nothing could be further from the truth…. Jesus did not come to change God’s attitude to [people]; he came to show what it is and always was.”

Philip Keller grew up in a missionary family in Africa, and later became a pastor and prolific author who often focused on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He once wrote this.

“Here we commemorate the greatest and deepest demonstration of true love the world has ever known. For God looked down upon sorrowing, struggling, sinning humanity and was moved with compassion for the contrary, sheep-like creatures He had made. In spite of the tremendous personal cost it would entail to Himself to deliver them from their dilemma He chose deliberately to descend and live amongst them that He might deliver them…

He knew He would be exposed to terrible privation, to ridicule, to false accusations, to rumor, gossip and malicious charges that branded Him as a glutton, drunkard, friend of sinners and even an imposter. It entailed losing His reputation. It would involve physical suffering, mental anguish and spiritual agony.

In short, His coming to earth as the Christ, as Jesus of Nazareth, was a straightforward case of utter self-sacrifice that culminated in the cross of Calvary. The laid-down life, the poured-out blood were the supreme symbols of total selflessness. This was love.”

It's important to remember that the cross did not persuade God to love us (see John 3;16). The cross reveals that God already loved us. If, “while were yet sinners Christ died for us,” and Christ died because He loves us, it follows that God loved us before the cross. And on that cross, we see that God’s love is cruciform. It is selfless, life-giving sacrifice on our behalf, so that those who are far from God will come near to Him.

God’s Love Is Like an Empty Tomb

Raising yourself from the dead is a pretty convincing way of demonstrating that you have the power to do whatever you claim to be able to do. Jesus claimed to be able to love us in all the ways we have already covered. Contained in His death and resurrection is a promise. C.S. Lewis once wrote:

“In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down … down to the very roots and sea-bed of the nature he has created. But he goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with him.”

 This empty tomb is the culmination of Jesus’ life ministry. It’s another variation on the theme we have been covering. I know some of you enjoy reading A.W. Tozer’s devotionals. He has this to say about the life of Jesus:

“When Jesus died on the cross the mercy of God did not become any greater. It could not become any greater, for it was already infinite. We get the odd notion that God is showing mercy because Jesus died. No--Jesus died because God is showing mercy. It was the mercy of God that gave us Calvary, not Calvary that gave us mercy. If God had not been merciful there would have been no incarnation, no babe in the manger, no man on a cross and no open tomb.”

God’s Love is Like A City Whose Gates Are Never Shut

John writes of a city whose gates are never shut in Revelation 21 and 22.

And in the city, there is no need for the sun to light the day or moon the night because the resplendent glory of the Lord provides the city with warm, beautiful light and the Lamb illumines every corner of the new Jerusalem. And all peoples of all the nations will walk by its unfailing light, and the rulers of the earth will stream into the city bringing with them the symbols of their grandeur and power. During the day, its gates will not be closed; the darkness of night will never settle in.

He’s describing the unending, welcoming, and secure nature of divine love. There is no fear, sin, or sorrow, only perpetual invitation and rest for the redeemed.

(21:3-6) And I heard a great voice, coming from the throne: “See, the home of God is with His people. He will live among them; they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them. The prophecies are fulfilled: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning no more, crying no more, pain no more, for the first things have gone away.” And the One who sat on the throne announced to His creation, “See, I am making all things new.”

(22:16-21) Then Jesus said, “I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears these words say, “Come.” And let those who thirst come. All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life.

* * * * *

So what is God’s love like?

· It is like a Shepherd who pursues us even when we wander.

· It is like a Crucible that refines without rejecting.

· It is like a Manger, choosing nearness over aloofness

· It is like a Cross, laying itself down for the sake of the beloved.

· It is like an Empty Tomb, refusing to let death, sin, or fear have the final word.

· It is like an Eternally Open City, inviting all into the Light of Christ with joyful entry and eternal rest.

When Jesus arrived, it was The Light of the World shining into the darkness. And the darkness did not—and will not—overcome it. This is the love we celebrate this Christmas, and all the year.

Samaritans, Eunuchs, and Philistines (Isaiah 53; Acts 8:26-40)

Before we address today’s passage, we have to start with Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53 

Who would ever believe it?
    Who would possibly accept what we’ve been told?
    Who has witnessed the awesome power and plan of the Eternal in action?

 Out of emptiness he came, like a tender shoot from rock-hard ground.
He didn’t look like anything or anyone of consequence—
    he had no physical beauty to attract our attention.

So he was despised and forsaken by men,
    this man of suffering, grief’s patient friend.
As if he was a person to avoid, we looked the other way;
    he was despised, forsaken, and we took no notice of him.

Yet it was our suffering he carried,
    our pain and distress, our sick-to-the-soul-ness.
We just figured that God had rejected him,
    that God was the reason he hurt so badly.

 But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so.
    Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him.
He endured the breaking that made us whole.
    The injuries he suffered became our healing.

 We all have wandered off, like shepherdless sheep,
    scattered by our aimless striving and endless pursuits;
The Eternal One laid on him, this silent sufferer,
    the sins of us all.

And in the face of such oppression and suffering—silence.
    Not a word of protest, not a finger raised to stop it.
Like a sheep to a shearing, like a lamb to be slaughtered,
    he went—oh so quietly, oh so willingly.

Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away.
    From this generation, who was there to complain?
Who was there to cry “Foul”? 

He was, after all, cut off from the land of the living,
Smacked and struck, not on his account, because of how my people (my people!)
disregarded the lines between right and wrong.
    They snuffed out his life.

And when he was dead, he was buried with the disgraced
    in borrowed space (among the rich), even though he did no wrong by word or deed.               Yet the Eternal One planned to crush him all along, to bring him to grief, this innocent servant of God.

When he puts his life in sin’s dark place, in the pit of wrongdoing,
    this servant of God will see his children and have his days prolonged.
For in His servant’s hand, the Eternal’s deepest desire will come to pass and flourish.

As a result of the trials and troubles that wrack his soul,
    God’s servant will see light and be content
Because he knows, he really understands, what it’s about. As God says,   

“My just servant will justify countless others by taking on their punishment and bearing it away. Because he exposed his very self - laid bare his soul to the vicious grasping of death -
and was counted among the worst, I will count him among the best.

I will allot this one, My servant, a share in all that is of any value,
because he took on himself the sin of many
    and acted on behalf of those who broke My law.”[1]

Most rabbinic interpretations thought this was about the nation Israel (see references at 52:14; 53:2, 4, 10) as the suffering servant of God. But, Israel failed in their calling. Just like Jesus is referred to as the new and better Adam, Jesus is also the new and better Israel. Isaiah is writing about Jesus after all; the original audience just didn’t know it.

“Jesus had become a remnant of one. He was the embodiment of faithful Israel, the truly righteous and suffering servant.”[2]

This will be important for today’s passage as we read about Philip introducing someone to Jesus starting with Isaiah 53.

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”).

This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.

Fun fact relating to biblical language: to Greeks and Romans, Ethiopia was at the ends of the earth. Homer said that Ethiopians lived “at the world’s end.” Herodotus claimed that Ethiopia “stretches farthest of the inhabited lands in the direction of the sun’s decline.” When Jesus sent his disciples to “the ends of the earth,” (Acts 1:8) they were probably thinking, “As far as Ethiopia????”[3] Yes, and further, of course :)

Second fact that is not so fun: This particular Ethiopian – who had been to Jerusalem to worship with the Jewish people - was actually an outcast in Judaism since, as a eunuch, he was in a constant state of ritual impurity (Leviticus 21:20; 22:24). Jewish law excluded eunuchs from public worship in the temple.[4]Josephus reflects a general attitude regarding eunuchs:

“Let those that have made themselves eunuchs be had in detestation; and avoid any conversation with them who have deprived themselves of…that fruit of generation which God has given to men for the increase of their kind; let such be driven away, as if they had killed their children, since they beforehand have lost what should procure them.”

The third fact – fun again - is that God directs Philip to southwest Palestine—the OT land of the Philistines. Gaza itself is one of the five cities of the Philistines.[5]  More on this later.

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?  For his life was taken from the earth.”[b] 

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

It is likely that Philip started explaining how Jesus is the new and better Israel, the truly perfect Suffering Servant, the divine Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.  After beginning with Isaiah 53, Philip probably went to some Scriptures called "Scriptures of the Servant of the Lord and the Righteous Sufferer" (i.e., Isaiah 42:1-44:5; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and Psalms 22, 34, 69, 118).[6]

While a doctrine of a suffering Messiah was largely considered unthinkable (the Messiah would be triumphant; it was Israel that was the Righteous Sufferer), there was a small remnant in Judaism that had a concept of a suffering Messiah.[7]

The Babylonian Talmud[8] says: “The Messiah, what is his name? The Rabbis say, The Leper Scholar, as it is said, ‘surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted...’” (Sanhedrin 98b).

Midrash[9] Ruth Rabbah says: “Another explanation (of Ruth 2:14): He is speaking of king Messiah… eat of the bread,’ that is, the bread of the kingdom; ‘and dip thy morsel in the vinegar,’ this refers to his chastisements, as it is said, ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.’”[10]

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37]  38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.[11] 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.[12]

Everybody had to be immersed in a mikveh, a ritual bath, before entering the temple. In the ancient mikva’ot (plural of mikveh) found in Jerusalem, there  are a set of steps going down to the mikveh in an impure state on one side, and steps going up where the pilgrim will emerge fresh and ritually clean.[13]

Previously, a eunuch could not be baptized into Judaism and was not allowed to worship in the temple. However, it turns out that Isaiah has something important to say to the eunuchs as well:  

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. 

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. 

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:3–8)

This guy has probably been ready to be baptized for a long time. Finally, the outsider was invited in, and he went on his way rejoicing.

 * * * * *

Why does this matter to us today?

Philip goes three places as an evangelist after he is one of those scattered from Jerusalem due to persecution. In each of these places he meets people who represent more than just themselves. There are three types of people to whom Philip took the message of Jesus. We still have these types around us today.

To Samaritans (Jews who worshipped in a rival temple). Samaritans weren’t “outsiders”—they were failed insiders. And failed insiders are often harder to love than total outsiders. They were the group that “should have known better.”  Maybe today, it’s our spiritual cousins inside the larger Christian world whom we believe have deeply intertwined their faith with non-Christian values and priorities – and they should have known better.

• Christians who worship in alternative Christian sects, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses or the LDS church, where they claim additional revelation to the authority of the Bible and present a view of Jesus that is very different from orthodox Christianity.

• I have heard the term “Chrislam” used to describe those who try to make Islam and Christianity compatible in spite of starkly differing views of Jesus.

• When the values of the Empire start to become the values of the church, that probably counts, too.  On the Right, this could be concern for Christians becoming “woke.” On the Left, it’s a concern over Christian Nationalism.

That’s my best analogies for today. In the best case scenario, a Samaritan could simply be the “wrong kind” of Christian – at least as we see it. In the worst case scenario, they have intertwined their faith with non-Christian values and priorities so much that their belief and practice place them somewhere outside of orthodox Christian history and tradition.

What should our response be? Philip did not abandon them. He went to them first. They were not enemies to push away or persecute or mock. They were God’s children, and they needed to hear the truth about who God really is as revealed in Jesus.  

To a eunuch (who wasn’t allowed to worship in the temple.) He carried profound stigma, as he was perceived by pretty much everyone as sexually ambiguous and damaged. Eunuchs were generally an outcast everywhere except by those who castrated them. By cultural and societal standards, he was no longer “a real man.” (I didn’t repeat some of the really blistering things Josephus had to say.) He represents the category of people who had been told - explicitly or implicitly – that they no longer had value. “You are too damaged. God is not for people like you. You are not welcome to worship with us.”

Notice what Philip does. Philip does not distance or degrade him. He runs to him and sits with him and opens Scripture. It turns out this man was just waiting to be told about Jesus. A man who had been widely shunned and always been told he could not be a part of the family of God was now being told that he could be a part of the family of God. No wonder he responds with, “What could possibly stop me from being baptized?”

Societal outcasts are not enemies to push away or persecute or mock. They are God’s image bearers, and they needed to hear the truth about who God really is as revealed in Jesus, and invited to become an insider. 

To Philistines (who worshipped false gods in rival temples). They are the archetypal enemies in Israel’s memory—Goliath’s people, oppressors, idolaters. God’s people simply did not go to Philistia. These are not the “compromised insiders.” They’re not “unvalued outsiders.” These are the people followers of Jesus experience as  actively hostile to our faith. Today, this could include:

• People who are aggressively anti-Christian (mockery, discrimination, persecution)

• People whose culture norms or beliefs directly and publicly challenge Christian faith and practice

What would Philip do? Would he panic, or match hate with hate?  No. He went to Philistia, right into their cities. He actually runs into Philistia. He didn’t avoid or dismiss them; he took Jesus to them.

Unlike Jonah, who really hated that God wanted to spare Ninevah, Philip seems really excited about letting enemies and outcasts know that God wants them to be part of His family. He’s not afraid of them or disgusted by them; he’s on mission. He is going to the highways and byways and compelling them to come in.

They are not enemies to push away or persecute or mock. They are God’s image bearers, and they need to hear the truth about how God as revealed in Jesus loves them and invites them, like Paul, to repentance and restoration. 

* * * * *

Just to recap:  

• for the Samaritans, Philip went to them and told them about Jesus. There was great rejoicing.

• for the eunuch, Philip went to him and told him about Jesus, and there was great rejoicing.

• as for the Philistines, it doesn’t say, but he told them about Jesus, and I’m pretty sure rejoicing continued 

I think Philip reminds us that the whole world is loved by Jesus, not just some people here and there. It’s too easy to create silos filled with “those” that we just can’t imagine interacting with or befriending or caring for. It’s too easy to give harsh nicknames and tell cruel jokes and post memes that paint “them” in the worst possible light.

It’s too easy to be like Jonah, resentful that God cares about them too, and extra resentful that we might be the one with boots on the ground in places that are really uncomfortable and that seem impossible.

What if we were more like Philip, following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to keep moving closer to everyone?

The church must be filled with those reaching out to the Samaritans, the eunuchs, the Philistines. That’s a crucial part of our mission field. If we want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus (and Philip), we will move closer so that the good news of Jesus may bring great rejoicing.

_____________________________________________________________________________

[1] “‘It is written: “And he was numbered with the transgressors”; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.’” —Jesus, in Luke 22:37

[2] Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard, “Isaiah,” An Introduction to the Old Testament,

[3] Also, Isaiah uses this phrase (Isaiah 45:22: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!”), and it would fit well if Isaiah is going to be the starting point of discussion.

[4] “If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be included in the assembly of the Lord” (Deut. 23:1).

[5] All three points are taken from information from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament.

[6] Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament

[7] Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament

[8] The Talmud is foundational to Rabbinic Judaism as a primary source of Jewish law and theology. It The Babylonian Talmud was written before the time of Jesus.

[9] A teaching within the Mishnah, a sort of commentary on the written law. It was written down starting in AD 200.

[10]“ Is the “The Suffering Servant” prophecy in Isaiah 53 about Jesus?” gotquestions.org

[11] “When Philip had baptized the eunuch, the Spirit of God showed him that it was not the will of God that he should accompany the eunuch to Meroe, but, on the contrary, that he should hasten away to Ashdod; as God had in that, and the neighboring places, work sufficient to employ him in.” (Adam Clarke)

[12] As Philip preached in all the cities of Palestine till he came to Caesarea, he must have preached in the different cities of the Philistine country, Ashdod, Akkaron, and Jamnia, and also in the principal parts of Samaria, as these lay in his way from Gaza to Caesarea. (Adam Clarke)

[13] “THE JEWISH ROOTS OF BAPTISM.” Oneforisrael.org

The Kingdom, Rightly Expressed (Acts 8: 4-25)

In the last sermon in this series, we discussed how the persecution that followed Stephen’s death scattered the church. The persecution was bad, but the scattering was good. It took God’s people out of Jerusalem and into all the world. #greatcomission  This is where we pick up.

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention (“were praying to him”[1]) and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”[2] 11 They followed him because he had bewitched them for a long time with his sorcery.

 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,[3]they were baptized, men and women.[4] 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, bewitched by the great signs and miracles he saw.

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.[5]

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability/authority so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “"Your silver will go with you to destruction, because you thought that the gift of God is acquired by the possessions of the world."21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 

22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”[6]24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”[7]

25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

* * * * *

We learn a lot in this passage about how God expects His kingdom to come to earth, as it is in heaven. We will focus on three key things.

The Kingdom, rightly expressed, brings blessing and joy.

Sick and broken people (and those who cared about them) listened to what Philip had to say when their lives got better after a follower of Jesus showed up. He cast out demons and healed the sick. “There was great joy.” You bet there was.[8] How would there not be?  I’ve said more than once that when the Kingdom is clicking on all cylinders, the poor, the sick, the powerless and oppressed are going to say, “Thank God the Christians are here!”

However, if the story stops there, it’s just a contest of miracles vs. magic. Apparently Simon did some really impressive stuff too. I don’t know if he made their lives better, but he had their attention. It seems that people tend to follow both 1) those who impress them, and 2) those would can make their lives better. So, there is going to have to be more to what Philip has to offer than just the practical provision. And there is.

“But Philip proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.”

There are different reasons people follow a spiritual leader—but only one reason people become disciples: they accept a truth that transforms not just their physical bodies but also their hearts and souls.

Great joy came to the city thanks to how Philip was healing people, and that was a good thing. But just like Jesus healing the lame man before he forgave his sins, Philip healed people on the outside in the name of Jesus so they had good reason to believe that Jesus had the power to heal them on the inside.

This could be a whole sermon, but I’ll try to put it succinctly. If the power of God manifesting in ways that people could see served as proof that God can do things inside that they couldn’t see, would that not be true of any manifestation of the power of God? Not just the kind of miracles Philip did, but the tangible expression of God’s love, kindness, mercy, justice, grace, etc.? When we express these things as tangible actions that help the circumstances of others in ways they can see, I suspect it sends a message about what God can do in the intangible spiritual parts of people that they can’t see. To paraphrase an old saying, we can give someone a fish, teach them to fish, and point them to Jesus, who feeds their souls. They all work together.

The Kingdom, rightly expressed, erases unholy fault lines.[9]

The laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit is recorded only two other times in Acts (the conversion of Saul in Acts 9, and a group of disciples in Ephesus in Acts 19). There were a lot of other times where the laying on of hands does not seem necessary (like at Pentecost). Why did it matter here?

I’m leaning toward the commentaries that suggest the apostles laid hands on them here because they needed to be a part of a clear sign that the Spirit of God was living and active in Samaritans (!).[10]

The Samaritans were descendants of Israelites who had intermarried with the conquering Assyrians during the exile (2 Kings 17). They kept some Old Testament traditions and doctrine, but they also blended pagan beliefs. Faithful Jews saw Samaritans as corrupt and unclean.

When Jews from the Southern Kingdom returned from Babylonian captivity and began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, the Samaritans offered help. The Jews refused. So, the Samaritans tried to sabotage what they were doing (Ezra 4:1–5). They also tried to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall (Nehemiah 4:2).

The Samaritans finally built a temple of their own. About 130 years before the time of Jesus, a Jewish king defeated the Samaritan nation and destroyed their temple on Mount Gerizim. Though it was never rebuilt, the Samaritans insisted that Gerizim was the only legitimate place of worship – which was part of Jesus discussion with the woman at the well (John 4:20). [11]

Jews and Samaritans had centuries of theological/social hostility. If they weren’t careful, the early church could fracture along old lines of hostility. The apostles themselves needed to participate in ratifying Jesus’ presence with the Samaritans and literally touching a people the Jews would have considered unclean. God made unity visible, with the hands of his people standing in for His hand being upon them.

The gospel doesn’t just heal individuals—it heals communities. It breaks unholy boundaries, confronts old rivalries, and forms what Paul will eventually call “one new humanity.” (Ephesians 2:15)

This could be a whole sermon, so here’s the brief version: There is just no room for unholy fault lines in the church. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:26-28,

It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God because all of you who have been initiated into the Anointed One through the ceremonial washing of baptism have put Him on. It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one.

In that culture, there were fault lines between Jews and Greeks, slave and free, and men and women (I guess the Samaritan one had already been addressed). Today we might talk about separating, judging, and creating hierarchies of value over things like race, nationality, class, education level, gender, age, citizenship, etc. Every culture at every time has its own things that hinder God’s people from uniting in Christ.

One thing is clear. God allows no place for this. God demands that the good news of the saving gospel of Jesus be given to all people at all places at all times, and that when we are genuinely united by the Spirit of God, the ground will be level at the foot of the cross, and whosever will may come.

The Kingdom, rightly expressed, chooses service over control.

Simon will provide us with what an example of at least one thing that will ruin a joyful community: pride; or the need to be in control to elevate oneself.

Justin (The) Martyr, martyred in 165, had Samaritan lineage. He claimed that almost all the Samaritans considered Simon the highest god (our translation gives the title “the Great Power of God.”) Whatever Simon was doing must have been impressive. Yet, Simon appears to have responded to the message of the Gospel: he “believed” and was “baptized.” Then he apparently saw something really powerful when the Holy Spirit arrived, and he wanted a piece of that action.

“Give me also this ability/authority so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit...”

Peter saw into the root of the problem and called it out:

“Your heart is not right before God… you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Bitterness seems like an odd choice of words – unless it has something to do with being angry that he had lost the spotlight. He seems to have desired power, a stage, a reputation, importance, admiration, etc. To accomplish those things, he was willing to turn the Holy Spirit into a commodity to distribute. It looks like he was more interested in people being impressed by him than transformed by the Holy Spirit.

It’s a terrible practice to use the things of the Kingdom to magnify ourselves. The Kingdom invites surrender; we do not have hearts right before God when we continue to desire control and seek power or try to make sure the spotlight does not waver in its focus on us.

We see Simon’s un-right heart on display when Peter invited repentance.[12] Simon didn’t repent; he just asked Peter to “pray that nothing bad happens to me.” Apparently Peter did, because there is no record that anything bad happened to Simon.[13]  

There’s probably a whole sermon to preach here  but if “hope deferred makes the heart sick,” I wonder if “pride deferred makes the heart bitter.” Here’s something to watch out for: if it makes us mad and/or jealous when the spotlight wavers from us and focuses on someone else, we need a heart check. The church is meant to filled with servants, not attention-seekers. We need servers, not celebrities. Remember what the ground is like at the foot of the cross? That’s the landscape on which God’s church is meant to be built.

Quick recap:

The Kingdom, rightly expressed, brings blessing and joy. It will attract because it makes life better when rightly lived. But that kind of blessing alone doesn’t lead to faith. It opens doors (or eyes and ears) into which “the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” can be preached. Practical provision is an important good that can transform someone’s practical condition, but only the gospel transforms hearts. It’s good to do both.

The Kingdom, rightly expressed, erases unholy fault lines.  God made the apostles lay hands on Samaritans – a people previously loathed by the Jewish people - so that everyone would know that no one is second-class in the kingdom of God. The Spirit unites what all the divisive “-isms”[14] would tear apart.

The Kingdom, rightly expressed, chooses service over control. Simon wanted the benefits of the kingdom without surrendering to its King. He wanted the Spirit’s power in his hands rather than over his life. The King of  this Kingdom confronts this. The kingdom is not magic, manipulation, or power—it is surrender, transformation, and a new kind of life of cruciform love empowered by the Holy Spirit.

* * * * *

Acts 8 gives us a warning and a hope.

The warning: We can go through all the motions—believe, get baptized, follow the miracles—and still miss the heart of the kingdom. Matthew 7:15-23 notes:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

This is a wild passage. Apparently, people can prophesy, cast out demons, and do miracles, while being practitioners of lawlessness who are not part of the kingdom. Those verses suggest that sometimes prophecy, exorcism and miracles are actually bad fruit. That should sober us when we are drawn to someone’s ministry simply because of signs and wonders.

It’s those who do the will of the Father – those who increasingly look like Jesus - whom Jesus recognizes as his own. There is something about faithful obedience in response to God’s love and grace that is really, really important. It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit that offers testimony to true discipleship. Let’s never elevate impressiveness over character, or charisma over righteous maturity. 

The hope: When Peter confronted Simon, he invited him to repent. This participates in a theme we see over and over in the Bible.

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." (Acts 3:19)

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)

 "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)

 “Rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”[15] (Joel 2:13)

Grace remains offered to even the worst offenders. Simon’s sin is pretty terrible: treating the Holy Spirit like a magical toy. And yet he is told,

“Repent and pray to the Lord in hope that he may forgive you.”

Or, as Peter will later say,

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

The is the heart of “the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” God will make us new, and invites us into life in His kingdom.

 ___________________________________________________________________________

[1] Aramaic Bible in Plain English

[2] “Simon Magus the sorcerer is frequently mentioned in ancient writings outside the Bible as the archenemy of the church and one of the leaders of the Gnostic heresy. Gnosticism (named from the Greek word gnosis, meaning “knowledge”) taught that a person gained salvation not by the merit of Christ’s death for sinners, but by special knowledge about God. Justin Martyr (died c. a.d. 165), himself a Samaritan, says that almost all the Samaritans considered Simon the highest god (the “power of God,” v. 10). Irenaeus (died c. a.d. 180), who wrote extensively against the Gnostics, regards Simon as one of the sources of their heresies.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible) 

[3] HELPS Word-studies 3686 ónoma – name; (figuratively) the manifestation or revelation of someone's character, i.e. as distinguishing them from all others. Thus "praying in the name of Christ" means to pray as directed (authorized) by Him, bringing revelation that flows out of being in His presence. "Praying in Jesus' name" therefore is not a "religious formula" just to end prayers (or get what we want)! 

["According to Hebrew notions, a name is inseparable from the person to whom it belongs, i.e. it is something of his essence. Therefore, in the case of the God, it is specially sacred" (Souter).]

[4] “The eager reception by the people (v. 12) is due in part to the foundation laid by St. Photini, the Samaritan woman of Jn 4, who brought news of the Messiah before His crucifixion (see Jn 4:39).” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[5] The Orthodox call this chrismation, the “anointing for the reception of the Holy Spirit”.

[6] Peter is using language from Isa 58.6.

[7] “He offered Simon an opportunity to repent, for Simon, unlike Ananias and Sapphira who died instantly (5:5, 10), was quick to ask for prayers so that the curse pronounced by Peter would not take effect (8:24).” (Africa Bible Commentary)

[8]  “Spirit-given delight that arises from the redemptive acts and abiding presence of God.” (Topical Lexicon)

[9] Think of things that could bring about relational earthquakes that shake or fracture the church.

[10] “The Lord waited to demonstrate the full power of the Holy Spirit (vv. 15–16) until some of the apostles themselves could be present. This way there would be no question at all that the Samaritans had received the Holy Spirit in the same way that the Jewish Christians had (see Rom. 11:13–24; Eph. 2:11–22).” (ESV Global Study Bible)

[11] I am summarizing parts of an article from The Master’s University called “The Unlikeliest Ally.” https://www.masters.edu/thinking_blog/the-unlikeliest-ally/

[12] Something he had not done with Ananias & Sapphira. They lied to the Spirit; Simon tries to buy the Spirit. That’s seems equally egregious. Hmmmm…..

[13] “According to tradition, he afterwards returned to his magical arts and was a bitter enemy of the Church.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[14] Racism, sexism, classism, etc.

[15] #Godcreed

The Scattered Preached The Word (Acts 7:54-8:4)

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of their killing him.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

That scattering is what takes them into all the world to preach the Gospel. #greatcommission This caught my eye, so that is our focus today.

In the Old Testament, it sometimes seems like God wanted His people not to become too comfortable in one place, as if part of His plan was to keep them moving until all the world had heard about Yahweh. When they did settle in places like the Promised Land, it often ended poorly, as if just sitting in one place made them too comfortable or something.

Yet at the same time God did lead them to the Promised Land, and God talks about rest in the land of promise, and the New Testament clearly sees God as the only one who can truly offer us rest.

I want to explore the tension today.

The Patriarchs were nomads by design. Abraham’s calling was to “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”(Genesis 12:1) The first covenant God makes with His people[1] begins with movement. If they were going to follow Yahweh, they have to leave the land the knew and go somewhere new. Abraham’s faith is tested and expressed through journey.

Hebrews 11 later reflects that Abraham “lived in tents” and looked for a city built by God. Apparently, everywhere he went, he was not meant to feel permanently at home. Jacob continues this pattern.

“The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” (Genesis 47:9)

The patriarchs were pilgrims, not settlers. Their relationship with God was built on trust, not comfort. When their descendants finally settled, where was it? Egypt. That nation that would enslave them for 430 years.

When the Israelites were rescued, once again they had to move. As they left Egypt, God’s presence moved when them: “When the cloud lifted… they set out; where the cloud settled, there the Israelites encamped.” (Numbers 9:17–23) Israel’s forty-year wandering was not just a punishment; it formed humility and trust:

“The Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness… to humble and test you.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Similar to Abraham, their faith is tested by the wilderness, and expressed by their continued allegiance.

When they do make it to the Promised Land, they were still called “sojourners and tenants” before God. (Leviticus 25:23) That language was purposeful. They needed to be ready to move. When they settled in too deeply, the prophets called out the kind of settlement that leads to complacency and injustice:

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion… you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.” (Amos 6)

“Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior….You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” (Deuteronomy 32:15)

Settlement even in the Land of Promise often led to forgetting to depend on God and dulling the missional heart that was supposed to lead them to bless the nations (Genesis 12:3). When Israel wouldn’t bring Yahweh to the nations, God brought the nations to Israel — or, “scattered [Israel] among the nations.” (Leviticus 26:33; Ezekiel 12:15)

Faithfulness required them to have a journeying posture, literally (and, I will soon propose, spiritually). There is something here about refusing to be complacent, always looking to follow God where God leads.

To balance this, Scripture also affirms that stability and rest were part of God’s intention. God promised Abraham’s descendants “a land where you will dwell in safety.” (Leviticus 25:18–19) The Promised Land was the fulfillment of a promise, not a trap to trick them into laziness.

 “The Lord gave Israel all the land… and they took possession of it and settled there.” (Joshua 21:43–45)

“You will cross the Jordan and settle in the land… and He will give you rest from all your enemies.” (Deuteronomy 12:10)

Maybe the Promised Land was like a geographical Sabbath, part of a rhythm of ceasing from movement: being present, grounded, and whole. Rest in this case was meant to be the fruit of obedience, not the opposite of faithfulness that involved moving and journeying.

Perhaps shalom rooted in righteousness is a good definition for what the prophets had always pointed toward: a future home of ultimate and final rest.

 “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places.” (Isaiah 32:18)

The Old Testament’s tension between pilgrimage and rest carries forward into the New Testament — especially considering how persecution, scattering, and mission fit into the pattern in the Old Testament.

It’s interesting to think of Jesus as the mobile presence of God in the world.

“The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” (John 1:14)

The tabernacle was God’s moving tent as opposed to the Temple, which was in one place.[2] Jesus himself was that moving presence: Samaritan towns, Gentile regions, lakeshores, tax booths, and cross, with a home town that rejected him and “no place to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58)

His disciples are likewise sent out with no extra bag or sandals (Luke 10:4), learning to rely on hospitality and God’s provision. Their missional posture was one of radical dependence and mobility — just like Israel’s wilderness years.

Speaking of those wilderness years during the exodus from Egypt, Jesus’ death and resurrection are described as an exodus.

“Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure (Greek, ‘exodos’) which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31)

Jesus is going to take His people out of the Egypts of the world (captivity to sin) into a new kind of “Promised Land” that’s spiritual rather than geographic: a kingdom of God made up of people who follow His way. That’s going to involve people moving from darkness into light, from death into life. But then, in the spiritual land of promise, we receive a new promise.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden….and you will find rest for your souls.”  (Matthew 11:28–29)

That was the model and teaching of Jesus. Now, let’s look at the early church.

Before Acts 8, in response to this Good News, the early church grows rapidly - but locally. Up through chapter 7, almost everything still happens in Jerusalem. The community enjoyed the favor of the others, shared meals, cared for each other (Acts 2)…. and stayed local. People from all over the world were coming to Jerusalem and joining them,[3] but they weren’t going to them. Meanwhile, Jesus had given them a commission:

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

God needs His people to move. I grew up in farming communities, and preachers liked to use an analogy about Christians and manure. We are great fertilizer when you spread us out, but we start to stink if we just keep piling up in one place. Sometimes that happens voluntarily; sometimes we are forced to spread out. This is what happens in Acts 8.

“On that day a great persecution broke out… and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria….Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”

The very next story we will read involves Phillip – going to Samaria. The persecution became the engine that drove them to their neighbors, and to the world. Like the Babel scattering (Genesis 11), this scattering will move God’s people into places they were reluctant to go – or might not have ever gone.

Eventually, Peter will very clearly reframe the church’s identity even as they form stable, grounded churches in more and more cities:

“To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces…” ( 1 Peter 1:1)
“Live as foreigners here in reverent fear.” (1 Peter 1:17)

In the Old Testament, the scattering of the Israelites (diasopora) was a judgment. Now, the church has been scattered into a missional diaspora as they become living witnesses of God’s character among the nations.

Hebrews returns full circle to the Abraham’s search for a city built by God:

“Here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

And yet, it’s not just the rest of the city to come that we look forward to. There is a rest now even as we journey.

"Therefore, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God’s rest has rested from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest…” (Hebrews 4:9-11)

The act of pilgrimage, if done in obedience to God’s leading, can actually be restful as we rest in the power and provision of God. Spirit-led movement while resting in God becomes our mission.

* * * *

Now, let’s see if I can bring this together. I have a challenge and an encouragement.

I’ve often said that physical realities in the Old Testament are foreshadowing for spiritual realities in the New Testament. In today’s topic there is some overlap.

Sometimes God will call us to literally move (Sheila and I felt that call when we moved here). But I think this is also a call to internal movement. We all have areas of spiritual, emotional or relational immaturity or even sin. God calls us to move into maturity and/or repentance – while resting in and trusting His grace and love. 

So, let’s talk practically about when to move and when to rest. We need to do both, we can do both, but – and I am speaking for myself here -  we are not always good at finding that balance, or knowing when to really focus on rest or movement for a season when we have lost our balance.

Rest without movement becomes stagnation. This is true for individuals and the church. May God save us from settling into too comfortable spaces that:

• never challenge us to move into better relationship with God and others. We need to learn about the depth and breadth of Christian teaching.

• never challenge us to move toward holiness: we must ask God to search us, know our hearts and minds and see if there is wickedness that needs dealing with, and then lean into repentance and a change of direction.

• never challenge our evangelism, asking if and where in our lives we are called to more purposefully present  on behalf of Jesus than we have been.

• never moves us closer to the poor, the lost, the oppressed, and respond with cruciform, sacrificial love that costs us something.

Who needs to hear this today? It’s time to move where Jesus leads you, toward a Land of Promise filled with righteousness and Christ-likeness.

Your marriage needs work and you are not doing anything about it. Move toward accountability with friends, or help from a counselor, but do something for your good, your spouse’s good, and God’s glory.

Your kids need you to be a more Christ-like parent, and you know it, but it’s not yet motivated you to do anything about it. Move. God did not call you to settle into immaturity and unrighteousness.

Maybe there are people that really need to experience the presence of genuine Christ-followers and you know this but you just don’t want to get too close to them. But you can feel the Holy Spirit saying, over and over, “They could use Jesus.” If that’s you, it’s time to move.

Maybe you can’t shake that nagging feeling that you need to make things right with THAT person, and you know God is urging you to move into discomfort and maybe even pain for the sake of reconciliation.

Maybe you know you need help with the brokenness and sin inside. Maybe you are full of self-loathing and shame, or depression, and you have not told anyone and you have been stuck there for years. God wants you to move toward help, and healing, and hope.

Movement without rest becomes exhaustion. This is true for individuals and the church. We must rest. We need to recover. We need to re-connect with God, ourselves, and others. David wrote that God makes us lie down in green pastures by still waters while he restores our souls. (Psalm, 23)

I’m not talking about the times when our kids’ needs can keep us running non-stop, or when you’re an accountant and it is year’s end taxes, or when there is a health crisis and you’re the caregiver. You will still need rest at some point, but those are really busy seasons of life that just happen as life unfolds. I’m talking about always moving because of a drivenness that reflects something unhealthy in us, or perhaps a distrust in God’s power and provision to take care of things even if we aren’t a part of it.

Movement without rest was how I did life for so many years, for complex reasons. I think my identity was wrapped up in being useful or needed, which probably falls under the umbrella of wanting to be liked. I was pretty sure the most productive times in my life were the times when I was getting things done! I ran myself into a nervous breakdown (and a lengthy recovery).

That slowed me down a little; my heart attack slowed me down more. And honestly, spending time literally resting was good for me and those around me. Learning how to rest in the arms of Jesus even more these past two years as I navigated so much pain and sadness has been so good.

Who needs to hear this today? You need to rest in Jesus. I can think of at least three ways.

First, take a literal break. You need to work more Sabbath time into your schedule until you have recovered. You should consider if you have unsustainable or unrealistic ideas about what you can actually do, or need to do. During that rest, spend time doing something that connects you with God: pray, read Scripture, listen to music, take a walk.

Second, trust that Jesus can accomplish His work in the world even while you are taking a break. God loves when you partner with Him in the work He is doing, but His purposes are not thwarted if you need to rest. He factored that in already. He might even have someone else in mind who is a better fit for the mission at that moment.

Third, rest in the goodness and love of God. For me, it’s taking time to listen to songs or read Scripture or books. Last year, in the midst of some really hard therapy, I would go home and literally rest on my bed and invite Jesus to come sit with me and the wounded child in me just as a purposeful invitation. I have to tell you, my rest was sweet. Take time to rest in the goodness and love of God.

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[1] The covenants with Adam and Noah happened, of course, but Abraham is the father of Israel.

[2] As Pat pointed out last week.

[3] We saw this at Pentecost

Live Like Jesus

We looked two weeks ago at how the prophets kept warning Israel not to break the covenant and misrepresent God’s character. In so many ways, over so many years – for generations – they kept failing to live up to the calling that God had placed on them. Sometimes, they just rebelled. Other times, it was because they kept misunderstanding what it was that pleased God because they didn’t understand what God was really like..

Either way, it didn’t seem to consistently click with them that because God was “compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth," [1], as he told Moses, that they should be looking more and more like that instead of less and less like that.  

The Prophets kept saying: “You’ve broken covenant – repent, turn around, head in the right direction.” They exposed sin and idolatry, and called for repentance and justice and holiness. They kept pointing them toward a really good God with a life-giving path not just for them but for the whole world.

Failing to get it right wasn’t just a failure to properly introduce other nations to Yahweh; it was catastrophic for the children of God. When you don’t follow the path of life, you follow a path toward destruction. If you remember Jewish history, they eventually end up in exile, separated from the Land of Promise and housed in their spiritual opposite, Babylon.

When Jesus arrived as God in the Flesh, he gave a desperately needed revelation for those who saw God through obscurity and darkness.[2]  Jesus told them, “If you have seen me, you have seen the father.”[3]As Jesus’ life unfolded, he demonstrated over and over that God really is “compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth.” It was a game-changing revelation to have the Living Word and not just the written word.

John 1:18 – “No one has ever seen God; but the one and only Son, who is himself God… has made him known.”

This may be a silly example, but as a kid, I loved reading about dinosaurs and seeing pictures of what people thought they might have looked like. But when Jurassic Park came out? I was so, so excited. So THAT’S what a dinosaur is actually like!!!  I wonder if the arrival of Jesus was something like that. ( I warned you it was silly.)Their holy scrolls came to life and walked among them as a living image of what God has always been like, even when his people misunderstood Him.

They misunderstood God and His heart as recorded in the written word, so the Living Word incarnated – God in the flesh, fully God and fully human - to show them in person what God is like and what kind of heart God has. People could still misunderstand him, of course. And they did. We still do. But it’s the clearest possible way God could make himself known.

So, we are going to revisit the list from two weeks ago with the prophetic rebukes in the Old Testament and show how Jesus stepped into each of those spaces and revealed what God is like, and what His heart is like.

But Jesus didn’t just reveal God in the flesh. Tom reminded us last week that Jesus intends to take shape in us, through us, as us (in some sense). This is theosis—participation in the very life of God.[4] Jesus invites us to not just follow him but to become the truest image- bearer we can be with the help of Holy Spirit transformation. We are invited to experience the true “life of the age” (aonios or eternal life) that God offers to us.

So we will look at 9 opportunities for theosis by looking at a) what the prophets said, b) what Jesus revealed, c) what that reveals about God, and d) what theosis looks like.

* * * * *

The prophets condemned exploitation of the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners (Isaiah 10:1–2; Amos 5:11–12, to cite two of many references).

Jesus declares his mission is “good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). He singles out the widow’s[5] offering for praise. (Mark 12:41-44) He tells his followers: “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” (Luke 14:13).

God defends the vulnerable and the voiceless; God’s power is meek (strength restrained for good), not exploitative. “Call thousands of angels,” said Satan. “Bully your way through the world.” No, not that way. That was not the way of Jesus; it’s not the heart of God.

We experience theosis when we participate in being like Jesus by siding with the vulnerable and voiceless, by advocating for justice and mercy, so that all are invited not only to feast at the banquet of God’s spiritual provision, but also to experience the provision and care of God through the people of God. That looks a lot like Jesus.

The prophets exposed the elevation of external rituals as a cover-up for corrupt hearts (Jeremiah 2:13; Hosea 8:4)

Jesus confronts a temple system that kept the poor and the Gentiles from worshipping in the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13). He taught the Samaritan woman that right worship doesn’t rely on the right buildings; true worship happens “in spirit and truth” (John 4:21-24).

God is known through relationship, not ritual. Rituals may help us order our lives in a way that keeps God on the front burner of our minds, but they are meant to give structure to relationship, not be the relationship. God wants our hearts, our time, our thoughts, our loves, in Spirit and in truth.

We experience theosis when we are in righteous relationships with God and others “in spirit and in truth.” I am pretty sure Jesus meant a) that the worship of our hearts is what matters rather than locations, and b) truth should always put false traditions or teachings in their place. When worship is our lifestyle, when we are in steady communion with God, we look a lot like Jesus.

The Prophets denounced empty sacrifices and lip-service religion (Isaiah 1:11-17; Micah 6:6-8).

So did Jesus:“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23) because they strained a gnat and swallowed a camel. (Matthew 23:34). Jesus revealed God’s integrity through his priorities. He healed on the Sabbath to show that compassion and care outweigh legalistic boundaries (Mark 3:1-6). He demands authenticity in prayer (Matthew 6:5-6). Grand prayers mean nothing in and of themselves if they are not coming from the right kind of heart.

God desires mercy more than empty sacrifices that might look impressive. He wants integrity over performance. He wants authenticity over a good veneer.

We experience theosis when we let compassion interrupt our legalism. When worship leads us to love, when prayers move us toward action, and when authenticity replaces performance, we participate in life with Jesus.

The Prophets condemned nations that embraced violence and shed innocent blood. (Isaiah 59:7; Amos 1)

Jesus went even further. He commanded his followers to love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). He rebuked Peter for using the sword (Matthew 26:52). He forgave his executioners on the cross (Luke 23:34).

God conquers by self-giving love, not force. When Jesus returns in John’s apocalyptic vision in Revelation, Jesus’ robe is dipped in blood before the battle begins. It’s his blood. That’s how the battle is won. By His word (the sword in his mouth) and His blood. God fights with truth and cruciform love.

We experience theosis when we refuse to respond to violence with violence, to harm with harm, to sin with sin. We embody the cruciform power of Christ when we forgive those who damage us, and when we let love have the last word, we look more and more like Jesus.

The Prophets said, “Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field.” (Isaiah 5:8)

Jesus agreed: “You cannot serve both God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). He saw an idol in the heart of the rich young ruler, and he challenged him to sell all and follow him (Mark 10:17-31). When he ate with Zacchaeus, he turned his greed into generosity (Luke 19:1-10).

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills  - and He gives them to his people. God gives good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11) from the storehouse of His abundance. Abundance is for sharing; possessions exist for love’s sake.

We experience theosis when we hold our resources with open hands, using what we have to bless others. When generosity loosens the grip of greed. When joy replaces anxiety because our trust is in divine provision, not accumulation, then we increasingly look like Jesus.

The Prophets said: “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty” (Ezekiel 28:17), but the arrogant will be humbled (Isaiah 2:11).

Jesus washed his disciples’ feet (John 13). He taught that, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled” (Luke 14:11). He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5-8).

Ezer (helper) is used 16 times in the Old Testament to refer to God as the helper of Israel. God himself offered His people humble service.

We experience theosis when we choose humility over status, and service over self-promotion. When we lift burdens, sit with outcasts, and honor others by serving them, we reflect the God who bent low to raise us up.

The Prophets warned them not to neglect justice and righteousness (Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17).

Jesus condemned the Pharisees tithing minutiae while “neglecting the weightier matters of the law — justice, mercy, and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). He restored societal outcasts (lepers, Samaritans, prostitutes, tax collecters, adulterers). He began the Beatitudes with blessings on the merciful and peacemakers (Matthew 5:7-9).

Justice and mercy are the heartbeat of God’s kingdom. His love is expressed through His just and merciful care of His image bearers.

We experience theosis when we let our hearts break for what breaks God’s heart. When we use our voice for the voiceless, our influence for the oppressed, and our presence for the lonely, we reveal the image of the just and merciful Jesus.

The Prophets claimed that Israel forgot her vocation to bless the nations (Jonah; Isaiah 49:6).

Jesus honored Gentile faith (the centurion, Matthew 8:10; the Canaanite woman, Matthew 15:28). He declared the temple a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). He sent disciples “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, rooted in his Great Commission).

God’s kingdom breaks the artificial borders the world puts up that separate “us” from “them.” His love reaches to all the people in all the places.

We experience theosis when we cross barriers of culture, class, and comfort to extend the welcome of Christ. When we build tables long enough for all to join us, we become participants in God’s reconciling mission.

The Prophets warned against trusting unholy alliances and military strength (Isaiah 31:1; Hosea 10:13).

Jesus rejected Satan’s offer of worldly kingdoms (Matthew 4:8-10). He enters Jerusalem on a donkey, not a warhorse (Matthew 21:5). He insisted that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).

God, the true King, rules through peace, through love. His most powerful moment was demonstrated on the cross. Then He rose again. He doesn’t need any help. There is no need to find worldly allies. God is enough.

We experience theosis when we lay down our need to control outcomes and trust in the Lamb’s way of power. When we choose faithfulness over fear, prayer over panic, and peace over coercion, we manifest a kingdom that cannot be shaken while looking more and more like Jesus.

* * * * *

Let’s use this opportunity to move toward spiritual reflection and theosis. 

Jesus stood with the poor, the sick, and the overlooked.

Jesus’ heart moved him toward the vulnerable; does mine? Is there pain Jesus sees that I don’t want to see because it makes me uncomfortable? Do I use my strength to protect the weak? Do I increasingly look like Jesus to the poor and powerless around me?

We know God desires worship built on relationship.
Am I more focused on doing the right religious things, or on being a Christ-follower in right relationship with God and others? Am I embracing worship as my lifestyle, not just something that happens on Sunday? Do I increasingly look like Jesus as my life reflects true devotion to God in my heart and with my hands?

Jesus warned against praying to be seen, giving to be admired, and fasting to look holy.
Do I serve because I love, or because I like being seen as loving? Am I polishing the outside while neglecting the inside? Where might I be hiding a cold heart or compromised life behind a good image? Do I increasingly look like Jesus in that there is integrity - integration - between inner reality and outer expression?

We know Jesus builds his Kingdom by self-giving love, not force, because Jesus stopped the sword and forgave those who crucified him.
Do I really trust that cruciform love is powerful enough to win the day? When I feel threatened or wronged, do I respond from a place of love? Am I more interested in winning the fight or embodying the cross? Do I increasingly look like Jesus as I use the way of Jesus to partner in accomplishing the purposes of Jesus?

We know Jesus loves to see abundance generously shared.
Does the way I save and share reveal a heart shaped by fear of scarcity or trust in abundance? The heart of God is revealed in Jesus’ open, nail-scarred hands; where am I refusing to open my arms and unclench my hands? Do I increasingly look like Jesus by being 'broken and spilled out' for the sake of others?

Jesus became a servant to all and knelt to wash feet.
How do I respond when I’m asked to serve beneath my status or comfort? Do I believe humility is beneath me, or that it is the truest expression of who I am in Christ? Do I increasingly look like Jesus in my willingness to offer humble service, even if it feels embarrassing and uncomfortable?

Jesus called justice, mercy, and faith/fulness the “weightier matters” of the law. If this is the heart of God revealed in Jesus, am I committed to prioritizing those things too? Am I ignoring injustice, mercilessness, or faithlessness that should be on my radar, or do I increasingly look like Jesus?

Jesus marveled at the faith of Romans and Samaritans and called the temple “a house of prayer for all nations.”
Do I draw lines of separation God is trying to erase?  Do I believe God’s call to love stops where my discomfort begins? Who have I assumed is too far gone, too different, or too wrong to be invited tothe table? Do I increasingly look like Jesus by my invitational posture toward everyone?

Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, not a warhorse, offering a counter-cultural, peace-filled Kingdom.
Do I want a kingdom of power and privilege or one that heals the world through service and love? Can I trust that cruciform love, not coercion or control, is the power of God? As an ambassador for Jesus introducing people to the way of Jesus, do I increasingly look like Jesus?

When compassion replaces indifference, when justice and mercy guide our steps, when humility bends us in service to others, when we forgive as we’ve been forgiven, when generosity opens our hands, when love crosses every border so that “whosoever will may come,” (Revelations 22:17) we experience theosis; Christ lives through us.

This is participation already in eternal life, a life in which the heartbeat of God is shared with and growing in His people. May Christ live through us and continually transform us into his image, until the day when he promises to make all things new (Revelation 21:5)

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[1] Exodus 34:6; similar language in Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, and Joel 2:13. 

[2] Isaiah 29:18

[3] John 14:9

[4] The goal is union, not sameness: Theosis does not mean humans become God in being, but that they are filled with God's presence and grace, making them "partakers of the divine nature". “The Orthodox Church understands theosis as a union with the energies of God and not with the essence of God which always remains hidden and unknown.” (Thomas Fitzgerald)

[5] Remember, the Hebrew word for “widow” has the idea of one who has no voice in society.

What Would Stephen Say? (Acts 6:8-15; Acts 7)

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.  Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen[1] (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 

But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 

 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”  All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

I am not going to read his speech today for the sake of time, but I encourage you to do so. Stephen's speech in Acts 7 (verses 1-50) responds to these accusations by recounting Jewish history in a way that highlights a recurring cycle.

Rejection of God's Messengers: A major recurring element is the people's rejection of God's appointed leaders, specifically Moses, who was rejected in the wilderness (Acts 7:27-29, 35). His final point is that they are doing that yet again with Jesus – and Stephen.

God's Presence Beyond Sacred Spaces: He shows that God was active and faithful before the Temple, the Law, or even the land of Israel was established (Acts 7:2-16). Abraham hears God in Mesopotamia (outside the Holy Land), Joseph thrives in Egypt, and Moses encounters God at the burning bush in the wilderness (vv. 2-4, 9-10, 30-34).

The Temple. The temple is critiqued as a human-made house that can't contain God (vv. 44-50, quoting Isaiah 66:1-2). This hints that the Temple system has become an idol, a substitute for living faith and obedience.

Israel's Consistent Unfaithfulness: Despite receiving the "living words" through angels, the ancestors resist, persecute prophets, and fail to obey. Terms like "stiff-necked" (from Exodus 32:9, after the golden calf) and "uncircumcised hearts" (from Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 9:26), emphasize their pattern of resisting the Holy Spirit.

He finishes with this:

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him -  you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” (51-53)

This highlights their hypocrisy: they cherish the Law but have completely failed at the core ethical demands of the Law. They are repeating the same pattern of resistance to God’s chosen deliverers and to His Spirit. They prove Stephen’s point immediately by killing him.

# # # # #

I did some research on what the prophets they rejected had to say. I think it’s really important that we learn from our spiritual history. This is going to become a two part series.

• The Old Testament prophets condemned behaviors that broke covenant. That’s going to be our focus today.

• The New Testament apostles will follow in their history but confront behaviors that betray Christ. That will be next week.

So today we are going to let the Old Testament prophets speak to us by looking at 8 primary themes to which they kept returning. We don’t want to reject timeless principles God has given his people that will define what covenant community does and does not look like.

1. Idolatry and Syncretism

What they did: Worshiped other gods, idols, or wealth instead of Yahweh. They sought security in alliances with nations like Egypt or Assyria rather than trusting God. Isaiah (e.g., Isa 30:1–5, 31:1–3) and Jeremiah (e.g., Jer 2:18, 37:5–10) emphasize this, as does Hosea (e.g., Hos 7:11). “Ephraim mixes himself with the nations.” (Hosea 7:8) “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help.” (Isaiah 31:1)
What God called them to: Exclusive covenant loyalty and wholehearted devotion unmixed with other gods, nations, or things (Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Joshua 24:14–15; 1 Samuel 12:24; Matthew 22:37)

2. Injustice and Oppression of the Vulnerable

What they did: Exploited the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners; bribed the courts; and favored the rich. “Woe to those who make unjust laws…” (Isaiah 10:1–2) Amos is particularly focused on this (e.g., Amos 2:6–7, 5:11–12), as is Micah (e.g., Mic 2:1–2, 3:1–3), Isaiah (e.g., Isa 1:17, 3:14–15) and Jeremiah (e.g., Jer 7:5–7).
What God called them to: Basically, defending the defenseless and giving voice to the voiceless (Isaiah 1:17; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 7:9; Matthew 5:6–7; Luke 4:18).

3. Covenant Betrayal and Unfaithfulness

What they did: This includes neglecting commandments, Sabbaths, and festivals. Jeremiah (e.g., Jer 11:1–8), Ezekiel (e.g., Eze 20:10–26), and Hosea (e.g., Hos 8:1) emphasize this. “There is no faithfulness or steadfast love… only swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery.”  (Hosea 4:1–2)
What God called them to: Faithful love and truth-filled integrity (Deuteronomy 7:9; Hosea 2:19–20; Matthew 19:6; 2 Timothy 2:13).

4. Religious Hypocrisy and Empty Ritual

What they did: They performed sacrifices, fasts, and feasts while ignoring justice and mercy. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6) “Stop bringing meaningless offerings…” (Isaiah 1:13–17).  See also Jeremiah (e.g., Jer 6:20), Amos (e.g., Amos 5:21–24), and Micah (e.g., Mic 6:6–8).
What God called them to: Authentic worship emerging from righteous integrity (Psalm 51:16–17; Amos 5:21–24; Micah 6:6–8; John 4:23–24).

5. Corrupt Leadership — Political, Priestly, Prophetic

What they did: Jeremiah (e.g., Jer 23:1–2), Ezekiel (e.g., Eze 34:1–10), and Micah (e.g., Mic 3:5–11) devote significant space to condemning shepherds who exploit or mislead. “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep.” (Jeremiah 23:1) Leaders enriched themselves, priests profaned the temple, false prophets flattered for gain. “Her leaders judge for a bribe… her prophets tell fortunes for money.” (Micah 3:11)  
What God called them to: Humble servant leadership that speaks truth while reflecting God’s heart (Ezekiel 34:2–4, 15–16; Jeremiah 3:15; John 13:14–15; 1 Peter 5:2–3).

6. Pride and Arrogance

What they did: Israel’s pride and self-reliance, often linked to prosperity or false security, are rebuked in books like Isaiah (e.g., Isa 2:11–17), Amos (e.g., Amos 6:1–8), and Zephaniah (e.g., Zeph 3:11). They boasted in strength, wealth, and status; they rejected correction. “Though you soar like the eagle… from there I will bring you down.” (Obadiah 4) “Woe to those wise in their own eyes.” (Isaiah 5:2)
What God called them to: Humility, dependence, and repentance (Proverbs 3:34; Micah 6:8; Isaiah 57:15; Philippians 2:3–8).

7. Refusing to Repent or Listen to Correction

What they did: The prophets lament Israel’s refusal to repent despite warnings. This is explicit in Jeremiah (e.g., Jer 5:3, 8:4–7), Ezekiel (e.g., Eze 3:7), and Zechariah (e.g., Zech 7:11–12) They rejected warnings, hardened hearts, and silenced God’s messengers. “They made their hearts as hard as flint.”  (Zechariah 7:12)  “You always resist the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 7:51)

What God called them to: Soft hearts and a repentant readiness to return to God (Ezekiel 18:30–32; Joel 2:12–13; Matthew 11:28–30; Luke 15:20–24).

8. Greed and Materialism

What they did: Hoarded wealth, seized land, crushed the poor. “Woe to those who join house to house.” (Isaiah 5:8) “They covet fields and seize them.” (Micah 2:2)

What God called them to: Generosity and contentment (Deuteronomy 15:7–11; Proverbs 19:17; Luke 12:33–34; 1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19).

*****

Stephen’s audience was convinced that they cherished Moses, the Law and the Temple in a way that pleased God. And in principle, their reverence was something that pleased God!! The Law and the Temple played a huge role in understanding who God was, how God intended to interact with humanity,  and what God called them to do. Reverence for these things was a good thing! 

But….they missed the point. They neglected their hearts. They justified their ungodly attitudes. Their motivations became tainted, and eventually the expression of their worship became evil rather than good. #killingJesus

So keep in mind that Stephen wasn’t saying their respect for these things were wrong in principle. He wasn’t trying to stop them from a proper honoring of Moses, the Law and the Temple. They were just wrong either in motivations or in practice. Their observance had stopped being life-giving; now it was robbing people of life. Literally, in the case of Stephen.

This got me thinking. If Stephen were with us today, I wonder what kind of speech he would give to church leaders? What would it sound like to say, “Look! You are not listening to the prophets!!!”

So I am going to offer something Stephen might say to us today. I’m going to do it as a conversation between a (national) Modern Church Leader (MCL)  representing the American church, and Stephen. Think of it as the MCL responding after Stephen’s speech and defening themselves. I hope to do three things

1.  Offer a MCL position about things that are good in principle.

2.  Echo Stephen’s challenge to assess our hearts, our motivation.

3.  Offer an opportunity to ask ourselves if our practice is forming a church community in line with the vision of the Prophets.

Once again, it’s not the position that will be inherently bad. It’s how our sin nature can take something that is good in principle and turn it into something bad in motivation or practice. 

A prophetic voice is supposed to be jarring and even unsettling. I hope to participate fully in that tradition. If I have prepared this right, all of you will be uncomfortable at some point as I have been this week. I think that, at some point in my life, I have probably found myself in all of the categories I am about to offer. I invite you to be uncomfortable with me this morning as we all try to take seriously the kind of discipleship to which God has called us.

In the process, we will use that uncomfortableness to point toward the beauty of what could be in a kingdom community centered around the heart of God for the world.

MCL: We’ve been blessed! Our church is thriving! Three campuses, a broadcast network, thousands tuning in online. We’re showing the world what excellence for God looks like!

Stephen: Spreading the gospel aligns with the Great Commission, so well done. Growth like that can be a sign you are doing church well. Just remember that God does not dwell in houses made by hands (Acts 7:48–50), so be careful not to automatically equate square footage or screen time with success. Growth is empty if it doesn’t reflect Christ’s compassion and love. Imagine a church culture where success is not counted in buildings or clicks, but in hearts transformed and lives shared, as the early believers did (Acts 4:32–35).

MCL: We’ve got influence! We pray with leaders, advise policymakers, and shape culture for Jesus. When it comes to promoting biblical values, we’re making a difference from the top down with laws and policies.

Stephen: When the church is salt and light, that’s beautiful, and it’s needed in all places. But remember the prophets who said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help” (Isaiah 31:1), when Israel trusted in worldly alliances. Might you sometimes be tempted to feast at tables of influence rather than tables of those in need? You must guard your heart, lest your political alliances make you blind to systems that harm the vulnerable. Imagine a church culture where influence flows not from proximity to power, but from lifting the lowly, uniting all sides to serve the “least”.

MCL: We are promoting biblical values from the bottom up: marching for justice, raising our voices for the voiceless, and deconstructing toxic systems of oppression in our communities.

Stephen: “Let justice roll down like waters” (Amos 5:24). Your passion for justice reflects God’s own heart. But even as you pursue justice, keep in step with the Spirit (Acts 7:51). Even well-intentioned movements for justice can lose their way.  You risk this when you denounce the sins of the systems but overlook the sins of the soul. The prophets called for repentance alongside justice (Joel 2:12–13), because justice without holiness breeds new injustices. Imagine a church culture where justice and righteousness meet at the cross, where every cause for which you march leads to reconciliation with God and each other.

MCL: We must join the culture wars, fight for what’s right and defend our way of life from the decay around us! We’re standing for our nation’s moral foundation - keeping God in schools, in government, in every institution – so that secularism doesn’t crush us.”

Stephen: The gospel in every sphere is a worthy aim. Just remember how easy it is for compromise to creep in, to let noble ends justify ignoble means. You might bless blistering partisan battles and call them righteous, or use intimidation rather than invitation to further the kingdom, or force your faith into spaces instead of living in such a way that makes others want to join. Imagine a church culture where Jesus’ kingdom grows not through winning debates and “owning” the other side, but through love that shares tables with those who disagree.

MCL: In our church, everyone belongs. No shame, no judgment, no majoring on whatever sin you bring to the table. We just offer love.

Stephen: It is good that all are welcome at a loving table. God’s grace is wide and deep. But don’t forget that the table still belongs to a King. You’ve rightly thrown out harsh judgment that brings shame, but don’t forget that godly sorrow brings a repentance that restores the broken to God (Joel 2:12–13). Jesus is called the Great Physician because He plans to heal people. Imagine a church culture where all are welcomed to a table where the King heals the broken we have already embraced, leading them with truth and grace into transformation.

MCL: We speak loudly in culture for traditional values—strong families, biblical morality, and the historical church stance on sexuality.

Stephen: Faithfulness in family and sexuality absolutely matters deeply to God too. Just don't forget the log in your own eye. There is a reason that “judgment begins in the house of God.” (1 Peter 4:17): too often, “Your faithfulness is like a morning mist” (Hosea 6:4). Without humble, faithful adherence to biblical morality yourselves, your voice will carry no weight with those who need to hear it. Imagine a church culture that beckons to the surrounding culture because biblical morality is consistently modeled in humble obedience, reflecting God’s covenant purity in every aspect of our lives.

MCL: We’ve been blessed! Our people give generously. Our budget is growing. We’re building really beautiful churches for God’s glory.

Stephen: That sounds like a wonderful congregation responding to God’s call to generosity. Just don’t get complacent: "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion" (Amos 6:1) if the outstretched hands of the needy are ignored. “Woe to those who join house to house and field to field!” (Isaiah 5:8) when suffering people lack houses and fields. Be sure you are not expanding your barns while Lazarus sits at your gate unseen. Imagine a church culture where generosity empties hands to serve the poor, building God’s kingdom in hearts before expanding the spaces.

MCL: We’re not like those churches that put so much money into all the bells and whistles. We’ve embraced a simple lifestyle of “fasting” from materialism and practice self-denial in everything!

Stephen: Fasting and self-denial are good spiritual practices, but it’s the Pharisee who prays, “I thank You, Lord, that I am not like them.”  Don’t let your simplicity become your idol. Don’t turn rejection of excess into a self-righteousness built from contempt. Imagine a church culture where simplicity means we are using excessive resources to spread Christ’s love through sincerely and humbly sharing our provision with others as God calls us to.

MCL: We’re training bold leaders—people who speak with authority and even brashness! We tell it like it is! We will own them (liberals or conservatives).

Stephen: Boldness can be a wonderful gift, but don’t resist God’s Spirit through pride (Acts 7:51).Micah once said, “Her prophets tell fortunes for money” – which sounds a lot like viral “gotcha” moments that generate applause and revenue by publicly embarrassing people. A boldness for truth is a gift only when guided by humility and grace. Imagine a church culture where leaders wield a towel and basin first for those to whom they speak truth, with the kind of grace and love that draws even enemies to Christ.

MCL: We’re nothing like those Christians. They’ve lost their way.

Stephen: That’s what every side has said in every generation. Probably some of them were right. But be careful - the desire to be right can build its own golden calf. The prophets warned that some ended up “worshipping the work of their own hands” (Isaiah 2:8) and, “They made their hearts as hard as flint” (Zechariah 7:12). It’s possible to hold the best doctrine possible and still have a poisoned heart. The ground at the cross doesn’t tilt toward your side. Imagine a church where we hold conviction and compassion together, where we kneel together before we speak, and where truth never costs us kindness

* * * *

Pastor:
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: you have spoken through prophets, apostles, and your Son. You have called your people to truth, justice, mercy, and humble faith.

People:
Forgive us, Lord, for the ways we have resisted your Spirit. Turn our hearts again to you.

Pastor:
When our worship or preaching becomes performance, our wealth or our frugality becomes a point of pride, and we compromise a message of holiness with acts that are unholy.

People:
Have mercy, Lord. Create in us clean hearts, and renew a right spirit within us.

Pastor:
When we harden our hearts against correction, or despise true instruction that challenges what we have believed to be righteous in thought or deed,

People:
Break our hearts of stone. Give us hearts of flesh that beat with your love.

Pastor:
When we forget the poor, ignore the broken, or justify the systems that oppress, endanger or dishonor image bearers of God…

People:
Open our eyes, Lord. Show us how to participate as your justice rolls down like waters, and your righteousness like a mighty stream.

All:
Renew your Church, O God. Cleanse us from idols, remove unrighteousness, and renew a purified witness. May your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

[1] Hellenistic Jews who had been freed from slavery.

Forgiveness

When we talked about persecution, we talked about forgiveness. It generated some interesting discussion in Message+, so I figured we would do a follow-up. What does it truly mean to forgive as Christians? So, let’s unpack what it is, what it isn't, and how it shapes our lives as followers of Jesus.

I’ve been really challenged the past two years on my own journey: what does it look like to forgive people who hurt me so badly? Is it a decision, a feeling? Do others need to repent first? Should life go on as if everything is okay? Does reconciliation mean we become besties? Lots of question.

So, I am working on understanding biblical forgiveness, and I invite you to work on it with me. Think of this as workshopping how to understand forgiveness.

What is forgiveness? At its core, forgiveness is a participation in what Jesus did for us. Paul wrote,“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”(Colossians 3:13) I really loved Harrison’s explanation of how the Bible puts such great imagery around the use of aphiēmi (af-ee-ay-mee).

• Matthew 6:12 KJV: “And aphiēmi (discharge) us our debts, as we aphiēmi our debtors.”

• Matthew 4:20 KJV: “And they straightaway aphiēmi (cast away) their nets, and followed him.”

• Matthew 8:15 KJV: “And he touched her hand, and the fever aphiēmi (let her go): and she arose, and ministered unto them.”

Forgiveness is release someone of a debt, letting them go, casting away our need to see justice unfold on our terms. Forgiveness means that we hand the debt owed to us over to God rather than insisting that we collect it ourselves.  We release our burdens of hurt and sorrow to the care of a righteous judge, trusting that the plan God has for dealing with those who have hurt us is better than ours.[1]

Forgiveness Comes from the Forgiven. As Paul writes in Colossians 1:13-14, Jesus,

"…has rescued us from the dominion of darkness... in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

We've been forgiven an enormous debt (Ephesians 1:7-8). As C.S. Lewis wisely noted,

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”– C.S. Lewis

How can we, who have received such mercy, withhold it? "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13)

Forgiveness Is Mandatory.

Peter once asked Jesus if forgiveness was to be offered seven times (Matthew 18). The rabbis at the time taught that forgiving someone more than three times was unnecessary. Peter was suggesting more than double the mandated maximum. They would have been stunned by Jesus’ lavish answer of 70x7 (which was a very Jewish way of saying there is no end). They were used to a law that had limits, not a grace that did not.

Jesus followed that up with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. God has forgiven us an enormous debt; how ungrateful must we be if we don’t do the same for others?  

But the mandatory nature of forgiveness isn’t just for the one who needs to be forgiven. It’s for the one forgiving. Think of it this way.

• God’s forgiveness is always given — that’s grace.

• Our forgiveness of others is how we live into that grace — that’s transformation.

• If we refuse to forgive, we block the flow of that grace in ourselves, not because God retracts it, but because forgiveness is the language of the Kingdom, and we’ve refused to speak it.

If I may note the wisdom of this on a practical level: we will probably assume God and others forgive us in the same way we forgive others. If we forgive partially and reluctantly and keep score somewhere, that’s probably how we view the forgiveness of God and others. This is the advice of a loving Father: forgive as God forgives. Forgive fully and freely. It will help us understand the nature of God’s forgiveness.

Forgiveness Requires Honesty. We must acknowledge the sin's impact on individuals, relationships, and communities. If someone says, “I’m sorry,” we don’t have to just say, “That’s okay. It was nothing.” It wasn't okay (though it might be eventually); it wasn’t nothing. 

Sin leaves marks; ignoring them hinders true restoration. Be honest about the offense's depth so the offender understands the preciousness of forgiveness in light of the depth of the damage.

Forgiveness is NOT saying,“It’s okay.” The sin of harming Abba’s dear children is NOT okay. Abuse and oppression are never acceptable. Forgiveness must not minimize injustice or the damage it does.

Forgiveness is NOT saying,“I'm okay.” Healing can take years. Genuine forgiveness does not ask anyone to skip any stage of the grieving and healing process.

Forgiveness is NOT saying, “You're okay.” The offender is not simply off the hook. Repentance includes facing consequences, which may include incarceration, rehabilitation, restitution and restoration.

Forgiveness is NOT saying, “We're okay.” Forgiveness may include but does not require the victim of injustice to re-enter a relationship with the offender. That may not be possible or even safe. One can forgive and be healed without ever [regaining the relationship they once had] with the offender.” (Brad Jersak)

The chorus of a popular song goes, “I’m not okay - [it's not okay, right now] -but it’s all going to be alright.” This is gospel hope. Even when it is hard to envision full recovery and genuine restoration in a world full of things that are not okay, we know there is a day when all things will be made new (Revelation 21:5), and Jesus will reconcile all things to himself (Colossians 1:20).

Forgiveness Is Patiently Anticipatory.

The Parable of the Two Sons (or the Prodigal Son) in Luke 15 reminds us that it is God who will wake people up in the midst of their sin. We may be the instrument God uses, but… we may not be. And I can almost guarantee that people who sin against us often (usually?) won’t respond with our sense of timing.

We can be so quick to want people to repent NOW and thoroughly. But… do we do this all the time? Or did it take some time to really see and understand our sin? How long did people faithfully invest in us before, like the Prodigal Son, we “came to your senses” by the grace of God and repented?

When I was coaching, there was a parent who really didn’t like me. He would write me weekly letters several pages long chronicling all the ways I failed. He would glare at me all the time. He disinvited me from his son’s wedding. Then Braden decided that this man was the coolest guy in the room during basketball games, and would climb to the top of the bleachers to sit with him game after game (Braden was probably 3 or 4). One night after a game this man was waiting for me. I braced myself. All he said was, “You and I have had our differences, but you must be doing something right as a father.” That was the most repentance I was going to get. Of course I forgive you. It took a while, but we got there. We’ve been good ever since.

Forgiveness Does Not Delete History—It Covers It. You may be thinking that God "will remember [our sins] no more" (Hebrews 8:12; Jeremiah 31:34) and removes them "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).

Every commentary I read noted that this is not literal amnesia.[2] It’s the best human language we have to explain that God does not hold our sins against us when our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus. Paul remembered his sins and wrote about them to churches. If God had forgotten, then Paul remembered something about his history that God did not. If I pray and ask God for ongoing healing for my past (forgiven) sins, God is not confused by my request. He knows why I’m asking. He just does not hold them against me.

Memory was not part of the fall. It’s one of the good gifts God has given us. We are meant to learn from our past successes and failures. It’s part of how we mature. We will never gain necessary wisdom if we forget what it was like to be in chains to sin. 

We will also not appreciate the forgiveness God and others show us if we forget how much we gave them to forgive. We will not be able to encourage others with our testimonies of God’s grace if we can’t remember why God showed us grace in the first place.

Forgiveness Does Not Cancel Accountability or Consequences. After Adam and Eve sinned, God provided a means of forgiveness…but also explained what the fallout was going to look like. God forgave Moses…but Moses did not enter the Promised Land. Paul noted in Galatians 6 that we will harvest what we plant. It’s a principle God has embedded in the world, and God will not be mocked.

• If I steal your wallet, but return the wallet and ask for forgiveness, forgiveness should be granted. But are you going to leave your wallet out again when I am around?  Wisdom would suggest you keep your wallet close, at least until you trust that I am trustworthy.  

• If I share a deep secret you told me in confidence, and I repent and ask you to forgive me, you should extend forgiveness. But you probably shouldn’t tell me a deep secret again until you trust that I am trustworthy.

• If you hurt or offend your spouse or a friend, ask for forgiveness. But don’t become annoyed if they put up some boundaries so they don’t get hurt again.

Charles Stanley wrote,

“Forgiveness is relational; consequences are circumstantial.”

Life is not an etch-o-sketch. We can’t just shake the picture that we’ve drawn and pretend it never happened. We have hurt people. Extending forgiveness is not the same as overlooking the impact of sin. Accountability and protection can go along with forgiveness.

Forgiveness Might Be a Process. It doesn't always happen overnight. We may forgive sincerely, yet feelings resurface, requiring repeated surrender. It's an ongoing choice, leading to healing.

When Joseph first saw his brothers as an adult, he could have forgiven them on the spot. He didn’t.

• He jailed them for three days, demanded they bring their youngest brother, threw Simeon in jail so they would have to come back, and hid their money in their grain sacks (which made for a pretty terrifying find). When they left, he wept.

• When they returned, he wept at seeing his younger brother.

• When they left again, he hid his own cup in the bag of his younger brother.

• When they were ‘caught’ and brought back to Egypt with the assumption they would all be slaves - which Joseph confirmed - Judah told him he was “just like Pharoah.”

• It was only then he revealed himself, and he wept so loudly that servants in other rooms could hear him. (Genesis 41-45)

For Joseph’s brothers to go back and forth – and to eat all their grain from the first trip before they made another trip – I assume this unfolded over months. It sure reads as if Joseph needed some time to sort some things out.

So if forgiveness feels slow or unfinished, don’t despair. Joseph’s tears and hesitation were not signs of failure; they were part of the process. God can handle your struggle. What matters is that you keep turning your heart toward mercy, one honest step at a time. In the end, forgiveness is less about how quickly we reach the destination and more about walking faithfully with the God who heals us along the way.

Forgiveness Is Worth Celebrating. The prodigal's return sparked a feast. We celebrate restoration, not to deny the past, but to revel in the present moment and future hope. The father of the Prodigal Son was overjoyed the son had returned. It was the legalistic brother who said, “How dare you celebrate that boy after what he did to you. ”

This one is hard, especially if you are the one who has been wounded by someone else’s sin. Yet I think our reactions to other situations are instructive here. Don't we love that the Amish community forgave the shooter? Don’t we love the stories of parents who forgive their child’s killer? We applaud, as we should. We aren’t opposed to the principle. It’s just hard when it applies to us. This is the cross we take up; this is cost of discipleship; this is what God commands – and equips us to do.

Conclusion/Summary

Forgiveness happens when we release our offenders to Christ’s judgment, rather than chaining our hearts to them with resentment. This doesn’t mean we bypass human justice systems when necessary. But it means our healing doesn’t depend on human courts getting it right. 

Forgiveness happens when we release our burdens of hurt, grief, anger, loss and sorrow to Abba’s care, rather than stuffing them or fashioning them into weapons. 

Forgiveness happens when we release the debt of the other’s offense into God's hands. Even if they repent sincerely and make restitution, our offenders can never cover the debt of harms done. We must let God bear that burden—ours and theirs. 

Forgiveness happens when we release our healing into God’s hands. No one’s punishment or repentance is sufficient to heal us. Only God can truly do that.

Forgiveness happens when, having let go, we surrender our lives to Christ’s love and care. 

Forgiveness is NOT easy. The Passion—the torture and death, the burden of our sin—cost Christ everything. Forgiveness is not easy for those who’ve been devastated by the hurts and trespasses (violations) of others… 

Forgiveness is the most demanding, excruciating process we’ll ever experience. Forgiveness is cruciformity itself. (Brad Jersak)

Forgiveness may feel like death—it’s cruciform—but it’s the new creation breaking in. Every act of forgiveness is a small resurrection, a sign that the Kingdom of God is alive in us. When we choose to forgive, we're not just releasing the offender; we're unlocking the chains that bind us to pain and resentment. We're stepping into the radiant light of God's love, where healing, restoration, and freedom dwell.

For this reason, forgiveness is not just personal—it’s missional. Every time we forgive, we show the world what God is like. In a culture that prizes revenge, forgiveness is a revolution. It’s how light breaks into darkness. It’s how the Church reveals the beauty of Jesus to a watching world.

So may we become a people who forgive—not because it’s easy, but because it’s Christ in us, reconciling the world to himself.

Imagine a world where forgiveness reigns, where the cycle of hurt and anger is broken, and where love and mercy flow freely. That's the world Jesus invites us to live in. This is a foretaste of the world to come, when Christ will reconcile all things to himself.

Every time we forgive, we are aligning ourselves with that future—the day when every wound will be healed, all tears wiped away, and even our enemies made friend through the reconciliation of Jesus.

________________________________________________________________________________

[1] When we hear the phrase “spiritual warfare,” we probably think of a spiritual battle taking place in the unseen world. I would like to suggest that forgiveness one of the greatest acts of spiritual warfare, because unforgiveness is a win for Satan (2 Corinthians 2:11).

[2] “This is evidently spoken after the manner of men, and in accordance with human apprehension. It cannot mean literally that God forgets that people are sinners, but it means that he treats them as if this were forgotten. Their sins are not charged upon them, and they are no more punished than if they had passed entirely out of the recollection.” – Matthew Henry, on Hebrews 8:12

“This is another phrase to express the forgiveness of sins, and distinguishes the new covenant from the old one, or the former dispensation; in which, though there were many typical sacrifices, and a typical removal of sin, yet there was a remembrance of it every year.” Gill’s Exposition Of The Bible, on Hebrews 8:12

“As far as possible; as far as we can imagine. These are the points in our apprehension most distant from each other, and as we can conceive nothing beyond them, so the meaning is, that we cannot imagine our sins could be more effectually removed than they are. “ Barne’s Notes On The Bible

“…and by this means so effectually, and so far, are their transgressions removed, that they shall never be seen any more, nor ever be imputed to them, nor be brought against them to their condemnation; in consequence of which, pardon is applied to them, and so sin is removed from their consciences, as before observed; see Leviticus 16:21.”  - Gill’s Exposition Of The Entire Bible

“He will, in the language of another prophet, “blot out” the sins which yet belong to the indelible and irrevocable past (Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22).”  Elliot’s Commentary For English Readers, on Jeremiah 31:34 

The Cost Of Following Jesus: Salt and Fire

I noted last week:

“When it stops being culturally hard to be a follower of Jesus—when it starts to be to our cultural advantage to be Christian—historically, that has always presented a danger of compromise and corruption in the church.But when the cost of being a child of God is high, a purified church filled with love and hope shines like a city on a hill into a world dark with hate and despair.”

There is something about this reality for the institution of the church that has importance for the individuals in the church as well. There is always going to be a cost to following Jesus, and it’s for our good. If we aren’t willing to pay it, we will not experience the fullness of life in the Kingdom of God.

Today I am not going to talk about what others do to us; I am going to talk about the costly discipleship God asks us to participate in with him.

• David said, “I will not give to God sacrifices that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24)

• Jesus told his disciples to count the cost, as if there was going to be a cost. (Luke 14)

• We are called to “deny yourself, take up your cross” (Matthew 16), “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15), “present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12), “discipline your body” (1 Corinthians 9). 

In other words, Jesus calls us to die in the sense of making choices so that the things within us that are evil and destructive die, and that which brings life moves front and center.

Think of the Rich Young Ruler, so close to following Jesus except for that one thing. Jesus asked him if he would embrace poverty if asked, and it was too much. (Mark 10) There was something about his wealth and the life it brought him that was too high of a cost to pay in exchange for life in the Kingdom.

Think of the Sadducees, for whom staying cozy with Rome was far more important than taking Jesus seriously. The miracles done by Jesus and the apostles should have drawn them to hear the truth about Jesus. But if Jesus was who he said he was, the cost was higher than they were willing to pay.

The Pharisees loved purity and holiness (that’s a good thing), but it kept them from loving all their neighbors: the Samaritans, the prostitutes, the tax collector, the leper. The unclean. If following Jesus meant doing the messy work of interacting with the “unclean” up close and personal, it was too high of a cost.

This cost, this dying, is not pain for pain’s sake. It’s the fire of refinement, and refinement is hard but good. What comes out the other side is something purified and true.

“For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness  to the LORD. (Malachi 2:3)

“Everyone will be salted with fire and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt... Have salt in you and be at peace with one another." (Jesus, in Mark 9:49-50)

What shall we do with that imagery of salt and fire? I like the commentary from the Cambridge Commentary For Schools And Colleges:

“Salt, like a subtle flame, penetrates all that is corruptible and separates that which is decaying and foul, whilst it fixes and quickens that which is sound. Fire destroys that which is perishable and thereby establishes the imperishable in its purest perfection, and leads to new and more beautiful forms of being. Thus both effect a kind of transformation.

Now “everyone,” our Lord saith, “shall be salted with fire;” either (1) by his voluntary entering upon a course of self-denial and renunciation of his sins, and so submitting to the purifying fire of self--transformation; or (2) by his being involuntarily salted with the fire of… judgment (Hebrews 10:27; Hebrews 12:29).”

We are going to talk about the first way today. If we aren’t feeling the “purifying fire of self-transformation,”we have stopped short of really embracing what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and this stoppage will take from us the joy of bringing offerings of righteousness to the Lord.

Good news! The Bible shows us what that salt and fire look like, as well as how to apply it. There are ways to purposefully embrace the purifying costliness of our faith for the sake of transformation. Let’s start with an example, then move to principles.

When Paul talked about all the different groups to whom he took the gospel, he noted:

19 For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people…I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some… I do all these things because of the gospel, so that I can be a participant in it.

He then used an Olympic racing analogy to describe how hard this was:

Each competitor (in a race) must exercise self-control in everything… So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9)

It must have been hard work to get to know others so well in order to “speak their language.” It must have meant surrendering his preferences for how to share the Gospel in light of the best way they could understand the gospel. He had to live with integrity so as to not poison his words. And he did all this so that he could participate in the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 10 he notes,

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.  No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”

Partnering with what God is doing in the world is going to require, work, wisdom, self-control, and self-sacrificial relationships so we can participate in the gospel. We will have to get salted with that purifying fire of transformation. Here are some ideas.

1. Salty Generosity

Jesus was poured out for us; what does it look like to pour out our lives for others? A very practical way is with our resources.

 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. (2 Corinthians 9)

Give money, time, a listening ear, a car ride – whatever your resource is -  for the sake of others. Help those who can’t return the favor. Let them borrow stuff you like. Make it uncomfortable for yourself.

The story is told of the preacher who was invited to preach at a church as part of a fundraising drive for repairing several churches in a parish. One attendee told him, “I could pay to fix one of those churches and not even feel it.” The preacher responded, “Why don’t you fix two and feel it?”

What does it look like to give from whatever provision God has given us until we feel it? And in that uncomfortable space, God does work as we will need to trust on His storehouse of provision.

2. Salty Hospitality

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12)

This could be a cousin to the point I just made. Be practically hospitable by giving people a place at the table in your life or in your home. The table of Jesus should always have an extra seat.

But right now I am thinking about the hospitality of our head and heart. It’s the idea that we give the benefit of the doubt to people; we ascribe the best intentions to them until we are proven wrong.

Someone at church doesn’t talk to you one Sunday. You don’t know why.  Assume good in them and not ill. It might be really hard to deal with the anxiety or fear you have; that’s a great opportunity to give it to Jesus.

You got cut off in that roundabout? Pray that the person driving is okay. Who knows; they may have a family emergency. They might have just gotten terrible news and were distracted. Pray for them.

There is a social media post, and it really gets under your skin. You want to feel the salt of purification? Ascribe the best of intentions to the poster. If you are going to try to read between the lines, write the best narrative you can. If you wonder what the attitude of their heart is, give them the grace that you want others to show you when they are confused.

It’s easy to stew in our own assumptions and judgments, and for most of us, that stew is toxic. When we do the work of cooking with ingredients of generosity, kindness, and hope, it’s a much better meal.

3. Salty Discomfort

Fasting from food is a classic tradition. It’s a way of taking control of our body’s needs. Maybe think of fasting as challenging our bodily urges or earthly desires and focusing on Jesus to bring us peace.

Some people do digital fasting: intentionally go without screens, social media, or streaming to make space for prayer and silence. Maybe it is fasting from instant gratification – waiting for your paycheck to get something you want instead of putting it on a card.

Fasting is not punishment; it’s practice. It trains us to say ‘no’ to lesser things so we can say ‘yes’ to Jesus. Discomfort for Christ now is preparation for faithfulness when we hit even harder times in life.

4. Salty Service

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2)

“Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with the hunble. Do not be conceited.” (Romans 12)

Go regularly into places where you’re not in control or where your social status or reputation doesn’t matter (food banks, prisons, nursing homes, refugee centers, homeless shelters[1]). Commit to relationships with people who can’t “give back” -  the poor, the lonely, the marginalized, the overlooked. Maybe it is short-term or long-term service in a context that stretches your cultural or emotional comfort. Maybe it’s local mission in hard neighborhoods or to groups that make you uncomfortable.

It’s joining Jesus in the margins.  If we want to join Jesus in what he is doing today, we will often find the most tangible evidence where the need is greatest. God offers some transformation in those spaces as we “become all things to all people” because of the gospel, so we can participate in it.

5. Salty Relationships (repentance and forgiveness)

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3)

This will require honesty. Confess sin openly to trusted believers. Let them love you, correct you, encourage you, or lead you. Be humbled and lifted up.

Don’t hide from people you have wronged. Move toward them. Humbly. Honestly. Just say, “I’m sorry,” without the need for padding. Commit to not repeating whatever it was that hurt them. Do what is in your power to do for reconciliation.

Don’t reject people who offer you their repentance. Forgive them. Refuse to hold a grudge or nurse bitterness. We will talk more next week about the dynamics of forgiveness, but for today, remember that Jesus calls us to forgive.

Refuse to retaliate. Choose blessing over cursing. Pray for the people you are stewing over in your mind – not imprecatory prayers, but prayers for God to do good, healing work in their lives for their good and His glory.

6. Salty Witness

“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4)

Live the gospel all the time: that will pave the way for speaking the gospel.

Don’t be ashamed of the gospel even when it is uncomfortable. As much as is possible, live at peace with people, but don’t be afraid to own your faith. When people are talking about life, talk unashamedly about the rhythms of your faith in your life. ‘How can we not speak of what we have seen and heard?’”

Some spaces are meant for listening. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is offer a faithful presence that (hopefully) feels a lot like Jesus. Other times, the Holy Spirit is going to nudge us. Share the gospel when the Holy Spirit tells you it’s time, even if it is awkward or risky socially. Part of being salted is being patient when we want to barge in; the other is being responsive even if we are nervous.

7. Salty Sexuality

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.” (1 Thessalonians 4)

Staying within God’s boundaries in our actions and our hearts is going to test us. It’s…

• surrendering our sexual desires to the lordship and boundaries of Christ

• treating others with honor and thinking of them with honor

• building their dignity in our minds rather than fantasizing about them

• refusing to reduce people to objects of gratification, but refocusing on them as imago dei.

• refusing to take advantage of the bodies of others, but rather insisting that they all leave our presence having felt valued, not used.

I read a definition of chastity that talked about “directing all sexual emotions towards the holy dignity of the person.” If you let that fire salt you, the ‘you’ that emerges will be safe, honorable and holy (set apart from the world) in a beautiful way.

8. Salty Communication

One of our greatest areas for the potential work of God’s purifying fire to do its salty work is in the area of our words.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4)

 [The tongue] is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3)

If we want to be uncomfortable, tested, challenged, made to explore our hearts, surrender our opinions to God, work on self-control, and practice hospitable thoughts for others, this is a really great area of life for that.

There are things we must say as Christians that are necessary (truth, the gospel). There are things we can’t say if we want to follow Jesus well (slander, gossip, and lies). Then, Paul said there were things that were permissible but not beneficial or constructive.

Every word we speak is either building a bridge or burning one. If Jesus is Lord of our hearts, he must also be Lord of our tongues. If we want to get refined by a fire that will burn us into maturity, this is a really, really, really good one.

9. Salty Disciplines

“People do not drift toward holiness.” (D.A. Carson)

This is #1-#8. Spiritual disciplines will do a salty work in us. Let me add some classics.

It’s early morning prayer when you’d rather sleep, or praying instead of listening to music while you are driving. It’s studying Scripture when your mind wants to be scrolling. It’s embracing silence and solitude to talk with Jesus and appreciate God’s creation when you want noise and distraction.

Spiritual disciplines are not hoops to jump through—they’re habits that shape who we are becoming. Discipline is the training ground where desire for Christ becomes delight in Christ.

* * * * *

Yes, following Jesus costs us something. We need to be salted with the refiner’s fire. But the refining is never for our destruction; it’s for the destruction of that which is sinful in us, and that’s a good thing.

Jesus promised that those who lose their life for His sake will find it. That means that on the other side of the cost is the reward of a life marked by peace, joy, and love that this world cannot take away. The abundant life of the Kingdom is not only good for us—it overflows to bless our families, our neighbors, and even our enemies.

When we embrace costly Christianity, we become a living testimony to a watching world that Jesus is real, that His Spirit transforms, and that His Kingdom is breaking in even now.

__________________________________________________________________________________

[1] See Matthew 25

An Unexpected Time To Rejoice (Acts 5:17-42)

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.[1] They arrested the apostles [2]and put them in the public jail.[3] But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.“Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.

But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

This is the first of three “jail break” miracles recorded in Acts. Add this to the “signs and wonders” that people can see, proving that God as revealed in Jesus is, indeed, God. Just like Jesus healed a lame man – something people could see - to show that he could forgive sins – which they couldn’t see - God frees the apostles – something people can see – to prove he can free them from the chains of sin.

On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to. Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.[4]

Another great example of “enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2) in contrast to the religious authorities. So far, this is the pattern in the early church. That’s going to change before long, and we will discuss why when we get there.

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s [5] blood.”[6]

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!  The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.  God exalted him to his own right hand[7] as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”[8]

When they heard this, they were furious (gnashed their teeth) and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel ,a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.

He referenced some incidents in Jewish history, then said,

Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged.

Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.[9]  Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

* * * * *

What happened to them is the same dynamic that followers of Jesus have faced throughout history: when our faith meets resistance, how will we respond?

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, Christians have had very different opinions about how to understand what happened. Was he persecuted for his faith, or was he a person of faith who was killed? Was he a martyr, or simply a victim of evil?

Whatever your opinion, no doubt his death has pushed the conversation about persecution and martyrdom to the forefront. And since that is exactly where our text takes us today, I want us to focus on the deeper and timeless issue: whatever the situation, how does Jesus call us to respond when we suffer for his name?

Let’s start with a simple definition. Persecution: when harm/damage is done to us because of our faith. We are going to see the apostles take on a ton of damage in the book of Acts. Most of them will eventually be killed as martyrs.

And yet we see in today’s passage that they leave this situation not in bitterness, not plotting revenge, not wallowing in hate or self-pity, but actually rejoicing in the honor of participating in this suffering of Jesus.

Why is it a privilege to participate in the suffering of Jesus? If anyone could speak with authority about suffering for Christ, it was Paul. His own story mirrors and amplifies what began in Acts 5. Paul said suffering for Jesus was one way to get to know Jesus better.

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11)

Based on that, I’d say he and Jesus got pretty close. Once, when he was making the point that if people wanted to play a “religious credentials” game he would win, he offered a window into his life.

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one — I am talking like a madman — with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.

Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. (2 Corinthians 11)

He called this "light and momentary affliction" that is producing an "eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). He will tell the Christians in Philippi,

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him…” (Philippians 1)

It was granted to them. It was charizomai: a gift; a favor; an act of grace. Peter – who got beaten with 39 lashes in today’s story – had a lot to say about this gift in 1 Peter. Here are two of many sections in that book.

For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Pet. 2:20–21)

But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God… Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Pet. 4:12–19)

This doesn’t mean we should seek persecution, by the way. Paul and Jesus escaped from angry crowds; Paul used his Roman credentials to remind Rome of his Roman rights. He wrote, “As much as is possible, live at peace with all people.” (Romans 12:18)

We aren’t called to push until we are persecuted; we are called to live faithfully even if we are. And when we are, we have been shown the path to follow. From the very beginning, Christians were encouraged to see persecution as an opportunity not for retaliation and bitterness, but as a means to know Christ more deeply and as an opportunity to witness to the love of God.

• From the Didache, a Christian document written around 85 AD: “Bless those who curse you, pray for your enemies, and fast on behalf of those who persecute you… But love those who hate you, and you shall not have an enemy.”

• A few years later, Justin the Martyr said: “We who formerly hated and murdered one another now live together and share the same table. We pray for our enemies and try to win those who hate us.”

• “Above all, Christians are not allowed to correct by violence sinful wrongdoings.” Clement of Alexandria (150AD – 214AD)

• Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage who died in 258: “None of us offers resistance when he is seized, or avenges himself for your unjust violence, although our people are numerous and plentiful…it is not lawful for us to hate, and so we please God more when we render no requital for injury…we repay your hatred with kindness.”

Their patient endurance, their refusal to hate, their joy even in death—this is what convinced the watching world that Jesus is Lord. The church exploded. There was something compelling about what the community of the early church offered, yes, but it was more than that. They were willing to die rather than turn away from Jesus. They had found something – someone - worth dying for.

There is an interesting historical fact about Christianity. With few exceptions,[10] it grows in quantity and quality during persecution, but too quickly loses the quality in times of comfort and privilege. Gene Edward Veith, former editor at WORLD magazine, notes:

“One of the greatest paradoxes in Christian history is that the church is most pure in times of cultural hostility. When things are easy and good, that is when the church most often goes astray… When the church seems to be enjoying its greatest earthly success, then it is weakest. Conversely, when the church encounters hardship, persecution, and suffering… then it is closest to its crucified Lord, then there are fewer hypocrites and nominal believers among its members, and then the faith of Christians burns most intensely. 2”

If you were here while we went through the Gospels, you already saw the corrosive effect of power and privilege in the Sadducees. It’s going to become obvious far too quickly in church history.

When Constantine legalized Christianity and ended their persecution in the 300s, it was a wonderful relief. The church had been growing in spite of persecution, but now they could grow freely, in the open. Constantine offered a lot to like. He ended crucifixion and the gladiatorial arena. He gave state money to churches. He made Sunday a holiday. He stopped infanticide.

But along with these blessings came a danger: cultural Christianity. When the cost of following Christ dropped, so did the church’s purity.”

• Church growth now contained a lot of people who saw the social advantage of being Christian. One could move up in Rome by moving up in the church.

• Before too long, the church started defending people and things in the Roman government that they used to prophetically call out.

• Pagan rituals started sneaking into the church.[11]

• In a discouragingly short time, Christians were persecuting others like they had once been persecuted.

When it stops being culturally hard to be a follower of Jesus - when it starts to be to our cultural advantage to be Christian – historically, that has always presented a danger of compromise and corruption in the church.  But when the cost of being a child of God is high, a purified church filled with love and hope shines like a city on a hill into a world dark with hate and despair.

I have 3 snapshots for how modern followers of Jesus have responded to horrific violence they experienced because they were people of God just so we can watch God’s intended path unfold.

First: Corrie Ten Boom (concentration camp survivor) often spoke to audiences about the gospel and of the importance of Jesus’ forgiveness and grace. One night, a former guard approached her after one of here presentations. He had experienced God’s forgiveness, but he had a different question. He held out his hand and said, “Will you forgive me?” In Corrie’s own words:

“And I stood there  - I whose sins had every day to be forgiven  - and could not. Betsie had died in that place - could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.

For I had to do it  - I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses…."

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion  - I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.

Second: Steve Saint, son of martyred missionary Nate Saint, was later baptized by his father’s killer, who had become a follower of Jesus. And then, his father’s killer became his surrogate father (and grandfather to his children). Eventually, they traveled the world talking about the power of God’s redemption. You can find videos online.

Third: In Nigeria, right now, extreme persecution by Boko Haram has included mass murder as well as destruction of church buildings, houses, and businesses. People who studied this found that the Christians who responded with forgiveness, prayer, and steadfast faith saw their witness grow stronger, while those who retaliated in anger saw the gospel’s influence shrink. One Nigerian pastor put it this way: “When we sang hymns as they destroyed our homes, our neighbors saw that Christ was real.” [12]

* * * * *

When Christians face persecution for loving and living for Jesus, what is the proper response?

When others urge vengeance, the forgiveness that God’s people offer should be inexplicable to the world.

While we watch fear and anger rise, the hope and peace that Jesus gives us should astonish all those who see us.

When the language of dehumanizing hate permeates the conversation, our words should unrelentingly remind the world of the dignity and value of all imago dei – even those who hurt and persecute.

When we hear the clamor for the destruction of our enemies, we surpass the noise with our prayers for the repentance, salvation, and new life in Christ for our enemies, believing the Holy Spirit’s restoration is available to all people.

This is the heart of Christian witness.

This is how the gospel has spread across centuries.

So let us be a people who—whether in ease or hardship, privilege or persecution—never stop proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah, to the glory of God.

_____________________________________________________________________________

[1] “Caiaphas and other members of the leading aristocratic priestly families were Sadducees. They had theological as well as political (cf. 4:10) reasons for wanting the movement stopped.. the popularity of Jesus’ movement is growing, risking the Jerusalem elite’s dishonor. “(NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[2] Commentaries suggest it was all 120 of the apostles.

[3] Not the Sanhedrin’s jail, into which they were put in Chapter 4. It’s escalating.

[4] “This says something about the early Christians' response to Jesus' example of nonviolence and nonretaliation during his own arrest (cf. Mk 14:43-50), for they might have begun a riot and thus extricated themselves.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[5] “Their hardened attitude is manifest in their… spitting out the epithet "this man" when they had to refer directly to him.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[6] “Those responsible for murder were “guilty” of the person’s “blood” (Dt 21:7 – 8; 2Sa 21:1; Eze 22:4). Such behavior brought judgment on the land unless the murderers were punished. The apostolic preaching thus threatens the political security of the elite.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[7] “This declaration would be understood by the Sanhedrin as a reference to the Resurrection. Such an exaltation by God would make this resurrected Jesus equal with God (cf. John 5:18; 10:33).” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[8] “For to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins] Thus offering the way of salvation to all those who were ready to accept it. These words to a Jew would have great significance, for they had a saying (T. B. Sanhedrin 113 a) that salvation was one of the things which God kept in His own power. If Christ then was to bestow this gift on Israel He must be owned by them as God.” (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)

[9] “Jesus’ disciples rejoice specifically because of the reason why they suffer (Lk 6:23). Jewish tradition praised suffering for “the Name,” meaning that of God; here, however, the name is that of Jesus (cf. Lk 6:22).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible) “ To rejoice in persecution, and triumph in the midst of pain, shame, disgrace, and various threatened deaths, is the privilege of the New Testament.” (Adam Clarke)

[10] There are exceptions to this. Sometimes, the church dies out because everybody gets killed, literally. But I am not aware of any exceptions to the corollary. I have yet to find out of an example where a pure and holy church institution genuinely flourishes in righteous holiness in places of comfort, power and privilege.

[11] https://wearefaith.org/blog/constantines-influence-on-the-church/

[12] (https://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2492&context=ecommonsatsdissertations)

The Reputation of Virtue Without the Cost of Virtue (Acts 4:32-5:16)

After the Sanhedrin couldn’t do anything to Peter and John because the people loved them, Peter and John returned to their friends – which I take to be the 120 disciples of Jesus. They prayed, the Holy Spirit surged again, and they all “began speaking God’s message with courageous confidence.” (Acts 4:31) Next, we get a repeat of something we heard earlier, but it’s going to move us into an uncomfortable story.

4:32 During those days, the entire community of believers was deeply united in heart and soul to such an extent that they stopped claiming private ownership of their possessions. Instead, they held everything in common. The apostles with great power gave their eyewitness reports of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Everyone was surrounded by an extraordinary grace. Not a single person in the community was in need because those who had been affluent sold their houses or lands and brought the proceeds to the emissaries of the Lord. They then distributed the funds to individuals according to their needs.

One fellow, a Cyprian Levite named Joseph, earned a nickname because of his generosity in selling a field and bringing the money to the apostles in this way. From that time on, they called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.”

5:1One man whose name was Ananias[1], with his wife, whose name was Sapphira, had sold his field.  And he took some of its price and concealed it while his wife was aware of it, and he brought some of the money and placed it before the Apostles' feet.

And Peter said to Ananias, "Why has Satan filled[2] your heart[3] to lie to the Spirit of Holiness[4] and to hide some money of the proceeds of the field? Was it not yours until it was sold? And after it was sold, again you had power over its proceeds. Why have you conceived in your heart to do this thing? You have not cheated men but God."

And when Ananias heard these words, he dropped dead and breathed his last.[5] And great fear came upon all those who heard. And young men among them arose and gathered him up, and they took him out and buried him.

And after three hours had passed, his wife also entered, not knowing what had happened.  Peter said to her, "Tell me if for these proceeds you sold the field." But she said, "Yes, for these proceeds."

Peter said to her, "Because you have conspired to tempt the Spirit of the Lord Jehovah, behold the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door and they will take you out."  And at that moment she fell before their feet and breathed her last, and those young men came in and found her dead.[6]

And they took her up and brought her out and buried her beside her husband.  And there was great fear (phobos) upon the entire church among all those who heard.[7] And there were occurring by the hands of the Apostles signs and many mighty acts among the people and they were all assembled together at the porch of Solomon.

And none of the other people dared to join them, but the people were magnifying/exalting them.[8] And those who were believing in Jehovah were added all the more, multitudes of men and women, so that they were bringing the sick out into the streets lying in litters, that when Peter would come, at least his shadow might overshadow them.[9]

And many were coming to them from the other cities which were around Jerusalem, as they were bringing the sick and those who had evil spirits, and they were all being healed.

I have a lot of questions about this event.

• It reads like Ananias and Sapphira make one mistake, and they are done.  One and done. It feels like there must be more to it than that.

• Why had no one told Sapphira what happened? Would she not have repented in front of Peter instead of continuing the lie?

• Peter says that Satan filled Ananias’ heart and  Ananias conceived to do this in his heart. Is it both? Did Ananias plant and Satan water?

• Peter would have been raised to practice the following in the face of an accusation: two or three witnesses had to know of the impending sin, warn of the impending sin and its consequences, and then see the sin occur.  Matthew 18 gives a whole process that wasn’t followed. Why not?

• Jesus rattled people, but He never cursed someone to die on the spot. Forgive 70x7, overcome evil with good, bless your enemy and pray for them that despitefully use you. I don't see "curse them to die or perish on the spot" on that list in Matthew 5:38-48.[10] What has changed?

• The burial does not follow Jewish protocol. There is no family involvement and no ritual.[11]

•  “Other people” didn’t dare join them after this. Is it other disciples from the 120 (Acts 1:15)? Religious leaders? Gentiles? Is this good or bad?

• Was the fear (phobos – wide range of meaning) a good thing?

• Peter had said after healing the lame man, “Why are you staring at my friend and me as though we did this miracle through our own power or made this fellow walk by our own holiness? 13 We didn’t do this—God did!” (Acts 3) Now, the people are magnifying/exalting them. There seems to be no deflection of glory here. Is that a bad sign?

Let’s walk through three main ways followers of Jesus have interpreted this passage, and then land on some things that are clear in spite of uncertainty.

OPTION #1 

This is divine judgment, pure and simple. This is an inaugural event in the early church: it’s not going to be the norm (just like tongues of fire aren’t the norm), but it establishes how seriously God takes hypocrisy and deceit.[12] The "great fear" that follows sounds ominous in my ears, but it promoted holiness and growth. The church continued to draw Jewish converts, so this act of God was not off-putting to them. Perhaps they just hyper-linked to God’s demands for holiness in the OT.  Same God, new covenant.

Things that make me say hmmm…

• The text does not explicitly state that God killed them.

• Peter’s response clashes with Jesus' mercy for sinners, culminating in a prayer for forgiveness for his murderers. Is killing God worse than lying to Him?

• If this established that God demanded holiness, it doesn’t seem to have worked any better than Old Testament punishments stopped God’s people from straying.[13] Just read the NT letters and study church history.

• It did actually deter at least some people from joining. There was respect but a reluctance to join. If the death penalty instantly applied to sin, I could see how that would be off-putting.

• “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” (1 John 4:18) What do we do with that?

OPTION #2

Maybe Satan is the one who took their lives. Peter asked Sapphira, literally, "Why did the two of you agree to pressure the Spirit?" It carries the idea of pushing away the protective presence of God.[14]Paul will later instruct the church to “hand [a] man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 5).[15] Perhaps Ananias and Saphira were handed over to Satan. Their flesh was destroyed, but their spirits were saved (the text doesn’t say they were damned for what they did, just punished).[16]

HMMMMM….

The text doesn’t say that Satan killed them, just that Satan had “entered in” in the same way Satan entered into Judas in Luke 22:3. At one point Jesus had said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because you are not thinking the thoughts of God but those of men.” (Matthew 16:23) And then Satan didn’t kill Peter. So what is different here?

This view seems to give an uncomfortable amount of power to Satan and suggests that, depending on what our sin is, Satan can just take us, even though God denied Satan that kind of power in the story of Job.

OPTION #3

What if this is a descriptive story but not a prescriptive one? In other words, it shows what happened,but not necessarily what should have happened. Peter confronts publicly without private warning. There is no attempt to rebuke Satan; no prayer; no attempt to lead in repentance and restoration.

Peter, the Son of Thunder, has a thunderous history: cutting off the ear of a servant in his Zealotry to protect Jesus; denying Jesus with oaths in a volatile  moment. He was also part of a group that asked Jesus to rain down fire on a Samaritan town (Luke 9) before Jesus countered by sending them there as missionaries.

“Did Peter show them the same grace he himself received when he betrayed the Lord three times in one night? Did Peter extend God's grace to them to NOT hold this sin to their account, as Jesus did, as the martyr Stephen did, or did he even try to minister repentance to them, to counsel them, to pray for them, to intercede for them, to lay hands on them to be forgiven and healed, or any of the other things Scripture and later Church practice advised?

What about this passage? "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1) Why, in Jesus' name, was the space to repent NOT offered to Ananias and Sapphira in this situation by Peter?”[17]

That seems like a really good question.

It also seems to have elevated Peter in an unhealthy way.  The rest of the 120 disciples of Jesus either don’t feel worthy of hanging with them or don’t want to; the people start thinking that just the shadow of Peter might heal them. This doesn’t seem healthy.

“If we, as part of a young and inexperienced church body, saw a revered leader such as Peter appear to instill such fear that people dropped dead, literally scared and condemned to death, then we too might start to idolize his ‘shadow…’ It can be argued that the ‘great fear’ that came on the church in the wake of this event, and the subsequent healing of the sick from Peter's cast shadow, came more from men wrongly, excessively and fearfully elevating Peter rather than through the exercising of pure faith in Christ.”[18]

HHHHMMMMM….

Even if it is descriptive rather than prescriptive, Luke narrates without critiquing Peter and not clearly stating something like, “Yep, he overstepped his authority.” And the positive church growth that continued from within the Jewish community afterward must be considered. Whatever involvement Peter had was interpreted by the Jewish people in such a way that it grew the church.

* * * * *

So what do we do with this story? Maybe this is settled for you and I should say, “What do I do with this story?” I am still wrestling with this story. It is just so jarringly different from its textual and historical context.

What if this story is meant to unsettle us? What if it’s meant to resist a neat, packaged explanation? Perhaps we are meant to wrestle with the text and not let go until we find the blessing in it (#jacob)

My main area of wrestling is over the question of what God is like. Clearly, God is not a God to be managed or manipulated. The Spirit of God is holy and weighty.  Conspiring to sin is playing with the fire of God. And yet, the same God who warned us that sin brings death is the God whose cruciform love brings holiness and mercy together in love. This God forgives, restores, and offers new life to even those who killed him and betrayed him.

I wonder if this kind of account invites us to hold two things at once: “The soul that sins will die!” (Ezekiel 18) and, "The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him" (Daniel 9:9). This invites us to explore God’s holy and merciful love more deeply.

If it’s just about holiness that demands an account from the sinner, how, then, is Peter still standing? Why am I still standing? Why are you?

That’s the wrestling part, at least for me.

Other parts are more clear.  If we are invited to wrestle, we are also invited to participate in the lifestyle of the Kingdom: radically generous, full of integrity and truth, speaking God’s message with “courageous confidence.” When the church lives like that, there is “extraordinary grace” for us all. When deceit and corruption creep in, the Kingdom suffers.

This story reminds us to be the kind of people who take personal integrity seriously, recognizing the moldy nature of sin: it starts in one spot, but it never stays there. There is always a ripple effect. We must take seriously our commitment to following Jesus for the sake of all of us.

So we are invited to wrestle, to join the mission, and to live with holy integrity.  Ananias and Saphira appear to have wanted the reputation of virtue without the cost of virtue.

Perhaps this is a good time for introspection. What are reputations we want without the cost of obedience? What are the crowns we want without the cross of presenting our lives as a living sacrifice? National headlines have too often revealed the lack of integrity in many of those who claim to follow Jesus.

• They want the reputation of generosity without the cost of giving in ways they feel.

• They want the reputation of defending traditional marriage while hiding their own secret affairs.

• They want the reputation of honoring the Ten Commandments while breaking them in their own lives.

• They want the reputation of being guardians of modesty and purity while going places and doing things that are anything but modest and pure.

• They want the reputation of upholding family values while neglecting or mistreating their own family behind closed doors.

• They want the reputation of loving the poor and powerless while not contributing in any meaningful way to their care.

• They want the reputation of standing for truth while letting gossip and slander pass far too easily through their lips.

• They want the applause of righteousness without the refining fire of holiness.
  

I said “they” to make it more objective. Could it also be “we”?  Can you find yourseIf on that list? Are you thinking of something else? If this leaves us unsettled, maybe that’s exactly where we need to be. Unsettled hearts are being called to repent. The Holy Spirit is doing some work.

I would like us to close today by spending some time in surrender and repentance.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”  (Psalm 139:23-24)

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[1] The import of his name, חנניה chananiyah, the grace or mercy of the Lord, agrees very ill with his conduct. (Adam Clarke)

[2] I wonder if this is a contrast to Peter having just been filled with the Spirit?

[3] As was said of Judas (John 13:2; John 13:27).

[4] “Likely this means by lying against Him who dwelt in the Apostles whom he was seeking to deceive.” (Ellicott’s Commentary For English Readers

[5] The LXX uses ekpsychō in a few spots: Judith 16:17: the ungodly “shall weep and breathe their last in pain forever.” 4 Maccabees 15:24: a martyr “breathed his last.” 3 Maccabees 5:42: persecuted Jews “breathed their last.” In these contexts, it’s usually about violent, dramatic, or martyr-deaths—not “ordinary passing in bed.” So already in Jewish-Greek literature, the word can have a sense of dramatic expiration.

[6] Annanias and Sapphira may be hyperlinking to Abram in Gen 14 refusing to 'hold back for himself any portion of the proceeds'. Also, Achan in Joshua 7 took that which was harem – set apart for God – and used if for himself. It was not a good idea.

[7] “The question of the salvation of Ananias and Sapphira has not been a little agitated; and most seem inclined to hope that, though their sin was punished by this awful display of the Divine judgment, mercy was extended to their souls. For my own part, I think their sin was what the apostle, 1 John 5:16, calls a sin unto death; a sin which must be punished with temporal death, or the death of the body, while mercy was extended to the soul.” (Adam Clarke)

[8] This feels different than Peter’s first miracle, in which he said, “You thought we did this, but it was Jesus.”

[9] “It does not appear…that any person was healed in this way. The sacred penman simply relates the impression made on the people's minds; and how they acted in consequence of this impression.” (Adam Clarke)

[10] God vs Evil, by Richard Murray

[11] Typically, the body was first prepared for burial [the body was stripped, bathed, anointed with oils and certain burial spices, and then the body was wrapped in cloths before burial #jesusburial] The burial procession started at the home of the deceased, surrounded by family members.

[12] Onlookers may have thought of Nadab/Abihu in Leviticus 10 or Achan in Joshua 7. 

[13] Later, Peter will tell Simon Magnus, who attempted to buy the Holy Spirit, “Your money perish with you.” Simon said, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” There is no record that he or his money perished. I would think trying to buy the Holy Spirit has to rank up there pretty high in “Things Not To Do To The Holy Spirit,” and yet Simon lived. Hmmm.

[14] God at times judges by giving people over to their sins (Romans 1:24-26).

[15] Jesus had told his disciples that the “thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10) The writer of Hebrews claims that even though God has freed us from the fear of death having the final word, Satan “holds the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14)

[16] There is a psychological/spiritual view that has to do with Ananias and Sapphira being so scared they died. “I have witnessed this very thing in Africa where many people deeply believe in witchcraft. Many people there die a premature death because they have been convinced to believed that a witch doctor has put a curse on them. Many times even the medical profession will confirm that there is not a medical reason for their death.” (https://arthurmeintjes.com/what-about-ananias-and-sapphira/)

[17] God vs Evil, by Richard Murray

[18] God vs Evil, by Richard Murray