Good Works?

Last Sunday a question about good works came up and I promised to answer it on my blog. Here is the question to the best of my recollection. "What would you say to someone who says, 'I don't need Jesus, I am a good person, I do good things.'" We have a perfect example of how to respond to someone like that. Jesus gives us a perfect example.

17. And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18. And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
19. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'"
20. And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth."
21. And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
22. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus confronts a man who thinks his own "good works" are enough to make him in right standing with God. Jesus does two things. First, He makes an important declaration, "No one is good except God alone." Second, he shows the Rich young man that he is not as good as he thinks. I think this is the pattern we must use in the scenario mentioned at the beginning of this post. Now, let me say that tact, kindness, and compassion must be part of the conversation. That being said, we must communicate that God, who is holy and perfect demands that same from people, yet we are not holy or perfect. Therefore any deed we do that might be thought of as good pales in comparison to God's holiness. The unregenerate man will always have some selfish motives even it it is to gain God's favor it is a selfish and sinful motive and therefore cannot be good. No matter how many positive things I might do, if I tell one lie, or give one lustful look, I am not good. When someone says they are a good person then they must be measured against God's standard of holiness, like the ten commandments. Then the only conclusion is we are not as good as we think we are. I welcome your comments, follow up questions, or other questions related to our study of Revelation.

Thyatira

I hope I am welcoming some new readers to In the Grip. As you know I have started team teaching the college Sunday School class at my church and have decided to use my blog as a discussion platform for our study of the book of Revelation. So I welcome your questions and comments.

Last Sunday we looked at the message to the church in Thyatira. That message begins like this. "The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze." This picture of Christ has intrigued, startled, and comforted me this week. I think, based on the description, and the tone of the message to the church in Thyatira, that this vision of Christ is as the One who sees all with the penetrating eyes of justice and who has the strength to carry out that justice. I am reminded of a passage from the book of Hebrews that seems to draw attention to this quality of Christ's sight. It is Hebrews 4:13, "And no creature is hidden from his sight, all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
The dark reality is that I do not live with this vision of Christ in my mind. I don't live like I am naked and exposed before Christ who is both loving savior and righteous judge. I make poor choices, speak idol or hurtful words, have impure thoughts, behave selfishly, and, well you get the picture. And this is what has startled me about the Christ of Revelation. But then there is also this message to the church in Thyatira, "But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come." I find this very comforting. To those who are under attack, but have not given in, Christ says I put no more burden on you , just hang on till I come. I want to be one to whom Christ says, "hang on till I come." Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Football

Man I miss football. I know all you baseball fans out there are cursing me right now. But I love football. To me, there is no greater sport that combines strength, skill, and teamwork like football. After the NFL draft on April 26-27 we will be in football purgatory. That place of waiting, filled with boredom, withdrawal, weeping and gnashing of teeth. But wait, there is the AFL. That's right the Arena Football League plays football until July 27. I know arena ball is filled with guys who couldn't make it in the NFL and they have that weird guy running full speed to the line of scrimmage. But is is still football and pretty exciting. And if you are a Monday Night Football fan, guess what? There is an AFL game televised every Monday Night on an ESPN channel. Talk about high scoring, last week Orlando beat Grand Rapids 75 to 56. If you love football, check out the AFL.

The Center

So, yesterday I had the privilege to teach the first chapter (or at least most of the first chapter) of the book of Revelation. It was a real wake up call for me. Revelation 1 and (I am convinced) all of the book of Revelation is about knowing and obeying Jesus. No, that is an understatement, it's all about living a Christ centered, Christ saturated life. In verse 1, we are told that this is a revelation of Jesus Christ, meaning both from and about Christ, concerning the things that must soon take place. Revelation is really only about times and events as they relate to who Jesus is, what He does, and why He does it.

I said that Sunday was a wake up call for me. As I studied for and taught Revelation 1 I was confronted with the way that my life has gone away from being a Christ centered, Christ saturated life. Colossians 1 15-18 gives a wonderful description of the beauty and power of Christ culminating with the phrase, "that in everything He might be preeminent." The disappointing bottom line is that I don't live a life so Christ centered and Christ saturated that says, that in everything Christ might be seen to be preeminent.

Jesus, I want to know you, obey you, love you, you are preeminent.

The Apocalypse

I am excited that I get to teach college students this Sunday. The college Sunday School teacher at my Church asked me to team teach the college class with him so this Sunday I get to teach. We are going to teach through the book of Revelation. So I get to kick of the study this week. So here are some thoughts of mine on parts of Revelation chapter 1.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Revelation 1:3

There is a blessing for those who hear and keep what is written in this revelation of Jesus Christ. I think the focus needs to be on "keeping" this word. The word "keep" implies obedience. I think all too often the approach to the book of Revelation is not obey, but figure out the hidden meaning or figure out the date of Christ's return. I wonder how our approach to a study of Revelation might change if we simply focused on obeying the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, Revelation 1:5

What does it mean for Jesus to be the ruler of the kings of the earth? It means that Jesus reigns and rules over all. He and He alone decides who becomes king. Christ determines what the kings of the earth do. Jesus orders the world for the good of God's purpose for and through His Church.

So, just a couple of thoughts from Revelation 1

Humor

I am struck by how valuable humor is. I found an Abbott and Costello old time radio podcast and have been laughing like crazy since.....and I simply feel better. As many of you know, my oldest son has struggled with adolescence and that struggle has led to some behavior that has been, to say the least, frustrating. One of the ways Judy (my wife) and I have dealt with the frustration is to laugh about it, to use humor to ease the pain of our disappointment, fear and frustration. When it comes to preaching or teaching a little humor goes a long way to keep attention and communicate hard truths.