Linkage: The Meals of Jesus

The people we have around our table at meal time provides a real example of who and what we value.  We typically don't invite just anyone to share a meal with us, rather we eat with people we enjoy being around.  If this is the case then what do the meals of Jesus tell us about who he valued?  In this short essay Mark Moore explores that question.

Human beings are the only animals that eat communally. We decorate our tables, call our families, present the meal with ornamental color, and use specific utensils for various elements of the meal. It looks more like a ceremony than a biological necessity and, in fact, it is. Meals are complex social events that function as tools for building community rather than simple nourishment for the individual. Put simply, meals accomplish specific things in the context of a community.

Continue reading The Meals of Jesus: Table Fellowship in the Gospels...

Linkage: How Should the Church Relate to Those with Same-Sex Attraction?

Homosexuality is becoming a bigger and bigger challenge for the Church.  Part of the reason is because of the increased tolerance of homosexuality at large and how gay rights has become such a hot button political issue.  One of the realities that Christians need to remember is that Jesus came to save everyone and when we erect walls that prevent people from coming to Jesus we are being unfaithful to the call that God has given to us.

I appreciate these thoughts from Mark Moore on this subject.

Individuals with same-sex attraction make up as much as 6 percent of the male population and 4.5 percent of females (though some studies estimate half that). Those are not insignificant numbers, especially when same-sex attraction involves you or someone you love. 

The church traditionally has not been particularly welcoming of such individuals, and a number of Scriptures have been cited to validate responses that are sometimes violent—verbally, emotionally, occasionally even physically. 

Because I am a follower of Jesus Christ, it is unconscionable for me to reject in the body of Christ some of the most spiritually sensitive and emotionally/socially vulnerable individuals in our society. Consider that during Jesus’ earthly ministry, he never got angry with sinners. Rather, Jesus’ most vituperative responses were reserved for his own disciples when they rejected children (Mark 10:14), the Pharisees when they rejected healing on the Sabbath (Mark 3:5), and the Sadducees when they debarred the poor and foreigners from the temple through their economic structures (Mark 11:15-18).

Continue reading How Should the Church Relate to Those with Same-Sex Attraction?

Linkage: How to Memorize Scripture

One of the disciplines that many of us who follow Jesus today lack is the discipline of Scripture memorization.  We see it as a good thing for children to do, so we have memorization contests at church camp and VBS, but many of us don't see the need to spend the time memorization Scripture.  Part of this is due to the fact that we have the Bible available to us.  Many of us have multiple versions of the Bible laying all around the house, we can access the Bible online from our computer, and we have a couple of versions of the Bible on our phones.  If we want to we can literally pull up a Bible verse from where ever we may be.  While technology has been wonderful in the way, and has given more people greater access to the Bible than ever before, it has also made us lazy in actually knowing Scripture, meditating on it, and hiding it in our hearts.

You and I can memorize Scripture, and it is something that we should discipline ourselves to do on a regular basis.  Professor Mark Moore from Ozark Christian College has a short essay which provides a few tips on how to memorize Scripture effectively.  I hope this proves helpful to you.

If you know your name, address and telephone number, then you can no longer say, "I just can't memorize." We memorize words to songs, important dates, and the names of new friends. We certainly can memorize Scripture. The real question is how long it will take. You can't expect to memorize a passage five minutes before class. For most people it will take about three consecutive days to put it into long-term memory. Plan on a schedule something like this: 

1. 10 minutes per verse to memorize it the first time.
2. 5 minute review right before bed, for three evenings (this allows your subconscience to work on it while you sleep).
3. 5 minute review the first thing in the morning, for three days.

Continue reading How to Memorize Scripture.

Daily Thought: It is Better to be a Believer

"Regardless of what a Christian goes though, it is better to suffer as a believer than to live as a pagan...We may suffer evil men's schemes.  We may even suffer from natural disasters.  But when we put our head to the pillow at night, we need not fear death, feel shame, wrestle with remorse, carry guilt, search for hope, worry over our destiny or wonder about our destination.  We don't have to dodge demons, live with locusts, run from horsemen, or cower under Satanic attack.  More than all this, we don't have to face God in a contest of colossal proportions.  In fact, he stands with us as our shield and first line of defense." ~ Mark Moore, How to Dodge a Dragon: A Devotional Reading of Revelation, p. 53

Saturday Links: Eldredge, Moore, Galli

Here are some of the articles/blog posts that I enjoyed this week.

Air Travel and Sanctification - John Eldredge

Half-Pure Religion and the Unpopularity of the Poor - Mark Moore

Making the Local Church a Hero - Mark Galli

Enjoy.

It Was His Choice

As I read Mark Moore’s devotional book, Encounters with Christ, I was hit with this thought: “Jesus died, not because of the treachery of Judas, the cowardice of the disciples, or the avarice of the leaders. He died because of a deliberate decision in the garden before any of these characters came on the scene” (p. 181). Obviously this isn’t a new thought, but it is one that is worth revisiting.

That God would make a decision to save people and that Jesus would make a decision to take on our sins and our death is a staggering thought. This thought leads us to another question: Why would God do this? This is where the above thought connects with a thought I have been pondering the last few days: to create a people for Himself.

Reflect on what the apostle Peter wrote in his first letter:

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:17-21; ESV)

Now let’s jump to chapter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV)

Here we see not only God’s desire to have a people who are holy and faithful, but it also shows us us our responsibility. If Jesus could chose to die in our place, so we may become a holy people, then we can choose to live lives worthy of that sacrifice. That is our responsibility.

Don't Be A Camel

{Matthew 19:23-26; ESV}

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Those of us who have the privilege of living in the United States live in the land of the rich. I realize that many of us wouldn’t consider ourselves rich, because we are surrounded by people who have much more than we have, but the reality is that we are very rich. We are rich because we are able to live away beyond the basic necessities of life.

I hope you can admit that even though you are not able to afford everything your heart desires, that you are rich. Now, the problem that we face isn’t our wealth, but it is our desire for stuff. It seems that for many of us the more we have the more we want. We can never have enough.

For example, I have a MacBook. It is a very good computer, and I am able to do everything that I want to do with it. Here is the catch. It is two years old, and now I find myself wanting a new one. One that has more memory, one that is faster, and has the newest programs. I don’t need a new computer, but in my heart I want one.

Because money and consumerism are such a part of our lives, I don’t know if we truly understand the radical truth Jesus gives us here. He tells us that it is hard for people who have money and stuff to be part of His kingdom. Why? It is hard because money and things tie us to the here and now, and prevents us from living our lives from the perspective of eternity. That was the issue of the rich young man, the event that prompted this discussion of money. The rich young man couldn’t leave sell his stuff and follow Jesus, he was tied to that moment in time, and he missed eternity. He was consumed with his little kingdom, and he missed becoming part of God’s kingdom.

Take a moment and consider what you would do if Jesus asked you to sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. Would you sell your house? your car? or your television? Could you manage without your bed? your favorite food? your favorite jacket? or you favorite DVD? It is easy to skip over these teachings and tell ourselves that they don’t apply to us, but they do.

The truth of the matter is that we live in a nation full of camels, and there is not possible way we are going to make it through the eye of that needle that is in front of us (doesn’t this help explain why the Church has lost its influence in the United States?). Trusting God is our only hope of getting through. He alone has the ability of making a camel fit through the eye of a needle. The key word in this is trust. We must trust God, or there is no hope, and to trust God requires us to change the way we live.

I want to leave you with what Mark Moore wrote in connection to this passage in his book Encounters with Christ:

It would be easier if there was a single act or set standard for materialism. If we could just say a house of 80k or a car of 10k is the upper limit and leave it at that. Black and white rules and quick fixes, however, are obviously unsatisfactory. This battle will be long and arduous. We will likely fight perpetually against the onslaught of materialism to the end of our existence in this society. Our lack of precision, however, should not translate into lack of action. This passage calls for vigilance in incisively examining our prioritization of Jesus. It behooves believers to constantly increase their sacrificial giving to the Kingdom both in time and material resources. We must relentlessly push the boundaries of our budgets to attack excess and the false security of wealth in order to rapaciously and tenaciously grasp simplicity. As the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, it is nearly inevitable that we will underestimate how closely we resemble a camel. (pp. 146-147)

• Point to Ponder: Trusting God is our only hope of breaking free from the shackles of materialism and entering His Kingdom.
• Questions to Consider: Do you consider yourself wealthy? Are you able to part with your dearest possession? Why does materialism hold us back as we try to follow Jesus?
• Prayer to Pray: Lord, thank You for all the blessings that You have given me. I want to ask for the faith I need to trust You from my security, rather than my wealthy. Remind me that wealth is temporary, but Your kingdom is eternal...

Who am I Honoring?

As I did my daily devotional reading this morning, there seemed to be a theme that ran through what I read. It began with the book of Malachi. God, speaking through Malachi, tells Israel: "A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The LORD who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, 'How have we made light of your name?' (Malachi 1:6; NET). Basically Israel was not honoring God because they were giving God less than their best. Do I give God my best?

The theme of honor continued as I read Mark Moore’s Encounters with Christ. In the reading that I read for today, Dr. Moore deals with Luke 14:7-11. Here we see that Jesus is invited to a banquet at a Pharisee’s house. Jesus watches as the invited guests vie for the more honored seats. Basically Jesus tells them that the thing to do is to set in the most humble seat and allow the host elevate them to a better seat. That is hard to do. We want to be noticed and have people pay attention to us. This is easily seen in this American Idol generation that desires fame more than anything else. “Honor me,” we shout.

I know that is a thorn in my side. One of my greatest disappointments in life is the fact that I am in a small, insignificant ministry position. I want people to talk about me, about my sermons, and about my writings the way I talk about Erwin McManus or Mark Driscoll. I want to be recognized as a superstar. Yet, what Jesus tells us that it isn’t about our position, but it is about serving. We shouldn’t be looking for other people to honor us, but we should wait for that time when God honors us. For that to happen we have to be faithful in the humble and difficult situations in life.

Father in Heaven, forgive me for seeking to honor myself ahead of You. I ask for the strength and wisdom to be faithful in the humble circumstances of life...

Jesus for President

Who is Jesus? That is an important question for us to answer. In this presidential election it will help us remember what is really important and who we really can trust. Dr. Mark Moore, a professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian College, has this wonderful sermon on the Lordship of Christ Jesus: Jesus for President.

Thoughts on Baptism

Mark Moore shared a few thoughts on baptism and then concluded:

However, given these five blessings of baptism, it boggles my mind why anyone would be contentious in refusing such a gift directly from the hand of Jesus, especially when it models the self-abnegation he enjoined on his disciples.

You should go read what he says the blessings of baptism are.

Thank God Through Worship

The Grateful Living: Part 5

In Luke 17:11-19 we read about an encounter Jesus had with 10 lepers. The lepers wanted Jesus to show compassion on them and help them in some way. The way Jesus helped them was to heal them of their disease. The nine Jewish lepers went to the priest to be declared clean, but the lone Samaritan came back to worship Jesus and say thank you. While the nine did a good thing it was the one who did the best thing.

Mark Moore in his study on the life of Christ wrote:

“Now, the nine are doing just what they were told. They are obeying Jesus as well as the Law. They are doing what is right. However, the Samaritan is doing what is better. That’s a tough distinction for Christians as well. Often we are motivated to do what is right, to obey, and to fulfill God’s laws. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but the ‘better” is to worship Jesus. Again, we see the distinction between ritual and relationship. It is possible to do all the right things and still miss Jesus” (The Chronological Life of Christ: From Galilee to Glory, pg. 96).

Worshipping out of gratitude will help us, not only do the right things, but to connect with Jesus as well. The best is to worship.

It is interesting to note that the Jews never had a documented case of leprosy being healed, cured, without the direct action of God. So for Jesus to heal these lepers it means, at the very least, that He is a prophet from God. Only God can cure leprosy, no one else could.

One more interesting thing to note from this event in the life of Jesus is that Jesus not only heals the lepers, but He, being the great High Priest, also declares the man clean. “Your faith had made you well” (verse 19). The Samaritan didn’t need a priest declaration, for the true and everlasting High Priest had declared him clean. Another reason for the man to praise God.

God has blessed us so very much, and the greatest blessing He has given us is eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If God never gave us any other blessing other than this it is enough to eternally worship Him. This blessing is so much greater than being cured of leprosy and being restored to the community and your family. Salvation is being restored to a relationship with our Creator, a relationship that cannot be severed or destroyed what a great and awesome gift this is.

This is the truth I want you to take with you this morning: Our gratitude for God is best expressed through worship. Not just singing a few hymns on Sunday morning, but our everyday living for Him. Not just acts of obedience, but prayers of thanksgiving, songs of praise, deeds of compassion, and using our blessing to be a blessing to others. That is when we do what is best in the eyes of God.

• Point to Ponder: Our gratitude for God is best expressed through worship.
• Passage to Remember: Luke 17:19
• Question to Consider: How do you thank God for what He has done?

Reason for Thanksgiving

The Grateful Living: Part 2

In part 1 we looked at how ingratitude is part of the human condition. No matter what God has done for us in the past it always seems that we take a “what have you done for me lately approach”. Humans are just not very grateful.

Thanksgiving should be a mark of a follower of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote:

6 So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live in him. 7 For you have been rooted in him and are being built up and strengthened in the faith, just as you were taught, while you overflow with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7; ISV)

We should be thankful for all that God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Even if God doesn’t do another single thing for us besides what He has already done we have enough to be eternally grateful.

I ended part 1 with the encounter Jesus had with 10 lepers. Since this is what will be the foundation for what I have to say about gratitude let me provide you with some context for what is happening in Luke 17:11-19.

After the raising of Lazarus the Sanhedrin has made it clear that Jesus is to be arrested. Jesus is aware that His time hasn’t arrived so He moves toward Galilee and further away from the influence of the Sanhedrin. There he spends time laying low in a village called Ephraim, but now spring has arrived and Jesus begins the journey back to Jerusalem for the final time. This marks Jesus’ final teaching tour and a large crowd follows him from Ephraim down to Jerusalem.

Traveling between Galilee and Samaria, Jesus is about to enter one the the border villages when he is hailed by a group of lepers. It appears that in this group there were nine Jews and one Samaritan. Ordinarily the Jews would not have been seen with a Samaritan, but their common fate has brought them together. (Mark Moore, pg. 95, The Chronological Life of Christ: From Galilee to Glory)

In Leviticus 13 God provided to Israel the regulations for dealing with those people with leprosy. But from there religious leaders, rabbis, and scholars added to what God had said.

Leprosy was not merely the emblem of sin, but of death, to which, so to speak, it stood related, as does our actual sinfulness to our state of sin and death before God. Even a Rabbinical saying ranks lepers with those who may be regarded as dead. They were excluded from the ‘camp of Israel,’ by which, in later times, the Talmudists understood all cities walled since the days of Joshua, who was supposed to have sanctified them. Lepers were not allowed to go beyond their proper bounds, on pain of forty stripes. For every place a leper entered was supposed to be defiled. They were, however, admitted to the synagogues, where a place was railed off for them, ten handbreadths high and four cubits wide, on the condition of their entering the house of worship before the rest of the congregation, and leaving it after them. (The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Alfred Edersheim, pg. 286)

True, as wrapped in mourner’s garb the leper passed by, his cry “Unclean!” was to incite others to pray for him--but also to avoid him. No one was even to salute him; his bed was to be low, inclining towards the ground. If he even put his head into a place, it became unclean. No less a distance than four cubits (six feet) must be kept from a leper; or, if the wind came from that direction, a hundred were scarcely sufficient. Rabbi Meir would not eat an egg purchased in a street where there was a leper. Another Rabbi boasted, that he always threw stones at them to keep them far off, while others hid themselves or ran away. (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pg. 342, Alfred Edersheim)

So once again we see that our Lord’s response to Lepers was not the typical response. He listened to their plea rather than running them off. He had compassion on them rather than judging them (since leprosy was thought to be a sign of some terrible sin). He healed them rather than ignoring them.

These lepers demonstrate faith. Not only do the appeal to Jesus for help, but they leave to show themselves to a priest before they were healed. It is only after they respond in faith that they were healed. In part 3 we will explore the first of the two different responses to they lepers had to this remarkable gift.

Point to Ponder: Thanksgiving should be a mark of a follower of Jesus Christ.
Passage to Remember: Colossians 2:6, 7
Question to Consider: Why should you be grateful to God?

Testable Prayers

When we choose not to believe we can throw out any number of “experiments” to prove our position. After all we want to make our position look rational, reasonable, and scientific. When I read this about praying prayers that are testable at Debunking Christianity I just had to laugh. It seems Mr. Loftus has fallen into a similar trap that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day fell into: asking for a sign.

11 The Pharisees arrived and began arguing with Jesus. They tested him by demanding from him a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Leaving them, he got into a boat again and crossed to the other side. (Mark 8:11-13; ISV)

The Pharisees demand a sign and Jesus says no. Why? Doesn’t Jesus want them to believe? Believing isn’t the point, faith is the point. While faith begins with belief it is so much more. Faith also requires action, commitment, and trust. Besides the Pharisees weren’t interested in Jesus, they were looking for reasons to discredit Him. Instead of giving them a sign Jesus actually gives them what they are looking for: another reason to “prove” He wasn’t the Messiah. If Jesus couldn’t provide a sign then obviously He isn’t who He says He is.

Why should we expect God to answer our prayers when we make our prayers the equivalent of demanding signs? Remember prayer is not about getting God to do what we want done, prayer is about aligning our wills with God’s will. When we make prayer about anything else we miss the point of prayer. Sure we can take a few verses and use them to prove that prayer is how we manipulate God to do our bidding, but this can only be done if we ignore the rest of what Jesus taught about prayer.

Take Mark 11:24 for example:

24 That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. (ISV)

Wow! What a promise! The problem is that all I have to do is look at my own life and realize that it isn’t true. I have prayed my share of prayers that weren’t answered, and let’s put away this notion that they were answered but the answer was no. They weren’t answered because I was trying to manipulate God, to show me a sign, or to “bless” me with my hearts desire.

Read what Mark Moore, professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian College, wrote about this passage:

“If we take this passage alone, we could potentially pray for some extravagant and frivolous things (cf. Mk 10:35). A number of other parallel passages place some parameters around our prayers. For example, we should ask:

1. In faith (Mt 21:22), and obedience (1 John 3:22).
2. With persistence (Lk 11:9; 18:1-6).
3. According to the will of Jesus (i.e., “In my name”), (Jn 14:13-16; 15:16; 16:23-26; 1 Jn 5:14-15), remaining in him (Jn 15:7)
4. In cooperation/conjunction with other believers (Mt. 18:19)
5. With unselfish motives (Jas 4:2-3)

And we are to pray for:

1. God to send workers into the harvest (Mt. 9:38).
2. The Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13).
3. That which is necessary in order to bear fruit (Jn. 15:16).
4. Wisdom (Jas 1:5)

So while we don’t believe that we can just ask for any old thing, we mustn’t deny the power of prayer. Ephesians 3:20 says, 'Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...' The very real danger to most Christians is not asking extravagantly, but not asking at all." (The Chronological Life of Christ: From Galilee to Glory; p. 155)

The problem that comes when we think that prayer is about getting God to do our bidding is that we don’t know what is best. One of Jesus’ teachings on prayer dealt with this very point:

9 “There isn't a person among you who would give his son a stone if he asked for bread, is there? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he wouldn't give him a snake, would he? 11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who keep on asking him!” (Matthew 7:9-11; ISV)

According to Jesus, just as most human parents do their best to give the good things needed for life to their children, God gives His children good things. Parents, because of the knowledge they have from education and experience, know what is best for their children. They will give them the things they need and with hold the things that might cause them harm.

God, because of His position as Creator, Savior, and Sustainer, knows what is best for us and what will harm us. He will give us those things that will help us become more like His Son Jesus and He will not grant those requests for things that will make us spoiled brats. When we realize that God’s interest isn’t about making us happy right now but rather about making us holy ( for the purpose of enjoying heaven) the focus of our prayers will change. God isn’t in the business of indulging our fantasies, but He is in the business of making us people fit for heaven.

When we demand that God performs a sign for us or fulfills our desires we are not living by faith. Instead we are saying: God, I will believe in You if... Instead of God dictating to us what will happen we are dictating to God and if God allowed Himself to be controlled in this manner He would cease to be God. Prayers aren’t testable, because it is ultimately God’s will and not our will that matters. When the purpose of our prayers is to see what happens or to force God to do something then we cease to pray.

Remember what C. S. Lewis wrote about praying for experimental purposes:

“For prayer is request. The essence of request, as distinct from compulsion, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant and sometimes refuse them. Invariable ‘success’ in prayer would not prove the Christian doctrine at all. It would prove something much more like magic--a power in certain human beings to control, or compel, the course of nature...

“I have seen it suggested that a team of people—the more the better—should agree to pray as hard as they knew how, over a period of six weeks, for all the patients in Hospital A and none of those in Hospital B. Then you would tot up the results and see if A had more cures and fewer deaths. And I suppose you would repeat the experiment at various times and places so as to eliminate the influence of irrelevant factors.

“The trouble is that I do not see how any real prayer could go on under such conditions. ‘Words without thoughts never to heaven go,’ says the King in Hamlet. Simply to say prayers is not to pray; otherwise a team of properly trained parrots would serve as well as men for our experiment. You cannot pray for the recovery of the sick unless the end you have in view is their recovery. But you can have no motive for desiring the recovery of all the patients in one hospital and none of those in another. You are not doing it in order that suffering should be relieved; you are doing it to find out what happens. The real purpose and the nominal purpose of your prayers are at variance. In other words, whatever your tongue and teeth and knees may do, you are not praying. The experiment demands an impossibility.” (The Joyful Christian; pp. 97-99)

Is it an obstacle for people to believe in Him when God doesn’t provide a sign? It sure is, but God has no need to make people believe in Him. According to the Bible one day everybody is going to believe in Him, so this isn’t about belief. This is about God molding and making people who are fit for heaven.

Read this carefully: if you want to remain dead because you refuse to believe the signs God has already revealed that is your choice not God’s problem. You are already lost. Your refusal to believe doesn’t doesn’t move you from saved to unsaved, you simply remain unsaved. So if you demand that God perform a sign before you will believe in Him don’t be surprised if He moves on and allows you to be on the outside looking in.

Let's Talk About Sex

“Sex is sacred, but not essential, and our lives say the opposite.” ~ Mark Moore

One of my heroes is Mark Moore. I have never met him and I have only heard him in person a handful of times, but he has made an impact on my life none the less. When I heard him say the above quote I was amazed at the genius of it. In a simple sentence he managed to state the reason why we struggle with sex.

I want to take a few moments and just look at the three sections which make up this sentence; because I think when we begin to grasp the meaning of it the place of sex in our lives will become much clearer.

“Sex is sacred…” Sex is to have a place of honor in our lives. The author of Hebrews wrote; Give honor to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery (Hebrews 13:4; NLT). God designed sex to bring a man and a woman into an intimate communion that cannot be expressed in any other way. It is not dirty or shameful nor is it common and ordinary. It has a very special place in binding a husband and wife together, and when we are unwilling to hold sex as something that is sacred then it loses all of its significance. It will become a “fun” activity for consenting adults to participate in, but its ultimate purpose will be lost. The way people get the most out of their sexual lives is to hold sex as sacred and leave it where it belongs.

We talk too much about sex. C. S. Lewis wrote;

“The reason why I must is that you and I…have been fed all day long on solid lies about sex. We have been told, till one is sick of hearing it, that sexual desire is in the same state as any of our other natural desires and that if only we abandon the silly old Victorian idea of hushing it up, everything in the garden will be lovely. It is not true. The moment you look at the facts, and away from the propaganda, you see that it is not” (Mere Christianity; pg. 91-92).

Our focus on sex, both in the world and in the church, has led us to make sex common, and thus not sacred. I am not advocating ignoring sex, as if it doesn’t exist, but rather keep holding sex in high regard so it is not the foundation of our stories, jokes, and our lives.

That brings us to the second part: “but not essential…” Here comes a shocking statement: Sex is not necessary for a good life! That is so contrary to what we have been told and to what we believe. Sex is not essential to our happiness! You can have a joyful life, a fulfilled life, and still be a virgin. Jesus was at least 33 years old when He was crucified and He never had sex. For Jesus to command you to keep sex within the bounds of marriage means that He is not asking you to do anything that He has not already done. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:1 writes; Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life (NLT). Sex is not essential in our quest to live the Christian life, which in the end is the type of life which brings the most fulfillment.

There is no sexual act that will give us the type of life that we long to have. The joyful life is not having a life of sexual freedom, but living a life that finds pleasure in the little things: the love of a child, the knowledge of a job well done, time with friends and family, and worship to the Creator. Sex is a life-enhancer, making the good life just a little bit better.

The final part: “and our lives say the opposite…” I don’t need to remind us how sex has gone wrong in the world. It is all around us, and we are faced with it each and everyday. Is it a surprise that we find the world living contrary to God’s standard when it comes to sex? No, because the world has twisted everything God has given to fit its plan. When Mark Moore says “our lives,” he is not making a judgment on people already living contrary to God’s will, but he is pointing out how Christians are not much different. Sexual purity just isn't very fashionable. I am continually amazed by the number of "Christian" people I know who are living with someone or just have "weekend" flings.

The movies and television shows so many "Christians" watch carry a message contrary to God's message on sex, and yet we don't give them a second thought. Treating sex as sacred is more than just keeping sex between married people. Sex will not remain sacred if it is a common element in our entertainment.

This also includes jokes. Most of the “dirty” jokes I have heard in the last few years, have not come from people of the world, but from ministers and elders. There are jokes preachers tell to each other that they would never tell to people in their congregation. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God (Ephesians 5:3-4; NLT). Whether or not we hold sex to be sacred is not only seen in our actions, but also in our speech. Too often we are trying to tell the world to honor sex while we are treating it with disrespect with our jokes.

As I wrap this up let me leave you with another C. S. Lewis quote:

“Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it: the old Christian rule is, ‘Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.’ Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that obviously either Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct, as it now is, has gone wrong. One or the other. Of course, being a Christian, I think it is the instinct which has gone wrong” (Mere Christianity; pg. 90).

Don't Focus on the Wrong Thing

Lately I have been thinking about John 9. In this chapter Jesus heals a man who has been born blind and because the Pharisees can't accept the miracle throws the man out of the synagogue. The event that sets off this chain reaction is a question the disciples of Jesus ask.

Jesus and his followers approach the Temple. This man who has been born blind is begging at one of the entrances to the Temple. The disciples use this as an opportunity to engage Jesus in a theological discussion. Discussing theology seems to a favorite past time for rabbis and their disciples. The question they ask seems to be a question that was much debated among the different rabbis of the time. Popular belief, among both Jews and Gentiles, was that divine punishment handed out in the form of physical suffering. So if this man was blind was it the result of his sin or his parents sin?

If it was his sin, since he was born blind, it would mean that he would have sinned while still in the womb. Some rabbis, and please don't take this as the belief of all Judaism, that it was possible for a person to sin prior to being born. Based on Genesis 25:22-26 some rabbis taught that Esau tried to murder Jacob in the womb.

Of course for us the more plausible opition is that his parents sinned. In the Old Testament God makes in clear that the sin of the parents carry consquences for their children (though the New Covenant has done away with the children being punished for the parents sin, we can still see how the consquences of the parents sin effect their children).

A third opition is that the consquences of Adam's sin is the cause of the man's sin. One doesn't have to believe in original sin to know that things are not the way God intended. We are still experiencing the effect of Adam's sin through the sickness and other tragedy the rampages this world.

Then a fourth opition, and the one that appears to be what Jesus suggests based on our English translations is that God caused the blindness so that His glory might be seen. While I acknowledge that it sounds cruel Romans 9:20-23 implies that this is under God's sovereign judgment.

Even though this is the way the verse has been translated it doesn't necessarily mean that Jesus is teaching that God ordained this man's blindness. According to Mark Moore the hina clause can indicate result but usually indicates purpose. If this is the case it could be that Jesus is ignoring the speculation and just stating the positive result. So it essence Jesus is saying, It doesn't matter why this man was born blind, what matters is that I am able to heal him. While the disciples wanted to use the man as an object for a theological discussion Jesus wanted to extend the man compassion.

Sometimes, I think, we become like the disciples because we are willing to engage in theological discussion and in the process we miss extending a compassionate hand of service to people. Theological debate should never distract us from doing what we can to help other people. There is a world of hurting people and some are hurting because of their own choices, some are huritng because of the actions of some one else, and others are hurting because of a tragedy God allowed to happen. The reason of their suffering isn't the point, the point is whether or not we will use the blessing God has given us to help them.

As followers of Christ we can't focus on the wrong thing. There is certainly a time to discuss theology and doctrine, but it is never more important than helping out people in need. Don't focus on talking about God, but focus on how you can share God's love with others.

(This was based on the thoughts Mark E. Moore shares in The Chronological Life of Christ: From Glory to Galilee pages 392 and 393.