So what is it? Faith or Works?

Faith or Works?

"Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams."
1 Samuel 15:22

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:8-10

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
John 14:15

 "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself."

James 2:14-16

I've been hanging around church for  pretty long time. I've been part of fellowship where the Scripture is primary; others where the movement of the Holy Spirit is primary; some where works are important; others where faith is important. In this short reflection, I want to communicate simply what I have learned about faith and works.

God created an orderly world. He exerts energy to keep it in order (not that God gets tired). He established the laws of nature. The laws of men reflect God's desire for order. The Ten Commandments are good laws for social interactions. But fallen man can't achieve perfection on his own. 

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace through faith. Grace has its source in God Himself and is expressed through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on Calvary's Cross. He not only demonstrates His love for us as a means of paying for our sins, but also as an example for our obedience.

In the end, should we work to please God? Yes, but not out of fear of condemnation. We obey God, we obey His commandments because we have experienced God's love and we want to love Him by loving people.

Person Over Thing

Somewhere along the line, in my training as a linguist, I learned that, in grammar, persons are treated differently than things.There is something in our brains that sorts humans out from everything else, living or nonliving. In grammar, ideas are treated like things, so ideas are treated differently than people too.

I bring this up because occasionally my beliefs collide with my acquaintances. I love my wife without condition, but we don't agree on everything...in fact, sometimes I think she's just wrong. We fuss, but that doesn't affect our love for one another. I think that's one reason why we're still married after 22 years.

I've met a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds with a lot of different ideas. Me, I do my best to take my most important ideas from the Bible. I have found that not only is the Bible very clear on what count as good ideas and what counts as bad ideas, but that the Bible tends to be pretty practical.  Opponents of the Bible tend to point to Old Testament laws when criticizing its practicality, but the law of God is juxtaposed with the laws of men in the Bible and some don't take the time to sort one from another. Anyway, having read through the whole of Scripture numerous times, I am convinced in its truth and its practical value for me.

In the past few years, there has been an upswing in spiritual teachings. Maybe, it is because life seems harder than in the past; maybe its the breakdown of the nuclear family. I don't know. I do know that there are dozens of movies and television shows about the supernatural, vampires, demons, etc. In the church, I've noticed more and more people seeking solutions to their problems. There is a huge number of people who are hurting (always have been; always will be). The Church should be leading these hurting souls to Jesus.

Over the weekend, a young man I know who is also a very good football player, told the media that he is homosexual. Like many, I was surprised; like many Christians, I am fundamentally opposed to the homosexual lifestyle because God is fundamentally opposed to it. But this is not the first time I've had to reconcile my beliefs with my acquaintances. I've long enough that I've met lots of people whose lives are at odds with the Word of God in one or more points...including me. I know myself; I'm not lilly white. I am a sinner, saved by the grace of God -- God's undeserved favor. I love God because He first loved me.  God demonstrated His love for me by sending Jesus Christ to die for my sins before my heart was changed by that love. I believe that God, in Christ, wants me to extend the same grace to the people I know who are at odds with God's Word in one or more point. I believe that God honors us when we place persons over things.

I'm not denying my faith or ignoring what the Word of God says about adultery, or anger, or disobedience to parents, or homosexuality, or drunkenness, or anything else that God clearly opposes. I am for allowing God to judge and for me to be an instrument of His grace. Jesus said that we should live our lives in such a way that people around us could see our behavior and that would result in God receiving the glory.

I love God, my wife, my family, and my friends and acquaintances. I also believe in ideas -- good ideas, wherever they come from. But ideas aren't people...and Jesus died for people.

When East Meets West

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God."

(Micah 6:8, ESV)

Wow! Two posts within 24 hours. Let's hope your patience will be rewarded.

I love movies with good guys and bad guys. I like it most when a character who appears to be a bad guy makes the choice to do the right thing.  Why? Because I'm not such a good guy myself; it gives me hope to see a baddie do good.

Like most things, doing good is not complicated; it's just hard. We (and I'm talking to men now) need to act justly; we need to show mercy; and we need to live our lives humbly. Why? Because it's right.

I was watching a movie on Netflix this morning. It was a martial arts movie. Like westerns, martial arts movies often have characters who live by a code of honor. They are willing to make great personal sacrifices to protect their honor. This kind of person seems, sadly, missing in our society today. Where are the John Waynes of our time? Who's willing to don the white hats? Where are the men and women of integrity, those willing to live justly, mercifully, humbly?

I don't know where the heroes are today; I mean the real heroes. I do know that we need real heroes today. I know that I want to be a hero -- to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with my God.

That's it.

New Year, Old Promises, Right?

Ok guys, let's face it -- most of us are in a rut. I mean really, who made significant, lasting change in 2013?

I've tried this blog stuff before. My previous aborted attempts may still be lingering in cyberspace, but I have been told that blogging will help me hone my writing skills, so...here we go again.

I'm not much of a writer, but I like to relate my life experiences in story form. A lot of people have shown great patience (and some have not) as I've told a 5-10 min story to make a minor point. Perhaps this blog will cause me to be more conservative in my use of the language.

I have titled the blog, "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free," a quote from the 8th chapter of John's gospel. They are the words of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.  You can tell already how this is going to go...I'm unapologetic when it comes to my faith in the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Please be careful to distinguish truth (quotes from the Bible) from my opinions. Sometimes (hopefully, more often than not), they will coincide; sometimes, they won't. You've been warned.

I don't do New Year's Resolutions. Like much of the English language, the word 'resolution' has become something less than it originally meant. Resolutions were originally legal documents, such as were written by legislators. You know the type -- "Be it resolved that...whereas...therefore..." These days, a resolution is no more than an expressed desire to accomplish something we lack the discipline  to see through to its successful finish. Making a New Year's resolution is akin to giving up coffee for Lent when I only drink tea...Therefore, I don't make resolutions; I set goals.

This year, so far, I have set three goals -- 1) to read Eric Metaxas' Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness in one week. Get it? 7 men in 7 days; 2) Read the Psalms and the Proverbs in one month; 3) Read the Bible through in one year; 4) Live out the words of John the Baptist in John 3:30 ("He must increase and I must decrease).

I've gotten off to a pretty solid start: Check off 1); I have 3 days to go on 2); I'm almost 2 of 66 books through 3); I don't know how to evaluate 4).

Then there are other goals to be set and met. This weekend, I'm getting together with the other leaders of Freedom Christian Church in New Bloomfield, Missouri. You can think of us as mid management (Jesus is the CEO). We're getting together to discern God's will for our little flock during 2014. As the "preacher," one of my main goals is to encourage the group to seek a more intimate relationship with Jesus and to live out their lives in service to God's people.  We will spend an extended amount of time singing and praying together and looking how the Bible portray's the Church.

Another goal I have is to provide for my family's material needs. For the past four years, Liti has worked for the schools and provided chid care at the Y, while I've patched together a hodgepodge of part-time jobs. Toward the end of last year, our outgo exceeded our income. We are blessed that we found a way to rectify that situation, but I'm convinced that working with students one-on-one is what I do best, so I need to make it more profitable. I will be looking to work with more students, maybe even in the downstairs part of our house. It seems that I do fairly well with students in grades 7-11, particularly in science, math, and standardized test prep. I love working with college students, but finding students is a little more difficult when I live 45 minutes away.

Then there's my physique. I think I've in perfect shape -- perfectly round. While I'm in generally good health, my bodyweight presents me with special challenges, such as varicose veins, sore knees and lower back, and short-windedness. Some of these challenges can be ameliorated through improved cardiovascular health. My goal here is to go from 15-20 minutes 2-3 times per week to 30-40 minutes 5-6 times per week. I'm not so much interested in losing weight as I am in improving my heart health and losing fat, but I'm pretty sure if I'm successful in the latter, the former will occur. Finally, there's my pet hobby -- powerlifting.

On December 30, 2013, I accomplished 3 things -- I reached the age of 55; I became eligible for the senior discount at Denny's; and I entered a new age category in powerlifting. The third occurrence means that I get to try to set records in a new age division! Some time during the next five years, I want to squat 675 pounds, without a supportive suit or supportive wraps. In the same time, I'd like to see my bench press increase to between 350-400 pounds and my deadlift to between 550-600 pounds. This would get me a total of between 1575-1675 pounds. I know, that's crazy, but it's my goal and I will continue to work toward it. Achieving my cardiovascular and strength goals should help me to become more healthy.

Finally, there's one more area in which I have set goals -- my family. Like intimacy with God, my relationship with my family is hard to quantify. My goal this year (and every year) is to be a better son to my mother, a better husband to my wife, and a better father to my kids.

So there it is, folks; my first (again) blog post...read it and weep.