Enemies

by Allen McGrew

Enemies. Just the mention of that word strikes a chord within most of our hearts. Most of us struggle at times, with how we are to deal with our enemies and our desire to punish and seek revenge against those who have either harmed us or others, even against those who threaten to harm us. The Bible gives us great insight into how to respond to our enemies; and God’s will for us in this area of our lives is most challenging. If we perceive our enemies as God’s enemies He alone is qualified to take revenge upon them. (Deut. 32:41 & Neh. 1:2)

We’ve been instructed to leave God’s judgment toward His enemies to Him (Matt 7:1- 2, Rom 14:13) and not to  seek revenge by repaying “evil for evil” (Rom 12:17).

How sobering and humbling is this Biblical truth, one we may find painful but true. Before we received Christ we too were “God’s enemies” (Rom 5:10) and “alienated from God” (Col. 1:21). We will encounter many who “live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil 3:18) So what’s the difference between them and us? What have we done to “be saved from God’s wrath”? (Tim 5:10) The only difference between us is God’s grace and God’s grace ALONE, not anything we have done (Eph 2:8-9).

We “have been justified by his blood” and “we’re reconciled to him through the death of his Son”. (Rom 5:10) Couple these truths with Christ’s clearly understood command to “Love your enemies” (Matt 5:44) and His proffered example given to us on the cross when He asked for forgiveness for those who abused him. How can we, being recipients of such “amazing grace” justify our failure to forgive and love our enemies?

Yet this does not mean we are to sit passively by in every situation as others abuse us, or attempt to stop us from serving Christ. We find an example of this when Paul and Barnabas were called by the proconsul at Paphos (Acts 13:4-12). This man wanted to hear the word of God. There was a sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus on the scene who tried to _turn??_____ the proconsul from the faith. The apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at this man and rebuked him. “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right”. (Acts 13:11)

We too must seek to be led by the Spirit if we are going to confront such an enemy. Forgiving and loving our enemies and knowing whether to confront them or not are serious challenges to all who belong to Christ.

God’s word has taught us, the same power that resurrected Christ from the grave is at work in us (Phil 3:20) and we serve a God who is “able to do immeasurable more than all we ask…” (Eph 3:20).

Perhaps this is where we need to apply the lessons learned in our “Lord Change My Attitude” series and replace any doubt with faith.

 

Championship Rounds

by Al McGrew

There was a time when championship boxing matches would go 15 rounds. Today championship bouts are limited to 12 rounds, a rule designed for the safety of boxers. But when these 15 round title fights existed, there was a term used for the extra rounds. They were called the “championship rounds”. It was not uncommon to hear a trainer exhort his fighter during these rounds with words like: “This is it—you may never get another chance like this”; “Don’t hold anything back”; and “Give it everything you got”. Over the years many champions gave their all in the “championship rounds”. But none of them will ever compare to the “memory of her”, a woman named Mary (John 12:3) who gave her best for Christ centuries ago.

It happened at a dinner party to honor Jesus, in the home of Simon the Leper, just days before Christ would be crucified.  Perhaps Christ’s disciples hadn’t grasped the full meaning of what Jesus had said about His death.  How much more Mary understood, we can’t say for certain either.  But her actions seem to suggest that she realized there might never be an opportunity for her to serve Christ like this again and she held nothing back. She took a bottle of perfume that was worth a year’s wages and poured it out on Christ. We don’t need much imagination to realize the depth of her sacrifice; we need only to consider our annual income. In response to her sacrifice, Jesus’ disciples “…were indignant”, and asked, “Why this waste?” (Matt. 26:8). Jesus did not rebuke her; He praised her for what she did to prepare Him for burial.

We may never know how deeply the Son of Man was comforted that day by someone who loved Him so much, she gave Him her very best. As a result of Mary’s actions Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (Matt. 26:13).

There may not be “championship rounds” in boxing anymore, but we will have opportunities to give Christ our very best like Mary did. Most of us, looking back on our life, can remember times when we held back and missed opportunities to glorify God. We may be intimidated by what others might think about our boldness to witness of Christ or worry about upsetting someone. We may stop to count the material cost, or fail to trust God’s power in our lives when challenged by others, who to the world seem far more qualified than we. The Bible says, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). No fighter ever entered the “championship rounds” with a promise like that from a resurrected Savior.

The Love of Money

by Al McGrew

“Money is the root of all evil” is perhaps the most misquoted Biblical scripture verse ever. The Bible reads “For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (caps mine, 1 Tim. 6:10) Money by itself is not evil, it’s the position money has in our priorities that can affect our relationship with God. Jesus teaches us clearly in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Money alone is not the problem, it’s whom we serve that matters. The reality is that money is a part of our need to provide for our family and is an indicator of our faith (1 Tim. 5:8).

Perhaps the danger of placing our love of money over our love of God is best illustrated by a conversation Jesus had with a rich man described in Mathew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22 and Luke 18:18-25. This was a sincere man who came to Christ seeking what he must do to inherit eternal life. He was a religious man who claimed to have obeyed God’s commandments since he was a boy. Jesus knew the one thing he lacked. When Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and then to “come follow Me” the man became sad and left. Jesus’ objective here wasn’t simply to have this man give away his wealth. Jesus recognized and exposed the truth of the man’s problem; he loved his money more than God in violation of the first and greatest commandment, to love God above anything else.

God has a word for man’s love of money that keeps him from following Christ; it’s called “sin”. No matter what sin we refuse to deny as we follow Christ (Luke 9:23), we will never have the full relationship with Christ that He desires until we do. We will struggle with areas of sin in our lives, but when we willingly refuse to give up any sin God calls us to give up and walk away from Christ, we not only risk sadness, like the rich man did, but also face the possibility of eternal sadness.

Please allow me to share priceless biblical wisdom that speaks to our hearts, as we seek to balance our need of money and our call to glorify God: “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die. Keep falsehood and lies far from me;     give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9).

What a profound lesson to be learned from the life of the rich man, about the danger of loving ANYTHING more than God.

The Pillar of Future Things: Dying Without God

by Allen McGrew

Perhaps the most accurate description of dying without God is given by Jesus Himself in Luke 16:19-31.  In this story Jesus speaks of a certain “rich man”, and a “beggar” named Lazarus who had both died. The beggar Lazarus was comforted in Abraham’s bosom and the rich man was in torment. There was a great chasm between them that neither side could cross over. This story has been the subject of controversy as to whether Jesus is giving us a historical narrative of these two men, or if it is symbolic of what awaits us in death. In light of the fact that Jesus warned us more about eternal punishment than about going to heaven, I’m inclined to believe the former. Whatever understanding we may come to concerning this story, scripture tells us that those who die without God will be sent to an eternal place of darkness (Jude 1:13, 2 Pet. 2:17). Man’s imagination has drawn up many images of the eternal “fire” that will be there. But the Bible is clear: Hell exists! (Mark 9:43, 45, Matt. 5:22, Rev. 20:15) When I consider this story, it brings a dual message to my heart—one of great thanksgiving for the grace of God in my life, and one of a deep burden for all those who reject Christ and are going to hell. We struggle to wrap our minds around the reality of God’s love toward us, and His eternal judgment against sin. Perhaps our best understanding of both is realized in the cross of Christ. How could God reconcile sinners to Himself and yet maintain the integrity of His righteous judgment against sin? This was done in the greatest expression of love God could manifest toward us, to allow us to understand how deeply He loves us, and yet how repulsive sin is, and that sin will never co-exist with His holiness. When Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, so that through our faith in Him we could be saved from God’s wrath against sin, His perfect, righteous judgment is not compromised; it allows sinners like us to stand justified before a holy God. No one will be able to stand before God’s judgment as a sinner and present a justifiable case for rejecting God’s free gift of eternal life through Christ. In the book of Hebrews, the author asks us all one of the most profound questions ever asked concerning the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, for our sins. “How shall we escape, if we reject such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3)

D.L. Moody once said “No one should ever talk about ‘Hell’ without shedding a tear.” Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if we too share this deep conviction concerning hell, especially when we have opportunities to share the gospel of Christ with others and find ourselves hesitating for all the wrong reasons.

One Judge

by Allen McGrew

My heart was deeply touched upon hearing the testimony of a woman who had attended New Hope Church for years and considered herself a “good person”. Finally the Lord spoke to her heart and manifested her need for a Savior and she accepted Christ. For many of us that recognition of sin in our lives comes easier, as we’ve witnessed the ravages of sin in our lives. But whatever our history we all must come to Christ for salvation.  Whatever our past is, once we’re saved we begin to separate ourselves from our former worldly desires and seek to serve God. What I fear happens to many of us in this process is that some of us forget were we came from. We develop a form of “selective amnesia”. As we move into a closer relationship with the Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ, we begin to mature and gain victory (by God’s grace) over areas of sin in our lives. The problem is that many of us are given to passing judgment on those who are struggling with areas of sin in their life, and it’s reflected in our words and deeds towards them. By our judging others we place ourselves above the law, the same law that none of us are able to fully keep. By doing this we make ourselves the judge.

Let’s set our hearts straight with the sobering words spoken by James: “There is only one lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy” (James 4:3). Following this truth, James poses a very profound question for us all, “…who are you to judge you neighbor?” Perhaps the best understanding of keeping God’s commandments is our call to love others as Jesus taught us. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). If we keep this law in our hearts first, prayerfully, we won’t be so quick to pass judgment on others. Such understanding should never be used to condone sin in our lives, or that of any other saint in the body of Christ—heaven forbid! But we have Biblical instructions about being cautious in dealing with each other, so that we ourselves don’t become subject to judgment for failing to love others. Everyone coming to our church has areas of sin they’re struggling with… EVERYONE! Let us learn from this Biblical teaching James has given us, to use great care in our conversation and deeds towards others in their struggles, and make it our priority to keep God’s greatest commandment, to love them.

Fellowship: Attendance Required

by Allen McGrew

Someone once told me, “There are no lone rangers in the body of Christ.”  I wasn’t listening, and it cost me dearly. Thus it grieves me to meet Christians, or those who claim Christ, who like me had been deceived to believe they’re acting within God’s will, even when they don’t  attend any fellowship with other believers. I’ve never heard a biblically sound reason to ignore God’s call for us to “…not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” (Heb. 10:25).

Let’s briefly look at some of the Biblical reasons why God calls us to fellowship together and how our fellowship works for our own good and others’ as well:  to manifest the love Jesus commanded us to have for one another (Jn. 13:34) and to perfect this love in the body of Christ (1 Jn. 4:12); to receive and give “strengthening”, “encouragement” and ” comfort to other believers” (1 Cor.14:3,  Acts11:23, Rom.1:12, 1Thess. 2:12-3:3, 5:14). How can we be obedient to God’s call to serve other members of the body of Christ if we’re not among them? (Gal. 5:13; 1 Cor. 10:24; 1 Pet. 4:10, Phil. 2:4). We can’t “build up the church” (1 Cor. 14:2) or provide for those who preach the gospel as commanded by the Lord (1 Cor. 9:14) if we’re not part of the church.  We are to gently restore someone caught in a sin (Gal. 6:1), glorify God in praise and song (1 Pet. 2:19, Rom. 15: 7-9), be taught by qualified teachers (1 Cor. 4:6),  provide for widows (1 Tim. 5:3), partake of the Lord’s supper ( Luke 22:17-19), and be stimulated to “wholesome thinking” (2 Pet. 3:1 ).

There are many other biblical reasons why we should be involved as members of the body of Christ, but perhaps our thoughts should go to the real issue of the heart: Do we desire Jesus as our Savior only, or are we willing to submit to Him as our Lord as well? In John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love me you will obey what I command.” This is both a simple yet profound biblical truth.

The Lord isn’t the only one paying attention to how we mature as saints, and how our commitment to serving Him in the church affects us spiritually. “…your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet.5:6).

God established the church for His glory and because of His great love for us. That’s the foundation Christ’s church stands upon: His love for us, our love for Him, and our love for one another.  There is no perfect church this side of glory. When we fail to bring His love to our fellowship, we are “nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1, 2). Come, come just as you are, but come…

When God Says, “That’s Enough!”

by Al McGrew

From Adam and Eve’s sinful acts of disobedience that introduced sin and its ramifications upon mankind, evil and violence escalated until the days of Noah, bringing God’s judgment that would “…wipe mankind whom I have created from the face of the earth ” (Gen 6:7). Some chose to harden their hearts to their evil deeds with little or no thought towards God.  We find Cain unable to cope with his brother’s offering being more acceptable to God than his own, killing his brother, even after the Lord warns Cain that, “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Gen.4:7). And then he lies to God when questioned about his brother’s whereabouts. “I don’t know.” This violence continues along his lineage with Lamech who admits, “I have killed a man for wounding me” (Genesis 4:23). While this is the direction some have chosen, we find others like the descendants of Seth, whose reaction to the sin and violence in the world was “At that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord” (Gen 4:26).   

What motivates some to seek God, while others don’t? To understand my own question, I must refer to Isaiah 55:8–”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” Perhaps, Paul gives us a valuable insight into the Cains of that time. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). God hasn’t hidden anything from us. He allows us to exercise free will to accept or reject Him.  This I know for sure: He loves us all. It’s easy for me to see why some began ” calling on the name of the Lord” in response to the evil and violence around them.  Many a soul in their darkest hours did as King David did: “In my distress, I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help” (Psalm 18:6), only to find God’s loving answer, “He reached down from on high and took hold of me, he drew me out of deep waters.”  I can testify to this because it was in the darkest hours of my life that, “…my cry came before him and he rescued me.”  God’s judgment against sin that brought the flood should serve as a warning that God takes sin seriously and we need to receive His plan to save us from His future judgment.  God has manifested His great love for us in the cross of Christ, and calls us to repent of our sins, and “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Loyalty

by Allen McGrew

How difficult a position it can be when we find ourselves caught in the struggles of our loyalty to God, family and friends. The account of King Saul’s son Jonathan and his loyalty to all three, speaks deeply to my heart.

In 1 Samuel 13 & 14 we read how a weaponless Israelite army staying in Gibeah is confronted by a larger and well armed Philistine army. King Saul and Jonathan are the only two with weapons. Jonathan, without telling his father, decides to allow himself to be seen by the enemy soldiers at a Philistine outpost and depending on how they react when they see him, he would decide whether to approach them or not. His trust was in God’s loyalty to His people.     “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving whether by many or by few.” (1 Sam. 14:6). When they reacted the way Jonathan had said they would if God was with him, he responded in keeping with his loyalty to God.  Jonathan, being far outnumbered, engaged the enemy, slew twenty of them single handedly and rousted the Philistine army.

Later on, when they faced the Philistines again Jonathan was there when a young shepherd boy named David confronted and killed the Philistine champion Goliath with only a sling and a stone. Soon after that, Jonathan “made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.” (1 Samuel 18:3). But David’s slaying of this giant created a problem between these two loyal friends. When Jonathan’s father King Saul heard the people singing songs about David, placing David’s deeds higher than his own, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands”(Ch 18:7), Saul tried to kill David with a spear in a jealous rage.

What a hard place for Jonathan to be in, called to loyalty to the “anointed” king of Israel and commanded by God to honor his father, and yet bound by his covenant with David, “before the Lord”.

It seems Jonathan tried his best to balance his loyalty to both. He honored his father and king, by not deserting the king’s army and joining David’s men. He honored his covenant with David, by refusing to kill him when his father ordered him to, and he warned David when his father was coming to kill him.

In the end, Jonathan’s loyalty to his father cost him his life, in the same battle that his father died in, while fighting the Philistines on Mt Gilboa. Although the tragedy of this lies heavy on my heart,   I find comfort in knowing that when our loyalty falls short, God’s never does.

The ultimate expression of God’s faithful love toward us was at the cross on Mt Calvary. Most of us begin our response to His loyalty by bending our knee and bowing our heads, and in receiving Him declare that “Jesus is Lord”. What follows is the struggle all saints have in growing and maturing as loyal followers of Christ.

Growing in Christ is a multi-task journey and I’d like to share, as one sinner to another, a powerful ally I’ve found in seeking a closer and more loyal walk with Christ……submission. It took me over thirty years to really understand this. Any area of sin you don’t FULLY submit to God and don’t seek His will over your own, will be used by Satan and his demons to steal your witness and your ability to serve Christ.

I’m not saying that once you’ve done this you won’t face any more struggles. What I am saying is that God, in His loyalty toward you, will take what you’ve submitted to Him and will meet you there with the same power that resurrected Jesus from the grave. The freedom we seek may be instant, or it may be a process, but as a “child of God” it’s our birthright. Although our enemy will try his best to deceive us, “we are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37) in our struggles with sin as we walk with Christ.

So let’s do as Jonathan did so many years ago on that day at Gibeah, when he trusted in God’s loyalty to give him the victory, and sing aloud the glorious words of the hymnist when he wrote “Victory in Jesus”.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy Before God

by Allen McGrew

I don’t know about you, but there are things God does and says that I don’t fully understand. Have you ever wondered where the grapes came from when Jesus turned the water to wine at the wedding? Making something out of nothing is beyond my comprehension. Not my belief system, for I’m sure Jesus did this, I just can’t grasp how this can be done. When I read what the Bible says in Ephesians 1, coupled with Romans 8:29-30, I’m convinced those persons who
receive Christ and become children of God were “predestined” to do so. Can we then say that since some are chosen and others are not there’s no purpose in our sharing the gospel, thinking that since some weren’t predestined to be saved there’s no reason to share the good news with them? In light of much scripture verse, like Romans 10:14 that people need to hear the gospel to believe and vs.15 “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” and Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus gives us the great commission to “go and make disciples of all nations”, can we possibly justify not sharing the gospel? And what about our act of receiving Christ and becoming a child of God like John addresses in John 1:12, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name he gave the right to become the sons of God”? Does that nullify salvation by grace alone, like we find in Ephesians 2:8-9, in that we did something by receiving Christ? These questions have long been topics of theological debate through the ages. I’m not a schooled theologian and I yield ground to those faithful saints who for years have struggled with “Predestination” and our freedom of choice. But I’m not confused. Just like I can’t fully understand how God makes something out of nothing, I can say that where God’s predestination for our becoming his child (His mighty hand reaching down to save us) and our decision to reach out to Him and receive Him meet, I don’t fully understand. In the meantime I’m going to give Him thanksgiving for making me His child, for the precious blood of the lamb of God who washes away my sins, and continue to spread the good news of Christ. And oh yes, one more thing. When I stand before the only true living God and His judgment against my sin, and I’m found not guilty, it won’t be because of anything I’ve done but because of what Jesus did when He paid the price for my sins on the cross.