Category: Spiritual Growth

How did an Age of Spiritual Excess led to an Age of Spiritual Doubt?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit- Jude 18-19 NASB

My bestie calls the late 1980’s to the early 2000’s the “this present weirdness” phase of contemporary Christianity. 

It’s more than just a snarky jab at a set of books that were hugely popular for decades. The late 1980’s to the early 2000’s was an age of spiritual excess on all sorts of different fronts. There were a lot of charismatic extremes in (some) churches. The lack of discernment surrounding the Holy Spirit allowed almost anything to be considered a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, no matter how weird or extra-biblical those things happened to be. There was also an emphasis on spiritual warfare that frequently veered off the rails. Besides the popular fictional books postulating about spiritual warfare there were also all sorts of “Bible studies” on spiritual warfare including one where participants were instructed to eat certain foods based on what kind of demons they happened to be battling at the time. Then there was also the well-intended but not always well-thought purity movement. It left the better part of a generation of Christian kids confused about sexuality and walking in shame for having normal sexual desires. 

Sigh. 

There was also a huge emphasis on the second coming of Jesus. Booklets like Edgar Whisenant’s 88 reasons the rapture will happen in 1988 and 90 reasons Jesus will return in 1990 were insanely popular. The fictional series Left Behind by Tim LaHaye captivated millions.  Anxiety concerning Y2K added to theories regarding Jesus’ return as did songs like I Wish we had all Been Ready and I Will See You in the Rapture.  

Christians were ready.

But nothing happened. 

There was zero action on the return of Jesus front. Life went on. It turned out to be much ado about nothing. 

Then that thing happened that always happens anytime anything goes too far: the pendulum swung back. Really HARD. Most Christians put their heads down in shame stopped talking about the return of Jesus altogether.   Today there are many followers of Jesus who disbelieve it will even happen. Some Christians openly mock those Christians who do believe Jesus is literally returning to earth. The amillennialism view of eschatology has become wildly popular. It teaches we are currently living in the millennial reign of Christ and there will be no tribulation or bodily return of Jesus. 

However:

Scoffing and mocking at the notion Jesus will return is a prophesied indication of the soon-return of Jesus. The apostle Peter says this about the subject: 

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires- 2nd Peter 3:3

It’s hard to argue effectively against the idea that the Bible teaches there will be a bodily return of Jesus (John 21:22, Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:37-44, Luke 21:25-27, John 14:3, 1st Thessalonians 3:13, 1st Thessalonians 5:23, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1, James 5:7). There’s just too much scripture that says there will be a return of Jesus. Admittedly, there are some very real problems with having hyper fixation on the bodily return of Jesus. However, there are also some very real problems with discounting the bodily return of Jesus (2nd John 2:7). Some of those problems include: 

Spiritual knowledge is a use it or lose it proposition-

Jesus makes it clear that the more we believe and apply God’s word the more of God’s word we will understand and be able to apply to our lives (Mark 4:24). It just makes sense the inverse is also true. This means that choosing to disbelieve one aspect of God’s word (like the return of Jesus) surely limits our ability to understand and effectively apply all spiritual truth (Hebrews 5:11-14).

We become contented with spiritual mediocrity-

There’s a reason God didn’t just gave us the exact date of Jesus’ future return. If He had most of us would remain morally and spiritually sketchy until ten minutes before Jesus showed up. Then we would get real busy really fast. Knowing (and believing) Jesus could return at any time gives us the motivation to stay busy doing God’s will and living for him until He does show up (Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 25:31-46)

We begin to see this world as our home–

Christians were never intended to get overly cozy with the things of this world. When we do, we lose our power and even our motivation to fix the brokenness (Mark 8:36, 1st John 2:15-17, Matthew 5:13-16). Therefore, the most dangerous aspect of choosing to disbelieve there will be no bodily return of Jesus is it causes us to become really comfortable with this world and what we have in this world. This renders us spiritually useless in every sense. 

We are all products of the great age of reason.  We have been trained since infancy to only believe in things we can prove, things that are easy to understand, things we can logic out. Jesus’ return is none of those things. It’s a matter of faith.  Because it’s been a while since Jesus left the first time it’s easy to be a scoffer or a mocker concerning the return of Jesus (2nd Peter 3:8-9). The whole notion feels far out and crazy so we talk ourselves out it. We decide (on our own) Jesus was being metaphorical when He said He will return. We tell ourselves only wild-eyed irrational nutjobs believe in such things.

We become scoffers. 

We forget, scoffer’s get proven wrong by God all the time. 

Rather, we should commit to being the people Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:45-47, those who wait expectantly, in faith for His return. Those who faithfully do His will right up till the minute He gets here. 

There are good things in store for those people.  

Fake Jesus?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! Galatians 1:8-9 NASB 

I wasn’t raised in church but I was raised in America, so, growing-up I saw a lot of paintings of Jesus. In all of them Jesus was pretty white-bread and Anglo. He always had long blonde hair, high cheekbones, clear blue eyes and ivory skin. Because I wasn’t a Christian, I didn’t think much about whether or not those renderings were an accurate representation of Jesus. 

As a young adult Christian, I saw my first painting of a black Jesus. To be honest, I found the whole notion of a black Jesus a little disconcerting because it just wasn’t how I “saw” Jesus in my white-girl head. Later, in a class I took on missions, I learned that in every culture where the gospel has taken root, Christians have painted Jesus to look exactly like them. This is why there are black Jesus’, white Jesus’, brown Jesus’ and Asian Jesus’ even though Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jewish man. 

This is not a bad thing. 

It means humans grasp intuitively the spiritual reality Jesus was sacrificed, not just for one group of really special people but for all people (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 5:5-9, Hebrews 10:10). Our tendency to make Jesus “look like us” means all Christians (regardless of nationality or skin color) identify with Jesus in a personal way.  We understand on a gut-level Jesus was the great high priest who made the ultimate sacrifice for every tribe, language, people and nation on earth (Revelation 5:9). 

The flipside of this phenomenon is it exposes the human propensity we all have to make Jesus into whoever or whatever we want Him to be. Humans have always been inclined to make God in their own image. This is most clearly seen with the Greco/Roman pantheon of gods. The Greco/Roman “gods” reflected human passions, strengths and weaknesses. They were gods made in the image of man. 

Now we do it with Jesus. 

It is not at all unusual for people (even Christian people) to say “my Jesus” or “the God I worship”. Nine times out of ten “my Jesus” or “the God I worship” is followed by a statement of what “their” God would or would not do. It is exceptionally rare for these proclamations to line up one-hundred-percent with what the Bible actually says about the subject. 

It does happen, just not very often. 

This is not a new thing. In 2nd Corinthians Paul confronted his readers with their tendency to turn to a “new Jesus” anytime a preacher with a new teaching came along. These “other Jesus’” did not line up with the Jesus Paul had preached to them (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). The Corinthian Christians loved God and apparently had a sincere longing to serve God. However, they were in danger of being deceived by these “other Jesus’” just as Eve was deceived by Satan’s clever arguments in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-4). 

The tendency to make Jesus into what we want Him to be is getting demonstrably worse. It’s not at all unusual for professing Christians to say “Jesus was right beside me” as they were busy doing something the authentic biblical Jesus would never be a part of. Something like getting an abortion, taking drugs or marrying someone of the same gender. Nor is it unusual for a professing Christian to insist Jesus or God “showed them” something was okay that directly contradicts biblical teaching. Oftentimes these are serious sins like leaving a marriage without biblical grounds, having an affair or lying about something (Matthew 19:1-9, Exodus 20:16).

Professing Christians who make these kinds of statements are not doctrinally confused. Nor are they going through a quirky spiritual stage. It’s much more serious than that. These folks are worshiping a fake Jesus.  A really nice Jesus, but a Jesus who is nothing more than a figment of their fevered imaginations. When someone describes “their God” or “their Jesus” in a way that does not reflect the Jesus of the Bible, they have the wrong Jesus and they are headed down the wrong spiritual path (Matthew 7:13-14). 

 It’s also one of the clues that we are nearing the end. 

In 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 gives a detailed description of what many professing Christians will “look like” just prior to the return of Jesus. In verse five Paul says these folks will “have a form of godliness but deny its power”. The Greek indicates, these people will look like Christians and even act like Christians—at least to some degree. Nonetheless, when it comes down to the place where the rubber meets the road (metaphorically speaking) they will have no real understanding of what kind of God they are dealing with. 

Because they have the wrong Jesus. 

The “right” Jesus is actually really easy to identify. God ensured it’s not a big mystery. The real Jesus is for the same things He was for and against the same things He was against when the New Testament was written. The real Jesus doesn’t change with the culture. 

The real Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  

This whole issue of who Jesus is (and isn’t) is a serious problem that demands discernment on the part of Christians (Psalm 119:125, Proverbs 18:15, Philippians 1:9-11). It is not our job to judge others. Nonetheless, it is our job to make wise judgments about doctrinal issues and what we believe about Jesus. We will be held accountable for believing in and promoting any kind of a fake Jesus (1st Timothy 4:16, Titus 2:1, Hebrews 13:9) 

Yikes. 

Yeses that Change Everything-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ- 2nd Corinthians 1:20

There is a teeny-tiny little word that does not get nearly enough credit for all the good it can do. 

Yes. 

I still remember the expectancy and joy I felt as a little kid anytime an adult would say “yes” to an appeal I made or give the A-Okay to one of my little kid plans. Most people, even those of us who are way past the little kid stage of life still feel a sense of anticipation and excitement anytime we get a “yes” to a request. 

It’s just how God wired us. 

Yes, is a word that can awaken hope and give a much-needed dose of encouragement. Hearing a yes after a season of no’s is like a breath of fresh air to our souls. Getting a yes is good. However, it’s saying yes to the right things that brings transformation to our souls and opens the door for every good thing in our lives.  

Following are five of the best, most life-giving, soul-impacting yeses a human being can embrace. The first is: 

Jesus-

Without a doubt the most powerful and life changing yes of all, is the “yes” we say to Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and salvation. Saying yes to Jesus is the first step in a new life of hope and transformation (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:14-16). Jesus’ offer of salvation is really the best of deals. When we say yes to faith in Jesus we exchange shame, hopelessness and fear of death for joy, peace, a sense of purpose and an eternity spent with God (Psalm 16:11, John 3:36, John 6:40, John 10:28, Romans 2:7, Galatians 6:8, Hebrews 2:14-16). All we have to do is ask for forgiveness for our sin and agree to live our life for Jesus (Acts 16:31). Seriously. It’s that easy. 

Forgiving others- 

Forgiveness is a not a suggestion God makes. It’s a command with promises and curses attached (Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 11:4, Colossians 3:13). It is also a nonnegotiable piece of the discipleship process (Romans 12:14-21).  God demands His people forgive others because He knows unforgiveness, holding grudges and the bitterness that always results from holding grudges causes people to become entirely self-focused and to dwell endlessly on the negative. Unforgiveness inevitably leads to self-centered, warped and faulty thinking. Self-centered, faulty thinking makes it difficult to have healthy, God-honoring relationships (Genesis 2:18, 1st Corinthians 12:27). Human beings were created for relationship. As a result, the inability to have healthy relationships short-circuits our purpose in Christ.  It works like this: when we choose to hold on to unforgiveness that choice gives the devil a foothold in our thinking (1st Peter 5:8, Ephesians 4:26-27). Unfortunately, a little, tiny foothold is all Satan needs to twist our thinking in such a way that seeds of bitterness are planted deep in our hearts. Our bitterness in turn colors everything we experience in life, defiling us and those we love most (Hebrews 12:15). Sadly, unforgiveness quickly becomes a prison with the lock on the inside (Hebrews 12:14, Ephesians 4:30-31). Saying “yes” to forgiveness is the only key that opens the prison door.  

A fresh start- 

Everybody messes up. Even Christians. Even the most committed followers of Jesus do stupid stuff, make mistakes, get caught up in foolish passions, go sideways in life and find ingenious ways to ruin their perfectly good lives. Thankfully, God, in His infinite mercy is always willing to give anyone who wants it fresh start and a new beginning. All we have to do is ask (Psalm 5:1-19). In order for the fresh start to take root in our lives we have to humbly submit ourselves to God by choosing to do life God’s way rather than try to figure right and wrong out on our own (Lamentations 3:21-23, 2nd Samuel 24:14, Acts 3:19). 

A new level of obedience- 

We become a Christian the moment we accept God’s offer of forgiveness. One aspect of becoming a Christian is making the choice to become a student of Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30). Because Jesus loves us and ultimately wants us to be the best people we can be, He is always calling us to a new level of obedience (2nd Corinthians 5:17, 1stCorinthians 11:9-11, Colossians 3). Saying “yes” to obedience always brings us to a new and higher level of functioning in our lives. 

Gratitude

Saying “yes” to gratitude is a spiritual gamechanger. A heart of gratitude actually has the opposite effect on our thinking that unforgiveness does. While unforgiveness twists our thinking and causes us to focus on ourselves and the negative, gratitude towards God gives us clarity and empowers us to see the good in the world.  Saying “yes” to gratitude is a powerful form of spiritual protection that keeps the enemy from gaining a foothold in our thinking (Colossians 3:16, 1st Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 2:6-7). 

Truth-be-told, there is very little in this world we have complete control over. However, what we say “yes” to is one thing we do have control over. When we choose to say yes to things that please and honor God, God, in turn, blesses our choices. Then we are formed into the image of Jesus and become a blessing (Romans 12:2, 2ndCorinthians 3:18)

It’s a win-win. 

What did Jesus Mean when He Called the Pharisees “White-Washed Tombs”?

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

When he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense- 2nd Chronicles 26:16 NASB

I did not grow up in the church.

As a result, there were a bunch of churchy phrases tossed around I simply did not understand. Some I figured out pretty quickly. Others have taken me the better part of a lifetime to sort through and completely understand. 

One expression I found particularly perplexing was the phrase “religious spirit”.  I found it to be cryptic, creepy and more than a little unsettling. It’s a term not used anywhere in Scripture but it was a huge problem for several Old Testament leaders (2nd Chronicles 26:16, 1st Samuel 15:13-23, 2nd Chronicles 20;12-20). It was also an issue Jesus addressed frequently and always condemned in the strongest possible terms (Matthew 23:1-39, Luke 11:39-53). 

Many define a religious spirit as legalism or using rules as a substitute for relationship with God. Legalism is often a component of a religious spirit. However, defining the problem simply as legalism is an oversimplification of a complex issue. Anytime one simplifies a complex issue they run the risk of missing it when it’s right in front of them or worse yet, right inside of them. 

Yikes. 

A “religious spirit” is better defined as an appearance or façade of righteousness and goodness Christians choose over authentic heart change.  The highest value for a person with a religious spirit is not to please the Lord, or have their insides match their outsides. They just want people to think well of them (Matthew 23:5-7, Mark 12:38-40). Therefore, there is always an element of pride, self-centeredness and self-promotion involved in a religious spirit (Philippians 2:3, Galatians 5:20, 2nd Corinthians 12:20, James 3:14, Romans 2:8)

When a person has a religious spirit the goodness and righteousness on full display in their life is not a result of ruthlessly rooting out bad attitudes and wrong thinking. Nor, is it the result of inward goodness coming out of them in a healthy and life-giving way (Luke 6:44). Rather, it is the result of careful construction of a superficial image of piety and spirituality (Matthew 7:21-23). This piety gives every appearance of being very real. Nonetheless, it’s just a lovely veneer that effectively covers-up a multitude of spiritual, emotional and relational issues and problems.

Jesus called these folks “white washed tombs” because they look good on the outside but on the inside, they are just the messiest of messes (Matthew 23:27) 

A religious spirit creates a lot of confusion for those who know the person. People with a religious spirit present as Christians, and not just as any old garden variety Christian. These folks nearly always present as super Christians and frequently find themselves in positions of authority in the church. As a result, it is fair to say this one issue has been root of nearly every sin perpetrated by the Church. It is also the cause of many cases of church hurt.  The saddest thing about a religious spirit is what can ultimately do to the person.  A religious spirit can hi-jack a real and genuine relationship with God and replace it with a counterfeit Christianity that looks and even feels so much like the real thing that it can even fool the person in question (Matthew 7:22-23). 

It all starts when the approval of people becomes more important than the approval of God. The end result is that rules, outward obedience, success and looking good on the outside become more important than putting others first, heartfelt obedience, spiritual congruency and a vibrant relationship with Jesus. If a religious spirit is not dealt with decisively it always leads to spiritual ruin and relational callousness.

Anyone in the Church can have a religious spirit. 

The seeds that produce a religious spirit are pride, self-sufficiency and a reluctance to appear less-than-perfect. A religious spirit was the downfall of men who started out well, men like Saul, Hezekiah and Uzziah. It was the sin at the root of every sin the Pharisees committed. A religious spirit can and does sometimes affect church leaders, Christian influencers, little old ladies with big fat Bibles and run-of-the-mill Christians of all ages and walks of life. Truth-be-told, most Christians (myself included) have struggled (usually unbeknownst to them at the time) with a religious spirit at some point. Phoniness is probably the besetting sin of our time. It is for sure the primary reason the word Christian is so often linked with words like: fake, phony, fraud and untrustworthy. 

There is only one way to get free of a religious spirit. 

It is through an encounter with the living God. anytime we see God in all His glory and experience His presence the end result is that we are always undone by our own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:1-5). This knowledge opens us up to transformation. Therefore, it is critical we seek the presence of the Lord every chance we get. It’s why we should never ignore the still-small-voice telling us we have an attitude or behavior that needs to be dealt with (Matthew 5:29-30, Mark 9:43-47). 

When we make a regular practice of seeking the Lord and obeying His voice self dies. When we die to self we are free to truly experience the joy and freedom of the abundant life in Jesus (Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:20-24, John 10:10)

How Normal People Hear From God-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment


The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears- Psalm 37:17 NASB 

Hearing from God.

It’s a bit of a controversial subject. 

Even amongst Christians.  Most non-Christians and some Christians believe only really weird people actually hear from God. Others (both Christian and non-Christian) believe they hear from God all the time concerning every imaginable subject. However, it could be argued some of those messages are questionable at best. 

Sigh. 

God does speak. 

God speaks most often, most directly and most clearly through His word (Hebrews 4:12, 2nd Kings 22:8-11). God frequently speaks through His people (Acts 2:18, Psalm 37:30). Sometimes God speaks in a still small voice that pierces our heart and makes us aware of His leading in a particular area (1st Kings 19:12). Occasionally, God still speaks through dreams (Daniel 2:1-3, Acts 2:17), and every once in a while, God speaks audibly (Luke 3:22, Genesis 16:13).   However, even in the Bible the audible voice of God seems to be more of an exception to how God speaks than the rule. Nonetheless, it does still happen. 

All that being said. 

For all sorts of reasons, most Christians would like to hear God’s voice a little more often.  Hearing from God is how we get direction. It’s how we know we are on the right path and doing the right thing. When we hear the voice of God we feel seen and loved by God. The Bible is unequivocal: God speaks to all His people, not just the weird ones. Sometimes, God even speaks to people who aren’t His people.

The question for those of us who want to hear Him is “what can I do to better hear His voice?”. 

Thankfully, God wants us to hear Him so He doesn’t overcomplicate the process. Following are four simple, basic things anyone can do to get in better tune with God so we hear His voice more often and more clearly. 

It all starts with:

Nurturing and growing our faith-

Believing in God is not requirement for hearing from God. God speaks to atheists, agnostics, heathens and pagans (Genesis 31:34, Jonah 3:3-5, Acts 2:36-38). If He didn’t no one would ever come to know God. That said, believing in God ups the odds of hearing from God substantially. The more faith we have in God the more likely we are to hear God when He does speak. A foundation of faith also helps us to understand what is directing us to do when He speaks. We grow our faith by becoming rooted in Christ (Colossians 2:7). Spiritual roots grow deep through the regular practice of hearing and reading the word of God (Romans 10:27) and through regular prayer. The more we know the Bible and spend time with God the better acquainted we become with Him. Once we are personally familiar with God and how He operates it is much easier to discern what He’s saying and what He wants us to do with His message.  

Wanting to- 

Okay, so, admittedly this one is bit of a given, however it’s worth stating anyway. God will only speak in an intimate, friendly way to those who sincerely want to hear from Him. If we want clear communication with God we have to keep our hearts open to God. It is possible for our heart to close God without our knowledge or awareness because humans are often self-deceived (Obadiah 1:3, Zechariah 7:12). The best way to keep self-deception at bay and our hearts open to God is to practice regular self-examination and deal with our sin decisively (2nd Corinthians 13:5, Matthew 5:29-31).

Fostering fear of God- 

In the ESV version of the Bible Psalm 25:14 says that “friendship with God is for those who fear Him. He makes His covenant (promises) known to them”. Other versions say God “confides in those who fear Him”, still others say “the secrets of God are for those who fear Him”. They all means the same thing: God speaks most clearly and most intimately to those fear Him. Fearing God doesn’t mean we cower in dread of Him. It does mean we believe what He says enough to do what He tells us to do.  Fearing God also means we understand and embrace the “otherness” of God. Much of today’s teaching concerning God makes Him out to be a slightly bigger, smarter human. This teaching makes God out to be a really nice guy who never gets worked-up about anything. It’s true, God is kind. Kindness is fundamental aspect of His character. However, God is more than just nice. He is also holy, just and righteous. People who fear God embrace all aspects of God’s character not just the ones that give us good feels.  

And finally:

We must obey what we do hear. 

The speediest most effective way to get God to stop talking is for us to ignore His instruction and choose to do our own thing for our own glory. When we quit obeying, the Bible no longer make sense and the still small voice of God goes from still and small to radio silence. Thankfully all we have to do to get God talking again is go back to the same obedience we practiced in the beginning of relationship with God (Revelation 2:4-5). The simple act of repentance brings immediate joy, reopens the channels of communication with God and reestablishes closeness with God (Acts 3:19). 

Making Life Count-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God- Hebrews 6:1 NASB 

Humans are made in the image of God and God wrote eternity on the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11-13, Genesis 1:28). Consequently, all humans want make their life count by leaving some sort of legacy. This might mean leaving behind an organization so big and complex it alters the course of history. Or it might be as basic as being remembered as a decent human who treated others well.  

This universal ache is even more intense for those who follow of Jesus. 

Christians want to leave behind a legacy just like everyone else. However, those who truly know Jesus as Lord also want to leave behind a spiritual legacy that has lasting eternal value (1st Timothy 1:9). This might be as big and complex as a huge Christian ministry, or it might mean a simple legacy of good Christian works and/or raising kids who love, obey and worship Jesus. 

Christians are saved by faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross (Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 10:38-39, Romans 1:17, Romans 3:22-26, Philippians 3:8-10).

However.

Christians were saved for the express purpose of doing good in this world (Romans 2:6-11, Ephesians 2:10, James 2:14-26, Matthew 5:15-16). Works are a key way we glorify God (Matthew5:13-16). The works we do also become a part of the legacy we leave behind in this world. We will be judged for the quality of the works we do. This view isn’t “works theology”, “anti-grace” or “legalism”. It’s scripture (Revelation 20:12-13, Matthew 3:10, 1st Corinthians 4:3-4, James 3:1, Hebrews 10:31-32). Good works would include (but are not limited to) preaching the word, leading the lost to Jesus, providing and caring for the less fortunate and loving the unlovable (Matthew 10:8, 2nd Timothy 4:2, Matthew 25:31-46, 1st Peter 4:8). 

 The Bible makes it clear the only legacies that have any real value are those that have eternal value. Therefore, it’s critical we avoid what the writer of Hebrews calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1, Hebrews 9:14). Paul describes in detail the end result of dead works:

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work.  If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire– 1st Corinthians 3:10-14 NASB

Yikes. 

Dead works are works people do in the name of Jesus’ that ultimately help no one and have no eternal value. Even a good work can be a dead work. Dead works are good things done for the wrong reasons or with the wrong motivations.  A dead work is:

A work we do to impress people rather than God-

A work we do with the wrong heart attitude- 

A work we do with ourselves at the center-

There’s a lot of easily discernable bad news in this situation. 

Pretty much everyone has been guilty of the sin of people pleasing (Matthew 6:1, Colossians 3:23). We want people to think well of us. As a result, sometimes we do good things hoping to gain the esteem and favor of our peers. Or maybe we do good works because we hope (secretly) our good work will bring us something beneficial in return rather than just doing it to honor, obey and glorify God.  I, for one have been guilty (on more than one occasion) of doing the right things with a smile on my face and a crummy attitude in my heart (1st Samuel 16:7). Furthermore, most (all) of us have been guilty of doing good works secretly hoping people will think we are awesome (Isaiah 2:22, Proverbs 29:25). 

We all fall short of the glory of God. 

Sigh.

Thankfully, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Mainly because He’s awesome and totally willing to work with us even in our fallen, messy, self- aggrandizing state. Because God is good, and good to us we can do good works that have eternal value. We can please God.  God is not a cruel taskmaster judging us for every wrong thing we do. God doesn’t want us to be stuck with a bunch of dead works without any eternal value. God really wants every single one of us to hear “well done my good and faithful servant. Come and share in your master’s happiness” when we see Jesus for the first time (Matthew 25:21)

But.

We must be willing to do our part. 

This means asking God to give us the right heart. It means examining our motives on a regular basis and confessing any self-aggrandizement or selfish-ambition we may be harboring (Philippians 2:3, Galatians 5:19-21).  Our part in the area of good works is to humbly ask God to help us do the right things with the right attitude, for the right reasons.  Then we just have to keep on keeping on until Jesus calls us home.

When we do those things God takes care of the rest and we can not help but bring Him glory (Philippians 2:13).

How we all Live out our Theology-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

As he thinks in his heart, so is he- Proverbs 23:7a NKJV

A practical definition of theology is: 

Theology is the framework people use for understanding God and how God relates to all areas of life.

Here’s the thing:

All people, (atheist, Christian, agnostic, heathen, pagan, Buddhist, whatever) have a theology.

Literally. All people.

Theology isn’t just for monotheistic Jews, Muslims and Christians. Even when a person believes nothing about God they still believe something about God.  Unbelief in God, just like belief in God, swiftly becomes a framework for understanding the world and how it works. Christians, agnostics, atheists, pagans and humanists all believe something about God. It might be the wrong thing, theology does not have to be good to be theology. Because ideas and beliefs have consequences, we all live out our theology (good or bad) in our day-to-day lives.  

Here’s what I mean:

A Christian who believes consciously or subconsciously that God rewards good works and righteous behavior with tangible blessings like a big fat bank accounts, well behaved children, good health or the perfect marriage will (consciously or subconsciously) endeavor to use their good behavior to manipulate God into blessing them with whatever their desire happens to be. This will result in a whole lot of attention being placed on outward behavior rather than on the heart. The ultimate outcome of prosperity gospel theology is always disillusionment because it is a belief system not rooted in Scripture (John 16:33, Matthew 13:21, Acts 14:21, 2nd Corinthians 6:4-5, 1st Peter1:6). A Christian with this theology will ultimately become angry with God when they don’t get whatever earthly reward they feel they are entitled to. This often leads to licentious living because the believer figures “if God’s not going to do His part, and reward me for my goodness I might as well live it up and party on”.

Sigh.

Someone who adopts a theology that rejects belief in original sin will ultimately end up with a soft spot for lawbreakers and delinquents (Psalm 36:1-4, Psalm 51:5, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 7:18-25). Most of these social justice warriors will work their tails off to create a system that goes easy on thieves and bad guys. Rejecting original sin leads well-meaning but wrong-headed people to believe crime is always the fault of someone besides the criminal. These soft-hearted but shallow thinkers will blame poverty, bad parenting, lack of quality education and society at large rather than the law-breaker for their law-breaking ways. Our upbringing does shape us, but at the end of the day (metaphorically speaking) people have freewill and make choices (Joshua 24:15, Ephesians 4:26, 1st Peter 4:3-5).

Anyone who believes God will not allow Christians to suffer or go through difficult situations will become cynical and disillusioned when suffering, hardship or persecution becomes a reality in their lives. And it always does. Because this brand of bad theology always leads to disappointment with God it is the number one reason Christians drop out of church, deconstruct their faith and turn their backs on Jesus. 

A Christian who believes Christians don’t have to do anything to become holy will never mature in Christ because they will shun proper Christian behavior as “works theology” (Philippians 2:12, Romans 1:7, Ephesians 5:3, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8). Sadly, this choice will leave them ineffective and unproductive as Christians (2nd Peter 1:3-11)

Conversely, right theology leads to right thinking, and right thinking always leads to right behavior. Knowing trials, difficulty and hardship are tools God uses to mold us into the image of Jesus causes us to rejoice (more-or-less) in the midst of our trials (James 1:2-4, 1st Peter 1:6). Understanding the reality of original sin and how it effects people gives us insight into the behavior of others. It doesn’t preclude anyone one from having compassion for the sinner but it does help us understand that people make choices about what they do. Understanding that holiness is more than a gift we are given at salvation empowers us to become all God created us to be.  

Understanding how our theology is impacting us is helpful because it gives us a framework to understand why we are responding to God the way we are. It helps us answer questions like:

Why do I despair and believe God hates me when the going gets tough?

Why do I struggle with so many sinful strongholds?

Why am I angry all the time? 

Why do I blame other people (parents, co-workers, spouse) for MY choices and negative feelings about life?

At the root of every one of the above problems is bad theology of some sort.

Understanding the theology motivating us also helps us to flesh out our own motivations and understand the root cause things like chronic sin, wrong thinking and the weird reactions we have to certain situations. Understanding why we do what we do is the first step in changing our thinking, reactions and behavior. When spiritual understanding is combined with a repentant heart God is glorified and the world is blessed because we cannot help but grow into the image of Jesus (1st Corinthians 3:18). 

Understanding that even unbelievers have some form of theology opens the door for intelligent conversations about how a person’s underlying belief system is motivating their thinking about all sorts of issues.  Anytime we can have an intelligent conversation with a non-Christian we have a pretty good shot at making some spiritual inroads with them. Spiritual inroads are always a win.

Theology is not just for geeky old guys.

 Theology is something we all have whether we realize it or not, so we should all put some real effort into making sure what we believe about God lines up with what God says about Himself in His word.

The Lesser Understood Keys to Spiritual Growth-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ- 2nd Peter 1:10b-11 NIV

One of the fundamental spiritual misunderstandings of our time is centered around salvation. Many believe salvation is a one and done, an event where a person crosses a threshold and goes from hell-bound-heathen to saintly-and-saved to in the blink of an eye.

 Truth-be-told there is an “event” aspect to salvation (Romans 10:9-10). When a person places their faith and trust in Jesus to save them from the consequences of their sin they are very much saved from ALL the consequences of their sin, including eternal damnation (Luke 23:32:43). 

However. 

For those who do not die immediately following their confession of faith there is a process aspect to salvation. The fancy-pants-theological word for this process is “sanctification”. The Apostle Paul called it “working out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Whatever you choose to call it, it’s essentially just the act of being transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 1:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). There is no shortage of biblical teaching on the “how” of sanctification. All of Romans 12, 1st Thessalonians 4:1-12, 2nd Peter 1:3-9, Colossians 3 and Ephesians chapters 4, 5 and 6 all give detailed instructions concerning what a Christian should and shouldn’t do in order to work out their salvation. 

Nonetheless. 

Sanctification can be difficult to pull off. I suspect this is because there are beliefs and behaviors a person must embrace before the sanctification process can work. These are perquisites to holiness 101, if you will. In order for the sanctification process to work we must be willing to:

Train yourself to think deeply about things that matter-

In a recent sermon our pastor pointed out that our generation is literally besieged with an endless array of information on all sorts of different topics. We listen to podcasts, watch the news, scroll through endless social media feeds and read a lot of articles on a vast array of diverse subjects. There is nothing wrong or sinful about pursuing knowledge. However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. The net effect of this information overkill is that we tend to think superficially about whole bunch of different issues, but deeply about almost nothing. If we want to become holy we must train ourselves to think deeply about important issues. Profound things like the meaning of life, what it really means to be holy, our role in the universe, how we become righteous and how all that works itself out in our day-to-day lives. The only way we will ever have the bandwidth to think deeply about anything is to cull some of the information we are receiving. Once that’s done, we must set aside chunks of time to think through the information we are receiving and then seek the Lord for wisdom on how to implement what we’ve learned. Holiness requires godly wisdom. No one has ever attained wisdom apart from thinking deeply about life, God and eternity (2nd Timothy 3:15, Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 1:1-3)

Adopt a right view of God-

God is not simply a bigger, wiser, smarter version of humanity. God is as different from human beings as teapots are from tacos. How we understand God matters. A lot. Our most critical task in this life is to acquire a right view of Him. We do this by developing a healthy fear of God (Deuteronomy 6:13, Exodus 1:17-21, Proverbs 1:7, Psalm 33:8-18). Fearing God isn’t being afraid of God. When we fear God, we believe deep in our heart-of-hearts God is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do. In turn this gut-level conviction trickles down into every aspect of life. People who fear God understand God knows their most innermost thoughts and feelings (Hebrews 4:13). When a person fears God, they do what He says. Fearing God is THE key to closeness with God (James 2:23, Psalm 25:14, Psalm 147:11)

Embrace a proper view of the human heart-  

The world encourages people to “follow their heart”.  The Bible tells us the human heart is wicked and easily deceived (Jeremiah 17:9, Consequently, a heart not submitted to Jesus and firmly rooted in the truth of Scripture will lead a person to hell (literally and figuratively). Every. Single Time. Furthermore, unless a person is redeemed by Jesus their most authentic self is their sin nature. Even people who know and love Jesus are still capable of great foolishness and evil. Therefore, holiness requires we obey God not our hearts (Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 10:8, Ephesians 5:1). 

Align our internal motivations and intentions with God’s word- 

In his excellent book The Awe of God John Bevere says every person has three images. There is our “projected image” (the carefully crafted persona we want the world to see), our “perceived image” (how others see us) and our “actual image” (the us God sees). At the core of what God sees in us is the “why” of what we do. Do we serve out of a desire to please God or people? Do we love others so we will be loved by them or because we want to honor and please God? It is the intentions and motivations of our hearts that will be judged by God (1st Corinthians 5:10, 1st Corinthians 3:10-15, Revelation 20:11-13). This makes getting our internal motivations aligned with God’s will of critical importance. 

Sanctification (holiness) is the end-all be-all goal of the Christian faith (Romans 6:18-23, 1st Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 1:3-5, 1st Peter 1”15-16, Hebrews 12:14). The end result of holiness is joy, peace of mind, spiritual usefulness and the knowledge that the Maker of All Things is pleased with our actions and attitudes. Those things are worth doing whatever it takes to get there.

The Two Kinds of Church Trouble-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light-1st Corinthians 11:13-14 NIV

Every once in a while, I will bump up against a key difference between the first century and the twenty-first century and it will take me by surprise. Such was the case this past week as I was reading through Philippians. In Philippians 3:2 (NASB) the Apostle Paul gives this warning:

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision- Philippians 3:2 NASB

Yikes.

Imagine, for just one moment the fallout that would occur if your pastor got up on a Sunday morning and referred to members of your congregation as “evil workers”, “dogs” and the “false circumcision”?  

He’d be out on his ear. For sure. 

 Paul doesn’t stop there. All of chapter three is a detailed explanation of how to go about identifying a “dog”, “evil worker” and the “false circumcision. 

I will not lie.

All this was more than a little unsettling to my twenty-first century sensibilities. We simply don’t talk about people in those terms (it’s not “nice”).  However, because all scripture is “God breathed” (1st Timothy 3:16-17). I was forced to move the past the temptation I felt to ignore a passage of Scripture that made me uncomfortable. So, I went back and reread the entire chapter and decided Paul’s declaration begs a couple of critical questions for every Christian no matter the century they live in.

Those questions include: 

Do these warnings still apply to the church today? 

What does a “dog” or “evil worker” look like?

And finally:

What exactly are we supposed to do with this passage of Scripture? 

Seriously.

 It’s probably safe to say Paul’s words were likely just as shocking to the original readers as they are to us. I suspect they were intended to shock because Paul understood a churches overall health is one-hundred-percent dependent on the spiritual state of the people in it (Matthew 7:16-18). A church filled primarily with spirit-filled, obedient followers of Jesus will be a church with an abundance of spiritual power. It will be a church that reaches the lost, leads baby Christians to maturity and impacts the culture around it in a positive, life-giving way. It is a church that will make a difference in the darkest of days. Conversely, a church filled with the kinds of people Paul is warning about will be a troubled, powerless church that will struggle to inspire transformation even in Christians. Such a church cannot help but have a net-negative impact on the community around it. 

Sigh. 

The world is every bit as dark today as was in the first century. People living in darkness still need the salvation and personal transformation only Jesus can bring. People need transformation every bit as much today as they did in Paul’s day (Ephesians 2:1-9, Acts 4:11-12, Romans 1:16-17). Therefore, Paul’s concern over how Christians live and treat others is every bit as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago. 

 According to Paul “dogs” “evil workers” and the “false circumcision” fall into two distinct categories. 

The first type is very proud of their own goodness. This group fails to understand Christians are only good because Jesus makes us good. Any “goodness” we possess is Jesus’s goodness working through us (Romans 3:22, Romans 4:23-25, Philippians 1:11, Philippians 3:9).  This type of “dog” or “evil worker” believes salvation is something to be earned—not received. This type of “Christian” encourages (sometimes even demands) other Christians follow rules not found in the Bible to be saved and accepted by God.  

Paul describes the other type of “dog” or “evil worker” in this way:

 They are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things- Philippians 3:18b-19 NASB

These folks were unwilling to tell themselves “no” to any earthly pleasure. They did what they wanted with no thought to how their behavior affected other people or their own spiritual walk (1st Corinthians 8:9, Colossians 3). These Christians failed to understand we can only achieve maturity in Christ if we are willing to die to self (Matthew 10:38, Luke 9:23) and let go of the old way of doing things.  Death to self simply means we put Jesus first.  We do what He wants. His desires become our priority and we willingly let go of any behavior, attitude or desire that isn’t His will for our lives. Dying to self, sucks, because the death of anything is always difficult and painful, but in this case has beautiful results. Death to self is the first step in being transformed into the glorious image Jesus (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). 

Christians must be cautious about judging others (Matthew 7:1-3).  We must look at our own actions and attitudes first. It is imperative we make sure we are not the “dogs” “evil doers” or “false circumcision” before we go around judging anyone else’s actions. When we do see a need to judge or confront another’s behavior it must be done in a spirit of helping that person to become a better, healthier version of themselves so that the church, and all the people in it, can become what our world needs to see right now. 

Love or Knowledge-What Matters More?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge- Colossians 2:2-3 NLT

There has been a debate raging in the Church for two thousand years. It centers around the question: which is more important to the practice of Christianity: love or knowledge? 

Love is hands-down the popular favorite.  

Team love argues (quite persuasively, I might add) it is love, rather than knowledge at the heart of what Jesus taught were the two greatest commands (Matthew 22:37-40). Furthermore, team love contends, there are like, zero Bible verses instructing Christians to attain knowledge for the sake of knowledge. However, there are a surplus of verses commanding Christians to love others for the sake of love and to love even when it’s unsound and makes no sense whatsoever. (John 13:34-35, Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-35, Romans 13:8-10, 1st Peter 1:22, 1st Peter 4:8, 1st Corinthians 13). 

Team knowledge has a much tougher time of things, but, bless their sweet hearts, they do try. Team knowledge believes knowledge has a protective element to it. Therefore, knowledge protects Christians from embracing ideas and beliefs that lead even devoted believers away from right thinking and living (Galatians 5:7-10, 1st Corinthians 9:24, Proverbs 18:15, Hosea 4:6, 1st Timothy 2:4, Titus 1:1, Colossians 3:9-10, Psalm 119:66). 

The Apostle Paul would have sent everyone on both sides of this argument a firmly worded letter. In a message to the Philippian congregation Paul says this: 


This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight’ Philippians 1:9 NIV

The Apostle Paul understood some realities both teams tend to forget, namely that love and knowledge work in conjunction with one another. Love on its own often devolves into sloppy sentimentalism. Sloppy sentimentalism looks a lot like biblical love but the end of the day sloppy sentimentalism is really all about making people feel good about themselves no matter how messy, dysfunctional or in need of transformation they may be.  Love without knowledge feels good, but it lacks wisdom, it has no discernment, so it risks people missing heaven due to a lack of understanding about how to get there (Matthew 7:13-14, Matthew 7:21-24). Conversely, knowledge without love is accurate, precise and truthful but it inevitably lacks empathy and kindness. Jesus’ issues with the Pharisees revolved almost entirely around their insistence on a hard adherence to biblical truth with zero grace, compassion or love (John 8:1-11, Matthew 12:1-14). Knowledge gives people the information necessary to get them to heaven but it lacks the compassion and kindness that leads people to fall in love with Jesus and repent of their sins (Romans 2:4).  The Apostle Paul wanted Jesus’ people to have knowledge of the following four areas:

Knowledge of Jesus-

Jesus is the author, perfecter and foundation of everything Christians believe about everything (Hebrews 12:2, John 1:1-5). Nonetheless, there is all sorts of weird teachings and beliefs floating around about Jesus. As a result, a lot of folks think they know a lot about Jesus and what He had to say about all kinds of issues and good many of those people are dead wrong. The only way to know what Jesus had to say about anything is to dig deep into the Scriptures and discover the biblical Jesus for ourselves. Knowledge of the biblical Jesus keep us from being swept away by false teachers that present Jesus as something He’s not (Matthew 24:4-5, Jude 1:4, 2nd Peter 2:1-3, 2ndTimothy 3:1-8). 

Knowledge of what to avoid-

The Bible tells us what to do.  The Bible also it gives us all kinds of valuable knowledge about what not to do. When a person knows the Bible, they know it’s spiritually dangerous to get overly involved with those who have proven themselves to have bad character (1st Corinthians 15:33, 1st Corinthians 5:11). They also understand the dangers of adopting worldly philosophies (Colossians 2:4), legalism (Colossians 2:16-19, Galatians 3), willful sin (Hebrews 6:4-6) sexual immorality (1st Thessalonians 4:1-3, 1st Corinthians 6:18), racism and sexism (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11), just to name a few. This kind of knowledge naturally leads to discernment and wisdom. Wisdom and discernment are the two most protective characteristics a person can have (Proverbs 4:5-6, Proverbs 19:8, Proverbs 15:14, Proverbs 17:24). 

Knowledge of what to do-

Christianity is not just about knowing doctrinal truth and being right (1st Corinthians 13:2), nor is it simply about what we shouldn’t do. Christianity is mostly about doing (Matthew 25:31-45, Romans 12:4-21).  Christians are called to preach the gospel, care for the less fortunate, mourn with those who mourn and just generally act as the hands and feet of Jesus in every situation they find themselves (Romans 7:4, 1st Corinthians 12:27). Knowing what we are to do and doing it keeps us from the pitfalls of legalism and the self-righteousness that can result from spiritual learning without an equal amount of spiritual action.  

Knowledge of the grace of God-  

The grace of God is the lynchpin of Christianity. Everything about the faith rests on this one issue. Unfortunately, teaching about grace has become one dimensional, focused entirely on forgiveness and the role it plays in salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is so much more to grace than forgiveness. God’s grace allows us to do things and endure hardship and difficulty normal humans simply cannot (2nd Corinthians 2:9, James 4:6-7). Grace teaches us how live lives of self-control and godliness (Titus 2:11-13). Grace also empowers us to do the works of righteousness we were saved to do (Ephesians 2:10). Truly understanding the grace of God is gamechanger for Christians. 

When our love for Jesus and each other overflows with knowledge of God and His word we are truly unstoppable from a spiritual perspective.