Tag: Bible

How does one Christian Protect the Faith of Another?

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I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another- John 13:34-35 NASB

This week as I was reading through Matthew eighteen, I came across a statement Jesus made that no one really likes to talk about. Mostly, because no one really likes to think about what it really means:

Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes! Matthew 18:7

Contextually this verse is a part of a greater statement Jesus made about the faith of children. Because this verse (on the surface at least) appears to be ONLY about children it is rarely given the consideration it probably deserves. 

I suspect Jesus wants us to apply a broader brush.

Matthew eighteen is not just about the faith of “children” because Jesus says that all people must become “as children” in order to enter the Kingdom of God. So, when Jesus talks about people causing other people to stumble, I believe we should assume He is giving a general warning about how we conduct ourselves as Christians (Luke 17:1, Romans 14:13, 1st Corinthians 8:9). 

HOWEVER.

We should all assume that causing a child to sin, whether they love Jesus—or not— is a particularly outrageous form of wickedness that genuine Christians will avoid like the literal plaque. Seriously. 

But I digress. 

Jesus’ warning begs a couple of questions: 

What is a stumbling block? 

How does one person cause another to stumble? 

Inquiring minds want to know, because inquiring minds recognize this issue is obviously a VERY big deal to Jesus.  A stumbling block is something one person does that causes another person to doubt the goodness of God or causes them to think it’s okay to do something that is unwise or even wrong. When we avoid certain attitudes and behaviors we protect the faith of those around us and we avoid becoming a stumbling block. Ultimately, it’s all about loving people well and avoiding the following:

Grumbling- 

I’m will not belabor this point, mostly because I wrote in-depth about grumbling just last week. Nevertheless, there are things that bear repeating. This is one of them. Grumbling, and its ugly counterparts (complaining, fault-finding, lack of gratitude) are contagious and can easily cause those weaker in the faith to stumble especially when the grumbling is focused on other Christians and/or Christian leaders.

Refusing to Grow-

Paul describes the church as a body where all the members are connected to one another. Not only that— we need one another (1st Corinthians 12:12-26). One way this works is through older Christians modeling the path of spiritual maturity to younger (or newer) believers (Titus 2:1-5). Anytime a believer refuses to grow and mature in Christ (Colossians 3, 2nd Peter 1:3-11) they hurt themselves and all the younger and/or less mature Christians who need to their positive example to aid in their own growth. 

Demanding perfection from others-

Nothing is more discouraging or sure to create a stumbling block with a new believer than an older believer who lacks patience and grace (1st Corinthians 13:4, 1st Thessalonians 5:14). New believers are a little bit like children (3rd John 1:4). Children are by their very nature messy, they make a lot of mistakes and sometimes they create chaos (1st Corinthians 13:11, 1st John 2:1-2).  Actual children and spiritual children need the big people around them to love them well and patiently lead them towards adulthood. They do not need people to make them feel like failures when they miss the mark. 

Being flippant about our Christian freedom-

Contrary to popular belief, Christian freedom is not about getting away with as much stuff as we can without getting sideways with God. True Christian freedom is about having a clear conscience and the spiritual power/moral fortitude to do what’s right (Galatians 5:1). When we use grace and/or Christian freedom as an excuse to walk as close to sin as possible we quickly become a stumbling block to others, especially those who are newer to the faith or who have a delicate conscience (1st Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 5:13, 1st Peter 2:1).

 Never getting around to the repentance part- 

Repentance is central to the Christian faith (Matthew 3:2-8, Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19, 2nd Corinthians 7:10, Revelation 2:5). However, many Christians lack a solid theology of repentance. We must understand that true repentance is not simply about changing our behavior. Repentance is about aligning our thinking about every issue under the sun to God’s way of thinking. When we think the way God thinks our behavior inevitably comes into line with God’s will (Romans 12:1-2) 

And finally, we become a stumbling block when we let people’s problems or issues in life keep us from investing in them or loving them well. Christians are called to be as much like Jesus as possible. Jesus was the ultimate investor in people. He was willing to die (the biggest investment one can make) so that we could have forgiveness for sin, a clear conscience, eternal life and relationship with God. We are most like Jesus when we are willing to look past a person’s problems and love them anyway. Love like that means we never become a stumbling block to anyone (1st Peter 4:8).

The Spiritual Lies that Keep Christians from Experiencing “the Abundant Life” Jesus Promised-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.  And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it- John 1:4-5 NASB

In John chapter ten Jesus makes a truly incredible statement about Himself, salvation and how the Christian life is intended to work itself out in the lives of His followers. Jesus calls Himself the door to life and says that if anyone comes to Him that person “will have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:9-10). 

It’s an astonishing declaration.

Seriously.  There’s a reason there are so many tee-shirts, throw pillows and refrigerator magnets emblazoned with John 10:10.  However, current reality begs a critical question: if Christianity is all about an abundant life why are so many Christians so dang miserable and obviously not experiencing this “abundant life”?

 It’s because we’re doing it wrong. 

Really, we are. My goal here is not to be offensive just honest. It is true there are some Christians are doing the Christian life right but most just aren’t. This demonstrated by the fact that many Christians (by my estimation eighty percent or more) live double lives. They struggle with a big giant ugly sin or problem they don’t want anyone to know about. It might be a cruddy marriage, a drug or alcohol problem, a porn addiction or some other issue with sexual immorality. Some secretly battle debilitating spiritual doubt. These and other issues prevent believers from enjoying the benefits of the abundant life Jesus promises. 

There are all sorts of reasons Christian’s struggle. Usually, at the root of the problem there is a lack of proper discipleship training coupled with belief in one or more common spiritual lies. 

Starting with:

I can do what I want-

Christians have been taught for decades that it doesn’t really matter what we do because God is going to love us no matter what. Like most spiritual lies this one has a seed of truth at its center. God’s love is immutable (unchanging, unalterable, permanent). This means there is nothing anyone can do to make God stop loving them. Period. However, the aim of the Christian life is not to simply to be loved and adored by God (being loved by God is a byproduct of the Christian life not the goal). The aim of the Christian life is to be transformed into God’s image (Romans 8:29, Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). Here’s the thing: ultimately, we are the sum of our choices. We become what we do (Psalm 125:4-5, Jeremiah 4:22, Jeremiah 13:23, 1st Timothy 6:17-19). If we want to live an abundant life, we need to do our best to live the life God calls us to live in Scripture (Colossians 3, Romans 12, 2nd Peter 1:3-11). Choosing to ignore scriptural teaching is direct disobedience that keeps us from becoming like Jesus. Disobedience is also the fast-track route to becoming an ineffective and profoundly miserable Christian (1st Samual 15:22, Psalm 51). 

The right thing can wait-

 Oftentimes we (me included) are fully aware there is something specific God wants us to do (forgive, pray, connect with someone, help someone). Because God almost never asks us to do anything that’s easy or convenient, we will put the thing off until “later”. Too often “later” means never. When we don’t follow through on God’s instruction, we never experience the elation of having God work through us. Experiencing God’s power working through us is the most satisfying thing in all the world. It always leads to a desire for more (Psalm 119:60). 

It’s okay to do the Christian life alone-

One of my routine spiritual practices is to say the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) every day. It reminds me who’s in charge and what life is really all about. One surprising feature of the Lord’s Prayer is that there are no singular pronouns such as “I”, “my” or “me” in it. Instead, Jesus uses the plural pronouns “us” and “our”. This is not an accident, poor translation or crummy grammar.  It’s a clue we should pick up on.  Christianity (if it’s done right) is not just a private thing we do with God, it’s a corporate thing we do with God and the “the body of Christ” in community (Romans 12:5, 2nd Corinthians 12:12-27). On a practical level this means all of us should have a church we routinely attend, at least one close friend with whom we can be honest about our sins (James 5:16) and a group of Christians we love and feel accountable to. 

I don’t have to apply all the truth I know-

You do.  At least if you want to hang on to that truth. Jesus makes it clear that wisdom and truth are “use it or lose it” propositions (Luke 18:18).  Furthermore, the more willingly we apply the truth we know the more truth we will be given. Unfortunately, many Christians (me included sometimes) believe they can hear a truth and ignore it until obedience becomes expedient. The problem is that obedience is NEVER expedient and so we will never obey if we wait until it works for us. 

And finally,

Holiness is legalism.  

It’s not.

Holiness is a powerful state of existence we get invited into by the most powerful creature in all of existence (Ephesians 1:4,1st Peter 1:15). Holiness is choosing to be like God: set apart, unique and different in the very best sense. Holiness is partnering with God to fulfill His purposes in this world. Holiness is living out what we were made for and it’s the secret to doing Christianity right. 

The List-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on- Proverbs 4:14-15 NKJV

One of the longest running and most quarrelsome debates in Christianity centers around what Christians should and shouldn’t do. This debate has literally been raging since the dawn of the Christian age (Acts 15). 

There are those who sincerely believe it’s wrong to attach any behavioral “shoulds” to the Christian faith. Many (not all) of these folks believe any restrictions on Christian behavior is an encroachment on God’s “grace” and “works” theology (Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:28).  These folks tend to teach (whether they intend to or not) that grace is a bottomless bucket of forgiveness we can dip into anytime the need arises. This view oftentimes results in folks seeing sin as less than ideal, but not something to get overly wound up about.

On the other side of the debate are the rule-followers. 

Rule followers hate sin and will do everything in their power to avoid it. Rule-followers sincerely believe Christian “rules” are like fences. They are protective in nature.  In their minds rules protect Christians from sin, trouble and moral destruction. Sometimes these folks are termed “legalists” because they want Christians to follow “the law” or “the rules”. The rules don’t necessarily have to be biblical; they are just meant to keep us out of trouble. 

One thing is totally true:

 There is only way to get right with God (and into heaven). We get right with God by choosing to have faith in the substitutionary work Jesus did on the cross and His subsequent resurrection (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 2:16, Romans 1:17, Hebrews 11:6). 

Okay, so. 

Historically, this whole debate tends to get very cantankerous and insanely passionate. Both sides insist they are right, and that the other side is a horde of grubby heathens. With all due respect to the well-intended lovers of Jesus on both sides, I think we should allow the Apostle Peter weigh in on the subject. 

 He walked with Jesus and he knows things.

1st Peter 1:10-13 is unequivocal: salvation is by grace and grace alone. This simply means no one earns their salvation. It’s a gift (Ephesians 4:8). No one works for a gift. If they did it would no longer be a gift, it would be wages earned (Romans 4:4). 

But here’s the thing (and it’s a big thing):

Peter also gives us his readers (you and me) “a list” of behaviors and attitudes he felt all Christians should strive to do (2nd Peter 1:3-11).  The list is quite extensive. Furthermore, Peter is clear, we are to go after these things with “all diligence”. This means no half-hearted efforts, no lame attempts.  We are to be all-in on going after the following:

Living a life of purity and virtue.

Becoming knowledgeable about our faith.

Attaining self-control.

Persevering in our faith despite hardship or difficulty.

Pursuing godliness (holiness)

Treating fellow Christians with kindness.

Learning to love others (especially other Christians). 

Okay so Peter, wasn’t shy about attaching some shoulds to our Christianity. Peter is so absolutely convinced his “list” of “shoulds” are correct, he promises that if we go after the things on “the list” there will be two guaranteed results. First, we will never fail morally (1st Peter 1:10). That’s a great big encouraging promise.  The second promise is even bigger and more encouraging. He says that if we “do” the list we will receive a rich welcome into the Kingdom of God when we die (2nd Peter 1:8, 2nd Peter 1:10-11). He then states that anyone who does not do “the list” is self-blinded and may have even forgotten what it means to be a Christian (2nd Peter 1:9).

Yikes. 

It gets even yikesier. In chapters two and three of 2nd Peter, Peter warns that false teachers would (in his time and in the future) discourage true believers from worrying about their behavior or making too big a deal out of intentional sin. 

They do this by saying things like:

God loves you no matter what you do.

We are saved by grace, not works of righteousness.

God will forgive you no matter the sin. 

All the above statements are one-hundred-percent true. 

However, we are also warned about putting God to a test (Acts 5:9, 1st Corinthians 8:1-11) and we are cautioned about the spiritual dangers of refusing to grow spiritually (one aspect of growth is giving up sin) and intentional sin after salvation (Romans 6:12-14, Hebrews 6:1-8, Colossians 3).

The whole notion of God’s grace is very much emmeshed with forgiveness. We are forgiven when we receive God’s grace at the moment of our salvation. However, when we boil grace down to something as rudimentary as mere forgiveness, we miss the greater and more powerful meaning of the word. It’s like saying marriage is nothing more than a legal contract. It is that. But is so much more. Grace is the same. It is categorically not a list of man-made rules or fences. Titus 2:11 tells us God’s grace acts as a teacher. It teaches us to live godly lives. This means that if we truly understand grace, we will go after Peter’s “list” with all diligence, fully aware of the fact that we cannot do “the list” or any other good thing without God’s assistance and empowerment (Philippians 4:13, 2ndCorinthians 12:9). Prayerfully and diligently doing “the list” does so much more than just avert moral failure and guarantee eternal reward. Going after “the list” causes us (over time) to look and act a lot more like Jesus. Anytime we look and act like Jesus we impact our world powerfully and that is a total game changer for Christians. 

What do we do when we Become a Casualty of Lies and Slander?

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One who walks with integrity, practices righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.
He does not slander with his tongue, nor do evil to his neighbor, nor bring shame on his friend-Psalm 15:2-3 NASB

There are a handful of Bible stories and passages that qualify as my all-time personal favorites. These are the stories I go back to time and again. They make the list because there is something in them that resonates with me in a significant way. Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, Psalms twenty-three, Psalms eighteen, the  story about man who was healed by Jesus after his friends cut a hole in someone’s roof and David and Abigail. I love these stories because they all hit me in a personal way for one reason or another.  From time-to-time I will receive fresh insight from one of those stories as an extra bonus. 

Such is the case with the story of David and Abigail.

It’s just a really good story (1st Samual 25). 

It takes place near the end of David’s decade (give or take) of running from Crazy-King-Saul. David and his men were making ends meet by protecting people and property during sheep-shearing season. There were evil men who would steal the sheep and harass the shearers as they were trying to work. It was customary in those days for property owners to compensate men who had protected their property with gifts of food and/or money. David and his men spent a good part of a season protecting the property belonging to a man named Nabal.  Nabal knew exactly what David and his men were doing and what was customary in these situations.  However, when the season was over, he flat refused to pay David and his men for their service. 

 Instead of doing what all decent people did, Nabal said this about David:

  “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.  Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men [whose origin I do not know?”- 1st Samuel 25:10-11 NASB

When David heard what Nabal said about him, he lost his mind. Like totally. Nabal was a jerk. His words were dripping with rude insinuations about David, his motives for running away from Saul and even whether or not David’s Mother was a virtuous woman.  Nevertheless, by any rational standard David’s reaction to Nabal’s disrespect was over the top. He assembled a group of men and headed out to Nabal’s property to kill him. Disaster was averted by Nabal’s beautiful and shrewd wife Abigail. She intercepted David and his men with a generous gift and some wise counsel. Her quick-thinking and wise words prevented a tragedy that would have gotten David sideways with the Almighty. When Abigail told Nabal what she did, he basically died of rage. David and Abigail eventually reconnected, got married and lived happily ever after. 

It’s just a great story.

Here’s the thing though, David didn’t lose his mind and begin plotting murder because Nabal refused to pay him.  David went ballistic because he knew Nabal was simply repeating things a lot of people were saying about David. David got to hear with his own ears the rude, false and totally unjust things that were being said about him, and those words hurt.

Adding insult to injury Nabal was the biggest of deals. He just was. He was a wealthy landowner in a world where money and land was everything. Nabal was a wicked jerk-face. However, he was also the kind of guy people listened to. His opinion carried a lot of weight in the community. 

David found himself a casualty of slander, gossip and injustice.  

Anyone who’s been there knows what it feels like. There’s a soul-sucking agony that comes with knowing people are talking trash about you.  The whole messy muddle gets even uglier when the things being said are lies, exaggerations or things that have been pulled out of context. On top of all that, we all know that if things are being said people will believe it. No questions asked, no digging a little deeper, they just believe what they hear.

Sigh. 

It’s maddening. And, as with David, these scenarios can cause us to lose our minds and say or do things that might feel good in the moment but are sure to bring nothing but embarrassment and hurt. 

In this story Abigail did more than just keep David out of trouble. She gave David some advice that’s good for anyone being slandered. She told David in no uncertain terms that God had more for him than petty revenge. She reminded him that he was better than all that.  She encouraged David to lay aside his anger, put his reputation in God’s hands and trust Him with the future (Psalm 18 was David’s future). She reminded him it is all too easy to say something or do something in a moment of anger that could derail Him from God’s best and give the gossips something real to talk about. 

Abigail was right. Then and now.

I would add that God has a way of bringing truth to light (Hebrews 4:13). It may not happen as quickly as we would like, but it always happens. God is good and fair and just. With God justice delayed does not mean justice will be denied (Matthew 12:20, Luke 18:7)

What do we do with 1st Timothy 4:1 People?

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Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God- Hebrews 3:12

As a general rule my regular Bible reading includes a chapter out of a book I’m reading as well as a Psalm or two. Additionally, I have this thing I call an “openness” policy when it comes to Bible reading. This “policy” isn’t anything super special, weird or spiritual.  It just means that if my Bible falls open to a particular verse as I’m flipping between my regular Bible reading and the Psalms, I give it a read. This ensures I have a regular Bible reading routine AND I give God space to speak to me through something I didn’t intend to read that day.  

Sometimes He does. Sometimes He doesn’t. This morning He did.  As I was flipping between 1st Peter chapter two and Psalms three my Bible fell open to this:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons- 1st Timothy 4:1 NASB

This verse led me down a thought-provoking little rabbit hole. I began looking up words in the Greek and quickly discovered the word translated “depart” sometimes translated “fall away” in English is a far more robust word in the Greek. It doesn’t just mean “to leave” or to “quit something”. It means to “defect from loudly” and/or to “revolt against” the thing you’re leaving. 

This is kind of where we’re living right now. 

Most of those who have left the church in recent years haven’t just departed quietly from church world and gone on with their lives. Most have left with guns blazing (metaphorically speaking) and have staged a revolt against all things Christian. Many are filled with fury and vitriolic criticism aimed at churches and church leaders. They hate all things traditionally Christian and are determined to see the Church “reformed” and transformed it into something entirely different than what is found on the pages of the New Testament. 

This begs a question: 

What do we do with “former Christians” who are critical of the church or who want to see the church radically transformed to better suit the values they currently hold dear? There are at least three things we should be careful to do when dealing with former Christians. The first is:

Listen- 

Please understand I am not saying we should automatically do everything the angry unbeliever thinks ought to be done. That’s crazy talk. That said, there is always value in listening with a discerning ear (Proverbs 18:5). Thoughtful, discerning listening often uncovers a world of hurt and pain lying just beneath the vitriol and hate of those who have left the church. When this happens, we have an opportunity to discuss what led to the departure and perhaps even do a little repair work in the process. Loving people enough to listen is pretty much always a good idea.  (1st Peter 4:8). However, it is critical we exercise wisdom and discernment as we listen. We must carefully separate any anger they have towards God’s decrees concerning right and wrong and people who may have done them wrong. If a person hates God because He limits their personal freedom in some way that is not our problem (Psalm 68:1).  We should pray for those people and leave them to God. However, if someone hates the way they were treated by God’s people we ought to at least try and repair the damage. 

Be humble when humility is appropriate-

Christians screw up. All the time. In the last couple of decades there has been a lot of mess in Church world. There has been a plethora of corrupt and/or inept leadership. The church has also been inundated with some well-intended but poorly thought-out programs/bandwagons such as the purity movement. On top of all that there’s been hordes of legalism and very little grace for those who would have benefitted from some. If you’re dealing with a defector who was a victim of bad leadership, mean Christians or crummy doctrine it is totally appropriate to admit wrong where wrong was clearly done and apologize on behalf of the church for the pain they experienced. 

And finally:

Do not negotiate with terrorists when it comes to issues that really matter- 

Christians should do their best to show love and respect to those who oppose God. No one in the history of Christianity has ever been won to Jesus (or won back) with ugliness, contempt or meanness (Romans 13:7, 1stPeter 2:17). 

That being said. 

Those who have departed the faith are (unbeknownst to them) under the influence of deceiving spirits. They are (again, unknowingly) devotees of “doctrines of demons”. Therefore, they tend to loathe God, God’s standards of right and wrong and anyone who upholds those standards. Most defectors wish to transform Christianity into something trendy, woke and very twenty-first century. Practically speaking, this means opposing traditional marriage, toppling gender norms and celebrating abortion as a “gift”. It always means encouraging and celebrating all forms of sexual expression, no matter how weird and deviant they may be. Period. 

We simply cannot negotiate with spiritual terrorists. It’s that simple and nothing personal. We must obey God above all else (Acts 5:29). This means God’s word cannot be modified or tossed out by those who lack spiritual understanding. It is our responsibility as Christians to “contend earnestly for the faith” and to “make a defense” for what we believe (Jude 1:3, 1st Peter 3:15). This must be done kindly and firmly, and always without apology. 

Jesus’ Kind of Intense Warning to Christian Leaders that Really Applies to all Christians-

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 With minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance – 1st Peter 1:13-14 NIV

Last year I did a deep dive into the book of Matthew. I had read Matthew before, many times, but I had never really studied the book. Luke and Mark were more my jam. 

I learned a lot. 

 I also developed a deep respect for the author. As I dug deeper, I was repeatedly struck by the fact that Matthew’s brain worked very differently from mine. Matthew’s brain was a well-ordered machine. My brain is more like a series of random, jumbled-up tunnels. His ability to organize information was genius, mine is middling at best. 

Sigh.

 Perhaps, the most surprising aspect of the book of Matthew was the clear warnings the book gives concerning Christian leadership in the years prior to Jesus’ return. 

It won’t be pretty. 

According to Jesus (Matthew 24:45-51) there will be good servants (leaders) who care and feed Jesus’ other servants (church people). The good overseers (Christian leaders) will be richly rewarded for their faithfulness (45-47). 

However.

There will also be a lot of really bad leaders who develop serious doubts (either consciously or subconsciously) concerning when or if Jesus will return in bodily form (verse 48). This crisis of belief will affect their leadership in detrimental ways. Specifically, these leaders will become egocentric. Their leadership platform will become a means of gaining money and attention. These leaders will mistreat those they are tasked with feeding and caring for spiritually. 

Truth-be-told, the world is already seeing some of Jesus predictions being played out. Narcissism in church leadership is running wild. A large number of regular, everyday Christians have left their churches because they have experienced church hurt at the hands of self-absorbed leadership. Many have yet to return to any church. Abusive, sinful and hypocritical Christian leaders are so common very few people even bother getting worked up over their antics anymore. 

Sigh. 

I believe this passage is specifically talking about pastoral leadership in the endish times. 

Subsequently.

It is imperative Christians stop enabling self-absorption and personal kingdom building in church leadership. Everything everyone does in church should be about building God’s Kingdom here on earth not monuments to human awesomeness (Matthew 6:9-10). 

Christians do the kingdom of God serious injury when they stay in churches where the leadership is obviously abusive, hopelessly self-focused or indifferent to people. The quality of the preaching should not be the number one consideration when choosing a church, the character of the people in the pulpit should be.  Public speaking (which is what preaching is) is simply a skill anyone with operational vocal cords can develop.  A person can be an excellent speaker and a terrible person/leader. This true even if they hold the title of “pastor”. 

Additionally, most Christians lead someone, so this passage applies to most Christians at least to some degree. How Christians lead matters. A lot. Human beings who don’t know God or who don’t know Him very well judge God by the behavior and overall character of His people. This means a church, a home, or Christian organization will turn people off to God if the character of the leadership (parents, pastor’s, leaders) is bad.  

Leaders can help halt the losses Christianity has experienced the last couple of decades by electing to view leadership the way Jesus viewed leadership.  Jesus literally had all the authority in the universe (Matthew 26:53, Matthew 28:18, Luke 4:36) and yet He didn’t get hung up on it. When He did play the “authority card” it was always about someone else’s needs, not His own privileges, popularity or authority.  We see this see this demonstrated beautifully in His dealings with the money changers (Matthew 21:12-13). Jesus was outraged. However, He wasn’t about mad because He was being slighted or disrespected, even though He was, it was literally HIS temple they were defiling. Jesus’ concern was for the people who were being marginalized by the moneychangers (mostly gentiles and women). Concern for who we’re leading, rather than our own popularity or authority should always be our north star. 

This means self-promotion, getting hung up on honor or becoming overly attached to the perks of leadership is a serious no-no for any Christian leader. Please understand, it is GOOD for Christians to give respect and honor to those who lead them and to one another. We should go out of our way to out-honor each other in Christian communities (Romans 12:10, Romans 13:7, 1st Timothy 5:17, 1st Peter 2:17). Just as teachers and leaders will be judged for how they lead, followers will also be judged by God for the level of cooperation and respect they give to those tasked with leading them (Hebrews 13:7, Hebrews 13:17). Nonetheless, it is highly inappropriate for Christians (leaders or not) to demand honor. Practically speaking this means we see those we lead as equals and treat them with even greater dignity than we expect for ourselves.  

Attitude is everything. 

The best Christian leaders have the mindset of managers. They believe deep in their hearts they answer to Jesus (the owner) for everything they do and say (James 3:1). Embracing this reality is the only to keep a human being’s worst inclinations at bay. 

One last thing. 

Matthew 25:45-51 isn’t JUST about leadership. It also tells us (in a roundabout way) that there are serious real-time consequences of not believing in and/or anticipating the return of Jesus. Christians who expect the return of Jesus are protected from falling into patterns of greed, selfishness and self-glorification. 

Belief in the return of Jesus is the best protective medicine.

The Latest bit of Bad Theology Going Around-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment


She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins- Matthew 1:21 NASB

Theology is not a popular topic these days. Many view theology as a mind-numbing waste of time only relevant to a few eggheaded old guys in sweater vests. 

It’s a lie from the pit of hell.

Theology matters. A lot. 

Good theology is instructive and useful in very practical ways.  Good theology empowers Christians to understand God and love Him more. What a person believes about God and His goodness makes a huge impact on how they work out their salvation (Philippians 2:12). Good theology helps non-Christians to grasp their need for God.  What a person believes about God and His character will influence whether they become a follower of Jesus at all.

Conversely, bad theology is the root cause of spiritual dropouts and at the heart of most spiritual malpractice. When Christians impose their erroneous opinions about God on people who don’t know better those folks inevitably get hurt and become bitter (Hebrews 12:15). Many leave the church, those who don’t leave spread their bitterness and bad theology.  Bad theology drives people away from Jesus by giving them the wrong idea about Jesus. Bad theology blinds seekers to truths necessary to understand salvation. Bad theology can even lead to sin in some situations. 

Most bad theology is not obviously bad. Very little bad theology is an obvious pack of crazy pants lies. If this were the case only very dumb people would get sucked into believing bad doctrine. At its core, most bad theology is really just a small kernel of truth encased in a whole bunch of half-truths and/or errors regarding what the Bible really says. The seed of truth conceals the lies, and the lies blind people to the truth. 

Which brings me to the subject of this post. 

There is a popular Christian teaching making the rounds that is an excellent example of bad theology. Those who have bought into this heretical theology do not know what they don’t know about salvation. What they do understand is probably not adequate to get anyone saved. This teaching revolves around Jesus, why Jesus came into the world and what salvation is ultimately all about. 

The teaching basically goes like this: Jesus came to earth because He wanted to be with us. That’s it. He loves us so much He just wants to be with us. However, He can’t do that until we let Him in. Once a person lets Jesus into their life, He just wants to be with them. Jesus wants to hang out with us and let us get to know Him and experience His presence. 

It sounds awesome, because at the core of this teaching there’s some important theological truth. However, it simplifies some complex realities, skips over some important stuff and, like most contemporary bad theology only focuses on the good stuff that makes its hearers feel good (2nd Timothy 4:3-4). 

It is one-hundred-percent true that Jesus came into the world as baby and grew into a man so He could restore relationship between God and humanity (John 3:16, Galatians 2:20). It is also totally true that God wants to be with us (Matthew 1:23). Human beings were literally created to have relationship with God and reflect His goodness (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 21:6, Jude 1:24, Revelation 3:20). 

Okay, so here’s the tricky part:

Jesus did not come to earth as a baby simply so He could “be with” His creation. Jesus already knew enough about humans to know people are much too sinful for a holy God to simply hang out with (Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Ephesians 2:1-3). God is perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:2-4, Revelation 4:8). God is so holy He cannot be in relationship with anyone who is unholy, unrighteous and unwilling to do life His way.  Jesus also understood that humans are incapable of being good even when God tells them exactly how to do it. God gave the law to help people understand their own unholiness and need for God. Sadly, most folks who followed the law just become bloated with pride and self-righteousness (more giant sins). All people sin. Sin, unrighteousness and rebellion separate us from God forever and make it impossible for anyone to “be with God” (Romans 3:23, 1st John 1:8)

So. 

Because humans are sinful Jesus came to earth as a baby. Jesus is God so He had the power and ability to redeem us: or buy us back from the penalty of sin. The penalty of sin is death and eternity in hell (Romans 3:23). Because Jesus was perfect in every sense and because He was both God and man. He was able to take all our sin, unrighteousness, rebellion, pride and overall ickiness on Himself when He died on the cross. His death paid the price we all deserved to pay for our own sin.  

That’s what it took for God the “be with us”. 

When we skip over the ugly part of the story, we naturally miss the wonder of being with God. Being with God is more than a choice we make. There was a harsh penalty paid so we could get right with God and “be with” Him. This popular teaching sends the message that being with God is a nice option if that’s what we’re into, but there are no real consequences for choosing NOT to “be with” God. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The alternative to choosing to “be with” God is eternity in hell. Furthermore, many teachers skip over what must be done in return for the privilege of “being with” God. To “be with” God we must admit we are sinners. We must change our thinking, so it aligns with God’s thinking (Matthew 3:2, Matthew 3:8, Acts 3:19). Then we must allow the Holy Spirit to transform us from sinners into the image of Jesus (Romans 12:1-2, Colossians 3, 2nd Peter 1:5-11). 

Any teaching that skips over any of that that is false teaching and the definition of bad theology. 

The Very Worst Thing a Christian can Settle for-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day- 2nd Corinthians 4:16 NASB

Settling.

It’s a notion most modern people are a bit uncomfortable with. 

The whole concept of settling smacks uncomfortably of losing— or at the very least not trying hard enough. We teach our kids from the time they are capable of conscience thought not to settle for a single thing. Humans learn early on to continuously strive for more stuff, to work our tails off, to do our very best and by golly to win—no matter the cost.

Okay, so the Bible is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the issue of settling. Contrary, to what most of us were taught growing up, the Bible is clear: settling can be good and healthy as long as we are settling for the right stuff. God loves it when we make the choice to settle for being content with what we have (1st Timothy 6:6) Living a quiet life without a lot of self-aggrandizement or ballyhoo is a good and God-ordained thing to settle for (1stThessalonians 4:11, 2nd Timothy 2:2).  God rejoices when His people settle for doing good with the time they’ve been given (Psalm 37:3, Ecclesiastes 3:12). It’s always good to settle in and sit in the presence of God (Luke 10:38-42). In fact, that kind of simplicity is what we were made for. 

However. 

It occurred to be recently that most people (me included) are quick to settle for the one thing we should never settle for.  All the while shunning the very stuff we ought to eagerly settle for, because all the things God wants us to settle for are guaranteed to bring us joy, peace and contentment. This painful realization came as I was making my way through Romans. The verse that got me thinking about all this appears to be unrelated to the whole notion of settling, but it’s not. It said: 

Love must be free of hypocrisy- Romans 12:9a

It hit me pretty much out of nowhere that I have settled for exhibiting a surfacy (hypocritical) kind of love that looks and says all the right things but is not really heartfelt or sincere. Then it hit me, again pretty much out of nowhere that I tend to settle for all sorts of surfacy things. Not all the time, but often enough, it ought to shake me up. 

Yikes. 

I have been known to settle for surfacy goodness, all the while the gunk inhabiting my heart is far from honorable. I have settled for going through the surfacy motions of worship while my mind was on my to-do list. I have settled for surfacy courtesy while I harbored a less than gracious spirit. I have settled for surfacy joy that lacked any kind of depth and never really reached my soul. I have settled for looking good rather than being good, in myself as well as in my children while they were growing up.

Yikes. 

It would be tempting (and easy) for everyone (including me) to write me off as an insincere buttheaded jerk. However, I don’t think I’m alone. If I were a betting woman, I would bet good money I have lots of company. It’s one of those ugly characteristics of the human condition no one likes to talk about: we all have this tendency to settle for surfacy goodness instead of doing the spiritual work needed to actually be good. Human beings naturally gravitate towards fake goodness rather than fulfilling our God-given purpose to be like Jesus. 

At the root of the problem is our nature (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 3:23, Romans 7:18, 1stCorinthians 2:18). We are sinners and because we are sinners true, heartfelt, gut level goodness does not come naturally to humans, even redeemed humans (Matthew 10:18, Psalm 53:3, Romans 3:12). That said, nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26) nor is the problem with God. The problem is always with us. We are reluctant to do the work because the work always involves a personal honesty, self-examination and willingness to allow our hearts and minds to be changed on issues. 

However.

If we are in Christ and really want to be more than surfacy good. It can happen. God never commands anyone to do anything they are unable to accomplish (Colossians 3, Romans 12, 2nd Peter 1:3-11). The key to inner transformation is self-analysis or looking beneath our behavior. Behavior is important, God cares a great deal about what we do.  However, behavior is rarely the best measure of inner goodness. Feelings are (oddly enough) often a better barometer of our inner goodness than behavior is. If we self-examine and recognize we have the right behavior but a terrible attitude we need to take our negative feelings to the Lord in prayer and ask God to give us the right heart. Then we need to keep praying and repenting and asking for heart change until we get to the point when our feelings begin to match our behavior. It will happen. It may not happen overnight but if it’s what we really want it will happen. 

At the heart of surfacy goodness is hypocrisy and there is nothing Jesus hates more than hypocrisy (Matthew 6:2-16, Matthew 23).  Further complicating the matter is for Christians surfacy goodness can lead to a religious spirit. When we have a religious spirit looking good is all we care about. 

I’m not a big believer in New Years resolutions. That said, there is value in setting spiritual goals and doing what it takes to meet them. The goal of genuine, heartfelt goodness is a goal every Christian ought to set. 

The Blessing Many Christians are Missing out on-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life- Jude 20-21 NKJV

Weird but true fact.

There are actually classifications of different kinds of sin. 

Seriously. 

That’s how absurdly rebellious the human race is (Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:23). There is a very real need for us sort and organize our sin and disobedience (Romans 10:3). 

Insert face-palm here. 

All sin essentially falls into two generally recognized categories. First:

There are sins of omission (James 4:17). 

A sin of omission is electing NOT to do something we know we ought to do. We sin by omission when we ignore needs or when we willfully decline to do good deeds when we can. Sins of omission don’t feel like a big deal to most Christians. In reality they are a much bigger deal than they appear to be on the surface. Anytime we willfully refuse to do what’s right, our heart gets a little bit harder towards God and people. When a human heart becomes hard the possessor of that heart becomes less able to understand God, His word and His will (Mark 6:52, Mark 8:17, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 4:7). This sad state of affairs leaves us a hop, skip and a jump away from much bigger and much badder sins (Proverbs 4:23) Yikes. Equally, as critical, our rewards in heaven will be connected to the good we did (or didn’t do) on earth. Refusing to do good means eternity/heaven will be much less than it could have been (1st Corinthians 3:10-15, Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 10:44, Matthew 16:27, Ephesians 6:8, 2nd John 1:8). A loss of future reward may not feel like a big spiritual deal now. However, scripture warns it’s something we will be aware of in the hereafter. 

There are also sins of commission (Exodus 20:3-17, 1st John 3:17-18, 1st Corinthians 6:9-10)

A sin of commission is a sin we commit on purpose fully aware our actions are wrong. Basically, anything the Bible expressly forbids is a sin of commission. Therefore, it is a sin of commission to steal, covet, commit adultery and lie. Sins of commission are a very big deal. In our Christian culture we tend to downplay all sin, even sins of commission. Anytime a Christian tells a lie, slanders another person, has sex with a someone who is not their spouse or resentfully covets another person’s stuff other Christians tend to say things like “there’s grace for that” and there is. However, there are also plenty of warnings about taking grace for granted and testing God (Deuteronomy 6:16, Luke 4:12, 2nd Corinthians 13:5, Hebrews 10:29). We would be wise to pay attention. 

Seriously.  

Okay so. You’re probably asking yourself:

When are we going to talk about blessings? Is there a point to all this dreadful sin talk?  It’s bumming me out. 

Yes. Yes, there is. Thank you for asking.

There is one sin in particular I wanted to talk about because I am convinced it’s a huge deal. I am convinced our failure in this one area is at the root of our lack of blessing. Our failure in this one area shows up all over the place. It shows up in our failure to pass on our faith to our children. It shows up in our high rates of moral failure. It shows up in our failure to transform our culture. It shows up in the hardness of the hearts unbelievers we interact with. The worst thing about this sin is that it doesn’t really feel like a sin. It doesn’t feel like anything. A respectable Christian can commit this sin every-single-day of their lives and never feel an ounce of conviction and miss out on all sorts of blessings in the process.

This sin is… drumroll please…

 The sin of neglecting to pray or refusing to pray. 

Before you roll your eyes, blow me off and go read something else, hear me out. This one matters. A lot. This is because prayerlessness is one of those rare sins that is both a sin of omission and commission all at the same time. We all have opportunities to pray where we just choose not to. Prayer is also something Christians are commanded to do (Matthew 6:6-13, James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, 1st Thessalonians 5:17, Philippians 4:6, 1st Timothy 2:1). 

There aren’t very many sins that are a both a sin of omission and commission all at the same time. This makes not praying a huge deal.

I know all the objections (mostly because I have made all these arguments at some point). They are:

I’m busy.

I don’t know how.

Prayer is boring.  

My prayers don’t get answered so why bother?  

At different points in our lives all of the above objections are true. However, none change the fact that we are commanded to pray. The command still stands. I do not wish to heap condemnation on anyone. Rather, I want to encourage everyone everywhere to pray. There was a time when I was guilty of prayerlessness.  I would pray over my food or when life got scary but I lacked a consistent prayer life and it showed. I was spiritually powerless. Then my life went to hell and I learned to pray. Don’t be like me. Don’t be a slow learner. Be better. Be smarter. Get in on the blessings early.

Just start praying. Prayer isn’t a “go big or go home” undertaking. God just wants to hear from you. Start small. Make a practice of praying the Lord’s Prayer when you wake up in the morning (Matthew 6:9-13). Turn off the streaming services and podcasts and pray instead. Pray for your family while you drive to work. Pray for revival as you fold the laundry or wash the dishes or mow the lawn.  Pray for your church/pastor while you walk to get the mail. Pray for your spouse while you get ready in the morning. Just pray.

Trust me. 

The more you pray the more you will want to pray because prayer is addictive.

In a good way.

The Key’s to Spiritual “Greatness”-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us- Hebrews 12:1 ESV 

 I wrestle with a lot of questions. 

Most are one-hundred-percent irrelevant in the grand scheme of life and eternity.  Nonetheless, a few of them do have some validity. One of those is:  

What makes a person “great” from God’s perspective? 

What made men and women like Abraham, Deborah, Moses, David, Paul and Peter great people? 

Why is Abraham called a “friend of God” over and over again in Scripture (2nd Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23)? What was it about Moses that moved God to speak to him face-to-face “like a friend” (Exodus 33:11)? Why would Deborah be chosen as a Mother over Israel (Judges 4:4-5, Judges 5:7-8)? What made David a man after God’s own heart (1st Samuel 13:14)? What was it about Paul and Peter that qualified them to lead the most critical movement of all time (Romans 11:13, Acts 2:1-47)?

 These are the questions. 

I have spent countless hours pondering what exactly makes someone the kind of person God points at and says: “that’s my guy” or “that’s my girl”. I don’t have all the answers to this or any question (obviously) but I do have some ideas. Here are four of them:

They always got back on the horse (metaphorically speaking) immediately following a spiritual failure-

Not everyone on the above list has a spiritual failure recorded in Scripture. However, the ones who do, failed spectacularly.  Seriously. Abraham lied. A lot. Moses was a murderer with a foul temper. David was an adulterer, a liar AND a murderer. Paul was a blasphemer and a murderer. Peter denied the Lord after being on Jesus’ inside circle for three years. Nonetheless, not one of these folks let their massive failure define them or their relationship with God. Each one took their mess to God, asked for forgiveness, repented and got back to worshipping, working and praying ASAP. These folks didn’t hide from God. They didn’t fib about their failure or attempt to cover it up. They didn’t wallow. They didn’t allow sorrow over their failure to turn them into alcoholics or drug addicts. They didn’t quit church or synagogue because they screwed up. The spiritual greats all trusted God’s promises to forgive sins (Psalm 65:2-3, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 103:12, John 3:16-17, 1st John 1:9, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13-14) as fact and moved on. In the process each one learned from their failure and went on to live lives that brought God glory.  

They believed God- 

The spiritual greats all believed God, even when it made no sense. Most of the time it didn’t. They all believed anyway (Genesis 15:4-6, Romans 14:9, Hebrews 11:13-15). Their belief was more than simple head knowledge. Their trust in God and His plans always led to radical obedience and a steel-in-the-spine commitment to glorifying God, no matter the circumstances. God says the world is not worthy of such people (Hebrews 11:37-38).  

They were all willing to be second or third or fifth or whatever- 

There’s an intriguing little verse no one pays much attention to tucked into 3rd John. It says: I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority- 3rd John 1:10. Okay, so, this is a thought-provoking little verse for numerous reasons. First, what kind of prideful numbskull would refuse to acknowledge the spiritual authority of John the Apostle? Seriously. Who thinks like that? Diotrephes apparently. Second, it’s the apostle John calling someone out. John wasn’t known for that sort of thing. Paul called people out all the time (Acts 15:37-39, Galatians 2:11-14, Philemon, 2nd Timothy 4:10, 2nd Timothy 4:14). Peter could be counted on to throw some shade around from time-to-time (Acts 2:23, Acts 3:13-15, 2nd Peter 3:15-16). John doesn’t do that, he’s the nice one. Church history records him as the “apostle of love”. Nonetheless, Diotrephes desire to be “first” was so appalling to John and antithetical to the gospel that Mr.  Nice-guy felt compelled to call Diotrephes out publicly. John had some good reasons for doing so. Someone who loves to be first (in this context) wants to be the most important person in the room. These Christians want to be THE go-to person for spiritual teaching, moral advice and wisdom. People who love to be first have a stunning lack of humility that causes them to do anything including lying and slandering good people just to keep their position or standing in the church.  To the contrary, all the folks God calls great saw themselves as deeply loved by God but not as any more-or-less important than any other person. They were all willing to share the stage and give God ALL the glory. 

They took hardship on the chin (metaphorically speaking)- 

It’s simply a fact: hardship and difficulty affects people in one of two ways, it either makes them bitter or better (Hebrews 12:15). For God’s best and brightest it always makes them more like Jesus. God’s greats refuse to wallow in self-pity. Instead they choose to view suffering as an opportunity to grow and glorify God.  

God is merciful, kind and good. Seriously. God never places spiritual greatness out of the reach of anyone. All it takes is faith, a willingness to do life God’s way and a little humility.

God does the rest.