Yes, There is Good News! Part 4

The word we have been looking at is “righteousness”, which we saw was a relationship word and then ended the previous entry by realizing the only way to a relationship with God was through “redemption” and that this redemption can only come by way of the Son of God.  Ephesians 1:7 told us that we have “redemption through His blood”.  I must emphasis, at this point, that the only way we can find this redemption is by the blood of Jesus Christ.  In the book of Acts chapter 4:12 we read, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  And of course that name is Jesus Christ, I believe we understand this. 

But just in case there is some questions about this let me add a few thoughts.  I have heard some say that “we all serve the same God; some just call Him by differing names”.  This scripture in Acts 4:12 should dissolve that idea for there is only one name!!  Another comment that I have heard before is that Jesus was just a good teacher.  He was a prophet of God but so was Buddha or Vishnu or Mohamed.  This comment can only come from someone who has never read the bible.  Indeed they have never even read the gospels concerning Jesus. 

Logically, if one reads the gospels, there are only two conclusions that can be drawn from them about Jesus: first, He is who the gospels say he is; see Matthew 1:22, the virgin will be with child, will give birth and His name will be Emanuel, that is “God with us”, also, Matthew 16:15-17, Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and Matthew 17:5 the voice came out of the cloud, “this is My Son, whom I love…;  and the second conclusion would be that Jesus was just a man but must be quite insane.  For example, see Jesus’ conversation with Pilate just before His crucifixion in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world”.  See also in Luke 22:67; when speaking of Himself, He said, “the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God”.  If this is truth and not the words of a lunatic, then we must admit that there is no one who can ‘stand’ beside the one who is the true Savior of mankind!! 

We could go on but I think you get the point.  If one wants to reject the bible, they do so at their own peril.  But you cannot combine the sayings of the bible and especially the statements Jesus made about Himself with any other religious material.  Logic will not allow it.

So, what am I saying?  It is just Jesus alone.  There is no other who can bring us the “good news”. 

Yes, There is Good News! Part 3

We have been talking (alright so I’ve been writing and you’ve been reading) about the topic of “righteousness”.  It is a term that means “acting in an upright manner” and being “faithful to another’s expectations so as to form a good relationship”.

On the one hand, God is perfect in righteousness and is always faithful to fulfill whatever promises He has given to us (in other words, He is faithful to fulfill our expectations).  The problem here is, as I see it, can we be righteous so as to fulfill what God expects of us?

Perhaps we should look at a couple of scriptures?  In Matthew 5:20 Jesus says, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the scribes, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  But hey, we all know that the Pharisees and scribes were self-righteous and Jesus was always berating them for their hypocrisy (“woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites…. See Matthew 23:13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27 and 29).  So then, let us examine ourselves and repent of our own hypocrisy.  Perhaps in that respect we are better than the Pharisees.

But in the same chapter of Matthew in 5:48, Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”.  UH OH!!  Really?  Are we to be perfect as God is perfect?  I think I can speak for all of us in saying that this is way too tall an order.  What’s a believer to do? 

Well, herein lies our first true view of what we’ve been striving to see, this is our introduction to the “good news”!  Because there is no way for us to attain to this perfection as God is perfect.  There is no way for us to try and put any of our righteousness up against God’s righteousness.  We lose every time and we lose in a huge way.  In Isaiah 64:6 it says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”  Indeed, we have no way, in and of ourselves to stand in the presence of God.  We need a redeemer. 

What does it mean to redeem?  We may take our pop cans, for which we paid a nickel, back to the grocery store to have them redeemed.  The store will buy them back.  They redeem them.  So, redeemed means to buy back.  Our lives, wrapped up in sin are like the empty pop cans.  They are not worth anything until they are redeemed!  And where do we find redemption? 

Ephesians 1:7, “In Him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”  Can I get an Amen!!

Yes, There is Good News! Part 2

Some of you might say to me that you are a Christian, and have been for all the years of your life and yet you feel that there is an empty spot within.  Why is this?  Well I would have to ask you what it means to be a Christian.  Is it just a belief in God?  The obvious answer is, no!  In his letter, James says, “You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that - and shudder.”  (James 2:19)

But we are headed in the right direction.  Belief plays an integral part in being a Christian and so the bible says that “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)  Why should we believe God and what does this thing called righteousness mean?  I’m glad you asked!!

I must go back to my previous entry and quote myself in regards to the “good news” that we have been seeking, “God Himself, the creator of the entire universe, wanted to have me call Him “Father”. 

Growing up during the 50’s and 60’s I was blessed to have a wonderful father.  My dad loved me and let me know that he loved me.  Today, I might only hope that all of you reading this paper also had good fathers.  But I also know that in this “fallen world” there are some men who are not good role models and not good fathers.  Not everyone can claim to have had a loving father.  But wait a minute!  God Himself, the creator of the universe, wants to have us call Him Father.  He wants to have a relationship with us.  And that is good news!  Yes that is tremendous news!!   And that is why we should believe God and believe in God.

Do you have a good relationship with someone near to you?  How did you get that good relationship with them?  How do you maintain the good relationship with them?  I have had the opportunity to counsel many young couples for marriage.  The one thing I try to get across to those being counseled is:  any good thing worth having is worth working for.  And yes it takes two to do the work of building and maintaining a good marital relationship.

Jesus, as the Son of God, came preaching the good news of his Father’s kingdom.  And through His Son, our Father has done the very hard work of building that relationship.  How can we attain to that relationship?  We must be willing to accept it.  That’s obvious!  But is there more? 

Well yes there is!  Let’s consider that ‘hard work’ the Father has already done. 

Keeping the answer simple, it is written: “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son ….”  This Son of God died on the cross (a most brutal death) and so gave His life, through the pouring out of His blood, as a sacrifice for us who were yet sinners. This was the hard work!  Is there more?  I believe we should ponder that question but let’s start here. 

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  What is this thing called righteousness?

Perhaps this thirteen letter word is a little bewildering.  It sounds like something out of a religious lexicon.  Yes, when we talk too much about thirteen letter religious words the eyes have a tendency to glaze over and the mind starts to drift.  I do know the feeling!  But this word is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as, “acting in an upright manner, doing what is right”.  And if we go to a lexicon for a biblical definition we find that the word has relational context; that is, “two parties that are faithful to each other’s expectations so as to form a good relationship”.  The two parties here being; you (on the one hand) and your heavenly Father.

The questions then that might be asked are, “what do you expect of God?”  And, perhaps more importantly, “what does God expect of you?”  Well, that is assuming that you want a relationship with God.  But if you have been reading this article from the beginning, then I guess you must have an interest!!!  So let’s explore the answers.

I would have a difficult time listing the many things that one might want, need or expect from God: air, water, food, health, protection, love, joy, peace, …. etc.  You get the point.  But for brevities sake let’s just say we might expect protection and provision leading to eternal life.  But can we dare say that we expect something from an almighty God?  After all, we are but “small peanuts” in this incredibly huge universe. 

Interestingly enough, these are the things that God promises us if we will fulfill our part of this righteous relationship we were talking about.  God’s righteousness is foundational.  So how do we go about establishing our faithfulness to God’s expectations?  What is it that He expects of us?

I have heard some people say that they go to church each week.  They sing, listen to a sermon and toss a few dollars in the basket – is that what God expects of us?  Some people get involved in food banks and helping the poor.  Some donate hard earned money to missionaries in other countries.  Some go to college for many years and earn Doctor of Divinity.  Some just lead a humble life, work hard and help others when they can.  These are all good things but is it what God expects of us?

Well maybe we should ponder these ideas in our next installment. 

Yes, There is Good News! Part 1

There are many things in the world today that are causes for distress.  I must ask, my friends, what’s been on your mind?  Sometimes the news is enough to get you down.  Mostly these days the news networks are filled with the latest inane things our politicians have been saying.  And if that’s not enough, we are inundated with talk of the crazy weather patterns across our country, or the latest on Syria or ISIS, or what China is doing to flex its military muscle or Russia or North Korea or …..

Whoa, Bill!!!  Wait just a minute - stop with the bad and worrisome things before we “stick our heads in the sand just a little bit”.  The title of this series of articles is, “Yes, There is Good News”; and so where do we start?  How about we start with the words themselves, “good news”?  I know that all of us have received via the mail, the phone, a text, or a personal message that lifted us up, made us feel good, gave us comfort.  Even while typing that last sentence, my mind traveled back in time to remember the wonderful feeling of receiving good news.

I believe all of us are familiar with the word, “gospel”.  And perhaps most of you know that the definition of that word is, “good news” or more literally, “good message”?  Would you all bear with me as in the near future we explore this word in all of its ramifications and perhaps in ways we have not looked at it before?  Oh my, we do have a good message to share and may I begin with the first words of Mark, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Somehow in the back of my mind I wonder if some of you might cringe at the thought of looking into this topic.  I know that I would have tossed it aside when I was in my early twenties.  That was the last thing I might have been interested in.  Life was ripe for the picking and I wanted some of this world’s fruit.

But by my late twenties, with God’s help, my taste buds began to change and to mature.  I realized that this world’s fruit was tasteless and quite bland.  Let me try and explain by example:  Have you ever been skiing?  The first time I tried skiing it was in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  I knew several of the employees at one slope and received a nice discount on rentals and a lift ticket.  But what’s a novice to do??

I was too poor (or perhaps too cheap) to afford lessons so I headed to the “bunny slope”.  Up the “T-bar” and down the gentle slope without too much trouble, watching and learning from others as I went.  It must have been around the tenth or twelfth time down this beginners slope when I started to get bored.  I needed more excitement.  I had to try the excitement of a bigger slope.

I could go on with this story but I have arrived at the appropriate words, “more excitement”.  This valuable lesson on the slopes of New Hampshire was my first glimpse in seeing that we humans are never really satisfied with any level of activity we might pursue.  And so we long for “bigger, higher, faster, more terrifying excitement”.  Has anyone noticed the word “extreme” attached to activities such as snowboarding, skydiving, sports, etc?

So, what’s the point?  We keep pushing our desires in hopes of finding satisfaction in our lives.  And perhaps, along with me, you have noticed that this worlds “empty glory” just does not satisfy for long.

So let me back up a couple of paragraphs: it was in those late twenties when I began to understand that I had been missing out on having the most exciting relationship anyone could ever have.  God Himself, the creator of the entire universe, wanted to have me call Him “Father”.  This was the “good fruit” that my taste buds were longing for.  This was the “hole” in my life that needed to be filled.  This was the “good news” that would allow me, for the most part, to look right through the smoke and fog of bad news that seems to pervade our world today.

Let me attempt to explain………I believe that God is the creator of all things. I believe that when He said, “Let us create man in our image and in our likeness” He truly had that aim in mind.  But our first parents, Adam and Eve, believed the lie of Satan and ate of the wrong fruit and so they were banished from the Garden of Eden and not allowed to eat from the Tree of Life.  And so something was missing from this created man and woman.  This missing ingredient left an empty spot, a hole if you will, in what the Apostle Paul would later call “the inner man”.  Perhaps today we could call it the “inner psychological make up of man”.  Yes we do have a hole that we need to fill.

This is why the artist paints another picture, the poet writes another poem, the astronomer wants to understand the newly discovered galaxy, and the botanist a new plant species and so on and so on … It is the “thing” that drives us to go further.  What is it that you want?

Do you desire to see your team win the Super Bowl next year?  The next time you take your clubs to the golf course do you want to shoot a better score?  Perhaps there is something out there that might begin to fill that hole.  The fruit of this world is tempting, always tempting.  Perhaps we desire a better job, more pay, newer car or a bigger house.  The wisest of all men, Solomon, said this, in his book of Ecclesiastes, “All things are wearisome, more than man can say.  The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.” (Eccl. 1:8)  Somehow we never have enough.  As I drive my school bus through the countryside each morning, I cannot tell you how many beautiful sunrises I have witnessed and praised God because of them. (Just a small perk from bus driving!)

Indeed, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with any of these things that we do.  We all have dreams and want better things for ourselves and our loved ones.  But, again, when our first parents forsook the tree of life they left a “hole” deep inside that begs to be filled.  And all the activities we engage ourselves in cannot – in the end – fill that hole.  Deep inside we know that there is something we are missing. 

Adam and Eve missed out on something called “the fruit from the tree of life” and hence, a hole was created.  And that is just where the proverbial rubber meets the road!  The “Good News” is that this fruit is available to us today.  And Oh my is it tasty, sweet and filling.  God is good!

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE? PART 4

I must share with you that since I have started looking into this topic; God has shown me again and again how I fail to have in mind the things of God.  In my dealings with co-workers, brethren, family and even the kids on my school bus, God has shown me the deviousness of my wanting to have my way!  It is not that I must give way to the will of those around me – for that would also be idolatry – but the will of God is my prime directive.

In the previous installment we looked at a curious example of idolatry found in Matthew 16:21-25.  Let’s consider another – perhaps unusual – example of idolatry found in the bible.  This one is found in 2 Samuel 6:6.  King David wants to move the ark of God and Uzzah has the task of guiding the cart that is hauling the ark.  The oxen stumble, Uzzah reaches out to steady the ark and he meets with death.  Is he guilty of idolatry in this action?  Uzzah had the things of man and not the things of God in mind.  His work met with death.  I’m going to go with idolatry.  But let’s not forget David.  In 1 Chron. 13 we read that David conferred with “his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds” – uh oh!  He did not consult the word of God for this endeavor which commanded that only the Levites may carry the ark of God.  This is a good example of the scripture, “There is a way which seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.”  There is here a spirit of idolatry that can influence our decisions.  These examples have nothing to do with idols of stone and wood but with flesh.  It is a spirit of idolatry that resides within the human nature.

And so let us look at David’s act with Bathsheba.  Was it his sin with this woman or his sin with her husband that might be considered idolatry?  It was both.  Remember, we have spoken of the fact that the idol is “eliyl”, it is nothing.  David did not idolize Bathsheba or Uriah the Hittite.  His idol was his own will; his ego and vanity. 

We could go on and discuss Saul and his failure to obey God’s command to destroy the Amalekites and all their livestock.  He did not have the things of God in his heart.  All of these examples have one thing in common – they failed to have that perfect love for God in their heart, their strength and their life.  These examples show forth a love of the world that John tells us to avoid in 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Many times a brother or sister in Christ will refer to a certain scripture in Proverbs as a hallmark for their life.  Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in YHVH with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  Note the emphasis on the word “all”. 

Trust in YHVH with all your heart (Prov. 3:5); love YHVH with all your heart (Deut. 6:5); serve YHVH with all your heart (Deut. 10:12); seek YHVH with all your heart (Deut. 4:29) – throw in the fact that you should do this with all your strength and all your life and you have a recipe for avoiding idolatry.

Simply put, this life is not about us.  It is wholly and totally about the God we serve.  It’s funny, isn’t it?  We are toward the end of a four part article and I just stated the gist of it in two short sentences.  If we find ourselves with a spirit of idolatry, we cannot love.  We cannot love God and we cannot love our neighbor, pure and simple!  And indeed, it is not always easy to see.  A brother or sister may be in some kind of trouble and we rush in to help.  Was God testing this person in some way and we just overstepped our bounds because we decided to help?  I’m sure that Uzzah felt that he was just doing a good deed in steading the ark – his work was a dead work. 

So, perhaps you’ve been wondering, “Is this series of articles about the opposite of love, as the title suggests; or is it about renewing your mind so as to have the mind of Christ, as the start of this article seemed to indicate, or is it about keeping ourselves from idols, as 1 John 5:21 warns us?”  And the answer is …. YES!!

Allow me to quote Paul in his letter to the Romans (Ah, the very letter where we began this study).  Romans 8:5-8 says, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the flesh; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on the Spirit.  The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace; the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

If we have our minds set on the things of the flesh, we cannot love God.  If we have our minds set on the things of the flesh, we are not renewing our minds.  If we have our minds set on the things of the flesh, we are not keeping ourselves from idols.

Paul goes on to encourage the Roman church in verse 9, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you ….”  Oh my, you might as well read the entirety of this chapter.  It all fits here.

I must assume that all of you who are reading this are striving to have your minds set on the Spirit and not on the flesh.  But sometimes the “old man” gets in the way.  After all, we know how some things should turn out for the best.  We should have our own way.  The Boss, the neighbor, our relative, our spouse, etc.; they just do not know how it should work and we need to have our opinion served.  And maybe we are right; but to what cost? 

“Continue to work out your salvation within fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to desire and to work according to His purpose.  Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (Phil. 2:12-15)

So, perhaps you have read this far and you are wondering, “Where do I go from here?”  Simply put; down on your knees.  How should you conduct your life with this info in mind?  I don’t know, but God does!  Ask Him to show you.  And when He places a contrary spirit in your path, in your life – do not plead for deliverance, pray for insight.  Let Him lead and direct your path.  “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.” 

P.S.  You might just begin with Psalm 115.  May God bless you with insight!

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE? PART 3

Idolatry is a huge subject in the word of God.  So let us enter in (not into idolatry, but to the study of the topic!).

We have already established the fact that the little book of 1 John uses the word agape, in the noun and verb forms, a disproportionate amount of times when compared with the rest of the New Testament.  And so my observation here is that John closes this letter, which is devoted to love, with a very cryptic statement, “My dear children, keep your selves from idols”.  (Oh, you did not think this closing statement was cryptic?  Cryptic:  “Hidden, mysterious or baffling.”)  I believe John ended with this statement in order to get us to think.  So what do YOU think?  Let’s reflect upon this.  The main consideration of this letter is embodied in the word “love” and so therefore we are to keep ourselves from idols.  These two words, love and idolatry, travel in opposite directions.

In this same vein, Paul tells us in 1 Cor.10:14, “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry”.  In other words, run from it!

Let’s take a moment here to see where we began so that we can continue in a straight line.  We began with Romans 12, where we are urged to offer ourselves as living sacrifices; we are to not conform to this world; we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds; we should understand our gifts (graces) given from God; and our love must be genuine.  Will love transform your mind or will idolatry?

I guess if we are to flee from idolatry, then in what direction should we flee?  In the direction of God!!  In other words, seek His face.  We are told in scripture that our love for God is to be perfect; in other words we are to love Him with all of our heart, strength and life.  This is a tall task but we need to pay attention to how we are progressing.  This type of love for God is not attained in an instant.  It is learned over the course of our relationship with Him; it happens over many years.  In fact, (and I might be mistaken, but), I believe we may never accomplish this perfect love until we see Him face to face!  For when the weight of His glory and His holiness are fully revealed to us, what shall we say, but – “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”  (Isaiah 6:3) 

In the meantime, what shall we do?  “Keep ourselves from idolatry.”  Let us consider a few thoughts about this vast subject.

So what, intrinsically, is idolatry?  In one sense it is nothing.  One word used for “idol” in Hebrew is #457 “eliyl” and it literally means “nothing” and can be thought of as vanity.  It is used for and translated “idol” in almost every case.  The first use of this word is in Lev. 19:4, “Do not turn unto “nothing” (idols) or make gods of cast metal for yourselves.”  Some versions of the bible use the word “vanity” to translate the word eliyl.  This definition is helpful because I would suggest that the concept of idolatry has nothing to do with statues of stone and blocks of wood.  But it has everything to so with the mind and heart of the idolater.  Today, the notion of having carved images, from the view point of our tradition in Christianity, seems far-fetched.  But as one author stated, we will always try to “carve upon” those around us when we desire to influence them toward our opinions and motives.  We may go to extreme lengths to coerce someone to think or do as we want without regard to God’s will. 

Case in point and an unusual example of idolatry may be found in Matthew 16:21-25.  In verse 13 of this chapter, Jesus sets up this interesting scenario.  He first asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  They answered; John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or another of the prophets.  He then asks, “But what about you?  Who do you say I am?”

At this point they may not repeat this litany of answers.  Jesus already drew out of them what everyone else said – they now had to think for themselves and be quite honest with their answer.  We know the story; Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Peter answered correctly and received a “pat on the back” from Jesus. He said, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah”.  But then it says that Jesus began to explain that He must suffer many things, He would be killed and would be raised the third day.  It is at this point that Peter slips from his blessed state (verse 17) in the eyes of his Lord and falls into idolatry.  Verse 22:  “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  ‘Mercy upon you, Lord; for this shall never happen to you!’  Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get behind me adversary!  You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’”

First of all, knowing what you know about our Savior, the Messiah, could you honestly rebuke Him?  Peter had just called Him the Messiah, the Son of the living God and yet he rebuked Jesus!  We have here a very good definition of idolatry, “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”  Jesus goes on to say, “If anyone would follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

I will leave this lesson of Matthew 16 speak for itself at this time.  But I must ask the question; do you have in mind the things of God in everything you do and in everything you say?

Don’t go away folks, there’s still more to come!!

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE? PART 2

Are you a living sacrifice?  Are you renewing your mind?  And are these two concepts related?  In Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to do one thing (offer ourselves) and to do it in view of one other thing.  “Urge” is a word that means “to beseech” and has the connotation of inviting to one’s side.  Paul is beseeching us to walk beside him in this matter.  And he wants us to do this “in view of God’s mercy”.  Has he just shown us something of God’s mercy?  Well, yes!  In chapter 11:32 we read, “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all.”  But it can be argued that chapters 9, 10 and 11 are an inset and so chapter 12 can follow chapter 8.  OK …., “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  God’s mercy is found at the end of chapter 8!!

And perhaps Paul here is talking about the entire letter; chapters 1 – 11.  In any event, one thing we know for sure; God is merciful!!  Would you agree?  God is merciful.  Paul then urges us to do something; “present your bodies as living sacrifices”.  Earlier in this letter he says that we have been baptized into the death of Messiah.  Shortly thereafter he tells us to reckon ourselves as dead (Rom. 6:4 & 11).  And what was a sacrifice to be?  Over and over in the Torah we see that it was to be “without blemish”.  Paul tells us our living sacrifices are to be “holy and well pleasing to God”.  And then we read that this is our “rational act of worship”.  Yes, the word for “rational” is the Greek word “logicos” and we get the English word logical, thus rational, from that.

I’d like to have my worship of God to be logical and rational wouldn’t you?  And when we consider God and His ways, shouldn’t we make sure we are not conforming to the pattern of this age but that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds? 

OK, so we have made our way full circle to the start of Part 1 of this discussion, but what does all this have to do with the title, “What is the Opposite of Love”?  I’m glad you asked! 

Let us first take a look at love.  It has been said that the most powerful force in the universe is love.  I suppose that one might debate this point.  But there are two scriptures in 1 John 4:8 &16 that state, “God is love”.  And in my mind this would shift the balance of any debate concerning the power of love.

First a few facts about the word love:  I believe we are all familiar with the Greek word “agape”, sometimes labeled as the highest form of love.  The word “agape” is a noun and the related word, “agapeo” is the verb form.  Together these two words are used in the New Testament some 258 times.  In the five chapters of 1 John they are found 46 times and if we add to that John’s use of the words in his gospel we can add 47, plus the other two letters of John and the book of Revelation adds another 12 uses.  So, of the 258 uses of these words, 105 (or about 40%) are found in John’s writings.  May we conclude he placed much emphasis upon these words and leaned heavily upon them to get his message across?

We have already looked at Romans 13:8-10 which ends up letting us know that “Love is the fulfillment of the law.”  Now that’s some power!

1 John 4:7-21; this whole passage needs to enter into our discussion here.  I urge you to read it in its entirety.  I will refer to parts of it.  “Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”  Might we see the renewing of our minds beginning to take place with the implementation of this directive? 

“Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”  Do we understand that this statement is a word of fact?  This isn’t a “maybe” or a “kind of” statement.  John’s is a factual statement and implies the question, “Do you know God?”

John goes on to tell us that God’s love is manifest through His Son and that His love came a long time before our love.  And so, “God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”  Are we beginning to start to see an answer to our title question?  Let’s go a little further here:  “In this way, love is made perfect among us (why?), so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like Him.”

Let’s go back in 1 John to see the antithesis of this love for God.  In chapter 2:15 we read, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  Please note that the word for “love” here is “agape” – so we see that John has not wandered from his use of this particular word.  Going on in verse 16 we read, “for everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the vanity (or pride) of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Some time ago, I asked a gathering of God’s children, what is the opposite of love?  I basically received four answers: 1)hate – this word would probably appear in a dictionary as an antonym or in other words “an opposite” for obvious reasons; 2)apathy – this is an interesting thought because as someone said, both love and hate are emotions and show forth that an individual is at least alive.  Apathy on the other hand shows a lack of human interest and fits in with Jesus statement in Rev. 3:16, “Because you are neither hot nor cold, but are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth.” A person who is hateful may be persuaded to love.  But a person who is apathetic has no hope; 3) pride or egotism – perhaps this would also be an obvious answer because of our venture into 1 John 2:15-16, especially the phrase, “the pride of life”; 4) fear – on this answer let me quote from 1 John 1:18, “Perfect love casts out fear”.  These four answers are very good and might cause us to end our discussion here.  But I find that there is, possibly, a fifth antonym of the word love and it lies in the idea of “idolatry”. 

Let us look at this idea further next time.

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE? PART 1

Some time ago I was given an article on neuro-plasticity and how science has determined that we, humans, can change the way we think and thereby act.  I remember putting this together with Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.  The renewing of our minds is possible – but how do we go about it?  Ah!  Paul gives us the answer in Philippians 4:8 as he gives us eight concepts to think upon. 

At that time I developed this idea into a message and delivered it at several venues, i.e. church services and festivals.  I felt that this understanding was given to me by the hand of God.  And indeed it was well received with ensuing discussion.

More recently within our local congregation I began looking into this same subject with a series of bible studies, keeping in mind the thought that Paul did not write this admonition to the church in Rome and then expect them to send a delegation to Philippi so as to read their letter and find out how to renew their minds.  Paul must have given the Romans the answer within their letter.  And it must have been located somewhat shortly after this admonition in Romans 12:2.  Let’s take a look at this possibility.

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and well pleasing to God – this is your rational act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and discern what God’s will is – His good, acceptable and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:1-2)

Does this process of renewal have anything to do with our “offering our bodies as living sacrifices”?  The short and obvious answer is, yes!  For what shall we say, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit … you are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)  Whatever God requires of us is His right; for when we entered into covenant with Him, we gave our lives over to Him. 

But it has been my experience that being a “living sacrifice” to Him is not an easy concept to grasp, never mind an easy activity to put into practice each and every day.  Paul elsewhere says, “I die daily”.  Here he proclaims that he means what he says and puts it into practice.  We must understand that Paul either had renewed his mind or was well along the way to doing so.

OK!  Let’s set this daily “living sacrifice” aside for the moment (we shall come back to it) and move on to some of the other things Paul tells us to do in Romans 12.

Verse 3, “For by the grace given me I say to everyone of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Oh my!  It is such a human, fleshly and “old manish” thing to do, to consider oneself better than others.  We seem to always want to put ourselves first.  Knowing this, Paul goes so far as to reiterate it in verse 10, “Honor one another above yourselves”.  And then again in verse 16, Paul says “… Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.”  Do you want to renew your mind?  This is a good place to start!

At this point Paul starts talking about the body with many members, each having a different function.  He says, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts according to the grace given us.” (Verses 4-6)  The word translated “gifts” here would better be translated as “graces”.  It is the Greek word, “charisma”.  It is the same word Peter uses in 1Peter 4:10, “Each should use whatever grace he has received to serve others …”  The word “grace” is indeed a gift but the nuance is that one receives it without any merit of his own.  And the other concept here is that “each” of us has received a grace/gift.  In other words, when God calls His children, He gives each one a grace/gift, or it may be that He takes a look at us, sees what we have been born into and thereby raised with the aptitude of a certain personality and so calls us accordingly – we all must then take a look at Paul’s list of graces and see just what God has given to us or seen in us.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are striving to understand how we might renew our minds.  Understanding these gifts and where we fit into them will play a part of our renewal!

Let me briefly say that these graces or gifts listed here in Romans 12, are sometimes called motivational gifts as opposed to the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 (manifestation gifts) and Ephesians 4 (ministry gifts).  If you are interested in learning more about this, please see the book by Don and Katie Fortune entitled “Discover Your God Given Gifts”.  Don and Katie explain that we all have motivational gifts and they help us discover which gift is tops in our individual personalities and what other gifts we may have that complement this top gift.

For our purposes here, knowing which is our dominant gift, (prophesy, service, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading and compassion) will lead us to the greatest gift; which we all know and understand is love.  The very next thing Paul tells us here in verse 9 is that “love must be sincere”.  Our love must be honest, genuine and without pretense.  We must consider these graces, these gifts from God and we must pursue them.  But we must do so in love.  We must apply them with love.  We must prophesy in love, we must serve in love, we must teach in love, etc.  “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.  … Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)

Some time ago an individual confessed to me that they did not feel they had a love for their brothers and sisters in the church.  After some conversation and consideration it became obvious that this person, whose “top tier” gifts were leadership and service, loved others through these gifts.  They were able to organize church services.  They made sure there was a place in which to worship at and that the room was clean and ready.  Their observation was that they didn’t love like those who were compassionate or giving.  But the reality here is that we must learn to love within the gift (or grace) that God has endowed us with.