Oh, Hell!

I am often saddened by Christians who are bent on preaching about "hell" as a method of bringing people into the "kingdom" or putting enough fear in their hearts and minds to "keep them there." There is NO "good news" in it. Jesus did speak of hell often, but until you thoughtfully consider the PEOPLE he was speaking to and the MOTIVE behind it... you will NEVER grasp the WHY of his references to this topic. Jesus was SENT, first and foremost, as the Messiah to the Jewish people to FULFILL the Law's requirements and free them from the condemnation of the covenant it established between them and God. While many in his day were well aware of the law and it's demands, they were also rather self-assured that their ability to KEEP the whole of the law was "do-able." Jesus made it clear that not committing the sins listed IN the law was insufficient in God's eyes for righteousness... because the HEART of mankind was what God could see and judge that we often can't see in ourselves, much less the hearts of others. The law offered only the mirror for the sins of man, and the Jews were chosen to represent that truth to the world. Jesus spoke much of "hell" to express the foolishness of believing that any man had the capacity and sufficiency to stand under the laws PROOF of our sinfulness, and therefore clearly established the fact that condemnation was the ONLY end for our USING the law as a means for righteousness. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The talk of hell was not meant as a threat, but as a way to enlighten those with eyes to see and ears to hear that our insufficiency should be glaring and DRIVE us toward the loving MERCY of God, which is the reason and purpose of his being given to the world... To maintain confidence in their own ability to uphold the law would cause them to miss the GREATEST gift of provision that God sent for their own demise according to the laws decrees. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. Our confidence is in God's love and mercy and grace... not our ability to walk uprightly in hopes that we will be eternally rewarded for our own works. Christians... hell is not our home... the Holy Spirit IN YOU is the down payment that everything God has promised AND PAID FOR by the blood of the Messiah, will be faithfully completed. Believe it!

Drink deeply.

Wine Anyone?

Through the years, I have always been taught that Christ's sacrifice was given to quench the wrath of an angry God for all the sinfulness of mankind. Seemed sound and reasonable in that context alone without scratching much deeper under the surface. But, once I began to scratch, I couldn't help but think there is more, much more to consider. Like this... who made the FIRST sacrifice on behalf of Adam and Eve? They didn't. God did. Was it to appease HIS anger and wrath? Maybe, maybe not. It might have appeared to them that He was mad. Especially given the way we perceive our reality through the lens of a guilty conscience.
It makes sense to me that, since the guilty couple had already tried miserably to appease their conscience, or guilty soul, for the blatant sin they committed by sewing fig leaves together to "cover their nakedness" God took measures and did something that would become an ongoing reminder (type-shadow) that would ASSURE their guilty souls, and future generations, that the relationship had not been fully severed. Even though death was brought into the human picture by their sin, and would not be altered spiritually until Christ's provision could make fallen humanity "alive" again.
Jewish priesthood provided the same thing. A type and fore-shadowing only. The New Testament concurs that the blood of animals did NOT and does NOT pacify God or "settle the score" where human sinfulness/guilt is concerned. YET... Israel's priesthood continued to offer these emblems for whose sake? God's? Maybe, maybe not. For THEIR OWN CONSCIENCE? Quite possibly. EVEN IF THEY BELIEVED it was to appease God's wrath, the sacrifices ultimately were MORE suited to appease the guilt of their own souls from year to year, providing the assurance that God had not left or forsaken his people. Consider the day and culture and those surrounding Israel in its written history. Pagan. Heathen. Poly-theistic. Barbaric. Brutal spiritual darkness. Blood sacrifice was the norm... for EVERYONE. Cattle, goats, sheep, doves, even babies were laid upon fiery altars when  guilty souls were fear stricken, believing they had no other recourse with an ANGRY GOD. For the course of their sacrificing upon altars, in tents and Temples, Israel was looking to the future... Messiah... Jesus. Israel should have been able to READ EVERY SIGN that POINTED to what HE SACRIFICIALLY OFFERED WILLINGLY... BECAUSE OF LOVE... FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM. Not to appease the anger of a relentless deity, but to provide ONCE AND FOR ALL THE REALITY, not mere powerless symbolism as in Old Testament sacrifices, but what SHOULD be the crushing blow to all human superstition, dread and fear. Yes, God has done for us what we could never have done for ourselves, and thereby, through accepting this provision, and believing its promise, efficiently clears our guilty conscience by understanding the offering of Himself on our behalf, ending the need of fallen, inadequate, broken human behavior to DO SOMETHING SACRIFICIAL TO APPEASE AN ANGRY GOD.
Now consider this. For the same reason... why do we celebrate communion and "drink the wine"? I know Jesus told us to do this in remembrance of him. But to what end? What purpose? Does it not provide the same REMINDER for our souls? How about when standing GUILTY of an offense before a Holy God? When we partake of the wine and allow our bodies to become infused with the symbolic liquid that penetrates and nourishes our being on a cellular level, how do we perceive what is taking place? When we drink... do we remember that HE has lovingly tended to the business at hand of providing a Lamb, whose shed blood offered on our behalf is an eternal banner that our relational position with Himself is on an unshakeable foundation? Does it prevent our guilty soul's fear from NOT TRUSTING the GRACE that made this gift of righteousness available by faith alone? Does it make us certain that HIS righteousness is infused to the core of our being? That no other sacrifice is now acceptable? God's love has become the solution for our greatest problem, the satisfaction for our greatest hunger, and the provision for our greatest need... and our guilty souls are purged. "For God so loved the world, that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Wine anyone?

Drink deeply.

Finding Approval: Like a Mother with a Son in Prison

Coming to a place of actually believing that God loves us is difficult. Many will say they believe it, but their conversation will betray what they claim to believe if you listen closely for a matter of minutes. There is always a catch, a stammering, a "but" or "however" injected somewhere, which promotes the notion that there is always a need for change or improvement before we can seriously find a resting place in the concept of God's love toward us. It essentially causes us to believe that "God loves us, but doesn't approve of us." This has been a problem all of my life. Most of us live with this attitude and are willing to allow that mindset to be the guiding force of our relationship with him. Kind of like the notion that a mother will always grievingly love her misguided son who is serving a life sentence in prison. God is the mother and we are the kid in the big house. He loves us, but we have to become something different and pay our dues before he will bestow approval. It just seems like common sense in most religious perceptions.

Arriving at the TRUTH that he APPROVES of us is altogether different than coming to the realization about his love, and where most have the greater difficulty, causing us to jump through never-ending hoops of religious self-denial, self-loathing and castigating behaviors. None of which promote the peace that simple faith in his unchanging love affords. So, when you go to bed, turn off the light, and lay in the darkness with nothing but your innermost thoughts, THAT is the person God knows perfectly. God is not in a different room or building curiously awaiting your return to see what you've been up to. God knows the person that you allow NO ONE ELSE to discover. You may even try to live in denial of who you really are because the truth doesn't fit the expectations and definitions of what meets your own standards for public display. That is why we have trouble with this notion of God's favor... his grace... his love... his approval. IF others knew what we know about our hidden selves, our darkest desires, our selfish ambitions and codependent needs, you know, the "real" us, they would unanimously agree on our unworthiness to meet the requirements of God's approval. Yet he gives it anyway.

He can do this because the covenant we possess is not based on sin and punishment as in the Mosaic covenant of the Law. The Law says, "If you will do THIS.. then I will do THAT..." For this reason, according to the the book of Hebrews, God found fault with this system, because people cannot keep their end of the bargain. Heb. 8:7 "For if that first covenant had been without defect, there would have been no room for another one or an atempt to institute another one." His love for us is so great that a new and better covenant was developed and ratified, setting aside the former one, so that God's love, favor and approval could be poured out richly upon us by faith in his promise, Heb. 8:12 "I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more." 

God has given his love, favor and approval. There is no need to fear. We are NOT likened to the son in prison who is somehow still loved by a poor grieving mother. This love and approval is real. It is eternal and unchanging. So much so that his own life within supplies us with the very things we need to make it in this world. He works within to will and do his own good pleasure. Take a breath, exhale and breathe again... This is not "to good to be true" as most religious traditions would have you believe. There are no catches, hitches, exceptions, "buts or howevers" attached. Can you allow yourself to embrace it? Can you let yourself be set free in the truth of this powerful reality? Can you live in the glorious lifestyle of acceptance that allows others to be released from religious bondage as well? It's time to see God in the light of his own definition of love. (1Cor. 13) And it's time to believe he gave himself that definition for our benefit. Believe it, trust it, depend upon it, fall upon it, and know there are no means of adding something by your own self-effort to make God's love more stable, secure, sufficient or trustworthy. It's a gift for the taking. So why not make it yours?

Drink deeply...

Like Him or Not...

I have to admit that when initially coming to faith in Christ, the kind of information overload that can be dumped upon the minds of serious followers is massive. And it continues for years and years to come. One can see the repeated trends in Christian teachings come full circle and take on new names, while the basic content remains the same. I've seen much of this throughout the course of my forty years as a Christian. Basic doctrines like justification by grace through faith, righteousness, resurrection of the dead, etc. are foundational and should be learned soon after conversion. There are, however, teachings that some consider foundational that continue to circulate throughout the body of Christ that are based in truth, but can lead to error by causing people to take their eyes off of more important matters that are valuable to maintain. I would like to address one of these doctrines and weigh in on its values and pitfalls. That doctrine is called "Identification." The Apostle Paul was probably the most profound writer on this topic and his revelation on this issue is direct and powerful, helping believers understand the position we have all been given to share in our relationship to God in Christ. His teaching of all that Christ accomplished on our behalf is more than insightful, truly amazing and should fill us with awe, inspiration, wonder and joy till the day we lay down this body and into step into our eternal reward. Paul's insights give us clarity regarding matters of being saved by faith and not by works of the Law, being buried with Christ through baptism and thereby clothed in Christ and freed from sin's power, breaking barriers of former identities such as Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free. He declares that through faith in Christ we are now Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise, not slaves, but beloved children. He states that Christ has made us free from the drudgery of obligations to religious laws, ceremonies, rules, regulations and shallow observances. We learn that in God's perspective we have (in Christ) also been crucified, buried and resurrected to new life where we now live in heavenly places, hid with Christ in God. From the writer of the book of Hebrews we learn that "...by the same sacrifice offered for our sins (which shall avail for all time) Christ has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy." (Amplified) What powerful position of life and understanding we have inherited through this amazing love of God in Christ. It is no wonder that we can become overwhelmed by the content. We are truly new creatures and have been showered with more than forgiveness... which would have been enough. These realities are so foreign to our former view of life that, when considered, it can almost short-circuit our brain's capacity to grasp what it all means. This is exactly the problem I wish to address. In the Old Testament we are told in Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?" By our own human nature, we are NOT given to the things that God desires or requires of us. Even when we come into the glorious new nature of Christ in us. Therefore we must learn to "identify" with what God has done within each of us. Yet never at the exclusion of our humanity. The teachings of "Identification" appear to call for us to abandon ourselves to the more glorious and higher truth of who we are in Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17 "When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!" What Christ follower would read such a profound verse and not want to gain greater understanding of what it means? Therefore we embrace such ideas "hook, line and sinker" (as they say in the Midwest) and without looking back, we run forward with such profound teaching unaware of HOW or WHY we take hold to begin with. Considering some of the issues that many of us deal with, when facing the problems of this world we live in, who wouldn't want to exchange this mundane life for something radically polar in substance and outcome? At a glance it appears easy, and who would argue it being honorable? However, what often happens is that, after embracing the "truth" we discover in this exchanged life, we lose touch with the humanity we continue to abide in, as well as the struggles others face by being simply human. The charge upon us to strive for such noble ideals as "perfection, holiness, victory, sanctification, purity, etc." all truly have a place in our heart and lives, but very possibly in a different light or dimension than we are often taught how to reach for. There is even something within us that will take on this new self at the expense of leaving others behind. Not as in leaving behind those whose lives and habits have held destructive power over our own, but even those within the fold that are not yet fully understanding of their relationship to this new position in Christ. We are very much capable of a desire to appropriate all these good things to the degree that those around us looking on become condemned for not holding the same standard of methods and mannerisms that we have embraced in this new light of living in "victory, sinlessness, holiness, purity, sanctification, etc." The thrill of rising above that which makes us human becomes so over-powering of everything else in life that even our conversation becomes clouded to others as we enlarge our vocabulary of "Christian-ese" and speak in terms that even many Christians don't fully comprehend. As we continue to live with the desire to clothe ourselves literally in these truths of a "new reality," an inward anxiety also begins to grow exponentially through the fear that we might not live up to the expectations of such lofty ideals in God's eyes, those who lead us, and even ourselves. This is why it can be spiritually destructive and create the opposite of what was set as the initial goal. It becomes a work, an obsession, a means of gaining God's and others attention. More often than not, it takes on a presumption that God can be confined to an easy five or six step method for accomplishing things we deem necessary or important. This is a HUMAN error, not one based on living according to TRUTH by faith. From my forty plus years of living in various denominational environments, I have come to conclude that all the attempts to live "above sin, victoriously, perfect, holy, sanctified and identified" have proven to be a breeding ground for pride, self-deception, self-righteousness, arrogance, condescension, envy, strife and many other evil workings. It's not that the doctrines are wrong, but the motives we often use to embrace such truth is not grounded in anything higher than our human desire to be better than others. And unfortunately, that is often the underlying motive of those teaching it to others. The religious world is competitive and some people in it want an "edge" that will give them some pious credibility of superiority. I've seen people so filled with the need to be superior that any kind of mask they could use to deceive others from the truth about who they really are was fair game. Sadly, RELIGIOUS circles promote this kind of activity and uphold the necessity for such pretentious behavior to thrive in their environments. One of the most basic human needs we struggle to attain and hold on to at any cost is belonging. Human beings NEED to belong to a community, a group, a social status, a family, or a person. Being fallen creatures, I believe our sense of needing to belong is rooted in the fact that we are, by sin, separated from God. This was where our belonging was originally rooted and established. Nothing could have been better or more secure. Having lost that, we are left to find a replacement elsewhere regardless of the error or dysfunction. Many people try and fill this need by "going to church" or "doing good works" that makes them FEEL as though they have reconnected to God or just makes them worthy of belonging to a community. Period. Religious people are all around us, and sometimes it's hard to know the genuine article from the phony. The sheep from the goats, so to speak. Religious groups will give us bits and pieces of the truth, or total falsehood, and require us to regard their ideas as the standard for living, with the clergy and a few select "pillars" of the congregation as the perfected examples in leadership to emulate. Many take these matters seriously because of a need to BELONG and to do what is right and good before God and man. Some just do what is necessary to fit in. But in time, we can be assured that we will become seriously disillusioned as those we are upholding as mentors, examples and leaders will ultimately fail in maintaining these required conditions with the perfection they demand of those in their charge. Adding to the disillusionment we experience from such cases is often the discovery that, rather than sincerely trying to walk in such lofty realities of the Christian life, those in leadership over us found it easier to maintain a life of pretense, not aware that such an approach would ultimately fall like a house of cards. And rightly so. It is also sad when, after trying with all our might to walk in the prescribed methods and designs that are assured to produce the positive spiritual results, we find ourselves deficient or failing. Nothing is then more personally crushing than to discover that we cannot divulge our inability without a repercussion of discipline that is more severe than necessary. No mercy, no love, no grace. Just the ominous feeling of personal failure added to the self-imposed false notion that others "do it better" than you do. As I mentioned earlier in this article, I am not against the doctrine of "Identification" whatsoever, and am grateful to have embraced the significant understanding of all God has created me to be. I am against the fact that, when these doctrines are showcased and taught, we are often encouraged to disengage from our humanity and falsely led to believe that somehow we are meant to live above it, or separated from it, if we want success. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not a sin to be human. It is not a sin to have basic human needs and desires. Our short-comings, failures, sins and frailty are met head-on by a God who created us, loves us, knows EXACTLY what we are capable of good and bad choices, and has provision for our lives on every level. Because our new life is in Christ, the conditions for success is not in our DOING, rigorous discipline, self-abasement or asceticism, but in our CONFIDENCE that it is God within us working to will and do His good pleasure! For some reason as old as history itself there is a divisive element in religious thought that drives us to believe that being human is bad and that God wants us to be something else. The Bible teaches that it's the HEART of man that is desperately wicked, and that is exactly what God has dealt with through the sacrifice of Christ. He even knows that because of our connection to the flesh, which will ultimately die, the former desires and things that drive an unregenerate nature (abiding within our unchanged mind and memory) still wars within us to follow its demands. And even when we DO follow the wrong impulse and sin, there is a provision for continued cleansing and forgiveness, without condemnation. God is good. God doesn't want us to be trapped in an ongoing spiral of religious rigors and demands that are, more often than not, self-empowered and only ultimately serve to make us self-absorbed. A life of faith gives us peace that passes understanding ONLY when it rests in the fact that the work in us is finished. We ARE perfect, holy, sanctified, righteous, justified, etc. even when we are at our worst. It is in our weakness that His strength is made perfect. The defining moment of clarity for all of this can be arrived at when we recognize that God's reality and perception is all that matters. If he says we are justified, then we are. If he says we are righteous, then we are. If he says we are perfect, then we are, or holy, then we are, or sanctified, etc. etc. Just like Abraham before us, we accept God at his word and agree with it. If, by our actions, we show ourselves to be less than that, we accept his promise of no condemnation and his provision to cleanse us of our unrighteousness. We accept by faith that this is real, in SPITE of what we don't see. Rather than strive with the anxiety producing pretense that you are living in a place of glorious "god life" that keeps you somehow victoriously "above" the common pitfalls and failures of others, accept the fact that we ALL have our own load of oppressive moral faults, and bear one another's burdens with gentleness and without superiority. Create a place of SAFETY for those around you who are growing in grace and continually WIN them with the LOVE of GOD that has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. "Identification" should be with both God AND man, just like Jesus showcased, and never at the expense or the exclusion of either. We must belong to God AND belong to one another. How do we do this? DO JUSTLY, LOVE KINDNESS and MERCY, and WALK HUMBLY before God. People can IDENTIFY with this FAR more easily than they ever will thrive in an environment that demands a standard of "victory, holiness, sanctification, perfection, sinlessness, etc." When you get it wrong... admit it. Others will IDENTIFY with your example that God is forgiving and kind, loving, merciful and just. Plus, it will keep us IDENTIFIED with the truth of why being loving and humble and forbearing with one another's humanity is so valuable here on earth while we abide in this mortal flesh. Let your life be a continual reminder that we are identified with the LOVE of God on every level. Trust in the Lord, and not in yourself. 1 John 4:18 "We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; His perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what He might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us, and shows that we are not fully convinced that He really loves us." Drink deeply...

Welcome to the New Wine Bar

Greetings... I've thought for the longest time that I should NOT join the millions of those who feel compelled to put their thoughts and ideas online. The idea that my contributions would be buried under vast mountains of cyber sand and gravel without ever being discovered and read by anyone was my essential cause for demotivation. But lately I've had a change of heart. Certainly the Apostle Paul (one of my great heros, along with Luther, Calvin and other great reformers and free-thinkers who impacted history) would have loved the possibilities available through the Internet. The people that could have been reached and touched at the click of a keyboard. Endless...

Not that I think my perspectives, ideas, viewpoints and insights are equal to those as Paul, Calvin, Luther, etc. but heck, you never know until you lay it out there who will be touched or provoked by my offerings until they're given.

With that in mind... I present the "New Wine Bar." I unapologetically use the term "bar" in my blogspot title and affiliate it with things "Christian, spiritual, religious, etc." with a purpose. It is meant to be what it is... a bar... a place where people gather to partake in something they enjoy... a place where conversation is optimum and ideas are welcomed, heard and laid out among friends. A place where people come to DRINK IN the New Wine of Jesus and be filled. Satisfied. Refreshed. If the concept offends you, there are certainly countless other blogs online that are more suitable to your taste. Find them.

The themes that will be reoccuring are LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, FAITH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, JOY, ABUNDANT LIFE, FREEDOM, LIBERTY, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, PRAISE and WORSHIP.

There will be times when the ideas offered will be as simple as a children's Sunday school lesson, others will be as controversial as it can possibly get. Some will certainly find the entries more offensive than my blogspot title. But that's OK.

My grandfather used to love to look at me and quote the Bible saying, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein..." The smile that remained on his face long after quoting that verse always left me knowing that his faith in the God who owns EVERYTHING meant him too... and also me. He never let me forget that. It established hope in my heart and joy in my soul. My future belongs to the Lord who owns everything and reigns over all his creation with great love.

Check back with me now and then... leave me your thoughts and reflections on postings whether you agree or not.

But always remember that Christ is our mediator and common denominator as well.

I will not judge you, who does or doesn't serve the same Lord.

But I will LISTEN to your views. I may respond by agreeing or disagreeing. That is my choice and priviledge.

Together we will drink deep at the New Wine Bar.

JP