Unless

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.  So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin.  Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.  When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”  “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”  Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”  Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”  John 13:3-9

Peter’s refusal (at first) wasn’t a matter of control; it was just the opposite.  Peter knew himself to be unworthy to be served by Jesus.  Jesus was holy; Peter was a leather-faced fisherman who knew the fickleness within himself.  He couldn’t fit in anyone’s description of pure.  He wasn’t good enough.  And he was right.

Peter wasn’t just right about himself; he was right about all of us.  He knew what the prophet had said about all humans: 

We are all infected and impure with sin.  When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.  Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.  

Isaiah 64:6

Hence, Jesus’ answer…Simon, buddy…if you won’t take my washing, you won’t have anything from me.  This is the whole issue of salvation God offers.  There is nothing any human being can do to be cleansed from our sin:

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.  Romans 3:20

God specifically said no human being still practicing evil, or having refused Christ will be allowed entrance to the New Jerusalem, Heaven:

Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Revelation 21:27

The Lamb’s Book of Life is the account of everyone who accepts the cleansing from sin which Jesus offered by virtue of His death on the cross.  What Jesus taught his disciples in that upper room, particularly Peter, was a metaphor.  He washed their feet, and it represented the washing of their hearts that he would do the next day.  What looked like the greatest failure in history, a “would-be” Messiah, hanging naked, bloodied, beaten, and stone-cold-dead on a criminal’s cross, would be His offer of eternal, internal cleansing each of us needs to be right with our Creator.  Jesus told Peter (and He tells us) UNLESS I give you this cleansing, you’ll never be mine…you’ll NOT be in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

For You Today 

I have known many people who hesitated to accept Christ as Savior, because, like Peter, they knew how unworthy they were, uncertain they could live-into God’s ways.  And that is the very first step in the process of inking your name in His book.  You must repent of your sins. 

UNLESS you know how bad you are, you’ll never understand how marvelous grace is…and how much God wants to forgive you, and draw you close to Him.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:  So...Then... and  His Way    

Title Image:  Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

When Judgment Falls

Monday

October 31, 2022

When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.  But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols.  You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.  I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people.  Don’t even eat with such people.  It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.  God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”  1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Paul was consistently misunderstood and criticized for his teaching on sexuality.  The apostle was even mentioned by his fellow apostle, Peter, as being somewhat hard to understand, but acknowledged that Paul’s revelations were from God, and delivered with the authority of Scripture.  Peter further stated that only the twisted mind (of false believers, not true Christians) mocked what Paul was preaching, and God would take them to task for it.[1]

So…what was it Paul taught that was so controversial?  It’s the very same thing you hear as a criticism (mostly from those outside the church), that Christians are judgmental, and critical of anybody who isn’t as holy as they consider themselves.  It is a blanket condemnation, by unbelievers, that all believers are blanket-criticizers.  It’s a little like the pot calling the kettle black!

Now, if that’s the misunderstanding of what Paul taught, what is it, precisely, that Paul did teach?  He taught just the opposite – that Christians ought not to judge those who are outside the church.  Paul said expressly that he left that to God.  The responsibility of judging (not of motives or ethical commitment) but behavior of Christians within the church is necessary, for the purity of God’s bride.

While Paul focused on sexual sins (sex outside of marriage, including unmarrieds, same-sex, and adultery), because that was rampant in the Corinthian church, he pointed to other gross sins that were demeaning to the character and moral ethic of the people called “Christian”.  Among those were greed, cheating and idolatry.

Without raking-over the lewd details of any of that list, let me cut right to the chase this morning.  I am not lambasting 21^st-Century culture for being immoral, and un-Christlike; the apostle Paul’s injunction against pointing fingers at those outside the church still stands.  It is the sin within the camp that strains credulity.  Today’s church (in large percentage) has identified more with the surrounding culture, than what Scripture identifies as the Bride of Christ.  It is the church’s lukewarmness in embracing those who profess Christ as Savior, but live in open, and unapologetic opposition to moral and ethical Christian standards. 

Sexual sins, including all forms of homosexuality, and heterosexual activity between unmarried people, along with every other kind of sin, must be held to accountability within the church before anyone outside the church will seriously take the church as something God-ordained.  You clean your own house first!

For You Today

I am not proposing a witch-hunt to weed out the church membership rolls.  I am suggesting, however, that pastors had better quit trying to fill the seats and grow a Corinthian-infested organization they call a church.  In place, it would be better to return to the practice of the mourner’s bench, to wait awhile until the fruits of true salvation are exhibited in the life of those who profess their faith.  Otherwise Pastors and elders who ignore this might hear from Jesus on that Great Judgment Day:  Depart from me…I never knew you!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions libraryI.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       The Third Day   and   Living in Sodom

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1]  See  2 Peter 2:1-22 and 2 Peter 3:15-16

Clean Hands

The earth is the LORD’S and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.  Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?  And who shall stand in his holy place?  Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.  They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.  Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.  Selah  

Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors!  that the King of glory may come in.  Who is the King of glory?  The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.  Selah     Psalms 24:1 - 10 (NRSVA)

In every person’s spiritual makeup there are certain ideas about God which we hold as truth-unchallengeable – that which we believe about God; things not up for discussion.  Psalm 24 ought to be that.

There is a rich truth contained in this Psalm about who we are, and that for which you have been created:  we are not our own; we must live in a way that pleases God and not ourselves.  We must live with clean hands.

This is a reality Christian people must face every day.  Our salvation, purchased on the cross, demands we give our attention to living with clean hands.  One reason Jesus gave us this table is so we will remember that.

What does it mean to have “clean hands and a pure heart”? 

When my Grandchildren come to our house there is a rule – you wash up before

coming to the table.  And, after eating (and before putting hands, face or anything else on the walls or furniture), you WASH again! 

What’s more, you will probably always have Grandma or Grandpa standing nearby.  We supervise! 

We supervise because little hands are not yet adept at getting all the sticky stuff off a little round face and chubby hands.

If coming to the Lord with our prayers were about freshly washed hands, scrubbed with Dial or even old-time Lye soap, it would be a simple thing.  But, like my Grandkids, we need some help. 

Clean hands and a pure heart have to do with confessing the mud with which we live.  In 1969 I completed my tour of duty with Uncle Sam.  Elizabeth and I packed up the car and left Fort Knox in the rear view mirror.  When we got back home we rented our first apartment…3 whole rooms; very clean rooms!

One evening we invited my cousin, Rick to our apartment for supper.  Rick was unmarried and therefore not adequately trained for polite company.  Rick showed up wearing his old Army combat boots.  Sixteen layers of mud covered those boots from top to bottom. 

When Elizabeth answered the door, all she could see were those muddy combat boots.  “Take ‘em off,” was all she said.  “You’re kidding,” he replied.  The look in her eye convinced Rick – the shoes stayed out in the hall.  I took a picture for posterity. 

In some ways we have that same problem – we come to the Lord with all this mud (called sin), and we aren’t even aware.  He says, “Take it off”.  And we say, “Huh?”  And the Lord says, “I don’t want anything coming into my presence with all that sin covering it!”  At that moment in worship our hearts are broken, and we are undone.  We know how muddy we are inside, and it makes us shrink back from God.

The Necessary Table

It is necessary, this table; it helps us keep our mud in perspective.  The cross is lifted high above the muddy ground.  When we kneel there, he lifts us up.  And then, like a loving Mom or Dad will carry Junior to the sink, God washes us off.

There are those today who look down on the idea of Jesus being necessary.  We are educated enough, sophisticated enough.  We have medicine, science, philosophy and government programs.  We can solve anything.  We can clean ourselves, thank you!

The problem with that is we don’t really know anything.  The earth and its fullness – meaning the entire universe – is the Lord’s.  It includes all who dwell on the earth too.  That means HE decides how things work; HE decides when your life and mine is clean! 

So often we begin to decide things for our own lives, leaving the Lord out of our plans.  A man came to the church I was serving.  He needed help on Christmas Eve.  After giving him some food I asked him where he goes to church.  He never goes.  I told him he was welcome here.  He said, “I know I need God; He’s the only one who will never turn His back on you.” 

That man was right, God never turns HIS back; but the man just didn’t acknowledge that WE can turn our backs on God.  The table reminds us!

Several years ago one Thursday the news of the week was all about the death of Michael Jackson.  One reporter spoke about the dichotomy that was his life – so talented, high energy, and Jackson’s connection with the world’s audience. 

On the other hand there was the shadow of his life – the “mud” – drugs, questions about his relationships with children, and his financial irresponsibility, leaving over $400 million in debt.  He was the man who lived in Neverland. 

The reporter called him an “exceptional talent, a performer without peer”.  Then she said, “but as a human being he was an abysmal failure.”[1] 

That’s not really accurate.  As a human being Michael Jackson was just transparent enough to show us that each of us is exactly that – performer on the outside and shadows of mud inside.  If you do not believe this is so, you do not believe what Christianity teaches.

That’s why this table is necessary.  It reminds us we have all turned our backs on Him with our sin.  If that were not true the cross would’ve been unnecessary.  Jesus would have died in vain. 

160

But this table calls us to remember Him, and repent of our muddy sins; so do that - and in so doing, Jesus will give us clean hands, and a pure heart!  Isn’t that something?  He requires clean hands – and He does the scrubbing! 

So, come; ascend and stand in the holy place.  The invitation is to all – be cleaned and dine!

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[1] Fox News, Thursday, June 25, 2009