It's Just Not Fair!

"These who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'" Matt. 20:12.

"It's just not fair!"

That's was the viewpoint of the workers in the parable, and later of the Jewish believers in the early days of the Church. After spending their entire lives attempting to follow the letter of the Law, the Gentile believers were getting what was perceived as a pass.

"That you abstain from  food offered to idols, from blood, from anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these things you will do well. Farewell." Acts 15:29 (Holman Study Bible).

That's it? No circumcision, tithes, offerings, temple taxes, stringent dietary restrictions. In addition, freedom from the myriad of precautions instituted as safeguards to prevent the slightest infraction of the Law. It just wasn't fair.

Despite the directive issued by the Church leaders in Jerusalem to the incoming Gentile believers, some Jews still tried to impose the law on their non-Jewish counterparts. If they had to jump through the hoops (which they didn't have to), so would the newbies. Forget that attempting to do this was an impossible task; misery loved company. Did it never occur to them that they could shed the burden of keeping the Law also? Traditions die hard.

Abraham already set the example. His relationship with God was well established before he was circumcised. This sign of their covenantal relationship wasn't a means to garner God's favor. Instead, it was proof of what he'd already received. Revered by Jews as the Father of their faith, Abraham operated without the Law's statutes and walked by faith alone.

Abraham was assured that this same covenant would pass via his descendents to a wide variety of ethnic nations and peoples. The door would be open to all, not just a selected few.

Unfortunately, the pressure to conform exhibited by the early Jewish believers still prevails today. To be fair, intentions are probably honorable, but the resulting attitude is the same. "Believe like ME, or else!"

Take, for example, baptism. Is it only for those old enough to understand its significance or should infants also be included? Do you sprinkle or dunk? Is it done in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or in the name of Jesus only?

How about salvation? Some might contend that the thief on the cross really wasn't saved. He never made a "perfect act of contrition." He didn't officially confess that Jesus is Lord. We don't know if he even knew the Savior's name. He couldn't believe in his heart that God had raised Jesus from the dead, because Christ was still alive. Despite his failure to fulfill Romans 10:9 perfectly, Jesus welcomed him into His family anyway.

Also, Christians many not like to admit it, but we too harbor notions of a reward system that's based on cumulative actions, and not God's grace. How can a "relative newcomer" have as many crowns to throw down on the glassy sea as someone who has put in years of time and effort? Just for fun, try to find in the Bible where it says that believer's cast their crowns down...it doesn't exist. Nice hymn stanza, but wrong theology.

Like first century believers we can't let our pet traditions be impediments to those seeking God. Salvation is by faith alone. Our behavior should reflect the Gospel's impact on our lives, but not be construed as a official means to obtain a right standing with God.

The gift of salvation has an amazing ability to change our lives if given free rein/reign. It is, for the most part a process, not an instant transformation. We can't and shouldn't hold others to our personal standards, especially if they have just started out on their journey with God.

How about you? Are you irritated that other believers who aren't as committed as you are just might get equal rewards? What traditions have you adopted that may look good to others but really aren't essential for salvation? How can you develop a walk of faith built on simple obedience and not a rule book?

It's Just Not Fair!

"These who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'" Matt. 20:12.

"It's just not fair!"

That's was the viewpoint of the workers in the parable, and later of the Jewish believers in the early days of the Church. After spending their entire lives attempting to follow the letter of the Law, the Gentile believers were getting what was perceived as a pass.

"That you abstain from  food offered to idols, from blood, from anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these things you will do well. Farewell." Acts 15:29 (Holman Study Bible).

That's it? No circumcision, tithes, offerings, temple taxes, stringent dietary restrictions. In addition, freedom from the myriad of precautions instituted as safeguards to prevent the slightest infraction of the Law. It just wasn't fair.

Despite the directive issued by the Church leaders in Jerusalem to the incoming Gentile believers, some Jews still tried to impose the law on their non-Jewish counterparts. If they had to jump through the hoops (which they didn't have to), so would the newbies. Forget that attempting to do this was an impossible task; misery loved company. Did it never occur to them that they could shed the burden of keeping the Law also? Traditions die hard.

Abraham already set the example. His relationship with God was well established before he was circumcised. This sign of their covenantal relationship wasn't an means to garner God's favor. Instead, it was proof of what he'd already received. Revered by Jews as the Father of their faith, Abraham operated without the Law's statutes and walked by faith alone.

Abraham was assured that this same covenant would pass via his descendents to a wide variety of ethnic nations and peoples. The door would be open to all, not just a selected few.

Unfortunately, the pressure to conform exhibited by the early Jewish believers still prevails today. To be fair, intentions are probably honorable, but the resulting attitude is the same. "Believe like ME, or else!"

Take, for example, baptism. Is it only for those old enough to understand its significance or should infants also be included? Do you sprinkle or dunk? Is it done in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or in the name of Jesus only?

How about salvation? Some might contend that the thief on the cross really wasn't saved. He never made a "perfect act of contrition." He didn't officially confess that Jesus is Lord. We don't know if he even knew the Savior's name. He couldn't believe in his heart that God had raised Jesus from the dead, because Christ was still alive. Despite his failure to fulfill Romans 10:9 perfectly, Jesus welcomed him into His family anyway.

Also, Christians many not like to admit it, but we too harbor notions of a reward system that's based on cumulative actions, and not God's grace. How can a "relative newcomer" have as many crowns to throw down on the glassy sea as someone who has put in years of time and effort? Just for fun, try to find in the Bible where it says that believer's cast their crowns down...it doesn't exist. Nice hymn stanza, but wrong theology.

Like first century believers we can't let our pet traditions be impediments to those seeking God. Salvation is by faith alone. Our behavior should reflect the Gospel's impact on our lives, but not be construed as a official means to obtain a right standing with God.

The gift of salvation has an amazing ability to change our lives if given free rein/reign. It is, for the most part a process, not an instant transformation. We can't and shouldn't hold others to our personal standards, especially if they have just started out on their journey with God.

How about you? Are you irritated that other believers who aren't as committed as you are just might get equal rewards? What traditions have you adopted that may look good to others but really aren't essential for salvation? How can you develop a walk of faith built on simple obedience and not a rule book?

Generation Gap

"...your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:17

Whoever invented the generation gap in Christianity? Not God!

Sadly, the church in the West often emulates society, and not the other way around. Heavy emphasis is placed on the youth who are important. They are the future. However, gearing resources and attention to this age demographic specifically to the exclusion of others creates the same imbalance found in popular culture.

Peter's speech in Acts was revolutionary. Sex, age and social rank didn't matter in God's kingdom. Women, children and slaves could participate on equal footing with men. This was unprecedented for that time, and still is in certain situations today. Old mindsets, unfortunately, die hard.

With the exception of the Israelites who would not enter the Promise Land, the term generation in the bible isn't age specific. Jesus spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem coming upon a generation (Matt. 23:36). The scope of the calamity wasn't limited to the chronological age of His listeners. Everyone: young, old, men, women, and children were affected. Biblically speaking, a generation refers to all who are alive at a particular time period.

Society's glorification of youth fuels the notion of a generation gap. The church doesn't need to follow their lead. Age, maturity and experience produces a different perspective. Things aren't as simple as a child might suppose. Rather than being a point of division, this should be further impetus to keep all engaged and working together.

Placing the majority of our efforts and resources to reach the youth means we'll miss opportunities to reach older people who may have more influence on social and political issues, and also control a large portion of the world's purse strings. Young fiery believers are potential world changers. Is it wise, however, to wait several decades for them to step into the shoes of those already shaping world policy and events, assuming that their zeal for God will remain intact?

God's plan was to keep all age groups actively participating - together. For those of us who are older, we need to stay involved with our younger counterparts. They don't look, act, talk or think like we do, but hey, we were once young and weird too. The young have energy, enthusiasm, and a different world to negotiate than we did. In reality, the good old days were not as ideal as we remember them to be.

The up and coming church can benefit greatly from the wisdom and experience of older Christians. Their problems/conflicts/dilemmas may be wrapped differently than those of past generations, but at the core: "there nothing new under the sun." Ecc. 1:9. The Body of Christ has invented a plethora of reasons for division. Age shouldn't be one of them.

How about you? Where do you fit into this generation of the church? If an older person, do you feel left out? If so, what steps can you take to connect with younger believers? If you're on the other end of the spectrum, how can you benefit from the wealth of wisdom and experience many more mature Christians have accumulated over the years? As the Body of Christ, how can we integrate all age groups and eliminate a Christian generation gap?

Give 'em Hell?

Woe to you Korasin! Woe to you Bethsaida!...and to you Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No you will go down to the depths. Luke 10: 13, 15

Some elements of Christianity harbor a propensity for calling down judgment on others with a flippant air of self-righteousness. After all, don't people deserve what they have coming to them?

Perhaps there's a benefit to taking a big step back and thinking before we speak.

In context, Jesus commissioned seventy-two disciples to fan out across the region and preach the Gospel. Traveling rabbis/teachers walked by faith and were at the largesse of those they had contact with for food, shelter and so forth. Under no circumstances were they to ask for money or charge for their services.

In Luke 10:4 Jesus instructed them to go barefoot. According to Bruce Chilton they were to be, "barefoot priests, treat the land as holy, villages as temples." This manner of travel paralleled God's instructions to Joshua. "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses." Joshua 1:3. How would this happen? DNA transfer.

These freshly appointed emissaries would pass through Gentile territory, just like Jesus did. It was customary at that time for a Jew before re-entering Jewish land to shake the dust of Gentile soil off his feet to demonstrate it was polluted and unholy. While living in Haiti we experienced something similar to this at the border crossing between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Guards on the Dominican side washed the tires of our vehicle to remove any traces of Haitian soil before allowing us to proceed. The bad blood between these two countries goes back hundreds of years and is still an issue.

Luke 10:11 in the NIV gives the impression that this action was an indictment against the lack of customary hospitality withheld. The Jonathan Mitchell New Testament, taken from the Koine Greek, presents a different perspective. Not afforded the expected courtesies given to travelers, the disciples were to demonstrate the kingdom in action. Dusting the soil off their feel showed that they were not taking anything that wasn't offered to them. In addition they transferred their DNA to the ground and marked it as kingdom property.

What does this have to do with calling down God's judgment on people? Jesus reserved His harshest criticism and words of warning for areas open to the Gospel, including his adopted hometown Capernaum. While this seems unfair, it makes perfect sense. Those who know the truth, and ignore it are held to a higher standard than those who have never heard.

If we want to call down God's judgment we must be prepared to face the same thing, but in a greater measure. Judgment starts with God's house first (1 Peter 4:17). The measure we use, we receive in return with even more added to it (Luke 6: 37-38).

I'm not suggesting that believers turn a blind eye to sin, their own included. We need to keep our attitudes under constant surveillance. Jonah ran from God's call to preach repentance to Nineveh because he didn't like them. He was sure God would spare them if they had a change of heart and he didn't want to see that happen. His desire was for them to get the punishment he felt they deserved. We don't want to make that same mistake.

How about you? When you see things you know are ungodly and you must speak out, how can you do so in a manner that brings life and a fruitful outcome? If you want to call down judgment on others, what type and how much are you willing to endure first? How can you effective communicate the love of God to those who need it? Seasoned with genuine love, it will probably be well received.

Protocol

And Jesus spoke seriously but respectfully to him, adding a penalty (or: Jesus respectfully charged it; Jesus appraised him and assessed a penalty, assigning a punishment upon him; or: Jesus strongly speaks to him in reproof {censure, reprimand or strict enjoining}, in saying, "Be muzzled (= be silent) and go (or: come) forth out of the midst of him at once." Mark 1:25 The New Testament, Jonathan Mitchell (emphasis mine).

Then, upon taking a place over her, He spoke a respectful directive to the fever, and it released her and flowed away (or: abandoned her). Luke 4:39 The New Testament, Jonathan Mitchell (emphasis mine).

Jesus showed respect to demons and sickness? Outrageous! Maybe not.

Apparently Jesus felt no need to break out in a sweat, scream, hoop, holler or perform gymnastics when dealing with His enemy. By following protocol these were unnecessary.

God's kingdom has protocols, something most of us in the West neither understand nor appreciate. The two instances cited above aren't the only times that Kingdom operational procedures appear opposed to conventional thinking.

A dispute arose between Michael the arch angel and the devil concerning the disposition of Moses' body. According to Ezekiel 28:14 the devil was, "anointed as a guardian cherub..." Outranked, Michael followed proper procedure, stood down, and placed the fate of the fallen angel in the hands of God. "The Lord rebuke you."  Jude 8.

According to the Mitchell translation this phrase in Jude can have both positive and negative connotations. Taken from the Greek word epi (upon) timao (to hold in respect, to honor, to value or to award), this phrase could be interpreted "The Lord (Yahweh) might hold you in high honor (or: set a value upon you; put respect upon you; award you)." On the other hand it can mean to assess a penalty upon, to chide, to respectfully reprove or admonish.

In the first two chapters of Job there are two occasions where the angels are required to present themselves before God, and Satan was included. This might ruffle some theological feathers but it's kingdom protocol. First, the devil is still under God's authority and ruler ship. If God says, "Jump!" the devil has to ask, "How high?" Second, it wasn't uncommon for a defeated king to be afforded a position with a level of respect in the court of his conqueror. Check it out for yourself, it's in the bible.

There's a lesson here. Although man was created as a higher ranking spiritual being than any angel, we would be wise to adhere to kingdom protocol. Jesus did.

Have you noticed that neither Jesus nor any of the disciples ever bound the devil? Rebuking and commanding one (or more) to leave isn't binding. Only Jesus has the keys to hell, not us. If a devil/demon is to be sent there it's His call, not ours. When it does come time for the devil to be bound, Revelation tells us that an ordinary angel will be assigned to that task at the direction of and in the timing of God.

I'm not suggesting that we feel sorry for the devil nor back off from dealing with him with God's direction and permission. We may wish to reconsider our approach and follow Jesus' example. We may not like nor understand Kingdom protocol, but as mature sons of God we must behave accordingly.

How about you? If you are placed in the position of having to reverse you enemy's impact on a situation, how should you proceed? Describe a "serious but respectful" confrontation with the devil. Can you build yourself up in the reality of who you are as a son of God beforehand so that operating in Kingdom protocol becomes your second nature? Follow the rules and success will be the result.