Flight Paths

          Men seem to have a problem with prepositions.  Keith, for example, mixes up “in” with “over,” “on,” “at,” and “beside.”  When he takes anything out of a drawer, his idea of putting it back is to put it on the counter over the drawer, rather than in the drawer.  In the morning, he leaves the cough drop wrappers on the floor beside the bed, rather than putting them in the trash can.  When he undresses, he throws his clothes at or on the hamper, rather than putting them in it. 

            I could accept that this is just a “man thing” except for this:  this same man makes Biblical arguments about prepositions every day.  The best explanation to me is that we all see what we want to see instead of what is really there, and hear what we want to hear instead of what was really said.

            Many of my friends have the same problem.  They want to live as “good” people and think that Christ and the church have absolutely nothing to do with their salvation.  The Bible, on the other hand, says that “in Christ” we have redemption (Rom 3:24), the love of God (Rom 8:39), sanctification (1 Cor 1:2), grace (2 Tim 2:1), and salvation (2 Tim 2:10).  Not out of Christ, but in.  Which of those things are you willing to do without?

            Baptism is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), not after or because of, and we are baptized into one body (1 Cor 12:13) not on a convenient Sunday nor because we were voted in.

            Some of my brethren have a similar problem.  They think that sitting on a pew is what makes us in Christ.  Yet the scriptures they quote every Sunday tell them that “in Christ” we are new creatures (2 Cor 5:17), created for good works (Eph 2:10).  Not only that but we must prove we are in the faith and we do that by showing Christ in us (2 Cor 13:5), following in his footsteps in those good works (1 Pet 2:21).  We prove we are sound in the faith by the way we live our lives every day (Titus 1:10-2:13).

            Prepositions are not that difficult and they do matter.  Do you want to eat dinner at the table or under it?  Do you want to take a shower in the bathroom or out of it?  Do you want to sleep on the bed or beside it?  Do you want your wife to feed you breakfast in bed or on the bed (where she threw it at you because you obviously do not understand prepositions!)?  See?  All it takes is a little honesty with ourselves, enough to see beyond our biases, beyond “what I’ve always heard,” beyond “what mama said,” and you can make the same changes that those people of the first century did—pagans who before lived lives of sin without giving it a second thought, who had no concept of monotheism, who had to change every aspect of their lives, even to the point of bringing persecution upon themselves and their families, and many times death. 

            Maybe that’s the problem.  We are simply not that honest, brave, or sincere in our devotion to God and a Savior who gave up everything for us.  We want to throw the clothes at the hamper and say to God, “See how much I love you?”

            Let me tell you something—He ain’t buyin’ it.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27

Thanks to Keith for being such a good sport about this one!

Dene Ward

And he came to Lystra and Derbe and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewess that believed, but his father was a Greek, Acts 16:1.

            Having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, in you also, 2 Tim 1:5.

            Did you see it?  Don’t feel bad.  I missed it too, for years.

            Wasn’t it great that Eunice taught her son so well?  But how many of us are thinking in the back of our minds, “Tsk, tsk, it would have been easier if she had married a child of God to begin to with.”  I have been guilty of such snap judgments myself over the years, placing these people in my own culture and social customs.  Lydia aside, it was not common for a woman to make her own living in those days, in those places.  Because of that, to be left alone a widow was to be sentenced to a life of poverty and dependence upon the kindness of others.  Look how many passages in the Law made provisions for the widow and orphan.  They did not live in a day of insurance policies, pensions, Social Security, and Aid for Dependent Children.  If God’s people did not follow the Law as he designed it, the widow and orphan would starve. 

            Parents often arranged marriages, and expecting their daughter to live alone and support herself simply because they could not find a God-fearing husband for her was not an expedient choice for Eunice’s parents.  Out in the Gentile world with few practicing Jews in the area, the best they could do was find a Greek whom they thought would take good care of their daughter.

            And here is what we miss:  how do we know there were no Jews to choose from?  It was Paul’s custom to go to the synagogue first when he came to a town, (Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1: 17:1, etc).  From the account in Acts, it seems evident that there were no synagogues in Lystra or Derbe.  That also means there were fewer than 10 Jewish male heads of household in the town, the number necessary to form a synagogue, and not even enough Jewish women to meet down by the river as in Philippi, (16:13).  Which means there was no Jewish school to send her son to, one of the primary functions of a local synagogue.  Besides these obstacles, how many little boys want to “be like Daddy?”

             So now you have a woman married to a Greek, who was taught the scripture (Old Testament) so well that she “also believed,” meaning she accepted Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, something even the “well-educated” scribes and “pious” Pharisees could not seem to do.  And she raised a son to do the same, without a righteous man to influence him, without a formal religious education, and without a community of believers from which to draw help and encouragement.

            I daresay that none of us has the problems Eunice faced as a mother.  In this day when so many want to blame everyone else for their failures, when so many blame the church for the way their children turned out, she is a shining example of what can be done, of one who took the responsibility and, despite awesome odds, succeeded.

            The world bestows the term “Supermom” for all the wrong reasons.  Here is the real thing, one we should be emulating every day of our lives.

And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.  And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes.  And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates,  Deut 6:6-9.

Dene Ward

This is Part 6 of the Monday series "Whoso Findeth a Wife."

We’ve already quoted from Proverbs 31 extensively—the worthy woman, or as the King James reads, the virtuous woman.  Maybe it’s worth checking out the meaning of “worthy.”  Just what makes this woman so rare and precious, her value “far above rubies?”  The word itself has a depth of meaning you might never suspect.

The Hebrew word chayil is used 150 times in the Old Testament.  Look at these other words it is often translated by:  army, band of men, band of soldiers, company, forces, great forces, host, might, power, strength, substance, valor, war, able, strong, and valiant.  Look up these passages where the word is translated by one of those:  Judg 21:10; 1 Chron 5:18; 2 Kgs 2:16; 2 Chron 33:14; 1 Sam 9:1; 14:48.  Of the 150 available, that is a good representation.  Can you find the word in those verses?  If you see one that has anything to do with brave, strong men, that’s it:”worthy.”

We tend to think of strength and courage as specifically masculine traits, and yes, men may have the monopoly on brute strength, but look through Proverbs 31.  Not only does this woman have the strength to survive long, busy days, one after the other with no end in sight, but she has the inner strength to survive life!  “Hothouse flowers” who “have the vapors” are not who God had in mind when he created woman.

A woman should have the strength to stand by a man through thick and thin, “in sickness and in health, for better or for worse” and all the other things she promised all those years ago, to manage her household (1 Tim 5:14), to teach her children, to help the needy, to serve the saints, and to stand against the wiles of the Devil, and to quench all the fiery darts of the Evil One, Eph 6:11,16.

By using this word “worthy” in Proverbs 31, both at the beginning of the passage, v 10, and at the end, v 29, God is surely telling us that he expects his women to be strong, inside and out.  She won’t wilt when times get rough, when one trial after the other besets her soul. 

She won’t leave when the money is so scarce she can’t go shopping, when all the appliances break down at once and she can’t afford new ones.  She might even have to put her hands in dishwater and scrub, or hang clothes on a clothesline in the winter, but she will do whatever is necessary, when it is necessary.  She doesn’t have to have a certain brand, a certain level of living, a certain status among her peers or “my life is ruined.” 

She won’t go to pieces when the schedule is full and time is short, when there is a deadline to meet and being late is not an option. 

She will stand by a man, even when he makes mistakes that he has to pay for with shame and humility, forgiving and comforting as only someone intimately close can. 

When tragedy strikes, she may cry, but she won’t disintegrate.  She may grieve, but she won’t become bitter.  She may bend over in sorrow, but she won’t break in defeat.  In whatever life brings her, she plays the hand she was dealt and comes away a winner.

Ladies, God says there is strength and courage in femininity—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

A worthy [strong, valiant] woman, who can find?  Her price is far above rubies; she girds her loins with strength, and makes her arms strong.  Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.  Many daughters have done valiantly but you excel them all.  Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.  Proverbs 31:10,17,25,29,31.

Dene Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward

Laast year the Florida basketball team lost to Kentucky. Kentucky did not win, we lost. I suspect that over the next days, coach Billy Donovan pointed out in detail, and possibly at volume, exactly how the players managed to lose a game in which they were vastly superior. All year, he had difficulty getting the team to play his way. In fact, he benched players to try to wake up his playmakers once pulled a starting player for most of a game. Here is a coach who has won two national championships and numerous conference championships and is on the list of all time winning coaches and they will not listen to him! Instead of running the game the way he makes them practice, the playmakers descend into “street ball.” Only 1 of our 5 losses came at the hands of a team that played better, they had one of those Cinderella nights and just won. Many of our wins came because the team was good enough to win despite ignoring the coach, but his frustration was evident on the sideline. 

Our war has already been won. The scripture is abundantly clear that Jesus defeated Satan at the cross, and cast him down (Rev 12, Lk 17). The game has been won. There is no way we can lose, Jesus is helping and the Spirit is guiding as an on-the-floor playmaker. When we sin, one can hear Jesus saying, “What part of ‘no temptation above what you are able to bear,’ did you fail to understand? Why are you playing street ball instead of my championship game?”

“If God is for us, who is against us?” The answer is that we are. We excuse ourselves by saying the situation is different in the game, by deceiving ourselves that “we are doing the best we can,” or by our hope that if we think on the Lord’s Supper real, real hard, that will fix everything. 

Jesus has to be even more frustrated than Coach Donovan. So much more is at stake. He gave so much more to make our victory certain. And again and again, we lose games because we do not listen to our heavenly coach.

Jesus played the game on our court and HE WON. He can make us champions and lead us to victory—but we must stop playing our own game.

Keith Ward

Do you know what the acronym CARE stands for?  Cooperative for American Remittances to Everywhere.  I never would have guessed that one.  The organization is made up of several charitable groups and their first “mission” occurred on May 11, 1946.  They sent 20,000 care packages to survivors of World War II in Europe.  Those first packages were US Army Surplus meals, each originally intended to feed ten soldiers as they invaded Japan, a plan that was no longer necessary after that country’s surrender.

After they ran out of those, CARE packages were put together from other
necessities provided by donations and varied according to the disaster they were relieving.  Today that phrase “care package” has entered the language as anything sent to a person in any sort of need from anyone who loves them. 
I sent them regularly to my two sons while they were in college, and
those usually contained a supply of cookies, brownies, and other homemade
treats, as well as a check or gift card.  When Lucas moved to the panhandle, his care package contained all those things he might need the night before the moving van arrived with his belongings--paper plates and cups, plastic forks, toothpaste, toilet paper, bath soap, water bottles, plastic trash bags, and sandwich makings, along with the by now requisite cookies.

My church family and I had opportunity to send some packages to our
brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe who are having a difficult time just finding
the necessities of life.  When the women I study with every Tuesday morning asked the church for some monetary help, we were flooded with so much we were able to send more than just food, so we asked these people what they might need.

They did not ask for anything fancy, just staples like beans, rice, and
powdered milk.  They did not ask for new clothes, just needles and thread to sew up the torn gray garments they are already wearing, and safety pins to replace missing buttons.  They asked for laundry soap bars—powder doesn’t work down at the river where you beat your clothes on the rocks.  They asked for water purification tablets because they are becoming ill, and some even dying, from drinking the plainest liquid on earth.  They asked if we “might possibly” send some Tylenol to help ease aches and pains and fever, as if they were asking for a luxury.  They asked for a little Vaseline to soothe lips dried in the ongoing drought.  They never even mentioned money.

I was so amazed at these attitudes that I started wondering what I might
ask for in a care package, what my list of “life’s necessities” might look
like.  Once I asked some teenagers, Christian teenagers mind you, and was horrified by the list I got.  It included a cell phone!  I think it is a safe bet that any American reading this should not ask for anything material at all.  We have
far more than we actually need to simply survive, certainly more than these poor brothers and sisters overseas.

But what should I ask for in my care package? Probably all of us have the same needs: more love and compassion for others, more patience, more endurance during trials, more self-control during temptations, more knowledge of God’s word, more wisdom to make the decisions of everyday living, more gratitude for what He has sacrificed for me, more faith in His power and promises, more belief in the forgiveness and hope He has offered, and far more grace to cover my continuing failings.

The thing is, we already have that care package, we just sometimes forget to open it.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith  --  that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,  forever and ever.  Amen.  Eph 3:15-21.

Dene Ward

This is Part 5 of the Monday series "Whoso Findeth a Wife."

A worthy woman is a crown to her husband, but she that makes ashamed is as rottenness in his bones, Prov 12:4.

A crown shows that a man is a leader, worthy of respect and honor.  A wife crowns or dethrones her husband with her spoken attitudes and behavior.  The public often takes its cue from her, for who can respect a “man who knows not how to rule his own house?” (1 Tim 3:5).

His wife’s subjections is probably the surest gauge of a husband’s character.  Despite all her protestations, a wife who is not in subjection is easy to spot--she will not be in subjection anywhere.  In Bible classes she is controversial, opinionated, and pushy.  She speaks her mind in a sarcastic, hostile, or offensive tone of voice—and woe to the teacher who tries to point this out!  She makes public scenes either by raising her voice or by being careless of who may be within earshot.  Any man, anywhere, any time is prey to her razor-sharp tongue.

A wife’s loyalty to her husband is another way of bestowing honor on him.  Unfortunately, we who consider ourselves loyal may behave in disloyal ways without ever realizing it.  Loyalty is not confined to sexual fidelity.

A woman who does things she and her friends know her husband disapproves of is disloyal.  Do you have to hide things from him?  The phone bill? The credit card statement?  Do you keep a dress for six months so that when you finally whip it out and wear it you can “truthfully” say, “No this isn’t new.  I’ve had it quite awhile.”  You might be surprised at some of the things I have heard women admit to.  Even if his demands are unreasonable, the very fact that you gripe about them to others and then disregard them, shows that you want others to feel the same disdain for him you do.  God intended that a husband and wife be for each other, each the one the other can count on.

A gossiping wife causes others to think less of her husband.  How much would you be willing to share with a man whose wife spent half her day on the phone?  Would you go to him for help with a problem?  Would you be inclined to “confess your faults” (James 5:19)?  Gossip causes everyone to “wag their heads” (Psa 64:8), a sure sign of disrespect.

A wife surely demeans her husband by making statements that begin, “He knows better than to…” as if he should fear the consequences she might hand out.  What tales we tell about our marriages without realizing it!

Immoral behavior is probably the greatest disgrace a wife can bring to her husband.  It leaves others questioning not only his control of the home, but his manhood as well.  More Christians slip into adultery than you want to believe.  Others get as close to it as they can with their choice of clothing.  Lewd dress encourages men to think thoughts about other men’s wives that they have no business thinking.  Not only has she shamed her husband, but she has caused others to sin as well.

When a woman acts in these ways, she is telling the world, “I do not feel my husband is worthy of honor and respect.  Why should you?”  And that publicly expressed attitude, even if never spoken aloud, eats away at him: “but she who makes ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.”  Just as cancer can kill the body, a wife can murder her husband’s spirit. 

Respect your husband; honor him as head.  Do nothing that will shame him.  Be a crown, the reason others respect and honor him.  As it is said of the worthy woman:
Her husband is known in the gates where he sits among the elders of the land, Prov 31:23.

Dene Ward

We don’t travel a lot, but when we do we try to find a group of brethren who share our faith.  Most people call this looking for a “sound church.” After several unsettling experiences with so-called “sound churches” on the road, I started studying the phrase. Guess what?  You won’t find it anywhere in the Bible, not in any of the nine translations I checked.

I have already mentioned a time when we forgot our “church clothes” and
had to attend services in jeans and flannel shirts—camp clothes--and the cold
reception we received.  Another time I was in a city far away from home for a scary surgery. We remembered our church clothes, but it didn’t seem to make a bit of difference.  We walked in the front door, went down the middle aisle and sat two-thirds of the way down—Keith must be able to see faces in detail so he can lip-read.  We were at least 10 minutes early.  No one approached us, nor nodded, nor even looked our way.  Finally the woman in front of us heard Keith say, “I can’t believe no one has even greeted us,” and turned around to introduce herself.  After services we walked down the aisle surrounded shoulder to shoulder by the (still unwelcoming) crowd, stopped at a tract rack for a minute or two, and finally walked out the door before the preacher finally came out calling us to say hello.  It wasn't like we didn’t give him plenty of time.  No one else even bothered.

Contrast that to the time we entered a building thinking that we probably
didn’t agree entirely with this group because of a few notices hanging on the
wall, but were greeted effusively by every single member the minute they saw
us.  We were even invited to lunch, while at the previous church I mentioned, living in a hotel between dangerous procedures, no one even asked if we needed any help.

So when our recent study of faith came upon a passage in Titus about
being “sound in the faith,” I decided to check the entire context and see what
that actually meant.  Since I must be brief here, I hope you will get your Bible and work through it with me and see for yourself.

First, the phrase applies to individuals, not a corporate body.  Titus 1:10-16 gives us a detailed and complete picture of someone who is not “sound.” They are the ones the elders in verses 5-9 are supposed to “reprove sharply” so they may be “sound in the faith” v 13.  Look at those seven verses (10-16) and you will see a list that includes these, depending upon your version:  unruly, vain talkers, deceivers, false teachers, men defiled in mind and conscience, unbelievers (who obviously claim otherwise), those who are abominable, disobedient, and deny God by their works, being unfit for good works.  

The context does not end just because the next line says, “Chapter 2.”  In that chapter Paul clearly defines what “sound in the faith” means, beginning unmistakably with “”Speak the things that befit sound doctrine, that the older men…” and going straight into the way people should live.  Read
through it.  Everything he tells the older men and women, the younger men and women, and the servants to do and to be fit somewhere in that previous list (“un-sound”) as an opposite. 

If people who are unruly are un-sound, then people who are temperate,
sober-minded, and reverent in demeanor are sound.  If people who are defiled in mind and conscience are not sound, then people who are chaste, not enslaved to wine (or anything else), and not thieves are sound.  If people who deny God by their works and are even unfit for good works are not sound, then people who are kind, sound in love, and examples of good works are sound. 
Go all the way through that second chapter and you can find a (opposite)
match for everything in the first.

Now let’s point out something important:  if being a false teacher makes you
unsound, then being a teacher of good and having uncorrupt doctrine does indeed make you sound, but why do we act like that is all there is to it? 
You can have a group of people who believe correctly right down the line
but who are unkind, unloving, un-submissive, impatient, and who do nothing but sit on their pews on Sunday morning with no good works to their name and they are still not a “sound church!”  Not according to Paul. Nine out of the ten things on that “un-sound” list have nothing to do with doctrine—they are about the way each individual lives his life.

I am reminded of Jesus’ scalding words to the Pharisees in Matthew  23:23: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these you ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. Yes, our doctrine must be sound, but doesn’t it mean anything to us that Paul spends far more time talking about how we live our lives every day?  
 
If the church is made up of people, then a sound church must be made up
of sound people who live sound lives.  That is the weightier matter of the law of
Christ.
 
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified: Romans 2:13.

Dene Ward

A young woman is making biscuits for her new husband  When she tries to roll them out she has a problem—they keep falling apart.  It is all she can do to
make them stick together long enough to get them on the baking sheet.  And when she tries to take them off, they fall to pieces.  Her husband tells her, “That’s all right. It’s the taste that matters,” as he gallantly takes a bite, and a little bite is all he can get.  They crumble so easily he cannot even butter them.  Before long, his plate is filled with crumbs and he has not managed to eat even half a biscuit’s worth.
             
The next morning she calls her mother. “Too much shortening,” her mother
says.  So that evening the new bride tries again.  If shortening is the culprit, she reasons, maybe no shortening at all would be even better.  
 
That night, as she slides the biscuits off into the basket, each lands with an ominous thud.  Her husband gamely takes a bite, or at least tries to.  They might as well be hockey pucks.  
 
I imagine that even non-cooks can see the point here. Each ingredient in the recipe makes a difference; each one is important and must not be left out—the shortening makes the biscuits tender, the flour gives them enough structure to hold together. Why are we smart enough to see that here, but forget it when it comes to spiritual matters?

One group says faith is the only thing we need. Another says strict obedience is the only thing we need.  One of them bakes crumbs, the other hockey pucks.  
             
Every generation reacts to the past generation’s errors by overcorrecting.  Each group is so afraid of making the same mistake that they make another one, and worse, usually sneer at their fathers for missing it so badly, thinking in their youthful arrogance that they have discovered something brand new. 
What they have usually discovered is the same error another generation
made long ago, the error their fathers tried to correct and overdid as well.

Why is it so hard to stop that swinging pendulum in the middle?  Why do we arrogantly suppose that the last group did everything wrong and we are doing everything right.  

Does God want faith? Yes, the righteous shall live by his faith, Heb 2:4.  
Does God want obedience? Yes, to obey is better than sacrifice, 1Sam 15:22.
Does God want our hearts? He always has, and why can’t we put it all together?  Thanks be to God…that you became obedient from the heart, Rom 6:17.

The Hebrew write equates disobedience with a lack of faith. 
And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest but to them who were disobedient?  And we see that they were not able to enter in due to unbelief, Heb 3:18,19.

Can God make it any plainer?  He doesn’t want crumbs; He doesn’t want hockey pucks; He wants a nice tender biscuit of a heart that is firm enough to hold the shape of the pattern used to cut it.  Follow the recipe God gave you.  When you go about your day today, make sure you have all the ingredients.

Woe to you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe mint, anise, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law.  But these
[matters of the heart] you ought to have done, and not left the other [matters of strict obedience] undone, Matt 23:23.

Dene Ward

I opened the cooler and looked down into the plastic bin inside and saw a bloody mess.  Immediately my mind went into salvage mode.  We were camping, living out of a cooler for nine days, and couldn’t take any chances, even if it did cost us a week’s worth of meals.  As it turns out, the problem was easily solved.

Whenever we camp, because space is short for that much food and eating out is not an option, I take all the meat for our evening meals frozen.  The meat itself acts as ice in the cooler, keeping the temperature well down in the safe zone, and we use it as it thaws, replacing it with real ice.  I learned early on to re-package each item in a zipper freezer bag so that as it thaws the juices don’t drip out and contaminate the other food and the ice we use in our drinks.  We also put the meat in plastic tubs, away from things like butter, eggs, and condiments—just in case.  That’s what saved us this time.

Somehow the plastic bag in which I had placed the steaks had developed a leak, but all those bloody red juices were safely contained in the white tub, and the other meats were still sealed.  I removed the bin from the cooler, put the steaks in a new bag, dumped the mess and cleaned the bin and the outside of the other meat bags, then returned the whole thing to the cooler, everything once again tidy and above all, safe.

We all do the same things in our kitchens.  After handling raw meat, we wash our hands.  We use separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables meant to be eaten fresh.  And lately, they are even telling us not to wash poultry at all because it splashes bacteria all over the kitchen.

We follow all these safety rules, then think nothing of cross-contaminating our souls.  What do you watch on TV?  What do you look at on the internet?  Where do you go for recreation?  No, we cannot get out of the world, but we can certainly keep it from dumping its garbage on the same countertops we use to prepare our families’ spiritual meals.  There is an “off” button.

Maybe the problem is that these things are not as repulsive to us as they should be.  The Psalmist said, I have not sat with men of falsehood; Neither will I go in with dissemblers. I hate the assembly of evil-doers, And will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocency: So will I compass your altar, O Jehovah; Psalms 26:4-6.  Can we say our hands are clean when we assemble to worship God after spending a week being titillated by the sins of others?

If we followed some basic spiritual safety rules as carefully as we do those for our physical health, maybe we would lose fewer to cross-contamination of the soul.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. Ephesians 5:11-12

Dene Ward

Lynchpin—1) the pin inserted through an axletree to hold a wheel on; 2) something that serves to hold together the complex.

If the lynchpin is removed, the wheel falls off and the vehicle can longer move; it is useless.  Paul tells us that resurrection is the lynchpin to Christianity.

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.  We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied, 1 Cor 15:13-19.

I think we understand that.  If Christ has not been raised from the dead, why should we care anything about how he tells us to live?  His resurrection is the reason we believe in his Divinity, in his right to tell us how to live, and ultimately in the hope of our own resurrection.  Our whole belief system stands or falls on the resurrection.

Paul said a few other things about Christ’s death and resurrection in Romans 6: Or are you ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?   We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; for he who has died is justified from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, Rom 6:3-8.

Did you catch that?  If we were united with him in the likeness of his death, we should also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.  That new life to which we are resurrected is not the one in the future, but the one we live now, no longer enslaved to sin.  Keep on reading in Romans 6.  Christ died once and will not have to die again because death no longer has dominion over him.  The life he lives now is a life lived “unto God.”  What does that mean for me? Even so reckon you also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey the lusts thereof:  neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under law, but under grace.

Now that I have been raised in the likeness of his resurrection through my baptism, sin should no longer control me; I should control myself because through Christ I can.  If I insist on making excuses for myself, “That’s just the way I am,” I am denying the power of my resurrection with Christ.  If I take Rom 7:15 out of its context, using it as Satan misused scriptures in Matthew 4, saying, “See I want to be good, I just can’t help it,” when Paul clearly states at the end of this passage that a solution has been found, Who shall deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ.. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, I have denied that very deliverance. 

When I continue to sin and do nothing to improve myself, I have denied the effects of the resurrection as surely as if I no longer believed in it.  It is the same lynchpin, the pin that keeps the wheels from falling off the cart, the pin that keeps my hope in salvation upright and rolling, even on rocky ground or muddy tracks. 

Remember the first time you were raised from the dead, that the life you live now you live unto God because sin no longer controls you; you, with the aid of Christ, control it. If you deny the power of the resurrection with ungodly living, then “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”   Live instead like a resurrected creature, and you will make it to the ultimate resurrection. 

Dene Ward