Monthly Archives: September 2014

MYTHBUSTERS #1: I can’t stop sinning

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mythbusters sinningThe Claim: Christians are sinners, and will never be able to overcome their sinful nature. Every one of us sins hundreds of times a day, and there is absolutely no way to stop.

What the bible says:

Stand in awe, and sin not. (Psalm 4:4)

“Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.” (Daniel 4:27)

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! (Romans 6:1-2)

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. (Romans 6:6, NLT)

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Christ Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12)

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. (Ephesians 4:1)

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. (1 Corinthians 15:34)

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)

“Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

The Verdict: BUSTED!

The born again believer has been given all authority over the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19), and has been made free from not only the consequences of sin, but the power of sin itself (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Now this doesn’t mean that if you sin, you are going straight to hell. John tells us we don’t have to sin, but if* we do there is forgiveness:

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may sin not. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)

People tend to make mistakes. Proverbs doesn’t say “a righteous man never falls”; it says “a righteous man may* fall seven times, but rises again” (Proverbs 24:16). If you slip up, just confess your sin as John instructed and start living right (1 John 1:9).

But the fact remains: sin has no power over you. So, just as Jesus told the adulterous woman, “GO AND SIN NO MORE.”

Note: Notice how the bible uses phrases like “may sin” and “if you sin” as opposed to “will sin” and “when you sin.” According to God, sin is a choice, not a destiny.

My new book UNFAIR ADVANTAGE talks about overcoming sin and living life worthy of God’s calling. Check it out on Amazon.

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A Few Lessons My Son Taught Me from Proverbs 1

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Yesterday was the first of the month, and as my custom is, I read Proverbs 1 to my four-month old son. As I read the chapter out loud, several important themes began to emerge, things that are reinforced throughout the rest of Proverbs, throughout the Old Testament, and throughout the entire bible.

Here are seven things I learned from the first seven verses of Proverbs.

  1. We can all be wise

“Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline.”

Sure, there are some people that seem to be endowed with a greater intellect in life, but wisdom and intelligence aren’t synonymous. I’m sure we all know a handful of people who aced the SAT and excelled in AP Calc, but are dumber than a brick.

Fortunately, God said He’s give wisdom to anyone who asked in faith. And He’s not stingy with wisdom, either. According to James, God gives wisdom like a democrat gives out free cell phones during an election year.

True biblical wisdom comes from continually seeking God’s Word, and the benefits of godly wisdom (versus book smarts) are unparalleled.

 

  1. We can all be successful

“Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives.”

Contrary to popular belief, nowhere in the bible does God command anyone to be poor. God is constantly dishing out advice throughout the bible on how to financially prosper, so the church has the resources to reach the lost.

Case in point: Joshua 1:8, where God tells us precisely how to succeed and prosper in life. And if that’s not convincing enough, the entire book of Proverbs is a monthly devotional written by the smartest guy in the world who turned one of the smallest, weakest nations into a thriving empire whose people continue to dominate the financial market to this day.

 

  1. We can all live the right way

“Their purpose is… to help them do what is right, just, and fair.”

Did you know it’s possible to live the rest of your life and never sin again?

Jesus taught us to pray for that in the Lord’s Prayer. Furthermore, Jude exalts God as “Him who is able to keep you from falling.”

If you want to read more about this, check out this post.

 

  1. Even the “simple” and young can live this way

“These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.”

Wisdom, success, and righteous isn’t only reserved for those with IQs calling above the 150 threshold. Anyone, from the professor at Harvard to the kid struggling with sixth grade vocab, can enjoy the blessings of God.

Proverbs 8:12 says God gives us wisdom to find out “knowledge of witty inventions.” That means he’ll give brilliantly simple ideas to just about anyone seeking after wisdom.

A great example? The guy who decided to flip ketchup bottles over made $13 million. Pretty simple idea, huh? Imagine what you could accomplish if you followed the leading of God and looked at things from a slightly different (or upside down) angle.

 

  1. You need to seek God’s Word

“… by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables.”

Every blessing from God is the result of seeking His Word. Joshua 1:8 states that one must be constantly speaking God’s Word, thinking about God’s Word, and doing God’s Word. And James admonishes the church to not simply hear the Word, but actively participate in accomplishing the Word of God.

 

  1. You need the fear of the Lord

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge.”

It all comes down to the Lord. And if the fear of the Lord is the foundation, that means that ultimately any schooling, be it elementary school, high school, college, or even Sunday school is a waste of time without God.

Notice, too, that it doesn’t say “The Lord is the foundation of true knowledge.” It’s a fearful reverence and admiration of God that leads to biblical wisdom and knowledge. (Prov. 9:10, Psalm 111:10)

 

  1. Fools deny these simple truths

“But fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

This teaching is supposed to be simple. “God is good… He wants good for you… He’ll take care of you and teach you to be a successful adult… just stick with Him.”

Unfortunately, many Christians deny what the bible teaches. They believe that God is out to get them, that makes His kids poor, unhappy, unsuccessful, and sick, that He makes it impossible for them to live right and them punishes them when they fall short, and that ultimately He might just kill you.

The bible has a name for that. “Foolishness.”

These are lessons that God taught David during those years in the pastures and the wilderness and the palace. David in turn instilled them in his son Solomon, who recorded them for God’s people. And I intend to follow in David’s footsteps and teach them to my son.

“Follow God, and He will make you wise beyond your years. He will raise you up into a successful and prosperous man of God, and He will teach you to walk perfectly before Him.”

PROVERBS ONE

(1) These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

 

(2) Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,

To help them understand the insights of the wise.

(3) Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives

To help them do what is right, just, and fair.

(4) These proverbs will give insight to the simple,

Knowledge and discernment to the young.

 

(5) Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.

Let those with understanding receive guidance

(6) By exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables

The words of the wise and their riddles.

 

(7) Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,

But fools despise wisdom and discipline.

 

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I wrote a book! It’ll be the best book you read this year (Ephesians notwithstanding).

Anthropomorphizing God

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wilson-cast-awayThere are many dangerous things Christians like to do. One of them is to anthropomorphize God.

Anthropomorphize: (verb) to attribute human form or personality to things not human

And so often, in our quest to understand God’s nature and character, we compare him to us, even though the bible says very clearly in Numbers 23:19 that “God is not a man.”

Case in point: “God is your heavenly Father.” And the way we explain this is by saying things like, “So God is kind of like your dad” (or worse, “So God is kind of like you”).

Now, to be fair, we do say that God is better than our human dads. But still, we often start with ourselves. We tell people to look at their human parents, and then move the goodness bar a little higher, and eventually you’ll get to God.

But we have things entirely backwards. We were never supposed to anthropomorphize God. To say “He’s like us, only better” is to grossly understate how good and infinite and perfect He actually is.

We should never anthropomorphize God; rather, we should dei-pomorphize us.

Dei-pomorphize: (verb) to attribute Godly form or personality to things not God

When it comes to fatherhood, we shouldn’t say,

“Well, you’re a father, and you love your kids and provide for them and try your darndest to be fair and teach them how to live. Sure, you make mistakes, but all in all you’re pretty good. But God is better.”

We should say,

“God is perfect. He is holy. He never lies. He leads flawlessly. He always knows what to do. No weapon formed against His kids prospers. He supplies all of their needs. He teaches us all things. And He does all things well. He’s also your Heavenly Father. Therefore, earthly fathers, be more like the perfect Father.” (By the way, Matthew 5:48 says you can be perfect like the Father, so this isn’t an entirely ridiculous expectation.)

I mean, I am just a father. He is The Father. That means He’s the measuring rod, not me. When we anthropomorphize God, we allow ourselves to stay in the same place while bringing Him down to our level. But when we dei-pomorphize ourselves, we elevate God to the highest place while striving to get closer and closer to him.

And this works across the board. We are told to “love our wives as Christ loved the church.” When we use the love of Jesus as the standard in our marriage, we have no choice but to work harder, get better, and love greater.

We are told to live the characteristics of the Holy Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” These aren’t merely human qualities; they are attributes that God Himself possesses, and that can only be lived by the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

So fathers: be like God. After all, He is THE Father. Raise your kids like God would raise them.

Husbands: love your wives like Christ loves you. I know, I know. That’s a tall order, but hey, God told you to do it, which means it’s possible.

And Christians: every single day, let every single characteristic of God, be it love, patience, or peace, shine brightly and obviously through your life for the whole world to see.

That’s how we’ll change the world.

“…the Love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given for us.” (Romans 5:5)

 

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