Avoiding the Greater Condemnation - part two

Jesus spent much more time speaking against self righteousness and hypocrisy than He spent speaking against sexual sin or drunkenness.  Why don’t we Christian preachers copy our Lord?  Jesus was much harder on the self righteous church folk of His day than He was on the worldly sinners!  What does that tell us?  We had better be on guard against the leaven of the Pharisees!  I had better examine my motives for self righteousness and pride!  And cry out to God to put those things to death whenever they raise their ugly heads in my life!

In my Bible College days my two closest friends and I formed the “Union of Conservative Christians”!   We were appalled that some of our fellow students were wearing mini-skirts, fishnet stockings, flared pants and playing rock n roll music!   We also were angry that some professors spent so much time teaching about Grace and Christian liberty when these worldly kids around us needed to hear about holiness and godly standards.   Now holiness and Godly standards are good things, the problem was  we thought we should be the ones who decided what was holy and godly!

We went to the Dean of students and complained he was too lax with our fellow students.  He had the audacity to suggest we needed to be more concerned about the sin in our own lives than how our fellow students were dressing!  It probably took me 15 to 20 years to figure out he was absolutely right!  Oh what a little Pharisee I was!  And I was proud of it!

But step by step God has brought me more awareness of the greatness of His grace and the greatness of my sin and sinfulness.  I need to take care of the two by four in my own eye before I try to remove the splinter from your eye!

Consider the Gospel of Luke, chapter 5 and verses 27-32  Luke 5:27-32.  ESV.  ²⁷ After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me."   ²⁸ And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.  ²⁹ And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.  ³⁰ And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"   ³¹ And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.   ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

There is much to learn from this passage –

To continue the mission of the Messiah we need to reach out to all kinds of people!

The Pharisees were outraged that Jesus had table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners.   Luke 5:30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

Years ago I knew a Pentecostal preacher who made many people in his church angry because one day a week he would go to a bar, drink Coke and make friends and witness!  I believe he was following the example of our Master!  It took courage to do this.  He received criticism.  But he was doing the right thing!  Now, not everyone should necessarily do the same thing.  Especially if you are a recovering alcoholic and being in that bar would be a major temptation to relapse.  But we need to fish where the fish are!

And we need to reach out to all kind of sinners just as Jesus did.  We should witness to gays and straight, bikers and bankers, lawyers and ex-cons, the middle class and the homeless, Republicans and Democrats, drinkers and non-drinkers.

And not just hammer them with the Gospel, first build friendships – get to know them!  Get involved in their lives!  Earn the right to be heard!  Jesus did!  We need to do the same!  If we are committed to continuing the ministry of Jesus in this world, we will seek to do the same!

Father?? Really?

William Tyndale’s translation laid the foundation for the King James Bible.  I find His translation of Ephesians 3:14-15 pregnant with meaning as I consider Fathers’ Day. “¹⁴ For this cause I bowe my knees unto the father of oure lorde Jesus Christ  ¹⁵ which is father over all that ys called father In heven and in erth.”  In the Greek the second occurrence of  “father” in verse 15 is “patria” (the first is “pater”).  They are related words.  Most often “patria” is translated “family”.  Of more modern translations the New Jerusalem Bible is the only one I found that follows Tyndale somewhat.  They translate, “¹⁴ This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every fatherhood, in heaven or on earth, takes its name.”  But several study Bibles or footnotes make note that “patria” could be rendered “father” or that it is related to the word for “father”.

“The Father of all fatherhood”…… “Father of all that is called father”…… 

I am tempted to say that God has chosen to reveal Himself as Father.  Yet Scripture seems to say something even more outrageous to our modern ears.  The first person of the Trinity IS Father. 

Even aside from feminist thinking, this is challenging for many people.  Some earthly fathers are scoundrels!  As a pastoral psychotherapist I hear horror stories of what some fathers have done to their children.  You hear similar stories in the news, stories of abuse, torture, incest.  It is far more potent when you are sitting a few feet away and looking in the eyes of a survivor who is telling THEIR personal story of mistreatment. 

Then on a different level there are the fathers who simply are not there.  There are fathers who are there physically, don’t beat their children with their fist, yet beat them down with criticism and put downs.  There are fathers who get drunk or high and scream in their children’s faces for hours.  Some fathers are wonderful, some are horrible.  Some are a confusing combination of violence and tenderness (see my previous blog about human nature).

Drs. Tim Clinton and Joshua Straub in their book “God Attachment” quote several studies that confirm what I always heard in Sunday School and sermons.  Our image of God the Father is powerfully impacted by our relationship to our earthly father!  Dads, you need to take this seriously!  If you are harsh and demanding your kids will usually instinctively expect God to be harsh and demanding!   If you seem distant and disinterested in them, at the deepest level of their wounded heart they will usually expect God to be far away and uncaring.  But if you are nearly always accessible, involved, caring yet firm then they will usually expect their heavenly Father to be the same. 

Many of us carry “father-wounds” of one degree or another.  This does not mean we are hopelessly broken.  It may mean for many that you will face challenges in experiencing God as He really is.  It may mean impairment in other areas of life.  But our loving Father has provided means by which we can find healing.  If you have struggles in this area seek out a safe, Biblical church.  If your struggles are deep enough you may also need to find a counselor who is aware of these things and able to help.

Safe Places, Pharisees and Parking Lots!

“I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.” Job 3:26, KJV. I believe a major part of my ministry as a pastoral counselor is creating a safe place for the people who come into my office. Many have never been to a counselor before and have a lot of fear and misgivings. Prayerfully, with the help of God I try to help people come to feel safe, secure, loved and accepted.

Interestingly, the English Standard Version translates that first phrase in Job 3:26, “I am not at ease…” A safe place is place where people can be at ease to open their hearts and pour out the weights, the burdens the hurts that have festered for years or even decades. We all have times we need a safe place where we can say what we have never said before.

Part of why my office is a safe place is legally as a licensed professional counselor I must maintain confidentiality. What is said here stays here.

Perhaps a larger reason it is a safe place is Biblical values. I see in Scripture the high importance of compassion, mercy, and acceptance. I see in Scripture that wonderful, godly people sometimes blow it in major ways (just think of David, Moses and Peter = an adulterer, 2 murderers and 2 liars)! Without condoning sin a pastoral counselor must accept people as they are – broken bearers of the image of God. (See my post "Are We Good, Bad, or Ugly?") We all need a place where we can be ourselves and not feel judged or rejected.

Mark and Debra Laaser lists "Safety" as one of the universal 7 desires of the human heart. What are you doing to help people in your life find safety?

Is your church a safe place where people can take off their masks and share their hurts, fears, struggles and failures? Too many churches are the exact opposite - people are expected to put on their "Sunday Morning Smile" and pretend they have it all together. Isn't that what the Pharisees did? Yet Jesus said He came for the sick not the "whole".

AA meetings and SA and NA meeting are designed to safe places for recovering addicts. They usually succeed at it better than most churches. How can we make our churches safe place where broken people can seek healing and wholeness in Christ? Maybe the call to worship might capture the spirit of "Hi, my name is Frank and I'm a sinner. I haven't sinned since Harold cut me off in the church parking lot and took my parking place!" Something to chew on!