I saw this on the internet this week, and thought it was kind of funny… but also informative. If you have ever wondered how to gird up your loins, here is the definitive guide:
How to Gird Up Your Loins (In Case You Ever Wondered)
By
Romans 8:7-8, Enmity with God, and Calvinism
By
Romans 8:7-8 is often used to defend the Calvinistic doctrines of Total Depravity and total inability. The text says this:
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7-8).
Regarding this text, Calvinist commentator John Murray says that “Enmity against God” is nothing other than total depravity and “cannot please God” nothing less than total inability (Murray, Epistle to the Romans, 1:287).
“The Flesh” in Romans
But, as with the discussion of Romans 7, it is important to know what Paul means when he writes about “the flesh” in his letters.
The flesh is dead and dying. The flesh is separated from God, is corrupted, and when the soul attempts to operate through the flesh, only sin-tainted behavior results.
The unbeliever, of course, since He does not have the Spirit of God, has no choice but to operate through the flesh. As we have seen in the discussion about the three parts of a person, this says nothing whatsoever about the ability (or inability) of the unregenerate person to believe in Jesus for eternal life. It is not “the flesh” that believes in Jesus, but the soul.
So while Paul is absolutely right that the flesh cannot please God, we should not understand Paul to be saying that a person cannot believe in Jesus for eternal life. God calls all to believe in Jesus, and since faith is not a work of the soul through the corrupted flesh, the soul is able to believe in Jesus and receive eternal life from Him.
Unbelievers are Not the Focus on Romans 8:7-8
Of course, having said this, it is important to note that the unregenerate person is not the subject of Paul’s statement in Romans 8:7-8.
Instead, Paul is writing about the experience of believers.
In Romans 7, he wrote about the ongoing struggle with sin that every person experiences (both believer and unbeliever alike), and concluded that description by rejoicing that God has provided a way through Jesus Christ for people to be freed from the bondage to decay and corruption that was brought about by the body of death. As a result of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit, our mind can now serve the law of God, even though the flesh still serves the law of sin (Romans 7:25).
Based on this understanding, Paul goes on in Romans 8 to call believers who have received the Spirit of God to live according to the Spirit, and not according to the old man, the corrupted flesh.
Romans 8 is a Call for Believers to Live According to the Spirit
In Romans 8, Paul calls believers to stop walking according to the flesh, and start living according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1). He invites us to no longer set our mind (our soul) on the flesh, but to set our mind (our soul) on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:4).
He goes on to explain that when believers live according to the flesh, we are carnally (or fleshly) minded, which leads to death. But if we live through the Spirit, we will finally discover the life and peace that we have always desired, but could never accomplish through the flesh (Romans 8:6).
Paul says that since we have the Spirit, we can now live for God (Romans 8:9), but we must make the choice to do so, for even though the Spirit of life is in us, the body of sin is still there as well, seeking to lead us back into death, decay, and destruction (Romans 8:10-15).
What this all means then is that Paul’s statement in Romans 8:7-8 about the carnal mind not being able to please God is that Paul is not primarily referring to unregenerate people, but to those who are regenerate, who have the Spirit of God, but who choose to live according to the flesh.
Such behavior, though carried out by Christians, is not pleasing to God.
He gave us His Spirit so that we might live a new life, a life free from the damaging and destructive consequences of sin. By choosing to live through the flesh, we invite the natural consequences of sin down upon our heads (Paul calls this wrath), which saddens and troubles God.
God wants us to be delivered from sin, not just in our position of being “in Christ,” but also in our daily experience.
This, in large part, is what the book of Romans is all about. It is not primarily about how people can escape hell and go to heaven when they die. Romans is about how Christians can be delivered from the consequences of sin and experience the life God wants for us, and thus, inviting the world into our experience of the rule and reign of God.
Romans 8:7-8, then, says nothing about Total Depravity or total inability of unregenerate people. Instead, these verses are an invitation from Paul to believers to reject the way of death, and choose the way of life instead.
If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.It’s the White Man’s Fault! It’s the Black Man’s Fault!
By
People love to point fingers.
It’s been happening since the Garden of Eden when, after he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam said to God, “The woman, whom you gave to me, gave me the fruit and I ate.” Adam not only blames Eve, but blames God as well.
When God turns to Eve, she said, “Don’t look at me! It was the serpent!” She also was implying that it was God’s fault. After all, didn’t God create the serpent and put it in the Garden?
Down through the eons of history, this approach has been our standard operating procedure. Every time something goes bad in our life, our family, our town, our country, or our world, everybody starts pointing the finger at everybody else.
Take the events in the Middle East for the past 20 years:
It’s the West’s fault for what is happening in the Middle East! Death to the great satan!
No, it’s the Muslims fault! Let’s blow them off the face of the earth!
No, it’s not Muslims; it’s only extremist Muslims.
Yeah, but Muslims only become extreme in reaction to Western abuse of power.
Who cares? Let’s kill ’em all and let God sort it out! (Have you ever seen this bumper sticker?)
The same sort of conversation happened during the “Occupy Wall Street” protests:
All those rich people are to blame for our county’s problems. They are stealing our money!
No we’re not! You are poor because you just want to sit out here, hold signs, and commit crimes!
But that’s only because we can’t get jobs because you are so greedy!
We can’t hire anybody because Obama — whom you voted into office — ruined our economy. It’s your own damn fault!
Then there are the recent events in Ferguson, MO:
You white people are always killing black people for no reason!
What? It was self-defense! And he was a criminal!
Self-defense?! You shot him six times! You’re all racist!
No, we’re trying to uphold the law. Look at you! You’re rioting and looting stores. You’re all criminals!
We could go on and on and on. This sort of exchange takes place every day in our lives, communities, job sites, and even families.
And you want to know what the solution is? Jesus showed it to us, if we have courage to look.
The solution is crucifixion … not of our enemies, but of ourselves.
Death truly is the answer … but not the death of our foes, but of me. I. Myself.
The church claims it follows Jesus, but we only want to follow Him if it leads to personal glory, pay raises, a higher standard of living, and the death and destruction of our enemies.
Nobody wants to follow Jesus into death; especially into death for our enemies … and maybe even at the hands of our enemies.
This is hard teaching, and frankly, I am not fully sure about how to live it out.
As I write this, my inner self is screaming, “But what does that mean, Jeremy?!” And frankly, I don’t know. Actually, I don’t think I want to know.
I am not ready to follow Jesus into death.
The idea terrifies me.
But I believe that following Jesus into death is the only way that violence and finger-pointing will ever end. As long as I refuse to own up to the violence and hatred in my own heart, I will forever be pointing the finger at someone else, saying, “They made me do it!”
It’s not the white man’s fault or the black man’s fault. It’s me.
It’s not the rich people or the poor people. It’s me.
It’s not the Muslims or the Christians. It’s me.
It’s not the Democrats or the Republicans. It’s me.
This is the first step in dying to ourselves. Recognizing that I am the one at fault, I am the one to blame, is the first step toward laying down our lives for others.
Racial tensions are at an all-time high. White people blame the black man, and black people blame the white man. But neither is at fault. I am the one at fault.
It is not “they” who must die, but me. If Jesus is our guide, we bring peace, not by killing others, but by laying down our lives for others, and especially for our enemies.
This post is part of the September 2014 Synchroblog. Below is a list of other bloggers who contributed to the Synchroblog this month. Go read them all and see what others have to say about race and violence.
- Wendy McCaig – Race, Violence, and a Silent White America
- Glenn Hager – Can We Even Talk About Racial Issues?
- Carol Kuniholm – Who is Allowed to Vote?
- Sarah Quezada – Race, Violence, and the Airport Immigration Agent
- Wesley Rotoll – Race, Violence, and Why We Need to Talk About It
- Kathy Escobar – We Have a Dream
Amazed at Human Creativity in the Midst of the Fall
By
I am constantly amazed at how the creativity which God has placed into the hearts of men shines through, even in places where the fall has brought devastating and paralyzing consequences.
Cerebral Palsy, while not a sin, is still a consequence of living in a fallen world, but watch the following video and see the sort of beauty that comes off the fingertips of a man who suffers from this disease.
The True Service of the Church
By
I recently received an encouraging email from Ward Kelley, a long-time reader of this blog and someone I consider an “online” friend. I asked his permission to share his comments with you…
Good morning. I got up this morning and decided I would read your book Put service back into church service. As I have been struggling with the whole idea of what church really is…I find that your writings in this area the most applicable to my station in life. Pages 66-68 concerning church programs and their need for a finite life, and of feeding “Jim Handley’s” family while he found a job struck a chord with me.
Last month my wife — the social creature with a big heart that she is — met a couple through a woman’s prayer group at the church we attend who was pouring out her heart about their impending homelessness. We took them out to dinner to assess their situation and after finding out they had not approached the church for assistance I suggested they request aid through the church benevolence fund.
She approached the church by phone, though they had been attending for some time, seeking $1,500.00 to help them move into an apartment. The finance leader of the church, without even so much as a conversation, said that a check for $250.00 would be left at the front desk for her. Something is better than nothing, of course, but the woman felt that since the man had not cared enough to inquire into their situation, that he did not care about them as people. She felt he was dismissive, and the $250, while very generous, was not nearly enough to actually provide any help to their actual crisis.
I called and left message for the finance pastor and received no call back so I cornered him at church. I asked him if he could fill in some blanks for me concerning this family and he had no facts. He stated they got calls all the time for money and couldn’t get the details on every one. I am aware this happens as I was involved with benevolence at a previous church. When I reminded him that they were not strangers but part of this church’s family… He couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
Is this how we are to treat family?
So I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I got more deeply involved searching out cheaper home alternatives for them and found several. Then I arranged a meeting to discuss in more depth with the husband his budget, and alternatives for them to live. My wife and I made it know that we were willing to help them bridge the gap with some financial and other assistance till they were back on their feet.
It was obvious that the work we did and the personal care we gave meant a lot to this family. My wife and I enjoyed it immensely as well!
Why didn’t the church do this for them?
Though of course, as you point out on your blog, since my wife and I “are the church” I suppose “the church” did help out this family…
In the end, the man decided to move his family in with his father rather than take one of the alternative routes I offered. A week later he asked for $300 to help with the transition. Had the finance pastor spent 15 minutes with this couple, listening, showing compassion, and guiding them biblically, he could have accomplished this in the name of the church.
Ironically this same finance pastor was busy preparing a “Church Event” of outreach to poor children in the community where they came to the church for free health and dental checkups, and haircuts. I cynically suggested to my wife that this was subliminally designed as a membership drive… Like so many churches they are expending massive time and money on programs to bring people in the front door, while they lose even more out the back door by not truly loving or caring for the people who are already there.
Again, a few weeks ago my wife found a young couple living in a tent behind a strip mall. She began by helping them by driving them around, and bringing them over to shower and wash their clothes. In subsequent conversations I believe that they are Christians … yet young and immature in the faith. Last week a storm blew through, knocked their tent down and soaked all their meager belongings, so they have been in our home since then. Some friends of ours offered to allow them to live in a travel trailer in their yard till they got back on their feet. We met last night as a group to decide a game plan for this young couple. My friend is also struggling with his role in the “church,” and is finding this sort of approach to be much closer to the way of Jesus.
Not all relationships are instant success stories!
Of course, it is critical to remember that even when serving others in such tangible ways, lives are messy, people change slowly, and there are numerous setbacks and we walk with people through their difficulties.
Take, for example, the couple that recently moved into our home with us. They were within one day of having the trailer ready to move into … and blew it.
The guy (James) took a day off from his contracting job to go over and finish the job. He decided that since he was off work that it would be a good day to buy a case of beer and get plastered. Once drunk he managed to get into a fight with the trailer owner’s son in law who was helping him. Needless to say, after being given a warning during our sit down meeting not to cause any drama … he was told never to come back.
After spending the night at an emergency department with him I directed my wife to take Mandy up to the local extended stay and pay for their first week.
It is frustrating in one sense working with dysfunctional people, even more so when they claim to be born again. Living in the south, everyone has biblical knowledge, and can talk a good game … but the discipleship, the love, the need to serve Christ are not present. We are going to continue to assist them, rides to work, church, grocery, etc. I reasserted to my friend and wife that sometimes serving Christ, and people, can get messy.
We don’t love and serve others for thank you’s or recognition, but to serve Christ.
Anyway, I think your writings in this and other books about the church are spot on. It is a struggle to make the transition, but I wanted you to know that your writings encourage me on to finding my place in the body of Christ, whether others find in unconventional or not.
Ward Kelly
Thank you, Ward! Your email is not only an encouragement to me, but to many others who are trying to follow Jesus in similar ways.
Here is a video from Keith Green that Ward sent along later which reminds us of this point:
Do any of you have similar stories to share about how God is using you to “be the church” in your neighborhood and community? Feel free to share them in the comments below!
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- …
- 167
- Next Page »
Get Books by Jeremy Myers
