Fear the LORD

— Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…”

In an age where we think ourselves so wise, it is unthinkable how we no longer fear the Lord God. Our casual culture has cultivated irreverence and arrogance towards our Creator. How can it be that we who “address as Father the One who judges impartially” (1 Peter 1:17a) do not “conduct [ourselves] in reverence” here in our “temporary residence”? Answer: we do not know Him.

If we took the time to get to know God, our response would be materially changed. In such effort there is no doubt God would inculcate a sense of awe and wonder that would produce a healthy fear of the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”

It is our shallow and casual disrespect of the Almighty in our churches that has prevented this understanding. While I do not discount the need to incorporate contemporary styles of musical worship (anyone who knows me will attest, as I play drums in church), I lament the side-affect produced in many congregations of turning worship into entertainment. What I find interesting is that it’s not the music per se, but rather the attitude. I could argue modern, even progressive music could set the stage for effective worship. If one defines worship appropriately to be man’s reflection of the worth of God in spirit and truth, then worship can manifest in almost limitless flavors and musical styles.

So if style itself is not the issue but rather attitude and content, then the solution is to develop an authentic, authoritative understanding of who God is. This is accomplished by centering worship on God’s word. Moreover, the Bible should be used not merely as instructional text for sermons, though useful and imperative. It is the story of God and his dealing with his creation that is vitally important to knowing God himself. And the critical result that emerges is a praise-worthy fear of God.

Thus, as we discover Almighty God's power, justice, righteousness, and love, our response comes full circle to fearing God, which leads to praise. As Psalm 111:10 underscores: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” Let the children of God fear him, thus resulting in reverent conduct and “obedience to the truth” (1 Peter 1:22a), and let our worship invite us back to the humble view of ourselves and exalted view of the Almighty. "What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul..." (Deut 10:12).

Can we hide under a bushel? NO!

— Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is full of living power… It exposes us for what we really are.”

I have sometimes wondered if other people know what I am thinking. Some have even told me that I easily betray my feelings by my facial expressions and body language; it appears that I am quite transparent. Yet I believe I am quite capable of preventing most people from knowing my inner thoughts. By and large I have come to operate as a creature of privacy and anonymity in a culture that tolerates such attributes and even protects them.

Sometimes I believe that this self-protected isolation from others is impenetrable. As an actor on the stage of life I have learned appropriate behaviours, speech, and attitudes that are adapted and improvised over my lifetime to fit the scene. God by his Word and Holy Spirit has been correcting me and helping me see this is a self-deception and does not reflect what it means to be a new creation.

I can recall with regret my lifestyle at age 20. I found myself in a “consenting” yet inappropriate dating relationship that embodied this deviant behaviour. I portrayed myself a fundamental Christian, yet privately I was in sin. When two people enter into immoral behaviour together our society responds by saying we should not criticize what consenting adults do in private. This is a smoke screen designed by our culture to protect our private, hidden lives from scrutiny. This cultural norm should not surprise us, as during the last two hundred years our culture was learning quickly learning how to remove God from public view. As we make our way through the 21^st century we believe we do so without restraint or review of the Almighty.

So when we (me and thee) read the Bible we should come to realize how foolish we all can be. Hebrews 4:12 explains that “…the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are” (New Living Translation). This should give us pause.

What’s more, Ephesians 4:30a implores us: “…do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live.” We act as though God only sees our public behaviour (if that) and it really doesn’t matter anyway because he forgives us (assuming one has received forgiveness). True children of God have his Spirit inside of us and he sees all things—our hidden motives, thoughts, feelings, and desires. We can’t fool our heavenly Father! We who are “identified as his own” have no secrets from God. While today we fear about protecting our privacy against identity theft, we ignore the One from whom nothing is hidden. We “are naked and exposed.”

The good news is that God doesn’t leave us unprotected. When we seek protection by protecting ourselves through ‘perceived’ privacy of thoughts and actions, we forget that we are exposed to God’s ever-watchful eyes. But as Hebrews 4 continues in verses 14-16: “That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

My prayer is that we wake up, open our eyes to this reality, and come boldly to our high priest and the throne of grace. Amen.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel, But...

I am increasingly ashamed to be called an evangelical. This is not for theological reasons. My system of beliefs remains solidly evangelical: I firmly attest that the Bible in its original transmission was God-breathed, reliably inerrant, and the vehicle of God’s authority to man. Moreover, we are made right with God by grace through faith—not of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8). This is arguably the core set of beliefs for evangelical Christians.

Today in America the term ‘evangelical’ has been expanded to include ultra-conservative political ideologies. The ongoing culture wars reveal the increasing political visibility and influence of this self-affirmed demographic. Many leaders within evangelical organizations (churches and parachurch organizations) are energized around political issues. This has generated much publicity, especially with the 2004 electoral campaigns.

Now I do not deny that the role of the Christian includes the reshaping of our world. Indeed history tells us how the Roman Empire was radically altered once Christianity was officially recognized as a tolerated religion. The first three centuries marked growing persecution of Christians, who were seen as subversive and promoting anarchy against Caesar. It was the high moral standards (notably in marital fidelity, charity, and overall moral ethics) that earned credibility for followers of Jesus the Christ. However, once Rome tolerated and later endorsed Christianity as the preferred state religion, the gospel message and personal piety of its followers became distorted.

My fear is that our contemporaries have ignored the lessons of the early church. Christian leaders today (specifically evangelicals) are striving to create a Christian state within our existing government structure. By making this the goal, evangelicals are unwittingly falling into Satan’s trap: the church was at its best when its goal was not targeting governmental assimilation, but rather the great periods of growth occurred during the days of persecution while the simple message of Christ crucified marched on, changing lives through the power of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 1:16, Colossians 1:6). What’s more, the Bible does not instruct us to Christianize governments. The gospel message (in all its fullness) is to spread though the nations making disciples of people (Colossians 1:6).

I submit that we must return to what it means to be uniquely disciples of the Messiah and to return to the pure gospel message (2 Corinthians 5:20 – “we are ambassadors for Christ…we beg you…be reconciled to God”). We are to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16). We are to “be careful how [we] walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of [our] time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). And we must remind ourselves that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:12). I am almost ready to declare that I am no longer an evangelical, but instead simply a disciple of Jesus the Messiah.

All the World’s a Sanctimonious Stage

— Adjective derogatory making a show of being morally superior. ORIGIN Latin, sanctimonia ‘sanctity’’

The First Lady Laura Bush has just demonstrated for us the ageless principle of hypocrisy. NY Times columnist JOHN TIERNEY wrote of her comedic routine for the press in which she generated more than a few surprised looks from the largely Democratic audience. Even while she did not compose her stand-up act personally, her delivery was warmly received by the media as a welcome breather from the public piety typically on display by the first family. In an age often considered to be increasingly conservative, Laura Bush showed that our new version of conservatism has no problem watching Desperate Housewives and joking about sexual frustration.

However, one need not judge Mr. and Mrs. Bush so harshly. They have simply executed a well-conceived tactic to portray themselves as moderate people who do in fact enjoy worldly pleasures. Moreover, history is replete with examples of sporadic and public piety when it serves their interests, even while private behaviour may not fully line up with public pronouncements of morality. Indeed, this is merely a single example representing countless others who operate much the same way: public piety and private depravity. This spotlights a new twist on the idea of representative government!

The sad truth is that most Christians (including myself, lest anyone think I’m immune) are bad actors on the public stage. We’re more interested in impressing other people with our outward righteousness even while we forget that the Omniscient One sees all, including our hidden motives (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible provides numerous examples of this recurring theme with alarming modern relevance. King Saul is arguably the worst example of this—a man who carefully constructed circumstances to make his actions appear to be congruent with God’s commands, but ultimately God judged his heart and Saul was dethroned.

How is it we so easily fall into this badly written play? We convince ourselves that we are somehow justified by our performance in front of mere mortals, while we ignore the all-powerful Director who critiques our method acting with utter precision. He sees that our service is mostly for show before the eyes of man, and one day the curtain will fall on our pathetic performance.

The good news, however, is that if we willingly submit to God’s cues, we find grace. For Hebrews 4:14-16 reveals that Jesus is our “great high priest” who understands our weakness. He was “tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” This test was public and private. And because of His victory (both in His life and ministry) He became our living hope and perennial example. Therefore, we must “cling to him and never stop trusting him” (verse 14b)—“so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (verse 16). It is from God’s throne that the perfect performance of His grace transforms us into real people of God, both in public and in private. Only in this way can we stop pretending for the sake of others, and start living for Christ’s sake.