I Am Righteous...Are You?

Today's blog is a companion to the previous one entitled: “I Am Not Righteous...Are You?” They are meant to be considered together.

Jesus was described as “One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin,” (Hebrews 4:15) implying that the rest of us are not without sin. The Apostle Paul was more direct: “There is none righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10)

Among other scriptures, these two tell us that humanity can only be described as evil. In fact, God looked at the world during the time of Noah and observed that “every intent of the thoughts of his (mankind’s) heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) (I'm not saying that things are that bad today, but you get the idea...man tends toward evil.)

After the Garden of Eden, mankind needed a remedy for sin and unrighteousness. Many religious people have come and gone with ideas for a remedy for sin that are not found in God’s word.

• Saying lots of prayers never undid anyone’s sin and made them righteous.
• Punishing oneself never undid or paid for anyone’s sin and made them righteous.
• Doing lots and lots of good never undid or paid for anyone’s sin and made them righteous. 

Good does not cancel out evil.

Jesus actually did lots and lots of good works, but he never sinned. So, there was no sin in His life to make him unrighteous (evil).

I am thinking about the pure water illustration I used in my previous article. There are only two ways to obtain pure water:

1. Start with water that has never been impure.
2. Remove the impurities of tainted water to make the water pure.

Applied morally, Jesus began pure and was never tainted with sin. All other people, on the other hand, have been tainted with sin. The real problem with sin is that man, left on his own, cannot get rid of it. He cannot purify himself. The only thing he can do is pay for his sin, and the payment is quite steep: Death!

However, mankind is not without hope:

He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

--2 Corinthians 5:21

This verse refers to the sinless Christ bearing the sins of mankind on the cross. The Apostle Peter wrote about souls that are purified through obedience to the truth. He explained purification by referring to one’s rebirth “through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:22-23). The Apostle Paul described how the sacrifice of Jesus sanctified His church, “having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26). The Apostle John wrote about the individual:

If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness. 

--1 John 1:7

I know that I cannot become righteous by praying a lot, by worshiping every week, by doing good deeds, or by punishing myself (or being punished) for my sins. Nothing can undo sin. Yet, God has promised to purify anyone who makes a proper faith response to Jesus. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you and I can be made clean. And understand this, we are not simply labeled ‘clean’ though tainted with sin. We who are in Christ...ARE TRULY CLEAN. We ARE the righteousness of God through Christ.

Mark Stinnett

I Am Not Righteous; Are You?

You are probably not going to like this blog—I don’t. It is the kind of blog that speaks the truth, but it is nothing anyone wants to hear. In fact, it is so objectionable that some folks will read the next statement and then stop in disagreement and unbelief. I’ll just say it and get it over with.

Humans are evil.

Let me be more specific: I am evil; you are evil; everyone you know is evil.

I did not learn that from my parents. Nor did I learn that from the preacher (when I wasn’t a preacher). I didn’t learn that from my friends or school. I came to that conclusion by studying the Bible.

You should know, however, that God does not hate humanity, not in the Old Testament, not in the New Testament, and not now. You see, I read the entire Book and there’s some really good news. But the fact remains, people are, by nature, evil.

Let me show you from Scripture:

There is none righteous, not even one. 
--Romans 3:10

The Apostle Paul was making the point that all people are tainted with sin and are accountable to God. You can read the verses before and after the verse quoted above and you will see that it has not been taken out of context.

Next, consider the surprising response of Jesus when He was identified as ‘good’:

As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”
--Mark 10:17-18

Jesus was commenting on the way the man had evaluated Him. We know that Jesus was indeed good. However, the man that called Him ‘Good Teacher’ knew only what he saw externally. He could not see the heart of Jesus. So, Jesus commented on his external evaluation.

That also explains how we commonly evaluate people. We assess their goodness based on the things they say and the things they do. In general, if a person is not hateful in speech; if they are not criminal in their behavior; and if they are known to have done some ‘good’ deeds, then we generally feel comfortable in describing them as good.

Now, for an example for comparison…

Suppose that I have a glass of pure water for you to drink. Then I place one drop (only one small drop) of liquid in the water containing the Ebola virus. Is it still pure? (It was just one drop…would you care for a drink?)

The point is that we (people) are tainted with sin. When we sin, we are no longer pure, no longer good. Doing lots and lots of good does not remove the sin any more than adding lots of water to the glass makes it pure. (How much water should I add before you will drink the tainted water?)

Every time someone defends a sinner for their sin, and identifies them as ‘good’ because they have spoken well or done some good deeds, or even lots of good deeds, they are mistaken. Unless a person has been purified so that there is no sin, he/she cannot claim to be good or righteous.

Jesus was described as “One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He was like us (human), but different (sinless). What does that tell you about “us”?

We have ‘all’ sinned; we ‘all’ need a savior.

(more next week)

Mark Stinnett

Do You 'Love' Jesus?

I don’t know what you expect to read in a blog entitled “Do You ‘Love’ Jesus?"

There is quite a lot of paper and ink (and pixels) devoted to the biblical meaning of love. Perhaps you have heard/read material that distinguishes between different Greek terms for love in the New Testament: agape (pronounced: a-GOP-ay) and philos (pronounced: PHEE-los). Don’t worry, I’m not planning to go ‘Greeky’ on you, but it is a good idea to understand something about these words. After all, they are not exact synonyms but they are both translated into English as love. (What's up with that?)

Agape is sometimes referred to as a God-type of love. There is nothing wrong with that, but perhaps the following verses provide clarity:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…. 
—John 3:16

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.
—1 Corinthians 13:4-6

Some folks like to completely squeeze emotion out of agape. That is a mistake and not true to its usage. Yet, agape is not rooted in emotion (or intellect), but rather selflessness and self-sacrifice.

A good English word for philos is affection.

Oddly, the ‘kiss’ of Judas was literally, philos. When Jesus said, “He who loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37), ‘love’ is philos (affection).

Jesus rebuked the hypocrites who loved (philos) to be seen praying in public (Matthew 6:5); also those who loved (philos) the places of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogue (Matthew 23:6).

However, did you know that God loves (philos)?

The Father loves the Son. 
—John 5:20

The Father himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed…. 
—John 16:27

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline….
—Revelation 3:19

The 'love' word In each of the verses above is philos (affection). How does that strike you that God has affection for Jesus!? God had an emotional attachment to Jesus just like any father would have for his son. He has an emotional attachment to all of his children.

But that's not all. Take a look at this...

If anyone does not love [philos] the Lord, he is to be accursed.
—1 Corinthians 16:22

Christians are to have affection for Jesus. Our love is incomplete without true affection and an emotional attachment to Jesus. We ought to anticipate eternal life with God with the same anticipation as going to Grandma’s house or going on one’s absolute favorite vacation...only far, far more. God is eagerly awaiting your arrival!

Christianity is not a philosophy that people adopt intellectually as if to say, “I prefer the ideas and teachings of Jesus more than those taught by Confucius, or Mohammed (Islam) or the pleasure-seeking lifestyle of hedonism.” Rather, central to Christianity is relationship. Jesus came to repair the broken relationship between God and man, not to organize something, not make arbitrary rules for living.

Organization and rules help our families run smoothly, but families are not built around rules. Families are based on relationships. The same is true of God and His family. God loves you (agape); and God loves you (philos).

Do you love Jesus, and love Him too?

Mark Stinnett

Did Jesus Ever Judge?

A woman who had committed adultery was brought to Jesus. Her accusers were trying to trap Jesus. The sentence under the Law of Moses was stoning. What would Jesus do? He openly said that he did not judge her. (John 8)

There is a terrible misunderstanding in our culture regarding ‘judgment.’ The example above is often used to rebuke Christians who appeal to the Scriptures regarding the immoral behaviors and lifestyles of many in our society. Unfortunately, the passage is misused. Jesus did not justify sin just because he did not judge her.

The problem is tricky, partly because of the broad usage of the term ‘judge’ in the New Testament. The core meaning of the Greek term for ‘judge’ was: to separate. It was the idea of distinguishing between things. It could even describe the activity of organizing things (e.g. separating forks, knives and spoons in your silverware drawer—judging your silverware; a little silly, but accurate). Of course we are more accustomed to thinking in terms of legal or moral judgment, that is, distinguishing between legal and illegal, or between moral good and evil.

I think people are easily offended in our society. So, the banner cries of “Tolerance” and “You can’t judge me” are often used to squelch descriptions of behaviors and lifestyles described in the Bible as immoral, evil or ungodly. That’s right, the Bible does make distinctions, not for the purpose of devaluing people, but for the purpose of instruction. That is the only way people will understand how to make a proper response to God in their lives. Now, consider a few verses from the Bible…

For God did not send the Son (Jesus) into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
—John 3:17

For not even the Father (God) judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son (Jesus)…. 
—John 5:22

He who rejects Me (Jesus) and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 
—John 12:48

So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
—Hebrews 9:28

What does it all mean?

Jesus was first sent to deal with man’s sin problem by offering Himself as a sacrifice in place of sinners. (God demands payment for sin.) Yet, every person must make a response to this incredible gift...

He who hears My (Jesus) word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 
—John 5:24

A person who does not make a proper faith response to Jesus WILL be judged, specifically by the words of Jesus. So, when Jesus returns, He will not come “in reference to sin,” that is, to deal with the sin problem of mankind. Rather, He will judge (distinguish/separate) between those who have made a proper faith response to Him and those who have not.

As for the adulterous woman that Jesus encountered (John 8); Jesus explicitly told her, “Go and sin no more.” So, while he did not judge (condemn) her at that moment, he most certainly distinguished her behavior as sinful and unacceptable to God. Then, from that point forward she had to decide whether she would follow Jesus or continue her lifestyle of sin and in the end be judged by the words of Jesus.

Mark Stinnett