"If you drink one drink..."

“If you drink one drink, then you’re one drink drunk.” That was what the preacher said, and as a naïve teen, I accepted it at face value.

The preacher was warning us kids about drinking alcoholic beverages and his reasoning seemed to make sense. After all, if you drop just one drop of swamp-water into a glass of pure water, the water is no longer pure. It seemed to make sense (and it was clever)...until college.

In my college freshman biology class I learned that the liver filters out impurities, such as alcohol, so that they do not reach the blood stream. Yet, the liver has limitations. After a point, the liver is overwhelmed and alcohol gets into the blood stream and begins to affect the brain.

I looked back on the logic applied by the preacher and I changed my view. His logic did not take into account the marvelous structure of the human body. It made logical sense, but it was not accurately applied.

My church friends who had had a similar learning experience were quick to comment that “We know that drunkenness is wrong, but you cannot prove from the Bible that drinking is wrong as long as you avoid drunkenness.”

They made a good legal point, and that is what this is all about, thinking about the Bible only in terms of law. It is called legalism, and a person could be very strict in their legal thinking or very liberal. The 'conservative' preacher and my 'liberal-thinking' fiends were all legalists because they treated the Bible as a law code and interpreted it in terms of legal commands of legal restrictions and legal liberties.

That was one of the problems with the Pharisees. When they saw the disciples of Jesus walking through a wheat field and taking some grain to eat, they accused them of violating the Sabbath. The disciples were not out in the field working. Yet, on a technical point, it could be argued that by taking grain from a standing wheat stalk they had harvested. Therefore, they were judged to be guilty! Legalism.

Jesus did not argue with the Pharisees on a legal point but responded, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) The Sabbath was never meant to be a point of legal contention, but a day that God assigned for man to rest from his work. Yet, some had taken the Sabbath command and made it into an elaborate legal system full of restrictions.

Peter did the same thing when he posed a question to Jesus about forgiveness. He asked if he should forgive his brother 'seven times.' (The general teaching of the Jews set a limit at three.) Peter probably thought he was being quite generous. However, though liberal in his thinking, he was still placing a restriction on forgiveness, a (generous) legal restriction. Jesus responded by telling Peter that there is no restriction on forgiveness.

God’s word is not a legal document, but rather, a revelation of His divine character. If you want to understand the prohibition of drunkenness, consider the character of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) If you want to know what the Sabbath is all about and how to apply that in your own life, ponder the activity of God during creation week. (Genesis 1 & 2.) If you want to fully understand Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness, open your eyes to the nature of God. (Exodus 34:6-7; Matthew 23:37; Luke 23:33-49)

It ought to awaken our minds when we realize that the Law of Christ, the Law of Liberty, and the Royal Law are all in reference to “love your neighbor as yourself.” God created us in His own image, and the way we respond to his instruction reflects our relationship with Him.

Are you a conservative legalist? A liberal legalist? A mainline legalist?

Or, stepping away from the legalism pendulum, are you being transformed into the image of Christ?

Mark Stinnett

November 27, 2022

"I AM": His Glory, Our Quest

Look out your window; what do you see?

It is not about making a list. Rather, when you see God’s creation outside your window, what do you learn...about God?

The Apostle Paul said that mankind can learn some things about God just by observing creation.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made…. —Romans 1:20

Just by observing the world around us a person can learn that: 

• God exists;
• God is powerful;
• God is eternal and divine. 

When you think about it, humans have used their powers of observation to learn about animals for centuries. By looking at a beaver’s dam, we can learn some things about beavers. The same could be said about birds and their nests, ants and their ant hills and even the 'animal' called man and the things he builds.

However, the simple observation of things that have been made can only go so far. Some things remain unknown unless revealed. By observing a building a person would have no knowledge of the architect’s name, family relationships, influence in the community, religious values, etc. And let’s not be silly thinking that an architect’s style is recognizable. That is true only if the architect is already known for his/her other work. (The work of an unknown artist or sculptor reveals only so much about its maker.)

The simple point is that God has revealed something about Himself through His creation. Yet, He has revealed something more about Himself through verbal revelation. He used words to identify Himself by name and by character.

The occasion was shortly after Israel had been delivered from Egyptian slavery. God had instructed Moses to lead the people to the Promised Land assuring him that an angel would accompany them. Moses pleaded with God to go with them Himself, and God agreed to do so. Then, almost as a child making an impossible request of a parent, Moses blurted out:

I pray You, show me Your glory!

Since God would not allow Moses to see his face, he told him to stand in an indentation in a large rock. He would then pass in front of Moses and declare His name.

For centuries to come psalmists, prophets and those of faith would repeat the things God revealed to Moses about Himself that day. One of the greatest revelations in all of Scripture…

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. —Exodus 34:6-8

Justice is a part of God’s character because He is pure and holy. Yet, He is never without love. Love is also a part of God's character, yet He is never without justice and purity and holiness. God is love and God is holy at all times. He does not ‘try’ to love or 'try' to be holy; these are His nature. Not one of the characteristics that God revealed competes with another as if God struggles against justice to show compassion; or that God struggles against forgiveness to be holy. He is at all times both loving and just; the God of love and the God who is holy.

Love and Holiness: His glory; our quest.

Like Moses, we would do well to bow low to the ground and worship...

"I AM": Just

Life’s unfair…

Kids come home from school and talk about their day:
     “The teacher said...and that’s not fair.”
     “My friend…and that’s not fair.”
     “It rained again; it’s just not fair.”

After supper mom and dad discuss their day:
     “The boss told us...and that’s not fair.”
     “I can’t believe what happened to…; that’s just not fair.
     “Did you hear what’s happening overseas? That’s really unfair.”

I’m not saying that people complain all the time (though some do). Rather, I think we spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about and wringing our hands about the many inequities of life, that is, the stuff that’s not fair.

The Psalmist often cried out to God because of the inequities of life. Yet, he concluded that God was his strength. He said that he “will wait upon the Lord.”

What does that mean, to wait upon the Lord?

In short, it means that a person is willing to endure the inequities of life and allow God to straighten everything out later. To wait upon the Lord means that, while the inequities in life are real, I will trust that God is also aware. I will be content to allow God to take action in His time as He sees fit.

So, is that really fair? Is God being fair?

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.   —Romans 12:19

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.    —Romans 12:21

The simple idea is that God understands that life is not fair and He promises to deal with the inequities of life. We just need to be patient… because...

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.    —2 Peter 3:9

From the opening pages of the Bible mankind has opposed God by declaring his selfish independence. The flood at the time of Noah dramatically shows what man deserves because of his arrogance: death. So, the question we should be asking is, “Why has God allowed us to live!?” The passage above answers.

The justice of God demands payment for sin; the justice of God demands death. Yet the love of God demands forgiveness, fellowship...life.

God will allow the guilty to live, but only if someone dies in their place, but who? Each person must bear his/her own guilt for sin. So, who is there to take my place, to take your place? The answer: Only someone who is sinless; someone who has no sin debt.

The prophet Isaiah wrote of the future Christ saying that God would be satisfied with his sacrifice. He went on to say that “He will bear their iniquity.” (53:11) Jesus, the Christ, was the satisfactory sacrifice for you and me because he was sinless. That’s not fair that he took my place and your place, but it is just! It satisfied the debt requirement for sin.

Is life fair??? No; you are still alive. 

Is life full of inequities??? Yes, but God is patient...are you?

It is as if God said to Moses, “I AM who I am...I am just.” And he did…

The LORD God...who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished….    —Exodus 34:7