W.A.I.T. Part 9: Life Transformation and Associating With the World

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

Christians are meant to stand out from the world because Christians try to adhere to the Holy Spirit and not to the ways of the world. Lately, this might seem more and more difficult because Christians get such negative labels in the media and are accused of being narrow-minded. But don't let this sway you in your beliefs because you are here on Earth to serve God, not man. As the above passage suggests, we are to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and are not to conform with the world, as tempting as that may be sometimes. A lot of people try to assuage their sinfulness by claiming that everybody is a sinner and what they did really wasn't that bad. The problem with that way of thinking, though, is that you are trying to place blame elsewhere and not take Scripture seriously. In order to be transformed, we must be convicted in our hearts to abide by the Word of God. 

"When you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." These words from Ephesians 4:21-24 direct us to rid our lives of the evil desires within our hearts. Without the disposal of our earthly lives in which we do as we please with no thought to the negative impact of our actions, we are unable to come into a relationship with Christ and be born again. I'm not saying that the minute you decide to be a Christian you will no longer sin; that is impossible. But once you are convicted in your heart to follow Christ and abide in the Holy Spirit, blatant and outright sin will be reduced in your life gradually because of your awareness. Those who know Scripture try to follow it to the best of their abilities, and when they stumble, they repent of the sins they committed.

To gain a better picture of what it means to live by the Holy Spirit, lets look at Galatians 5:16-25 which says, "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." These verses outline the desires of our sinful nature and states that we must squelch these thoughts and desires, which is no easy task. With the acceptance of Jesus in our hearts, though, we gain the ability to slowly follow the ways of the Spirit. Over time, somebody should be able to recognize the transformation that has occurred in your life once you become a Christian. If there are no hints of the fruit of the Spirit in your life though, there could be a problem. You might still be giving in wholeheartedly to your sinful nature and need to strengthen your relationship with Christ because without the desire to change and be more like Him, you never will overcome the ways of this world. 

When someone who claims to be a member of the Body of Christ still continues to blatantly sin, it is the church's job to rebuke this person so that they come to their senses. But what members of the church must remember, and unfortunately often forget, is that this rebuke of blatant sin should only be directed at those who are within the church of believers. We run into trouble when we rebuke unbelievers because that means we are not only stepping outside our "scope of practice" but we are actually stepping on God's toes. 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 says it this way: "But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked person from among you.'" Paul is very specific in telling us that we are to not associate with the blatant sinners within our congregations, not all of the blatant sinners outside of the church. Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 "I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world."

Life on Earth is always this careful balance of trying to live by the Spirit, but not coming off as "holier than thou" to all of the unbelievers in the world. It is not our job to judge what they do, but it is our job to minister to them in the hopes that Christ can transform their hearts. Jesus said, "'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,'" in Matthew 28:19-20. I'm not saying that this will be an easy task, though. The state of the world is such that relativism thrives. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, relativism is sometimes identified as the thesis that all points of view are equally valid. When people have this point of view, it is very difficult to tell them about their need for a Savior because in their own minds, they are doing nothing wrong and don't need to be saved. Nobody likes to admit that what they are doing is wrong, but most are willing to accuse others of doing something wrong. I think C.S. Lewis said it best when he stated, "If we do not believe in decent behavior, why should we be so anxious to makes excuses for not having behaved decently?" Getting somebody to realize this could possibly help soften their hearts and open them up to hearing about Jesus. 

Again, I'll reiterate that it is wrong for us to go out into the world and condemn it for all of its actions. By doing this, we would then fit the bill of the "narrow-minded Christian quack." I'm not saying that you should agree with how the world is behaving or that you should support the desired changes some are seeking, but I don't believe that condemning people for their lifestyles or actions when they are not Christians is the path to take. I think all we can do in these situations is to try and mirror what Jesus did when he lived. Referring to Mark 2:15-17, I believe there is much to be learned from this passage: "While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?' On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" 

The best way to check yourself to determine if you are shedding your worldliness is to compare your life to the fruits of the Spirit. As long as you are making progress over time to no longer conform to the worldly points of view and desires, you are on the path to thriving as a Christian. We will all have our days when we stumble, but just remember to confess those sins and ask for forgiveness. The desire to repent for wrongs is always a good sign. Only when you find yourself being apathetic towards sin and being blatant in your sinning will you run into trouble. Also, never forget to evangelize to those around you, but be careful not to condemn the nonbelievers. It is not your job to judge, but to plant seeds. Let God be the judge of those who choose to reject Him. Instead, focus on your own life and how to thrive in the Holy Spirit.

Fading Like the Mist

If you have ever found yourself at a rustic cabin overlooking a lake in a river valley, chances are you have seen mist hovering above the surface of the earth. This built-up condensation comes in the night due to temperature change and eventually dissipates into the air over time. One can try to sit and watch the entire dissipation process, but if any distractions pop up on your radar, the likelihood of watching this process quickly diminishes like the mist.
Life has many distractions. We are all constantly juggling busy schedules, time with family, and social events. The problem is when we get tunnel-vision and allow these distractions to impact certain opportunities or relationships. It is far too easy to get caught up in our own little worlds and allow portions of our lives that were once important to drift away.
In some individuals who have experienced the negative impact of too many distractions in people's lives, a fear of being forgotten develops within the soul. In the message at Saucon Community Bible Fellowship Church on Sunday, the pastor spoke on this topic as it relates to Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome. In Acts 24, Paul goes on trial before Felix and expresses his innocence. Because Felix was acquainted with the philosophies of Christianity, when he sent Paul back to his cell in prison, "He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him freedom and to permit his friends to take care of his needs." (Acts 24:23). After a few days, Felix then went with his wife to see Paul and listen to him speak about faith in Jesus. Because Felix came to listen to Paul teach, it probably gave Paul a sense of hope that he was changing this man's heart towards following Christ, which would help Paul's case. Unfortunately for Paul, Felix grew scared once the topics of righteousness, self-control, and future judgement came up and requested that Paul be sent away. Instead of focusing on Paul's teachings about Christ, Felix was more focused on pleasing the Jews and saving his own reputation. He constantly sent for Paul so that they could speak, but the desire within his heart was that Paul would offer him a bribe to make his decision easier. In the end, Felix chose to forget about Paul and let him fade from his memory because he would rather do a favor to the Jews and leave Paul in prison.
A similar story about being forgotten can be found in Genesis 40. The setting was Pharaoh's prison, which was where Joseph was being kept. Two men who worked for Pharaoh offended him and were quickly imprisoned and placed with Joseph. Both men began having dreams, but had nobody to interpret them. Joseph offered to interpret the dream of the cupbearer, and explained how he believed "Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position" (Genesis 40:13). Upon giving his interpretation of the cupbearer's dream, Joseph made one simple request. In Genesis 40:14, Joseph says, "But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison." On the third day, we come to find that Joseph was correct in his interpretation of the cupbearer's dream and he is soon restored by Pharaoh. But because the cupbearer was selfishly consumed by his own happiness and good fortune, we find in Genesis 40:23 that, "The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him."
These stories in the Bible are good references to how people who help others out can so easily be forgotten by those they have assisted because these people become distracted by their own selfish desires. From this, we must learn that we cannot control people or circumstances; we cannot know what is within another's heart, or how they truly feel. This becomes very apparent when analyzing Jeremiah 17:9, which states, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" When you feel that there has been an injustice against you, instead of being tempted to say, "I don't deserve this," or feeling compelled to retaliate, or desiring to fight for control in your situation, pray to the Lord first. Psalm 34:17-19 says, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." The Lord is in fact the one who has control over all things in your life and knows what experiences and hardships will help benefit your growth spiritually and emotionally. We should always pour our hearts out to the Lord, though he knows all of your joy, pain, and suffering even before the words leave your lips. He knows why you have fears and insecurities, but not until you personally request the Lord's help can He begin to guide you in the correct direction.
One fear that we all hold in our hearts is that we will be forgotten. Try to learn from the experiences of Paul and Joseph in order to avoid creating a situation where you are so engrossed in your own desires that you allow an opportunity or relationship to fade like the mist. And if you ever find yourself in the role of that fading mist in someone's life, cry out to the Lord in the hopes of being restored before you drift off and fade to a mere memory in that person's life.

The Need for Weakness

Last week, I was doing some work at school and had the book, A Place for Weakness by Michael S. Horton, sitting on the table next to me.  One of my professors walked by and saw it and said that there is no place for weakness in this world.  As my professor walked away, all I could think about was how off base that comment was and how far from God this guy must be.
In my mind, one needs weakness to know that they need God.  If somebody always has everything go in their favor, that person believes that they are the reason for their so-called "perfect" life.  Once something goes wrong, God is blamed.  In essence, this makes no sense.  If you believe you cause the good, then why don't you also cause the bad?  But if we are to blame God for bad, then He must get the credit for the good.  Also, in those bad times, we must realize that we desperately need God for strength and salvation.  The world has twisted humanity into believing weakness has a negative connotation.  But it is only in these times of weakness that we can bow down and realize that we do not have control and only God does.
In retrospect, I have realized that I went into the Harrisburg Marathon believing that I was in control and had the power to finish the race.  Unfortunately, I was severely mistaken and never completed the race.  I now know it is because I did not seek God for assistance.  I saw my inability to finish as a personal failure instead of embracing the opportunity to bring myself closer to God.  I should have taken the time to pray as opposed to wallowing in self pity.
These days, I take a different approach.  I go into a workout asking God to watch over me and when I begin to struggle, I pray for God to be with me and help me conquer the obstacle of pain while I run up a hill at the end of a workout, or when I choose to do the third 2 mile repeat early in the morning.  In a sense, I am literally living out the words of the apostle, Paul.  2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."  It is for this reason that I will never look down on someone when they say they feel weak.  I will hope that that person will utilize the time to pray to God and welcome the power of the Holy Spirit to help them get back on their feet.