Coming Back To Corinth

1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. -- 1 Corinthians 1:1–3 (NASB95)

You could find every kind of philosophy in Corinth. And, you could find every kind of immorality in Corinth. The church at Corinth lived in the midst of an alien culture - both geographically and spiritually. -- Dr. Paul M. Elliot

To add to Paul Elliot's comment, I think it would be fair to say that one might find all those philosophies and immoralities in the church at Corinth. It was a troubled church. Perhaps we might say that the church at Corinth had more problems, more serious problems, than any other church in the New Testament, including the seven churches of Asia addressed in the book of Revelation.

And yet.  The Christians in Corinth were still a church. Paul wrote to them, addressing them as the "church of God which is at Corinth", as "those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus", "saints by calling", and along with Christians elsewhere, they were people who "call(ed) on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". That's a pretty impressive list of terms for a people with so many troubles.

Today's church isn't much different. Christians have just gotten better at covering our tracks. Some churches will hire PR consultants and spin-meisters to frame communications with the public, especially when there is the possibility of some negative news leaking out that might embarrass the church.

I've known Christians who took the position that they no longer committed any sin. One of the reasons they did that was to look better to outsiders. But that warps reality. The truth is that Christians as individuals, and Christians as a collective (a church), sin, get things wrong, misbehave, struggle knowing what to do, and sometimes have the same or more problems as any non-Christian around. You won't find a lot of Christians comfortable with that statement or admitting to it.

This creates at least two problems (there are more) that spell trouble for the church. Let me explain what I see.

First, this faulty idea that churches are pretty near perfect, is trouble for outsiders. How do you preach the gospel of Jesus to sinners, tell them that God will forgive their sins and make them better people, then turn around and deny that God needs to do anything about the sins still present in believers? Outsiders see through this fakey faith. They hear us say one thing but live another. If they are really after a solution to their sin problem, they won't look for it among people who can't own up to reality. I think outsiders would rather see people struggle honestly with sin and find forgiveness from a merciful and gracious God than to see supposed believer act as if they didn't really need a Savior in the first place.

Second, this same faulty idea creates trouble for insiders. One of the plagues on today's church is that many Christians keep looking for the perfect church. They too see the reality of sin, problems, lack of maturity and spirituality, etc. But instead of acting like the family of God we're supposed to be, a great number of people engage in church hopping. I've heard it too many times. "I've decided I'm going to church "B" because ________ (fill in the blank with some problem, sin, or disappointment). The thinking is that church "B" doesn't have these problems. Really?

I've always wondered why Paul didn't write to the church at Corinth and tell the faithful to get out of there and start another church. There isn't anything resembling how we modern Christians treat one another remotely suggested in the Bible. There are some honest new church plants, but everybody knows that a great many churches begin because disaffected people just wanted to leave a troubled church.

Don't assume I'm writing from some lofty, I've-never-thought-this-way point of view. No, I've had exactly the same temptations. But I keep coming back to Corinth. If the Corinthian church was across town, nobody would want to have much to do with it. And if we (you and me) belonged to that church, we would probably be working behind the scenes to gather a subversive group together to go plant our own church and get out of that mess.

But here's my problem (thought it might not be yours). I keep coming back to Corinth, and I keep reading Paul's words. "church of God", "sanctified in Christ", "saints by calling", and just like Christians in every other place, call(ing) on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ".

What term will I then wear that makes me a better Christian than those at Corinth? Is it not a spirit of legalism that suggests I do something better than they, therefore I am in better standing with God? Isn't it to miss that if either of us is right with God, it's not because we're better than the other, but because of God's grace and mercy found in Jesus? How else could Paul call that bunch of sinful, divided, philosophically and spiritually misguided people "the church of God", "sanctified in Christ Jesus", and "saints by calling"?

There are no perfect Christians, and when you lump us together we don't make perfect churches.  Most of us are a bit messy, and the rest of us are more so. Perhaps it's time for us to learn how to live our faith, love our brethren, and learn how to help one another grow to be more like Jesus. We say we don't want to be like the church at Corinth. Fine. But you need to know that some of the problems there were spiritual pride, philosophical arrogance, and division. If we're not careful, the very same problems will infect us, but we'll just ignore them, pretending we're not like that church.

We need to come back to Corinth occasionally. Especially when we think we see imperfections in our brothers and sisters. We might be looking at ourselves.

Time To Deal With Real Sins

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. – Ephesians 4:1–3 (NASB95)

In 1937, a researcher at Harvard University began a study (originally named The Harvard Study of Adult Development) on what factors contribute to human well-being and happiness. . . Over the period of 72 years, several men have directed the research. For the last 42 years, the director has been psychiatrist George Vaillant. In 2008 someone asked Dr. Vaillant what he had learned about human health and happiness from his years of poring over the data on these 268 men. You would expect a complex answer from a Harvard social scientist, but his secret to happiness was breathtakingly simple: "The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people." – Joshua Wolf Shenk, "What Makes Us Happy?" The Atlantic (June 2009), pp. 36–53

I believe the secret to church unity is in the first three verses of Ephesians 4. It simply matters how you live with other people. And Christians are called to live a particularly different kind of life.

You cannot be hypercritical, complaining, and grumpy. It matters how you engage others, how you talk to them, how you treat them. You cannot be selfish and self-centered. You cannot be irritable and hard to get along with. All these, and anything similar to them, are destined to ruin your relationships with others. This is true whether it’s relationships at work, at home, at school, at church, wherever you are.

I learned a long time ago that if you want to find some of the most cruel, unkind, uncaring, and hurtful people then go to church. What’s amazing is that very often they are the very people who think of themselves as solid, sound Christians!

The real truth is that the Christian calling, and the Christian life is something very different from what such people think it to be. It’s time we stop being afraid to call these people on their sins -- the real sins that are actually mentioned in the Bible. Pride, arrogance, insensitive roughness, impatience, intolerance, and a lack of love are all real sins. They violate God’s will. For too long, we have allowed these sins to live unchallenged in the church. The result is that outsiders see these traits for what they are, and they are choosing to go elsewhere. One great reason people are fleeing the church today is that it's not really the church.

There is a right way to live with other people. Spend your life living Eph. 4:1-3.

Mercy, The Grace Partner

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Heb 4:16 (NASB)

A Wall Street Journal article reports that doctors discovered there are subtle differences in a baby’s cry that helps medical staff understand how to treat the infant. More than just hunger or being tired, differences in cry characteristics can provide clues that something is wrong. A computer program was created to analyze the cries in 12.5 millisecond frames and measures factors like pitch, volume and “voicing” which is how clear the cry sound is. Doctors hope such analysis can provide clues so that treatment can begin earlier than standard test results might indicate. – adapted, Sumathi Reddy, "What Science Hopes to Learn from a Baby's Cry," The Wall Street Journal (8-27-13)

You will read them together in many passages. Grace and mercy are great partners. As someone once noted, grace is getting what you don’t deserve while mercy is not getting what you do deserve. That seems to be a fair summary of some important ideas contained in the words.

We need to also connect grace and mercy to our prayers. The passage is Hebrews 4:16 tell us about something available to Christians. Access to God’s throne of grace is one of the benefits given to us because Jesus serves as our Great High Priest. The very idea of confidently coming into God’s presence is startling, but to think that access is to present ourselves, in all our humanness, including our needs, our pains, our struggles, and especially our failures is more than words can convey.

Make no mistake about this throne. It’s a throne of grace. Not one of us deserves to be there. None of us, by our virtue or our accomplishments, have an earned place before the throne of God. We’re there because of grace. But it’s not just a throne of grace. It’s also a place of mercy where God withholds what we really deserve, and grants us help instead.

That’s quite a different picture than one held by many. They see God as a demanding tyrant eager to threaten and punish. The truth is God does warn, and he will punish, but those are things reserved for those who reject him and refuse to believe and obey him.

Christians are not better than other people. We have the same troubles, commit the same sins, struggle with the same difficulties. The difference? Access to a couple of partners, dispensed from the throne of God.

A Place Of Grace

16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. – John 1:16 (NASB95)

Walls don't just divide us. They make us ill. After the Berlin Wall went up, East German psychiatrists observed that the Berlin Wall caused mental illness, rage, dejection, and addiction. The closer to the physical wall people lived, the more acute their disorders. The only cure for "Wall Disease" was to bring the Wall down. Sure enough, in 1990, psychiatrists noted the "emotional liberation" felt after November 9, 1989 when the Wall finally fell. Thousands of jubilant Germans climbed the Wall, wept, and embraced each other atop the concrete, and proceeded to tear the Wall down with joyful abandon. – Adapted from Marcello Di Cintio, Walls: Travels Along the Barricades (Soft Skull Press, 2013), pp. 10-12

Not all walls divide and make us ill, but some surely do. Walls of our homes should be healthy and supportive. Walls of businesses make it possible to create, sell, and serve. Walls of a bank should declare strength, security and confidence. So, walls can be good or walls can be bad. It depends on what’s happening inside the walls.

Churches have walls. Yes, I mean the walls of our buildings for one thing. The building isn’t the church, but the walls of our buildings say something. If the church is people, we need to know that people have walls too. They aren't brick, or metal, or wood, but they are walls nonetheless. We put up walls to keep some people out of our lives and others in.

I want to sort of combine those “church walls” into one metaphorical wall. I want to combine the walls of our building and the walls of our hearts into one wall because there is something I think the church needs to hear. Remember I said earlier that walls can be good or bad depending on what’s happening inside the walls? I want you to think about that. What’s happening inside the church? Whether it’s the walls of your heart or the walls of our building, what’s happening inside?

It’s too easy to forget what “church” is all about. First and foremost, we’re followers of Jesus. We are the redeemed, the saved, the justified, the sanctified. None of that is because we’re all that great. We need a fresh view of ourselves as sinners in need of help. We have little, if anything, to offer God. If we’re saved, it’s because God loved us in spite of ourselves, granted us mercy and grace, and washed us in the blood of Jesus. We didn’t achieve our salvation, Jesus did. If we forget that, we’ve forgotten something vital, urgent, and revealing.

What’s going on inside the walls of the church? I want to suggest to you that inside those walls, whether physical walls of a building or symbolic walls of your heart, church needs to be a place of grace. Grace doesn’t mean we deny or ignore sin. Grace means you can be forgiven and live better. Grace is what gives hope to dying people. Let’s be a place of grace - in your heart, in our house.

A League of the Guilty

17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good . . . .” – Matthew 19:17 (NASB95)

So of all things, Christianity isn't supposed to be about gathering up the good people (shiny! happy! squeaky clean!) and excluding the bad people (frightening! alien! repulsive!) for the very simple reason that there aren't any good people … This goes flat contrary to the predominant image of [Christianity] existing in prissy, fastidious little enclaves, far from life's messier zones and inclined to get all "judgmental" about them. Of course there are Christians like that … The religion certainly can slip into being a club or a cozy affinity group or a wall against the world. But it isn't supposed to be. What it's supposed to be is a league of the guilty. Francis Spufford, Unapologetic (HarperOne, 2013), pp. 45-48

When you first read that phrase, “league of the guilty,” it might sound negative. It’s not immediately some snappy phrasing that catches our interest and makes us say, “Now that’s what I want!” No, it requires some thought.

The writer quoted points out one of the major faults with the modern church. We think too highly of ourselves; something the Bible tells us not to do (Rom 12:1f). Modern Christians like to talk about how good we are, often how much better we are than outsiders. We give ourselves a bit of gloss and polish and become hypocrites. Yes, hypocrites. That’s somebody playing a role that isn’t really them, and we’re certainly not the perfect, angelic folks we pretend to be.

Reality is quite different. Truth be told, Christians have just about all the sins that others have. Yes, we may have moderated a bit, some quite a bit. But if we were to suggest to Jesus how good we are, he would likely respond the same way he did in the verse above. “There is only One who is good.” It’s not you and it’s not me. Only God is good, so maybe it would be a great idea for us to acknowledge that truth and figure out what we are supposed to be.

“League of the guilty” isn’t too bad a way to put it. We’re all sinners, but we resist naming our sins. We all admit to imperfection, but have trouble identifying exactly what that is. We’re better at pointing our fingers at others.

It’s time for the church to be what we really are, if we’re the church. We are redeemed sinners. We are saved rebels. We still struggle with sins. Specific, real, honest, gut-wrenching sins. The best among us is not good. We’re all guilty. But we do have one thing going for us. Jesus died to take away our sins and eliminate the consequences of our guilt. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” (Ps 107:2). That’s much better than acting like we’re something else.

Grace Gets Exciting!

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:14–16 (NASB95)

The litmus test of whether or not you understand the gospel is what you do when you fail. Do you run from God and go try to clean yourself up a bit before you come back into the throne room, or do you approach the throne of grace with confidence? If you don't approach the throne of grace with confidence, you don't understand the gospel. You are most offensive to God when you come to him with all of your efforts, when you're still trying to earn what's freely given. – Matt Chandler, from the sermon "Remembering Your Creator"

Anybody who has heard me preach or teach knows that I love the word, “therefore” (or similar words). It’s a word that is meant to tell us something like, “sit up and pay attention now, a conclusion is coming,” or it brings together a series of thoughts. Sometimes, “therefore” appears in a series (“this” “therefore” “that” “therefore” “more” and so on). It’s a great little word.

It drives home important points. For example, in the passage from Hebrews 4, you’ll see “therefore” at verse 14 and again at verse 16. I’ll let you go read the verses coming before this passage, so you’ll see more of what’s involved in Jesus being our great high priest. But the question might be, “So what?” Well, first, we have a great high priest in heaven, and it’s somebody that can sympathize with our weaknesses. After all, he’s been tempted in all things as we are. Sure, he didn’t sin, but he understands. You really need to get that point.

The next idea is thrilling! When we need mercy and grace, we can approach God’s throne of grace confidently because we’ll get exactly what we need, not what we deserve. Grace gets exciting when you understand it. Some think they need to get things together before they come to God. Grace tells us it’s the other way around. When you need God’s help, go to him. He’s the only one who can clean you up.

Guilt And Shame

I’ve been reading a lot recently about guilt and shame. Most of what I’ve been reading relates to societies in general and how one society might be “guilt based” and another “shame based.” Many of these articles sought to use these terms to describe the difference between Western societies (generally, “guilt based”), and Eastern societies (especially Islamic, which are more “shame based).

Here’s a quote taken from the TorahBytes blog:

Guilt is the result of breaking a clearly defined law or rule. Guilt is usually accompanied by a fear of punishment at the hands of an authority of some kind. Taking a cookie when your mom or dad told you not to may result in guilt. A judge determines guilt based on whether or not you have broken the law. A person is either guilty or not. If found guilty, then a sentence of some kind would be given.

Shame is not so straightforward. Shame often comes from a deep internal sense of having done something unacceptable due to a sense of failure to measure up to certain standards or expectations. Guilt may be included, especially if a rule or law is broken, but not all rules carry the same level of shame and a rule doesn't need to be broken to experience shame. Shame is present when there is a perception that our behavior is such that we don't deserve to be accepted by those with whom we have relationship. That relationship could be family, friends, community group, work place, school, and so on. Shame often leads to a desire to hide from others. Embarrassment often comes from a sense of shame. (http://www.torahbytes.org/69-49.htm)

What I’m about to describe is woefully general in nature, but I think it will give you some sense of what guilt and shame do to us, and how they are handled.

Guilt is essentially a law-based problem. One breaks a law and is judged to be guilty. Punishment of some kind follows guilt, and is also determined by law. When a person is guilty, the problem is resolved, as far as society is concerned, by the exercise of punishment. Thus in the United States, for example, under our legal system one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Once guilt is determined, punishment is determined. It might require serving time in jail, or payment of a fine, both, or even serving house arrest or performing a certain number of hours doing community service. Once the punishment has been met, the guilty person can pretty much move on (this is not completely true, but it is generally true).

Shame is something altogether different. A guilty person may or may not feel any sense of shame, and a shamed person, though also guilty, may take a much longer time to recover and move on, even though legally the guilt has been dealt with by punishment. Shame is more related to the relationship we have with others. It is almost always experienced more intensely, more emotionally than is guilt.

In guilt-based societies, once the punishment has been satisfied, people tend to move on and recover. When they don’t, it’s usually because there’s also an element of shame involved. But in shame-based societies, there is really only one way to recover, and that is to have one’s “honor” restored. Shame destroys one’s personal honor. Shame simply kicks a person down, and causes others to look down on them, think less of them, trust them less, and consider them “unworthy.”

Interestingly, these concepts show up when trying to reach people with the gospel of Jesus, or to teach them biblical truths. Western societies are almost totally consumed with guilt. So to us, we want a Jesus who “pardons” our sins, removes our “guilt”, and “redeems us” in the sense of freeing us from the guilt and consequence of our sins.  Eastern societies are often puzzled by this because they operate on a “shame-based” concept. They need to hear that Jesus takes away their shame, restores their honor, and elevates them once again to a respected, honorable state of life. If you’re a Westerner, that last part won’t resonate with you as much as what I said about guilt.

Here’s a great exercise, especially for those who use a computerized Bible study program. Run a quick concordance search for the words, “shame” and “ashamed”. Go spend the several minutes it will take to read all the verses. You’ll likely be quite surprised at how much the Bible says about shame, and it’s connection to sin and our standing with God.

Do the same thing with the words, “guilt” and “guilty”. Spend the minutes it takes to read those passages too. The result is quite interesting. Westerners weren’t altogether wrong after all. “Guilt” and “guilty” are words frequently associated with sinners and people whose relationship with God is amiss.

I suggest that there is something here we must learn. It’s not a one or the other thing. It’s not the case that we should choose guilt over shame, or shame over guilt. The Bible teaches that sinners who disobey God are both guilty and shamed.

Here’s the good news. Jesus takes care of both problems. Sinners are guilty of violating God’s law. Jesus redeemed us by paying the price of forgiveness. But sinners are also shamed by their sin, but Jesus restores us to honor by removing the very cause of our shame and making something out of us we could never be on our own.

We need to deal with these issues of guilt and shame because in real life, they are often found together. Guilty people are shamed by their sins. It is here that preachers often fail people the most. If we preach a message that emphasizes the removal of guilt, we leave people knowing that Jesus died for their sins, but they may live out their lives burdened by shame. Or they may have only a vague sense that God forgives in some legal sense, but they never leave their life of sin because shame isn’t significant to them. Either way, we leave them with only part of the good news. The whole good news is that Jesus removes our guilt, and covers our shame. We need to explore this more!

I think Ezra had it right:

and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. — Ezra 9:6 (NASB95)

So did Paul have it right:

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  — Titus 2:11–14 (NASB95)

Jesus will remove both your guilt and your shame. Now that’s some good news.

So, How Good Are You? Really?

The Sermon on the Mount is a challenging section of scripture.  I've been mulling some things over recently, and renewed a line of thinking that struck me years ago.  I'd like to share a little of it with you.

The Sermon on the Mount may be one of the most familiar and best loved passages in all the Bible.  It's also more difficult than it first appears.  If you read scholars, you'll discover that there are numerous assumptions and attempts to give this sermon a theme, or to otherwise categorize it or give it a framework designed to explain what Jesus was teaching.  Some of it is good, and some of it is confusing.  For me, personally, the jury is still out on some overall view that gives meaning to all Jesus said.

Christians look at the sermon in various ways.  Some relegate it to the Old Testament period, and in doing so they end up giving the sermon little meaning for today's church.  Some lift it out of its "Law of Moses" context and turn it into a Christian Constitution.  Some think Jesus was laying down principles to be followed by his disciples forever.  There are other views.  I'll let you go sort them out.

The line of thought I've been wrestling with relates more to Jesus, the people to whom the sermon was delivered, the time frame in which it appears, and the immediate meaning and application of what he said.  That's a tall order, and I'm not going to try to deal with all of that here either.

I do think it's worth thinking about, however, because any application to us must take into consideration what Jesus said to them.  If you think this is a sermon in which Jesus just lays out thing we ought to do, I'd suggest you might have missed one of the major purposes of his teachings.  Does Jesus lay out things that would please God if they were to be found in us and practiced by us?  You bet!  But I think it misses something important.

In the section we know as the beatitudes, most commentators will state in one way or another, something to the effect that particular qualities encouraged by Jesus are simply not those commonly practiced by anybody.  That was true then, it remains true today.  Surely, those who are spiritually minded, regardless of the age in which they live, will pursue the kind of things Jesus taught.  But the truth is we don't do a very good job.  Even the best among us won't practice those things perfectly.  Yes, I think we can commend having these as a goal, and we can commend people who manage to practice them to whatever extent they do.  But why do we think anything less than perfect observance pleases God?

In Mt. 5:21-47, there is an entire section that follows a pattern of thought.  Each sub-section begins something like this:  "You've heard it said. . . but I say to you."  It's an interesting section.  Was Jesus quoting what the Law said, then giving his own interpretation of it?  It seems so in some places, but not altogether in others.  Was he quoting what the Rabbis taught, and then giving his own take on things?  I think that may come closer.  Regardless, he was certainly taking what the people of Israel had become accustomed to hearing (and practicing), and ripped it to shreds.  Take murder, for example.  The common thinking was that unless you've taken some weapon and gone out and murdered someone, then you haven't broken God's law.  Jesus said that a person is in trouble if you get angry and shoot off your mouth carelessly.  Nobody could be guilty of adultery unless they've actually committed sexual sin outside marriage.  But Jesus said that to look on a woman with lust in one's heart is to have already committed adultery.  Each sub-section follows suit.  Sin is violation of a standard human beings rarely apply to themselves.  It was true then, and it's still true today.  The arguments against the thinking of Jesus appeal to everything from common sense to consequences.  I understand the effort.  But try arguing that with Jesus, and you'll flat out miss his point.

In fact, Jesus made a statement following this section that we usually try to minimize a bit.  Matthew 5:48 says, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." NASB95  We usually point out that the word really means "mature" and not "without flaw."  I understand that.  However, there is an obvious comparison made here that we can't ignore.  It's God on one hand, you and me on the other.  You can make "perfect" mean whatever you want to, and the result is still the same.  God will manifest that quality perfectly, without flaw.  Neither you or I will come close.  The ideal is that you do it just like God.  The reality is you haven't to this point, and won't later on either.

Chapter six begins with admonitions against practicing righteousness just for the sake of being noticed by other people.  Righteousness isn't some kind of game where we try to out-point one another.  It's a heart matter.  Jesus pointed to common practices of his day like giving, praying and fasting and roundly condemned the very people who used these things as measures of personal righteousness.  Does anyone come out looking good when Jesus gets through?  If so, I don't know who they are.  It's not people who didn't pray or fast at all, and it's not people to prayed and fasted as a means of getting noticed by others.  In the text of Jesus' sermon, I can't find anyone being congratulated.  I do find where people are being shown that righteousness is something different than they had thought.

If you don't think the attitudes Jesus attacked still exist today, I'd suggest you've been asleep under a rock.  Hyper-judgmentalism is alive and well today; in our churches; among people who claim to be Christians.  If we don't realize this, I don't think we can understand Jesus, much less make an current application.

Near the end of chapter six, Jesus said something that ought to shock us, amaze us, and shame us.  In Matthew 6:33 he said, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." NASB95  Jesus put seeking God's kingdom and righteousness in a place of priority above anything and everything else.  Wow.  I'm going to make a statement here that some will no doubt disagree with.  I've never met anyone who did that consistently, including me.  What I have seen is that people will make all sorts of excuses to, at least occasionally, slip something into life above God's kingdom and his righteousness.  I'm not being negative or condescending.  I'm trying to be realistic.  If we don't see how very different are the words of Jesus compared to how we really live, how can we ever appreciate what he taught?  We will forever be "dumbing-down" the real meaning of Jesus' words.

Then take things like judging others.  Basically, Jesus said we ought to get ourselves in order before we take on anyone else.  But we're likely to think, "Yes, but other people's problems are so obvious!"  Or, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as 'so-and-so'."  Really?  Then you're missed the fact that the issue isn't how you stack up against some other person, the issue is how you stack up against God.  How do you feel about things now?

The golden rule, as stated in Mt 7:12, is a fantastic maxim for life.  "Treat people the same way you want them to treat you."  I think I've known at least a handful of people who do a pretty good job at that.  But not every time, not completely consistently, and to be honest, the golden rule isn't practiced nearly as often as we'd like to think.  The real truth?  Human beings are still a pretty self-centered, selfish bunch of people.  If we can't admit to that, we miss just how powerful is the teaching of Jesus.

On and on we could go, but throughout the Sermon on the Mount, we keep bumping into the same things.  The standard Jesus upholds is a standard far different from the one we live.  I think, overall, that's the message he wanted to get across.  He wasn't preaching a sermon where anyone could get to the end and say, "Wow, do I feel great about how well I'm doing pleasing God."  No, I think anyone who really listened to his sermon got to the end and said, "Wow, I'm so far off the mark it's pitiful."  I know this sounds like a downer, but stay with me.

Nobody has ever, legitimately, been able to stand before God on the basis of their own achievements.  If you don't get that point, you will never fully appreciate the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The good news of Jesus will never be good until the bad news about ourselves is really bad.  We still struggle with this, "Well-I'm-not-such-a-bad-person-and-certainly-not-as -bad-as-a-lot" thinking.  It's so pervasive among present day humans it's almost hard to see.  This was what Jesus was fighting in his own day, and it's a common link that stretches across centuries and includes us today.

I think if you "get" the Sermon on the Mount, you'll be left with a great need.  You'll have to admit that in numerous places, Jesus just pointed out your shortcomings, failing, sin.  He put his finger on your attitudes, your mind-set and heart-set, and it's not good.  He showed you where you're on the wrong track, headed to nothing pleasing to God.  You're in deep trouble.  You really need a Savior, because you're just a mess.

So, I'll end by pointing you to one other verse.  It's found in 2 Corinthians 5:21.  "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." NASB95  You and I need a Savior.  If we are to ever be righteous in God's sight, we're going to have to have something working for us that's better than anything we'll ever produce ourselves.

Don't think what Jesus taught is unimportant.  If we really want to try to please God, give the things in the Sermon on the Mount a shot.  But don't get too caught up in how well you do.  It won't be as good as you'd like to think.  But in Jesus, when you fail, you get to get up and try again.  You're wearing his righteousness.  Let it motivate you reach higher than you ever would before.

What Would Jesus Have Done With Her?

News programs earlier this week provided more than ample information about the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Smith had become famous, not just for her striptease act in Houston, TX but for marrying at the age of 26 and oil tycoon who was 88 or 89 years old. When he died a short time later, the court battle between Smith and the tycoon’s other relatives over millions of dollars of estate money kept the headlines hot.

I believe she had a TV show a few years ago that was supposed to be one of those “reality” programs. Her lifestyle, her weight gain and then the amazing weight loss, and the continued star-fashion media that surrounded her kept her in the news and constantly characterized her as a dizzy blonde bombshell, drug user, and sex icon.

Well, no more. She’s dead. The last news reports failed to provide solid information as to the cause. It appears there was no physical trauma to her body, which leaves questions about drug overdose, suicide, or perhaps even murder as possibilities. The public will have to wait until the investigations are over.

Why should Christians care about any of this? For one reason only. Anna Nicole Smith is today’s Samaritan woman at the well, the woman caught in the act of adultery of John 8, or any number of other biblical characters. I suspect attitudes toward Anna Nicole were the same ones held about those ancient women. “She’s immoral.” She’s a junkie.” “She’s a golddigger.” And, I’m using the kind words. I have no doubt but that those harsh, common, 4-letter kind of words were used frequently to describe her. It is understandable; after all she flaunted her sexuality, and demonstrated her immoral lifestyle for profit. Regardless of her true motivations, she lived by an ethic that few of us would want for our daughters or sisters.

We still need to ask, “What would Jesus have done with her?”

What did Jesus do with the woman at the well? What did he do with the woman in John 8, caught in the very act of adultery and legally due a death sentence? Perhaps we need to sift through all the surrounding discussions and get to two vital points that tell us what Jesus would have done with Anna Nicole Smith.

First, he never condoned the sins of either the Samaritan woman or the woman caught in adultery. Their sins were real, and their sins separated them from God, and if you’re thinking that somehow Jesus overlooked their sins, you’d be wrong. Whatever we do with Anna Nicole Smith, and thousands of people like her, we need to know that sin is wrong, and we need to acknowledge it.

But second, Jesus offered forgiveness. Without excusing sin, Jesus refused to condemn sexually immoral women. Instead, he provided a way out of sin. This is the forgotten and neglected issue. It is what Christians often allow to slip away unnoticed. I wonder if Anna Nicole Smith heard the first point, but not the second?

In one of the news clips I saw the other day, showing the now dead Smith at earlier times in her life, I noticed that she wore an interesting necklace. It was a fashionable cross. Now I don’t know why people wear crosses as jewelry. I have written before on this subject, and have said that it is surprising who wears crosses and where they wear them. It’s interesting that people would wear the symbol of Christian faith while living out a life that is anything but Christian. So, I can’t tell you what Anna Nicole Smith’s motive was for wearing that piece.

Neither do I know that she had an ounce of faith in Jesus Christ, or that she understood much, if anything, about the call of the gospel and how it changes true believers. But I do wonder if a single ray of hope in an otherwise dark life.

Personally, the whole of Smith’s life is unpleasant. I heard two talk-show hosts mention her death the other day, then one of them said, “You know what, I just don’t care.” The other replied, “I don’t either.” And that was the end of the discussion on their show. Perhaps that was best – no more mention of it, but I was sorry for their attitude. Anna Nicole Smith was a human being. Regardless of her lifestyle, her irreverent behavior, her blatant disregard for God, I know one thing about her that doesn’t get much press: she was loved by God. In fact, God loved Anna Nicole Smith so much he sent his Son to die for her.

Perhaps Smith’s death can encourage some young person to avoid drugs. Maybe her early demise can move another young person away from the whole sex business. It’s possible that her sad life will motivate another person to try a different road. Then again, maybe Anna Nicole Smith will remind Christians about who God loves, and who Jesus died for. Just maybe we’ll get the point that Jesus didn’t die for all the good guys but for sinners. He didn’t die to mock their sins, he died to forgive their sins.

We still need to ask, “What would Jesus have done with her?”