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Attitudes of War
“Blessed are you when they heap insults on you and say all sorts of evil things against you falsely because of me.”
(Matthew 5:11)
“You adulterers, do you not know that brotherly love with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever desires to have brotherly love with the world conducts himself as an enemy of God.”
(James 4:4)
“If you were of the world, the world would have brotherly love toward you as its own; but because you are not of the world, in contrast, I elected you from the world, therefore the world hates you.”
(John 15:19)
In today’s world, there are wars and rumors of war; it seems to have become the normal state of being of the age in which we live. Indeed, this is partly because we are fallen men living in a fallen world. Sin leads to conflict, and conflict leads to war. As if the world is not gruesome enough, our sin has led us to have a morbid curiosity about all things horrific and macabre, and thus, bad news sells news. It is a sobering reality, but it is reflective of what Jesus said about what must take place before His return (Matthew 24:6).
Our problem is that we most commonly focus on human events and national conflicts rather than the great, spiritual war in which we are engaged. In the war against the devil and against the children of the devil (1 John 3:4-10), even the greatest military conflicts of man stand as but a campaign. Unlike the soldiers in a campaign, who tend to wear uniforms of different colors or designs, the only way to tell the difference between these two great armies are by the markings of Christ exhibited in each, markings that we know better as the Fruit of the Spirit (Matthew 7:15-20; Galatians 5:16-26).
What strikes me as fascinating is as to just how often those who are children of God — translate that as born-again Christians — are surprised when they encounter the children of the devil in their midst. Unlike a conventional war, where different armies have their separate encampments and generals are constantly maneuvering for favorable footing, the enemy is fighting more of a guerrilla war against Christ’s own. The enemies show up in Christian churches as friendly people who fill a pew (for all of the wrong reasons!). They show up as leaders, as missionaries, and even as pastors. The wolves are amongst the sheep (Matthew 7:15; 10:16; Acts 20:29), and one of the purposes of church discipline (Matthew 18:15-20) is to expose such wolves for what they are and to protect the sheep. Then again, many churches fail to practice church discipline altogether, for fear of seeming “mean, intolerant, or judgmental.” Yet, if a church does not practice discipline, it is allowing the sheep to fall into the mouths of wolves (John 10:12) and is not, in the language of the Belgic Confession, article 29, a “True Church.” In other words, there are entire encampments out there that fly the Christian banner, but are tools of the enemy, the Devil.
In the end, though, as a result of the conflict in which we fight against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers over this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12), one mark of the true church is that it will be persecuted, insulted, and slandered for the name of Christ. We are not “of” the world; we do not belong to it. We do not fly the banners of this world, but we raise up the Word of God as the standard of Christ. On that, we either stand or fall, and for that, we will be persecuted. So, church, when you do not fit in with the social organizations of your community, be of good cheer, for you are blessed of God. The world hated Christ enough to put Him to death; count it as a badge of honor when the world hates you. But, if the world does not hate you, if the world does not slander you for Christ’s name, if the world does not revile you, then that ought to say volumes; you may be dwelling and even worshiping in the enemy’s encampment.
His Power toward Us — Those who Believe
“giving light to the eyes of your heart to know the hope of his calling, which is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and which is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us, those who believe, according to the outworking of his power and might.”
(Ephesians 1:18-19)
Okay, time to make some people grumpy. What a way to start off. Here’s the problem, people in the west have bought into the idea that human beings are all part of a “brotherhood of man” and that as such, we are all children of God. And in that myth, our problem lies. While there is but one race (the human race), which makes the prejudices that we might have a foolish proposition, within that one race, there are two lines of people. There are some who are children of God and others who are children of the devil (1 John 3:9-10). What distinguishes between the two lines? God’s seed abides in his children and the seed of the devil abides in his.
This, beloved, is what we call election, plain and simple. God has chosen some as his own and places his seed in them. We do not deserve this privilege nor did we earn it or choose it (Romans 9:16). It is a work of God’s grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). And why might such an idea make people mad? It is plainly taught in the Scripture? It makes people mad because they have bought into a wrong side — a wrong paradigm that makes God responsive to the desires of man — and changing paradigms is often a difficult process. In addition, this very principle means that the blessings of God of which Paul is speaking in this text, only belong to the believer. They do not belong to those outside of the faith.
And thus, Paul writes, that all of these things which we have been speaking, through the power of God, have been “toward us, those who believe.” The unbeliever is not adopted into God’s household and thus cannot address God as “Father.” The children of the devil can have no assurance of glory and eternal life in heaven. The reprobate do not have light for their eyes that would give them spiritual sight — they are left blind so that they will not turn from their wicked ways and repent (remember Isaiah’s language that we cited above). And yes, people often get testy when confronted with ideas such as these.
Yet, if you are a believer, then these promises do belong to you. What makes one a believer? We talked a little about assurance above, but it is worth going back to Paul’s language of Romans 10:9-13. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Indeed, there is much that can be said as we unpackaged these verses, but on the most basic level, there must be faith in the historical bodily resurrection of Christ. That does not mean you believe that he spiritually rose and “lives in your heart,” but that he physically rose and ascended into heaven where now he sits at the right hand of God as King over his Church and over his creation.
Yet salvation is not just a matter of belief; it is a matter of confession that Jesus is Lord. That is simply another way of saying that Jesus is not just a King, but that he is your King and that you live your life in submission to him. That, of course, sends us back to John’s language which speaks of practicing righteousness or practicing sin. You cannot confess Jesus as Lord with any sense of integrity or meaning if you do not seek to live in obedience to His Law. No, we are not saved by our obedience; our obedience is the testimony that we are saved. If someone seeks to live life however they wish and cares not for what the Word of God commands of him, that person cannot be said to be a Christian and thus these promises do not belong to him. Sobering, isn’t it?
Being one of “those who believe” is not something that only requires church attendance from you — a couple hours on Sunday mornings. No, being “those who believe” is something that demands a lifestyle from you — one that is in submission to the Word of God in every way possible. No, we won’t get it right all of the time, but that is not the call. Our call is to strive in that direction so that our King is honored by the actions of those who profess Him.
Children of God and Lights of the World
“in order that you may be without blame and pure, children of God, without blemish in a generation that is bent and perverted, in which you might shine as lights in the world,”
(Philippians 2:15)
What does it mean to be without blame and pure? Certainly, as fallen people, we cannot achieve this state here on earth on this side of the eternal veil, can we? Could Paul be speaking of the imputed righteousness of Christ here — that righteousness given to us in our salvation by Christ who paid the penalty for our sins? First of all, we will never realize full sanctification here on earth on this side of heaven unless Jesus happens to return swiftly. We will struggle against sin for all of our days; such is the lot for the believer in this world and such is the way that God purifies us for heaven…it was good enough for Jesus to enter heaven through the road of the cross, why do we balk at our own suffering so?
At the same time, in context, this does not seem that Paul is speaking of the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to the believer. Why? Because that righteousness is a one-time measure that permits us to stand blameless before the presence of God in judgment and Paul is speaking of the importance of striving and laboring toward this on earth.
Thus what we are seeing, in context, is the goal to which believers are to strive. It is indeed a lofty goal, but it is toward that goal that marks us as children of God. People often comment to me, “Isn’t every human being God’s child?” While such is commonly taught in the society, it is not taught in the Bible. A mark of being God’s child is that it is toward blamelessness and purity that we are to strive. If we are not interested in striving toward such things or if we pursue that which is sin, that is a sign that we are children of the Devil (see 1 John 3:4-10 with emphasis on verse 10). There are two races of people throughout history…the children of God and the children of the Devil…a designation that goes all of the way back to Genesis 3:15 but that Jesus also echoes in his Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30).
Our job, then, as believers, is to strive to live in such a way that our lives are unblemished and given entirely to Christ. Does this mean that we will never fall into sin? Of course not. There was a movement in Wesleyanism that was called the “Holiness” movement which argued that with a sort of second conversion experience, you could complete your sanctification on earth and never sin again. Apart from causing many to shipwreck their faith over doubts and a lack of security, it also caused many to shipwreck their faith in pride and arrogance arguing that they had not sinned in “x” number of years (see 1 John 1:8 and 10 for an Apostolic comment on this idea). Thus as believers, we will sin, but when we do (this is 1 John 1:9), and we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, as forgiven Children of God, we are to live as those who are unblemished by this twisted world — like living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) — like unblemished Passover Lambs just as our Master and Lord was the unblemished Passover Lamb.
Why? So we might shine as lights in the world around us. The language that Paul employs is a word picture of the stars in the night sky. Have you ever been out on a very dark night, but the heavens are filled with the light of the stars? That is the idea. We cannot shine like the Sun…that is Jesus’ place and he does through his Word. But as we take that Word of God and apply it to all areas of life, we also shine that light in the darkness…and if the light of the stars is bright enough, you can see a great deal in this world. May we intentionally be such lights.
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