New Thoughts (08/13/14-08/18/14)
One reason for consulting commentaries is to confirm our own assessment of a passage. It is too easy for us to get off on an unhealthy tangent or to amplify some particular matter so far out of proportion as to render it harmful. The goal of study is to arrive at Truth. If all our labors are in isolation, we are as likely to be pursuing vain imaginations. We get locked into our echo chambers and hear nothing but affirmations of our own opinions. To that same end, I choose to read commentaries from a number of perspectives, some of which I am inclined towards and others of which I find quite often disagreeable. Why? Because I need my assumptions challenged. I need to hear other viewpoints that I may assess their merits and that I may better hone my own arguments if I find them worth holding.
I say all this because I find that most everything I have commented on in this passage has its echoes in not one commentary, but several. This is particularly gratifying to me, particularly given the long period during which I did not have benefit of the commentaries as I went through the Gospels. It is pleasing to find one’s views in good company. Given the degree to which my own thoughts and those of these several commentaries correlate, I may just manage to be a bit less verbose than usual, since I can pretty much just refer back to the previous ‘New Thoughts’ section. But, I shall have plenty to say, I am sure.
Let’s start at the beginning: The urging as aliens and strangers. This becomes an uncomfortable thing to hear, which can only mean it’s more needful to hear it. But, we must hear it in such a way as not to be tempted back towards a life of works-righteousness. What is at issue? Barnes urges that we ought not to be looking to gain permanent possessions here because these attachments must tend to impede our journey. It’s a fairly obvious point, but one which we generally choose not to look at.
Consider your vacation travels, particularly where you might be traveling by plane. You have traveled to some exotic locale, and there are shops aplenty. It might be tempting indeed to buy this and that. Maybe you spot a particularly fine antique bookcase or the like, which you’d love to bring home. But, how would you get it there? Maybe it’s something much smaller, but quite fragile. You might be able to fit it in the overhead compartment, but would it survive intact? Whatever it might be that attracts your attention, there is that consideration remaining: How do I get it home? Do I really want to be lugging this around for the rest of the trip?
That’s exactly the point here. You are strangers in the land, pilgrims just passing through. Why, then, would you be gathering all this stuff? One of the commentaries points out that the resident alien might very well even own a house in town. But, what could not be said of him is that he had the rights of citizenship. He may be a property owner, but he is not a citizen. But, Peter adds the pilgrim clause, which would seem to eliminate even this degree of involvement. Does this mean we should eschew all possessions and become like hobos or drifters? I don’t believe so. We are called to live in the world even though we remain not of the world. That is the balance point we must seek to maintain.
But, it is clearly recognizable that acquisitions tend to develop a hold on us. The more you have, as the children’s song said, the more you have to take care of the things you have. I think of Paul’s comments on married life. If you can remain single and pious, praise God! Go for it. Why? Because in having a spouse, you are guaranteed to be experiencing divided allegiances. In fact, I would argue it is only right that you should. If you have married, you should have a primary and fundamental concern for doing right by your spouse; loving her, ministering to her, seeing to her well-being and development. Time spent there is not available to spend on more directly church-related activities. The corollary holds as well. Time spent on church-related activities cannot be spent again on marital or familial matters. This is not to say that the two are in opposition. By no means! It is more the case that spousal and familial ministry is our first duty in church-related activity. They are not separate matters. They are one.
That, though, is not the same as the issue of acquisition. We are a very acquisitive society here in the West. It is in our makeup to obtain and secure. It is, though, not a genetic matter, but a matter of societal influence. We are a consumer society. We are trained up in the belief that we must see to our nest. We should become property owners. And, the obvious expansion on that point is that the more property we own, the better we must be doing. We tend to associate this acquiring of property, whether in terms of land or in terms of stuff, with well-being, with success. It used to be called keeping up with the Joneses. They have more so we must get more. But, look out! We’re not part of this competition. Why are you acquiring? Does it serve your best interest, or does it just impede your journey?
Adam Clarke advises, “Heaven is your home, seek that; God is your portion, seek Him.” Again: Does this require that we leave off every possible enjoyment in this life? I don’t believe so. But, it does mean we ought to give greater thought to what we are about. As I look back across this year, there has been, it seems, an endless parade of big ticket items that have needed replacement. The latest has been a new mattress set. And, what is that shopping experience like? Are we aided in finding the mattress that will do? No. We are invited to test the luxuriousness of this one, to feel the marvelous comfort of that one. Why, it’s like sleeping on a cloud! It’s so devoid of pressure points that you’ll hardly notice you’re touching anything. But, is that what we need? Or is it merely indulging the flesh? I am not fit to pass judgment. I am not fit to endure judgment.
This is, however, exactly what we’re dealing with. The world does not intend to help us do what’s necessary. The world seeks to wrap us in its enticing embrace, to fill our senses with its pleasing aromas, to draw our eyes with its sensual displays. In short, it’s doing everything in its power to get our eyes off heaven and heaven’s God. So, hear it! “Heaven is your home, seek that! God is your portion, seek Him!” By all means, if God is blessing you in the present, enjoy His blessings. If He has found you able to live amidst that blessing without losing sight of Him, praise God! But, when it comes time that He determines a new course, that He says to leave all that and come follow Him on a harder path: Praise God, then, too! Think Job. If your love of God is found only in His pouring out this wealth upon you, it is not God you love. If you cannot imagine leaving it behind, look out! You are no longer walking by the Spirit, but by the flesh. There are attachments dragging you down. Your stuff has become an impediment to your growth. It may very well have become a threat to your sanctity.
There are two passages from Galatians that have captured my attention in this regard. They are both from chapter 5 of that text, and not separated by many verses. The first says, “Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). This is our instruction. It’s the same thing Peter is saying here. He’s just putting in in reverse order, I think. If you walk by the flesh, you will not carry out the desires of the Spirit. Jesus put it this way: You can’t serve two masters (Mt 6:24). You can’t pursue flesh and Spirit simultaneously. They’re going in opposite directions, and any attempt to do so must necessarily tear you apart. But, you know this: One way is Life. The other is death. Why, then, is the choice so hard? I have no answer to this, yet I know well the tendency to choose against my best interests.
Lord, I need help with this. I spend too much energy on things that don’t matter, and too little on things that do. I seem constantly to choose the path that leads away from You. Thank You for being just as constant in bringing me back, but I would that this were not necessary. I look at the urging of these verses, the call to consistent living in light of Your Gospel, and I know too well that I fall terrifyingly short of the mark. Forgive me, my God. Change me, that I may represent You as I ought.
Which brings me to the other passage. “Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, angry outbursts, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and such like: I have warned you that those who practice these sorts of things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:19-21). This is Paul’s list of things that must not, cannot define us if we belong to Christ. Yet, though I have every confidence as to my salvation, it disturbs me greatly just how many of these could describe me. Some are easier to chalk up as successes than others – sorcery for instance. But I wonder: If I thought about all that is accounted in that word, would I still suppose it a success?
As to the others; jealousy? Angry outbursts? Disputes and dissensions? Yes, these have far too much to do with my makeup still. Immorality, impurity and sensuality? I fear that the only thing that keeps these in check at all is fear of consequences and lack of opportunity. I think of how Jesus taught the Law. It is not enough to avoid the physical conclusion of adultery. The first lustful thought has already done violence to the law. It is not enough to refrain from the act of murder. The first angry word, the first despising thought has already committed the deed. So, then: refraining from sex outside of marriage? Very good. But, where are the eyes? Where have the thoughts been straying. Failure to act on those vain imaginations does not render them harmless. Not by a long shot. The damage is done.
Drunkenness and carousing I would like to think are on the list of things long since left behind. But, if I add to this all manner of addictive behaviors, perhaps it is not so. This is a fearsome conclusion to arrive at. It seems I am guilty no every one of these counts, and there lies Paul’s Spirit-led conclusion: You don’t get in. You shall not inherit. It could drive me to despair. And, having thought for a moment of the purpose of Galatians, I wonder if that isn’t exactly Paul’s intent. He is writing to a church that was reverting to works righteousness, and all of these were matters that their works must address and address perfectly.
I could attempt, perhaps, to focus on the ‘practice’ part. I don’t practice these failures. They are not (or are they?) my steady-state lifestyle. They are vestiges of a former self. I could attempt it, but even then doubts creep in. I fear I am fooling myself. But, the despair to which this brings me is exactly as it should be. I am helpless against the tide of these evils, if I am attempting to stand against them on my own. I can see it very plainly, that failure is not only imminent, it is inevitable. But, I don’t stand alone! I stand with Christ. I am, improbable as it seems, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. As such, going back to the earlier verse, I am capable of walking in such fashion as will not submit to these pressures.
Fine. But, that leaves me back in a terrible place. If I am capable and yet I do not do, what then? Whose will is that? It’s clearly my will to fail. I have, as I said, chosen pursuit of death in full knowledge that Life lies in the opposite direction. What kind of fool am I? A near perfect one, I dare say. But, I will cling to this point not as a defense, but as a ray of hope. I am not the only one. I am not, I don’t think, unusually challenged to follow my faith. Indeed, I must hold that Paul himself struggled no end with these or similar sins. That passage in Romans is not hypothetical he is putting forth. It is his experience, just as it is my experience. I want to do this, but I find myself doing that. I want to be consistent in my uprightness, but I find I am forever lurching off course. I want to please God, and I find I am seemingly doing my utmost to be odious to Him. Let me turn an odd corner. I want to lean wholly upon His grace, and yet I find myself constantly feeling there’s more I must do. It is, by and large, the conflict of living in and not of. That doesn’t make it right or even better. It just makes it understandable.
Lord, were it not for knowing You, I should be utterly hopeless on reflecting as I have. But, Jesus! You have already redeemed me from this. Though it pains me to think how much trouble I cause You, You are not pained beyond the pain You already bore. No, You are rejoicing at what Your love has wrought. I am Yours, though I serve so poorly. I am Yours not because I’m such a great guy. I am Yours because You have bought me at great price. You have desired me for Your heritage. Why, I may never know, but that it is true, I have no doubt. You have left me no room for doubts, even when doubts arise as they do this morning. Does this assessment lead me to despair? Of myself, yes. Of Your power to save and Your willingness to save, no. That is beyond question, for it is already done. Help me, then, Holy Spirit, to walk as I ought, to improve on all counts. Help me to stand as a witness to Your goodness. Help me to serve Your purposes here and now, in the place where You have me, by the power of Your own power in me.
And I shall take to the reminder of these words from the JFB. “A good walk does not make us pious; we must first be pious by believing before we can lead a good course.” That’s what the list makes painfully clear. Look at these things. Can you really claim to be free of them all? Can you really claim to be free of any one of them? I think not. I sincerely doubt the authors of the JFB thought they could, or even Calvin, come to that. The man who supposes he measures up is the man who is most assuredly progressing rapidly towards his doom. But, the man who sees the Truth that is laid bare here, and makes it an excuse for just giving in? He has already met his doom. He is being abandoned to his lusts. We who struggle have this confidence: Were it not for the continued presence of the Spirit within us, we would struggle no more than that reprobate down the street.
In the meantime, while we walk in the not yet, we have to recognize the nature of our reality. We are at war. Somebody I was reading recently made the point that peace is not the normal condition for mankind. It is the rare exception. War has not defined just these United States as so many seek to convince us. War has defined mankind in every place he is found. The history of man is the history of his wars. You can trace right back to Cain and Abel. They may have been armies of one, but there was war, and it’s never ceased. It has never ceased on the physical plain. It has never ceased on the spiritual plain.
Every day, from the moment we wake up, we are at war. Every night, though we sleep, yet we are at war. It doesn’t stop for a break. We dare not, if we would persevere to the end – and we must! But, bear in mind: Our war is not against our neighbor. Our war is not against the corrosive effects of our own government or our educational system. Our war isn’t against the false and corrupting beliefs of the world around us. Our war is primarily with ourselves. Our war is with our own propensity for sin, our tendency to suppose our personal peccadillos are such as don’t amount to much. They aren’t so much crimes against heaven as they are bad habits that aren’t doing us any good. They may not do good, we convince ourselves, but they’re mostly harmless. Oh! We know there’s no such thing as neutral, and yet we will do our utmost to remain convinced that our evils are just that: neutral.
They are not. Barnes tells us that indulgence wars against conscience, understanding and judgment. Have a look at the heroin addicts downtown if you need evidence. Have a look at the homeless drunks in the city. Have a look at the effects of gang life, if you can call that living. For all that, have a look at the financier drunk on his riches, and driven to excess. Have a look at the fame-hungry starlet, famous only for debauchery. See what indulgence has done for conscience. It’s a war!
But, as you look around at these more extreme examples, don’t you dare start feeling superior. No! There, but for the grace of God, go I. That’s the only response open to us. We are every one of us capable, in our own power, of moral failure every bit as complete. Peace is not our normal condition, certainly not peace with God. That we have peace with God is the greatest miracle He has performed, and have no doubt: He has performed it. But, as I have been saying, He did not pull us out of our tailspin so that we could be idlers in His household. He is not looking for sons who take to the couch in the cellar and refuse to lift a hand even for their own sustenance.
There is a war going on, and every son is called to battle. Understand that Peter is not talking to us about some brief skirmish, some momentary bit of hand-to-hand combat. No! He’s describing a campaign. These fleshly lusts are your enemy. If we would dig deeper, we must find that these fleshly lusts are but manifestations of the spiritual battle that is the true front in this war. But, in our personal combat, the campaign is one of lusts against soul, of physical pleasures against righteousness. Do NOT make the mistake of thinking this is evidence that the material is inherently evil and the spiritual inherently good. Do NOT suppose that the battle line is between the plains. It is not. The battle line is drawn up between good and evil, between the sinful hungers of the old man and the righteous desires of the new. The battle line is drawn up between spiritual forces of darkness and the Holy Spirit. The battle is for your soul, and you assuredly have vested interest in the outcome.
Calvin points out a particularly sad reality that we all share. Where there is physical danger, where we see a threat to our material being, we are swift to take action. If we cannot move so as to evade the danger, we will fight it off. Whether it is the car that threatens to hit us in traffic, or market trends that threaten our income, we will do whatever lies within our power to maintain ourselves well and secure. But, when it comes to those things that are destroying our souls in their constant assault? We don’t fight. We don’t evade. We all but offer ourselves up to them. As I said: I am not alone in my inability to pass the Galatians test. I am in very good company. But, that good company is sounding the alarm, and I do well to pay close heed to it.
I know certain habits, let us call them what they are: sins, which have been pursuing an insurgency of late. There are places I must not click, even if some of what is there is acceptable. There is too much that isn’t, and the temptation will increase. Oh, it can’t hurt to look. But, it does! It wars against conscience. It handcuffs good intention. It renders my judgment incapable of choosing wisely. If I see the anger and frustration that has been my near steady state at work of late, what should I understand from that? What must I change, and how can I?
The answer is not going to be found in the direction I tend to look. I am not going to find victory in pursuing ways of working smarter, not harder. I am not going to regain my ground by striving more. I am not going to find my will-power increased by trying my best to remain conscious of the issues. I will only wear myself out with all of that, and fall faster. No. If I am to be victorious, I must look to my Victorious King. My strength is in You, Lord. My hope is in You, Lord. How long since I’ve sung that song? How long since I’ve remembered that fundamental truth?
I am at war. But, it is God who fights my battle. It is God who brings victory, else there is no victory. “I bind upon myself today, the power of God to hold and lead. His eye to watch, His might to stay. His ear to hearken to my need. The wisdom of my God to teach; His hand to guide, His shield to ward; The word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard.” How often I come back to these lyrics, this old warrior’s poem. But, it is not for battle over lands. It is not for battle over governance. It is for battle over me, over my soul’s well-being.
My God, my Savior! Come! Aid me today. Let these words resound in my ears throughout the day, throughout the night, that I might remember whose I am, and Who is mine. Too long I have neglected the battle. Too long I have been taking matters in my own hands, pursuing my thoughts and claiming them as Yours. Forgive me, O, God! Strengthen me in Your strength. Uphold me in Your hand. Come, fight, my King, that I may know Your victory.
I have been thinking, as I have been pursuing these thoughts, of that odd drive I took yesterday. It seemed as though every decision I made in an effort to avoid traffic and save some time turned out wrong. I took the back road down to Westford, only to be caught up in a bit of utility work. It was not really a big deal, no particular delay. But, I figured I would avoid going home that way. So, off towards the lights on the way back; but the construction going on there appeared to have cut off my exit. Hmm. Have to find another way. Yet, there go these other vehicles down the ‘ramp’ I could not identify. Humph. But, the road appears completely blocked over there. Why didn’t they have warnings out? And then, I see those vehicles going through, but I’m over here.
So, I proceed down the road, then figure, hey! I’ll cut over this way and loop back towards Chelmsford, rather than either turn around or go on to the next ramp. After all, there’s construction in both directions. But, yes. It probably took me twice as long to avoid all the nonsense than it would have taken to have stayed the course, any course. Every decision, it seemed, just cost more time. What was up with that? Well, I will suggest that it was more than just a day of stupid driving. I think, if I look back across it, that the whole event taken together stands as something of a parable for what I’ve been looking at this morning. I’ve been taking too many wrong turns, and why? Because I’ve not been seeking my Navigator, just doing what seemed right to me. Today, let this change, God willing!
[08/16/14] Well, clearly I still have far to go, and clearly my capacity for going the wrong way has not abated. But, my God is faithful. He shall lead me home and I shall follow.
Our primary war is between lust and soul. But, that is not the only front in this battle. We are, in a very real sense, at war with the world around us. This is not war after the fashion of the forces of evil we see loosed in the Middle East. I’ll take the words of the Wycliffe Commentary for this point. “Christianity by its very essence opposed the vanities of paganism at every turn.” I wrote a few weeks back about those who seek to go out and be purposefully offensive in the name of Christ, who take the Gospel as license to be rude and obnoxious. But, look at this statement. We don’t need to try. In fact, looking forward a few words in this epistle, we need to try our utmost not to be offensive. But, it won’t work. Christianity is, by its very essence, offensive to the pagan. And, let us have no doubt that by pagan is meant every last person who is not a Christian. It matters not how religious they may be if their religion is false.
Again, this is not a call to armed conflict. That misunderstanding has led to some of the darkest hours of Christian history. No, it is merely a statement of fact. Righteousness is of utmost offense to the unrighteous. The last thing a sinner wants is to be shown a sinner. It will not require an evangelist shouting it out in some hell and brimstone denouncement, although these have their place. Indeed, some of those very evangelists have turned out to be greater sinners than those they denounce, and their own status before the Lord could be considered suspect. But, it doesn’t require such overt actions. The very fact that there is a Gospel message and that there are those who have been reborn to this renewed life is enough. That consistent conduct to which Peter calls us galls them. It galls them the more because however much they may seek to scornfully laugh at it they know it is the better way.
Now, looking back at that comment, I note the author sets it in the past tense. It was opposed. Have no doubt, it remains opposed. It could arguably be said that there was a period in Western history when Christianity held such sway that it was the predominant mode of life. But, I suspect that held more in name than in reality. The majority remain pagans, and more recent history tends to demonstrate that this is the case. Why do we see so many wandering off after New Age pseudo-religions, and even some of the ancient mythologies? Why would people today be seeking to worship like the Native Americans used to do? Really? You prefer chasing animal spirits to the God of Life? Well. I suppose these figments of imagination are less demanding while still delivering the sensation of being somehow religious. But, there is no reality to it. It is just another way to oppose God and His Truth. And you cannot help but see that the world around us opposes no other religion but Christ.
This is the other side of the coin. Not only does Christianity by its very essence oppose paganism, paganism is absolutely vehement in its opposition to Christianity. And again, it doesn’t matter what form that paganism may take. It could be atheism, spiritism, animism, or any of the other world religions of this day or any day. It doesn’t matter. They may happily tolerate one another in their disparate delusions, but come upon a Christian? That one must not be permitted to continue! He must be rejected, reviled and destroyed.
We do not, at present, suffer the sorts of persecutions we see elsewhere in the world. Not yet. But, we needn’t look too hard to see the opposition building as the darkness increases. We could look back to the apoplexy that arose when an overt Christian, and a Pentecostal at that, was made Attorney General. My! We’re setting up a theocracy and all our rights will be taken from us! Not that this was going to happen, but oh, dear! The very thought of somebody with a basis for morals being in such a position just irked them no end. We come to a president who, at least by his confession and to a degree by his actions professes an active Christian faith and a sense of God’s leading and what happens? He is decried as having a Messianic complex. We’re all doomed, I tell you! Throw another president in who, while being played up with just such Messianic hopes and images, does not make much of his Christian faith, supposing him to have such a thing, and nobody cares a whit. Why, he might even be a Muslim, and nobody would be bothered. His favored ones shouting, “Alihu Akbar” from the presidential podium? That’s fine, that’s fine. But, had he said, “Praise, God”, well! We’d have lawsuits pending to maintain the separation of church and state; putting forth yet again the mythical belief that this was intended to prevent the Church from informing the state in any fashion.
Let me get very current. We have the news of an Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. We have an American doctor, who has been helping as best he may, seeking to address the issue. But, he comes down with the virus himself; is so dangerously ill that he returns home to America. Well, be honest. If you had contracted some life-threatening disease where would you turn for treatment, Liberia or America? Or perhaps I am mixing reports – I have not been paying it the attention I perhaps ought to be doing. At any rate, here is a man seeking to aid the downtrodden, struck with the very illness he seeks to treat. A hero, right? A selfless individual standing in harm’s way for the possibility of saving a life. We celebrate these sorts. The death of a fire-fighter is always met with a solemn observation of heroic duty. A soldier dying in the line of duty is still generally honored, if not universally so anymore. A police officer downed in pursuit of a criminal is recognized as having sacrificed for the good of others. And, I dare say, if this was all we knew about our doctor, he would be just as celebrated and honored.
But, something else became known. He’s a Christian! He went because he felt God calling him to do so, and he took his family with him! Suddenly, this guy is evil incarnate. How could he? What sort of father does a thing like that? Is he stupid? That’s an incurable disease and he just opens himself up to it? Bad man! Bad! Look. If this guy had been Hindu, Muslim, Shinto or Satanist, he would still be lauded for his selflessness. He could have been a neo-Nazi and nobody would have thought the less of him for going to help, as unlikely as that scenario might be. But, no. He was a Christian with a sense of God’s calling, and that is simply unacceptable.
The pagan world is still at war with Christianity. It is ever thus. It cannot be otherwise. When the citizen of the world comes in contact with the citizen of heaven there are only two outcomes possible. Either that one renounces his citizenship and comes to Christ, or he rejects Christ vehemently and sets himself in violent and determined opposition to the God of heaven. We may think we see an attempt at détente. We may think that one is seeking time to consider. That is not the case. The Gospel, when encountered, is – by its very essence – a crisis. When a crisis comes, you cannot ask it to wait. Events will not wait until you have a moment. They will not give you a breather. When the crisis comes, it is a crisis precisely because it demands immediate response. You must choose now – this day! Life or death? Light or darkness? Truth or delusion? Which will it be? Are you with us or against us, friend or foe? And have no doubt but that it is God Himself posing the dilemma. It is God Himself who determines the response. If He has called, you will choose life. If He has not, you cannot.
The JFB lays out a series of comparisons between the Christian and the pagan by way of demonstrating this state of war. Some of it I should have thought a bit overwrought were it not for this poor doctor. Consider this contrast from the list: Pagans deserted their own families to the plague. Christians went in to minister to the sick. Now, that I would presume speaks more to the 14th century, when the plague was rampant. But, how is this present case different? What is the advice of the pagan? Put the country in isolation. Seal the borders, stop all traffic in and out, and let this thing take its course. So what if half the population dies? So what if even the whole population perishes? It’s not like it’s us. Just make sure it doesn’t come here. But, here, in this doctor (and in many others) we see the Christian response. Go and minister. “I was sick and in prison, and you visited Me.”
The world just can’t get this. Christ died for us. “One will hardly die for a righteous man; maybe for a good man somebody would dare to die”, writes Paul (Ro 5:7). But look at this! See the love of God for you! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Ro 5:8). We were His determined enemies. We hated Him with every fiber of our being, just as those who so revile us in their turn. And how did He respond? “While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Ro 5:10). That’s the terribly offensive message of the Gospel. God knows you are His enemy, but He does not respond by destroying you. He responds like a Hero. He sets Himself in harm’s way that you might live. Look at this! It is the fundamental definition of a hero. We see this in a man or a woman and we acknowledge that this is something good and right and wonderful. And they are not doing it for an enemy, but for a friend or loved one or at the very least an unknown stranger.
The soldier who throws himself on the grenade to save his squad? Honorable in the extreme. The soldier who does the same to save an enemy squad? Unbelievable! The doctor who treats any wounded soldier, regardless which army he’s from? Again, this one is honorable. He values life and we appreciate this. Yes, there will be those of lesser moral fiber who question the idea of treating an enemy soldier, but the larger part of humanity, at least in the West, would still say he has done the right thing. But, where is the model for such self-sacrificial valor? It is found in one place and one place only. It is found in the God Who sacrificed Himself, throwing Himself on the exploding atomic bomb of our sin so as to protect us and save us. And what does He say to those He has saved? “Follow Me.” Take up your own cross. Die to self. Live to Christ. Live to impart life. Go where you are needed and minister to the lost and dying. Yes, they hate you. They hated Me. What else did you expect? But, don’t let this dissuade you from your mission. Persevere in doing good. Who knows but that this enemy may be made your friend? It worked with you, didn’t it?
And so we follow Peter’s line of thought on its next step. Just keep doing good. Do what is right. Be constant in the excellence of your behavior; particularly because you are in among the Gentiles, the pagans, the unbelieving hordes. Know that they are watching you – constantly. You do know that. What they can’t see, they imagine. What they imagine is tinged with evil, for their thoughts are tinged with evil and they can do no other. What is going to dispel these misconceptions? There is one way. As constant as they are in watching, you be constant in being honorable in every regard. Let reality speak to those imaginations. Nothing dispels false conceptions quite so well as coming up hard against reality. Yes, it must be admitted that we are quite capable of ignoring reality to the uttermost in our efforts at holding to our false beliefs. But, eventually, reality wins through.
This is a point that every last commentary picks up on. Barnes: You are observed. Calvin: You can’t afford to walk in listless security. They are watching for your every mistake. Clarke: We must live so as to adorn the Gospel we profess. And don’t think you escape the need for this by being a ‘stealth Christian’ as we like to call them. We saw this in the last passage. You proclaim His excellencies – that is your purpose (1Pe 2:9). This is not a matter of shouting from the street corners. It’s a way of life. It’s a manner of living. It’s every habit, custom and activity of your life as well as your words. This passage is just building out that point. You cannot be a stealth Christian. You can only be disobedient as to the speaking part. But, say nothing, and it will still become known. Not that I would encourage such an approach, but from experience, that’s how it is. Even if we ignore Calvin’s advice and walk in listless security, God somehow manages to shine through. If we are indeed among the elect, it will become known to those who are around us. And we will be observed.
Remember the war. You walk amidst the opposition, albeit that some among their number may turn out to be recruits at some future date. But, you walk amidst those who are seeking any reason they can find to discount and discredit God. If He is real, after all, they are in deep trouble. At the very least, they shall have to abandon all that they know as a way of life. They shall have to set aside what they deem pleasures, even if those pleasures are deadly in the end. They shall – and this is the most terrible part – have to confess to their evil nature. Never mind that this is done with an eye to assured pardon and repair. It means shouting out for all of heaven to hear that I have been absolutely and incorrigibly wrong in all I have done and thought to this point. No! The ego reels back from such a thing; demands that this God must go that I may remain. But, God will not go. The war is already won, quite frankly. The only question is where these opposing soldiers will be when it’s over. Some are slaves whom our own Master has purchased, and they shall be found beside us when all is complete. Most will not. It is a sad truth, but it is Truth. The remnant is never the largest part.
In this battle our goal is not the death of our enemies, but the rescue of our brothers. Isn’t that something? We don’t fight against flesh and blood, for the flesh and blood before us must be assumed to be as much a candidate for salvation as we are. We fight against those spiritual powers which keep them blinded to God’s truth. We fight for the possibility that He might call them out of that blinding darkness into His marvelous light. In this battle, our best weapon is the Word of God. Our second best weapon is our conduct. To the degree that our conduct concurs with the Gospel we preach, it is possible that our conduct might encourage their conversion. But, as Matthew Henry points out, to the degree that our conduct is bad and inconsistent, we can be assured that we have obstructed whatever chance of conversion they have. Yes, God can and does work in spite of us. But, this hardly excuses our obstructionism.
The conclusion? If we profess Christ, we must live Christ. It is, says Barnes, the solemn requirement of every Christian to do this. It must be our goal to live such that their closet examinations of us leave them convinced of our uprightness and honesty. Let no duplicity be found in us, no cutting of corners, no looking for the skate-save. The JFB goes so far as to say this: “No Christian was found in prison for a crime, but only for the faith.” Would that this could still be said, and perhaps it can. But, I would then have to ask, what hope is there for that one we accounted brother who sits in prison today? It was not for faith, but for just punishment. What then? Shall we take his claims of faith as proven false, or shall we continue to believe and hope all things in our godly love for this fallen man? My inclination is to think the JFB statement a trifle hyperbolic in nature. None? Never? Hard to accept that. We are not made perfect by our rescue, only set on the right path. We are seeking to steer our course towards that perfection, but we all fail miserably. Can we really believe that there will be no true son of God who ever falls so hard as to land in jail for his fallen acts? To be sure, it ought not be the case, but there is much about us children of God that ought not be the case. To make that claim strikes me as coming too near perfectionism. If it was ever true in any period of the Church, it surely is not now, though it is greatly to be desired that it might be.
So, we do what we can to keep our behavior excellent. Why? Well, let’s get this out of the way: It’s not so we can get into heaven. It’s not earning anything for us. If we are only doing good in hopes of maintaining our own reputation, we are not doing good at all. We are merely exercising self-interest. I have to confess it’s terribly easy to fall into this mode of operation. It seems to me at times that this is the only thing that moves me to do good. It seems particularly to be the case as I take on greater responsibilities in the church. I hold this office. Therefore, I must do these things that do not come naturally to me. I am by nature an introvert. The office demands a degree of extroverted thinking that is highly uncomfortable to me. So, as I go about doing what I ought to do, I have to be that much more careful of motivation. Why am I doing it? Am I doing it because I should or because I care? It’s OK, I think, if it’s a bit of both. But, if it’s solely a matter of image, I am in trouble.
Here’s another corrective. If I am doing good for no better cause than to demonstrate gratitude for what God has done, I’m still not quite there. That’s not a bad motivation, to be sure, and if it suffices to get the good going, then praise God, let’s do it! But, hear Peter’s words and hear them well. Doing good is a matter of evangelism. I bet most of us have never thought of it in those terms. I know I would not make the connection. That’s why we have Apostles. Here it is, though. Calvin picks up on it. Doing good is not about our image, but about glorifying God. OK. That’s a good step, but it’s a bit abstract yet. But, our examples might serve God by serving them. It might bring them to conversion and then they, too, will glorify God. If our good works were an acceptable gift or sacrifice to bring before the throne, how much more when our good works have led to this multiplication?
I think of the parable of the talents. If all we have to offer are our good works done quietly in a corner where nobody could observe, that’s something. But, where’s the return on investment for God? Far better that our good works have been used to this outwardly-focused, evangelistic end that there may now be others also doing their own good works that bring glory to God, and we have launched, as it were, a glory-producing pyramid scheme. Except this one works to the benefit of all, for it is God who gets the glory and it is God who blesses every member.
[08/18/14] I must be mindful that the war to which Peter directs our attention is not the outward battle for the lost, but the inward battle of the saved. With that in mind, I think it best we save our battle-ready mindset for that work. When it comes to the world in which we serve, the mindset of being at war can prove detrimental. However much we may recognize that it is not these flesh and blood people around us who are our enemies, but rather those spiritual powers that hold them in bondage, yet our fallen nature is such that it will incline to decrying that which we can see as the enemy. That is to say, we run the very great danger of seeing the lost not as potential brothers but as irredeemable reprobates.
But, look at what Peter is suggesting here. That one slandering you today? He might very well prove to be your dearest brother tomorrow. That is his reason for urging consistent excellence of behavior. They may yet enjoy a visit from God themselves. They may be prepared by your example to receive the same offer that you received. You don’t know, dear one, who are the elect and who are the rejected. You may have your suspicions, but if you’ve been around awhile, you have no doubt found your suspicions proved wrong too often already. Your mission, per your Lord’s direction, is not one of passing judgment. It is one of casting seed. Your words are indeed a great and necessary tool for this task. How can they, after all, call upon God if they’ve not heard of Him (Ro 10:14)? But, your actions, as the adage goes, speak louder than your words. If you profess one thing but do another, who will listen to your words? No! But, God uses the upright conduct of His children, says Calvin, to ‘bring back the wandering to the right way’. That’s not directed at believers who have fallen into sin, although we can include them in the statement. It’s directed to those who have not yet even come to recognize the right way.
Good deeds, right living, excellence of behavior: These are tools for evangelism first and foremost. They surely are not tools to earn God’s favor. They do not, really, even honor God or demonstrate gratitude towards Him. As far as that goes, they only demonstrate that we bondservants of Christ are doing as we ought to be doing. They earn no reward. But, as evangelistic tools, they are of chief importance; excelled only by the Gospel preached and a necessary compatriot to that preaching.
Now, let’s turn to this day of visitation which Peter mentions. What does this conjure to mind for you? It very likely puts you in mind of the Last Day, the Day of Judgment. We are more or less trained to this view by our interests in the prophetic texts and fascination with the Revelation. We have, in fact, been working through that book in the Sunday sermons for the last little while. But, that text is necessarily difficult to interpret, and too many, in writing about these matters, have written more from the basis of pet theories and speculations than from sound exegetical analysis.
The thing is that this phrase ‘day of visitation’ is a different phrase. It is certainly possible that Peter has a time of judgment in mind, and some of our commentators go that route. Clarke, for example, supposes this to be a reference to the fall of Jerusalem. But, if Peter’s point is that the judgment of the reprobate will glorify God that hardly needs our good example to hold true. It only needs God’s perfection, and that is not in doubt.
Clarke actually pushes this view to the point of suggesting that at the fall of Jerusalem, every non-Christian Jew was ‘either destroyed or carried into slavery’, but not a single Christian suffered such a fate. First, I have to say that this strikes me as being hyperbole, even though he does nothing to indicate that was his intent. While it is certainly reasonable to view that fall as God’s judgment, it certainly was not the final judgment. Did God so strike at His people that every last unbelieving Jew was slain? I hardly think so. For one thing, many in that number were already expatriates at the time. Josephus, for example, was not a slave nor was he destroyed. Yet, we have no cause to suppose he had become a Christian.
The obverse part of that, that not a single Christian suffered such a fate seems even less likely to be true. If it was true, it was likely only because the persecutions of which Paul had played such a part prior to conversion had already driven all the believers out of the city. But, we know with certainty that the church persisted, for we find Paul himself coming back to seek their counsel, as well as his efforts to gather material support for the Jerusalem congregation from the Gentile converts. Did that church yet remain when Jerusalem fell? I do not know conclusively one way or the other. But, I am not aware of any writing that would suggest that Jerusalem had been abandoned by Christianity prior to its fall. I would almost prefer to believe it had been, given the atrocities that are recorded in that time. And, I must remind: Those atrocities were not violence done by Rome, but rather the violence of each against his own kin. Yes, that was assuredly a day of judgment, but just as assuredly not the Day of Judgment.
But, it remains to be shown that this is what Peter has in mind. The Wycliffe Commentary, with its particular concerns for translation, looks at the phrase in question, and advises that we would better understand if it was rendered as a day of observation and inspection. This is particularly apt given the undertones of our own lives being under close observation by those around us. They observe us as a means of forming their opinions about God. This observation is hostile; a seeking of validation for their unbelief. But, here comes God’s irony. There is a day of observation wherein He shall be the observer and they shall be the observed. What then? Oh, they will glorify God! Let there be no doubt on that account. The doubt consists in how they shall do so.
But, I am in danger of distorting the image once again so as to invoke the Day of Judgment. Rather, the reason we have this idea of ‘observation and inspection’ is because we are dealing with the term episkopees. The connection with Episcopate would be hard to miss. But, what is the Episcopate? It is the office of the bishop. What is a bishop? In other places, we find him referred to as presbyter, or elder. It is the office of one charged by God with the inspection of the lives of his flock. It is part of the shepherd’s duty to know the state of each sheep. Which ones are inclined to wander? Which ones are sound leaders in their own right and which more likely to instigate trouble for others? What are the needs of each and how can those needs best be addressed? It’s a task given to close inspection, observing the lives of the members of the church. How else to assess? How else to care for them?
Barnes points out that where we come across this phrase in the New Testament, it is generally found to speak of a day when favor is conferred rather than punishment. So common is this connection that, frankly, if there is an association of the phrase with punishment this would be the only passage in which that association is made. That is pretty strong cause to read it more in light of favor bestowed. So, then, Peter is pointing to a time of preaching the Gospel, and a time when that preaching is vested by God with saving power. Again: The example of believers living consistent with their faith prepares the soil for the seed of the Gospel. The inconsistent life of a believer strews weeds about that are more likely to choke out the good seed. I will, I must maintain that God is most assuredly able to counteract our failures, even as His presence and His will are necessary ingredients in our success – the only real ingredients. But, how much happier we should be if our example has served His purpose rather than hindered it!
Barnes arrives at this declaration: “Their consistent lives would be the means of the revival and extension of true religion. And is it not always so?” How often do you pray for revival? How strongly do you long to see the darkness around you invaded by His glorious light? Do you cry for the day when the struggle that is faith today becomes no struggle, when every vestige of sin and sorrow has been blasted away by the magnificence of very present God? See where it begins! You know, we expend an awful lot of energy begging God to come and instigate a revival. I could almost see God in heaven, scratching His head and wondering when we’ll get off our duffs and start this revival we seek. Except, of course, God has never had cause to scratch His head in wonder at us. He knows us too well.
I’ll end this study considering a summation made in the JFB. The authors conclude that four things led to the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity. These four things were fulfilled prophecies and miracles; the sense of sin and need; the holy example of Christians; and temporal successes. This is an interesting list. It is interesting, not in small part, because at least two of these categories are held suspect by large portions of the Church today, and I’m not thinking of the more liberal wings. For what may well be the majority of the Church, prophecy and miracle are held at arm’s length if not farther. Oh, we accept the record. We see how the Gospel fulfills prophecy, and we fully believe that God will indeed see to the fulfillment of every remaining prophecy that is written. But, at the same time, any prophecy made in this day and age, for this day and age, is held in great doubt. The idea of miracles happening in our day; this, too, meets with general skepticism, at least here in the West. Yet, we also see that it is just such things that are propelling Church growth in other regions like Africa and South America. What to do? Do we decry these as false plants, tares in God’s garden? Or do we conclude God’s methods differ with the nature of the people He is seeking to reach? But, that smacks of an elitism hardly becoming of God’s people!
To hold such a view, we must suppose that we are the more advanced, and beyond all this mystical stuff. Sure, God may still use prophecy and miracles to sway these less developed nations and peoples, but we’re smarter than all that. Are we? Or are we in fact the weaker brethren? It’s a matter for consideration. It is well to defend the finality of God’s revelation in the enscripturated Word of God. But, is it well to then insist that He has shut His mouth and no longer speaks to His own children? I am not convinced. We proudly proclaim that God does not change. Indeed, our eternal security depends on that fact. And yet, we insist that this God who has done miracles down through the ages no longer does so. Yes, I understand that for many, the idea of miracle has become so watered down as to become meaningless. But, it seems to me the reverse can be said, too, that the possibility of miracle has been so reduced as to render past miracles equally meaningless. What value is the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day if I have no expectation of God taking just such measures for His people today? It’s reduced to a mere story, rather than any real reminder of God’s power.
Let’s look at that last item in the list: temporal successes. Isn’t that the name it and claim it heresy? It can be. Nor would I wish to abide in a faith that was only as strong as my temporal successes. That’s not faith in the God Who Is, but in the idol of self. Yet, if we who have God’s promises of provision saw nothing but sorrows and dismay for our lot, who could abide? I arrive at this: We must be absolutely diligent in our defense of sound doctrine and right understanding of this God we serve. But, we must be equally careful not to so respond to false doctrine as to falsify our own.
There is a strong tendency in us that wants to serve as counterbalance. The more we see something pushed out of balance in one direction the stronger we wish to pull in the other. We see it in the sphere of politics. The more things are tending towards the left, the more vehemently rightward we go, and vice versa. We see it, I think, in our religious differences as well – and I’m thinking of differences within the true Church. I see this play out in our home life quite a bit. There is this tension between the charismatic and the conservative. It’s not even a question of my beliefs versus my wife’s beliefs. It’s more my beliefs versus my beliefs. I have been in the charismatic movement for years. I’ve seen the good and the bad. I’ve observed what I assess to be true exercises of the gifts of the Spirit and I’ve also observed far too much that was not true. I’ve known the power of the Holy Spirit directing my words and actions. I’ve also known times when it was show.
At the same time, I hold to a very conservative Calvinist view of doctrine. I would in no wise suggest that Scripture is open to addition, nor that it is in any way erroneous. The Truth of God is too dear to allow for a mindset that will try anything once and then correct as needed. No! That’s not the way that God has set for us. Rather, He has carefully laid it out for us. “Here is the Way. Walk in it!” There is nothing to be found that suggests we should be experimenting with whatever passes for spiritual this week. We are not to be a church of the trendy, but a church that is true to the Apostolic teaching.
Let me get back to that temporal successes business. We may or may not appear to be having success. The Church may appear to be on the wane. There are many sorrowful declarations that we are living in a post-Christian world. But, we are not. What we may be seeing (and I hope it proves not to be the case) is a time when God is moving the Church to a new locale. Look at the history! The Church was under threat in the Middle East, it moved to Rome. The Church was endangered in Rome, it moved north to Britain. Britain lost sight of God, the Church moved to Europe and then to America. What should we expect here? Do we really suppose America is God’s last stand? Are we so prideful as to think that if He loses this nation, all hope is gone? NO! My hope is in You, Lord! You alone! Temporal successes? They will come as God sees fit, both as to timing and as to location.
If God is pleased to bless us then by all means let us be pleased to enjoy the blessing. But, if God is pleased to withhold, that we may learn to depend the more on Him, let us likewise be pleased that He cares enough still to discipline us for our good. Let us also recall ourselves to a sense of our own sin and need, lest we fall to pride and make ruin of our faith. Believe me, I am a firm adherent to the perseverance of the saints. Yet, I am also keenly aware of my own capacity for self-delusion. I believe this to be the reason we have so many urgent admonitions to strive after our sanctification, even from those who most fervently proclaim that it is all God’s doing. It’s not earning our way. It’s providing ourselves with evidence. It’s also, as we have been shown here, setting a holy example for those who have yet to find the road home.
“We must do good, not with a view to our own glory, but to that of God.” That comes from the JFB. And, if we have a view to the glory of God, we see that our good is not done for our benefit or His, but in hope that there may yet come a day when God visits the unbelieving around us in grace. I pray this may prove true for the unbelieving in my own household. I don’t need to look around the neighborhood to find those who need the softening agent of my own consistent behavior. The work of planting revival starts right here. Then, perhaps, we can look across the fence and across the street. There may yet come a day. God willing, that day will indeed come! May it be that I am found faithfully about the business for which I was created: preparing the way for that day.
