MARANATHA EVANGELISTIC MINISTRIES,INC.

THE LORD COMETH

Blog

PASTOR YAW'S BLOG
view:  full / summary

A Foundation Of Truth

Posted on January 9, 2012 at 2:25 PM Comments comments (0)

A FOUNDATION OF TRUTH

For too long in the history of Western civilization, persons of African descent have been stereotyped in negative ways which have caused them to question not only their own identity but also their part in God’s plan of salvation.

Afrocentricity, the idea that Africa and persons of African descent must be understood as making significant contributions to world civilization as proactive subjects within history, is the methodology with which some African Bible Scholars endeavor to reappraise ancient biblical traditions. The impressive number of volumes which have appeared in the past few years attempting to engage in “corrective historiography” attest to the fact that it is no longer enough to limit the discussion to “black theology” or even African theology; instead, Africa, her people, nations, and cultures must be acknowledged as making primary, direct contributions to the development of Christianity. The purpose of this writing reiterate the studies of these African Bible Scholars efforts to interpret the Bible as it relates specifically to persons of African descent and thereby to foster an appreciation of the multiculturalism inherent in the Bible.

I believe it is important to stress that this research is not presented from a racist view point, but rather from the viewpoint of racial pluralism and inclusiveness, seeking to bring forth the truth from a story which has had many dubious interpretations. I pray that it might serve as an important stepping stone, indeed a cornerstone, for establishing a FOUNDATION OF TRUTH. Fact, not speculation, is the basis upon which this work has been founded. This work offer the simple facts presented in the Bible, supported by other historical evidence and by sound logic and reasoning.

AN UNCLAIMED BLESSING

It is clear from studying the Scriptures that God has always separated those to whom he gave special blessings from others to whom he did not. Adam was created in the image of God and was put in a special place (the garden). The blessing of Adam passed to his descendants, who at that ancient time were reckoned only through the male line. The original blessing that God gave to Adam was also given to Abel, not because he was a male but because of his righteousness and ability to do what was pleasing to God (Gen 4:1-4). The same blessing was accordingly received by Seth. Historians have suggested that Seth’s name intentionally contrasted the righteous biblical Seth with the Egyptian Set, the lord of evil who killed his brother Osiris. Both Osiris and Set were grandsons of the Egyptian sun god, Ra. In the Hebrew Bible, is recast as righteous in the image of his father, Noah, and as such God’s blessing proceeds thenceforward nine generations to Noah, who found favor with God and was separated from the wickedness around him. These men were sons of God, and as such received special treatment from their father. This special blessing was passed on to the Afro-Asiatic Hebrew patriarch Abraham because, again, he separated himself from the people around him in order that he might be able to serve God in righteousness.

This blessing has yet to be fully manifested to the world because the Africam/Edenic man, through whom it was to come, has failed to fulfill his commission. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-----Africans/Edenites---the original people of God, have been chastised time after time for disobedience to their God, and were driven out of their land to the four corners of the earth.

The return of diverse races of people---including those of African descent---to the Holy Land signals the manifestation of that special blessing to the world. The Bible can therefore be viewed as a testament to the cycle of chastisement and redemption and of the ultimate purpose of the Holy One Of Israel. The Bible is, in short, a drama of the history salvation in which black people play an important part.

Shaleak Ben Yehuda, keeper of the Temple of the Seal of Wisdom at Jerusalem, states, “History must desperately backtrack in giant steps to acknowledge facts before it can begin to attempt to fulfill its prophetic destiny in a reconciliatory acknowledgment of truth (salvation), or else it will plunge onward to sure destruction, doom and disaster never before known to the inhabitants of the earth.” This sage of the African Israelite community has particular concern for the reestablishment of the ancient black presence in the Bible as factual.

THE DIVERSITY OF THE BLACK RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

In its broadest application, the black religious experience extends well beyond the parameters of the African American religious experience. The connotative sense of the black religious experience is simply the religion of those persons whose parentage, self-understanding, and/or physical features fall within the black (Negroid/African) race. There is an astonishing diversity of religious beliefs and practices in the history of the world’s black people. This religious experience includes the religions of ancient Africa (Cush, Punt, and to a great extent ancient Egypt), as well as black adaptations of Hebraic, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic beliefs and rituals. We could also mention traditional African religions and numerous derivatives found in the black diaspora: Candomble (Brazil), Garifuna (Honduras), Shango (Trinidad), and Vodun (Haiti).

Note that in Yoruba land there is still the worship of Shango. Shango is the god of thunder. Also remember that Christ nicknamed two of his disciples James and John, THE SONS OF THUNDER.

Mark 3:13-17

13 Then he went up the hillside and summoned the men he wanted, and they went to him. 14 He appointed twelve to be with him, 15 also that he might dispatch them to preach with the power of casting out demons; 16 there was Simon, whom he surnamed Peter, 17 James the son of Zebedaeus and John the brother of James (he surnamed them Boanerges, or "Sons Thunder.”

Note also that Vodun also originated from Benin, and it is still been practiced, and all these countries are in the West of Africa.

Despite this variety, the black religious experience also has denotative coherence that distinguishes it from the religious experience of other racial groups. On the one hand, the black religious experience typically considers the supernatural as a mere extension of the natural order. It seeks harmony with (not dominance over) nature, reveres ancestors, rejoices in rhythm, and takes both spirituality and the afterlife seriously. On the other hand, the impact of slavery, colonialism, and racism in the oppression of black people further clarifies the black religious experience as a designation for African Americans, especially those who represent the tradition of the black church in the United States.

What is the Bible? The most published book in the world is a historical record of the relationship between a particular people and a “particular God,” and how the specialness of that relationship has affected the entire world. The origin of this people has been shrouded in the mysteries of the various versions and translations of the Bible (especially the King James Version) for many years. This was due, in part, to the misinterpretations of those who rendered the original translations from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, English, and other languages. However, a large portion of the confusion stems from deliberate Eurocentric attempts to conceal what today would be called the racial and/or ethnic identity of the people of the Bible.

Today popular Christianity too easily assumes that modern ideas about race are traceable to the Bible or that there is not a significant black presence in the Bible….. Centuries of European and Euro-American scholarships along with a “save the heathen blacks” missionary approach to Africans have created these impressions.

Despite all the evidence that indicates a manifest black biblical presence, Eurocentric church officials and scholars have tended to deny or minimize the fact that black people are in any way part of the Bible itself, a tendency that has had grave consequences for persons of African descent. Modern biblical scholarship is just beginning to overcome centuries of tragic biases against blacks and their biblical heritage. As astonishing as it seems, most of the prestigious academies and universities of Europe and America have ridiculed the idea that blacks have any substantive history.

THE STUGGLE TO BE RECOGNIZED

This discrimination has been long-lived. In the period between the fourth century and the Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europe recast the entire Bible into a saga of European people. And their interpretations have been accepted as fact by the Western world. The result has been the creation of a world in which too many blacks themselves have become uncomfortable with images of biblical characters as blacks. For example everything associated with evil in the Bible is represented with black monstrous images. Lucifer, the beautiful Arc Angel, the Cherub that covered, because of his fall, is always painted as a black monstrous image with horns. Contrary to what the Bible describes.

Ezekiel 28:12-19

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared. 14 Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee. 16 By the abundance of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground; I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.

The calling of God and its accompanying gifts are irrevocable, so I wonder when God changed Lucifer into that black monster with horns. Note that the above scripture described him as a beauty, and in verse 19b, “Thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.” So how did he become that black monstrous being.

This effort to fully recognize the black presence in the Bible is not new. For more than a century, despite their exclusion from centers of theological education, leaders in the black church have rejected the erroneous view that they were the progeny of the “accursed” Ham. A case in point is Daniel P. Seaton, DD, MD, a prominent leader in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who wrote in 1895 displaying considerable knowledge about the Bible, the location of ancient religious sites, and the significance of many biblical characters. In fact, he made several field trips to Palestine. In his major work, a volume of 443 pages of text, notes, maps, and illustrations, he provides extensive descriptions of tombs, villages, and other ancient sites which he visited. Regarding Ham and his descendants, Seaton offers the following:

"Because these Hamites were an important people, attempts

have been made to rob them of their proper place in the

catalogue of the races. The Bible tells us plainly that the

Phoenicians were the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham

and anyone who will take the time to read the Bible account

of their lineage must concede the fact".

It is noteworthy that Seaton’s study displays a profound awareness of racism among the “bona fide” Bible scholars of his day. Nevertheless, as much as we may applaud Dr. Seaton’s constructive intent, clearly he could have benefited greatly from systematic historical critical engagement with the biblical text in its original languages.

Recently, in America and in Africa, there has developed a proliferation of books and pamphlets which represent a resurgence of what may now be called Afrocentric approaches to the Bible. Caution, however, is advised, for all students of the Bible must avoid the tendency of taking the sons of Noah----Shem (“Mongoloid”;), Ham (“Negroid”;), and Japheth (“Caucasian:)--as representing three different “races.” However, this is the traditional approach of European missionaries and others who seized the opportunity thereby to designate Ham as the father of blacks, who were allegedly cursed in Genesis 9:18-29. Any reference book appearing on the subject of “blacks in the Bible” must be held suspect, if the author tries to argue that blacks constitute the “Hamitic” line only!!!

(To Be Continued)

By Pastor Yaw Owusu Sekyere

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN ( PT1 )

Posted on January 4, 2012 at 9:45 PM Comments comments (0)

Hello friends!

 

 

 

 

 

   Six questions silently interrogate the female heart. They push and pull her. They explain her. Few women verbalize these signature desires into plain language, but the substance of them cries out continuously, in some way or another, at some time or another, deep in her being. 
   Of course, there are exceptions. A woman might possess major traits divergent from the general female pool, usually because of God's non-typical purpose for her. Keep in mind then, the following biblical insights, scientific conclusions, and collective observations address the typical woman and majority of women. 

 

 

 

The Mystery   

 

 

   No, you're not hallucinating, and no, it's not impossible. Women must be understood, first by themselves and then by others, and especially by the men in relationship to them. This can be quite an undertaking, though, sort of like deciphering the book of Revelation. Many of you know what I mean. But why the mystery?
      Women are the upgrade. They are biologically, emotionally, and socially more sophisticated than men. Adam was formed from the simplicity of dust, while Eve was formed from the complexity of living tissue (Adam's side). Discern the symbolism. God desired to make a similar to Adam, yet an elaborate upgrade of him.
      As if femininity wasn't mystifying enough, many women enjoy and leverage their obscurity. They relish the thrilling power of being "just out of reach". Part of this is normal social or romantic play, whereby individuals engage in sportive exploration and chasing of one another. This is harmless, as long as it eventually pays up. Much of our relationship with the Lord is this way: mystery and discovery, seeking and finding.   
      At times though, there can be a darker side to this play; when the mystery never pays up, when the woman remains elusive and evasive to manipulate others. By staying barely out of reach, she can secure the upper-hand in a relationship or environment. It keeps others "on their toes" while she herself remains sure-footed. Most often this is done by withholding (or misrepresenting) sensitive information about herself: intentions, needs, desires, disappointments, expectations, plans, and goals. She might also do this by pre-calculating her schedule and interactions, carefully monitoring who, what, when, where, and why.        
      On a societal level, this same "just out of reach" dynamic happens through the sexual objectification of women. Awesome power can be attained by being naked yet concealed, seductive yet impersonal, accessible yet unattainable, visible yet distant. Female mystery, then, can be adventurous, playful, and harmless as individuals journey to progressively discover one another. Or it can be malicious, if females indefinitely remain a riddle in order to manipulate.      
            Finally, many women are simply mysteries to themselves, and therefore, are unable to adequately impart themselves to others. Many are willing and hungry to do so. They are ready for truths that can solidify their sense of female identity and improve their self-delivery to others, and most importantly, to the Lord. Understanding women...six silent questions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) The Mother-Question: "Where is my mother?"  

 

 

   A girl learns womanhood, or a lack of, through her mother. Until she matures into a solid sense of biblical womanhood in her own right, the question will arrest and interrogate her soul indefinitely, "Where is my mother?"
      Song of Songs 8:2 shows us this, Solomon's wife is speaking: I would lead you and bring you to my mother's house--she who has taught me (underline added). She makes a similar statement in 3:4, whereby she desires to take Solomon to her mother for further approval and guidance. All women, like Solomon's bride, look to and listen for mom to learn successful and appropriate female living. She is the blueprint for womanhood, for better or for worse.    
      If mom is absent or incapable, the new mother often becomes any older female with an equally imposing presence--a sister, aunt, grandmother, teammate, Brittany Spears, or Desperate Housewives. Every girl or developing woman is learning womanhood from some female blueprint somewhere.
      The Bible opens with an insightful story about a girl seeking to answer the mother-question. Genesis 34 tells us about Dinah, the daughter of Leah. If you remember from chapters 29 and 30, Leah was one of Jacob's two wives, the one he did not want. Rachel was his heart's desire. Leah was second best and second choice, and in a competition of two, that made her last place. Can you imagine how that made her feel? Rejected...unwanted...ugly...alone. Leah surely picked up some wounds here. 
      Along comes Dinah, Leah's only daughter and seventh child (30:21). Because of her woundedness and subsequent introversion, Dinah did not have the attentive and engaging mother she needed. While Leah was still licking her wounds, she was injuring and pushing Dinah away in the process. So what does Dinah do? She realizes mom cannot give her the female umbrella she needs, and takes her mother-question to be answered elsewhere.
      This brings us to the tragedy of Genesis 34:1: Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. See what's happening? Dinah went to the pagan peoples nearby to find what Mom Leah was not providing. She even bypassed Jacob's two concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah (30:3-5, 9,10), as possible mother-figures. In the end, Dinah gets raped and brings a city-wide massacre on the Shechemites.
      This story contains profound insight about women. Dinah needed a mother who could develop her into a woman, a "mother-shepherd". She needed female modeling, female guidance, and female attachment. She needed a mother to answer her mother-question, and this question would keep interrogating her until she found someone to answer it. You see, Dinah is every woman and every woman is Dinah. Today's entertainment industry thrives on wandering Dinahs still looking for a mom to show them how to be a woman.
      God, foreseeing the Dinah disillusionment, gave us the Titus 2:3-5 concept. This passage commands the older Christian women of the church to befriend, shepherd, teach, guide, and support the younger Christian women. In other words, God expects older Christian women to answer the mother-question for the younger ones who are in a Dinah disillusionment. ("Older" does not necessarily refer to physical age, but to spiritual age, maturity, and wholeness. Some older women, physically, still have not answered the mother-question, while some younger ones have.)
      Ruth's story is the counterpart to Dinah's story. Ruth (a Moabite), when faced with the option of returning to her pagan earthly mother or attaching to a new, Jehovah-worshiping mother, she chose the latter (Ru 1). Naomi was an awesome woman, filled with godliness and feminine glory. Apparently, Ruth's mother was either sub-par or deceased, and therefore, she did not desire to return home. Even more so, she rejected all the other potential mother-figures of Moab (aunts, grandmothers, family friends, community leaders, etc...). She turned to Naomi and Naomi's God to answer her heart's question (1:15-18). And wow, was she not rewarded incredibly?
      Dinah sought a pagan woman to answer her mother-question; Ruth sought a godly woman. Dinah put herself in a vulnerable situation whereby a carnal man was able to exploit her; Ruth put herself in a secure situation whereby a wonderful man blessed, protected, and married her. Dinah's response to her question brought death to an entire people; Ruth's response brought life to Israel and the entire world, being the ancestor of both David and Jesus.
      APPLICATION: Dinah, Ruth, and every developing woman has the same question interrogating their heart, a mother-question that asks, "Where is my mother?" Few women grew up with level-10 mothers. Most are like Dinah and Ruth--needing more and still asking.
      History is filled with tragedies of women who reacted like Dinah; they looked to the wrong women in the wrong places. History is also filled with wonderful victories of women who reacted like Ruth; they looked to the right women in the right places. You can have Dinah's disillusionment, but Ruth's response. Be a Ruth. Find Naomi-Ruth relationships in your church, another church, extended family, or social circle to help answer your mother-question. Commit to maturing completely and becoming a Naomi for other disillusioned Dinahs.
            Eventually, Naomi pushed Ruth out of her nest (Ru 3). The best mothers, physical and spiritual, understand their learners will eventually become mature women and able mothers themselves. The best Naomis have the wisdom and emotional security to eventually discharge their Ruths. They understand their temporary purpose was to answer and silence the mother-question forever. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) The Husband-Question: "Where is the prince?" 

 

 

   Jezebel fascinates me. Her story is closer to the woman next door, or the next pew, than we realize. Scripture gives us no explicit information about her early years, though it does give us key bits of information that unravel her almost completely.
      Jezebel's name literally means, Where is the prince?. It is made up of two words, jeze, which means "without" or "where is", and baal, which means "prince, husband, or lord". Why would her parents name her without prince, or, Where is the prince?.
      We know from 1Kings 16:31 that Jezebel was Sidonian, and her father Eth-baal, king of Sidon. This means Jezebel was a princess, destined in the royal system for a prince. The probable reason for her unique naming is that Sidon lacked prince-quality men for her to eventually marry. Her parents, seeing and foreseeing this, named her accordingly. Where is the prince?, then, not only became Jezebel's name, but the wounded cry of her heart as she grew up to understand this reality. Finding a good man is an age-old frustration. 
      This scenario seems convincing when we consider the fact that she crossed political, cultural, and religious boundaries to marry Ahab, an Israelite (1Ki 16:31). Could it be that she married the weak and very un-princely Ahab out of frustration and disillusionment, out of a failed search for a real prince in Sidon? I think so. If Israel, God's own people, saw periods of time where there seemed to be no good men (Jud 21:25, Ps 12:1, Ecc 7:28, 1Ki 18:20,21, 19:18), imagine a pagan and morally degraded society like Sidon?       
      The ironic and amazingly symbolic thing about this story is that every woman has the same question beating in her heart, Where is the prince?. Jezebel did not begin life with merely a name, she began life with a question, a husband-question. That question arrested, interrogated, and influenced her in every way imaginable, as it does for all women. Little girls feel this question when they fall madly in love with their school teacher, daydream about Prince Charming, plan their wedding day during math class, or pick a flower and play "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not". Every female from Jezebel to Jane, in Sidon or in San Francisco, begins life with this question. Jezebel could not run from it, not so much because it was her name, but because it was her nature. It is a God-given question. It is a God-given nature, and the Fall has much to do with it.                         
       
        After the Fall, God pronounced the post-Fall woman would long for and need her husband in a new way, a way more intensely than before the Fall (Gen 3:16). He gave her a very strong emotional lean toward her husband or husband-to-come. To use our lingo, post-Fall women would now enter life with a powerful heart question that asks, "Where is the prince?"
      Song of Songs refers to this emotional lean in colorful imagery. In Song 2:3, the wife compares her husband to a tree, upon which she leans and rests under. In verse 5, she declares only his husbandly love can "strengthen" and "refresh" her romantic weakness and vulnerability. In fact, more than once she admits she is romantically "faint" or "weak" (2:5, 5:8). In 8:5, even her friends recognize the emotional lean: Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? (underline added).
      Song of Songs lights up several bulbs concerning what God meant in Genesis 3:16. The post-Fall woman would have a very strong emotional-romantic lean toward her husband or husband-to-come (2:3, 8:5). This lean would produce a measure of vulnerability, faintness, and weakness (2:5, 5:8). It is this vulnerability the apostle Peter addresses in the New Testament.       
      In 1Peter 3:7, he commands husbands to be understanding and sensitive towards their wives, because they, in his words, are the "weaker vessel". Admittedly, those words can be controversial--if misunderstood and misapplied. But remember church, if the Bible is the very Word of God, then the Holy Spirit simply borrowed Peter's mind and pen. We simply need to discern the timeless word in Peter's writing.
      1Peter 3:7 is simply reiterating what we've already discussed. Song of Songs portrays her romantic vulnerability with poetic imagery, while Peter is straightforward and to the point (as always). Song of Songs uses beautiful and playful language that could easily be overlooked, while Peter just comes out and says it like it is. Song of Songs celebrates her emotional lean and how Solomon nourished and satisfied it, while Peter commands husbands to be aware and conscientious of it at all times. Same message, different styles.
      This verse, or any other verse in Scripture, does not say or suggest that women are less valuable or competent than men. A woman's emotional-romantic lean for a prince is simply a relational dynamic, one that often places women in a vulnerable state. God's Word acknowledges this, reveals its source, and demands conscientiousness by men to protect their co-heirs of the grace of life.            
      Paul adds his inspired, and interesting, angle. 1Timothy 5:11-15 presents certain young widows in the Ephesian church as unruly and sinning. We would think Paul's immediate solution in dealing with them would be repentance, rebuke, and maybe even a little church discipline. Interestingly, and by divine inspiration, he goes in a different direction (v14)...he counsels them to get married! Really Paul?
      This used to bother me. Get married? That's the answer? I mean, they're doing some pretty jacked up stuff: sensuality, forsaking their First Love, idleness, gossip, busybodying, inappropriate speech. These are women gone wild! Can you imagine poor Timothy--young, handsome, and spiritually strong--being around these females? Maybe that's why Paul urged him to "flee youthful lusts" (2Ti 2:22) and treat the women in the church as mothers and sisters "with absolute purity" (1Ti 5:2). 
      But now I understand Paul's counsel wholeheartedly. Sure these young widows needed repentance and returning to the Lord. Paul is not compromising that by his silence. But he is recognizing, very insightfully, that their sinful behavior is coming from an honest longing for a husband-prince. This is a classic case of bad behavior coming from a legitimate need. Paul--the Holy Spirit--knew these young widows were simply asking, "Where is the prince?"                     
      APPLICATION: Ever since Genesis, many women have resisted this dynamic and many men have, sadly, abused it. However, God's pronouncement has not been altered or reversed, it does not eradicate the husband-question, and it does not stop the majority of little girls from dreaming of their Prince Charming. Like the mother-question, the husband-question can be answered by the wrong men in the wrong places at the wrong time. Jezebel did not have to become the Jezebel we know, and ladies, neither do you.
      First, Jesus Himself must answer your question. Seek Him daily to be your Prince of love, your true Husband. Surrender to Him, and learn to lean on His tree, rest in His shade, and be refreshed by His apples of love.
      Unless you have the gift of celibacy though, Jesus will not fully answer your question. Naomi understood that Ruth would find complete emotional "rest" only with a husband (Ru 1:9). She refers to this "rest" again in 3:1 (the Hebrew is the same as 1:9, though some translations use "security" or "home" instead of "rest"), again referring to an inner rest that comes only from a husband.
      There is an earthly husband-prince God is pleased to give. However, it will require personal growth, preparation, and knowledge. Just as Esther prepared twelve months for Xerxes, and Ruth prepared several years for Boaz, and Abigail prepared some time for David, so also there is a preparative development you must be willing to commit to for your romantic inheritance to become reality.
      In ministry, I constantly encounter single Christian women desperately longing for God's very best husband. However, many of them are unwilling and unmotivated to endure the rigorous self-transformation necessary to become God's very best for someone else. Remember ladies, Boaz is looking for a Ruth just as much as you are looking for a Boaz. Remember Proverbs 20:4! Remember Proverbs 24:27! Remember the prodigal son...inheritance without maturity is disaster. Ask the Lord, and talk to a trusted spiritual leader for guidance pertaining to this.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) The Children-Question: "Where are my children?"

 

 

   Not only do women have a mother-question and husband-question, they also have a children-question, one that asks, "Where are my children?" Just as they scan the environment for a female model, and lean hard toward a husband-prince, they also manifest natural mothering behaviors. Even women that do not have (or even desire) children manifest motherliness.
      The typical woman wants and needs to mother. For many women in contemporary society though, and even among Christians, this instinct lies paralyzed beneath other preoccupations, goals, philosophies, and feelings. Extreme feminism, gender amalgamation, and irresponsible Bible teaching have caused many Christian women to question, even frown upon, their God-given mothering talents. The result? Multitudes of Christian women mothering and micromanaging anything and everything except what really matters. The mothering energy is very forceful. It will express itself in one way or another. 
      You see, women instinctively look for something to mother. Some start babysitting, like Naomi in her old age (Ru 4:16). Some buy pets. Some become domineering at work. Some personify and mother inanimate objects. Some insist on parenting their adult child. Some become Mother Hens to anyone close by, like Jezebel and her 850 children (1Ki 18:19) and her husband (21:5-16). (Granted, Jezebel was highly demonized, but this does not negate her basic feminine instincts, only maligned their expression.) Many guys I have known and know report their girlfriends/wives seek to mother them, more often than occasionally. When motherliness is taken to the extreme, or mingled with wounded emotions, women can become controlling and obsessive. This need not be friends. Many simply do not understand this part of themselves, and therefore, let it run wild. The female mothering nature does not need to be something negative, because, as such, it becomes the butt of male jokes, and eventually, the resentment of their hearts.
      Scripture refers to female motherliness in a few key passages, one of them being 1Timothy 2:15: But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety.
      First, the attitude of this passage reveals how important mothering is to a woman's well-being, and even spiritual development. No, it is not saying every single woman must have children (some have the celibacy gift or some other non-childbearing calling). It is simply underscoring the importance of mothering to women in general. Secondly, it is surely not saying that women will be saved from eternal lostness through childbearing, or even through women collectively birthing the Savior. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus's finished work alone, and nothing of human efforts (Eph 2:8,9).
      However, Paul did say women would be saved from something through mothering. He explains himself in the attached phrase, "if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety". Meaning: mothering/childbearing is so fundamental to the typical woman that it can even help distract, deliver, and save her from sin's power in her life! Obviously childbearing alone cannot sanctify a woman, which is why Paul supplements his statement with the command to continue in faith, love, and holiness. How many women have changed their lives in Christ simply because they became pregnant? The innate desire to protect and raise their young superceded their desire to live dangerously and foolishly. Tell us moms, mothering is a highly motivating, enlightening, and cleansing experience.
      Paul makes a similar statement a few chapters later. Remember the women gone wild of 1Timothy 5:11-15? Not only were they behaving badly because of the unfulfilled husband-question, but also because of the unfulfilled children-question. Again Paul shows astonishing insight, not only counseling them to marry (silencing the husband-question), but also to have children (silencing the children-question): So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children...to give the enemy no opportunity (v14). Paul--the Holy Spirit--addressed a root of their unruliness: "Where are my children?"      
     APPLICATION: The problem is that far too many Christian women are abandoning their God-given mothering instinct, talent, and calling. Many are still floating in the ecstasy of extreme feminism that has diseased segments of the church. Consequently, our girls are growing up without engaged and energetic mothers, our husbands are rooming with disconnected and distracted wives, and the next generation of our nation is being populated by godless children from godless parents.
      Paul words in 1Timothy 2:15 and 5:14 are not outdated, since he is writing the eternal Word of God by the Spirit of God for the timeless people of God. The women of the Bible considered it a magnificent honor and privilege to have children. Some even agonized in prayer before the Lord for miraculous conception in a barren womb. My female sisters in Christ: mothering/childbearing needs to be a serious and prayerful consideration if it is not already, if you are of age, are biologically able, do not have the celibacy gift, or do not have some other non-childbearing calling.
      Let's expand this. Scripture does not forbid women from working, from having non-domestic goals and involvements, or from becoming a vital part of society's movement. Miriam, Deborah, Esther, Priscilla, Euodia, Syntyche, the Proverbs 31-woman (v24), and the women who followed Jesus (Lk 8:1-3) were all godly women who had important commitments outside the home. However, those with children are to be meticulous about succeeding at home first, prioritizing the care and development of their young ones. Somehow the Proverbs 31-woman was masterful at it (Pr 31:15,27-29).
            Therefore, some women need to rediscover and pursue mothering full-time. Others might need to simply reprioritize it, better administrate their time and energy and not let non-domestic involvements deteriorate their maternal responsibility. Still others will be stirred by the Lord to spiritually mother the spiritually young, like Naomi birthed and raised Ruth spiritually. Titus 2:3-5 still cries out in every church in every city in every nation, as millions of young women (physically and spiritually) are still arrested and interrogated by the mother-question. By default, every mature Christian woman is to be a spiritual mother. But there are some who are called with a special grace to pioneer this frontier in the kingdom. Sadly, for most of my 12-year ministry I have lacked and needed good spiritual mothers to help me shepherd the girls and the women.

STAY IN THE LORD'S BLESSING 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN ( Six Questions That Interrogate The Female Heart PT 2

Posted on January 4, 2011 at 6:25 PM Comments comments (0)

Hello friends!

 

 

 

 

 

   Part 2.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) The Nesting-Question: "Where will I nest?"  

 

 

     Female birds nest in trees, lionesses nest in dens, female snakes nest in holes, and several other animal species show female nesting patterns as well. Women nest too, though for them that nest takes the form of a house, apartment, or other living quarter. They do not simply live there as hollow shells or tenants (like men often do), rather, they bond intimately with their dwellingplace, projecting their very personality and feeling into every aspect of it. They have a living relationship with it, making it their "nest" in every sense of the word. Women have a God-given knack for creating a cozy place of refuge, storage, and intimacy.
      Back to the wild women of Ephesus again (1Ti 5:11-15). Paul's counsel was for them to marry (answering the husband-question), have children (answering the children-question), and finally, to build a nest (answering the nest-question). 1Timothy 5:14  (underline added): So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. By managing their home-working on their nest-a deep heart question is answered, "Where will I nest?"     
      Proverbs 31:27 shows the exact opposite type of woman to the idle Ephesian women: She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Solomon notices that a virtuous woman "watches over the affairs of her household". This cannot mean she is the head of the home, since Scripture delegates that job to the man. It means she is a faithful manager of the nest, developing and maintaining it to be an excellent place for refuge, storage, and intimacy. The first-century Ephesian women could have easily picked up a scroll of Proverbs and learned from this passage. This is probably what Paul had in mind since 1Timothy 5:13,14 resembles Proverbs 31:27 closely.      
 
      The female brain is designed to nest and manage, possessing approximately four times more neurons than a man's. This means greater quality and quantity of traffic between the right and left hemispheres of her brain. In other words, women have an 8-lane superhighway connecting the two sides of their brain, while men have a country dirt road. This gives her the ability to compute more than one element at a time-multi-tasking, multi-thinking, and multi-talking-essentials for managing. Think about it. When managing her nest, in a matter of seconds she is able to process size, color, functionality, beauty, surroundings, time frame, energy requirements, budget, number of people, and so on. Their brains are high-tech and high-speed! Very remarkable.  
      On the more challenging side, this explains why women tend to get overwhelmed easier and quicker than men ("analysis overload"). They are processing too many complexities and subtleties at once; their 8-lane highway is bottle-necked. Men, on the other hand, typically address multiple elements separately and sequentially. This also reveals why she is often "all over the place" in an argument, jumping erratically from point to point. Again, her brain is designed to multi-think for nesting purposes, not necessarily for conflict resolution. Similarly, women tend to heavily mix their emotions into the problem-solving process. This also goes back to her brain. Because of the substantial highways connecting her left-brain (logic) and right-brain (emotions), the problem-solving process for her is often a hodge-podge of personal feelings and logical solutions. Guys, this is why she can understand fully and agree with you 100%, yet still be mad as a hornet at you the exact same time!
      The point? Women have remarkable hi-tech, hi-speed brains designed for nesting. They can nest quickly, easily, and efficiently. In no time they can have a cozy nest up and running that is functional, beautiful, and resourceful all at the same time. Through this nest they care for their closest relationships, practical resources, and feel safe in their habitat.
      APPLICATION: (Men) Let her nest. Help her nest. Respect her nest. Celebrate her nest. Understand her nest. Fund her nest. Become a part of her nest. See her in her nest. (Women) Don't overload your 8-lane superhighway. Slow down and solve relational problems more systematically, and less like a multi-tasking nester. Learn to separate, isolate, and evaluate elements of a given relational issue, then reintegrate the processed parts back into the whole. Emotions (right brain activity) are a natural part of life and relationships, but if you're not careful to corral them ladies, they can hinder or destroy relationships and problem-solving. Understand your right and left brains often fire simultaneously, and therefore, you will have to rely on your inner person and the Holy Spirit to moderate your right brain emotional activity. In other words, partner with the Spirit to cultivate the fruits of peace, patience, gentleness, and self-control in your inner person (Gal 5:22,23). Over time, your brain will rehabituate and conform to your developed character.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

(5) The Security-Question: "Am I safe and secure?" 

 

 

     The security-question brings us back to 1Peter 3:7, specifically the "weaker vessel" phrase. In Part 1, Question 2 (the husband-question), I dealt with this concept extensively, so please refer there. This passage, and the others I mentioned alongside it, refer to a woman's emotional-romantic "lean" toward her husband (or husband-to-be). If this lean is not understood and managed properly, she can be pulled into compromising, exploiting, or abusive situations. Even when managed well, it nonetheless produces a strong, ongoing inner vulnerability. Most women know this. They are in tune to their emotional-romantic vulnerability. Some would never admit it though (at least not to a man), because it is that very need that has brought compromise, exploitation, or abuse some time before.
      Add the physical factor. Psalm 147:10 recognizes the Creator's gift of bodily strength to men. Scientific research and simple observation confirm this, showing men's bodies to be substantially stronger than women's. Men produce testosterone and women do not. This hormone accounts for muscle growth, size, and strength. Female bodybuilders must take it consistently as a supplement to gain the physicality you see at show-time. Even so, male bodybuilders look like comic book superheroes at show-time, while female bodybuilders look like well-developed men. In general, men have harder foreheads, broader upper bodies, faster movements, and greater cardiorespiratory capacity. This enables them to be good builders, hunters, and warriors, all essentials to human existence. Now that machines do much of this for us, many men have become either obese or impotent (see the movie Wall-e).
      Now we can see two factors that would make security a top concern for women: the emotional-romantic lean and the physical disadvantage. As I said in Part 1, neither of these realities make women less valuable, not in the eyes of God or Scripture or us. One is simply a relational dynamic (the romantic lean) and the other a functional dynamic (the physicality). Nevertheless, such dynamics can be exploited--we all realize this--and therefore a consistent female heart-question keeps asking, "Am I safe and secure?"
      Throughout my life I have had many friends that were girls/women. Without exception, every one of them would often weave security and safety into their comments and conversation. If they were dating a good guy they would comment, "He makes me feel secure." If not, "I don't feel safe with him." Or, when talking about marriage, "I want to marry someone where I can be financially secure and have whatever I need or want" (Ru 3:1). Or, when thinking about where to live, "It's not safe in that area" or "I'd like to move there, I heard it was really safe." Or, when driving late at night, "Don't stop there, it doesn't look safe." These are just a few examples, I'm sure you've heard or said them all too.
      While men are punching each other in a ring, colliding heads on a football field, riding bulls, racing cars, fighting in a cage, and spending a lot of money to do so, women are asking, "Am I safe and secure?" This does not mean women do not also get high on adventure and uncertainty, but at the end of the day, when all is said and done, the typical man will look for more intensity, while the typical woman will look for a fortress.      
      APPLICATION: A woman needs to find her first and highest security in the Rock of heaven. If this is not right, anything else will be a glass floor waiting to crack. This means turning your heart-question to the Lord daily, spending alone time with Him asking Him to be your Rock and Protector and Tower. Pray Psalm 40:1,2; ask Him to set your feet on Him and His firm place. Perceive when God is working in your life to shift your dependency. Sometimes He will take something/someone away for a time to accomplish this. Don't fight it. Perceive, obey, endure, and be rewarded.
      Like the other questions, there is a practical earthly side to this. Naomi sought a husband for Ruth so she would be "well provided for", financially and romantically secure (Ru 3:1 NIV). The Lord will not answer this question for you completely. He programmed you with the question so that it would, first of all, drive you to Him as your foundation. Then, so that it would drive you to make wise choices concerning romance, finance, and other lifestyle issues.
      How can you raise the security and safety level of your life? Adopt wiser romantic and relational standards? Resolve existing relational crises? Distance from certain relationships, or, develop certain ones? Make wiser financial decisions? Save more? Spend more? Spend differently? Move to a different location? Install a security system? Learn self-defense? Carry mace? Change your schedule? Travel with a partner or group?
      There are millions of possible adjustments you could make to increase security in your life. You and the Spirit find them. These practical ideas do not mean you don't trust in the Lord or that you are depending on the flesh. They are simply wise things you can do to build healthy gates around your life. Jerusalem, God's holy city, had watchtowers, ramparts, citadels, and gates (Ps 48:12,13). It is wisdom, not a lack of faith, to do the same for your life.
      If our first and highest security is in Him first, He will bless us with practical securities (Mt 6:33). Leviticus 26:5,6 says if we obey the Lord fully, then we will live in safety, God will grant peace around us, we will lie down with no one to make us afraid, and savage beasts and the sword will be removed from near us. 1Timothy 6:17 says if we put our hope in the Lord first, He will freely give us all things for our enjoyment. Psalm 91 might be the most powerful passage in all Scripture detailing what God will do for those who find security in Him first.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6) The Beauty-Question: "Am I beautiful?"

 

 

   Beauty is not a sin. Though most Christians would agree with this, many still have a critical, legalistic, or jealous undercurrent that equates beauty with vanity, carnality, and materialism. After reading this section, I think you will see it is more important to the female heart, and God, than is acknowledged.
      Since male and female are created in God's image, and since God partitioned His attributes evenly among the two sexes, we should find that one of the sexes primarily reflects His beauty. That would be the women. I'm not implying men are not or cannot be beautiful. However, just look around next time you go out in public, and it will become clear which sex primarily reflects His beauty.        
      Because women bear this divine attribute, a corresponding question within them asks, "Am I beautiful?" This heart-question is a type of preprogrammed motivation, intended to prompt, poke, prod, and push her into maximizing her beauty, thereby reflecting His.   
      Women are often rewarded handsomely when they cultivate and maximize their beautys, and often disdained when they do not. In almost every society throughout human history (even oppressive ones), female beauty was a known gateway to praise, provision, and protection, and in some cases, position. It has a hypnotic ability to sway, sometimes in mass. Remember Esther? Ruth? Sarah? Bathsheba? Jezebel? Miss USA? The prom queen? This reveals much more than just sociological trends or sexual value. There is something God-given about a woman's beauty and its potential. She reflects the Most Beautiful One as part of her gender package. 
      To bring this into better focus, consider how the same kind of thing happens to men. We, men, reflect God's strength. Therefore, when we cultivate and maximize that strength, humanity often rewards us too. We are admired, followed, listened to, copied, given money, given good jobs, given leadership positions, written about, interviewed, protected, helped, and so on. Society's maxim that men should be "strong and successful" is not altogether faulty. There is a grain of truth there; men (are to) reflect the strength and success of the Creator. We reflect the Strong One as part of our gender package. 
      Certainly both of these realities can be taken to unwholesome extremes, and often are. But their basic idea is valid: each gender reflects an aspect of God, and there are earthly rewards and benefits for those who maximize their reflection. The female question, Am I beautiful?, is simply a God-given urge to motivate her into maximizing her reflection.
 
      God's Word makes it a point to affirm feminine beauty. Sarah was said to be "a very beautiful woman" (Gen 12:14). Rebekah was said to be "very beautiful" (24:16). Rachel was said to be "lovely in form, and beautiful" (29:17). Bathsheba was said to be "very beautiful" (2Sam 11:2). Tamar was said to be "the beautiful sister of Absalom" (2Sam 13:1). Abishag was said to be "a beautiful girl...very beautiful" (1Ki 1:3,4). Jezebel probably possessed an unprecedented beauty, as she was able to single-handedly sway the entire male leadership team of Israel (1Ki 21:8-14), 850 male false prophets (18:19), and assumed she could do the same to Jehu with just a little makeup and fixing her hair (2Ki 9:30). Esther was said to be so beautiful that she "won the favor of everyone who saw her" (Est 2:15). About Job's daughters it was said that "nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful" (Job 42:15).
      God's Word goes even further, specifically affirming beautiful female bodies as well. About Rachel, Scripture says she was "lovely in form" (Gen 29:17). The Hebrew word for "form" here is to'ar, and it refers to the physical body and its features. It is the same Hebrew word used in Isaiah 52:14 to refer to Jesus' body that was beaten beyond recognition. About Abigail, Scripture says she was "of a beautiful countenance" (1Sam 25:3 KJV). "Countenance" here is to'ar, referring to her physical body. About Esther, Scripture again uses to'ar, claiming the girl was "lovely in form and features" (Est 2:7).                      
      Perhaps the most interesting passage of all is in Ruth chapter 3. This story cracks me up! Naomi, a godly woman in every way, is playing Spirit-led matchmaker between Ruth and Boaz. So what does she tell Ruth? Pray about him? No. Meet him at temple? No. Get in good with his sister? No. Naomi says (here's where I start laughing), "Get cleaned up, put on some Coco Chanel, dress as attractively as you can, go down to the threshing floor where Boaz will be, and respectfully communicate your interest in him by lying at his feet" (Ru 3:3,4 (paraphrase).
      Did Naomi and Ruth pray about it? I'm sure. Was Ruth already "talking" to Boaz before Naomi's nudging? Yes. Was God already working? Yes. However, Naomi's advice shows gender wisdom. A woman's beauty is a divine grace. It can be cultivated, developed, polished, and maximized to be used as a part of God's plan. Not only would Ruth's beauty answer a question interrogating Boaz's masculine soul, but it would also answer a question interrogating her own soul, Am I beautiful?.                
      APPLICATION: The New Testament admonitions concerning beauty do not cancel its legitimacy, it only moderates it abuse (1Ti 2:9,10, 1Pet 3:1-6). Paul and Peter, both using historical/contextual examples, are simply making sure women do not cherish beauty over Christlikeness. Proverbs 31:30 is their ultimate intention, not forever banning specific beautification styles. Therefore, the first application should be, is being Christlike my highest priority, even above beauty?
      As with the other questions, prioritizing your relationship with God will not fully answer the beauty-question. The Lord desires that you radiate your full feminine glory. Reflecting His beauty physically is a part of that glory. Women want and need to feel beautiful. There is nothing wrong for having earthly motives for maximizing beauty, just as there is nothing wrong with many of the things we do that have earth-only significance. Keep in mind and keep as priority, though, that your beauty is reflecting the Most Beautiful One. Therefore, any maximal beauty you have cultivated should be accompanied by humility and kindness, and not the brash arrogance that so often accompanies the godless beautiful. A woman who is beautiful and Christlike is doubly beautiful, doubly glorifying to God, and will be doubly blessed on the earth. 
      Many women have forsaken beauty as part of their female glory. Maybe you thought once you became a Christian the physical became virtually irrelevant. Maybe you've been exposed to poor teaching that belittles the body and its potential for certain benefits and blessings. Maybe you've experienced significant rejection and disapproval in this area, and therefore, you've accepted the lie that you would never be beautiful to anyone or someone. Maybe you've never been seriously convicted to eat healthy, exercise, and develop your temple in a way that maximizes your physical presentation. Whatever the reason, whenever a woman neglects her physical upkeep and appeal, she is corroding her reflection of God's beauty. Not every woman has to be beautiful according to Hollywood, but there is certainly a tasteful appeal that every godly woman can actualize in some way. Ecclesiastes 9:8: Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Proverbs 27:9 (NKJV): Ointment and perfume delight the heart. 
      (Men) A large part of her desire to be beautiful is for you. It is her gift to you. Realize that. Tell her she is beautiful in different ways--write a note, send a text, frame a picture, tell her while you look her in the eye, tell those around her, make her a scrapbook, affirm specific attributes, tell her when you're not having sex. Tell her at important moments--after she gets a new hairstyle, when she's wearing a new outfit, when she's dressed up and decorated, when she feels ugly, when she's worked hard to lose weight. Be sincere and consistent without overdoing it. Dads...if you don't tell her, someone will. Boyfriends/husbands...if you don't tell her, someone will. Friends...if you don't tell her, someone will. Siblings...if you don't tell her, someone will. Do you want that?

 

 

 

 

STAY IN THE LORD’S BLESSING, AMEN. 

 

 

 

 

BREAK LOOSE FROM LEGALISM

Posted on January 3, 2011 at 11:35 PM Comments comments (0)

The Claws of Legalism

 

 

 

 

 

Hello friends!

Legalism is like a beautifully prepared table with no food! In fact, it is such a perpetual issue that God devoted an entire book to it (Galatians), with major portions of several others alongside (Romans 14, 1Corinthians 8, 10:23-33, Colossians 2:6-23). But legalism's claws can be broken, and broken forever.

 

May today end the famine at legalism's table, and begin a feast on the eternal riches of God's grace.  

 

 

 

 

What is legalism?

   Legalism is a fixation on strict adherence to a law, rule, or code, to the neglect of that law's higher purpose. Among born-again Christians, legalism has two forms: (1) an unusually strict adherence to a particular biblical command or set of commands, (2) an unusually strict adherence to man-made rules or traditions within Christendom.
   Examples of the first would include the early church's struggle against circumcision (Gal 2:3-5, 5:6-12), observing Jewish holy days and events (Gal 4:9-11, Col 2:16,17), and dietary prohibitions (1Co 8:7,8)--all Old Covenant commands. Or, the contemporary church's struggle with the Jewish tithe or the unnecessary banning of women from public ministry.
   Examples of the second would include the early church's struggle against asceticism (extreme self-deprivation, Col 2:6-23) and gnosticism (all matter is evil, Jesus Christ was not truly human, etc..., 1Jn 4:2,3, 2Jn 7). Or, the contemporary church's struggle against dogmatic styles of worship music, the blacklisting of technological conveniences as "worldly", or deifying a certain English translation of the Bible as the only true one. Legalistic fixations can affect any Christian, any church, any movement, any area of life, to any degree, in any generation.

 

 

 

The Intricacies of Legalism

   Legalism is humanism. It is initiated and sustained by human willpower and raw determination (Gal 3:3). The result is a man-centered and self-glorifying spirituality (Mt 23:5-7). We are to be Spirit-led, thereby resulting in the Father's glory, not ours (Jn 15:5-8).
   Legalism is behaviorism. It values behavior over motive (Mt 23:25-27). The result is a showy, yet mechanical and superficial, spirituality (v28). God judges motive first, behavior second (Jer 17:10, Rev 2:23, Pr 21:2).
   Legalism is Christian hyperactivity. It is the Captivity of Activity, the Tyranny of To-do (Lk 10:38-42). The result is a workaholic and near-burnout spirituality. God values intimacy with Him before activity for Him (v42).
   Legalism is prohibitionism. It seeks to legislate personal, non-sinful liberties. The result is a deprivationist, strict, thou-shalt-not spirituality (Col 2:20-23). New Covenant life is permissive and subjective in the gray areas (Ro 14).
   Legalism is obligationism. It is motivated by "have to" (duty) instead of "want to" (passion). The result is a high-pressure and guilt-filled spirituality. Christian life is to be ruled by passion (Ro 12:11), peace (Col 2:15), and joy (1Th 5:16).
   Legalism is authoritarianism. Its proponents play the authority card much to impose their spiritual fixations on others (Mt 23:1-3). The result is a burdening, slavish, and obey-without-question spirituality (v4). Jesus said His burden was easy and light (Mt 11:28-30). Plus, our New Covenant priesthood grants us the privilege of testing and "making sure" leaders are liberators, not controllers (1Pet 2:5, Ac 17:11, Rev 2:2).
   Legalism is perfectionism. It is hypersensitive to mistakes and missteps. The result is a nitpicking and harsh spirituality toward self and others (Mt 15:1-3, Jn 8:1-11). Scripture calls us to grow in godliness (1Pet 2:1,2), but not grueling moralism.
   Legalism is uniformity. It promotes conformity, sameness, and ritual. The result is a predictable spirituality (Lk 9:49,50). God wills variation, individuality, innovation, and spontaneity (1Co 12:4-6).
   Legalism is separatist. It maintains selective and elitist personnel (Gal 2:11-13). The result is a loss of perspective, a nearsighted spirituality (Lk 9:49-56). At the end of the day, denominationalism is a convenient form of legalism.
   Legalism is non-maturity. It reveals a lack of spiritual depth and breadth (Ro 14:1-4,1Co 8:7-13). The result is a dwarfed spirituality and delayed progression to more liberating spiritual altitudes. We are called to a maturity in which we can enjoy all the privileges allowed by a strong conscience (1Co 8:7-12).

 

 

 

Legalism vs Obedience

   What's the difference, then, between legalism and obedience? Superficially both can look very similar. A Spirit-filled Christian truly enamored with the Lord will exhibit meticulous obedience and high involvement in Christian activities--making them appear almost identical to a legalist. So what's the difference? Motive and means. Why am I obeying Scripture (motive) and how am I going about it (means)?
   Motive  Why am I obeying Scripture? What is my truest motive? Is it to not get in trouble with God? To enhance my public image? To improve my self-esteem? To relieve the guilt of past or present mistakes? To avoid negative consequences? There is a grain of legitimacy in each of these reasons, however, they can never be our highest reason. If so, we are in legalism to whatever degree. Remember, the greatest command is to love God with all we are (Mk 12:30); He is to be our First Love (Rev 2:4). Authentic obedience, then, happens because we truly love and cherish Him above all, and therefore, we love and cherish His standards (Ps 119:97,113,163,165). We obey Him because we first love Him (Jn 14:21,23,24), then His commands are not burdensome (1Jn 5:3). Intimacy is the motivating center of obedience.
   Means  How am I going about obedience? Am I depending on my own ability, effort, and personality ("works")? Or am I depending completely and daily on the Spirit ("faith")? If my trust is in Me to any degree, I am in legalism to that same degree. If I am depending on the Spirit's grace, I am moving in authentic obedience. Galatians 3:3 nails this one on the head.

 

 

 

Breaking the Claws Forever

 

(1) Relax...and fall in love!
   My friend, a million vocabularies in a million languages could never express how wonderful it is to be madly in love with Jesus! I promise you beloved, His love is better than life itself (Ps 63:3). He is a Best Friend who is always there, a Lover who relentlessly desires us, a Father who provides, protects, corrects. Relax...and fall in love with Him! Get to know this One you call "God" and "Lord". He will let you close. He will. Draw near to Him and He will show up (Jas 4:8). Defy the angry voices of condemnation coming from the enemy, the past, others, or yourself.
   End the Christian slavery and drudgery today. It is a false version of the true faith once for all delivered to the saints (Ju 3). Paul called legalism "another gospel" (Gal 1:6). The true gospel brings us into an intimate fellowship with the Father (1Jn 1:3).  
   APPLICATION: Daily seek a face-to-face relationship with the Father who loves you. Make Him your First Love, not Christian activities or should-dos (Rev 2:4). Develop a Mary spirituality, not a Martha one, by prioritizing quality time alone with Him, worshiping, praying, reading, listening (Lk 10:38-42). Fall in love with Him in this secret place (Ps 91:1). Legalism withers when intimacy abounds. 

 

(2) Understand New Covenant spirituality: by grace through faith
   Breaking legalism's nasty grip also means understanding New Covenant spirituality. How many Christians have deported themselves back to an Old Covenant life! Why do such a thing? Why go backwards to the elementary principles (Col 2:20,21)?
   Old Covenant spirituality entailed a legal relationship with God, not a personal one. Only a few Old Testament believers were anointed by the Spirit to have personal intimacy with God and serve as theocratic middlemen (judges, prophets, priests, etc...). The general Hebrew population had to relate with God from a distance, by observing stringent rules--613 to be exact. A legal relationship...in a word, law. Galatians 3:23 says this law was a temporary prison, intended only to supervise humanity until a New Covenant could be established in Christ (v23-25).
   New Covenant spirituality is gloriously better! It entails a personal relationship with God by the grace of Christ, not a distant legal one by observing rituals. Romans 6:14 says we Christians are no longer under law (the Old Covenant system), but under grace (the New Covenant system). In fact, Scripture says Christ is the end of the law (Ro 10:4), and everyone who comes to faith in Him has also come to the end of the law (8:4). This is grace, Christ giving us what we never could have gotten ourselves. I think most Christians understand salvation by grace through faith (Eph 2:8), but stumble when it comes to living by grace through faith (Galatians).
   The grace of Christ pertains mainly to salvation. It is the grace of the Spirit that pertains to Christian life after salvation. This is what Galatians is all about--depending on the Spirit's grace to live a victorious Christian life (Gal 3:2-5, 5:16-25). This is called "walking in the Spirit" (5:16,25 NKJV) or "led by the Spirit" (v18). Paul is saying in Galatians, Just as you were saved by grace through faith in Christ, so now you must live by grace through faith in the Spirit. The mechanics of salvation are the same for Christian living. 
   This means I can stop sweating and slaving so hard to be "a good Christian", and I can focus my energies on falling in love with this gracious Savior who ended law and legalism for me (Ro 10:4, 8:4). This means I can stop trying so stinkin' hard to change myself, and I can start depending on the Spirit to change me. By grace through faith means His presence (grace) is my total dependence (faith)--for salvation and Christian life.
   Zechariah 4:6,7 (NKJV, underline added) explains grace wonderfully: ..."Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit", says the LORD of hosts, "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"  New Covenant Christian life is not lived by human might or power, but by the Holy Spirit. Like Zerubbabel, isn't it time we started shouting Grace! Grace!?
   APPLICATION: By grace through faith means His presence (grace) is my total dependence (faith). You were saved this way as a precedent that you might live this way. As already mentioned, prioritize that intimate time alone with Him, worshiping, praying, reading, listening. The Spirit will always react to intimacy; His graces will come alive in you with conviction, inspiration, and guidance. You will walk in the Spirit naturally.

 

(3) Pull up the roots: deal with the deeper reasons
   It is easier to be legalistic, at least in the beginning years of Christian life. This is because everyone is a legalist from birth; all are created with God's law written on their conscience (Ro 2:15). I have seen the most licentious nonChristians be amazingly legalistic about certain things. They have a sin nature, but they also have God's legal witness inside.
   There are a number of other factors that can exacerbate legalism in a person's life. Breaking its claws, then, will require you to discover the deeper reasons why you personally are drawn to legalism in certain areas. Here are the most common roots:
   The law on our conscience (Ro 2:15)...Now that we are saved, we no longer need God's legal writing on our conscience; we have the Holy Spirit to provide loving conviction (Gal 5:18). Therefore, the longer we walk in the Spirit, the more our weak and law-driven conscience will strengthen and rewrite itself according to the Spirit (1Co 8:7-12, Ro 9:1).
   Human pride...Some do not wish to admit inadequacy and embrace dependence. Unbroken Christians are stubbornly self-sufficient, the antithesis of New Covenant life, which is absolute surrender and dependence. Self-death, not self-life (Gal 2:20).
   Performance-orientation...Some are highly performance-oriented due to overachieving parenting, or a "Type A" style personality, or a capitalistic mentality. They transport these "you-get-what-you-earn" attitudes over to their Christian life and apply them there. Dependence, not performance (Gal 3:3).
   Measurability...Legalism is quantifiable, and therefore, capable of visible results (Lk 18:9-12). Grace yields fruit that sometimes cannot be measured or seen. Am I living the Christian life for immediate results that congratulate my reputation, or eternal fruit that lasts and glorifies the Father (Jn 15:8,16)?
   Insecurity...Some are fearful and unsure in some way, and therefore, need a predictable and controllable spirituality to feel safe. Resolve the deeper fears and legalism becomes less attractive.
   Laziness...Legalism requires no critical thinking, very little Scriptural understanding, and no relationship with the Spirit. In fact, all it requires is a Bible verse or two and an autopilot button. Living by grace through faith requires us to reason with the Spirit and prayerfully think through the situations we encounter.
   Inability...Some honestly feel unable to perceive the Spirit and think critically. They have never been taught or tried to learn themselves. Consequently, they settle for a spirituality they can do, legalism, which does not require much perception or wisdom.
   Fear of failure...Some do not want to fail God, others, or themselves, and pick a scab concealing shame. Legalism is a less risky alternative, never requiring faith-risks, only ritual. Heal the shame root and be free to fail as you learn to gracewalk!
   Christian examples...Some are following spiritual leaders trapped in legalism themselves. This does not mean those leaders are 100% bad. It simply means the follower has not yet learned to discern and "spit out the bones".
   APPLICATION: Repent of the bad root (Mt 3:8). Ask the Spirit to change it (Ro 8:13). Confess to others and have them pray for you (Jas 5:16). Obey whatever the Spirit might lead pertaining to the root (Gal 5:18).

 

Stay in the Lord?s Blessing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rss_feed