Before the Thanksgiving break, we spent the week thinking about my friend Ray Bandi’s observations on how believers should behave in the world:
We have a different ruler
We have a different Spirit
We have a different source of wisdom
We fight with different weapons.
Ray’s conclusion was simple:
The world is a dangerous place. Therefore, we must be careful and discerning.
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5.15 – 17, NASB, emphases Ray’s)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12.2, NRSV, emphasis mine)
And, of course, how do we understand God’s will, renew our minds, and discern what is good, acceptable, and perfect? Daily time with God!
Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 8.34, 35, ESV)
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5.3, NKJV)
Concluding our series of how believers are to be different from the world, suggested by friend Ray Bandi, let’s think about what should be a difference in how we fight. The Apostle Paul was clear:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10.3 – 5, NASB)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6.10 – 13, NASB)
“We do not war according to the flesh.” Really? Much of the time, Christians argue just like everyone else. And our social media posts are indistinguishable from everyone else’s. And “our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” but we sure act like it is. That person who disagrees with me is the enemy. That person who is doing things I don’t approve of needs to be destroyed.
What is our primary weapon? E.M. Bounds would argue that the closing verse of the armor of God passage tells us clearly:
…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints… (Ephesians 6.18, ESV)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2.1, 2, ESV)
And we might pray instead of being angry or quarreling:
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. (1 Timothy 2.8, ESV)
A friend of mine – a man of prayer – told me, “What would you pray for if you knew the prayer gun was loaded?” – Henry Clay
We’ve been thinking about “worldliness,” not, as some of our traditions have defined it, as abstaining from certain activities (every tradition has its own list), but by how scripture differentiates between the Kingdom of God and the ruler of this world. We have a different ruler, and we follow a different Spirit.
Today, again at my friend Ray Bandi’s suggestion, let’s think about a different source of wisdom:
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God… (1 Corinthians 3.19, NASB)
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom…The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3.13 – 18, NASB)
I wrote a few blogs a couple weeks ago about a serious problem articulated in an Atlantic article about church members demanding the church’s teaching align with their politics. The author observed:
The aggressive, disruptive, and unforgiving mindset that characterizes so much of our politics has found a home in many American churches. – Peter Wehner
“Aggressive, disrupting, and unforgiving” doesn’t much sound like wisdom that is “pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, and full of mercy,” does it?
The verses preceding James’ definition of godly wisdom speak to the problem:
[The tongue] is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3.8 – 10, ESV)
“These things ought not to be so” because we have a different source of wisdom.
It’s November 22, the 58th anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy. It’s one of those days that everyone remembers where they were. I was a senior in high school, running an errand in downtown Greenville, SC, at the time. I heard Walter Cronkite pronounce his death on the radio in a store. That was a Tuesday, and the following Sunday, as we drove home from church, we heard this news on the radio: that Jack Ruby had shot Lee Harvey Oswald, the president’s presumed assassin. The photo below was taken by Bob Jackson who later worked for our local Colorado Springs newspaper. I’ve had the privilege of meeting him.
Pulitzer-prize winning photograph by Bob Jackson: Jack Ruby kills Lee Harvey Oswald.
As I wrote yesterday, reminded by my friend Ray Bandi, there is a world ruler whose mission is to promote division and chaos:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10.10, ESV)
Our job is to experience life by following Jesus and his Spirit, rejecting the ways of the world ruler.
…the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14.17, NASB)
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. (1 Corinthians 2.12, 13, NASB)
As believers, we aren’t allowed to assassinate our presidents nor even assassinate their assassins! I think that applies to our words, also. A friend just sent me an email containing disparaging remarks about President Biden. I’m speaking to myself here, we need to be careful – that’s not the Spirit we should be following. If we do, it’s evidence of a worldliness much worse than playing cards or going to movies.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5.21, 22, ESV)
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2.13 – 17, ESV)
When we were growing up in a conservative, legalistic environment, one thing we were often cautioned about was “worldliness.” We didn’t want to be “worldly.” And in our tradition, you were worldly if you participated in any of the “filthy five:” smoking, drinking, card-playing, watching Hollywood movies in the theater (at home on your own television was apparently OK), and dancing. Consequently, we avoided being worldly by avoiding all those activities.
Incidentally, in a sermon I preached three different times at a single church one weekend I mentioned card-playing as one of the non-nos we grew up with. After each service, someone came up after and asked was I a member of _____________ church because that person wasn’t allowed to play cards either. The funny thing is that all three mentioned different traditions, none of which was ours!
Turns out there are more and more important ways to avoid worldliness than that.
I was talking to my friend Ray Bandi, former pastor, now a pastor-coach and disciple-maker the other day. We’ve both been reading 1 John which has a clear caution about being worldly:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2.15 – 17, NKJV)
Ray decided to see what the scriptures had to say about worldliness, and he came up with a set of characteristics of those who have been:
…rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son… (Colossians 1.13, 14)
I’d like to explore some of these characteristics with you over the next few days. (Interestingly, none of my “filthy five” is on this list!)
We have a different ruler.
We have a different spirit.
We have a different source of wisdom.
We fight with different weapons.
We have a different value systems and desires.
We have a different ruler. Chuck Colson used to say, “Salvation does NOT arrive on Air Force One!” Sometimes, many of us live as if it does. No matter how you voted last year, our ultimate ruler (even if you are a U.S. citizen) does NOT live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In addition, we have to be careful what ruler and what spirit we’re following. More about that tomorrow.
Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (John 12.31, NASB, emphasis mine)
And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16.8 – 11, NASB, emphasis mine)
I hope you understand that the Christian life isn’t just about church attendance. The other day June responded to a note from a friend asking June to pray with her that she would be able to enjoy God’s presence during a quiet day at home. June wrote:
I will be praying specifically for you to be quiet at home. You may want to think of your home as a sacred space because Jesus is there. His spirit fills your home with love and kindness. Each task that you do is sacred, and a gift to your family. As wives and mothers, we can call on Jesus for anything that we need in the way of serving our family. We can be both Mary in contemplative prayer and Martha in visible acts of service. Do it all for and with Jesus.
That’s a good word.
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10.38 – 42, ESV)
And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. (Matthew 8.14, 15, ESV)
If you’re a regular reader of The Ewellogy, you may have noticed that I quote my early Navigator mentor Skip Gray from time to time. He was the master of the profound one-liner. For example:
Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other guy to die. (Compare Hebrews 12.14, 15)
This one thing I do…not these 14 things I dabble in. (Compare Philippians 3.13, 14)
The need does not constitute the call. (Compare Mark 1.35 – 38)
Jesus had a 3-mile-per-hour ministry: he didn’t go jogging through Judea, sprinting through Samaria, or galloping through Galilee. He walked wherever he went.
I’m sad to report that on Saturday, November 13, Skip left us for his eternal dwelling.
Notice from The Navigators to staff about Skip Gray’s passing.
Skip had had Parkinson’s for, I’m guessing, 15 – 20 years. He liked to say, “A lady came up to me and asked, ‘May I shake your hand?’ I replied, ‘Ma’am, all you have to do is hold it, it shakes all by itself.'” The last time I saw him was perhaps two years ago, pre-COVID, at a senior staff gathering. On the way out, he was still trying to share a joke with me even though I couldn’t hear him very well.
I loved Skip. He taught me a lot, but I’m not sad that he’s gone. At over 90 years old, with his body giving out, the longest-serving Navigator, it was time. He’s gone, but his legacy lives on both in people and in hundreds of sermons at DiscipleshipLibrary.com. Search on “Skip Gray” and pick any of them! You have three pages of titles to choose from. He also compiled a short book of his one-liners and astute observations from scripture: Navigating Insights: The Wit and Wisdom of Skip Gray. It’s only $8.00 on Amazon – strongly recommend!
I’ll never forget the way he took the offering at the week-long conferences of The Navigators’ Military Ministry back in the late 60s, early 70s. They would present a project, usually some Navigator beginning a new ministry overseas. They would want so much in moving expenses and monthly support. And I was amazed that fewer than 200 folks, many of them young military enlisted people, would meet the need every time. Some of it was the way Skip, in his slow, deliberate style, would read 2 Corinthians 9.6, 7 (… indicates pauses):
But this I say, He which soweth…sparingly…shall reap also…sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also…bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart,…so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
He always challenged us to be making disciples:
Where’s your man? Where’s your woman?
He said disciple-making gives us purpose. He would say,
The happy Philistines [unbelievers] roaring around out there have everything they want except for one thing. They lack purpose.
He told us not to give our lives to the wrong things:
It’s fair to say that June and I would not be doing what we’re doing today without the profound impact of Skip Gray. Rest in peace, my brother.
Skip shared with me this verse as a promise a few years ago over breakfast, and I pray nearly every day for “men of valor:”
Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. ( 1 Samuel 10.26, ESV)
…the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4.6 – 8, ESV)
God’s grace always seems to startle the religious.
I’m reminded of something Nicky Cruz said at astronaut Jim Irwin’s memorial service. First, the backstory of Nicky – here are some snippets from a Wikipedia article:
David Wilkerson served as a pastor in small churches until he saw a photograph in Life Magazine in early 1958 of seven teenagers who were members of gangs in New York…He later wrote that he felt the Holy Spirit move him with compassion and was drawn to go to New York, in order to preach to them… He began a street ministry to young drug addicts and gang members, which he continued into the 1960s…He founded Teen Challenge in 1958, an evangelical Christian addiction recovery program in Brooklyn…Wilkerson gained national recognition after he co-authored the book The Cross and the Switchblade in 1962 about his street ministry… In the book, Wilkerson tells of the conversion of gang member Nicky Cruz who later became an evangelist himself and wrote the autobiographical Run Baby Run.
I read Cross and the Switchblade soon after it came out so it’s a story I’ve been aware of for a long time. In the 1990s, when I lived in Colorado Springs, both Nicky and Jim Irwin lived within a mile of my house, and I saw Nicky from time to time when we were both out jogging. I can’t say that I knew either of them personally.
Jim Irwin was an astronaut, lunar module pilot of Apollo 15, and the eighth person to walk on the moon, back in 1971. Jim was raised in a Christian home but only became a strong believer after his moon mission. He died of a heart attack in 1991. Because I was doing some work for the US Space Foundation at the time, I was able to attend his memorial service, preached by his friend Nicky Cruz. I’ll never forget what Nicky said. It went something like this:
The miracle is not that I was saved by grace. I was a Puerto Rican street kid. I’ve killed people in gang warfare. I understand grace. I needed grace. The miracle is that Jim Irwin, a good, white Baptist kid from Pittsburgh, understood grace.
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3.5 – 7, NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2.8, 9, NIV)
John 8 opens with the adulterous woman story which ends with “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” It’s a story that many translators took out – check your Bible and see if there’s a note to the effect of, “This story does not occur in the most reliable Greek manuscripts.” Why not? Here’s part of the story:
Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the very act of adultery. Doesn’t Moses’ law command us to stone to death a woman like this? Tell us, what do you say we should do with her?” They were only testing Jesus because they hoped to trap him with his own words and accuse him of breaking the laws of Moses. But Jesus didn’t answer them. Instead he simply bent down and wrote in the dust with his finger. Angry, they kept insisting that he answer their question, so Jesus stood up and looked at them and said, “Let’s have the man who has never had a sinful desire throw the first stone at her.” (John 8.4 – 7, TPT)
I like this translation: “Let’s have the man who has never had a sinful desire thrown the first stone at her.” I expect that sinful desires were going on right there. What do you think the woman was wearing if she was “caught in the act of adultery”? By the way, where was the man? Doesn’t it take two?
In general, most of us could be less condemning. It’s the whole issue brought up in the Atlantic article. Condemn! Punish! Dr. Tim Keller was trying to counteract this attitude when we said, “Proud people are out; humble people are in.” That is just not the way we usually see it.
Here’s the note from TPTon the adulterous woman story:
8:11 It should be noted that this entire episode (referred to commonly as the “Pericope Adulterae”) is missing in the majority of the most reliable Greek manuscripts. There are some manuscripts that have this story at the end of the book of John and at least two that include it in the Gospel of Luke. Many scholars surmise that this episode in the ministry of Jesus was added after the Gospel of John had been completed.
However, it is the conclusion of this translation that the above text is indeed an inspired account of the ministry of Jesus and may have been deleted by many translators and copyists who doubted that Jesus could tell an adulterer that he would not condemn her. St. Augustine, one of the early church fathers, mentioned this story and stated that many translators had removed it because they interpreted it as Jesus giving license to immorality. God’s grace always seems to startle the religious. (St. Augustine, De Conjug. Adult., II:6) (Emphasis mine)
This is good, and Augustine got it right. “God’s grace always seems to startle the religious.”
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6.9 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine)
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 18.13, 14, NIV)
