livin’ the life
The Christian life is not about gathering knowledge, but applying it in our lives. Sometimes we need a nudge or two …
In my last article I sounded the alarm for the Church, something had to change for Christians to be able to deal with the growing madness within Western Culture, that has resulted in a restrictive, controlled environment, fuelled by Cultural Marxism and typified by ‘political correctness’ and all of its offshoots. In short, we need to … live the life. How?
In my previous book, Livin’ the Life, we learned how to do so by living in …the Life. We looked at the need not just to learn about Jesus, but to model him. We ended up with three key principles, so often hidden in plain sight, but crucial for a balanced faith walk. These were: honouring God, reflecting Jesus and engaging with the Holy Spirit. Here’s a bit of an unpacking:
1. Does God get the Glory? We can only answer this if we have a true understanding of God’s character and desires. We have to make sure we have a true image of God and not one influenced by the devil’s deception, or coloured by our feelings or influenced by the paganism of platonic thinking (from the dualistic teachings of Plato, where the spiritual and the physical are separated). Are you honouring God?
2. Are you a good witness to the World? We can only answer this if we have a clear grip on what influences us. Is Jesus at the centre of our life, rather than personal ambition or agenda? Are we truly Hebraic in our lifestyle? Are we people of action or people of words? Are you reflecting Jesus?
3. Are you acting in accordance with Holy Scripture, correctly interpreted?We can only answer this if we read God’s Word without personal agenda and with proper tools, rather than the ‘spiritualising’ of the text or the ‘rationalising’of Holy Scripture. Are you engaging with the Holy Spirit?
Perhaps there are some new ideas here, particularly the need to be Hebraic? This may be a confusing term for you. Jesus himself is the perfect model for Hebraic thinking, demonstrated by how he dealt with those who opposed him. If we define Hebraic thinking as describing the thought processes ideally typified by the Jews of Biblical times, then obviously Jesus is going to be the ultimate expression of this. And the more we reflect him in our thoughts and actions, the more Hebraic we are going to be. It’s easier said than done as we are brought up and educated in the Greek Mindset, a totally different way of dealing with life and … if we are brutally honest … a very deficient way of dealing with God.
I would say that it is essential to implement these three principles in all that you do, particularly in your witness to the world. You may honour God in your evangelistic efforts, but this needs to be done in a Christ-like attitude and an ear tuned into the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You may show the servant heart of Jesus in your dealings with people, but they must be told that you are God’s ambassador and are acting in accordance with the direction of the Holy Spirit. You may operate in the gifts of tongues and prophecy, but do you glorify God in acknowledging Him as the true source and does Jesus shine out through you as you minister to others?
We are all more Greek than we realise …
We have history and the processes of society to thank for this. There are people I know who wear the label ‘Christian’ with great pride, who are pillars of the local church, always the first to pray in public, speak to the stranger and speak of Jesus fearlessly. Yet … when it comes to conduct and dealings with people in their private life, it’s a totally different picture. The external mask does not truly reflect the internal motivations. It’s not Jesus shining through, it’s a safe replica. There is an absence of that much-maligned Christian term, holiness. We would do well to truly dwell on this verse.
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with everincreasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
This is holiness, living a life that is different from all around, so much so that people are inclined to think, hey there ís something different going on here.
A word from the wise
I am reminded by David Andrew’s Sword editorial in the Summer of 2017.
There is a God-given, God-ordained uniqueness that separates Church from society, Christian from non-Christian If society blurs the distinctions between black and white, truth and falsehood, right and wrong, Jesus and Muhammad, what ‘difference’ can be accomplished by politically correct Christians who simply blend in –whose lives never challenge the world’s twisted versions of truth and reality? The issue is UNIQUENESS.
Uniqueness, holiness, separation. It’s all connected. We are called to be different as well as making a difference. We are not called to ‘blend-in’to ‘add a flavour of Christianity into the mix’, as some Christians seem to be doing.
David Andrew argues that there must be a discernible gap between Christians and the World, between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the World.
He continues: But, glorious as is our hope, it reveals for now and for our time, why the gap between the true Church and the world can never be closed. It’s easily understood when we realise that the gap is Jesus. You can blend the Bride only if you can blend the Groom. A Jesus made to suit the world’s tastes would never have been crucified; He would have been celebrated. When He died, He would have stayed dead like every other sinner in history. In Lewis‘ famous description, “death itself works backwards” only for a spotless sacrifice. As we can see, Satan uses countless strategies to try to close the gap. He loves it when Christians unquestioningly accept the world’s fashionable views on sexuality, Israel and the Jews, world religions, abortion, marriage and parenthood etc. He has even more fun when Christians are so ignorant of the Bible that they don’t even realise they have an on-going (unwinnable) argument with God.
And the key to all of this is true Hebraic living. Here are some pointers:
1. The starting place for understanding Hebraic thinking and living is to look at the example of Jesus himself, the ultimate Hebrew of Hebrews. He was thoroughly acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures and often used this knowledge to thwart his accusers, such as with those accusing the woman caught in adultery. He also validated his own teachings and claims about himself with signs and wonders, such as in the healing of the paralysed man. He had a perfect connection with the Spirit and so was never lost for the right words to use in each occasion. Sometimes he was sparing with these, allowing for maximum impact, such as at his trial in the Sanhedrin, when he finally revealed to them clearly his divine authority and mission. At other times he engaged with his detractors in lengthy dialogues, answering their questions and posing some of his own. Of course we are not Jesus, but we do act in his authority, so he provides us with themodel to use when communicating with others.
2. A workable mission statement to use is provided in the words of Titus 2:11-15, paraphrased as: in order to reach our generation we must first examine ourselves, to turn our back from worldly attractions and embrace godliness – something that Jesus gives us power to do – so that we can point people in the right direction, to Jesus himself … because they see him in us. So, when we look at Jesus as our model, this is not an academic exercise, but a true intention of becoming a collection of little Jesuses.
3. Now is where the rubber hits the road. How do we become ‘little Jesuses’? A good place start is to be mindful of the three principles; honouring God, reflecting Jesus and engaging with the Holy Spirit. Let’s face it, this is all pretty obvious, but sometimes our Christian lives have lost simplicity and direction, as we have allowed our Greek impulses to skew our priorities away from the basic requirements. When this happens, our witness to the World suffers and the gap between us and the world diminishes possibly to the extent that there is really no difference between us and the non-believer.
Who is wise among us?
There is more to being Hebraic that can help us in maintaining a significant gap. Here are a few ideas from my book, To Life, that should help:
From looking at the Golden Rule, the Sermon of the Mount and the Book of James the core of Hebraic living is that; Faith in God underpins our wisdom, which compels us to perform our deeds. This is Hebrew thinking, the Hebraic mindset. The key to the Hebraic mindset is faith in God and the result of the Hebraic mindset is the performing of deeds. Faith and works, they are at the heart of our Christian faith, our Hebraic Christian faith.
The significant factor when performing our deeds is that they are in accordance with godly wisdom, as described in James 3:17 ‘But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’.
This is in contrast with the ‘wisdom’ characterised by the world, the flesh and the devil: ‘But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice’. (James 3:14-16)
So, good deeds, initiated by our faith in God and undergirded by good wisdom. Simple really. Here are some examples of good wisdom, in the way of contrasts between Hebraic and Greek thinking.
The Greek mind says that man is at the centre of life; the Hebraic mind says that God is at the centre of life.
The Greek mind says that the things of God must be deduced from our logical minds; the Hebraic mind says that the things of God can only be understood by faith and revelation.
The Greek mind says that we should strive for knowledge about God; the Hebraic mind says that we should know God.
These are just words and concepts. We need to let them really sink in and soak us in their truths. It may take time, but it will be worth it. It really is thinking differently.
This is an abridged extract from Steve’s new book, ‘Into the Lion’s Den’, available at all good Christian bookshops or from the website www.sppublishing.com