Grace before Truth. Ministry must be kind.

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his disciples, that if we live in his light, we too will be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, not because of our own goodness, but if we allow Jesus to live in us and work through us.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? …
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Mt 5:13–14 NIV

Jesus appoints and empowers his followers to minister his goodness, but we must do this in the right spirit.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14 NIV

Grace comes before truth. If we judge, accuse and attack people with truth, we are not ministering grace. We are not living in the love of God. Our ministry is worse than useless.

Warm salt water is an effective antiseptic and medicine, but if a doctor rubs salt into your wounds, it is harmful and cruel.

If you approach a drug addicted prostitute aggressively by preaching judgement, you only add to the torments of a suffering human being.

As a young man in my twenties, I saw a psychiatrist to help with my depression and anxiety. Then I became a converted Christian believer. I joined a church where nearly every sermon was an aggressive lecture pressuring me to repent, obey and submit, over and over again.

I experienced the love of God when I prayed and worshipped but the preaching progressively increased my suffering and anxiety, until I spoke out angrily and I was excommunicated, leading to a severe mental illness.

If a doctor performs major surgery on his patients over and over again, he will kill them. Surgery is sometimes necessary, but if it is a routine medical treatment, it is life destroying

In the same way, an evangelist who confronts people with their sinfulness can save lives but a pastor who preaches this way every week is dangerous monster.

Jesus confronted self righteous religious leaders with the judgement of God for their sins, but He did not minister to other people like this. Jesus was known as the friend of sinners.

Jesus is still calling us to come to Him to receive mercy.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NASB95

Pain, indignation and forgiveness.

 Pain, indignation and forgiveness.

Jesus was very forgiving.

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mk 11:25 NIV

But Jesus was also frequently angry about the way religious leaders bullied weak people. So often preachers give the absurd impression that religious bullying was something that happened 2000 years ago and the Jewish leaders were the villains. Nothing to do with preachers today. Really?

I am fed up with preaching against offence or bitterness because so many preachers trivialise abuse and injustice. I just read a much better message. The preacher actually encourages wounded Christians to talk to God about their pain and indignation just like the psalms of lamentation.

So many super positive preachers ignore the psalms of complaint and lamentation. They have their favourite positive faith scriptures and it almost seems to me that they want to be more spiritual than the Holy Spirit who inspired the psalms of lamentation. Not that they are all arrogant but there is a kind of collective blindness often imparted from one preacher to another.

It is not only women who are bullied and put down by parents, employers or church leaders. Men also bully men. Have you seen male animals fighting for dominance in wildlife documentaries? Jesus said the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and they are applauded as benefactors... Does it sound like some churches to you?

But Jesus said we should be different. Many preachers teach forgiveness while at the same time trivialising trauma and abuse of power. This kind of preaching is very damaging and is often a part of the bullying process. Preaching on unforgiveness often degenerates into blaming the victims.

Jesus is very compassionate towards victims and this is confirmed by the psalms of lamentation and complaint. For many super positive faith preachers, these "negative" psalms are in the book but not a part of their understanding or teaching.

My indignation over bullying probably indicates I still feel the pain. Some people might suggest that continued indignation is a sign of sinful unforgiveness because when you forgive, you forget and the issue no longer exists for you. I think this is a serious misunderstanding of Scripture. 

When I was excommunicated by pastors, I was so traumatised, that I spent a full year in a psychiatric ward. In time I realised I was not condemned by God and I forgave the pastors from my heart. This forgiveness was part of my healing process but I was still broken and requiring strong psychiatric medication.

In time I gradually learned not to condemn myself but I became increasingly indignant about unjust authoritarian church leaders in general. Fifty years later, I am still a militant opponent of authoritarian church leadership. 

I am in good company. Jesus and Paul were also indignant.

Do you think Jesus was unforgiving? Or Paul? But did they no longer feel the pain of rejection and bullying? Did they no longer feel indignation when they saw religious bullies hurting weaker people, particularly vulnerable women?

When I read the sayings of Jesus and the inspired writings of Paul, I see two apparently contradictory tendencies side by side, extreme indignation over injustice, especially injustice by people claiming to represent God.

The other striking feature is the extreme emphasis on love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. It is hard to find Christian writers and preachers who are able to fully embrace both of these aspects of God's character in full measure.

In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul rebukes the Christians for submitting to authoritarian pulpiteers.

In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 2 Cor 11:20 NIV

Be Merciful like Jesus

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

Being a Christian means following Jesus. In the NT, Jesus had disciples who literally walked around Israel with him. This is no longer possible, so what does it mean to follow Jesus today?

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jn 8:31–32 NASB95

Jesus is no longer with us as a man of flesh and blood, but he has given us His word, his truth, his teaching and his promises.

You cannot be a Christian unless you seriously try to base your life on the Bible.

But how can we do this? The Bible is a big book with many confusing details. We need guidance and teaching, but the people who persecuted Jesus were the Bible experts of his day.

There are bible experts today who enslave believers with cruel hierarchy and life destroying religion. If we are protestant Christians, we must not deceive ourselves by thinking these bad religious leaders are only Jews or Roman Catholics.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we see how Jesus applied the Bible.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14 NIV

There are Christians who aggressively preach truth to attack and shame sinners, and preachers who rule churches with fear. Jesus was full of truth, but He always approached people with grace, mercy and love.

Jesus always applied Bible truth with love and mercy, and so must we.

Yesterday, our pastor reminded us that Jesus appointed us to be the light of the world. If we live in the light of Jesus, we will ourselves shine as a light from God for others.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Mt 5:14 NIV

This is true, but we can use the light of God’s truth to bless people or condemn them. If you turn on the light in a dark place, people can see where they are going, but if you shine a laser in someone’s eyes, it can destroy his eyesight.

There are aggressive preachers and culture warriors who do just that. They attack people with Bible truth and drive people away from the love of God. We must never do this.

Disasters. Mercy or judgement of God?

 So many people want to sit on the judgement-seat of God, declaring that the fires in Los Angeles are God’s punishment for the sins of Hollywood.

God does sometimes punish sins, but not every disaster is directly inflicted by God.
How dare anyone pronounce the judgement of God without directly receiving revelation from the throne in heaven.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Mt 7:1–2 NIV

Supposing you do get a reliable revelation from God, that he is inflicting disaster. Should you self-righteously gloat over the suffering of sinners, as some Christians do, particularly in social media?

Two days before the fires started in Los Angeles, I had a dream from God. I looked up at the dark night sky in my dream. The sky was not black but very dark red. I received a very clear interpretation from the Holy Spirit. The whole world was covered by the blood of Jesus, the blood that flowed from Jesus on the cross 2000 years ago.

This was not a message of judgement but of mercy. The mercy of God is still covering everyone on earth. Of course, the forgiveness of God is not automatically given. Each person must choose to believe and ask for mercy. It is a choice.

A week later, also on a Sunday morning, I heard sad funeral music playing in my head. It would not stop, and I started to realise that God was speaking to me. God mourns and grieves over the suffering of the people in California. He wants us to be praying for mercy for the rich as well as the poor.

If you pronounce judgement over Los Angeles but feel no grief or compassion, you are not speaking for God. You should be ashamed of yourself.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Co 13:2 NIV

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 Jn 4:8 NIV

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 Jn 4:16 NIV

If you have declared judgement on California without feeling sorrow and compassion, please ask God to forgive you. If you have publicly judged the fire victims, please post an apology publicly.

Loving Partnership in Christian Marriage

 How should husbands and wives treat each other?

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. Eph 5:21–22 NIV

Many Christians quote verse 22 alone, but verses 21 and 22 are two parts of one sentence in the Greek New Testament. The word “submit” only occurs in verse 21, not in verse 22.  

 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives,  …  to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. Eph 5:21–22 NIV

This does means husbands and wives should submit to one another. There is no other way to meaningfully understand this single sentence.

There is much debate about what it means for the husband to be the head of the wife but that is a topic for another time.

Paul says husbands must love their wives as Christ loves the church, but he does not say the husband must command, direct or control his wife as Christ rules over the church.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Eph 5:25 NIV

Bible teachers often ignore the fact that a husband and wife are fellow Christians and therefore the rules that govern relationships between all Christians must apply to Christian marriage.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Jn 13:34 NIV

There are some overrated Bible teachers who teach male domination in marriage. They say a man must love his wife and a wife must respect her husband. Then they focus on wives respecting (and obeying) while they merely pay superficial lip service to husbands loving their wives. So much nonsense!

Jesus said the apostles must love each other. Was this only for apostles? Of course not. All Christians must love each other as Jesus loves us, husbands and wives included.

If the husband is the leader, which is sometimes appropriate, he should follow the teaching of Jesus about leadership.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— Mt 20:25–27 NIV

Some leaders demand to be heard and obeyed, but good leaders listen and consider the thinking of others.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, Jas 1:19 NIV

Many, if not most husbands are not good at listening to their wives. We all need to improve in this regard.

But many teach that the husband should always be the leader, ideally a kind Christian leader. Careful observation of men and women should lead us to question this belief.

Some men are natural leaders and many others are born to be faithful followers. Likewise some women are natural leaders and many others are gifted to be followers.

The couple who led me to faith were my uncle and his wife. She was created and gifted to be a natural strong leader, and her husband was an introvert with the qualities of a good partner and a faithful follower.

My aunt loved and respected her husband and he loved and respected her leadership qualities.

New Life with Jesus

 Why do you and I need Jesus? We have messed up this world. We have all contributed to the darkness around us. We often think there must be something better but we just muddle through by guesswork.

There is an amazingly good God who made this world for Himself. He gave this world to us, to be His sons and daughters but we have taken this world away from Him and messed it up. He wants His world back but He doesn’t want to take it away from us. But we can only share this world with God if we are reconciled to Him as our Father.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

You may have heard that Jesus died to pay the penalty of your sins. If you turn to Him in faith, He will forgive your sins and you will have eternal life, and enjoy heaven when you die.

All that is true but God’s plan is much bigger than that.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Rev 21:1 NIV

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Rev 21:5 NKJV

We often hear preachers invite people to turn to Jesus and receive eternal life. God has a wonderful plan for your life.

But after you turn to Jesus and join a church, no one talks about God’s wonderful plan for your life.
You find yourself just pleasing people at home, at work and at church. You were saved from sin, from condemnation, from hell but where is God’s wonderful plan?

If you have believed in Jesus and you are on your way to heaven, it is time to talk seriously to God about his wonderful plan for your life. Jesus wants you to know him personally and to follow His leading in your life.

Finding your Direction in Life

 Where is your life going?

Are you choosing your direction, or are you reacting to life as it comes? Are you navigating towards your promised land, or are you serving as a crew member on a ship going somewhere else? 

Do you know what your destination is, or who is directing your course? Is your life being pushed and pulled by your employer, your family or your church?

God designed you to be a unique agent of change, to impact this world for Him. God made you in His own image, not to be a second rate copy of your parents, your teachers or a preacher or leader. If you live to please other people, you have missed your reason for living.

Does that mean you should forget other people and just please yourself? Of course not. When you live only to please yourself and fulfil your own dreams, you make yourself the God of your own life. Any sensible person should realise that this is crazy, yet it is a popular idea today. And look what a mess people have made by playing God!

God gives us families, friends, jobs, churches and leaders. They are all important but they must not be God to you.

God created you in His love, and He loves you. He has a wonderful plan for your life. He wants you to find Him and to work with Him to live out his plan. He won’t do it for you, and He won’t do it to you. He wants to live with you and for you to live with him.

For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (TLB)