The Severest Thing

"This ethic of Jesus, which does not express itself in small rules, but in great principles; not in a decalogue on stone, but in a requirement in the heart, is the severest thing the world has ever heard." -G. Campbell Morgan

The teaching that Morgan is alluding to in this quote can be found in Matthew 5:27-30; what is so difficult about Jesus' teaching to be called the "severest thing the world has ever heard?" Jesus has taken the 7th commandment, "thou shall not commit adultery," and has extended it to say that if you even look upon a woman lustfully you have already commited adultery with her.


Two things should be noticed:
1. Even the entertainment of lust is adultery
2. The term "woman" in the greek does not allude to a married woman, therefore, this is a teaching for all men and women; it does not matter if you are married or not, the lustful desires are adulteress

So how do we fight our lustful desires? Must we really pluck out our eyes to keep from viewing that computer screen, is it really necessary to cut off that hand which continues to move that mouse around? Jesus is not advocating self-mutilation, but what he is commanding is that the source of sin be cut off in our heart. If you know that woman at work creates desires in your heart that are just not tasteful, then do not dwell on any thought that may involve you and her together.

The power of Jesus' teaching in the essence of what he is doing; he has taken an Old Testament Law and has totally expanded it to include your attitude and heart. Sure, you may never act on the urge to cheat on your spouse or sleep with someone you have yet to marry, but if you have even entertained the thought then Jesus says you have committed evil already.

What then, if we can't help but think bad things should we go ahead and act on them since we're condemned either way? What a rediculous thought, instead we must take our comfort in the Spirit that helps us live the new life brought upon us through Christ's death. Christ's death was the death of our sins if we choose to be his disciple, so our sins have been killed already and we are a new creation. Go back to Matthew 5:27-30 at any point and "read it until it search you and burn you, and know for evermore that this is the ethic of purity in the Kingdom of the great King" (G. Campbell Morgan). Allow Christ's death to cover your sins and allow the Spirit to create a life you live, instead of living a life of flesh.

May all who pledge their allegiance to Christ define themselves not by their morality or ethical stability, but instead may we be "tiny Christs" who live our lives according to His Kingdom. Heed the words of Christ and be radically different by allowing the scriptures to search you and burn the truth into your heart as a permanent sign of Christ's mark upon your life, cutting off the dead weight that is sin.

Then I Will Teach

I must admit that my thoughts today are developed through reading another blogger's thoughts. He released a rough copy of the introduction to his thesis; you can read it under the title "Part of Thesis Proposal" at http://www.savageheartburn.blogspot.com/


My own pursuit of God has lead me to the pursuit of preaching, but after coming through preaching classes and Bible college courses on the development of a sermon, I found myself quite disappointed in where I was going. I struggled with developing sermons according to the guidelines given by my professors, but that was on paper. Each time I had the chance to actually proclaim a message, I was encouraged by the response of my professors. I think that the blog, alluded to above, helps me better understand my struggle.

The thesis statement of the article: "When God is transforming the receptive preacher and establishing His authority in the preacher, then the potential for spiritual transformation in the hearers is increased.”

The key words in this thesis are God/transforming/receptive/establishing/potential/increased. I choose God, transforming, and establishing, as key words because it gives God all of the credit, it is His work of transforming and establishing. I choose receptive because it reveals the activity of the preacher, for he has to be in tune with God and able to catch the waves of God's grace himself. Potential caught my eye because it again reveals the humility necessary to preach the Word, because the best “preacher” in the world can get up every week to bring the Bible, but that does not force the listener into truly hearing what is said. The potential for growth and maturity is always there, but it is only potential from the point of view of the preacher. My job is not to make people grow, but it is to present God's message so that those listening may hear! That is the importance of “increased;” if the preacher's sermon is well crafted, creative, culturally relevant, or whatever else is necessary for “good preaching,” there is no increase in potential for his listener's to hear God unless he is being transformed and having authority established in him.

Many folks question the authority of preachers and preaching, and at one time I thought it a silly thing; however, perhaps those who are given the task of proclaiming God's active Word are the ones who should question themselves. Each time that I get up to present a sermon, am I presenting a sermon based on good writing or creativity? Or have I let God do His work? In preaching, are we writing sermons or are we letting God work. God's work is first in the preacher, and if that work is not done then how can the preacher expect for his listener's to be changed by God's work. I am not limiting God to the words of the preacher, but what I am limiting is the preacher's power if he is not being transformed to the image of Christ.

I do not call King David a preacher, but I believe he understood the importance of God in the work of changing people. I take my role in preaching as David presents it; a man is only qualified to teach others once he himself has been transformed; look at what he wrote in the 51st Psalm and note the position of "then":

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you."

Is My God Real?

It has been quite a while since I made my last post, but I feel a new urge to perhaps share my thoughts with some in hopes that God may move in my life and in others' lives as I release some of what God has given to me. Many things have triggered my re-interest in posting something; specifically this week I have been in a whirlwind of events. So, for this post I would just like to examine some of the things occurring in my life at the moment. A few days ago me and my roommate decided to email a local weatherman; we have come to enjoy watching his broadcast for little to no reason, or at least we thought. However, his reply to our email threw me for a loop; to sum up our email I will just say that we told him we were students at Johnson Bible College, we described some similarities in our positions (meteorology and ministry), and finally asked him to take on a catch-phrase (we threw in some suggestions). I expected a quick, canned email that just thanked us for watching...but what I got was a humbling message that has stuck with me all week. He Wrote...

Lucas/Jacob,
Thanks for the great e-mail. I do appreciate you watching and for the
"catch" phrase suggestions. Those phrases usually come out unexpected
chatter at the set. I've thought about it a few times but never came of
with anything and didn't want it to sound forced.
I'd love to say, "So that is what God has coming your way on Thursday,"
but don't think I would get away with that very long.
As a believer, appreciate your witness and wish you many blessings as
you prepare to share HIS word.
Joshua 1:9

I was surprised by his kind demeanor and the way he encouraged us in our journey in ministry. By his words I was reminded that what I was doing was something that moved well beyond bible college or Sunday/Wednesday services. This man understands the reality of Christ, while I, a man preparing to spend the rest of my life working for the progress of the Gospel, at times forget the role that I have been given. The text he put at the end of his email, Joshua 1:9 says this,

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

I would not have been so impacted by this email if it had not been for our annual awards chapel here at school. During the ceremonies, I was surprised with an award for "Outstanding Student in Homiletics I" which is given to students who stand out in the first year preaching class. I did not expect this award to come my way, for I know that there are better preachers and better men who were just as, if not more, worthy of such an honor. This was a humbling experience for me, but it has only reassured me that God is active in my life.

Basically, I would like to end with recognizing God's living nature; many people question where God is and wonder if He exists, but this week has been such a wonderful reminder that God takes unworthy people and gives them tasks to do, but He is not done with giving us tasks because He gives us the power to perform the tasks given to us. I charge myself and I charge you to be courageous and bold for the our LORD, Yahweh, for He will be with us wherever we go.