freedom in christ – A Recovering Legalist

Turning the Other Cheek is not Passivity

The Backhanded Slap

In Jewish law, not all slaps were equal. The Mishnah tells us that if you slap a man with your palm, there’s a fine. But if you backhand him—well, now you’ve doubled it (Mishnah). Why? Because the backhand wasn’t just about sting, it was about shame. It was a master’s way of saying, “You’re beneath me.”

That little detail sheds a lot of light on Jesus’ words. When He said, “Turn the other cheek,” He wasn’t telling people to stand there and take a beating. He was telling them: don’t play their game of humiliation. Offer the other cheek, and suddenly the insulter can’t treat you like an inferior anymore without breaking his own code of conduct.

Josephus and the Weight of Insult

To Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived through the Roman wars, being humiliated was nearly the same as being wounded. He gives us story after story about how insults sparked violence.

One Roman governor, Florus, took money from the Temple treasury. When the Jews begged him not to commit such sacrilege, he mocked them and sent soldiers to beat and crucify the petitioners (Flavius Josephus, Wars 2.224–227).

Another story, from Antiquities 17.163, shows men punished severely for insulting Herod by tearing down one of his dedications. Insult was rebellion. Shame was a wound to the whole community.

That’s the world Jesus spoke into. That’s what makes His words so jarring.

Other Voices of the Time

And Josephus wasn’t alone. Seneca, the Roman Stoic, said it was small-minded to count up insults—better to ignore them. Philo, the Jewish philosopher, praised those who endured wrongs instead of inflicting them (Dialogues, Cato)

In other words, there was a countercurrent of thought in the ancient world: real strength is shown not by striking back, but by refusing to be ruled by insult.

4. The Subversive Message of Jesus

Put it all together, and you see the sharp edge of Jesus’ teaching:

The Mishnah shows us just how shameful a backhanded slap was.
Josephus shows us how honor and insult could lead to bloodshed.
Seneca and Philo remind us that endurance was seen as a higher way.

But Jesus didn’t echo philosophers. He turns the notion on its head and teaches something contrary to popular doctrines.

In going further, He says, “Turn the other cheek,” don’t play their honor-shame game. Instead, expose the injustice by refusing to accept the terms of humiliation.

That’s not a weakness. That’s a dignified, honorable display of defiant strength. It’s the quiet word of someone who knows their worth in God’s eyes, not in the approval of men.

Side-by-Side Comparison

(Josephus, the Mishnah, and contemporaneous voices)

Source	Content	Emphasis
Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:6	“If he slapped him on the cheek with the back of his hand, which is more degrading than a slap with the palm, he must give him four hundred dinars.”	A backhand is twice as humiliating as an open-palm slap. Insult, not injury, is the main issue.
Josephus, Wars 2.224–227	Florus robs the Temple, mocks the Jews’ pleas, unleashes soldiers to kill and flog, and crucifies many.	Humiliation as a tool of domination. For Josephus, insult is as intolerable as physical attack.
Josephus, Antiquities 17.163	Rebels insult Herod by destroying what he had dedicated. He punishes them harshly.	Honor and insult drive political response. Public shame is treated as rebellion.
Jesus, Matthew 5:39	“If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”	A radical command to refuse humiliation without retaliation. Dignity is preserved through nonviolent resistance.

The Teaching At that Time

In Jesus’ world, the backhanded slap was the ultimate way to belittle someone. The Mishnah shows us the legal weight: it cost double the fine of an ordinary slap. Josephus shows us that insults could spark riots, even war. To be shamed in public was as serious as being wounded.

And yet when Jesus said to “turn the other cheek,” He was not suggesting our popular notion and doctrine of becoming passive doormats. He’s not saying abuse is okay. He’s telling His followers: ‘Don’t live by the old honor, don’t play another man’s game.’

A Comparison

Someone tries to embarrass you, cutting you down with a sarcastic remark

Popular doctrine: shy away, be passive, don’t confront, allow them to hit you again – just hide away and pray for them.
Jesus’s teaching: confront with dignity and honor; be angry, but don’t sin.

The idea of being angry without sinning feels strange to many of us. Why? Because somewhere along the way, we were taught that certain emotions—especially the uncomfortable ones like anger, grief, or frustration—were automatically wrong. They couldn’t be displayed, voiced, or even acknowledged. So rather than learning how to handle these emotions honestly, we learned to bury them. We suppressed instead of expressed, mistaking silence for holiness. But suppressed emotions don’t disappear; they simmer. Over time, the pressure builds, and the body keeps score. We wear our “badges of courage” not as medals of faithfulness, but as ulcers, anxiety, sleepless nights, and other disorders that remind us: ignoring what we feel is not the same as overcoming.

Final Thought

Josephus and the rabbis show us that a backhanded slap was more than pain—it was about stripping someone of their honor. Jesus flips the script: our honor doesn’t come from men, but from God. When we turn the other cheek, we demonstrate that we know who we are in Christ. That’s why we don’t have to fight insult with insult. We can stand with dignity, even when the world tries to put us down.

In short: turning the other cheek is not weakness—it’s faith. Faith that God will vindicate us, faith that our worth is secure, and faith that His Kingdom operates on different rules than the world’s.

Understanding His teaching in the context of history sets the common doctrine, ‘I am but a worm,‘ on its head.

Guilt and Shame

The Protestant churches I attended did a mediocre job of teaching that guilt of sin was transferred to the cross.

But they all excelled at keeping people in bondage to shame.

My therapist helped me work through shame by helping me understand that guilt is understanding that “I’ve done something wrong,” and shame is “I am badly made” or “I am wrongful in who I am,” either through my actions or the actions of others against me.

Guilt carries remorse, but shame carries anger and disgust against oneself or another.

Given the context of my therapy, I had a few problems with guilt, but boy, howdy, did I ever feel shame. Once I learned and accepted that I had done nothing wrong (no guilt), I then had to learn that I was not bad (or wrong), nor was I the cause of what happened to me because of who I am (or was).

I did not ask for, condone, or do anything to deserve my assault, and it was wrong for me to carry anger and disgust against myself resulting from that action against me.

We have a Savior that eliminates guilt – but perhaps does not remove you from the earthly consequences thereof. Shame, however, has no place in our lives: our Savior removes all of it.

The Alter Ego: Saying Goodbye

de Vasconcellos, Josefina; The Peace Monument; Northern Ireland Civil Service; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-peace-monument-250899

Those of us who have or are in the process of healing trauma will reach a point wherein we must address that fractured bit of ourselves (created when we were so very young) to protect us from the assaults we suffered.

That alter ego served a vital purpose in our lives. It protected us from the emotional and psychological damage we would have otherwise suffered. It helped shape us, mold us into who we became, whether for good or for bad.

When that day comes, to say goodbye, we are then able to see the part our alter ego played, and continues to play, in shaping our outlook, our visions of others and ourselves, and the walls it has erected to keep us safe. Most importantly, we are able to see that perhaps it was a good design, after all.

But it is not the best design our Father God has for us. The best is yet to come. The best is the person we will become after our protective alter ego has said goodbye.

We cannot condemn our alter ego for the part it played in helping us become who we ultimately did not what want to be. We can’t look at our younger self and apply death, disdain, or condemnation. We can’t kill our alter ego.

Rather we must reform Dylan Thomas’ words, saying:

Do go gentle into that good night. Though you are old of age, sleep and rest at your close of day. Be at peace with the dying of the light.
https://poets.org/poem/do-not-go-gentle-good-night

Scripture teaches us that we are to die to self, but it also teaches us that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we are forbidden to condemn ourselves, and especially those parts of us God allowed to be created for the purpose of protecting our soul and spirit.

Give your fractured self a peaceful and respectful wake. Look forward to the renewing of the mind, the new creation that God has designed us to ever be evolving into.

Perseverance: Gaining a Proper Perspective on Trials and Tribulations

Persevering through trials and tribulations is something that we must all do:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4)

But a problem arises when we fall back into the lessons of those who have taught us a lie, through either the error of man\’s understanding or by listening to evil.

We know, or we should know, that we are to no longer walk as the un-regenerated also walk, who in the futility of their mind, are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart. If you do not approach the trials and tribulations in which you find yourself with a proper attitude and perspective, then Satan will win the battle and gain victory. In defeat, you will have failed to exult in your heritage, and you will become callous and open the door to opportunities to fall further into sin (Ephesians 4:17-18)

It Begins with Knowing Who You Are

It all begins with our attitude and our perspective, both of which are formed by our knowledge of God and our belief and our trust of who we are in Christ.

For example, if you are a born again believer and you are in a church wherein the pastor refers you and other Christians simply as \”sinners saved by grace\”, or you view yourself as \”just a sinner saved by grace\”, then in the former case you need to find a new church, and in the latter case, you need to re-read your Bible and learn who you are in Christ. Christians are not just sinners saved by grace, Christians are Saints. If you believe you\’re just a sinner saved by grace, then you\’ll act like a sinner.

Understanding The Law of Being

There is a law called the Law of Being. For example, one is either male or female. There are dogs and there are cats, fish, and birds. Each one has a given state of being. A fish can no more live and act like a bird than a dog can sharpen its claws like a cat.

Satan understands the Law of Being and he uses it against you.

It\’s All About What You Believe

He knows that whatever you believe, you will become: \”for as he thinks within himself, so he is\” (Proverbs 23:7) and \”whosoever believes in Him {Jesus} shall not perish, but have everlasting life\” (John 3:16).

I imagine that the Proverbs reference you were expecting, but the John 3:16 took you off guard. Why? Because you\’ve never made the connection between faith in Jesus, faith in God\’s word and believing the truth as a mechanism responsible for changing who and what you are.

Whenever possible, Satan will use circumstances and lies to alter your belief system. For if he can change your mind regarding the Word of God, or change your mind regarding who you are in Christ, then he has altered your belief system. And by changing your belief system, your actions, attitudes, and responses to the trials in which you find yourself will be altered to match the desires of evil, instead of the desires of Jesus Christ.

The Word of God says that when we encounter various trials and tribulations, that we should consider it all joy because the testing of our faith will produce endurance (James 1:3). How do you consider a trial of cancer as joy? How do you consider a trial of unemployment as joy? And what about this endurance clause? Does this mean we\’re just supposed to suck it up and bear the burden of God\’s sovereignty?

The Proper Perspective

In the face of trials and tribulations, many Christians are quick, and rightly so, to quote Romans 8:28:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, \”what are these good things that God has for me?\”

You probably have, but maybe you didn\’t give it much thought. Instead, your mind went back to the circumstances in which you found yourself. You did exactly what you\’ve been taught to do: focus on your problems and take them to God for remediation. You\’ve been taught to lay everything at the foot of the cross because if anyone is in trouble, they are to pray (James 5:13). And the people who have emphasized this truth to you are exactly right. God said it, we believe it, and that settles it.

And yes, I\’m fully aware of the counter colloquialism, \”God said it, that settles it.\” It\’s a nice counter platitude, but it\’s only half true, for if you do not believe what God says, then you have believed a lie. And when you believe a lie, you practice self-deception. When God says it, you must believe it, otherwise, it\’s not settled in your heart and mind.

But I\’m not talking about taking things to God in prayer or popular colloquialisms.

What I\’m addressing is your perspective on your circumstances. What I\’m addressing is your beliefs regarding God in your circumstances.

If you approach your circumstances improperly, if you maintain an improper belief system regarding the attitude of God towards you through your circumstances, then you will lose that which is to be gained through your trials and tribulations. Furthermore, if you have an improper self-image of who you are in Christ, then you will possess an improper understanding of how God views you through your trials and tribulations, and you will miss the entirety of the double blessing God has for you through your trial.

The Knowledge of God and the Partaking of The Divine Nature

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.(2 Peter 1:2-4)

Let\’s put a couple key concepts together and see what God is excited about doing in us through trials:

\”… so that by {the promises} you may become partakers of the divine nature …\”

\”… knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing …\”

Clearly, there are things we lack, James 1 teaches us that. And clearly there are things which God is working into us, those being the aspects of His Divine nature; 2 Peter teaches us that.

When we focus on the trial, we don\’t see the work God wants to perform, we don\’t see the Grace of God working His Divine nature into us. By focusing on the trial, we focus on the negative. By focusing on the negative, we give strength to that which would defeat us.

What God wants to impart into us is the positive.

As a man thinks in his heart …

If you believe that your trial is God punishing you for your sin, then you have made two errors. The first error is to believe that the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah was an insufficient redemption and an insufficient judgment of sin, that you must somehow bear and pay for your sin through the punishment of trials.

The second error is related to the first: you believe that God is beating your sin nature out of you.

It\’s Not About Beating Out Your Sin Nature

Trials are not about what God is trying to push out of you. Read that again.

Trials are about God imparting His Divine nature into you.

But we have a problem, and it goes like this: as being redeemed creatures, we still possess memories, patterns, and habits of the old man, Adam. But as being new creatures, we are not bound to those old patterns. The Apostle Paul struggled with the old man, and he summarized it like this:

Romans 7:17-25 (Message Bible)

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can\’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don\’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can\’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don\’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don\’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it\’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God\’s commands, but it\’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I\’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I\’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn\’t that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

So, trials and tribulations are not about God beating you down to push out your sin nature. For, how can a person who has a new nature, a new life, who is no longer dead be made any more un-dead or any more alive than they currently are?

We have a new nature, we are a new creature.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:4-7)

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:7)

… in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus … for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God\’s household (Ephesians 2:2-6, 18-19)

It\’s About your Heritage

So, if God is not beating our sin out of us, then what exactly is He doing? Seeing that we tend to function in the old man, though being a new creature, God is at work making us Christ-like through an on-going process called sanctification.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification … (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

What you need a to do is change how you view the trials which present themselves in your life. In order to help us do that, we must first understand our heritage:

\”No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,\” declares the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17)

Your heritage is to stand against evil, to stand against condemnation. Your heritage is to condemn false accusation (evil against you) as wrong. Your heritage is to watch the vindication of God on your behalf.

Your enemy stands against you, your enemy accuses you:

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, … \”Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. \”And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (Revelation 12:9-11)

Therefore when you are in the midst of a trial, you must stand against the enemy and reject the lie that there can be no good thing come from the trial. You must reject the notion that God is punishing or chastising you on behalf of His righteousness because of your sin. And in doing these things, you are condemning the enemy and the evil beset against you, and you are acquiring God\’s perspective of who you are in Christ, and who you are in the trial.

Ask The Key Question

What you need to do in the midst of the trial is ask God this question: \”What are the blessings you have for me in this trial?\”

Change Your Perspective

Is God your stronghold? Yes. But only if you allow Him to be your stronghold. If you focus on the trial and the evil that is besetting you, then you are not in your stronghold. If you fail to hope in God, then you cannot enter the stronghold of God. What you need to do is change your attitude: instead of focusing on the bad, focus on the good that God has in store for you. Set your mind on things above not on things below. Ask God about His double blessing that He has in store for you.

The Law of the Double Blessing

Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; this very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you … (Zechariah 9:12)

Every time the enemy knocks you back, God has a double blessing in store for you. The first blessing that God has for you in the midst of an attack from the enemy, is to restore back to where you were before the attack. The second blessing that God has for you is to move you forward past the place you were when the attack occurred.

But then, you may ask, why do I have to go through the same trials over and over again? Because God has a lot of blessing left over that you didn\’t get the first time. God isn\’t sitting in heaven thinking, \”this is fun, let\’s smack her down some more\”, but rather He is saying to you, \”you didn\’t get all of the blessings I had for you the last time. I want you to have all of the blessings I have in store for you.\”

\’For I know the plans that I have for you,\’ declares the LORD, \’plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ (Jeremiah 29:11)

But if you refuse to see or believe that God can restore you and bless you through the trials you find yourself in, then you have defined for yourself the truth of your existence in that trial.

Read the story of the Demoniac of Gadarenes. Was there another blessing available for the people Gadarenes? Could not Jesus Christ have richly enhanced their spiritual condition, healed their diseases and taught them the Word of God? Of course, He could have. But what happened instead? They had an improper perspective based upon the trial of losing their heard of swine. In focusing on the negative, they missed the positive blessing Christ could have provided.

Conclusion

How you view your trials and tribulations is purely your choice. But when you stand against evil and choose not to yield, then you are embarking upon the process of seeking God and asking Him about how to obtain freedom, and you are knocking on His door.

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? (Luke 11:9-13)

If you persist in a negative perspective regarding your trial, then you will miss the double blessing God has for you. And eventually, you\’ll repeat the trial. But if you instead view the trial as a mechanism by which the blessings of God are poured into your life, then you can enter through faith the valley of the shadow of death, and walk out with the experience and the knowledge of who God really is in your life.

What’s so special about Christianity?

Every religion has a method by which one may obtain a desired state of being, which in this discussion will be called salvation.

In a generic definition, salvation may be seen as a state of being. A state which in it’s ultimate form, is absent of pain and suffering (whether inflicted upon us by ourselves or others) and free of sin. Sin is defined as the propensity of man to disobey (one or more times) a given moral law or code.

Thus, salvation is seen as the ultimate condition to which a person may aspire, and it is defined in contrast to man in his worst condition – as he is, living on earth in pain, suffering and sin. Salvation, therefore, is man being saved from the a condition of sin and suffering into a perfect state of being where the grip of pain, suffering and sin does not exist, neither can it ever lay hold upon man again.

Every Religion Has It

Every religion defines a process by which the undesirable is made null and void, hence salvation obtained.

The question many people have, or at least consider, is this: what must I do in order to be free of sin, what must I do to be free from pain and suffering? To answer that question, we\’re going to briefly review Buddhism, a religion that has touched the lives of many pious people. By doing so we will provide a general foundation by which other religions can be understood. Once we’ve done that, we’re going to answer the question, “what’s so special about Christianity?”

Buddhism

Buddhism identifies the burden of life in the two-fold problem of sin and suffering. The question Gautama Buddha (the founder of Buddhism), sought to answer was, “why is there pain and suffering?” In addition to this, he also held a belief common to Hinduism called reincarnation – being reborn to an earthly life in either an higher or lower form. So, one might return as a man, woman, a flea or a rat, depending upon one’s good and bad deeds in the previous life. The point of reincarnation is ascension to a higher form all the while shedding that which encumbers you from reaching enlightenment, and subsequently, Nirvana.

How does one ensure they reach Nirvana? It is obtained via the eight-fold path, which is defined (briefly) as follows:

The “Right” …

Views. One must accept the four noble truths
Resolve. One must renounce all desires (lust, bitterness, cruelty, selfishness)
Speech. One must speak only truth.
Behavior. One must abstain from sexual immorality, stealing, and all killing.
Occupation. One must work in an occupation that benefits others and harms no one.
Effort. One must seek to eliminate any evil qualities within and prevent any new ones from arising.
Contemplation. One must be observant, contemplative, and free of desire and sorrow.
Meditation. One must be disciplined in meditation in order to overcome sensations of pleasure and pain so that one may enter a state of transcending consciousness and attain a state of perfection.

Therefore, in the most basic of statements, Buddhists believe that through self effort one can attain the state of peace and eternal bliss called Nirvana, or salvation. This effort which results in salvation is called atonement. Atonement is compensation for wrongdoing.

It’s no Different Elsewhere

Seriously, it’s not that much different in any other religion. In any of the world’s religions the most basic tenant is this: man through his efforts provides his own atonement for his condition. Some people obey the Four-Fold Truths and the Eight-Fold Path resulting in Nirvana. Others place their faith in a creed followed by doing good works and possibly obtain the favor of their god resulting in salvation (The Five Pillars / Islam). And yet others follow another type of creed and/or asceticism that they hope will result in a type of liberation.

Christianity: There’s Good News and Bad News

In Christianity, there’s good news and bad news. Isn’t there always? Someone always asks you “do you want the good news first, or the bad news first?” Most people prefer to receive the good news first – they think it will soften the bad news, but it never does. In lieu of this, someone once said, “do the hard part first and the easy part last, then the easy part will be easier.” So that’s what we’re going to do here – you get the hard part first.

The Bad News

You’re dead, spiritually speaking that is. God said to Adam and Eve, “if you eat from that tree, then you will die.” And Adam and Eve did die, spiritually speaking. And just like some of us inherited blue eyes and blond hair form our mother, we inherited spiritual death from Adam. That’s the root of the suffering, pain and sin that we see and experience in the world today

It doesn’t feel too good, does it, thinking of ourselves as spiritually dead sinners? What we really want, deep down, is to be free from the bondage of sin and suffering. So we like to think better of ourselves – we don’t sin that much and we do a lot of good things, surely God takes notice. In a real sense, you’re correct: God does take notice and we will be judged according to our deeds, but you can no more enter a Corvette into a Formula-1 race, or make an apple pie with pork chops, than you can make a spiritually dead man persist in the presence of a living God for all eternity: they don’t mix – death cannot comprehend life.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

As thou knows not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knows not the works of God who makes all

They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.

More Bad News: It’s Your Nature

When was the last time you went to a funeral and heard the deceased give the eulogy? When was the last time you used wholly rotten apples in an apple pie? When was the last time an aborted baby re-assembled itself, came back to life and punched the Dr. in the family jewels? It doesn’t happen – death cannot comprehend, abide or persist with life. Think of it this way: as a spiritualy dead person, you’re a penny. In God\’s Coke machine of Eternity, only quarters make it to the money box, pennies are ejected out the bottom. You don’t fit, you’re the wrong size, you\’re spiritually misshapen to abide in spiritual life after physical death. That which is spiritually dead remains spiritually dead after physical death.

More Bad News: You’ve Got the Wrong Currency for Atonement

As a Spiritually dead person, not only can you not abide in life, you’ve got the wrong currency needed for atonement. Every time you sin, you earn wages. That sounds about right, doesn’t it? Paid for the bad things, paid for the good things, and if the good out-weighs the bad, then you’re in like Flint. Wrong. You’re getting paid with – you guessed it – death.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But, what about all the righteous things you do? Surely my righteous deeds can wipe away my death, right? Lets take a look:

Our righteousness deeds cannot cleanse our death – who among us uses a greasy rag to clean a window? What’s the point? It will be no better than when you started. Secondly, since the the power of your iniquities is death, when you die physically you will spend eternity reaping spiritual death:

… who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power …

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

God has a Pattern – A Method Resulting in Eternal Spiritual Life

God’s method and pattern is simple:

God’s Redemption

The first step in God\’s pattern is redemption. The Israelites were redeemed by God from the bondage of Egypt. If the Israelites could have left the bondage of Egypt on their own, without a savior, without a redeemer, without the action of God, then they would have. What they needed was a deliverer, which is what they got:

And it came to pass in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am the LORD.\’

God\’s Law

The second step in God\’s pattern is Law. After the Israelites were redeemed and given a new life in the promised land, He gave them the Law – a basis by which they were to live their lives and understand their relationship with Him and others:

And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in thy mouth; for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

And thou shalt teach them the statutes and the laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

God\’s Temple

The third step in God\’s pattern is the Temple – the place you commune with God.

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: \’On the first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony … Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

First, we must be redeemed. Redemption results in spiritual life. It takes us out of the bondage of sin (Egypt – spiritual death) and into the freedom of life (the promised land – spiritual life).

Second, we listen to and understand the Law which results in knowledge for two things: proper relations with our fellow man, and our ability to do the third thing …

Which is communion with God.

Man has a Pattern – A Method Resulting in Eternal Death

Mankind does not like God\’s pattern – we like being in control of our destiny, we like proving that we\’re able to do it ourselves, and we like being able to say that we are better than someone else. So we want to take control and do God\’s plan backwards, assuming all the while that it will be acceptable to Him.

Our Temple (Worship)

First, we worship at our temple. Call it what you may, be it a lifestyle of asceticism or church on Sundays, man has a way in which he worships that which he believes will provide eternal value to him.

Our Law

Second, through his worship man believes he will be changed by gaining knowledge of law and shedding of sin (pain, suffering, etc) which will improve his relations with mankind, resulting in good deeds.

Our Redemption (Heaven – Enlightenment – Nirvana )

Third, through his knowledge of the law and the resulting improved relations with himself and his fellow man, he believes that he will atone for his misdeeds, thereby redeeming himself before his god, in that the good deeds will out-weigh the bad deeds.

That is the absolute basis of every world religion, with the exception of Christianity.

What\’s So Special About Christianity?

Grace. Grace is the single, defining quality of Christianity – no other religion in the world has it.

In Christian circles, grace is poorly defined by an an acrostic:

What is Grace?

Grace is a gift which makes you become something, gives you a position that you cannot be or achieve through your own actions or merit. For example, a fireman rescuing a non-breathing victim and resuscitating them – Grace. Rescue workers digging victims out of the ruble of an earthquake – Grace. Giving a jobless person a job just because you can, not because he/she is qualified for the position – Grace. Providing a home to the homeless – Grace. Making someone your spouse – Grace. Human life – Grace (it\’s a gift given through the the graciousness of the mother and father).

Releasing the Israelites form the bondage of Egypt – Grace.

Grace is that external force acting upon a thing by which the means of becoming something better is provided. Grace provides improvement that cannot be obtained without the provider. A grain of wheat cannot become a stalk full of life giving seed by itself. It must fall to the earth, and it must have water and sunshine. It needs an external force acting upon it before it can transform from death into life.

You Need the Potter

What you need is something to make you alive. You need something to make you into that which you cannot become by yourself – you need grace. Consider again these verses from the Old Testament:

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, nor remember iniquity forever;

We are the clay? He is the potter? He is our Father? What does that mean?

It means you\’re a penny, not a quarter. It means you\’re an unfired mound of clay, not a bowl useful for good works. It means He is the one that makes the dead come alive. It means that you cannot, through any amount of self discipline, work or asceticism make yourself alive – you need Grace – you need an external force making you into something you cannot become through your own efforts.

The Good News

The good news is that positionally, you\’ve won the lottery. That\’s right. In the Death vs. Life quandary that you find yourself, you\’ve been given the winning ticket as a birthday present. The present is this: your sins have already been judged, in Jesus Christ:

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Well, you might ask, if that\’s so, then why do some people go to hell, and others go to heaven? That\’s a good question! The answer is simple – Faith – in God\’s order.

In order to get the money from the Lottery Commission, you have to exchange the winning lottery ticket for the cash. You\’ve got to make the trip to the lottery office, sign the ticket and turn it in to the officials. You have to trust and believe (provide faith) that the lottery officials will give you the money in exchange for your ticket. If you don\’t apply that little bit of faith and act upon it, then you\’ll never get the money you\’ve won.

A Righteousness that\’s not Yours

But what if you don\’t believe they will give you the money? What if you believe someone will steal the ticket from you on the way to the lottery office? What if you believe you\’ll lose the ticket on the way there? If you believe those things, then you will live in and act out those beliefs and in doing so, you will stay in your home, clutching a winning lottery ticket, but never receive the money that belongs to you.

In the very same way you must also turn away your arrogance that you can become righteous in and of yourself. You must be willing forsake those things which keep you away from placing your Faith and Trust in God. You must be willing to receive His righteousness through His redemption, before doing the deeds of the Law or the self sacrifice of Worship which cannot, and never will, result in redemption, atonement or salvation.

How is Grace Obtained?

So how is this grace given? Exactly like it was given to the Israelites. Look again:

…

What does it take to cry out to God? It takes faith. And what is faith? It is believing that God is (as the Israelites did when the cried out to Him), it is believing and trusting that God will do what He said He will do.

…

But isn\’t faith works?

No, faith is not works. Faith is trusting and believing, and when you trust and believe, you produce works, as in crying out to God, as in the trip you make to the lottery office. Before you can cry out to God, you must believe He is. Before you can make that trip to the lottery office, you must trust and believe that they will honor

Therefore, grace is provided through trust and belief (faith) that God has done and will do the work for you, through the atoning work of the High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Once the Israelites were out of Egypt and had received the Law and the Temple (take note of the order – redemption, law, temple) atonement for common sins was provided through grace, by faith in the Word of God. This faith was acted out through the those who brought the sacrifices and through the actions of the High Priest. It was the priest that made the offering, but God who made it acceptable.

Why did He make it acceptable? Because of their faith. How did He make it acceptable? By His Grace.

Through these actions, God provided an imperfect picture of the perfect sacrifice to come, of the perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ on the cross, by which He Himself entered into the Spiritual Holy of Holies – rather than the earthly holy place found in the earthly temple – thus making a way of salvation for all mankind, not just the Israelites.

God Provides Atonement and Salvation By Grace Through Faith

And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. Surely the LORD\’S mercies are not consumed, surely His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. \’The LORD is my portion\’, saith my soul; \’Therefore will I hope in Him.

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The point is this: God has done the work, the High Priest, the Christ, has done His job: He has made the sacrifice. Our job is to humble ourselves before Him, accept the work He has done and turn away from our arrogance, our sins, and our disbelief. Through faith we can be clay in His hands, and be made vessels of Grace.

When we place our trust and belief in Him, He will do precisely what He promises to do: provide Salvation by Grace through Faith.

The Balancing Act of Grace

What do you do with your sins? You\’ve committed them, you\’ve confessed them, you\’ve been forgiven – but are you still holding on to them?

Many times we hold onto our sins as a reminder of past failures. We treat their memories as a demonstration of our willingness to show God (and our selves) that, “yes, I really do know who I am and what I did, I really do know the price you paid, and I\’m going to carry some of this burden with you.”

It\’s as if we convert our forgiven sins into merit badges that are somehow supposed to demonstrate God\’s appreciation of our willingness to carry our part of His forgiveness, a heavy burden, a reminder of who we are in the light of a most Holy and Righteous God. The worse the sin and the greater the forgiveness, then the bigger and shinier the merit bag.

But is that what God calls us to do?

For many of us, living with sin is a balancing that we play: this much sin, that much grace. We think sin and grace balance each other out, and once that\’s done, God is happy with us again…

Right?

So, lets explore this balancing act that we play.

Imagine that you\’re standing before a teeter-totter, and you\’ve got your heavy burden of past sins that you carry with you. You know what I\’m talking about: that big bag of failures you\’ve thrown over your shoulder, that you just can\’t let go of. Now, with your bag of failures, sins, and regrets, sit down on the teeter-totter. If you\’re like most people, and I must assume that you are, gravity will have it\’s way with you, and you and your bag will hit the dirt in short order.

So, there you are on the teeter-totter, just you and your bag sitting on the dusty earth looking up into the bright sunlight.

Now what?

Well, now you ask God to forgive you of those sins and failures that you\’re holding onto. Let\’s assume you\’ve done that (or that you\’re doing it right now.)

Lo and behold, God, being who He is, hears your prayer and shows up and with a huge bag of grace and mercy and says, “Okay, let\’s play this game.” He climbs up on the teeter-totter and, with His bag of grace and mercy, sits down on the other side.

But there\’s a problem: God sat down on the teeter-totter with His bag of Grace and Mercy, but He is up in the air and you\’re still stuck on the ground with your bag of sins!

What\’s the deal with that? It\’s simple actually. God can\’t have your sins until you let go of the bag.

Ah, but you\’ve done this before, haven\’t you? It\’s evident in that you still carry the bag around. You commit a sin, you confess the sin, and then you put the sin into the bag. At a later time, you take the sin out of the bag, confess the sin again, and put the sin back in the bag. The problem is not in your confession, the problem is your focus.

So get up off the teeter-totter, but leave your bag of sin behind in your place, on the teeter-totter. Once you\’ve done that, you notice that God gets off the teeter-totter too, but leaves his bag of grace and mercy behind. As you watch, you see the teeter-totter creak and groan and bend under the weight of God\’s grace and mercy. So what\’s going on now?

Seriously, you\’ve really got to let go of your bag sins, regrets, and failures. Just because you\’re not sitting with them doesn\’t mean you\’ve emotionally let them go. So let go, and let God have them! Stop wasting your time worrying about the past, trust God to leave the past where it belongs and look to the future. Right now, bow your head ask God to forgive you for holding onto that which you have already been released.

As you lift your head too look, you see God\’s grace and mercy crashing down to the earth and your bag of regrets and sins ejected into the air! It travels further and further away, as far as the east is from the west until it\’s a tiny dot, and then, until you can\’t see it anymore.

Once your bag has disappeared, you turn to face the Lord, only to find that He\’s gone. However, He has left His bag of grace and mercy behind for you to use anytime you choose.

But, as you look at His bag of grace and mercy, you notice that it\’s no longer on the teeter-totter.

Seeing that it was apparently heavy enough to discharge your bag of sins, regrets, and failures as far as the east is from the west, then this may seem to be a bit of a problem. But in actuality, it\’s not a problem. Look in the bag. Just untie it and open it up. What do you see? Big, fluffy pillows – you know the kind, the type you like best. Go ahead and dive right on in, grace, mercy, and forgiveness is kind, gentle and warm.

So, the next time you find yourself carrying that bag of sins and regrets, come back to God\’s teeter-totter and drop your bag. Then, ask God to forgive you for carrying the past into the future. Then put God\’s bag of grace and mercy on the other side of that teeter-totter and watch as your sins are ejected to a place that is farther than the east is from the west.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:12, KJV)

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32, KJV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9, KJV)

\”No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.\” (Luke 9:62, NASB)

More Dos that you can Do in a Lifetime

And we beseech you, brethren, to know (respect) them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work\’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. (I Thessalonians 5:12-13, KJV)

Them which labor among you

or they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men. (I Corinthians 16:18, ESV)
So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, (Philippians 2:29, ESV)

Those who are over you in the Lord and those who admonish you
- Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17, ESV)
Be at peace among yourselves
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. (Mark 9:50, ESV)

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly (idle – lazy), comfort the fainthearted (weak in the spirit), support the weak (impotent, ill, of little strength), be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. (I Thessalonians 5:14-15, KJV)

Warn the idle and lazy – admonish them in the Lord – II Thessalonians 3:6-15
- Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, (II Thessalonians 3:6-7, ESV)
Comfort the feeble minded, fainthearted, weak in spirit and mind
- In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35, ESV)

Support the weak (with out strength, ill, of little strength)
Be patient toward all
- Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (I Corinthians 13:4, ESV)
Do not render evil for evil, rather follow after that which is good – among your brethren in Christ, and among all men.
- So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10, ESV)

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, KJV)

Rejoice
Pray
Give thanks
Do not quench the Spirit
- And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30, ESV)
- Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. (I Timothy 4:14, ESV)

Do not despise prophesies
- On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their edification and encouragement and consolation. (I Corinthians 14:3, ESV)
- Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. (I Corinthians 14:1, ESV)
- Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (I John 4:1, ESV)
- Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (I Corinthians 12:3, KJV)
- By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (I John 4:2-3, ESV)

Prove (discern the spirit of ) all things

Hold on to righteousness

Abstain from the mere appearance of evil

So, you want to be like Jesus?

Then answer the question: Why?

Why do you want to be like Jesus? To please the Father? To be better than you are? Were those the motivations of Christ, or did He have something else in mind?

\”Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him …\” (Philippians 2:4-9)

\”Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner\” (John 5:19)

\”But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.\” (Luke 11:20)

Before we can answer the question #1, \”why do I want to be like Jesus\”,

we must answer the question, #2 \”who did Jesus want to be like?\”

But before we can answer question #2, we must answer question #3: was Jesus trying to be like God, or was He simply watching the Father, and doing what He did, doing His will?

Someone once said, \”I will be like The Most High\”, and it didn\’t go to well for him. (Isaiah 14:13-15)

We can only be who we are, who God has molded us to be. He does not want us to all look the same, but He does want all of us to be about His business.

Once we\’ve learned that there is grace and mercy for our sins, and teachings and doctrines enough to keep us from sin if we will only take the time and patience to learn, then we can be about His business and doing what Jesus did: \”nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, humble of mind and regarding others more important than ourselves, not just looking out for our interests, but the interests of others, emptying ourselves of our pride, and looking to the Father for our next marching orders.\”

So, why do you want to be like Jesus? Do you want to do the will of the Father, or do you have other motives?

Do you just want to be happy, or are you willing to be battered and bruised doing the work of the Lord? Is happiness the goal, or is Glory of God the goal? One is incorrect, the other is not.

Do you think being like Jesus will make you accepted of God, or do you want to put the needs of others before your own? One is a lie, the other is how we live in the Kingdom.

Desire the best gifts, but not for yourself: desire them so that you may edify others, so that you may build up others through love.

\”Therefore it says, \’WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN … for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; \” … for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; \” (Ephesians 4:8,12)

Repentance: A prerequisite for doing His work

There\’s only one way to be walking perfectly in the work of God. We see many people who appear to be doing God\’s work, but the Spirit clearly tells us that God is not in their efforts, that their work is purely from a self manufactured effort. As accounted by Institutionalized Christianity, these people may be considered as having it all together and to be on the right path, and even to be firmly entrenched in the things of God. But only God and ascertain their true motives. So how can we be sure we\’re on the right path in our service with God? We must understand, know and believe it is not appearances that God judges, it is the heart of man that God ponders.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts. (Proverbs 2:2)

A lesson from King David: laying in the dirt and fasting The back story of this lesson is that King David has sinned against Bathsheba by lying with her, and he has sinned against her husband (Uriah) by having him killed in battle. Once David had taken Bathsheba as his wife and the child was about to be born, Nathan came to the King and delivered a message from God. We pick up the story once Nathan given the word of God to King David, has left for his house:

And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah\’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. (II Samuel 12:15-17)

But when David saw that his officials were whispering to one another, he realized that the child was dead. \”Is the child dead?\” David asked them. \”Yes, he is dead,\” they answered. So David got up from the ground, bathed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the LORD\’s house and worshiped. Then he went home and asked for food. They placed food in front of him, and he ate. (II Samuel 12:19-20)

We see King David\’s life mourning the judgment or ordinance of God against himself, and seeking the face of God in hopes that He might spare the life of the child And if there were any chance of God changing His mind, David showed his agreement with God regarding his sin by symbolically demonstrating the filth of his sin by \”laying upon the earth\” and \”fasting\”.

Fasting: It\’s not the Pious thing to Do
Fasting is not something we do in order to show or demonstrate our piety to God and certainly not to others (as seen in other religions). From God\’s point of view, fasting has an entirely different purpose in mind:

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

This is the typical, secular understanding of fasting. The average person sees a fast simply as a day to hold their heads low and have sorrowful expressions on their faces. It is a day to cover themselves with ashes (Ash Wednesday) so that the world may see that you are penitent. God defines the purpose of a fast quite differently:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:5-6)

Fasting, according to scripture, has one purpose: it is to loose the bands of wickedness, to unto the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke.

To be under the bonds of wickedness and heavy burdens, to be oppressed and yoked is, as simply put as possible, is to be under the burden of sin. Sin is the result of disobeying God\’s word. As Jesus said, “it is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4) While this may seem a bit out of context with the subjects we are discussing, remember that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and Jesus is saying that life comes through the word of God, therefore, death comes through the absence of the word of God.

Since we know that fasting is simply going without food, and we know that the word of God gives Life, and we know that the wages of sin is death, we can know ascertain (with the help of Isaiah) the spirit behind the fast: fasting can be seen as physical reminder to ourselves that we have chosen our own food over the true bread of life, the word of God. Therefore, fasting is painful and ever present reminder that what we have chosen must be done away with, just has we have omitted food from our lives for a period of time, and that what we must chose in the future is the true bread of life instead of the sin that so easily besets us.
Lying in the dirt: It\’s a dirty job – Just like sinning

King David fasted and lay all night upon the earth. By laying upon the earth, David was demonstrating his association with sin by covering himself with filth. Clearly, God has associated dirt and filth with sin and impurity:

Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. (Exodus 30:18-21)

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. (Matthew 27:24)Thus, through laying in the dirt and fasting, we see King David being honest regarding his sin.

Pick yourself up: get out of the dirt and return to God

Once the child had died, King David “got up from the ground”. The first thing we must do when faced with sin is to abandon the sin. Disassociate your self with the sin, with that thing, or those people that have lured you into the place or thought life you have found yourself:

If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)

Wash yourself: Receive God\’s Forgiveness

Next, we must wash ourselves of the sin, just as King David “bathed” to remove the filth from his body. But wait a minute, only God can wash us of our sin, right?. Yes, that is true, but it is our responsibility to initiate the process of God washing us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

Anoint yourself: Be ye filled with the spirit

The next thing King David did was to “anoint himself”. We must then fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Again, you\’re rightly thinking that it is only God that can fill us with His spirit. And of course, that is true. But again, only you can initiate the process:

“And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesian 5:18-21)

This passage is more often misused as a condemnation of alcohol that it is used to teach the actual message it contains, which is prescription of how to be filled with the spirit. First, it is reasonable to assume that being drunk is a choice. You have a bottle of wine and you chose to drink from the bottle until you\’re drunk. Clearly it is a choice to pick up the bottle, fill the glass, and to repeatedly empty the glass in to your gullet. It is the same with being filled by the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit and we must chose to be filled by the Spirit. How then, are we to be filled? By following the prescribed 4 step process:

speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God

Change your clothing: Renew your mind
The next thing King David did was “change is clothes” . He put off that which he was previously associated with, and put on something new. He completely changed his mind, his actions and his purpose in life. He did not put on the clothing that he soiled while laying in the dirt. He put the old clothing away, and chose something new, something clean, something that associated him with his new purpose in life.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

Worship the Lord: And Praise His Name
The next thing King David did was “to go into the LORD\’s house and worshiped.”

There are times when we don\’t feel like drawing close to God, but the Lord does not put a prerequisite upon us that we should only praise and worship Him when we feel like it, or when we consider the time to be customary to worship and praise the Lord. More often than not, we wait until a church service to lift, at best, our hearts and minds to a place of worship and praise.

Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Psalm 29:1-2)

Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. (Psalm 96:7-9)

I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.(Pslam 7:17)

Go home to God: He has what you need
Then “he went home and asked for food. They placed food in front of him, and he ate.”

God has what we need. He\’s has made provisions for all of our needs through His riches in glory. Going to God for our needs is exactly opposite of taking matters into our own hands and committing sin against God.

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father\’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. (Luke 15:17-24)

Honesty with God: A prerequisite to Service

Behold, thou desires truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (Psalm 51:6)

Therefore thus says the LORD, If you return, then will I bring you again, that you may stand before me; and if you take forth the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth: they shall return to you, but you shall not return to them. (Jeremiah 15:19)

In other words, if you forsake your sin, God Himself will bring you into His presence (you don\’t have to work to get back into His favor), and if you will learn from your mistakes (take the precious from the vile), then He will exalt you with the honor of speaking His words. Those with whom you sinned (or those things with which you sinned), you shall not return to, but those who will come to God, shall join you at your side.

The Foundations of Biblical Ministry

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 NASB

Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

Your Ministry must flow from

Your Faith

Eastons\’ Bible Dictionary:
- Faith is in general, the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true. It\’s primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests.
Your faith must be placed in God, that He will do His work in those you minister to. It is His work that must be done; you are not the one who changes a mans\’ heart, but it is the work of God that changes a mans\’ heart. Place your faith in Him alone and entrust your self to Him.

Your Labor of Love

Love is an action word.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NASB)

Your Steadfastness of Hope in Jesus

yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach– if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. (Colossians 1:22-23 NASB)

Your Ministry relies upon the function of

The Word of God

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. (2 Timothy 2:8-9 NASB)
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11 NASB)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NASB)

The Power of God

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16 NASB)
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18 NASB)
and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NASB)

The Holy Spirit

\”But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26 NASB)
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31 NASB)
Paul said: \”You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. (Acts 7:51 NASB )
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. (Acts 10:44 NASB)
And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:52 NASB)

Your full conviction

The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. (Romans 14:22 NASB)
When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, \”Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? \”Is not this the carpenter\’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? \”And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?\” And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, \”A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.\” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53-58)