The Eucharist: Holy Sacrament or Powerless Ritual?

 

By David Ryser

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (Jesus of Nazareth, John 6:53)

 For more than a year now, I have been attending a men’s study/fellowship group sponsored by a local church. Although I am not a member of this church, nor do I attend the religious services there or share many…if any…of its core beliefs, I am enjoying the fellowship of the men in the group. Like many Christians, these men are desiring to know and serve God better. And their desire is sincere and heartfelt.

 And because I am a guest at this church, I strive to be on my best behavior and not contend against any of their beliefs at our meetings.

 The sect of Christianity of which this church is a part is currently in the midst of a three-year Eucharistic Revival. Exactly why it would take three years to train the faithful members of this sect adequately concerning the Eucharist (or Communion, or Lord’s Supper, if you’d prefer) is somewhat bewildering to me, but I have found the discussions of the Eucharist at our meetings to be quite illuminating.

 Because I was raised in this particular sect of Christianity; and although I have not practiced this form of religion for more than 50 years, I do speak the language and understand its core teachings.

 The doctrine of the Eucharist is this sect’s theological cornerstone. According to their doctrine, the elements of the Eucharist…the bread and the wine…are transformed (transubstantiated) into the literal spiritual body and blood of Jesus when consecrated by a priest during their religious ritual. And this doctrine is based upon the biblical passage in John 6:48-56 combined with the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper. So, partaking of the consecrated Eucharistic elements is the same as partaking of Jesus’ body and blood.

 And now things become interesting.

 Because in one of our meetings, a question was posed as to how long the grace received at the partaking of the Eucharist remains effective. Having received the body and blood of Jesus, why is it necessary to receive the Eucharist more than once? Why does one need to receive the Eucharist multiple times? Does the presence of Jesus leak out of us over time? Does Jesus’ body and blood have an expiration date? And if it does have an expiration date, how long does it last before it becomes ineffective? Is there something that can cause this grace to become null and void?

 All good questions, and there is an answer to them.

 According to this sect’s teachings, the presence of Jesus and the grace received upon partaking of the Eucharist is effective until the recipient sins. When the participant sins, they have fallen from a state of grace, and the benefits of Jesus’ body and blood are no longer effective in their life.

 What? My sin drives Jesus out of me?

 Oh, but there’s more. Because receiving the Eucharist with certain kinds of sin on my soul can render the whole thing ineffective from the start. If I have unconfessed small sins (venial sins such as lying or having impure thoughts) on my account, the grace received at the partaking of the Eucharist will wash these sins away. But if I have unconfessed big sins (mortal sins such as rape, murder, or missing mandated church services), these will remain unforgiven even though I have received the literal spiritual body and blood of Jesus.

 It seems that some sins are just bigger than Jesus.

 Fortunately for the members of this sect, there is an avenue to receive forgiveness for sins prior to receiving the Eucharist so that the grace imparted can be obtained by the recipient. Instead of relying on Jesus’ broken body and shed blood for forgiveness, one needs merely to confess their sins to a priest who can do for us what Jesus’ body and blood cannot…forgive our big sins.

 And it doesn’t matter what is the spiritual condition of the priest administering this forgiveness to me. He might be engaged in grievous sin (homosexual pedophilia, for example) and still be able to forgive me for cheating on my taxes.

 So, on those rare occasions when I attend a service at a church associated with this sect, I do not go forward to receive the Eucharist, in part because I am not an active member of the sect and would be respectfully denied the Eucharist as a result. Also, to receive the Eucharist at this church would imply that I am unified with this sect in its doctrine of the Eucharist…which I am not.

 So, I don’t.

 But what is the alternative? I have received the Eucharist at churches which are a part of other Christian sects. Typically these churches refer to receiving the Eucharist as taking Communion. And, typically, this partaking of Communion consists of a five-minute add-on to the end of the church service where the communicant is given a stale oyster cracker and small cup of Welch’s grape juice to consume when the cue is given to do so after a brief review of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

 Aside from giving me atrociously bad breath, this disrespectful form of receiving the Eucharist does virtually nothing for me.  It certainly does not bring me closer to Jesus. And it is, at best, unbiblical.

 Because while I do not subscribe to the doctrine/teaching of the first-mentioned sect concerning the Eucharist, neither do I see the receiving of Communion to be merely symbolic. To do so would be to ignore the clear teaching of 1Corinthians 11:17-34 in which the apostle Paul chastises the Corinthian believers for receiving the Communion in an unworthy manner and writes that to do so brings judgment upon the recipient…to include physical illness and even death (verses 27-30).

 Mere symbolism won’t kill you.

 So, what exactly is the Eucharist? Is it a holy sacrament? Is it a powerless ritual? I have come to believe that it likely is, strictly speaking, neither; rather, it is an observance and proclamation in memory of Jesus and His redemptive work that is best received with reverence, gratitude, and a pure heart. And when a fellowship of believers receives the Communion in this manner, Jesus is present.

 So where does that leave me?

 I find that I can no longer, in good conscience, receive the Eucharist in either of these kinds of churches. But I also desire to experience the presence of Jesus in this special way shared with other believers.

 Fortunately, I have come into contact with a small group of godly people who are passionate about Jesus. Because we do not live in the same town, or even in the same state, we meet regularly, remotely, via the internet. We share our lives and our faith journeys during our time together and recently have expressed our desire to receive Communion collectively. No ritual. No priests needed to consecrate the elements. Just a handful of garden-variety lovers of Jesus who want to share a sacred moment together.

 And that’s what the Eucharist is to me.

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Who Is Jesus?: And Why Does It Matter?

 

By David Ryser

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity)

 A few years ago, my wife and I retired and moved to a small community in the mountains of central Arkansas. We very much enjoy living here among the mountains, trees, and lakes while seeing all sorts of wildlife daily. The people in our community are, for the most part, good people, and we have met some who have become dear friends. As in many such small towns, the community boasts a weekly newspaper which keeps us informed of the goings-on in our area. Among the regular columns in the newspaper is one written by a local pastor.

 I typically do not read this column.

 Recently, a friend…who knows I once was in the religion business…cut the most recent installment of the aforementioned column out of the paper and brought it to me asking me to read it and to tell her what I thought of it when I was finished.

 I read the article and found it quite interesting.

 To his credit, the pastor shares his biases and presuppositions with the readers of his article, a trait I wish all journalists…secular and religious alike…possessed and demonstrated. And what are these biases and presuppositions you ask? Well, here they are in his own words: “Let me confess in print that I consider myself to be an agnostic, a humanist, and a Christian. Agnostic because absolute certainty about God is not possible. A Christian, not because I believe Jesus was God (I don’t) but because he offered the best plan for living a life of dignity and service. Humanist because I’m certain that the only tools at my personal disposal are curiosity, conscience, compassion, and a compelling desire to spread kindness.”

 That’s a lot to digest, and it makes my head hurt when I attempt to take it in all at once, so let us consider his statement one piece at a time.

 First, this pastor’s claim to be agnostic is philosophically vacuous. Absolute certainty about God…or anyone/anything else for that matter…is not possible, but that does not make one an agnostic. Only God has absolute certainty about God, but this is not a basis for agnosticism. If it were, everyone who is not God would be an agnostic. To base his agnosticism on the impossibility of absolute certainty about God places this pastor philosophically on the level with a man who is unsure about whether he is married because he does not have absolute certainty about his wife….as if any man does. But, joking aside, how do we have absolute certainty about anyone…including whether they even exist? We could be living in a delusion, seeing and interacting with imaginary people. We could be living in a hologram designed to teach us moral lessons with ourselves as the only genuine creatures in the hologram. If you would challenge me to prove my actual existence to you with absolute certainty, I would be unable to do so. I might not be motivated even to attempt to do so since I’m not convinced of your existence with absolute certainty. Why would I attempt to prove my existence to a possibly imaginary entity?

 Do you see my dilemma?

 Next, the pastor claims to be a Christian based upon his belief that Jesus…although not divine…through his teachings, offered the best plan for living a life of dignity and service. He may very well believe this, but upon what basis? Has this pastor thoroughly examined the teachings of all the other spiritual teachers? If so, he is remarkably well-read, well-traveled, and unimaginably old. In order to declare a particular teacher’s teachings on how to live a life of dignity and service to be superior to all others, one would need to have researched exhaustively all of the others.

 And even then, could he be absolutely certain (See what I did there?)  that he fully understood those teachings in their historical, cultural, and linguistic context to the point where he wholly and accurately understood the teachings as the teachers themselves understood them?

 And what about Jesus?

 Claiming to accept Jesus as a great…perhaps the greatest…moral teacher without acknowledging Him as the divine Son of God comes with the problem C.S. Lewis so eloquently described in the passage quoted at the beginning of this article. Because Jesus claimed to be divine. Several times. In many different ways.  His claims to deity, and the teachings of His followers concerning His deity subsequent to His ascension into the heavens, are too numerous to list here. As we read the New Testament, we can readily identify numerous instances of this. And these don’t include the ones we miss. For example, Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of Man. This is not a declaration of His humanity. The term “Son of Man” first appears in the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14) and was understood by the Jewish people in Jesus’ day to be speaking of the victorious Messiah in a context that clearly depicts Him as a heavenly being.

 And when Jesus used the term, both His followers and enemies clearly understood what He was saying about Himself.

 And if Jesus was wrong about something as basic as who He was…or, worse yet, lied about who He was…then what else might be flawed in His teachings? Is He a delusional megalomaniac? A narcissist? A lunatic? Demonized? A charlatan? And does any one of these possibilities qualify Him to be a great moral teacher?

 Jesus’ teachings are grounded in who He is. He and they are not divisible.

 We accept the teachings…moral and spiritual…of Jesus as authoritative/superior because He is divine, and His teachings originate from the throne of the Father/God. If the teachings come from any other source, we are free to disregard them in whole, or in part, with impunity.

 So, what about the pastor’s claim to be a humanist?

 I accept this claim as genuine. I have no reason to doubt this man consistently demonstrates the virtues of curiosity, conscience, compassion, and a compelling desire to spread kindness. If I were to meet him, I likely would find him to be a gentle soul who shows love for, and benevolence toward, everyone he meets.

 In short, I believe he is a good man.

 So, what about us? What about we who claim to have, as a result of believing in Jesus our divine Lord and Savior, the life and nature of Christ living in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit whose life and power are daily transforming us into the image of Christ? Surely this transformation includes a display of curiosity, conscience, compassion, and a compelling desire to spread kindness...along with the fruit of the Spirit listed in the 5^th chapter of Galatians and the love of God described in the 13^th chapter of First Corinthians. These are what comprise the nature of Christ that we claim to have residing in us. So, we can expect these attributes to be demonstrated consistently in our lives.

 And if they are not, then why not?

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

How to Kill a Move of God: The 3 M's

 

By David Ryser

 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. (Psalm 127:1a)

 I watched it die a slow death. What I perceived to be a genuine move of God in this little church was waning. It was fading and would soon be gone. When it finally died, it did not die of natural causes. It was killed.

 How do you kill a move of God?

 I’ve had a lot of time to ponder this question. Moves of God are birthed in unexpected ways. And they have a life cycle. They are birthed, grow, mature, and morph into what God is doing next with everyone aboard…ideally. Unfortunately, most of them die an untimely death, and the people who were impacted the most powerfully by the last move of God too often become the most vocal critics of the next move.

 How do you kill a move of God? And why would you want to?

 It’s difficult enough to get God to come to church to begin with since the institutional Church shouldn’t even exist. It’s like the ancient Israelite monarchy.  God never intended for Israel to have a king. He even warned them about what would happen if they opted for a king. But when Israel chose to reject God’s lordship in favor of a human king, God did not abandon them. Even though the monarchy was not of God, He worked within that system by blessing the reigns of godly kings.

 And so it is with the institutional Church.

 My friend, Tim, says God comes to church because that’s where the people are; if they were somewhere else, He would go where they were. As a result, a move of God typically begins in the institutional Church setting. And dies there. The causes of this demise are usually specific …and predictable.

 I call them the three M’s.

 The first way to kill a move of God is to manufacture it. When the move becomes widely known, people will be drawn to it. Over time, there can be pressure on the leadership to come up with new ways to keep the move fresh lest the people tire of it. Too many times when this happens, the leader(s) of the move will manufacture supernatural manifestations to keep people engaged in the move. Some such methods I’ve experienced, or heard about from reliable sources, include…but are by no means limited to…“angel” feathers appearing on the floor of the meeting area, semi-precious gems littering the floor after the meeting, ministers pushing people in prayer lines causing them to fall seemingly under the power of God, and spurious personal prophecy. Sometimes it’s something as seemingly innocuous as adding just a bit of human contribution to what God is doing.

 Jesus did not do this.

 Jesus summed up His earthly ministry in two sentences: “I only do what I see the Father doing” (John 5:19) and “I only say what I hear the Father saying” (John 12:49-50). He did not manufacture the works of God by performing spiritual tricks for His followers, the religious leaders, Herod, and even the devil outside of the Father’s will and direction although He was asked to do so by all these groups of people/beings at one time or another during His ministry.

 This is our model, and we would be well-advised to follow it.

 The second way to kill a move of God is to manipulate it. Typically, this manipulation is justified under the guise of the need to “pastor” the move, so it doesn’t get out of control. Out of control? Whose control? Is God incapable of controlling His move? And have any of these religious control freaks ever read the Book of Acts? The early days of Christianity were marked by what Tim calls “Holy Ghost chaos” with the apostles and other leaders scrambling to keep up with what the Holy Spirit was doing. Artificially manipulating a move of God by human effort, masquerading as protecting the people from excess, is often done with the goal of diverting the flow of the Spirit into a different…and more controllable…direction, thus defeating the purpose of the move.

 The purpose of any move of God is to bring the hearts of people closer to God and to advance His kingdom. Manipulating the move of God to achieve any other purpose contaminates/poisons the move. When the purpose of a move of God becomes about glorifying man instead of glorifying God, it has been manipulated…assuming it was genuine to begin with.

 And we would also do well to remember that using spiritual means to manipulate people and events is the definition of witchcraft. Mentor the move, yes, but don’t manipulate it.

 The third way to kill a move of God is to merchandise it. As soon as a move of God becomes about making money and/or becoming famous, the move is doomed. The move is no longer about God; it is about establishing the brand of the leader(s) and their ministry. In my experience, when a move of God advances to this stage its demise is imminent. Scripture and personal experience teach us that God allows some impurities and excesses in a move for the sake of the people being impacted by it, but nothing will cut off the flow of the Holy Spirit as when a genuine move of God becomes a business.

Many years ago, a classmate had a ministry renowned for miraculous works and healings when He would pray for people and administer the power of God to them. These supernatural works were genuine. He was gifted and anointed by God to perform these feats. And he was happy to dispense these gifts to you…for a price. You see, he would only pray with you, and administer God’s power to you, if you would make a monetary donation to his ministry. I forget now which scripture verse he used to justify this behavior, but I do recall thinking this course of action would end badly.

 It's a mess. And worse, even when a genuine move of God is manufactured, manipulated, and merchandised until God is compelled to turn off the tap of the Spirit’s flow, people still will flock to it. The leader(s) of the move will be idolized, their churches and ministries…while outwardly appearing to be blessed by God…becoming little more than personality cults driven by human effort and personal charisma.

 Why? Why do people fall for this?

 Because of the supernatural manifestations. The miracles, the healings, the prophecies. The fake ones are bad enough, though they are usually debunked in the end with little long-term damage done. It’s the genuine works of God’s power, performed outside of His will and authority, that are the most dangerous and difficult to discern. Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 7:22-23. In this passage, Jesus is speaking of a time, during the final judgment, when some will come to Him seeking entry into His kingdom based upon the supernatural works they’ve done in His name. And Jesus does not dispute the genuineness of the mighty works performed. He does, however, reject these “ministers” based on His lack of intimate relationship and fellowship with them.

 We should never mistake God’s blessing for His approval.

 God blesses because He loves. He loves, and wants to provide for the needs of, the people He is blessing.  The one who ministers His blessing is irrelevant. And this person may be deeply flawed, sinful, or even an outright charlatan like the ones in Matthew 7:22-23. This is why we should be discerning, to test by the scriptures and sense the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, concerning these things. If something violates scripture or feels wrong in our spirits, it’s most likely because something is wrong.  We don’t need to judge the minister, or the ministry, or the works performed. If God tells us to stay away from it, we should stay away from it. We don’t need to know why.

 So, we rejoice when we experience a genuine move of God. We bask in God’s presence, gratefully receive His blessings, and are drawn closer to Him. We allow ourselves to be immersed in the flow of the Spirit and be carried to wherever He is taking us next on our journey with God until He desires to take us somewhere else.

 How do you kill a move of God? Why would you want to?

  Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

"Everybody Out of the Pool!": The Day God Panicked

 

By David Ryser

If Adam & Eve had been Cajuns, they would have eaten the snake instead of the apple and saved us all a lot of trouble. (Author Unknown)

 When I was a child, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, I loved summer. Summer meant no school, long days of play, and swimming. My mother bought summer passes at the community pool for me…and my siblings…and after lunch every day, we would walk the several blocks to the pool and enjoy many hours in the kid heaven known as the swimming pool. What fun! Yet, this reverie was not an uninterrupted one because, every hour or two, an announcement would blare out from the pool’s public address speaker: “Everybody out of the pool!” Upon hearing this announcement, we all would exit the swimming area and take our seats on the pool deck and listen to a brief presentation by the pool director concerning some aspect of water safety while pool staff would perform their tasks to ensure the water was safe for swimming.

 The announcement, “Everybody out of the pool!”, was not given to punish us. It was given to protect us.

 Our original parents, Adam and Eve, were living the high life in the Garden of Eden. For how long they were living in this paradise, and enjoying fellowship with God and one another, we do not know. But one day, the serpent beguiled Eve by calling into question the goodness of God and touting the wonderful benefits of partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Eve took some of the fruit, ate it, and gave it to Adam who also consumed it.

 And everything pretty much went down the drain after that.

 Their eyes being opened to know good and evil; Adam and Eve fled from the tree, made fig leaf aprons for themselves, and hid from God among some trees. Being particularly good at the game of hide-and-seek, God quickly located them in the trees. And He was not pleased. I don’t think He was angry, either. Hurt. Disappointed. Panicked.

 Panicked? Yes. We’ll get to that in just a bit.

 What transpired next was a very difficult conversation between God and our original parents. Difficult for Adam and Eve, certainly; but I imagine it was a difficult conversation for God as well. He had not intended for this to happen. His original intent was to enjoy uninterrupted, intimate fellowship with the man and woman…and their descendants…in a place specially created for them. In the ensuing conversation, God outlined the consequences of mankind’s disobedience. Not only would human beings begin to experience death on several levels, but even creation itself came under a curse because of sin.

 God also had a few things to say to the serpent.

 And nowhere in this conversation did the word “punishment” appear.  I remember being surprised by this when I first became aware of it.  Somehow, I had confused “consequences of” and “punishment for” sin in this story.  I don’t know if I had been taught Adam and Eve were being punished for their sin, or if I had simply assumed they were being punished; but the word “punishment” does not appear, in any form, in this story. In addition, nowhere in this conversation does God say, or even imply, He is causing the consequences of sin to come upon mankind or the creation.

 Punishment is inflicted. Consequences occur. Big difference.

 Part of my difficulty was caused by the misuse of the word “punishment” when a more accurate term might be “consequence” or “discipline” depending upon the situation. And this misuse/misunderstanding of the word “punishment” was not confined to our family. It was also misused/misunderstood in the church I attended.

 Punishment. Consequence. Discipline. Let’s sort this all out, shall we?

 Consequences are what occur naturally as the result of a chosen action. For example, if I jump out of the top of a tall tree, I will be injured. My injury is not a punishment or discipline. No one is inflicting this injury upon me because of my foolishness. I am injured because I did something that resulted in an injury.

 Discipline, on the other hand, is inflicted upon me by another person in response to my actions. My actions provide an occasion for discipline, but do not cause it. The purpose of discipline is redemptive. It is a tool to correct my behavior and teach me to behave differently. Its purpose is to train me…the word “disciple” comes from this word…and is intended to produce a positive outcome in my life. Discipline might be painful for me, but its purpose is ultimately benevolent.

 Punishment, like discipline, is inflicted upon me by another, but its purpose is not redemptive. Punishment teaches me nothing. Punishment corrects nothing in my behavior…it is nothing more than retribution. Punishment is not a means to an end; it is the end.

 We can be excused if we are confused when a parent tells us we are being punished for our bad behavior or our church teaches us we are being punished by God for our sin. In both cases, we are receiving discipline and not punishment.

 So, God’s conversation with Adam and Eve outlining the consequences of their sin was finally concluded, and then God clothed them with animal skins…replacing the works of their own hands (a good example of religion, I think)…to cover their nakedness.

 And then God panicked. God panicked? Well, sort of.

 In Genesis 3:22, God speaks these words: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” and He never finishes the sentence.  This is the only unfinished sentence God ever speaks. In fact, this is the only unfinished sentence in the entire Bible. Maybe this does not exactly express panic, but it at the very least conveys extreme urgency. The very thought that man might eat from the tree of life and live forever in a state separated from an intimate relationship with God, and outside of His presence, is unthinkable to Him. So, God throws Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. And prevents them from returning (Genesis 3:23-24). Is this action a consequence of sin? Is it disciplinary? Is it punishment?

 It is, in fact, none of these things.

 This is God’s “Everybody out of the pool!” moment. Just as when we were summoned out of the community swimming pool when we were kids…and for the same reason. God is not punishing mankind by throwing them out of the garden, He is protecting them. He is protecting them from eternal life apart from intimate fellowship with Himself until such a time as a Redeemer will come to make things right again. This is not something mankind can do for itself. And, until then, it is not safe for man to be in the “pool”.

 So, a loving God protected mankind…His crowning creation who was created in His very image…from an eternity trapped by a sinful nature and living in a cursed world. Jesus is making the “pool” safe again. And one day, when the time is right, we will hear the words…the words I heard long ago as a child:

 “Okay, everybody back in the pool!”

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

The Triune God: Holy Trinity or the Three Blind Mice?

 

By David Ryser

Three blind mice, three blind mice. See how they run, see how they run. They all ran after the farmer’s wife. She cut off their tails with a carving knife. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life as three blind mice? (Old children’s song)

 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. (Habakkuk 1:13a).

 The lady…deceased now for many years…sitting across from me on the other side of my desk was a friend of mine. She was sharing with me that she had sinned. While this was difficult for her, she was hoping to find forgiveness and comfort in her confession. What little solace she had found to this point came from an obscure scripture from the book of Habakkuk (quoted above). She said, “I know that God cannot look upon sin. So, when I was sinning, I believe He was looking away so He wouldn’t see my sin.”

 Hmmm….

 People tend to react to this little piece of a scripture verse in Habakkuk in a couple of different ways. Some fall into deep condemnation because they interpret this scripture to mean that, when they sin, God cannot bear to look at them. They are pond scum in His eyes…if He could see them…and He is thoroughly disgusted with them. Others, like this woman, believe God turns His face away from their sin so He doesn’t see it lest He think badly of them. The former view has even affected some preaching concerning Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. According to these preachers, when Jesus uttered the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” it was at this point that the sin of the world was placed on Jesus, and Jesus became sin (2Corinthians 5:21). The Father could not look at Him because of that sin and Jesus felt abandoned by the Father because, for the first and only time, fellowship between the first and second Person of the Godhead was broken. After sin was judged and the wrath of God against sin was poured out upon Jesus, the fellowship was restored and Jesus cried out “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” as He passed from this earthy life.

 I am embarrassed to admit I preached this rubbish myself many years ago.

 So, which of these two interpretations of Habakkuk 1:13a is correct?  Does God view us as lower than worms because of our sin to the point where He cannot even bear to look at us and fleeing from us to get away from us? Or does He turn His face from our sin so He can continue to deal redemptively with us without being overly disgusted by us?

 Actually…neither.

 A reading of Habakkuk 1:13a, in context, reveals the author of the book has neither of these thoughts in mind when he wrote it; in fact, quite the opposite is true as Habakkuk goes on to say that God watches the actions of wicked people who oppress the godly and the prophet is offended because God seemingly does nothing to correct this injustice.

 Have you ever felt like this? I have.

 So God does, in fact, see our sin and yet always acts redemptively in our lives to restore the temporary break in fellowship…not relationship…with Him. Need proof? Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden.

 In the 3^rd chapter of the book of Genesis, the Bible records how Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their eyes were opened to know good and evil. They realized they were naked and felt shame. To cover their shame, they made aprons of fig leaves to cover their physical nakedness and hid among some trees in fear when they heard God walking in the garden during the cool of the day. And then God called out to Adam.

 “Where are you?”

 This question was not asked for God’s benefit. God knew where Adam was, and He knew about the ridiculous choice of evening wear Adam and Eve were sporting. The question was asked for Adam’s benefit. He wanted both Adam and Eve to know that He was looking for them.

 If Adam had believed God could not look upon him after he had sinned, then why did Adam hide? Why didn’t God hide?

 You see, if God cannot bear to look upon sin…and if Adam has sinned…this story is backwards. God should be hiding from Adam, and Adam should be looking for God. But that’s not what happened. Instead of hiding Himself from Adam and Eve, God is actively seeking for them.  He wants to be with them and to have a conversation with them.  This will be a difficult conversation to be sure, as their sin has dire consequences for themselves and all of creation, but God is not abandoning them. On the contrary, God is already setting in place a plan of redemption that will ultimately restore all of humanity and all of creation to its original state.

 God sees our sin. He’s not pleased by it, but He sees it. And God is bigger than our sin. He is not disgusted by us to the point of being unable to look upon us. He is not frightened by our sin. He does not flee in terror and hide quivering from us and our sin; but rather, He seeks us out and offers forgiveness freely if we simply acknowledge our sin, confess it, and receive His mercy and cleansing (1John 1:9).

 So, what would we be well-advised to do the next time we sin? And make no mistake about it, there will be a next time. I can only speak for myself when I say that I have determined not to do what Adam did when I have sinned and God is desiring to have a conversation with me about it. Instead of running away from God and trying to hide my sin from Him…and hide myself from Him…I plan to run toward Him. As fast as possible. Even though it’s hard. Even though my shame concerning my behavior makes everything within me want to run as far as I can and hide as well as I can to avoid the pain of dealing with my sin. Even though I would like to avoid the upcoming conversation about my sin.

 Because God sees me. Yes, He sees my sin; but, more importantly, He sees me. In all my failures and shortcomings, He sees me. And He’s seeking me out because He wants nothing more in that moment than to work redemptively in my life so our fellowship can be restored, and I will be free once again to enjoy a sense of His love and presence untainted by a sense of guilt and shame. I have lived for an extended period…even as a Christian…without a sense of God’s love and presence, and I never want to live like that again.

 God sees me. The triune God is a Holy Trinity, not the three blind mice. And I’m grateful.

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Shame on You!: Why are You Hiding?

 

By David Ryser

Wonderful, wonderful Jesus is to me. Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God is He. Saving me, keeping me from all sin and shame. Wonderful is my redeemer, praise His Name. (Old time Pentecostal worship chorus)

 “You’re a very hidden person. You must be carrying a lot of shame.” These words were spoken to me by a Christian counselor acquaintance of mine many years ago. I was unable, or unwilling, to accept the truth of these words at the time due in part to the use of the word “shame”. This word had become a buzzword in counseling circles, both Christian and secular; and because of this, it had no assignable meaning to me in this context. So, I passed over it and failed to deal with it…though I never quite forgot those words…because it sounded like so much psycho-babble to me.

 And then, years later, I got a brain worm.

 I’m told a brain worm is when a song gets stuck in one’s head and they are unable to get rid of it. Instead, the song plays over, and over, and over again. Maybe for several minutes…or days…or weeks…or…. The song was the old time Pentecostal worship chorus quoted above. It’s a catchy little number, I’ll say that for it. As this song played repeatedly in my head, I began to consider the words of the chorus.  I was particularly drawn to the last word of the third line.

 Shame.

 Why did the composer of this chorus choose the word “shame” at the end of this line? It didn’t make any sense to me. We all know that Jesus saves and keeps us from sin. This is drilled into us from the moment we come to faith in Jesus. But shame?  Did the composer use the word “shame” because they needed a word to rhyme with “name” at the end of the fourth line? Or were they onto something? Something important.

 Seeking the answer to this question led me back to the Garden of Eden.

 Immediately after Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to know good and evil. They became aware of their own nakedness, sewed some aprons of fig leaves to cover themselves, and hid among some trees when they heard God taking His daily evening walk in the garden

 They were hiding…a classic symptom of shame.

 God called to Adam, and Adam answered that he was hiding because he knew he was naked. I am told the Hebrew word translated “naked” in Genesis 3:10 conveys the thought of being exposed.  We use the word this way even today when we do, or say, something stupid in public that gets noticed and describe our subsequent feelings later by saying, “I felt naked in front of everyone.”  As a result of feeling exposed, Adam was afraid.

 Fear of discovery/disapproval/punishment…another classic symptom of shame.

 God confronted Adam with his sin.  Attempting to explain his actions, Adam threw both Eve and God under the bus by blaming “the woman you gave me” for his sin (Gen 3:12). He blamed Eve for giving him the forbidden fruit to eat and blamed God for giving her to him in the first place. Two birds. One stone.

 Blame-shifting…another classic symptom of shame.

 And shame has plagued mankind ever since.  We see it in politics/government, in the corporate world, in our personal lives, and even in our churches.

 Need some examples?

 At the time of this article’s writing, the United States is in an election season. Candidates are running for offices ranging anywhere from the country’s president all the way down to city council. The lack of transparency, the lies to cover up personal and professional flaws while accusing the opposition of the very same flaws, and the refusal to accept personal responsibility by blaming others for their failures…or, worse yet, pointing to the bad behavior of others to justify their own bad behavior…runs rampant in the campaigning.

 To see supposedly grown adults behave in this manner is embarrassing…and they want to be our leaders.

 The corporate world is no better.  Some time ago, I was visiting with a person who had been in a position of authority within a corporation who recounted an incident wherein the administration of this company had made a serious mistake in judgment to the detriment of the organization.  The board of directors was meeting shortly thereafter, and the members of the administrative team were deliberating how to address this situation with the board. This person advised total transparency accompanied by an apology and a plan to remediate the mistake.

 His suggestion was rejected. The board was lied to, and the mistake was covered up. This sort of dishonesty is, unfortunately, rather common in the corporate world…at all levels.

 Our personal lives are a rich breeding ground for shame to thrive.  Our relationships too many times are a fraud because we hide our true self from others out of fear of ridicule/disapproval/rejection, and they hide themselves from us for the same reasons. This is nowhere more apparent than in romantic relationships. It’s one thing to put forth our best self when trying to woo another, but we go one step further by presenting ourselves as someone the other would be interested in…even if it’s not our genuine self.  This kind of deceit is poison to an intimate relationship.  Each of us has a need to be known and accepted/loved. When we hide who we are…and present a self that doesn’t exist…even if we receive love as a result, it rings hollow to us because we believe that if the other person knew our real self, we would be unloved and rejected.

 And both parties in the relationship are spinning the same sort of deceit with the result that they both fall in love with someone who doesn’t exist. And it doesn’t end well. Too often the result is experiencing the very rejection both feared. While courting my wife, I made a promise to her that I would always be honest with her about who I am so she would know who it was she would be choosing to love or reject.

 When it comes to personal relationships, I would rather be known and rejected than unknown and accepted.

 And what about churches? Places of worship where the people of God come together to love Him and one another. Where transparency and unconditional love are celebrated and demonstrated. Where someone is loved and accepted by the others because s/he is loved and accepted by God…no second validation is required. Surely shame has no place in such a setting.

 Yeah, right.

 I know of a church on the brink of collapse because church leadership has chosen to cover up allegations of misbehavior involving some of the children in the church. Instead of investigating these allegations and being honest with the findings and taking actions to make things right as best they can, leadership have chosen to take the shame route: deny, cover up, and blame-shift. They’ve even gone so far as to take legal action against some of those they perceive to be their accusers. This sham is about to be exposed despite all efforts to cover it up.

 I wish this sort of thing was uncommon in churches. It’s not.

 And these shame-driven actions will end in disaster for the church. Just like it does for anyone else. Shame does not produce anything good in our lives or bring us closer to God any more than it did for Adam.

 But, like the song says, Jesus has saved us from shame.  The apostle Paul assured the believers in Rome…and the rest of us wherever we are…that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). Because of Jesus, we can stand before God and man without any sense of condemnation, inferiority, or shame. We are free to be authentic before God and others. While we use wisdom when sharing ourselves with others, the parts of us we do choose to reveal can be our genuine selves.

 Saving me, keeping me, from all sin and shame. It’s a great little song, don’t you think?

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Which Tree are We Eating From?: Is It a Good Tree?

 

By David Ryser

Man is driven to do good.  He also has an overwhelming sense that he ought not to do evil.  Both, however, come from the same tree.  (Gene Edwards)

 Doing good and not doing good is the very essence of religion and has nothing to do with life. (Gene Edwards)

 I’ve recently been attending a weekly men’s fellowship group at a local church near my home. I’m enjoying getting to know the guys, and our group has grown closer over the weeks we’ve been together. I do not attend this church. I do not subscribe to many of its foundational doctrines. But I’m having a great time studying the scriptures and fellowshipping with my precious brothers in Christ.

 Our latest study has been in the first two chapters of Genesis. Of course, it wasn’t long before one in the group asked the question about whether the biblical account of the creation story and the events in the Garden of Eden should be interpreted literally or figuratively. I was sorry to see the discussion take this turn because it always ends the same way…no matter the conclusions drawn from the discussion.

 Allow me to give an example.

 A number of years ago, I was visiting with a friend of mine. We were reminiscing about some of the religious adventures…and misadventures…we had experienced along the path of our faith journey. He related a story about attending a Bible college and how, in one of the classes, the discussion turned to what fruit was borne by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As they considered this topic, the class decided the fruit was not likely an apple; rather, it was more likely a pomegranate. He laughed looking back at how he and his classmates, upon exiting the classroom, felt so spiritual and biblically illuminated due to this newfound knowledge.

 And none of them was brought any closer to Jesus by this “knowledge”.

 You see, both groups suffered from the same problem. So many times, we Christians get lost in the weeds by asking…and answering…questions about biblical interpretation that do not matter while completely missing the lessons God is trying to teach us.

 Was the fruit a pomegranate? Who cares?  Is the Genesis account of creation and the events in the Garden of Eden literal or figurative? Would it change the lessons taught in these opening chapters of Genesis if we knew the answers to these questions?

 So as our weekly men’s group continued to consider the opening chapters of Genesis, my mind wandered to my friend’s pomegranate tree story. I began to ponder about the lesson we would be well-advised to learn from the account of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 And there’s a lot to be learned.

 In Genesis 2:8, 9, the Bible records that God planted a garden in Eden in which He placed the man He had created along with trees suitable for the man’s food. The tree of life was placed in the midst of the garden along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Concerning the trees in the Garden of Eden, God commanded that the man could eat of any of them (including the tree of life…another story for another time) except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If the man ate from the fruit of this latter tree, he would surely die (Gen 2:16, 17).

 Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

 Well, we know what happened. The man and his wife ate from the fruit of the forbidden tree, and their eyes were opened (Gen 3:7a).

 Opened to what?

 At this point, religion ignores this obvious question…and its biblical answer…and instead dwells on the sin and its consequences, focusing on the evil side of the knowledge gained by consuming the fruit of the forbidden tree. But that’s only half of the story.

 What about the other half? The “good” side.

 Yes, the knowledge of evil came into the world when mankind partook of the forbidden fruit, but so did the knowledge of good. And the knowledge of good may have done as much damage, if not more so, as the knowledge of evil throughout history.

 Want some examples?

 How about all the murder and mayhem caused by two groups contending for “good” in religious and other wars? What about the hatred and contention surrounding the fight for “justice” in whatever form? People on both sides of an issue claim to be contending for what is good/right/humane/compassionate/loving. We can’t even agree on what “good” is. My concept of “good” usually is anything that is pleasant, convenient, and beneficial for me. What if my “good” conflicts with your “good”?

 And it can get ugly.

 Hatred doesn’t look good on anyone, and Christians are right in the middle of it. It’s my experience that Christians who hate look pretty much like anyone else who hates. And this hatred brings no one closer to Jesus or advances the Kingdom of God in any way.

 And it does not matter that we are hating for a “good” cause.

 In the Garden of Eden, the man and his wife knew neither good nor evil. They knew only God, one another, and their environment. And it appears that this state of affairs was exactly as God intended it. Adam and Eve were none the better off by having their eyes opened to the knowledge of good, and neither are we.

 Our concepts of good and evil both come from the same tree.

 Does this mean that there is nothing truly good? Certainly, and thankfully, not. Jesus answered this question for us during His earthly ministry. He was traveling along one day when a young man met Him, desiring to ask a question.  The man prefaced his question by referring to Jesus as “Good Teacher” (Mark 10:17). Jesus prefaced His response to the question by asking why the young man had referred to Him as good and then stated, “Nothing is good except God” (Mark 10:18, literal translation).

 Only God is truly good.  Everything else pertaining to what is known about good or evil proceeds from the root and the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So, it would behoove the seeker after what is good to pursue God and to know Him alone as the source and substance of what is good.

 Just as in the Garden of Eden.

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com