A PERFECT Walking Day -
Purity 831
Purity 831 09/08/2022
Good morning,
Today’s photo a wooden pathway into the forest of
the Malta Ecological Park comes to us from a friend who shared this scene on
social media back on August 25th declaring that it was a “PERFECT
walking day.” , with perfect in all caps.
Well it’s Thursday again and as is my habit I am
sharing another photo of a pathway because traditionally Thursdays are the days
I have done recovery or discipleship ministry and I like to encourage others to
get on the path towards a closer relationship with God but in all honesty any
day that we choose to follow the Lord is a “PERFECT walking day” as in walking
in the Spirit.
Tonight, I step on a new path as I will be meeting
with some of the graduates of the Freedom in Christ course for an informal
study or walk through of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship and
even though I will be traversing over some new ground I have decided to be “bold
and courageous” and share the sessions on the mt4christ247 podcast and the
MT4Christ247 YouTube channel. I’m officially
calling it an “informal study” right now so no one will expect a professionally
produced program, lol.
So tune in tonight or tomorrow to see just how many
bloopers happen!
And so let’s talk about being “PERFECT” and how the
idea that we MUST BE PERFECT can be a real stumbling block to our Christian
walk and our relationship with God.
Christ told us to be perfect in His Sermon on the
Mount. So you better be PERFECT.
Well to give this some context I want to share just
a small section of scripture that leads up to that famous verse, and I’m not
sure if it will encourage or discourage you but stay with me because we will
try to give you some balance so you can accept Christ’s words and not condemn
yourselves. In
Matthew 5:43-48 (NKJV) , Jesus says
43 "You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.'
44 But
I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those
who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil
and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For
if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax
collectors do the same?
47 And
if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not
even the tax collectors do so?
48 Therefore
you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
If we even
just look at the immediate context of the preceding verses of that “perfect
verse”, we can see that Jesus isn’t delivering a message on fulfilling the law
or “doing everything right”. Jesus is talking about love! Jesus is calling for a change of heart that
would cause us to consider loving our enemies!
What is He
crazy. No Jesus wasn’t crazy but the
love of God is “crazy love” as in extreme.
John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us about God’s
love:
16 For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
We were enemies
to God, separated from Him by our rebellious sins. But God loved his enemies
enough to send Christ to die for us. So if we are to follow Christ, Jesus is encouraging
us to show the same type of “PERFECT” love to others.
I am not a Greek Scholar and I am not exactly the “word
study” guy but I decided to look at that “perfect” word in this verse and this
is what I found:
Strong’s Definitions Legend tells us that this
perfect word is:
τέλειος téleios, tel'-i-os; from G5056; complete (in various applications of labor,
growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with G3588) completeness:—of full age, man, perfect.
The Common English Bible uses this “complete” use of teleios
in it’s translation and with it
Matthew
5:48 (CEB) says
48 Therefore, just as your
heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete.
WOW, talk about a change from thinking
that we have to do everything perfectly, as in “doing everything right” or
being without sin. Here are a couple of
scriptures that should further temper those who would tell us to “BE PERFECT”.
I almost hesitate to share this one
but here we go:
1 John 1:8-10 (NKJV)
8 If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not
sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Okay, there it is – this is a letter
from John to the church and in it it makes it clear that we will never “BE
PERFECT” as in being sinless.
HOWEVER, I would point to the fact
that we are not to remain complacent in our blatant sins because these verses
say that we will sin. I included verse 9
because it tells us that if we confess our sins we will be cleansed and I believe
that the rest of John’s letter would indicate that we are not powerless with
our besetting sins because the remaining four chapters of this epistle
encourages Christians to turn from their sin. That means we can have
victory.
But wait, if we can have victory, why
does John say we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves?
I think
James 4:17 (NKJV) helps us with that
17 Therefore, to him who
knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Here we go, I pretty sure all of us
can admit to not always doing the “good” we know to do. Even when we can have victory over overt
sins, we will never be sinless because there will undoubtedly be some “good” we
have left undone.
Paul’s “discipleship instructions” to
the church show us to abstain from evil and to do what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:15-22 (NKJV)
15 See that no one renders
evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and
for all.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not despise prophecies.
21 Test all things; hold fast
what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of
evil.
So instead of feeling powerless to
those besetting sins, fight them. You won’t BE PERFECT but you can make
progress. You won’t be sinless. But you can sin less.
But back to being “PERFECT” - Paul’s and John’s verse and all the New Testament
teach us how to walk with Christ. And as
a reminder, that “perfect” word could be read as complete and the context of the
passage it is used in tells us to be “complete” in our love towards others.
So keep walking and talking with God,
it just happens to be a PERFECT walking day and God will always be with you
regardless of the place, time, or weather to walk with you on the path of “completeness”.
And one last verse:
Colossians 2:10 (NKJV) tells us that
10 and you are complete in
Him…
As in Jesus Christ. So guess what, when you
put your faith in Him you are already complete! You might make some mistakes or not do the
good you know to do, so you will sin, but in Christ you are complete. In Him,
you are perfect!
Running short on time so with all that scripture we are going to skip the verse of the day today. But we will be back with another verse of the day from the “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men” tomorrow.
______________________________________________________________________
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from Clinton E. Arnold’s
“Powers of Darkness”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Clinton Arnold’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
Resist the Evil One
Paul
showed incredible concern for the cultivation of Christian virtue into the
lives of the people to whom he ministered. Christian virtue, or “the fruit of
the Spirit,” stands quite apart from worldly vice, or “the deeds of the flesh.”
The powers of darkness are utterly opposed to the development of Christian
virtue. These demonic powers represent everything that is evil, fleshly and
worldly.
For Paul resisting
the evil one is closely related to putting to death the deeds of the flesh or
stripping off the old nature. These are similar activities viewed from
different angles. The goal is to recognize when you face temptation—whether the
source of the temptation is viewed as coming from the flesh, the old nature or
Satan’s enticement—and to resist it by the power of God. According to Paul,
spiritual warfare is primarily resistance. It involves taking a closer look at
the supernatural nature of temptation and preparing yourself to face the
spiritual onslaught in a spiritual manner.
One cannot “simply”
resist the evil one. It is not as easy as just saying no. Satan and his forces
are supernaturally powerful foes. One must be a Christian and appropriate the
resources that are his or hers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Following Jesus,
knowledge of the truth, faith and prayer are all prerequisites to resisting the
devil and making progress in the Christian life.
Join God’s People
in the Redemptive Mission
The
Christian life is not a “holding pattern” until the day of our death. Nor is it
something designed by God merely to freshen our lives until we are joined with
him in heaven. The church is called to a task, to reach out into the unredeemed
world with the good news of the gospel. Christ has given the church the task of
“proclaiming release to the captives” of Satan’s kingdom. In the context of
Paul’s teaching on spiritual warfare, this represents the offensive part of
that warfare.
The Father suspends
the Second Coming of Christ to provide time for the church to engage in this
mission. Paul urged his readers to “redeem the time” which God gives for this
task. It is furthermore the task of the entire church, each individual member,
not just those perceived to be uniquely gifted to carry it out.
Expressed in these
terms, the threat of evangelism to Satan and his kingdom is clear. It is little
wonder that he opposes this activity with all his might.
Let us engage in a
moment of speculation about Satan’s “game plan” for the West. How might he best
work to blunt the zeal for the mission of the church? If he were to oppose it in
a direct way where people could clearly perceive his hostile intention, it
might prove counterproductive. People would rally to the occasion.
If he were to use
subtle measures, perhaps his strategy would prove more effective.
What if he were to …
□ make Christians think that everyone
has already heard the gospel?
□ promote so many problems in the
church that the resolution of conflict would sap all their energy and
attention?
□ cause Christians to believe only
missionaries and evangelists should be concerned with outreach?
□ make Christians think how extremist
they might appear to their friends by “forcing their faith” on other folks?
□ point out everything repulsive about
the non-Christians whom they know and with whom they might be willing to share
the gospel?
□ convince Christians that there is a
fair chance that everyone will be saved ultimately anyway, given such a loving
God?
□ cause enough “visible” Christians to
fall on such a regular basis that Christians appear no different from any other
people?
In the West at least,
I am convinced Satan has used such devices (and many more) to hinder the
redemptive mission of the church. As part of our resistance strategy to Satan
and to fulfill our redemptive task, we need to unmask these false pretensions
and redirect our energy toward outreach. This call is at the heart of what it
means to be evangelical.
The obligation of
Christians to the world does not end with the proclamation of the gospel. We
are called to be “salt and light” and to demonstrate love to the world. While
Paul did not give us an agenda or an example for social activism, his ethics
(influenced by Jesus) provide us with a foundation for developing Christian
social ethics. Because the powers, through people, work to influence the
structures of our existence, we do have a responsibility to countermand as much
as possible their polluting sway. The lesson to be learned from Paul, however,
is that Christians should place the primary focus of their energy on changing
people. Society can change only to the extent that the hearts of the people are
changed.[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1]
Clinton E. Arnold, Powers of Darkness:
Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters (Downers Grove,
IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 1992), 215–217.
