An Intimate Evening with Terry Scott Taylor

Terry Scott Taylor is a man who wears many hats. Singer. Cowboy hat. Songwriter. Baseball cap. Father. Fedora. Producer. Prophet. Prankster. Pioneer. As the founder of legendary CCM band Daniel Amos he helped pioneer a new artistically-minded aesthetic in a musically stunted genre. As the merry prankster behind the Swirling Eddies he became a supreme satirist while continuously shedding musical skins. As chief songwriter for the Lost Dogs he brought modern maturity to the old forms and helped make them relevant to new generations. As a composer for video games and cartoons he brought his quirky genius to bear in a field that had been rendered dull and void by electronic keyboards. As a solo artist he laid bare his personal life—its triumphs and tragedies—and made his story our story as well. Some of his songs are limericks. Some are literature. He’s flown under most of the radar for more than 30 years but those in the know rank him among our greatest living treasures.

Out of a deep humility he usually works within the context of a band of musicians in order to take a little of the heat off himself. Not this night. This night, joined occasionally on stage by special guest Steve Hindalong and Terry’s son Andrew, and armed only with a guitar and his incredible collection of hats, audiences will discover the real Terry Taylor. Intimacy is the name of the game and everyone is invited to play along. Songs. Stories. Answers. You’ll hear them all like never before. Come witness the mind of a visionary, the heart of an artist and the soul of a fellow pilgrim.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Joining Terry on stage for a select number of songs chosen from his extensive repertoire of Daniel Amos, Swirling Eddies, Lost Dogs, and solo recordings, will be special guest Steve Hindalong ( Lost Dogs’ member, founding member of The Choir, creator and producer of the ‘City on a Hill’ series, and co-writer of ‘God of Wonders’). The ever illusive Camarillo Eddy, founder of ‘The Swirling Eddies, is rumored to appear as well. We are also thrilled to announce that for the very first time ever, Terry’s son Andrew will also join his father on stage.

Terry will not only entertain you with humorous and moving anecdotes and songs, he will offer readings from his forthcoming book of collected non-fiction, lyric recitations and commentary, and perform a variety of familiar songs as well as those rarely, if ever, performed in a live setting. At selected venues the evening will be capped off with an audience participation Q&A.

An Intimate evening with Terry Scott Taylor promises to be a surprising, ‘don’t miss’ one-of-a-kind event.

A note from Terry: “As far as live performances go, I don’t believe I’ve done anything quite like this before. I think the audience, which is really more a gathering of close friends and family, is in for some real surprises including a few firsts. Now, the mysterious Camarillo Eddy says he’ll show up, but you never know about that guy. On the other hand, I know the great Steve Hindalong will be there to join me on a number of tunes. I’ve got to say however that my greatest thrill concerning this tour is that my son Andrew will, for the very first time in my 30 plus years of performing, be joining me on stage. I’m extremely proud of him and can’t wait for folks to meet him. The song selection should be surprising as well. It’s eclectic, unpredictable and culled from every musical entity I’ve ever been involved with down through the years. At many of the shows I’m planning to field questions from the audience and, if I know my crowd at all, this should prove quite interesting. I may even get Steve to do his leprechaun dance and also that thing where he flips a coin into the air and catches it behind his back. Now that’s a show!

“We all essentially agree that we’re living in fairly dark and unpredictable times. I’m prayerfully determined to lighten the audience’s load a bit and do so through laughter, some challenges, and more importantly some heart-felt inspiration. (Oh, by the way, I’ve got some road stories to tell which, in some instances, are truly weird and astounding.)

“Anyway, in the words of Sam the Sham ‘Let’s not be L7!’ Come on out to the show and let’s all have a wonderful time together.” – Terry Taylor

The opening act will be Teel Montague Cook.

If you are interested in being a part of the TST Street Team, leave me a comment below!

Click here for a map to this event at New River Community Church!

Romans 7- part two: The Law is Good

This is the second  part of our study in Romans 7.

The first part of the Romans 7 study can be found here.

If you haven’t read the post on Romans 6, please feel free to do so here. 

Let’s move on, shall we?

While these next few passages of scripture speak very plain and simple truths, they are also very rich and dense in substance and go against the grain of the fleshly mind. Since this is the case, we are going to take them in small ‘bites’ so to speak , so as not to eat too much in one sitting.

In other words, I believe that it is going to take a couple of separate posts to digest and assimilate what the Holy Spirit is saying through Paul in these next few verses (Romans 7:7-16).

 

* * * * * * *

 

 

Paul has already established that, by the death of Christ and our immersion into that death, believers have been released from both the union with sin as well as the dictates of law. At this point, he seeks to clear up any confusion there may be surrounding our attitudes in regards to these two different and yet related subjects.

 

Sin and Law

 

What shall we say then? Is the law sin?

 

Interestingly enough, many of us have learned to treat these two separate categories, sin and law, as one and the same thing.

 

In overreaction against legalism, many of us have adopted an unhealthy perception and understanding of Gods law.

 

Is it bad for God to say to us, “You shall not murder” ?

 

How about, “You shall not commit adultery”?

 

Do we suppose that we should be free to kill or cheat if we so choose, or to act as if God would lead us into such behavior?

Do we suppose that the judgments of our own hearts are more wise than those of the Most High God?

Not I, friends. I agree with the law of God in my inner man. It is good.

Now I am not saying that there is no correlation between law and sin. There most certainly is a definite relationship between the two, but are they the same thing?

Is or was the law ever a mistake of some sort?

In Paul’s words:

 

By no means!

 

 The law and sin are in no way the same thing.

 

NOTE TO LEGALISTS:

Don’t get too excited. 

 

 

*****

 

 

NOTE TO ANTINOMIANS:

Relax. It’s going to be fine. 

 

 

Now let’s begin to look at how sin and law are related: 

Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known the sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But the sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all manner of concupiscence.

 

I can remember a time in my own life, years ago, when I did not know much of the scripture at all. The Lord had been wooing me for some time, but I had not yet began to peer into the annals of God’s interaction with man.

Before this time, I was alive. I had a certain kind of vibrancy, a certain vitality. Oh sure, I was self deceived but I had not yet realized it.

 I was happy-go-lucky, going about my own merry way, doing my own thing….and  carelessly leaving a trail of chaos behind me.

As far as I knew, me and whatever ‘God’ was were okay.

But I became hungry inside, and very curious. I already had a clue that the God revealed in the Judea-Christian scriptures was The One, and so I began to peer into them a bit to see what He had to say about what it means and what it takes to be a righteous and just person.

 

The more I read, the more my gut wrenched. The more I understood, the more my throat constricted. How could I possibly attain to this level of righteousness, this level of goodness which I found laid out in the Judea Christian scriptures? At this point, I knew myself, and I knew that I was dead meat.

 

The more I became aware of the high and holy standards of God as revealed in His law, the more I became aware of just how short of that standard I came. I began to realize that I desired the very things that God forbade, and at the same time believed that I could rise above my own lusts.

 

Over time I began to realize something else;  I had grown very angry at God over all of this.  My experience became increasingly frustrating.

After all, how could the one true God be so ridiculous in His requirements of man? Even still, I was determined to  somehow become a righteous man.

While many religious texts offer promises of enlightenment, I had discovered that God’s text, His law, that is, offered no such thing to me.

Oh sure.

It was ordained unto life, but it serves an entirely different purpose to the fallen human being.

 

The law is not sin.

Instead, the law reveals the sin which is already in us.

 

The law is not a bad thing…. but we’ll get back to this point later in the study. For now, I want to take a moment to zero in on something that the Lord has revealed to me recently.

 

Look at how Paul expresses his experience with the sin:

 

” …the sin..   siezed   an opportunity through the commandment….”.

 

‘The sin’ has an intention. It’s the intention of expressing it’s father, the serpent, and it does so by taking a certain kind of action;

It seizes opportunity.

You see, ‘the sin’ is an opportunist, and he will creep his way into any scenario, including good and holy scenario’s, in order to get his way.

 

This thing, the sin, really seems to work that way. Although it was passed down to us all from mankinds original earthly father, it exists, often unrealized, within our very own flesh and when we are presented with God’s  law, we suddenly become aware of it’s presence and power.

When the unadulterated light of YHWH’s law shines upon us, the sin just creeps right up in us and begins to constrict. As it constricts, it also infects us with all kinds of unholy and unhealthy desires.

It’s as if our flesh totally freaks out when presented with God’s standard and begins to scream out for attention, acceptance, comfort, security, validation and a myriad of other cries for, well… Love.

These cries become manifest in the form of sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,  drunkenness….etc…

Sometimes these manifestations look very ‘heathen’ but other times can also look  very ‘religious’.

 

Truth is, they are all the same.

 

The sin assures us that somehow, just somehow, we can pull it off, we can measure up….and when we find out that we can’t, it convinces us that we can just go on about our own business as if nothing ever happened.

Ultimately we discover that we, in and of ourselves, lack the kind of Life which is pleasing to God.

 

And so what do we do?

 

Until we experience what it means to live by the Life that Jesus offers to us, we live by the dictates of the sin which resides in our flesh.

 

And Paul has a word for what this kind of slavery to the sin is like, what it ‘looks’ like:

 

“All manner of …. concupiscence“.

 

What?!

Concupiscence means; desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust, etc.

Concupiscence is a frame of mind, a way of thinking. I will even go so far as to say that it is a way of living which has it’s origin in a certain kind of life.

The sin is like the serpent. It has a life and intention all of it’s own. When it get’s hold of you, and seduces you, it causes you to think and behave like it. 

 

Apart from the law, the sin lies dead.

 

This statement alone proves that the sin is a life form, one which can die.

 

I was once alive apart from the law,…

 

And we see that ‘ I ‘ am also a life form which once lived when I was apart from the law.

 

…but when the commandment came, the sin came alive…

 

Notice again that Paul is stating clearly that the sin is a living organism.

 

…and I died.

 

From these two statements we may confidently say that…

When the law is presented to us as a standard to live by, the sin comes to life…

and we die.

Paul explains it like this:

 

And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.  For the sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 

 

This reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

Remember, God gave a certain commandment to this man and woman, a command which was meant to preserve their lives before Him:

 

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

From very early on God spoke His Word to mankind. It was His intention that they  listen to, and obey His Word.

‘The sin’, then, is manifest as disobedience to the Living God through obedience to the seduction of the serpent.

There was nothing wrong with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What was wrong was that Adam and Eve partook of it when God told them not to.

 

“Do not desire to know what is good and what is evil.”

Why not?

“Because if you do, you will certainly die”.

 

His commandment.

His law.

If only they would have been obedient to what the Lord YHWH said to them (actually, the commandment was given to Adam) then surely they would not have died.

The fruits of their transgression have since been passed down to every man and woman that has ever lived.

Concerning the law and the commandment, Paul comes to a conclusion:

 

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

 

There is nothing wrong with Gods law. In fact, it is holy as is His commandment, which is also just and good.

…and Paul continues:

 

Has then what is good become death to  me? Certainly not!

 

There is no blame in God, nor in His law.

 

But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.

 

God’s law serves a wonderful purpose to mankind.

It points out our weakness and failure….

It points out our need for a Savior.

 

(To be continued…)

The Love of God

Greetings!

I’m in the process of finishing up the next installment of our Romans 7 study.

Soon afterwards we’ll be going into chapter 8 followed by at least part of chapter 9.

I am truly looking forward to what the Lord might have to say to us through it all.

In the meantime I thought that I would post a link to my very first (and only) spoken message that I have ever shared with a group of believers.

It’s a message which was inspired by our time together in the Gospel of John, and was shared during the Lords supper.

I humbly submit to you The Love of God. 

Grace to you all.

Lithia Springs Community Kids Camp 2008

Death and Remarriage

Recently, I posted a message using the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome .  If you have never read that portion of scripture, do yourself a favor and read it.  It contains some rather life changing insights.

By the way, if you haven’t read the post that I’m referring to please check it out  (if you feel so led, of course). You just might come away blessed.

Either way, here is a brief recap of the message:

In Romans 6, Paul was explaining how a person is always either under the influence and authority of the sin (as translated in the Young’s Literal Translation of the bible)–

 which is simply the exchange of the reign of God in the heart for self-reign, as proposed by the serpent….,which ultimately leads to the death…(If you want to know more about this ‘original sin’ and it’s consequences, read Genesis 3.)

or…

…they are under the influence and authority of God which ultimately leads to eternal life (aka The Kingdom of God).

Anyway, in Romans 6, Paul goes on to explain how those who have been baptized into Christ should know that they have been baptized into His death–that they, themselves, were included with Christ in His death– and that they should therefore consider themselves to be dead to the sin. They are in a position of freedom based on Christ’s death, a position which they should have understood at baptism.

Main point?

By the death of Jesus we have been delivered from the kingdom of the sin!

SET FREE.

However Paul doesn’t stop there. Instead he wants the believer to see that not only are they free from the authority of the sin by the death of Christ, but that just as Jesus Christ rose from the dead and now lives unto God Himself, we should also consider ourselves to be ‘alive unto God’ and available for His service.

Second main point?

By the resurrection of Christ, we have been transferred into His Kingdom!

IN HIS KINGDOM.

At this point I would like to keep tracking with Paul so as to see how the Holy Spirit led him to further develop his thoughts on the new relationship in Christ. This study will not be as “interactive” as the last one. Instead I will be using cross references from other area of scripture to help broaden our understanding of what he is saying here.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Moving along to the next chapter, Paul is taking a different angle. He is shifting his focus away from the sin/God dichotomy and opening it up to the law/Christ dichotomy.

In this instance, Paul is going to show us why the believer can live according to and in union with Christ rather than living according to and in union with the law.

On to Romans chapter 7…..

Or do you not know, brothers  —for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?

 In this very first verse, Paul is stating that a person is bound to the Law so long as they live. In this passage, he is simply echoing the word of His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Read them as recorded in Mathews Gospel account (5:17-20):

`Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets — I did not come to throw down, but to fulfill;

 for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass.

 `Whoever therefore may loose one of these commands — the least — and may teach men so, least he shall be called in the reign of the heavens, but whoever may do and may teach [them], he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.

 `For I say to you, that if your righteousness may not abound above that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye may not enter to the reign of the heavens.

Now those were Jesus’ own words as spoken to his disciples. In light of them, let’s keep tracking with Paul: 

Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.

Now we have the specific example that Paul was led to use;

The Law of Marriage. 

Once again, Paul is not coming up with any new doctrine concerning the law nor the law of marriage. Instead, Paul’s thought is in total harmony with what Jesus  has already shared with His disciples  (as in Matthew 5:31-32): 

 `And it was said, That whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing of divorce;

 but I — I say to you, that whoever may put away his wife, save for the matter of whoredom, doth make her to commit adultery; and whoever may marry her who hath been put away doth commit adultery.

Now don’t let the “whoredom clause” throw you off. Jesus said that it was a legitimate reason to put away ones wife.

In that instance, she doesn’t need her husbands help to make her an adulteress– she has done a fine job of it herself already!

Paul, once again, is in harmony with Jesus on the matter:

Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 

 

 The only difference between what Jesus shared and what Paul shared is that  while Jesus makes it clear that the remains intact ‘…till that the heaven and earth may pass away’ , Paul informs us that there is one way and only one way to be free from the law:

 DEATH.

 

Likewise, my brothers,

 you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

 

Can I get an amen!?

Once again, Paul is referencing the union that we share in and with Christ Jesus.

In Romans 6, we discovered that by the death of Christ, we died to sin. This death to sin allows us  freedom from it’s rule over our lives, and the resurrection of Christ affords us a new life which we may now live unto God.

And for what purpose?

“… the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life”. 

And now in this first section of Romans 7, we see how that, through the body of the crucified Christ, we have died to the law–not simply to be free and single to wander aimlessly–but so that we might be joined to Another, that is the Risen Christ!!

And for what purpose?

“…that we may bear fruit for God”.

Now to let Paul finish out his thought:

For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

Here, Paul is describing what life experience is like when we are…

a) ”in our flesh”

b) with our “sinful passions” which are…

c) “aroused by the law”.

resulting in…

d) they  worked “in our members” to produce “death”.

There is always some kind of fruit.

 I love it that Paul has no reservations about stating the fact that the sinful passions of the flesh are aroused by God’s law!!

…and it’s not that the law is a bad thing, it’s that there is something ‘bad’ in our mortal bodies, something which we inherited from Adam….(but we’ll get to that later).

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.

Alas, Paul’s thought comes to a beautiful climax where we discover that since we died with Christ in baptism, and have been set free from law (which is the strength of sin), we may now serve…

 IN THE NEW LIFE OF THE SPIRIT!!

 

 

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this last verse! In times past I have somehow gotten caught up in a viscous cycle which went something like this:

Now that I am a Christian I should be able to serve the law and fulfill the written code (rather it be the commands of Moses, Jesus, Paul or anyone else)….I desire to ‘do the right thing’, but I continually find myself doing the very things that I shouldn’t….

Again, it’s not that the written code is a bad thing.

No, it’s a holy thing….

But we’ll get into all of that in the next installment of this series.

Till then, walk under His grace, and not under the law.

~Peace~

 

A People’s History of Christianity

 

I’m about halfway through this gem of a book which I picked up after reading Mikes post about it.

It’s really good so far. It’s incredibly interesting to see the variations and similarities in how Christians, over the years, interpreted and expressed their faith in Christ.

From chapter eight;  Devotion: Speaking of Faith  author Diana Butler Bass gives an account of one Katharina Schütz (ca. 1498-1562) which reads as following:

“She believed that speaking out is necessary for Christian devotion, that proclaiming truth demonstrates love of God and neighbor– especially if ones neighbor is spreading falsehoods.

 ’To keep silence is not patience. To suffer is patience,’

…she wrote.

‘By keeping silence I give him grounds to continue in his trumped up lies, and that, in my judgement, is against brotherly love.’ 

 For Katharina, not to speak the truth was to support error.”

So very true, Katharina, so very, very true.

Don’t you know?

The Lord began to show me some things recently.

He directed me to Romans 6.

He knew that I had ‘gotten’ some of this before, but He also knew that I needed more clarity.

Let me try to communicate it here with you. I’m going to try writing it in a conversation style as sometimes it helps to take the overtly “doctrinal” edge off.

I would love any feedback or interaction. 

(St. Paul’s words are in red, and my commentary will be in black.) 

 

What shall we say then?

 Are we to continue in the sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!

Sorry I’m late. Sounds like your in the middle of some pretty deep stuff here. I think I know what you are saying though. Just because God is gracious enough to cover our selfish actions, failures, mistakes and rebellions doesn’t mean that we should possess an attitude which presumes that we may still behave in those same old patterns.

As you say, “May it never be!”.

But honestly, Paul, while I agree with you, I must admit that I struggle with this quite a bit. I feel like I don’t really “get it”, ya know, like…I feel like I’m missing something…..

Would you mind….

 How shall we who died to the sin still live in it?

What!?

What do you mean, Paul, that we have died to the sin?!

The message that I heard was that it was Jesus who died to pay the price for my sins and that all that I needed to do was to believe that, turn from those things that I knew to be wrong and then commit my life to Him…and then, it was also important to get baptized after that too…

(I wonder what  “the sin”  thing is all about anyway…)

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

No, I did not really know that before, Paul.

The minister who baptized me said something about dying to self and being raised in new life, but I really had no idea what he was talking about.

Like I said, I thought he just meant that now, since I had already ”been saved” that I needed to simply turn from all of the things that I knew to be wrong. What you are saying though is that, somehow, by being submerged into the water, that I should also recognize my own submergence into the very death of Christ Jesus (?)

Hm. That’s different.

We “have been baptized into His death”…

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into the 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.

So, you mean that since we were united through baptism with Jesus into His death that we should also, like Jesus, walk in new 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,

Yes, that says it even better.

So what you are saying, Paul, is that there is much more to Christianity than the cross of Christ….much more than just believing that he died for our sins…

You are saying that there is a certain ”newness” of life that we are called to walk in now and even a resurrection which we may look forward to as well.

I think I get it but would you mind breaking it down for me. I’m a bit slow sometimes.

knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that the body of the sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to the sin;

Okay, so there is something that we should have known that wasn’t really clear to many of us.

“…our old self was crucified with Him…”

Whatever it is that is our ‘old self’, it was crucified when Jesus was crucified, and this was done in order to do away with the body, the whole matter,of  the sin so that we would no longer be  slaves to the sin.

So the whole point of Jesus’ crucifixion was to do away with our old self therefore freeing us from the dominion of the sin.

So you are saying, essentially, that the death of Jesus works to set us free.

for he who has died is freed from the sin.

Yes!! Free from ‘the sin’!!

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

I see. If we were united with Him in His death, then we are also united with Him in His Life!!

knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

Okay,  so there is something else that I need to know;

Since Christ has risen from the dead, He will never die again. Death has no mastery over Him.

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

So, having died to sin once for all, he now lives His life to God…

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Whooooaaa. Wait a minute…..

So…, since Christ died (once for all) and now lives His life to God, we should likewise consider ourselves to have died with Christ, and alive unto God as well.

Those who have been baptized into His death are resurrected with His life.

So far then, by Christ…

WE ARE DEAD TO SIN AND ARE ALIVE UNTO GOD!!!

Now that the issue of new life is established…what’s next?

Therefore do not let the sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

Okay, let’s take this one slow.

Therefore…….

 …since we are alive unto God, as we have just established, there is a matter of reign within our mortal bodies which needs to be both understood and established.

We begin with what should not have authority:

THE SIN.

The sin has a desire to be lord in our mortal bodies; “…it’s   lusts..”

So those lusts, those sinful desires that we sometimes have…., it looks like you are saying that they are not our own.

I believe that you are saying that “the sin” has certain lusts within our mortal bodies. If those lusts are not truly ours but rather they belong to the sin which is in our mortal bodies, then we have no reason nor obligation to obey it’s lust.

We are free from that old master through the death of the body of Jesus’ flesh, a death which we also died in.

Not only are we no longer alive to the sin, but since Christ was raised from the dead and now lives unto the Father…..

…so do we!!!

and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness;

So then we are to see the members of our bodies as instruments which we “present”…., which we “offer up” to one form of reign or the other…. 

There is still a choice between living unto the sin which exists and has passions within these mortal bodies on earth, or living unto ‘our Father who is in Heaven’ and who has a Living Spirit within us with His own desires.

And we see here that we should not “offer up” our instruments to the reign of the sin. To do so would make the members of our bodies to be instruments of unrighteousness.

We know that we do not want that, and like you say, we must  “not go on” doing that.

but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead,

YES! Let’s get back to the whole living unto God part!! This is who we should present ourselves to!! After all, He has raised us from death to life!!!

The sin has never offered us  anything near that good!! 

“Here we are Lord, to be and do as you please.”

This should be our heart attitude to our New Loving Master.

…and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Yes! YES!!… Of course!!

We are now alive to God, and are therefore to be exercised in righteousness to God!!!!

This is all so wonderful! But how can we know that sin will not overtake us?

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

That’s right!!

The law has no more power over us, because we are already dead! Remember? We died with Christ!!!!

The law can only expose sinfulness and work to bring about death, but we have already died ….AND…IN CHRIST WE ARE HIGHLY FAVORED BY GOD!

WE ARE ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!!

>>>but wait a second….

if we are absolutely free, then we can do whatever we want….right? I mean if it’s true that we are totally free, then we can imbibe, from time to time, in those behaviors that, well….are sinful, right?!

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?

May it never be!

Oh! Okay, I’m listening….

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey,

Whoa. That’s deep, brother.

But more than just deep, that is true.

So then that desire that I just expressed to partake in bad behavior…., that was a temptation to serve the sin, wasn’t it? 

And what you are saying is that we are always either a servant to one or the other….

…either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Wow. This is all getting kinda heavy though, Paul….

But thanks be to God that though you were servants of the sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became servants of righteousness.

I’m glad you put it that way. We   “were”   slaves of the sin, but now we have become obedient from the heart…

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

Yes. A contrast between the old and the new. I like how you say, “So now..” .

Wherever we may find ourselves at this moment, we may now present our members as slaves to righteousness; a righteousness which leads to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.

Amen! Our life was death….

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

…and Now our death, in Christ, has worked out for life!!!

So then it is as I am obedient to my new Master that I experience the joys of eternal life! 

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

What? Wait a minute. You just made a clear distinction between wages and a free gift.

So on one hand the old master sin gave us what we earned, what we worked for by pursuing his desires, and the end of those things brought us death. On the other hand, the new Master, God, gives to us freely because He is Love and that is His nature. The result of this new relationship works out as eternal life.

 One way is obedience from a sense of duty while the other is obedience from a heart which is being changed by God Himself.

Either way, we become conformed to the image of our master.

Death….or Life? 

I know which one I want.

Amen, Paul. I’m really glad that you took the time to explain all of this.

(And yet I just know there is more….)

Living in God’s Future- Now!

Virtue isn’t about struggling to obey a whole bunch of rules. It’s about practising the habits of heart and mind and life which will form your character so that, eventually, you do naturally – though it will be a kind of second nature, one you’re not born with but which you choose to develop – the things which reveal that your character is developing into that of a whole, wise, well-rounded human being.

~ N.T. Wright

 

Read the complete message here.

The Need to Exercise Judgment-Part Two: Discerning Authoritarianism

In the last post of this vein, I spent a good deal of energy looking into what judgment is really all about and how it is a vitally important practice for the spiritual health of the believer.

At this time, I would like to exercise a bit of discernment in the area of…. 

 authoritarianism.

 

 Authoritarianism is a very widespread problem in the church today. It is essentially the result of unbroken individuals who muscle (or talk) their way into a leadership positions among groups of believers.

There are recognizeable traits to look for which are indicative of authoritarian tendencies in someone.  Let’s look over a few of them, shall we?

One is that the leader will often preach on and magnify the virtues of humility and submission while at the same time making their own agenda loud and clear to the “faithful flock”.

This is manipulation at it’s best as it uses the truth to propagate what is essentially a lie.

Another is that once they establish their alpha position, they will impose their own ‘unspoken’ laws upon you in order to fulfill their agenda. These laws will  typically be taught in the form of sermons or messages and they will be ‘backed’ by brief excerpts of biblical text.

One of these laws is known as ‘the law of silence’ and could be written like this:

“Thou shalt not question my authority nor my judgment. Mine is the way and the only way and If thou hast any issues with me or my ministry, take them to the cross or leave in silence!”

And the second which is like it, goes like this:

“Thou shalt sweep any and all offences under thine rug, for there is no good nor evil, but only Christ!”

One can only imagine all of the other ‘laws’ that hang from just these two.

I realize that these are tricky because, well, what they impose on you is “biblical”. Furthermore, these are just a couple of examples from a vast array of abusive authoritarian methods.

But let me tell you a secret:

Just because something is biblical, doesn’t mean that it’s right.

You can make the bible say anything that _you want_ to make the bible say, and that is exactly what an authoritarian leader does.

Now hear me me out: I do believe in spiritual authority. It exists…..but It’s not what we so often believe it to be.

It’s not a certificate of accomplishment.

It’s not length of years in ‘the ministry’.

It’s not the skill of oration.

It’s not the knowledge of the bible.

It’s not the tone or volume of the voice.

It’s not the carefully crafted sermon or message.

It’s not the charisma or personality.

{However, it can be expressed in any and all of these things…}

Authentic Spiritual authority is present only to whatever degree  that the living  Christ is  expressed  in and through the thoughts, words, and deeds of the believer.

In other words; authentic Spiritual authority is Jesus Christ.

Paul lets it be known that there are some  (and today many) who take the Logos of God and use it in the wrong manner. In the passage below, Paul is referring to teachers who try to sell their twist on God’s revelation to unsuspecting victims:

2 Cor. 2:17

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

I have issues with this first example, but for me, for now, that’s just not my drum to beat (although I hope someone starts beating it soon….). it is rather with this next example that I am presently concerned. Read how Paul makes a clear and obvious connection between dishonesty and the improper handling of God’s Word:

2 Cor. 4:2

But (we) have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 

It’s this kind of misleading that I’m bothered with today. It’s a very big problem.

While I’m not quite sure as to what kind of mishandling Paul was referring to in this letter to the Corinthians, I do believe that it is safe to say that whenever the Word of God, be it the scripture or the revelation, is used in a dishonest manner, a manner which is crafty or decietful, it inevitably causes harm to the Lords people.

All too often, gifted men of God turn their hearts away from the living and active Jesus in order to pursue the lusts of their flesh and the pride of life.

Sometimes it’s for money, but it’s always about power.

Recently In a brief conversation about church leadership, a dear brother reminded me of a passage in Hebrews which speaks of submitting to ‘those who have the rule over’ you, and ‘who watch over’ and ‘give account for you’.

Here is the text–

Hebrews 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

I needed to be reminded of this principle. Honestly, I believe in submitting to those with authentic spiritual authority. To not do so would be a sure indicator of a prideful spirit on my part. I will submit, but I tell you the truth:

My Standard is very, Very high.

Why?

Because my standard is Gods standard.

We need more than the text which states that we are to submit. We also need to be reminded of the other stuff that is being said in those passages, the stuff that is an important part of the context. Not only that, but we also need to be taught what these principles really mean.

 Here is a similar exhortation just a few passages prior–

Hebrews 13:7

 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

Let’s look at the definition for “those who rule“ .

Lexicon Results

Strong’s G2233 – hēgeomai

Part of Speech

verb

Outline of Biblical Usage

1) to lead

a) to go before

b) to be a leader

1) to rule, command

2) to have authority over

3) a prince, of regal power, governor, viceroy, chief, leading as respects influence, controlling in counsel, overseers or leaders of the churches

4) used of any kind of leader, chief, commander

5) the leader in speech, chief, spokesman

I like what  ”1)a ” says.

“They lead by going before“.

They are further along, not only in general experience, but in following the Lord Jesus. They have gone first.

 They are not simply talking the talk, but they are also walking the walk.

They are not simply talking about the race, but they are finishing the race!!

“Ordination” doesn’t cut it.

“Titles” can be just mere words.

“Revelation” is limited.

“Apostolic Succession” fails.

But wait!…  there is more!!

Look at what STRONG’S says about “over you” in this same passage: 

Lexicon Results

Strong’s G5216 – hymōn

Part of Speech: pronoun

1) of yours

Of mine?

You mean…. not those who are lording over

me, but rather those who belong….. to me?!

So we could accurately interpret this passage to read in the following way: 

 

“Remember those  who are further down the Path, those who are yours, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, and whose faithfulness is proven by their conduct”.

 

This means that we have something of a right to assess those whom would desire to lead us in spiritual things.

 

Please read carefully what I’m about to say here:

 

The writer of those passages was, in the first place, writing to an actual group of people in a particular historical event. There was a very specific context for all that was said in that letter (this is true for all of the New Testament epistles).

At best, we can only presume to know and understand what that exact context was. Otherwise, we end up reading into the inspired scripture our own biases, philosophies or worse; our own agendas.

We must be extremely careful in how we read, teach, and apply.

 

While I believe that the scriptures are inspired and vital to the present life and welfare of the church, I also believe that the word of God is to be rightly divided.

It’s not that the scripture has no practical/spirtual value. Of course it does.

But even so, I believe that ultimitely the place of scripture is to help guide us into personal relationship with Jesus Christ whom, by His Spirit, writes His ways on our hearts.

 The bible as “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”, I think kind of misses the mark.

 

Moving along…

 

Paul says to test everything, hold to the good and eschew the evil. This includes teachings, doctrines, sermons, messages, etc…

 

So then, based on the handful of scriptures that we have looked at thus far, we may conclude the following concerning the kind of person in the church that we should be persuaded by:

 

1) They lead by example and the proof is in their conduct.

2) They truly care for and watch out for your soul.

3) They are accountable.

4) They don’t peddle Gods word.

5) They are honest.

6) They are sincere.

 

That’s a pretty tall order, friends… but it’s an order which needs to be filled by anyone who seeks to be, or is appointed as a ‘leader’ in God’s community.

 

My advice to you, dear reader, is that if the character and disposition of your ’spiritual leader’ doesn’t harmonize with the above,…. then don’t follow.

 

Seek the Lord.

Pray for an example.

 

Does such a person even exist? 

 

Yes, His name is…

Jesus Christ,

the same yesterdy, today and forever… 

and…

 

 He is known by His fruit.

 

 

 

(And we wonder why that little line is written in the middle of those texts about “leadership”.)

 

Too many dear saint’s have been swept up into the deception of men who talk the talk, and yet who do not walk the walk. What troubles me about this is that it continues under the mind wrenching guise of ’spiritual authority’.

It must come to an end.

 

Brokeness is the key to Spiritual authority.

If you want to become the greatest, you must become the least.

 

(To be continued…..)

Gene Scott on Jesus’ Resurrection

Some of you may be familiar with Dr. Gene Scott.

No doubt, he had his own eccentricities, but he was an intelligent scholar who the Lord used to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you have time, check out these two videos (hopefully nobody will remove them from YouTube).

(New post coming soon!!)