"Awake, Rise Up, and Know"

Scripture: Romans 13:8-14

You may remember from last week’s message, that Paul’s final words to us were “Give to everyone what you owe them.” (Romans 13:7) He wants us to pay our debts, and he specifically lists the obligations of taxes, revenue, respect and honor that we owe to others. It appears that when he speaks of debt, Paul is not limiting our responsibilities to those having financial characteristics, but that we need to extend our accountability to others through the things of the soul.

Why does Paul see that as important for us to understand? Probably because few of us ever thought that paying respect and honor to others is actually an obligation, a debt, that we owe to them. And, apparently Paul, and the Lord, both believe that we do! But the question for today is how much further does this list of debts go? How much more is there that we owe to others?

Read Romans 13:8-10

In that call to love others, Paul saw, as the basis for his love, the debt of ministry to the world. While Jewish believers felt that the message of salvation should be offered to only the people of Israel, and if it extended to the gentile world, that it should only be for those who would surrender their lives to the law of Moses, and to the ways of Judaism. Paul and a few others, however, knew that God was far greater than this, and that whoever would believe in Jesus Christ would also know the righteous life and love of Almighty God. (Romans 1:14-17)

This call, this love, this debt, can never be paid off, but it is a gift that must constantly be paid out. The kind of love that Paul, and we, are to show to others is that of God, and not of the world. (Mark 16:15-16) But what Paul is not saying is that love nullifies all sin, that it does not negate the commands regarding sexual sin, hatred, murder, theft, and every other command that the Lord has set down for us. However, what love does do for us is to guide us in the ways of Almighty God, and keeps us on his path.

The world’s ways are the ways of sin, or at best, only half-hearted ways of God. And when Paul reminds us of the law “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 18:19), we also must remember that these “neighbors” are seldom related to us, seldom have the same personal standards that we do, seldom live a life that parallels ours, seldom believe in the same God that we do. Loving others as if they are just like us, is very possibly the most difficult thing we will ever be called to do. And yet, there it is – God’s call to do it just the same.

But to what extent? Are we to be accepting (e.g. Loving) of the things that they do? No. But then, that’s how the Lord loves them, loving the person - not the things they do, not even the good that they do, and definitely not the things in their life that defy the way he calls them to live. And while the world’s version of love can, and quite often does, cause great hurt, Godly love never will and never can. We may not like, or even agree with that which the Lord asks us to do, but it always comes from the love of God, and is always the very best for our lives.

Read Romans 13:11-14

As hard as we try, our love for others almost always falls short of what the Lord requires of us. In Micah 6:6-8, the prophet writes “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” The verbs and adverbs that are shown here are defining attitudes, not actions. It isn’t what we think, it isn’t even what we do – it’s how and why we do them. And this is the very issue that Paul is addressing. The time has come for us to act, and love, and walk with God in Godly ways.

It’s also interesting in the various ways the word “sleep” is used in scripture. In Luke 8:23, Jesus falls asleep in the boat during a storm – he was resting. In John 11:11, he tells his disciples that their friend Lazarus has fallen asleep – he has died. And in this passage, Paul is using the word “sleep” to describe inattentiveness, disobedience, and the lack of understanding.

There are two Greek words that speak of time that we need to pay attention to. The first is Chronos, or the time we observe on our watch. Chronos helps us to stay on our daily schedule, to know when it is time to go to work or to be at home, and it measures the aging processes in our lives. The other type of time is Kairos, or God’s time. It heralds the arrival of an event that we have very little to say about. The day that a baby is conceived; the day we meet our true love; the day we give our life to Christ. In essence, Kairos defines the time when God brings an unexpected blessing into our lives and everything changes whether we recognize it at that moment, or not until sometime later.

Kairos is the moment that we awake from our slumber – the dawn of a new day in Christ, and the sunrise of a new understanding of God and his plans for us. Paul is not suggesting that we will soon experience Jesus’ return, but I do believe that he is saying that the amount of time that is available for our reawakening is running out. He isn’t implying that our salvation is in need of greater deeds and actions, but we will always be in need of fulfillment in our life with Christ.

James 2:25-26 we read that our Christian life requires both faith and faithful actions. He writes “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” And just as our faith grows stronger and deeper from the day that we made our confession to Christ, so do our desires and abilities to serve him in true, Godly, and righteous ways.

But when is the age of Christ to be upon us? When is this age of the world to end? I expect that we all feel that neither can occur soon enough! But the truth is that the age of Christ began at his birth, and the age of the world will end at his second coming. We are immersed in them both right now, and we need to let the light of Christ shine brighter within and through us, than the darkness can limit and diminish.

The world likes the darkness – they believe that it hides their life from exposure, that darkness prevents the possibility of condemnation. But Psalm 139:11-12 disputes that thought, that in the Lord, “darkness is as light to you.” And as we begin our walk with Christ, Ephesians 6:10-20 describes the necessity of putting on the armor of God, but Paul tells us that it is just as important for us to be wearing the armor of Light, which, of course is Jesus. (John 8:12) The apostle now makes a comparison between living in the holy Light of God, versus the darkness of the world.

In Galatians 5:16-21, we see this comparison again, as the difference between “walking in the Spirit [vs.] gratify[ing] the flesh.” As Paul describes it, the flesh is only a temporary covering for us, and will, one day, putrefy and die, but when we put on the Light of Christ, and wear that as our only garment in faith, it is then that eternity becomes ours, and love in the way of Christ begins to make sense.

I love the early mornings, especially in the spring and summer. As the sun slowly rises, and the darkness of night slowly fades, life seems to return to the earth. The birds begin singing in earnest, vision of the yard and woods around us becomes more and more clear, shadows begin to appear as the only reminder of the former darkness, and the dawn seems to be preparing me for the coming day.

The time for sleeping is past, and the time for living and loving has come. May the dawning give us a sense of a new day, a new life, and a new love by faith in the living Lord, Jesus the Christ.

"Love in the Extreme!"

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21


Last week, as we began our new series on living the Christian life, we discovered that the first lesson we all have to learn is what the Christian attitude about ourselves must be. And who better to teach us about the change that faith in Christ must bring, than the apostle Paul. His life had gone from arrogance and conceit for who he was, to a surrender of his prestige and position, and acceptance of Jesus as his guide and Savior in this life and beyond. (Philippians 3:3-11)

His personal wisdom, and there is no question that he was an intelligent and gifted man, was no longer sufficient for his life. His former self had been filled with honor and respect, but in Christ, the blessings of earth quickly vanished, only to be replaced with their anger and hatred. (2 Corinthians 11:21-33) And we should expect nothing different.

But is this all there is to a life in Jesus Christ? Hardly – this is simply where it all must start. Today, we begin to look at what else must become part of our life in righteous and humble service to the Lord.

Read Romans 12:9-13

The love that Paul is referring to is based in the Greek word “agape”. Agape is a word found in the New Testament that defines one of the many meanings that our English word “love” implies. Agape refers to sacrificial love, a love that surrenders our own desires and necessities, in favor of a love that others are desperately in need of. But agape, in the Christian context, is also based in Godly precepts, and never intends for us to love in the ways of earth.

Paul writes that it must be “sincere” and genuine, and that it must never be self-serving or half-hearted. He writes that this depth of love must “hate” evil, but he is implying more than just an opposition to evil – rather, he calls for a loathing, an abhorrence, a hostility toward unGodly ways. This agape form of love must place others above our own position and status, considering the kind of love that Jesus showed to each of us throughout his ministry and into his sacrificial death.

We read that this agape love requires a passion, not just for our Lord, but for the people he is calling us to love in his name. And the love that Jesus showed is sometimes difficult to comprehend. As an example, in Matthew 23:33, Jesus calls the Pharisees “a brood of vipers”, which is not an especially complimentary name! But this doesn’t mean that he hates those men – rather his hatred is for the things that they do and for the poison that they spread. Even as they stood in such stark contrast and direct opposition to all that the Lord was teaching and doing, his sacrifice on Calvary’s hill was as much for their salvation as it was for ours. And to receive it, all they had to do was to accept him as their Lord and Savior, and all that they had ever said against him would have been forgiven! That is what “agape” demands.

But Paul doesn’t stop there in his descriptions of Christ-like love. He says that we should be exuberant in sharing it with others, regardless of what their hatred threatens, or even may have done to us, and that we are never to give up on our relationship and conversation with Almighty God.
Notice that this has nothing to do whatsoever regarding the tearing down of others, even if their ways are not God’s ways. It’s all about building up the community of believers by loving them into the kingdom! Think about it – do any of us enjoy being with others who are constantly telling us how stupid we are, how wrong we are, how we never do a single thing right – or do we prefer to be with someone who cares about us, who is welcoming to us, who gives themselves on our behalf, and who lives as an example of a lifestyle that can truly make a difference?

That is the love and life that faith in Jesus Christ requires – not just as individuals, but as a Church in unity with the Lord. And it doesn’t end there!

Read Romans 12:14-16

And Paul takes the issue of loving others up several notches! Actually, he is taking his cue from Jesus, when in Matthew 5:43-48 the Lord told us to not only love our enemies, but to pray that God’s goodness would be poured out upon their lives. It’s easy to love those whom you like, who think the same way that you do, who are your friends. But loving and blessing those who hate you, who would bury you in oppression, who would want nothing better than to do you harm – they are nearly impossible to love. But not completely impossible – if we look to Christ for the way to love, and the Holy Spirit for the power to love them as the Lord Jesus does. Bless those who persecute you.

But love in the extreme goes even further than this! In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, the apostle says that we are live as a disciple of Jesus Christ, but that we aren’t to lord it over others. In verse 22, he writes “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” Some folks might interpret this passage as deceptive on Paul’s part, but the truth is that he isn’t suggesting that we lie to others about who and whose we are. He is simply saying that we should never avoid being in the presence of others, that we should never condemn them as sinners and leave them to their own worldly ways.

Consider who Jesus spent the most time with! Adulterers, tax collectors, Samaritans, Gentiles, Pharisees, Sadducees even a Roman or two – not a Godly one among the lot! Live in “harmony” with them all, be with them in joy, in sorrow, in good times and bad, and never shun a single one of them, for you never know when your living testimony will touch a heart.

Read Romans 12:17-21

No revenge, no retribution, no eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth (Matthew 5:38-42), no judgment on the life they live. We are to be discerning of the difference between God’s way and the world’s, but judgment on the people is God’s to carry out, not ours. Don’t play the world’s games, and live as they do. But we are still called to live with others, and not just with other Christians! We are to be active participants in society, even in the sinful culture that seems to thrive around us (when at all possible) without denying the ways that God has set down for us through the teaching of Jesus Christ. Peace will not always be an option, but to the best of our abilities, we are to live in peace, even though others may not reciprocate. But we have to try.

The prophet Micah gives us an idea of what this means – Micah 6:8 – “Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Nowhere does the prophet say “when you can”, or “when others treat you the same”. Paul and Micah’s advice is the same – it’s not only about what we do, but how and why we do it. It’s about our attitude and actions, about the life that God has ordained, as well as living in the way Messiah has shown us.

The world has ways that, for the most part, we need to steer clear of. There is an old saying that sums up Paul’s letter – “be in the world, but not of the world”. And what about that line “In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” This goes along with the verse about becoming all things to all people, so that some might be saved. Burning coals are a symbol of repentance, of a change in your life that can only come through giving it all to Jesus, and letting him become our way, our truth, our life.

Are we all good at this? Are we all consistent in our faith? Do we bring a smile to the Lord’s heart every moment of every day? Probably not. Does that make us unworthy to be his disciples? Hardly. Think about Peter and the others – did they do everything right as they walked with Jesus along the roads of Galilee and Judea? Not even close. But Jesus had chosen these imperfect men to continue the ministry that he had started, to spread the word of God throughout the world.

And even as imperfect as we may be, we are spiritual descendants of these and countless other imperfect people, who have found perfection through faith in the one and only Son of God. John Wesley spoke about “going on to perfection”, that our faith in Christ, our life in Christ, our obedience to the teachings of Christ, aren’t quite there yet, but as we walk closer to the way of Jesus, and as we love closer to the way of Jesus, his perfection makes us worthy to come closer and closer to him.

We need to practice love in the extreme, and each and every day that we do, it will become clearer to us that this is the only way to live a Christ-like life.

May it be so for us all.

“Conform in Godliness”

Scripture: Romans 12:1-8


Today we begin a new series on living the Christian Life. Since I haven’t convened our Worship Committee for several months now, and since I had finished a couple of series that we had jointly worked up, this one was a personal inspiration. I had been looking at Diane’s Worship Planner, which is based on the Common Lectionary, and Romans 12 was one of the passages that it was recommending.

So I started reading through the last few chapters of Paul’s Letter to the Romans again, and much of it was his advice to the Church on how to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The church in Rome was largely Jewish in nature, but there were a fairly significant number of Gentile believers, too. And their lives in faith were anything but easy.

Rome’s hatred and distrust of Judaism, and within it, the Christian faith, continued to grow and fester, and within 20 years of this letter, the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, and Christianity would be forced to break from Judaism and become a separate faith expression.

It would be a time of persecution and general violence, and Christians, especially in Rome and its empire, needed to know what distinguished them from the rest of the world. Sound familiar? I thought so, too, because the Church of every age needs to be reminded of just who and whose they are. These next seven weeks, I pray, will help us in our letting the fullness of Christ’s truth become our distinction over the world and its fruitless ways.

Read Romans 12:1-2

Paul’s first two points in this section of his letter are about what true worship and discerning the will of God is all about. These are a couple of deep topics, and he simplifies them into two verses.
In verse 1, he tells us what “true and proper worship” involves. Simply put, which is not exactly Paul’s forte, it is the surrender and living sacrifice of our human lives. This doesn’t mean that we cut ourselves off from the rest of humanity, but rather that we are to turn away from earthly standards and worldly ways, and let Almighty God guide our lives. The apostle wants us to know that worship of our Lord doesn’t involve some good work or action, or even regular attendance at church on Sunday mornings, but rather a total change in our attitude toward what is right and good. We can no longer make that distinction through our own wisdom and desires - it can only come by learning what God’s desires and ways are all about. It is no longer a life that looks to that which makes sense to us; it is no longer about our redefining what God is about and for; it is no longer about our telling the Lord what he should do and how he should treat us and others. “True and proper worship” is about our repenting of all that used to be our life, and beginning to do what is right in God’s eyes, giving him the glory and bringing joy to the life that he is for us.

Verse 2 continues in this theme, with a discussion on our finding God’s will for our lives, and the first sentence lays it all out. Simply, without the Lord in our lives, we are the world’s. We live in a worldly way, we act in a worldly way, we even think as the world tells us to. But Paul is telling us that we have to let all of that go if we are ever to know God’s will for our lives. He says that we need to be “transformed”. Transformation is not a shallow adjustment, or some simple change in outward appearance. It is a change in heart, mind, soul, purpose, direction. It is about trusting in the Lord’s way as the only way. It’s about finally admitting that those things that we had always thought were truth, were nothing more than the world’s lies and foibles, and that the only absolute truth resides in the Lord and his word.

There’s an old saying, that if we don’t know who we are, then the world will tell us who we must be. The world’s mold awaits everyone who doesn’t stand with Jesus. It is only through surrender of the ways of earth, and being transformed in the love of our Almighty God and Savior, that we will ever discover what his will and way are for our life. Of course, you may have already realized that the world will not go quietly or gently when we strive to live a Godly and Righteous life, but by confession of our sin, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can begin living a worshipful life, in and of the will of our only true God.

Read Romans 12:3-5

As I previously mentioned, short and simple were never the apostle Paul’s strong suit! So he begins to detail what this “transformed” life must look like, and what is the first issue he addresses? Humility. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” I have little doubt that Paul was remembering his own former life, in which he was an arrogant, self-centered, self-righteous Pharisee, and how his meeting Jesus on that road to Damascus changed everything, especially his attitude regarding his own self-importance. He now gives credit for everything he does and accomplishes to the Lord and his infinite grace; it is no longer about him, but rather about the goodness of God that has brought him so far from those bygone days. And he testifies to the Church in Rome, as well as the entire world, that this is his focus now, and that it can, and should, be theirs, too.

He tells his brothers and sisters in Rome that they must use “sober judgment” in their life. Live your life in Godly wisdom, not the human kind; let yourself live in a disciplined way, in a way that reflects the work of God in your life, not in a way that pats yourself on the back for all of your great accomplishments. Think Humility!

And the third thing in the statement is “in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” First, faith is not ours except as a gift from our loving and gracious Lord – a gift that comes to us when we give our lives to Jesus Christ. Second, God doesn’t just dump grace in our laps on the day we give our lives to him. We could never handle it! So faith grows within us as our trust in Christ grows greater; and as our understanding of Jesus’ teaching becomes more and more of an integral part of our life; and as our obedience leads us deeper and deeper into the divine grace of Almighty God. Do we all gain the same depth of faith? No – at least not at the same time - but the same faith is available to each and every person if we grow and prepare for living the faith that God has created for us.

And why? To become ready to receive even more gifts from the Spirit. These next several verses are reflective of his first letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12) – where he describes the Body of Christ, the Church, in terms related to the human body. Our own different members – hands, feet, ears, eyes, hearts, lungs, minds – all have different strengths and different purposes, and are used to support us and enable us in different ways and at different times. But by using each and every one of these “members”, sometimes separately, but nearly always in union with others, they are strengthened to serve us in new and greater ways. And of course, if they aren’t used, they will slowly atrophy and waste away.

And as with faith, it all centers on our relationship with Jesus Christ as the Head of our lives, for he alone is the reason, the unity and the truth for the Church.

Read Romans 12:6-8

And what does the Lord have in store for all of the “members” of his Church?
Why would the Holy Spirit need, or even want people, with unique strengths and abilities?
Actually, why doesn’t God just do it right the first time, and avoid having to put up with our messing it all up?
The truth is that the Lord wants us to be active disciples, and not just “hangers on”! He certainly could do it all by himself, but he wants us to be part and parcel of his ministry to the people of earth, and through an active and obedient faith, we come to understand what God’s way is all about. But Satan continues to mess with our lives, and his greatest pleasure comes when he gets us to side-step from the Lord’s way and begin taking life out of context – out of the divine context, and into the world’s. So we have scripture, which leads us to the list that Paul offers.

In this passage, he lifts up seven gifts that we may be blessed with, to use to lead others into the Lord’s glory – prophesy, serving, teaching, encouragement, giving, leading and mercy. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 also has a list, as does Ephesians 4:11-13 and other passages. These gifts are spiritually given, and they aren’t always through our recognized strengths – more times than not, the strengths that the gifts reinforce may have been unknown, unused, even ignored by us for most of this life. In my case, I had denied the gift of pastoral ministry for many years, because, if the truth be known, my general nature is introversion. Why would God ever think I could be a pastor? He must have made a mistake!
Why would I think that? The reason may very well be that it is not second nature for me – I’m not always comfortable in this position, and I am constantly having to look to the Lord for guidance, for the right words, for compassion, and for love of others while they continue to live in their sinfulness. And maybe that’s the point – I can’t do it on my own, but it can be done with the Lord’s help (Matthew 11:28-30).

Of course, these gifts aren’t for us to use for our own prestige or advancement. Their only purpose is to bring glory to our Triune God and to show others the way into that glory. And the effectiveness of these gifts will only grow to fulfillment when you and I surrender our own plans and desires, and allow our great Lord and Savior to re-shape us, re-mold us, re-conform us in his image, just as he had always intended us to be. And that will be the greatest gift we shall ever receive.

Praise the Lord for his love and blessed perseverance!

“One Nation, Under God, Again!”

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:5-12, Matthew 12:15-21

When our nation was signed into existence 244 years ago, the framers were putting their own lives in jeopardy. England would see this act as treasonous, as an act against the legitimate government. But the colonists put such a high value on freedom from brutal and irrational British control, that they couldn’t see any other choice but separation. The 56 men who put their own names on this declaration believed that not only was this the right thing to do, but that they were willing to give their lives to live out, not only what they knew was their calling, but to do what they knew was right and true.

But just as with all noble callings, the years that have come and gone have had a way of changing the original intent of the freedom that has demanded so much from so many. A half century after declaring independence from England, we were again at war, defending our liberty from England once again. And a little over four decades after that, we were fighting each other over the issue of slavery. There would be world wars, and undeclared conflicts. And over the years, there would be other attacks from both inside and outside our nation, and the nation, in spite of the struggles, would grow in positive ways, also from contributions both inside and outside. But whether the masses would continue to appreciate and ensure the freedoms that liberty demands or not, right will always be right.

Israel, after being freed from captivity in Egypt, has gone through some similar struggles throughout their existence. But not only have their conflicts been with other nations, their wrestling with Jehovah God has been the most critical one of all. In their attempts to clarify what the Lord’s intentions were when he handed down his commands to Moses, they moved farther and farther away from the freedoms that God had set in place for them.

On this Independence Day weekend, we need to consider the lessons that Israel’s struggle with the Lord’s freedom still mean for each of us.

Read Jeremiah 18:5-10

As we begin to compare the Lord God Jehovah with King George III of England, we first need to understand that God is omniscient (all knowing) in a way that only God can be. King George III was human, with his own fallacies and limitations and agendas. And from this, the differences expand exponentially.

God’s commands and power is centered on providing the best for anyone who loves him and follows him; King George was all about elevating himself in power and authority, and holding others in control through his ways.

God’s purpose in all that he does and proclaims is love for his creation, and when we love him in return, his blessings fall richly upon us. But for those who refuse to love him, he lets them work out their lives to the best of their own abilities (John 3:16-17). King George’s purpose, on the other hand, was to hold out authority over everyone who came under his kingdom, and if anyone got out of step with him, punishment would rest upon their head.

God’s call to the people of earth is to follow his way, and to love in his way. King George only wanted obedience, and he cared nothing for whether his subjects loved him or the commands he issued or not – they were just expected to obey them, period.

In our passage, we discover that even though the Lord God Jehovah is omnipotent (all powerful), and that he can do as he wishes, his plan for us is not destruction, but remolding. A potter never actually changes the clay, or at least they didn’t in Jeremiah’s day. It was the shape, the purpose, the beauty that was changed through reshaping, not elimination through destruction. But the Lord reminds Israel that if he so desired, he could easily wipe them from the face of the earth, but that his way is one of forgiveness, and truth, and the giving of blessed goodness.

You would think that the decision would be a simple one for us – that it should be a given – what do you think?

"You are the Potter, I Am the Clay"

Read Jeremiah 18:11-12

But it seems that it is all up to us – we can accept his gifts, or decide that we can do better. Either way, God’s desire is for the good, and in our passage, Israel tells their God that they prefer to go their own way. In the hearts of Israel, and in many hearts today, stubbornness still prevails, and the goodness of God goes wanting.

Have you ever invited someone to join you at church, and in reply, you hear the response “If I walked through that door, the roof would fall in!”? It’s a misguided statement to say the least, but why would anyone think that God would punish them like that?

Let’s consider some possibilities:
1. It may be an excuse. Something may have happened in the past, or someone said something that hurt them, or made them feel like an outsider, and this may have turned them off on Church. Of course, those attitudes, while they have existed in churches for ages, have nothing to do with faith. We need to keep on loving them, as well as those who acted in such an unchristian way, back into a relationship with God.

2. It may be a sign of hopelessness. They know that they have not been living a lifestyle that would please God, and they have gone so far afield that all hope of forgiveness has vanished from their life. They need to be reminded of God’s promise in Jeremiah 31:31-34, that they can know God again, that they will be forgiven, and that their sins will be wiped away.

3. Or it may simply be an act of defiance. The Lord’s ways are radically different than ours, and they don’t always make sense to us. (Isaiah 55:8-9) And in our sense of superiority, we refuse to give up our own understanding, to make room for God’s.

Whatever the reason, Jeremiah is telling us that we have to give up stumbling over ourselves, and let the Lord God Almighty remold us and remake us in conformance with his image once again.

Read Matthew 12:15-21

In the Jeremiah 31 reference above, God also promises that he will be making a new covenant that will be unlike the one he made with Israel in the wilderness. It isn’t that he has developed something totally different, he has simply “remolded” the old one into something that everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, can understand. Jesus is this new Covenant that has existed from before time began. And it came into being through the birth of a Baby, not in the coming of a great warrior; it will provide us with the answers that have been asked, and considered, and defined in ignorance, and have failed the people for centuries; it has simplified our life in God, by replacing our good works (which always fail us) with faith in our new Covenant (which will never fail us); and it will all come to be through his suffering, his death, his resurrection, and by faith in him and repentance from our sin, his forgiveness will blanket us forever.

On this Independence Day weekend, we have another covenant to rejoice in. The Declaration of Independence was given, not as an incomplete, half-hearted, idealistic hope, but as an expectation of peace and freedom from oppression, of equality for all people, that all people are recipients of God’s righteousness, and that all must be guaranteed “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Declaration of Independence

In 1892, Francis Belemy developed a piece that we know today as the Pledge of Allegiance. It was intended to be a statement of commitment to the precepts that our nation should stand for, and was formally adopted by the United States Congress in 1942, and since 1954, the pledge reads:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Every time we say these words, we need to remember that, regardless of who we are and who our ancestors may have been, that we are a single people who are under the authority of God, and that we pledge to ensure that “liberty and justice” are available for all.

We have two covenants before us – the one that Christ Jesus became 2,000 years ago, and the one that the founders of these United States gave us 244 years ago. And if we are honest, we will admit to our failure to fully embrace them both.

It’s time that the Church begins to live in the great Covenant that the Lord God has sent to us. He came to teach us about God, to be an example of how to live a righteous life, to show us what a Godly love, a Godly justice, a Godly mercy are all about, and that the only way we will ever bring honor to him is to surrender our own ways, and begin living an obedient life, instead of one that only reflects our own desires.

And it’s about time that our nation began living in a way that reveals the liberty and freedom that the covenant of 1776 proclaimed. No political agendas, no treading on the rights of others, no shutting down the voices that may disagree with us, and no longer putting God out in the cold. Independence brings with it responsibility, and we need to accept it in the light that was intended.

If we live this life in a way that reflects them both – the covenant of faith, and the covenant of liberty – we can’t even imagine the benefits that will come our way. May our Lord God Almighty be praised through both.