2011-08-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
From the discussions we have already had, it’s clear to see why being in a covenant relationship with God and with others has some distinct advantages. And, we’ll see more of these as we go along. But at this juncture, it’s necessary to look at the question about commitments. Obviously, we have made a commitment when we professed faith in the Lord Jesus and repented of our sins. If we did this as children, we might not have fully understood the many ramifications of this commitment to a two-way promise. We promised to live according to the teachings of Christ. In return, God promised to protect, defend, guide, encourage, and love us as a part of the Covenant of Grace. In every covenant commitment we made, we are agreeing to do something and God is agreeing to do something. The great advantage is that we are blessed in so many ways by Christ’s Atonement, His paying of the ransom which opens the way out of the marketplace of slavery to sin. JN 3: 16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.” RO 3: 23-25, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.” This all has far-reaching impact on the life of a true believer. We never have to feel alone, abandoned, or without blessings. It’s quite foundational to the life we are to live to understand what we learn from EPH 2: 8-10. “For it is by His grace you have been saved, through faith-and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Once we understand this, we should not be afraid to enter into other carefully and prayerfully considered commitments. God intended that we should be organized into families and congregations; otherwise these things wouldn’t exist. There are two ways to look at this, from within and from without. The simpler of the two is deciding whether or not we should join a particular congregation. I’ve had plenty of practice here, due to being an Army brat who married an engineer, and having moved 41 times, living all over North America in my life. Because of the uniquely zigzagged path God has taken me on in my spiritual life, I’ve belonged to four major denominations. My experience has been that getting the answers to two important questions in making such a decision is essential. 1) What are the beliefs of this synagogue/church? 2) What is the style of worship etc.? The etc. includes what the programs offered by this church. The underlying question in this is: Can I find a way to mature spiritually in this congregation? Another way to ask this is: Can God grow me here? Yes, God is at work every day in the process of sanctifying us, maturing us so that we can eventually return to Him in heaven. Obviously, that is not done in the same way for every human being. Some like the contemporary “rock and roll” kind of service; others prefer a quieter, more conventional service. As for the programs, some like to sing in a choir; others want mission field opportunities; and still others, want to remain at home taking Bible studies, engaging in care ministries, and so on. More than one of these choices is perfectly okay for some people. I feel blessed to attend a church that has all these opportunities plus more.
The other commitment, the one which is foundational for God’s organization of society, is marriage. God spoke through the prophets and apostles on this matter. Because of the sadly 52 % of failures, many people nowadays don’t feel the need for marriage, so they simply live together until they decide on their own to part from each other. Over 80% of these uncommitted relationships fail. Children are born to them, who are left with their lives split apart and drifting because of them. One can be sure that such relationships don’t please God. Christ abhorred divorce too [MT 19: 3-6], but there are times, which Paul recognized in places like 1 COR 7: 15, that there were some circumstances in which it is necessary. Family units offer society the stability that God intends for it. However, in today’s society, the widespread breakdown of the family unit is having some pretty awful ramifications. There are people who would argue that marriages arranged by the two families are better than allowing the couple to fall in love with each other and make the decision. On the other hand, too many marriages have happened between people who were too young or too unsuited to one another to last. This is no simple question completely discussed by a couple of short paragraphs here. When a marriage is contemplated, it must be considered from within by investigating if sufficient maturity has taken place, if there are enough cultural ties between the prospective mates, if there are enough common interests, if the couple knows each other well enough, and so on. They must be considered from without from the point of view of how will this marriage impact our society, what about shared beliefs and religious practices, what about shared values, and so on. Poorly-conceived marriages cause much disruption in our society, which is why the divorce courts are clogged and so many children’s lives are upended. Godly commitments should be encouraged, and ungodly ones discouraged.
PRAYER: O Lord, we only scratch the surface of this difficult subject of making commitments. You have taught us through Christ, in MT 5: 33-27, about the importance of only taking vows after careful thought and how permanent they are meant to be. That is because You are a Covenant Partner in them and want us not to act rashly in haste. You expect us not to be feeding only on spiritual milk, but to take spiritual meat with regard to our knowledge of Your word [HE 5:12-13]. This is a measure of our maturity in the faith. It is immaturity in the word and it’s practices that causes so much division within our churches and our families [1 COR 3: 1-3]. In the course of our relationships with potential mates, we must look at the them with a kind of desired maturity, not from the point of view of the grand passion only, as so many do. We must approach our lives, promises, and commitments with the fruits of the Spirit as outlined in GA 5: 22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things as these there is no law.” There is no reason to jump headlong into serious commitments, like marriage, and no reason to engage another person for years on end with no commitment. Somewhere in between is ideal. To some people reading this devotion, what I’m saying may sound old-fashioned and unworkable, but it is Biblical truth. And we need to be committed to “guarding this Treasure” which is Biblical truth in accordance with 2 TIM 1: 13-14, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good Deposit that was entrusted to you-guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.” We pledge before You our eternal thanks and praise for the teaching You have given us, Your wonderful attributes and actions. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Because of Christ’s Atonement, when we enter into a covenant relationship with God, we are pledged unto death, borne out of love, and in a covenant cut in His blood. Each phrase of this statement matters to us as individuals, as mates bonded in marriage [if we marry in a union ordained of God], as congregations, and as members of the society in which we live. We’ll look at DT 4: 13. We have responsibilities at each level of our being, ones that make a lot of sense to fulfill and ones that can bring us much pleasure when accomplished in God’s company. PS 16: 11, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This verse now has new meaning when each long-term consequence of it’s phrases are meditated upon and carefully considered. It is not only our personal pleasure that matters here, but also God’s purposes. PS 110:1, “The Lord says to my Lord [the Father to the Lord Jesus],sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Wow, this is powerful! While the Trinity [all three of God’s personalities] battles evil, we are becoming sanctified. Doesn’t that clarify just how important our cooperation with our Deity in this sanctification process really is? God is at work purifying us from our sins and perfecting us, while at the same time fulfilling His promise that evil and it’s consequence of spiritual death will be vanquished. When we cooperate by confessing our known sins and working to reveal and expunge our more subtle ones, we are making God’s job easier for Him. And why not do this, when we truthfully consider how many wonderful ways He daily blesses our lives with His presence? Our God deserves not only our cooperation, but our eternal thanks and praise! [PS 115 :1].
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15