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God's Revelation to Heathen Startling examples from around the world of God working in the lives of heathen peoples and preparing them, often centuries in advance, for the coming of the Gospel. The Incas (South America) Pachacuti, king of the Incas from 1438 to 1471, restored one of the temples of the god worshipped by all his people – the sun. But he began to have doubts. He noted that a mere cloud could dim this ‘god.’ The sun did nothing but the same thing over and over, acting more like a laborer than a god. His observations brought the conclusion that the sun is neither universal, nor perfect, nor all-powerful. In Inca tradition there was a vague memory of Viracocha, the omnipotent Creator. Pachacuti’s own father had had a dream in which Viracocha reminded him that he truly was the Creator of all things. Deciding that the Creator, not the sun, was worthy of worship, Pachacuti met with the sun priests. He told them that the Creator is supreme and uncreated. He made all spirits and all peoples by his word. He manifests himself as a trinity when he wishes but otherwise he is surrounded only by archangels and heavenly warriors. He warms the world through his created sun. He brings peace and order. He is in his own being blessed and he has pity on people’s wretchedness. He alone judges and forgives and enables people to overcome their evil tendencies. From now on, Pachacuti commanded the aristocracy, the sun was to be regarded, like humanity, as created and that prayer was to be directed to Viracocha with awe and humility. (33-41) The Wa (Burma) In the 1880’s, Pu Chan, a Wa tribesman, persuaded several thousand of his people to abandon headhunting and spirit-appeasement. He said the true God was about to send the long-awaited ‘white brother with a copy of the lost book’ that had been part of their folk-lore from time immemorial. If the brother learned that the Wa people were doing evil things, he might consider them unworthy of the true God’s book. One morning Pu Chan readied a Wa pony, and told some of his disciples to follow it. He said that the previous night the true God had told him that at last the white brother was near. God would cause the pony to lead them to him. The pony started walking. Surely it would simply stop at the nearest stream. To the disciples’ amazement it kept going. On and on it went for about 200 miles over mountainous trails and down into the city of Kengtung, then turned into the gate of a mission compound and headed straight for a well. The disciples looked all around. No white man. No book. Hearing sounds in the well, they peered in. From the dry well a white face greeted them. Did he have a book from God? Yes! Before long about 10,000 Wa people had given their lives to Jesus. (87, 102-104) (Of course, there’s nothing special about being white. It’s just an historical fact that for some people groups it was white people who first brought them the Gospel.) The Gedeo (Ethiopia) The Gedeo were a half-million strong Ethiopian tribe who believed in Magano, the benevolent, omnipotent, Creator of everything. And yet few prayed to Magano. They were far more concerned about trying to appease Sheit’an, an evil spirit. They felt they did not know Magano well enough to be free from this evil spirit. One day, however, a Gedeo man, Warrasa, prayed that Magano reveal himself to the Gedeo people. Then followed a vision in which he saw two white-skinned strangers erect temporary shelters under a certain sycamore tree near Warrasa’s hometown, Dilla. Later they built more permanent shiny-roofed structures. Warrasa had never seen either type of dwelling before. A voice told him that these men would bring a message from Magano. During the next eight years other Gedeo soothsayers prophesied that strangers would soon arrive with a message from Magano. At the end of 1948, missionaries Brunt and Cain planned to set up base far from Dilla but the political climate forced them to decide on Dilla. So two white men erected tents under that very sycamore tree Warrasa had seen in his vision. Events continued to unfold in accordance with the vision. Today there are tens of thousands of Gedeo Christians. (54-56) ‘What happened among the Gedeo is by no means an isolated incident,’ writes Richardson. ‘Incredible as it seems, literally thousands of Christian missionaries down through history have been startled by exuberant welcome even among some of the earth’s remotest peoples! Folk . . . anticipated the coming of message-bearers for the true God almost as knowledgeably as if they had read about them in the morning news!’ (56) The Mbaka (Africa) The Mbaka believed that the Creator revealed to their ancestors that he had sent his Son into the world to do something wonderful for all humanity. Their ancestors, the folklore continues, later turned from the truth about the Creator’s Son and in time even forgot what he had achieved for humanity. Since then successive generations longed to know the truth about the Creator’s Son. All that they could learn was that messengers, who would probably be white, would eventually come to restore the lost knowledge. One day those messengers arrived and the Mbaka embraced the Gospel. (56-58) The Karen (Burma) In 1795 an English diplomat received an usually friendly welcome from the Karen people. Through an interpreter they asked if he was the ‘white brother’ they had been expecting for countless generations. If he were, he would have with him a book that their forefathers has lost. It was written by Y’wa, the Supreme God, and it would free them from their oppressors. The diplomat shook his head. Burma was home to about 800,000 Karen people and living in perhaps a thousand of their villages were people they esteemed as prophets of the God they called Y’wa. These special teachers kept reminding the people that the ways of the evil spirits that most of them followed were not the ways of Y’wa and that one day they must fully return to Y’wa’s ways. They rigorously opposed idolatry, and the Karen people refused to succumb to centuries of strong Buddhist influence. (73-77) Here is one of their hymns: The omnipotent is Y’wa; him we have not believed. Y’wa created men anciently; He has perfect knowledge of all things. Y’wa created men at the beginning; He knows all things to the present time. O my children and grandchildren! The earth is the treading place of the feet of Y’wa, And heaven is the place where he sits. He sees all things, and we are manifest to him. And another: Y’wa formed the world originally. He appointed food and drink. He appointed the ‘fruit of trial.’ He gave detailed orders. Mu-kaw-lee deceived two persons. He caused them to eat the fruit of the tree of trial. They obeyed not; they believed not Y’wa . . . When they ate the ‘fruit of trial,’ They became subject to sickness, aging, and death . . . (78) In 1816 a Muslim made contact with some Karen people. He was not very light skinned but upon questioning they discovered that he had a book he said was from God. The people were so interested that he gave it to them as a parting gift. For twelve years they venerated that book and kept constant vigil for the teacher who would one day give them understanding of the contents of the book. (76) Finally the white man they had been expecting arrived, opened the book and found it to be Christian – the Book and Common Prayer and the Psalms. The missionary affirmed it was indeed a good book from God, who alone should be worshipped. Their faces lit up, but darkened again when he explained they should not have worshipped the book. The tribesman who had gained honor as custodian of the book surrendered his status and became a humble follower of Jesus, along with tens of thousands of his people. (95) The Lisu (China) In southwestern China several hundred thousand Lisu expected a white man to one day arrive with the book of the true God written in their own language. The amazing thing is that as at that time there had never been a written form of their language. Of course, it happened and they responded. (89, 105) Korea and China Richardson cites evidence of an ancient belief in China and Korea that there was just one God and he must never be represented by idols. This belief seems to have predated Confucius by over 2,000 years. By about 1000 BC, however, religious leaders so emphasized God’s majesty and holiness that they decided that the Emperor was good enough to worship him just once a year. Everyone else was forbidden from worshipping God directly. (63) The Santal (India) In the late 1860s two missionaries began preaching to the Santal people, of whom there were about two and a half million. Suddenly Santal sages excitedly declared that this new teaching must mean that the ‘Genuine God’ had not forgotten them after all. It turned out that these people believed they originated from the direction of what we call the Middle East and that their ancestors traveled with a knowledge of the Genuine God, until they came to some impassable mountains. In desperation they made a covenant to serve the spirits of the mountains if the spirits showed them a way through the mountains. Soon after they found a pass (the Khyber Pass?). Because of their oath, the Santal began appeasing spirits and engaging in sorcery until all knowledge of the ‘Genuine God’ was lost except the name. The thought that Jesus could heal the rift between their race and the ‘Genuine God’ moved them so greatly that tens of thousands became Christians. (41-48) The Motilones (South America) There are very many other stories from around the world. This one comes from Bruce E Olson’s book Bruchko, Altamonte Springs, Florida, Creation House, 1978, pages 132, 139-140, 152. The Motilone people believed that a long time ago a false prophet deceived them, leading them away from God and now they were unable to find their way back. They had a legend that a prophet would come carrying banana stalks and God would come out of the stalks. Upon questioning this belief, Olson was shown a banana stalk like the one mentioned in the legend. Suddenly he realized that the stalk looked like the leaves of his Bible. This significantly increased the natives’ interest in the missionary’s message. A native in Dutch Guiana (now Suriname, South America) Years before he had heard of missionaries, Adiri received dreams and visions in which he was convicted of sin and apparently converted. Heaven and hell were revealed to him. Near death because of illness, One appeared to him announcing that he was the mediator between God and man, and telling Adiri to go to missionaries for instruction. (Source: The Missionary Review of the World, July, 1896: 519-523, referred to in Strong’s Systematic Theology: 844) You might say, ‘Ah, but missionaries were involved!’ Yes, for two reasons. First, if this had happened centuries before the arrival of missionaries, we would never have heard of the event. In other words, who knows how many times such incidents have been repeated in unrecorded history? Second, would God have let Adiri remain in ignorance of so many other spiritual truths when missionaries were so close? Moreover, I believe missionaries are always God’s preferred option, because the enormity of his love for his children drives him to seek our involvement in his work. Christ died to make us royalty, and he longs for us to start acting like it right now by sharing in the most important work in the universe. Even when no obvious human intermediary is involved, I believe God is working through the prayers of his people. About Don Richardson What prompted Don Richardson’s research into the religions of primitives is itself an amazing story. He bravely brought his family to live with cannibals for whom treachery was their highest virtue. This Irian Jayan tribe delighted in befriending strangers and showering them with kindness for months until their unsuspecting victims felt totally safe and accepted. Then they would suddenly kill and eat them. So perverse were these natives that when Don shared with them the Gospel story, Judas became their new hero. Jesus was the dupe to be laughed at. It seemed impossible for Gospel light to penetrate their darkened minds. Then tribal war broke out and Don threatened to leave unless they made peace. They wanted Don’s medicines, so they decided on a truce. Richardson began to wonder how a peace settlement could ever take place between people who esteemed deception. A man sadly gave up his baby boy and offered it to the other tribe for adoption. For as long as the son lived, there would be peace. Don, seeing the connection, exclaimed that Jesus was the Peace Child given by God to the world. Suddenly, the natives saw everything in a new light. To kill a Peace Child was a grave offense. They knew that a person giving up his son was a person to be trusted. Because Christ lives forever, peace with God is possible. Don found other ‘Christ-foreshadowing beliefs’ in their traditions. Everything began to fall into place. It was not too long before they were building a church to hold a thousand people. This experience made Don wonder whether the Lord has similarly seeded into the religions and traditions of other Gospel-ignorant peoples concepts that would prepare them for receiving the Gospel. He made some fascinating discoveries. The above is no substitute for reading Richardson’s books, which contain valuable additional details. Bracketed numbers in the text below indicate pages in Eternity in their Hearts from which the information was taken. Some books by Don Richardson: Peace Child Ventura CA, Regal, 1974 Lords of the Earth Ventura CA, Regal, 1977 Eternity in their Hearts Revised Edition CA, Regal, 1981, 1984

Will they all go to hell? Hope Early in Romans the apostle Paul emphasized that those who have not heard the Gospel are not only guilty in God’s eyes, but in their own eyes. That consciousness of sin opens up the possibility of repentance. And Paul stressed that not only are they guilty of worshipping false gods, they have some knowledge of the true God. That opens the possibility of crying out to the true God for mercy and forgiveness. Yes, their understanding is very limited. They are certainly ignorant of Jesus. Most of them could not even define God as being the God of Abraham. But this is genuine ignorance, as contrasted with the wilful ignorance referred to in John 3:19 as loving darkness rather than light. This genuine ignorance seems most likely to be the type that Paul preached that God would overlook. And indeed we have already mentioned Scriptural examples of people who have called out to God and been accepted by him despite having such an ignorance. This, as we have noted, is because the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice has extended even to them. Addressing heathens, Paul preached that whereas in the past God overlooked their ignorance, he ‘now’ commands them to repent (Acts 17:30). When is the ‘now’ that Paul is referring to? Now that Jesus has died, or now that they are hearing the gospel for the first time? I suggest that in practical terms it refers to the time when they first heard God’s command to repent the time when they had more revelation to respond to. Side note There are not quite the vast numbers who have not heard the gospel as you might think. In fact, the number coming to the Lord Jesus throughout the world is phenomenal. I think you’ll be amazed at the statistics. A huge majority (perhaps 95%) of folk religions throughout the world acknowledge that there is but one great Spirit who is creator. There is strong evidence that this is their most ancient belief and that spirit-appeasement and belief in a multiplicity of gods is a more recent aberration (these findings are consistent with Romans 1:19-25). Missionaries have frequently discovered that God has placed in heathen religions and traditions, seed truths that prepare them for the Gospel. Don Richardson provides fascinating insights into this. You will be deeply moved by these astounding examples of God at work in heathen people. Are you sure they haven’t heard? It is groundless presumption to imagine that people have received no Christian revelation merely because they have had no contact with the Bible or with Christians. We have no way of knowing what God has revealed to people by such means as dreams and visions. People could mentally suppress such revelations or refuse to admit to having had these experiences. Moreover, we do not know how much more God would have revealed to them had they acted on the little they had been given. God, who knows each person’s heart, is unlikely to squander additional revelation on people who refuse to respond to the revelation they have already been given. And yet even the little we do know of this subject is astounding. In Muslim Encounters with Jesus we find examples of God supernaturally revealing himself to Muslims living in countries where to varying degrees the Gospel is suppressed. These are just a few of the stories that reach our ears about those who risk their lives to become Christians. There are no doubt very many incidents that we never get to hear of because the people receiving revelations prefer to reject them and never mention them to a living soul. This is just the tiniest indication of the enormous work that God does within the hearts and minds of people around the world whom we imagine to be cut off from the Christian message. Bringing it together Revelation 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb . . . (10) And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ What a stirring Scripture! Yet it would seem undeniable that many tribes and languages died out before the Gospel could reach them. Did some of that multitude gain access to heaven through Jesus by their earthly repentance and faith, without having heard of Jesus? Those who know nothing of Jesus still have the divinely-given testimony of creation, and God’s dealings through natural events. Next, they have their own conscience and the fact that as Ecclesiastes 3:11 puts it, God has put eternity in their hearts. In addition, first through Adam and then through Noah, all racial groups are descended from people who knew the true God. Somewhere in their traditions and culture is likely to be a dim memory of this, reinforced, perhaps, by some contact in the less distant past with other people groups whose religious beliefs were more pure. The Jews, for instance, were scattered far and wide. In pre-Christian times Jews influenced and converted Gentiles far more than is commonly realized. Then there are those like the Queen of Sheba in Solomon’s reign and the Magi at the time of Jesus’ birth, in whom God puts the yearning to travel to a place where they could increase their spiritual understanding and then return to their own people with a story to tell. Other possibilities include divine visions and dreams given to pagans, and answers to prayer, such as given to the sailors in Jonah’s ship Finally, despite the fact that they have not lived up to the light available to them, and so (like all of us) deserve God’s judgment, if they repent and trust God for forgiveness, there is apparently a sense in which God overlooks certain practices and/or ignorance until they become fully accountable by coming into contact with the gospel. Even in Israel, Christ’s coming brought about the rising and falling of many (Luke 2:34). Perhaps this is even more pronounced with the coming of the Gospel to heathen peoples, (cf 2 Corinthians 2:15-16) with those accepting the message soaring to new spiritual realms and those rejecting it plunging into deeper accountability. Whose Fault? Being born into a people group that does not have the gospel is a key factor in people not hearing the gospel. It is inevitable that children suffer for the sins of their parents, whether it be such things as newborn babies affected by their mother’s sexually transmitted disease, or children descended from people who have rejected knowledge of the true God. We are tempted to think it unfair that children should suffer because of their parents’ sins, but consider the alternative: had their ancestors been prevented from having children, these people would not merely have not suffered, they would not even exist. Nevertheless, it takes divine wisdom to balance tolerance (which gives people the chance to repent – Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9) and the devastation that people can cause by abusing that tolerance. So there are people, like the tribes in Canaan at a certain point in their history, (Genesis 15:16) whose sins against the light they have becomes so great that they fall under the judgment of God and are destroyed, thus preventing them for having children and spreading their evil. The sad fact is that people miss out on hearing the gospel because of the disobedience of others. We’ve mentioned the role of ancestors. The other factor is the disobedience of Christians who have failed to spread the Gospel. Like it or not, God has given humans immense dignity by entrusting to them huge responsibilities. (Acts 20:26-27; 1 Corinthians 9:16) The Bottom Line Human speculation (and mine in particular) is fallible. Nevertheless, you can relax. God is perfectly good, wise, fair, merciful, and so on. He really is. Do you think he needs lessons from us on how to love? You don’t have to work it all out, nor figure God out. He is so trustworthy that you can just hand the whole matter over to him and not worry about it again. After all, judging the world is God’s responsibility, not ours. No one else is marginally qualified to judge the world. He alone knows all the facts and has all the answers. The Lord is more loving, wiser, more fair and compassionate than you and I could ever hope to be. There’s no need to wring our hands wondering whether he is up to the task! The bottom line is that God is God. He is our judge, not vice versa. His love, justice and goodness are above reproach. His morality is not on trial, ours is. It is not for us to worry about the judging of those who haven’t heard; it’s for us to concern ourselves with the fact that we have heard and we will therefore face the Judge fully accountable. (If this concerns you, see You can find love.) We are commanded to have no other gods. We are commanded to preach the Gospel to the ends – of the world. Woe to us if we disregard these commands. In southwest Africa, long before the arrival of missionaries, many Cameroons were caught in a storm while fishing. When his canoe capsized, the chief was in a quandary as to whom he should cry for help. Reasoning that the god of the hills could not help, and that the evil spirit would not help, he prayed to the ‘Great Father’ to save him. Immediately his feet touched the beach. He was one of the few in the party who survived. He gathered his people together and recounted the story, concluding, ‘Now let all my people honor the Great Father, and let no one speak a word against him, for he can save us.’ Thereafter he became renowned as a man of peace, making every effort to prevent strife and bloodshed. His son related the story to missionary Alfred Saker, saying, ‘Why did you not come sooner? My father thirsted for the knowledge of God.’ We might not have all the details as to how God will judge the Gospel-ignorant, but we know it will be good, just, wise, compassionate and perfect, because that is the very nature of God. And judgment will be made with full knowledge of every fact. In stark contrast to human guesses, humanity’s Judge is fully trustworthy. I urge you to read a carefully chosen selection of Scriptures that underlines this point. It is appropriate to end with the Word of God because God will indeed have the last word on this and every other matter. And that’s reassuring. It is also the best part of this webpage. 1 Timothy 2:3 . . . God our Savior, (4) who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Revelation 5:9  . . . ‘You are worthy, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (10) You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’

Muslim Encounters with Jesus ‘. . . more and more stories are coming out of closed countries of God supernaturally evangelizing Muslims through dreams and visions. Of the estimated thousands of new believers in Iran in the last few years, over half of them became believers after Jesus personally came to them in a dream or vision.’ Wendell Evans of the Billy Graham Center’s Institute for Muslim Studies refers to ‘the frequency of reported dreams and visions of Christ among Muslims . . .’ (Source: The Pentecostal Testimony, reprinted in Missions Update produced by AOG World Missions, PO Box 254, Mitcham, Victoria, 3132, Australia, April/June 1998, page 11) Hell Abdullah was a faithful Muslim. He lived just an hour’s drive from Mecca, prayed in the mosque five times a day, practiced all the Muslim beliefs, and, of course, regularly visited Mecca. Like many Muslims, he was taught that Christians had evil spirits and that he must keep away from them. One night Abdullah dreamed he was in hell, burning in a blazing fire. The next morning, very worried, he prayed to Allah, ‘I have done everything well; why would I go to hell?’ During the following days he grew increasingly troubled. One night he was sleepless because of fear, when at midnight a bright light lit his room and a voice said, ‘I am Jesus. Come to me. I am the way to heaven. Follow me and you shall be saved from hell.’ Abdullah fell on his face crying and said, ‘Please help me find you.’ Within days Abdullah found a Christian Bible and began reading it. He soon committed his life to Jesus. Filled with joy, he started sharing his new-found faith with his family and friends. By his country’s law, however, a Muslim who leaves his faith must be killed. Abdullah’s family turned him over to the authorities. He was jailed and tortured for months. When Abdullah refused to deny Jesus, he was taken to the Sheria Court, where the most dangerous criminals are tried. The judge said to Abdullah, ‘Deny your new beliefs and you will walk out a free man; if you don’t, you will be beheaded.’ ‘I will never deny Jesus,’ Abdullah replied, ‘If you kill me I will go to heaven, but my blood will be on your hands.’ Abdullah was sentenced to be beheaded the following Friday. He was returned to jail and bound hands and feet. On the day of his execution, however, no one turned up. Next Monday morning the guards removed his chains saying, ‘Run you demon, we do not want to see you again.’ Unable to believe his ears, Abdullah asked for an explanation. The guards said that on the day Abdullah was to be executed the judge’s son had suddenly died. As a result the judge reversed his decision. Like most Saudis, Abdullah was from a wealthy family and had everything he needed. Not only was he rejected by his family, he had no source of income, and could not get a job because he was considered a betrayer. All of his identification papers were taken from him and he could have been arrested again at any time. And yet despite this pressure Abdullah continued to live for several years in Saudi Arabia, actively telling others about Jesus. (Source: The article was written by ‘Pastor Daniel’ who met ‘Abdullah’ (not his real name) in Saudi Arabia. ‘Pastor Daniel’ ministered in that country from 1995 to 1998 and is now residing in Australia.) Peace Indian-born Ibrahim Yousef James moved with his family to Kuwait when he was six. While still in his teens he went into business with his older brother and by the time he was 20, he had amassed a fortune. He owned the largest television production facility in Kuwait. A devout Muslim, he studied the Koran and kept all the religious Islamic traditions. He gave money to the poor and made many pilgrimages to Mecca. There was only one thing Ibrahim had attempted and failed. He tried suicide four times. Why could he not find peace? He searched the Koran for answers but found none. He went to England to study electronic engineering. In the month of Ramadan, during the last week of his fast, he developed insomnia. No matter what he tried, sleep eluded him. Prowling around in his hotel room he found a Bible. Flipping it open he read ‘Where to find help in time of need’. He read the list and found ‘needing sleep – Psalm 4.’ ‘If you are the God of this book, give me sleep,’ he prayed. He stretched across the bed and fell into a deep dreamless sleep. The next morning he forgot about the Bible and God. Later in the week he came across a man on the street preaching and claiming that Jesus was the only way to God. Ibrahim thought it was all rubbish and Jesus was not the son of God. He also came across an American couple who told him to ask God for the answer, and that God loves him and will speak to him. Ibrahim had never heard of anyone say that God would speak to them. Five nights later Ibrahim dreamed of a bright light in the form of a cross and a voice said, ‘This is my way. Jesus is my son. I give my peace to you. I leave my joy with you’. He had heard from God, and spent the day counting the cost of following Jesus. He knew he would be rejected totally. But the more he thought about Jesus, the more he wanted to know. He met a Christian lady who told him about Jesus, and Ibrahim, weeping openly, gave his life to the Lord Jesus. The first thing he did was to tell his family. They were all very angry and told him that they never want to hear from him again. Ibrahim began seriously studying the Bible and married a Christian woman. There was no reconciliation from his family. Then one day he got a telegram asking him to attend his sister’s wedding. ‘We forgive you, please come,’ said his father. As Ibrahim prayed about it, God told him not to take his wife. Upon arriving in Bombay, Ibrahim was warmly welcomed by his relatives and friends. Before long, however, his father attacked him, beating, kicking and punching Ibrahim until he was blinded with blood. Every member of Ibrahim’s family supported his father’s action. ‘I cannot deny Christ,’ Ibrahim kept saying. His father pointed a gun at him. Just seconds before he fired, Ibrahim’s uncle grabbed the gun from his father. Ibrahim was kept as a prisoner in the house. They destroyed all his wedding pictures, Bible, Christian books and tapes. As days passed Ibrahim’s father felt that he was coming around, but he still kept him prisoner, instructing guards to shoot Ibrahim if he ever tried to leave. Gradually he was allowed to go out to meet friends but not without a guard. One day Ibrahim asked to see his school friend and his father took him out. God said to Ibrahim, ‘This is the day to leave your family.’ His father had to inspect something on the way, so he let Ibrahim complete the journey on his own. Seizing the opportunity, Ibrahim went straight to a Christian pastor, who helped him get away. Recently Ibrahim spoke to his father by phone and his father admitted, ‘I know that your God is real because for ten years all our plans to harm you have failed.’ (Source: The Price of Peace, an article published in The Believer's Voice of Victory' Magazine, April 1998, published by Kenneth Copland and Gloria Copland from the UK.) Ibrahim's story took place around the year 1986-87. *** Today, Ibrahim and his wife work tirelessly spreading the gospel to every Arab speaking nation, often risking their lives to do it. For this reason his real name must be suppressed. Madame Bilquis Sheikh was a high-born Muslim, former wife of a Minister of the Interior, in Pakistan. God gave her dreams and visions about John the Baptist, about himself as God the Father, Jesus the son and the Holy Spirit. He led her to read the Bible. Her family came to know of her new beliefs and confronted her. She was so convinced of her new found truth, however, that they plotted to kill her. They even tried to burn her house. Her family boycotted her, and the servants, who were Muslims, left her, calling her a traitor and an infidel. She received many threats from her family and outsiders. An Army General of Pakistan visited, asking her ‘Why did you do it?’ She replied she has been called to witness Jesus Christ and she will obey Him, no matter what comes her way. She finally escaped to the US and wrote a book about her experiences. (Source: Bilquis Sheikh with Richard H. Schneider I dared to call Him Father, Word of Life Publication 1980, Poona, India.) Her conversion was around 1976.

Where will they spend eternity? Have we conservative Bible-believers been unjustifiably hasty in presuming there is no hope for those who die without hearing of Jesus? The undeniable fact that only Jesus’ sacrifice can save a person from hell does not compel the assumption that all heathen who have never heard the gospel will be banished from heaven. We’ll have to dig deeper than that in this easy-to-read look at a most difficult question. (This webpage is consistent with Strong’s Systematic Theology and the views of many other conservative theologians.) For who knows how many thousands of years, natives in Australia, the Americas, and so on knew nothing about Jesus or the Bible. Did the God who wants no one to perish leave them without a chance of salvation? ‘Answers’ are easy. It’s being sure that the answer is correct that’s the hard bit! We’ll plunge in where perhaps angels fear to dabble, but first some important orientation: What makes the fate of those who have never heard the gospel, a particularly difficult question is the fact that it is of no real importance to you and me, who have heard. And God rarely feels constrained to satisfy idle curiosity. We already have an embarrassing abundance of divinely-given knowledge that we are not fully using. Among the things God has told us over and over is that he is good and loving and just, that he is no respecter of persons, his judgments are righteous and that we should trust him. It is largely our failure to accept these revelations that makes the destiny of those who have not heard such a burning issue. Although faith in the revealed character of God should suffice, the sad fact is that many of us have a half-buried fear that God might be callous and unjust, and this makes it hard for us to love God. And some of us actually suspect that God must be callous and unjust, and this tends to make us callous and bigoted. So, as ridiculous as it sounds, instead of simply asking you to trust God’s character, I’ll try to provide additional reasons for believing that God handles the fate of the spiritually ignorant in a trustworthy manner. Fundamentals Here are some basics that this webpage will never stray from: * Although Scripture says God is partially revealed outside of the Bible (by creation, for instance) his full revelation to humanity is found only in the Bible. Except for the purpose of evangelism, there is nothing to be gained by Christians studying non-Christian religions. * There is no hope for those who die having consciously rejected Jesus’ sacrifice as their sole means of salvation. This webpage looks at those who have had no opportunity to accept or reject the Gospel. * We are commanded to preach the Gospel to all people groups. God would only command this if it were important. * It would be perfect justice for everyone on this planet to be sent to hell. Our consciences have grown so callous by the corrupting effect of our own sin, that we have no conception of how deserving of hell every one of us is. Not one of us has kept our own moral standards, much less God’s holy standards. No one, whether Christian or pagan, deserves heaven. The Plunge There is salvation through no one but Jesus (Acts 4:12) and no one who dies rejecting Jesus can be saved. Nevertheless, this does not imply that everyone must know about Jesus before Jesus can save them. Scripture teaches that Jesus died as much for those who died before his sacrifice, as he died for those who were born after his sacrifice (see Hebrews 9:25-28). Pre-Christian saints like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and so on, will be in heaven even though they never sought forgiveness through Jesus. As indicated in Hebrews 11, (note especially verse 7; Romans 4:1-24; Galatians 3:6-9) they were saved through faith, not by their animal sacrifices or good living. They trusted that God would somehow forgive them, without knowing the details as to how salvation was possible. At least in these instances, Jesus’ salvation clearly extended to those who had never heard of him. Abel, Enoch and Noah were outside God’s covenant mediated by Moses, and even outside the Abrahamic covenant. People to whom the gospel has not yet reached would seem, for all practical purposes, to be still in the pre-Christian era. So let’s examine how God treated such people in pre-Christian times. Hope Before Christ There were those like the two ancestresses of the Messiah, Rahab and Ruth, who were originally totally outside of God’s covenant and yet became part of God’s people. Both of these women would seem as far from the true God as one could get. Rahab was not only a harlot, but a Canaanite, belonging to the very race and generation that God commanded to be totally wiped out. Ruth was a Moabite, and Deuteronomy 23:3 says that no Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord even down to the tenth generation. There are many biblical references to people from other nations joining Israel – and hence partaking of God’s blessing – such as the ‘mixed multitude’ that left Egypt with Israel (Exodus 12:38). God’s covenant with Israel applied as much to them as it did to physical descendants of Abraham. The Mosaic law repeatedly speaks of individual Gentiles becoming part of Israel and partaking of all of Israel’s blessings. They were to receive tithes, offer sacrifices, partake of the holy feasts, and so on. The law stipulated there was to be no distinction between these people and those who were Israelites by birth. Non-Israelites In Old Testament times, the Israelites were God’s special people, rather like Christians are God’s special people today (1 Peter 2:9-10). It is significant, however, that this does not imply God spiritually abandoned those who remained outside Israel. Even though the focus of the Old Testament is God’s dealings with the Israelites, it is filled with references to God working in the lives and giving revelation to people who remained non-Israelites. Consider all the effort the Lord went to in ensuring Jonah did what was needed to save the Ninevites. If God intended to torment each of the Ninevites forever in hell why would he want so much for them to repent so that he could give them a few more years on earth? Surely a God so deeply concerned for their earthly well-being would be even more concerned about their eternal welfare. Matthew 12:41 is interesting: ‘The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah . . .’ The redeemed will play a role in judging. Is Jesus implying that through their repentance the Ninevites are counted among the redeemed? In Acts 14, Paul spoke to people who were so pagan that they wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods, and yet Paul declared that even before the gospel reached them, God had ensured they had a witness to himself by showing them kindness, giving them rain and food, filling their hearts with joy (Acts 14:17). Later, speaking to another crowd of similarly ignorant, but much more sophisticated people, Paul declared that God created the nations, assigning their territories and their eras, ‘so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us’ (Acts 17:27). Does the significance electrify you? God wanted pagans to find him – people who were outside the Abrahamic covenant and (due to the time and/or place in which they lived) without a chance of hearing the Gospel. Added to this, we have the clear teaching of Scripture that it is not God’s desire for any to perish, but that they all turn in repentance to God (2 Peter 3:9). Moved by the Spirit of God, Paul writes that it is God’s wish that everyone be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This does not mean that everyone will be saved – we know from the clear teaching of Scripture that many will reject God’s salvation – but that cannot negate the fact that it is God’s wish that all be saved. Although justice would be fully met if God sent us all to hell, he is the good Shepherd. He does not desert the lost even if it is their fault that they wandered off. On the contrary, he seeks the lost, giving them priority over those who are secure (Luke 15:3-7). This is the heart of my Lord. He is the God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but longs for them to repent and live (Ezekiel 33:11). Please permit me to for a moment express a personal feeling, not intended to in any way reflect on wonderful Christians who do not share my view. If I believed God would let millions slip into eternal torment without offering them so much as a possibility of finding forgiveness, I would be devastated if I were to see my loving Lord face to face and hear him say with tears in his eyes, ‘How could you think that I could be so heartless?’ Degrees of Accountability The depraved inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon were repeatedly singled out for condemnation by Old Testament prophets (eg Isaiah 23; Jeremiah 25:22; 47:4; Ezekiel 26:3-7; 28:12-22; Amos 1:9-10). Yet Jesus said that these pagans would have repented if Jesus had visited them, preaching and performing miracles like he did in first century Galilee. Is this just a hypothetical of no eternal consequence to the citizens of Tyre and Sidon? Must these heathen face the final judgment with no allowance made for the fact that Jesus never visited them? Apparently not. Jesus said it will be more tolerable for them than for the first century Jews who rejected him (Matthew 11:20-22). Jesus doesn’t specify where these heathen will spend eternity. We know, however, that the fact that they would not have rejected Jesus’ ministry makes their future somehow more bearable than for those Jews who failed to repent when Jesus ministered to them. Jesus was here declaring a principle applicable to all heathen, not something peculiar to Tyre and Sidon. This is evident from the fact that he immediately proceeded to speak in a similar way about Sodom (Matthew 11:23-24, 10:15), a city belonging to a quite different culture and era. Jesus said that had he preached and performed his mighty works in that wicked city, they, too, would have repented. The people of Sodom knew they were acting wickedly. Moreover, they had the living witness of righteous Lot. Even so, Jesus held them less accountable, and declared their judgment will be less severe because they would have acted differently had Jesus been there in person. It seems safe to conclude from this passage that in the final judgment of people who never knew Jesus, full consideration is given to how they would have responded if Jesus had personally appeared to them, teaching and working miracles in their midst. Jesus noticed people giving temple donations. A woman tossed in the smallest available coin and then another. It was pathetic. It totaled a measly one sixty-fourth of a laborer’s daily wage. And yet Jesus heaped praise upon this impoverished widow, declaring she had out-given everyone else. (Mark 12:41-44) This is most significant because the Person who praised that woman is our Judge. It clearly demonstrates what we would expect from a good, loving, all-knowing God: he is fully aware of how much or little we each have been given, and he judges us according to our faithfulness with whatever we have, not on the basis of what we have not been given. On the other hand, for the person to whom much is given, taught Jesus, much is required. He told a parable in which the degree of punishment reflected the extent to which the person was aware that he was doing wrong. (Luke 12:47-48) God has distributed his gifts unevenly, whether it be abilities, wealth, intelligence, availability of spiritual knowledge, or whatever. Regardless of how much or how little people have in the way of gifts and spiritual opportunities, however, we all have equal opportunities to be faithful with whatever is entrusted to us. And it is faithfulness that impresses God, not how much he has given us. To us, the spiritual achievements of the one given little might seem as useless as that woman’s insignificant offering, but it could thrill the heart of Jesus, the Judge of all the world. Nevertheless, Paul proves that even on the basis of this generous assessment, everyone stands condemned. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul says that the heathen who have never read a word of Scripture, have a rudimentary knowledge of the Creator. They themselves and everything they see and touch and eat, are God’s handiwork. He says God judges them, not because they reject a Gospel they have never heard of, but because they are unfaithful to the small revelation they have been given. Their earthly judgment for disregarding this revelation is a darkened mind, bondage to false religion and depraved behavior. Significantly, Scripture says these heathen sin, and approve of others sinning, ‘although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death’ (Romans 1:32). Paul was referring to people who knew not a fragment of the Bible, (Romans 2:11-16) and yet, he declared, they inwardly ‘know God’s righteous decree.’ This does not, of course, imply they know all of God’s requirements but, like us, they have enough understanding to deserve hell. God’s Tolerance of the Gospel-Ignorant Paul preached that in previous generations God permitted the non-Jewish nations to walk in their own ways (Acts 14:16). What is meant by ‘permitted?’ It cannot merely mean that God did not prevent these things from happening, because the implication is strong (and in Acts 17:30-31 it is spelled out) that this era of divine tolerance had come to an end. And we know that even today God does not make it impossible for people to reject the Gospel and participate in false religion. Acts 17:30-31 says, ‘In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. (31) For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.’ A degree of divine mystery clouds these Scriptures. They seem to imply God would not hold such people accountable for at least some of their actions. It is hard to be certain what this involves, since Paul proves early in Romans that everyone stands guilty before God, even those who have not heard God’s law. Yet still there is hope . . . Continued . . . Next

You can Transform your Marriage Turning Marital Hell into Heaven I guess you’ve heard of the needless deaths of young men in fast cars driving at speed straight at each other, trying not to be the one who chickens out by changing course. When they both ‘win,’ they both lose – with horrific consequences. That’s the deadly game we play with marriage when, instead of taking the responsibility upon ourselves, we wait for our partner to change. Leaving it to our partner to change ensures we end up losers, no matter how self-righteously we hold our ground. The only person we have rightful power to change is ourselves. To keep blaming the other person for all our difficulties is to take upon ourselves the victim mentality, with the result that we will have little opportunity to benefit from the situation, such as learning how to react differently. We all like to think we are pretty close to perfection and that it is our partner who most needs to lift his/her game. This attitude inevitably produces a stalemate that at best leads to a stale marriage and at worst . . . well, you don’t even want to think about that. The instant you change, however, the stalemate is broken. By changing yourself, you change the entire dynamics of your marriage, which, incidentally, will change your partner as well. For a real-life example of the need to focus on changing ourselves, I’ll adapt an e-mail exchange I had. To fully conceal her identity, I will call her ‘Betty,’ and not even reveal what country she lives in. Nor do I wish to imply that my guesses about her marriage are accurate. What matters is that it illustrates the dynamics typically found within marriages. We usually see our own rights as being paramount and anyone who see things differently from us is clearly wrong. And if we seek counselling, it is often to seek additional support in vindicating ourselves and enforcing our desires upon our partner. I care too much for people to go down that path. Anyone coming to me with such motives is likely to be painfully disappointed. Since the key is to change oneself, not one’s partner, the last thing we need is to be reminded of our partner’s failings. With this in mind, I try always to take the side of the partner I am not counselling, even if the one I am counselling is an angel relative to the other. So don’t imagine I am biased toward husbands. Had the roles been reversed and Betty’s husband, ‘Rick,’ privately approached me, blaming his wife, I would have strongly taken Betty’s side, emphasizing his need to change. Betty writes : My husband is extremely self-centered. If he wants something, he gets it. He has managed to go on a vacation every year, without me or the children. He, I know, is like most men, but I am so tired of trying to feel special. My reply : You hurt deeply, precious sister. Every human has a seemingly insatiable need to feel special. Women typically see a manifestation of this need in men and with disdain label it “male ego.” Men see it in women and often dismiss it as childish emotionalism. But each of us has it, and it is neither childish, nor egotistical. Instead, it is a manifestation of the most noble thing about being human. What makes us humans so astounding is that we are divinely crafted with the amazing capacity to contain the Infinite and to relate to Perfection. And nothing less will satisfy. We were made to derive our sense of worth from the only Person in the universe big enough to do so – Almighty God himself. You have this basic need to feel special because in your Maker’s eyes you are special, and he longs to satisfy that craving by being to you everything you need. Like me, you are anxious to get to the nitty-gritty of your complaints against your husband. I will get there as soon as I can, but to truly help you I must first strengthen the foundation upon which all thriving Christian marriages are built. A friend of mine suffered great emotional deprivation, the memory of which haunted her adult years. It all stemmed from her earthly father wanting a boy, not a girl. The earthly father to whom God entrusted her was horribly mistaken. Her real Father – our Creator – wanted a girl, and that’s exactly what he made. There are a thousand variations to this theme. Maybe the earthly parents God lent you to wanted an athlete or an academic, or something else you are not, but the wisest, most exalted, most important Person in the Universe – your Father in the fullest and ultimate sense – thinks very differently. To your Maker, you are no accident or disappointment. You are exactly what he chose to make. It is true that we can bear the marks of Adam’s sin – such as genetic deformities – which will be swept away in the life to come. But if such challenges did not fit perfectly into the Almighty’s earthly plans for you, he would change you in an instant. And not only is the Perfect One your Maker, he is your Savior, who suffered agonizing death for you. Talk about vested interests! Can you conceive how much the King of kings has invested in you? For you, he poured out not only his creative genius, but his last drop of blood. Since, in order to gain your friendship, God withheld not even what was dearest to his heart – the life of his infinitely precious only Son – Scripture insists that there is nothing in the entire universe he would withhold from you (Romans 8:32). It is no exaggeration to say you are of infinite importance to the loftiest and most important Person in the universe. When we look to humans – the finite and imperfect – to satisfy our desperate need for the Infinite and Perfect, is it any wonder that we end up so emotionally starved that we almost suck the life out of our partner and are still left utterly frustrated and unfulfilled? God offers each of us a banquet of love so vast that we could feast on it for a million years and still have as many untasted delights ahead of us as when we began. Our tragedy is that God seems to us so distant and unreal that, instead of feasting on the Infinite, we become hooked on trying to force out of human relationships satisfaction that no one less than God can give. The ecstasy of romantic love might, for a while, drug an awareness of our craving for divine love, but as a pet dog cannot fill our need for perfect love, neither can a marriage partner. There isn’t space here to expound on this vast and vital subject. You might think I’ve already spent too much time on it here, but it is actually the foundation of marital happiness. It is so important that I have dealt with in links provided below. It is only when the bottomless pit within us is filled by the Infinite – when our ravenous emotional hunger begins to be satisfied by the Lover of our souls – that our incessant craving to feel special will calm enough for us to end our frantic, fruitless attempts to squeeze out of a human what only God can give. Let’s get real: our yearning to feel special is not met by the miracle of salvation, although that is the essential starting point. We need supernatural insight into how special we are to God. And we need nothing less than ever-deepening, never-ending intimacy with the Infinite Lord. I desperately need more than I presently experience. Neither you nor I are living in the fullness of all that is available to us. There is always more in God than we currently have. I presume that if we instantly received all we crave, we would end up losers because we’d be less motivated to keep seeking more of God. There is far more that we need than we are even aware of. So we must keep looking to the Lord for more, resisting the temptation to act like the godless who put their hope in a mere human. In biblical times, God’s people were constantly tempted to mix worshipping the true God with worshipping a god they could see and touch. The Lord repeatedly referred to idol worship as going after lovers. In our secular society we are even less sophisticated. Our preference for worshipping what we can see and touch, drives us to literally go after lovers, rather than the true God. No matter how moral we are, when we look to humans, we are truly looking for love in all the wrong places. At least other cultures are smart enough to recognize that their needs are beyond what any human can offer. Not surprisingly, they typically end up less disillusioned with their marriage partners and have far lower divorce rates than our society. And if you think we don’t worship humans, think again. The most important commandment, emphasized Jesus, is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. The one we are most in love with is the one we worship. We literally adore that person. I have a chronic need for a deeper consciousness of God’s personal love for me, and I suspect even the most spiritual of us have this need for more, whether we realize it or not. For some vital help on this matter, see: The Ultimate Love Affair You are Loved The Most Tortured Conscience Can Find Peace God's Will For You God as Mother and the Dadda You Always Wanted Lord make him regret what he did! To God You Are Special When God Seems Far Away The words “to know him is to love him,” apply to God like no one else. Our dilemma is that personal hang-ups and misconceptions drive even devout Christians to keep a little distance between us and God, thus hindering us from knowing God so intimately that we are head over heels in love with him. The average Christian couple are so starved of God’s love that they are nearly like two hungry cannibals constantly tempted to eat each other to satisfy the gnawing emptiness within them. In fact, both partners think God gave them the other to eat. Little wonder there is conflict! How could dedicated Christians end up starved of God’s love? It sounds impossible, but it happens all the time. We often miss the joys of intimacy with God because although we try to force ourselves to reach out to God, deep down is a fear or doubt about God that makes us want to shrink from him. We might suspect that God is selfish, or fear he is not good and kind, or doubt that he is trustworthy. We wonder whether God might let us down, or hurt us. You might think he favors others over yourself, or feel that he frowns on you. You might think he wants your happiness less than you want it. Such concerns usually have little to do with God but are carry-overs from us being poorly treated by people. We unconsciously make the irrational assumption that the Almighty must be rather like other people. Even if we rationally make the distinction, the scars of past hurts often remain, like a rape survivor having difficulty relating to her husband, whose love and gentleness she knows is so very different to the rapist. Another huge problem is us resenting God for not preventing our past hurts. There are answers to all our concerns, and until we begin to find those answers, we are not emotionally ready to tackle the rest of this webpage. For help with this, see: Why Does God Allow Suffering? Life's Mysteries Explained Turning Hate Into Healing You will find the following hurtful, rather than helpful, while emotional hunger pains still tear at your insides, screaming out for satisfaction that God alone can give. To read what follows while your heart is still broken would be like trying to learn to ski with a broken leg. The healing we need can only be found by plunging into the bottomless, healing pools of divine love. It is more blessed to give than to receive, but we have little chance of entering into the blessing of giving love until we discover how loved of God we are. Until then, we have little capacity to give selfless love. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We were created not to be leeches, but lovers. We are divinely ordained to be like God, who gives and gives and gives. But we can only fulfil our destiny after tapping in to an infinite source of love. So keep looking to your relationship with the Lord for the emotional fulfilment your need, resisting our natural tendency of expecting our partner to be God for us. I suggest you begin by bookmarking this page and reading all of the above links. One final word before plunging in: when we continually turn the other cheek, we are sorely tempted to think we have lost our dignity. We feel like dirt. In reality, we are acting like divine royalty; like the King of kings who for your sake became a suffering servant. Let that sink in: when we deliberately lower ourselves, we are acting like the exalted Lord; we are beginning to fill the shoes of the mighty Son of God, our Leader and Example, who yielded to torturous humiliation, knowing he was headed for eternal glory. When we do good to those who wrongfully treat us, we are proving ourselves to be true sons and daughters of Almighty God. Acting like a slave, insisted Jesus, is the path to greatness (Mark 10:43-44). We can only do that by drawing upon the vast resources of a rich, fulfilling relationship with the Lord of lords. Let’s remind ourselves of Betty’s e-mail: My husband is extremely self-centered. If he wants something, he gets it. He has managed to go on a vacation every year, without me or the children. He, I know, is like most men, but I am so tired of trying to feel special. My reply: You know in every fiber of your being just how important it is to feel special in the eyes of one’s partner. And you know, not just in theory but by bitter experience, how much marital pain self-centeredness causes. So, in the light of all your understanding, why is it that your efforts to make someone feel special center upon yourself? How special do you make Rick feel? My guess is that, like many of us, your inner pain has been so horrific that you have been unable to consider such a question. Suppose a bomb exploded in your house. In an instant your arm is blown off. Rick has lost his leg. You are both bleeding to death. As you reel in agony you would hardly be able even to think of Rick’s wounds, most less attend to them. I believe this is where you and Rick have been emotionally. I pray that by prayerfully reading the above links you are now beginning to find in God the healing that is essential for you to brave the rest of this webpage. This is no quick fix, however. We need daily intimacy with the Lord. It’s my guess that for years you valiantly attempted to meet Rick’s needs to feel special, but the most loving of us have only a finite store of love. We can persevere only for so long before our reserves of love begin to run dry. If you have truly been born again, you have tapped into divine love. But we all have blockages in our channel to God’s love, preventing all but a trickle of the Infinite love available to us to eke through to us. Even as I write, I am seeking the Lord to open my eyes to the things in my own life that are greatly restricting the flow. Without supernatural love we cannot possibly act like Christ. You were born to be like God, and born again for this purpose. Christ came not only to make this possible but to show us what it means to be like God. Though he knew that what was about to happen was so horrific that he had been sweating blood over it, Jesus still focused on the needs of others, even healing the ear of one of those arresting him. Right was on his side, yet he submitted to injustice. Later, despite having the power to strike his captors dead in an instant, he obeyed the soldiers and carried the cross he would die on. As heartless soldiers were hammering cruel nails through his flesh, our Savior pushed through searing pain to pray compassionately for his torturers, seeking their forgiveness. As his life continued to ebb away, he ministered to the spiritual needs of a thief. Newly risen from the grave, he gave priority to comforting the disciples who had denied and deserted him in his time of need. That’s how God loves. He has loved us not because we deserve it, nor in response to our love, nor because it is painless, but solely because he has committed himself to loving us. For us to begin to love as God loves us involves loving not because someone loves us or treats us as we should be treated, but simply because we have committed ourselves to love. If Rick were the worst man on earth, or the very best, it would not change your thrilling challenge of rising to your destiny and loving as God has loved you. No doubt, both Rick and you could list like a martyr so many loving things you have done for each other. I commend you, Betty, and I add Scripture’s encouragement to continue and “not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9). I know this is painfully difficult, but it is not merely investing in a marriage. The pain you suffer in continuing to love, is actually spiritual growing pains, the benefits of which will resound to your glory for all eternity. In addition to divine love and persistence, however, we need divine wisdom. Are your attempts really what make Rick feel special or merely what you have wrongly guessed have that effect on him? Especially because men and women are so different, there is usually a vast gulf between a person’s guesses and his/her partner’s reality. Even if you have often guessed correctly, how, in Rick’s mind, do all your positive efforts stack up against the negative vibes he picks up from you? We humans are so sensitive that one negative seems to knock out ten positives. The rest of your e-mail confirms that you are very upset with Rick’s behavior. This is most understandable. Let’s, however, consider Rick’s reaction. I don’t know how openly you have expressed to him your displeasure, but I doubt you could keep your annoyance so locked within you that he does not sense your bitterness. Almost certainly, he secretly reels in pain because of your low view of him. Does he think you want to go on vacation because you love him so much that you long to be with him every chance you get? I doubt it. The fact that you are upset with Rick, almost certainly makes him feel a failure as a husband, no matter how much he tries to conceal it. Normal people long to flee situations in which they feel failures. Instead of inspiring him to delight you, your attitude – no matter how “justified” relative to his treatment of you – intensifies his desire to find relationships and situations which make him feel better about himself. His need to feel special in someone’s eyes is as strong as yours, but when he is with you he feels silent – or maybe not so silent – hostility. No wonder when he thinks about a vacation – a time when he wants to feel good – he automatically thinks in terms of being removed from this depressive situation. Am I right in assuming that you feeling special in Rick’s eyes would involve him spending considerable time with you? And yet your resentment will make spending time with you the very thing he dreads. The Bible addresses the marital dilemma where one partner has become a Christian and the other remains non-Christian. They are literally a spiritual world apart. The greatest need for change clearly lies with the non-Christian, and yet, astoundingly, even in this situation the Good Book specifically says Christians should not try to change their non-Christian partners. Instead, it says Christians should try even harder to become more Christlike – and thus become even better marriage partners (1 Peter 3:1-4). Pouring all our effort into changing ourselves, God promises, is the effective way to change one’s partner. This annoys us. “It’s my partner who most needs to change!” we protest. Maybe. But not only will a self-righteous attitude destroy a marriage, if we stubbornly refuse to find ways to change, we will even lose the solace of God seeing us as the innocent party as our marriage disintegrates around us. Despite the provocation, Scripture urges us to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Changing ourselves is our responsibility. To try to change our partner is to abdicate our responsibility. You are hurting deeply, and there is no way I wish to downplay the extent of your pain. I remind you that if I were communicating with Rick, I’d take your side and do all I could to encourage him to change. But I’m not communicating with him, so I can’t help him find ways to improve. I am communicating solely with you, and since no earthly person has reached the point where improvement is impossible, I can only suggest ways in which you could further improve, and help you feel less hurt by giving you a deeper insight into what might be driving Rick to act like he does. If this does not interest you, I sadly confess to having nothing else to offer. You might as well end this webpage here. My husband truly treats other women a lot better than he treats me. It hurts. As I type this I am fighting back my tears. There have been countless times in our marriage where he will go and help another lady move, work, etc. But he doesn’t do that at home. I really feel betrayed in my marriage. I honestly feel that my husband has managed to put everyone else ahead of his family. I understand your pain. Understanding men might help you take normal male behavior less personally. There are several factors behind this common male trait. The problem is - Equality in the home has proved much harder to achieve than equality in the workplace. Surveys confirm that men are still not assuming their rightful share of domestic responsibilities. Threats, tears, arguments, nagging - nothing seems to work. Why do men seem allergic to cooking, cleaning, dusting, washing, ironing, doing dishes, making beds, taking out rubbish? Why do men think they are doing you an amazing favor if they help with the smallest household chore? Why do they expect to be waited on hand and foot? Are men just plain selfish, lazy, stubborn and arrogant, or is there a deeper problem lurking within the male psyche? Above all, however, what typically motivates men to act like your husband is that if they do the odd job for other women they are treated as heroes, whereas their own wives make them feel villains. If they do something for their wives, it is usually out of guilt, which is a poor, stifling motivator relative to the buzz a person gets out of being appreciated. Even when they do things for their wives they might even be told, “About time!” or given more chores to do. Like you, he longs to feel special and other women succeed where you fail. Their task, of course, is much easier. They find it easy to appreciate the little your husband does because they know they have no right to take him for granted. Sarah called Abraham her master. The New Testament urges wives to follow Sarah’s lead, implying that exalting one’s husband – making him feel special – is the path not just to a good marriage but to spiritual honor (1 Peter 3:1-6). A man e-mailed me, bubbling with excitement about how his wife fully submitted to his desires. Not only did her actions make him feel special, it made him yearn to please her and to honor her. He was so over the moon about how she treated him that he couldn’t stop singing her praises, repeatedly telling not just her, but everyone else about how very special she was. In fact, I had to urge him to tone it down in the presence of other husbands lest they get jealous! The surest way for you to feel you are special in your husband’s eyes is to stop seeking that feeling. Instead, focus on making your husband feel special. All the effort that you pour into making your husband feel good about himself will boomerang back to you – probably in this life, but certainly in the next. If I speak of counselling he speaks of divorce. How discouraging for you. It’s not quite as black as it seems, however. May I explain what is probably going on inside Rick’s head? Counselling is not a masculine way of coping with problems. Men find it very demeaning. Some feel their whole masculinity is threatened by it. So although counselling can be very helpful, his reluctance is understandable. Moreover, he most likely feels that you want counselling not because you are open to change but because you want to shame and pressure him into doing what you want. I suspect he doesn’t think you are seeking help in becoming a better wife; he thinks you are seeking someone else to gang up on him in your battle to get your own way. No wonder he feels offended. I am tired of hurting. He says he loves me, but I don’t feel loved. Very many men who love their wives are too verbally inhibited to tell their wives they love them. Their wives would be over the moon to hear those words. You are right that believing you are loved is important, but let’s see this from another angle. How loved does he feel? Have you even bothered to seriously find out? You no doubt think he should feel loved – and he probably thinks you should feel loved – but how successful have you really been? There is a vast difference between making a person feel loved and merely assuming the person feels loved. When my husband is away on business or pleasure, my life is SOOO much easier. I tend to get more done and enjoy my life more. There doesn’t seem to be any stress or battles. And you are not the only one who feels this way. Are you sure you can’t understand why he prefers to go on vacation without you? That’s no reason for giving up. It is reason for a change in tactics, however. Continue as you are and you will continue dangerously drifting apart. Doing nothing but wait for one’s partner to change is like waiting for the wind to blow money into your face. He doesn’t tell me anymore when he will be coming home, because he says I get mad when he doesn’t make that time frame. But it hurts when you hold off feeding your family for two hours because he hasn’t managed to come home. That must be painfully frustrating. It seems your reaction has unintentionally contributed to the problem. Your husband wants peace, not conflict. You are making him reluctant to come home. No doubt there were times when he tried so very hard to be on time, frantically rushing home as fast as he could and all he got for his mad rush was a tongue lashing. Instead of Rick feeling that you are glad to see him and thankful for the way he stressed himself to get home quicker, he gets a blast. It seems that over time this so crushed him that he has now lost all hope of consistently pleasing you. When all hope is gone, we see no point in continuing to try. I suggest reversing your tactics. Instead of criticizing your husband when he does something you dislike, wait until he does something you like and show genuine appreciation. Both of you are in a rut so deep that to take an excitingly different direction and not slide back into old ways will take considerable time and effort, but you can do it. I have taken a job to help get us out of debt. However, he is telling people that he has received this great sum of money from his grandmother who has just passed away. Granted she did leave him some money, but we don’t know the amount. I am tired of working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. My job is based out of my home. So I have to keep up all ends. Cooking, cleaning, children, activities, etc plus work 14 hour days. He doesn’t take my job seriously. The job is simple, but it still takes time, so we can work our way to being debt free. I pray, I think, I cry - - - I am tired!!! How exhausting and depressing for you. Has Rick somehow mistakenly gained the impression that you are working primarily for your own benefit? Would he prefer less money in the household if that meant a happier and less complaining wife? Maybe he even sees you working as an insult to his earning capacity. Talk it over with him – not in a complaining way, nor as an implied threat, but gently ask if he would prefer you to give up your job, since it is so draining for you and putting stress on the marriage. If he really wants you to work, this discussion – if free from manipulation and whining – should help him be more appreciative. It would also thrill him to think that his wishes mean so much to you. Or the discussion might reveal that you have been enduring all this stress, thinking you were doing it for Rick when you were really only doing it for yourself or out of a mistaken idea as to what he wanted. A part of me, just for one selfish moment, wanted to think I was the most important person on earth to another person. Somehow I think that will never happen. You have fallen into a vicious circle in which you think Rick doesn’t regard you as special, so you don’t treat him as special, so he doesn’t regard you as special . . . around and round the spiral goes, like a whirlpool hurling you closer and closer to disaster. Reversing one’s attitude, however, will reverse the cycle. Slowly the negative spin will halt and gradually pick up momentum in the opposite direction. You treating Rick as special will touch him deeply when he realizes you are genuine and not trying to manipulate him. A longing will slowly form within him to be with you more and treat you with greater tenderness and consideration. His response will make you warm to him. He will react to the new feelings awakening within you and so treat you even better. You’ll keep inspiring each other to deeper and deeper love and with each cycle you’ll be more drawn to each other. As you persist, things will get better and better instead of worse and worse. Comments This transformation of a marriage involves the implementation of ancient secrets. These powerful secrets work because, as astounding as it sounds, they were revealed to humanity by the very Originator of love and the Creator of marital relations. We have seen that the most powerful way to increase marital bliss is not to change one’s partner but to change oneself. This is both the easiest and hardest thing to do. It is easiest because out of everyone in the universe, you are the person you have the greatest control over and the greatest right to dictate to. What makes it the hardest thing is that our imagination deceptively magnifies the pain of change and fails to perceive the rich rewards that change brings. It might also be very hard to convince our partner that our changes are genuine and so we might have to persist for a long time without any noticeable response from our partner. If each partner is trying to change the other each instead of himself/herself, there is little hope. When just one person begins to accept responsibility and change himself/herself, however, a world of exciting possibilities opens. That is why when counselling Betty I threw responsibility on to her, but had I been counselling Rick, I would have utterly reversed my approach, exclusively emphasizing his need to change. In present-day society, we have become experts at blaming everyone except ourselves. Statistics are proving that lifelong marriage simply does not work for people with this attitude. This currently fashionable flirtation with self-centeredness is so unworkable that it will not last too many decades. Nevertheless, millions of lives will be ruined before society eventually realizes how foolish we have been. Our personal dilemma is that we are so influenced by this enticingly popular philosophy that we live in constant danger of being swept along by the very forces that turn lifelong marriage into an impossible dream. Jesus’ teaching was the exact opposite of what we are bombarded with everyday – turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, bless those who curse you, love your enemies . . . So we have a choice: go the way of the world and destroy our marriage, or go against the tide of popular opinion and enjoy lifelong marriage. Try Jesus’ way and the world will look down on you, saying you are stupidly acting like a doormat, but it will envy your marriage. “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” (Luke 6:31) is at the heart of most of my suggestions to Betty. This is a directive Jesus intended to be rigorously applied, but in broad detail, not to the minutest aspect. For example, you want to feel special in the eyes of your partner, so make your partner feel special, but do not imagine that the exact things that give you this feeling will necessarily have that effect on your partner. In fact, among the things most important to your partner are probably things that are quite meaningless to you and often things that bore you or embarrass you. It is common among both sexes for their partners’ needs to be so foreign to their own needs that they regard their partners’ needs as childish, such as Mary, who frequently needs to be told she is loved, or David, who always seems to need to have his ego stroked. After being married for a while, people often feel relief that at last their partner has “grown up” and no longer needs these things. Usually, what has happened, however, is that the partners’ needs are as strong as ever but they have simply resigned themselves to feeling unloved. (Intellectually, they might believe they are loved, but that still does not prevent them from feeling unloved.) Understanding each other’s needs and feelings is perhaps the greatest of all marital challenges, and the effort devoted to gaining this understanding is one of the most meaningful and essential displays of marital love. It is vital to continually communicate to your partner your desires in a gentle, uncomplaining manner, and seek to draw that type of information from your partner. Unless we effectively and lovingly do this, it is almost inevitable that we will feel let down by our partners. We need to realize that in most cases our disappointment is not because our partner is inadequate but simply because our communication is inadequate. Here again, a biblical principle is invaluable. Part of “the love chapter,” could be paraphrased, “love is ever ready to believe the best of every person,” (1 Corinthians 13:7, Amplified Bible). Applied to this situation, it involves believing that your partner really wants to please you and that the main problem is that you are so different to each other that you have not yet succeeded in communicating the exact nature of your desires and how important they are to you. We find this hard to believe because we inevitably underestimate the difficulty of communication. Nagging, tantrums and a raised voice do not add emphasis to communication, they greatly hinder it. A wise woman writes: Women should not think all they need do is become submissive and everything is solved. There is much more to being a good wife than that. My husband does not respond to textbook suggestions. He is unique. In order to get inside his head I have had to pray for understanding and really listen to him in a way that, until recently, I never knew how. Devote yourself to understanding what delights your partner and then work hard at doing it. This should revolutionize your marriage and prove the truth of Jesus’ declaration: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38). Or, to put it another way, you will reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). Sow love, kindness, patience and unselfishness and that’s what you will harvest. Sadly, things usually have to get pretty desperate before we even see the need to change ourselves. By then, both partners have been hurt so much and for so long that the patience of both will have been stretched and frayed to dangerous levels. Even the one trying to change could have such a build-up of hurt within him/her that he/she might not have the patience to keep trying unless there is soon a noticeable change within the partner. However, a quick fix is most unlikely. Even if we have the necessary resolve not to slip back into old ways, our hurting partner will be highly sceptical and will normally take a long while to be convinced that our change is genuine and will last. The time taken to convince our partner is especially likely to be prolonged if we simply try to change without any explanation to our partner. Unless you are in the habit of making empty promises, the best way to start is to verbalize your deep regret and express your determination to change, then solidly back it up with action, even when your partner refuses to change. We are scared to love unconditionally because we fear our kindness will be exploited. Nevertheless, although in rare occasions what you heap upon your partner might not be returned to you by your partner, the all-seeing Lord will ensure that by some means or another, in this life or the next, you will most certainly reap what you have sown. Again this woman wisely writes: Ask that God show you that it is right and not weak to keep giving without any positive response from your partner. It often makes a woman feel cheap and as if she has low self-esteem. This feeling often remains, even though selflessness actually makes one highly honored in God’s eyes. Get your mind off what you’re missing, end self-pity, and get on with life. An hour listening to God each day can be the greatest changer of all. If you haven’t been spending that kind of time, at first it will seem terribly long and dreary. But after a while it becomes something you look forward to and then something you miss if you skip even a day. This will strengthen you, and you need extra strength in order to make a significant change in your life. Long-term habits are hard to break. For a better marriage, we need to become more Christlike, and the only way to achieve that is to let Christ have more control of our lives. Christ himself did nothing in his own strength, but relied completely upon his Father. “By myself I can do nothing,” he declared (John 5:30). Marriage was divinely instituted and it can only reach its divine potential by fully involving God in the task of making you the husband or wife he wants you to be. There is no way around it: it hurts to act Christlike. Christ’s behavior led to scorn, abuse, the agony of crucifixion and then eternal honor. The easy way leads to disaster (Matthew 7:13). I could feel great sympathy for a person I am counselling but I must be wary of acting like Peter, who let his deep feelings for Christ lure him into being used of Satan to tempt Jesus not to pay the price (Matthew 16:21-23). Christ’s promise is not that it will be easy but that it will be so worth the cost that if you pay it, you will rejoice for all eternity over having made the right decision. To turn marital hell into heaven, turn the other cheek; bless those who curse you; rejoice when you are ill-treated; be quick to see your own faults – the plank in your own eye, not the speck in your partner’s – forgive when you are offended. In short, to make marriage heaven, act like someone worthy of heaven. And regardless of how the earthly benefits pan out, your highest reward will be eternal.

The greatest good anyone can do for humanity begins with a dynamic encounter with the living God. I refer to a spiritual transformation so revolutionary that it is aptly termed being ‘born again’, though overuse has sapped this term of its power. You could walk down church aisles all your life without ever marrying. Everyone knows that. Yet, tragically, countless thousands have walked down a church aisle and falsely assumed that made them born again. Like marriage, it is a relationship, not a ritual that counts. Spiritual rebirth results from a life-changing union between two persons. You can mumble the sinner’s prayer, the saints’ prayer, any prayer you like; you can join the best church, get wet, slurp communion, look more godly than an archangel, and have not a throb of spiritual life. Your act can be so convincing that you even fool yourself, and remain unaware that your life has missed an entire dimension. Dare to dream We crave love. It is an essential ingredient of a meaningful life. Yet it is a risky, potentially agonizing experience. Death or disagreement can so easily rob us of the one we love. Though we kiss with our eyes closed, relationships are frighteningly fragile. Beauty sags. People change. The deeper our love the deeper our insecurity. Reality is cold, but dreams are too hot to hold. Our passions seem so insatiable we that shrink from them, yet still they haunt us. Just for a moment, release the iron grip that keeps your longings suppressed in the dungeons of your mind. Let your longings waft free before your gaze, no matter how unattainable they seem. Dare to see what they reveal. You burn for unwaning intimacy; a companion who will never fail you; a carer who will always be there, no matter what the circumstance or hour; someone whose love never ceases to astound you; someone whose charms and beauty and powers will not fade with the passing years. Too often you are misunderstood. You crave a friend who can slip inside your mind; ideally, someone who has not only heard of your every trauma and triumph from birth, but experienced them with you. You need to unburden yourself with a confident who knows your blackest secrets, yet delights in you with unswerving devotion. When life’s blows send you reeling, you ache for an admirer who not only passionately longs to meet your deepest needs, but is always able to. You need a partner so capable that when crisis swallows crisis you can trust your friend to comfort, protect and power you to success. Yet you don’t want to be smothered. On the contrary, you want someone who will nerve you to reach the heights you were born for. You pine for someone changeless, yet exciting; someone who fits your needs so exactly it feels you were made for each other; someone you will be forever proud of; someone whose love for you is so vast that it always satisfies; someone faithful, genuine, open and warm, yet so resistant to the ravages of aging, sickness and tragedy as to seem immortal. No human fits the bill, yet the craving remains. A few dreamers keep chasing the elusive high of starry-eyed love, forever groping for the perfect relationship. Most of us give up. A person would have to be God to meet our criteria! And how could he help? We’re flesh and blood; God, if he exists, is some nebulous, unapproachable Spirit. The notion of a friendship with God is preposterous. Or is it? Within the realms of the unknown almost anything could dwell - even a God poised to shatter our insensibility to him. If there really is an Intelligence behind creation, why were we made with cravings that could never be satisfied? Is God a sadist, or were those yearnings for the ideal companion planted within because he longs to fulfil them by being your closest friend? [It is more than coincidence that old-fashioned romance, bearing lightly the scars of reality, was laced with religious expressions like ‘she adores/idolizes him’, ‘you’re divine/heavenly’, ‘he worships the ground she walks on’, ‘a marriage made in heaven’. From another source comes the term ‘sex goddess’.] Could it be that God seems impersonal only because you’re not on close terms with him? If God were impersonal, that would make us superior to our Creator. That’s absurd. If we can speak, feel and love, our Maker can do all that and more. [Even in cases where no drugs were administered, many people who have been revived after clinical death have reported a sensation of floating away from their bodies toward a bright light. Their experience was too fleeting to know whether they would be considered worthy to remain forever in the presence of that light, but for our purposes, the notable thing is that although ‘bright light’ sounds impersonal, they commonly report telepathic communication and intense love emanating from that Being.] God is warm. This exciting Person, whose never-ending companionship and limitless power are able to fill the unfillable hole within us, is the perfect partner we ache for. Yet his very perfection makes him unapproachable. The Almighty is awesomely holy; incomparably virtuous. We are not. The joy of being wrong We come hurtling back to reality. Life’s a bed of roses. The beauty is enticing and the aroma alluring but the thorns are cruel. There’s a solution, but to appreciate the grandeur of that solution, we must dwell for a couple of pages on the magnitude of the problem. This is so distasteful that we instinctively recoil from it, longing to deny its existence. Our reaction proves the truth of Jesus’ assertion that people love darkness [ignorance and wrongdoing] rather than light [truth and purity]. (John 3:19) We’ll expose facts that challenge the limits of our ability to grapple with reality. Yet facing them is the most liberating experience a human can know. Let me illustrate. I’m stumbling up a perilous trail, far from civilization. Angry blisters jostle on the pain-scale with bruises and open wounds. The blazing sun sucks my throat and mocks my exhausted supplies. If I don’t get there soon ... Panic rips down my spine, gets trapped in my stomach, and thrashes in wide-eyed terror. I stagger on, virtually insensible to the weird sound overhead. The trail twists and to my amazed surprise a helicopter stands before me. A pilot approaches, claims to be part of a search party, and tells me I’ve been tramping for days in the wrong direction. ‘Do you take me for an idiot?’ I fume. My bush skills ...’ Patiently, he takes out a map and dismantles my every argument. My spirit wilts. I could never survive the distance to even the nearest waterhole. Then the pilot offers to fly me to the exquisite oasis I had been looking for. My worries vaporize. The sooner I admit my need of help, the quicker I can get out of here. In such circumstances, even I can handle being told I’m wrong. Magnify that tale and transfer it from fantasy to reality and you glimpse what this chapter is about. Discovering we are wrong can be the most thrilling moment of our lives. Confronting the truth of the next few paragraphs can usher you into a new world of joyous freedom, fulfilment, challenge and excitement. When Frederick the Great visited Potsdam Prison, every convict he spoke to professed innocence. Finally he encountered a thief under sentence of death. ‘Your majesty,’ he said, ‘I am guilty and richly deserving of punishment.’ ‘Release this scoundrel,’ commanded the king, ‘before he corrupts all the noble innocent people here.’ A similar surprise awaits everyone who dares admit the truth. I make no claim to powers of mind and pen sufficient to portray the wonder and majesty of the world’s greatest love story. Nor can I highlight each facet of the unassailable wisdom, justice and moral perfections that opened the possibility of a transformation of human nature so radical that it defies comprehension. My hope is to whisk you to its benefits, not expound its intricacies. So if any of the following seems unconvincing, limitations of space and skill may be the problem. I warn, however, that in these critical issues, the real cause of blind-spots usually turns out to be psychological or spiritual. The door to spiritual understanding is not human explanation, but supernatural enlightenment - divine revelation. And that door swings not on mind games but on a willingness to surrender our stubborn will to One who knows better than us. (John 7:17; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16; 4:3-4; 1 Corinthians 2:4-16; 4:20; Luke 10:21) Already our defenses are on red alert. I ask you to face this issue because it leads not to shame, but to the exhilaration of a cleansed conscience. It leads not to oppressive restrictions, but to utter freedom. Our dilemma - God’s deliverance If we burst into a hospital and chanced upon a doctor sterilized for surgery, he could not touch us. We may seem immaculate, but not by his standards. We are like that in the presence of the holy Lord. We may be as good as the next guy, but by the unassailable perfection of his lofty standards we are moral lepers. God must keep his distance. That seems an over-reaction. Being surrounded by imperfection all our lives has jaded our ability to see ourselves objectively. Deep down we suspect the worst but we flee from it like people refusing cancer checks even though early diagnosis brings life, not death. A favorite, rarely conscious, technique to silence our suppressed but nagging conscience is to concoct a doctored moral code that lets us entertain the delusion that we are morally superior to some people. What drives us to despise certain people or to gossip is not unkindness or snobbishness so much as a desperate attempt to drown the shrieks of our own conscience. We feel less guilt if we can convince ourselves that there are others who are morally worse. Our self-deception is so individual that I am unlikely to guess the reader’s blind-spot, let alone find my own. The following are just three of countless possibilities. * A man might detest wife-bashers, while he cheats on his own wife, thus loading her dice in the deadly AIDS game. He toys, with the possibility of injuring her, but not with the possibility of killing her. He does this not to her face, but in cowardly deceit. And he is certain he soars at moral heights far above anyone who would slap a woman. * Or we might label rape a hideous crime, but call the seduction of a married person ‘love’. Seduction ravishes its victims at the deepest level, debauching them so completely as to make them willing partners in immorality. Even the grave offense of rape leaves its unconsenting victims morally chaste. * Or we might feel superior to criminals when what differentiates us is not morality but cowardice (fear of getting caught, of incurring the disapproval of others, etc.) or lack of opportunity (not knowing how to commit the perfect crime, or not holding a gun at our weakest moment). Each of us are infected by one of hypocrisy’s innumerable strains. And the most dangerously afflicted are those oblivious to it. That’s why Jesus said blatant sinners are more likely to find God than are the self-righteous. (Matthew 21:31) We are driven to all lengths - even to accusing God of injustice - to try to ease our guilt. We spurn God’s laws, hurt each other, and then have the audacity to blame God for the mess. ‘Why do the innocent suffer?’ we sneer, conveniently forgetting the times our anger, greed and lies have hurt the innocent. (Ultimately, only one Innocent ever suffered - Jesus. Though for our sakes he became man, the eternal Son of God had life independent of human ancestry. The rest of us owe our very existence to wrong-doing. If, for instance, we could trace our family tree far enough, we would likely find a direct ancestor who was the product of rape or unlawful incest. In other words, were it not for gross wickedness we would not exist. And in our genes - our basic essence - we have our father’s eyes, our grand-father’s walk, our mother’s temper, our ancestors’ sin. Far from being innocent, we were born a product of wickedness and confirmed our guilt the first opportunity had.) For some suspicious reason, there is a degree of hurt we deem excusable, and the hurt we have inflicted happens to compare favorably with the standard we have arbitrarily set. With every atom of pride within me shrieking in protest, I am forced to the shattering conclusion that the moral gap between a sadistic murderer and me is invisible, relative to the yawning chasm separating me from the flawless virtue of Almighty God. The Holy One loathes evil but if he enslaved the human will, squelching evil by forcibly preventing all of us from indulging in pet sins, we’d be the first to shake our fists. If God is a God of love, why does he allow the evil that’s rampant in this world? For anyone not entranced by his/her own double-standards, the reason is obvious. God longs to destroy all evil, and the time is fast approaching when he will. (2 Peter 3:9-13) But how, without unprincipled favoritism, could he do this without destroying you and me? (I warned this horror story would take you to the edge of your tolerance. Rich rewards, however, await those with the courage to face facts we inwardly know to be true. When approaching a God who can make us more beautiful than we dare dream, we have no need to act like burns patients smashing mirrors.) Should we reform and never so much as think another wrong thought, it wouldn’t help. If water is contaminated, adding pure water doesn’t help - the water is still contaminated. There’s corruption in our past and we cannot change the past. Some things God cannot do without violating his integrity. Consider a man in court found guilty of dangerous driving. The judge happens to be a close friend of the defendant. Would it be right for the judge to declare his guilty friend innocent? Or could he fine the offender less because he is his friend? Only a corrupt judge could condone law-breaking or display favoritism. (Romans 2:11) And God is our Judge, because there is no such monstrosity as a self-made person. None of us decided to come into existence, or can even design our offspring’s fingerprints. God formed the brain cells we think with. We owe him everything. The Lord is maker - and therefore owner - of every molecule and organism we have ever used or abused. Like it or loathe it, that makes us accountable to God for our every action. (Acts 17:31) Our selfishness has hurt people. It would be an outrage for the Supreme Judge to ignore our offenses. We’re the ones who bellow at God when we see wrongdoing go unpunished. Though his devotion to you defies explanation, he cannot do other than declare you guilty. And justice demands the penalty be paid. That leaves just two alternatives. Either you pay the penalty, or someone pays it for you. It would be sheer conceit for me to consider taking your punishment. I have my own wickedness to answer for. But the Son of God, two thousand years ago, left his celestial judgment seat and came to earth. He became the sole human who has lived a perfect life. In the brilliance of his purity, our highest moral achievements look like mud. So when Christ voluntarily endured the pain and shame of a criminal’s death, something of cataclysmic significance was happening. The timeless Son was taking upon himself full blame for your sin. (1 Peter 3:18) Physical torment choked in a sea of spiritual agony. On the cross the only person who has enjoyed eternal oneness with God cried, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46) Father God was compelled to desert his beloved Son, treating him as the vilest sinner, until the horrific penalty was paid in full. After absorbing the full consequences of our depravity, Christ broke through to life again, blasting a path for us to follow. You are the focal point of this heart-stopping display of love, the greatest love the universe has known. Will you continue to spurn it? Our response Christ has provided a legal way whereby anyone, though guilty, can go scot-free. But that does not make forgiveness automatic. To be intimate with the Lord of the galaxies; to have divine power flowing through your veins; to reach the peaks you were made for, requires a response on your part. To explain, let’s return to the reckless driver. A judge would have to fine his friend for breaking the law. It is quite legal, however, to offer a friend money to pay the fine. It is then up to the offender whether he accepts the judge’s gift. It would break Jesus’ heart if you slight his offer to suffer for you. The only alternative is for you to bear the penalty. That’s the last thing he wants. God is anxious to save you from the horrors of hell and grant you a fulfilling, life-changing partnership with him. (2 Peter 3:9) But you must accept the gift. That involves admitting that you need the gift - that only Jesus’ sacrifice can absolve your guilt. There is one more consideration. If our lead-footed friend intends perpetuating the same offenses, he is a danger to the community. It would be wrong to pardon someone who plans to continue flouting the law. Similarly, it would be wrong for God to forgive us until our attitude to sin has changed. I reel at the thought of the hordes who have tragically missed this point. A second analogy will confirm its centrality. You are trapped in a sea of sin. Bottomless waters lap towering cliffs. No one can tread water forever. The murky depths terrify you, except for one spot. You’ve found a place where the deadly waters seem beautiful and the sensual waves exquisite. How can anyone take seriously your cries for help if you’re splashing around enjoying yourself? And what’s the point of saving someone who is hell-bent on plunging back after every rescue attempt? No one with a suicidal commitment to a sin can be saved. This doesn’t mean you must initiate a sinless life to enjoy forgiveness. We’re in sin’s death grip. Only Jesus can break it. But do you want him to? Do you want to be rid forever of your favorite sin? The Almighty gives us dignity by respecting our wishes. If we don’t want him to be our God - ie in total control of our lives - it grieves and appals him, but in his gentleness he will permit us to go our own way. No one has suffered the pain of rejected love like God. You can never be forced to love someone. Nor can you be forced to desire purity of heart. The Giver has done all he can. It’s over to you. To ignore our Creator is the height of selfishness. He is the Source of every good thing we ever enjoyed. (Even sin’s fizzle of pleasure, that slippery shadow of the real thing seized while defying him, is possible only because of our God-given ability to experience pleasure.) Every wonderful thing we take for granted comes from him. He even holds our atoms together. He protects and nurtures even those who ignore him, providing abundant opportunity for them to respond to his astounding love. They don’t want God to interfere, but he does anyhow - showering them with a myriad soft, warm, beautiful, delicious, refreshing, thrilling and inspiring gifts. At death, however, those who on earth wanted to be independent of God are finally granted their wish. That’s the ultimate horror. To be eternally severed from the Source of all love, beauty, fulfilment and joy is a prospect too terrifying to contemplate. With a repentant attitude toward ungodly ‘pleasures’, however, and a reliance upon the pardoning power of Jesus’ sacrifice, you give God free rein to do what he longs to do - pay your debt to justice and credit to your account the moral perfection of Christ. That makes you so pure in his eyes that you need no longer be isolated from him. You can then commence an endless communion with the greatest Person in the universe. The contract What God desires is like a perfect marriage. He wants life-long devotion, fully committed intimacy, not a superficial fling. Believing in the opposite sex does not make one married. Neither does believing a creed give us the right to live with God. (James 2:17-19) True marriage involves total commitment of all that you have and all that you are. It is believing in someone so completely that you entrust your entire being to that person for life. The Lord is eager to be that devoted to you, but for marriage to work, the commitment must be mutual. If a street kid married a millionaire, she would get his riches and he would get her debts. He would be tarred with her shame and she would gain his honor. For this to happen, she must turn from rival relationships and bind herself and her meagre possessions to this man in marriage. Everything he owns would become hers, provided she lets everything of her’s become his. Similarly, if we entrust to God everything we have - our time, abilities, relationships and possessions - he will reciprocate, embracing us with divine extravagance. We hand our depravity to Jesus, relinquishing even our fondest sin. It becomes his. That’s what killed him. In return, Jesus’ sinless perfection envelops us, (2 Corinthians 5:21) enabling us to be on intimate terms with the Holy God. The culmination of this divine exchange of holiness for depravity will be seen when all evil is finally wiped off this planet - we will be spared and no one can accuse God of injustice or favoritism. He has borne the penalty himself. In entering this love pact, we give God the right to do whatever he likes with our assets, but the Owner of the universe makes his riches available to us. (Philippians 4:19) We trade our talents, for his omnipotence; our attempts to run our lives, for his unlimited wisdom. We give him our time on earth and he gives us eternity. In every way we benefit from this proposal and God gets the raw end. But God is love. He wants this holy union more than we can imagine. Don’t break his heart by holding back. The following prayer corresponds to wedding vows, in which you promise to love, honor and obey the Lord, thus making him your God. In turn, the King of kings makes you worthy of spiritual fusion with him and pledges to devote himself unreservedly to you. If the following accurately describes your feelings, you can make it your prayer by reading it to God. Wonderful Lord, It hurts to admit how bad I’ve been. I have caused you grief, yet you sent your Son who gave his life and defeated death to secure my pardon. (Romans 4:25; 6:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8,14,17; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 1:3) You have given yourself totally for me, and I long to reciprocate. I respond to your overwhelming love, by dedicating all I have to loving you. I yield to your loving protection and guidance. I surrender my sins to you, renouncing even those things that entice me. And in exchange I receive your pardon and purity and your empowerment to live a life worthy of you. Thank you that we have now commenced a union that not even death can break. The Lord of heaven and earth knows your secret thoughts. (Hebrews 4:13) If you prayed the entire prayer honestly, you have entered a new spiritual realm. That’s hard to believe. Everything seems the same. But not from heaven’s perspective. The spiritual contract is sealed. The proof lies not in your feelings (such as whether you feel guilty or happy), but in the integrity of the Holy One. He has given his word (in the Bible) that whoever turns from sin and looks to Jesus for cleansing, has a radically new destiny. (John 3:36; 6:37; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 6:11-18; Philippians 3:8,9; Colossians 1:22) God is no liar! If this is the first time you have genuinely offered such a prayer, you must be bursting with questions. Space forbids extending this outline into something that anticipates your every question. To overcome this shortcoming, I have written a book especially for you: Developing Your Love Affair With God. If this proves inadequate, I invite you e-mail your queries to me. Since there is nothing more important than spiritual rebirth, all e-mails on this vital matter will be answered. Wind-up You’ve had enough of empty living. At last, you are free to soar above a mundane existence to uncharted heights of excellence. You have commenced the life of fulfilment you were created for. This is a chapter of the full length book: Waiting for your Ministry Before reading it, however, I urge you to read Developing Your Love Affair With God

Developing Your Love Affair With God Introduction The following assumes you have read You Can Find Love . That webpage explains how our deepest yearnings for love can be met only by a transformation that causes us to become spiritually one with our Maker. This on-going experience is so superior to any other relationship a human could enjoy that there are no adequate terms for it. When applied to God, terms like love affair and lover can have no sexual overtones. I have chosen them, however, to express the wonder and spontaneity of the thrillingly intimate and fulfilling love-relationship with the Person our heart cries out for. He is the One we were literally made for, the most important, exciting and fascinating Person in the entire universe. Reading You Can Find Love is particularly important because it explains the basis for a dynamic encounter with the living God. I refer to a spiritual transformation so revolutionary that it is aptly termed being ‘born again,’ though overuse has sapped this term of its power. You could walk down church aisles all your life without ever marrying. Everyone knows that. Yet, tragically, countless thousands have walked down a church aisle and falsely assumed that made them born again. Like marriage, it is a relationship, not a ritual that counts. Spiritual rebirth results from a life-changing union between two persons. You can mumble the sinner’s prayer, the saints’ prayer, any prayer you like; you can join the best church, get wet, slurp communion, look more godly than an archangel, and have not a throb of spiritual life. Your act can be so convincing that you even fool yourself, and remain unaware that your life has missed an entire dimension. If you have not already done so, please read You Can Find Love now. Constantly desire to know God more fully and more intimately Make this your burning passion. Probe too deeply into the personal life of any human and we have to brace ourselves for disappointment. We will inevitably find faults in the person. But we never have to fear discovering a flaw in God. He is the most wonderful person there is. His character is so beautiful that the more you know him the more you will fall in love with him. Be convinced about God’s love for you Above everything else, God is characterized by love. Even more exciting is the fact that God loves you. God’s deeply personal and intimate love for you is greater than anything else you have ever experienced. Were you to combine every form of genuine human love, it would only give the vaguest glimpse of the intensity of God’s love for you. You may feel deeply hurt because people have let you down, but God will never disappoint you. Because genuine love is much deeper than mere feelings, you will not always be conscious of an inner feeling that ‘says’ that God loves you. Our physical senses, intuition and emotions are all highly unreliable when it comes to detecting spiritual reality. Feelings are changeable, but God’s love is constant. Your whole relationship with God hinges not on your emotions or your dependability but on rock-solid honesty of Almighty God. He is the most reliable source of information there is. If he says something, it is true, regardless of temporary and superficial appearances. Your spiritual oneness with Jesus Christ allows God to see you as someone infinitely attractive, desirable and lovable. Because you are allowing God to do what he likes in your life, he is gradually changing you so that one day you will be completely Christ-like. When your Maker looks at you, he sees the perfect person that you will become when he completes his work in your life. God is good! We can’t hope to enjoy the heights of intimacy with someone whose integrity we doubt. So if you have any uncertainties about God’s goodness, wisdom, justice, or whatever, I encourage you to bring these doubts into the open. Carefully examine them in the light of Scripture, and pray about them. Instead of vainly trying to suppress doubts, do your best to remove them by getting to know your loving Lord better.   God’s knowledge and wisdom are so far beyond us that it would be impossible for us to try to find fault with God’s actions. Our limited understanding often tempts up to blame the Creator for things he didn’t do.    If those who hold a grudge against God knew the gravity of their own sin, and the mercy of God, they would (or should) be thoroughly ashamed of their attitude.    The Lord has the right to do whatever he likes with us because he owns us (due to the fact that he made us). But God is not some sort of arrogant tyrant.    The King of kings can not only be trusted with absolute power, he alone fully deserves that power. Trust him Relax. Know that you are in God’s strong, capable hands. Jesus longs to help you, but it’s up to you whether you let him. ‘Leave your worries with him ...’ says the Bible. Faith is knowing that God is working out the perfect solution. It is believing that God not only can do a certain thing, but that he will do it for you. Trust (or faith) is one of the most crucial things in your ever-growing relationship with God. It is the key to forgiveness through Jesus and to receiving power to break the hold sin once had over us. One of the biggest battles of faith will be in the area of sin. God, who now lives inside you, is stronger than every evil power and every longing for sin. God has promised that we need never again give in to sin. The problem is that since we are now God’s friends, God’s enemy, the devil, has become our enemy. The devil has no hold over us, but he is a master at deception. He’ll try every trick he can think of to convince us that God no longer loves us, or that the devil’s temptation is too strong. Our mighty Lord has given us the power to put such distance between us and sin that sin need never again hurt us. Our Victor has not, however, given us his royal power so that we can play chicken with sin – to see how close we can get to sin without being swallowed up. To play games with sin is to make a mockery of what Christ endured on the cross to protect us from sin. Such disregard for God’s holiness causes us to move out of his protection. All we need do for victory is to ignore the devil’s lies and trust God. Believing God rather than the Deceiver’s cunning lies can be quite a challenge, but God will make sure we make it. With God, you’re a winner! The God who performed countless miracles in biblical times, and is just as powerful today, has taken up residence within you. Recognize who’s boss! Like the perfect leader he is, Jesus never asks us to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. God is not a cold-hearted perfectionist. He not only understands our human limitations, but he has experienced them. God’s decisions are totally wise, good and unselfish. They can never be improved upon and they must be promptly obeyed. Anyone unwilling to have this attitude, has not turned from his/her sin. Such a person has therefore not been forgiven, and is still bound by sin. Don’t settle for a half-hearted love affair If, for Jesus’ sake, you would be willing to lose all your possessions, suffer pain, and even die, then God is truly your God. What we hold dearest sets the ceiling on how far we can go in life. If we let go of lesser things – such as fear, choosing an easy life and slavery to material things – we can soar with God. Only God can remove sin from our lives, but now that he has we will want to do the little we can to reduce the pain our sin has caused other people. Now that we are new people we won’t want people continuing to believe a lie we have told so we will confess to them. We will seek to repay anyone we have stolen from, and so on. Spend time alone with him Expect your prayers to be answered but persistence is very important. It’s good to offer hasty prayers as we go through our busy day, but your Lover deserves your undivided attention at least once a day. If you are too busy for this, you are too busy. Not only does giving God quality time delight your precious Lord, but it is vital to our spiritual welfare. Praying is just chatting with God and sharing your heart. So there’s no need for archaic language, formal terms or lofty speech. Just relax and be yourself. Try not to make prayer a one-sided conversation. Quietly wait for your Lord to speak to you. As you wait for the King of kings to respond, often nothing will seem to happen and that’s when I get restless. But you are honoring God by giving him to opportunity to speak to your heart and there is a good chance he is doing something within you at a deeper level than conscious thought. Sometimes God will give you an inner impression, or drop a thought into your mind. This will often be so gentle that you may have difficulty in distinguishing it from your own thoughts. Wherever possible, don’t rush into following an inner urge. Pray some more about it to make sure it is from God. Since our consciences are not divine, they are by no means infallible. Scripture is our ultimate authority, not our feelings. If ever the two are not in harmony, we should ignore other influences and adhere strictly to God’s Word. Read his love letters It might take millions of words to adequately describe how unique and fascinating the Bible really is, but the most exciting and crucial thing is the fact that the Bible is God revealing himself to you. Bible-reading is essential nourishment for your soul. Understanding the Scriptures is not primarily a matter of intelligence but the product of our relationship with God. It is therefore important to pray for understanding. As time progresses, you may discover that Scripture is gradually becoming less interesting to you. This is a sure sign that you need to pray for God to increase your understanding. You may soon find it hard to put the Bible down! But even if the Bible seems dry, it is vital to resist the urge to reduce your Bible-reading. Right from the beginning, you will benefit from Bible-reading but the more you read the more you will understand it. Sometimes when we read the Bible all that happens is that it is being stored in our minds so that it will click into place when we read another Scripture or have a particular experience perhaps years in the future. By reading the Bible and putting it into practice, you will gradually grow in wisdom and spiritual strength. Like physical growth, however, you won’t always feel spiritual growth taking place. As you keep reading the Bible you will discover new truths that will make life much easier and more satisfying for you. Each new truth you discover, you’ll wish you had learned years ago. So the sooner you discover them the better. Be like someone hunting for buried treasure! The Bible is good and 100% reliable, but some parts of it you might find offensive, at first. The main reasons for this are: 1. Not reading with sufficient care Our Heavenly Father’s decisions are always right, but the same can’t be said for our hasty conclusions! 2. Misinterpretation For example, the Bible sometimes records an event without bothering to immediately point out that it was immoral, because it assumes the reader is familiar with the teachings of the rest of Scripture. 3. Your sense of morality is deficient ‘All Scripture is profitable (useful) ...’ ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ). So, even if you find a passage that seems quite useless, don’t let it spoil your appreciation of the Bible. The correct interpretation is not only morally acceptable but, locked somewhere within that passage, are precious truths. There are many different Bible study methods and the choice of method depends largely upon your own preference and personality. However, the following hints should help: Mark your Bible (underline favorite parts and so on). Choose an easy-to-read Bible version. Especially at first, you should find the New Testament more helpful, and so I suggest you read the entire New Testament before starting the old. After this intersperse the New and Old. If you average four chapters a day, you will complete the entire Bible in one year. What to do when you grieve your Divine Lover 1. ‘Make up’ with God straight away Unforgiven sin separates us from our Holy God. The sooner this rift is healed, the better. So if you happen to sin, return to God immediately, sincerely ask his forgiveness and trust him for the strength to overcome that sin, so that you will not commit it again. If you then don’t forgive yourself, you’re implying your standards are holier than God’s! 2. Don’t allow a failure to discourage you Because Christ is now dwelling inside of you, you have so much power at your disposal that Satan is terrified of you. When it comes to a display of power, you will win every time. All the devil can do is to try psychological warfare. If he can trick you into giving up, he has nothing to fear. He will try to discourage you. So banish all thoughts that you are ‘no good,’ ‘weak,’ ‘hopeless,’ etc. Such lies are from the pit of hell. Download the full book in Word format Continue

Overview: Topics touched include exploitation, money, ecology, war, racism, sexism, homophobia, pain and suffering, science, genetics, politics, atheism, hypocrisy, escapism, paganism, Hinduism, Hare Krishnas, vegetarianism, near-death experiences (NDEs) and hell. The focus, however, is on facts, arguments and scandals that give Bible believers nightmares. Not to be sold. © Copyright, 1996 Grantley Morris Not to be sold, May be copied in whole or in part only by citing this entire paragraph. Contents (Download links at the end of this page) 1. If there really were a God of love, the innocent wouldn’t suffer 2. There is no God 3. Who made God? 4. God, if he existed, would be impersonal 5. I hate God 6. If God made us, our moral failings are God’s fault 7. What’s in it for me? 8. Science has crippled Christianity 9. Pleasant near-death experiences of non-Christians disprove Christianity 10. A God of love wouldn’t send me to hell 11. I don’t need God 12. Christianity is a crutch 13. The church is full of hypocrites 14. Christian superstars are after money 15. I’m answerable to no one 16. Christians support environmental vandalism 17. Christians are bigoted, racist, sexist and homophobic 18. Religion has sparked wars and exploitation 19. Christians have a low and negative view of humanity 20. What about all those who have never heard of Jesus? 21. All religions are much the same 22. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere 23. There are so many religions: how could anyone know which is right? 24. Even Hare Krishnas are more Christian than Christians! 25. The Bible contradicts itself 26. Christianity is on the decline 27. To become a genuine Christian is almost impossible 28. I’m not convinced 29. I’ll think about it 30-33. More Objections Download Word version Download Text version Download Zip file of Word document

Tithing Legalism Exposed The Bible and the Tithe Despite the New Testament saying so much about money, its only mention of tithing is in citing the Old Testament to make a point that has nothing to do with money (Hebrews 7) and reference in the Gospels to what the Pharisees did. I would be negligent not to point out, however, that even though Jesus emphasized that God wants so much more than a mere tithe, he upheld the Pharisees’ tithing: Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former . Not many pastors slip into their sermons this little tidbit: the Pharisees, who were legendary at tithing, are the very ones the Bible labels as being lovers of money (Luke 16:14). A tithe is literally one tenth. The description of the tithe, however, seems to vary from passage to passage in the Old Testament. As a result, there were Jews in Jesus’ time who understood this as indicating different tithes. Consequently, some believed the law required them to give two tithes and some even believed it required three tithes. Moreover, the Old Testament stresses not just tithes but, in addition, giving offerings: Malachi 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings .” Deuteronomy 12:6 ... there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. The tithes were given primarily to the priests and Levites, not to the poor: Numbers 18:21 I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. Numbers 18:24  . . . I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. . . . Although there is this Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. In addition to tithes and offerings to the Lord, however, the Old Testament strongly emphasized giving to the poor. Here is just a small sample: Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Job 31:16-23 If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless – but from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my birth I guided the widow – if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment, and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things. Psalms 112: 5,9 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely . . . He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. Proverbs 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. Proverbs 28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Isaiah 58:6,7,10 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: . . . Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? . . . and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Ezekiel 16:49 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. The rich young ruler, who had devoutly kept the law since he was boy (Luke 18:21) would surely, in the light of all of the above, have already been giving far beyond a tenth. Like the Pharisees who tithed and were lovers of money, however, this earnest young man still had an idolatrous love affair with money. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” he asked. “You still lack one thing,” Jesus replied. “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Luke 18:18,21). Many of us fall into the clearly unscriptural trap of presuming that by giving God one tenth of our finances we meet our spiritual financial obligations. Neither does tithing free us from the love of money. Let’s craft a very brief overview of the New Testament’s teaching on giving, starting with John the Baptist. Anointed prophet, John the Baptist, was divinely ordained for the critical role of preparing people’s hearts for their Messiah’s long-awaited coming. Many of John’s disciples and followers ended up close to Jesus. For example, Andrew, a partner with James and John in their fishing business (Luke 5:10), had been one of the Baptist’s disciples. It was Andrew who introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus (John 1:35-42). Did you realize that the Gospels use precisely the same words to describe the essence of the Baptist’s message as it does for Jesus’ message? Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 4:12,17 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. . . . From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Below is among the most detailed examples we have of John’s ministry. See if you see what I do: Luke 3:9-14 “The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.” Three different classes of people asked John the Baptist what they must do to avoid the judgment of God. To every group, the Baptist zeroed in on money and possessions. Jesus, too, kept focusing on this Matthew 25:31-35,40 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . . The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Not only did Jesus by very many different means keep telling people to sell everything and give it to the poor, everyone in the early Jerusalem church surrendered everything and held it in common: Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Filled with the love of God, the mere sight of fellow believers with needs greater than their own was apparently all it took to motivate this sacrifice. See if anything strikes you about this account: Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Did you notice that smack in the middle of describing their unity and attitude to finances are the words, “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all”? It seems the inspired writer saw – and wanted us to see – a strong connection between their selfless attitude toward material possessions and the power that was upon the apostles and the grace that was on them all. From there, Luke launched immediately into telling us of Ananias and Sapphira, who sold their property and gave so much of the proceeds that they expected everyone to think it was the full amount. God regarded this seemingly minor financial deception as such a threat to the special things that were happening in the early church, that he struck Ananias and Sapphira dead. As the church grew, this concept of selfless sharing of one’s resources widened even further: Acts 11:28-30  . . . Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. . . . The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. Finally, as expounded in the previous webpage , the apostle Paul took this sharing even further by going to great lengths to urge Gentile Christians to give sacrificially to financially support the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. The divinely inspired apostle did this because he yearned not merely for a material equality between Christians on a local level but – even more daring – worldwide : 2 Corinthians 8:13-14 Our desire is . . . that there might be equality . At the present time your plenty will supply what they [Christians in Jerusalem] need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. In addition to giving to needy Christians, the Bible speaks of giving to assist Christian ministries: Matthew 10:41-42 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. Romans 16:1-2 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 1 Corinthians 9:14  . . . the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. Galatians 6:6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. Philippians 4:16-18  . . . you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 3 John 1:5-8 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. Certain people, because of the nature of their calling, might need more resources than some others, but no ministry should enrich itself at the expense of those who have less: 2 Corinthians 8:13  . . . not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed , but that there might be equality. Anyone worthy of a role in ministry is: 1 Timothy 3:3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money . Have you considered what an astounding privilege it is to give gifts to the Lord? Only because of his great love for us does the Owner of the universe accept and appreciate our gifts. He, of course, lacks nothing, and anything we could give belongs to him anyway: Romans 11:35-36 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. We can never out-give our Wonderful God! We should give joyfully (2 Corinthians 9:7), liberally (2 Corinthians 8:2) and out of love (1 Corinthians 13:3), because this is how our Creator has given to us (James 1:5). The greatest thing we can give the One who loves us with all that he has is our love. He treasures the little things we do for him, like missing a meal just so that we can spend more time alone with him. He cherishes our gifts and, obviously, the more sacrificial the gift, the more precious it is to him. A gift given as a solemn obligation (though better than none) is not nearly as pleasing to him as something given joyfully as an expression of love (2 Corinthians 9:7). Chapters eight and nine of Second Corinthians – devoted to discussing the offering being collected for the needy Christians in Jerusalem – are so crammed with valuable insights into the spiritual principles of giving that I urge you to prayerfully read it all. Here is just a sample: 2 Corinthians 9:12-14 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Add to this the fact that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). To this total, add the effect that a world-wide display of love and unity would have upon unbelievers: John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 17:21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. As we bring together all these factors it becomes obvious that if God really wanted to bless the church, he would create within it an unequal distribution of wealth. An immense flood of prayer, praise, love, joy, provision, and blessing would then result from the equalization of this wealth. A great, world-wide inequality among Christians does indeed exist. It is up to you and me in the rich countries to create such a flow of finance to our needy brothers and sisters that God will be glorified and the whole world will sit up and take notice. Instead of going to war with his troops, King David lived in ease and ended up in serious moral squalor by getting Uriah’s wife pregnant. In contrast to David’s shame, the honorable Uriah epitomizes the solidarity we should show with the large numbers of God’s people in third world countries who are living a far more austere life than us. We take up the story when David had Uriah brought back from the front line: 2 Samuel 11:8-13 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. When David was told, “Uriah did not go home,” he asked him, “Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. By citing Uriah’s identification with those of God’s people who are deprived of physical luxuries, I am not concocting some theory. Here is it is in black and white: Hebrews 12:3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 1 Corinthians 12:26 If one part [of the body of Christ] suffers, every part suffers with it . . . It might seem that you can hardly “make ends meet” now, but God has promised to take care of all your financial needs when you give sacrificially to him (Matthew 6:31-33; Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Philippians 4:15-19). And if you already have sufficient, remember that God has prospered you so that you may give to others (2 Corinthians 9:8,11). Of course, there is nothing basically wrong with money or material possessions, but we must face the realities of life. There are people dying of physical and spiritual starvation who could be saved if we gave them some of our money instead of spending it on ourselves. The really “rich” people are those who have discovered the joy of giving. Proverbs 11:24-26,28 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.  . . . Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. The poor people (whatever the size of their bank balance) are those who are spiritually bankrupt. They are never content with what they have. They are ceaselessly craving for more. Always be willing to obey inner urges to give money, but first ask God, to ensure that the desire is really from him. Although the recipient of the money will be human, you are right in regarding it as a personal gift to God: Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Remember how one boy’s lunch fed a huge crowd (John 6:1-13). If the lad had ignored Jesus, and tried to meet the great need himself, very little would have been accomplished. A miracle occurred and the great need was met because the boy first offered his gift to Jesus. So tell Jesus that you are giving the gift to him (even though it is also given to a human agency) and ask him to bless and multiply it. God can then use your small gift to meet some of the great needs in this world. Promised Provision We noted in the previous webpage that just before declaring, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19) Paul spoke of being sometimes hungry and in want. How did these two statements end up in the same chapter? Are we right to see them as contradictory? What made the inspired apostle think they fit together? I believe the key lies in the vast difference between needs – which the promise is all about – and wants . Let’s remind ourselves of the context in which Jesus promised material provision: Matthew 6:31,33 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. The promise is for the most basic of human needs: food and clothing. From the day of Pentecost onwards, how many biblical examples of miraculous material provision come to mind? For insight into what divine material provision might entail, I am forced to delve into the Old Testament. In the previous webpage we looked at the miraculous provision of manna that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness and yet became so dull that, rather than supplying all their wants, it drove them to anger and became a source of bitter complaint. Here’s another example of divine provision: Deuteronomy 29:5 During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. As amazing as that is, how thrilled would you be about wearing the same clothes for forty years? Let’s move on to an astounding series of miracles of provision experienced by a powerful prophet of God. We must take careful note of it as it is among the very few examples of miraculous provision that Father God has carefully preserved in his Word to instruct his children. The Lord told Elijah to prophesy a drought. This made him so unpopular that God told him to hide (1 Kings 17:3) in a ravine where: 1 Kings 17:6-7 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. This miracle involved not milk, soda pop, fruit juices or coffee but drinking from a waterhole that gradually shrank, growing muddier and more putrid by the day. Moreover, this astounding act of God meant being fed by ravens – ceremonially unclean birds that regularly feed off animal carcasses left to rot in the dirt. This diet wore on day after day after day until finally the water dried up completely. But the miracles of provision kept coming. In those days, men were meant to be the providers but the next miracle required not just the humiliation of financial dependence upon a woman but having to ask a starving heathen woman to share with him her last meal: 1 Kings 17:8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to [the non-Israelite town of] Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”      So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”      “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it – and die.”.  Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’”      She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. The miracles kept coming but the meat supply had dried up. He was down to flour and oil, day after dreary day. Finally, Elijah faced his enemies in a spectacularly supernatural display on Mount Carmel in which fire from a cloudless sky burnt up the water-soaked sacrifice. Now, even more than before, Elijah’s steadfast commitment to God had rendered him a fugitive. He was again on the run; forced to hide from the highest authorities in the land. Here is his next miraculous provision: 1 Kings 19:5-7 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”      He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.      The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” Bread and water, followed by bread and water; supernatural, but hardly scrumptious. Worse was to follow. Here’s the next miracle: 1 Kings 19:8  . . . Strengthened by that food, he travelled forty days and forty nights . . . He was not just on an enforced fast, he was burning up calories as he journeyed. Another stupendous act of God, but hardly a pleasant one. We are not told whether his stomach began to feel uncomfortably empty and he daydreamed of food as he plodded on, or whether he was supernaturally kept from feeling hungry. All we know is that he survived and at the end of his foodless forty day journey he had a life-changing encounter with God. So yes, being hungry and in want, as spoken of by Paul, can indeed be linked with God supplying all our needs . Paul or Modern Apostles? Over and over, the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, urged his readers to pattern their lives on him. Let’s see the example he set: Acts 20:33-34 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 1 Corinthians 4:11-12 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. 1 Corinthians 9:1,4,6,12,15-19,23,27,10:1-6,33  . . . Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? . . . Don’t we have the right to food and drink? . . . Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? . . . If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. . . .            But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.      Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. . . . I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. . . .      No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (10:1) For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. . . . even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 2 Corinthians 11:7,9 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? . . . And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone . . . I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. Corinthians 12:14-18 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. . . . I have not been a burden to you. . . . Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent you? I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not act in the same spirit and follow the same course? 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 2 Thessalonians 3:8-9 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. Among all the Christians who are materially richer than me, very many must also be spiritually richer than me. So I am not worthy to pose the following questions. Nevertheless, before we can accept prosperity doctrine there are uncomfortable questions that must be faced: Do preachers who live in material prosperity do so because they are more blessed than Paul or because they fleece their flock more than Paul? Do they preach prosperity doctrine because it is biblical or because, like the tithing, Bible-quoting Pharisees, they are lovers of money? Is their teaching popular because they have found a new spiritual truth or because we live in the era prophesied by Paul? 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. I do not pretend to be worthy to polish the shoes of many who preach material prosperity. Nevertheless, it is not to them but to the Author of the Word of God that we must ultimately give account. Distilling the Truth Let’s bring together what we have learned in this and the previous webpage. Psalm 127:1  . . . Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. . . . The Bible divides humanity into two camps: not those who labor versus those who receive without hard work, but those who labor in vain versus those whose hard work counts. There are those whose labor ends up wasted because it was attempted without God and those whose work ends up being of value because they labored in submission to God. 1 Corinthians 15:58  . . . Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain . Yes, Scripture does identify a third category: those who are lazy. But no one need wait for Judgment Day to know that they are non-achievers who waste their lives. They can expect to enter eternity with the words, “You wicked, lazy servant!” ringing in his/her ears, “ . . . throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:26,30). I’d like to put that gentler, but these are the words of Jesus, whose love for humanity spectacularly outclasses mine and who knows the human heart and eternal realities infinitely better than me. Over and over, the Bible keeps repeating that God hates laziness and that laziness leads to poverty. Such is the abundance of Scriptures about this that despite all I quoted in the previous webpage , here are examples of Scriptures I haven’t cited: 1 Thessalonians 5:14  . . . warn those who are idle . . . Proverbs 10:4 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 14:23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 19:15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless [i.e. lazy] man goes hungry. Ecclesiastes 10:18 If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks. This does not mean, however, that people devoted to God and hard work will never face severe financial challenges and loss. We know that Job, of whom God was so proud, lost everything for a period. By continuing to praise and honor God, he squashed the devil’s malicious accusation that Job was the most godly man of his era only because God kept protecting him and lavishing him with material prosperity. The great apostle Paul, who worked so hard and whose devotion to God was outstanding, endured times of want so severe that he went hungry. His faith caused him to move so much in the supernatural that he found contentment in the midst of this deprivation. That’s a miracle to rival the most outstanding examples of miraculous provision. I am reminded of the famous Faith Chapter (Hebrews 11) describing many faith heroes who experienced miraculous deliverances from danger and yet the chapter continues by hailing as equally powerful examples those whose faith empowered them to live in poverty, dressed “in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,” wandering “in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” Some were even tortured to death (Hebrews 11:35-39). Perhaps it is noteworthy that in that long chapter devoted to what faith can achieve, the only mention of wealth is in relinquishing it for Christ’s sake: Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. If modern preachers had been allowed to write this part of the Bible, they might have said, “By faith Abraham became rich.” And there would have been a degree of accuracy in that statement. Nevertheless, Scripture takes the exact opposite approach, emphasizing that “By faith . . . he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob . . .” (Hebrews 11:9). The Bible’s goal is to inspire godliness, not incite greed: Psalm 19:9-10 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold . . . Psalms 119:127  . . . I love your commands more than gold . . . Proverbs 8:10-11 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 22:1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 28:6 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse. Some might put in their version of the Faith Chapter, “By faith Solomon became the richest man on the planet,” but the truth is rather different. Not only did Solomon not believe God for riches, it was precisely because he refused to ask for riches, that he was granted wealth: 2 Chronicles 1:11-12 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” Likewise, modern faith-preachers might be tempted to add, “Through faith Job became rich,” but Job would not have rated a mention in God’s Word except for the faith that empowered him to remain steadfastly devoted to God in the midst of devastating illness, bereavement and financial ruin. Appealing to people’s baser nature will always prove popular but it is a temptation that preachers must steadfastly resist. Paul prophesies what will characterize people in the last days: 2 Timothy 3:1-4 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,  . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God He then goes on to warn: 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. James highlights the danger facing all who seek to teach the Word of God: James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. There are fakes everywhere but anyone whose faith is genuine yearns to increase in godliness. For real Christians, trials are blessings to be rejoiced in because hard times end up producing godly character. Romans 5:3-4  . . . we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Our loving Lord treats us not with bland sameness but as distinct individuals with unique missions. We are looking at finances, but since this principle extends way beyond finances, let’s, for illustration purposes, see how it applies to marriage. As mentioned in the previous webpage, God led me to grow in sensitivity, compassion and devotion to Christ by asking me to voluntarily suffer the seemingly endless torment of being single for over half a century. Hour after hour, week after week, decade after decade, I felt a hideous freak, a laughing stock and a reject, with a loneliness and gnawing emptiness that not even intimacy with God seemed to fill. This clashes with modern “feel good” Christianity as much as Jesus telling us to deny ourselves and take up our cross, but it was God’s leading, nonetheless. As I inwardly writhed in agony for what seemed forever, I frequently wished I had never been born and yet I rejoice, and I will spend all eternity praising God for what that torturous trial achieved in my spiritual life. For someone else, the never-ending process of growing more like Christ might come about through decades of remaining faithful to a cruelly selfish marriage partner. For other people, the challenge might be to keep growing in Christ despite the tendency toward spiritual complacency that comes with a good marriage. Like a happy marriage, material prosperity brings spiritual danger: Deuteronomy 6:10-12 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you – a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD , who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Deuteronomy 8:10-14 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God. Proverbs 30:8-9  . . . give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you  . . . The grass always seems greener in the other field and James reminds us that we all suffer an inbuilt tendency to envy. To this add God treating each of us uniquely and we end up sorely tempted to the blasphemous presumption that God is unfair and does not love us equally. At the end of this webpage is a link to a series of pages in which I explode this fallacy. Assessing things on the basis of our present life is like judging a movie by the first ten seconds. We are hurtling toward an eternity in which God abundantly compensates, rewards and reverses earthly experiences. Remember Jesus’ chilling warning to those who seemed godly and were the envy of many: they have their reward already (Matthew 6:2,5,16; Luke 6:24). Rather than have us look for a reward in this life, he said: Luke 14:12-14  . . . “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous .” If it were wise and loving to lavish an alcoholic with lorry loads of the world’s finest alcoholic beverages, it might be appropriate for the Fount of all love and wisdom to pamper our addiction to material things, enabling us to fix our minds on earthly things, spiritually impoverish ourselves, and squander our eternal reward. Jesus kept begging us to ask him for things. For example: John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Let’s not grieve our Holy Lord, however, by twisting his words into something contrary to his heart. Just earlier, in the same dissertation, Jesus had used the same expression used here about one’s joy being “complete”: John 15:7,10-13 If you remain in me and my words remain in you , ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. . . . If you obey my commands , you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete . My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. This makes it clear that for Jesus, asking “whatever you wish, and it will be given you,” hinges on being in spiritual harmony with our Lord (remaining or abiding in him), taking his words to heart, and obeying him. Moreover, we see from the above that the key command that Jesus emphasized when telling us to ask is that we be driven by such love for others that we would selflessly sacrifice everything for them, just as Jesus did. This is hardly consistent with greed, against which Jesus warned: Luke 12:15  . . . “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed . . . Does anyone really expect Jesus to denounce greed as a grave spiritual danger and then invite us to pray for things to satisfy our greed? Jesus told us to not be like “the pagans [who] run after all these things,” but to “seek first” God’s kingdom and his righteousness, (Matthew 6:32-33) and to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). The desire for righteousness should be our single-minded passion – our obsession. No wonder James wrote, “You do not have, because you do not ask God,” and then corrected himself, telling them they ask but instead of asking for godly things as Jesus intended, they “ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures,” (James 4:2-3). At least seven times, the New Testament specifically lists greed as being as anti-God and as spiritually damming as sexual immorality: 1 Corinthians 5:11  . . . you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy  . . . With such a man do not even eat. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor . . . adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders . . . nor the greedy will inherit the kingdom of God. Ephesians 5:3,5 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed , because these are improper for God’s holy people. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed  . . . Mark 7:21-22 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality , theft, murder, adultery, greed , malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. Romans 1:26-27,29 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts . Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. . . . They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. 2 Peter 2:14 With eyes full of adultery , they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed – an accursed brood! Logically, then, only if someone could convince God that paedophiles should claim Scriptures, praying with faith in Jesus’ name for new victims, might we possibly get somewhere by asking the Holy Lord to indulge our greed. Otherwise, here’s a biblical truth to name and claim: Proverbs 1:28-30 Then they will call to me but I will not answer . . . Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD . . . Proverbs 21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. Isaiah 1:15-16 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.  . . . Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong Isaiah 59:2  . . . your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Isaiah 57:17 I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger . . . Jeremiah 11:10-11 They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. . . . Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘ . . . Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. . . .’ Jeremiah 14:12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry . . . Ezekiel 8:18  . . . Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them. John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. So James was saying nothing revolutionary when he implied that harboring sin in our hearts sabotages prayer. On the contrary, he was merely contributing to a strong biblical theme: Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 1 John 3:21-22 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him . 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will , he hears us. James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Proverbs 28:9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable. Just minutes after urging us to ask so that our joy may be complete, Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane where he sweated over the temptation to abuse prayer by seeking his own comfort. He could have asked for legions of angels to rescue him and God would have granted his request (Matthew 26: 53). Instead, just as he had always taught his followers to do, he denied himself and committed to God’s way (Matthew 26:42), which meant unspeakable agony followed by unfathomable joy. Mark 8:34,36 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. . . . What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? . . .” Hebrews 12:1-2  . . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles , and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame . . . This horrific temptation in the garden, near the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry, was reminiscent of the temptation at the commencement of his ministry: to exploit his sonship with God to meet his own cravings for food. When I was young and did not understand fasting, I used to smile to myself when reading, “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:2). I used to think the reference to hunger was merely stating – or understating – the obvious. I now know, however, that during a long fast one is hungry for a while but the body adjusts and little hunger is felt as the body feeds off its reserves. I’m told that when hunger returns, however, the situation has turned serious; bodily reserves have been used up and the only option is for the body to commence consuming vital parts of itself. It was at this point that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread, but Jesus mustered the strength to deny himself and not pray to be provided with what his body craved. God’s priority is that we become like his Holy Son, the Lord of Glory who sacrificed all. This is the path to eternal honor and endless joy. It is tragic how many of us break God’s heart and put him in virtually no-win situations by telling ourselves that God does not love us, that we have no faith, that Christianity doesn’t work, or some other ridiculous accusation, unless God continually inflames our addiction to worldly things by answering selfish, short-sighted prayers. Jesus longs for our joy to be “complete.” We might laugh at a junkie who interprets that statement to mean an endless supply of heroin, but let’s be wary of becoming so addicted to materialism that we misinterpret Jesus’ words as an invitation to keep feeding our greed. Remember Scripture’s terrifying warning: 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. We have seen from Paul’s deep experience that true Christian joy has nothing to do with ease or material comfort. And this was not just some quirk of Paul’s. James told us to “consider it pure joy” when we suffered trials (James 1:2) and Peter urged us to “rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:13). Indeed, all of the apostles, after being flogged, left “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” of Jesus (Acts 5:41). The intensity of the Almighty’s love for us far exceeds what any human is capable of imitating. Of course the Almighty could protect himself from pain by closing off his heart but he refuses to do so. Despite his omnipotence, he allows the inconceivable immensity of his love to render himself emotionally vulnerable, just as even lesser lovers do. He who owns the universe aches for your love. He longs for your praise, for example, not because the One who gave his all for you is egocentric, nor because the endless efforts of countless myriads of angels are wearing thin, but because – as demonstrated in the Song of Solomon – lovers praise each other and delight in verbally expressing their love. He pines for your obedience, not because he could not make more obedient robots, but because lovers long to help each other and to do what pleases the other. The Almighty craves your companionship. Sadly, many of us grieve the God who yearns for our love by treating him like an unfeeling poker machine; hoping that if we feed in enough prayer and faith we will win some money. We cannot depersonalize our Maker, however, without dehumanizing ourselves. Anyone treating God like a machine is like someone who turns his heart to stone, refusing to love, and trying instead to claw emotional satisfaction from objects. Appallingly many of us are like a passionately loved wife who keeps breaking her husband’s heart by her coldness because she married him for his money. Instead of revelling in the glory of God’s love and the matchless beauty and wonder of who he is, we lust after trinkets that can never fill the God-shaped void within us. The real treasure lies not in his gifts but in the Giver himself. If we miss the big picture we will end up continually fighting God and not even realize it. Whereas God longs for us to sacrifice earthly comfort to store up heavenly treasure that we can never lose, we think he should be helping us accumulate earthly treasure that we can never keep. His infinite wisdom declares, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), but we think the all-knowing Lord should realize he is wrong and that the opposite is true. God’s agenda is not to make his beloved children spoiled brats who shame themselves but to make us exquisitely perfect like his eternal Son. This is so much God’s focus that he guides everything toward that end: Romans 8:28-29 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son  . . . Philippians 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who . . . humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor , so that you through his poverty might become rich. The eternal glory of Christlike beauty comes neither instantly, nor effortlessly: Romans 13:13-14 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature . Galatians 4:19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you Hebrews 5:8-9 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect . . . Wrap Up In this and the previous webpage we have flown over a large number of Scriptures as we have crisscrossed the Bible, scanning the surface on a hunt for clues about a vast biblical topic. We have certainly not plumbed the depths, but the sheer quantity of Scriptures highlights how important it is to God that we grasp his heart on this matter. Even for me, the writer, this Bible exploration has taken some unexpected turns. The result stands in stark contrast to the uplifting webpages I usually craft and it raises more questions than it answers. Nevertheless, this webpage is really about joy. Someone wisely said, “Happiness depends on happenings. Joy depends on Jesus.” One of the greatest threats to endless joy is an addiction to temporal things, such as money and possessions. If they are our source of happiness and/or security, then Jesus is not. And when they are stripped from us, as they inevitably will – either at death or before – what will be left? We have seen that faith is no alternative to hard work. On the other hand, being hard working does not mean one has earned the right to have money and certainly not the right to keep any of it. Any money God lets us spend on ourselves is always undeserved. Neither can the rich pride themselves in having worked harder than the poor. Often the affluent just happen to have had higher paying jobs and/or rip off more people than those in lower paying jobs whose efforts make rich those who exploit them. Neither can the affluent claim to be godlier than the poor or that God favors them over those who have less. On the contrary, in Jesus’ parable it was Lazarus the beggar who ended up in heaven and the rich man had the torturous afterlife (Luke 16:19-31), as was also the case with the prosperous farmer who was planning bigger barns for his bumper crop (Luke 12:16-21). In fact, Jesus warned: Luke 18:25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Our Lord kept insisting that there will be many startling reversals in the next life. For example: Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Luke 16:25  . . . Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. Matthew 20:16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last. It was prophesied of the coming of the Messiah: Luke 1:53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Likewise James wrote: James 5:1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. James 5:5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. He had a low opinion of the rich: James 2:6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? We must never forget that God delights in blessing his children but I suggest something is seriously wrong if we view as a significant blessing the very things that mesmerize non-Christians. In fact, Jesus kept telling people to sell everything and give it to the poor, everyone in the early Jerusalem church surrendered everything and held it in common, and Paul expended great effort in urging Christians living in richer locations to give so abundantly to those in poorer countries that there might be a material equality among Christians worldwide. Monkeys are captured by placing food behind a narrow opening. By grabbing the food they form a fist that is bigger than the opening. They are trapped solely because of their refusal to let go. If we don’t let go of temporal things now, we will find ourselves still clinging to them on Judgment Day when all that is temporal is thrown into the fire. WARNING: I’m Imbalanced The above heading is deliberately worded to grab your attention because what I am about to say is of extreme importance, even though admitting what I am about to say is as unfashionable as this entire webpage. As much as I would love to grasp God’s full biblical revelation about finances, doing so remains my elusive dream. It is my conviction that only a tiny few people have ever had the courage, humility, intimacy with God and depth of understanding to embrace the full biblical revelation of God on any subject. We are much more prone to become infatuated with fragments of truth and end up with a distorted view. Regrettably, I am likely to have done this very thing in my attempt to explore this topic. I strongly sense I have presented an unbalanced view, even though I currently feel incapable of improving on what I have presented. It is my hope that you will do better than me in plumbing the depths of Scriptural revelation on this vast topic. (To do so you must use all the principles explained in The Spiritual Essentials for Accurate Bible Interpretation and the pages it leads to.) All I know is that a full understanding of the infinite Lord’s heart for our finances must include all the Scriptures I have cited. Post Script Long after writing the above I discovered a significant book. In the seventies and eighties, Jim Bakker was one of the world’s most famous and influential Christians. The television host and founder of the huge PTL television network and the amazing Heritage USA Christian theme park, he built and headed an organization that employed nearly three thousand people. Proud to have his message dubbed the prosperity gospel, he passionately believed and lived it. After his world came crushing down, he had an unforgettable dream that told him he needed to see everything through Jesus’ eyes. This led to a prolonged and intensive Bible study that reluctantly brought Bakker to the devastating conclusion that, despite his sincerity, by emphasizing prosperity, he had been so distorting the Word of God as to be leading people astray by preaching a false gospel. That might seem extreme, but a humbled and deeply repentant Jim Bakker builds a powerful case in his book, I was wrong . It makes sobering reading. Related Links The Previous Webpage: Forgotten Christian Secrets of Prosperity Satisfied: The Christianity that Most Christians have Missed Spiritual Secrets: Dying to Self Explained God Isn’t fair? The Joy of Unanswered Prayer The Spiritual Essentials For Accurate Bible Interpretation

Believing God for Financial Miracles How would you like to amass so much wealth that you could educate 122,683 children; buy 282,000 Bibles and one and a half million New Testaments; give away 112 million books, pamphlets and tracts; support hundreds of missionaries; and feed, clothe and house 10,000 children from the time they were orphaned until becoming independent? George Muller did. And he achieved this not by sweat and business acumen, not by garage sales and mailing lists, not by borrowing or asking for help, but solely by faith and prayer. He refused to let his needs be known to anyone but God. Fifty times in just one two-year period there were insufficient funds to see them through the day, yet what was needed always came in time. Though Muller enjoyed God’s miraculous provision daily for more than sixty years, the life of faith never grew easy for him. Even in his later years when he gained international fame, he still had to pray in every penny, often having to economize and wait virtually to the death knock before it arrived. The Lord so believed in Muller and so cared for his continued spiritual development that he kept the tests coming for sixty years until finally granting him a financially easier life when Muller entered his late eighties. Trans World Radio, with an annual budget of little more than $10,000, faced a half-million-dollar down payment, to be paid in $83,000 instalments every second month. On the deadline day for the second instalment they were $13,000 short. $5,000 arrived that morning, but nothing more. The director shuffled to the bank with the knotted stomach of a schoolboy sent to the principal’s office. Before he reached the bank a worker handed him an unexpected mail delivery containing another $5,000. Missed by just $3,000! A knife to the stomach would have been less painful. As he slumped in the seat of the bank president’s office, contemplating the hefty penalty for not meeting a payment, money was wired to the TWR account – $3,000. On the day the next payment was due, after every piece of mail had been scoured they were $1,500 short. Not another cent arrived. Most of the donations were in German marks and they had checked the exchange rate the day before. They re-checked. The money was now worth $1,500 more. And the miracles kept coming. Lack of money never stymies God’s work, but materialism does. This disease of the mind comes in two deadly strains. One is loving luxury more than God – television reception is atrocious in the Irian Jayan jungles, so I refuse to go. I’ve caught the other strain if money gives me a greater feeling of security than having the Creator of the Universe as my Father – I know my cold-hearted, money-grubbing boss will pay me every week, but I’m not so sure about God, so I squelch his leading to leave my job. As a law-abiding Jew, the rich young ruler was, by common Christian standards, remarkably liberal in his giving. His contemporaries may have regarded as obligatory the giving of up to thirty percent of one’s income. At the very minimum this man must have been offering expensive animal sacrifices in addition to his ten percent. Yet he was still so entangled in the deadly web of materialism that not even the lure of eternal life could entice him to break free. He could not obtain salvation for himself, let alone live a profitable life for others. He was poor indeed (Mark 10:17-31). Satisfied: Peace, Contentment, Fulfilment Consumerism & the acquisitive society, or biblical living? God Isn’t fair? When others seem to get it easier than us Forgotten Secrets of Prosperity Doctrine

Forgotten Christian Secrets of Prosperity Prosperity Doctrine I admit that for most of my life I have been inspired by the faith-filled message of preachers devoted to Christian prosperity teaching or, as it is sometimes called, prosperity doctrine. Despite any personal bias, however, my goal – and yours – must be to ruthlessly push aside personal preferences and presumptions. No matter how uncomfortable it makes me, I must continually seek to expand my mind and heart to embrace the staggering vastness of God’s full biblical revelation. Will you join me on this journey? Will you stay if it takes some unexpected turns? The Bible says so much about finances that although it is my habit to adorn webpages with quotes from the eternal Word of God, this time I’ll lavish upon you an even higher proportion of the Bible’s priceless treasure. To minimize your reading time I have pruned each quote to make it as short as possible. So although throughout this webpage, bold italics indicate words I particularly want you to note, the other words have been retained only because they, too, are significant to the point I wish you to see. To cut through spiritual deception and blindness to discover eternal truth, it is essential that we get passionately serious with God. So I urge you to make this courageous prayer your own: Precious Father, I need you infinitely more than anything else in the entire universe. You are my joy, my love, my hope. Only you are good and perfect. No one has love and wisdom like you. You have said, “ . . . broad is the road that leads to destruction . . . But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). You alone offer eternal life. Only you know what awaits me beyond the grave and how I must act to achieve the most good and to maximize my eternal bliss. May I never again be content with a needlessly shallow understanding of spiritual reality. Help me hunger and thirst after righteousness and be rid of all the sin that so easily seduces and deceives; grieving you and robbing me of your best. May I die to self and come alive to you. Give me the courage and determination to pay whatever price it takes to know you and delight you as fully as any human can. Help me break through fears, biases and preconceptions to truly hear from you. We’ll start with a Scripture that unveils what for some Christians has become a forgotten factor in Christian prosperity and financial provision. It seems mundane and yet the Bible emphasizes it because the all-knowing Lord sees it as significant: Psalm 128:2 You will eat the fruit of your labor ; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Did you catch it or did it sneak past you? “You will eat the fruit of your labor . . .” Even with divine blessing, you still have to work. Sadly, many of us are so out of touch with biblical thinking that even the thought of having to physically work for God’s physical blessing seems unspiritual! To confirm that this verse is not some biblical aberration, examine the following: Proverbs 24:33-34 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs 13:4 The sluggard [the lazy person] craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent [the person who works hard and consistently] are fully satisfied. Proverbs 12:24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. Proverbs 20:4 A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing. Proverbs 23:21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. Consider this Scripture on divine provision: Psalm 104:25-28 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up ; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. God provides but it still takes effort. The principle applies even to the miraculous provision of manna: Exodus 16:14-18,22,26 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘ Each one is to gather as much as he needs . Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ ” The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much much did not have too much, and he who gathered much little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. . . . On the sixth day, they gathered much twice as much. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any. Each Sabbath, no gathering of the manna was permitted because gathering was work. And don’t for a moment imagine that New Testament faith negates this spiritual principle of divine provision requiring work on behalf of the recipients. Read this carefully: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 1 Corinthians 3:8  . . . each will be rewarded according to his own labor. Colossians 3:22-23 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart , as working for the Lord, not for men As we will soon see, these Scriptures are but a tiny fraction of the New Testament emphasis on physical work. Faith is not a way of avoiding hard work. What makes God’s blessing different is not how hard we must work but that without God’s blessing our hard work ultimately ends up wasted: Deuteronomy 28:15,38-40 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands . . . all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: . . . You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. P salm 109:2,11 . . . wicked and deceitful . . . may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. Jeremiah 3:24,25 From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our fathers’ labor . . . We have sinned against the LORD our God . . . Jeremiah 51:58 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.” Habakkuk 2:13 Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? Haggai 1:6-7,9,11 “ . . . You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. . . . What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. . . . I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains . . . and on the labor of your hands.” A soft, lazy life is associated not with God’s blessing but with his displeasure: Matthew 25:26 . . . You wicked, lazy servant! . . . Titus 1:12 . . . Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. Hard work is an important aspect of godliness: Ephesians 4:28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Acts 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 1 Corinthians 4:12 We work hard with our own hands. 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you Titus 3:14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives. The Bible’s ideal housewife works so hard that you might need to rest up after merely reading of all she crams into her long day: Proverbs 31:10-27 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. . . .She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands . She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark ; she provides food for her family . . . She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night . In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. . . . She makes coverings for her bed . . . She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity . . . She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness . Here’s a Scripture addressed to people in houses that not only had no washing machines, but no piped water; an era in which families were large and there was not only no cheap ready-made clothing but not even access to sewing or weaving machines: 1 Timothy 5:13-14 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. In contrast to hardworking wives, Paul writes: 1 Timothy 5:6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Get rich quick dreams and schemes lead not to wealth but to poverty; not to contentment but to an endless craving. They are a curse that promises blessings but ends in regret: Proverbs 20:21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end. Proverbs 28:8 He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. Proverbs 28:19-20,22 He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty . A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished . A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him. Proverbs 13:11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. The Second Secret Let’s unpack a second key to financial peace. The Bible emphasizes it and yet, even more than the first, it somehow slips past most of today’s Western Christians. We’ll start with the obvious, however, before moving to the road less travelled: Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. Proverbs 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Deuteronomy 5:21 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Luke 3:14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay .” 1 Timothy 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. No matter how much he earns, anyone is headed for poverty who fails to show restraint but squanders his money on self-indulgence. There are much deeper truths than this, however, associated with being content with less. The great apostle of faith writes: Philippians 4:11-12  . . . for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need , and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry , whether living in plenty or in want It is ironic that the highly popular Scripture, “I can do all things through Christ” (King James Version) refers primarily to what is decidedly unpopular – being content with an empty stomach: Philippians 4:12-13  . . . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. It is also ironic – or perhaps disturbing – that Paul mentions his being in want and even hungry just before another oft-cited Scripture: Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Actually, Paul refers to going hungry several times in his writings: 1 Corinthians 4:11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger 2 Corinthians 11:27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food ; I have been cold and naked. He also says of himself and his companions: 2 Corinthians 6:9-10  . . . beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor , yet making many rich; having nothing , and yet possessing everything. It is easy to forget that so many early Christians were slaves that: * Philemon was written solely because of a Christian slave * In Titus 2:9 a leader is guided as to how to instruct Christian slaves * 1 Corinthians 7:21-22, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 6:5-8, Colossians 3:10-11, Colossians 3:22, and 1 Peter 2:18-25 were specifically addressed to Christian slaves. Not only were slaves poor, they often became slaves as a result of extreme poverty. In fact, to be poor was normal in the early church: 2 Corinthians 8:2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. Why were the Macedonian churches so generous despite “their extreme poverty”? Because they were giving to Christians who were even poorer: Romans 15:26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Note that it was not some backwater church that had impoverished members. This was the mighty Jerusalem church of the book of Acts; the church born out of the original Pentecostal outpouring, complete with tongues of fire and astounding miracles. Paul did not regard these Christians in Jerusalem as spiritually inferior because they were deeply impoverished. On the contrary, you’ll see above that even behind their backs he called them saints – God’s holy ones – and rather than supposing that he could rectify the problem by preaching to them about having faith for finances, he went to extremes to collect money for them: Galatians 2:10 All they [the apostles in Jerusalem] asked was that we should continue to remember the poor [among the Jerusalem Christians], the very thing I was eager to do. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 Now about the collection for God’s people [in Jerusalem]: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. The inspired apostle considered this so important that in 2 Corinthians he devoted two entire chapters (eight and nine) to urging his readers to give sacrificially to the poor in Jerusalem. Titus and another respected leader were equally enthusiastic about this project: 2 Corinthians 8:17-21 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. You no doubt know that the whole saga of Paul being arrested, imprisoned for years and finally sent to Rome, began as a result of him insisting on going to Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-14). Did you realize, however, that a key reason why he was in Jerusalem was to deliver the money he had raised for the impoverished Christians there? Romans 15:25-26 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Acts 24:17 After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. And it was not just the Macedonian and the Jerusalem Christians who were poor. Of the church in Smyrna, the risen Lord said: Revelation 2:9 I know your afflictions and your poverty . . . Most of the people James wrote to were clearly poor: James 2:2-5 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes . . . have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  . . . Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith . . . ? Yes, “rich in faith” but still poor – and the context eliminates any chance of “poor” referring to something other than material poverty. By the way, how many of us are so poor that we regard wearing a gold ring (a wedding ring, for example) as a sign of wealth? Here’s a hint at the extent of their poverty: James 2:15-16 Suppose a [Christian] brother or sister is without clothes and daily food . If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? We noted Paul seeing the impoverished Christians in Jerusalem as needing practical help, not faith teaching, to counter their poverty. Now we see from the above quote that James likewise saw the poor among the Christians as not needing preaching or spiritual words to escape their poverty but material help. Our Lord can send us soaring on spiritual highs and thrilling faith adventures but he is also disturbingly practical: James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction . . . If our religion moves us merely to climb on our soapboxes, we are nothing but clanging cymbals (1 Corinthians 13:1). If we stop at spouting doctrine or merely trying to look “holy,” rather than rolling up our sleeves and/or emptying our pockets, we are probably fake. Paul bursts false spirituality with the ease of a pin through a balloon. The following could hardly be worded any stronger: 1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Of course, Jesus was the master at shattering the hypocrisy that religion inevitably attracts. For example: Matthew 15:3-6 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” Our Lord expects far more from us than just prayer and preaching. Look at what Scripture puts side by side: Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others , for with such sacrifices God is pleased. God sees the highest spiritual worship and the most practical physical help as belonging together. It is as vital that they be interconnected as it is for a car’s engine and wheels to interconnect. Anyone trying to divide them is like the Priest and Levite in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-32). We love to rip the following out of context: 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need , you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “He [the righteous person] has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion . . . Before getting too carried away with expounding these verses, we need to realize that this is in the middle of Paul’s efforts to raise money for the material needs of Christians who, despite their faith, were so poor that they needed a handout. 2 Corinthians 9:12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God [that is, the receivers will be exceedingly grateful because they need this financial help]. It is to our shame if we see dollar signs when reading “You will be made rich in every way.” Let’s glance at that passage again, noting how much the spiritual riches predominate: 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work . As it is written: “He [the righteous person] has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness . You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion  . . . We noted how James wrote of being rich, not materially, but “rich in faith.” Jesus, too, spoke of spiritual riches: Luke 12:21 This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. To the church in Smyrna, Jesus said that although they were materially poor, they were rich (Revelation 2:9). And Paul spoke about being “rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18). Although it is less obvious in some English versions, Paul speaks similarly in this long passage about giving: 2 Corinthians 8:7 But just as you excel [many versions say “abound”] in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel [or abound] in this grace of giving. The word here translated “excel” refers to having an abundance. The Bible sometimes applies this Greek word materially and other times spiritually. For example, Paul used this same Greek word when he wrote “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty [many versions say ‘abound’]” (Philippians 4:12). So here Paul is talking about abounding or being rich in faith, love, generosity and so on. As confirmed over and over in his writings, Paul’s heart is clearly for spiritual riches, not material riches. Just a couple of chapters earlier in 2 Corinthians he spoke of he and his companions being “poor [materially], yet making many rich [spiritually]; having nothing [materially], and yet possessing everything [spiritually]” (2 Corinthians 6:10). It is vital that we crave a spiritual, not a material, abundance. It is this that must captivate our imagination and fill our waking moments. Supernatural Joy Let me share one of my favorite verses. It highlights just how supernatural Paul’s walk with God was. In the same letter in which Paul lists all the torture he had suffered, he writes: 2 Corinthians 7:4  . . . in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. What makes that verse so exciting is that if Paul could so dramatically tap into the heart of God, so can we – if, like him, we pay the price. Face it: for someone living a soft life to be joyful is hardly a powerful witness to the reality of God, relative to Paul’s testimony of being content while hungry. He knew the truth of this Scripture: Psalms 4:7 You [God] have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. Psalms 63:4-6,8 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with [not “with” but “as with”] the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. . . . I think of you through the watches of the night. . . . My soul clings to you . . . Let’s drill deeper into Paul’s declaration of contentment: Philippians 4:12  . . . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation . . . This contentment, says Paul, is something he had to learn . It did not magically fall into his lap. Like learning to walk, we can expect reaching this degree of contentment to take deliberate, prolonged effort. Paul’s contentment hinged on his spiritual union with Christ: Philippians 4:12-13  . . . I have learned the secret of being content . . . whether . . . hungry . . . or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength . For this level of contentment we must discover how to draw deeply from our relationship with God: Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” If such contentment were something that automatically comes upon Christians, not only would Paul have not had to learn it, there would have been no need for this instruction. This contentment is something that one has to work at. One has to deliberately stir oneself up to delight in God. Habakkuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Job 1:21 [After losing all his children and all his possessions, Job] said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Deuteronomy 12:18  . . . you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to. Psalm 34:1  . . . I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! The fulfilment that comes from rejoicing in God empowers us to put into practice such Scriptures as: Romans 5:2-3  . . . And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings . . . James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. 1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. An important aspect of finding contentment is to foster a spirit of thankfulness. There is much truth in the old hymn “Count your blessings . . . and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything , in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:10-12  . . . growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father  . . . Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness . 1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. A thankful person is a happy person. An envious person torments himself with needless misery. Our fallen nature is such that we find it easier to be grumpy about what we don’t have than to be grateful for what we have. To rise above this degradation is a continual challenge. The more we praise God, however, the more he will praise us. Will we choose to delight in what God has given us or grizzle about what he has not given us? This is a far more serious matter than many of us realize: Numbers 11:4-6,10,18-20,33-34  . . . the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”  . . . Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry . . . ‘Tell the people:  . . . “Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. . . . for a whole month – until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it . . .” ’  . . . All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. . . . But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food. God’s provision was both miraculous and ample. It delighted them for a while but, instead of continuing to be grateful for God’s provision, they began to grumble. Those back in Egypt might not have had the miracle, but they had a greater variety. The Israelites’ griping initially seemed to pay off: they were granted their wish. Don’t be envious of those who seem more blessed of God, however, until you see the long-term result. Sometimes you have to wait decades or even until after death before it becomes obvious, but in this case they did not have to wait long to discover that being granted their wish was a curse. Soon their belly aching literally became a belly ache – and it turned deadly. The New Testament emphasizes the importance of this incident for us living under the covenant of grace: 1 Corinthians 10:1,4-6, 10-12 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea . . . and drank the same spiritual drink . . . Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. . . . And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! So we are to be grateful for God’s provision, even when it is less than what we crave. On the other hand, it is important not to think God is stingy and/or settle for less than God’s best. For the biblical balance we need look no further than this: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your requests to God. Here is one of the great killers of the joy that thankfulness brings: it is hard to be thankful for things we think we deserve. What I am about to expound is not intended to depress but to open our eyes to spiritual reality and release us into the joy that springs from gratefulness. If you were healed of an illness, your degree of gratefulness would depend on your understanding of the seriousness of the illness. Likewise, our appreciation of what Christ did for us by his death hinges on how much we understand the horror that his sacrifice has saved us from. Never in my life have I got what I deserved. If people knew every detail of my life, I think most would say I have lived a very moral life. But that means less than a character reference from the world’s greatest con-artist. Like you, I have confirmed over and over again that I deserve nothing less than an eternity in hell. Any moment I’m not in the same torment as the rich man who begged that the beggar “dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire,” (Luke 16:24) is yet another moment in which I am not getting what I deserve. For any of us to think ourselves better than someone else is to teeter on spiritual suicide: Luke 18:11-14 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’          I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. . . . Here’s another sobering Scripture that not many frame and hang on their wall: Luke 17:9-10 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ No matter how much we do for God we could never work our way out of hell, let alone deserve a reward. For where I live – in an average city in the western world – my income and possessions are way below average. The millions who have so much more might be no better than me but I am no better than the billions of people who have much less than me. I’m told that in the world as a whole: * Rural areas account for three in every four people suffering from malnutrition, and yet even among urban dwellers one out of three (approximately a billion people) live in slum conditions. * Every night over a billion people go to bed hungry. * Three billion people have no drinkable water within a kilometer (over half a mile) of their homes, and 865 million people have no access at all to safe drinking water. * 2.5 billion people are forced to burn wood, charcoal or animal dung for cooking. The resulting indoor pollution kills 4,000 people a day. * Nearly a billion people are unable to read a book or sign their names. * In India, a typical “middle class” person earns $2,500 a year and lives in a tiny brick house with no running water. Yes, that’s considered middle class, not poor. A pirate is said to have felt so bad about having killed a man that he could not sleep properly for days. Nevertheless, he kept killing and reached the point where he could murder someone, use the corpse as a pillow and sleep soundly all night. We have been surrounded by wrongdoing and personally engaged in it so much that we have become as hardened to our own forms of evil as that pirate and we have a grossly inflated view of ourselves. In stark contrast to us, the Judge of all humanity – the Lord of heaven who keeps our heart beating and seals our eternal fate – sees nothing through sin-clouded eyes. The perfection of his holiness renders him terrifyingly righteous in his judgments. Heaven would lose its perfection if the slightest trace of selfishness or any other “minor” sin were introduced to it. Heaven would end up corrupted like earth. God’s righteous assessment is so flawlessly accurate that the minimum standard he sets for anyone to be worthy of heaven is absolute perfection, not just occasionally, but for the person’s entire life from birth onwards. We so much recoil from the truth of our depravity that we rarely contemplate the implications of the reality that we were born the product of a long line of evildoers, all of whom, except for the mercy of God, should have been annihilated long before having the chance to reproduce. But God’s mercy allowed them to breed, with the devastating result that they passed on to their offspring a genetic predisposition to wrongdoing. We entered this world not with the pristine holiness without which no one can see God – much less have spiritual union with him. Instead we entered life with sin’s corruption in our very genes, which we confirmed by deliberately sinning the moment we were old enough to know what we were doing. The wages of just one sin is death and yet we have sinned far too many times for us to even count. Given our defiled nature, we should have been wiped out like vermin the instant we were conceived but, instead of giving us what we deserve, God in Christ endured the torment of the cross so that he could shower us with his love. We must resist the tendency to let the intoxicating foolishness of pride delude us as to who we are, without the utterly undeserved mercy of God. Let us not, like spoilt brats, take Christ’s enormous sacrifice for granted. It is mind-bogglingly true that, through Christ, God has highly exalted us – and in other webpages I emphasize this – but it is entirely God’s grace and has never been remotely our right or what we deserve. Those who dare take Christ’s hand and plunge deeply into this truth will reach levels of joy and contentment that others know nothing of. Each of us has more for which to be thankful than our finite minds can conceive. Finding Joy Let’s look further at the early Christians’ source of joy and its relationship to possessions: Hebrews 10:34 You . . . joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property . . . How could they do that? The answer is in the rest of the verse: Hebrews 10:34  . . . because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. They achieved this by putting into practice this important spiritual principle: 2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Colossians 3:1-2  . . . set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Rather than distract us from our earthly mission, fixing our sights on heaven empowers us to make the necessary sacrifices to successfully complete our earthly mission. It makes us like top athletes who sacrifice so much because they are focused on the honor of winning: 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Put another way: 2 Timothy 2:3-4 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs . . . Frontline soldiers sleep rough, eat rations and face constant hardship without expecting to be thanked for it. They do not wear fashionable clothes or engage in their own pursuits. The only ones living a soft life are shame-faced deserters. Likewise, elite athletes regularly embrace pain and voluntarily deny themselves ease and pleasures that most other people indulge in. They do not complain because their hope is fixed on the glory of winning. Tragically, so many athletes sacrifice enormously without ever achieving the worldly fame and titles they had striven for. And even the winners gain so little, relative to spiritual achievers. In contrast to athletes, you can “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58) and your reward is endless and totally eclipses any sacrifice you could ever make: Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Those who live as if earthly comfort is their reward are to be pitied. Like couch potatoes squandering their lives, those living the soft life miss the excitement and achievement and fulfilment of extending themselves to the max. They are two-time losers: despite their ease they get so little out of life on earth and in addition they miss their heavenly reward. Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory . We are not in heaven yet. That simple fact changes everything. We are on a relatively short but critical special assignment to planet Earth, just as the eternal Son of God once was. As Jesus sacrificed everything to rescue us, so we, despite our Christ-bought status, must have the same attitude while we are on this needy planet: Philippians 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Christians looking for a soft life in this age are like firefighters partying while houses go up in flames. Like want-to-be athletes who think they can avoid the rigor and austerity of training, they will make a laughing stock of themselves on the Big Day. Now that we have had a glimpse at how profoundly setting our “minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2) empowers our earthly pilgrimage, let’s return to that passage. We dare not pluck it from its context because the next verse is critical. It reveals the driving force in keeping one’s mind fixed on heavenly things: Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Through spiritual union with their crucified Lord and a deliberate daily dying to self they had crucified their flesh with its spiritually cancerous lusts for sensual pleasure and material possessions. Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Romans 6:5-6 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Romans 13:14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Philippians 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ For most of my life, pursuing happiness has been of little or no interest to me. Like a soldier at war, I find the notion ridiculous. To be honest, not even heavenly reward matters to me. The thought of disappointing God horrifies me, however. That would break my heart. I’d do anything to avoid that. I’ve tried to analyze what makes me tick so that I could explain myself to you, but I guess my attitude is simply a consequence of dying to self. God, not me, is the love of my life. I live for him, not me. In my case, what brought this to a head was accepting God’s challenge to live a lonely, celibate life for his greater glory. I found the torment of being single so unbearable that for much of my life, had I been seeking my own comfort, I would have eagerly chosen suicide. For me, remaining unmarried seemed the greatest sacrifice I could ever make. For Abraham, the divinely ordained sacrifice was leaving home to wander as an alien in a foreign country and, later, resolutely preparing to sacrifice his “only” son (Genesis 22:2). For Old Testament prophets, it was embracing unpopularity to life-threatening extremes. For you, God will probably put his finger on something else. Despite our individual differences as to what most challenges God as our greatest love, however, all of us must die to self in order to live for God: Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. John 12:25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me . . . Death to self sounds brutal and yet to many of us this seems even worse: Mark 10: 17,21  . . . “Good teacher,” he asked, “ what must I do to inherit eternal life? ” . . . Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 12:33-34 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 14:33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 18:28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” Luke 19:8-9 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house . . .” Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . This terrifies us because we live under the delusion that money can be relied on. God’s Word seeks to torpedo this dangerous fallacy: Job 27:19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone. Psalms 39:6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. Proverbs 23:5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 27: 24  . . . riches do not endure forever . . . 1 Timothy 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain , but to put their hope in God . . . James 1:10-11 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. James 4:13-14 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. We are even enticed to suppose that riches offer more security than Almighty God who sacrificed everything so that we might live eternally. Psalms 62:10  . . . though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Luke 12:29-31 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Even the more spiritual of us are repeatedly tempted to hedge our bets by trying to put our faith and our delight in both God and money. This is no more an option, however, than reaching the moon while staying on earth: Luke 16:13-15 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money .” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight. Mark 10:23-25  . . . “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” To want both God and money as your security and source of joy is like being in the foolish and highly dangerous situation of wanting to be saved but being too scared to leave your sinking boat in order to board the rescue ship. Does the following shock you? Job 31:24,25,28 If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth . . . then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high. That’s worth reading a second time. Here are other Scriptures affirming this truth: Psalms 49:5-6  . . . wicked deceivers surround me – those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches Psalms 52:5-7 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin . . . The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!” Jeremiah 48:7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive . . . God provides the initially startling revelation that greed is idolatry: Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: . . . evil desires and greed, which is idolatry . To keep wanting more and more material things is to dethrone God in our hearts. It is to strip him from being our Savior and Protector and Joy, and instead worshiping whatever objects we covet, foolishly hoping that they will end up giving us more security and lasting fulfillment than the Almighty Lord whose love never fails. Here’s a similar Scripture about dethroning God: Philippians 3:18-19 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach , and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. That is the fate of those who set their minds not on things above, but on earthly things. It is such a grave matter that Paul here refers to them as “enemies of the cross of Christ” whose “destiny is destruction.” Likewise, Ephesians 5:5 (quoted above) emphasizes that no greedy person “has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ”. God’s Word keeps repeating this terrifying truth: 1 Corinthians 5:11  . . . you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy , . . . With such a man do not even eat. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither . . . idolaters nor . . . nor thieves nor the greedy will inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: . . . selfish ambition . . . envy . . . and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Without exception, all of us end up being ruled by whatever we most love. What matters is not what we say we most love but what we really love most. Unless our greatest love is the eternal Lord of glory, who alone is all-powerful and perfect in goodness and wisdom and self-sacrificing love, what we serve is inferior, with the result that our efforts are not just wasted on the inferior but our whole lives end up inferior. And since only God is eternal, any efforts not devoted to him end up squandered on things that are decaying. Isaiah 55:2 Why spend money  . . . and your labor on what does not satisfy? . . . 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away , but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Faith is about putting all our eggs in one basket: Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. In the magnificent parable just cited, the delighted discoverer did not reluctantly part with his goods but “in his joy ” sold everything. He could barely contain his excitement because he recognized the vastly superior value of what he would gain. All this planet’s riches combined are as dirt compared with having as your best friend the Almighty Lord, the endless source of perfect love, wisdom and everything good, beautiful and lasting. He totally eclipses everything anyone could ever wish for. To sacrifice everything for him is no sacrifice but simply the best investment anyone could ever make. This is why the Hebrew Christians responded joyfully to the confiscation of their property and why we read: Acts 5:40-41 They called the apostles in and had them flogged. . . . The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. We have all heard of insurance fraud in which people happily see their life’s work burn to the ground because the insurance money is worth more to them than their loss. Each of us is loved so extravagantly that everything we desire is divinely over-insured. We can lose nothing for the sake of Christ without being so lavishly over-compensated that every temporary loss – no matter how initially painful – is reason for wild celebration. Matthew 5:11-12 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad , because great is your reward in heaven . . . Romans 8:17-18 Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Anyone not learning to be content with whatever he has (or does not have) is in grave danger not only of enslaving himself to debt but of becoming an addict, with an endless craving eating away at his soul; pathetically driven by the mirage that if only he had a little more he could at last be happy. Proverbs 22:7  . . . the borrower is servant to the lender. Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. . . . Isaiah 56:11 They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough . . . . In the parable of the sower, among the things that can destroy a person spiritually, Jesus mentions: Mark 4:19  . . . the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things . . . Consumerism is a tragically appropriate name: it consumes whoever it gets its claws into. Lusting after objects – or whatever one imagines money might buy – gnaws away at one’s soul, leaving each victim a hollowed out shell of a person. 1 Timothy 6:9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. Once the lie enters our heart that having a few more things will bring us happiness, we quickly degenerate. The devastating result is more pathetic than a hungry donkey reducing itself to a laughing stock by ignoring plainer food to keep chasing a carrot dangled in front of its nose until it collapses in exhaustion and hunger. The tragedy is that people waste not just a few days or even their entire lives chasing an illusion but end up ruined for all eternity. When visitors from affluent countries meet people in the third world living in hovels made of scraps of plastic, cardboard and tin, they often express amazement that these people seem just as happy as those who have so much more. We seldom pause to consider that Jesus himself was homeless and expected the same of his followers: Luke 9:58 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Most of us – even those who claim that the spiritual is much more important – are so pitifully addicted to materialism that we are like junkies continually fantasizing about the next fix, unable to conceive of how anyone could be happy without this enslaving habit. Jesus zeros in on the folly of someone who supposes he has finally arrived at the happiness he imagines prosperity provides: Luke 12:16-22  . . . The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, . . . ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’        This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.        Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” Let me put it this way: When hopes of wealth fill your dreams And you think that to be rich is to be blessed; When you bow in prayer for get-rich schemes And bet your life on the guess That money will buy an end to regret And insures against all fears, And you think that to live is to get and get – The glitter will fade, tarnished by tears, And the craving to get turns to regret; The hoped-for blessing becomes a curse. In the end, still as a stone and equally cold, You’ll lie in a hearse With no room for your gold And headed for things that can only get worse. You Have Not, Because You Ask Not Here’s a Scripture that is so tempting to sever from its context: James 4:2  . . . You do not have, because you do not ask God. Don’t you love that? Here’s our chance to get more and more – or is it? It certainly is possible to miss out simply because lack of faith in God’s willingness to provide keeps us from asking God. That’s a danger we need to avoid. That’s not the thrust of this Scripture, however. There’s a more sinister trap far more likely to ensnare Christians living in affluent countries. Let’s read more: James 4:2-3 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. By, “You kill,” James had in mind the perspective that moved John to say: 1 John 3:15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. Near the beginning of his epistle, James said we cannot expect answered prayer if we waver in faith (James 1:5-8) but he was referring to asking for something highly spiritual – godly wisdom (James 1:5; 3:13,17). Trying to entice God to answer prayers to foster our selfishness, however, is such a lost cause that, rather than suggest more faith, James denounces the practice. He continues his tirade against praying for wrong things or with wrong motives: James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. The next verse, as translated in the King James Version and the New International Version, initially seems strange: James 4:5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? This translation is reminiscent of what Paul says: Romans 1:28-29 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy , murder, strife, deceit and malice. Interpreted in this light, James is saying that we are all subject to an intense urge to envy. How true that is! Our natural tendency is to slide into the pit of regretting what we don’t have, rather than rejoicing in what we have. Give Joe Average a hundred million dollars and he’d be over the moon with excitement about how rich and blessed he is. Then give ten billion dollars to hundreds of people around him and it will not be long before, regardless of his millions, he is feeling deprived. Despite our natural predisposition to be driven by envy, however, James immediately continues to explain that through Christ we can live in victory over this insidious temptation: James 4:6-7 But he gives us more grace.  . . . Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Had you realized that the famous Scripture, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” though applicable to other situations, was actually referring to resisting the temptation to envy (verse 5) and to overcoming the temptation to pray “with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (verse 3)? Few of us pause long enough to realize that this famous quote is referring to resisting the devil’s enticement to use prayer to try to manipulate God into giving us things that end up not being in our best interest spiritually. The attraction of devilish practices such as witchcraft is that they seem to offer supernatural help in feeding selfish desires. The devil does not display our Heavenly Father’s reluctance to grant us things that end up hurting and enslaving us. There is nothing wrong with having favorite Scriptures. Sometimes we can even take verses out of context and the result still be true. To avoid distorting God’s revelation, however, it is likely that the verses we have not underlined are the ones we most need. Christians are typically well aware that lack of faith often hinders Jesus’ longing to miraculously meet our physical needs: Matthew 13:58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. The equally serious, but seldom recognized, hindrance to God pampering us with material possessions, however, is the human tendency to push aside the true God and instead worship money, pleasure and/or ease, and ruin our lives by making them our god. We see the divine dilemma exposed when Jesus fed the multitude. This was no treat to titillate the taste buds. The situation was so serious that some were in danger of fainting on the long walk home (Mark 8:3). Moved by compassion, he who denied himself bread in the wilderness miraculously provided for these people but – as God’s longing to meet our physical needs often does – it backfired. John 6:14-15,26-27,34-35,49-51,66 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.            Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. . . . “            “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. . . . Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. . . .”  From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. In contrast to some preachers, Jesus withdrew, rather than let people seek God for the wrong reasons and he ended up making it so hard for them that those with materialistic motives left him. We, too, are in danger of degrading God by worshipping him as a Cash Cow instead of honoring him as the Holy One whose passion is righteousness and selflessness. Too many of us break God’s heart by putting him in a no-win situation: if God lovingly refuses to indulge our greed, we resent him; if he gives us what we clamor for, we destroy ourselves by becoming infatuated with the temporal rather than the eternal. God is generous. He longs to shower his gifts upon us, but our sinfulness and spiritual immaturity often stymies him. And even if we could be trusted with wealth, those we seek to bring to the Lord could see what we have and be fooled into thinking they are heading for a pleasant eternity when they are not saved at all but have merely “come to God” for material gain. Jesus kept warning would-be followers to count the cost, but today’s tragedy is that some Christian leaders have abandoned Jesus’ method because lowering the price of following Jesus swells the number of fans who will throw money in their direction. The terrifying thing, however, is that the price is not theirs to lower. They are like salesmen who astound everyone by their number of sales, when it is yet to be revealed that they have infuriated their boss by criminally selling his goods at way below cost price. They have sold their souls to temporary fame and fortune and – far worse – seduced others into following them to spiritual ruin. Without exaggeration, the most sadistic of all crimes is to let people feel assured of salvation when they are not in spiritual union with the Holy One. It means they are headed for endless torment without the slightest inkling that they still need to be saved. Blissfully ignorant of the eternal disaster awaiting them, they have been conned into building their house on sand. The Terrifying Side of God’s Love Anyone very familiar with my vast website will know I go to enormous lengths to emphasize God’s gentleness, love for each of us and his eagerness to forgive us “seventy times seven” Nevertheless, there are alarming, inescapable consequences of God’s holy love. If everything about humanity’s Judge is driven by sacrificial love, then he will judge us by that standard – i.e. by how much we have acted in sacrificial love: 1 John 3:14,16-17 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death . . . . This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1 John 4:16,20-5:1 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. . . . If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. If love is so fundamental to God that Scripture declares “God is love,” then he passionately loves and yearns to defend not just you, but everyone you have ever hurt by your sin, selfishness or neglect. The Infinite Lord’s mind-boggling love provokes him to mind-boggling wrath against anyone who hurts us or lets us suffer through their greed, selfishness, neglect or whatever. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. A perfect judge must be utterly impartial, however, and there is no limit to our Judge’s love – i.e. he loves those we despise with the same “insane” abandonment that he loves us. So unless we genuinely repent of hurting others, he is compelled to focus on us that same wrath and yearning to execute justice that he longs to pour out on those who have mistreated us. Since humanity’s Judge loves everyone, we expose ourselves to his judgment if ever we hurt someone through greed or we leave someone to suffer through our lack of generosity with the resources God has entrusted to us. This is why Jesus said such things as: Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 25:32,41-46 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  . . . Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’      They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’      He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment . . . Mark 10:17,22  . . . “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”      What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”      He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”      “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”      But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”      In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”      The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”      Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” God’s entire purpose for our lives is that we become like his Son, whose love for God and for humanity compelled him to sacrifice all. For example: Romans 8:28-29 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose . For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son , that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory . . . Ephesians 4:22,24  . . . put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires  . . . and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Philippians 2:5-84 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Read this prayerfully: 1 John 4:16-17  . . . God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him . Blast from the Past A reader of this webpage kindly drew my attention to this insightful 1786 quote from John Wesley, the famous leader of what is variously called the Great Awakening, the Evangelical Revival or the Weslyan Revival: I have seen that wherever riches have increased, with but few exceptions, the essence of religion, the mind that was in Christ, has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore, I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to continue long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality; and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of the world in all its forms. . . . Is there no way to prevent this continual decline of genuine religion? We ought not to forbid people to be diligent and frugal. We must exhort all Christians to gain all they can, and to save all they can [I think the context is clear that by this Wesley meant not frivolously squandering the money]. But to do so is, in effect, to urge them to grow rich! So how can we avoid letting our money send us to hell? There is one way, and only one, under heaven. If those who “gain all they can,” and “save all they can,” will likewise “give all they can;” then, the more they gain, the more they will grow in grace. More We are over half way through our exploration of the Bible’s teaching on finances. The final section begins by exposing tithing legalism and fallacies; explaining how the tithe is often overemphasized and misrepresented in today’s churches. We will then move on to discussing God’s provision. Please continue by reading The Tithing Trap.

Worldliness Forgotten Factor in Spiritual Warfare Spiritual Deception It is a chilling biblical fact that every Christian has spiritual enemies so deceptive that even the most deadly and wicked of them makes a show of being innocent, helpful and good. 2 Corinthians 11:14   . . . Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. The most bitter, hate-crazed, paranormal enemy anyone could ever face regularly pretends to be our friend; supernaturally making himself seem to be on the same side as we who live in the light. It is not paranoia to say that this evil genius plots something far more sinister than killing us in cold blood. Still more disturbing is that he is, in a sense, less of a danger than certain other spiritual forces arrayed at us. I say this because, despite knowing worryingly little about the devil and other evil spiritual beings, most conservative Christians are at least vaguely aware of their existence, whereas another chillingly powerful opponent has slipped almost completely under our radar. To use the Bible’s terms, our spiritual enemies are the world, the flesh and the devil. Today’s average Christian has heard much about the devil but finds the term “flesh” uncomfortably unfamiliar. Regardless of terminology, however, all of us are unavoidably aware that we are tormented by undesirable cravings. What we seem to know least about is what the Bible calls “the world.” I cringe from grappling with this wildly misunderstood topic that to most modern Christians seems about as trendy as chastity belts. The topic will always be most unpopular with non-Christians – a foreign concept to them, in fact. It being a highly unfashionable topic even among today’s Christians, however, is alarming, since it is a strongly biblical concept. Worldliness is one of the key ways that anti-God spiritual powers exercise mind control over billions of unsuspecting people, including strict, Bible-loving Christians. It is so invasive and chameleon-like and misunderstood, that few Christians realize that some versions of worldliness are straight-laced, laughably old-fashioned and found only in churches, and yet are as worldly as that embraced by godless, pleasure-crazed trendies. I’m delighted for us to abandon any aspect of Victorian churchianity or of any era, including the first century, that is not an inseparable part of Christianity. By all means, let’s strip Christianity of all human traditions. Non-essential trappings weigh it down. We need to keep the Gospel message sleek and lean. To maximize its power-to-weight ratio is not just exciting and highly glorifying to God, it is essential for making Christianity the explosive force for good that it is divinely fashioned to be. If we are humanity’s salt, ridding Christianity of non-essentials is like extracting impurities from salt, intensifying its taste. It is like focusing candlelight until it is transformed into a laser beam. Jargon, superstitions and weirdness build up like rust in every expression of Christianity. Many of these attitudes and paraphernalia were always encumbrances, some are relevant to a particular group of people but have been transferred too far afield, and some had a valid function years ago but have passed their expiry date. The power of the cross will always be an offensive stumbling block to those who are perishing  (1 Corinthians 1:23-24) . That’s unavoidable. There are offenses, however, that are not part of the gospel but simply our quirkiness and being too lazy to make ourselves relevant to this needy world and be “all things to all men” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Anything we do that needlessly turns off unbelievers and fools them into thinking that Christianity is impotent and irrelevant will bring us immense shame when we stand naked before our Judge. I want to dump old wineskins  (cf Luke 5:36-39)  quicker than stale bread and rotting fish, but I must be careful. If there is an unfashionable subject that is a significant part, not merely of God’s word to the first century church but of divine revelation for all humanity, I must not let myself squirm out of grappling with it. I’m so biased toward removing every non-essential reason for Christianity appearing out of step with modern society that I’ve got a little sidetracked. My point, however, is that no matter what my biases, I cannot escape the glaring fact that the Bible keeps emphasizing that there is a world system that is dangerously opposed to Christians and to the advance of the Kingdom of God. This is simply too fundamental a part of biblical revelation to dare ignore. To disregard this Bible fact is to be subjected to spiritual warfare while refusing God’s every effort to point out the identity and strategies of the enemy who longs to destroy us. We might as well try to fight blindfolded. Many years ago, some Christians gave the impression that one could safely navigate life’s spiritual minefields by this rule of thumb: if it is old fashioned, it is holy; if it is up-to-date, it is worldly. That’s as ridiculous as supposing that holiness is reached by following a list of do nots, or that the moon can be reached by jumping. No, holiness is a miracle, and it is those who are led by the Spirit – who enjoy continual companionship with, and submission to, the Spirit – who are freed from slavery to the flesh  (Galatians 5:16-18) . There is nothing holy or spiritually safe about being old fashioned or out of touch. Eventually, a mixed-up view of worldliness fell so out of favor that the average Christian thought it safe to ignore the entire concept of what the Bible calls “the world.” But is this a dangerous over-reaction? It is vital that we realize that worldliness is not confined to modern society. The New Testament makes it obvious that worldliness was dangerously at work two thousand years ago. In fact, it has been a powerful spiritual force throughout human history, since humanity’s first sin. The worldliness of past generations might now be old-fashioned, but old-style worldliness is as anti-God as the very latest forms of worldliness. Moreover, worldliness can seem amazingly unworldly. It can seem churchy and spiritual. For example, when  Colossians 2:20  tells us not to submit to  the world’s  rules, it is referring specifically to religious rules and worship. Since no one but very strict religious people would have kept all these rules, those caught up in this would be sure to suppose that they are keeping themselves very distinct from the godless world around them. Worldliness is so seductive that these highly committed people would have felt sure that following the very rules that the Bible calls worldly was keeping them from being worldly! So if worldliness can be old-fashioned and/or religious, there is as much chance of worldly influence in musty church traditions as there is in the latest fad. It is disturbingly easy to be engulfed by worldliness, while too dazzled by our own illusion of moral superiority to have a clue that we are in error. With the supernatural god of this world dressing himself up as an angel of light, he is just as capable of infiltrating cherished church traditions as the latest attempt at defilement by the music industry or Hollywood. When it comes to worldliness, I have no reason for supposing I am any more discerning than the average Christian. I am not even aware of any particular church practice that fits this category, so I am not targeting anything specific. I simply conclude on the basis of the Bible’s teaching that whether they be old or modern, revered Christian traditions reeking of worldliness are sure to exist and are probably quite common. Whatever version of worldliness slips through our defenses, it is sure to seem cozy and harmless to us. So what is “the world?” Not just teenagers, but all of us are highly vulnerable to peer pressure. Consider how most men would feel, for example, to appear in public dressed in pink pants. Worldliness works through more than just peer pressure, but this is part of it. Psychologists designed an experiment to demonstrate this pressure. They put people in a room and asked them to take turns saying which of two lines looked longer. Only one of the people was actually being tested. This person, seated second to last, was unaware that the others had been instructed to lie. The psychologist found that people placed in such a situation go with the crowd and report seeing the shorter line as being the long one. Worldliness is the mentality that says, “It must be right because everyone I respect thinks that way. Their combined opinion renders it so undeniably true that it would be a waste of time to bother confirming it by seeking God’s heart on the matter.” It matters not who we surrender our minds to in letting people be our unquestioning source of truth on a particular matter. Regardless of whether they are scientists, trusted friends, or even revered Christian authorities, by us having this mentality we are spiritually endangering ourselves by putting these people into the position in our lives that belongs solely to God. These popular Scriptures highlight our dilemma: Proverbs 3:5,7  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; . . . Do not be wise in your own eyes . . . Isaiah 55:8-9  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. . . .” Though we cannot escape the reality that God’s intellect must be mind-stunningly more powerful than our own, our quandary is that human thinking makes far more sense to us than God’s ways. As parental decisions often defy the logic of a little child, we can expect human error to seem more believable, more rational, and far more likely to be right than what God declares to be true. And as the Bible scholars who ordered the crucifixion of their Messiah could quote chapter and verse for the correctness of their decision, you can be sure that we will find supposed biblical authority for our errors. From our most impressionable years, right through to today, our moral values, beliefs, and presumptions – things we unquestionably accept as true – have been strongly influenced by ungodly forces at work in whichever society we live. So we come to Christ with our consciences – our sense of right and wrong – having been programmed not by God but primarily by human and ungodly spiritual forces. We have mentioned, and will later confirm, that these anti-God spiritual powers are quite capable of working not just through the mass media and non-Christians, but through Bible teachers and devout Christians. Worldliness is a blinding, controlling spiritual power. It is a brainwashing process more sinister and spiritually dangerous than just the pervasive influence of godless thought processes: it is exploited by evil spirits and ruled by Satan himself, as stated in all of the following Scriptures: John 14:30   . . . the prince of this world is coming. . . . 1 Corinthians 2:12  . . . the spirit of the world . . . 2 Corinthians 4:4  The god of this age [or world] has blinded the minds of unbelievers . . . 1 John 5:19  . . . the whole world is under the control of the evil one. So to recap: to be a victim of worldliness is to have one’s conception of truth directly or indirectly influenced by human opinion rather than by God. It often operates on a subconscious level and usually through demonic manipulation. For the influence to be worldly, all that matters is that the views differ from God’s views, regardless of whether the source is pagan, secular or seems highly Christian. Most of us are particularly vulnerable to views that are currently popular. We are likely to congratulate ourselves on rejecting some popular errors, while being suckered in by other popular presumptions that sneak under our radar. Acutely aware of how every society has its blind spots, Christian thinker, C. S. Lewis, suggested trying to counter our own blind spots by reading extensively writings from other eras and cultures. That might help a little but worldliness is so insidious that each of us needs nothing less than divine help in recognizing the presumptions that have befuddled our thinking. It would be a psychologically crippling force if what the Bible means by “the world” were merely the formidable combination of unregenerate human education, culture, mindsets and peer pressure, but more alarming still is the Bible’s revelation that it is surreptitiously empowered by supernaturally evil intelligences headed by Satan himself. This is taught not only in the above Scriptures but affirmed in additional, similar Scriptures . So it should not surprise that religious rules similar to what Colossians 2 calls worldly, are attributed in  1 Timothy 4  not to human thinking but to  demons  who will deceive some people into leaving “the faith” (which does not necessarily mean they cease to call themselves Christians). It would be wonderful if, the moment we become Christians, our minds became crystal clear, allowing us to see everything through God’s eyes, with all the negative effects of the past programming of our consciences and mindsets gone in a puff of smoke. We need merely consider the enormous changes in Christian morality in the last hundred years, however, to see that this is not the case. Consider, for example, attitudes toward keeping Sunday holy, divorce, sexuality, entertainment, and so on. Today’s average Christian thinks nothing of doing certain things that Christians in previous generations regarded as serious sins. Just because a moral standard is old does not make it more godly, but why the change, if most Christians’ sense of right and wrong comes from their unchanging God? What is particularly disturbing is that each of us is largely unconscious of the malevolent brainwashing we are all subjected to. None of us is immune, and any Christian supposing he is beyond deception is a particularly easy target. How can anyone avoid the blinding, spiritual poison that the Bible calls “the world”? God’s escape plan begins, says his Word, with something currently unpopular in Christian circles: daily dying to self. Romans 12:1-2  . . . offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this  world , but be transformed by the renewing of your  mind . Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will . (Emphasis mine) We all want to know God’s will but, teaches this Scripture, to arrive at that point of enlightenment we must travel through daily sacrificing ourselves, and – to paraphrase J. B. Phillips’ translation – not letting the world squeeze us into its mold, but letting God re-make us so that our whole attitude of mind is changed. Notice that when telling us not to conform to the world, this Scripture makes no mention of behavior. We cannot completely separate our mind from our behavior but in this key passage the focus is entirely on the mind. Worldliness targets the mind, whereas in decades past, some churches seemed to act as if to rid oneself of worldliness it is enough to change outward behavior. Just because we do not conform outwardly to worldly standards is no guarantee that our mind is no longer programmed by the anti-God forces that the Bible calls the world. What makes worldliness so sinister and able to delude us is that it infects our very minds – the only thing we can think with. Try telling me that’s not scary. Note also that this directive to avoid mentally conforming to the world appears near the end of Romans, after all the salvation issues have been dealt with. It is targeted at Christians; proving that Christians can have worldly minds. Neither salvation nor outward behavior guarantees that we are free from anti-God mind control. Here’s the truth of Romans 12 expressed in different words: 2 Corinthians 4:4  The god of this age [or world] has blinded the  minds  of unbelievers . . . Ephesians 4:22-24  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your  minds ; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Emphasis mine) Here again we see dying to self and an emphasis on the mind. Note also the importance of the mind in the following: Romans 8:5-6  Those who live according to the sinful nature have their  minds  set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their  minds  set on what the Spirit desires. The  mind  of sinful man is death, but the  mind  controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. 1 Corinthians 2:6  We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the  wisdom  of this age [or world] or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 1 Corinthians 3:19   . . . the  wisdom  of this world is foolishness . . . Ephesians 4:17-19  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their  thinking . They are darkened in their  understanding  and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality . . . Colossians 1:21  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your  minds  because of your evil behavior.  (Emphasis mine) What makes worldliness so seductively insidious is that it makes us feel warm and secure with what is actually dangerous spiritual error. This terrifyingly comfortable delusion is strongly opposed to God and his ways and must be avoided at all costs. There can be no more compromise between God and the world than between God and the devil: James 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 4:4   . . . don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 1 John 2:15-16  Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. John 7:7  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. John 14:17  the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 15:19  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 17:14  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. Am I the only one who finds those last two Scriptures disturbing? Does the world hate us or are we enticed by its approval? Respected theologians and the revered leaders of God’s people considered Jesus not just weird, but a dangerous heretic. Jesus was ostracized not merely by the ungodly but by devout, clean living folk who devoted their entire lives to serving God. He was despised by the very people everyone would expect to be the most spiritually discerning. Even his most loyal followers were repeatedly shocked, offended and perplexed by his unorthodox views and unexpected behavior. To be truly of God is to put yourself at odds not merely with those we tend to label as worldly but with almost everyone. Luke 6:26  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. Matthew 10:22,24-25  All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. . . . A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! Matthew 10:36-38  a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Almost from birth, we have each been unavoidably, unconsciously mesmerized by the supernaturally evil power called the world. Had we spent our entire lives hidden in a monastery, cut off from all non-Christian education, entertainment and influence, I don’t believe it would have protected us from the world, any more than such a lifestyle would protect us from the devil or the flesh. Manipulated by evil spiritual powers, worldly influences would get to us through other Christians. Not only are non-Christians affected by the world, all Christians and their beliefs and teachings are likewise vulnerable, just as all of us are exposed to temptation. We must continually be alert to the possibility of it infecting the presumptions – the truths we consider too certain to even question – of us all. When Jesus warned against the yeast/leaven of the Pharisees  (Matthew 16:6,12)  he was saying that the misguided thinking of respected Bible teachers spreads like wildfire, wreaking havoc in every direction. A speck of yeast in just a part of the dough multiplies until every part of the dough is irreversibly changed. “Their teaching will spread like gangrene,” wrote Paul  (2 Timothy 2:17) . To Christians in danger of slipping from correct doctrine, the Apostle warned elsewhere, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’ ”  (1 Corinthians 15:33) , implying that we are all vulnerable to being corrupted by the mistaken thinking of people around us. My teaching is sure to be infected by it and I spread my infection to everyone who reads my writings. I passionately long to strip worldliness from my teaching but, like everyone else, I am too much under the spell of those aspects of worldliness that have snuck up on me, and too infatuated with them to recognize them as being erroneous. It is largely because of this that just about my every webpage has a link to a warning that my teachings are sure to contain spiritual error. In my best attempt to maximize reading of that warning, I have titled the link  My Shame , hoping it will so arouse people’s curiosity that they will click on it and read it. That does not remove the danger, of course, nor my responsibility for spreading the error, but being alert to the danger is far safer than being ignorant of it. Imagining that we are beyond the possibility of being blinded by worldly thinking is an example of pride that comes before a fall. As we have seen, the Bible reveals that worldliness messes with our very thinking processes. Its hypnotic allure dupes us spiritually. Not just worldliness, but many forms of spiritual attack do this. There are very many biblical warnings about the frighteningly real possibility of spiritual deception. Let’s look at a few examples. Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Proverbs 16:2  All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Proverbs 16:25  There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 30:12  . . . who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth Obviously, spiritually dangerous foggy thinking occurs among pagans: Romans 1:21-22  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their  thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened . Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 2 Corinthians 4:4  The god of this age has  blinded the minds  of unbelievers . . . 2 Thessalonians 2:11  . . . God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (Emphasis mine) Dangerous delusion can, however, also come to devout Bible believers: 2 Corinthians 3:14-15  But their  minds were made dull , for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. Isaiah 6:10  Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. . . . Isaiah 29:10  The LORD has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers). (Emphasis mine) Moreover, it can happen to Christians. Wrote the apostle Paul: 1 Corinthians 4:4  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. And it was to Christians that he wrote: Galatians 3:1  You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you ? . . . Consider this: Matthew 16:16-18,21-23  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for  this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  . . .” From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things . . . and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me;  you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men .”  (Emphasis mine) From before Planet Earth even existed, Almighty God had been meticulously planning humanity’s salvation through his spotless Son’s sacrificial death. The eternal future of our entire race hinged on it. Though Judas had no clue of the implications, Judas’s betrayal actually facilitated that critical plan. In contrast, Peter’s words, motivated by a loving yearning to protect his Lord from suffering, became a temptation (rendered sickeningly powerful by coming from Jesus’ dear friend) to split the Trinity and sabotage God’s eternal plans. This is Peter, the Rock, who just verses before received Jesus’ high praise for his openness to revelation direct from God, rather than from humans. Peter’s reaction flowed not only from a heart brimming with loving devotion to Jesus, but was based on his firm understanding of Scripture and the unshakable convictions of highly devout people, revered “church” leaders and respected conservative Bible scholars about the prophesized Messiah. This highlights how terrifyingly little we know what we are doing much of the time – how any of us can become a pawn of Satan, not having “in mind the things of God, but the things of men,” and having not only no idea that we have been seduced by spiritually lethal human thinking but supposing that God is delighted with our stance. This can happen despite us being motivated by good intentions and by our sincere personal reading of the Word of God, confirmed by what seem the best and most trustworthy Bible teachers. Scripture insists that even Christians who have “died with Christ to the basic principles of this world” can still be adversely influenced by the world, even though for them worldliness takes a religious form and has “an appearance of wisdom.” Colossians 2:20-23  Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. We all need to take seriously Scripture’s warning to Christians: Colossians 2:8  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Christians are so susceptible to ungodly influence that Scripture actually had to plead to Christians to  no longer  act like those whose minds are darkened, and whose thinking is bedeviled by futility: Ephesians 4:17-18  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the  futility of their thinking . They are  darkened in their understanding  and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  (Emphasis mine. See also Ephesians 4:14 ) Likewise it is heart wrenching to realize that the following was written to Christians: 2 Corinthians 11:3  But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray . .  . (Note yet again that it is the mind that is targeted.) We Christians are so vulnerable to deception that over and over and over, the Bible warns Christians to avoid deception: Colossians 2:4  I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 2 Thessalonians 2:3  Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way . . . The Bible is filled with many more warnings to Christians about deception.  Scripture is particularly noteworthy because it implies those who have fallen prey to deceiving spirits once had faith in Christ: 1 Timothy 4:1  The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Our capacity for deception is boundless: Matthew 7:22-23  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ As  Proverbs  warns: Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.  (Repeated in Proverbs 16:25 ). The disturbing quandary is that no one can ever know when he or she is being deluded. It’s a Catch 22: if you know you are being duped, you are not being duped. The proud think themselves incapable of deception, but our Lord “guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” ( Psalm 25:9). Those who think themselves smart are particularly vulnerable to delusion: Romans 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (KJV) 1 Corinthians 1:19-21;27-29  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. . . . But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It was the theologians and those who devoted their lives to the detailed study of God’s Word who were certain that Jesus could not possibly be the Messiah: Matthew 11:25-26  At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.  . . .” Only God knows how many of us have been spiritually hoodwinked, proudly marching off to disaster, too drunk on our own supposed theological superiority and moral integrity to know we are off course. You can only remain aware that deception could happen, and humbly keep looking to God for spiritual enlightenment. The Bible gives us examples of people who, despite already knowing God intimately, humbly recognized their need to continue seeking God’s illumination in order to avoid spiritual blindness:. Exodus 33:13  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.  . . . Psalms 25:4-5  Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalms 119:18  Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalms 119:19   . . . do not hide your commands from me. Psalms 119:27  Let me understand the teaching of your precepts . . . Psalms 143:10  Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Ephesians 1:18  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened . . . Perhaps to ram home how serious being influenced by the morality of people around us can be, I should cite a couple of examples far enough removed from our own society for us to be able to see them with clear eyes. While studying history at university, I was grieved to learn that apparently one of the things making it easier for Germans to participate in the Nazi holocaust was anti-Semitic quotes from Martin Luther. What appalled me further, was learning how common it was during the reformation for both Catholics and Protestants to torture and burn each other for heresy. In fact, it is said that while Luther was penning his famous hymn,  A Mighty Fortress Is Our God  someone was being tortured in his dungeon as a heretic. If you have any capacity left for still more revulsion, you might be further alarmed to learn how little it took to qualify as a heretic worthy of barbarities at Luther’s hands. He insisted that major church decisions were to be the domain of the state. You could be staring at torture or death to believe that church decisions should be made by the church. Belief in adult baptism, rather than child baptism, could also get one into serious trouble. “It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.” Those are the words of former slave trader, John Newton, writer of  Amazing Grace . They appeared in what became a popular pamphlet that helped abolish the slavery in England. What I hadn’t realized until investigating further, however, is that his involvement in this sordid business had continued despite having himself been a black woman’s slave and never expecting ever to escape. Furthermore, he began captaining a slave ship only after some biographers date his conversion. He prided himself that as a good Christian he ensured a higher percentage of his cargo survived the voyage. Even many years after a stroke forced him to retire from seafaring, he continued to invest in slave operations. Since, like that of us all, his spiritual development was ongoing, it is disputed as from when we should date his conversion. Nevertheless, like so many other Christians, it is disturbing how blind he was for so long, to the evils he had been engaged in, just because nearly everyone around him accepted it as normal. We could list biblical examples of atrocities, such as David committing adultery and trying to cover it up with murder  (2 Samuel 11:3-15) , and the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10) , or find more examples in subsequent history of Christians doing appalling things. But would it expose our own failings? I think most of us would still not realize how hardened we have become to the pet sins of whatever people we have spent most of our lives with. It is disturbingly likely that we would each recoil in disgust if we somehow managed to see our own moral filth through pure eyes, instead of the smug self-righteousness that deludes us and destroys our moral sensitivity. But who of us is so perceptive? We have seen that worldliness is a means by which evil spiritual powers use mind control to dupe us to do their bidding without us even suspecting that we are being manipulated. Worldliness is a spiritual infection that targets the mind, and once our ability to think is affected, we are in serious trouble. So let’s examine some Scriptures that highlight ways of protecting our mind. An obvious start is to guard our thought life. Expressed negatively: Romans 13:14  . . . do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature . Or put positively: Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. We have seen that Peter slid into deception because he did “not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men”  (Matthew 16:23) . So we need to: Colossians 3:2  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. This brings to mind such Scriptures as: Matthew 6:19-21,33  Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. . . . But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness . . . This is clearly relevant, but the “earthly things” we must keep our minds from are not just materialism or sensuality or secular pursuits. We have seen that even strict, apparently self-denying, religious rules are worldly in God’s eyes. This is because, no matter how godly such practices might seem, their origin is not in the true God, but in the diabolically deceptive pretender who puts on a supernaturally convincing display of being an angel of light. So setting our minds on things above does not mean making a concerted effort to conform to the lifestyle of clean-living, “other worldly,” devout people. On the contrary, it flows from identifying with Christ’s sacrifice by dying to self as he did, through the supernatural power of what he achieved through swapping places with us on the cross. For this reason, the Scripture “set your minds on things above”  (Colossians 3:2)  is followed immediately by: Colossians 3:3,5  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. . . . Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature . . . This brings us back to a Scripture we have already examined: Romans 12:1-2   . . . offer your bodies as living sacrifices . . . Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . . We renew our minds by sacrificing our bodily desires, offering them to our loving Lord to be used only as he decides. Rather then being lovers of pleasures, we commit ourselves to being lovers of God. We dare to be non-conformists – embarrassingly different – by refusing to conform to the world around us – whether that be the secular world or the world of cherished church tradition or the latest Christian fad – whenever such thinking, no matter how persuasive, does not come from God. We must sacrifice our lust for human approval, even the approval of those we deeply respect: Matthew 6:1  Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matthew 23:3,5,8-12  . . . But do not do what they do . . . Everything they do is done for men to see . .  But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 16:15  He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight. . . .” John 5:44  How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? John 12:43  for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. Matthew 10:35-37  For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. If we want both the approval of people and the approval of God, the prince of the world is keen to oblige by giving us human accolades plus the comforting illusion of supposing we have divine approval. A key component in the fight against delusion is a willingness to obey God, no matter what that entails. In the following, note the key to receiving the divine revelation as to who Jesus truly is: John 7:17  If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. We must separate ourselves from the world: 2 Corinthians 6:15-7:1   . . . What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  . . . As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”  . . . Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. Revelation 18:4  Then I heard another voice from heaven say: Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues 1 Corinthians 15:33  Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good ch aracter.” For anyone to avoid the seductive, deceiving spirits at work in the world around us, daily dying to self and to worldly desires through spiritual union with Christ is essential. Another key we’ve discovered is humility. We are called to be separate, but not to be smug – thinking we cannot fall – nor to think ourselves superior. Jesus “is holy, blameless, pure,  set apart from sinners , exalted above the heavens ( Hebrews 7:26 – emphasis mine), and yet this exalted, fiercely holy Being defended an adulteress (John 8:3-11) and approved of a woman of ill-repute kissing his feet  (Luke 7:37-50) . He partied both with notorious sinners  (Luke 5:29; 7:34; 15:2; 19:7)  and with cold-hearted, hypocritical Pharisees  (Luke 7:36; 11:37; 14:1). Some consider themselves too “holy” to associate with “sinners,” or too “righteous” to befriend hypocrites. Many are wise enough to avoid one of these traps. Disturbingly few, however, have such Christlikeness as to humbly reach out both to those considered lowlife  and  to the snobs who despise them. To have the grace to love both these sworn enemies is to be truly not of this world. We are called to be separate from the world and yet embrace those ensnared by the world; to be not of the world and yet “go into all the world”  (Mark 16:15) ; to not be snobs and yet befriend snobs. (Do we belong to that special class of hypocrite who are too snobbish to befriend snobs?) Nothing makes us targets for deception like pride. The moment we take pride in having protected ourselves from worldly deception, our eyes glaze over as we head for the precipice. Our only protection is to do everything for God’s glory, not ours. 1 Corinthians 1:28,31  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are . . . Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 10:31   . . . whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:11  For we who are alive are always being given over to death  for Jesus’ sake  . . .  (Emphasis mine) 2 Corinthians 5:15  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. Galatians 6:14  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Not only does humility protect our minds from dangerously intoxicating pride, it also gets our focus off self-serving on to serving people in a God-like and God-glorifying way: Philippians 2:5-8   Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! This, too, links back to dying to self through spiritual identification with the crucified Lord. The world can’t seduce a dead man. We all long for some spiritual experience that will forever transform us. If dying to self were a one-off event that protects us for the rest of our lives, however, the Bible would not be crammed with warnings to Christians about deception and such Scriptures as: 1 Corinthians 8:2  The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 1 Corinthians 10:12  So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! Ephesians 4:27   . . . do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 6:11  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 1 Peter 5:8-9  Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith . . . What continues to make us vulnerable is that resistance to worldly seduction hinges not on us once having died to self but on us  staying  dead. The Bible speaks of the necessity to  daily  dying to self: Luke 9:23  Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross  daily  and follow me. 1 Corinthians 15:31  I die every day . . . 2 Corinthians 4:11  For we who are alive are  always  being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  (Emphasis mine) A living sacrifice can get off the altar at any moment. Like branches that must remain in continual union with the vine, so are we with Christ. A severed branch looks fine at first. It might even sprout a little, but eventually it will wither. When done through the spiritual power of a living faith in Christ Jesus, dying to self inoculates us against the world, but we are in grave danger if we think that this is like some vaccination that can be taken once and the immunity lasts for life. It is like medication that protects against certain strains of malaria but must be taken daily. Or, to change the analogy, dying to self stops the world from impregnating us. It works not like sterilization, however, but like the Pill. The danger is that we can miss sometimes, and blissfully think we got away with it. Dying to self sounds frightfully dreary, but anything associated with God ends up thrillingly filled with life and joy and fulfillment. As explained in a link at the end of this webpage, dying to self is actually an exciting adventure, like a grub “dying” so as to become a butterfly. So what does it take to die to self? It is a supernatural act that God achieves in partnership with us. We cannot do it without spiritual union with Christ and he will not do it without our fully committed cooperation. If we get serious about dying to self, he will take us seriously. If we are half-hearted about it, however, we might as well stop fooling ourselves and try to enjoy the world’s sugarcoated poison. 2 Timothy 2:3-4  Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs . .  . Jesus was not playing games when he warned us to count the cost. To put on a show comes cheaply but to truly follow Christ will cost us enormously. The cozy alternative, however, will end up costing us even more, and we’ll keep paying for all eternity. There are three elements to dying to self. 1. We must put in a continual, determined effort to die to self. It is not enough simply to pray for a certain spiritual experience. This is why the Bible keeps telling  us , not God, to crucify our flesh, or whatever terminology various Scriptures use. Luke 9:23  Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me,  he  must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Romans 8:13  For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit  you  put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live Colossians 3:5  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature . . . Titus 2:11-12  11 For the grace of God . . . teaches  us  to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions . . . 1 Peter 2:11  Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  (Emphasis mine) 2. Dying to self is inspired by Christ’s example. Our Leader never asks us to do anything he has not already done. Philippians 2:5-8  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who . . . humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Philippians 3:10  I want to know Christ . . . and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death 1 Corinthians 11:1  Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Hebrews 12:2-4  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame . . . Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 1 Peter 4:1  Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. And think not only of Jesus agonizing on the cross but of him sweating, as it were, drops of blood, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours.” 3. Dying to self is supernaturally empowered through faith in what Christ achieved by swapping places with us on the cross. Dying to self cannot merely be inspired by Christ, it must be empowered by him. If it is just our own efforts, it will achieve nothing. John 15:5  . . . If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;  apart from me you can do nothing . Romans 8:13  For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if  by the Spirit  you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live Galatians 2:20  . . . I have been crucified  with Christ  and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 5:16  . . . So I say,  live by the Spirit , and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 6:14  . . . the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Colossians 2:20  . . . you died  with Christ  to the basic principles of this world . . . Colossians 3:3  . . . For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 2 Timothy 2:11  Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died  with him , we will also live with him 1 Peter 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness  (Emphasis mine) In Scriptures like the following we see this divine miracle brought about through Christ’s sacrifice, combined with the necessity of our effort: Romans 6:2,4,6,8,10-15  . . . We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  . . .We were . . . buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  . . . For we know that our old self was crucified with him . . . Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! You can embrace a devout “Christian” lifestyle that is totally different from that of non-Christians, and merely have a different form of worldliness to them. You can have a clean, disciplined thought-life that you suppose makes you immune from worldliness and yet still end up ruled by human opinion rather than led by the Spirit of God. Your views can conform to those of revered Bible scholars and church leaders and you can be convinced your opinions are Bible-based and yet those views could still not be from God but from the same spirits who manipulate worldly thinking. Only those who are so sensitive to the Spirit of God as to be continually led by the Spirit are free from worldliness, and even such spiritual people could slip at any moment, just like Peter, praised one moment for receiving revelation not from humans but direct from heaven  (Matthew 16:17,23) , and the next moment rebuked for not having “in mind the things of God, but the things of men”. When it comes to revelation from God, I’m in preschool. For the matters raised in this series of three webpages, I have, at best, only a few pieces of the jigsaw. The full picture might look quite different to what one might guess from my few pieces. I am not trying to attack prosperity teaching or any Christians whose collection of pieces differs from mine. All I plead is that you seek God for his personal revelation as to what the full truth looks like and how he wishes you to translate that revelation into daily living. This webpage, the last in a series of three webpages, is best understood in the light of the other two. Beginning of this series:  Peace, Contentment, Fulfilment: A Radical Call to Authentic Christianity Related Pages Spiritual Secrets: Denying Yourself How to Avoid Deception