Give Glory to God

Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."

(Joshua 7:19)

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God, " they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

(John 9:24)

Many would be familiar with the taking of oaths to tell the truth in a courtroom. 

In a Singapore court, a Christian would take the oath by placing his left hand on the Bible, and raising his right hand, saying the words "I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give in this Court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God."

In Biblical Israel, "Give glory to God" was a solemn charge to tell the truth. In the Book of Joshua, Joshua begins questioning Achan about his disobedience by asking him to "give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise". In John 9, the Pharisees question the man born blind who had been healed by Jesus by charging him to "give glory to God". 

We see the very same principle expressed in Mark 9:39 when Jesus told His disciples, "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me". Superficial praise offered to God will not glorify Him if we curse our fellow brothers. For this reason, James highlighted this grave inconsistency in his epistle:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 

(James 3:9-12)

We glorify God when we tell the truth. At the same time, we tell the truth when we glorify God. Justice, whether in court or otherwise, is inextricably linked with truth. Without truth, there is no justice. All that is left is your "truth" versus my "truth" with no objective standard to adjudicate between them, leaving only what Friedrich Nietzsche called the "will to power".

Is it any wonder that the collapse of justice that we see in these last days comes hand-in-hand with the denial of God and the objective, absolute Truth? 

Be Faithful with the Little Things

2016.

I began this year feeling purposeless and meaningless, feeling like I have seen all that I need to see in life. Whether in my work, ministry, or anything else, I felt that I had enough and there was - to borrow a phrase used by the writer of Ecclesiastes - "nothing new under the sun". 

"What's next?" This was the question I posed to God repeatedly over the next few days. 

This morning, God finally gave me an answer, "Be faithful with the little things."

It was a deeply unsatisfactory answer, since I had been hoping for something I would consider more precise, such as a clear direction to "do this" or "do that". 

But upon further reflection, I recalled various passages that I had read recently in my quiet time. As Jesus said, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." (Luke 16:10, ESV)

Likewise, in both the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Minas, the talent or mina of the unfaithful servant was taken and given to the servant who had been faithful with what he was given. 

Jesus added, "I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." (Luke 19:26, ESV)

The little things that God entrusts to us are not to be taken lightly, since faithfulness is what counts in God's eyes. So, take heed, and "Be faithful with the little things."

The Ministry of Listening

Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together  

In my Christian journey, I have very often found that the ability to listen to someone else is an essential part of ministry. It could occur virtually anywhere - such as over a meal, while waiting, during a long train ride - and is hardly confined within the four walls of the church.

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, Life Together, he discusses some essential ministries in a Christian community. One of these is the ministry of listening:

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as to love God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God's love for us that He not only gives us His Word but also lends us His ear. So it is His work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him. Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. 

Further, Bonhoeffer warns of "a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say":

It is an impatient, inattentive listening, that despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person. This is no fulfillment of our obligation, and it is certain that here too our attitude toward our brother only reflects our relationship to God. 

I, for one, could not agree more. 

I remember the frustration I felt when I was simply trying to have a conversation with a pastor. I was telling him about something I had spoken about in another church. It was just a simple sharing, without more. Nevertheless, he weighed in, almost out of a particular perceived obligation, with his opinion on what I had told him about, speaking at length about church doctrine and tradition on that particular topic. 

Again, on another occasion with another pastor, I shared in a group on social media an article which I had written. What followed was an unsolicited comment from the pastor, who was quick to jump in and go the whole nine yards with his views on the topic, even though this caused the discussion to go off on a rather meaningless tangent.

Had I been seeking pastoral help, I would have been thoroughly put off by how the pastors had behaved. 

In ministry, the ability to listen is sometimes more valuable than the ability to speak. Some of the most meaningful and powerful of ministry which I have offered or which I have received have involved extended periods of listening, coupled with only a few pieces of short prophetic words spoken right into one's soul. 

Even in the midst of profound disagreement, whether in the context of heated debates on controversial issues or more civil discussions, listening has on many occasions shown itself to be more important than speaking and making one's point. As the Apostle James writes, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19).

Bonhoeffer concludes by emphasising that "the ministry of listening has been committed to [Christians] by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share". He writes:

We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God. 

How Do You Bring Someone to Christ?

Over lunch with a friend yesterday, I was telling her about several questions I have been pondering over recently, relating to being a Christian at work. One of the questions related to evangelism in the workplace. 

I said that some people approached evangelism at work in the sense that one would do one's work, and then spend some time on the side or on top of that to evangelise, i.e. by telling people about Jesus Christ. 

I found this unsatisfactory, because it drew an artificial line between "work" and "evangelism", and sometimes the way one works might undermine his or her evangelism.

At the same time, she told me about a Christmas outreach concert that will be taking place tonight. A number of friends and colleagues have been invited. I told her I would keep that in prayer.

Late yesterday evening, while on my way home, I began to ponder again over the question of workplace evangelism. Sensing the difficulty of the task and with some frustration, I asked God the question, "How do you bring someone to Christ?"

God replied, "How do you bring Christ to someone?"

I smiled. 

"Yeah, I can do that."

Freedom is Born Only of Truth

"Then you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free."

(John 8:32) 

Freedom is born only of truth, for as Jesus Christ said, "the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). Yet truth offends, for everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:20ff). 

So how can the truth be spoken unless there first is freedom? Will it not be that everyone who speaks the truth must endure scorn, ridicule and persecution so that others might be free?

For this very reason, the Son of God came to "testify to the truth" (John 18:37), and to purchase our freedom through His sacrifice on the cross. 

For this very same reason, there must arise in every generation prophets and martyrs who will speak the truth, regardless of the consequences, so that others might be set free. 

And this is the call of every disciple of Jesus Christ. 

The Answer to the Religious Spirit

It has often been said that religion is about Man's attempt to reach God, but Christianity is about God reaching Man. Some have also said that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship.

There is some degree of truth in this, insofar as "religion" is understood to be a system of man-made rules, traditions, doctrines and rituals apart from a genuine relationship with God. And, for the purposes of this post, this is the definition of "religion" that I will adopt.

It is in this light that we can understand the religious spirit. The Pharisees in the New Testament are a typical example of those under the strong influence of the religious spirit. Quoting Isaiah, Jesus said of the Pharisees in Mark 7:6-7: "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

Characteristic of the religious spirit is an almost slavish observance of traditions and rituals, while neglecting "the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23). The religious spirit by all appearances looks pious, "holy" and respectable, but like a whitewashed tomb, is full of dead and unclean things on the inside. There may be a zeal to make converts out of others, but ends up only placing heavier burdens on the consciences of their followers.

In our modern context, the religious spirit manifests itself through needless dogmatism and commitment to traditions. Traditional denominations are particularly susceptible to this. Repeated emphases on the observance of rituals, or the dogmatic harping on denominational doctrines are characteristic of those under the influence of the religious spirit. Church leaders or institutions under such influence may either completely shut themselves off from the outside world to adopt a highly insular form of personal piety, or may be concerned about social issues, but only as a matter of personal offence or a "social gospel" without spiritual renewal. Both are contrary to Jesus' call to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 18:19-20).

What is God's answer to the religious spirit? And what does God have to say to those under its influence?

The answer is found in the last of three parables which Jesus told the Pharisees and teachers of the law who muttered against Him when the tax collectors and "sinners" all gathered to hear Him in Luke 15.

In His first two parables, Jesus spoke of the kind of joy like when a shepherd looking for the one lost sheep out of a hundred and a widow looking for her one lost coin out of ten found what they were looking for.

In the third, Jesus spoke of a father who had two sons. The younger had indirectly but gravely (no pun intended) insulted his father by asking for his inheritance while his father was still alive, and then squandered it all in reckless living. When he returned after having lived among pigs, his father embraced and kissed him, gave him the best robe, a ring, sandals for his feet and killed the fattened calf for a feast.

As is characteristic of the religious spirit, the response of the older brother is not one of joy but of anger. His answer when his father pleads with him clearly shows how he has seen his father all these years: "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends." (Luke 15:29)

To the older brother, his relationship with his father was not one of kinship, but one of slave and slave-master. It was endless labour without reward. At least his younger brother knew his status as a son when he asked for his inheritance and when he wanted to give that up to be his father's servant, a status that the father did not accept.

Likewise, the father did not accept the older brother's self-proclaimed status as a slave, reminding him not only of his status as a son, but a brother.

"My son," the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (Luke 15:31-32)

Much as the religious spirit seeks to make slaves out of the followers of Jesus Christ, God instead calls us His sons.

Much as the religious spirit would have us think of people in the world as enemies, the Lord reminds us that they are our mission field, our brothers and sisters who are lost.

God calls us all to a genuine relationship with Him, beyond what any tradition, ritual, doctrine or dogma can give.

The answer to the religious spirit is the Father heart of God.

Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism

The city of Wittenberg in Germany has its unique place in the history of the Protestant Reformation as the city where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church (Schlosskirche).

Yet one of Luther's greatest sins was his sin against the Jewish people; his anti-Semitism. On the side of one of the churches in Wittenberg is a plaque featuring the common medieval symbol of the Judensau (Jewish pig).

Martin Luther wrote about the plaque in his 1543 book, Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi:

Here in Wittenberg, in our parish church, there is a sow carved into the stone under which lie young pigs and Jews who are sucking; behind the sow stands a rabbi who is lifting up the right leg of the sow, raises behind the sow, bows down and looks with great effort into the Talmud under the sow, as if he wanted to read and see something most difficult and exceptional; no doubt they gained their Shem Hamphoras from that place.

It is a deliberate mixing of the holy and the profane on at least two levels. 

Firstly, the image is a direct insult to the Jews, given that pigs are regarded as unclean, and for pigs to be suckling human beings made in the image of God is degrading to the infinite value God has placed in us. 

Secondly, the very fact that such a plaque has been placed on the wall of a church is an abomination, for "what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)

The plaque remains at the side of the Wittenberg parish church to this day, mark of a history of anti-Semitism which is a scandal upon the Lutheran Church, the Reformation and the whole of Christendom. 

As I stood before the horrid image, I bound the spirit of anti-Semitism in the name of Jesus and repented for the sins of those who came before. On my lips were the words of that Jewish man - the Messiah, the Son of God - as He hung on the cross: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34, KJV)